A Day of Art with Friends at the Mount Dora Arts Festival Feb 5, 2012

In looking at the numerology of 2012, a 5 year of freedom and discovery, I've made it a goal to travel more, whether it be short trips to discover more of Florida, or longer vacations to visit family and friends. Spending time investing in and enjoying my friends is important to me. So, yesterday, February 5, 2012, Theresa, Shirl and I ventured forth to spend the day at the 37th Annual Mount Dora Arts Festival. It was a 3-hr drive but we packed our car with water, fruit, chips and artichoke salad, and enjoyed the trip, not knowing what we would find when we got there.

We arrived in Mount Dora, which is about 30 miles NW of Orlando, just after noon on the 2nd day of the show and were surprised to discover the size and scope of the festival. It was huge and wonderful.

Artists from all over the country were there. I met Cindy McDougall, a jeweler from Fergus Falls, Minnesota where my mom and dad went to high school. Her husband, Jay (a wood sculptor) was there too. Small world. Another artist, Kirsten Walstead of SoMi Tileworks in Minneapolis makes beautiful artistic tiles.

One of my favorite art sculptors was Victoria Sexton who was selling her unusual sculptures (left) so fast I believe she sold out by the end of the day. She shares her current techniques here.

Greg and Mindy Rhoads, from Kansas, create intricate Mosaics (right) with words, quotes, and images, which I adore.

After hours of walking from booth to booth, and being inspired time and again with creative manifestations, the three of us took a break and walked down to the lake for a change of pace. We discovered the Lakeside Inn and talked about coming back to this festival again next year when we might stay overnight at the Inn and see more of the art in the 2-day festival. As it was, I believe I visited only about twenty-five percent of the booths. There was a lot more to see and experience that we didn't have time or energy for. I did take dozens of photographs throughout the afternoon which you can see on Flickr here.

Satisfied yet knowing there would be more adventure another time, we piled back into the car and began the journey home. All night my heart and head were filled with beautiful images of color and creativity, my dreams were vivid blessings, and I awakened this morning with joy. Such are the gifts of art and friendship.
- Raphaella Vaisseau

Cetacea by Theresa Foley - a Key West novel

Theresa Foley (of cat rescue fame), is my friend, my teacher (writing and hypnosis), and also a published author of five books, including Cetacea (my personal favorite), Love Prevails, and 3 collections of short stories by Key West authors. I've added Cetacea to my website or you can buy it on amazon.com. If you like Key West, dolphins, mystery books, and/or people making a difference, Cetacea is a good read. If you really love Key West, you may want to get all five of her books. Enjoy!!!

Whimzey - the magical cottage and studio of Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda in Safety Harbor, Florida

"Whimzey" - A self-described multi-colored, ever evolving, fantasmagorical gingerbread cottage and studio. Whimsical animal yard sculptures create the "Whimzoo", 500 bowling balls border flowerbeds, and it's home to the Bowling Ball Art Museum.

I was so enthralled when I found this town and its amazing magical houses in December, I'm planning regular return visits to see more and experience the ambience. View my Flickr slideshow of my latest journey there with friends. Kiaralinda was in her yard and invited us in. What a blessing!

To discover more information and pictures, visit Kiaralinda.com.

Earth Day 2009 - festivites at Oscar Scherer State Park

Heartful Art, Hypnosis Venice, The Key West Cat Society and The Venice Cat Coalition will celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 19th (10am - 5pm) at the 20th Annual Earth Day Festival at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, Florida.

FYI:

Earth Day is always observed on April 22. International Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox.

Reason We Celebrate Earth Day: To call attention to the environment.

History of Earth Day:
- Former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson was Earth Day's co-founder.
- The first Earth Day was in April 22, 1970.
- Senator Nelson got the name after reading about San Francisco’s Earth Day celebration which was held on March 21, 1970.

Cats, Cats, Cats

I'm loving being a Feline Foster Mom. Diana, my amber angel, is a sweet, sweet being. She's learning to trust me and getting to know how to hang out with me (right by my laptop where Muffy used to sit) while I work. We take breaks to play and I feed her yummy things as part of her taming-training.

The kittens are nine days old today. They can't walk very well yet, or hold up their heads for more than a few seconds at a time but they sure are cute!

Update on Foster Kittens and Princess Diana

What a great day. It's my birthday. First of all, I'm 62 this year so my social security checks start coming in June. Yippee!!!

Second, I am having a potluck party tonight to celebrate all of the new friends I've met since moving to the Gulf Coast of Florida six months ago. I'm celebrating my old friends as well. To quote an old girl scout song about making new friends and keeping the old: "One is silver and the other gold."

Third, Princess Diana, the 6 month old foster kitten who might be a permanent part of my family, came to me to ask for a treat today. She's been following me around for weeks but afraid to let me touch her or pick her up. Theresa Foley, of the Key West Cat Society, taught me that to "tame her up" I should sit with a towel on my lap and a feather or some yummy cat food in my hand and let her come to me to eat. Then I would touch her and pet her while she was eating. Well... it's working. Two days of that and today she made the connection. We'll keep up the training until she knows she can come to me for love and treats and I can enjoy her sweet presence close to me. She's also feeling more comfortable exploring the house.

Fourth, my little foster kittens are opening their eyes today - they are 8 days old. I'm so excited to see their little eyes. How precious they are.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Mother Cat Gives Birth at My House

This beautiful (and maybe exhausted) mommy arrived at my house last night for me to take care of her during her pregnancy. We figured it would be two weeks. But around 4 am this morning she began birthing the first of her four little kittens. All is well. The kitties are 12 hours old in this picture.

Theresa Foley and the Venice Cat Coalition

The Venice Cat Coalition (VCC) is a group of small cat rescue organizations working together to save the cats of Venice, Florida and nearby communities. The Key West Cat Society (KWCS), a 501 C3 non-profit, was founded by Theresa Foley to help outdoor, homeless, abandoned and feral cats and kittens primarily by means of spay-neuter and Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs. The two groups have trapped and fixed hundreds or cats in Key West and dozens in Venice. The Venice Cat Coalition was formed in 2008 to bring together trappers and colony caretakers working with feral cat colonies in South Sarasota County. Theresa's cat rescue organizations are involved in fostering kittens, finding permanent homes for adult cats and kittens, increasing the number of volunteer trappers, teaching members of the public to trap and spay-neuter the cats they feed on their property, and raise funds to pay for more surgeries for cats. Their mission is to "conduct the maximum number of spay-neuter of cats, primarily free-roaming outdoor cats, in the Venice-Englewood-Nokomis area of Sarasota County, and in Key West, Florida, as possible, with the objective of seeing cat euthanasia rates in Sarasota and Monroe Counties drop to 10% per year of all cats turned into or caught by shelters there by 2010."

Ah-Ha Moment at Theresa Foley's Writers' Group in Venice

Theresa Foley read a passage from p. 72 of The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron at last evening's Writer's Group in Venice, Florida.

"When I teach the concept of creative ceilings," writes Julia about what I had earlier that evening described as my own glass ceiling, "I often talk about Chicago, a city filled with old buildings that feature wonderful, high, ornate pressed-tin ceilings -- ceilings often obscured by a lower, "modern" Styrofoam ceiling. It used to be a game of mine to tap the panels of these Styrofoam ceilings (they weren't really solid) and see what glories they had hiding up above. In many ways, we are a lot like those buildings with the artificially low ceilings. The hidden gifts we believe to be far above our creative capacities are often merely obscured from our view. A tiny whisper of the gift may remain, tapping at our consciousness like a mouse scratching at the ceiling. When we hear the whispered wish of that gift, we say, "Oh, I could never do that! That's so far above my head...."

OMG. Immediately the Light dawned in my consciousness and I perceived the illusion of the ceiling and the gifts hidden above. That was my "Ah-ha" moment.

Like the writing practice I learned and loved from Natalie Goldberg's book about living the writer's life, Wild Mind, our next exercise in class was to write for six minutes about "The Gift". Here is my six-minute essay:

"The Gift" by Raphaella Vaisseau

How intriguing to visualize the hidden ceiling above the glass ceiling that I have felt so inadequate to crash through. Suddenly it felt light and airy up there, with smiling faces and cheering crowds who have been waiting for me to climb on up, jump up, rise up to be on a level I have held myself back from. I've known it was me all along, but still, nothing seemed to lift me above until now. I'm enjoying the effortlessness of it all, the floating, joyous feeling of ease and accomplishment I would have thought would come from hard work and breaking glass to force my way in, but the accomplishment that has a sense of knowing and a confidence and also has a joke about it. I'm falling into the arms of the wise ones, my guides and angels and all who have gone before me. It's a celebration and a party. I'm dancing now on what once was the glass ceiling I could not see above.