Tag: Winter Wonders

31 Days of December 2018

31 Creative Days of December

We have made it into the final twilights of 2018. December is filled with short days and the blur of holiday festivities. To mark the month, I have decided to create a 31 Creative Days of December drawing series,and so, I will be creating 31 creatures with holiday themes. The holidays I will address are:

In order of their calendar dates:

  • Hanukkah (Chanukah if you prefer)… Starts the eve of 12/2 goes thru 12/10: It’s known as The Festival of Lights and is honoring the Maccabees’ victory over King Antiochus, who forbade Jews to practice their religion.
  • WINTER SOLSTICE..12/21 at 5:23 EST: The shortest day of the year.
  • CHRISTMAS…12/25: The birth of Jesus Christ. Did you know the word “Christmas” is a shortened form of “Christ’s mass.”-makes sence!
  • KWANZAA…12/26 through 1/1: Commemorates African heritage. Kwanzaa has seven core principles, ranging from Unity to Creativity for the community.
  • NEW YEAR’S DAY…January 1: The first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. (Yes I realize this is actually January and 2019, but it seemed appropriate to end this series with the bang of a new year.)

Starting December 1st, you can see/follow these drawing on Instagram (find/follow me at botanicalbb), which also populates FaceBook (find/follow me at Botanical Beauties & Beasties) and Twitter (find/follow me at @BotanicalB_B). If you don’t follow any social Media and you would like to see the seasons creatures, just let me know, and I will send you the full series after January 1st. It will be a combo piece, so don’t worry it won’t be 31 emails! In the meantime-Here’s to creativity, imagination, digital art, the closing of the 2018 door and the opening of a new 2019 door. Hope the holidays bring you all some joy, love, and peace.

 

Water, drops, drips, frozen=ICE

icicles
Wellie breaks out his super fantatical Icicle cutters.

ICE – Ice – ice…..no matter how you type it’s still frozen water, slick, cold, and reflective. Clear with a blue tint, blurry at the edges or sharp as a knife.

Ice is such odd contradiction of concepts to me…

  • Beautiful but can be deadly…..
  • Can look soft and yet is incredibly hard.
  • One end of the spectrum is a tiny ice crystal-the other may be a glacier.
  • Water is fluid-Ice is stoic and solid.
  • Ice makes: pellets, hail, dams, snowflakes, crystals, needles, sculptures, ice cubes, a coolant, ice houses/blocks, a famous movie* and musician**-since it can make all those things it ought to be flexible…. and yet it is not.
  • Did you know there is something called Rime ice? Rime ice is a type of ice formed on cold objects when drops of water crystallize on them.
  • Here’s a really odd one! Did you know that according to wikipedia “Ice can be used to start a fire by carving it into a lens which will focus sunlight onto kindling. A fire will eventually start.[38]”  Makes sense but really, I don’t think I would have ever thought of that.

Ice- all part of  Winter Wonders. I am hard pressed to call it a Winter Wonderland at this point. It has created havoc for so many and worn me down. Mother Nature-you win with 100 points…me-I’m down to about five points.

So I am holding out for the hope of spring, warmer days, no more ice and bitting cold temps. A while ago a dear friend shared a poem that I know is near to his heart. I am sharing it with you all now…. On so many levels, it’s so fitting right now.  Here’s to hope for a weather change, a season change, and because hope in life and what the future may present is often the ray of sunshine and warmth we need to hold on to.

It is called
“Hope” is the thing with feathers. By Emily Dickinson.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers – 
That perches in the soul – 
And sings the tune without the words – 
And never stops – at all – 

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm – 

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

(thanks Gary-a special nod and hug)

* I thinking of the movie Frozen
** Vanilla Ice and his 1990 single “Ice Ice Baby“