#fromthelandofdragons: seeds

'burdened ...' 2015 ©virginiafitzgerald

I love Fall!! 

I always have!

It makes me feel alive!!

the colors, the sounds, the smells, the coolness on my skin,

the sightings of Jack Frost, the need for a favorite sweater.

2015 ©virginiafitzgerald

And as I have been documenting my 'land of dragons'

'burdened ...' 2015 ©virginiafitzgerald

I have come to love Fall even more (if that is possible) 

I have had the opportunity to witness the cycle of life, 

'sweet potential...' 2015 ©virginiafitzgerald

and I am thoroughly in awe of the creation of seeds!!

my harvest of seeds from my nasturtium plant!!
I gathered these yesterday nov5th ... note the barefeet!!

'chinese lanterns ...' 2015 ©virginiafitzgerald

The magic of mother nature is that the flower is created for reproduction.

The petals attract the pollinators who come ladened 

with pollen to start the whole process ... so

LET'S PROTECT THE BEES!!!!

bees are our friends!!!
we need bees!!!

'two in a bush ...' 2015 ©virginiafitzgerald

& be sure to check out my other blog:

"love, virginia" which used to be 'dailydress inspirations' 

for a freebie, a 'just for instance' present

peace, va

happenings ....

'skywarrior II .... ' installed at Art on the Trails,
Hopkinton, MA

It is the fall and that means lots o'stuff going on ... school starting, summer ending and in a month ...
Natick Artists 
Open Studios!!! 
So before I fall into a black hole of activity, I just want to get some information out into the world!!!

First, THIS weekend, on Saturday, September 19th, at 2PM, there is going to be a celebration of poetry in Hopkinton at the exhibit, Art on the Trail.  This is the outdoor sculpture exhibit where 'sky warrior II ...' has been holding court since August 1st.










It is a lovely collection of sculptures, scattered along Hopkinton's Center Trail, curated by sculptor, Michael Alfano, and tomorrow twenty area poets will present their poems inspired by the installation and sculptures.  This poetry presentation was organized by Polly Brown and Cheryl Perreault.

Click here to view the electronic collection of the poems to be presented tomorrow.  It is lovely to see that my piece, 'sky warrior II ...' has inspired some of the verses.

"Poetry on the Trail" 

21 poems inspired by an exhibit of sculpture 

on Hopkinton’s Center Trail 

Spider Woman, by Cathy Weaver Taylor 

This Heartbeat in the Woods I Hear 

inspired by Virginia Fitzgerald’s heartbeat dress

There is a heartbeat beating in these reticent woods how it reverberates

the ancient, patient message how the wind listens

and tells the trees to listen too

how the trees speak to the birds

and the birds sing out

this message to the world.

There are no secrets here.

There is no gossip in the branches. Nothing here is insignificant.

There is simple, sacred promise

that the earth loves every single living thing. Everything is beating life out loud. Everything here is creation.

Cheryl Perreault 

Also on the horizon is the
Natick Artists 
Open Studios 
and this year I AM participating.
I missed last year as there was just too much other life stuff taking my attention!!
But I am happily revving up for the big weekend .... SO MARK your CALENDARS!!!!

In prepping for the big weekend, the NAOS committees have been getting art into different venues around Natick and I am happy to say that I have a piece in the "People" exhibit at the Morse Institure Library.  I contributed this wonderful photography of graffiti in Chelsea, NYC.  Many people who see it assume that it is collage but not by me, I just saw this wonderful scene and clicked!!!

I realize there is so much more to share ...

but I think this is enough for now!!

Also my awesomely creative artist friend, Christina Zwart, texted me this week:

"not enuf hours for the rest of our lives."

kind of captured the feeling of this time of year ....

So on that noteI am going to sign off with of my 'daily notes to self':

from this thursday:

Thursday, September 17, 2015

today, let us remember to slow down ....

as we physically experience the craziness of the start of the new school year and the end of summer, let us remember to slow down; remind ourselves of the slow circles of nature ...

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. 

 May Sarton 

filling in some blanks . . .

This past Saturday I had the honor to speak at 'Wake up & Smell the Poetry".  I spoke about my beloved #dressproject and what a wonderful experience it was for me!!! To get back into my #dressproject mindset is such a joy!! 

And I was in the company of many inspiring and talented people.  First, Susan McGee Bailey and Camille Breeze were the two other presenters (click here to read their bios) and then there were so many moving and wonderful performances/poems during the open mic. portion of the program.  

I am happy to say for those far and those who couldn't attend, the entire exhilarating morning was taped by HCAM and will be available for viewing sometime in June. 

(no worries, I will share when it is out!! ;-)

Below is a slideshow of the photos that I collected to accompany my talk; just a few of my dresses to help me demonstrate where the #dressproject has gone during these past nine years :)

Also on the exciting news front, this week I had my first day as shop photographer at this tremendously awesome store in Natick, Renew Arts & Industry!! talk about this visual wonderland:

Welcome to the world of Renew Arts & Industry. Located in Natick Center’s cultural district, we are Metrowest Boston’s premiere gallery shop featuring mid-century modern design. We offer a thoughtful mix of quality vintage furniture and décor, tableware, pottery, original art, hand crafted greeting cards, and artisan jewelry.  

I am so excited about this opportunity as it has allowed me to purchase a Macro lens for my camera and it is such a treat to photograph all their amazingly cool merchandise!! So a win-win all around.  So below are a few of the photos from my first day!! Loving my new lens!!! 

see why I am so happy!! a visual wonderland!!! 

So that's a bit of what has been keeping me out of trouble.  

Also, as much as I LOVE writing these posts and would love to post daily, 

I am realizing that isn't going to happen at this point in my life.  

I have been able to post more regularly on my DailyDress Inspiration blog, 

so please visit that blog and see what happening there!! 

and,  I will be here as much as I can, because as I was preparing for my lecture I referred to this blog many times and recognized the importance of this visual diary of my journey as a mother, artist and creator of the #dressproject.  And I am truly grateful for your company on this terrific ride!! xx

namaste, va

if you have received this post as an email

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today on #fromthelandofdragons and more . . .

#fromthelandofdragons: It's all about looking . . .: 

"where do you find all these awesome flowers" "... it's all about looking :D"

“How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives,”  Annie Dillard 

click here to see entire post

AND 

Happy St. Patty's day:

May you always have walls for the winds,

a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,

laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,

and all your heart might desire.

~Irish Blessing

click here to see today's dailydress inspiration

PEACE & LOVE,

va

#amazingmayamonday from my dailydress inspirations . . .

May this dress remind us to laugh, to love and to to it with moxie!!!!

My mission in life 

is not merely to survive, 

but to thrive; 

and to do so with 

some passion, 

some compassion, 

some humor, 

and some style.

Maya Angelou

peace, va

#amazingmayamonday - how true her words are, always . . .

today's dailydress inspiration is from the amazing maya angelou.  i have been posting one of her many inspirational quotes every monday since her passing. 

'strength . . . ' mixed media, strata series

may this dress remind us of our own worth!!! 

“Never make someone a priority 

when all you are to them is an option.” 

Maya Angelou ‪#‎amazingmayamonday‬

 today's quote rings particularly true with me today and i feel it is very important to share it.  and I ALWAYS love my 'strata' series as it shows the many layers of a woman, what she has inside her, what she is made of.

and this quote is especially poignant in light of this chilly graphic, 

depicting domestic violence in the USA. 

thank you Deep Green Resistance. 

so remember YOU are wonderful, worthy and amazing!!!
just as you are!! 
peace

from the atelier, week #47 (aka a week in review)

This week i finished my latest #wellnesswrap,

finished for a friend who is fighting breast cancer.

this has been my response to the news 

of a friend battling cancer, 

i crochet . . .

 i start with a color and then the shawl grows  

organically  . . .

i am never quite sure 

where it will go. 

this one surprised me with a button and a collar.

 

below is a link about the first #wellnesswrap and the thoughts behind this practice:

virginia fitzgerald . . art . . inspiration . . ink: a day of thanks...: 

also this week i received this picture of a card that i designed for a friend 

who lost her husband earlier this year. 

she has been a long time fan of my dailydress inspirations 

but we felt that a dress wouldn't be appropriate 

so i learned how to make an origami star. 

since she needed a good number of cards, 

i got them printed. 

i am so happy with the way the origami still has some of the 3D quality, 

i'm consider creating 

a set of quote and origami notecards . . .

any suggestions for which quotes to print?!?!?

'casted sun rise . . . .'

and to wrap up this w.i.r. 
here are some of this 
week's photos from my
 #fromthelandofdragons series
(especially for those of you not on FB and/or instagram . . . :) 

'one if these things is not like the others . . . ' 

'top of the morning' . . . '

thank you for visiting and peace . . .


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click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to visit my FB art page:
virginia fitzgerald . . .art . . . inspiration . . . ink

November . . . the month I take back my studio!!!

I was in my studio last week and I realized that it had been about 

one and a half years 

since I had last really worked there!!! 

(cringe, sob, faint!!!)

But

 NO MORE!!! 

This month I am #takingbackmystudio ~ 

and to start off this adventurous month, 

here is a printable calendar for us all . . .

I will be using it to keep track of all the coming days that I am going to my studio!!! 

And I plan to be posting visuals of this grand adventure on my instagram account , 

with #takingbackmystudio, if you are curious . . . . 

to access this calendar either click on this link to go to Flickr 

where you can download the calendar or just click on 

the calendar above 

and then right click for the option to download the image.

If you are having any technical issues just leave me a comment and 

we will figure out what needs to be done :D

I hope you enjoy your calendar ~

Happy November and

Peace!!! 

a gift for you . . .

Happy August!

Here is a printable calendar for you ~

click on above image and download it to you computer so you can print.

There is a longer story about august and this calendar on my Dailydress Inspiration blog, which some of you follow but for those who don't I wanted to share my dresscalendar with everyone. 

click here to go to dailydress blog

So if you need a calendar for your desk, refrigerator, car  . . . please enjoy this dresscalendar.  

I have loaded the calendar image to this blog at a high resolution, 

so you should  be able to click on the calendar and download it.  or visit my album dresscalendars on my flickr account.

It should fit on an 81/2 x 11 piece of paper, 

however I always click the printing option "scale to fit". 

(see picture below)

Please contact me if you are having problems and I can email it to you?!?! 

I am having a bit of trouble posting the dresscalendar so that others can download?!?! 

always more to learn . . .

so, happy august & let the dog days begin!! 

peace

just another app.

With the smartphone, iphone and ipad came
an avalanche of applications, aka apps.
Many that enhance one's social media experience.
I am blessed to be living with two teens that explore,
master and critique these apps at the speed of light.
From them I am tutored, warned and encouraged.

I have been wary of any more distractions from my studio practice;
however, by and by, social media and my dressproject were merging.
Worlds collide!! in a glorious way!

The messages of my dresstags were reaching more people,
and the dresstags were getting a following!
And social media is a perfect platform for my ephemeral dresses.
Real time documentation: now you see it, now you don't.

Today I experimented with the app, flipagram, which makes
cyber flip-books of  your photos.
Head exploding with the possibilities; videos of
#dresstags, #dresstagsabroad and #dailydressinspirations.

So see what you think, would love your thoughts!!
Peace