ArtiphyTheHeart

Embiggening

Are you in love with words?

 

 This complete 2nd edition 20 vol. set of the OED was a gift from my mother, who would have been 98 today. She knew that words are like potato chips.  You can't have just one.  Each time I look up a word I end up reading a few pages of other words before I quit.  Today I looked-up "embiggen".  It wasn't there.

The question is:  What makes a group of letters a word?  

Answer:  We do.  

And, if the OED accepts it.  Anyone can submit new words to the ongoing OED project.  I have.

The next word I submit will be "embiggen".

Embiggen embiggen embiggen....embiggen.  Why not enlarge?  Because Flickr says "embiggen"!  Go to any Flickr page--mine will do nicely--and click to see photos in a slideshow.  Then go to options, where you can click to "embiggen".  

Spell check doesn't like embiggen, but I do.

 

I also like paper.  Especially yummy handmade paper.  If you like paper, then get thyself to Cost Plus where rolls and rolls of handmade, hand dyed, hand screened, recycled cotton rag paper are on sale disguised as gift wrap.  Gift wrap?  I'm thinking collage...

...this will end up as a journal page for A Life Made By Hand before it's finished.  

Please click to embiggen the pics. 

Hawaii In The Desert

A taste of Honolulu in Tempe, Arizona

 Clockwise from left:  1.Snowcone 2.Hawaiian prints 3.More fabric 4.Nets & sea glass 5.Hawaiian groceries 6.Wax flowers 7.Almond cookies 8.Starfish.  9.The center photo is the old Hayden Flour Mill.  It's the view across the street from the festival. Tempe is almost never this green.  Ever.

While we're on the subject of festivals, I didn't take a batch of photos at the Renaissance Fair this year, but I did get a shot of this guy playing the Carillon.  

 

 He's part of a group called Cast In Bronze, and if you click HERE, you can take a look at their website, listen to some tunes, and maybe even buy a CD or DVD.  I don't work for them and I get nothing at all for referring you.  I was just amazed at what they can do and what they do it with!

                

This video was on youtube.  It gives you a pretty good idea of how large this thing is and what it sounds like.  But for sound quality, visit their website where there are audio clips of most of their songs.

 

A couple of posts back I showed you a pic of Mona when she was just a background. 

 

Here she is now after a bit of fixing.  

There's a French web museum that posts pics of altered Monas which is worth a look.  Click HERE to see Mona's journey since her escape from the Louvre. They already have one of my Monas, and I think I might offer this one as well.

  

Signs Of Spring -- And Other Items of Happiness

February is the best month for desert spring in the warmer years.  This year has been cooler and it's March that wins the prize!

  

Absolutely perfect weather, so we'll be taking advantage of some free tickets to the Renaissance Fair this weekend.  Above pics are from festivals past.  You can click to enlarge.  Top right is my son Andrew; Bottom left is my daughter Amy.  No...I'm not the troll....shame on you for thinking that!

 

Everything I do seems a little lighter and more pastel in the springtime.  Here's an acrylic and oil pastel background for a journal page that you can click to enlarge.

 

The page below was inspired by all the March birthdays in my life.  So many friends and family members were born in this month that it always makes me think of sugar and party hats.  The bird was fun.  I love drawing with my Rapidograph and coloring the images.

 

 Both of these pages will be covered in writing and stuff before they're finished, but I thought I'd let you have a peek at them now.

 

Speaking of springtime happiness and winning months of the year, my name was drawn to win the most fabulous piece of artwork!  You can take a look at it HERE.  I won #2, the gorgeous blue textured book cover!  I'm over-the-moon giddy and happy with this!  Thanks again, Kelsey

    

 

It's March--Ten Days In, And I'm Asking Myself, "Where Did February Go?"

It's been raining lately, and I love it!  

       

This blew in from out of nowhere and took root in the back yard.  It's all alone.  I wish it would invite some of its friends to join it!

I've been working on lots of new things lately.  Here's one of them:

       

Not the funky doll...she's just holding the book open so you can see the pages.   I'll do the penwork, doodling, journaling, and maybe other things later.  This is just a peek at what I've glued-down.  You can always take a trip to my flickr to see the finished pages. 

                               
 

And here's something you need something to do:  Watch this movie!  You can see the whole thing for free on Hulu.  They change out things frequently, so be quick or you might miss it.  Here's the trailer.  It does not do justice to the final film, which is awesome.

        

Ignore the "language".  Make up your mind not to be offended.  There isn't much of it anyway, and it's the message that counts.  Messages, really.  Ink -- that's the name of the movie -- has one theme with multiple messages, all of them relevant.  And if you're bored and confused at first, stick with it.  Pretty soon you won't be.  There's an interview with the filmmakers HERE, but I'd watch the movie first.  The interview assumes you've seen it and gives too much away.

Contemplation...

For A Life Made By Hand and Mixed Media Monday

 

Thank you to Land of Nod Studios for the image of the angel which I altered slightly and re-colored for this page.  This will be another short post, as I am in the midst of several larger projects.  In addition, I am...

Reading one monumental piece of fiction,

Plus a great piece of literary commentary,

And a book on the Stanford Creativity Course.

Glad that tornadoes didn't touch down in our area last night.

Listening to soft wind and rain, 

And getting ready to put some music on and paint.

Have a great day, Everyone!

Singing Innocence...

For A Life Made By Hand and Art Creations Friday...

 
Lots to do this Monday holiday.  I'm in the midst of a couple of new ventures that I'm working on, and I'd like to spend the rest of the day with my family as well, so this post is short and sweet.  

I think the journal page above explains itself, but if you're having a hard time seeing it, just click on it to enlarge.  And while you're at it, follow the links to A Life Made By Hand and Art Creations Friday.  You'll see some wonderful things!

Have a great day, Everyone!

Sharing Knowledge...

For A Life Made By Hand and Creative Catalyst #96

Asking the question: "What are the most important lessons you've learned in life?"   

My answer:  To share whatever knowledge I have freely, whenever it is needed.  

I think everyone knows that it's important to share knowledge.  I don't think that very many people have spent much time if any, thinking about why it is so important, and just how supremely important it really is.  Everything we are in the functioning world is a result of shared knowledge.  Think for a minute about what it would mean if no knowledge was shared.  Animals share knowledge.  Even seeds contain information and memory, and this is knowledge for a growing plant.  Everything "knows" because something that came before it "knew".  When we refuse to share our knowledge, when we share knowledge only if we're paid to share, and when we hold back some of that knowledge as proprietary, we go against nature, against who we are, and who we are meant to be.

What's In It For Me?

It's a shame people feel they have to ask that question.  Nevetheless, there is a positive answer:  You get back more than you give.  Nature makes sure of that.  In fact, you get so much back, it's safe to say that if you want an insurance policy that never stops paying dividends, then you've bought one the minute you've made it part of your character to share your knowledge, no excuses, no holds barred!

Information vs Knowledge:

Not every piece of information is knowledge, and to off-set the risk of being misunderstood I must clarify that there are many pieces of information that are optional.  Optional, meaning that they are helpful only because they are desired, as opposed to being necessary.  We tend to think of so many things as necessary, that it might be good to get a clearer handle on the difference.  Knowledge is a type of information that is necessary for the recipient to function.  And it is knowledge, not just any information, that must be shared freely and completely when needed.

Learning That It Doesn't Hurt:

Basically, after that very first "ouch" we receive as infants, to greater and lesser degrees it remains difficult for us to take unfamiliar steps.  We're taught to share, but we're also bombarded with advertisements, business decisions, and sound bites that either directly or subliminally teach us that we are fools to give anything away for free.  There's a big difference between giving away your your key ingredient, or your passwords, and imparting knowledge.

What About Teaching?  

A good portion of my life is spent teaching, so this question really speaks to me.  Here's what I've learned:  If you teach for a living, you can charge for your class time (or accept a paycheck), but your knowledge must be free.  What?  Think about it.  The most successful teachers confidently share their knowledge freely and completely, knowing that it is specifically this sharing that will make people flock to them.  They answer questions and don't hold back.  The payment they accept is for the other things that go along with teaching, the time, the preparation, the materials, etc., because while they might not come back to the classroom if their paycheck was withheld, good teachers -- good people -- will continue to share their knowledge.  Remember the difference?  You can expect people to pay you for imparting certain useful information, but never charge for your knowledge.  It must be given away.  

It's one of the most valuable lesson I've learned in life.  Successful teachers share knowledge completely, freely and liberally.  In addition, they learn to impart information clearly and easily, and share this delivery with individuals or a class.  The knowledge is free.  Any additional information may or may not require a fee.  Once I learned what this meant and that it was true, through experience I also discovered that it is safe in practice.  In fact, safe doesn't accurately describe it.  It's more than safe.  It's the recipe for success in everything life has to offer, and it's completely natural to an authentically lived life.

But If I Give Away My Knowledge, Won't I Lose My Identity?

Quite the contrary.  Your knowledge is simply that part of your identity that by nature is meant to be shared.  In fact, a lot like love, it must be given in order to be multiplied.

Now I'm off to:

Spend some time with my family

Work on a couple of pieces I'm in the middle of, then

Read until I fall asleep!  

Have a great day, Everyone!

Something I Struggle With? Well, It Isn't Boredom, That's For Sure!

...For A Life Made By Hand and Creative Catalyst #95

The Questions:

About a quarter of my day is spent waiting.  I drive my kids and sometimes their friends, their siblings, and sometimes their friends, to and from dance, rehearsals, performances, other lessons, and social events.  Schedules overlap each other, so there is never quite enough time to return home, but still plenty of time spent waiting, an hour here and an hour there.  Invariably, the following dialog arises and repeats itself every so often when I meet someone new:

Q: "Aren't you bored to death?"  A: "No."  

Q: "Can't you find someone else to do this?"  A: "Yes, but I really don't want to.  I like it."  

Q: "You LIKE it?  Why?  What do you do with yourself with all that time?"  A: "Well, it's like this...

My Day:

...Six days a week I spend mornings and early afternoons in my studio, catching up on the business of the day, and creating as much artwork as I can.  Time flies.  In fact, it's suspended when I'm creating, so I'd live there and never come up for air if it weren't for a forced break.   And I get one.  Not just any break, but one that's meaningful.  One that shares my time with others, helping them safely get where they need to go, is full of purpose and gets me out of myself!  Not to mention that I'm with young people, listing to young conversation, young laughter, young music and young ideas.  And that these kids are all into the arts, some dance, some music, some performing arts, is like a boost of vitamins for my creative heart!  How can I be bored?  When I drop them off, I take my laptop, sketchbook/journal and tote bag of portable supplies to the nearest Starbucks, library, Barnes and Noble, or park, and proceed to work in a change of scenery.  What could be better?"

Q: "But don't you get bored?"  A.  "No.  I don't think you get it.  I really love this routine."

Then comes the *are you OK?* look, or the not-so-subtle rolling of the eyes.  Sometimes, a smirk.  

The Struggle:

And this is what I struggle with.  I struggle with the response I get from people who just don't get it.  Who think I should *get a life* when what they don't realize is that I happily gave up their idea of *a life* years ago when I found what makes me whole.  Perhaps the only life they understand is a life that's missing something, and they don't get *whole*.  But there is a certain type of lonely, very softly but deeply felt, when someone can't relate to your happiness. And no matter how you explain it, they just don't get it.  Maybe they're also a little threatened by it.  So sad, to be able to relate to a void, but not to wholeness.

Community:

Fortunately, my family, my artistic friends, and the art community online all provide a wealth of understanding and connection, so I've never felt alone or unsupported.  And while there are plenty of ways that life can leave you feeling fragmented, time spent in artistic creativity and artistic company really can restore the soul.  Still, I can't help thinking that there must be some way to bridge the gap between those of us who see the world in all its beautiful colors, and those who don't.  

And now, I'm off to:

Pour a glass of wine

Watch a movie with my family

Read more of The Magic Mountain

Turn off the lights, drift into peaceful sleep, and have pleasant dreams!

Have a great day, Everyone!

New Year, New Stuff....

 

...Paris--For Theme Thursday:

Some scribbles in one of my journals after a day of flipping through books on graffiti at Barnes and Noble.

Drawing--Quote No.1:

"If you're creating artwork, it's always about the drawing.  Always." --Hippie drawing Prof. at ASU in the '70s whose name I can't remember, but it doesn't matter because he was quoting someone else whose name he couldn't remember...  

What he was trying to get across to us was that even if you're making a sculpture out of two sticks and a piece of string and you've never touched pencil to paper, everything created is always drawn in your mind before it's created, even if so instantly that you don't recognize it.  There is no art without visualization.  Ever.  And drawing is about seeing, not motor skills.

Drawing--Quote No.2:

"A successful drawing is one that appears on paper exactly as your mind's eye pictured it" --Same Prof., again quoting someone else...

Q. But what if it turns out better than I pictured it?  

A. Then what you have is a less successful drawing that accidently looks better than your mind's eye knows how to picture.  Solution: Practice drawing AND seeing.  

Working In Books (as opposed to "workbooks"...):

At the moment there are five books I am working in.  The Paris page was done in a little hand bound book that I carry with me in my purse, always.  This book is filled with stuff:  drawings, scribbles, notes, lists, collages, glued abstracts, paint, pens, inks, crayon, pencils, watercolor, markers...ad infinitum.  I work on both sides of the page in this book.  It's bound with a variety of papers so that when I want to work in acrylic, I can.  When I'm just using pencil, there's a page for it.  When I want a colored background for gel pens, there are lots of those, too.  And watercolor paper, etc.

The other four serve different purposes; all I've bound by hand.   One of the collage journals is filled with acrylic backgrounds on one side of the page only.  Why?  I'm not sure, but there's something in the back of my mind brewing for the other sides of these pages.  Probably a description.  Anyway, I can use a box cutter and remove pages from this book when there's one I want to make a print of, and I don't have to worry about what's on the other side.

Another one is specifically for work I'm doing in A Life Made By Hand.  

Another one is a chronology.  I do a page every day, or every few days, in chronological order.  I don't skip around in this book and I date the pages.  Later on, this one will give me an idea of what I was up to in 2010.  

Oooops, I said five.  Not true.  There are seven.  The other three are unfinished working journals. I use these to try out new ideas and new techniques.  

I also do lots of things outside of books.

Less and More in 2004 2010:

I liked 2004 better because it rhymed.  Oh well.  Here are some things I'd like to spend my time doing more of, and others that I'd like to do less of.  This is as close to New Years resolutions that I'll ever come:

More:

Drawing

Glueing

Writing

Painting

Abstract compositions

White space

Playing

Getting serious

Laughter

Time with family and friends

Reading

Music

Focus

Organic

Less:

Non-productive time online

Rushing around

Time spent suffering fools

No:

Additives

Preservatives

Hormones

GMAs

I can already see that this will be a prosperous year, as the "mores" far outweigh the "lesses" and the "nos".

Here's what I'm up to at the moment...

Reading Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, Thomas Foster's How To Read Literature Like A Professor, and Thomas Pynchon's The Crying Of Lot 49 (all of them Tom's? ...very curious, indeed!)

Listening to Soft Machine's Six, and National Health's Tenemous Roads

Drinking tea (some things never change)

Watching HBO videos of The Flight Of The Conchords

Getting ready to celebrate Russian Christmas (old calender) tonight with friends of the family

Guest hosting for Mixed Media Monday next week, so stop by and submit some artwork!

Have a great New Year, Everyone! One great day at a time!