Don’t Let Your Mind Be a Garbage Dump

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A funny thing happened when I stopped getting (my version of) obsessed with the day-to-day antics of politics.

I felt better.

I’m not really into politics … I know how things work and how they affect me. I have thoughts and opinions and do what I can to promote my version of harmony and fair play. 

I don’t even know how I let myself get so involved.

To me, political rhetoric is like potato chips…. you can’t eat/ listen to just one. Conversations and quotes get so wild and carried away that you have no idea where it’s all coming from. And, just like potato chips, you can’t eat/listen to just one.

It’s kinda like Facebook or Reddit. Some aren’t satisfied just presenting different opinions. They have to present or respond in a confrontational or obnoxious way, guaranteed to rattle quite a few brains and anger even more. Here in the good ‘ol U. S. of A., politicians are not satisfied to merely respond or accuse. It’s now a case of making up stories and ignoring truths. It’s rude and ignorant and downright mean.

I am a person who hates rude and ignorant and mean. And the more I read the more upset I get. 

I’ve gotta find a way to stop listening and reacting to this verbal trash. It’s not good for my blood pressure nor my good nature. It’s all nonsense anyway, spoken to get a reaction. 

MY reaction.

I think the key to a longer, healthy life is to stop listening to garbage. Garbage rhetoric, garbage television, garbage podcasts. Not just in the world of politics, but in all world interactions. It does nothing but pump us up into a mist of brainlessness.

There is not much you can do to change the world. One against a billion are not great odds. Vote, yes. Explain, yes. Then move on.

I’m not saying spend your spare time watching documentaries and reading literary fiction. What I am saying is spend your spare time learning something positive. Learning and sharing. Something that doesn’t hurt other people. Something that makes your life easier and happier. Or makes someone else’s life easier and happier. Something that helps you understand or create or forgive.

As Joyce Meyer once said, “Don’t just let the devil use your mind as a garbage dump.”

I hear ya.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Unusual Jewelry

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

Anyone can make odd jewelry. The word “unconventional” can walk side by side with “contemporary”, “strange”, and “designer” quite easily. It may consist of necklaces made of eyeballs or copper cut at strange angles. That’s not quite what I was looking for.

The pieces I chose were classic in their own way:  different but smart. Uncommon yet familiar. I hope you enjoy their uniqueness just as I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look Out Wassily Kandisky — Here I Come!

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

I have comfortably settled into my Hanging Out With the Guys” gig. I have sketched trees, read books, found suitable creative music, taken charming photos, fetched the dog in the lake, and gotten a sore throat.

Now I’m ready for the real stuff.

Wassily Kandinsky is an artist famous for his Concentric Circles paintings. Loved his work. He seems to have won out as the biggest influencer of my future Art discoveries.

My goal this fine Friday morning is to start to create a series of circle paintings of my own. I’m thinking six to eight in the series, all based on a circle and a background and a title.

How Picasso-ish I feel!

These creations will not have the luxury of watercolor or oil paints or stretched canvas background., Glitter pens are in my forefront, along with plain markers and colored pencils. The designs will all be different, with a singular thread connecting them all.

These drawings will not win any prizes at the art fair; they won’t be on the cover of magazines or make the circle of modern art studios.

But they will be fun, and they will be mine.

I’ve been wanting to break out into another Creative field for some time now. My backups are still there – writing and crafting and rock painting, all fighting to be first in line behind me. But now (at least for the next two weeks) they’ll have to take their place behind a gel pen painters dream.

I’ll show you the paintings in a few weeks if they merit viewing.

If not, there’s always making homemade spaghetti sauce to fall back on …

 

 

I Am a Fan of Top __ Lists Part 2

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

Back on June 18, 2022 I wrote a blog titled “I Am a Fan of Top __ Lists“ which was a real show stopper. (*cough*). So since I am in an irreverent mood this fine day I thought I’d add to this marvelous list. Please note: Top Lists are as varied as those who write them. (I’ve linked the lists to where I found the statistics … such as they are …)

 

Largest Abandoned Cities in the World

1.  Craco, Italy

2.  Pyramiden, Norway

 

Most Expensive Fruits in the World

1.  Rare Kanyao Durian – $47,990 Each

2.  Yubari King Melon – $45,500 Per Pair

 

Most Commonly Mispronounced Words in American English

1.  GIF  (Proper pronunciation is: J-IFF)

   2.  Mischievous  (Proper pronunciation is: MIS-CHUH-VUS)

 

Most-visited museums in 2023

1.  Louvre,  Paris France (8,900,000)

2.  Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Rome Italy (6,800,000) 

 

Top Grossing Movies of 2023

  1.  Barbie ($636,225,983)

2. The Super Mario Brothers Movie ($574,934,330)

 

Top Grossing Movies of 1953

1.  Peter Pan ($60,087,855)

2.  The Robe ($36,000,000)

 

Top 10 Universities in America

1.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, United States

2.  Harvard University, Cambridge, United States

 

Most Expensive Bicycles In The World

1.  Trek Butterfly Madone – $500,000

2.  Trek Yoshimoto Nara – $200,000

 

Most expensive desserts in the World

1.  Runway Cake, Debbie Wingham, ($74 million)

2. Strawberries Arnaud, Arnaud’s Restaurant, New Orleans ($9.85 million)

 

Largest Birds in the World

1.  Common Ostrich (up to 346 pounds)

2. Somali Ostrich (looks like bird above: up to 237 pounds)

3.  Southern Cassowary (up to 187 pounds)

 

Most Popular Card Games in the World

1.  Bridge, estimated 500 million people worldwide.

2.   Poker, with over 100 million players globally.

 

Most Popular Colors Worldwide

1.  Blue (#1E90FF)

2.  Red (#FF0000)

 

Most Popular Dog Breeds

1.  French Bulldog

2.  Labrador Retriever

 

Most Expensive LEGO sets you can buy today

1.  Millennium Falcon (7,541 Pieces), $849 +/-

 

2.  Star Wars AT-AT Walker (6,785 pieces) $849 +/-

 

Rarest Cactus in the World

1.  Discocactus subterraneo-proliferans ( Extinct in the wild, Fewer than 50 in private collection)

2.  Florida semaphore cactus   Near Extinction Fewer than 20

 

Whew! That was a lot of research!

 

 

Hanging Out With the Guys

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments


I am getting ready to go on an adventure. Hope I return in one piece.

Seems like I’ve been jet setting around lately, but I really haven’t. I’ve stayed local (except for the trip to Europe last spring). This time I’m taking my life — and health — into my own hands.

I’m going up north for two weeks with the “guys”. The guys are mostly grandpas and sons, not necessarily related. They are the primitive side of the bunch… hunters, fishermen, mechanics.. all that. The first week and a half is a fishing adventure, the last half a closing of the cabin.

This time around I’m letting them do it all THEIR way. Cooking, packing, meal planning, laundry — everything that usually relies on a female to complete. I decided to be merely a spectator, staying out of the way and letting them run the cabin the way they want to.

This extravaganza lasts two weeks, and I’d like not to be alone all that time if I can help it. They all jollily told me to come with, so, packing up my stuff along with my two dogs, I’m going.

I’ll actually be by myself from sunrise to close to sunset, and I’m ready for that. Sketch pads, coloring books, gel pens, reading books, manicure set, Downton Abbey DVDs, books to edit — I’m bringing it all, along with my computer, iPad, phone, and snacks.

It will be interesting to see 3-5 men planning two weeks of breakfasts and dinners. I bought a few unique meals for lunch when I’m by myself, but the rest will be left to a tired crew coming home from a long day of fishing. 

We’ll see if the atmosphere is conducive to Creativity. It certainly will be conducive to experimentation …..

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Holly Coulis

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Holly Coulis (1968-) is a Canadian painter from Toronto, Canada.Coulis received her BFA from Ontario College of Art and Design (Toronto, Canada) in 1995 and her MFA from School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA) in 1998.Coulis is an artist whose work investigates painterly space.Through her observations of everyday life, her intuitive, yet calculated, visual language creates images that oscillate between symbols and abstraction.Coulis builds abstraction using both her observations of everyday objects and the movement of her brush itself. Working from initial sketches, Coulis first creates space through brushy lines and defined areas of applied paint, each outlined in color. She then further divides up areas and circumscribes forms.The result is abstracted composition intersecting with the odd still-life object – a lemon or an orange perhaps.More of Holly Coulis’ marvelous abstract artwork can be found at https://whitewall.art/art/holly-coulis-shows-us-how-to-look-closer/ and https://coopercolegallery.com/artist/holly-coulis/.

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Hummingbirds

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 7 Comments

 

Like the hummingbird sipping nectar from every flower, I fly joyfully through my days, seeing beauty in everything.

~ Amethyst Wyldfyre

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Okuda

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Okuda  is a Spanish painter, designer and sculptor whose work is defined as pop surrealism.Oscar San Miguel or Okuda San Miguel was born in Santander in 1980 and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Madrid’s Complutense University. Okuda’s work can be classified as pop surrealism with a clear essence of street or urban art.His artwork is composed of geometric prints and multicolored ephemeral architectures that help blend with grey bodies and organic forms.He started with graffiti on walls and trains, but little by little his style evolved to a major point. Now it is common to see his enormous works in some buildings around all continents, as well as exhibitions in different places.

He is often inspired by his environment, the people around him, cinema, fashion, ear music, traveling, and his everyday life.Okuda concludes that his major accomplishments lie in having the freedom to travel around the world creating his best works of art alone, working, and the living experiences with other artists from different cultures.More of Okuda’s bright, colorful work can be found at https://okudasanmiguel.com/.

 

 

Creativity Can Be Exhausting

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 4 Comments

Another Art and Craft Fair in the books, and a good time was had by all.

I popped up my craft booth (after a hefty entrance fee) two blocks from one of the biggest food and music fests in Wisconsin, and sold my wares while chatting the day away.

It’s a big step from putting together crafts in your basement/library/work room to showing them off in a 10 x 10 booth in front of thousands of wanderers.

You can’t help but be filled with apprehension, self-doubt, fear, terror, and everything in between. People will love your art; people will hate your art. People will see every flaw and  crooked stone or bent edge or stray brush stroke. Your asking price is too high. Your asking price is too low.

You may believe in everything you created, but the world may not.

What then?

Outlay for a possible craft show is quite surprising up front. Materials, labor, advertising, transportation, tables, stands, all chip away at your pocketbook without one thing being sold. Can you afford the upfront costs? What will you do if your inventory outpaces your sales? Will you take orders? Make a variety of items or just one or two styles? Do you charge sales tax? Do you have business cards? Price tags? 

What if a customer wants what you don’t have?

What if a customer doesn’t want what you have?

That’s the excitement and unpredictability of Creativity. To make or not to make. To give away or sell. If you love what you’re doing you’ll always have too much of it sooner or later. I mean, how many knitted scarves or coffee mugs can you hold onto? How many Angel Tears Suncatchers can I hang on my back and front deck before I blind the neighbors?

I find you have to have an easy-going personality to take the highs and lows of salesmanship, along with a belief in your own work and worth. Making something special to share with others is a challenging foray into the Creative World. It’s planning, a bit of accounting, checking out current art and craft trends, and hoping the booth next to you isn’t selling the same thing.

It’s also the thrill of talking to people who stop by and look at your wares. The fun of listening to their stories and sharing yours. It’s the experience of someone saying how beautiful your work is, even if they don’t buy anything. It’s taking this year’s wares and adding new styles and accessories to the pot. It’s dreaming about making a few dollars on something that gave you such joy to make.

If you’ve thought about showing your wares, do it. If you don’t want to go that far, that’s okay too. Make your creative time mean something. To you, to others.

And don’t worry if it takes you a few days to recuperate.

I’ll be happy if I’m back in shape by November…..

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Levina Teerlinc

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Levina Teerlinc (1510 – 1576) was a Flemish Renaissance miniaturist who served as a painter to the English court of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.Teerlinc played an essential role in the artistic history of the Tudor court, yet she is rarely mentioned compared to other Tudor artists.Not only was it easy for a woman artist to be overlooked throughout history, but the circumstances surrounding her work made it incredibly hard for art historians to attribute her work correctly.She was one of the most well-documented artists at court in miniature painting, providing at least eight portraits of Elizabeth I in the years between 1559 and 1575.Though much of her work is lost, she must have been a highly prominent artist to receive an invitation from the King of England and become one of the highest-paid artists of the English court throughout the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth I.Unfortunately, no surviving work has been firmly attributed to Teerlinc. A great deal of effort has gone into identifying surviving miniatures with those described in the New Year’s gift lists, but there are no certainties.Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with bringing out the fine art of miniatures in the Tudor dynasty, Teerlinc being one of its largest contributors.

More of Levina Teerlinc’s miniatures and story can be found at https://www.thecollector.com/levina-teerlinc-tudor-woman-artist/ and https://artherstory.net/levina-teerlinc/.

 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Creativity

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I heard this song the other day — the first time in a long, long time. It sums up the world of Creativity perfectly….

Supernova explosion, M74 galaxy, NASA

 

 

Leave your cares behind come with us and find
The pleasures of a journey to the center of the mind

Come along if you care
Come along if you dare
Take a ride to the land inside of your mind

Beyond the seas of thought beyond the realm of what
Across the streams of hopes and dreams where things are really not

Come along if you care
Come along if you dare
Take a ride to the land inside of your mind

But please realize you’ll probably be surprised
For it’s the land unknown to man

Where fantasy is fact
So if you can, please understand
You might not come back

Come along if you care
Come along if you dare
Take a ride to the land inside and you’ll see

How happy life could be if all of mankind
Would take the time to journey to the center of the mind

Would take the time to journey to the center of the mind
Center of the Mind


Journey to the Center of Your Mind

Steve Farmer
Amboy Dukes — 1968

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Chris Gryder

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Chris Gryder began his exploration of art by studying architecture.A sincere and dedicated commitment to the subject led to his acquaintance with artists, methods, and concepts that later became the inspiration for his work in sculpture and clay.Gryder enrolled in Tulane University’s five-year architecture program  at the Architecture School at Tulane, then did graduate work at Rhode Island School of Design.The most striking aspect of his art making, blossoming during his graduate years, is the atypical process he uses to create vessels.“Earth forming,” Gryder’s own signature technique, involves carving intricate one-off molds out of an earthen mix of sand and clay. These fragile earthen “form works” last only long enough to cast his clay vessels and tiles.

Over a period of a week, the sand mold dries and begins to dissolve, allowing the clay piece to be excavated and eventually fired.

The technique is uniquely adapted to forming rich bas-relief surfaces, a sort of “dimensional drawing” technique that combines attributes of both image making and sculpture.

The surface is rough, like sand, with peculiar gatherings of hardened sediment tucked into the tight spaces between forms.

“I create sculptural ceramic objects that engage with a deep sense of time and history; a geological time and the time of civilizations,” Gryder shares.

“There is a visceral joy, a complete indulgence in tactile geometric form that evokes a world where wonder still reigns. A place at the edge of the wild.”

More of Chris Gryder’s unique work can be found at https://www.chrisgryder.com/.

 

 

 

Proof

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

There is a lot of horrible, depressing news out there today.

Actually, there’s been horrible, depressing news out there all my life. If it wasn’t the Vietnam it was Gaza. If it wasn’t Chernobyl it was Sandy Hook. If it wasn’t the Manchu Conquest of China it was World War II.

There has always been horrible people in the world, and there will always be horrible people in the the world. No amount of training, upbringing, therapy or cuddling will change that.

But as I watched my grandson’s soccer game Saturday, a different point of view came to mind.

Soccer teams always line up after games and stand in line and put their hands out and walk past the other team, slapping their hands and say “Good Game.” Doesn’t matter if they mean it or not; a loss stings and a win elevates. I watched the two coaches shake hands before and after the game.

Brutal football games usually end with teams mingling with the opposition, shaking a hand or hugging or just passing a nod between them. Last week I watched a car stop in the middle of the road and pick up a turtle that was sloooowly crossing the road and put him on the other side. I read in my local town FB page where somebody was shopping at Walmart and digging for change to fill out her bill and couldn’t find any and the person behind her paid for her groceries.

When I see and hear things like this I know that love is not dead. That for all the nonsense that makes the pages there are hundreds and thousands of good people out there, trying to just get by, making kind gestures and laughing and hugging others for unknown reasons.

I was never in competitive sports, but I don’t ever remember slapping hands with an opposing team and saying “Good Game.” Maybe in a Catholic grade school they said “God Bless.” I doubt it, but it’s a heartening thought.

Don’t be afraid to smile at someone. Tell them good game or that you like their dress or shoes. I often say that to outfits that catch my eye, and the recipient is always surprised and smiling in return. I shout “great shot” when the opposite team scores a goal on us and pick up items that people drop and hand them back to them.

It’s not hard.

And you will definitely leave the world a better place than you found it.

Good Game!!

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Henri Matisse

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Henri Matisse (1869 -1954), one of the undisputed masters of 20th century art, was a French artist, known for his use of color and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso, as one of the artists who best helped to define the revolutionary developments in the visual arts throughout the opening decades of the twentieth century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture. Painting in the style that came to be known as Fauvism, Matisse continued to emphasize the emotional power of sinuous lines, strong brushwork and acid-bright colors. Matisse’s work delighted and surprised his viewers with signature elements of saturated colors, flattened pictorial space, limited detail, and strong outlines. From 1918 to 1930, he most frequently painted female nudes in carefully staged settings within his studio, making use of warm lighting and patterned backgrounds. He also worked extensively in printmaking during these years.His mastery of the expressive language of color and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

More of Henri Matisse’s famous works can be found at https://www.henrimatisse.org/ and https://www.biography.com/artists/henri-matisse.

 

 

Realigning and Refocusing

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 10 Comments

Most people try to refocus and realign themselves on a Monday morning, usually after a long weekend of partying, traveling, or soccer games.

I am trying to refocus and realign myself on a Friday.

Good luck.

I have just returned from five days of camping, of which I alluded to in a previous blog (Which Time/Space Continuum Am I In?) Well, now I’m here, it’s Friday, I’ll be proofreading this today, publishing it today, and realigning myself with it today.

It’s funny how, no matter how you spend a smattering of days, you seem to find solace back in doing your crafts. That no matter how crazy your day/week/month has been, you can always find solace and comfort in your Creativity.

You don’t need to sit down and write a novel or cast a piece of pottery. Nor do you need to tackle War and Peace or carve a statue out of wood. All you need sometimes is to lose yourself in what makes you happy. Read an article or sort some beads or doodle some wild crazy drawing. It doesn’t matter how you reconnect, as long as you reconnect.

Of course, reconnecting could also mean talking to someone you’ve been missing, texting a friend, or pulling out an old recipe and cooking it. I love doing all those things, especially when I need to reconnect to the world I love.

For me, though, writing always calls me back. It has for over 30 years. Something about the written word — finding the right written word — makes me realign my chakras and energy bloops and confusing thoughts into one coherent line.

I’m psyched up about bring out more Sunday Evening Art Galleries — I’ve got so many new and odd and beautiful art and artists to showcase. I look forward to reading your blogs and encouraging you whenever I can.

And even if you don’t connect to this outside world often, I look forward to hanging with you on some astral plane somewhere, talking art and food and movies.

I mean, after all, we’re all connected one way or another, right?

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Castles

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Castles are not merely relics of the past; they are enduring symbols of medieval architecture, power, and the social hierarchy that defined an era.

https://www.medieval-castles.org/castles/

 

Balmoral Castle. Aberdeenshire, Scotland

 

Burg Rappottenstein, Lower Austria

 

Gyantse Dzong Castle, Tibet

 

Biltmore Estate, North Carolina, USA

 

Château de Chambord, France

 

Boldt Castle, New York, USA

 

Palace of Versailles. France

 

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria

 

Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

 

Sidon Sea Castle, Lebanon

 

Cinderella Castle, Florida, USA

 

 

Faerie Paths — Magic Door

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Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a last kingdom of peace.

~ Eugene O’Neil

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — John Lemke

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 6 Comments

Last week we talked about AI Art — Artificial Intelligence Art.

Whether we think it is “real” art or not will be debated for some time. Some of it is beautiful and intriguing, combining a plethora of ideas into a single artwork. Other AI Art is more enhancement, toying with an original idea and making it your own. 

I wanted to show you some of the AI art my friend John Lemke has created. He is a gifted artist with pen and paper and a camera as well. Creativity starts in the mind first. These pictures are a natural progression and outgrowth of that creativity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which Time/Space Continuum Am I In?

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Sometimes I love the way time messes with you.

At this very moment it is Thursday: sun shining, plants digging the weather, cafe jazz music in the background, sitting outside on the deck with my dogs, typing away on my computer sitting on an old glass top table with a cup of coffee nearby.

But when you read this I will be camping up North with some good friends, no Wi Fi on the computer, commuting with nature and a tiny camper and hopefully a Bloody Mary to go with my camping breakfast.

Where am I, really?

If I proofread this once more before I send it, I will have to fix something that was created back in time. Today I’m daydreaming of quiet times and good friends, but when I read this next week my daydreaming of quiet times and good friends will have already happened.

My past will become my present and soon after my future. Which inevitably will become my past.

I believe in trying to make every present moment something to remember. Boring jobs, exciting moments, melancholy memories, all make us who we are and who we will be. We’ll never pass this way again and all that.

I could spend my now time griping about the upcoming Presidential election or my bank account being overdrawn. Just as I could relive the loss of my son or the cat we just put to sleep.

The past can be a creepy place, but it is also a cauldron of future emotions and experiences. The ingredients you add now will make a difference in your future stew.

When I look back I prefer to relive the good times. The loving times. The laughing times. When I look into the future I prefer to anticipate the good times. The loving times. The laughing times.

That’s why it doesn’t matter where you are at any point in the Space/Time Continuum. You are here and there and everywhere. And so is everyone else.

Connect. And revel in that connection.

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Exploration

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 2 Comments

 

It is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all.

~ Ernest Shackleton

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Wayne Thiebaud

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Morton Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021) was an American painter and printmaker who was perhaps best known for his thickly painted American still lifes of such items as foods and cosmetics.He enrolled at San Jose State College (now San Jose State University) in 1949 before transferring to Sacramento State College (now California State University, Sacramento), where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1951 and a master’s degree in 1952.He is recognized as one of the major American art figures of the second half of the 20th century, although his rich and luminous depictions of midcentury Americana separated him from the classic Pop Art of the time.Thiebaud is associated with the pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture; his early works were executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predating the works of classic pop artists.Thiebaud was more often than not absorbed in traditional problems of painting — how to create depth without sacrificing the two-dimensionality of painting and how objects relate to one another.Through seemingly simple still lifes, Thiebaud evokes stories of plenty and loss, prompting an emotional response from the viewer that is absent in Pop Art.His successful paintings were mainly based on food and sweets such as pies, cakes and suckers, which were considered a luxury by him at that time.The artist worked from life, not from media images, and his engagement was evident in his loose brushstroke, whereas a hard-edge painting style, signifying mechanical reproduction, was preferred by some.Thiebaud used heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements were almost always included in his work.More of Wayne Thiebaud’s enchanting paintings can be found at https://www.wikiart.org/en/wayne-thiebaud and https://www.theartstory.org/artist/thiebaud-wayne/.

 

 

To This Day … Never Forget

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Last photograph of the last run of Ladder 118 as it crosses the Brooklyn Bridge. None of the firefighters would survive.

 

Stirring the Pot

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Mary Delany

Are you stirring your Creative Pot these days?

How’s that going for you?

I chuckle to myself — for someone who promotes letting your inner creative muse out whenever you turn around, I seem to be slipping and sliding my way through September.

Let me ask you first off — do you feel creative every day?

Those of you whose art is your income, are you pumped up to create every day?

I know one cannot be on a creative high day in and day out. Being stung with the creative bee doesn’t quite work when you’re picking your kids up from school or sitting at a desk working all day.

I have written a few blogs during my bloglife talking about getting hit by my creative muse while driving or falling asleep. That doesn’t work, either. One of my first blogs was about my Irish Muse popping in with ideas at the most inopportune times.

When the high is gone the high is gone. At least for the moment.

And I know we can’t be inspired every time we fold laundry or go grocery shopping. I’d certainly burn out by the time I walked down my 3rd grocery aisle.

I also wonder if this slowdown has anything to do with my age. Grandma Moses started painting in her late seventies after she retired from her farming duties. After the death of her second husband when she was 68 years old, Mary Delany focused on making intricate paper cutouts of plants and flowers to help her cope with the loss. These cutouts were so exquisite that they are now part of the British Museum’s collection.

So age doesn’t necessarily correlate to being creative.

I think that, for me, Creativity still knocks at my door. And continues to knock until I at least open it. Then it’s up to me whether or not I want to let it in or ask it to come back next week.

Pay attention to those bursts of light and inspiration when they hit you. If you can’t act on what you think is a great idea, write it down. You’ll come back to it. No matter how busy you are or how alone you are, Creativity will fine you and inspire you.

I mean, look — I just got inspiration for two new art galleries!

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Nik Ramage

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Nik Ramage is a contemporary kinetic artist from the United Kingdom.Through an melding of arbitrary objects, Ramage creates surrealistic machines that have little plausible use.Some works of art are hard for us to comprehend, yet Ramage’s collages of materials beckon us to stay a while and wonder.With a professional background in graphic design, Ramage describes himself as a lifelong tinkerer, and is self-taught in machine mechanics and soldering.He sources objects for his sculptures from junk stores and street sales, keeping new parts to a minimum.Each work embraces paradox and absurdity; they seem absurd with their eccentricity and quirks, but they run by their own rational logic.Strange and almost believable, Rampage creates objects you can almost see working.

More of Nik Ramage‘s oddly amazing works can be found at https://nikramage.com/.

 

 

 

 

Maybe Now … Maybe Soon!

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I don’t usually repost memes/pictures/whatevers from my Facebook account, but I read this the other day and I thought, “Hey! That’s ME!” 

No matter what your age, it might be you too!

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Andriy and Olesya Voznicki

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Ukrainian artists Andriy and Olesya Voznicki create voluminous ceramic vessels and sculptures.Forced to recently flee their home in Ukraine and relocate to the Netherlands, the Voznickis began to create ceramic pieces using locally-sourced materials. Based in Amsterdam, the duo draw inspiration from natural phenomena like the changing seasons, patinas and aging, and elements like fire or earth.Their focus is heavily on experiments combining ceramics with wood and coal.The pieces mirror the shapes and textures of boulders or lava rock, suggesting both beauty and resiliency and influenced by a concept called bionic design, which mimics characteristics and adaptations in nature.The hallmark of these creations lies in their texture, roughness, cracks, and irregularities, embodying a deep appreciation for the natural process of expression.The anomalies that emerge during creation are welcomed, imbuing the work with a unique charm, untamed beauty, and singular character. Rather than increasing production volumes, we aim to make each product as individual as possible.More of Andriy and Olesya Voznicki’s wonderfully unique sculptures can be found at https://naturaceramica.com/ and Homo Faber. 

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Bluegrass

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There’s a roots nature to Appalachia – the origins of folk and bluegrass. I know guys there who are some of the best players I’ve ever heard but are playing on their porch tonight because they’ve never chased success. There’s simplicity to how they live and what they care about.

~ Eric Church

 

 

 

Is AI Art Art?

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This past weekend I got into (albeit short) conversation with my artist friend John about artificial intelligence art. He is a graphic artist by trade, but his talents  burst through pen and ink drawings and nature photography as well.

He posted a number of AI pieces of art on his Facebook account, and I thought they were amazingly creative. Something I could post in my Art Gallery. He told me he had hundreds of other creations; that he has so much fun creating his images but it’s not art. Or should I say Art. 

So I wandered through the wilds of the Internet and asked, “Is AI Art Really Art?”

As many answers as questions, it seems.

Tech Target defined AI as, “AI art (artificial intelligence art) is any form of digital art created or enhanced with AI tools. Though commonly associated with visual art — images and video, for example — the term AI art also applies to audio compositions, including music. AI art allows anyone to create works or even entire collections of art, but in a small fraction of the time non-AI methods afford. In addition, AI art can create visual or audio compositions that would be difficult to create otherwise. With text-to-image generative AI tools, such as Dall-E or Stable Diffusion, humans no longer need to attempt to draw the image they want; they simply type a text prompt into the tool, which generates the desired imagery.”

I got mental brain freeze by then, so I stepped back and wondered in my own off-center way.

Is Artificial Intelligence Art really art? Does AI need a creator to make it create? Or do you set the computer to “create” and see what it comes up with? Does working with pre-programmed programs help the artist who can’t quite draw a circle or an alien? Does the computer shade and gradate and use algorithms to create one-of-a-kind treasures?

Wikipedia says, “AI art is created when an artist or creator inputs prompts into AI art generators. Trained on large amounts of data and coded by algorithms (large language models), these generators process the request and produce an image or video.”

Do you need a human hand to choose those gradations and shades of color and shape? And if you don’t, can you still call their creations “art”?

I am from the simple side of town. I appreciate art that I can see and hear and feel. To me art is trial and error, a hands-on adventure, a physical excursion into clay and yarn and oils and guitars and voices. It’s using your own physical attributes to create uniqueness, not a machine.

Yet those who do AI art are creative, albeit in a different medium. They push the buttons and pick the subject matter and create the shapes and colors and programs to create the vision they have in their minds. They not only have the technical prowess of computer programming but the fourth dimensional trait of Creativity.

So I leave this blog as confused as I was when I started it. I know what I like. I know what styles and colors and subjects and music I like. I enjoy reading about the history and trials and tribulations artists have gone through to find the perfection they seek.

But I also really like John’s AI images.

Let me know if you think AI-created pictures are real art.

I also want you to enjoy John’s creations?  You can find his pen and ink art at https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2015/08/02/john-lemke/, his photography at https://sundayeveningartgallery.com/2021/12/24/john-lemke-2/ and his AI creations at Visual Edge AI – Mystical, Eerie, Art, Fantasy, Sci-fi, magical reality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — George Inness

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George Inness (1825 -1894)  was an American painter known especially for the luminous, atmospheric quality of his late landscapes.His work was influenced by that of the old masters, the Hudson River school, the Barbizon school, and, finally, by the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, whose spiritualism found vivid expression in the work of Inness’ maturity.Often called “the father of American landscape painting,” Inness is best known for these mature works that not only exemplified the Tonalist movement but also displayed an original and uniquely American style.Inness’ landscape paintings offer a cultural space as much as a natural space.The vogue in nineteenth-century American painting was for vast canvases in which all human activity was excised from the scene to suggest an untamed wilderness.But Inness was more concerned with expressing the interaction of humankind with the landscapes which they made their own.In this sense, his paintings represent a uniquely optimistic view of social progress in the nineteenth century, which might bring about a new era of harmony between humanity and nature.

More of George Inness’ landscapes can be found at  https://www.theartstory.org/artist/inness-george/ and https://www.wikiart.org/en/george-inness/.

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Art

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The true use of art is, first, to cultivate the artist’s own spiritual nature.

~ George Inness

 

 

 

Future Gallery Magic … or Madness

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I always have more unique artists stirring around in my Creativity Pot than I have time to post them. 

Sad to say, I don’t have an egg yolk on a green circle yet. But I’m looking.

Today I want to show off a few upcoming artists that fit my version of “UNIQUE ART.”

 

 

Andriy and Olesya Voznicki

 

Helena Hafemann

 

Weird Jewelry

 

Henri Matisse

 

 

Fun times a’coming! Come Along!

P.S.   Guess what I just found???

 

 

I’m Melting…..

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The HOT weather in the Midwest has been taking its toll on my brain functions lately. I can’t imagine how those of you south and west and even east of me are handling your version of Easy Bake Oven City. It seems my reasoning abilities are half melted, along with my response and self-adjustment buttons.

I learned quite a while ago not to complain when the thermometer tips at mid 90s, as six months from now I might suffer payback in the form of two feet of snow or temperatures at the zero degree mark. I have learned to cope with the fluctuations of the weather, along with the fluctuations of weight, allergies, cicadas, weather, tomato plant output, and friendships.

How does friendship fit into all the other confusing pressures?

Lately it seems like a lot of those around me have wrapped a chained link fence around them, locked the gate, and hung up a “stay” away sign. They can look out at the world, but the world had a hard time looking in. The reasons for these fences are their own; stress and pain and depression and confusion hits us all differently. I usually have no problems with this open-weave fence, as I have wrapped one around me now and then too.

This hot weather makes decision making fluid and melty. I can’t think long enough to say the right words to help my friends out of their funks. I often can’t help myself out of funks. Stepping outside into a sauna day and night makes me want to wrap that same open weave fence around myself inside my air conditioned house. I don’t care about cleaning, writing, chatting, or crafting. All I care about is taking another cooling shower.
Fortunately, as with all of life, weather changes. The highs balance out with lows. Change evolves and life goes on. We open those locked gates and tear down the useless fences around ourselves and our homes.  We reconnect with friends and harvest our tomatoes and say goodbye to the cicadas for another year.
Know that the hot moments won’t last. Before you know it you’ll be looking for your blankets and cuddling with others talking about the good times and planning new ones.
That’s what friendship is all about. Hot and cold and everything in-between.
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Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rachel Wright

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Rachel Wright is a textile artist based in Buckinghamshire, England.Wright studied fashion and textiles at Birmingham City University, graduating with both a Bachelors and Masters degree.Wright’s main focus is embroidery, taking inspiration from landscapes and cityscapes, along with  having a particular love of the sea, harbor towns, boats and lighthouses.The shapes, colors and details from these inspirations are then borrowed and echoed in delicately hand or machine embroidered fabric collages using vibrant threads that are worked onto papers and fabrics.Her art work stands out because of her striking use of rich color which captivates and draws the viewer in and delights the eye.“I  describe my art as textile art and machine embroidery, but there are many different descriptions these days which seem to fit the bill too,” Wright shares.“Other people call it free motion embroidery, quilt art, and thread painting,  but I’ve never felt really comfortable with these descriptions.”“My technique is basically my way of painting except I’m using fabrics as my palette, the needle as my brush, and the threads as my mark making.”

More of Rachel Wright’s amazing needlework can be found at https://rachelwright.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/RachelSetford/. 

 

 

Remember These? #2

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Strike a Pose …. Vogue …. Madonna
I cant see me lovin’ nobody but you for all my life …. Happy Together …. The Turtles
They just wanna .. they just wanna …. Girls Just Want To Have Fun …. Cyndi Lauper
Crack that Whip …. Whip It …. Devo
She got her daddy’s car and she cruised to the hamburger stand, now …. Fun Fun Fun …. Beach Boys

 

No, today’s not a backwards look at pop music goldies (although that’s what I’m listening to at the moment). Sooner or later I’m going to forget blog titles like Remember These #385  and Weird Question Thursdays #6 … so whenever I get inspired I’ll just type the basics.

Today’s basics are look backs at fun blogs of the past. Ready for a zip ride?

 

Jason Edmiston

 

Dean Russo

 

Johannes Stötter

 

Ben Ashton

 

Doug Rowell

 

Barcodes

 

Do you remember .. The twenty-first night of September? …. September …. Earth, Wind and Fire

HAVE FUN!

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Lazy Mom

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Josie Keefe and Phyllis Ma, artists that collaborate under the name Lazy Mom, have turned playing with their food into an art.

Keefe and Ma are Columbia graduates who work in what Keefe termed “obsessive arranging of objects.”

Keefe works as a prop stylist and Ma as a window dresser, and the two began their partnership as a series of whimsical fruit-related photos to be printed in a Zine.

But after publishing, Keefe and Ma found that they had more exploring to do with food and photography.

The moniker and the body of work of Lazy Mom is based on an imaginary mother who spends her time obsessive-compulsively arranging groceries instead of preparing meals for her family. Their work explores the simplicity and complexity of modern food, which can be anything.

At its core, Lazy Mom is about this social expectation that has been deeply ingrained into human society for centuries.

“You can also say that it’s beneficial first and foremost for mom, because she has taken the role expected of her, and reversed it in a way so that she’s the one in control,” Ma explains.

“She’s cooking and preparing food the way she wants. In that sense, Lazy Mom is feminist project moonlighting as food photography.”

More about Lazy Mom and their artists Josie Keefe and Phyllis Ma can be found at https://www.instagram.com/lazy/  and https://lvl3official.com/lazy-mom/.

 

 

 

 

Pay It Forward

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You always hear about people who pay for coffee or breakfast or groceries for the person in line behind them. They are an inspiration to those of us who don’t often directly do things like that.

Yet every year I manage to do almost the same.

This past weekend was Milwaukee’s IrishFest — a 3-1/2 day festival of Irish music, traditions, and green shirts.

I usually buy the BOGO-on-St.-Patrick’s-Day tickets — buy one, get one free. I often buy too many tickets, often because it’s March and the middle of August is a long way away.

This time I had two extra tickets, and, as I have in past years, I look for someone standing in the purchasing tickets line and give them my extras.  This year it was all electronic, so I spotted a confused-looking older duo asking Security which line they were supposed to go in to buy tickets, and pulled them right over and into line with us.

Two happy entrances later, they were elated. Wanted to buy us a beer or a soda; anything to show their appreciation. And when I said no, not necessary, my best friend standing next to me told them, “Just pay it forward.”

Four simple words.

Who knows what they did after we parted ways. Hopefully hid from the rain and had a beer or a Reuben roll and enjoyed several of the musical stages open to us. I just hope they find an opportunity one day to Pay It Forward.

It’s such a small thing. You didn’t save the world or save a life. You made someone smile in the here and now.

And that’s such a wonderful feeling.

Try it some time. Make the world smile.

 

 

Faerie Paths — Football

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Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.

~ Vince Lombardi

 

 

Saturday Evening Art Gallery — Kitty Shepherd

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Kitty Shepherd (1960-) is an internationally recognized British studio potter and ceramic artist known for her bold use of color with slip (liquid clay mixture that has been tinted with metal oxides to create vibrant colors).

 

Her studios located in Granada, Spain, Shepherd describes the natural world and popular iconography in a way that is totally unique in the ceramic discipline. 

Fueled by a global culture, Shepherd is increasingly focused on the tracking down of things and on the attachment of emotions to these objects.

 

Within her discipline she has become a collector of all kinds of objects and material.

Her ideas come to life in her work to form interesting connections between familiar iconic images.

The result is a form of art as play, involving the reframing of objects within a world of attention and manipulation of context; a context standing in a metaphorical relation to the world of everyday life. 

“I believe that many of the objects we are attracted to today have been with us all of our lives,” Shepherd shares.

“I continually ask myself what are my favorite things and also the following questions: Why these objects? What power do they hold for me? What meaning? What memories do they conjure up? What emotions? And most importantly, what stories do I tell myself about them and through them?”

 

More of Kitty Shepherd’s delightful  and beautiful ceramics can be found at https://www.studioslipware.com/ceramics/.

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Megumi and Nobuyuki Jin

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Bubun (means “part” in Japanese) is a jewelry-making duo of Megumi Jin and Nobuyuki Jin, based in Japan.Fascinated by glass as a student, Megumi studied glass coldwork and kiln work at Tama Art University, where she created objects and jewelry.

Megumi joined Nobuyuki Jin, who had a background in design, in 2016 to create memorable glass jewelry.

The couple craft their jewelry from Borosilicate glass that has been made for commercial use — plate glass, glass rods and glass pipes made in Japan, Germany and China.They cut and shape the glass, working the glass at a very low temperature, then wrap a clear thread around each piece and sew those pieces together.They share a mutual sense of beauty, believing jewelry should become part of a person, both in the physical and spiritual sense.“Over the years, I have come to feel that glass is a medium that can express an inner feeling that is difficult to express in words alone,” Megumi notes.“It’s not a standard material for jewelry, and compared to precious metals and precious stones, the material itself has little value. But its value is created by the intensity of expression of its concept, shape, technique and handwork.”

More of of Megumi and Nobuyuki Jin’s glass work can be found at https://bubun.stores.jp/ and https://www.instagram.com/bubun.works/

Tuesday Thoughts

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As a blogger, do you feel like you need to blog every day?

Believe it or not, that’s not always an easy question to answer.

I have read a number of blogs who faithfully post every day. My friend Ann does a marvelous job of filling her daily blog The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally with pictures, videos, and interesting and fun commentaries on all kinds of daily life.  My friend Ivor at Ivor.Plumber/Poet is another almost-if-not-every-day poet who shares the amazing beauty of the poetic word and world.

Then there’s blogs I follow where they contribute to the creative world a number of times a week. Purplerays from Udo is an inspirational, bright blog that highlights many spiritual and cosmic truths all the time.  Michelle at My Inspired Life is also a frequent blogger whose poetry and images always make you feel magical.

There  are also those who blog several times a day. They are avid writers and readers and love to share their discoveries with their followers. Georgiann at Rethinking Life shares the best pictures and poetry and thoughts several times as day, and her readers love it. Denise Sierra at Rainbow Wave of Life is a wonderful source of inspiration from both the spiritual and physical realm, and she manages to post these transcriptions a couple of times a day.

So after all these examples and affirmations and accolades I swirl back to my own blog. Sometimes I post every day, other times I let a day or two drift by before I think I have anything Creative to say.

I feel guilty not posting all the time, yet I can’t imagine anyone reading everything I write and post every day. My followers may reflect much interest, yet my site visits and comments do not reflect that. I am envious of those I follow who have thousands of followers; I am envious of those just starting out with something fresh and new and have only a few.

I know I spend too much time emoting about things that aren’t really a big deal in this world. And I know writers write because they really enjoy what they do. Like any creative artist, professional or not, we create because we love to create.

But how do we know what we do is still interesting? Are we doing the same kind of art that we did 10 years ago? Saying the same thing? Painting the same designs? Are we stuck in a comfortable (and for some, successful) rut?

Or are we evolving in our creative endeavors? Trying to be different than we were the other day? Last week? Last year?

And really — is there anything wrong with being in that comfortable rut?

Think I’ll continue to stir that Creative Art Pot for a while and adjust accordingly. Whatever’s in there is smelling good!

Are you still stirring your pot?

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Sunkoo Yuh

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Sunkoo Yuh is a Korean ceramics sculpture artist who resides in Athens, Georgia. Yuh received his BFA degree from Hong Ik University, Seoul, Korea and his MFA degree from the New York State College of Ceramics in Alfred, NY.The artist’s process is a painstaking one. Intuitive pen-and-ink drawings form the basis of his lively narratives and the ongoing dialogue he has with his day-to-day life.He then moves to the process of rendering them three-dimensionally in clay, applying vibrant, multi-layered glazes reminiscent of historical T’ang pottery.Yuh records these impressions of his personal and intimate experiences in everyday life as spontaneous yet intricate ink and brush works.His selected two-dimensional compositions are then represented and re-contextualized into conceptual and three-dimensional forms.More of Sunkoo Yuh‘s amazing sculptures can be found at  https://www.thenevicaproject.com/sunkoo-yuh

 

 

 

Weird Question Thursday

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I had so much fun with my first Weird Question Thursday that I decided to try it again this week. Lucky you!

But what sort of weird question should we ask? Weird questions that are embarrassing? Questions that are cosmic? Questions about abstract theorists, conspiracy theorists, or, better yet, abstract conspiracy theorists?

I have always been fascinated by big words. Big theories. Things I know nothing about. And even when I research big words and theories and read about them, I still don’t understand half of them . But it makes me feel intelligent in a weird sort of second-hand Freebird way.

Weird questions are not like asking if there is a God or who you are voting for in the Presidential Election. Weird questions are much more nebulous. Weird questions often don’t have simple answers. Which makes them enjoyable.

Here is one of my question-the-universe blogs from August 4, 2022 talking about Evil.

 

The Weird World of Evil

I’d like to do a little speculating, a little exploring, a little wondering today. Come play me……

Let us first clear the way with this  miserable disclaimer just so we can talk:  I am not challenging anyone’s faith, doubting anyone’s truths, nor making sport of anything sacred, eternal, or inspirational. 

The movie Solomon Kane begins:

There was a time when the world was plunging into darkness and chaos
A time of witchcraft and sorcery.
A time when no one stood against evil.

Now you know me. I like to play with ideas and words and dreams. And the beginning words of this movie made me wonder. What exactly is evil? Was evil an entity to be defeated? What turns people into evil creatures? 

Let’s leave out the devil for a moment. The Prince of Darkness, Antichrist, and Diabolus, too.

Evil begins as a state of mind. A state of emotional instability.

Now. most of us are emotionally unstable now and then. Many of us are questionable, period. But we don’t turn evil — we don’t kill or maim or abuse. We don’t haunt or terrorize or cause irreputable damage to minds or bodies. Babies aren’t born evil. I don’t believe there is a code in one’s DNA that says “this one is evil.”

So where does it come from?

Is it bred into someone from birth? Is it manifested by abusive parents or negative sensations or  bullying at school? Is it a result of a bruised ego? A broken heart? An unbearable pain?

An alien aural presence?

Hitler was an evil man. His part in World War II contributed to over 42 million deaths (and that’s a conservative estimate).  Was he evil because he merely wanted to keep the species pure? Genghis Khan (1206–1227)  was reported to have killed upwards of 40 million people building the great Mongol Empire. Did he manifest all that evil just to be the boss? An estimated 30-40 million Chinese died as a result of Mao Zedong’s repeated, merciless attempts to create a new “Marxism–Leninism” China. Was he evil because he wanted all of his people to think alike?

Then there’s small time evil. Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. Columbine. Sandy Hook. Uvalde. The list could fill — does fill — pages in the history books. 

See what I mean? 

These people were the personification of evil. Self-centered, single-minded, selfish, steadfast mental cases. Yet they seemed perfectly sane to those around them.

Were they evil? Or merely misinformed? Misguided?

I often wondered why Sauron wanted to rule all the people in Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings. Or Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Fiction is just as full of evil doers who want to rule and don’t mind killing half the population to get their way. Was it for the money? For the fame? For slights against their character, real or imagined?

Evil is not the thing of sorcerers and demons. It is a human-bred mental illness that spreads from the host to those around them.

Evil is so much more complicated than black and white statements. It doesn’t come from talismans or mirrors or crypts or buried crosses. Evil doesn’t arise from spells or enchantments or curses. It is much more personal. Which makes it much more real.

You have to admit, evil is one of those esoteric topics that never really have an explanation or reason. 

Where do you think evil comes from?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Ludwig van Beethoven

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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German pianist and composer widely considered to be one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time.

Joseph Karl Stieler

He learned musical composition from the official organist in a nobleman’s court, and became the assistant organist at age 11, publishing his first musical composition soon after.

Mario Zucca

In 1787 Beethoven went to Vienna hoping to study with the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He had to return home right away, however, because his mother was sick.

 

Five years later Beethoven settled in Vienna permanently. By that time Mozart had died, but Beethoven was able to study with Joseph Haydn and other famous composers.

Beethoven Face Mask, Vienna Funeral Museum

Beethoven established himself as a piano virtuoso of distinction. He published works of chamber music for piano, violin, cello, and wind instruments, and embarked on several concert tours in major cities.

Beethoven Statue, Central Park, US

Beginning in his late twenties, Beethoven started experiencing episodes of tinnitus, which progressively worsened. By the time he was in his late forties, he was almost completely deaf.

Richard Cole

By 1816, Beethoven had completely lost his hearing (the cause is still unknown); nevertheless, he composed some of his most famous and profound works in the decade that followed.

Otto Robert Nowak

Beethoven’s late period, roughly from 1815 onwards, is characterized by works of unparalleled depth, complexity, and introspection. While his earlier compositions revolutionized music, his late works transcended the norms and conventions of his time, pointing the way to future developments in Western classical music.

More of Ludwig van Beethoven’s work and music can be found at https://www.biography.com/musicians/ludwig-van-beethoven and https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/best-pieces-ever-written/.

 

Faerie Paths — Lightly

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Ron Morgan

 

It’s dark because you are trying too hard.
Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.

~ Aldous Huxley

 

 

Monday Monday (repost)

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Over the weekend I went back into the black hole depths of this Humoring the Goddess blog looking for posts that had Monday in the title.

There have been quite a few attempts to comprehend and write about the first day of the work week. I smiled as I read all of them. So many different directions on the same topic. 

That’s the beauty of Creativity. Looking behind is just as much fun as looking ahead.

So for all of you reading this this fine Monday morning — DO IT.  And don’t stop.

From —

MONDAY MONDAY     

 

Bah-da, bah-da-da-da
Bah-da, bah-da-da-da
Bah-da, bah-da-da-da

(do you know the song yet?)

Monday, Monday (bah-da, bah-da-da-da)
So good to me (bah-da, bah-da-da-da)
Monday mornin’, it was all I hoped it would be ..

All the oldies out there knew the song by the first six syllables. Funny how engrained music is into us. Even when we don’t think about it.

Was trying to come up with a topic, a theme, for this cloudy, cold Monday. But if there’s nothing there there’s nothing there.

Then a slip of lyrics passed through my head.

Monday, Monday (bah-da, bah-da-da-da)

I was a freshman in high school when the Mamas and Papas sang this song. I was escaping the horrors of middle school at that time. Those were rough times, especially for a geeky, smelly kid like me.

Not really stepping back, but I do know that even back then music made a difference in my life. The Beatles were my saviors, the Dave Clark Five my happiness. No one could break the bond between me and Paul or me and Dave. My writing started way back then, too. I used to have a notebook with my first love story written in it, but it is long gone. Perhaps it disappeared when it served its purpose.

Music was an escape when I was young. An emotional booster, an answer for self-consciousness and self-doubt. I didn’t think about doing drugs or getting drunk or having sex back then. (Shows you how backwards my freshman year was.)

But Last Train to Clarksville by the the Monkees and Summer In The City by the Lovin’ Spoonful and Five O’Clock World by the Vogues were songs that wrapped around those hard times and cushioned decisions in my life like why I never had a date Saturday nights or if my girlfriends wanted to have a pajama party or should I try out for the school play when I couldn’t sing.

I wonder if kids today have an inkling of that innocence. If they ever have a chance to be kids. If they ever have a choice to not be a part of the violence and discrimination and hatred that swirls around all of us.

I suppose songs like WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion (I wouldn’t look up the words if I were you) reflects the current needs and desires within a high-school education, the need to be free and understood and in control. Maybe innocence in its banal form is not needed anymore. Better to be smart than be exploited.

These days I find myself wandering back to that innocence I probably never really had. I have had enough of death and prejudice and politics to last a lifetime of discovery. Time for a bit of innocence to return to the world.

Do you believe in magic in a young girl’s heart
How the music can free her whenever it starts?
And it’s magic if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie………..

 

 ~ 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Nathan Hillis

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Nathan Hillis, a self-taught photographer based in Oklahoma.Since 2013, Hillis has been on an artistic journey, capturing the essence of his state and its surroundings.Hillis’ photographic universe covers everything from open prairies to statues to unique angles of buildings and barns.His ability to capture the essence of the moment transforms ordinary objects into trips through time.Hillis perform endangered species surveys and studies during the day, giving him the opportunity to find and photograph amazingly beautiful places that most people never see.Most of these places are extremely rural and oftentimes forgotten about, a perfect showcase for Hillis’ instincts and camera lens.“My creative process involves constant experimentation with various photographic techniques,” The artist shares.“Whether it’s the timeless allure of black and white film or the cosmic wonder of astro-landscape photography, documenting the beauty of these places is what drives me.”

More of Nathan Hillis’ imaginative photography can be found at https://nathan-hillis.pixels.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/hillis_creative/.

 

 

Unique Saturday Art

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Unique: being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.
Unique: being without a like or equal.
Unique: being the only existing one of its type; more generally, unusual, or special in some way.

Unique is different for everyone. Here are a few Installation Art Works that are definitely unique — have fun!

 

I See What You Mean – Lawrence Argent

 

Carhenge –  Jim Reinders

 

Forever Bicycle — Ai Weiwei

 

Yarn Bombing — Unknown Artist

 

The Soul Trembles — Chiharu Shiota

 

Humus – Giuseppe Licari

 

Balloon Dog — Jeff Koons

 

Long Term Parking — Armand Pierre Fernandez

 

The Fremont Troll — Fremont Arts Council

 

Controller Of The Universe – Damian Ortega

 

 

 

Wandering Through Creativity

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Just wandering … sharing …don’t you just love homemade Creativity?

 

Tiffany Arp Daleo

Make a Wish

 

eat with an artist: fact, and fiction

Orange marmalade with Lena Alexander

 

Phil Perkins Photography

Morning Fog

 

Figments of a DuTchess

Flowers of the Day

 

Craig Haupt

Stone Petals

 

My Kawaii Corner

Lavender Fields Forever

 

 

Claudia McGill and Her World

Let’s Talk About Making Jewelry

 

Adventures of a Mage in Miami

Musings of a Sunday Morning

 

Gwennie’sGardenWorld

Silent Sunday

 

Life in the Mouse House

Revisiting Preston Marina

 

Deep in the Heart of Textiles

A Finished Quilt and a Bucket List

 

 

Faerie Paths — Reading

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 A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.

— George R.R. Martin 

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Rithika Merchant

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Rithika Merchant is a visual artist from Bombay (Mumbai), India.Born in Mumbai, she studied at Hellenic International Studies in the Arts in Paros, Greece, before attending Parsons the New School for Design in New York in 2008.In Merchant’s beguiling paintings on paper, cosmological charts intersect with mythological, hybridized creatures, plant species, constellations, and geometries.Her work explores both comparative mythology as well as science and speculative fiction, featuring creatures and symbolism that are part of her personal visual vocabulary.Merchant creates bodies of work that visually link to our collective past as well as imagine possible new worlds which we may come to inhabit.

Her paintings and collages are made using a combination of watercolor and cut paper elements, drawing on 17th century botanical prints and folk art. Texture pervades each of the works through mixed mediums, collaged details, and patterns comprised of minuscule dots and lines.

“I’m drawn to works that are rich in symbolism and also have a strong element of storytelling,” says Merchant.

“I love seeing the artist’s hand in the work—I have a huge appreciation for small details and works that draw from a multitude of references — literary, mythical, and visual.”More of Rithika Merchant‘s earthy and magical paintings can be found at https://www.rithikamerchant.com/.

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Summertime

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Summertime, and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy’s rich and your ma is good-lookin’
So hush little baby, don’t you cry

 

Nathan Hillis

 

 

 

Favorite Soul-Floating Song?

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This really should have been titled “Weird Thursday Question”, as it is Thursday, yet it’s not really a weird question — just a weird title.

Last night I had my earbuds in and listened to the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, and actually got all cosmicy listening to it. I followed the individual notes that wrapped around each other, leading perfectly through slow minor chord progressions that, to me, are powerful and transforming.

That’s just me.

Many people tend to get bored listening to it because it’s so slow and single noted. Which leads to my Thursday question.

Is there any song that you listen to deep and long and cosmically? Songs that somehow transport you somewhere … or some time?

Music is the connection of the soul to the universe. Lao Tzu (Chinese philosopher) says, “Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”  Gustav Mahler (Composer) says, “It is a funny thing, but when I am making music, all the answers I seek for in life seem to be there, in the music, there are no questions and no need for answers.”  Victor Hugo (French Romanticism writer and politician) states, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.”

I think you get it.

I’d really REALLY like to know what song turns you on like a cosmic light bulb. That touches something inside of you you don’t often reach.

I promise to listen to each of your recommendations.

And even if you’ve blown off Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata before, tonight, in the evening or in the night, put your earbuds in or put your phone near your head and just listen to B’s composition. Listen to it with fresh ears and an open mind and soul.

You’ll have a great trip.

Of course, a close second is the whole Dark Side of the Moon album by Pink Floyd, especially Great Gig in the Sky with the female solo ….

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Franz Xaver Messerschmidt

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Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, an eighteenth-century German sculptor active in Austria, is best known for his series of dramatic “character heads.”The metal and stone busts are often disturbing in their extreme expressions.They have long prompted critics and scholars to speculate that the artist made them in reaction to an undiagnosed mental illness.Messerschmidt enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1754 and soon received important commissions from the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa and her consort, Francis Stephen of Lorraine.His circumstances changed dramatically around 1770 when he began to manifest signs of mental instability, leading to the loss of prestigious commissions and to conflicts with colleagues and friends.Messerschmidt likely began his “character heads” around 1770, as his mental health apparently deteriorated.He produced the life-sized busts rapidly, 69 within a 13-year period. He may have intended them as physiognomic studies, perhaps inspired by experiments enacted by his friend, the controversial physician Franz Anton Mesmer.Over the years, historians and medical professionals speculated on the nature of Messerschmidt’s alleged disease.The most popular answer was schizophrenia, which would explain his violent outbursts and hallucinations.Moreover, some psychiatrists believe that the contortions of Messerschmidt’s Character Heads were typical for a neurological condition called dystonia.

More of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s impressive sculptures can be found at https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/messerschmidt/character.html and https://www.thecollector.com/franz-xaver-messerschmidt-heads/.

 

 

Faerie Paths — Friends

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A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.

~ Douglas Pagels

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Helena Hafemann

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Helena Hafemann born 1997, is an artist and curator living and working in Wiesbaden, Germany.In her work, she deals with the visualization and transformations of social values and explores the dignity of the materials.Her instinct merges the fragility of porcelain with the tensile strength of thread, creating a paradoxical interplay that is stunning and metaphorical.Hafemann meticulously pieces together broken plate fragments, not to restore the saucer to its original form, but to transcend it.She also stretches hundreds of strands of filigree thread between broken segments of plates.By employing delicate threads to connect these broken pieces, she creates an entirely new object, one that acknowledged the saucer’s past while propelling it into a new dimension of aesthetic and emotional significance.The threads that stretch between the porcelain fragments symbolize the bonds that hold us together, even in the face of fragmentation. Together, these materials tell a story of loss, transformation and redemption, capturing moments of dissolution and freezing them in time.More of Helena Hafemann’s wonderfully creative artwork can be found at her website, https://www.helenahafemann.de/.

 

 

 

Infinity Art — Repost

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Looking for something completely different (of course) I came across an enchanting blog I posted in April 2018. (Geez! What was I doing back there??) So I decided to repost it with a few additional Infinity creations.

Enjoy! And HAPPY FRIDAY!

 

Infinity Mirrors, Yayoi Kusama

 

Infinity, Plamen Yordanov

 

Infinity, Christopher Westfall

 

Infinity Kinetic Sculpture, David C. Roy

 

Infinity, Connie Pirtle

 

Birds of Infinity ~ Pris Roos

 

Infinity, Jose de Rivera

 

Infinity,  Sandra Bauser

 

Infiniti Mosaic Cool, Paula Ayers

 

Infinity and its Shadow, David Cooke

 

Infinity Flower, Shorena Ratiani

 

Infinity Squared, Christopher Gryder

 

Infinity, Peter Nagy

 

Infinity, Jeff Rosenfeld

 

Infinity, Larry Poncho Brown

 

“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” — John Muir

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Francisco Goya

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Francisco Goya (1746- 1828, Bordeaux, France) was a Spanish artist whose paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th- and 20th-century painters.A Spanish romantic painter and printmaker, Goya is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.As an Old Master, he honored the works of his predecessors like Velázquez and Rembrandt, working in a traditional manner as seen in his many court portraits.At the same time, his bold departure from the artistic conventions of his day earns him a place as one of the first Modern Western painters.  Between the years of 1792 and 1793, Goya suffered from a mysterious illness, which made him deaf, and affected his mental behavior.Some current medical scientists believe that his deafness was a result of the lead in which he used in his paints, whereas others believe it may have been some sort of viral encephalitis.After his illness, he became withdrawn and introspective, and began painting a series of disturbing paintings on the walls of his house in Quinta del Sordo.His earlier themes of merry festivals and cartoons changed into depictions of war and corpses, representing a darkening of his mood.

More of Francisco Goya’s paintings can be found at https://www.wikiart.org/en/francisco-goya and https://www.theartstory.org/artist/goya-francisco/.

 

 

 

 

Weird Question Thursday

~ humoringthegoddess ~ 1 Comment

I should probably make this a weekly blog, as I am full of weird questions every day of the week. But I will spare you my weirdness for a while — although I ~do~ have a weird question today.

I have many times written about the “interesting” comments I’ve received over the years in my SPAM folder. Enjoying My Back Yard?  is one that comes to mind. But I’ve had a more recent visitor.

What’s Going On Back There?  was written back in 2021, a little ditty about all the weird SPAM hanging around in my back yard. (It’s an amusing blog… go visit if you’re so inclined…)

Now and then friends read past blogs, and I love that. Now and then they leave a comment, and I always answer. But those comments are usually in my regular comment section.

The other day this particular blog had an out-of-the-blue comment. Looking at the comment, I find it’s all in Swedish.

Hmmmmmm.

You know me. Piqued my curiosity. So I translated the message in Google Translator, and it turned out to be a promotion for new age “things” — meditations, astral traveling, crystals and gems — all that astral junk. Junk that intrigues me.

For one flash I asked myself — do I check out the link? Post the link?

Would you check it out?

In a second flash I asked myself — why would something that piqued my interest and sounded fun need to be pulled from the SPAM folder and translated?

Needless to say, I deleted the SPAM. The sender may have had the best intentions, sharing a peek of worlds I’ve yet to check out. But I don’t trust Free Bird offerings. Especially not from the SPAM folder.

That’s not the way to get followers.

I don’t trust most links today unless its something I’m researching and KNOW is safe. So why was I even considering checking out this blog site?

The point of this blog is to encourage you NOT to follow your wonderfully impulsive nature and follow links that may or may not be safe.

Who knows? The links might lead to the understanding of your astral dreams (pun intended), or they may lead to malware and Hell.

Let’s stay safe here on Earth for a little while longer.

 

 

 

Stine Writing: Repost

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I have been following Christine Bialczak at Stine Writing for a long time, but have been absent from visiting her blog lately. In returning to her most recent post I re-experienced the reason I followed her in the first place. Her poetry, her art, and her life.

I encourage you to take a look too.

Her Roundabout poem is great!

 

100 Forms of Poetry: #77 Roundabout

The Roundabout is a four stanza poem, with each stanza consisting of 5 lines. The poem is written in iambic and the lines have 4 feet, 3 feet, 2 feet, 2 feet and 3 feet respectively. The rhyme scheme is abccb/bcddc/cdaad/dabba. Roundabouts can be on any subject……..(more)

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Starting Today …

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“Starting today, (fill in the date), I am going to (fill in aspiration).”

Has anyone else started their day this way?

You get fed up with one or another activity that you’ve been doing (or not doing), and vow that starting this particular day you are going to change your ways.

These changes are most often positive ones — ones that will help you break bad habits or forgetfulness or start a new project. They are things you know you need to do, things you want to do, yet have not done for a thousand different reasons. But your common sense and determination has decided that enough is enough and you are going to finally stick to your guns and do it.

I say this almost every week. I’d say “every day” but there are times I forget what it was that I wanted to change.

I hate getting older.

I can’t tell you how many times I have uttered those words with pure purpose and determination. With real heart and emotion. Done with habits I’ve picked up and thoughts I’ve had and things that aren’t good for me.

But how many of these utterances are based on real facts and how many  are based on the emotion of the moment?

I’ve dumped pills in the toilet I’ve thought were slowing me down, only to find days later I really did need them. I’ve vowed to take my time in the morning and have a real cleansing regiment only to forget to brush my teeth or wash my face. I’ve vowed to walk more, eat cleaner, and keep organized, only to make the same statement a month later.

Is it laziness? Or is it the start of dementia?

Forgetfulness or too much on my plate?

I know I overanalyze my life on a daily basis, judge what I should and should not be doing based on what those around me are doing. Setting goals too high or too ambitious, only to beat myself up later for not being able to meet those said goals.

It’s a bad circle habit I’ve gotten into. I just can’t tell if it’s bad judgement, unclear thinking, unrealistic goals, or just getting older.

I’m curious to hear if any of you go through this never ending circle of madness.

Because as of today, (fill in the date), I am going to start (fill in aspiration).

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Sandro Botticelli

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Sandro Botticelli (1445 – 1510, Florence) was one of the greatest painters of the Florentine Renaissance. His paintings have been seen to represent the linear grace of late Italian Gothic and some Early Renaissance painting, even though they date from the latter half of the Italian Renaissance period.Botticelli’s art represents the pinnacle of the cultural flourishing of the Medicis’ Florence, a prosperous society that encouraged the progress of art, philosophy and literature.Influenced by the revival of Greek and Roman ideas in Florence at the time, Botticelli was one of the first Western artists since classical times to depict non-religious subject matter.He successfully combined a decorative use of line (possibly owing much to his early training as a goldsmith) with elements of the classical tradition, seen in the harmony of his composition and the supple contours of his figures.

Throughout his long career Botticelli was commissioned to paint many different subjects, but at the heart of his work he always strove towards beauty and virtue, the qualities represented by the goddess Venus, who is the subject of many of his most famous paintings.

Through profound symbolism and captivating storytelling, Botticelli’s works invite contemplation of the human condition and the essence of beauty.

More of Sandro Botticelli’s paintings can be found at https://www.biography.com/artists/sandro-botticelli and  https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/sandro-botticelli.

 

 

 

Faerie Paths — Birdsong

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Robin

 

‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all …

~ Emily Dickinson 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Okuda

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Born Oscar San Miguel Erice in Santander, Spain, Okuda is a painter and sculptor internationally known for his distinctive style.

After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid in 2007, Okuda began to produce works in his studio, which led to shows in New York, Berlin, London and Paris.Okuda’s work can be classified as pop surrealism with a clear essence of street art or urban art.His art is defined by bold colors, geometric shapes and anonymous bodies coming to life in a vibrant explosion of iconographic imagery.

Okuda is interested in pop art, especially in cinema and fashion, as well as in the light and color of other cultures, which allows him to incorporate all these interests to his style.

The artist started with graffiti on walls and trains, but little by little his style evolved to a major point. Now it is common to see his enormous works in some buildings around all continents, as well as exhibitions in different places.

These pieces of artwork often raise contradictions about existentialism, the universe, the infinite, the meaning of life, and the false freedom of capitalism.

More of Okuda’s eye popping art can be found at https://okudasanmiguel.com/ and https://www.streetartbio.com/artists/about-okuda-biography/.

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: Sunrise, Lake Michigan – What Do You Think About the Pink? (repost)

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Although this blog from the Chicago Files, was posted June 26, the colors danced in me from my head to my toes! 

Come and check out Cher’s blog and see the colors for yourself!

 

Wordless Wednesday: Sunrise, Lake Michigan – What Do You Think About the Pink?