September's New Adventure

'Sundance'                                          (c)  2001 Kasia

There is a new crispness in the air in Wisconsin, as the school buses reappear and seasonal transformation begins. Our Nolan started Kindergarten last week causing a change in routine and scheduling of time. Since the day he was born, I have shared my time with him on an average of two days a week. That is quite a bit of playing, reading, growing, loving, and sharing time. I am truly blessed to be a 'hands on' grandma with three other grandchildren living less than 4 miles from my home. It is a gift to have a unique relationship with each of them that I do not take for granted. With the new adventure of school starting, I realize that I too, am at a crossroads of adventure. The direction of my journey is changing.  A new schedule and new routine will allow me the ability to devote more time to my passionate pursuits in the studio. I am wondering what that will look like in terms of new Art created. I guess that time will tell and we will just have to wait and see what unfolds. With the visions that I currently have dancing in my mind's eye and the all new web site just days away from being launched, I am certain that it will be an  EXCITING ADVENTURE!

Family Vacation

Dear Ones ~

The days (weeks) flew by since my last post.  The bonspiel at Alpine Curling Club with Jerry and Chris was a lot of fun.  We played our best and had some really great games, but in the end we came home without any trophies.  Sorry about that Skip, maybe next time.  One of the best features of bonspieling is the socializing with the friends that we have made through the years.  Chatting with my friend Darcie, who I only see once a year at this event, was a highlight.  The week after our curling weekend was spent in a frenzy of  last minute details in preparation for our family vacation.

Several years ago, Ron and I decided that instead of a party to celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we would like to make a family memory by taking a vacation together.  At the time we first made this pledge, we did not have any grandchildren and were thinking of a European vacation with our adult children and their spouses.  As the years went by, our little ones arrived to fill out the family tree and changed our travel plans.  Now we were considering traveling with a 5, 3, and 2 year old and a 7 month old!  What could we possibly do that would accommodate everyone?  After a month of research, we decided on a Western Caribbean Cruise aboard the Disney Magic!  We made the grand announcement of this plan at Christmas.  That gave everyone several weeks of happy anticipation.

 

Even though our anniversary is actually in August, the winter snows of Wisconsin made the thought of sunshine and beaches even more appealing in the month of February.  So it was decided that we set sail on Feb. 6th from Port Canaveral.  We then visited Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Castaway Cay with a couple of days at Sea thrown in for relaxation.  

The kids were enthralled with the Disney characters, the stage shows, and especially the Mickey Mouse Pool.  We agreed prior to leaving home that we wouldn't try to stay together every minute.  Each family could do their own thing,  but we were to meet at dinner to share our events of the day.  As it turned out, we usually found each other around the pool deck and spent a good deal of time together taking turns watching the children and running for snacks.  We shared a lot of laughs and made some memories for which we will have stories to last my lifetime.  It was GRAND!  The whole week exceeded my wildest expectations.

The children were very well behaved.  We are proud  not only of them, but of their parents as well.  The youngest, Gavin, was especially easy going and adapted to sleeping in his stroller in the middle of all the noise.  Precious!                                                   

One night, in the dining room, we were surprised with a cake to celebrate our special occasion.  Served shortly after we had finished our dessert, we took it back to our stateroom and ate it for breakfast the next day.  Mmmmm - - - yunmmy!

 We did incur a bit of an adventure on our return home.  I'll save those details for another post after I have an opportunity to upload more of my photos.  (Sometimes one look is worth a thousand words.)  Let me just say that DREAMS really DO come true if your heart is in your dream!  And for that fact, I am eternally grateful~

Until next time,

Love & Light ~

Kasia

Gratitude

It's Thanksgiving Day in the USA.  As I reflect on all the blessings that have come my way in this past year, I cannot help myself  from being consumed with JOY!  Among the many blessings for which I give thanks, Grandchildren have to be near the top of the list.  Little Gavin Mathew joined our family in June.  He is such a good boy.  We rarely have heard him cry.  He sleeps like an angel and awakes with a smile on his face.  Just a very pleasant, beautiful soul.  He joins his sister Morgan Luella and cousins Nolan Reinhold and Tatum Marie to complete the jewels in the crown of  my Life.  Family is so very important to me.  These little "angel babies" light up my life with unconditional love and laughter and inspire me to play and create colorful art.  I'm looking forward to seeing them today.  I wish you a day of Thanksgiving, Peace and Joy with your loved ones.  Let's treasure our precious moments.  Oh, and by the way, I am extremely grateful for YOU, the reader of my posts.

Inspiration

Sources of inspiration come as a blessing at times, surprisingly, from out of nowhere. Inspiration could arrive with a beautiful hand dyed fabric or in viewing the artwork of the children which is found hanging in the local grade school.  I  never really know for sure when an idea for a new creation might appear.

"LoveLight Nolan" was inspired by the name of our first born grandchild.  This little angel baby stirred such a love that only another grandmother could know.  I wanted to create something really special for him to remember his Kasia.

Fabric gifted from fiber artist Cindi Huss was deemed special enough to meet the creative needs of this new art piece.  The hand dyed fabric hung on the design wall for months waiting for inspiration to arrive with just the right design to bring it to life.  One day, while taking an open art studio class, I wandered through the hallways of the elementary school where the class was being held, and was instantly inspired by the kaleidoscope designs of the children's names.  The idea struck me like a lightening bolt that it would be fun to attempt to re-create this idea using fabric instead of paper.  That's the day that the"What's in a Name?" or  "Hidden Messages" LoveLights were conceived.  I immediately started playing with paper stencils to form the name mandala in the center of the dyed fabric kaleidoscope.

Playing with Cindi's fabric and auditioning others to compliment it, I came up with what I thought would be a good choice.  When I took the leap of faith to layer, stitch, and  finally cut into the layers of fabric, I had no idea what the final design might look like.  As the piece evolved, you can only imagine the awe that I felt when it finally emerged and revealed itself to me.

Here is the finished inspired piece that I feel is worthy of the name Nolan.  Can you find his name in the design?  Not everyone will be able to see it, but that's what makes this Art so intriguing, in my opinion. 

Enjoy ~

Until next time, Be Well!