Dana Point Sunset- by Harford County Artist

Please click for a larger view of this scene

About this image- It is about this time of year when I start yearning for the sea. The salty water, the rhythmic waves, the cycle of water meeting land. The sun rising or setting over the horizon. There is something about returning to the very basic elements, earth, wind, water, and fire. All of those can be absorbed when standing on the shore. This panoramic was taken in California at Dana Point. If anywhere can be close to heaven on earth, this place, with its almost perfect weather, has to be it. One day I will go back and put my feet on this rock again. One day.

Things are moving along with the planning of the May 5th Ticked Off- Lyme Disease Awareness Event. I received over 50 prints yesterday from the art printer. Now starts the selection process of which ones will be hanging and which ones will be matted for the print bin. I was thrilled with how most turned out, however there are a few I'd like to have reprinted with corrections.

In addition to getting the prints in, I also am beginning to get the word out...I contacted WAMD, 970AM, a local radio station broadcasting out of Aberdeen and they have promised to announce some PSAs about the event. They told me they know several people with chronic Lyme and would be happy to help out in any way they can. Also, the event has been added to Harford's Heart calendar of events. I've handed out fliers, posted fliers in local shops and libraries, and am working on local newspapers to advertise as well. Everywhere I turn people are saying they know someone or are someone who are suffering from this terrible disease (we live in an epidemic area). It is shocking and startling that with so many people suffering it seems hardly anyone is talking about it. It's like it has a stigma or shame integrated with it. That is what I am working to remove. Education, legislation, and support, for families who are struggling through this debilitating disease.

I am excited to announce that the organization I am working to collect funds for, NatCapLyme, has added our event to their fundraising list. If you are out of town and won't be able to make the event, please consider make a monetary donation to this amazing organization! My local chapter, Harford Lyme Advocates, will directly benefit from any donations. Everything is helpful! My local group has been a lifeline for me and they have worked tirelessly to bring hope and comfort and Lyme education to our community.  Here are the directions to make sure your donation gets accounted for the May 5th Fundraiser (which will run through the month of May). **All donations are tax deductible!

1.  Visit NatCapLyme's donation page by clicking here.
2.  Under the words MAKE A DONATION click the tab that says FUNDRAISING EVENT.
3.  In the Dropdown Menu, Please scroll to ARTS BY THE BAY GALLERY TICKED OFF LYME DISEASE AWARENESS EVENT.
4.  Complete the form and submit the donation.

Thank you!  At the end of the May I will let you know how much in total we are able to collect.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

xo

Dana Point- Mobile Photography Art by Tracey Grumbach

The beautiful view from the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel

You know the Let Her Go song lyrics by Passenger that go:

Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go

Well, I find this true with so many things in life. The old saying is that we don't know what we've got until it's gone. The challenge in life is to know and appreciate what you have while you have it.

My cousin's devastating accident has reminded me, and by the amount of support they have, a lot of other people as well, to stop and appreciate every single minute before it is gone.

The other day I was starting to get agitated with my kids. I was picking up around the house and I found a cookie container open and empty sitting on a pantry shelf. All the cellophane ripped off and the empty container just sitting there when the trashcan is three steps away. I guess they think I can and will throw it away. Why bother with the three steps?

Then I noticed a dirty hand print on the wall. A perfect brown dirt handprint right on the corner of the wall as if a little one rounded the corner in a hurry and grabbed the wall with his/her dirty hands for support. Something else for me to clean up. Grrrrrr.

I began to look more closely around me. I allowed myself to see things I normally block out as every day messes...the dog and cat hair balls on the floor, the nose smudges on the windows from the house animals looking out. Glancing outside I noticed the annoying and ugly construction fence that is still in place after several years. We still have not completed our house. Just below the window I was looking through was a sink full of dishes. Ugh.  The list went on.

But as my irritation grew, the song lyrics of that Passenger song popped into my head and I stopped, sat down and began thinking about my cousins. I bet my cousin wishes that instead of being in the hospital with her two critically injured children, she was home again cleaning up after her two teens. I bet she would give anything to see empty cookie containers, smudges on the wall, and dog hair balls rolling across the floor instead of beeping hospital equipment. And in that moment of realization all of the things that were annoying me instead became a blessing.

The open cookie container and the handprint on the wall meant I had happy, healthy children running around the house to make messes. The pile of dishes and laundry meant I had enough food to feed my family and enough clothing to keep my family warm. The wet dog nose smudges on the windows and the dog/cat hairballs rolling around the floor meant that we had healthy loving pets to add joy to our lives. The construction fence meant that I had a warm, safe, beautiful home being built into my dream home, even if it is baby steps at a time.

Once I changed my perspective on all of these things, I realized just how much I have. I am so blessed to have a house filled with a loving husband and four children. I am blessed to have three cats, a dog, and a horse. I am blessed to have construction mess around my house.  It means we are living a happy, healthy, normal life when many others out there don't have the same privilege.

It's all about perspective. What is one annoying or bothersome thing that you come across today that you can change your view on?  Think about your own self dialog today and see if you can catch yourself into be thankful for the mess instead of angry about it.

Have a wonderful day and pass on love.
xo

Pacific Park- Digital Artist Tracey Grumbach

Digital Art By Tracey Grumbach

...and where the Ferris wheel carried its passengers high and brought them low 

and raised them high and brought them low again, 

as if it were not merely a carnival ride but also 

a metaphor for the basic pattern of human experience.

-Dean Koontz, Saint Odd

Happy Friday, y'all. Today will be a great day. I am driving home from my mom's house (hopefully safely!) and then this evening I have the artist's reception at Havre de Grace library for the juried art show, My Havre de Grace. I am looking forward to taking my family and meeting the other artist while we see for the first time our art hanging in this beautiful new library. 

I am inviting each and every one of you to stop in to the library from tomorrow through December 7 to see the show during regular library hours. After the show I will be selling this piece of art, so if you are interested, please contact me. There will only be one printed, ever. 

Also, a reminder that I have posted all my upcoming events on its own page, so if you are interested in finding out where or when to see my art, workshops, or photowalks, you can look on Upcoming Events tab! The new show for Arts By the Bay is getting close, so I am in the process of figuring out what pieces I want to show there. I invite all of you out to Arts By the Bay Gallery on Friday, November 18 from 7PM-9PM to see all the new art and meet & greet the artists!  The next morning, Saturday, November 19, I am co-teaching a mini-workshop on photography and co-hosting a photowalk around beautiful Havre de Grace. If you are interested in that, be sure to sign up!  Time is running out and class is filling up!

Have a fabulous weekend!  I will see you all next week. 

xo

The Lost Balloons- Travel Art By Tracey Grumbach

The Lost Balloons- digital art by Tracey Grumbach

The sun was so huge that night. I've never really experienced a sun that looked that big before as it crept toward the horizon. I've seen my fair share of sunsets, but not one quite like this. The din of the board walkers/bikers/fair goers was dimmed by the roar of the Pacific waves crashing into the Santa Monica shore and the gulls fussing over their last few chances to grab a bite before nightfall. One distinct sound I heard, though, was the sorrowful cry of a young child as the balloons she was holding were accidentally released. The helium that gave them form, lighter than the atmosphere surrounding them, gave lift to the pink spheres, guiding them away from Earth's pull toward the heavens. It was all very dreamlike and enchanting...the kind of moment you read about in a storybook and certainly a memory one wants to hold on to forever.

xo

The Three Palms- Travel Photography

Sometimes shooting directly into the sun is just what is needed.  Loving these graphic shadows.

I hope you find your bliss today. Have a beautiful and productive day.

xo

The Ritual- Travel Photography

I could sit and watch surfers all day. There is much to learn about life from surfers. Many of them seem to be connected spiritually with the sea. They honor and respect mother nature and it shows in the reverent way they enter the water...almost like a prayer. Sitting here now typing this in the early morning hours of a Maryland autumn morning, I can still hear the waves crashing and the gulls screeching, drowning out all the thoughts in my own head. The salty mist rises from the rocks as the ocean spray floats in the moist morning air. There is something about the sounds, taste, and smell of the sea that centers me.

As the surfers paddle out to their starting destination, I find it interesting to watch how sometimes they glide over the incoming waves as they approach but sometimes they dip the nose of the surfboard down and dive through the wave, head first. Quite a metaphor for life, is it not? As the daily flow of life brings challenges into our path, we can either rise with them and glide over them, put our head down and dive head first through them, or let the power of the challenge pull us under and drown us.

Apparently there is an etiquette to surfing as well. They all seem to play nice out there together, taking turns catching waves, staying out of each others path, rooting each other on, cheering for successful rides, offering advice when one fails. They all seem happy, carefree, and light in their own bodies while they are out there floating in the ocean. Nothing matters at that moment then being right there where they are and the next wave heading their way. The focus and immediacy to it is refreshing. No worries about the past or future, just breathing for right now...this moment.

Another useful skill that translates to life is knowing how to crash and recover after a fall. As the waves cause a surfer to become unbalanced, there are a few things a surfer can do...bail out before it gets too bad or try to ride the wave out the best he/she can by regaining balance. Knowing when to bail and when to stick with it is essential, just like it is in life when roadblocks occur. Keeping balance is always key.

And then there is the surfboard. When a surfer falls off his/her board, the tether provides a link back to the very thing that carries them through the water. Having a lifeline in place is essential in life as well. Family and friends can often be that lifeline back to safety when worldly troubles creep in. Surfers also take care of their board, showing respect for the tool that gives them so much. They clean it, wax it, and keep it from getting nicks and dings. They take pride in taking care of their equipment.

In retirement I would love to live closer to the ocean where surfers frequent. I find it so relaxing and meditative to watch them.

I hope you have a great Tuesday...8 more days for the stitches in my mouth! The countdown starts! Please continue to pray the the bone graft is taking and that the infection is 100% eradicated.  Thank you all so much!

xo

Santa Monica Pier at Sunset- Travel Art

During my recent trip to California, I had the opportunity to walk from our hotel to the Santa Monica Pier. We stayed in a hotel very close by, so the walk was short, which was perfect because I still don't have very much endurance for exercise. After walking around the pier itself for a bit we watched the sun disappear over the horizon, kissing the Pacific Ocean as it slid to the other side of the earth. Slowly, we began the journey back to the hotel and when we had gotten a decent distance, I turned back to see this...the amazing colors the sky becomes when the sun is below the horizon. It was breath-taking and of course, I had to create something out of it. Truly, God is the most amazing artist. His taste in colors, exquisite.

Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to upload the pictures I took with my Cannon 5D Mark III to the computer and take a look. I haven't shot with my "big camera" in a long time and to be honest, while I was excited about a few shots, I am clearly out of practice. I was a bit disappointed in myself. But, I will use that feeling to encourage myself to begin taking my camera with me again and get back into good habits.

In case you don't follow me on Facebook, I wanted to mention something I am proud about...I was blessed for the opportunity to have a piece of my work published on the front cover of a monthly local newspaper. I was honored and I really liked the process of working with the art editor, the CEO of the paper, and the deadlines during this process. I would love to have the opportunity to work with them again in the future. My goal is to use art as the mode to get my Lyme story out to the local public with the intent of helping others who may be suffering. Perhaps in the spring I will reach out to them again.

Happy Hump Day, y'all. Enjoy the sun while we've got it. If you are reading this from the southeast states, please be safe as Matthew approaches the United States. My prayers are with you. Stay safe, everyone.

xo