The ABCs of Summer

Where have the lazy, hazy days of summer gone? 

You, know the ones that make you shout for joy,

That slow down life with a relax-mode feel,

That carry you back to sunkissed summer moments. 

Let's Celebrate the ABCs of Summer!

Air conditioning during heat spells

Beach days by the sea
Camp Wonderopolis

Dog days of August 

Exercise outdoors

Fresh fruit from the market

Gardens of vibrant-colored flowers

Hikes with family

Ice cream under indigo skies

July 4th celebration

Kites flying at the beach

Lip-smacking summer corn

Melons that are ripe

Nature trails to walk

Ocean waves roaring

Picnic at Westbury Gardens

Quiet times listening to nature

Reading at the beach

Summer Poem Swap: #1, #3, #5

Trip to Cape May

Umbrellas in the rain

Vacationing with family

Watermelon tasting

eXploring "life living" moments

Yoga practice

Zen music
©CVarsalona, 2017  

All of the above are sunkissed moments 
brought joy to life during the Summer of 2017.
I will continue to celebrate the last weeks of the summer season
despite any obstacles in the way.
Here's to ending the season with a "full heart"
as Ruth Ayres, host of Celebrate This Week, says!

*The blue-colored font recalls various posts I wrote this summer season 

as a way to start sorting ideas for my Sunkissed Summer Gallery.

*Thanks to Diane Mayr for the inspirational spark and mentor text to create this ABC poem.

Creativity Spurts

"Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." - Bruce Garrabrandt

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An ordinary day,
a backdrop of muted hues,

seagull against the sea

soaring

©CVarsalona, 2017, Long Island

⁕⁕⁕

Using the beginning of the Grarrabrandt quote, Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment, and Sean Mitchell's original photo from Ontario, I digitized the beach scene and created a Golden Shovel poem. 

one ordinary day, creativity

enters but doesn't

stand still and wait.

it moves, longing for

a time that

holds a perfect

light in a sunkissed moment.

©CVarsalona, 2017

⁕⁕⁕

 "Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way." - Edward de Bono

This summer's Poetry Swap led by Tabatha Yeatts has brought forth a surge of creativity. For Swap #3, Joy Acey, children poet, sent me a lengthy letter on life in Hawaii followed by another mailing with a colorful series of patterns representing sunset over the water. What fun it was to receive two packages. 

Letter writing seems to be a lost art these days. Joy's artwork and handwritten poem are below. I look at this and imagine the beauty of the Hawaiian shore line. What a gift of nature-inspired artwork from a talented colleague!

My reply to Joy:

Joy's artwork inspired me to create a reply. I superimposed a photo of a summer sunset on Long Island onto Joy's original image. Joy's poem as well as Sean's beaching image will be placed in my summer gallery, "Sunkissed Moments".

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This week's Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted for the first time by fellow writer, Kay McGriff. You can access Kay's post and poems here.

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More quotes on creativity can be found here.

If you catch a sunkissed summer moment, 

please consider offering it for my summer gallery.

Unleash Creativity

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, 

breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” 

Mary Lou Cook

Have you ever felt the sheer joy of being in the "zone"? It is an exhilarating, creative state of mind. There is intensity of purpose as you mindfully create something that did not exist beforehand. This followed with revision, ends with a sense of accomplishment. Spontaneous joy is felt, creativity is unleashed and reflected upon. As you take a second look at what you accomplished, you realize that the outcome is worth the purposeful pursuit. 

Below you will find the slide presentation, "Unleashing Creativity - Finding Our Voice," showcasing the work of eight Molloy College graduate school students (seven teachers and one aspiring teacher) whom I taught during the 2017 Summer ELA Institute. While building their literacy toolkits, the educators explored resources and tools to integrate technology, digital media, creative thoughts and expand the ways educators engage students in writing. Being immersed in a creative culture of trust allowed creative thought to spontaneous burst open. The educators "played" with words and designed digipoetry and inspirational posters to unleash their creativity, be expressive and create digitally to impact learning lives and motivate writers. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with a group of dedicated and passionate Long Island educators on ways to engage students in writing through digital means. 

You can view the Google Slide presentation here.

Today's Poetry Friday is hosted by the haiku maven, Diane Mayr. You can find the Round-Up at Diane's site, Random Noodling.  

Talking about unleashing creativity, look at what Tabatha Yeatts has  penned for me in her Summer Poetry Swap. I am touched by the time and effort Tabatha took to personalize the following poem. This poem speaks of my work as the designer and curator of season galleries of artistic expressions. The sensory details that Tabatha has added makes me visualize the hundreds of poems that have been offered for the various galleries throughout the season. I send many thanks to Tabatha for creating such a lovely tribute to the seasonal work of designing artistic galleries that showcase a connection to nature through poetry, photography, technology, and art. 

Grandmotherhood

Morning light sweeps the room.

Day nestles in the corner,

swaddling baby in love.
CV, 2017

The heart journey begins

with a sweet coo,

a soft touch,

strong emotion

wrapped

in

love.
CV, 2017

Grandmotherhood is a new calling for me. I bring to mind childhood memories reminding me of the special moments I spent with my grandmother: rose garden tending, kneading dough, hanging washed clothes in the sunlight, shucking peas, and tasting treats from her kitchen. Summer days were mellow, peaceful, and full of love. I also bring to mind timeworn memories of my mother dispensing her love on my children. She created magical moments for them daily. Genuine love has been passed on from generation to generation and so I shall faithfully continue the tradition with Baby Sierra Kathryn.

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Thank you to my friend and fabulous poet, Irene Latham, for sending me gifts from the heart prior to Sierra's birth. I will cherish these Summer Poem Swap gifts always. Look below to find an original poem, joy notebook, and miniature hurdy gurdy that plays Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star from Irene. 

Don't you just love the opening to the poem Irene wrote?

"a time to remain rooted as an oak

as you cradle a warm moon" 

Now it is time to visit Heidi Mordhurst's site, my juicy little universe, for the Poetry Friday Round-Up. 

Readers, I am still in the process of designing my spring gallery, Springsations. As you can see, I have been preoccupied with the birth of first grandchild. As a beautiful spring blossom she will be the inspiration to unveil the gallery. Stay tuned!