I also love watching my children's art progress. Its so much fun!

I can sit the whole session fascinated. It never bores me. I am sure you feel the same way with your children.

I have a idea about Lilypetal's great illustrations she posts up.

Everytime she posts up one someone can write a small 1 page story, or a poem to go with it.

I say this because she posts up some really nice illustrations to decorate this great thread of ours.

Good Morning.. I slept in today

I do that on Sundays myself until 10 or 11.

I hope you feel better. I sometimes am worst off when I sleep a long time.

I highly recommend it! It has truly been a great help for me. This book will be a HUGE help for anyone who has been attempting to draw 'objects' rather than just drawing the lines and shades that they see.

That's really the key concept. If an artist already draws this way then the book isn't going to tell them anything they don't already know. But for those of us who have being trying to draw 'objects' instead of drawing what we actually SEE, this book will truly 'open your eyes!"

When you think about the 'object' that you're trying to draw, what happens is that your left brain (the logical side) tries to draw it. And the logical side then tries to put onto the picture what it thinks the object should look like!

However, if you get into 'right brain' thinking, you don't even think about what it that you are drawing at all, all you see are lines, forms, shades and colors. If you just focus on drawing those instead of thinking about the actual 'object' then you instantly become an artist!

Seriously it's true!

Of course, having said all of that, there is a need to kind of go back and forth between the left and right brain. The left brain does come in handy for double-checking perspective, etc. Sometimes even measurements of sorts are very useful. I'm not talking about using rulers necessarily, but sometimes just logically taking note of certain perspectives and distances is very helpful.

So ultimately it is a combination of both the left and the right brain working together. But in the past I was working almost entirely from the left-brain logical perspective attempting to draw 'objects'.

In fact that was true in all of the paintings that I just posted!

So all of my new work is going to be from the right-brain perspective and should be dramatically different now.

Yes, I highly recommend this book if you feel that you have any difficulty in drawing 'objects'. That's the problem right there!

This book is well worth the money! No other single book has been as helpful as this one for me. If you think you can't draw, buy this book and quickly discover your long lost artistic talents!

The Goddess of the water greets the early morning air
listening to psychic thoughts of humans in despair

Reaching out with gentle hands to touch the aura of their love
she communes in silent prayer with each person's morning dove

But only those who know the birds through morning meditation
will ever hear the message of this mystic divination

Betty Edwards truly loves you for advertising her book.


but yes I agree it is always good to read up on artists experiences and knowledges that have been drawing for a long time.

Well, I truly love Betty Edwards for having written it.

I think this book is quite differnt from most art books. This isn't merely an artist's experience and knowledge. I just bought three books on how to draw fairies and dreamscapes that come from that point of view. Those kinds of books are quite helpful too, but mostly in the realm of technique.

Betty Edward's book is not like those kinds of books at all. I mean there are drawing exercises in the book, but they aren't focused on the techniques of drawing like those other books. Instead it's entirely focused on how to THINK when drawing.

It's more of a psychology book than the technical experiences and techniques that most art books address. So it's truly a unique kind of art book.

Not so say that the technique books don't also have their value. Hopefully they do, I just ordered three of them!

But this Betty Boop book is far different.

Oops, I mean Betty Edwards.

Once in a rare while, spirits open the door for people to meet and become special friends. A true friend is a rare friend. He or she is someone who:

Listens and seeks to understand.

Sees your strengths when you see limitations.

Picks you up and brightens your day when you need it the most.

Can hear the sorrow in your heart even without your words.

Believes that you can, even when you believe you cannot.

Sees beyond your faults and helps you turn your liabilities into assets.

Can feel your excitement, disappointments, and challenges by just being present.

Tells you the truth, even when it is hard to tell.

Gives you hugs unconditionally.

Is loyal and always on your team.

Is compassionate, kind, and caring.

Is there for you when others are not.

Shares your laughter, your tears, your successes, and failures.


A true friend is more precious than a rare gem. He or she is a gift and a blessing. You, my dear friends are a blessing for me. You are my true friends.

May you always remember this moment and feel the abundant love that flows through you, with you and to you. I am blessed because of you my true friends.

Just popping in to say "hi". Hope you are all having a good week so far.

Hi Ruth! I hope your week is going well yourself in the new place.

Hello Ruth, I'm doing well thank you. I hope you are too.

I've been working on piecing together a potential painting. This is going to be long in the making. I plan on doing some drawings of it first, and after that I might try to tackle it with paint.

I already have it in my mind's eye. Unfortunately I can't show you that image. It's really beautiful.

What I've done here is try to piece together some ideas from pieces of photographs on the web. This is just to give me some visual reference points whilst drawing.

The idea is to draw the Great Rite inside a Yin Yang symbol. The God will have a sunny fiery background, whilst the Goddess will have a watery starlit background.

The God will be placing his Athame in the Goddess's Chalice.

I like this basic idea, now if I can just draw it up as pretty as I see it in my mind. THAT will be a real challenge. Like I say, the first thing I need to do is actually draw this up in pencil. Even that alone will be quite a bit different from this crude cut-n-paste thingy.

Then I'll move on to seeing what I can do with color paints. Don't hold your breath on this one.

When finished this will be a nice graphic to use on the Sacred Garden Page of my Labyrinth Way site.

Of course this thing below is just a crude idea of what I'm looking at creating.

Hi James,

The outline or idea looks painful? It almost looks like the guy is going to drill a hole in the ladies side after attaching the chalice into her body!

but what do I know, it will probably be a very interesting illustration in the end.

I mean if anything, it will keep the observer thinking.

I wish you a wonderful, beautiful, outstanding, ravishing, brilliant, loveable, and exciting day everyone.

Come on keep this thread going. Post poems, pictures, jokes, wisdom, love, and happiness in here.

Share your latest experiences with the magick you do!

German belief - The older generation hang witches in the kitchen so we don't have any accidents when cooking and baking.

In the old days German midwifes spend most of the day in the kitchen cooking and baking. The kitchen was the most spent time throughout the day for most of them.

but hey the food was all homemade from scratch and the house smelled always good at all times.

Maybe if you like you can share a recipe of baking here. What fond memories do you have when your mother or grandmother or even your great grandmother baked in the kitchen?


Mine would be the various pies always throughout the year (freshly baked) creating a aroma that would certainly have your stomach growl for hunger.

Apple Pies, Blueberry Pies, and Cherry Pies to name a few.

In Rudesheim a small town that has many little taverns was a fond memory of mine. There I had the opportunity to visit a brandy distillery called "Asbach Uralt".


http://www.eskimo.com/~michiko/oldies/rudesheim.jpg

Cognac wasn't allowed to be used as a term for the French made it a law that only Cognac can be named in their region. The rest of the world has to use "Brandy".

Anyway the smell of the distillery was so rich and pleasant that one just enjoyed the time in there learning how brandy is made.

One exciting fact about this distillery is that they where the very first to put brandy in assorted chocolate treats. The first brandy chocolates in the world are from Rudesheim. Now of course if you eat a whole box, you certainly going to have a buzz afterwords and you can get pulled over for drunk driving.

Then after the distillery there is a traditional coffee called the Rudesheimer Cafe.

2 cl Asbach Uralt
Coffee filled halfway
whip cream on top
chocolate sprinkles on the whip cream
and cherry to decorate


A wonderful drink in the winter time or for that matter anytime.

I thought I share a little of my culture with everyone since the majority of people who post on Mingle2 are Americans.

Hugs & Good morning my friends

My wish for today (for myself and everyone) is this:

May all that we see today, be thru the eyes of Love...

I always wondered what the difference between these was. Now I know!