A Walk in the Garden.

My training tells me to be aware of my surroundings, and that everything changes. Hours of meditation have shown me that feelings pass and that nothing, not even me, stays the same. My years of study have convinced me that it is my expectations of how things should be, and my attachment to those expectations, that cause me suffering. Yet, I still find it hard not to get upset, voice my opinion, and judge when my expectations are not realized. 

I have found the AQ boards quite distressing - don't get me wrong, not all posts are argumentative and pushy. Most are wonderfully sweet, friendly, and creative - these posts highlight the part of the letterboxing community I love. But some posts reveal our opinionated, judgmental, divisive side (some just this side of 'rude') and it really drains my enthusiasm and sense of connection to the community. It shows me just how fragile that connection truly is. And that is the distressing part. But, I have my practice. Thankfully.

It is my choice to ignore some social media. I suspect we all have used this method to retain our sanity once or twice during the last five years or so. I had hoped it wouldn't be so on AQ, but *shrug* - it seems the way of things at this point in history. I love AQ, and always have, but I am grateful that I can ignore some aspects, including certain persistently argumentative boards. As the memes say, "I don't need that kind of negativity in my life." I choose to step away, go out to my garden, and take a breath. A well needed, mindful break. And so it is.

Care to take a walk in the garden with me? It is lovely and peaceful in the early summer. It is not letterboxing or carving, but it is green and beautiful. And, if you really wanted to letterbox, there is one very close by ... 

Welcome to our Garden

This is the best swing ever.
And that bird feeder contraption
is our squirrel and rodent fix :)
Eventually, that paper-bark maple will
be lovely for the birds.

The newest addition - the side garden;
there's a story there, but for another time.
Pinky keeps watch.

outside my office window
that looks out towards the water

Some bonsai and maples -
so much love for my other hobby

More bonsai - well, not the maple, it's just a baby.
The one closest was a rescue ... hopefully it will make it.

We eat many summer dinners here and watch the sunset.

I bought these sweet statues of the seasons decades ago
to share with my Mother. She had two and I had two.
Now, in a way, we are together here.

The firepit, "where friends and marshmallows enjoy
getting toasted" ... or something like that :)

The rock garden. When we bought the house,
it was billed as a 'water feature', and maybe it was once, 
but it was defunct, a derelict pile of rocks.
So I designed a rock garden
with a 'fern grotto' off to the left.

As in any garden, there are special places.
This is Solly's corner with a couple of cat friends and
a nearby tree-frog to keep him company in his eternal rest.

R2 keeps an eye on things -
the lavender is just about to bloom

Throughout the garden there are the most lovely
painted mandala rocks, some big, some small -  
it's Samsonite's other hobby and we all benefit. 

Don't mind the muddy footprints ...
just sit with me and watch the carp surface in the canal
while we listen to the birds

From many perspectives, our lives, like the garden, are a continual work-in-progress. 

This is important to remember when I get upset at social media, 

even my beloved AQ.

A breath of Springtime.

 

snap from a beautiful Japanese garden we stopped to enjoy

Flowering trees announce Spring to me - I couldn't be happier to put this last winter behind us! We celebrated the sunshine with a much-needed 'boxing day. Obimaster, Samsonite and myself found three lovely treasures, and left one behind, as well. We also stopped by our favorite farmers market and picked up some different kinds of treasures!

I cannot pass up handcrafted wooden boxes!

I will spare you a pic of the wonderful macaroons we indulged in ... :)

I got some other interesting pics from our adventure - we stopped at a couple of lovely cemeteries and a local brewery. What a beautiful day it was to get out and do a little relaxed boxing. Here's a few more snaps from the day:

cemeteries can be just as meditative
as Japanese gardens, I think

I am trying to make my letterboxing activities as mindful as possible this time around. When we were boxing before, we were so anxious to get our f-count as high as we could, rushing from place to place, and fitting in as many boxes as we could in a day trip. But now I want to slow down and enjoy the journey. I want to appreciate each carve and effort by the planter. I want to experience the places they chose to plant rather than just rush in, grab the stamp, and rush out.

Same goes for carving. I want my time carving stamps to be meditative and mindful. Slow, watching my breath, and enjoying the process. 

After I graduated from the Mindfulness Studies program, I celebrated with a tattoo - the mindfulness symbol. I had it placed on my wrist to always remind myself to stop, breathe, and pay attention. It is a symbol with meaning and history for me - so I carved it.

As I was carving, I was contemplating whether or not a stamp has to be perfect. I certainly don't expect perfect carving from others - I am always thrilled with their creations, no matter the skill level. It is the effort and creativity that I really enjoy. But for my own efforts, I have expected perfection. 

Unfortunately, this is a joy-killer. Anything that is less than perfect is a disappointment, or I feel I must apologize for this bobble or that mis-cut. No more. I do not want to be beholden to perfection, especially in my hobby. This is for fun, and I want it to be all that it should be, with none of what it shouldn't. 

Perfectionism (or comparison) has no place in art or a hobby.

And so, here is my effort. I used a scrap of PZ Kut A, which was absolutely a joy to carve. No surprises there. However, since it was a scrap, the stamp is only 3/4" square.

the mindfulness symbol -
meant to be a reflection of a drop of water ...
don't look too close - it is certainly not perfect!

You know what's funny, I actually nicked myself with these ultra-sharp Flexcut tools. I haven't drawn my own blood carving since the very beginning! I tried to ignore it, but blood on the stamp made me chuckle to myself! Had to stop and grab a tissue - sheesh. I am rusty! 

Carving practice.

 

PZ Kut (A)

Practice, practice, practice. 

My tools are not as sharp as I remember, nor is my hand quite as steady.

And my eyes ... gosh, I wish I could find my old magnifying lamp. 

This new one is just not the same. *sigh*

I carved this winter stamp a few nights ago. 

The image is from that soggy box I retrieved, 

except that I shrunk it down quite a bit from the original - 

not so much for the challenge, but to fit on leftover scrap. 

It did end up being a challenge, though!

OZ Kut

I couldn't remember what image was in the other box on that trail (the mate to the one above), 

so I sat and doodled for a bit. I liked this doodle, so I carved it on OZ Kut.

I could really get fine lines with this material cuz its pretty stiff, but it is not as forgiving

as PZ Kut. I think it gives more of a woodcut look to the image.

And when I made mistakes, they were harder to 'fix' than I expected. 

One of the comments I have heard about OZ Kut is that it doesn't take ink

as well as some other materials (i.e., pink stuff or old PZ). 

I stamped it with VersaFine, and that seemed to take care of that problem. 

It inked like a charm after that.

PZ Kut (A)

This was another doodle worth carving for practice.

Boy, I had forgotten how much you can 'push' PZ around with your gouge, 

which is good for getting those long, smooth sweeps. 

That is definitely more challenging with the OZ Kut.

Fall(ing) Aspen

stamp size, 2" x 1"

Aspens, apart from the aberrant White Poplar, are distinguished by their nearly round leaf on mature trees, 4-12 cm in diameter with irregular rounded teeth. They are carried on strongly flattened leaf stems, that cause the leaves to twist and flutter in slight breezes. The juvenile leaves on young seedlings and root sprouts differ markedly from the adult leaves, being nearly triangular, showing here the typical leaf shape of most other poplars; they are also often much larger, 10–20 cm long. The five typical aspens are distinguished from each other by leaf size and the size and spacing of the teeth on the adult leaves. White Poplar leaves differ in being deeply five-lobed, covered in thick white down, and having only a slightly flattened leaf stem.

stamp size, 1.25" x 1"

The unusual ability of the leaves of Aspen to twist and bend due to the flattened petioles may not be fully understood. It is thought to help protect the trees from severe winds, perhaps by helping dissipate energy more uniformly throughout the canopy.  It is also thought to improve the rate of photosynthesis throughout the tree by reducing the exposure of the outer leaves to extreme sunlight (thus reducing photoinhibition) by presenting the leaves at an oblique angle to the sun throughout the day, while at the same time allowing more light through to the lower leaves which are generally over-shaded. This would enable leaves throughout the tree to photosynthesize more efficiently. Another theory that has been advanced is that the constant motion aids the tree's growth: the constant movement is thought to increase the intake of air by the leaves, and hence the rate of carbon fixation from the air's carbon dioxide.

The Quaking Aspen of North America is known for its leaves turning spectacular tints of red and yellow in the autumn, popular among tourists.

stamp size, 1.25" x .5"

 ~source:  Wikipedia

Summer Sun

Gosh, summer can't come soon enough, in my view! This carve was done for a friend who also loves summertime - heck, who doesn't?

It's from an image I found online - a 'shopped' photo that was originally in a circle. I didn't like how it turned out as a circle-shaped stamp, so I modified it a bit.

Stamp measures 3" x 2".

Words of Winter

stamp size 2.5" x 1"

Words written by the famous William Shakespeare, these two stamps were carved for a fun swap called Favorite Seasons, hosted by our friend Mama Cache. While everyone knows winter is not my favorite season, I sure enjoyed carving these stamps. Lettering is one of my favorite things to carve, it is true.

stamp size 2.75" x 1"

Winter

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.

~Charles G. Stater

Carved for the Great AQ LetterBox Exchange '08, this letterbox' status is currently unknown. It was pretty fun to carve while on a family vacation in Sunriver, Oregon back in '08.

(stamp size 3.25" x 2.25")

Old Man Winter

(stamp size 3.25" x 2.25")

Ooooh, it's getting cold here in the Pacific Northwest. Well, I suppose it should be, since we are well into December.

This stamp was carved for a set of winter-themed LTCs - I thought this image was an interesting interpretation of Old Man Winter.

Old Man Winter is coming in,
Wearing a cloak of darkling days, and
Clear, hard-frosted nights, when
Legions of stars shine cold and bright.

The North Wind will blow, with a scent of snow,
Under a steel-gray sky, then the snow will fall,
Down below, and up on high, and
All the birds will fly, for warmer climes.

And making rhymes, before the fire,
You will find me here, in Winter’s grasp, as
Autumn makes its last gasp, and the last
Brown leaf flies past the windowpane.

- Rod Brock, 2006