by Debra Cortese | Dec 1, 2017 | custom art & design, Debra Cortese Designs Handbags, Delaware River, Gift Certificates, GIFTS, Greeting Cards, honey bees, Narrowsburg, Nature Designs by Debra Cortese, Nature Lovers Gift List, nature photography, nature's energy, Patterns, photography, shopping
Original photo of the pine and oak trees that inspired Debra’s new bark patterns
Both the pine and oak bark patterns that are featured on clothing and home decor products were inspired by my love and curiosity for the variety of textures and colors of my surroundings. The models for this new design were actually the mature pine tree, the tall one behind the canoe in the landscape photo, and the hand-holding couple of oak trees that stand like guardians on the bank of the Delaware River just outside my studio window.
The trees and the surrounding plants (along with my gardens) serve as hosts to many creatures depending upon the time of year. In spring and summer, this particular pine tree is often inhabited by a hive of honeybees. They return each year to a long, narrow crevasse in the tree’s west side. I haven’t yet tasted their honey but am quite certain a visiting bear delights in his visits to this tree!
The colors and textures of the bark on this glorious pine tree were best captured with macro photography which I intently reviewed to select a most appealing detail section for the pine bark pattern. I’ve added images of several of the most popular ‘Pine Bark” products that are available from my Society6 shop.Â
I hope you enjoy the texture and colors of my tree bark designs. I certainly enjoyed creating them!
3 Oak Tree Bark Patterns by Debra Cortese
now available on clothing, accessories, tech and home decor products
click on images for product descriptions, options and pricing
by Percy Cat | Oct 12, 2015 | beekeeping, Flower of Life, honey bees, Narrowsburg
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival River Rock Bee Childrens Art and Crafts
Based on my love of nature and a lifelong recurring relationship with Honey Bees, I absolutely wanted to bee part of the first Narrowsburg Honey Bee Festival. I contacted Joan Santo of Narrowsburg Fine Wines and Spirits as soon as I heard about the festival and volunteered for the Children’s Arts and Crafts project which turned into one of the most enjoyable honeybee experiences to date!
A huge thank you to the gentleman who volunteered to take many of the images of the children’s project and also to Courtney and all of the parents and grandparents who assisted with the stripes, glue dots and googly eyes… River Rock Bees ruled the day!
So.. here are my favorite photos from the first Narrowsburg Honey Bee Festival on October 10, 2015:
#Narrowsburg Honey Bee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival with Carrie – facepainting and Debra – art and crafts
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
#Narrowsburg #HoneyBee Festival
by Percy Cat | Nov 10, 2014 | ART, art business, honey bees, nature's energy, old friends
Jan posing as Roundout Sea Captain at the Hudson River Maritime Museum http://www.hrmm.org/
Jan and I have been friends since our daughters, now in their 30’s, were in an art class together in Lyndonville, Vermont. Over the years, we’ve all moved around quite a bit and sometimes didn’t get to see each other for a year or more, but we’ve always kept in touch. It’s the kind of longstanding friendship that anyone would treasure. The kind where no matter how long it’s been since you last talked, the conversation continues like it was only yesterday.
We’re both living in the northeast again so it’s a bit easier to actually see each other in person and we are getting better at putting dates on the calendar to be sure that happens. So, this past week we met in Kingston, NY, which is conveniently about a 2 hour drive for each of us. Perfect for a girl’s day out for lunch at Hoffman House and several coffee breaks*, walking along the Roundout, a bit of shopping and dropping off the old iMac at Tech Smiths to see if it’s worth reviving.
Deb behind the pink cutout at the Hudson River Maritime Museum http://www.hrmm.org/
We stopped in at several shops along Broadway in the Roundout area. Was hoping to see Erik Richards to see canvas options for a new series of images, but I neglected to plan ahead and The Storefront Gallery was not open when we stopped by.We continued down the street and met Karen Berelowitz at KARMABEE – the graphic designs – especially the turtle was calling me in and when we realized the shop name is a combo of ‘Karma and Bee’ it was a direct sign to enter! (See my honeybee posts 😉
Our last stop was at Olivieri Art – a very eclectic space filled with great art supplies like RF Encaustic Paints, a Café and some of the most resourceful functional art by artist/owner Felix Olivieri who runs the place with his wife Sarah. I was especially intrigued by the 3D printer which was creating a bust while we were there. This is the first one I’ve seen in person so of course this was my top pic at this stop!Will be back to Kingston when I get the iMac diagnosis.
Felix Olivieri posting with his built in, functional wall storage made from interior of an old refrigerator door! www.olivieriart.com
Hope to see a few more new and familiar faces on the next visit 😉
by Percy Cat | Jun 6, 2014 | beekeeping, honey bees, interests, life changes, my garden, nature's energy, paintings, peace, sacred geometry
Bee populations are plummeting! Yet the Environmental Protection Agency recently sided with Dow AgroSciences to approve a new, highly toxic bee-killing pesticide called sulfoxaflor.
And now the EPA is considering expanding the number of crops this pesticide can be sprayed on to include corn, alfalfa, oats, and several other significant and widely grown crops.
Will you help? Tell the EPA to deny Dow AgroScience’s application to expand the registration of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor now.
Nearly one-third of our crops—including many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds—depend on bees for pollination. But bees in our country are dying at unprecedented rates, and scientists are pointing to pesticides like sulfoxaflor as a cause.
A world without bees is unimaginable. Earthjustice is doing everything we can to save the bees, using the law and the power of the courts. But we need your help to change this latest proposal.
Help us ensure the health of the bees and our planet. Take action now to save bees!
That’s why I signed a petition to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says:
“As a citizen concerned about our nations health and food security, I urge you to deny Dow AgroScience’s application to expand the registration of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor so that it can be sprayed on corn, alfalfa, oats, and several significant and widely grown crops.
Honeybees are dying at rates unprecedented in history, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to warn that it is no longer confident in our ability to ‘meet the pollination demands of U.S. agricultural crops’; Rather than expand the number of crops that can be sprayed with highly toxic and systemic insecticides like sulfoxaflor, the EPA must take immediate steps to help bees recover. I join with other members of Earthjustice in calling for you to suspend the use of sulfoxaflor on all crops pending a thorough analysis of the impacts to bees and the many crops that depend on bees for pollination.”
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-bees-from-a-highly?source=s.fwd&r_by=10684519
Thank you.
by Percy Cat | Nov 12, 2013 | Abraham Hicks, art business, astrology designs, custom art & design, designer handbags, Flower of Life, General optimism, honey bees, interests, life changes, Mike Dooley, my garden, nature's energy, paintings, Patterns, Planet Waves Astrological Insights, sacred geometry, SEEDS of INTENTION
I’m in the process of rebranding my handbag business and all of the messages I am receiving reaffirm that my childhood passions for gardening, hiking, exploring, beeing in nature were the original blueprint for the story of who I am. Along the way, sacred geometry and Flower of Life joined my list of major inspirational alignments. The symbolic and energetic vibrations of Flower of Life and all of its variations have become the basis for many of my paintings, projects, and designs over the past decade, which is especially significant in light of the challenging background story of bankruptcy and foreclosure that I was living during that time. The energy and alignment that I experience while creating art and designs using the underlying grid that represents the Flower of Life and all of its power is phenomenal.
My close friends and family knew the background story and as the foreclosure process signaled that is was time to move on they also understood why I chose to return to my childhood home town of Narrowsburg, NY. It was time to review the full circle, time to help my only sister with the care of our 88 year old mother. Mom had a severe stroke in 2005, is paralyzed on one side of her body and needs full-time assistance for all the basic daily grooming and feeding activities that most of us go through on auto pilot. I now also realize from conversations and the posts of many Facebook friends that we are among so many others taking care of aging parents and, as much as possible, we are maintaining and expanding our own stories along the way.
One of the ways I maintain an optimistic perspective is to begin my day with great coffee, my two favorite inspirational daily emails (Thoughts from The Universe and Abraham’s Daily Quote). If that isn’t enough to get my energy and attitude in the flow, because some mornings just need an extra dose of positive energy – I’ll listen to a short meditation or watch an inspirational video.
Today I ‘listened’ to the messages that, not surprisingly, came through a link in an email, and followed one to the video on this post. I’ve been aligned with the work of Esther and Jerry Hicks/Abraham for many years and as I allow more of what feels right to me, I understand, to the point of tears of joy, why nature is such an inspiring, vital part of who I am and what I can share.
Please share your thoughts on this in the comments below and share this post with your friends (share buttons below).
Enjoy the video and NATURE!
The Universe Always Provides Signs. Pay Attention
a YouTube Video of Esther Hicks/Abraham that reminded me of the power of my connections to nature:
by Percy Cat | Jun 11, 2013 | ART, Art Licensing, astrology designs, beekeeping, custom art & design, Flower of Life, honey bees, nature's energy, paintings, Patterns, sacred geometry
As long as I’m still breathing, I’m here to learn. Every day, something old is new again or more specifically, every day I see the connections and alignments of past experiences as they integrate into my present story of life. I’m constantly assessing experiences to learn how the energy of thoughts and actions affect life situations. I consider myself a life-long student and prefer to focus on what I do want as opposed to what I don’t want.
I’m always eager to learn more about the hows and whys of bee-ing*.
Last year, I returned to a painting/design style that has always intrigued me and began creating art and designs that incorporated geometric shapes of nature. (the hexagonal shape of the honeycomb in particular). The Flower of Life is a design that is found in many cultures throughout the ages. It embodies all sacred geometretic shapes and is considered the visual representation of source energy. All alignments, connections, shapes, sounds colors, tastes, feelings, sights, experiences are physical reflections of source energy – all emanating from a divine source as represented by the Flower of Life. You can read more about this at: The Ancient Flower of Life by Drunvalo Melchezidek,
or watch this Youtube video by Spirit Science which presents the information in a much more succinct and entertaining format.
(*Bees have been a recurring and significant part of my life experience and they are a major element of life on planet earth – far beyond the pollination of all of our foods, but that information will be shared soon. Suffice to say, the tiny winged creatures represent the physical manifestation of a search engine beyond Google’s wildest dreams!).
“The Honey Queen”, an original acrylic painting on canvas measures 24″ x 24″.
is not for sale because I am quite attached to it/her.
Fine art prints on paper or canvas are available – click here.
Contact Debra for price and shipping details.
by Percy Cat | Jul 14, 2011 | Animals, honey bees, interests, my garden, nature's energy, peace
Bees move in again!
Over the past 4 years we’ve been host to a hive of honeybees 4 times! Twice in the past two months with the most recent on June 29th! The first time was in 2007 when they made a new home in the east wall of my bedroom. Next was in 2009 in the west wall of the same room. Third time was just two months ago under the eave of the kitchen on the south facing side and now they’ve moved into a precarious location on the north edge of our property. At least this time the walls are not buzzing 🙂
Just past noon on Wednesday, as I was preparing lunch, I glanced out my kitchen window and saw a spinning swirl of tiny golden blurs. An all too familiar bee swarm. Just to be sure, I went outside and the loud hum of a few hundred bees confirmed that I was witnessing the 4th hive moving in to our obviously, very bee-friendly property. I mentioned this to several friends who almost unanimously said, “the bees are trying to tell you something”.
My friends know me well and of course the first thing I did was find my copy of “Animal Speak”. I’ve been rereading the Bees chapter of Ted Andrews’ book, Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small
which opens with a statement about bees being longtime symbols for accomplishing the impossible. I can certainly appreciate that!
Andrews’ book includes exercises to interpret most any animal encounter and I’ve begun to realize a huge presence of bees (not always pleasant) in my lifetime. Here are some of the messages I’m finally getting from these often misunderstood little buzzing miracles of nature:
1. Community and working together is vital to sustain a society (a business, relationships).
2. Bees have been mythical symbols throughout history. In Egypt they represented royalty. To the Celts, the bee symbolized hidden wisdom, and in Hinduism, the bee can represent Vishnu, Krishna or Kama, the god of love, depending on the context and interpretation. An interesting post from Thomas Worrel’s notes on “The Symbolism of The Beehive and The Bee” at the Mill Valley Masonic Lodge website.
Because of the number and location of bee colonies that have moved in with us here in Miami, I’ve become acutely aware of the plight of one of our most industrious and vital creatures. In terms of crop pollination and food supplies bees are a vital component and because of the greed factor and mass, monoculture farming methods that depend on heavy pesticide use, the bee population is rapidly dying off. These pesticides are not only killing the bees, but are also poisoning our foods, water supplies and the very earth/dirt that formerly provided the essential vitamins and nutrients in our foods. For more information on this topic, I recommend “FRESH” the movie and suggest regular visits to your local, organic farmer’s market.
3. The geometric, six-sided construction of the honeycomb (home, nursery and food storage areas for bees) is a hexagon, a sacred geometry symbol that represents the sun and all energies associated with it. (hmmnn… I’ve been slowly working on a series of new designs incorporating sacred geometry and astrological symbols with my signature nature’s energy images).
4. It’s time to contact Mike Price of Bees-n-the-Keys again! Best bee rescue and relocation expert in South Florida!
5. Although by now, I’m thinking I should at least consider the option of beekeeping 😉
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