HEY, SMILE! LIFE ISN'T THAT BAD

I had a doctor's appointment today and on the way to the med center, I was thinking happy thoughts and marveling at the fact that at my last appointment I noticed how the staff were so friendly.  I was so impressed.  So when I got to the registration desk, I was met with a warm smile and it was pleasant.  

My name was called into the area where the nurse would take my blood pressure and she had a mean mug and in addition, she was very curt.  So try as I might to crack jokes and be upbeat she continued on her diva attitude.  What took the cake is when she bid me goodbye with a matching, "you're all set" dismissal.

I could just as easily have been as curt to her but I was too happy with my initial expectation, now deflated, but did not want to let one person really steal my joy today.  It's bad enough that my blood pressure read a bit on the high side, so what the heck.

There will be days like these only because we are not in possession of magic wands to make life a bed of roses, so it really helps that I have this outlet to share my thoughts about it.  If I didn't have a blog, no biggie, I will probably have a journal.  It helps to let it out even to pour into words because one person's apparent problems is like a virus to all who they are in contact with especially when they don't really know how to just let it slide.  I am by no means perfect when it comes to this but when I happen to be a recipient of such a dismal attitude, I try to let it slip off me and refuse to get infected.  I post this artwork I did a while back because she reminded me of the face this girl made at me today. I would have rather gotten a smile instead.

Till my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

FIELD TRIP- JAPANTOWN, SAN FRANCISCO

We all need to wind down sometimes, even artists.  The creative bank should always be filled.  This is what I do when I run out of ideas.  Kill two birds with one stone.  I needed Japanese art brushes anyway, so why not make a field trip of it?  So, I want to share the day with you.  It was a sunny day about 60 degrees, which is really perfect considering the rain and cold weather we've been getting lately.

And good thing we did.  To see the progress of the new Bay Bridge and to share the last of the time of the old Bay Bridge.  The new one is going to be awesome but the old one will be missed.

 I like Japanese food but I stay away from the sushi.  I do like the California rolls, those are actually cooked.  I do know a bunch of people who love sushi and can pretty much live on them.  Not this girl, though.

I do love the Japanese cutesy stuff like this life size Pikachu.  Well, life-size is actually unknown because it is a fictional character!

 It's a pagoda, people.  And below is a zen garden.  Japanese people are minimalists.  So for my next artwork, I will NOT be a minimalist.  They will probably balk at that idea!

The dramatic poser strikes again!

I love this bumper sticker!

I could've spent more but thought I better not.  I love this store because it has everything and these paints were $1.50 each.  So I thought they would be crappy, but I was so mistaken.  They were actually very fluid, so SCORE!  The brushes were something I "NEEDED"!  :)  Love it, loved the day!

Till my next rant.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!

CHERISHED

Imagine having a parent that is so powerful, influential, and loving who would never ever abandon you, will always be there for you no matter how good or bad you are?  Well, look no further but up. 

Oftentimes, we worry about what tomorrow brings.  It is innate in our us to do so because of what we have come to know all along, that we are meant to be workhorses or even the proverbial gerbil on a wheel.  I do not encourage idleness at all, please don’t get me wrong.

However, life is like a wheel, the soothsayers confirm.   Sometimes we are up and sometimes we are down.  Regardless of where we are on the wheel, we should always look to God for either guidance or thankfulness.   In Hebrews 13:5-6 we are reinforced, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?”  Why wouldn't God do it for us when He does it even for the birds who He provides food for?

Wow!  God has confirmed that to me over and over in the past.  As long as I am obedient to him, walk in His ways, be in His will, He always takes care of me.  God “cherishes” each and every one of us.  Sometimes we are too concerned about discrediting the reality of God that we forget to surrender to Him and let him take charge of our lives.  In the past, I often wondered how it is that could be done.  So I literally pushed worries out of my mind, after I sincerely surrender my cares and worries to Him because oftentimes, I really couldn’t handle it.  God wants us to do this in a such a way that we don’t even think about taking it back from Him by worrying about it after we’ve surrendered it.  Doing so would only prove we do not have faith and take control of it again.  He will come through and when He does, it is with a bang!  He does it in such a way where there could be no other explanation for it except to accept that it did come from Him and we often call it a “miracle” or “divine intervention”.  Yes, there is such a thing.  Isn’t He jus simply amazing?

Till my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!

The painting above was inspired by these two birds outside my window.

PIN-ART

What have I been doing the past few days?  These!  Oh they are available on Etsy right now! http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyHappyCocoon?ref=search_shop_redirect  I am also preparing to them for sale at Arts and Wine Festivals this year.  Watch out for updates soon!!! 

GET THAT MONKEY OFF MY BACK!

     Despite God’s unrelenting blessed assurance that we are made in His image, and we are beautiful and charmed, why do we continue to be so down on ourselves?  True we are the product of a sin we did not have control over but Jesus already wiped all that away when He died on the cross for our salvation.  All we really have to do is acknowledge Him as such.

     If we allow ourselves to wallow in the lies of satan, we will eventually succumb to a life of sin that most of us do not recover from.  God tells us we are better than that.  For me it’s like being on a diet.  You fight it instinctively because knowing that you won’t be able to enjoy the food that’s bad for you is unthinkable.  But after trying to fight it the first day, being successful on the second day, and then the third, etc. you start feeling better about yourself and start seeing changes in your body, you know, the good kind.  Then you begin to get inspired and the rest is history.

     Same thing with sin.  It is something more than a fight, it is a continuous battle.  But after that triumphant feeling, we begin to see how easy it really is to fight sin.  Not only will we open the floodgates to God’s blessings and grace, we begin to inspire others to follow suit.

     What a great transformation!  The monkey is off your back.  That same monkey that keeps telling you that you are not good enough, that you cannot fight the very thing that leads you to a slow death.  It really doesn’t have much to do with religion, but the success of living in harmony with other human beings.  Teach your children how to exist in this way.

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, GOD.

When no one was there to give me a dozen roses, you did.  It wasn't Valentines Day but I knew they were from you.  Above all beings, you have stolen my heart 12 years ago and I freely held that door open for you since.  You promised that as long as I stood firm for you, You will give me strength like an old oak tree whose roots are planted firmly and  clawed to the earth that neither wind, storm, rain can ever break its hold free from your love.  Today Lord is the day of Love.  The day when hearts are open, a day that brings joy to all.  Thank you for your boundless, faithful love for me Lord, I am so underserving yet you relentlessly pour your grace and blessing unto my life.  My fow to you is to be ever faithful to you now, forever and for all ETERNITY.

Your humble servant,

Anamarie

*This piece is called Wild Horses Can't Keep Me From Loving You

MY HAPPY COCOON ART STUDIOS FEATURED ON CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS STUDIOS MAGAZINE SPRING 2013

The Issue is out on bookstores like Barnes and Noble, Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, etc. YAY God!

LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

NEVER ALONE - A Watercolor process from Watercolor Wyanne's Way Art Class

Process for this project:

1)      Masked sketch of the girl

2)      With the masking fluid, I dragged the brush to make the tree trunks from bottom to top, tapering off at the top and also adding branches.

3)      Let dry overnight

4)      Spritz back and front of the watercolor paper and laid it on the plexiglass

5)      Applied background colors of yellows, aqua blue, ultramarine blues, dark greens, etc and let dry for a couple of hours

6)      Then I added some more washes until I was happy with it.

7)      Removed the masking fluid and added the details of the girl and her dog

8)      For the dress, I took the same aquamarine paint as the background and applied it to her dress and then laid crumpled plastic wrap and let it dry a little but not all the way.

9)      I used light grays and burnt umber to shade the tree trunks and added some details but not much. 

10)   I randomly placed drops of red randomly and while still wet, added orange on top and yellows.  Let dry

11)   I detailed some of the tree trunks with black sumi ink and added some details to the flowers, stems, and what seems to be grass.

12)   Lastly, sign.

To watch the video process, please click the link http://youtu.be/3crbJH8nmEQ

FROM TEST TO TESTIMONY

I’m sure you don’t need anyone to prove to you that our lives here on earth will never perfect.  There will always be strife, death, disappointments, tragedies, hardships etc. that will stand to test our faith.  Whenever our faith is tested as human beings, whether you are a Christian or not, we ask why God has allowed these things to happen to us.

Yes, it is very easy to blame God sometimes because we become angry about the situation we are facing but we only blame God because we believe that He is the Almighty powerful God who can change any bad situation into good.  If you analyze that line, you will realize that He DOES use any bad situation for something good, but not the way we expected it perhaps concluding that He should have prevented it from happening instead of us having to learn from it.

Let me give you an example.  The super storm Sandy that just occurred in the east coast was unexpected.  I mean, when was the last time a storm was so powerful that even the streets and anything in its path in Manhattan was destroyed?  Half of the boardwalk in the Jersey Shore was swept out into the ocean, Staten Island, Long Island.  The list goes on. 

Without knowing the people who were devastatingly affected by this storm, we know some have banded together as a tight community vowing to rebuild much better than it was before.  I have never heard so many people mention God in their tv interviews until after this storm.  It seems not only did it produce renewed hope but also renewed trust in a God who they know will bless them with a fresh start and donations from people who care.

You see when a tragedy happens, it is the time we see God in everyone.  People’s hearts soften, tears of sympathy flow from all over the world.  God comes out in each of us even just to sympathize with the ones who were affected by the unfortunate event.  It prompts us to jump into action, no matter what we can summon up inside of us to do to help.

So yes, maybe God is removed from the schools, from the season of Christmas by calling it a holiday, or by just preventing us to propagate His word.  However, God is powerful, He is not a lazy God, He is a God that will show you whether you like it or not that he prevails!  He will be in your face whether you never read your bible or never go to church.  God is, was and always will.  Isn’t it time you stop fighting and start seeing God for what and who He really is?  Your redeemer.  If you call on Him, He will be there for you front and center.  He is a God who never abandons but instead seeks your love.

Until my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS GOD LOVES YOU!!!!

LAYERS - THIS WEEK'S ART ON MY HAPPY COCOON

LAYERS, TEXTURE, UNUSUAL MEDIUM -- CLASS WILL BE OFFERED SOON! Stay tuned.  Make an original artwork for yourself!

FORGIVE AND FORGET LIKE SPRING RENEWS

Relationship takes precedence over worship. That’s shocking to our “spiritual” presuppositions, isn’t it? But it’s the Word of God from the lips of His Son. And it cannot be disregarded without paying the price of disobedience in prayer.
The penalty for violating this principle is more than merely not having my prayers answered. I find myself bound up in chains forged by my own unforgiving spirit. Grudge-bearing is a plague to the flesh. But my release of others is the pathway to being delivered from it.

When you’re hurt by another forget it. After you forgive it! 

Till my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

REVIVAL OF SOMETHING OLD

As I was flipping through the pages of my past watercolor pads, I came across a drawing that I had done in 2000!  I thought it needed a makeover so without further ado ...

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!