today I heard my sparrow sing...

I have had a little bit better day and when the energy comes back I begin to move when I can. I have had a visit from an artist that I totally respect...her name is Leah Pikens Kolidas at her Blue Tree Art Gallery.com Once a month I receive her newsletter and a serene blog with connections about things that light up your life. Her paintings and prints deal with guiding light as we as artists journey through our processes and techniques. Today she shared an interview over the radio a couple weeks ago about what actually inspires her when she is in a darker place. When I view her works I find it hard to believe she experiences a dark period because her color palette has a softness and clarity in brightness that I personally find very soothing. You may want to check her our and sign up for her free newsletter...I think she is now living in Boston but I could be wrong. She emailed me back and came to my blog with kind words of support in a cool "blue tone" voice...that is what I imagined after hearing her voice on the radio interview.

I have an intuitive flow right now even if my body is not quite on board in the energy department. I heard a quote by Maryann Williams "Who are you not to shine?" Remember the small steps that lead to small successful processes...find comfort in your/my space in the present moment and be gentle with your/my spirit. I played in my journal this afternoon about the upcoming new version of Alice in Wonderland and found pleasure in splashing colors on the page and remembering the song"go ask Alice when she is ten feet tall" from Jefferson Airplane back in the 1960s. Johnny Dep is one of my favorite actors and he seems to be a chameleon when he adopts personalities for his roles. One of my favorite is his portrayal of the older brother in the story of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"...Leonardo de Caprio as a mentally challenged younger brother. Our Columbus Dispatch had an article about the various illustrations that have become icons in our childhood memory. I am anxious to see this new version of a fascinating story of Alice.

I was given a large zip lock bag of postcards and mailing envelopes from the dates from 1908 until the 1960's with messages from relatives and siblings ... a true treasure load of America's intimate family histories. The handwriting, the script lettering, the stamps and the messages kept me enthralled as I waited for Ken to arrive home. I am planning to scan many of these images into the computer to allow me the freedom to mix and combine both sides of the postcards into my fabric transfers. I found a 1908 "Erin Go Bragh" postcard but I cannot read who the artist was that created this illustration and the message was about a break in communication because someone had been hospitalized and would soon be out of his trolley job...hey this sounds familiar to what is happening right now in our present economy. I will attempt to register some of the images that speak to me and post them on future blogs as I begin my re composition.

Tonight I pulled out a couple fabrics from storage in my studio secret surprises...stuff I refuse to let go of... that I created with Ann Johnston years ago and began staging them in a new light...I was so timid back then with colors...so now I am adding fresh strokes and spurts of greens, coral reds and yellows. I took some photos but I am not sure they are clear so when the fabrics dry I will try once again to capture this effort. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

the foam hat to decorate for Cole's third birthday...Dinosaur dig theme

ATC's trading cards from altered papers recycled from junk mail and newsletters...


this last photo is of a dear friend who has had two brain surgeries and checks up on my progress...he is a hero to me and my heart's journey