The little things that makes life wonderful

I woke up today feeling refreshed and peaceful. It's been a long time since I've felt this way and to tell the truth i really makes me happy to feel at peace with myself. It's like a butterfly who had just left its cocoon. I feel alive, reborn.

 

What I'm feeling inside is already being reflected in my physical self. I have clearer smoother skin, shinier hair, and my body no longer feels numb. I used to suffer from physical ailments like my arms and and shoulders aching or my legs being numb with pain. Today I no longer suffer and feel any pain. I feel free physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I'm taking my life one day at a time and I try to do the things I love since I now have time to do those. I may have lost my job last year but I actually think of it as a blessing. I feel as if I've been freed. Now I have more time to do photography, art and even dabble with a side business where I can have the opportunity to earn some money. So I'm not worried at all about my future. In fact I'm quite positive about it. 

One of the tings that I love to do right now is taking pictures of the things I see around me. My house is filled with plants and flowers. Gardening is my mother and late grandmother's passion so it's not surprising that our home is surrounded by a lot of trees, shrubs ad flowering plants. Birds of different kinds and sizes visit out place a lot. Today I saw a new species that I haven't seen before.

I wonder what kind of bird this is. It's not a Maya for sure. I'm thinking of making a painting of this bird. Let's see if I'll be able to do it.

Year-End Cleaning!

Year 2012 will be over soon and what better way to end the year than to create a new blog post. I know I haven't been blogging much but I want to try to blog more. I do hope that 2013 will be a better and more fruitful year. Here's to life and more blog posts!

I always clean my room during the last day of the year. It's a tradition that I've kept since I was small. There's something wonderful and magical about dusting off dirty furniture and wiping off grime from my belongings. In a way I also feel that I'm clearing away the bad vibes in my life and in turn welcoming the new year with positive vibrations.

I added something new above my bed. I just recycled an old calendar that I owned. I cut off lower portion with the dates and months then I used a long string to tie the pictures up in a row. It really looks pretty and interesting. I do think that it adds a bit of character to my room.

 

The photos remind me of old Polaroid pictures. The calendar featured different things and places in Tokyo. Which is something that I LOVE. I find the photos inspiring. I do hope that in this coming year 2013 I would be able to take wonderful photos like these too.

One of the things that I do love in my room would be the Owl Bag that my sister Larisa gave me. It's supposed to be used as a shoulder bag but I thought that it would be a cute addition to my room instead.

So here's my last post for the year. It's quite short but at least I was able to update! My wish for this new year is that I would be able to blog more and to share more photos. Let's see if I can do it :) Good luck and well wishes to me!

Finding Inspirations: New Potted Plant and Frankie Magazine

Nature is one of the best sources of inspiration. I absolutely love gardens, flowers, and different kinds of plants. I've grown up in a house that's surrounded by fruit bearing trees, flowering shrubs and beautiful orchids. Being around nature brings me peace and ideas.

In an attempt to make my work area more 'nature inspired', I bought a little potted plant from a local mall. The store claimed that it's a self-sustaining hydro culture plant and that its a cleaner, safer and better alternative to traditional soil-based indoor plants.

It's quite pretty. The plant came with a pink ceramic pot that blends well with my study table. The plant itself is quite tiny. It's hardly bigger than my table top calendar. It needs to be watered just twice a week. The instructions say that I only need to put 2 tablespoons of water. The special water-absorbent pebbles keeps the plant alive and keeps it pest free. What a wonderful and stress free way to take care of a plant! I'm thinking of buying two or three more to put around my room.

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Magazines are a huge source of inspiration for me. I'm an artist by heart and by career choice. As such, I need a steady supply of inspiration inducing materials around me. Most of the magazines that I collect are published in Japan. But these were brought from Australia, Singapore, online stores and even from some local stores.

Even if a lot of the magazines that I own are written and published in Japan, I still do have a one or two that are in English. One of the magazines that I really love is called FRANKIE.

Frankie Magazine is an Australian based publication that tackles design, art, photography, fashion, travel, music and crafts. It's a really pretty magazine that is filled with a lot of pretty pictures and interesting stories. 

Frankie is really different from the magazines that are sold here in my country. It's more artsy and, if I dare say, a bit more tongue and cheek. The pages are filled with wonderful commentary, beautiful artworks and even some recommendations to where to buy vintage and hand made clothes or crafts.

What I love about Frankie the most are the wonderful pictures. I love how the pictures are composed and stylized. I love the feel of the magazine. The magazine itself gives off a vintage yet modern aesthetic. With its clear cut layout and zen like photos, Frankie Magazine makes me think of care free summer days spent taking pictures with a camera. 

If you can buy Frankie Magazine at your local bookstore, please do so. Its a wonderful publication and I hope that it can inspire others as much as it inspired me. 

Art Inspirations: Life In A Bell Jar

Finding inspiration is very important to me as an artist. Often enough I find ideas by reading other artist blogs, looking at wonderful pictures taken by photographers all over the world, or just by plain surfing through the archives of Etsy.com.

I want to start blogging about the people who inspire me as an artist, people whom I believe needs to be recognized for their wonderful works of art. And as a start I would like to feature my sister's blog.

Here comes the mice!

LIFE IN A BELL JAR was started a year ago by my sister Larisa Feliciano. Her blog focuses on her craft of making hand made needle felting Mice and Gnomes and creating the tiny bell jar worlds where they reside in. She describes herself as 'a curator of teeny tiny universes'. 

The Bell Jar Village

There really is something magical about her craft.  She loves to create Mice and Gnomes made out of felt, wool and clay. It reminds me of the fairy tale books that we used to read when we were kids.

Strawberry Sam

The Frog Pond Symphony Orchestra

Her blog turned a year old just a few days ago so this feature is also a celebration of sorts. I'm really proud of my sister and her art. It makes me think that being artistic really runs in the family.

Oh by the way, she's also opening an Mice and Gnome Adoption Agency some time this year. Its still a work in progress but once its up and running please check out her Etsy account and feel free to purchase some cute critters. Each one of these creations would be one of a kind and definitely worth every penny.