Category: Uncategorized

This Is Your (miniscule) Chance!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ Leave a comment
wild flowers in my yard

Lately I have come across a lot of posts on social media that turn Monday (really, ANY day) into a special attention day. Often it’s a chance to share your poetry, your art, or your website.

I imagine those who host those sites get plenty of traffic, both for their own cause and that of others. I think that’s great.

I, on the other hand, am of smaller scope and friendship base, content to read other blogs when I can and encourage art in its myriad of forms when I can’t.

On this Monday, though, I’d really like to talk about your website. The one you use to sell your crafts, or the one you use to just show off your creativity.

I’d like to show off your site.

I love art sites. Quilting sites. Knitting sites. Painting sites. Ceramics sites. I think sharing your creativity with the world is one of the best experiences you can have. You may be interested in selling your wares, building a following, or finding fellow crafters who can help you advance your craft.

I’d love to hear about your website. I have made good friends here, sharing their art and their inspirations, and I’d like to take a chance with your art as well. No set dates, no set categories — just a note to all my followers to check your unique art out in person.

You may find kindred spirits among the Goddess’s flower fields — or a new hobby you can dig your feet, nails, and teeth into. 

Let’s do this together!! It’ll be a Creativity Moment for ALL of us!!!

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Alexis Auguste Delahogue

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Alexis Auguste Delahogue (1867-1953) was a French 19th Century painter who specialized in scenes from Algeria and neighboring countries.He was considered an orientalist painter, which refers to a representation of the East in Western art which often blurred the line between fantasy and reality.Travelling with his twin brother Eugène, Delahogue painted landscapes and genre scenes borrowed from the Maghreb (the region of North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea), travelling in all directions with a predilection for Tunisia.Delahogue was a member of the Société des Peintres Orientalistes and the Société des Artistes Algériens et Orientalistes.Although there is not a lot of background information on the artist,  he was known a prolific painter of vibrant scenes of Algerian life.Delahogue was able to capture the everyday lives of  people from Algiers to El Kantara and Biskra. He delighted in painting  camels, desert caravans, oases, and various personalities he met on his travels.

More of Alexis Auguste Delahogue’s paintings can be found at the Mutual Art website.

 

Faerie Paths — The Beautiful Lady (La Bele Dame)

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments
Walter Crane

 

 

La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.

I see a lily on thy brow,
With anguish moist and fever-dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She looked at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery’s song.

She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna-dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
‘I love thee true’.

She took me to her Elfin grot,
And there she wept and sighed full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

And there she lullèd me asleep,
And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—
The latest dream I ever dreamt
On the cold hill side.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—‘La Belle Dame sans Merci
Thee hath in thrall!’

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gapèd wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill’s side.

And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

~John Keats

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Simone Crestani

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Italian artist Simone Crestani has been blowing glass since he was 15 years old.He comes from the Venice region, where working with glass is one of the traditional crafts, so this type of art is in his blood.

Crestani creates beautiful glass sculptures that combine his love of glass work with his love of the natural world.Many of his creations can be considered part of a contemporary “Cabinet of Curiosity” where nature is not defaced but respected by reproducing its essence in fragile transparent shapes.The infinite variety of of plant and animal forms inspires his magical world, a celebration of lightness and transparency in always new and original creations of crystalline purity and beauty.Crestani uses the lampworking technique to make these objects out of clear borosilicate glass in a more sculptural manner than is traditional, allowing him to create works that may be large in size but still exquisite in their meticulous representation of the details.

More of Simone Crestani‘s exquisite glasswork can be found at   https://www.simonecrestani.com/ and https://sandraainsleygallery.com/gallery-artists/simone-crestani/.

 

 

 

 

Welcome Back

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

I have been running around the past few weeks and am very glad to be back on solid home ground again.

You heard of my camping fiasco — just got done planning it again for next year. Never give up, I say.

Last weekend was my escape to our family cabin up north and participation in my first craft show of the year.

I must say that with all the “North Woods-y” arts that surrounded me this year, my sparkling strings of crystals kinda stood out like a fish driving a van. But they seemed popular, so my first escapade with the buying public went fairly well.

Offering your homemade creations to the public can be a nerve wracking experience. Whatever it is you make, you wonder … does it  look professional? Well-made? Will they fall apart the first time someone uses it? If you knit, are the stitches straight? Do the colors blend right? Painting, maybe you’re an abstract kinda person. Is it too abstract? Too colorful? Does it say anything?

Ack, you did just fine. I know ~I~ did fine. They were homemade, not expensive, and made with love. Just like (I hope) everything you make is.

You may wonder what this “fantastic thing” is that I never shut up about. It’s my granny hobby; my old lady creative outlet. They are called Angel Tears Suncatchers, which are single strings with rhinestones, embellishments and crystals that reflect the sunlight.

This project, this hobby, is what creativity is all about. It challenges my imagination, gives me a scheduled play time that is all my own,  and brings delight to others as well. 

Your art should do the same. Whether it’s sculptures out of old silverware (I saw that at the fair and loved it!) or painting boat oars (loved that too!), you should enjoy what you do.

They say it’s not the destination that counts, but the journey. And I am loving every minute of this journey.

I promise I am working on a website to show you what the madness is all about. I hope you have or are making a site of your own too,  even if it’s a showcase and not a salescase.

Show off your madness! I’d love to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Boris Vallejo

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Considered to be one of the masters of modern fantasy illustration, Boris Vallejo was born in Lima, Peru on January 8, 1941.Vallejo began painting at the age of 13, and obtained his first illustration job three years later at the age of 16.He attended the Escuela Nacional Superior Autónoma de Bellas Artes on a five-year scholarship.After emigrating to the United States in 1964, he quickly garnered a fan following from his illustrations of Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian, Doc Savage and various other fantasy characters (often done for paperback-fiction works featuring the characters).This led to commissions for movie-poster illustration, advertisement illustration, and artwork for various collectibles.Along with his wife and collaborator (and often model) Julie Bell, Vallejo has done a great volume of work for the Fantasy field, having worked for virtually every major publishing house with a science fiction/fantasy line.His classic sense is as much an homage to the old masters as it is to anyone contemporaneously working in the Fantasy genre.Whether the work features sword and sorcery, space travel, pulp heroes, or imaginative creatures, his paintings are often tinged with eroticism.For sheer dauntless bravura, few have ever pushed the limits as does Boris with his beautiful maidens and fearsome monsters.More of Boris Vallejo‘s amazing drawings can be found at https://www.borisjulie.com/.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Delita Martin

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Delita Martin (b. 1972, Conroe, Texas) creates large-scale prints onto which she draws, sews, collages, and paints.

 

Martin claims space for her subjects, particularly black women, creating a powerful presence that simultaneously highlights the historical absence of black bodies in Western art.Through her work, Martin aims to create a new iconography for African Americans based on African tradition, personal recollections, and physical materials.A recurring theme throughout Martin’s work is exploring interconnections between past and present generations.She conveys these connections through symbols such as circles, a shape representative of the moon and symbolic of the female, and birds, which represent the human spirit.

Masks, inspired by the Sowei and Ife masks of West Africa, appear in many of Martin’s works, signifying transition between this world and the spirit world.

Expertly layering all of these elements, Martin visualizes the liminal space between the physical and spiritual worlds.More of Delita Martin‘s marvelous paintings can be found at https://blackboxpressstudio.com/ and https://nmwa.org/press/delita-martins-large-scale-portraits-create-new-iconography-african/.

 

 

Plan B

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

How many times have I started a blog, “On my way to doing something completely different ….” Alas, this curse/blessing followed me once again last weekend.

We were supposed to go camping with friends down in beautiful Missouri at Onadaga State Park, with a tour of the caves thrown in for our exercise day. 

Well, you know me and my life. The park emailed me the day before and said the park was closed because of flooding.

THE DAY BEFORE.

Panic. Stress. Ticked Off. You name it, I felt it.

You also know I love a wee bit of adventure, so we made our way to Plan B. Plan B is anything you do that is close to what you originally wanted to do but couldn’t do for one reason or another. And there is always a plan B somewhere.

We decided to drive down to Nashville, Tennessee, spend two nights at our friend’s house, then drive across the state to Cumberland Mountain State Park.

I always try and find another rainbow if the first one disappears. One way or another I was going to see my friends and have a great time.

It all worked out. It turned out the park in Missouri changed their mind and stayed open, but we were already down the road on Plan B. Lots of driving, but also lots of beautiful waterfalls, lush foliage, and the edge of the Appalachian Mountains. It was good food and good times.

It wasn’t Missouri, but it was Tennessee.

Don’t let a change of scenery put you off. If you plan on going somewhere, doing something, find a way to do it. Don’t give up. Make a plan but don’t worry about the plan.

The same is true no matter if you’re painting, sketching, knitting, or writing. Art takes you where it wants to go — you are just along for the ride.

And don’t worry — there are quite a few letters after B you can activate …

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Troy Emery

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Troy Emery is a contemporary artist from Melbourne, Australia.

Between leaving his regional hometown of Toowoomba and moving to Hobart to attend art school, he decided he wanted to study fashion. Then he discovered he didn’t.Following his instincts, he dropped out of fashion school, but took his love of textiles and haberdashery with him.Emery works primarily with textiles in a sculptural practice to produce figurative forms and imagery.At the core of his ‘fake taxidermy’ sculptures is an interest in humankind’s relationship with animals.Emery works primarily with textiles in the form of colorful polyester tassels.He combines combining these materials with animal forms, a kind of pelt, where the fabric creates a textile mass over the animal.The core structure of the work is an anatomically correct to scale animal model, so the sculptures are, underneath, distinct animals like lions, foxes, and big cats.Through the process of building the colorful textile pelt, that very particular animal disappears and transforms into something less recognizable but still recognizably animal-like.More of Troy Emery‘s amazing sculptures can be found at https://troyemery.net/ and https://ocula.com/artists/troy-emery/artworks/.

 

 

There are stars you haven’t seen (repost)

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Always inspirational……

There are stars you
haven’t seen
and loves you haven’t loved
there’s light you haven’t felt
and sunrises yet to dawn
there are dreams
you haven’t dreamt
and days you haven’t lived
and nights you won’t forget
and flowers yet to grow
and there is more to you
that you have yet to
know ..

~ Gaby Comprés ~

Artist Credit : Laivi Poder

 

Purplerays

 

 

Love of the Craft

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 11 Comments
                               Matt Stewart

I cannot tell you that I’m getting ready to go camping in Missouri in a short bit. I cannot tell you that I may or may not have access to the Internet, and if my individual connection works I’ll still be peeking in to read other blogs. I cannot tell you those things in case the bad guys are watching and planning on visiting my friend who is big and gorilla-like and staying here in my stead with his shepherd Turnkey.

But my first priority is to explore a cave or two along with kicking back in the shade sipping cranberry/blueberry wine and feeding strawberry tops to my dogs.

Why do some of us need to tell everyone when we’re going on an adventure? Isn’t LIFE an adventure? Every day?

Somehow I think there is a human need to have fun and adventure someplace other than your home base. After all, exploring places you’ve never been before is like traveling through outer space — you never know what’s around the next sun!

My husband is younger than me, so he will be retiring in September.  Hopefully the future will be filled with explorations we both can appreciate. But sometimes I wonder.

I’d love to spend a month in France or England. He wants to go to Europe for a couple of weeks, visiting 3-5 main cities in one trip.

I want to go to New Mexico and visit Canyon Road, a half mile strip of over 100 of the 250 galleries in the city that feature a diverse array of art. He’d be satisfied with a passthrough with lunch and a couple of galleries.

I dream big, he dreams practical. It’s a good match. It’s a good thing, too.

So I’ve left a few new blogs behind to show you I’m still so into sharing life, love, and Art with you. The love of the craft won’t let me wander far without you.

I’ll be sure to take a couple of pictures of the cave for you, too … I’m sure it looks like the one above  …

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Happy Mother’s Day

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

 

Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation.
~ Robert A. Heinlein

The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation. ~James E. Faust

It may be possible to gild pure gold, but who can make his mother more beautiful? ~ Mahatma Gandhi

There is no role in life that is more essential than that of motherhood.    ~Elder M. Russell Ballard

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.     ~William Makepeace Thackeray

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Ferdinand Hodler

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Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) was one of the best-known Swiss Symbolist painters of the nineteenth century.Hodler was the son of a carpenter and a woman of peasant stock. His parents and all five of his siblings had died of tuberculosis by the time he reached adulthood.The works of Hodler’s early maturity consisted of landscapes, figure compositions, and portraits, treated with a vigorous realism.Many of Hodler’s best-known paintings are scenes in which characters are engaged in everyday activities.In the last decade of the nineteenth century his work evolved to combine influences from several genres including symbolism and art nouveau.Hodler developed a style he called “parallelism” that emphasized the symmetry and rhythm he believed formed the basis of human society.Throughout the latter part of his career, Hodler’s depictions of Swiss patriotism and historic scenes became increasing popular with his countrymen.More of  Ferdinand Hodler‘s art can be found at https://wooarts.com/ferdinand-hodler/

You Listened to What??

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 12 Comments

I never seem to stop amusing myself with my own actions. I always start out in one direction and wind up completely somewhere else.

I listened to an opera last Saturday as I was mowing the lawn.

It was a beautiful Saturday here in the Midwest. Sun shining, slight breeze to cool the body, lots of stay-at-home chores waiting for attention. Especially mowing the lawn.

I often listen to the radio in headphones while I mow these never-ending “yards.” It’s usually either oldies rock n’ roll or classical.

This time I chose classical.

Turning on WPR from Madison, Wisconsin, they were just starting a live broadcast from the Met in New York City of La bohème, an opera composed by Giacomo Puccini.

Now, if you know me (or took a good guess) I really enjoy upbeat classical music, along with smooth jazz, oldies rock and roll, big band, pop tunes from the 80s, and an occasional hairband like Metallica. Opera is about as popular in my repertoire as slasher movies. Like non-existent.

But it was either listen to this hoity toity singing or listen to music with a thousand commercials. So on to La Bohème I went.

You already can guess the outcome of this story. It was beautiful.

The voices, the story, everything was so much more than I was wont to believe. The opera was sung in Italian, so the announcers explained each act before it started. I had a vague notion of the story line, seeing that Nicolas Cage and Cher went to see that opera in the movie Moonstruck.

Now, I think you have to be in a certain state of mind to enjoy something not everyone appreciates. Opera is one of those niches. 

But I was a ready listener, and caught all four acts before I finished for the day. I even went inside after the first act to read the synopsis of the opera before I went to finish mowing.

Another world of Art opened to me on Saturday, one I hope to revisit again soon. We all need to give other forms of Art a chance.

After all, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts go to see Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata!  in the movie Pretty Woman …

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jan Huling

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Jan Huling is an incredible bead artist who pushes the boundaries of traditional beadwork by using seed beads to re-create the surface design of found objects and give them new context.

A self-proclaimed “beadist”, Huling coats the surfaces of found objects with brightly colored seed beads.

Through surface design and elaborate patterns, she recontextualizes familiar objects, masking original forms to add whimsy and transform the mundane into something special. Inspired by a fascination with indigenous cultures, mythologies, and pop culture.Her pieces often explore the themes of enduring childhood and nostalgia. The iconography and color of her pieces are frequently dictated by the form of the object itself.Huling’s patterns echo tessellating African textiles, Southeast Asian Buddhist architectural ornamentation, and Mexican embroidery..Working with an air pen to place beads, as well as buttons, coins, tokens, and similar found objects, Huling adorns any object that catches her eye, and creates approachable, evocative objects that elevate the everyday.

More of Jan Huling’s beautiful beadery can be found at https://janhuling.com/.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Arno Rafael Minkkinen

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Arno Rafael Minkkinen is a Finnish-American photographer and Emeritus Professor of Art at the University of Massachusetts and Docent at the Aalto University School of Art, Design, and Architecture in Helsinki, Finland. Minkkinen was born in Finland in 1945 and emigrated to the United States in 1951.Exploring the relationship between the body and the environment, Minkkinen’s photographs inhabit a space between self-portraiture and landscape photography.

This creative photographer dexterously integrates his body into the natural landscape, creating visceral, poetic images that often appear to defy reality.He has an innate ability to frame a picture, to see and pursue a complex and pleasing composition.Minkkinnen has developed the ability to fold his body into the frame.The artist bends, stretches, hides, twists, and somehow manages to contort himself into just the right position at just the right moment to capture that certain magic he is known for.These images seamlessly blend self-portraiture and landscape in a reminder that humans are a part of the natural world, and that mind and body are crucially interconnected, as are humanity and nature.Despite ever-advancing possibilities for enhancement offered by technology, Minkkinen resolutely chooses not to use digital manipulation in his work, relying solely on the beauty of nature and his own physical endurance.Addressing the surreal and timeless quality of these images, Minkkinen has said, “there is no age to the picture when it is just the landscape and the body.”More of Rafael Minkkinen‘s amazing photography can be found at https://www.arnorafaelminkkinen.com.

 

 

 

Mistakes Are Really Only Missed Takes

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 3 Comments

No one likes to be mistaken.

We all like to think that we are always right, always true, always informed. Not in the haughty, I-know-everything  smarmy way — we just feel better when we know what we’re talking about.

But sometimes we are mistaken.

How we take being “mistaken” says a lot about ourselves. It a a reflection of our self confidence and personal strength.

Being “mistaken” may be as complicated as forgetting one of the numbers of Pi or as simple as thinking eggplant is a vegetable (it’s really a fruit), or thinking that chartreuse was pinkish purple (it’s yellow green). Just the tip of my “mistakes.”

The other day one of my readers pointed out that my picture of coleus leaves was really a picture of caladium leaves. Now, that’s a small thing, but I should have known better. I know what a coleus looks like (I own one!) and what a caladium looks like. I didn’t feel bad about my mistake — as a matter of fact I was very grateful for the clarification.

But there are those who take this kind of faux pas seriously, adding another notch to their belt of “I’m really worthless.” That sounds like an extreme reaction, but there are many on this planet who live for extreme reactions.

Don’t do it. Don’t notch.

We all are learners, every day of our lives. And being mistaken is just another skip in your record keeping. I never knew you could make art from broken pottery or band aids or toothpicks, or that if you see a horse laying down it doesn’t mean it’s dead (I used to believe that!)

I appreciate learning from my mistakes. I also appreciate people who take the time to be kind in their corrections. Most times they are helping, not condemning. 

To me, mistakes are stepping stones of self improvement. Of understanding the world around us.

It’s too bad the world can’t learn from its mistakes. What a better place it would be.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Iris Scott

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Iris Scott is an American professional contemporary finger painting artist based in Brooklyn, New York.Graduating from Washington State University in 2006 with a degree in art, Scott was a pioneer in the field of finger painting.Using just gloved fingertips, Scott works with paint like a malleable, nearly clay-like medium.Her vibrant rainbow palette depicts a parallel, but familiar universe, emitting an energetic optimism and a respect for the natural world.Scott stumbled upon finger painting when a serendipitous lack of clean brushes prompted her to finish a painting with her fingertips.In that moment she recognized how fingers could scoop oil paint better than brushes, and overnight she committed to leaving her brushes behind.“I was excited to force myself to stop using brushes because I was learning to ‘survive’ in uncharted territories,” Scott explains.“I recognized that although finger painting couldn’t do some things that brushes could, there were important advantages finger painting actually did have over brushes—and I am still discovering new ones every day!”More of Iris Scott’s marvelous finger paintings can be found at https://www.irisscottfineart.com/.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Leaves

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 12 Comments

In the whisper of the leaves appears an interchange of love.

~ William Jones

 

Butterfly Wing Plant

 

Wine Cup Plant

 

Hardy Tapioca Leaves

 

Oak Leaf

 

Canna Plant

 

Begonia Rhizomatous ‘Escargot’

 

Staghorn Fern

 

Baby Tears Leaves

 

Caladium Leaves

 

Bull Thistle Leaves

 

Giant Rhubarb Leaves

 

Lamb’s Ears Leaves

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Guy Buffet

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Guy Buffet was born in Paris, France in the district of Montparnasse on January 13, 1943.

His father took young Guy for walks in Montparnasse to show him famous landmarks where artists such as Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and George Braque would spend most of their days and evenings.

At 14, he moved to the south of France with his mother, and enlisted in the Beaux Arts School of Toulon to study art full time.

Buffet joined the French Navy in 1961 at the age of eighteen, and was assigned to the cruiser, “De Grasse”, headed for a seven month journey around the world.

The French Navy recognized Buffet’s artistic talent and named him their official artist.

Buffet’s famous images depict restaurants, people, landscapes, and cities with a humorous and light touch.

Buffet’s depictions often reflect the everyday working world, along with his love of people and food and exotic locations.

His whimsical rendition of sommeliers, chefs and waiters and other images are found not only in his paintings, but on every day items as dinner plates, napkins, tablecloths, and fashion.

More of Guy Buffet‘s light hearted and wonderful work can be found at https://www.guybuffet.com/ and https://lahainagalleries.com/guy-buffet-art.

 

Cubism and Discovery

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The Weeping Woman, Pablo Picasso

 

I am not necessarily a fan of Cubism. It’s more that I don’t understand Cubism, let alone abstract art.

But I’m learning to take a few minutes and really look at some of the modern art that has made a difference to the Art World.

I was looking through my Pablo Picasso Gallery last eve, cleaning it up, straightening it up, when I came across the above painting. The Weeping Woman.

It  has been described as “an iconic work within the history of British Surrealism” (says Wikipedia).

I didn’t look up the meaning behind the painting, the inspiration, the emotions. All I did was sit and look at the woman to see what I could gleam from its entirety.

I can’t say that most Cubism moves me, but this one did. Are her tears in her Kleenex, or are they just boxed under her eyes? Her fingers near her mouth — is that her chin or another hand? A star in only one eye, two different colored hairs — enough of an abstract image to read pain and/or sorrow or both in her face.

There is a lot of modern art in this world that has a lot of meaning behind it, both what the artist intended and what they intended the viewer to decide. A friend once explained modern art as whatever the viewer sees and interprets.

We all see landscapes and portraits for what they are … recreating the exactness of a scene or a person. I’ve always loved scenic landscapes, precise details, realistic portrayals.

The Crying Woman is none of these.

Or is it?

I hope to explore other artists and their paintings one by one. Not all of them all at once. But to take a closer look at the ones that “call” me. After all, I would not have showcased the artist has something not caught my attention.

Do you ever take a second look at art that calls you in a somewhat different voice?

What do you see when you look at the Crying Woman?

 

 

Nothing Melts a Heart Faster Than …

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On my way to researching something else…….

This was a cute one. Hope it makes you smile this morning!

 

Humoring the Goddess

Google Searches related to nothing melts hearts faster than….

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They just don’t get it, do they?

Nothing melts hearts faster than kittens

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Nothing melts hearts faster than LOVE.

Start melting TODAY!

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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Raymond Logan

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

Artist Raymond Logan paints a wide range of subjects with exquisite depth and color. His layered palette resembles sculpture, crafted of hue and shadow.

Frederick Douglass

The works have reverence and gravitas, coupled with a lively playfulness, born of both the artist’s execution and the connections he evokes between the viewer and the subject.

Benjamin Franklin

While each portrait is often recognizable, they are not realistic in the truest sense of the word.

John Coltrane

It is as if an explosion of colored confetti had descended from the sky and reshaped itself into the personification of a human being.

Harriet Tubman

Created in oil paint, using both palette knife and brush, all the elements are there, but it is those many disparate pieces that form a realistic whole.

Charlie

“My work is born through solid draftsmanship plus a liberal application of paint via a brush or a knife or anything I can get my hands on, plus plenty of color experimentation and the carving of my medium,” Logan explains.

Charles Darwin

“It is truly gratifying when a viewer, while being up close to my work, stares in wonder at the surface, then, while backing away, witnesses all that texture and color (that an art textbook tells them shouldn’t work) and abstraction somehow mysteriously develop into a recognizable subject.”

Ernest Hemingway

“That ‘somehow’ is me.”

Frank Sinatra

More of Raymond Logan’s wonderful paintings can be found at http://www.raymondlogan.com/.

 

High recognitions . . . The Little Flower Fairies

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My thoughts on faeries exactly …. Thank you for the post, Purplerays

Purplerays

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The Little Flower Fairies

The little flower fairies have the same radiant beauty as their great guardians. Their size varies according to the size of their flowers. However, they are hardly ever over six inches tall. Since the enteallic nations are also subject to a development process, the daughters of the flowers fairies are consequently very tiny little creatures.
All flowers, without exception, are under the fairies’ care. This, however, does not mean that there is a fairy in every flower; only especially protected flowers are directly cared for by the fairies. It is not too hard to spot these flowers, for in their luminosity and beauty they surpass all others. The flower fairies do not live in flowers of gross matter, but in the somewhat finer layer, which still belongs to the world of gross matter, and permeates Earth entirely, enveloping it as if it were another…

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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Naoki Onogawa

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Japanese artist Naoki Onogawa has been fascinated with the traditional art of origami since he was a child.

 

Now, he incorporates the popular craft into his own artwork.

Using nothing more than his hands, the artist folds hundreds of tiny origami cranes that are small enough to fit on the tip of his finger.

 

Inspired by the legend of the 1000 cranes and the story of Sadako Sasaki, Onogawa folds hundreds of miniature origami cranes that later become bonsai trees of various colors and styles.

Those minuscule paper creatures are used as leaves on the delicate branches of his asymmetrical tree-like sculptures.

 

“Origami cranes sometimes feel like a solitary ceremony filled with prayers, entrusting the feeling of having nowhere to go, and going back and forth to places other than this world,” Onogawa explains.

“I can’t express it well in words, but the paper cranes I’m folding up now may be the result of such ‘prayers’.”

 

“By layering paper cranes on the threads and blessings of nature and such things and incorporating them into my work, I have created a “place” for paper cranes.”

 

More of Naoki Onogawa’s inspirational work can be found at https://naoki-onogawa.com.

What Happened April 18, 2011?

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April 18, 2011. It was a Monday. A partly cloudy day, the temperature peaking at about 46 degrees. It was before the tragic events of 9/11 and my personal loss of 2/22.

It was a few months before the Royal Wedding of William and Kate and long before the terror of Covid-19.

I was still under 60, still working as a catalog coordinator, and still dreaming of being a writer.

And it was the date of my first blog. 

Originally called Humoring the Goddess: Managing the Madness Magic of Middle Age, it was supposed to mingle a bit of magic with the madness that surrounded us as we eased away from the dreams of our 20’s to the realities of life past 40. 

In my first blog called Even the Universe Chuckles, I toyed around with the sections called Momentary Musings and Quimsical Quotations and Frivolous Facts and Falderal. 

My first response was from my good, good writing friend Boyd, who passed away much too young, and my best friend Jillian, who is with me still.

It was working.

As I got older I grew up (just a little) and wrote about all the things that bothered/affected me/made me laugh as I got older. I followed other blogs and found inspiration in many of them, some of which are no longer active. 

Eleven years ago I started on a journey that I’m still on. I found I enjoyed discovering and sharing unusual, unique art, whimsical quotations, and unique pictures and gifs.

I discovered I am no different than anyone else who reads and writes and feels, and I have made special connections with those who have commented on my blogs through the years. I found that I love encouraging others to find their creative muse and run with them to the ends of the earth and jump off at the end and follow that spirit through the stars.

I have come a long way from that young (under 60) woman looking to entertain and be entertained. And I have a long way to go, still wanting to entertain and be entertained.

Thank you all for 11 years of creativity.

Thank you for reading me, listening to me, and being a part of my life. It has been amazing. And full of love. Lots and lots of love.

Here’s to 11 more years of everything — for you and for me!   

 

 

 

 

 

Movies Ad Nauseum

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments

Godzilla Raids Again, 1955

I wanted to  chat with y’all this evening about movies. But I’m not quite sure what it is I want to talk about.

Our family got rid of cable a few years ago, substituting the paid outlets of Amazon Prime and Netflix as our entertainment kingdoms, along with an every day antenna that pulls in local channels like Grit and ME-TV. I’m sure you all have similar guilty pleasures as far as movies and old TV shows go, too.

The other day I thought I’d wander through some off the free, off-channels that are offered on various networks.

Holy Smokes, did I find the movies.

I would say I discovered hundreds — nay, thousands — of movies that I’ve never heard of. Movies I never dreamt existed.

All genres were represented on a number of free movie streaming services: drama, horror, comedy, documentaries, the black experience. I imagine the time frame stretched back ten, maybe even twenty or thirty years.

That’s a lot of movies…. a lot of movies I’ve never heard of.

Who made these movies? Who were these actors and actresses? Who wrote these stories and how did they ever get funded and made?

The world of movies is vast. I mean universe-vast. Like any other topic you can think of, us mere mortals usually only watch the tip of the iceberg. For every Titanic or Top Gun that steals the attention of the media, there are film names like Pete’s Meteor and In the Fade and Evil Bong 666 that make you add several question marks after the title.

It’s almost scary.

Like the bazillions of microbes that exist on earth (Dr. Universe says there are about a billion microbes in a teaspoon of soil), there are stories upon stories that have found their way from some obscure movie studio to a movie screen somewhere to today’s free movie land.

That doesn’t even cover the dozens of episodes on hundreds and thousands of old television shows you can watch, too.

But I digress.

There are dozens of free movie channels at our fingertips; if you don’t mind watching commercials, these avenues are wide open for you to explore.

Not that you will want to, mind you. We all have a million other things we’d rather do — and should be doing — than waste brain cells watching movies that probably never saw the light of day.

I know I won’t be exploring those worlds any time soon.

But still … like the billions of microbes floating around in our soil and air, they still exist. Waiting silently for you to click and watch.

Doesn’t that give you the creeps? Just a little?

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Anand Shah

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Jewelry designer Anand Shah has the power to surprise each time he unveils a collection.

With no formal training, but a passion for design, Shah founded Ansaa Jewelry in Mumbai, India, in 1997, with the simple aim of creating exemplary hand-crafted 22 carat gold pieces.

Shah broke through established conventions to come up with a new and contemporary style, harnessing traditional Indian craftsmanship.

Much ahead of his times, the prolific and experimental artist uses alternative material like rosewood, oil paints, cameos, mother-of-pearl and glass in his extraordinary collections.

An artist par excellence, Shah uses gold, a medium he reveres, to stylishly replicate the bounties of nature.His pieces have a distinct design grammar bearing a blend of luxuriant grandeur coupled with an understated simplicity, which perhaps is a reflection of his own grounded nature.

Invoking the spirit of nature in gold is no easy task. It requires a high level of virtuosity to envision unexpected and intricate forms and to be able to turn them into sophisticated and wearable art.

“Nature is a fount of inspiration for me,” says Shah.“We are lucky to live on this planet which is full of beauty – and through my creations, I try to bring forth the synergistic relationship between Man and Nature.”

More of Anand Shah‘s marvelous jewelry can be found at https://www.facebook.com/aanandsshah/ and India Times.

 

Closer to the Sun — My Inspired Life (repost)

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 5 Comments
I love this writer, this artist, this blogger. Her posts always lift me up, inspire me, gives me a hint of what all this nonsense is around me now and then.

I hope you’ll wander over to Michele‘s blog and see how you feel when you’re done reading…….

Petals, stems, and hair whipped by the wind Rooted beliefs and thoughts twirl and toss becoming a new language when blended with the ancient Protected knowledge penetrates skin, blood, and bones creating shivers and swells Wings yet to be given this is the final ascent Secrets decoded confusion quells when the wind calms and the […]

Closer to the Sun — My Inspired Life

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Odilon Redon

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Odilon Redon (1840–1916) was a French Symbolist painter, lithographer, and etcher of considerable poetic sensitivity and imagination.Redon depicted a variety of motifs including dreams, floral still lives, landscapes, and mythological scenes.His collection is associated with the Symbolist movement, which is typified by an interest in imbuing art with ambiguous metaphors and themes of romance, morbidity, and the occult.In both charcoal drawings and lithographic prints, the artist relied on the expressive and suggestive possibilities of black in his monochromatic compositions called noirs. Instead of drawing inspiration from what he saw, Redon preferred to paint images from his dreams, nightmares, and stories from mythology.This resulted in drawings and paintings with a tenuous grasp on realism, and a preferred emphasis on emotion, color, and atmosphere.His lithographs and noirs in particular were admired by the Symbolist writers of the day but also by later Surrealists for their often bizarre and fantastical subjects, many of which combine scientific observation and visionary imagination.In the 1890s pastel and oils became his favored media; he produced no more noirs after 1900. 

More of Odilon Redon‘s intense artwork can be found at https://www.wikiart.org/en/odilon-redon and https://www.thecollector.com/.

 

 

Promote Yourself Monday!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

You know me. A bucket full of confetti. Of confusion and magic and Chatty-Cathy-itis. (I wrote a blog way back in 2012 about this very subject.. you can check it out and get a chuckle).

But now Spring is coming/here, I’m working on my next collection of Angel Tears (which I hope to get online very soon) and I thought there is no better time to promote myself here right in front of you all.

I would make a terrible salesperson — I feel uncomfortable suggesting and pushing and beating around the bush about my own creations. But if I don’t give them a shout out, who will?

The first free offering is my book Corn and Shadows. Written way back in 2011, it has been edited forever, and now is available for a free download. It’s a story about a 40ish woman going through a midlife crisis, which happens to include time travel and a little love crush as well.

If you’ve already downloaded it and read it, please let me know what you think about it.

I also offer a free writer’s guide, Let’s Write That Book! It’s common sense advice if you are thinking of writing your life’s story or just a short story or two. Starting out is not as hard as you think.

Of course, what would advertising be if I didn’t shout out my full, blown out art gallery, the Sunday Evening Art Gallery. A full length extension of my Goddess Gallery blogs, each gallery is jam packed with unique delights such as the amazing glass works of Dale Chihuly, the imaginative weirdness of Stairways to Nowhere, the wild forest sculptures of Spencer Biles, the metallic sculptures of Kang Dong Hyun, the painted cups of Luycho, or the original porcelain sculptures of Sophie Woodrow.

I could go on and on about the truly unique art I’ve found, but you’ll have to explore those worlds yourself.

I am STILL working on a website for my Angel Tears, and hopefully I’ll have something to show you in the near future. They are sparkling suncatchers that blend into their surroundings, bringing magic and delight to your world.

I hope to be posting the follow up novel to Corn and Shadows named Time and Shadows, a continuing of Annabella Powers’ time-travel adventure.

But that is a promotion for another day.

Looking forward to YOUR self promoting!

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Marbles

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If every year is a marble, how many marbles do you have left? How many sunrises, how many opportunities to rise to the full stature of your being? ~ Joy Page

 

Three-Ribbon Divided Core Swirl Shooter

 

Blue Spotty Shrunken Onion Skin Marble

 

Deep Royal Purple Banded Opaque Indian Swirl Joseph Twist German Marble

 

German Amethyst Colored Glass Banded Lutz Marble

 

End-of-Day Lavender Spots and Blue Streaks Marble

 

Moonstone Red Marble

 

Hand Made Art Glass Alloway Dichroic Purple 9 Cane Marble

 

Japanese White Cross Through Cats Eye Vintage Marble

 

Pincushion Flower and Dragonfly Marble

 

Rare Christensen Agate Co. 4 Color Flame Marble

 

 

So Watcha Doin’ Tonight?

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 11 Comments

I was wide awake last night, all alone in my bedroom, snug under the covers (except for 2 dogs and a cat), listening to the rain thunder past at 8 o’clock in the evening, and I wondered …

How do you spend your evenings?

Everything I read says you shouldn’t go to bed and read your phone or iPad or computer. You’re supposed to go into your bed and SLEEP!

What’s up with that?

Climbing into bed early is a luxury most of us can’t afford. We work (or play) up to the very end and then flop in bed, exhausted, praying for sleep.

Not me.

I kinda enjoy climbing into the solitude of my bed, turning on some ambient  music (any flavor), and either reading or wandering through the Internet.

That’s when I get my best ideas. My most interesting explorations. Where I can find inspiration and strange experiences and weird tales and visit worlds I never will set foot in.

From the quiet confines of my room in the evening I can control my world. My wanderings. I can call the shots and cruise through the galaxy with my brave dogs and bossy cat without leaving the covers.

It’s no wonder I can’t fall asleep at night. I am the antithesis of everything that I’m supposed to do and be. I eat pizza for breakfast and look for dinosaurs in the woods when I walk with my grandson and make wishes on fairies blinking in the dark.

I kinda get tired of doing all the things I’m supposed to do. Tired of following the rules. Tired of being the good girl.

Of course, what better place to get fresh and sassy than under the safety of my covers wrapped in comforting music? Who am I going to threaten? Who am I going to boss around?

Since my husband’s been on the night shift, I have come to be a night person. Sort of. I love the dark blues of night, the sounds of frogs or crickets singing their songs or coyotes howling as they play in the distance. I love the mystery of the unknown which exists just outside my back deck. 

I doubt if I’ll ever explore all of that mystery outside my back yard — not at this age. But that doesn’t mean my mind can’t explore it. Besides. Thunderstorms provide such encouragement to exploration — coming and going!

So …

What’s your favorite way to spend an evening?

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

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Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) was a Dutch-born painter whose scenes from everyday life in the ancient world were immensely popular in its time.Alma-Tadema, the son of a Dutch notary, studied art at the Antwerp Academy (1852–58) under the Belgian historical painter Hendrik Leys.During a visit to Italy in 1863, Alma-Tadema became interested in Greek and Roman antiquity and Egyptian archaeology, and afterward he depicted imagery almost exclusively from those sources.Moving to England, he became a naturalized British subject in 1873 and was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1879. He was knighted in 1899.Alma-Tadema excelled at the accurate recreation of ancient architecture and costumes and the precise depiction of textures of marble, bronze, and silk.His expert rendering of settings provides a backdrop for anecdotal scenes set in the ancient world.His paintings are marked by clarity of color, exactness, and smooth finish; he imagined a Rome of splendor, sunlight, and gentle sentiment.Though admired during his lifetime for his draftsmanship and depictions of Classical antiquity, his work fell into disrepute after his death, and only since the 1960s has it been re-evaluated for its importance within nineteenth-century British art.More of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema‘s classical paintings can be found at https://www.wikiart.org/en/sir-lawrence-alma-tadema and https://artrenewal.org/artists/lawrence-alma-tadema/8.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Dain Yoon

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Like many artists, artist Dain Yoon enjoys working with paint.But it’s not a canvas that she puts pigment to — it’s her own body.Using an extensive palette of paints and brushes, she applies the pigment to her skin and transforms herself into amazing optical illusions.And most impressively of all, she does this all without the use of Photoshop or other photo manipulation programs.Each piece is 100% authentic, painted by herself, in mirror image, on herself, which can take anywhere from three to twelve hours.Much of Yoon’s early work focused just on her face, but she has grown her portfolio to include complex illusions that incorporate her entire body.The “complexity of human beings” stands at the root of Yoon’s body art.“Anything, even in a very ordinary life, could be great inspirations with different perspectives, ” she shares.“We are complex beings, our multitude of emotions, personalities, traits, viewpoints, our complex face expressions are what fascinates me and influences my work.”More of Dain Yoon‘s extraordinary body art can be found at https://dainyoon.com/ and https://mymodernmet.com/dain-yoon-optical-illusion-body-art/.

 

 

Goin’ Forward

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Hans Holbein the Younger

This is the time of year that I call transient.

Tran·sient   /ˈtran(t)SHənt/ adjective.  Lasting only for a short time; impermanent.

For those of you down south (Ivor) it is summer winding down, beautiful colors and cool mornings and warm afternoons. For those a little more north (Darlene) most are waiting to hear birds singing and walk around in shorts.

But why is it transient?

Besides the obvious fact that life itself  is transient, its more of an overall movement of uneasiness. A self-diagnosed A.D.D. or a feeling like you’re sitting on the stove, waiting for the burner to be turned on. You can’t sit still. You have no idea what you really want (or want to get rid of) but your mind is still running, running, running, getting ready for the next step.

This too shall pass, but what do we do while we’re percolating?

It’s not nice enough outside to start gardening. There are no craft fairs in the near future, nor vacations planned nor dinner dates with friends in the in the next few months.

How do we scratch that itch? Fill that empty pail?

Keep moving. Both physically and mentally.

There is no time like the present to do a little research on topics you’ve always had interest in. Learn something. Plan something.

There’s so much out there to explore!

You can go on virtual tours of museums like the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. or the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. You can research and travel through the galaxy at Nasa or mark out a tour route at Quilt Museums on Our Must-Visit List.

You can watch the history of King Henry VIII on You Tube or read up on the conqueror Charlemagne on the History Channel Website, or find a website to  learn something at Newsweek.

I myself am currently on a King Henry VIII kick. The world and the man is fascinating. (Henry VIII: Man, Monarch, Monster on free Tubi)

All I’m saying is that this lull, this hush over the learning world, is only temporary. Being tired, sleepy, lazy, will pass.

In the meantime, go exploring. Don’t get stale! Check out the world! Don’t be afraid to learn something new.

Keep those synapses firing!

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Yamamoto Akane

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Yamamoto Akane has developed a new and original field of art known as “Kirikane Glass,” which involves forming various patterns using the age-old kirikane decorative technique and encasing them in glass.The technique was born from Akane’s desire to make the Kirikane levitate in space so that it can be the focus of the art piece..Akane is from Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and studied Nihonga (traditional Japanese painting) at Kyoto City University of Arts.Kirikane is a decorative technique for creating patterns that involves pasting together thin layers of gold leaf or other metals.The technique is highly delicate. Several layers of gold, silver, platinum, or other foils are cut into strips finer than a human hair, or squares measuring a few millimeters across, and then brushed with glue and adhered together to produce exquisitely detailed patterns.The process of making a Kirikane Glass piece has infinite steps, and completing one piece takes a very long time.It is the same accumulation of “infinite choices for the sake of beauty” that the draftsmen of ancient times experienced.“The aspects of nature in Japan along with the classics of Japanese literature, especially, the Tale of Genji, are inspirations for creating the imagery in my work,” Akane shares.“I hope that my Kirikane-glass works featuring aesthetic sense and sensitiveness of Japan, are to be dispatched to the world from Kyoto, the center of traditional Japanese arts.More of Yamamoto Akane‘s amazing glass work can be found at https://akane-glass.com/english/.

 

 

Anxiety Created, Anxiety Controlled — Marla’s World (repost)

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

I thought I’d share a post written by a friend who seems to go through the same anxieties as the rest of us. They do say misery loves company; although I hope no one is in real misery, it’s sometimes good to know others can be as overly anxious as we are!

Anxieties

 

What makes you most anxious?

Absolutely everything, and absolutely nothing.

As with most people and things, my anxiety is triggered almost at random. I could be sweating bullets and anxious beyond belief because I’m running 2 or 3 minutes late; I could be going to the same place to meet the same person a day, week, month later, be running the same amount late and simply not care…….

Anxiety Created, Anxiety Controlled — Marla’s World

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tiffany Arp-Daleo

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Tiffany Arp-Daleo is an artist from San Diego, California, who works primarily with acrylics and oils in abstract and mixed media.She has developed a unique painting style described as Bohemian Abstract, highlighted by bold contrast, gobs of rich color, and layers of texture.Arp-Daleo expresses her complex emotions by creating intuitive abstract paintings and mixed media artwork, as she is fascinated with color and how it affects moods and feelings.The artist find inspiration through traveling, attending concerts, and mingling with other artists and creatives in search of new inspiration.What is enjoyable about her art is that she brings the world of Abstract Art into every day lives with a simple explanation — or sometimes with no explanation at all.“I create art every day because I HAVE to,” Arp-Daleo explains.“It’s the release I need and my therapy. If I can share it with someone who will enjoy looking at it every day, awesome!”

More of Tiffany Arp-Daleo‘s fresh and colorful art can be found at https://tiffanyarpdaleo.com/.

 

 

Ran Out of Gas

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments

I feel that lately I’ve run out of words.

Word to share, words to encourage, words to heal.

Ack — I don’t know what the reason is that I’m a silent partner in this wonderful company. This, too, shall pass.

But I have been collecting cool art. That’s easy peasy. Especially if listening to smooth jazz and drinking a bit of coffee and looking at the sunshine that promises more warmth in a month.

So this bright Friday Morning I thought I’d give you a sneak peak of future Gallery contestants:

Marbles

Odilon Redon

 

 Iris Scott

 

Boris Vallejo

 

I look forward to sharing with you all these wonderful, marvelous, crazy, inspiring artists. I hope you look forward to coming back!!

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Paulina Bartnik

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Poland-based artist Paulina Bartnik creates realistic-looking embroidered brooches of birds.The artist graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and is very passionate about embroidery.While it may be hard to see the abundance of bird species in the world in person, Bartnik  immortalizes their portraits in exquisite embroidered brooches.She uses her meticulous stitching techniques to render the unique appearance of each feathered creature—from barn owls to hummingbirds.She uses the needle painting technique, which she feels perfectly imitates bird feathers.Beginning with a background of felt sheets, the artist creates a combination of short and long stitches in a variety of colors to produce a textile effect.The faces of her embroidered birds feature all of their distinct markings, which make them appear incredibly real.Not only that, but the variety of hues she uses to create the feathers make it seem like the texture of the bird shimmers in the light.In general, I’m a little bit of a chaotic and impatient person,” Bartnick admits. “Embroidery helps me focus and calm down. I don’t treat it as a job, for me it’s a way to relax.”More of Paulina Bartnik’s amazing embroidery can be found at https://embirdery.com/.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rune Guneriussen

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Rune Guneriussen’s conceptual work, somewhere between installation and photography, features site-specific installations throughout his native Norway.Born in 1977, Guneriussen studied at Eiker College and received a BA in photography at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design.Using an artistic process that concerns the object, locale, and time of installation, Guneriussen takes photographs using a large-format view camera that documents the existence of the installation itself.The resulting photographs illustrate attentive handling and a recognition of light to form a new idea of reality.Mixing rural landscapes with everyday objects such as desk lamps or books, Guneriussen’s analogous application of material and space correlates to humans’ connection to the planet.As an artist, Guneriussen believes that art itself should be questioning and bewildering as opposed to patronizing and restricting.As opposed to the current fashion, he does not want to dictate a way to the understanding of his art, but rather indicate a path to understanding a story.

More of Rune Guneriussen’s installation work can be found at http://www.runeguneriussen.no/ and https://www.scandinaviastandard.com/artist-spotlight-norwegian-conceptual-artist-rune-guneriussen/.

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Starting With Something Simple — Artistcoveries (repost)

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A delightful way to find your way back … we all need to find our source again!

 

The good news — well, I guess it’s good — is that I’m getting back to the studio. I’ve been thinking about picking up a paintbrush again, thinking about putting a bit of paint on a palette, thinking about painting clouds and skies, trees and rivers… you know, all those landscape elements that I love. […]

Starting With Something Simple — Artistcoveries

 

 

I Have No Idea What I’m Doing

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The title of this blog is the story of my life.

Of course most of the time I know what I’m doing … or at least believe I know what I’m doing. Otherwise I wouldn’t have a great son who found a great girl who had great kids and now a great dog.

But other times …

Last night I filled out the March Madness Basketball Challenge. You know the one — 64 teams, 32 competitions between amazing college basketball teams. I’m in a pool with my family, and the winner gets bragging rights at the next family gathering.

Have you ever looked at the brackets?

Do you even know what you’re looking at?

I fill out these things mainly because I want to be one of the “guys.” One of the “family.” One of the “players.”

You might as well as me how to milk a cow. I know zip about that, too.

It’s important to me to be “one of the guys.” Women have a hard enough time breaking into men’s circles. We are of a different mind set. Different temperament, different planet. Although we share our lives with men, we don’t always walk down the same path.

Heck — our paths are often in separate woods!

But having fun with others is worth all the confusion surrounding your choice of competition.

Have fun with your friends and family. Find games, puzzles, and conversations that you can be goofy with.

Winning and losing isn’t as important as sharing.

I picked Arizona to win the Basketball Title. Like I even know where the campus is.

Somewhere in Arizona, I’m guessing …

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Arabella Proffer

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Arabella Proffer is an artist, author, and co-founder of the indie label Elephant Stone Records.She attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA before receiving her BFA from California Institute of the Arts.Considered a pop surrealist painter, Proffer’s work combines interests in portraiture, visionary art, the history of medicine, and biomorphic abstraction.She delves into her practice of oil painting by creating surreal organic environments related to biology, nature, and emerging sciences.Although she started from a place of abstraction, her art became filled with strange hybrids of flowers, cells, and symbols that appeared like organisms from another planet.When her doctor showed her scans of her cancer tumor and close-ups of the cells, it looked almost identical to what she had been painting – tentacles and all.“Insects, flowers, human organs all come from the same process at the core, but within these works visualizing their fictional evolution at any given stage comes from instinct,” the artist explained.“Creating my own fragile beings and nature within these little worlds, alien forms mesh with what might be viewed under a microscope or through a telescope. Perhaps it is a wider vision of awareness, of what is seen and unseen.”More of Arabella Proffer‘s marvelous paintings can be found at http://www.arabellaproffer.com/.

 

Looking For Your Suggestions!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 8 Comments

Summer, Giuseppe Arcimboldo

You all have been very generous with your comments through the years. I don’t get many responses, but the ones I do I love.

So now I’m going to ask for your opinions again.

I have a ton of unique artists and their artwork in the wings, just waiting for their chance to have a Gallery of their own. There is so much marvelous art out there that the sources are endless.

But I was wondering if you had any suggestions for the Gallery.

Unique art, unusual art, amazing art.

Art that lies hidden in small galleries or websites or museums. Art from any genre. I love them all.

jeffw5382, one of my followers, suggested the artist Guy Buffet. Following up on the suggestion, I find him creative and unique and so good at creating worlds for chefs and waiters and all in-between. So I hope to add him to a future Gallery.

I am always open to suggestions and ideas. Maybe there’s an artist you’ve always loved that crocheted or painted or made things out of unusual materials. Maybe it’s new twists on old ideas. Maybe it’s one of the masters from the past that have slipped through public attention. Let me know what you’ve found.

I love sharing with you all as much as you all enjoy the art.

Art is meant to be shared. Let’s share.

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Kiko Miyares

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Artist Kiko Miyares carves and colors stretched, distorted sculptures of the human figure.Miyares was born on the April 27 in 1977 in Llanes, in the Asturian Province in Spain.After his studies at the Faculty of Beaux Arts at the ‘Universidad Publica del Païs Vasco’ he started exhibiting his work in Bilbao.The Spanish sculptor often focuses on the head and shoulders of his subjects, with each bust combining realistic renderings of facial feature with a dramatically narrowed shape that makes the works appear to be squeezed or warped.In some works, elements of the elongated sculptures are fractured, creating surreal doubling of torsos, heads, and arms.Miyares often shows his busts in groups, to create striking and perception-altering vignettes.Although the skewed works are best viewed in the round, each photographed angle provides a new and fascinating look into the the artist’s boundary-pushing portraits.More of Kiko Miyares amazing works can be found at http://www.kikomiyares.es/ and https://www.instagram.com/kikomiyares/.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Janis Miltenberger

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Glass artist Janis Miltenberger draws on the roles of mythology and storytelling as attempts to explain our experience of the world to build complex glass sculptures.Her work often takes the shape of recognizable objects, like human figures and chairs, which are then filled with incredible detail. The artist uses borosilicate glass, and enhanced with glass colors, gold luster, sandblasting, and oil paint.

Each glas sculpture is built, first the internal structure and then one by one elements are fashioned and added to the framework.Miltenberger was originally drawn to ceramics, and discovered glassblowing in college, where she apprenticed with Richard Marquis.Many years later, she was introduced to lampworking, which is her preferred technique today.After so many years working with glass, Miltenberger now finds it quite natural to imagine her work in all three dimensions.

“I start building the work, it can deviate from my original drawing,” Miltenberger shares.“Sometimes as I work on a piece, I am surprised and see a different design emerge, something that better reflects my story.” 

More of Janis Miltenberger’s intricate glass work can be found at http://www.janismiltenberger.com/.

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Shary Boyle

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Sculpture can be so many things. So many different shapes. Colors. Meanings.Canadian artist Shary Boyle works across diverse media, including sculpture, drawing, installation and performance.Highly crafted and deeply imaginative, her practice is activated through collaboration and mentorship.While she works in multiple mediums, Boyle is best known for her porcelain figurines.Boyle’s work considers the social history of figurines, spiritual energy mythologies, and folk art forms to create a symbolic diversity uniquely her own.At first look you wonder what it is about these creations that makes you want to look closer.Boyle’s fantastical and frightening characters are indeterminately human and animal, male and female, and each one sends out a unique vibration that makes you appreciate her diversity.More of Shary Boyle‘s wonderfully unique art can be found at https://www.sharyboyle.com/.

 

 

Why Does “Your Favorite…” Have To Be Just One?

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Sometimes when you are asked “What/Who is Your Favorite …?” you have a steady, solid answer.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate, of course. What is your favorite color? Mmmm… royal blue usually hits the spot for me.

But other questions are a lot more volatile.

Who is your favorite artist? Who is your favorite band or group? What’s your favorite movie?

Humans have prided themselves on their intellectual and cosmic growth. We have learned to appreciate individuality as well as companionship. Learning to accept life and all its gifts and delights.

How can one turn that cosmic oneness into an individual preference?

Aren’t you defying the laws of nature and abundance by choosing just one of anything?

Over the weekend I finished filling out my questionnaire from Storywatch. For those of you who didn’t know, my daughter-in-law gave me a gift from them: they send you one question a week for 52 weeks and after you answer and e-mail them back they compile them into a book. She bought one book for me and one for her family.

Some the questions had singular answers. What is your favorite drink? (chocolate milk.) Where were you when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon? (sitting in front of the TV watching it.)

Other questions were loaded. Do you have any regrets? (Who doesn’t?) What is your secret? (If I told you it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.)

I changed some of the questions to ones that were more important for my grandkids to know. How many brothers and sisters do you have? (three brothers.) What are some of the most amazing inventions you’ve seen in your lifetime? (computers going from room-size to fingernail-size.)

But the hardest questions were the obvious ones. Who is your favorite artist? What is your favorite movie?

This is where my experience as a writer comes in. I changed the text (Who are your favorite artists) and expanded on most questions: Do you prefer winter or summer? (one paragraph for each season with a reluctant admittance for preferring Autumn).

Can’t I ever follow the rules?

Can’t I ever give a simple answer?

The world really comes down to yes or no. You either do it or you don’t. You either go there or you don’t. You either eat lunch or skip lunch. There is no middle grey in the end (I kinda wanted to do it but wasn’t sure so I did nothing…)

But I don’t have ONE favorite artist. Or ONE favorite food. Or ONE favorite memory of times spent with my kids.

I want my kids to know I loved a whole lot of foods and places and musicians and movies and seasons. That I’m a polka dot fan one day and a plain Jane beige girl the next. And I can tell you why I love paintings and sculptures and smooth jazz and nature photography all 100%.

The purpose of this Monday Morning blog started out to be me asking you who your favorite artist is. In any field.

Now I’ve changed my question. And hope you answer.

Who are your favorite artists? Musicians? Foods?

It’s me asking. You can list as many as you wish. The sky’s the limit! (for me it has to be!)

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Sailing Ships

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I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

~John Masefield

 

USS Constitution, 1797

 

Preussen, 1902

 

Santa Maria Replica, 1492/2012

 

Sea Cloud II, 2001

 

Lady Washington Replica, 1787/1989

 

The Thomas W Lawson, 1902

 

Mayflower Replica, 1620/1956

 

Barque Sedov, 1921

 

 

Pinball — Tiffany Arp-Daleo Art

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What I find interesting/different/fun about this colorful painting is the very fine white line that highlights unsuspecting corners and objects and swirls. Pinball is the perfect name for this painting, yet it teases a lot more!

Tiffany once told me that “all of my work is intuitive, never planned.” That is inspirational for sure. Planned art has its place, but so does impromptu channeling!

 

If I were a ball, this is where I would want to roll. 😉

Pinball — Tiffany Arp-Daleo Art

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jan van Eyck

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Jan van Eyck  (before 1390 – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting.

Arnolfini Portrait

 

van Eyck must have been born before 1395, for in October 1422 he is recorded as the varlet de chambre et peintre (“honorary equerry and painter”) of John of Bavaria, count of Holland.

Man in a Red Turban

 

van Eyck was one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art who perfected the newly developed technique of oil painting.

Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon

 

His naturalistic panel paintings, mostly portraits and religious subjects, made extensive use of disguised religious symbols.

Lucca Madonna

 

His artistic prestige rests partly on his unrivaled skill in pictorial illusionism.

Ghent Altarpiece

 

Securely attributed paintings survive only from the last decade of van Eyck career; therefore, his artistic origins and early development must be deduced from his mature work. 

Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata

 

The artist’s paintings achieved an astonishingly sophisticated level of realism, heretofore unknown in the art of painting.

Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele

 

Glimmering jewels, reflective metals, lush satins and velvets, and even human flesh were each rendered with their own distinctive qualities with such a high degree of naturalism it seemed he had conjured a new artistic medium.

Portrait of Margaret van Eyck

 

More of Jan van Eyck‘s amazing oil paintings can be found at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-van-Eyck and  https://www.theartstory.org/artist/van-eyck-jan/.

 

 

 

Who Am I … Again?

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It was a long weekend away, skiing in Michigan.

Of course, I didn’t ski. I watched. 

It was our annual get away weekend with family and friends. The 24th anniversary for the grandparents that started it, about 10 or 12 years for us newbies. We kinda mooched our way in when our son married their daughter, and it’s been fun ever since.

We missed one special couple, one special skier in particular, but he was somehow there on the slopes and in front of the fire and right in the middle of the wild card games. 

Home again, I’m rushing to fill out a gift that my daughter-in-law gave me LAST CHRISTMAS. Like Christmas 2021. It’s from Storyworth, a company that sends you a question a week about yourself, your life, and at the end compiles your answers and makes a book for both you and your giver.

LAST CHRISTMAS 2021.

And I’m only starting yesterday when the questions have stopped coming and the deadline is approaching.

I don’t even have a good reason why I left this to the last minute. I’m not really a procrastinator, but more like scattered. I start something then get distracted by 10 more things and often forget the first thing I was working on.

No excuse.

It has some strange questions, like they were struggling to find 52 common items to talk about. (Where were you when Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon? What is your favorite drink?) Some I deleted, other questions I thought more pertinent to my grandkid’s informational scale (do you have brothers and sisters? Where have you lived?) and which I think are much more important than what my favorite drink is (chocolate milk.)

It comes down to — what do I want my kids to know about me? My grandkids?

I knew very little about my parents. Enough to pass basic information, but nothing intimate. Nothing personal. My parents were of the World War II generation. My dad had three tours in the Army, yet talked very little (if at all) about his experiences. My mother had a child out of wedlock when she was young who was raised by one of her sisters, but I only met her once (when I was about 10) when she stopped by our house and introduced her husband and new baby. 

My generation seems to be more open-mouthed. My kids know pretty much about me. Not everything, but face it… some of the things that made you grow up either aren’t very interesting or are quite uncomfortable.

So how do I answer questions about my brothers (which I never talk to) or the farthest I’ve traveled (Cancun) or my favorite artists (painters, writers, composers, infinity room makers, the whole shebang).

I answer with heart and honesty. I want my kids and grandkids to know where my heart was and is at all times.

For that is the real history of all of us.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Kristen Egan

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Kristen Egan is a mixed media artist specializing in masks and small sculptures.

Egan has a BFA in Art and Design from the SUNY College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Her creative process relies on the organic shapes of natural materials like gourds, antlers and tree branches.

Adding details with carved wood, paper clay and acrylic paints, she often juxtaposes bright patterns and ornamentation against raw or weathered surface textures.

The artist explores themes such as evolution, predator-prey relationships, folk art and totemic imagery.

Her pantheon of recurring animal characters are frequently inspired by species native to her home state, or mythologized elements of personal experiences.

Egan’s captivating sculptures and masks lets the observer go wildly into the forest of imagination where totem-like creatures and folktales carve a path from her thoughts to ours.

More of Kristen Egan‘s marvelous masks can be found at https://www.kristenegan.com/.