Through My Eyes

photography,crafts,lifestyle

recent posts

about

I love art, especially photography and painting. My next addition is crafts or primarily needlecrafts. And as if that was not enough, I am a genealogist.

  • Heal Thy Self

    Don’t let the title fool you. I’m neither crazy nor do I believe you can perform miracles. I do believe we can be empowered to help ourselves heal.

    Even before I became certified as a Doula back in the early ’90s I was researching ways to help my IBS. When  doctors back then didn’t seem to understand or offer any help I didn’t have any choice but to tackle the issue myself.

    Through a lot of research and learning about triggers, I was able to identify what brought on my attacks, and slowly, I found relief. My triggers were fatty foods, soft drinks, and high stress, so I started eliminating the soft drinks and reducing the fatty foods from my diet. The high stress was harder to deal with. There always seemed to be stress at home, on the job, and with life in general.

    Eveverything you know goes back to the Bible which clearly says that we have the ability to heal ourselves. That is what gave me even more motivation to live a more natural life. I am not telling you to ignore your doctor or throw all your pills down the drain  I am saying there is a more natural way.

    It starts with a change in how you look at things. I have friends who I love dearly, but they run to their doctor every time they sneeze.

    I am still weak in controlling my diet but rarely ever have any IBS issues anymore. In 2020, two weeks after having covid, I got the flu shot, which resulted in Bells Palsy. Waking up with part of my face paralyzed was not fun at all. I knew immediately what it was and didn’t panic. I suspected it was from the flu shot. Sure enough, when I asked that question in Google, it came back with a “yes,” which my doctor also later confirmed. So, even before it became popular, my husband and I stopped all vaccines.

    Without even realizing it, that one act made us healthier. It has been six years, and neither of us has been sick. No colds, no flu, nothing but a controlled case of arthritis and a few pulled muscles.

    To reduce stress, I defer to music, which includes “frequency music.” You can find these tracks on Amazon Music and on YouTube.

    Live a more natural life.

    Have a great day.

  • Day Tripping 2026

    So, today we set out on a journey to find a graveyard and some distant relatives. We found the graveyard that Find-A-Grave and the GPS said they were. After walking the graveyard it was obvious this was not the right graveyard. Giving up on this venture for the day we decided to stop by the Moore’s Creek Battleground. We were maybe a 1000 feet from the entrance and we saw cars lined up on both sides of the road. Going past the entrance the was a sign saying the parking lot was full. There were still cars lined up and people walking back for roughly two miles. I had not heard of anything going on there but it was the 250th anniversary of the battle on the previous day. It was almost comical because we had been there before when there were maybe a whole two people there.

    Twice we struck out! We continued on our journey back home and we saw this interesting antique shop just outside of Wallace.

    Of course, we had to stop. We had been by this place on numerous occasions but had never stopped. Walking into the shop we received a warm welcome from a lovely gentleman in a large chair to my left. Right away I was hooked. There were not only every kind of collectible and antique imaginable but also large pieces of wooden sculptures like life-size Indian heads and statues, horse heads, and a tall gorilla statue.

    What was my big purchase, a cast-iron coat hook with a horse’s head on it. At a whopping $4 it was still a bargain. When I stepped up to the antique counter to check out the same jolly gentleman seemed delighted that I had found something.

    The moral to this story is that life is always an adventure even though where you end up may not be where you anticipated.

    Have a great weekend.

  • Let’s Connect

    Want to connect with me here’s where you can go:
    Pinterest – sgheath60
    Facebook – Sue Heath or Folkways Creations [ you must identify how you know me or I will not accept you as a friend]
    Instagram – sgheath1

    Stop by and say Hi!

  • Pride Of America

    Let me just say I don’t typically write about politics but this is not so much about politics as it is about attitude. I don’t always watch the SOTU address but I had a gut feeling I needed to this week.

    Regardless of your party affiliation to watch this important speech you had to be moved. Regardless of whether or not you like Trump you should at least respect the man and more importantly the office he holds.

    This speech was different from most of his speeches. It wasn’t all about him it was about America.  A large portion of his time addressed grieving family members,victims of violence and survivors of wars past.

    Pride flowed out of his mouth as he ordered metals to be distributed to military and law enforcement heroes. Throughout the two-hour speech, Americans stood and cheered not just for the President but also for these heroes and victim families. There was one section of the room that was quiet except for selected remarks and displays of rebellion. They didn’t cheer they didn’t stand. And yes the President called them out as he should have.

    It is one thing to have a difference of opinion it is quite another when that opinion causes adults to act like spoiled rebellious children! They didn’t hurt the President or his credibility. They were an embarrassment to a nation. While they drown in their bad attitude the rest of the country will continue to love God and Country. We will continue to rebuild a nation with love and honor.

    Let not your hearts be troubled by the sinners of this world but share the love of Jesus.

    Have a blessed day.

  • Power In The Sketch

    I frequently wake up in the night to sketch. The long nights of winter in particular lead to sleeplessness. This seems to be the most effective way to quiet the hyperactivity of my brain.

    With pencil in hand, I don’t know where it will go as my thoughts are all over the place but as soon as the point of lead touches the paper a picture starts forming.

    Trail Ride

    I don’t just make a faint sketch but I treat this just like it is the final product. Each line is intentional. Once I am satisfied with the components of the sketch I go back and start shading to give it more depth.

    It may be a new watercolor or I may frame it just as the pencil creation that it is. Still more shading to do.

    Don’t just be accepting of that first sketch but be more intentional to see where it leads you.

    Have a great day!

  • AI In Art

    In talking with a fellow artist a while back he mentioned that he used AI in creating his art. He’s a great artist so you can imagine my disappointment when he said that! It made me wonder then how much of what he painted was really his genius and how much was computer-generated.

    As old-fashioned as I am I decided today to use the ever-popular ChatGPT. While it can produce photo-quality images I have to tell you my original thoughts were pretty accurate. To create illustrations like I wanted I had to use Gimp to edit the images I just got with ChatGPT. If you just want an image of something to paint as a guide I can see where the program would be helpful but for the purpose of creating digital art, it was pretty much a waste of my time. I could have literally sat down drawn and scanned the image into my computer in less time than it took to have ChatGPT locate and load the file and then I still had to edit it.

    I certainly don’t judge artists who use AI it is just not beneficial to me. It is never a bad thing to explore new techniques or avenues. It is important to make sure you don’t lose yourself in the process.

    The world of art is ever changing and I am one who has always been flexible to change while still maintaining structure, balance, and my strong values.

    Stay true to yourself and have a great weekend.

  • Accidental Art

    I think I have touched on this before but here goes. Just finished painting out the edges on several paintings and had paint left on my palette, yellow, black, and white. You know I can’t stand to waste paint so here is what showed up on my waste canvas.

    Yellow Feather

    Well maybe it’s not a masterpiece but if I don’t sell it I’ll paint over it. Either way, it was a quick project and cleaned up my leftover paint.

    What have you created today? Creativity is positive energy that also promotes good health. Don’t just sit around taking up space, make something beautiful or useful. Consider after all we were created in the image of our God who was extremely creative. Don’t tell me you are not because somewhere in your DNA is that creative strand.

    Have a beautiful day.

  • Eyes Wide Open

    At my age, I don’t expect to be a famous artist or anything like that but I won’t pass up any opportunities that come my way. I will not let the fact that I am a senior artist deter me.

    Make no mistake I enjoy meeting younger artist and taking advantage of their knowledge and perspective. While I may not necessarily like every artist’s work does not mean I can’t learn from it.

    I still love to go to other galleries. Seeing something fresh will often motivate me. Do I copy other people’s work? Absolutely not! There is a line of respect among artists that should never be crossed. I do get ideas from photographs and work from that but that is where it stops.

    I am always looking for that next thing or person I’ll paint. Eyes wide open an artist is limited only by their own personal restrictions. For instance, I don’t now nor will I do nudes. I have respect for an artist who can do it and do it tastefully. It’s just not my thing!

    I also do not lock myself in a corner with one genre. My areas of interest are southwestern art and landscapes. I am painting those in addition to a little abstract. My style is basically realism but I also do more primitive folk art.

    The bottom line is to be comfortable in the artist that you are but always keep reaching for the stars even if it is in a different genre.

    Have a blessed day and put your best stroke forward.

  • Digging Out – Blizzard Of 2026

    I listened to the forecast Friday but knowing the unreliability of the forecasters I really did not put a lot of stock in their prediction. Key word there prediction.

    Yes, they said a possible 6-12 inches which in itself was extreme for this area. It started quietly enough. A beautiful dry snowfall seemed innocent enough.

    Going to sleep to complete silence in our neighborhood was refreshing. Sometimes during the night I was awake and looked out the back door. Still snowing I could tell it was going to be deep.

    The next morning I struggled to get the back door open. Not since 1972 have I seen this much snow here. Welcome to my snow world

  • Motivation

    Hope you are starting your new year with lots of motivation to create great art.

    As my first exhibit is ending with no sales I refuse to let that tamper with my desire to create. What drives you to create? When I was writing music my husband always said it was emotion. Now I find it still can but I think it is more important in this ever-changing society to convey a message.

    I am motivated more towards Southwest art because of my love and admiration for our native american people.

    I’m also playing around with different types of styles trying to find my genre. Whatever I do I don’t just want to throw paint on a canvas but I want to share the spirit of the piece.

    If you are not sharing a part of yourself in your work then it is not completely. Find that motivation that will lead you to take that extra step, add that extra detail that will make your work not just finished but magnifying. You want it to pull people in even in the small details.

    Have a great day and make every stroke count!

    As an Amazon Affiliate Marketer I just have to forward these great deals to you:

    For your dog;

    Health  Bars

    Pooph Pet Odor Eliminator