Category: Uncategorized

Happy Springtime & MARS Art Exhibits…

I am celebrating a new chapter in my life here in Colorado this year! MARS Art has made it’s debut! In February and March my art has been on exhibit at a bakery in Arvada! It has been a joy and delight to share my creations with so many lovely customers! Today was the last day of the exhibit, and as I took down the remaining pieces it was a bit melancholy to see the bare walls. My Photo Art really brightened up the place during the dark days of winter! Heart themed for February and Floral for March.

Also, in March I was honored to be a part of my first First Friday at Artcentric Gallery where two of my Colorado nature themed photographs on metal are in their local photographers show!

And last but not least, I will be participating in my second First Friday in April at 40 West Gallery where I have my Wild Rose PhotoArt on canvas on display for their members show the month of April! I may even have a few small acrylic heart canvas paintings on display in their Tiny Art Corner for the next 3 months!

I couldn’t be more delighted and thrilled to share all this wonderful art news!

I celebrated my two year anniversary of living in Colorado on March 4th. My first year in Arvada and now my second year in Lakewood. I am so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing nature and sharing it all with wonderful friends. Beginnings, Endings, and now beginnings again! It’s the cycle of life!

I will be making some changes with this Zen Daily Words & ZEN Heart Creations website to include MARS ZEN Creations, my artistic designs on apparel and yoga accessories.

Looking forward to what comes next…and wishing everyone a lovely Spring and eclipse season!

MARS Wild Rose
0

Gratitude Attitude!

I officially launched my online apparel shop on 11/11… MARS ZEN Creations – Where Art & Spirituality Unite. It has been a wild ride getting the website running smooth and creating unique designs for my products. So far it has been fun and exciting to see all the likes and engagement while in this infancy stage of promotion. I love seeing all my favorite ZEN words out into the Universe, bringing awareness and serenity one t-shirt at a time! And with each order I am donating $1 to OneTreePlanted.org one of my favorite organizations making a difference in the world – planting one tree at a time!

So grateful for a lovely Thanksgiving with new friends and my “adopted” family here in Colorado. Enjoyed many nature outings, walking snowy Labyrinths with a ZEN Deer, meditating in nature “nature bathing”, and getting in the holiday spirit with all the fun neighborhood festivities. I can’t believe this year is down to it’s last month! I continue to have a gratitude attitude everyday, not just for Thanksgiving.

Attitude is everything!

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season with friends and family. May you create joyous memories that will live in your hearts eternally.

Be Love, BE ZEN!

0

MARS ZEN Creations launching soon!

Elevate Your Wardrobe ~ Elevate Your Soul

I have been diligently working on my new website and soon it will be ready to officially launch. Here is a sneak preview: MARS ZEN Creations – Where Art & Spirituality Unite.

MARS ZEN Creations isn’t just a clothing line; it’s a movement. Join us in bringing more awareness and serenity to the world, one T-Shirt at a time. We’ve combined the beauty of artistic design with the depth of Zen wisdom.

Share the love, spread beauty, and radiate Zen into the Universe. Our mission is to help you express your inner journey outwardly. By wearing these T-Shirts, you become part of a community that values mindfulness, self-discovery, and artistic expression.

Come and visit often and infuse your wardrobe with the essence of ZEN. Stay mindful, stay artistic, stay ZEN.

MARS ZEN Creations – Where Art & Spirituality Unite.

With each order we are donating $1 to OneTreePlanted.org

0

MARS ZEN Creations is Born!

It’s a been a busy month in September, and my favorite season has begun! Autumn is here in Colorado! I don’t think Mother Nature has looked at the calendar lately, though! It has still be in the upper 80’s this past week, but it does get cooler at night now. The trees are slowly but surely showing off their autumn beauty. I am hoping for some nice temperatures before the snow begins to fall! Let’s wait until winter, instead of falling in the fall! Problem is, it’s not in my control, I have to adapt to whatever comes!

That brings me to my new MARS ZEN Creations project. I am getting ready to launch my gift and apparel shop just in time for the upcoming holiday season. I have been diligently designing artsy ZEN words for the apparel and gift products. I was originally going to call the store: ZEN Daily Words by MARS, but decided to change my name to MARS ZEN! It feels fresh and is my nickname here in Colorado, and ZEN is what I try to exude along my daily path in life. Each day is an ongoing practice of sharing Loving-Kindness, and Compassion with myself and others. I learned a new word: MAITRI which means Loving-Kindness, Friendliness and Compassion toward oneself and others. Of course it is going to be one of my ZEN words displayed on MARS ZEN Creations apparel and gifts!

The Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah and the High Holiday of Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) just passed in this last few weeks. It was the perfect time for reflection, forgiveness and starting anew. I am lucky to be a Jew-Bu, since I get to have another chance for a new year and resolutions at this time of year. Being a spiritual by not religious person, I can make my own rules as I go! The lessons in Buddhism resonant so much in my soul, and I keep learning everyday on how to deal with life and it’s curve balls! Apparently we all go through ups and downs, and using tools to cope with the bad and the good are so beneficial. I also learned a new brilliant phase from a Mel Robbins podcast this week. Instead of worrying and thinking the worst, or waiting for the other shoe to drop (which I have a tendency to do!) she suggested to ask ourselves a question: “What if it all works out?” I love it, and I have been saying it often. I do trust that my life is going along as it should in Divine Timing, but somedays are more difficult than others to keep the faith. We all do our best, and trusting that, “The Best is yet to come”, is a good mindfulness belief system to practice.

I wish you all a beautiful Autumnal Equinox, and a wonderful last quarter of 2023 filled with the joy of family, friends and ZENful living.

I will include some collages from September, of course I was busy enjoying all life has to offer. See the link below for my new MARS ZEN Creations store that will be launching soon! Feel free to leave your email to be the first to know when it opens officially!

Come visit my new store at: MARSZENCreations.com

0

August Adventures in the life of MARS!

Is it possible that this month has almost come to an end? It was another whirlwind of adventures here in Colorado, in the life of MARS! It all seems like a blur! Thankfully I started a project at the beginning of 2023, each week on Sunday evening I create a special six photo collage of my fun outings and highlights for the week! I have done this project 34 times, since there have been 34 weeks out of 52 weeks so far in 2023. Some weeks picking only 6 photos takes a lot of discipline, there’s so much I would like to share! I am known to take an exorbitant amount of photos! I just can’t help myself….when I see beauty I must document it! I will share my four collages for this month below. I will quickly describe each weeks events beginning with week 31/52: Visited Boulder for an Ariel Dance Festival, checked out the historic Boulder Dushanbe Tea House, and found some great murals there. My beautiful pink Dahlia, and out for First Friday Art Walk in Denver. Week 32/52: Gorgeous outdoor venue, The Manor House, for another fun summer concert, a stop at the famous Wheatridge Carnation Festival, found a great sculpture called sweet grass, an evening in the neighborhood, Belmar plaza outdoor concert, and my flowers in a vase, saving my roses from being devoured by Japanese Beetles! Week 33/52: Golden, Colorado Fine Art Festival, amazing talented artists, it was a very hot day! Found more great murals in the area. Walked at my newest favorite Labyrinth, and went to Majestic View Park for Meditation in Nature class. Treated myself to purple gladiolas. Week 34/52: Went to Denver for the annual Art Students League of Denver Summer Art Market, enjoyed meeting many talented artists. Found more cool murals along my path. Enjoyed the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra Concert at Heritage Lake Park, Mother Nature was teasing us with rain, but we were prepared and then the gift of a double rainbow! Last but not least, I made my favorite summer dish, Capellini Pomodoro!

Week 31/52
Week 32/52
Week 33/52
Week 34/52

I also have a fun new project in the works, ZEN Daily Words by MARS. It will begin with a T-Shirt line featuring all my favorite spiritual words that I love, with artsy graphics!

My tag line: ZEN Daily Words by MARS – Where Art and Spirituality Unite. Explore the collection and take a step closer to inspiring positive change through art, words, and mindfulness.

It is a work in progress right now, but I have some designs available for purchase on Printify. Click the photos below and it will take you to my store! New designs and new products will be added weekly.

0

July Fun… Exploring Colorado Beauty…

Many fun July adventures in Colorado. There have been some beautiful days to get out and explore in between the continual hail-hell season! The above photos are overlooking the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range near Littleton, Morrison and Golden, Colorado. Gorgeous 360 degree views of the lush greenery and mountains with interspersed red rocks! Enjoyed an outdoor concert at the Manor House, the grounds are spectacular. It is an event center for weddings, etc. In the summer they have free concerts on the grounds, with food trucks, full bar, and it was fun touring the mansion. It was a blast, and we are planning to go again in August if the weather cooperates!

Attending Art Festivals in the summer is the thing to do here in Colorado, even if it is a scorching hot afternoon! I enjoyed the Cherry Creek Art Festival with friends, some amazing talented artists, and a lot of fun, even if it was a very hot afternoon! Luckily, when I attended the Evergreen Art Festival, the weather was superb! Gorgeous temps and breezy, with clouds blocking the hot Colorado sun! It was held in a lovely park on the grass, which made it even more enjoyable to stroll through. The art was spectacular, and I enjoyed chatting with the talented artists. Evergreen really lived up to its name, the grounds and surrounding views were lushly green, and breathtaking. Below are some collages of my art festival visits, and my other adventures in the area. A summer evening concert in my neighborhood, and fun with my meditation friends at Majestic View Park.

I also got to discover some new parks in the area, and I found a new Labyrinth to walk! Very exciting for me to find another labyrinth right in my neighborhood, I shall walk it often! While we were in Evergreen enjoying the art festival, we also took a stroll through another one of my favorite labyrinths. It was green and lush right by a creek surrounded by evergreen trees! A beautiful spot for solitude and contemplation. I went to visit a friend’s art opening at a brewery along a very eclectic artsy area in Denver, Tennyson Street. I discovered some very cool places to revisit again when the weather is better, since we got caught in the rain walking along the street festival!

The weather has been atrocious this spring and summer so far! It is either raining, thundering, hailing or too hot to go out! Currently, as I am typing this a monsoon thunderstorm is serenading me! I pray the internet doesn’t lose connection! I try to take advantage of the good weather days to enjoy as many outdoor activities as I can. There are only 53 days until Autumn, so waiting to enjoy those lovely cool days to explore and have more fun adventures here in Colorado! Looking forward to lots of Labyrinth walking and leaf peeping! I guess now that July is coming to an end, will August gift us with even more “Dog Days” of summer? Who knows what Mother Nature has in store!? Either way, the plan is to enjoy each day to the fullest!

0

MARS Wild Colorado Florals …

As Spring turned into summer this month of June, I’ve been saving some sweet blooming flowers from the wild and wacky hail storms we’ve been encountering almost daily! I have declared that Colorado should have a fifth season, let’s call it: HAIL-Hell! This is my second year in May and June, last year was not at all like what we’ve experienced this year. It rained 40 days straight, and we’ve had major hail storms and even a tornado last week in the suburbs of Denver! This is actually wonderful getting all this moisture, it looks so lush and green, and best of all, I think it’s the first year since 2019 that almost the entire state has not been in a drought.

So my job lately has been to move around my new rose bush, so it wouldn’t get pummeled with hail the size of golf balls! The peony bush in the neighborhood was leaning on the ground waterlogged and too heavy to stay upright! I picked several bouquets and brought them home to a lovely safe vase, and have enjoyed their delicate beauty and fragrance. My dahlia plant has been through holy hell, many blooms did get pummeled when I wasn’t home to save them! I did save a few just yesterday before another HAIL-Hell storm hit, and one dahlia bloom and a rose bud are now in a vase. Thankfully the iris fields were in bloom before the wacky storms became relentless. I did enjoy photographing many of them in the neighborhood, and got to bring a few bunches home to live out their remaining days in a vase, beautifying my home!

I have had some fun doing photoart with the digital pictures I’ve been taking of all these beautiful flora. I have created a series that I call: MARS Wild Colorado Florals, and have included some photos below. I am selling them as greeting cards, prints, etc. on Fine Art America, click the link on each photo if you fall in love with them.

I’ve been counting the days until Autumn arrives, ever since Summer Solstice began on June 21st! In 84 days I will be smiling and grateful to have survived another Colorado summer! I love Autumn and Spring, but I can do without Winter, Summer and now HAIL-Hell season!

Enjoy your summer, I know there are many of you that adore summertime. I will be enjoying the AC and a Caribbean mule while listening to a wonderful audio book or podcast!

0

Serendipity! Happy New Colorado Chapter!

This month I celebrated my One Year Colorado Anniversary on March 4, 2023, and also found my new home sweet home serendipitously on the same day! I moved on March 12th, and now live in another suburb of Denver, in Lakewood. I love the area, and am so happy to have made this change in my life! So very excited to start this new chapter and in this beautiful new season of Spring.

I have realized my dream of living in Colorado, and now upgraded my surroundings under this new roof. I have begun to feel like myself again, hanging my art in all the rooms, cooking some delicious meals in my new kitchen, and getting ready to plan some spring flower pot creations!

There are many art districts to explore right in my neighborhood, so that thrills me! I am closer to Denver and all the museums, interesting architecture to photograph, and my friends who live there. I am closer to the foothills and see the glorious Rocky Mountains everyday out my window. There are open spaces, parks and nature spots to hike and savor in the Colorado beauty. And the best part, I am still close to all my friends and activities in Arvada! I am so grateful for this opportunity to start over in this new chapter and can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Universe never ceases to amaze me!

Namaste!

0

Colorado ~ A Joyful December…

Happy Holidays! It has been a fun filled and very busy December here in Colorado! Holiday Season has been magical, so many creative displays of holiday lights in the neighborhoods. I have never seen anything so extravagant in my lifetime, these Coloradoans really love to decorate! Winter has arrived with many days of snow cascading over the Rockies. In between the cold and frigid days, we have had some spring like days too! The temperature fluctuations here are bizarre. Just last week we had minus 50 wind chill and then the next day it was 50 degrees and sunny! Layering is the way of the land, when it comes to wardrobe! I enjoyed so many fun visits with friends, for lunch and dinner, birthday celebrations, a Chanukah party, tree lighting in Olde Town, and so much more!

I got to visit a few other areas too, I call them the “L Towns”, Longmont and Louisville. I have been to Loveland a few years ago, so I have only one “L Town” left to explore, in Lyons. I had fun baking my favorite holiday treats, and sharing them with new friends. We had a new housemate for the holiday season, a life size Grinch has been hanging out, and he changed his mindset, and now loves Christmas. I made him a heart for his transformation to being a happy loving Grinch! I have picked out some photos to document this busy month.

Nature has been my elixir here in Colorado for the past 9 months, and I am so grateful to live in such a glorious place. I have been walking my favorite labyrinth, making hearts in the snow, and enjoying all the open spaces and parks in the area. There is one more day in December before the New Year begins. My plans are to go snowshoeing with a good friend, I am looking forward to giving it a try! I bought myself some hiking boots for Christmas, so now I am really an official Colorado woman! It will be a fun way to say so long to 2022, and welcome in the New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all!~Helen Keller

Go for it now, the future is promised to no one. ~Wayne Dyer

0

Gratitude & Colorado November Nature Adventures…

The month of November I spent an enormous amount of time out in nature, deliciously walking in the crisp snow, drawing snow hearts along my path. Yes, even though it is still autumn here in Colorado, we have had a few snow days already! I enjoyed a heartfelt Thanksgiving with new friends, and am so grateful for the new memories created.

I have begun to gather many nature photographs for my first Colorado PhotoArt Calendar. I have taken so many photos, the editing process has become mind-numbing!!! So far I have chosen these 12 in the collage below, but I’m sure the final published calendar will include other favorites in the coming weeks. Many of these photos are available on my website at Fine Art America.

I have designed a collage of Denver street art/graffiti that a friend has shared with me from his many photo excursions. It will be a surprise gift as these have been photos sent over the past nine months, now incorporated into a collage.

Here are a few collages of more glorious nature walks in November and hearts that I am inspired to draw in the Colorado snow. I also find them created by Mother Nature!

I wish everyone a wonderful Holiday Season enjoying all the festivities with friends and family. I hope you get out and breathe the fresh air, take some nature walks, and if you are inspired, draw some hearts in the snow, or in the sand, depending on where you live! Keep an eye out for the serendipity hearts already designed by Mother Nature!

Namaste

0

A WordPress.com Website.

Up ↑