Twilight time, to dream awhile
In veils of deepening blue
As fantasy strides over colourful skies
The form disappearing from view
In twilight time
Dream with me awhile
~Twilight Time, Moody Blues
Faerie Paths — Twilight
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Stan Bitters
Stan Bitters (1932-2021) was an American sculptor and ceramic artist known for his unique style of creating large-scale, textured, and sculptural ceramic murals, wall sculptures, and pottery.
Bitters graduated from UCLA in 1959 with a BA in painting. He also attended San Diego State University, and Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.
. In 1958, immediately after college, he was hired to be the principal artist at Hans Sumpf Company in Madera, California, a company known for inventing a special emulsification process for water-proofing adobe bricks.
The company’s main product was adobe, but Mr. Sumpf sought the creative potential of clay as a decorative element in homes.
Bitters was the first artist at Hans Sumpf, and his creations — such as the birdhouse, thumb pot, and other ceramic designs — would provide the company a stylistic imprint and creative identity.
In 1963 Bitters left Hans Sumpf and started his own studio after being commissioned by Garret Eckbo to build fountains for the Fulton Mall.
As a pioneer of the organic modernist craft movement in the 1960s, Bitters has been producing rough-hewn ceramic birdhouses, planters, pedestals, mural tiles, totems, boulder walls, and fountains for more than half a century.
He is an American ceramic sculptor rooted in the abstract expressionism which is understood as a modality suited for American ceramic art.
“The power of an object comes from its ability to tell you a story.” Bitters reflects.
“Good sculpture makes you listen.”
More of Stan Bitter’s wonderful sculptures can be found at https://www.stanbitters.com/sculptures.
Self-Esteem
Although men are freely allowed (and encouraged) to read this blog, this one today is for all my girlfriends out there.
Self-Esteem. What is it, exactly?
The dictionary defines self-esteem as “belief and confidence in your own ability and value.”
We all believe in ourselves, don’t we? At least now and then?
Then why are we always so hard on ourselves?
Went away for a weekend with the family. Had a wonderful time. Friends, family — there’s nothing like that in the world. I believed in my own worth. My own value. As a mom, a friend, and a grandma.
Then I got a look at myself in a family photo.
Who in the hell was that?
We all feel good about ourselves until we are reflected in 3D. All of a sudden we become our too-wide eyes, our Rubenesque figure, our complexion or our wrinkles or our hair.
How quickly our “self esteem” plummets.
I wonder if guys ever go through that.
I doubt if their Earthly image is often compared to thin, busty, smoldering eyes beauties. If they notice that most movie stars, rock stars, artists and models are thinner, have more perfect jawlines or skin tone, or have killer white teeth and great smiles.
Yet women are constantly held to that standard.
Yes, the playing field of women has widened through the years. There are beautiful plus size ladies, ladies with moles and wrinkles and less-than-perfect skin.
Yet somehow they pale in comparison with the world’s ideal woman.
I’ve gone through this rigamarole all my life. You would think at 71 I would be done comparing and wondering and belittling.
But self-esteem is something that is messed with from the very beginning.
I know I’m a great mother, a great granny. I am a supportive friend, a kooky conversationalist and a half-decent writer. I am supporting, loving, and inquisitive.
I’m working on that being enough.
The photo made me realize that I do need to work on this body if I’m to see 72. I get that. THAT I can work on.
The rest — I’m working on that, too.
How about it, girlfriends? Have you 100% got this self esteem thing handled?
Or are you your own worst critic?
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jon Juarez
Jon Juarez is an artist, author, and illustrator from San Sebastián, Spain.
He is known for creating beautiful sketches and drawings with bright colors and a surrealist touch.
Juarez describes himself as a soul of the wilderness, dragged by his pens towards civilization. 
Many of the artist’s works are based on real places, but they always have a surreal twist that takes them out of the realm of possibility.
Through years of practice and honing his craft, he has learned to express his creative visions, and they now take the form of elaborate compositions that boast meticulous details.
Each piece is beautiful in its delicate lines and use of color, and they are made alluring thanks to additional elements such as polygons and waves.
More of Jon Juarez‘s colorful works can be found at https://harriorrihar.myportfolio.com/ and https://designyoutrust.com/2022/12/the-superb-hand-drawn-illustrations-by-jon-juarez/.
Sunday Evening Gallery Flashbacks
I LOVE LOVE LOVE going back in time and showing you Art Galleries of the Past.
They are all so cool and all so different. So needed on a day like today. Let your mind and eyes wander!
Stilettos/High Heels
Sand Sculptures
Banksy
Jenny Foster
Pianos
Famous Food Paintings
Shayna Leib
Silver
Love Statues
Faerie Paths — Dreary
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Can Sun
London-based Chinese artist Can Sun has turned ignoring conventional wisdom into an art form.
Far from heeding the old adage against playing with food, Sun has turned ordinary apples into masterpieces of complex geometry and design.
Adding elements like brass hinges to the apple sculptures, Sun challenges the viewer’s preconceived notions about everyday objects.
The artist’s past was fraught with hardship, which influences his unique approach to his work. He seeks to turn everyday objects into pieces that shake the audience’s conventional understanding of reality.
The art of Can Sun serves as a compelling intersection of existential philosophy and everyday reality. By employing humor and surprise, he takes objects that are typically ignored and turns them into profound expressions of life’s inherent contradictions.
“My work tries to break the audience’s logical expectations, which makes the audience wonder if the world is absurd,” Sun explains.
“The more everyday the object, the greater shock when the audience sees its different forms.”
More of Can Sun‘s entertaining work can be found at https://www.instagram.com/suncannot/.
Totally Useless Facts
I can tell I’m getting cabin fever already — it’s not even the end of January and I’m already restless and occasionally worthless. I don’t feel like writing, I don’t feel like crafting, reading puts me to sleep.
It’s this late sunrise/early sunset that throws what circadian rhythm I have left off into a whirling dervish.
So to fulfill my antsy pantsiness, here are a few totally useless facts that will make you smile.
- The King of Hearts is the only king in a deck of cards without a mustache. (I wonder if he feels left out.)
- “Dreamt” is the only word in the English language that ends with “mt.” (MmmHmm…mt)
- Pogonophobia is the fear of beards. (maybe that’s what the King of Hearts has!)
- If you open your eyes in a pitch-black room, the color you’ll see is called “eigengrau.” (I thought it was just called black.)
- “Tesseradecades,” “aftercataracts,” and “sweaterdresses” are the longest words you can type using only your left hand. (I see you all trying a bunch of words holding your right arm behind your back.)
- It’s impossible for you to lick your own elbow. (I see you trying this, too!)
- A “jiffy” is about one trillionth of a second. (Sometime during the late 18th or early 19th centuries, scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis defined a jiffy as the amount of time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum, which is about 33.4 picoseconds or one trillionth of a second.)
- It’s possible to lead a cow upstairs… but not downstairs. (I can’t say I’ve ever tried this.)
- The little dot above a lowercase “i” and “j” has a name. (What is it???)
- Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks so that it doesn’t digest itself. (How lovely.)
- The little dot is called a “tittle”.( it’s likely a combination of the words “tiny” and “little” since it is an itty-bitty dot.)
- A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out. (I never noticed.)
- You can’t hunt camels in Arizona. (I never checked that out in Wisconsin.)
- Most car horns are in the key of F. (and still obnoxious.)
- Napoleon’s penis was sold to an American Urologist for $40,000.
Ahem…. and with that …
Thank you Best Life and Thought Catalog for spicing up my boring day.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Iris van Herpen
Iris van Herpen is a Dutch fashion designer known for fusing technology with traditional haute couture and craftsmanship.
Van Herpen graduated from the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem in 2006 and interned at Alexander McQueen in London.
By combining handcraft, technology and the art of couture, van Herpen curates progressive and experimental fashion experiences with a highly conceptual approach.
Van Herpen burst onto the scene in 2007 with her unusual approach to applying innovative 3D printing techniques to her clothing designs.
Most notably, the Dutch designer was one of the first to present 3-D-printed dresses in both static and flexible forms on the runway, in a collaboration with the Belgian company Materialise.
Fusing together technology and Haute Couture craftsmanship, Van Herpen’s unusual approach to design has earned her a unique and loyal following.
Van Herpen works in collaboration with experts from other industries in the fields of science, technology and architecture.
This allows her to bring together her expertise in fashion with other areas to create something truly unique.
Each creation makes such an overwhelmingly beautiful and creative statement.
More of Iris van Herpen‘s unique designs can be found at https://www.irisvanherpen.com/ and Iris Van Herpen.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Vanessa Lubach
Vanessa Lubach is a linocut illustrator and artist who grew up in Oxfordshire and trained as an illustrator in Brighton, England, graduating in 1990.
Drawing from observation has always been at the core of Lubach’s work, whether it is illustrating, painting or printmaking.
Each piece begins with a sketch and a general idea of the palette.
After drawing and carving the main image, or key block, she prints and transfers the composition to additional blocks designed for each individual color.
Her linocuts are intricately carved and multi-layered, and some pieces take almost a year to complete.
Lubach likens her printmaking practice to the intricacies of oil painting, and draws on her color experiences to inform her vibrant compositions.
“I linocut like a painter and paint like a linocutter, and the two disciplines work together to inform and enhance each other,,” Lubach shares.
More of Vanessa Lubach‘s lovely prints can be found at http://www.vanessalubach.co.uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/vanessalubach/.
Weird Houses
While looking for something else (as always), I happened to come across some weird-looking houses. And while that’s a great topic for an upcoming gallery, I felt like sharing a few of them with you this morning….
I love odd and unique things — houses included.
Hope you are staying unique, too!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Constantin Brâncuși
Constantin Brâncuși (1876 – 1957) was a Romanian-French sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France.
Considered a pioneer of modernism, Brâncuși is one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century, often called the patriarch of modern sculpture.
Born in a family of poor peasants, Brâncuși showed early talent for carving objects out of wood. Brancusi was trained as a sculptor in Romania before moving to Paris in 1904. There he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and exhibited at the Salon d’Automne.
Brâncuși quickly became accepted as a member of the Paris avant-garde, as his sculptures departed from the 19th century Western trend toward naturalism and eroticism, and were based instead on non-Western and so-called ‘primitive’ sculpture.
His sculptures were of two distinct types: elegant, abstract marble or bronze forms, such as the ‘bird’ sculptures based on a Romanian legend, and rougher carvings made of wood, like his series of ‘endless columns’.
Brâncuși was also known for paying special attention to the bases on which his sculptures were displayed, believing that the pedestal was part of the sculpture itself.
The artist aimed to depict in his sculpture “not the outer form but the idea, the essence of things”.
Though his art is regarded as abstract by many, he insisted that it was representational and disclosed a fundamental, often concealed, reality.
More of Constantin Brâncuși’s marvelous sculptures can be found at https://www.theartstory.org/artist/brancusi-constantin/ and https://www.wikiart.org/en/constantin-brancusi.
Faerie Paths — Sparkle
Every day is a great day to give love, spread joy, and SPARKLE!
~ Sheri Fink
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Anna Julia Gobbi
Ana Julia Gobbi is a graphic designer and photographer from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Gobbi’s inspiration comes from urban areas twilight through darkest hours night, often around high rise apartments with a solitary light on the inside.
This light could be a tribute to those who, like the artist, celebrate the night and create art when most of the world is sleeping.
Gobbi likes to play with the perception of the viewer — is this real or not?
Her photography generates a moment of pause in which one stops and gets lost in the image.
That is what the artist wishes to generate — a little curiosity.
Gobbi tries to portray the hidden life behind the elements of darkness and light, nature and concrete, the intrinsic of a building.
Her photography often captures singularity and stillness of the world through colors and darkness and shadows.
More of Ana Julia Gobbi’s mystique photography can be found at https://www.instagram.com/anajugob/ and https://nftphotographers.xyz/fine-art/ana-julia-gobbi-anajugob/.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Romare Bearden
Romare Howard Bearden (1911 – 1988) was an American painter whose collages of photographs and painted paper on canvas depict aspects of American black culture in a style derived from Cubism.
Considered one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, Bearden’s artwork depicted the African American culture and experience in creative and thought-provoking ways.
After a year of studies in science and mathematics at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Bearden went on to study art and art education, including two years at Boston University, and graduated with a degree in education from New York University.
Living in Harlem, he joined a Black artists group and became excited about modern art, particularly, Cubism, post-Impressionism and Surrealism.
Bearden is best known for his photomontage compositions made from torn images of popular magazines and assembled into visually powerful statements on African American life.
During the mid 1960s, Bearden felt he was struggling in his art between expressing his experiences as a Black man and the obscurity of abstract painting.
He felt that abstraction wasn’t clear enough for him to tell his story. He felt his art was coming to a plateau, so he started to experiment again. Combining images from magazines and colored paper, he would work in other textures such as sandpaper, graphite and paint.
Bearden’s collage work has also been compared to jazz improvisation, as growing up during the Harlem Renaissance, he was exposed to many of the jazz greats.
His images reflected some of the elements of jazz with its interplay among the characters and improvisation of the materials used.
More of Romare Bearden’s influential works can be found at https://beardenfoundation.org/.
I’m Always Confused
I’m sitting in front of my living room window, watching it snow … and snow … and snow, devilishly thinking I’m glad I’m retired and don’t have to go anywhere today.
Good day for computer work or craft work or reading a book, right?
I wanted to add a new book to my site for a free download to coincide with the blog I wanted to post, but I have no idea how to keep track of downloads.
WordPress instructions insists it’s not hard. Just download Google Analytics and connect it to your blog.
Yes. Just like take a sailboat from New Jersey across the ocean to Monaco. Possible, but highly improbable.
I have never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but I’ve always been able to grasp the basics. I’m still a good and careful driver, know how to follow recipes, and set up my Square Reader to take card payments.
But some things are now becoming over my head.
Way over my head.
These days I often have to ask how to do something a few times before I “get it”, which is pretty normal for my age and sparkling mental state. I don’t mind as much as others may.
But I have gotten to the point that it’s almost impossible to understand more complicated things. Football averages plus or minus. How to fix most anything. Adding Google Analytics. It all blurs together like those dizzying whirlpools in bright colors.
Do you ever get this way? What do you do about it?
Some things I plainly give up on. No Pain, No Gain, No Problem.
Some things I ask someone how to do and get the advice I need.
Some things I research on my own and almost figure it out myself.
And some things I just skip.
As I said earlier, I’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed. On occasion I’ve not even been in the shed. But that’s alright.
I find there is always someone around to help you out — either to do it with you, find someone else to do it, or to pour you a cup of coffee while you deal about it another day.
Which one will you pick?
Faerie Paths — Miracles
My heart has wings and I can fly. I’ll touch every star in the sky. So this is the miracle I’ve been dreaming of.
~ Brothers Grimm, ‘Cinderella’
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Karen Risby
Karen Risby is a ceramic artist based in rural Suffolk, England.
Risby obtained her degree in Ceramics at Camberwell College of Art, working and living in South London for many years before moving to Suffolk to set up her new ceramic studio.
Her work is an extension of her love of drawing, exploring pattern and line using both brushwork and sgraffito, a process that involves scratching back into the painted surface.
Risby takes inspiration from nature, myth and story telling.
Birds are a prominent feature of her work, often interweaved with landscapes, people and places.
Risby’s work is hand built and hand painted using porcelain slip, stains and oxides, she fires her work to stoneware.
More of Karen Risby‘s ceramics can be found at https://www.karenrisby.co.uk/.
Having Fun?
Another holiday season is over. Trees and lights packed away, parts of toys already missing, boxes opened and tossed along with instructions — all part of the Christmas Aftermath.
I myself have been having a riot finding new artists for my Gallery. I have put out feelers and followed leads and opened an art site only to be led down several different paths until I’ve gotten lost and had to send up a balloon for someone to find me.
I often wish there was a way to broadcast my Gallery so that others could find it and wander through gallery after gallery of unique art. Truly unique art.
But this is a personal venture for me, not commercial. I don’t have money to advertise nor connections to those in power to share on bigger and broader blogs and medias. It’s a little guy’s idea in a little guy’s side of the world, which in itself is unique.
I know I’ve said this a dozen times before, but these talents I’ve highlighted are so diversified and so unique they make you step back and say “WOW” and really mean it.
I suppose this Monday blog is turning into a plug for the Sunday Evening Art Gallery. Why not? Friends are the best telegraph systems in the world.
Have your friends go to the sight and pick a gallery and look at all the magic within. We have photographers, glass blowers, calligraphists, painters, collagists, woodworkers, miniaturists, installation artists, surrealists, impressionists, precious stones, acts of Mother Nature, clock makers, shoe designers, ceramicists, furniture designers, and florists.
What more art could a person want?
Come browse around one evening if you’re bored. Tell your friends. Request your favorite artists. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there’s so many unique directions to wander!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (1901 –1971), nicknamed “Satchmo”, was an American trumpeter and vocalist.
He is among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz.
Armstrong grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young.
As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. He was sent to the Colored Waifs Home as a juvenile delinquent, and it was there he learned to play cornet in the home’s band. 
Playing music quickly became a passion; in his teens he learned music by listening to the pioneer jazz artists of the day.
Armstrong advanced rapidly: he played in marching and jazz bands, and in the early 1920s he played in Mississippi riverboat dance bands.
The young Armstrong became popular through his ingenious ensemble lead and second cornet lines, his cornet duet passages (called “breaks”) and his solos.
Armstrong developed a way of playing jazz, as an instrumentalist and a vocalist, which has had an impact on all musicians to follow.
He made his greatest impact on the evolution of jazz itself, which at the start of his career was popularly considered to be little more than a novelty.
With his great sensitivity, technique, and capacity to express emotion, Armstrong not only ensured the survival of jazz but led in its development into a fine art.
More of Louie Armstrong’ s history and music can be found at https://louisarmstrongfoundation.org/ and https://www.mosaicrecords.com/best-jazz-recordings-louis-armstrong/.
Faerie Paths — Making Art
Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.
~ Andy Warhol
Push the Button!
Our first snowstorm of of the year hasn’t come our way yet to lock me inside and force me to play checkers with Creativity, but I see her walking around the living room holding the box with the pieces above her head anyway.
What am I waiting for?
This usually is the time of year I get sparked with new creative ideas. Things to continue, things to research, things to improve. Things to get rid of. I always keep in mind my energy and attention levels, but at this early part of the month there’s no reason not to feel like Florence Griffith Joyner sprinting through the 100 meter run.
You can have a LOT of energy sitting on your sofa or at your kitchen table, right?
I try and put my new ideas behind washing the kitchen floors and rearranging my linen closet, both of which are numero uno on my work place list.
But I’m also thinking of introducing a new Angel Tear to my offerings, switching some beads that didn’t work well with ones that will, look for maybe one more craft show this summer, look into days I can take my grandkids camping, putting all my downloaded music on one hard drive, and researching a 42nd anniversary vacation to Paris and Rome.
Which comes first?
Does it matter?
Why do I get so pumped up about things I may or may not do? Why do I set myself up for failure because anything could happen at any moment and change the plans of my world?
I do it because it’s fun.
I love to dream. I love to pretend. I love to walk through other’s imaginations by reading their books and viewing their paintings and flipping through their scrapbooks.
Maybe its because once you get through your first big blow in life, nothing is the same, and the best way of healing is to find your joy button and push it as often as you can.
The sound may not be the same: the song may have changed, the pitched lowered, the warble increased, but it’s the same joy button you’ve always had. It’s always there, no matter how much you try and ignore it or belittle it or say you don’t deserve a button.
Sorry, folks. Everyone has a joy button. And the best way to make it through this life (and the next) is to push that button as often as you can.
The world deserves you.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rick Eggert
Rick Eggert is a master glass artist renowned for his captivating abstract sculptures.
Born in Southampton in 1974, Eggert spent his early childhood in New York, then later moved to Vermont, where he began working in glass.
The artist received his BFA in Glass Sculpture from the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York.
His glasswork is smooth and chic, slightly more than whisps of glass and tips on solid bases.
Eggert use a glass base that uses high quality sand but is standardized to allow the use of a wide range of colors.
All the materials are places in the furnace and heated to 2400 F.
Once it cooks it is cooled down to 2100 F where he gathers it onto metal rods and creates his masterpieces.
To this day he continues to be an avid student of the natural world around him.
In awe of what he discovered during his travels, Eggert encapsulates these experiences into his extraordinary glass work.
More of Rick Eggert‘s beautiful glass works can be found at https://www.rickeggert.com/ and https://shawgallery.com/artist/rick-eggert.
One Peek Backwards to Christmas — The Poetry Slam
I spent the past few mornings reading past blogs of my friends and future friends, and was not disappointed.
I love Hit and Run’s Chickies and their poems. So much fun exploring their world.
Come take a look at their Christmas poem — The Poetry Slam — and find a smile on your face!
My name is Charlie
I think it’s short for something else
like Charleen
but everyone has called me Charlie for so long
I’m not sure
anyway
my poem is about
how weird life is
not just at Chickmas
but all the time
and yes
I’m the head of the
Philosophy Committee
Another New Years Day Post
Ahhhh…. Another New Year!
Blogs today will be filled with New Year aspirations, resolutions, regrets, and pronouncements. New Year, New Change, New Chance, New Beginnings, blah blah blah.
Trying to always be one step above and ahead and in a seperate dimension from other New Years Day blogs, I’m going to post pictures of what New Years Day was like 100 years ago.
1924.
I feel like I’ve been around since 1924.
But I digress.
For those of you who have to work New Years Day, here’s to you. I’ve worked many NYDays. Drink your juice. Carry on.
For the rest of you, have a cup. Get the fuzz out of your head. A new year awaits! Tomorrow…..
.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Frank Owen Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry is a Canadian-American architect, residing in Los Angeles, California.
Born in Canada in 1929, Gehry attended the University of Southern California and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Gehry is among the most acclaimed architects of the 20th century, and is known for his use of bold, postmodern shapes and unusual fabrications.
His selection of materials lend some of Gehry’s designs an unfinished or even crude aesthetic.
Use of corrugated steel, chain-link fencing, unpainted plywood, and other utilitarian or “everyday” materials was partly inspired by spending Saturday mornings at his grandfather’s hardware store.
This consistent aesthetic has made Gehry one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable designers of the recent past.
“I am not a ‘star-chitect’, I am an ar-chitect,” he has said. “There are people who design buildings that are not technically and financially good, and there are those who do. Two categories, simple.”
More of Frank Owen Gehry can be found at https://www.archisoup.com/frank-gehry and https://www.moma.org/artists/2108.
Faerie Paths — Heart
If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.
~Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Yachts
Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm,
none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship.
~ Henry Van Dyke
Curmudgeon — I Love That Word
I do love that old fashioned word. Curmudgeon. A crabby person — especially an older one.
I think Ebeneezer Scrooge was one. Those two hecklers in the balcony on the old Muppet Show were a couple more. Just kinda cranky and out of sorts.
I call my husband that from time to time.
But I digress.
I am planning on spending my morning reading through other people’s blogs — something I’m behind on.
I myself am suffering from RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) that is a potentially dangerous, highly contagious virus that can cause respiratory disease.
Ack, petuwy, Another name for a chest cold.
I’m not belligerent nor dismissive — I know what I have. And that makes me a curmudgeon.
Don’t feel like writing, reading, watching TV. Didn’t feel like doing yesterday’s dishes either, but necessity dictates.
It lasts for over a week — wheezy, coughy, rumbly. All traits that can apply to a curmudgeon.
Who is a real pain to be around.
So I wish you a marvelous December 27th and hope that all of your coughs are small ones!
One Last Christmas Art Celebration
Well, another Christmas is in the books.
Another weekend of opening presents, watching Christmas movies, too much food, too much drink, too much friends and family and solitary moments. It was all too much, and just as glorious, no matter which way you went.
But I found a blog from 2019 about the Art of Christmas. How delightful! Instead of sending you back that way I thought I’d just copy and paste the delightful art I found.
Get ready for a magical powerful new year ….
Winter Landscape, Caspar David Friedrich
Adoration of the Magi, Albrecht Dürer
Christmas in Paris, John Delonas
Adoration of the Magi, Peter Paul Rubens
0Christmas Card, Salvador Dali
Be Home for Christmas, Thomas Kinkade
Christmas Morning, Thomas Falcon-Marshall
Adoration of the Magi, Sandro Botticelli
Christmas Card, Andy Warhol
Merry Christmas Grandma, Norman Rockwell
Snow Scene at Aargenteuil, Claude Monet
Charlie Brown Christmas, Charle
Merry Christmas Artist-Style!
No matter where you are this holiday season, here are some artists to make your days Merry and Bright!
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Isabella Josie
Isabella Josie‘s millinery journey started with a wedding.
The artist wanted a hat but couldn’t find the right one for her dress.
Josie has always been a crafter, and it felt a natural step to find out how to make a headpiece.
Her West Sussex millinery studio in Arundel, West Sussex, is home to her many fantastic millinery creations.
Josie’s millinery incorporates many different techniques and materials, from hand blocking, French beading, flower making, and feather cutting,
Whether she starts with a piece of sinamay, lace or felt, it is her ability to play with different materials and techniques that encourages her to create something truly unique that really makes hearts sing.
These days. Josie creates handcrafted luxury hats and headpieces for local and international clients, including horse racing events such as Ascot, Cheltenham, Aintree & Goodwood.
“Millinery encompasses so many disciplines from sculpture, beading, ribbon work, flower making, design and stitching techniques that there is always something new to discover and learn,” the artist shares.
More of Isabella Josie‘s millinery can be found at https://isabellajosie.com/..
What Does Santa Look Like?
What Does Mr. Santa Claus look like? I guess it depends upon who you are …… and where you are.
Santa Claus—otherwise known as Saint Nicholas or Kris Kringle—has a long history steeped in Christmas traditions.
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick.
Now that you’ve had your history lesson for the year, here’s a few interpretations of the jolly old man:
Ded Moroz and Snegurochka (Father Frost and Snow Maiden), Russia
Julenissen, Norway
Christkind, Nuremberg, Germany
Grandpa of Winter, Mongolia
Père Noël, France
Santa Claus, United States
Reyes-Magos, Mexico
Kris Kringle, England
Tió de Nadal (Christmas log), Catalonia
La Befana, Italy
Jultomten, Sweden
Sinterklaas, Netherlands
TO SANTAs EVERYWHERE — KEEP IT GOING!
Old Baby = Toddler Baby
I swear that being sick as a senior citizen is just as bad as being sick as a toddler.
Only with more perked up ears.
Used to be you had a bad cold or the flu you took cold medicine and went to work. Or school. You can afford to miss one or two days, but for the ones that hold on for almost a week — you just can’t afford missing more days.
When I was 40 I would get hit with a bad flu/cold once a year. Chicken soup and bedrest and NyQuil was the answer.
But now that I’m older I have to perk up those ears. Pay more attention. Is it Covid-19? The beginning of pneumonia? Statistics say that, after heart disease and cancer, Covid-19 and Chronic lower respiratory diseases are the major causes of death in older people.
First thing most of us senior citizens do is check the internet every hour in case there’s statistical updates and/or signs to look out for. But eventually:
Hear that wheezing? Call the doctor.
Have a fever? Call the doctor.
Can’t get out of bed? Call the doctor.
It sounds like I’m poking fun at getting sick, and half of me is. I never had such knee-jerk reactions to a wheeze or a light headed episode before.
But when I was 40 we didn’t have Covid-19 around, either.
Like toddlers, we often don’t know what’s wrong with us. Boogey nose, tired, cranky — that’s our lives most every day! Allergies? Have never really been tested for them. Sinus problems? Nasal passage is clear — who knows what causes all that post nasal drip?
It used to be that chicken soup and aspirin and Vicks VapoRub would cure anything.
I wish it were that easy these days.
Don’t ignore your signs. Hey — that means you, too, youngsters around 40 or 50 years old! There’s weird stuff in the air that can strike any of us at any time. Don’t get paranoid, don’t panic — just listen to that voice in your head that says ‘check me out.’ You’ll know it when you hear it.
P.S. I did go to the doctor and my lungs are clear and I have no fever, so suck it up, buttercup….
P.P.S. Where’s my chicken soup?
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Michael Peuster
Michael Peuster is a stone carver from Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
Based in western Germany, the artist is a graduate of Idar-Oberstein Technical School for Gemstone Jewelry Design.
Brilliant stone cutter, jeweler and engraver, Peuster has created a stunningly gallery of exquisite works that are real masterpieces.
The striking realism of carved of gemstone sculptures is the result of many years of work, practice, and talent of the jeweler.
Trained as a goldsmith and gem cutter, Peuster works with many different types of gems – agate, opal, amethyst, beryl, quartz, crystal, and others.
Most of the work by the German master is dedicated to rendering faces in a host of forms: Cameos, low relief carvings, which project only slightly from the surface on which they are carved; and reverse intaglios, carvings etched into the backs of polished gems then painted with oils to produce lifelike images with a 3-D effect.
“A carving will be around longer than any photo. Think about the images we have from antiquity. They are carvings,” Peuster said.
“These gemstones will have the same beauty in a thousand years.”
More of Michael Peuster‘s exquisite carvings can be found at https://nasvete.com/german-stone-carver-michael-peuster and https://gemstone-engraving.com/.
Faerie Paths — Transition
Spring is passing.
The birds cry, and the fishes’ eyes are
With tears.
~ Matsuo Basho
Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (repost)
Reading my Reader like a good granny this morning, I came upon David’s post, Monday Morning Wake-Up Call. These posts always “get” me in one way or another.
Today’s post gave beautiful words to those flashes of feelings we acknowledge but don’t explain — to myself or others. Not like this.
I think it’s time to sit down now and then and actually explain what it is about rain or evenings or kids laughter or whatever that make me feel good. PUT YOUR FEELINGS INTO WORDS!
Live & Learn, David Kanigan
“I loved the rain as a child. I loved the sound of it on the leaves of trees and roofs and window panes and umbrellas and the feel of it on my face and bare legs. I loved the hiss of rubber tires on rainy streets and the flip-flop of windshield wipers. I loved the smell of wet grass and raincoats and the shaggy coats of dogs. A rainy day was a special day for me in a sense that no other kind of day was–a day when the ordinariness of things . ………..(more)
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (1891 – 1969) was a German painter and printmaker noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war.
The majority of Dix’s early works concentrated on landscapes and portraits which were done in a stylized realism that later shifted to expressionism.
He occupied a lead position in the New Objectivity movement, turning away from the ideas of Romanticism and Expressionism toward a more acidic and non-sentimental perspective to reflect the harsh realities of the interwar German society.
Though being a representative of the anti-expressionist movement, Dix incorporated numerous styles into his paintings and etchings.
Although frequently recognized as a painter, Dix drew self-portraits and portraits of others using the medium of silverpoint on prepared paper.
As the dark days of the Nazis coming to power grew closer, his artworks were stripped of value and censored by the regime.
He was removed from his position of university professor at Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, and his work was included in Hitler’s EntarteteKunst (degenerate art) show, where all artworks that were not within the lines of the Nazi standards were displayed.
After he was stripped of his professorship the Dix family moved to the shores of Lake Constance where he painted mostly inoffensive landscapes.
Dix is regarded as a pivotal figure for the New Objectivity movement in Germany, who had the courage to portray the uncensored versions of two harsh wars and a bleak, depraved society in between, using his satirical and grotesque characters and themes to make a direct statement through his artwork.
More of Otto Dix’s work can be found at https://www.moma.org/artists/1559 and https://www.theartstory.org/artist/dix-otto/.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tom Leighton
Tom Leighton is an artist, photographer and printmaker with a fascination with architectural structure and form.
Trained at the Royal College of Art in London, he expertly layers and manipulates his photographic images, creating work which is both beautiful and provocative.
Leighton created a number of photographic series that highlight the immense variety of textures that surround us.
Using a keen sense of balance, lighting, and depth, Leighton’s photographs show us the details of life through characteristics such as fluorescence and variegation.
Each gallery is unique to itself, a testament to Leighton’s unending sense of fascination and creativity.
Leighton enhances and manipulates and abstracts, focusing our attention on the intricacy of layering or detail or composing which has created the effect.
This work is beautiful and surprising, and, like them, carries a mark of the surreal.
More of Tom Leighton‘s magical photography can be found at https://www.tleighton.com/.
Mozart’s Catacombs
I dig through the catacombs
For something to write
Who am I?
What am I?
Guidelines send me awhirl
Down the vortex and up again
The choice of words
Cutting edge?
Metered Rhyme?
Or should I keep familiar
Witty quips
Fantasy escapes
What words fit?
Which one’s work?
Something white bread soft
A choice once so easy
Now so complex
Who am I?
What am I?
I can keep it safe
Metaphors and clichés
Bedtime stories and morality plays
Who is the narrator?
What is the theme?
I can try abstract
Obscure, Obtuse
Should it make sense?
Rhyme and Shine?
Do I need to always explain?
Or I can go over the top
Madness and mayhem
Fusion and futility
Who am I?
What am I?
I need to start again
Dig deeper into the vault
Turn the box inside out
Should fire now be ice?
Should down now be up?
But in the end
I come to the surface
There never was an answer
What was the point?
What does it matter?
Mozart’s delight has turned
Sour with the morning light
It seems I will never know
Who am I?
What am I?
c2007
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Victor Ekpuk
Victor Ekpuk is an internationally-renowned Nigerian-American artist based in Washington, D.C.
His paintings, drawings, and sculptures reflect indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and Uli art forms.
Ekpuk received his Bachelor of Fine Art degree (BFA), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Nigeria, where he first explored the aesthetic philosophies of Nsibidi (a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the southeastern part of Nigeria).
His knowledge of nsibidi dates back to his childhood through his grandfather, but it wasn’t until he was an art student that he became fascinated with this form of writing.
This led to his adaptation, modification and (re)invention of nsibidi into his own signature “script”, which he humorously describes as his “scribblings”.
Ekpuk’s artwork is characterized by intricate, large-scale compositions that merge African writing, knowledge and aesthetics with his own artistic expression.
The artist invites us to (re)examine simplistic definitions of calligraphy, the boundaries between architecture, sculpture and script, and the distinctions between writing, graphic writing and art.
More of Victor Ekpuk‘s unique sculptured writing forms can be found at https://www.victorekpuk.com/.
Faerie Paths — Speechless
Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leave you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as Heaven whispers, “Do you like it? I did it just for you.”
~Max Lucado
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Carol Emarthle-Douglas
Carol Emarthle-Douglas considers herself a traditional and contemporary basket weaver.
Emarthle-Douglas’ training and experience came from the Basket Weaving School in Seattle along with native elders from the Northwest Native Basketweavers Association at their yearly gathering.
The artist’s inspiration is taken from her Northern Arapaho and Seminole heritage.
She bases her designs on the Plains style beadwork, ledger art, and parfleche designs from her mother’s tribe and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma on her father’s side.
“It is very important to me to pour a lot of love, respect, and careful attention to details in my work,” the artist explains.
“I aim to produce strong baskets and other artwork that are able to stand the test of time.”
More of Carol Emarthle-Douglas‘ amazing hand-crafted baskets can be found at https://www.cemarthleart.com/.
Blogging — What’s the Point?
Some people — rather, some bloggers — have a lot to say. And they say it many ways. In many forms.
I suppose that’s why we all blog.
We start blogging to share. Thoughts, poetry, opinions. According to First Site Guide, the estimated global number of blogs is over 600 million.
Think about that. 600 million.
First Site also says 7 million blog posts are published per day.
Seven Million. Seven Milll – yon.
That’s a lot of emoting going around and through the aura of the Earth.
Any opinion you have, any thought, any recipe for success or spiritual growth or even lasagna is being mirrored by millions every day.
It is an easy way to get gratification. To feel that you’re not alone. That someone understand you and shares your passions. Feels you. Gets you.
Now, seven million people post every day, but how many of their postings do you read?
The number dwindles significantly.
Should that matter to you?
I guess it turns into a question: Why do you blog?
There are the standard answers: to share, to grow, to vent. To experiment. To inflame. To soothe. To teach. It’s a way to connect your inner thoughts and outer words with the Earth’s energy level.
What ever your reason, it’s the mere fact that you do write that sets you apart from those around you. Not a big separation, mind you — just a crack in the consciousness of the space around you that takes your inspirations and experiences one step further.
I guess the purpose of this blog this morning is to tell you not to get disappointed if few read what you have to say. 10,000 followers does NOT mean that 10,000 people wake up and read you every day.
It just means you’ve become an outlet to someone else’s plug into the world.
I truly believe that if you can encourage one person, give an invisible hug to one person, your purpose has been fulfilled.
And that should make you feel better as a human being.
Don’t be afraid to share yourself. Someone may need you!
Faerie Paths — Sadness
Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
~ Kahlil Gibran
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Joana Vasconcelos
Joana Vasconcelos is a French-Portuguese sculptor and multimedia artist known for her large-scale installations that demonstrate a feminist perspective and comment on cultural tradition and consumerism.
Vasconcelos studied at the Centro de Arte & Comunicação Visual in Lisbon.
The artist plucks basic items from reality and repeats them on an unprecedented scale to form the bones of something utterly different.
She sees our belongings — everything from pots and pans to wheel rims and fabrics to pianos and laptops —as personal, ready-made building blocks for publicly-attuned art.
Best known for her outsized, tongue-in-cheek sculptural installations, Vasconcelos often humorously takes on issues ranging from gender identity to consumerism. 
Her artwork assaults the senses with luxurious gigantism and operatic overtones, but they also resonate with something deeper than contemporary culture.
Asked for advice for young artists, Vasconcelos says, “Never give up. Every time someone tells you to give up, just carry on.”
More of Joana Vasconcelos‘ incredible installations can be found at www.joanavasconcelos.com
Perspective
What do you think when you view this Photo?
Or this one?
This one?
Or how about this one?
Or this one?
To those who lived in the early 1900s, these pictures were merely reflections of the times. Halloween. A circus. People having fun.
But to us imaginative people of the 2023s, these images are downright creepy.
Take the first picture.. This pic showed up on a Facebook feed, and I couldn’t help but do a double take. Is this a mom in a Halloween costume? A nod to the goat/deer goddess of the woods? Do they even know the antlered dudette is there?
Selection number two: a ventriloquist. Simple throw-your-voice entertainment. But what kind of dummy is this dummy? Was the dummy supposed to have a clown face? A kinda beat up one at that?
The third one. Clowns were a big thing at the turn of the century. This is the famous Lon Chaney posing for a picture from 1924. This is supposed to be a friendly clown. Really? With that hair? That squished body? Would you want your kids to go up and hug him?
The fourth one. Innocent trick-or-treaters. Wearing tightly pulled rubber masks. Just hanging around. Do they look adorable to you? Loveable? Innocent? Do they even know what they look like?
The fifth one. A crying baby head with a mouth bigger than Lake Michigan. Who would traumatize their kid making them hug something like that?
We are all victims of our own generation. What was normal a hundred years ago is often unfathomable to those of us in the 2023s. Who would dress their kids like that? Think that the uglier the better? Of the photos I didn’t post, why did the whole community wear gas masks? Take pictures with their dead relatives? Crucify someone to the wall to help them overcome mental illness?
I know we do the same these days. With monster movies and CGI and special effects, the past can’t hold a candle to modern imaginations. War, shootings, starvation, all carry over generation to generation. Our ability to scare, terrorize, mind-fu%k and destroy people and the planet has never been easier.
But that’s not the point.
What we think creepy they thought funny. Or normal. I imagine they would feel the same way about today’s pierced eyebrows or stiletto heels.
You think our world is weird?
The world has always been weird.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Larysa Bernhardt
Larysa Bernhardt, an artist based in Missouri, creates brilliant colorful moths by using old tapestries.
The moths often showcase beautiful images of historical people, birds, animals, and flowers on their wings.
The idea for this unlikely art form came from Bernhardt’s longtime fascination with nostalgic textiles. 
The artist began by collecting vintage textiles, including silk tapestries and wool, and was interested in analyzing and unraveling their histories, taking an interest in how creatures, such as moths, often inhabit such materials.
To ensure they stayed in good condition, she habitually checked for moth larvae in the folds of the cloth.
This ritual triggered the idea of merging the delicate cloth fabric with its natural “enemy.”
As a result, the artist also discovered a new love and appreciation for the winged insect and says she is inspired by the way moths tirelessly and fearlessly reach for the light. 
Bernhardt learned the skill of turning tapestries into art works from her mother, just like she learned it from hers.
More of Larysa Bernhardt‘s fascinating tapestry moths can be found at https://www.larysabernhardt.com/.
Silly Saturday with my Friends
Watching it snow outside my front window, readjusting my snuggly grey blankie on my lap, I’m wondering where this blog entry should go.
I really DO want to write something, but it’s bleak and depressing outside, leaving very little room for ambition or creativity.
Bring in the Kitties and Puppies.
These two staples never fail to bring a smile to grumpy faces, including mine. There are plenty of other days to be creative, artistic, and cosmic — today is more of a reflective, movie, good book, pet-your-pet kinda day.
I hope you have one of these days soon. They really do recenter you.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Michel Delacroix
Born in 1933 in Paris, Michel Delacroix is a prominent French painter known for his naïf art style (art created by a person who lacks formal education and training), often depicting scenes of Paris in a whimsical and childlike manner.
Delacroix’s subjects include street scenes of Paris and other nearby areas of France set during his childhood during the Nazi occupation.
Delacroix began his artistic career by studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Later, he worked in various artistic fields including graphic design before dedicating himself fully to painting.
Delacroix has created a Paris full of magic and atmosphere that holds one’s imagination as it travels back in time.
The works are renowned for their graceful balance of the earthy and the urban, the cosmic and the ordinary.
In 1994, Delacroix was named an Official Artist of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and commissioned to celebrate the 1996 Games in an oil painting Titled “Atlanta 1886-1996.”
More of Michel Delacroix’s lovely paintings can be found at https://www.artlex.com/artists/michel-delacroix/ and https://www.artnet.com/artists/michel-delacroix/.
Faerie Paths — Dark Universe
I have seen the dark universe yawning
Where the black planets roll without aim—
Where they roll in their horror unheeded,
Without knowledge or lustre or name.
The Haunter of the Dark
H.P. Lovecraft
Don’t Go There
Don’t go there.
That can be said of many things. Standing water during a flood. Desolate houses in the dark woods. Do not cross yellow warning tape.
I also use that phrase for memories that like to hang around in my head too long.
It’s not that I have not acknowledged these experiences — as a matter of fact, I think I’ve over-felt and over-thought many things in my life.
But I find that, on a day to day basis, I am better off closing those doors more often than not.
If you have a wandering mind like I do, it’s easy to start with one thought, one emotion, then, instead of acknowledging and letting it go, you let it sit and simmer and steam and overcook in your psyche until you are sick to your stomach.
I think that’s what anxiety attacks are all about.
Thinking and over-thinking doesn’t work at all. We all know that. Past events are just that. In the past. You can’t change one damn thing.
But still, it’s like opening that big oak door just a little. Not much — just a crack. Just so you can get a little peek, hold onto just a little memory.
Some of us handle that little peek just fine. But for others, all you need to do is open the door a crack and, like a raging flood, everything comes pushing through at one time, and before you know it you’re dealing with pain and angst and confusion you already thought you’d handled.
So for me, the smart thing to do is to say Don’t Go There.
I say it in a nice way. Not a nasty, told-you-so way, but in an easy, best-friend-and-protector kind of way. I find a way to distract my thoughts and funnel them into more of a “today” moment or a “tomorrow” moment.
The forces that be understand that. They have no problem with acceptance and distraction. They know I’ve learned. I’ve grown. I’ve survived. I don’t need a constant reminder.
My age is a constant reminder of the long path I’ve left behind.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Telephones
Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you.”
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Stéphanie Kilgast
Stéphanie Kilgast is a contemporary French artist known for her intricately detailed works using discarded materials, trash, and, recently books.
Born in 1985 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the artist currently resides in Vannes, France.
Her recent pieces explore incredible biodiversity utilizing books as her canvas.
She constructs delicate mushrooms, blooming flowers, and colorful coral in painstakingly detailed miniature environments as a vivid reminder of the impact humans have on the environment and the tenacity of nature.
Millions of titles are published each year in the U.S. alone, meaning billions of individual copies—a vast number of which eventually end up in landfills.
Kilgast draws attention to these discarded objects by giving vintage editions new life.
Inspired by natural forms, Stéphanie Kilgast’s artwork is an ode to nature and its current biodiversity.
“With my choice of bold and vibrant colors, I offer a cheerful post-apocalyptic world,” the artist shares.
“While I talk about a heavy subject, the disastrous impact of human activities, I also wish that people leave my work with a feeling of happiness and hope, and keep fighting.”
More of Stéphanie Kilgast’s delightful creations can be found at https://www.stephaniekilgast.com/.
Be Thankful Every Day
Many of us carry around a lot of pain inside.
Some of it physical: our bodies have started acting up and there is not much we can do to stop it.
A lot of it is internal: we have lost loved ones, family members and friends.
We suffer emotional pain from war, hatred, and famine. It hurts even more because most times there’s nothing we can do about it.
It never seems to stop.
But there is always room to be thankful.
Today — and every day.
Our blessings really outweigh our pains, even if we fail to see that on a daily basis.
This Thanksgiving, don’t underestimate the amount of your burdens. But don’t let them turn you away from the hope and beauty around you.
Somewhere a happy baby is being played with. Somewhere there is sunset on a lake and snow on the slopes. Someone somewhere is falling in love, getting married, saying “I love you.” Someone is growing old with someone else, dancing to Glenn Miller or Sting or Alan Jackson.
Someone is giving a hug to someone who needs one, someone is getting rocked to sleep, someone is wishing on a star.
There is a lot to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving, next Thanksgiving, and every day in between.
Find a way to be happy this wonderful day.
No one deserves it more than you.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Alex Pardee
Alex Pardee is an Illustrator, freelance artist, apparel designer, and comics creator / writer based in Los Angeles.
Pardee is probably best known for his work on a number of stunning album covers, although he has also designed and created comic books, and launched a web store.
Early in his life, Pardee suffered from depression and anxiety. After being hospitalized, Pardee tried different activities to feel better.
That’s when he picked up a pencil and started to draw. The rest is history.
Pardee’s happy nightmares, or Brightmares, bring attention to the complex interaction between the opposing forces in our lives — the good and the bad, the heartwarming and the horrific — by delivering scary subject matter in bright and playful, even cute, packages.
His creations often consist of gnarling monsters or creepy creatures that are injected with a dose of delight, usually containing a strong sense of humor and irony; vibrant, pleasant colors; and large, anime eyes.
“Jumping on social networking sites as they appeared, and disciplining myself to actually UTILIZE them was, for me, the most important thing I did in establishing the art career that I have now,” Pardee shared.
More of Alex Pardee’s amazing drawings can be found at http://www.alexpardee.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/alexpardee/.
I Can’t Believe I Still Do It
This title could mean anything — sex, hug my kids, save the Pope’s Nose on Thanksgiving for Uncle Scott.
No — this “can’t believe” is more inline with the younger generation. Those with kids and long Christmas lists and money to spend on baubles.
I can’t believe that I still go to the gas station Thanksgiving morning and get the newspaper and check for the Black Friday sales.
Who goes to those these days?
Remember the days when there were lines out to the parking lot just to be able to be the first one to buy a computer or Barbie doll? The days when the checkout line in the big department stores went all the way around the main floor?
I participated in only one of those “old” days before-dawn shopping excursions. Once was enough.
But there is always something fun about going through the sale flyers from the newspaper with friends and family, making lists, listening to what other’s are looking for. Everyone scrutinizes the paper for the best deals, especially ones that have unlimited quantities.
We still go out on Black Friday. Usually we keep the grandkids overnight and go out to breakfast first. Then we meet mom and dad and spend half the day walking the aisles in Menards.
The maddening crowd (if there ever was one) has thinned, and there are still plenty of Christmas Houses and throw rugs to put into your cart.
It’s more a fun family time. Like a game of Trivial Pursuit, everybody laughs at what they think their parents or their kids need or if they could use a second of the whatsa-ma-jigits. It’s taking the grandkids out for breakfast and hiding toys in the bottom of the cart or throwing in Christmas candy for yourself for later.
I don’t usually come out with a cartful of needless things — I leave that for those with longer lists and bigger pockets.
Guess I’m just a sucker looking for a good time!
Coming Soon to Your Computer Screen!
This will be a busy week for me, as I’m sure it will be for you. Besides the big “T” day, I’ve got lots of things to do between today and next Sunday. Which, except for the cleaning, is good.
But I wanted to give you a sneak peek at what’s in store for you in the Gallery in coming weeks!
Hope these pique your interest and love of Creativity in ALL its forms!
Love you ALL!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Graham Franciose
Illustrator Graham Franciose was born and raised in the forests of rural Massachusetts to a very loving and creative family.
Trained in photorealism in a variety of mediums, Franciose studied Illustration at the Hartford Art School, and graduated with a BFA in Illustration in 2005.
Franciose often sits down with watercolor, gouache, and a small sheet of cotton paper to paint a whimsical scene or surreal moment.
Dreamlike in style and subject matter, the works are part of an ongoing series simply titled ‘Morning Coffee Paintings.’
An exercise in experimentation and releasing perfectionism, the paintings reflect a range of moods through mysterious scenarios and quiet, contemplative figures.
His imaginative illustrative paintings are small in size and big on emotion, each depicting its own little narrative, often dreamily reminiscent, reaching deep into the human condition and showing us all little pieces of ourselves along the way.
Franciose’s work deals with the quiet moments in a story, between the excitement and action where characters deal with internal conflicts, doubt, loneliness, wonder, and apprehension.
“My work often comes across as sad and melancholy, but there is always a sense of hope that I am trying to portray,” the artist shares.
“I try to keep the meaning and scenario of my work open ended so each viewer can interpret the narrative in their own way.
“There is a story in there, but it’s up to you to decide what it is.”
More of Graham Franciose‘s enchanting art can be found at https://gfranciose.com/ and https://gfranciose.com/2020-morning-coffee-paintings.
Faerie Paths — Faerie Dances
Softly in the gloaming
Flitting through the vale,
Fairy folk are roaming
Over hill and dale.
Pixies in the hollow,
Elves upon the height,
Let us follow, follow
Through the paling light.
Follow, all unbidden,
To the grassy glade
Wrapped around and hidden
In the forest shade.
Hark the elfin tinkle
Of their little lutes!
Mark the golden twinkle
Of their fairy flutes!
~ Evelyn Stein
Mikey the Spirit Guide?
I don’t know if you remember, but last September I wrote a blog called “The Cat” which was about a cat showing up out of nowhere on the day we had a memorial get-together for the son I had lost in February — a cat we call Mikey.
The second time was at Thanksgiving (The Cat Part 2). He also showed up on Christmas morning, but I didn’t write about that visit.
This morning my husband left to go deer hunting for a few days with my other son, and guess who was sitting on the steps going up to our deck.
Mikey.
As I’ve said before, I don’t know whose cat this is. Every now and then I see him wandering through the grass around our garage/barn, but he’s usually so far away we can’t connect.
But there the kitty was this morning. I didn’t see him — he wasn’t there for me. He was there for my husband, watching him pack, waiting to go off to the North Woods. Just like Mikey used to.
He was calm and alert, sitting on the step, as if to say, “Hey! Let’s go!”
I have said a thousand times I don’t believe in signals from another world. I’m not even sure I believe in God. Not after taking my son.
But every now and then something spiritual takes place, and I start to believe.
Thanks for letting me know everything is okay, Mikey.
I’m hanging in there, too.
Faerie Paths — Stones
Stones are mute teachers; they silence the observer, and the most valuable lesson we learn from them we cannot communicate.
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Jennifer Latour
Jennifer Latour was born in Seven Islands, Quebec, but now calls Vancouver, Canada, home.
Latour is a self-taught artist who has moved into the world of nature to create delicate, unusual art.
She has developed her love for character creation, sculpture, photography, and cinema into a series that combines a wide variety of fruits and flora into a strange and beautiful real sculpture.
She then photographs these temporary organic sculptures, sometimes even releasing her creations back into the wild.
Latour’s eye for color and the allurement of the natural world imprints her photos with a distinct, delicate, and ethereal aesthetic.
While each piece has a unique character and stands on its own, the series as a whole is evocative of the interconnectedness found in nature, and serves as a reminder that all creatures are bound simultaneously by both their similarities and their differences.
More of Jennifer Latour’s creative work can be found at https://opendoors.gallery/artists/jennifer-latour.
Sandman visits the Sonoran (repost) — My Inspired Life
I happened to stop by the blog My Inspired Life by the lovely Michelle Lee, and came across this poem in her latest post.
I instantly fell in love with the poem, the images, the entire energy from her creativity. I think you will, too. Please stop by when you have time and visit her world!
Into the morning, I am melting
wildflower honey spread across a canvas, warming
a mind massaged by his magical toes, now rested……..
Making Art Has Not Always Been Free
On my way to something else….
In tying up my Gallery blog on Degenerate Art, I came across a biography of Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler, a German Expressionist:
Living on her own from the age of 17, hers was a stressful life in a society still judgmental of female independence. In her early 30s, she was hospitalized for what has been described as a nervous breakdown. While hospitalized, she was diagnosed as having schizophrenia, although the basis of this diagnosis remains unclear.
During her hospital stay, she drew portraits of fellow patients and herself in a series later referred to as “Friedrichsberg Heads”.
With the diagnosis of schizophrenia, Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler fell under the National Socialist “Hereditary Health Act”. After her divorce in 1935, she was incapacitated and forcibly sterilized, regardless of her protests and requests from her family.
The National Socialists branded her work with the stigma of “degenerate.” Nine of her works were represented at the “Degenerate Art” exhibition in 1937.
On July 31, 1940 Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler was gassed at the age of 40 in the Pirna-Sonnenstein killing center as part of the “T4” euthanasia program.
Can you imagine — an artist of high caliber, suffering already from a mental illness, being gassed because a government deemed her “not worthy”?
Hope this makes you stop and think. I know my heart is still hurting.
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries
The Lady and the Unicorn (La Dame à la licorne) is the modern title given to a series of six tapestries created in the style of mille-fleurs and woven in Flanders from wool and silk, from designs drawn in Paris around 1500.
Five of the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the five senses – taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch.
The sixth displays the words “À mon seul désir”. The tapestry’s intended meaning is obscure, but has been interpreted as representing love or understanding.
Each tapestry depicts a noble lady with the unicorn on her left and a lion on her right; some include a monkey in the scene.
Each work of art depicts one of the senses performing some action intended to exemplify the sense in question.
A sixth sense is represented in the sixth tapestry, which presents a further way of knowing the world. Scholars now generally agree that À Mon Seul Désir presents a meditation on earthly pleasures and courtly culture, offered through an allegory of the senses.
More on the magical Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries can be found at Musee-moyenage and The Conversation.
Sharing Gallery Art — Tiffany Arp-Daleo
A bright beautiful Saturday! Hope you are enjoying yours!
Today is my “Creativity” Day,” I wanted to share one of my favorite “modern day” (today!) artists — Tiffany Arp-Daleo.
Her art is modern, bright, and full of half-hidden delights in her paintings. I just went through her blog and caught up on what I’ve missed, and found this one.
Do pop over and check her out!
Being November
Share the Art!
To those of you who pop in now and then, I thank you. For those of you who take moments to talk to me in comments, I double thank you.
What I wanted to do on this rainy day, though, is introduce those of you who love art (and have never visited online galleries much) to come on over and check out my sister site: SUNDAY EVENING ART GALLERY.
If you love art — especially unique art — this is the place to wander.
The front page is one long front array of boxes filled with pictures from individual artists. Click on the picture and it takes you to at least a dozen more from the artist.
The gallery covers all sorts of artists: painters, photographers, graphic designers, ceramics artists, jewelers, quilters, glass artists, designers — any artist that creates something different.
Something that makes you say — WOW.
The art could be centuries old (Michelangelo) to general Earthly wonders (Cloud Formations) to modern sculptures (Wenqin Chen).
Its all amazing and all free.
I’m not promoting my blog just because it’s my blog — I’m promoting my blog because there’s soooo much great art! Share the pure beauty of such incredible imaginations.
It will make you happy and your friend happy!
Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Nikki Root
Nikki Root has custom designed and handcrafted stained glass windows in Cache Valley and surrounding areas of Utah since 1994.
In addition to her beautiful traditional stained glass, Root now specializes in one of-a-kind, 3-dimensional glass creations which are skillfully crafted from a variety of individually hand-cut vintage bottle and glassware bottoms.
Root collects Depression glassware and any interesting glass she can get her hands on to transform into windows, framed pieces and many other things.
Root’s passion for glass work began 20 years ago when her family moved from Atlanta, Ga. to build a home in Providence.
Their Atlanta home had stained glass windows, a comfort she insisted on having in Utah.
To avoid the high cost of purchasing custom designs from a glass company, Root decided to try making it herself..
This rest is stained glass history.
“Stained glass speaks,” Root shares.
“Once you have it in your home, it’s really hard to live without it.”
“So I took a class and learned how to cut and solder, and then I took off from there.”
More of Nikki Root‘s beautiful stained glass can be found at https://www.bottomsupglass.com/.
Some Autumnal Photographs
The chill in the air can’t keep creativity away! Here are some photographs I’ve taken through the years of the beautiful world I am lucky enough to call home. Have a beautiful week.
Humoring the Goddess 