100 happy days :: day 71

i love when i spot one of my painted snails in the yard. 

this one, i did a bit of a wonder woman-esque paint job on last summer. 

i'm glad she made it through the winter.

paint snails while the sun shines

i could only find 3, otherwise i would have painted more. later, i spotted another one, but had already put away the paints. i don't think these snails showed signs of having been among the ones we painted before, tho' i think the one i spotted later might have been erik. awesome how the vinbjerg snails live for years and years. my snail designs today were inspired by the fantastic hilma af klint exhibition we saw on saturday at louisana museum of modern art. more about that later, as now i've got to go put lotion on my sunburn and get to bed.

in the snail studio

a new canvas

why hello there sunflower!

a work in progress.

wait a minute, don't go, i'm not done yet!

hello, pretty sunflower.

not that way...

nearly finished.

i think this is my favorite shot - who knew snails were so flexible.

it's really weird how what i should paint pops into my head. 

loveliness.

the snail studio.

for those who were worried about the birds taking them, i painted feathers, so they'll think he's a bird too.

i hope your weekend is going well....

erik is alive!

remember last june when we painted on some innocent vinbjerg snails in the garden? i named mine erik, since i had painted a little viking helleristning on it. well, until today, i never saw those snails again, but today, there was little erik, making his way around the garden, about 5 meters from where i had originally found him and painted on him.

i was so excited, i ran into the house to tell husband, but he looked at me bemusedly and waved me off. i don't know why he didn't think it was exciting that erik was not only fine, but had survived the winter and everything!

in light of my continuing inability to actually sit quietly and meditate, i decided to pick violets and make a batch, not of the jelly, but of violet cordial (i invent a new cocktail every year, you know).

it takes nearly an hour to fill this jar with violets. violets are small. which is why it's a meditative activity. it's also an activity you just have to do. there are no shortcuts. you have to find them and pick them all, one by one. it's good for your soul, i tell you.

i had to go all the way down to the lake (there are lots of violets out in our pasture) to gather enough. and when i was done, i felt totally calm and zen. just like they say you do after meditating.

and i also found this 5-leaf clover. which has to be even more lucky than a 4-leaf one, doesn't it?

and now i'm off to play with these beauties (heather moore's fabulous cut out & keep for cloud 9). the colors are so much better in real life than they look in photos. and super soft and wonderful.