I..forgot..my..computer..cord….

(do not bother to respond….)

INSPIRATION ►INTENTION ►OPPORTUNITY ►RESULT

This is the way our personal growth should go.

*Get inspired to do something.
*Set out a plan to get it done.
*Find the opportunity to work on this something.
*Finish project — getter done.

This is the way I hope to get things done through the end of the week.

But I know me.

Get inspired to do something. All the time. Over inspired and over excited. Set out a plan to get it done. I outline, research, strategize. Got it figured out. Find the opportunity. Five days at a cabin, being by myself all five days as the men go fishing every day. Finish project. After I go for a walk, read a few chapters of a book, reread the plan, reread the previous written books (if necessary), take a nap, read my Facebook, text a few friends, flip through a magazine, make a sandwich, color a mandala, and check my email.

Is this ever you?

A perfectly planned day/few days/week of finally getting your artistic inspiration off the ground and up into the stratosphere. You’ve got your material, your paints, your sketches. Your storyline. Your collage materials. Your wood.

And now the time has come.

You get distracted. And keep getting distracted. And before you know it you’ve wasted a half day or more doing everything but your heart’s desire.

What’s the matter with us?

Or is it only me?

I’m going away for a few days with “the boys.” The boys plan on fishing all day and watching stupid movies all night. The perfect atmosphere for me to take advantage of. I don’t want to stay home by myself — I don’t want to hang around someplace where there are a dozen housekeeping tasks waiting just for me.

We don’t have TV or Internet at the cabin. I have a hard drive full of great music, a computer full of research, a kitchen full of healthy snacks, and two dogs to keep me company.

The perfect atmosphere to write.

But I’m weak when it comes to distraction.

Not every moment is filled with distraction — there are many times I’m lost in the creative moment. I love it. But there are always bread crumbs — or maybe cookie crumbs — that beckon me to follow. To waste time. To lead me astray.

Let’s hope that I get some real writing time in this week. My fortitude is not what it used to be. Words are just a little harder to come by these days; I know that not too long in the distant future the words might even fail me. There’s a few more stories I’d like to tell before the words fade away.

I’d hate to waste that precious time surfing the Net for kitty pictures….

Faerie Trails

Pearlescent sponge-painted hues
Pink and blue and grey
Reflect the morning sunrise
Down the dew-covered path
Rose-colored diamonds
Sparkle on blades of green
Plodding steps
Announce my arrival
Into her delicate sphere
Fairy prints
Blushes of pixie dust
Tinge the edge of the leaves
Marks of a carefree spirit
Dancing through the woods
Her laughter is reflected
In the tinkle of wind chimes
The dawn’s breath quickens
Bending strands of leaves
And delicate flowers
Guarding the edge of the field
Dissipating her scent
Into the wind
In the arms of emerald green
I glimpse the sparkle of wings
And the glitter of freedom
My leaden steps follow
Tiny prints on velvet green
Wind chimes choir in the distance
Musk and earth and pine
Mask the scent of her passing
The morning sun spikes
Between the trees
Blocking my view of forbidden realms
Leaves tremble yet remain steadfast
She is gone
Protected by the world beyond
Leaving me to wonder
If the rose-colored diamonds
Were hers at all

Claudia ~ 2011

Christina Bothwell (born 1960),  is an American contemporary fine arts glass maker.Bothwell is known for glass, ceramic, and mixed media sculptures that portray the processes of birth, death, and renewal.She studied painting under Will Barnett at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, but gradually moved to working three-dimensionally using ceramics and cast glass as well as antique toys, taxidermy animals or small furniture parts. Increasingly drawing on animals and the natural world around her, she saw the potential for combining glass with the materials she was already using to bring lightness and delicacy to her work.Bothwell’s pieces are often a union between her own mythology and lucid dreams.She challenges herself to portray the soul, inner awareness, and the connections between life and nature through her art.“Art has always been a form of retreat for me,” Boswell shares. “I view my studio time as an anchor, a compass that orients me toward the things in life that feel good and bring me joy.”

More of Christina Bothwell‘s art can be found at https://christinabothwell.com and https://www.hellergallery.com/christina-bothwell/.

Something about those chicklets — they get to me every time —

Meet a few of them!

Hi My name is Margie the chicklet in the air is named Lavender she’s one of the ones who refuses to believe that chicklets can’t fly she says that they can and she’s proving it right now but we know that flying on a wire is not the same thing as using one’s wings still […]

Henry, Margie, Devin and Flying Lavender…poems — Rethinking Life

Today is ONE of 365 days that we celebrate mothers — all kinds, all sizes, all species. To be a mom is a tough gig. Happy, sad, melancholy, sentimental, pissed off — all moms of all kinds have felt it all.

In past Mother’s Day salutes I’ve saluted Famous People’s Mothers, More Famous Peoples’ Mothers, Mother Idioms,  and, way back in 2016, an almost-Mother’s-Day-Salute Holy Mother and Child.

Being the creative sprite I am, I was trying to think of other ways to celebrate being a mother/grandmother/mother’s friend/auntie/great grandma.

That’s big shoes to fill.

I thought I might try “bad” (see the quotes?) mothers, but people might get the wrong idea. (There’s actually websites like 13 Worst Celebrity Mothers Alive on This Planet and Bad Women in the Bible!)

So this year, how about — Famous Mother Female Rulers?

You go, mom!

Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 BC–10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. She was also a maritime pioneer, linguist, and healer. She studied math, logic, debating, and science, and spoke no less than nine languages. Cleopatra had four children.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 – 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She served as the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She was an early advocate of civil rights, independent and outspoken on the rights of women and African-Americans. She pressed the United States to join and support the United Nations, and became its first delegate. She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She had six children.

Hatshepsut (1507 BC–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, the second historically confirmed female pharaoh. Hatshepsut was one of the most prolific builders in Ancient Egypt, commissioning hundreds of construction projects throughout both Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. She also improved the country’s infrastructure.   She had one daughter and one adopted son.

Rani Lakshmibai, (1828 – 1858) famously known as ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, was one of the leading warriors in India’s First War of Independence. Also known as the Rani of Jhansi, she died fighting British colonial rulers near Gwalior in a place known as Kotah-ki-Serai. She was one of the first women freedom fighters of India who revolted against the British in 1857. She had two children.

Catherine II, most commonly known as Catherine the Great (1728 – 1796), was the last reigning Empress of Russia and the country’s longest-ruling female leader. She was a patron of the arts, literature, and education. Under her long reign, she led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe. She championed the arts and reorganized the Russian law code. She also significantly expanded Russian territory. She had two children.

Empress Wu Zetian (624 CE – 705 CE) was the only female emperor of Imperial China. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty and was one of the most effective and controversial monarchs in China’s history. She broadened the system of civil service exams, elevated the status of Buddhism in Chinese society, and waged a series of wars that saw China’s empire expand further West than ever before. She had four children.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for 63 years. Her “Victorian era” saw the United Kingdom evolve scientifically, politically, culturally, and industrially. She  expanded the British Empire to include territories all across Asia and Africa, and democratized the country, including the establishment of the secret ballot, easing of voting requirements, and enacting of wage increases for the working class. She had nine children.

Empress Suiko is known as the first reigning empress of Japan in recorded history (rather than an empress consort), reigning for 35 years.  She established Buddhism as the main religion in Japan, and initiated steps to centralize the state under imperial rule. The most famous of her accomplishments was the Seventeen-article Constitution, Japan’s first constitution focused on the morals and virtues of government officials. She had seven children.

After all the heavy metal of the past few posts, it’s time to smile again. Here are some of my past blogs that may tickle your funny bone. Follow the links for more.

Always make room for a smile.

I wrote a poem the other night.

A painful one.

I wrote it in here, in my blog space. Out of the blue. Out of the black.

I didn’t know if I was going to post it — I still don’t. It’s not the kind of melody most followers and friends want to hear.

According to verywellmind, “People who have experienced emotional trauma, physical violence, domestic abuse, anxiety, depression, and other psychological issues can benefit from expressing themselves creatively.

“People do not need to have artistic ability or special talent to participate in art therapy, and people of all ages including children, teens, and adults can benefit from it. Some research suggests that just the presence of art can play a part in boosting mental health.”

I do believe in the Arts as therapy. Therapy for loss, for pain, for confusion. In more severe cases, Art Therapy should be under the care of a trained professional, for there may be deeper issues than just sadness or loss.

But for me — for most of you — an endless doodle or coloring in an adult coloring book (gel pens and books or some great ones online) is just the therapy we need.

We all need to vent. To unfocus. To focus. To let go. To hold on.

Oh, it’s all so confusing.

I don’t know if I’ll post my poem in the future, but I know it’s here. Waiting. Thinking. Debating whether or not it should be shared with people I hardly know.

Tomorrow is another day. Another chance.

Another poem.

Last night and again this morning I started doing research for my second book on “visiting” Paris.

I have written the outline, the general story, and now it’s a matter of researching where (physically) to start and where (physically) to end my story.

It’s not as easy as closing your eyes and pointing to a city on a map.

I want the story to make sense. I want the story to sound real. I mean, no one would wonder if I drove a car from A to B, or landed in A and drove to B, but I know me. I wouldn’t drive from A to B nor is there an airport in A or B.

Plus — I want to suspend belief until I start chatting with Colette or Alexander Dumas (or someone just as ghostly).

I just don’t remember the research being this hard the last time around.

Do you do research for your projects? No matter if it’s painting, writing a story, or building a garden, do you do your homework first? I find I have to — I hate projects that are all baloney and no substance.

I find that the more you “know” what you’re talking about, the more you can turn reality into fiction and back again. Only when you know how things work or where things are can you adapt the truth to your own version of reality.

My problem is multifold.

I want to go to Paris one day, but even if I did visit the city of love it wouldn’t be the way my character is visiting it. So it’s hard to go to places she would go rather than places ~I ~ would go or places I would actually go with a partner.

I love the idea of these mini chats with famous dead Parisians, but I like to take direction of the conversation from real quotes from the ghost in charge. But what if there are no quotes available for famous Frenchmen? Am I being too picky?

 I often get headaches of I spend too much time on the computer. My eyes need a break. But how can I write, how can I do research, without my eyes?

The answer to all these dilemmas is to just take my time. Research one thing at a time. Write one section of the story at a time. Stop worrying about the story’s next day and next day and next day. Pay attention to where I’m at at the time and give it my all.

Isn’t that how you create?

We often bite off more than we can chew. And nobody can understand us with a mouthful of mush.

Take your time. Plan. Organize. Then go crazy. Then stop. Breathe. Repeat.

And, if you need to, get a new pair of glasses.

You all know that I absolutely LOVE my Sunday Evening Art Gallery. Through the years I have found one fantastic artist after another, one fantastic movement after another, and one interesting interpretation after another. I truly hope you get as much enjoyment perusing through the Galleries as I do creating them.

But, you may ask …  after posting unique and surreal art every week, what are your favorites?

I’m so glad you asked!

Here, for your art walk pleasure, are some of my favorite items (in no particular order) from some of my favorite Galleries over at the Gallery itself (and, mind you, this is the most difficult thing I’ve done all week!)

It was amazingly difficult to choose so few of my favorites. Every artist was chosen because they are my favorite. Take time and wander through the gallery some time. Tell you friends! Your groups! Your best friend’s cousin’s friend!

Love you all … 

Sometimes there is no darker place than our thoughts, the moonless midnight of the mind.

~ Dean Koonz

I know everything. Just like the Genie. Just Ask Me.

“You know nothing, John Snow.”

Truth is, we all know what we need to survive and that’s about it.

Now survival is a big category. It’s life and death and everything in-between. We know how to wash dishes to get the germs off the plates and water plants so they don’t die in your window. We know how to fix scratches and cuts on little ones’ toes and elbows, and know how to hug someone who just needs a hug.

The rest of the world in-between is all… what’s that phrase … catch-as-catch-can. (This phrase is so old I had to look it up [1833] — I thought it was catcher’s cat can.)

The world can’t be controlled, masterminded, cleaned up, or understood. All we can do is the best we can for ourselves, our families and friends, our neighborhoods, and our little section of the planet.

So back to the beginning nonsense.

I know what works in my world. And many worlds around me. And I’m here this morning to share this knowledge with you.

Most of you, my friends, already know what I’m going to say. I say it all the time.

GET YOUR CREATIVE MOJEY GOING!

Get that Creativity out there!

•  Draw pictures with others — kids, grandparents. Have a coloring party night with the girls! Pull out a bottle of wine or Cherry 7-Up and a huge box of colored pencils and gel pens and find your inspiration and go for it!
• Start — or improve — that blog you’ve been thinking about for so long. Articles too long? Too many pictures? Is anybody learning anything? Who will read it? Who will listen? Who cares? Use the creative process to create your own style, pick a topic, add your own pictures, and get it out there. Looks good on a resume (not that you’ll ever need one) and, believe me, it takes a while to find your style and voice.
• I’m a writer, so I’m always promoting writing first. Surprise. The point is, I have picked up on a few of my friends’ desires to write, and I have been encouraging them every time they mention it. You don’t have to be an expert at it — but they might be. Help make them feel GOOD about themselves. Crafts do that.
• Label yet don’t Label. Are you interested in Medieval Music? Modern Pop Art? Making swirl galaxies out of beads? A sign maker? There is one truth about any artist. Anywhere.
  • • (needed a sub dot for this) THERE IS NO ONE KIND OF ARTIST. We are all artists — every one of us. Even if we never lift a guitar or a paintbrush. If you look at a sunset and say “wow” or enjoy the texture of a chenille blanket, you’re an artist.
    • Figure out what types of art attract you and find a way to become a part of them. Even collectors of music, salt thrones, and seashells are artists. Show off your work. Ask others questions. Learn!
•  Talk to other creative people. This point is electric. It’s truly magical. Artists love their craft. They love to explore it, talk about it, practice it. Most artists keep this enthusiasm under wraps, because not everyone else is as into it as they are. When you find fellow artists, don’t be afraid to open up. Get them to open up. Find a way to explore the Arts together. Find a way to encourage each other to continue experimenting and exploring.
•  Make time. Nothing is a bigger, flatter, more obvious an excuse (albeit legit) for not playing around with clay or gel pens or bead art or woodworking than I DON’T HAVE ANY TIME. Make time, damnit! This is for YOU. You go this way only once….

I hear the gears grinding. Monday mornings are good for that. I myself am going to go take a shower then work on some suncatchers. I have a book about returning to France that I’m really wanting to start writing, and some plants to repot to turn my home into a garden paradise. Oh yeah … and those bulbs and lavender need planting…and the bead art my daughter-in-law gave me …

I hear YOUR gears grinding too. Get started today!

“You do know something, Jon Snow!”

She creates grace in her own image, brings
Heaven to earth in one movement of her hand.

~ Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac

Well, the Internet Police got me. Let me clarify. My Internet Provider got me.

I’ve done run our Internet time down so low I’m already in the lower speed bracket. Five days until back to zero. Five days of out-of-pocket misery.

Why should that bother a sparkling tiara like me?

Can’t write blogs. Can’t look for new Gallery artists. Can’t clean up old blogs. Can’t do any research on France in general and Givenchy in particular. Can’t send any emails. Can’t watch cute puppy and kitty gifs! Can’t Can’t Can’t …

So here I am, sneaking in and posting several blogs ahead for the next five days.

How do I know what to talk about five days from now?

The Earth could have a big meteor hole in one side of it!
The Great Pyramid of Khufu could have collapsed!
Aliens could have landed in Texas and taken over the Kroger grocery store!
The Kardashians could have actually contributed something to society!

How could I possibly share this news and/or a commentary on these topics if I’ve run out of Internet time?

Ah, the perils of being an author. As much as we like to write about reality, fantasy just keeps popping in. There’s always something bigger, better, and stranger in the world than our own lives. And that’s awesome.

We have enough drama in our lives. Enough rules. Enough results. We need more out-of-the-box weirdness to enlighten us. To guide us. To encourage us. We need to sidestep death and surgeries and Covid-19 and murders and brutality for a while.

It has to be more interesting than reality grabbing us every time we turn around. All that grabbing hurts.

So I’ll sneak in a couple blogs in all at the same time and pretend three days from now is today.

Or is it the other way around?

Wow — an out-of-body experience…..

From small shells and Amazonian beads, Brazilian-Mexican artist Fefe Talavera strings together elaborate masks that fuse ancient mythologies and contemporary urban culture.

Born in 1979, Talavera was brought up as a native half Mexican, half Brazilian in São Paulo.

Interested in all kind of “underground” movements, the typical and unique stylistic freedom of the internationally renowned Street Art and Graffiti scene of her hometown made an important impression on the artist.

Talavera is also influenced by Mayan or Aztec mythologies and her Mexican heritage​
Her raw creative energy thus found much more correspondence in the angled, tribal‐like style she developed.Talavera is also well known for her vibrant silhouettes painted in acrylic and her large-scale murals that embellish expressive faces with stripes, symmetries, and various geometric patterns.

But for today’s gallery, it is her intricate beadwork that leads us to find out more about her fresh style.

Her masks are an amalgam of color, motif, and material that blur cultural boundaries and the tenuous distinction between humanity and nature.

More of Fefe Talavera‘s intricate and bright artwork can be found at https://www.fefetalavera.net and https://www.instagram.com/fefetalavera/.

Don’t force your children into your ways, for they were created for a time different from your own.

I don’t want help.

I can do it myself.

I could use a little help.

But I want to do it myself.

I need help.

But I want to do it myself.

How many times does this conversation go through your head?

Family, social media, books all teach you to be independent. Do it yourself. Dont rely on others to get where you need to go.

But we are also encouraged to help others. Help others that can’t help themselves.

But often those who need help don’t want help. They want to move, function, do things themselves. By themselves. FOR themselves.

That over rated sense of self. Of ME. Of .. I am a person and enjoy the personal satisfaction of doing and achieving something BY MYSELF.

We all know we are never “by ourselves.” If we are a fairly normal human being there is always someone around you to be your companion, sounding board, and helper.

Yes, helper.

This becomes more apparent the older you get, the sicker you get, the more immobile you get. That sense of self gets in the way of letting someone else help you out.

A family member of mine needs a lot of help. Walking around, taking his blood sugar, bending over and picking things up and hearing and seeing. He has never been Mr. Independent, but he has lived by himself for a number of years. He needs others’ help.

Infirmity has taken its toll.

He needs help getting in and out of cars. Reading labels. Hearing the TV. Giving himself an insulin shot.

Yet he still tries to do it himself. Even if the movement, the action, puts him in more danger. In more pain.

I understand that feeling. Getting older I’m more prone to forget, drop, ache, move slower, not understand instructions. I still move around okay and am active in family and projects and crafts and reading and movies. So I’m okay.

For now.

But I feel that resentment when someone comes around and says “Let me help you.”

Like — I’ve done this thing all my life — it’s never been a big deal — why do I suddenly need help?

I admit now that I’m no longer that stubborn where I won’t ask for help. Resistant? Sometimes. Honest? More so. Can’t open a jar? Can’t reach something on the second shelf? Can’t lift a big bag of dog food? Okay. I ask for help.

But most things I can do on my own.

Until one day I won’t be able to. Like my friend.

I hope that we all are aware of our ego and pride standing in the way of making ourselves better. Pride never helped anyone pick up a fork off the floor when your body is in pain. Ego never lent a hand helping you pour juice with a shaky hand or helped you put something together because you didn’t get the instructions.

Everyone wanted to help me when I lost my son. I learned very quickly that they did it out of love, out of desperation, out of guilt and out of honesty. I thought I didn’t need anyone’s help getting out of the cloud.

But I did.

And still do.

No man — or woman — is an island (John Donne or Simon and Garfunkel?).

Let someone else help.