“Half of my Heart”

singer and songwriter John Mayer is a favorite artist of mine and I am lucky to have seen him live in concert several times over the years…

his song “Half of my Heart” from his Battle Studies album inspired some journal pages in one of my larger (7.5 x 10″) art journals…

lots and lots of layers using tissue paper… the inside of a pink security envelope with the window… scrap papers… stencils… paint… gesso… Behr Venetian Plaster and more…

the Tin Can Inkadinkadoo dreamy face rubber stamp from long ago and a favorite burst of mine using a bit of golden flimmerstern with some bits of German scrap…

my newest Stencil Girl burst stencil from our wonderful local Goldenshill Papercrafts helped add the finishing touches to my pages which I am entering for the first time in the Moo Mania & More challenge of “Music is in the air“ …

~♥~

music has been an inspiration to me since as long as I can remember

“I was born in the arms of imaginary friends
Free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I’ve been

Then you come on crashing in
Like the realest thing
Trying my best to understand
All that your love can bring

Oh, half of my heart’s got a grip on the situation
Half of my heart takes time
Half of my heart’s got a right mind
To tell you that I can’t keep lovin’ you, can’t keep lovin’ you
Oh, with half of my heart

I was made to believe I’d never love somebody else
Made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself

Lonely was the song I sang
‘Til the day you came
Showing me another way
And all that my love can bring

Oh, half of my heart’s got a grip on the situation
Half of my heart takes time
Half of my heart’s got a right mind
To tell you that I can’t keep lovin’ you, can’t keep lovin’ you
Oh, with half of my heart, with half of my heart

Your faith is strong, but I can only fall short for so long
Down the road, later on
You will hate that I never gave more to you
Than half of my heart

But I can’t stop lovin’ you, I can’t stop lovin’ you
I can’t stop lovin’ you, I can’t stop lovin’ you,
I can’t stop lovin’ you with half of my
Half of my heart, oh half of my heart

Half of my heart’s got a real good imagination
Half of my heart’s got you
Half of my heart’s got a right mind to tell you
That half of my heart won’t do

Half of my heart is a shot gun wedding
To a bride with a paper ring
And half of my heart is the part of a man
Who’s never truly loved anything

Half of my heart, oh half of my heart
Half of my heart, oh half of my heart
Half of my heart, oh half of my heart”

where the Light is…

turns out this is not the first time that John Mayer’s “Gravity” lyrics have inspired some of my art journal pages…

I have liked capitalizing the “L” in Love and in Light all rules aside for some time now…

here are some of the ingredients that I used to create my pages (the Heidi Swapp Color SHINE sprays are wonderful with their metallic shimmer!!!)…

my Tim Holtz star stencil came in handy…

along with some great pencils and pens…

cigar box papers…an image from a gift catalog with a piece of golden paper doily halo and some gouache touches too…

I like that the lines in my spiral notebook show through a bit as I worked on the bare pages not using gesso first as I sometimes do…

joining with Art Journal Journey (AJJ) this month for their SILENCE/STILLE theme…

thank you again dear Estivalia for helping make my photos clickable = you ROCK!!!

and special thanks to Misty Mawn for offering another online class which I just signed up for (she is SO generous…talented and amazing!!!) …

this quote is one she shared and I could not help but enjoy how it clicked with my LIGHT word of the year…

“…as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~Marianne Williamson

Charm City Tea…

we had another reason to be away from home over a long weekend…

traveling to nearby Baltimore, Maryland (also known as  Charm City) to spend a couple of nights at one of our favorite hotels which happened to be around the corner from the Baltimore Arena where a favorite artist of ours was performing on Saturday night…

we got to see John Mayer perform in August (twice in one year…be still my ♥) …

it felt like Christmas came early (or I was still celebrating my birthday!) getting to see him on his Winter tour too…

Phillip Phillips opened the show with his band and was really great getting the crowd on their feet and warmed up…

thirty-six year old John Mayer is a generous and extremely talented artist secure enough to take time to give other musicians a chance to showcase their talents saying that he has been more than lucky and blessed with opportunities in his career…

at the end of his shows he shares credits acknowledging everyone that helps make the magic happen (Mr Magpie was ready with the camera this time and snapped these photos)…

John Mayer also took time to thank the audience more than once for sticking with him over the years and making it possible for him to do what he loves…

YES I confess I am a BIG fan ♥ and it was a really fabulous time…

we did take the Traveling Tea Cup along for the weekend posing it on the marble staircase of our hotel which used to be the Beaux Arts style B&O headquarters building (I added a circle around the teacup in the photo on the right otherwise you’d never know it was there lost in the grandeur)…

I had a chance to enjoy some tea at the hotel’s B&O Restaurant made with loose Earl Grey Tea served piping hot in a teapot ♥ along with a delicious scone (the restaurant makes their own strawberry jam and fresh croissants too=YUM!)…

needless to say all of our running has not left me very much time to focus on Christmas preparations…

it has been fun running away from it all and I am not stressing too much about what is not getting done…

I am joining in with Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T today…

♥ Thank you very much for your visit ♥

John Mayer at Jiffy Lube Live 31 August 2013…

we ended our August with the treat of concert tickets which we had purchased at the end of March this year…

it was a wonderful and memorable summer night with John Mayer for his BORN & RAISED tour in nearby Bristow,Virginia…

first Phillip Phillips, the 2012 American Idol winner, got everyone on their feet…

he is a talented musician with quite a back story…

THEN who we had been waiting for since 2010…

 John Mayer back after making a fabulous recovery from health issues and better than ever…

this makes the fourth time we have seen him in concert…

 which is quite a lot for us since we don’t go to that many concerts in general…

you can tell he really enjoys practicing his craft with the skill and passion he brings to each performance…

we really did not want the evening to end…

Set list:

Queen of California
Something Like Olivia
Vultures
Half of My Heart
Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad
Love is a Verb
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
On the Way Home
***Covered in Rain***
Your Body is a Wonderland–>Neon–>Your Body is a Wonderland
Wildfire
I Don’t Trust Myself
Waiting on the World to Change
Waiting on the Day
Who Says
Call Me the Breeze
Age of Worry
Gravity
If I Ever Get Around to Living

***Covered in Rain*** was the song John Mayer played for a guy in the front row who said this was the 52nd time he’d been to see JM in concert…

JM could hardly get over that and told him to pick a song any song and he would play it for him…

a special night to remember in so many ways…

John Mayer back in Virginia * 31 July 2010 *

a beautiful night to be out and about in the Washington DC area … the first of only a couple of days that it was fit to go out even at night … we’ve really been feeling the hazy humid heat of summer here … close by … John Mayer was performing at Jiffy Lube Live … formerly know as the Nissan Pavilion … same great music venue … with an odd new name … in my humble opinion …

warm up band  … The Avett Brothers … from Concord, NC

feeling lucky enough to see John Mayer at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in March I never imagined I would get to see him again this summer too …  this time sporting a cool and functional head band …

he is not only a very gifted and talented performer … but a most generous artist too …

living to make music …truly enjoying his craft …

he shares that passion by allowing photos and videos during his concerts … for personal use only of course …

in our excitement after the concert … not wanting the night to end … we posted our first AMATEUR YouTube videos here … Mr Magpie’s arms are still recovering from trying to keep the camera suspended in air for five and seven minutes stretches …

John Mayer and his band had the crowd on their feet for more than two hours …oh yah!

rocking the house … all the way up to the lawn seats … what a night and a memorable way to ring out July 2010

Set List:

Chest Fever > Vultures
Bigger Than My Body
No Such Thing
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Ain’t No Sunshine
Belief
Perfectly Lonely
Gravity
Who Says
Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right > War of My Life
Heartbreak Warfare
Do You Know Me
Waiting on the World to Change
Half of My Heart

Encore:

Edge of Desire

John Mayer Battle Studies Winter Tour

two tickets 

live

in Charlottesville Virginia 16 March 2010

the opening band … Michael Franti and Spearhead had everyone on their feet

Franti interacted with the crowd coming out into the audience … a warm hearted barefoot guy

And when the rain falls down
You know the flower’s gonna bloom
And when the hard times come
You know the teacher’s in the room
And when the sun comes up
You know I’ll be there for you.

–“Have A Little Faith” by Michael Franti

… a short break and it was time for the main attraction

two more hours of  WOW

John Mayer doing what he does best … playing guitar and singing

a fantastic performance

my favorite photo of many we took that evening … he happened to still have his jacket on in this one

still thinking about it all …  trying to imagine going out on stage night after night … one city to the next … putting yourself out there … giving it your all … and trying to have a life too

he talked about hoping that the evening met everyone’s expectations

YES indeed … it was memorable … didn’t want it to end!

Setlist:

Heartbreak Warfare
Good Love is On the Way
Vultures
Why Georgia > Message in a Bottle
Perfectly Lonely
Assassin
Neon
War Of My Life
Ain’t No Sunshine
Half of My Heart
Crossroads
Gravity

Encore:
Who Says
No Such Thing

“I like giving people something they don’t want to miss the next time. It’s a show with little twists and turns and curves. It has me being silly and stupid and compassionate and completely deep.” ~John Mayer

keep me where the Light is …

Sunday was St Lucia day

a celebration of sweetness and Light

our family is searching for the Light

after the Worldwide Candlelighting our hearts are filled with Love and tenderness

… you have touched our hearts so sweetly … many many thanks and lots of  Love right back to each of you now and always !!! OXOXOXO

lyrics from John Mayer’s “GRAVITY” also inspired me for these journal pages … “keep me where the Light is”

***footnote added 15 Dec … inspired by a collage and quote from Constance

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” ~Albert Schweitzer

Still Here…

feeling a little blue …

I decided to let these pages flow … with less censoring …

it’s a fine line, I feel, on how personal to get here in the land of blog

then again … what is a blog  if not an expression of ourselves

Julie’s Super Nova art journaling workshop is wonderful on so many levels … there are discussion groups and of course Julie’s inspiring lessons … monoprinting is something I am really getting into and I am crazy about stenciling with plastic doilies

some days I wonder how I can feel joy at all without our special boy here to hug … always grateful for healing that comes in many mysterious and wondrous ways

John Mayer sings beautifully about the heart of life  here … I can listen to this song over and over and ….

Skinny Saturday: Growing Older

I could not pass up this challenge for Skinny Saturday. The theme, “growing older” is so wonderful.

I do not mind getting older and had several ideas spinning in my head for this theme!

Mind you I should be getting ready for a trip, but I thought, just one more challenge……

So here is my “Wisdom of the Ages”.

John Mayer sings a wonderful song, Stop This Train and it’s all about getting older. Give it a click if you have a few minutes, the lyrics are excellent with a super message in the end.

”Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many” ~Unknown

P.S. the golden threads I added at the bottom don’t want to show up on the scan, their pretty shimmer is dulled, but you get the idea

Gothic Arches: Valentine

My “Valentine” for the Gothic Arch Challenge is our son, Alex. He would have turned 26 on 13 February this year (2008 ). He will always be our special early “gone too soon” valentine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8NvoMudy8&feature=related

The song (click above), Heart of Life,  says so much! John Mayer’s Continuum album is wonderful from beginning to end; it’s impossible to pick just one favorite song. Seeing him in concert with good friends, Debbie and Dave, was an amazing and memorable experience.

“I’d like to think the best of me was still hiding up in my sleeve.” ~John Mayer

Alexander David * 13 Feb 1982 – 13 Jan 1999 *Forever Young*