Bella Donna

This week we’re talking about art—and I have to admit it’s a topic I can get pretty excited about.

I’m an art lover—have been for a very long time. I grew up in a family with a healthy appreciation of the arts, and have vivid memories of my very first painting class that my parents enrolled me in somewhere around age 7 or 8.

I remember the thrill of squeezing colorful tubes of acrylics onto my palette—the rush of putting brush to canvas—eagerly creating still lifes, and sunsets, and paintings of Eeyore, Tiger, Piglet, and Poo holding various contemplative poses as they enjoyed those still lifes and sunsets.

And while my pictures never quite captured the image I held in my head (okay, they weren't even remotely close to the image I held in my head!), the excitement of creating something from nothing was enough to sustain me.

So, while visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico last week--a research trip for my upcoming SOUL SEEKERS series--I was thrilled to make another visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. She’s always been a hero of mine—as much for her beautiful images, as for the daring way in which she lived her life.

Taught in art class to mimic what all the other prominent (mostly male) artists were doing at the time- she grew so frustrated, she almost gave up. Lucky for us, she prevailed, and left behind not only a large collection of stunning images, but eleven years after her death had a museum dedicated to her—the only museum in the world dedicated to an internationally known American female artist!

Georgia O'Keefe

1887 - 1986

“I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew to strip away what I had been taught.” Georgia O’Keefe, 1935

So tell me--what sort of art and/or artists inspire you??

peace * love * joy

Alyson

Tweet

Vacations

Here in Utah, we're starting to get glimpses of spring, and many of us are looking forward to vacations. I feel especially lucky this year because I get to travel quite a bit starting next month.



1. First, we are going to Maui, Hawaii. This is where my husband and I went on our honeymoon many moons ago and we're looking forward to bringing our boys. I'm not sure how things will work out (we're going with my husband's family--8 adults and 7 kids) but I'd love to scuba dive if at all possible. If not, snorkeling is fun too.

2. Then, with summer comes weddings and I have two big ones coming up in June. First, my cousin is getting hitched in Carlsbad, NM. I've never been there and I hear great things about the Carlsbad Caverns. We'll be driving from Denver and stopping in one of my favorite places, Santa Fe, en route.

3. Next, my dad is getting married the very next weekend. The only thing is, they can't decide exactly where (Texoma? Kansas? Texas?), so I'm on hold.

4. Come July, my mom, husband, 3 boys, and I are all heading up to Alaska. I've been lucky enough to go a few times, but my sons and Mom haven't been, so I'm looking forward to showing the beautiful state to them.

5. After a quick trip to Idaho with some friends from Colorado, I'll head to Nashville, Tennessee for the RWA National Conference. I'm really excited because I've never been there.






I haven't organized my book tour quite yet, but since Lifted comes out June 8, I'm sure I'll have some little side trips wedged in there, too. So! Enough about me! Do you have any fun travel plans coming up? If so, we'd love to hear about them. And if not, what are some of your favorite vacation destinations?

Tweet