"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."
~Eleonora Duse~
(click on any photo to enlarge for better viewing)
It is no secret that I adore the natural world and all things nature related. I was thrilled to have recently won two fantastic nature inspired works of art from two equally fantastic artists!
I have been gathering some items to put together a little nature inspired vignette in the corner of our family room and can't wait to integrate both these wonderful pieces into my little nature nook! I love how both of these blend well with the sepia look I want in this vignette. Here it is all in a muddle, a work in progress:
I picked up this sweet framed print for $1.00 this week!
I received this awesome painting from Rita of phthalo blue. Rita is a graphic artist who shares about art, poetry, culture, and daily life on her blog. I am so extremely in love with this darling little bird painting! Thank you so much Rita, this little painting has me all twitter~pated!
I also received this spectacular nature assemblage from none other than my favorite feather nester friend Dawn! I am so doing the happy dance. I have been trying to purchase a piece of her work and it is snapped up as soon as she gets it made. Dawn, THIS is now my favorite book on my shelves, thank you so much.
You might or might not remember, it's been so long, when I started a mixed media nature collage featuring a watercolor of a blue bird on a background of vintage sheet music.
I originally intended this to be a sweet collage featuring a nursery rhyme but as often happens once I picked it up, it took off in its own direction. Here is the finished project:
The base of this piece is a scrap of foam core covered in vintage sheet music. After reading this line as a caption in a magazine I knew it would be perfect for this collage. Dried rose petals and bark, snippets of old lace, vintage shell buttons, and a little wooden bunny surround the caption.
Torn decorative paper strips, stamped butterfly, and a vellum flowering bulb grace the right side of the piece. The bottom of the piece is finished off with a row of vintage crochet lace, a corsage pin holds another snippet of lace and colorful button in place. The twig hanger is wired to old rusty square tacks. The copper wire ends are spiraled into trendles.
The handmade suede branch is textured with bits of handmade paper. Leaves cut from a scrap of vintage velvet adorn the branch tips. A little rubber stamped nest rests on the branch.
This is my favorite part of the whole piece, the handmade branch with the little nut cradle! I love the vine curly cues and the fat speckled egg resting inside!
An embellished shipping tag hangs from the branch and illustrates the caption of sleeping in the garden. The background of the tag is painted, layered over the background is a row of roses from a vintage greeting card, a textured natural grass wallpaper, a copy of a vintage postcard, crochet lace, and a little copper jewelry piece topped off with snips of paper. 
I think this one is a keeper, at least for now. In other nature news here at the Quill, the jonquils are in bloom!!!
I found this little bouquet blooming at the edge of the east woods near the bramble where the cardinals are building a nest. I wondered how they got there so far away from house. Perhaps Mrs. Red Bird planted them there to brighten her front stoop!
And the robins are running rampant!!! 
Yesterday, when I opened the shades, my yard was teaming with an entire flock of these beauties. I let the door swing softly open and stood in the chill of the early morning air listening to their happy chirps.
They were rustling through the dried leaves, pitching them up in the air as they scratched the damp earth underneath hoping to find a lucky worm.
Over the next few days I will be doing what this little robin is doing, looking for signs of spring!
My soul is alive at the thought of spring! Have you seen any signs yet?Blessings,
Miss Sandy
