Welcome!

Glad you could join me. I'm stitching a life together bit by bit.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Return to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Where I've been and other stories....

Its been so long since I've really written - a life time in art retreats - literally.  
At some point, I didn't know where to begin any more.  So I'll start where I ended - my last journey.  
Two weeks ago, my family and I got back from a 2 1/2 week to Mexico.  
This included 8 days in San Miguel for the 
Tesoro del Corazon Art Retreat.

The pictures here are from my iPhone - taken at Casa Luna in San Miguel, where the retreat was held. 
The 6,000+ photos from my trip are stuck somewhere in my computer's memory, 
and I'm working on ironing out iPhoto to get access to them. 

The court yard fountain at Casa Luna.

Mexican dress and a glimpse of Casa Luna.

You'd have to be a really manly bullfighter to wear this beautiful outfit.

Corridor where the alters rested.

It is a Mexican tradition to make a small alter to remember loved ones that have passed.

The alters are set up in the days leading up to Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead on Nov. 2. 
People put out flowers, traditionally marigolds, to remember loved ones.

The favorite foods and drinks of the deceased are put out for them to enjoy.  
It is believed that the souls of the dead journey here to enjoy the essence of the food, drinks and candies left for them.  

Families leave small sugared candies at the alters.  They are in many different shapes, and families buy ones that would have been enjoyed by the deceased.  
These are bought at the sugar markets that sell these tiny creations in the week or two before the event.  

This area is where breakfast and lunch were served each day during the workshop.

An area for drinks.  Melon juices are popular here.

One of the 3 areas where we had our workshops.

An area to eat and one to relax.

The owner of Casa Luna has been collecting art for over 20 years for her home and hotels.

Dinning area and the kitchen, where wonderful Mexican food was made each day!




Entry into this enchanted life.


Entrances to some of the rooms at Casa Luna.


Outside Casa Luna, you'd never know it was a hotel.


Beautiful door knockers abound in this Spanish colonial city.


On the left is part of the alter created in Villa Mirasol where I stayed with my family.  
On the right is a building decorated for the Day of the Dead celebration.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mother's Day 2012

These pictures are from May.  
I never finished the post, due to the fact that I'm a busy mother myself - ha!!!  



A flower in my Ikat bowl, placed on a little bit of stitching from the past.
Dated fabric: reminder of a time not so long ago.


The flower is not perfect, its worn in places, a bit tattered.  
Some bruises here and there, and laugh lines.
Its like us.
Like me.

There is beauty in imperfection. Maybe more beauty in being tattered than in being perfect.
Perfect is just about impossible to achieve.
Being real, being yourself, that is a worthy goal.