Simple Pleasures

Hello Lovelies!

I'm still at the hospital, but small pleasures are part of my life all the same!

I've walked barefoot in the dew-covered lawn this morning. I've taken photographs, which is always a pleasure.
I've met a friend who came to visit me. Even the hospital food wasn't so bad today.

In a word, I feel good and optimistic!

Now off to making a new collage... ;-)

Vic from TeaButterfly.

Trying Something New

Hello Lovelies,

József Nemes Lampérth's self-portrait, 1911, Budapest. 

Image from wiki commons, originally found here.

I love hungarian Fauvism, and I intend to copy this self-portrait one of these days... Actually, I did, inwatercolor form, just need to add a picure of it here.

Now back to my hospital life.

I dreamt of Brancusi last night. Here's why.

Today, in the crisp early morning air, I got out in the Park, feeling pretty excited. My path lead me to a small corner with all kinds of half-carved stones, mostly of the softest kind.

At 8:45 came Joel, our teacher. A nice, tall man, he taught all the men (I was the only woman around!) and me how to carve soft stone or even plaster, which is even better for beginners.

I am an artist at heart.

I have tried with some success - and some interesting "failures" - b/w photography, film editing, oil painting (abstract mostly), insect drawings (now my the specialty at my Etsy shop), Chinese ink sumi-e, creative writing, ceramics and more..

So, yes, I was pretty excited this morning to try a new art form. It always brings some inspiration to your current body of work. This morning, I have tried my hand at stone carving for an hour and half. At the end of the lesson, I felt hot and my back hurt.  

But what I wrote to Joel in the end was that I felt happy trying something new and glad to deal with something "concrete", as opposed to abstract (and usually gloomy) thoughts.

A delightful morning, indeed.

Vic from TeaButterfly.

As usual, pictures will be posted here as soon as I come back from the hospital. ;-)

Cats in the Park

Hello Lovelies!



When one's staying at a hospital, there isn't (seemingly) much to report about. Except the boring: got up at this time, ate at this other time, had a walk in the surrounding park...

The thing is this park is just awesome. You'll get to see lots of pics when I get home, because it is really beautiful. I've never met cats there before, but today I got lucky and met three different ones!

I got the opportunity to play for a long time with a ginger one, that looks a lot like the one pictured here.


So yeah, the day is still young, but it feels good already! Now I'm off to some craft and collage.

Vic from TeaButterfly.

A Little Hello!

Hello Lovelies!

The "asanoha" traditional pattern

I'm writing to you right from the computer-room of the hospital. How neat to let the patients have a couple computers to use daily for free!

The "hospital" is actually set in an old typical house of Provence (near Avignon), and has the most beautiful garden "à la française". I took a gazillion photographs already, but can't show them to you right now. They're safe inside my mobile phone, lol.

Speaking of laughing, I feel pretty well, very rested and not depressed. Fall is such a crisp season, I love it.

Actually, it's my favorite season of all!

Hoping to write here more soon,

Vic from TeaButterfly.

PS: I'm currently obsessed with asanoha (starry net) traditional Japanese pattern. We'll see where it takes me, art-wise!

Telling Certain Things...

Hello Lovelies !

 "A Disappeareance Print" by "swanbones"

I'm so glad I feel good enough today so I can write to you, awesome followers of this blog and explain a bit why I'm not writing/creating more often. It seems ilike I have disappeared in some frightening Victorian Wonderland, like in the beautiful picture above, by one of my favorite (and now a featured) Etsy artist, "swanbones".

Truth is, it is difficult to tell about certain personal things. Like undergoing a serious illness. Or having a broken heart. Or experiencing loss and mourning. Or all of these at once.

I'm sure Dominique Browning would know how to tell you about these things. And Maira Kalman, would certainly tell/draw about it perfectly. But I'm just me, trying to find the right words... heartfelt words.

So here goes: I'm undergoing a serious, non life-threatening (but still) illness. It cannot be cured, but it can be "stabilized" enough with the right care and medicine, so that I can live a so-called "normal", let's say, "satisfying" life.

I've been very ill through all of September. And I've been waiting this whole month for a place in hospital for me. So now the time has come, and I'll be finally be able to rest and find a better treatment for my illnesss during this month of October.

I'm taking my beloved watercolors and special Japanese paper with me, so you'll get to see doodles and maybe even complete drawings when I return.

It might look like I've disappeared from the blogosphere and the Net for a while, but I'll return for the best!

Wish me luck,

Vic from TeaButterfly

Perfect morning

This image/collage (all from flickr faves) shown above is called "perfectmorning.jpg" and I'd really love to find the blog where it comes from. ID, please!

This poem is by Billy Collins.

Morning
Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best -
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso -

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins -
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows -
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning

poem found at ill seen ill said blog right here

Handmade Love with The Animal Shop

I just love this wonderful photograph of a lazy racoon. Maybe because I can relate...

shop at: https://www.theanimalprintshop.com/