Stones are mute teachers; they silence the observer, and the most valuable lesson we learn from them we cannot communicate.
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Author: humoringthegoddess
I am a writer of fantasy fiction that often surrounds middle-aged women. I am a married mother of two and granny to three, a BoHo Chic kinda gal. I am recently retired and busier than when I worked 9-5. But writing and blogging is my main game.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jennifer Latour
Jennifer Latour was born in Seven Islands, Quebec, but now calls Vancouver, Canada, home.
Latour is a self-taught artist who has moved into the world of nature to create delicate, unusual art.
She has developed her love for character creation, sculpture, photography, and cinema into a series that combines a wide variety of fruits and flora into a strange and beautiful real sculpture.
She then photographs these temporary organic sculptures, sometimes even releasing her creations back into the wild.
Latour’s eye for color and the allurement of the natural world imprints her photos with a distinct, delicate, and ethereal aesthetic.
While each piece has a unique character and stands on its own, the series as a whole is evocative of the interconnectedness found in nature, and serves as a reminder that all creatures are bound simultaneously by both their similarities and their differences.
More of Jennifer Latour’s creative work can be found at https://opendoors.gallery/artists/jennifer-latour.
Sandman visits the Sonoran (repost) — My Inspired Life
I happened to stop by the blog My Inspired Life by the lovely Michelle Lee, and came across this poem in her latest post.
I instantly fell in love with the poem, the images, the entire energy from her creativity. I think you will, too. Please stop by when you have time and visit her world!
Into the morning, I am melting
wildflower honey spread across a canvas, warming
a mind massaged by his magical toes, now rested……..
Making Art Has Not Always Been Free
On my way to something else….
In tying up my Gallery blog on Degenerate Art, I came across a biography of Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler, a German Expressionist:
Living on her own from the age of 17, hers was a stressful life in a society still judgmental of female independence. In her early 30s, she was hospitalized for what has been described as a nervous breakdown. While hospitalized, she was diagnosed as having schizophrenia, although the basis of this diagnosis remains unclear.
During her hospital stay, she drew portraits of fellow patients and herself in a series later referred to as “Friedrichsberg Heads”.
With the diagnosis of schizophrenia, Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler fell under the National Socialist “Hereditary Health Act”. After her divorce in 1935, she was incapacitated and forcibly sterilized, regardless of her protests and requests from her family.
The National Socialists branded her work with the stigma of “degenerate.” Nine of her works were represented at the “Degenerate Art” exhibition in 1937.
On July 31, 1940 Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler was gassed at the age of 40 in the Pirna-Sonnenstein killing center as part of the “T4” euthanasia program.
Can you imagine — an artist of high caliber, suffering already from a mental illness, being gassed because a government deemed her “not worthy”?
Hope this makes you stop and think. I know my heart is still hurting.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries
The Lady and the Unicorn (La Dame à la licorne) is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries created in the style of mille-fleurs and woven in Flanders from wool and silk, from designs drawn in Paris around 1500.
Five of the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the five senses – taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch.
The sixth displays the words “À mon seul désir”. The tapestry’s intended meaning is obscure, but has been interpreted as representing love or understanding.
Each tapestry depicts a noble lady with the unicorn on her left and a lion on her right; some include a monkey in the scene.
Each work of art depicts one of the senses performing some action intended to exemplify the sense in question.
A sixth sense is represented in the sixth tapestry, which presents a further way of knowing the world. Scholars now generally agree that À Mon Seul Désir presents a meditation on earthly pleasures and courtly culture, offered through an allegory of the senses.
More on the magical Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries can be found at Musee-moyenage and The Conversation.
Sharing Gallery Art — Tiffany Arp-Daleo
A bright beautiful Saturday! Hope you are enjoying yours!
Today is my “Creativity” Day,” I wanted to share one of my favorite “modern day” (today!) artists — Tiffany Arp-Daleo.
Her art is modern, bright, and full of half-hidden delights in her paintings. I just went through her blog and caught up on what I’ve missed, and found this one.
Do pop over and check her out!
Being November
Share the Art!
To those of you who pop in now and then, I thank you. For those of you who take moments to talk to me in comments, I double thank you.
What I wanted to do on this rainy day, though, is introduce those of you who love art (and have never visited online galleries much) to come on over and check out my sister site: SUNDAY EVENING ART GALLERY.
If you love art — especially unique art — this is the place to wander.
The front page is one long front array of boxes filled with pictures from individual artists. Click on the picture and it takes you to at least a dozen more from the artist.
The gallery covers all sorts of artists: painters, photographers, graphic designers, ceramics artists, jewelers, quilters, glass artists, designers — any artist that creates something different.
Something that makes you say — WOW.
The art could be centuries old (Michelangelo) to general Earthly wonders (Cloud Formations) to modern sculptures (Wenqin Chen).
Its all amazing and all free.
I’m not promoting my blog just because it’s my blog — I’m promoting my blog because there’s soooo much great art! Share the pure beauty of such incredible imaginations.
It will make you happy and your friend happy!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Nikki Root
Nikki Root has custom designed and handcrafted stained glass windows in Cache Valley and surrounding areas of Utah since 1994.
In addition to her beautiful traditional stained glass, Root now specializes in one of-a-kind, 3-dimensional glass creations which are skillfully crafted from a variety of individually hand-cut vintage bottle and glassware bottoms.
Root collects Depression glassware and any interesting glass she can get her hands on to transform into windows, framed pieces and many other things.
Root’s passion for glass work began 20 years ago when her family moved from Atlanta, Ga. to build a home in Providence.
Their Atlanta home had stained glass windows, a comfort she insisted on having in Utah.
To avoid the high cost of purchasing custom designs from a glass company, Root decided to try making it herself..
This rest is stained glass history.
“Stained glass speaks,” Root shares.
“Once you have it in your home, it’s really hard to live without it.”
“So I took a class and learned how to cut and solder, and then I took off from there.”
More of Nikki Root‘s beautiful stained glass can be found at https://www.bottomsupglass.com/.
Some Autumnal Photographs
The chill in the air can’t keep creativity away! Here are some photographs I’ve taken through the years of the beautiful world I am lucky enough to call home. Have a beautiful week.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jon Juarez
Jon Juarez is an artist, author, and illustrator from San Sebastián, Spain.
He spent over a decade learning and refining his technique before beginning to work on commissioned projects.
He is known for creating beautiful sketches and drawings with bright colors and a surrealist touch.
Juarez’s fantastical illustrations of locales, which sometimes appear familiar and other times foreign, come from thoughts that were once only in his head.
Through years of practice and honing his craft, he has learned to express his creative visions, and they now take the form of elaborate compositions that boast meticulous details.
Many of Juarez’s works are based on real places, but they always have a surreal twist that takes them out of the realm of possibility.
More of Jon Juaraz‘s wonderful paintings can be found at https://www.artstation.com/harriorrihar and https://designyoutrust.com/2022/12/the-superb-hand-drawn-illustrations-by-jon-juarez/.
How’s Your Creativity Doing These Days?
Another Saturday morning — another chance to dip into the Creativity well. Although these past few weeks the well has run dry.
I know that inspiration is a circular thing. Kind of like mood swings. Or menopause.
I digress.
Do you ever get into a creative lull? A gap in energy, insight and enthusiasm? I’m certain many of us do. One time or another. And with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, there is often more important things to “get creative” with.
I’ve been on the slow-moving-switch-to-Christmas-decorating bandwagon lately. I have been sending messages to my subconscious asking it to start working on a Christmas decorating theme for this year.
Nowhere in my chilly outside future are there thoughts of painting, Angel Tears, or coloring Mandalas with fine tipped pens.
Yet, cleaning up and out my library/craft room, I felt a tingle of excitement putting away my coloring books and crystal tear drops.
That’s why I know that it won’t be long until I undertake my Creativity journey once again.
Perhaps we all need time off for side trips — Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas concerts. Visiting family members and friends. Having a hot chocolate with exercise buddies or brunch with cousins. Spending a quiet evening with someone special.
If you feel like you’ve lost it, you haven’t. Not in the least.
Take a bit of time to re-energize your aura.
Creative people are so from birth. You can never lose what will always be a part of you.
Computer Hoarder or Zen Master? (repost)
This post from July 1, 2015, popped up the other day at the bottom of one of my more recent posts. Curious unicorn that I am, I clicked on in and reread it, and laughed to myself. Not much had changed in eight years. So, for your reading amusement, here is a repost of Computer Hoarder or Zen Master …
Considering how haphazardly I live, organization is not a word that frequently passes my lips. I just have too much information, and not enough room/time/energy to organize it all. But then last week my Irish Muse stopped by, and I’ve been working on Big O 101. Most things around me are falling more-or-less in place.
One place I haven’t had much of a problem, though, is my laptop.
I used to fill notebooks with thoughts, ideas, research, menus for the week. The old-old ones were more like journals, full of angst and awakenings, blah blah blah. Necessary but over.
The newer notebooks, though, are a different animal. They are full of things I don’t recognize. Names. Lots of numbers that don’t mean a thing. Notebooks became jotting books. Need a piece of paper to write down that stupid email address? Write it in the middle of a notebook. Need to add something to the grocery list but don’t have a piece of paper handy? Write it in the middle of the notebook.
I now prefer to document my writing, research, images, and ideas on my laptop.
I must admit I have kept things in much better order than the days of pen and paper. I keep/download too many things on my desktop, but they all eventually find a folder home of their own. I have folders for Stories, Chapters, Essays – Finished, and Stories, Chapters, Essays – Unfinished. I have a Humoring the Goddess folder with dozens of sub-folders.
I have a folder called Recipes, one called Resumes, and one called Research (which, btw, has the largest, oddest assortment of information I’ve ever seen). Novels have their own folder; inside those are sub-folders of character backgrounds, copy I’ve cut and couldn’t part with, earlier versions from cavemen days, maps of ancient landscapes that may or may not be relevant – all kinds of weird stuff.
I have folders with images — with my downloading prowess I’ve no doubt got three copies of every photo I’ve ever downloaded from my phone. I’ve got family photos, photos I’ve used in blogs, photos I think are cool, photos that are inspiration for other projects, and photos that are … just photos.
I’ve got folders with names of novels I’ve never finished, folders of novels I have finished, and books I’ve downloaded and have yet to read. I’ve got cute little folders such as Girl Things, Books-Music-Words, and Family Cards and Art, and boring ones like Taxes and Passwords.
The cool thing about keeping all those folders and documents around is once I open them it’s like time-traveling through the galaxy. Where did I get these things? Why were they important to me at the time? What did I want to do with these things?
It’s like a long, long trip through the past.
And although I don’t keep as much falderal as years past, there’s something satisfying about opening a pretzel logic database and actually being able to find something. There’s something fun about thumbing through my Research folder and perusing auras, Rite of Pan, Medieval words, wormholes, and clichés.
What a weirdo! And what a galaxy to explore!
Tell me about YOUR computer. Are you organized? Do you have more ideas than gigabytes? Or are you a catcher-catch-can kinda laptopper?
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Yves Lecoq
Sometimes I come across an amazing artist who barely leaves a mark across the Internet.
So it is with Yves Lecoq.
Lecoq is considered a neo-surrealist photographer who currently resides in Entre Angers et Nantes, France.
Combining dreams, fantasies, and the subconscious mind, his work pushes artistic boundaries.
His photographs are surrealistic, as if composed of several different ideas melded into one.
Many of these photographs are composites — perhaps combinations of several of his own photographs.
There is a surreal feeling emanating from these odd versions of life, strange faces and bodies more at home in a nightmare than in every day life.
Lecoq’s work is strange and perfect, a reflection of someone who knows and appreciates the world of photography.
More of Yves Lecoq‘s photography can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/yveslecoq.
Faerie Paths — Music
You can’t change the music of your soul.
~ Katharine Hepburn
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Diana Kersey
Diana Kersey is a visual artist who works in clay, creating both studio pottery and architectural ceramics.
Kersey earned a MFA in ceramics from Washington State University in 1997, and a BFA in drawing from Texas Tech University in 1994.
Kersey exclusively works in ceramics, creating everything from small studio pieces to large architectural installations.
Her work is instantly recognizable due to the muscular and spontaneous qualities of the clay, which she enhances with colorful and translucent glazes.
The birds, insects, fish, and flowers present in her work suggest a primordial narrative, while the underlying decorative grids and motifs capture the relentless energy, complexity, and contradictions that pulse through our contemporary society.
“My making process reflects and informs how I wish to live my life. I spend very little time on regrets or changing my mind,” Kersey shared.
“I trust that I make the best decisions I can, relying on the information at hand. So my pots, basically, represent my philosophy about how to live a happy life with no room for regrets.”
More of Diana Kersey‘s whimsical ceramics can be found at https://www.dianakersey.com/.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tom Fedro
Chicago artist Thomas Fedro creates abstract art with zing and boundless humor.
After attending Valparaiso University on a music scholarship and studying at the Illinois Institute of Art, Fedro began pursuing a career as a professional artist.
His original innovations incorporate a combination of cubist collage and whimsical pop art that have an addictive rhythm all their own.
Large paintings, deep colors, big features and bold lines seem to be electrically charged.
With bright, vibrant hues and vivid, exciting shapes, Fedro paints in a variety of styles, although he prefers urban landscapes and pop art faces.
The artist uses his art to make the work of the soul more visible and real.
“Ultimately,” Fedro believes, “art acts as both a mirror and a lens that gives presence and visibility to that which previously was unseen, unknown and not understood, often residing in the underground of the conscious.”
More of Thomas Fedro ‘s bright pop art can be found at https://tom-fedro.pixels.com/ and https://www.saatchiart.com/Fidostudio.
I’d LOVE to be your neighbor! Greet the Dawn (repost)
I’d love to be Jan Beek’s neighbor! What earthly beauty, what magical poetry, what a wonderful outlook!
Do check out her love for life out at her Jan Beek …
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Windows
A short story is what you see when you look out of the window.
~ Mavis Gallant
Faerie Paths — Beauty
There is no beauty without some strangeness.
~ Edgar Allan Poe
Don’t Acerbate the Problem
I love big words.
Especially when I know what they mean.
Years ago I used to work with a woman who
always used the word “copacetic.” It always sounded out of place in daily conversation, but I loved the complexity of its intended usage.
I used to use big and big-ger words back when I was a full fledged writer. Nothing as big as copacetic, mind you— but more intricately designed words that lifted both the vernacular and the swirl of the language. I based a lot of my stories on the gap between verbal eloquence and high school level rag tag jargon, so the creative lingo actually worked.
I don’t write stories and novels much anymore. I don’t have the patience for detailing a longish plot nor an attention span for any length of time. Plus I get more pleasure reading about others’ worlds these days.
I remember the days of dreaming and writing at the same time. Of exploring while I was describing. Of knowing the entire story before I wrote the opening paragraph yet watching my story take creative turns I never initially thought of.
Yet … (I love the dramatic pause)
My sleeping habits have changed through the years, adjusting to my hubby’s work schedule (nights), my retirement, HIS retirement, and my medications. Not being able to fall asleep quickly takes away my dream time.
You see, I have a lot of creative dreams, wild dreams, an occasional nightmare, and pure nonsensical experiences. I believe these nightly escapes are a different side of my Creativity.
And not being able to get there quickly enough bugs me.
I feel like I’m behind one of those clear, slightly wavy barriers, looking at paths and buildings and people I haven’t thought about in 20 years and those I have never forgotten, right on the other side. There are sidewalks that lead to my old high school, jobs and bosses and offices that are always distorted one way or another, never-ending warehouses, my long gone parents — all sorts of interesting scenarios that are waiting for me to explore.
If I’d only fall asleep.
My dreams are a different experience than my writing. They feel … free.. Unpredictable. Like “Hey! where are we going tonight?”
And I love that .
Yet …
Instead of relaxing and meditating or listening to sleep music or reading a book to get sleepy, here I am at 2:46 am, writing a 409-word blog.
I seem to always acerbate my problem …..
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Fabio Gomes Trindade
Fabio Gomes Trindade, a talented Brazilian street artist, creates stunning graffiti masterpieces by combining his detailed portraits with branches of trees and flowering bushes.
The artist reportedly came up with the idea for this blend of street art and nature 10 years ago when he saw an acerola tree planted in the backyard of a humble house in the city. Interestingly, that same tree eventually became part of one of his most popular artworks.
Whenever he starts work on a new project, Trindade first chooses the location of the artwork.
The presence of lunch trees or flowering bushes is critical, as they basically make up about half of the mural.
The Brazilian artist uses graffiti to depict the faces and part of the hair of the portraits he creates, letting nature take care of the rest.
When paired with colorful flowering trees and green leaves, the portrait has a full, beautiful coif. It’s a clever and charming way to combine elements of the urban environment with the natural one.
More of Fabio Gomes Trindade’s marvelous wall murals can be found at https://www.instagram.com/fabiogomestrindade/.
The Marvel of Music
There are as many forms and styles of music as there are bricks in the Yellow Brick Road. And, depending upon our lives and histories and happenchance moments we have been exposed to quite a few of them.
Pop, Heavy Metal Rock, Oldies Rock, British Rock (and a dozen more), Country, Alternative, Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Big Band, Hip Hop, Rap — the list goes on and on. We may overdose on modern country (Toby Keith), vintage country (Hank Williams), Big Band (Artie Shaw), Bluegrass (Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs) — all have music that thrill the souls of any and all of us.
Having said that (along with mentioning a half dozen times which music I usually listen to), I have been listening to slow, soft, rhythmic music to help me fall asleep. I don’t have headphones or ear buds (yet), but having my iPad near my head or right under my pillow works quite well.
I was listening to “Classical for Sleep” the other night, and I listened — really listened — to a couple of masterpieces on piano. Songs you’ve heard a dozen times, through movies or as background elevator music, and most likely don’t pay attention to.
I listened to “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven the other night. Everyone knows that slow, sleepy beginning, and the sped up middle and end, and this time I really listened. To every individual note. And as the piece unfurled before me I was amazed that the artist could play that fast that well. It was amazing.
I also listened to Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” Wasted as the ending song of Ocean’s 11 movie (and overused in movies in general), the piano work was amazing. Each note individually wrapped around the next, listening to it in the dark of night brought an even deeper appreciation of classical music in general and piano music specifically.
Do you ever turn out the lights and listen to your favorite slow, creative, relaxing music favorites? Maybe it’s smooth jazz or Christian hymns or Christmas music or astral travelling serenades.
Listening to music right before you fall asleep relaxes your mind as well as your body. And that’s when you get to really appreciate the talent of the musician, the composer, and the universe. You can appreciate the individual notes, the intricate finger work of violins or cellos or pianos, and feel the atmosphere the composer was creating.
Music is so different at night.
Try it. Let me know what you think.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Chesley Bonestell
Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (1888 –1986) was an American painter, designer, and illustrator.
His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illustration.
Bonestell was born in San Francisco in 1888, and as a teenager survived the 1906 earthquake that leveled the city.
A pioneering creator of astronomical art, along with the French astronomer-artist Lucien Rudaux, Bonestell has been dubbed the “Father of Modern Space Art”.
His first astronomical painting was done in 1905. After seeing Saturn through the 12-inch (300 mm) telescope at San Jose’s Lick Observatory, he rushed home to paint what he had seen.
Bonestell created paintings depicting astronomical scenes and space flight explorations decades before the first manned missions.
His paintings electrified generations of space enthusiasts: aspiring writers, astronomers, physicists, artists, engineers, and others.
For his realistic portrayals of space exploration, the solar system, and the far off galaxies, Chesley Bonestell became known as the “Dean of Astronomical Artists.”
More of Chesley Bonestell’s fantastic art can be found at https://bonestell.org/.
Collage of Cats — My Kawaii Quarter (repost)
You know me — I am a texture junkie at times. Although I appreciate crafts of ALL kinds, there’s something about a 3D creation — slightly or overtly — that makes me stop and look a little longer.One of the blogs I follow, My Kawaii Quarter, is full of wonderful kawaii drawings (defined as the culture of celebrating all things adorable and embracing fictional characters as the embodiment of positivity).
This particular blog, though — Collage of Cats — is about one of her art projects working on “chigiri-e ” (ちぎり絵), a traditional Japanese form of art which basically involves tearing up bits of special paper and gluing on paper to create a picturesque collage.
Her collage is full of straight and curved lines, texture, color, cats, and … did I say … texture?
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Mary Gregory Glass
Mary Gregory Glass is a variety of glass produced in the United States toward the end of the 19th century in imitation of the then popular English cameo glass.
Although “Mary Gregory” glassware was primarily a Czech product, it was not entirely limited to the Bor Region of Czechoslovakia. Switzerland, Holland and Germany also produced glassware of this type.
Both transparent and colored, the glass is decorated with white enamel designs that are painted on the surface instead of being carved, as the genuine cameo glass was.
The distinctive feature of this style of glass are scenes of Victorian children in silhouette, dressed in their best clothes, playing games and having fun.
The term ‘Mary Gregory’ indicates a style of glass rather than a manufacturer.
It originates from the myth that a lady in USA named Mary Gregory painted scenes of children on thousands of items of glassware.
Miss Mary Gregory (1856-1908) was an enameller working in the 1870s and 1880s who decorated glass for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Mass., but it is believed she painted landscapes, not children.
Regardless of the truth that is now known, the name has stuck, and this style of glassware is still defined as Mary Gregory Glass.
More of Mary Gregory Glass can be found at 20th Century Glass and World Collector.
Faerie Paths — Madness
The horrors of these days make the world seem insane, issues and motives and reasoning lost in the zeal of the moment. And we, as living, breathing individuals can do nothing to stop the madness. We are beyond prayers.
October is for Poetry — The Ink Owl
Actually October is for all kinds of things: blankets, yellow and red leaves, fires, nippy morning breezes, apple pies and football.
But for me October is for poetry as well.
I happened to come across a plethora of wonderful poetry the other week by those blogs I follow, and can’t help but want to share their musical words with you. So here is my first offering to you wonderful readers.
Blogger Michael Erickson is a writer, husband, father, dinosaur enthusiast, future science educator, and, from his blog, The Ink Owl, a poet. What caught my eye this October was his series A Sinister Countdown.
It is a delightful collection of daily poems that touch on the melancholy, the macabre, the ambience of the Halloween season. I suggest you check out his blog and enjoy the ride!
Sinister Countdown – Where Darkness Lies
The sky warns of something coming,
Upon reality’s edge just beyond where darkness lies.
‘Tis risky for one as mortal as I,
To run a gauntlet of light as this.
Unseen beings prowl at a thinning gate,
As day gives way to night.
Soon my steps will be determined,
By an unforgiving monster.
One can only pray that this errand won’t fail,
Let me not stray into waiting jaws.
Let there still be hope in this world,
For a new day to dawn bright.
In the mean time I dodge and weave,
Braving a shattering path alone.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Pejac
Pejac (Silvestre Santago) is a Spanish painter whose works include outdoor murals, often utilizing trompe-l’œil techniques.
Born in Santander, Cantabria, Spain in 1977, Pejac studied fine art first at Salamanca, then Barcelona, and finally at Accademia di Belle Arti di Milano “Brera”.
Pejac’s first steps towards street art happened while at university in Italy when he became disillusioned with the attitudes of his art teachers.
As a reaction to their elitist values, he decided he would create art for everybody.
Around 2000, Pejac started working in the streets of Milan to bring art to those who would never visit a museum.
Pejac is familiar with different styles, techniques, formats and mediums, from miniature window drawings to striking site-specific interventions to elaborate replicas of classic masterpieces.
Like the installations of street artist Banksy, Pejac’s irreverent site-specific works often employ trompe-l’œil techniques and clever twists on familiar imagery to communicate powerful messages regarding social and environmental issues.
“I prefer to speak with a soft voice,” Pejac stated in one of his rare interviews, metaphorically describing his poetic approach to creating subtle, yet impactful studio pieces and urban interventions.
“When people speak with a soft voice, others draw closer to listen.”
More of Pejac‘s amazing work can be found at https://www.pejac.es/ and https://www.streetartbio.com/artists/pejac-biography/.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Siew Heng Boon
Siew Heng Boon is a jelly artist and the owner of Jelly Alchemy in Sydney, Australia.
Heng Boon uses seaweed jelly and natural coloring to create mesmerizing 3D jelly cakes which are infused with flavors like lychee, coconut, peach, and rose.
The artist discovered the art of 3D jelly cakes in 2016 while spending some time in Malaysia. Intrigued by the unique food art, she undertook a 3D jelly class that same year, where she learned all the basics about design, coloring and taste.
In 2019, Siew Heng Boon of Jelly Alchemy was invited to teach in Shanghai, China. Later that year, she became a 3D jelly art instructor at The Australian Patisserie Academy.
What is amazing about this impressive food art is that everything has to be done upside down, in layers, and can take up to 4 hours to complete.
It all starts with a clean canvas – the clear jelly. Once hardened, the artist will use a syringe to inject edible dyes into the jelly, sometimes using various accessories to create different shapes.
The artist starts with the petals, then adds the leaves and any other design elements she has in mind.
Once the design is completed, a hot layer of jelly is poured over the cake to seal it. The fruits of the artist’s labor can only be admired when the cake is flipped over.
More of Siew Heng Boon’s marvelous cakes can be found at https://jellyalchemy.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/siewheng83/.
Faerie Paths — Brown Sugar
It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.
— Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Catrin Welz-Stein
Artist Catrin Welz-Stein was born in Weinheim, Germany.
During her studies in Graphic Design in Darmstadt, Germany, Welz-Stein was introduced to the fields of photography, illustration and digital image processing.
These gave her a new perspective on the possibilities to visualize ideas and to transport them into images.
Welz-Stein started to create digital art by combining historical paintings, curiosities and fairytale-like illustrations into surreal and sensual images that are both familiar and alien at the same time.
The artist tears apart old photos, pictures and illustrations, then meticulously combines them in Photoshop to create her own unique image.
Although some conservative art critics may turn up their noses on digital art, Welz-Stein defends her craft with passion.
“Yes, of course it is art even if it is done on a computer. There are so man more possibilities to be creative nowadays and the use of modern technologies should be seen as an enrichment to the arts,” the artist shares.
“Regardless of the medium you choose to create art—creativity comes within yourself, not from the computer or the brushes you use to paint.”
More of Catrin Welz-Stein’s magical work can be found at https://www.catrinwelzstein.com/.
Ode to Autumn Fly (repost)
A poem I wrote many moons ago at a Wisconsin Writers Conference….
Pesky fly lands on my foot
A most major distraction
I glance towards colleagues
Mismatched socks
Writer’s idea of humor
Creative jokesters, these bards be
Fly lands in someone’s hair
Restless in its annoyance
Won’t someone give him a sugar cube?
Lots of people with no socks
End of summer, end of sandals
Autumn nips of cold and gold
Summer Solstice come and gone
The robes of Fall begin to unfurl
Protect us from Winter’s breath
Soon the fly will hear the call
Change of seasons
Taking its sugar cube along
On its never ending journey south
Hope he wears mismatched socks, too
(c) Claudia Anderson
Finished One Gala — Now Off To Another!
I hope you all enjoyed the past week of highlighted past Sunday Evening Art Galleries. There were, as you can imagine, way too many artists to choose from, but the tours were free and full of color and imagination.
I also hope you took time to click on the artists’ links and check out even more art in the galleries themselves. Each artist is wonderfully unique, often in more ways than one, and hopefully you got a fuller picture of their magic.
I myself was up in a cabin in northern Wisconsin for a week, acting more as background noise to a group of fishermen. In hindsight I could have/should have stayed home – at least I’d have had a car to bop around in and full-fledged internet to access. But it was fun, as I did get (again) yet another glimpse into the minds of boys and their (minimal) toys and hobbies.
(Made me appreciate the world of writing and sketching and cooking and knitting and quilting and scrapbooking all the more.)
But I digress.
In my wanderings through my WP Reader, I came across (again) some fantastic poetry. I have saved those poems and artists and hope to have a week of poetry sometime in the future.
But now it’s October.
I once dedicated a whole month of blogs to the beauty of Fall … poetry, paintings, photography, gatherings, the whole spectrum.
Hopefully it’s not too late to do that again.
So starting tomorrow I hope to spice up your autumn with a variety of Creativity that highlights autumn and the turning of the leaves and the dropping of the temperatures.
Again – please feel free to send me hints of where to go and what to publish and your feelings about the world of golden colors and extra blankets.
For those of you who are just coming into summer (Ivor) I know you are experiencing cool days and budding trees – feel free to offer your thoughts on Fall, too!
Voici l’automne! (French)
Ecco l’auatumno (Italian)
Ma’avtaHvIS naDev jlH! (Klingon)
Here’s to Autumn!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Things
Jennifer Maestre
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/05/17/jennifer-maestre/
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Harps
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/10/23/harps/
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Bathsheba Metal
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/12/21/bathsheba-metal/
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Ray Villafane
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/01/10/ray-villafane/
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Dreamcatchers
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/03/15/dreamcatchers/
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Hair
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/04/27/hair/
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Quilts
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/10/12/quilts/
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Snowglobes
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2018/05/19/snowglobes/
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Rings
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/05/29/rings/
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Chris Campbell
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2022/03/07/chris-campbell/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Nightmares
Anton Semenov
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/02/01/anton-semenov/
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H.R. Giger
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/05/23/h-r-giger/
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Colin Batty
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/12/31/colin-batty/
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Hieronymus Bosch
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2018/05/05/hieronymus-bosch/
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Remedios Varos
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/09/24/remedios-varos/
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Francis Bacon
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2022/09/07/francis-bacon/
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Zdzisław Beksiński
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/11/04/zdzislaw-beksinski/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Glass
Luke Jerram
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2015/08/04/luke-jerram/
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Rene Lalique
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/07/31/rene-lalique/
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Graham Muir
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2018/05/19/snowglobes/
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Ercole Barovier
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/03/22/ercole-barovier/
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Daniela Forti
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/10/24/daniela-forti/4
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Jack Storms
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2018/03/03/jack-storms/
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Ronnie Hughes
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2020/03/24/ronnie-hughes/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Nature
Trees
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2015/08/03/trees/
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Star Stuff
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2015/09/24/star-stuff/
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Minerals
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/02/07/minerals/
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Steve Axford
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/06/08/steve-axford/ ..
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Matt Molloy
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/11/27/matt-molloy/
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Rock Formations
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2021/05/16/rock-formations/
Ice Sculptures
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/02/18/ice-sculptures/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Body Art
Guido Daniele
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2015/05/26/guido-daniele/
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Face Off
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/08/31/face-off/
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Cecelia Webber
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/09/08/cecelia-webber/
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Johannes Stotter
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/11/28/johannes-stoetter/
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Valeriya Kutsan
https://burlexe.com/archive/just-because-valeriya-kutsan-and-alexander-khokhlov/ ..
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Luke Nugent
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2021/05/24/luke-nugent/
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Andrea Reed — Girl Grey Beauty
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2020/07/18/girl-grey-beauty/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Indigenous
Lois Mailou Jones
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2017/03/30/lois-mailou-jones/
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Rosina Becker Do Valle
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2018/08/06/rosina-becker-do-valle/
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Islamic Mosaic Art
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/06/23/islamic-mosiac-art/
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Raja Ravi Varma
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/10/31/raja-ravi-varma/
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Carolyn Mazloomi
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2022/03/16/dr-carolyn-mazloomi/
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Day of the Dead
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2022/01/05/day-of-the-dead/
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Kathleen Kills Thunder
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2020/09/15/kathleen-kills-thunder/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — (Days of Future Passed) — Surrealism
René Magritte
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2016/01/22/rene-magritte/
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Mark Ryden
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2018/10/20/mark-ryden/
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Salvador Dali
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2019/01/08/salvador-dali/
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Michal Trpák
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2022/12/23/michal-trpak/
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Jennybird Alcantara
https://sundayevenngartgallery.com/2022/11/20/jennybird-alcantara/
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Igor Morski
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2022/01/21/igor-morski/
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Miles Johnston
https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2021/06/14/miles-johnston/
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach, (1685 – 1750), composer of the Baroque era, the most celebrated member of a large family of north German musicians.
Although he was admired by his contemporaries primarily as an outstanding harpsichordist, organist, and expert on organ building, Bach is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
Bach become the organist at St Boniface’s Church in Arnstadt – a role that saw him on a regular salary and expanding his skills at the keyboard.
The Brandenburg Concertos were composed in 1721 as a sort-of musical job application for the Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg – it was unsuccessful.
During the 1720s and 1730s Bach faced harsh criticism when he was composing his most important works (the Passions and the Goldberg Variations among them) because a new Italian “style” invaded Germany, making his work appear outdated.
With the notable exception of opera, Bach composed towering masterpieces in every major Baroque genre: sonatas, concertos, suites and cantatas, as well as innumerable keyboard, organ and choral works.
Rischgitz/Getty Images
During the 1720s and 1730s Bach faced hard criticism when he was composing his most important works – the Passions and the Goldberg Variations among them – a new Italian style invaded Germany, making his work appear outdated.
Appearing at a propitious moment in the history of music, Bach was able to survey and bring together the principal styles, forms, and national traditions that had developed during preceding generations and, by virtue of his synthesis, enrich them all.
More information on the work of Johann Sebastian Bach can be found at https://www.biography.com/musicians/johann-sebastian-bach and https://www.classicfm.com/composers/bach/all-time-best-pieces-music/.
Next Week’s Trip Into the Past
Every once in a while I like to devote a week to highlighting some of my Sunday Evening Art Gallery galleries. There are so many unique artists and galleries at my other website … 618 so far.
618 individuals taking Creativity to the next level.
To me, there’s nothing better.
So next week, for seven days, I’m going to highlight art in several different categories:
- Body Art
- Surrealism
- Glass
- Things
- Landscape
- Indigenous
- Nature
- Nightmares
I realize that’s eight categories and there’s only seven days in a week, but, hey — I’ll adjust.
There are beautiful and bizarre and amazing artworks in each one of these broad areas — I’m sure you’ll find something you like! They are all so much fun!
If you ever have suggestions for artists for me to research and include, just let me know — through this post or any post.
Your input is always welcome. Always!
Summer’s Slow Farewell (repost)
I have always loved the lightness, the inspiration, that comes from Michelle Lee’s blog, My Inspired Life. 
In this repost, she shares the magic and the melancholy of the end of summer.
Feel free to visit Michelle at My Inspired Life and become inspired yourself!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Matthew Simmonds
Matthew Simmonds is a British sculptor graduated with an honors degree in history of art from the University of East Anglia in 1984, specializing in the art and architecture of the medieval period.
After working for several years as an illustrator, Simmonds studied architectural stone carving at Weymouth Technical College.
He moved to the artist town of Pietrasanta in Italy six years later, to hone in his skills in classical marble ornament, before going on to apply them as an artist.
The result of a lifelong interest in stone architecture, Simmonds’ portfolio explores the characteristics of ancient and medieval buildings.
Making a play of architectural spaces on a small scale, the solid stone into which the sculptures are carved is opened up to reveal intricate internal worlds in which the changing viewpoint and light play a strong role.
Each piece is intricately hand carved into a single block of marble or limestone, and designed to evoke the feeling of a larger space.
“The world of historical architecture, particularly that of religious buildings, offers an unlimited language of expression to be inspired by,” Denmark-based Simmonds shared.
“While I often make works that are historically very specific to just one time and culture, I also try to balance this with less specific and more abstract works that draw on the use of space and light.”
More of Matthew Simmonds‘ remarkable sculptures can be found at http://mattsimmonds.com/.
Faerie Paths — Cosmos
The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us — there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.
~ Carl Sagan
Another Life Change
This afternoon I plan to sit out on my back deck with a glass of wine and toast the end of another chapter of my life.
Today is my husband’s last day of employment.
Most relationships have the male retiring before the female; in my case, I enchanted (and married) a younger male.
But I digress.
The moment in time that I’m referring to is that this is the last evening I will have totally to myself.
Oh, my mate will be sure to keep himself busy hunting, fishing, and whatever else retired males like to do. I’ll be joining many of his activities (like grandkids, traveling, bike riding, shopping, and live music concerts), along with doing “my own thing” while he does his.
Yet I will miss the few evenings a week that I had to myself.
My husband worked nights, so three evenings a week I did all kinds of things with no one to watch or care.
Not that anyone would watch or care.
But again I digress.
I will be raising my glass of wine to evenings wasted watching TV, fine tuning my crafts to backgrounds of 40s crooners or 80s pop hits, walking through my woods to the back gate yelling at my dogs, pretending my way through H.P. Lovecraft, eating a bowl of cereal before bed, or writing in a journal or on a computer with just my thoughts for company.
I’m not saying I won’t continue any and all of the above … there’s so much more I want to explore and do.
So much more I want to dream about.
And although my husband is my love and life and soulie and all that good stuff, we are still two different people, and take two different approaches to many things.
That includes time alone. “Me” time. “Soul” time. “Dream” time.
With this glass of wine I toast to all the time I’ve spent alone dreaming and all the times yet to come that I’ll be able to dream along side someone else.
Even if we are astral traveling in two separate directions …
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Elena Dmitreko
Elena Dmitreko is a Ukrainian painter now living in the United States.
She identifies herself as a photo-realist and impressionist painter, covering subjects such as food, animals, and landscapes.
Dmitreko’s work focuses on capturing the smallest details of recognizable experiences, settings, and objects.
From hyper-realistic animal paintings to serene ocean scenes, the artist retains an expert sense of light, color balance, and proportion.
Her reproductions of food in particular often have the added benefit of glistening water drops or submersive fluids, adding yet another intriguing layer to her interpretation.
“Our world is a huge generator of energies and vibrations. I grab hold of this living force and transfer it to the canvas with a brush,” Dmitreko shares.
“Painting is a part of the living. it carries a message from the depths of the soul and we, who are touching and drowning in them, are fulfilled.”
More of Elena Dmitreko‘s realistic paintings can be found at Singular Art and on Instagram.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Hilma af Klint
Hilma af Klint (1862 – 1944) was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings are considered among the first abstract works known in Western art history.
Af Klint studied at the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, graduating with honors in 1887.
She soon established herself as a respected painter in Stockholm, exhibiting deftly rendered figurative paintings and serving briefly as secretary of the Association of Swedish Women Artists.
She showed an early ability in visual art, and after the family had moved to Stockholm, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts for five years during which time she learned portraiture and landscape painting.
Starting in 1896, af Klint and four of her female artist friends formed a cadre known as the Friday Group, which was dedicated to the study of Judeo-Christian scripture, followed by séances intended to reach beings that existed beyond the visible world.
By 1904, she was claiming that she’d been commanded to do artworks by these beings, and working under the sign of one such deity named Amaliel, she undertook a full year of preparation to create what would become some of her most famous works.
Af Klint created experimental automatic drawing as early as 1896, leading towards an inventive geometric visual language capable of conceptualizing invisible forces both of the inner and outer worlds.
The artist’s later period abstract art (1906-1920) delved into symbolism with a combination of geometry, figuration, scientific research and religious practices.
With unsurpassed wisdom and in anticipation of human foolishness, not only did af Klint state that her work was not to be shown for 20 years following her death, but she also stipulated that no work could be sold separately, ensuring that her artworks could not become misunderstood commodities.
More of Hilma af Klint‘s spiritual artwork can be found at https://www.theartstory.org/artist/af-klint-hilma/ and at the Guardian.
Compromise — A Poem
Messy room
sorting through piles
Jeremy found
long lost pocket watch
remembers playing lawyer
or was it president
needed the stopwatch
to start the war
or was it the race
Putting more clothes away
trying not to feel guilty
should he confess?
Or should he slip it under
little brother’s mattress?
Angels and devils
and Father Ryan’s face
turn into his history teacher
the lady with the almost
visible mustache.
What should he do?
Dad was so angry
That made him afraid
Dad was so sad
That made him guilty
Put away the last micro machines
And the Power Ranger wristband
With triple light cuffs
What was the word mom used?
Compromise.
Yes, that was the word.
Find the middle
like the filling of the Oreo
Half and half. In and out.
Compromise.
Jeremy took the watch
sneaking into dad’s room
hid it between the mattresses
leaving the chain dangle
just a little
so mom would find it
when she made the bed.
Then it wasn’t really lost.
It never was
The lawyer had it all the time.
~Claudia Anderson, 2011~
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Eva Jospin
Eva Jospin is a French artist known for her elaborate cardboard sculptures.
Born in Paris, Jospin graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des BeauxArts de Paris.
The artist cuts and gules cardboard to craft dense, multi-layered and highly detailed forests with stunning depth of field.
For more than a decade, Jospin has explored the possibilities of the corrugated material, layering it to create solid pieces that can be carved to reveal detailed landscapes and interiors.
Using cardboard, Jospin crafts detailed architectural sculptures and immersive sets that explore the connection between the natural and built environments.
Within her works, gothic towers, arches, and columns blend with cardboard-created geological formations, caves, and vines. 
Jospin’s sculptures often aim to explore the relationship between nature and culture while challenging our perceptions of materiality.
They are displayed in a way that invites the viewer to give them a closer inspection, either by passing through them or by getting close enough to be able to fully appreciate the artist’s craftsmanship.
More of Eva Jospin‘s architectural structures can be found at https://www.artsy.net/artist/eva-jospin and https://www.galleriacontinua.com/artists/eva-jospin-320.
Faerie Paths — Be Yourself
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Kelly Louise Judd
Kelly Louise Judd is an artist living in Kansas City, having received a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in 2002.
She is inspired by flora, fauna and folklore, and has a deep appreciation of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Judd uses her talents to compose surreal compositions which beg us to ponder these symbols’ greater meanings.
Human figures and animals are combined with flowers, ferns overlay the long tails of two cats, a lanky heron gracefully perches among bluebells and sunflowers, and human hands reach upward to reveal sprawling botanicals.
Rendered on neutral-toned backdrops, the works evoke the patterns and organic recurrences found throughout the natural world.
“I’m very drawn to Romanticism and Transcendentalism,” Judd shares.
“The interconnectedness of nature and all things and particularly our response to nature while in solitude is the deepest inspiration for me.”
More of Kelly Louise Judd’s magical paintings can be found at https://kellylouisejudd.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/swanbones/.
Conspiracy Theories
I just started watching the TV series “The X Files” on Hulu.
I’m a little behind the times when it comes to TV series, but I tell myself now that I’m retired I have more time to waste watching TV.
That’s not true, of course, but it’s a theory I can live with.
The stars of the series are investigating all this shadowed stuff, hints of aliens and secret government projects and people encouraging others to stop investigating the weirdness.
Some of you may have already watched the whole series.
But watching this series makes me wonder about all the secrets in the world. All the projects, paperwork, investigations and stories that people don’t tell you about.
Now, this is not a conspiracy blog. I know that there are groups and societies and people who believe that there is a whole world conspiracy that we are ignorant about. Things they say we are not supposed to know about. Goings on that are private and secret and of a particular (if not conspiratoral) nature.
conspiratorial (adjective) — of, relating to, or suggestive of a conspiracy { a theory asserting that a secret of great importance is being kept from the public}.
There are a lot of things in the world I don’t understand. There are scientific theories that could blast my brain into tidbits as I try to understand them, explanations that are above my head, phenomenon I don’t get.
This TV series infers there are things going on in the world that we have no business knowing.
Part of me wants to know it all. The alien invasions, ghost sightings, areas protected by force fields, and astral projections. I mean, if they exist, why not tell us?
Star War cybertech technology, extraterrestrial communications, time travel — I mean, why not?
The world we live in is already in trouble, factions standing on opposite ends of reality, no tolerance or acceptance of anything that remotely resembles getting along with each other.
Sometimes I think I’d rather wander off searching for aliens and inter- and extra-dimensional beings than deal with the prejudices and injustices in the world around me.
At least I’d have half a chance at real communication.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Clark Sorensen
Clark Sorensen has utilized his BFA in Sculpture from the University of Utah to craft marvelous sculptures of a unique nature.
After years of working in costume design, illustration, and computer animation, Sorensen could not resist the “call of nature.”
In 2002, Sorensen realized the potential of the porcelain pissoir and turned the mundane task of using the men’s room into a luxuriously satisfying experience by crafting whimsical urinal and sink sculptures for the powder room.
His work is a fusion of function and beauty, humor and grace, as his designs are unique, one-of-a-kind creations.
And though they look like shiny ceramic sculptures that belong in galleries, they are totally functional for private or commercial use and many men around the world can confirm.
“My pieces echo the classic conflicts between masculine and feminine, good and evil, soiled and chaste,” Sorensen shares.
“My work reflects my interest in combining beauty with function and exploiting the discord between opposing elements in life and in art. The contradiction of taking an unsightly urinal and transforming it into a graceful object like a flower or shell is a potent combination.”
More of Clark Sorensen’s delightful sculptures can be found at http://clarkmade.com/.
Faerie Paths — Crazy
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
~ Walter Isaacson
Weird Haired Old Lady
Old people do strange things.
My mind tells me I’m nowhere near old, yet the calendar and my birth certificate tell me otherwise. How this can be I don’t know. There is no way I graduated from high school 55 years ago. That’s utter bull. No way. Uh huh.
A 40-year-old son? What happened to his soccer games and baseball games? Those are now being replaced by his OWN kids’ schedules.
No way. Uh huh.
Am I in denial? Definitely.
How does one deal with this major mental roadblock in your life?
You change your hair color.
All my life I was an auburn tartie. Loved that deep reddish brown look. Then my hair started turning gray on the sides, so I figured what the heck. Let it go.
So this salt and pepper look hung around my face for a number of years. Deep down inside I wished I had long, thick hair, or curly hair or blonde hair — anything but this thin, flat mop that frames my face.
Retirement is indeed a golden time, but it’s also a stress of its own making. No going back. No changing bad decisions or bad hair choices. It’s all or nothing these days. There’s not a lot of time anymore to mull and dwell and dawdle. You’re moving forward at the speed of light these days, so you need to stop and smell the roses as you head down the road.
And I got to wondering — if not now, when?
So I went to the salon today and asked for purple and blue highlights be put in my hair. Not subtle, barely-there colors. These are bursts of lavender and cobalt and darker purples dancing all through this gray mop.
And it looks great.
People will definitely turn an eye when I walk by. I will create my own center of attention that I’m not sure I want.
But I did something out of the box. Something unusual and attitude adjusting and scary and life defining. I’ve never been a beauty, and the gray hair was draining any confidence I had stuffed into the nooks and crannies of my life.
There are not many opportunities to change your emotional direction as you get older. People may say let it go and I’m so over all of this and I’m perfectly happy with who and what I am.
But often there’s a chink in that armor. Deep down inside we may not always be as confident as we think we are. As we want to be.
So why not take a step out of that rut and try something new? Different? At this point in life, what have you got to lose?
If not now, when?
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp, (1941) is a popular American dancer, director, and choreographer who was known for her innovative and often humorous work.
Tharp attended Pomona College but transferred to Barnard College where she graduated with a degree in art history in 1963.
In 1965, Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. 
Her dances are known for creativity, wit and technical precision coupled with a streetwise nonchalance. 
By combining different forms of movement such as jazz, ballet, boxing and inventions of her own making, Tharp’s work expands the boundaries of ballet and modern dance.
In 1988 Tharp disbanded her company and joined American Ballet Theatre (ABT), where she served as artistic associate alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov until 1990.
She continued to choreograph throughout the 1990s, but by 2000 the Twyla Tharp Dance Company was performing again.
“When I started working in New York, you were either modern dancer, or you were a ballet dancer,” Tharp shared.
“I thought that was ridiculous, because I could be both a ballet dancer and a modern dancer, so shouldn’t everybody else be able to do that?”
More of Twyla Tharp’s amazing career and chorography can be found at https://www.twylatharp.org/ and https://achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/.
Full Time Art Gallery?
I’ve been at a hilty tilty point in my life lately.
Nothing dramatic, mind you — just a thought or two of a career change. Change of direction. Taking that right path instead of the left for a while.
But I don’t know.
Like the moon, I ebb and flow with my side job, Sunday Evening Art Gallery. I have so enjoyed every part of my blogging — from Faerie Paths (magical quotes and pictures), to narratives of my life and thoughts and discoveries, to the Gallery.
I’ve been finding more and more fun, wonderful artists to showcase. And I don’t mean artists-similar-to or a different-version-of. I’ve tried to find artists that make you say “Wow — look at that!” Artists you don’t see every day. Artists doing things you’ve never seen before.
I’m hooked.
So much so that I’ve thought of doing nothing but art galleries.
I don’t know … I wonder if I devote full time to artists and their works if I’ll lose some of my followers.
Who knows why one person follows another — something different, I would think, for everyone. Maybe it’s reading something that resonates inside of you. Maybe it’s their point of view of the world. Or their Creativity. Their style of Creativity.
Then again, how many days would I feature unique artists? I already do two or three shows a week. I’m so behind in filling up the follow up main gallery — SUNDAY EVENING ART GALLERY — that I’m embarrassed.
Every couple of days I get a new follower here and I wonder — what was it that piqued your interest? My silliness? My heartfelt Faerie Paths?
Or my artists?
So, my good friends, what do you think? Are five days of art a week too much? Is there Depth in Diversity? Haven in Humor? Quality in Quotations?
Ahhhh …. the burden of a wandering soul …
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — NeSpoon
NeSpoon is a Polish artist based in Warsaw.
Even though her art range between street art, pottery, painting, sculpture and jewelry, most of her works consists of traditional laces, either made in clay or painted on walls.
NeSpoon’s art uses intricate doily patterns to transform abandoned and austere areas into truly remarkable sights.
Through the medium of the location of her art, NeSpoon also comments on political and social issues that have significant meaning to her and the society around her.
Whether raising awareness of a growing lack of water and privatization of resources in New Zealand, or a reference to beauty and harmony between cultures in the UAE, NeSpoon’s work is an example of real considerations of the social and political contexts of the environments of art.
“All my works inspired by the art of lace making are a search for the simplest codes of beauty and harmony,” Nespoon shares.
“Symmetrical lace patterns have a mesmerizing character, they come from the world of nature, they are everywhere around us, in the calyxes of flowers, skeletons of sea creatures, snowflakes, in patterns painted by frost on windows.”
“I believe that my works based on lace motifs emit good energy, people just like them and smile when they see them.”
More of NeSpoon’s remarkable work can be found at https://nespoon.art/.
Faerie Paths — Flowers
If I had a flower for every time I thought of you… I could walk through my garden forever.
~ Alfred Tennyson
Aftermath of Weird Top 10 Lists
I have to admit I had a lot of fun searching for — and finding — weird lists to share last Saturday.
If I stop to think about it, there’s so much weird stuff around us I wonder how we stay sane.
I suppose it’s like getting your toes wet without going knee-deep in cold water. It’s invigorating, shocking, and interesting only in small doses. That’s probably how people deal with the weird and scary things in their life.
Like Horror movies.
I’m a scardy cat at heart. The thought of dismemberment — actually ANY type of physical pain — is way too much for this pussy cat. And not necessary.
I can get chills from watching an old black and white movie like “The Haunting” or watching someone spelunking squeezing through a too-tight hole in “The Descent.”
There’s enough creepy things out there that I don’t need blood and guts to get a rise.
That circles back to one of the lists I shared Saturday — 10+ Creepiest “When You See Them” list. I am assuming most of the “faces” were photoshopped, but … what if they were not? Too weird to think about. True tales of alien abductions? Well, the stories are creepy enough. Haunted houses? I don’t believe in spirits but I do believe in creaking doors and locked rooms.
At this age I still enjoy getting spooked without getting terrified. I even went out last week and walked through my spooky woods by myself with only a flashlight to go see the Super Moon rising. Spooked? Yes. Terrified? Not any more.
I hope you find a way to sneak a little “weird” into your life without getting hurt or messed up or terrified.
A little prickle up the back of the neck never hurt anyone …
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Dan and Frances Hedblom
Dan and Frances Hedblom create one-of-a-kind art objects with buffing and heat applied to copper panels.
Copper Elements was started by Dan and Frances Hedblom of Rochester, MN in the summer of 2010.
Dan’s parents had discovered a technique of bringing out beautiful colors in copper using a torch, and passed this technique down to their son.
The process used to bring out the beautiful colors in the copper is unique.
Heating with a torch, then adding custom grinding techniques and our multi-curved shapes, cause the copper to shimmer.
Numerous metalworking tools are used for embossing and shaping.
All of the copper is sealed, assuring the piece will not change colors and will not fade from sunlight.
The colors will appear to move and change when placed under lights or in the sun.
More of Dan and Frances Hedblom‘s unique copper works can be found at https://www.copperelements.info/.
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Weirdest Top 10 Lists
As I’ve told you before, I love Top Ten Lists.
Whether or not they are practical or make sense, I enjoy what other’s think are top level in the world.
I wrote a couple of blogs about this very thing in the past, such as Top 10 Perfect Moments, Top 10 … no, 20 … no, 5 … List, and 10 Ways to Kick Start Your Creative Project.
Which made me wonder what other Top 10 lists are floating around the Internet. And so ……
Top 10 Things that Sound Wrong but are Correct
Such as More People Drown in Deserts than Die of Dehydration and Your Eyes are Halfway Up Your Head.
10 Most Bizarre Trends You Can’t Fathom
Such as Tongue Splitting and Bagel Heads.
Top 10 True Facts that Sound Like Bullshit
Such as Maple Syrup Urine Disease and You Can Hear Rhubarb Grow.
10 Mind-Boggling Syndromes That Are All In Your Head
Such as Salieri Syndrome and Puppy Pregnancy Syndrome.
Such as Freemason Association and Lots of 13s.
The 10 Most Bizarre Hotels in the World
Such as Magic Mountain Hotel in Chile and Giraffe Hotel in Kenya.
10+ Creepiest “When You See It” Pictures
Such as A Girl Poses for a Picture in the Park After Dark and A Foggy Playground Full of Swing Sets.
10 Suspected Alien Hideouts in the World
Such as Lake Baikal and Dulce Base.
10 Creepiest Bridges to Cross Over
Such as The Hanging Bridge of Ghasa, Nepal and Musou Tsuribashi, Japan.
10 Ludicrously Large Things Humans Have Lost
Such as “Stan” the T. Rex and a Boeing 727.
So there you are for a Saturday Afternoon! Check out the 10s then make up your own list.
Can’t be any crazier than those above!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — David King
Sometimes I come across an artist who does remarkable art, unique art, and I can find little or nothing on the Internet about them.
So it is with David King.
His art is surreal; a realistic version of nightmares and dark art, all exquisitely done in oils.
King’s art touches the shadowed side of all of us, his creativity evident in the different forms and species he creates.
His art is reminiscent of artists of the likes of H.R. Giger and Zdzislaw Beksinski, both pioneers in surrealist imagery.
He may be more of a shadow on the Internet, but his work is definitely worth checking out.
More of David King‘s art can be found at https://www.davidkingart.com/ and https://www.artstation.com/davidkingart.
Faerie Paths — Limits
The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them.
~ Arthur C. Clarke
Who ARE These People?
My family and I just returned from a weekend up North in Wisconsin, and a wonderful time was had by all.
One of our activities was a pontoon boat ride up and around the Chain of Lakes area. It too was wonderful — relaxing, good friends, good family, good times.
I was used to seeing boat slips along both sides of the water — who wouldn’t want a boat in a world like this? Those lucky enough to have waterfront property dotted the coastlines with speed boats, pontoon boats, and fishing boats, along with wooden decks scattered with chairs and swimming tubes tied to the dock.
Your typical summer landscape.
Yet exploring new territory opened up new vistas, including some structures that surprised the heck out of me.
There were boat slips the size of small apartments. I don’t mean covered garage-type boat storage — I mean …
and … 
Now, this isn’t Miami Beach or Malibu. This is an area where the closest town has a population of 1,712 (add an additional 500 during tourist season), with the closest big town/city coming in at 8,374. Not earth-shattering populations.
It’s woods up here, dotted with few farms and lots of summer cottages. It’s retired income mingled with supper club fish frys and downtown craft fairs twice a year.
These boat garages were way out of sync with the rest of the scenery, which made me wonder — who were these people? What kind of work did they do to have shelters for their playthings that rival the size of many apartments?
The houses up the hills hidden behind the trees were just as incredible. There was this …
and …
It’s at this point that I always feel I need to add a disclaimer — I am not picking on these amazing buildings. I’m sure the people who own them are hard workers and/or smart business people and/or inherited the house from wealthy forefathers. The houses themselves are no different than those in upper class suburbs around the country.
I just wondered what they were doing here — on Cranberry Lake or Catfish Lake in northern Wisconsin.
I guess I daydream enough to wonder what anyone of wealth does with their money. Are these houses merely summer homes? A place to “get away from it all” for the rich and famous? Do they walk down to their brick four-car lakefront garage and wonder if they should take their Donzi 43 ZR former “Miami Vice” movie boat or their Bennington QX Line pontoon boat for a spin? Do they shuffle off to country clubs and high end restaurants with lakefront views and use the private airports to get around?
Or do they shop at Piggly Wiggly and go to Dairy Queen like the rest of us? Do they wander over to the Mud Creek Saloon or The Tiny Tap for a Point Beer and cheese curds or make small talk with the local fishing guides and antique store veterans like the townsies do?
Being solidly lost in the middle class, I can’t help but wonder what I’d do with too much money and all the time in the world to spend it.
But then it’s back to reality, fishing in our 16 foot aluminum bass boat with its dings and dents, happy for what I have, leaving my membership in the Millionaires Club for my next life.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Precious Lovell
Precious Lovell is a North Carolina State University professor and designer who has woven history into a collection of clothing designs, revealing the stories and identity of women and female ancestors from a personal and global standpoint.
The inaugural Brightwork Fellow at Anchorlight in Raleigh, this artist reframes fabric, sewing and history through her provocative pieces.
Lovell’s experience of growing up in the 60’s and 70’s in a small North Carolina town deeply impacted her art practice in multiple ways.
Lovell’s work exposes her audience to people of African descent who have been left out of the traditional historical narrative.
Her work explores personal experiences as well as history and contemporary issues.
The cultural significance, storytelling, aesthetic, and technical qualities of traditional textiles and clothing, particularly those of the African Diaspora, greatly influence her work.
More of Precious Lovell‘s amazing work can be found at https://www.preciousdlovell.com/.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Yasuji Inoue
Yasuji Inoue (1864-1889) was born in Tokyo, the son of a dry-goods merchant in Asakusa.
Inoue became a student of Kobayashi Kiyochika, master of traditional Ukiyo-e painting and printmaking.
Drawing heavily on Kiyochika’s style and experimentation with Western art elements, Inoue’s own experiment with light and shadows reflected the influence of French Impression, a departure from traditional ukiyo-e.
He produced large-sized Kōsen-ga pictures that faithfully followed the painting style of Kiyochika.
In 1884 Inoue changed his style and turned to conventional nishiki-e (a type of Japanese multi-colored woodblock printing) triptychs depicting the sights and events of the day in the traditional heroic style.
Sadly, he died prematurely in 1889 at the age of twenty-five.
At the time of his death he showed great promise in the woodblock print field and would have likely continued as a major artist in Japanese woodblock prints.
One can only imagine the heights he would have reached if life had been kinder.
More of Yasuji Inoue’s artwork can be found at https://ukiyo-e.org/artist/inoue-yasuji and https://moderntokyotimes.com/japan-art-and-inoue-yasuji-art-of-tokyo/.
New Work (repost)
This is an example of marvelous pottery work! I love their colors, their forms, and their magic!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Water Pitchers
Love is as clear as water from a pitcher.
~ Debasish Mridha
Humoring the Goddess 