words that inspire...

Magical Autumn Moments

My life is filled with beauty.  Beautiful people, beautiful surroundings and many, many beautiful moments.  Yesterday I went for a hike with family and friends.  I encounter beauty in all those areas ... it was wonderful and lovely and I am so overwhelmingly thankful to Jesus for His goodness that is continually filling my moments.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

 {May your days be filled with beauty.}

Silvia
follow me on instagram at silviaklassen 

This was so much fun!!

I recently tried something new!

I don't think I have ever done anything like this ... well, not exactly like this anyhow. 

And this was most definitely a lot of fun!

I had one last assignment from one of my summer courses that I wanted to complete {I have begun some new courses since then!}  If you know me at all, or have followed my blog, you know I love birds - so this assignment was right up my alley. 

I know, they aren't perfect, I can see lots of things I will do differently next time {and there will be a next time!}, but I quite like them.

I like the challenge of trying something new; I love learning new skills and seeing my world open up in bits and pieces, and when it happens, in leaps and bounds.  

As Walt Disney said, " We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

Here are my new little creations...

 

 

May you and I never stop moving forward, learning and trying something new!

Silvia

Seizing the Moment

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

This past week I have had precious little time to get lost in any sort of art project as we have had several other (wonderful!) things going on in our life.  

I have learned something about myself though: that regardless of how many amazing other things are happening in my life, I need to stay connected to the world of art. I have discovered that I am a happier person ... a more cheerful mama, wife & friend when I have been creating. Because I am aware of this, I am proactive about my passion!  

I've written before about my "Art Bag" ... the bag I carry with me nearly everywhere I go (see here and here).  This past week was a week of dragging that bag around with me, and yet rarely getting a chance to open it up and dig in. However, just having it with me, helped me stay connected. And because I had it with me, I was able to snatch a few moments and begin a little water color doodle. 

I knew from the onset of the week that I would not have a lot of time, but if I had decided to leave the bag behind, I would have missed my few chances. And, because I was prepared, I was able to seize the moment and dig in!

Here is a glance into my sketchbook to see my "seizing the moment" sketch...

“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” 

- Abraham Lincoln

Have a wonderful & prepared day!

Silvia

For Mackenzie

I was recently asked if I would donate a painting to Mackenzie's Hope, a foundation that raises money to send the siblings of cancer patients to summer camp. It was a real honor as my family & I closely followed Mackenzie's 18 month battle with leukemia and daily prayed for her healing. After a valiant fight she passed from this world into the arms of Jesus last October. 

We cried & grieved and said that we would always continue to believe and fight to see "His kingdom come, His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."  There is no cancer, no sickness and suffering in heaven ... let earth echo the ways of heaven! 

I didn't have a painting prepared that seemed suitable, so I decided to paint one dedicated Mackenzie and her courageous family. Below is the painting I created. It is a 18" x 24" acrylic in canvas.

      

     

Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be you name. Let your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Silvia

abstract portraits & just letting go...

So much to do!  

One of the things I love about art is that the further you go, the deeper you can go. This doesn't at all surprise me because God is infinitely creative and the further I go in my relationship with Him, the deeper I can continue to go. It only makes sense that art would be that way too...

The more I spend time in my studio, the more ideas I have, the more things I want to try and the more images that constantly invade my thinking space ... I love that! Often at night, I fall asleep with pictures that I have never seen before moving across my mind's eye. How I wish I could video record them!

As you know by now, I'm busy with several on-line classes, as well as some of my own projects that I want to do. I've recently finished one of Alisa Burke's courses and here are some journal entries based on that class. 

 Before I added any colour, I drew a fast portrait with my sharpie marker, and for the most part, I did not look at my subject while I drew.

I then added some details and swirls across the page.   

Once I was satisfied with my black and white sketch, I added colour with my watercolours.  

The final step was some doodle patterns throughout the page.

Art is so much about learning to "let go" and release yourself into the process.  Alisa Burke is great at teaching methods to do just that. This was a lot of fun ... I think I might yet make some canvas paintings similar to these. 

If you are artistically stuck, this is a great way to get the ideas flowing ... give it a try!

Silvia

Yummy Food Art

Ok ... I'm not too much of a foodie, but this weekend Tim & I had a couple of nights away at a Bed & Breakfast and it turns out that a gourmet chef (Chef Julie) & her husband owned the B&B.  All I can say is mmm...

Her breakfasts were absolutely delicious ... I just wanted to eat them slowly all day long!  Not only were they delicious ... they were so beautifully presented that I initially felt bad destroying her works of art (that is, until I began eating).  Chef Julie also had optional dinners available, and after tasting our first breakfast, we booked her for the evening. I have to confess though ... I don't have many pics of the dinner. What can I say, we had spent the day biking in Montreal and I was hungry.  :)

The hosts were so friendly and worked hard to communicate with us (as we switched between their broken English and our broken French) and the house was a beautiful century home, just steps away from the Ottawa River in Saint-Placide, Quebec.

Here are some pictures of our three course breakfasts...

Crepes with roasted apple and Brie cheese, served with maple syrup, fresh fruit and a flower waffle.

 We had nasturtiums with every meal.  They taste good with maple syrup. Actually, everything tastes good with maple syrup.

Her own pastry, fruit and Oka cheese, served with fruit, a heart shaped waffle, and of course, maple syrup.

 Here is our second course on day two.  I ate the second course on day one before I thought about taking a picture of it.  This is scrambled eggs mixed with some nearly divine cheese, served over a ratatouille, in a pastry bowl.

The third course on both days was home-made pastries served with several of her own preserves.

I have no pictures of our dinner, but you will have to trust me that it was amazing and beautiful. All I will say is I wanted to drink the sauce that was used over our fish. Seriously, I would have drank it straight out of the pot if I could have.

As for the rest of our time away - we had a very sweet time we felt like we were in a bit of France with vineyards and bakeries scattered across the countryside.  Definitely a place we will return to!

And if you are interested this is where we stayed... and ate:

 Gîte La Capucine

Silvia

A Shout Out to Junelle Jacobsen

This summer has been wonderfully filled with creating and experimenting with art. I have been really enjoying my on-line classes, in particular one called "Wild Art Summer" by Junelle Jacobsen. Her projects have been a lot of fun, have challenged me try new techniques and to be bold and courageous (anyone who has ventured out artistically in any genre knows what I am talking about!)

Thanks Junelle for the thought, fun & love you poured into this course. Thanks for believing in all of us and showing us a bit more of God through your laughter, joy and encouraging spirit. 

Here is a mixed media on wood block that I have recently completed, based on an assignment from Wild Art Summer...

Silvia

Flower Bliss

Silvia

follow me on instagram at silviaklassen 

Banded Babies

I am always looking for unique opportunities for my family to interact with nature. Several years ago I discovered the world of bird banding and (because of our love of birds around here) ever since we then we have been hooked. Bird banding is described as “The practice of catching birds, marking them with an identifying band around the leg, and then releasing them.”  Scientists rely on banding to learn about bird behavior, migration patterns, etc.

Twice in July (in Ottawa) the public is welcome to be a part of banding Purple Martins, Canada's largest swallow. Purple Martins are community birds and there are two very large Martin bird houses by the Ottawa River that were built by a man named Peter who cares for the birds and bands them with the Innis Point Bird Observatory (see their facebook page here). This morning two of my kids & I ventured out to be a part of the action and we were delighted to see, hold and feed some new born baby Purple Martins.  Here is our story in pictures, and a few words...

We arrived and watched the parents go to and fro from their nests which are located in these homes (the male is the darker bird):

Peter lowered the first house down to have access to the baby birds:

As he opened each door, we were able to see the amazing treasures that were hidden inside:

We saw babies at all stages of development.  These little guys were only two days old!

They were so tiny and could not even yet see, but if you look closely you can see their feathers beginning (look at the head and the "wing")...

These were a few days older, still bunched up in their nests:

This one was almost ready to leave the nest:

It was amazing to watch as Peter fed the tiny birds ... he gave the one below a dragonfly that was nearly half its size & it had no trouble eating it!

And a little bit of water to wash down their meal:

 We were able to hold and handle the babies.  Here my son is trying to feed one of them:

We watched as he carefully banded the older babies:

Here Peter was checking its size to correctly assess the age:

We learned about some of their challenges ... blowflies lay their eggs in the nests and the larvae suck the baby birds' blood for food.  Peter checks each nest several times a week and cleans out all the larvae.

 Once the whole house was cleaned and the babies were cared for and banded, Peter raised it back up to its full height and the parents happily returned home:

Thanks so much to the IPBO for a great experience this morning! If this interests you, there is likely a bird observatory near you that you could get involved with.

Silvia
follow me on instagram at silviaklassen