watercolor – StyleNectar

a peek inside my moleskine notebook

How about a few random, quick sketches from my Moleskine notebook today? I'm working on overcoming my fear of vulnerability and being that my sketchbooks feel private it seems a decent place to start. I stopped using pencil/eraser/charcoal long ago as I can't stand the contagious smear-factor & eraser confetti. Always pen. Fast. Energetic. No erasing.

Hmmm… Two topics are coming up: Art as it relates to life

&

An update on one of the series of experiments in the adventure of my life.

Art as it relates to life: I'm usually repelled by the latest bandwagon, preferring to take the path that speaks to my true nature. When things become too popular it's as if they lose their authenticity. But see, i'm already off-topic. And that's ok. Simply because it's not ok. So. What draws me to art is not only my history with it, having grown up drawing & painting as the daughter of an artist, but even more so, the ability art has to teach me presence. My second lesson (yes, I know, I skipped the 1st) in presence took place back in college. Though, at the time, I didn't realize I'd discovered 'presence' per se, just that I loved the experience more than anything else in the world…

There i'd stood for hours in the studio of the empty art building, late at night. floor-to-ceiling windows filled with dark evening, tall against the bright studio light. time had ceased. i'd been set free. one with brush, paint, the world, my canvas. nothing mattered. no problems. there was only purity. peace. love. gratitude.

I remember practically floating home to our off-campus house. Filled with joy. I'd found my life's calling!

I realize now that it doesn't matter what I do. It's not what but how. I suppose if I had to put it in terms of do, I want to… spend my life in presence. And for some lucky reason, painting has the capacity to illustrate that for me- what presence is. It's letting go. A freedom and easiness. Not trying hard. A commitment through simply showing up. Most importantly it has nothing to do with me. In fact, I learn how to get out of the way. I learn this through meditation also. And sometimes, yet rarely, through conscious choice no matter what I'm doing.

I'd like to continue to be a lot more open on StyleNectar, about things that really matter to me. Perhaps I'll share a poem and it will go unoticed by the masses. that's ok. Perhaps those readers who look forward to my healthed-up cupcakes will yawn at my favorite choral piece. No, I still don't think I'm going to begin photographing my food with tea-towels on a rotating variation of wood slabs. Yes, my photos will mostly be taken at dinnertime, after the natural light of day has unfortunately passed, when we're starving and just want to eat our food rather than wait for me to take pictures of it until it gets cold:-) No, probably no instagrams either.

I'm going to be me. Not that I haven't been. But I'm constantly growing and this blog is going to reflect that.

What was the other topic- I've already forgotten:-) Oh yes, An update on one of the series of experiments in the adventure of my life. As you may recall, this summer we launched head first into a Raw, Vegan lifestyle. It makes a person feel amazing! However, now that the weather is cooling and I've figured out just how much time it takes to strictly follow a raw, vegan lifestyle, I'm shifting to a nutritarian lifestyle. Basically, it's the same thing, just allowing for cooked food too! I'll share more on this later.

Until next time, here are a few quick sketches from my Moleskine which I may be turning into paintings one day soon. Oddly, the 1st two are my faves, yet they ended up posting incredibly tiny in an unfairly shrunken & sparse representation:-) If you're so inclined, feel free to click on them for a larger, better view.

I'll continue sharing a few pages here & there going forward.

xoxo

~juliane

sandy path to Madeket Beach, Nantucket, summer 2012.

some dunes, sand & ocean. Madaket Beach. Nantucket, summer 2012.

overlooking the front yard, driveway & woods, summer 2012.

partial view of cast iron urn of pansies on front steps. fall 2012.

sitting on the front steps. fall 2012.

Are you a meditator? If so, how did you get started?

Or, simply tell me what's going on with you so we can share your in your journey!

Art, Music, Style

A Wrinkle in Time, Magic at the World Class Cleveland International Piano Competition

Fourth Prize Winner Kyu Yeon Kim; Third Prize Winner Eric Zuber; Second Prize Winner Alexey Chernov; First Prize Winner Alexander Schimpf, Photo by Roger Mastroianni

The Cleveland International Piano Competition is a ten-day marathon of musical performances in which 30 of the world’s greatest, young, concert pianists compete all day in front of live audiences and an international jury. Held each year at Severance Hall, one of the world’s most beautiful concert halls and home of the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the competition is the epitome of extreme challenge and competition. At the end of each round the jury votes, advancing a number of pianists until the final round of four competitors. The final four then perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, after which the $50,000 Grand Prize winner is announced. The Winner’s Recital, which I had the pleasure of attending with my family, is held the following day.

Watching the brilliant performances alongside my family, for whom music is a deeply woven bond, was an emotionally charged experience to say the least! I’d have equipped myself with a smart supply of tissues had I known each and every pianist would take me to the point of fighting back tears. However, it was the passion of Eric Zuber’s performance of Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10 Nos. 1, 3, 5, 8 & 12 that had the power to bring those tears down my cheeks and seemed to suspend time itself.

I’m from a family of musicians. My parents are both amateur pianists. Both my grandmothers were also. Back in the late 1940’s you would have found my Grandma Hazel accompanying the Cleveland youth ballet at the piano in their studios at the top floor of the IBM building downtown. Meanwhile, halfway across the country, Grandma Orene, a third grade teacher, was teaching children piano lessons after school in her home.

It’s no surprise, decades later, the music of my parents playing the baby grand Steinway overflowed every room of my childhood home on a daily basis, reaching the far corners of the basement to the highest rooms in the attic. Mom, a highly disciplined person, (and phenomenal visual artist), practiced two hours each morning, while our father accompanied family sing-a-longs and joined in duets with my sister (violin) and me (flute). When he played alone, he often favored Chopin; and as an adult I’d never found anyone who came close to capturing the passion of Chopin like my father does. Until that is, I heard Mr. Eric Zuber’s performance…

My heart broke open, magically suspended on a wrinkle in time between those childhood memories, of listening to my father perform the very same pieces, and the present, seated beside him decades latter, that Sunday afternoon of the International Piano Competition Finale.

Please share with me, a taste of Eric Zuber performing Chopin below…

Summary of Top Award Winners
First Prize: Mr. Alexander Schimpf of Germany $50,000
Second Prize: Mr. Alexey Chernov  of Russia $25,000
Third Prize: Mr. Eric Zuber of the United States $15,000
Fourth Prize: Ms. Kyu Yeon Kim of South Korea  $10,000

Severance Hall, Gestural Pen & Ink on Lanaquarelle Paper by Juliane Porter

Art, Style

Edible Flowers

Nasturtiums have a lovely minty flavor
Nasturtiums and Pansies are wonderful additions to your veggie garden! They'll add hits of gorgeous color to your plots and Nasturtiums will even ward off many pests. Best of all…

They're also edible!

Flowers in the Viola Family, such as Pansies (and Violets) have a faint minty flavor. The flowers and leaves of Nasturtiums have a peppery watercress tinge. Toss their brightly hued flowers on top of a salad or include as a pretty touch on an al fresco dinner plate.

Two simple ways to Live Beautifully!

Pot of Pansies, Quick, gestural watercolor on Winsor Newton Paper (Click image for better, larger view)

Art, Style

City Streets

Our recent warm, sunny weather and a case of spring fever inspired a trip to the city and this quick watercolor of the busy streets. (16″ x 12″ on Winsor Newton paper)

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Art, Style

Lighting Event

We were on the edge of our seats guessing at the winner in the dessert round on Chopped, when our power went out. Heavy, wet snow had been rapidly accumulating to the measure of about 6 inches per hour so we weren’t terribly surprised. But wait, what was that orangey-blue-red glow flickering outside?

Our entire yard, then neighborhood, lit up in 360 for as far as the eye could see… what the heck was going on? Was our roof on fire? What should we do? We soon realized the five minute mega light show was courtesy of two fallen power lines.

Followed by a very cold and uncomfortable three days without power.

Should one be taking anything for granted, there’s nothing like the absence of life’s basic necessities to put things back into perspective:-) So I dedicate this post to light!

I love the warmth and coziness various lighting options provide. Carrying on a tradition from childhood, we enjoy eating by candlelight every evening at dinnertime. Tiny stained-glass night-lights pave the way in the kitchen and upstairs near the guest room. Wintertime window candles and tiny lamps cheer up otherwise dark corners at night. For parties, I light tons of miniature glass votives on all the windowsills and transoms, and I add hurricane lanterns going up the stairs for ambiance.

There are infinite ways to utilize lighting creatively within your decor. Here are a couple of my paintings (watercolors on Winsor Newton paper) and photos illustrating a few fav’s from my home.

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