Moving Energies

Moving Energies ©Susan Morrison Sims (Morri)

(click on the image to enlarge)

~

The more you lose yourself

in something bigger than yourself,

the more energy

you will have!

~Norman Vincent Peal

~

…and so it is 2010, and I am glad. We have stepped into a new year. A new decade, mind you! Goodbye 2009, girl..I was ready for you to go! 

I have been thinking a lot about this new year, this new decade. I did not list any new years resolutions, because I tend to make new resolutions every day…sometimes by the hour or minute. :)  

Anyway, I know one thing I am going to do–I am returning to the blogging world. In fact, I have been exploring the perimeters of it. I’ve come to realize there are MANY things I love, but two that are very high on my list are painting and interacting with people. I call myself a hermit artist (and I am), but I do love people too..so I think I’ve come up with the prefect solution to combine both. I’m very excited about it, and I’ll tell you more very soon! 

I am putting other things in place too, including on this blog. So I will be doing some housekeeping on here..like updating my blog roll. Deciding what to do with the other blog I started, and some business decisions.

Well, I need to stop talking about it and get back to doing it..so I will not linger any longer this morning. I’ll leave you with this…

Last year was one of many changes. It was much like this painting. Often it felt dark and yet the light was there, only quietly so. It was also a time of releasing and letting go. Again, much like this unfinished painting, which is no more…it only dwells in my heart and memory now.  

I thought Norman Vincent Peal’s timeless and sage words a good fit too. I feel those  energies pulling me into something far bigger, and I am ready…oh SO READY!

Happy New Year..Happy New Decade!!

in love, in light, and in laughter,

~gypsy-he♥rt (aka Morri)

 

susanmorrisonsims.com

Beginning…fresh and new.

Florida Paths I & II ©Susan Morrison Sims (Morri) 

16″ x 20″ acrylic /canvas (click on image to enlarge)

~

Tomorrow

to fresh woods,

and

pastures new. 

~John Milton

~

I love this quote…so symbolic of life. How timely as we stand on the edge of a new year!  Are you ready? I am not only ready, I am eager to begin fresh and new in 2010 ! I am not sure why or even what my expectations are, but I have never been one to stand still for very long. I already know I’ll be busy as I have two solo shows, and I committed to at least one new piece every four to six weeks to a gallery. Alas, busy for me is a very good thing, because this gypsy heart of mine grows restless. :)   

Speaking  of gypsy-heart…I don’t know where this blog “gypsy-heart, I am” fits in now. I may start posting regularly here again. Though for some crazy reason, I recently created another blog, little pieces of work, on blogger. com. It is brand new, and I have as yet to post any new work. My idea is to post small pieces of work there (11″x 14″ and under), and keep it brief and only about art..not about my crazy life.   I may find myself talking and sharing with just me, myself, and I. hee, hee Maybe I’ll post here–and there. Probably not a good idea since I failed at keeping this one up. :O  I really don’t know what possessed me to create another blog..I have heard that you have a little more freedom on blogger. I tend to follow my heart and allow things to unfold, so I’ll give it a little time and maybe I will understand the reason.    

Anyway, about these two paintings. They are the first pieces in a series I plan to do, and they are hanging in a local gallery now. They were painted from photos that my kind friend, Kevin Songer, allowed me to use as a source. Here are the two side by side as one 16″ x 40″ piece: 

 

This is a typical scene of some of our rural areas in Florida that I SO love.  The flowers were at their finest when the photos were shot some weeks back. Alas, even now on the less traveled roads, they are still to be found..along with some beautiful purple wild flowers. Ah yes, yellow and purple…nature does not need us to tell her the complimentary colors does she? 

Well, I think I have rambled on enough. I do hope all of you have been well and happy. I  plan to start making the rounds. Instead of being overwhelmed about how far behind I am I’ll simply try to visit one or two a day. I seriously doubt my heart would allow me to close this site. Besides there is too much history here now..yours and mine. Just in case I don’t make it back soon..I am wishing all of you Happy Holidays and a very HAPPY NEW…may we all move on to

fresh woods

and

pastures new! 

in love, in light, and in laughter,

~gypsy-he♥rt /Morri

Ps I am still on facebook. Again, I must confess I enjoy it very much. It is a very quick and easy way to stay in touch  with friends and family, and events..local and far beyond. ’Tis a nice positive circle of energy there..so do think about joining us!     

susanmorrisonsims.com

Completing the circle..of love.

After Rain I © Morri

(SOLD) prints available

~

In helping others,

we shall help ourselves,

for whatever good we give out

completes the circle

and

comes back to us.

~Flora Edwards

Well, it seems fall is upon us, and I am happy to see it come. It also seems to be a time of charities. I think I told you before that I had to select a few charities, as I can’t possibly donate to all of them. In the past, it has been charities for abused women/children and animal shelters (see my note below). During the year, I usually try to add in one or two other things that touch my heart,

and so…

Recently, a new friend told my husband and me about a charity at his church. They give food to families in need and with the economical situation, they’ve had a VERY large increase of people in need. I am not into organized religion, but what my friend told us touched my heart. So at the very last minute I decided to donate something for their spaghetti dinner and silent auction. I donated an “After Rain I“ giclee’ print. Some of you may remember the “Mystery of the Woods” post I wrote about the painting. (the original sold and hangs in Canada now).

I usually donate things without attending the event, but for some reason I wanted to attend this one. So last Saturday we changed our normal routine and traveled to a little “one stoplight” town for a $7 spaghetti dinner and a silent auction. I admit, as we drove south I wondered why I hadn’t simply donated the print as I find it uncomfortable being there during the bidding.  Alas, only our friend and his wife knew the print was mine..so it was to be a true silent auction for me, and I liked it that way.

As we drove through the little town it was obvious it was not a place of great material wealth. Yet, when we parked and entered the event  I saw lots and lots of local people helping..volunteers all of them…all ages, from old to young and from all walks of life.

What I saw was wealth beyond material things in that little town.

I saw wealth, of heart.

The spaghetti line was long and continued to be so for hours!  The meal was simple but quite good..they even had cupcakes for desert!! We sat across the table from three delightful senior citizens..more new friends! I was happy that the print sold for a very good amount (three people bidding against each other), and I came home with an object I can use to hang things on the wall in one of the studios. Though I felt a little guilty about it..I was bidding against another person. eh, eh All for a good cause though…right?

So not only did we leave our hermit world and attend..we stayed until the end, and we had a divine time! We came home filled up..I don’t mean just with spaghetti, salad, garlic toast, and cup cakes. Though I confess, I ate two chocolate cupcakes!!

No, I mean our hearts were full. This is why I will always try to help in some way or another. I also have another reason, I have a debt to pay…

Some years ago, as a single mother, I desperately needed help with food for my little four year old daughter and me. I did receive help. Some ordinary people came to our rescue..and they did so, more than once.

So…

I’ve seen and met angels

wearing the disguise of ordinary people

living ordinary lives.

~Tracy Chapman

I’ll never forget those ordinary people..those angels!

Though nothing like that long ago time, we all have challenges we deal with …such is life.  Alas, I can temporarily put it all aside and find happiness in helping others, even in small ways. Maybe it is somewhat selfish of me, but I also keep doing it because..

I want to be a part of that circle

that complete circle…

of love!

~

in Love, in light, and in laughter,

~gypsy-he♥rt

**Note I am donating a photo finish print of “Butterfly Blues” (original post Butterfly Secrets~ Butterfly Wisdom)to the Safe Animal Shelter charity event. How could I not donate something..’tis where I adopted our beloved guru dogs, Ringo and Amber! A wonderful friend of mine and of the shelter is anonymously donating beautiful framing! They too are having a dinner and silent auction…though their dinner will be much fancier! I will not be attending theirs this time..maybe next year…you just never know.

Butterfly Blues ©Morri

original /oil on canvas

(click on thumbnail to enlarge)

I’ve been around to “visit” some of you..will be around to see more of you. I can’t seem to keep up with everything anymore. I will tell you again that facebook has been an unexpected pleasant surprise.  A quick way to keep up with old friends and make new!  You may want to think about joining us.  ta, ta for now. :)

~♥♥~

morriart.com

Wrapped in nature…that’s where I have been. ♥

Just me and my camera. (Morri)

(photo by Louise Freshman Brown)

~

Look deeply into nature

and

you will

understand everything better.

~Albert Einstein

~

I hope all is good in your worlds. I know I have been quiet, as of late.

Where have I been?

Other than my painting trip to France,  this entire summer has been one of returning to nature at every opportunity. Often with camera in hand..not brushes. I wanted to go outside and let my lens capture what I was seeing and feeling.  No more thinking and rethinking..just seeing and feeling. No more talking and talking about the things going on around and within….

meditations in nature.

That began as a child..one of my earliest memories is of hiding from everyone within the little woodland nearby. It is much the same today..I retreat to my beloved nature. She wraps me up in her gentle quietness…..

allowing me to renew and listen to my heart messages.

and that is where I have been. Listening to the messages from around me and from within

and now…

I am understanding everything better! ♥

Alas, summer is almost gone, and once again, the signs of change are around us. I am not only ready to embrace the change..I am eager for it! I am ready for fall (my most favorite season), and I am ready for my studio again.

The studio has been quiet…still brushes and empty canvases patiently waiting for me. It is time..for I have paintings swirling around in my head and in my heart.

So I will be “seeing” you again, and if all goes well I’ll have some new paintings to show you. :)

in Love, in light, and in laughter,

~gypsy-he♥rt

Ps I’ve tried to get around to “visit” some of you in emails and comments on your blogs. Some of us are together on facebook.  I’ll be in touch with more of you soon.

~♥♥~

susanmorrisonsims.com

Things, of heart

Reflections, of heart ©Susan Morrison Sims

digital photo (click on image to enlarge)

~

There is no room

in my heart

for hatred…

only

for love.

~smSims

~~

Well, ’tis been a while hasn’t it?  I hope all of you are well and happy! I have been re-grouping as I said I must do. A lot has changed in my world..outside and within. Guess what…I am amazed…no, I AM STUNNED at how happy I feel!!! You know from some of my previous posts (7-15-09, and 7- 21-09) what transpired in my family. I guess I sort of went through the stages of grief.  I even thought I hated the people in charge of the Watchtower.  I am surprised at my own feelings as I type the word Watchtower. I do feel tinges of sadness for those still in there, but I no longer feel any hatred for the leaders. Hating them was allowing them to still control me…the poisonous affects of hatred are not pretty.  Hatred for anything controls us whether we realize it or not..it can even become an addiction, a passion, or like a new religion. I am not going to join another religion of hate (there are many out there).  Nope..my passions are otherwise, and that is what I am returning to…old passions and new!

I like coming here and chatting with you..here, through emails, and on facebook. Yet, I felt pressured about getting paintings finished, so I could post. How silly is that..as if the “posting police” would fine me or something! Sometimes I don’t paint for a few weeks, and I don’t want to just slap paint on the canvas. Nor do I want to slap words on here, only because it is time to “post” something…ANY thing. That is a waste of your precious time and mine.

So I confess, I haven’t painted much at all since my return from France. What I have been doing is walking every day, doing my yoga again, meditation, spending time on Drayton Island, and taking photographs of things that I see along my way. I am seeing my world much clearer again..maybe because I am free to do so.

I have started putting a few photos on face book, and so I am thinking of putting my photos on here along with paintings and whatever else moves my heart.

Now there’s that word that I am SO fond of… heart!  Some of you know that I see faces and  hearts everywhere..usually perfectly imperfect ones.  So this is one of my photos from this week. I took this while on my morning walk on Fleming Island. During the week here, I walk an hour every morning..back and forth on our dock that runs about 700′ over the St John’s River.  The river is tidal and brackish water so we have both fresh and salt water creatures passing through our world.

I love the energy of the St John’s ..it is constantly changing from gentle rolls to wild waves like the ocean. When it is smooth and almost still I like to take shots of what is beneath the water and the reflections floating on the surface. This is a cloud reflection shot. I was quite surprised when I found it while looking through my morning “over the river” shots.

I have been asking and looking for signs..for my own journey…and Reflections, of Heart was one. Here is another one:

This morning it was uncommonly smooth..moving so softly one would think it was still. I was thinking how my heart is at peace now..much like the river…calm, but gently rolling on. Guru dogs, Ringo and Amber, seemed a little perplexed at the stillness, so I said to them “magical things can come from stillness” (and yes, I talk to my guru dogs).  I was also thinking how wonderful it would be if we could have a manatee visit on such a morning. We have not seen any for a couple of months now.

Remember the post about this little 4″ x 6″ manatee magic painting? Can you believe that was a year ago!!

Manatee Magic ©Susan Morrison Sims

Anyway, I walked to the other end of the dock, and as I turned around I saw that both Ringo and Amber were very still and quiet (which is NOT a common thing, mind you). I could tell Ringo wanted me to quickly come to them.

This is why…

first one manatee

then more manatees…

then even more manatees…

I couldn’t even count all of them…I am guessing at about 15.  When the last one was going under our neighbor’s dock I waved good-bye.. he/she raised his/her fin and with a little splash disappeared with the others continuing on with their journey.  I don’t know if you can see it in my cropped photo or not.

a manatee good-bye.

I could share more and more signs and symbols from this week, alone, but enough for now.  This week has passed by quickly..but sweetly so. I am in a good place now, and I am hoping you won’t mind a mix of  things here from my world..including my non-professional photos. My photos, like my art, say what I struggle to tell you in words.

If you could see into my heart now you would see that it is FULL of love and gentleness, like this mornings river.

Love and Gentleness of Heart to you,

~gypsy-he♥rt

Ps  One more sign..I simply can’t resist. :O  As I told you I was undecided about posting my photos here.  This came in the mail..and I did not order it.  In fact, I’ve never owned a photo magazine! My guess is, it was sent because I bought a new camera for the France trip. Of course I bought it back in May…and it just happened to arrive now. Needless to say,  I think I got my answer..what do you think? hee, hee

~♥♥~

susanmorrisonsims.com

Path at the Shadow’s Edge

Path at the Shadow’s Edge ©Susan Morrison Sims

8″ x 10″ acrylic on canvas / Little Paintings Series

(click on image to enlarge)

Hello dear hearts, I find myself wanting to chat with you this evening. :) I have been dwelling within my own shadows for a spell, and those of you that read my last couple of posts (7-15-09, and 7- 21-09), know why.  I found myself once again, searching for light, and once again, I found it waiting for me just beyond the shadow’s edge.

Yesterday, I returned to meditation just to see if I could escape the endless noisiness of my mind. It was in that place of sacred silence that I finally listened to my heart, and I found peace. Why had I avoided meditation for months??? I found light within the silence..like a trillion little stars in a colorless night sky, and…

my energy instantly changed!

Later that day…as if by design, I received some very sage words from one of my very first blogging friends, 94Stranger at Rainring.   Here are some of his words:

“All I can say is that the only way I know to gain something out of even the most devastating experiences is to try and understand what they have to teach us.”

“..each human being has to live their own experiences and face their own destiny…”

Thank you 94S!! Somehow, I had forgotten that!!! Last night and today, I have received more positive messages and confirmations. I also realized that I have been running along side others on their paths..trying to save them, make them leave it, and follow me.  Not only, was that wrong..it kept me from moving forward. I had become weighted down with a very heavy heart, my own. I had stopped my own journey. I was also living in fear of alienated them, of losing them. Thus, I found myself wearing all kinds of smothering masks, just like before, **see Masked Mime**, well

NO MORE…

the masks are off, once and for all..

discarded into the darkness!

How very LIBERATING.. I instantly felt the weight lift from my heart!!

My wings began unfolding again…

stronger than ever before,

So as to carry me

further and higher

straight into my dreams.

Dreams waiting there

just beyond..

the shadow’s edge!

~~

I now find myself dwelling in new energies.

Changes are coming..including here.

I want to paint,  to garden,  to dance, and to laugh,  to live life to the fullest, and most of all

I want to LOVE and BE LOVED, AS I AM.

I can do all these things now

and I will

because…

I am free

to continue, on my own path.

~~

I wish the same for all of you!

in Love, in light, and in laughter,

~gypsy-he♥rt

Ps I will leave the cult info on here, and of course, I will talk to any one that wants or needs to talk about it. It will no longer be my energy focus.

I want to thank all of you for your comments and emails..you’ll never know how much it meant. If I neglected to respond to any one of you, I apologize. Please don’t hesitate telling me so I can do so. You are all sparkles of light along my path.

~~♥~~

To Shanni Lea, my beloved daughter, I will be waiting until our paths cross again

..and they will, because

our love is more powerful, than ANY cult!!

~♥♥~

susanmorrisonsims.com

Mountains of Truth (the climb)

Cezanne’s Mountain  ©Susan Morrison Sims

(en plein air, Aix en Provence)

acrylic on unstretched canvas approx 14.5″ x 16.5″

(click on the image to enlarge, twice to walk in the vineyard with me : )

~~

On the mountains of truth

you can never climb in vain;

either you reach a point higher up today

or

you will be training your powers

so that

you will be able to climb higher tomorrow!

~Friedrich Nietzsche

~~

First and foremost, I want to thank all of you for the precious comments and support on here, in emails, and on facebook!!  I plan to respond soon and to visit those of you with sites.  Alas, I did not want to allow too much time to go by after my last post. It was much too serious, and I did not wish to leave my words lingering. I want positive energies flowing from here..so whatta’ you say, let’s just move on!

I decided to share this en plein air painting now, as I feel a timely connection to it and to Nietzche’s words. Of the five pieces from my trip, I had planned to post this one last. Obviously, my plan changed.  This piece was painted just a stones throw from the villa where I was staying.  I was looking through the vineyard at Cezanne’s beautiful and beloved mountain (Mt Sainte Victoire). We had grape vineyards surrounding us on all sides, and that was fine with me. For some reason,  I am drawn to them..the lights and shadows weaving in and out of the grape vines and within the furrows connecting the rows. I love the muted colors of the earth, the various greens,  and the rich golds and reds revealed in the sunlight.  Everything about the vineyard symbolizes life to me..even how the vines must be cut back with the change of seasons…

for the new growth, that is to come

I see myself in this painting…I am like those vineyards with lights and shadows weaving in and out of my life connected by time, places, and people. I have asked myself, what seems a thousand times..possibly a million times..why so many set backs..is all this in vain???  Happiness and loss seem to come and go..and so do people. Like changing seasons.  Do you ever feel like that?

What seems a thousand times..possibly a million times, my heart answers…

all was and is not in vain,  for ’tis how truths are found.

Now once again changes..happiness and loss and people have come and gone, and…

once again…

My mountains of truth beckon me forward.

Not only, will I NOT turn back…

I am empowered

and

ready to climb higher!

~~

I am wishing the same for all of you.

Love, light, and laughter,

~gypsy-he♥rt

***Ps There is an obscure upside down heart in this piece…did you see it? This post is dedicated to my daughter, my first born. If you are reading my words here..my love for you is unfinished…as it will forever be! NO man made religious organization can ever change that!!!

susanmorrisonsims.com