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.
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.
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!
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
Time goes by so fast these days! The seasons are changing and now we are deep into Autumn, and with a hint of winter showing up last week when we had our first measurable snow. Thankfully it was short lived and melted away quickly! Autumn will still be around for awhile according to the forecast. I am not ready for winter yet! I have selected some highlights of my month in photos and videos to share.
October started with a visit to Golden Gate Canyon State Park hiking the Burro Trail, a moderate hike, but for me it was a breathless trek and I could only go so far. My friend continued on to the end, and I stayed behind relaxing on a comfy rock creating en plein air drawings of the autumn beauty. The aspens were beginning to show off their golden beauty mixed in with the evergreens. It became cloudy with a threat of rain so I headed down the trail and met my friend closer to the entrance where we began. I had fun collecting leaves creating photo collages while I waited for my adventurous and fearless friend to meet me. She has hiked a 14 er on Longs Peak, so we were not matched for a day of hiking! It was glorious to be out in nature and continuing to feel as if I really do live in Colorado.
Spent the afternoon with a friend enjoying the beauty of Evergreen, Colorado. We went to a wonderful exhibit at the Evergreen Art Center featuring Water Media paintings. I found a serene Labyrinth near the Church of Transfiguration near a pond surrounded by an evergreen forest. I have wanted to finally make my way to that Labyrinth since I heard it was in a beautiful natural setting. It did not disappoint. I would like to return on a warmer and sunnier day, since it was a bit chilly in the shade. It would be a lovely place for a picnic spending time in the serene location with a beautiful Labyrinth to enjoy, I will return soon. There are so many historic old structures in downtown Evergreen, it was fun to drive though and we stopped at the famous Beau Jo’s Mountain Pizza Pies for lunch.
I took another fun adventure with a few friends going to Boulder for an event that occurs nationally and annually on the third Saturday in October: World Singing Day! It was so wonderful, young and old singing their hearts on the Pearl Street Mall! It was a gorgeous Autumn day, sunny with perfect cool breezes. There were handouts with the lyrics and music blasting as we all sang along, and danced to the beat. I will definitely mark my calendar to repeat this fun event next year.
I continued to explore my neighborhood going to Standley Lake Trail and Two Ponds Wildlife Refuge. See some photos below of my walks in those glorious nature areas. I feel so lucky to have such amazing access to these places so close to home. I had quite the experience at one of my walks in Two Ponds when I came upon a Deer Couple, a doe and a buck. I think we startled each other, and for a moment I got a bit anxious being out there all alone at dusk. I hustled my way back down the trail getting home safe and sound…and not chased by deer! I do love them, they are my spirit animal! I used to see them all the time when I lived in Sedona. I know they are gently creatures, but maybe not when they are startled and possibly in mating season!
Last but not least I continue to visit my favorite Labyrinth and Park in Arvada. The Labyrinth is now covered in crunchy maple leaves, since we had a few windy days and then a mini snow event. I enjoyed walking in the crunchy leaves, love the sound effects, it is one of my favorite things to do in Autumn. I have included a short video below so you can enjoy the fun! I also went to Majestic View Park for my weekly meditation class, and took a few photos this week on a very cold windy day with spectacular majestic views as always!
I hope you enjoyed my October Adventures in Colorado! I will soon be uploading some full size photos of these glorious nature spots that can be purchased as prints, etc. at Fine Art America.
Thanks for coming along on my adventures, hope you enjoyed!
Hello Colorado! Yes, I finally feel like I LIVE in Colorado after my visit to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. Here in Arvada I have been admiring the view of the Rocky Mountain Front Range everyday and salivating at the chance to get closer into the mountains. Last week on a beautiful autumn day I realized that dream. It was 48 years ago that I fell in love with Colorado, and that long since I was up close and personal with the glorious terrain. I probably took hundreds of photos and it is overwhelming to begin editing my favorites. I found heart rocks covered in multi-colored layers of lichen that thrilled me. We saw a herd of Elk in the throes of their mating season and listened to the bull bugling for his herd to follow him! We went to the timberline, about 13,000 ft. altitude, and I was slightly out of breath, albeit it was about 25 mph wind and freezing cold! Along the road up to the mountains the Aspens were showing off their beautiful autumn colors, mostly yellow, but some orange bits and still some green. We took a short hike in a meadow with the mountains surrounding us and it reminded me of why I fell in love with Colorado! A few wildflowers were left in the meadow and of course I found a few heart shaped stones as souvenirs. As a bonus in Estes Park we found a lovely Labyrinth to walk with amazing views. I am so grateful to live here amongst the magnificent Colorado nature, and for new friends to share these wonderful adventures with. Here are a few photos to enjoy.
Longs Peak 14,259′
Rocky Mountain HIGH
Estes Park Labyrinth ~ MARS PhotoArt
Autumn in the Rockies with friends!
I celebrated living in Colorado for six months on September 4th with a month of fun filled adventures with new friends, enjoying cultural outings, taking art classes, continuing my weekly “meditation in nature” class that I love, listening to live music at a few venues, going to the theater, visiting some galleries, taking in the First Friday Art Walk in Denver along the Sante Fe Arts District, holiday barbecues, nature walks in the neighborhood along the trails near my house, walking the Labyrinth, and the path in Majestic View Park, savoring the breathtaking sunsets over the mountains. I will include more pictures for you to enjoy.
Majestic View Park Sunset
Sunset Labyrinth Walk
Trees framing Longs Peak over Standley Lake
Standley Lake Gem
Standley Lake Sunset
Last but not least, I celebrated my Honda’s 32 year anniversary! I bought it brand new in 1990 in Los Angeles, and it has been with me on all my life journeys ever since! It only has 61,000 miles on it and will outlive me for sure! I went to Standley Lake for a photo op and Mother Nature gifted us with a rainbow in the distance! I also celebrated a 6 month anniversary with my friend Alan who has a similar Honda. We met on March 12th at Majestic View Park, and for a moment as he drove up, I thought my Honda was being stolen until I realized his car was too dirty! He has almost 333,000 miles on his! We have been “car” friends ever since, and he came for visit to take a photo of what I call, “The Meeting of the Honda’s”. Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy!
Happy 32nd Birthday to my Honda!
The Meeting of the Honda’s!
I am looking forward to October with many more Autumn Colorado Adventures! So until then I hope you enjoyed reading about my September fun filled adventures!Â
I don’t know where this month of August disappeared to. Thankfully, I have a lot of photo art creations and fun memories to look back on. Much of the month had to do with learning my new cell phone and fun camera editing apps, causing many challenges, but also a lot of serendipity along the way! I’ll post some of my favorite photo art and a serendipitous video of my first rainbow sighting here in Colorado. I enjoyed so many glorious nature outings and of course taking photos along the way! I also enjoyed some fun cultural outings with friends. We went to a one-man comedy production in Lakewood, Colorado at their lovely Cultural Center. It was a laugh riot entitled: “My Mom’s Italian, My Dad is Jewish, and I’m in Therapy! It resonated with me since I happen to be all of those things! Also, with friends we enjoyed some live Americana folk music at La Dolce Vita, a cool coffee house in an eclectic part of Arvada called Olde Town. Just the other evening with one of my newest friends, we went for a walk along the labyrinth and out for dinner back in Olde Town. And last night a belated birthday dinner with my housemate, and girlfriend at my favorite sushi restaurant. My life has been so enriched during these almost 6 months of living in Colorado, making new friends and sharing in such fun cultural and creative activities.
Fun with photo filters! A view of the Rocky Mountains!
The labyrinth with the Rocky Mountains in the distance! Another fun photo filter photo art creation!
Out for a lovely evening sunset walk in my neighborhood, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance! This was my first attempt creating photo art with my new filters!
Photo Art Creation – August Full Moon – Supermoon
I took more enjoyable walks in the neighborhood savoring the amazing clouds and sun after a few thunderstorms. The month of August has been extremely hot here with thunderstorms almost every afternoon it seemed!
Amazing clouds, sky and sun!
An afternoon of Meditation in Nature at Majestic View Park a few weeks ago.
My new cell phone camera surprised me with this video of a time-lapse rainbow, the first rainbow sighting I’ve had since I’ve arrived here! Apparently it’s just something my phone does if it finds a landscape photo that it can turn into a time lapse with music in the background! Quite serendipitous to say the least!
Serendiptious Rainbow Video!
I’ve also had even more fun with my new camera apps, experimenting with new techniques, and lighting, which I am calling painting with my camera!
I found a beautiful heart cloud in the sky and then I used my filters to create it into an ethereal looking cloud!
And last but not least some other interesting sites and new furry friends I found along my walks in the neighborhood in the month of August!
I finally got to take some time to myself for a week in July to enjoy some long overdue Soul Rehab here in my new Colorado Home! It’s been a wild ride the past 1 1/2 years in my life! This blog will be a day by day sharing of my thoughts and photos during this very cathartic journey in my week. It was a delicious and soothing week for my soul. Maybe you might try a similar exercise, it can be very ZEN and healing! Namaste
First steps in Soul Rehab…Day 1… unpack and hang some of my favorite creations in my office! I haven’t seen them in 14 months, they’ve been in dusty old boxes, moved from Sedona, to my brother’s garage in NY, and 4 months ago to my house in Colorado! Hello old friends…the site of you soothes my soul!
Soul Rehab…Day 2…So happy to see more of my old friends hanging on my walls once again! I’ve missed you, it’s beginning to feel like I have a home again! Also… I took a lovely, delicious, peaceful, luxurious bubble bath to add to the soothing of my soul!
Antelope Canyon Photo Art by Mars
Soul Rehab…Day 3…My bedroom sanctuary that soothes my soul with all my favorite art. Some of my creations, and a few of my dear artist friend’s magical paintings.
Soul Rehab…Day 4…Hanging a few more old friends in my office! I so love my large canvas which I named “Serendipity”, painted back in the late ’80s! It really soothes my soul to see it while I’m working at my desk! The rose was painted by a dear artist friend in Portland, Oregon. A very special birthday gift that she painted from one of my beautiful lavender roses called Neptune.
Soul Rehab…Day 5…I spent the day getting back to work in my home office, and was soothed by seeing all my favorite art on my walls! Later, I went out for a lovely Labyrinth walk, so very healing. I took my drawing pad and pencils for a plein air attempt at drawing the mountains! The bonus was an amazing sunset over the Rocky Mountains! So grateful!
Soul Rehab…Day 6…On this Full Buck Moon I cooked one of my favorite meals, Lamb Rib Chops with Mexican Gray Squash. I think it shows in my photo that my soul is very soothed and satiated! Today was my favorite meditation in nature class at Majestic View Park, so perfectly timed for my soul rehab week!
Soul Rehab…Day 7… Beautiful sunflowers greeting me on my evening walk in the neighborhood, after a work day, and also a healing acupuncture treatment.
Soul Rehab…Day 8… As my Soul Rehab week comes to an end, I enjoyed the day doing some of my favorite things! I took a lovely Soul Healing walk at the Labyrinth, and created a plein air landscape painting inspired by the Rocky Mountains. For dinner I picked up some of my favorite Italian take-out food, from our neighborhood restaurant Massino’s, Baked Ziti & Buffalo chicken wings! Delish! Here is a collage of some of the foods I’ve cooked this week, breakfast, lunch, & dinner!
Celebrating One Year later: May 14, 2021 – May 14, 2022. Left Sedona, AZ, 9 Months of Life in NY, and finally giving birth to my new home in Colorado!
Happy Birthday Mars! March 4, 2022 making Colorado my home, and May 28, 2022 celebrating my first birthday in Colorado!
Serendipity! Sun Dog with a Heart Cloud!
Majestic View Park, my view of the Rocky Mountains while in meditation in nature class!
Adventures in Boulder, Colorado! Found a labyrinth to walk, and happy to be back after 30+ years!
Springtime in the Rockies?! On May 20th we got 8 inches of snow! Mother Nature did quite the remodeling job of the trees. Many branches with the new growth couldn’t take the weight. So happy the lilacs and iris survived.
Hiking Standley Lake Trail after the Spring Snow storm. So many trees got remodeled by Mother Nature, and might I say, haphazardly!
Sunset Walk at Majestic View Park.
Birthday Eve sunset walk at Standley Lake Trail, and creating art on a bench!
En Plein Air creation with markers. “Rocky Mountain Majesty” by Mars
I have been busy getting to know my new home here in Arvada, Colorado this month of April! Many nature outings, walking labyrinths, discovering new eclectic neighborhoods, and enjoying some great restaurants in the area. I am sharing a few photo grouping just from todays outing, this last day of April. I discovered this historic area in West Denver, called The Highlands, where there is a labyrinth underneath a carousal structure from many years ago! The carousal has since been moved to another area in Denver, but the labyrinth is there to walk underneath a very cool steel dome structure. I photographed a cool mural of a black cat, and noticed a unique car filled with colored balls, and people riding in open back having a blast in the Tennyson area. A very eclectic street with many restaurants and galleries and a cultural flavor all its own!
To get back to nature toward the end of my day, I explored a new park in the Lake Arbor neighborhood, with many Canada Geese chilling out in the lake and on the grassy areas. My final destination today was a quick walk at Majestic View Park, and the Labyrinth at sunset, my favorite places and time to get in touch with nature and feel grounded looking at the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the distance. I still have to pinch myself that I live in Colorado, after all these years of dreaming about making it my home! This was just one day in the life of Mars in Colorado, and I look forward to many more adventures to come.
I live each day with this quote in mind by Helen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all!”
MARS ZEN Creations & ZEN Daily Words & MARS Mindful Moments 