An Illuminated Frog

Because Life is beautiful... 

I had long wanted to create a new site where I could explore not only the beauty in life, but the truly good, under-appreciated "little things" with a lot of colorful visuals, music and inspiration. If you've ever had a crummy day and needed a pick-me-up to make you smile and feel better about things going on in the big bad world, then I'm hoping this site will provide that for you.

It felt really, really good creating it, even though I sat the entire day at my desk doing it and in the process made my already-sore back ache like crazy. A small trade off for the overall good, I guess! It features a lot of my personal photography and digital work, along with inspirational quotes, poetry, and feel-good stories. I have linked it to one of my favorite sites (SaveTheFrogs.com) because I have loved frogs and toads my entire life, and this site does all it can to educate the public about the good these wonderful little creatures do for our ecosystem, and how threatened with extinction they are fast becoming. I've vowed to contribute to their worthy cause in every way I can, and I hope you will, too.

The archetype of a frog sitting silently on a lily pad evokes a sort of mini Buddha, contemplating the mysteries of life as it seeks to be One with the pond (its universe) around it, which is why I chose to title my new site, An Illuminated Frog.

Frogs and toads have had an important place all throughout history, too. Native American lore tells of the frog as a great female spirit protecting the waterways, a fecund and sacred place of birth and rebirth (I love the water metaphors). The same beliefs were held by the ancient Egyptians as well, in their Nile frog goddess, Heget.

In Japan and China, they are symbols of good fortune. And colorful amphibians have long held the imagination and love of people in movies, books (my faves being The Tales of Beatrix Potter and Mr. Toad from Wind in the Willows) and animation - who doesn't love the Michigan J. Frog character from the old Warner Brothers' cartoon, Some Froggy Evening, who jumped up and sang "Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my Ragtime Gal" only for his current owner?

To me, frogs and toads are simply magical creatures, capable of great transformation that we humans can only imagine of: from a tiny egg, to fish-like tadpole, to a four-legged adult that is at home both in the water as well as land... that really is magical!

As we humans struggle with our daily lives and beliefs and attempt to exist together in peace on the great Earth, so many of us dream of transforming into a better form of ourselves... 


This site will remain and continue, but in a more art-oriented direction, which was what it was initially set up to do. I kind of got off track with it, namely, as my husband and I were doing more ongoing decor and repair with our house (which, by the way, has two very awesome frog ponds that come to life during the summer here; as well as our downstairs bathroom being dedicated in decor to frogs, dubbed "The Frogatorium"), and we had several rounds of house guests over the year come to stay... I kind of put aside my hand-made artwork, which was supposed to be the main focus of The Quirk Shop. No worries, though, I'm back at the helm.

Please visit An Illuminated Frog... (clickable link) and see how beautiful life really is.