Gift! Portrait of me by Miss Holly Bliss!

My birthday was October 5th and my boyfriend, Jeremy Harrison, gave me one of the most amazing birthday presents ever! He gave me many but this one in particular was so spectacular and meaningful.

He gave me an original portrait of me by Miss Holly Bliss!

She is an amazing artist that we first learned about while in California by a friend, Stephanie Williamson. Stefanie had a couple prints by Miss Holly Bliss and we both fell in love with them… Then we found her on Facebook and have been lovers and supporters of her art. What made me love her work so much is that she mainly does portraits of women who are actually quite amazing, from the amazing mother, daughter, teacher to amazing famous women. She does an amazing job at capturing their unique essence and uses a fun and fresh collage style with real magazine cut out words that fit with that individual. She is quite an amazing woman herself, following her dreams and making them a reality! And while she is doing it, she and her art have brought much happiness to others… It has brought much happiness to me! She did an amazing, touching job at capturing me and the love that Jeremy and I share.

This is her biography which is found on her Facebook Page, which I find to be beautiful and inspiring!

“Hello! My name is Holly Bliss Rogers and this is my shop-a place for you to feel safe, inspired, and loved. I am on a mission to celebrate our beautiful existence. I am here to celebrate YOU. As a young woman who has personally struggled with low self -esteem and depression in the past, I know the incredible power of self-love and compassion. It was loving myself unconditionally and embracing all my imperfections that has allowed me to grow and flourish to be the person I am today- ME-beautiful in my uniqueness, perfect in my own design. Brave, vulnerable, honest, ME. It was self-love that has allowed me to truly love others. Now I’m on a mission to help others find, embrace, and love their “ME.” I hope my art reminds you of your beauty. I hope it brings you peace when life gets stormy. I hope it inspires you to nurture your inner child, to dream big, and feel powerful. Every life is precious. You are important. You are beautiful. You have the power to make a difference. Thank you for existing. Believe it or not, the world is a better place because YOU ARE.”

And this is a poem that she left at the bottom of her biography:

“In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art”
-Rumi

Here are some more pictures!  See the full album on my Ponder Tree Facebook Page. Check out Miss Holly Bliss’s page for yourself, you might fall in love with her and might consider buying and supporting her art! This is her Facebook Page and this is her Etsy Page.

Incredible Flower by the Sidewalk!

Once we reached San Diego, California to celebrate the 4th of July with friends, we walked past this amazing flower. Once again I have never seen this kind of flower/plant before. I am very surprised about the things you can find in the most unexpected places. Here is the amazing flower and other views while in San Diego. If you know what it is called, definitely let me know!

Click here to see the photos on Ponder Tree’s Facebook page to comment , like and share!

Have you seen the orange flower before? Where have you seen it? Do you know what it is called? Do you have any shots of flowers that are also amazing? Share them! I’d love to see and hear from you.

Michelle

What amazing flower is this?

As I was taking a walk in California with Jeremy I saw these amazing looking flowers. I have never seen these before! What are they called?

Click here to see the photos in the Ponder Tree Facebook.

A day in the park with Kina Grannis

What does Sarah Bernhardt, Elizabeth Taylor and Marian Anderson have in common with Kina Grannis?

Still video shot of Kina Grannis performing at Pittsford Park 2012. Videos of Performance are at the bottom of the post or on Youtube.com/PonderTreeProduction

They were young women taking on the role of leading ladies, spearheading creativity with technology innovation. Kina Grannis is the first princess of the new global digital economy. At a time when it is so easy to be disconnected personally from your fans, the young and beautiful Kina Grannis takes the time out of her busy schedule to play a free show in front of her biggest fans near her home town, in Lake Forest, California. Kina Grannis plowed through a beautiful set of her hit songs, including “World In Front Of Me”, “The One You Say Goodnight To”, “Safe and Sound” from the Hunger Game movie soundtrack, and “In Your Arms, a song which was made famous by the artistic creation of a music video utilizing 288,000 jelly beans. In Your Arms, directed by Greg Jardin, catapulted the young creative internet star into an international pop sensation.

The new global digital economy has had a major impact on the way the people in the music industry  make money by connecting with their fans. People don’t go buy CDs and albums any more. Artists needed to find new ways to reach their fans and make money off their art. Kina Grannis did this gracefully with out missing a step. Instead of signing a major record label contract, Kina Grannis turned to Youtube, Facebook and other social media outlets as the platform to communicate with her fans intimately and directly. Who hasn’t seen her cute videos? If you know social media, you know Kina Grannis. I subscribed to Kina Grannis’s Youtube channel a long time ago and I watch every single one of her videos. I want to know what Kina Grannis is doing.

So how did she connect with her fans so easily… Yes, it’s true, she is cute, she’s funny, she’s witty and she’s real… Now, young women all around the world have a role-model who they can look up to. Kina Grannis doesn’t use sex, money, or glamor to attract her fans. Instead, she attracts people with her intellectual and creative energy. Kina Grannis is real and she is the world’s first social media sensation.

… You haven’t heard of her yet? Check out her Youtube Channels:
www.youtube.com/kinagrannis and www.youtube.com/kinatime

Article by Jeremy Dean Harrison
www.facebook.com/gladhappylove and www.facebook.com/jeremydeanharrison
Jeremydeanharrison@gmail.com

Click here to see pictures of Kina Grannis on Ponder Tree’s Facebook Page.

…and Here is my favorite video and the playlist of videos that I, Michelle Saul-Yamasaki,  shot of her at the free show at Pittsford Park in Lake Forest, California, on Sunday, June 24, 2012.

On behalf of all of your fans, we want to thank you for being so awesome, you inspire a generation of artists.

More Kina:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/kinagrannis
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kinagrannis
Google+: http://bit.ly/oxqkTa
Spotify: http://bit.ly/usvjhv
Official Website: http://www.kinagrannis.com
Merch Store: http://www.kinagrannis.com/?page=store

Two Videos of John Stringfield

Check out the two new videos of  John Stringfield singing two of his original songs, “Sudden Change in Pace” and “Let Me Know”, at The Night Owl Fullerton on Tuesday night, June 12, 2012.

Click on the image below to see and maybe like/comment an album of still pictures of the videos on Ponder Tree’s Facebook Page.

Video Production by Ponder Tree, Michelle Saul-Yamasaki.