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felecia_babb

Writer, illustrator, speaker, gardener

Buoyancy. Buoyancy is an upward thrust of fluid t

Buoyancy.

Buoyancy is an upward thrust of fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. (Thank you Wikipedia)

This leads us to Archimede's Principle: an object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.

When the weight of the world weighs you down, what buoys you up? For whom are you the Principal Buoyant Force (PBF*) equal to the weight of the world in Archimede's scheme?

Off you go now to ponder. Me? I'm joining these oak leaves floating in inky, black, cold water, looking the sky in the eye, and pondering the wonders of buoyancy.

*PBF, I made this up to make myself feel smarter, funnier, and better looking.

#natureshot #naturephoto #naturephotograph #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #photoillustration #Createdaily #Alliseeispretty #gameoftones #photo #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #midwestartist #myartstyle #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #bloominglovely #ipulledoverforthis #signatureshots #fallfoliage #autumnvibes🍁 #earth_shotz

Home. I come from a place of loamy ground, in wh

Home.

I come from a place of loamy ground, in which plant roots sink miles, reaching, sinking, looking for water to tide them over through wind, bleaching sun, and drought.

And so it amazes me when home for others is rocky ground, where roots lie exposed to rain and wind and the vagaries of life.

Where ever the universe plants us, there is a way to survive, thrive, live.

May you find your nourishing way.

#poetrylovers #cumberlandplatue #cumberlandplateautn #mandala #mandalaart #mandala_art #mandalasharing #natureshot #naturephoto #naturephotograph #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #photoillustration

When despair for the world grows in me and I wake

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry, The Peace of the Wild Things.

May the peace of the wild still your soul.

#poetrylovers #cumberlandplatue #cumberlandplateautn #mandala #mandalaart #mandala_art #mandalasharing #natureshot #naturephoto #naturephotograph #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #photoillustration

"Sometimes I think the work and grace of this time

"Sometimes I think the work and grace of this time is to make of our hearts maternal vessels wide and deep enough to cradle all of it: the sorrow, beauty, shame, tenderness, hurt, redemption, and resolve." Lindsay McLaughlin, A Prayer for the Threshold.

May you cradle all of the world to yourself with grace, compassion, and love.

#natureart #naturepainting #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #watercolorillustration #watercolorsketch #topcreator #watercolorsketch

"There are, on this planet alone, something like t

"There are, on this planet alone, something like two
million naturally occurring sweet things,
some with names so generous as to kick
the steel from my knees: agave, persimmon,
stick ball, the purple okra I bought for two bucks
at the market. Think of that." Ross Gay, Sorrow is Not My Name

May the sweet things of this world bless you today.

Oak Leaves, unidentified red leaves, a hickory nut from the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee.

#poetrylovers #cumberlandplatue #cumberlandplateautn #mandala #mandalaart #mandala_art #mandalasharing #natureshot #naturephoto #naturephotograph #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #photoillustration

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Norm

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

Normally I'd spend today planning out the preparations for next week's feast. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it centers on gathering those you love together for feasting and merry making. This year there are no plans for gathering. I'm mourning the loss of my expectations.

My loss is small. The news is full of people wondering where their next meal is coming from, how they will pay the rent, or make payroll. I watched a man on the news keen over his dead parents as the toll from this relentless pandemic rises.

The news is also full of doctors, nurses, and pastors who love the person right in front of them in desperate need of care. They do this without a litmus test of the person. They don't test things like: Was this person a responsible mask wearer? Are they well loved by their family? How do they vote in elections?

They love and care. Day after day, hour after hour.

We often think of love in it's full, blushing glory, the lovers holding hands, the new mother caressing her newborn. We don't often think of nitty-gritty love. The care for the sick and spiritually wounded.

I counted my chickens too early. I mapped out plans for this week which are all upended. And still gratitude and thanksgiving pour in as I watch those skilled and able show me how to love in the most audacious, impossible ways.

May all your eggs hatch in audacious, impossible ways.

#natureart #naturepainting #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #watercolorillustration #watercolorsketch #topcreator

Cud Chewing Creativity requires a certain amount

Cud Chewing

Creativity requires a certain amount of stuck-in-the-mud wheel spinning, grinding failure. Yesterday I had a really simple idea: paint a single snowflake. Sometimes the simpler the idea, the more difficult the execution.

When I first started the creative journey, I thought these kinds of failures were confirmation that this path wasn't my path. If you struggle with failure on your path to living a creative life, it's good to know you aren't alone. It's not a message to turn back, quit, give-up. It's validation that you are growing, alive, vital.

I find it helpful to wander out to the countryside and watch a cow chew her cud on days like this. She's perfectly content in her pasture, chewing, enjoying the weather--sunshine or rain. That's creative life. We chew, over and over, on an idea, whatever the emotional weather.

May you find interesting ideas to chew today.

Cud Chewing

Creativity requires a certain amount of stuck-in-the-mud wheel spinning, grinding failure. Yesterday I had a really simple idea: paint a single snowflake. Sometimes the simpler the idea, the more difficult the execution.

When I first started the creative journey, I thought these kinds of failures were confirmation that this path wasn't my path. If you struggle with failure on your path to living a creative life, it's good to know you aren't alone. It's not a message to turn back, quit, give-up. It's validation that you are growing, alive, vital.

I find it helpful to wander out to the countryside and watch a cow chew her cud on days like this. She's perfectly content in her pasture, chewing, enjoying the weather--sunshine or rain. That's a creative life. We chew, over and over, on an idea, whatever the emotional weather.

May you find interesting ideas to chew today.

"I hear and behold God in every object, yet unders

"I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least." Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

May you hear and behold the universe and all its delights.

#natureartwork #natureartist #natureartsoul #naturepainting #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #wisewords #wisewomen #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #rilkequotes #rilke #midwestartist #myartstyle #gardenart #birdsbutterfliesandblooms #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #bloominglovely #alliseeispretty

Jane Hirshfield’s splendid poem “The Weighing”:

"So few grains of happiness
measured against all the dark
and still the scales balance."

#naturelover #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #houseportrait #midwestartist #iowaart #iowaartist #alliseeispretty #beautyundermynose #inpraiseofslowness #slowlittlelife #birdsbutterfliesandblooms #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #memmentosofmine #illustration #illustrators #illustratedstory #inspiring_watercolors

Beginnings Ever taken that first shaky step towar

Beginnings

Ever taken that first shaky step towards some new skill? The older we get the more we invest in our competence and the less we're willing to embrace aquiring new skills.

We use lots of excuses to cover up our unwillingness to experiment, to fail, to feel small. "It's too late for me.", "I'm no good at (fill in the blank).", "It will take years to learn."

A friend told me yesterday, "The first step is deciding to do it. That step stops most people. "

Whatever your heart longs to try, may you take that first step.

#watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #houseportrait #midwestartist #iowaart #iowaartist #alliseeispretty #beautyundermynose #inpraiseofslowness #slowlittlelife #birdsbutterfliesandblooms #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #memmentosofmine #illustration #illustrators #illustratedstory #inspiring_watercolors

Mechanically Competent I'm adding a new line to m

Mechanically Competent

I'm adding a new line to my resume. Today I removed the flat tire on my wheelbarrow, took it to the repair shop, and put it back on.

This after three or four years of blowing the tire up each time I wheeled it out of the garden shed because I so dreaded the whole "ordeal" of figuring out how to get the wheel off, finding a repair shop, and reattaching the wheel.

I decided 2021 is going to be a different kind of year. One in which the minor irritations of 2020 under my control get fixed.

I'm feeling rather smug with a wheelbarrow ready to face spring 2021.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

#watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #wisewords #wisewomen #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #midwestartist #myartstyle #gardenart #birdsbutterfliesandblooms #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #bloominglovely #alliseeispretty #everydayart #everydayartist #everydayartwork

Summer rolled out on the rail yesterday and took d

Summer rolled out on the rail yesterday and took daylight with her.

We're down to less than 10 hours of daylight today and winter's cold and rain have descended.

Let the quiet time descend, blanketing us in silence and stillness.

#naturephoto #trainphoto #trainphotograph #lookslikefilm #wisewords #wisewomen #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #midwestartist #myartstyle #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #bloominglovely #alliseeispretty #ipulledoverforthis #signatureshots #fallfoliage #autumnvibes🍁 #earth_shotz

Last Day Forecasters say this is the last in a st

Last Day

Forecasters say this is the last in a string of lovely late autumn days.

Prince Charming and I made the most of these sweet days with bike rides, kayaking and hiking. I abandoned the studio for a few last days of sunshine, fresh air, and joy.

May you circle and circle until you arrive home again, bedded in the ground of delight.

#natureart #naturepainting #fallphoto #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #photooftheday #topcreator_art
#photoshoot #fallphotoshoot #naturephoto #naturephotoshoot

"The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater

"The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things." Rainer Maria Rilke

When we stumble, or lie face down in the rubble of our ambitions, may we see the glory in our effort. May we rise humbled and wiser for our next endeavor.

#natureart #naturepainting #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #wisewords #wisewomen #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #rilkequotes #rilke #midwestartist #myartstyle #gardenart #birdsbutterfliesandblooms #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #bloominglovely #alliseeispretty

A friend commissioned me to paint this house portr

A friend commissioned me to paint this house portrait for her neighbors who were downsizing out of their beloved home.

Last week the painting went to its forever owners. This painting was commissioned, executed and received in love. Such a privilege to be part of that loop.

Whatever your role today, may you do it whole heartedly with great love.

#watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #houseportrait #midwestartist #iowaart #iowaartist #alliseeispretty #beautyundermynose #inpraiseofslowness #slowlittlelife #birdsbutterfliesandblooms #bloominglovely #forprettysake #gameoftones #lookslikefilm #makehomematter #memmentosofmine #illustration #illustrators #illustratedstory #inspiring_watercolors

Monday faces. Because it's Monday before the craz

Monday faces.

Because it's Monday before the craziness of Tuesday's election. I want to believe in the goodness and morality of all my fellow Americans, and yet, I have doubts.

These are the faces of doubt. Because we have to hold both our collective light and dark, our hope's and fears, our belief and unbelief.

Let us wrestle fiercely with doubt, let us find our voices and our way. Let us vote, trusting our election officials as fair an impartial.

#vote2020 #vote #voteart #dailydoodle #dailyartwork #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #createdaily #pencildrawing #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #artofinstagram #artist_sharing #instadrawing #myartwork #illustration #art_spotlight #midwestartist #iowaart #iowaartist #pencilsketches #observationaldrawing

"Let your soul stand cool and composed before a mi

"Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes." Walt Whitman

#wanderlust #goofingoff #photooftheday #creativityeveryday #createdaily #prophetsandpoets #worldofartists #whimsicalart #mindfullifestyle #beautyundermynose #inpraiseofslowness #slowlittlelife #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #paintingfun #writersblock #soulwriter #midwestartist #watercolor_illustrations #winsorandnewton #watercolorillustration #watercolorsketch #topcreator #watercolour_gallery #artnerd

Friction. Today everything seems to have an extra

Friction.

Today everything seems to have an extra once of friction. Everything I touch goes off the rails. The dishwasher broke, Prince Charming and I had words, not strong words, but words which took an incredibly long time to say, I had technical issues between my computer and scanner. All this before breakfast!

Life has a lot of friction, some days more than others. When I forget that friction polishes, gives us traction, helps us fly; I'm losing sight of both reality and hope.

May friction provide you with traction, make you soar, polish your soul.

#natureart #naturepainting #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #watercolorillustration #watercolorsketch #topcreator

Two new notecards in my Etsy shop today. They come

Two new notecards in my Etsy shop today. They come as a bundle of six blank note cards with envelopes. Find them here: https://www.etsy.com/…/FeleciaBabb…/tools/listings/880171118

Standing still. Scientists say we have 60,000 to

Standing still.

Scientists say we have 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts each day. In the face of such rich abundance, I struggle focusing.

Nature's flash freeze this week reminds us of the beauty and peace of stillness.

This, lovelies, is the rich ground of a sweeter, simpler, more satisfying life. Even if from the outside it looks like standing still.

Many cares pull at our attention.

May we find our center of stillness as storms, fires and sickness rage around us.

Peace be with you.

#natureart #naturepainting #watercolor #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolor_blog #watercolorart #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #createdaily #slowlittlelife #storytellings #visualstoryteller #illustratenow #illustratedstory #midwestartist #artforbreakfast #artforthesoul #naturewriter #naturewriting #watercolorillustration #watercolorsketch #topcreator

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