The Husband's Weekend Work

Bark and a lot of it: 17 square yards that had to be spread out over the front and back areas between grass, shrubs and flower beds:

Before and after pictures with at least 1/4 of the bark still remaining after the work of the weekend.

And on a lighter note, the iris are blooming in our flower beds!

What's blooming in your yard?

(image from art in red wagons)

P.S. Post Card Swap

Post Card Swap

What  is it?  Just what it says, Swap A Postcard!

• You make five postcards and mail them. 
• You will receive five postcards from five other people in the swap.

What do you provide?

• Five handmade postcards
• You can draw, paint, cover with fabric, use rick rack, copy images, whatever!
• Anything that will go through the mail will work.

What do you get?

• Five unique postcards from five different members in the swap

How do you sign up?

• Just let us know you are joining the swap by mailing your snail mail address to: inspirationavenuepostcardswap@yahoo.com

Sounds like fun to me! I am in. It starts TOMORROW! All details can be found here TOMORROW!

National Poetry Month and a Creative Challenge

On Inspiration Avenue, and in conjunction with National Poetry Month, we have a weekly challenge.

April is National Poetry Month and in honor of that... a challenge to revolve around poetry, but also include other forms of the written word, a favorite quote, or novel, or perhaps merely a special word. What inspires you, and how does it make you feel? Pour out those feelings artistically! Whether in oils, collage, watercolor, mixed media, photography, digital art... anything goes, just express it!

Iris are fun to paint, and inspire me.  So I decided to find a poem about iris and then paint one or two.  Here is a poem about iris written by Edith Buckner Edwards in 1961:

Iris, most beautiful flower,
Symbol of life, love, and light;
Found by the brook, and the meadow,
Or lofty, on arable height.
You come in such glorious colors,
In hues, the rainbow surpass;
The chart of color portrays you,
In petal, or veins, of your class.
You bloom with the first in Winter,
With the last, in the Fall, you still show;
You steal the full beauty of Springtime,
With your fragrance and sharp color glow.
Your form and beauty of flower,
An artist's desire of full worth;
So Iris, we love you and crown you,
MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWER ON EARTH!

Inspired by iris, I got out the silk paints and spread them and all the paraphenalia that goes along with painting on silk, and began this painting with iris as the theme.  It took about a week to complete.  It is ready to frame in a convenient size of 16" x 20".  This is my answer to the Inspiration Avenue weekly challenge.