Garden of Your Heart

Our studio garden is bursting with new life.  Frilled bonnets of ferns are peeking out, pointed party hats of hostas pierce the soil and peonies peel back the earth's canopy, unfurling themselves in a long leisurely stretch, presenting blooms of pink explosions that seem to say, "Ta-da! I'm here!  Oh, they're thrilled to stretch their leaves and live fully again!

Soon they'll be bearing "fruit".  

Glorious, vibrant flowers, filled with  aroma, fragrance and millions of seeds for future generations.  Their "fruit" always reflects the condition of the garden.  

Healthy garden = healthy flowers = healthy fruit.  

It's a simple formula and one that requires a bit of diligence on our part.   We have to keep the weeds out!

Weeds can be sneaky.  They look small and insignificant, but if left unattended they sap the very life of the garden. With weeds around, the fruit from the garden never matures fully, never develops into all that it can be and lives far below it's potential.

In the same manner, the gardens of our heart have to be clear of weeds. Those pesky, small and insignificant things that sap the life out of real living.  Things like anger, bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.  They stunt our growth and they just have to go! Sure, they can stay, but that garden of your heart, the essence of the real you, will never develop fully and you'll find yourself living far below your potential.  So, pull those "weeds" up! Let them be replaced by grace, forgiveness and a heart filled with gratitude.  It takes a little diligence, faith and the hand of God, reaching down, grabbing those gnarly roots and uprooting them forever... divinely removing their very memory and changing the landscape of your life.

Oh, the growth that can occur in a garden without weeds and a heart garden that's been touched by the hand of the Master gardener...clearing the ground of the heart and saturating it with buckets of love.

It's a total terrain transformation.  One that's followed by fragrance, real fruit and good seeds for future generations.

Healthy Heart = Healthy Life = Healthy Living

Tending the gardens of our hearts,

The Velvet  Lime Girls

Cherry Inspiration

  

The Rainier cherries brought a little sweet inspiration into our studio this week.  

These delicious cherries are in season  and when a beautiful bowl of them sat on our studio table we couldn’t resist photographing them. One in particular just seemed to be smiling a shiny smile that begged to be snapped up in a photo.

The photo led to further inspiration. Marybeth took one look at this bright faced fellow and broke out her dusty paints. He just had to be captured on canvas!  Here’s a peek at her first rough study that we’ll use as inspiration for upcoming artwork.  It’s a nice reminder that inspiration really is everywhere!

This simple photo has started a new movement in our studios.  We’ve been pulling out our sketchpads, watercolors, pastels and paints.  All because of a little cherry!

These delicate, soft blushing cherries are sweet reminders of how one creative idea often generates another creative idea.  A photograph initiated this little painting, but the original inspiration came from the Creator himself.  And a bowl of His freshly picked cherries is a sweet reminder of just how creative God really is.

  Right down to the last freckle faced cherry.

“…the whole earth is full of His shining-greatness.”  Isaiah 6:3

Nibbling on cherries,

                    The Velvet Lime Girls

Snapdragon Smiles

The snapdragons came back this summer. 

Normally they’re cool weather flowers that say hello in the spring, on long stretches of stalks that explode with popcorn heads of color.

 

We love them not only for their amazing shades, but, as every little child should know, because they “talk”.  It’s true.  Just gently squeeze one of those blossom puppet heads and you’ll soon have a lively conversation going on that is sure to please anyone who is young at heart.  They have such a great personality!

And they are funny.  Just ask a child who has learned how to make them talk and you’re sure to get a giggle.  Even adults smile.  And when you look at them real close, they seem to be laughing. Maybe it’s the popcorn like entrances or maybe they are just laughing at us making them “talk”.

Whatever they are laughing about, we were thrilled when they cheerfully arrived again in July and brought a smile to the garden.

They made us realize how much a cheerful outlook can change things.  It’s a secret source of smiles, just ask any snapdragon.  We think they may have embraced this little truth:

“A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face…”  Proverbs 15:13

 

Smiling...

laughing...

talking to  snapdragons,

Velvet Lime Girls

Mother's Day Artists

Some kids just have a joyful spark and touch your heart as soon as you meet them.  The young artists we are featuring today are two such people! Their creative expressions simply pulse with life, laughter and love.  Perfect sentiments for Mother’s Day!

These young artists, Madison and Katie, are the daughters of Marybeth Wydock, the creative art director at Velvet Lime Girls.  They began to show signs of their artistic DNA, passed on from their mother, at a very young age.  Here are a few of their early expressions.

Madison Wydock created the piece above, entitled, “Sunflower”.  Who would have imagined that a sunflower could explode with such vibrant color?  Looking through the eyes of a child can be so inspiring!  We love the color washes, the squiggles and the center section filled with circle details. (“Those are the seeds, silly”). We’ll never look at sunflowers again without thinking of Madison’s spectacular interpretation. It just makes you want to celebrate when your eyes are pulled into the party going on in the center of that flower… and then, dance around a bit with those salsa-style squiggles scattered around the petals. If you look at it too long, you may find yourself dancing around the room with a sunflower clenched between your teeth doing the rumba.  Watch out, this painting has passion.

Katie Wydock created this next piece above, entitled "Butterfly”.  You have to know Katie to really appreciate this piece.  Notice the smile on the butterfly.  It’s not just a normal smile.  It’s a larger than life, I’m- about- to–pop-out-of-my–skin-smile. (Or, out of my membrane, green shell or exoskeleton).  He’s grinning from ear to ear, or antenna to antenna, since they don’t really have ears, do they? He has to be the happiest little butterfly ever created and he seems to be holding a surprise.  He knows something you don’t know and he just can’t wait to tell you.  There’s a little flap down his side that opens! Really. A little slit that holds a secret message inside! His smile almost gave it away, but the kaleidoscope-colored wings filled with unimaginable patterns hold your eyes in fascination.  You just have to rest a bit on those wings before you open up this dimensional piece … those wings almost look illuminated. When you do open up that long green body, the sentiment inside gives the butterfly away.  He was really a love bug, with beautiful wings, carrying a message from the heart.  That’s what Mother’s Day is really all about anyway. Carrying messages of love from the heart.

Celebrating Mother’s everywhere,

Laura

Message inside Katie's butterfly.

Mother's Day Art

Rebecca Rhodes Ladikos.  Circa 1987.  Copyright RRL.

The next few days we’ll be featuring some of our favorite Mother’s Day artists.  The first two artists that are featured belong to that heart- warming group that mothers everywhere recognize. Children. Many mothers have artwork from this talented group gracing their walls and refrigerators.  Today’s selections come from a collection known as “our children”.  In my mind, they were the finest little artists around in the late '80’s and early '90's.

Our daughter Rebecca, did the first piece above, an explosion of vibrant colors in an expressive, watercolor palette, around the age of eight. The color combinations and styling hint at a future talent now showcased at Velvet Lime Designs, as she splashes us with color selections and ideas for artwork that inspires.

  

Caleb Rhodes. Circa 1991.  Copyright CR

Our son, Caleb, did the second piece, an architectural study in pencil and watercolor, at around the age of eight also.  The linear projections, lines and “scaffolding” reveal a passion for building structures that is now seen in his projects at Green Friendly Homes. http://www.greenfriendlyhomes.com/

We love creative expression around here and we’re especially fond of the ones made by children.  We’d love to see yours and share them with our friends!  So, send us a copy of your favorite little artist’s work to: info @velvetlimedesigns.com

Look for originals from Marybeth’s girls tomorrow!

Celebrating “our little works of art”,

Laura

Collateral Creativity

They say a bamboo forest springs up suddenly. But, long before any signs of growth or shoots appear, a flurry of activity occurs underground. A vast network of roots busies itself for years…connecting, knitting and weaving a strong support system that will become the foundation for amazing creations. The little root connections all work together, helping each other grow and in the process, they become the “seeds” of the skyscraper-sized potential hidden inside them. 

Their quiet connections become a framework for their future success.

That just how we felt today as we participated in the design seminar, Discovering Yourself As An Artist, at the Hudgens Center for the Arts, led by renowned artist, Kathy Fincher.  A lovely, diverse group of artists gathered and the creative connections began immediately, with Kathy weaving an informative seminar around each participant. (You know it’s a good talk when everyone completely forgets about lunch and looks up to see that 2:00 has arrived!)

How does such a diverse group of creatives connect so quickly? By having the right “growing” environment.  Instead of competition, there was a camaraderie and a willingness to share every professional and artistic piece of advice that could be passed on. An absolute abandonment to creative development seem to spread through the entire session and all of our artistic roots were well watered.

Insights from Kathy on developing a creative voice, art licensing, branding, and web development had many scribbling notes rapidly... and her personal story of discovering art was so moving,(see yesterday’s blog and video link). Our wrap up included a review of artwork and websites by some of the participants … “bamboo shoots” themselves, some large, some small, some undiscovered, but all being strengthened and celebrated by each other for the unique creativity they possess.  Just get ready for the silent explosion of artistic expression that will come from some of these “bamboo shoots” we met today! Wow. We hope to share photos of their work in future blogs.

All this time for connecting could be considered unnecessary.  Why not simply focus on creating  artwork?  Because, like the bamboo forest, these connections make you stronger, better and open up collateral creativity. The kind that just makes you explode with new ideas and inspiration.  That must be how bamboo shoots feel when, after five years of no visible growth, they shoot through their earth canopies with a skyscraper soar and grow up to 90’ in 6 weeks.  An astounding rate of growth only achievable with a strong, connective, supportive root system.  Imagine the possibilities with a supportive network of creative people!

So, go develop that root system of yours! There’s still time to catch a few of Kathy Fincher’s seminars before her show closes.  Call the Hudgens Center for the Arts for details, since these last seminars may not appear on the events calendar. http://thehudgens.org/?page_id=42

Feeling quite creatively nourished, 

The Velvet Lime Girls

His Only Son

It’s Easter Sunday today. A highlight in our year. We’ve been busy meeting our design submission deadlines for Easter themed products with images of bunnies, eggs, and flowers dressed in pastel colors. We love these light-hearted themes with their fun traditions and memories of childhood, but we hold in our hearts the real message of Easter.

It’s not a pastel colored message … it’s a vivid, piercing, bold color of love message that wraps itself around anyone who will receive it. A love that is so giving and far-reaching that it cannot be expressed from a color wheel or even from the entire light spectrum in our universe.

It’s a celebration message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A new life has been made available to us, a way to an eternal relationship with God, because the shed blood of Jesus paid the penalty for sin that separated us from God. The full story can be found in the Bible.

What must it have been like when God chose to give his son … his only son, to a world He loved? This watercolor that hangs in our studio is our constant reminder of God’s great love.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Celebrating Easter and reminding you that you are so loved by God,

The Velvet Lime Girls

P.S. “His Only Son” – a watercolor study by a young student, James Rhodes, in 1974. When photographed for this blog, the flash accidently reflected off of the “heart.”

Pat the Bunny

Bunnies … we’re thinking about them all the time as we’ve worked on a recent design submission. Our finished product looks nothing like the source of our inspiration, pictured above, but the design roots are found in the slightly stained and matted fur of an old Pat the Bunny, owned by Madison, Marybeth’s 13 year old daughter.

This bunny is named “Big Bunny” and he was originally white when he first came into Madison’s life at age two. Other than having a slight fragrance issue (he’s been spared the indignity of a bath in a washing machine... they just wreak havoc on long ears), he’s a true Velveteen Rabbit story, for sure. “Big Bunny” was posing for Marybeth in the photo above, so she could get a general feel for sketching a large bunny design. Maggie, the reluctant bystander dog, was not impressed at all and refused to cooperate with any photo styling tips. Absolutely refused. We think she was wondering why SHE wasn’t picked as a drawing model.

Our final design was worth all the effort and numerous “propping -ups” that Big Bunny had to endure. Modeling can be so exhausting when you’re a gracefully aging bunny. We’re glad to say that Big Bunny had a good night’s sleep after our photo shoot … safe in the arms of Madison, who still sleeps with him every night.

So, to all Pat the Bunny fans, no matter what shade your bunny may be...give them a hug today.

The Velvet Lime Girls

Madison & Big Bunny:

Blossom Inspiration

This is the view outside of the Velvet Lime Girls studio. Today is Tuesday and we're in the midst of our weekly design, create, dream session and we just couldn't resist sharing a little piece of our world. We always say that "inspiration is everywhere" and these cherry blossoms sashaying in the breeze are fanning that thought over and over. Oh, we wish you could be here.
Standing underneath a cherry tree in full bloom and looking up into it's snowy canopy, laden with white petals that turn a slightly softer shade of pink with each passing second, is pure springtime bliss. Humming from the heart just spontaneously happens here.
So "stand" under the canopy with us today through our photos and let your creative side breathe in some inspiration. If a slight urge to hum overtakes you ... just go with it.

Humming in our hearts,
The Velvet Lime Girls

Tangerine Tango

Last summer the zinnias had a festive little party in our flower garden. Dancing around in vibrant luminescent colors from an ethereal palette, they put on a show stopping performance and we couldn’t resist snapping a photo for color inspiration.

The tangerine zinnia right in the middle, sizzled with creative color and we began to dream of ways to include this shade in our future art collections. Wow, what inspiration one color can bring! Imagine our surprise, in January, when we read that tangerine had been selected as the new color of the year for 2012! Great minds think alike!!! Pantone named the 2012 color pick, Tangerine Tango, and we think it describes our zinnia shade quite well. For a little more color inspiration visit: http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/category.aspx?ca=88

With tangerine tango smiles,

The Velvet Lime Girls

Daphne Life

It’s the dead of winter. Flower beds are forlorn and forgotten, trees are stripped to skeleton sticks and the landscape is zipped up in a winter coat of frost. The garden has a cold shiver to it that seems to have snatched away all movement and stilled any life among things green. Is anything even alive out there? Can this garden live again? At first glance, it seems impossible that anything could grow, and yet, in my father’s garden, a burst of flowers has appeared. A wintery bouquet has come to life, sporting a creamy pink blush and a fragrance that envelopes, surrounds and chases you down in the garden. There’s no escape from its permeating presence. It wraps itself around everything in the garden and seems to shout out loud, “I’m flourishing! I’m alive!” New life has come into what appeared to be dead. If you inhale the heady aroma of a daphne odora in full bloom in the cold depths of February, it will take your breath away and make you believe in miracles again. You’ll realize that new life can come out of things that look as if they’re all dried up. Perhaps you’re walking through a dead of winter season with only dry bones on the landscape of your life. If so, let this daphne bush, that flowers and flourishes in winter, encourage you to remember that new life can be breathed into the most barren of landscapes. It’s a truth echoed in a story found in Ezekiel 37. Take a moment to read it and you’ll find new life being breathed into your circumstances. It will make you want to jump up and shout to the “dry bones” in your life to “Live again!” 

“I’ll breathe new life into you and you’ll live” Ezekiel 37:14

Laura 

P.S. A special thanks to my father, Clarence Skinner, for his photograph of the fragrant daphne blooming in his garden ...in February.

SHINE BRIGHT

“The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” Proverbs 4:18

This proverb was the inspiration behind our sunflower artwork and with the sun shining bright in Atlanta today, it’s a promise that is warming our hearts.

We had originally used a translation of this proverb with the expression of living life in a brighter and brighter manner, because of our right standing, our connection with God, made available all because of His Son, Jesus. Today, when we read the Message translation, we glowed with a new illuminated insight. We felt like little lightning bugs pulsing with the presence of God within us.

Warm little lights glowing brighter and brighter and shining the longer they live. That’s God’s description of how our lives should be. Wow, it’s enough to give you a hot flash even if you’re not a woman.

We hope you feel the warmth in our new, slightly revised sunflower. We’re only able to give you a peek, to protect our original work. For a fuller view visit http://www.paintedplanetlicensing.com/velvet-lime-girls.html

Shine bright today,

The Velvet Lime Girls