Blue Roses 3

I guess you could call this a series because I am obsessed with these roses. I’ve cut them all out of the skirt and there will probably be a few more of these. 

I plan on taking a break from the roses, though. Going to do a landscape in gouache resist next. I can see it in my head and that’s always good. 

Potion

I will make
my own potion, thank
you.  If it’s
unclear to
your eyes, that’s only a sign
of muddled vision.

(although it’s
not a test—not at
all!)   Focus
on what lies
beneath.  Muse in the quiet
of the space between.

Collage based on a microscopic photo of bone marrow blood.  I first made a background of the ocean, then cut up a painting I hadn’t used for anything, then glued some tissue paper on top to get some transparency.

The words are from
the secret keeper
Weekly Writing Prompt #30
(5) Words: | TEST | POTION | MUSE | OWN | SIGN |

I’ve read quite a few poetic responses and they all express a different and singular point of view.  A very fertile word grouping!

Junk Mail Art: Crossroads

…because it’s Eric Clapton’s birthday.  And because any time is a good time to celebrate Robert Johnson.

Crossroads is from a group of 13 mythological junk mail art pieces I did, inspired by Boria Sax’s book “Imaginary Creatures”.  You can see the first one I posted here.

I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees.
Down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees.
Asked the Lord above for mercy, “Save me if you please.”

I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.
Down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.
Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by.

Well I’m going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.
Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.
You can still barrelhouse, baby, on the riverside.

Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.
Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.
You can still barrelhouse, baby, on the riverside.

You can run, you can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.*
Run, you can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.*
And I’m staying at the crossroads, believe I’m sinking down.

I went down to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went down to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above “Have mercy, save poor Bob, if you please.”

Mmmmm, standin’ at the crossroad, I tried to flag a ride
Standin’ at the crossroad, I tried to flag a ride
Didn’t nobody seem to know me, everybody pass me by

Mmm, the sun goin’ down, boy, dark gon’ catch me here
oooo, ooee, eee boy, dark gon’ catch me here
I haven’t got no lovin’ sweet woman that love and feel my care

You can run, you can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.
You can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.
Lord, that I’m standin’ at the crossroad, babe, I believe I’m sinking down.

Listen to “Crossroads” here.

Joni

A girl singing in the Whole Foods parking lot

I caught a snippet: “the bitter and the sweet

oh, I could drink a case of you”

Joni’s a tenor now, maybe even a baritone

Young girls still singing her songs, sweetly,

in the Whole Foods parking lot.

 

I’m not the poet on this blog: I leave that to Kerfe.  This was a nice moment for me (in the Whole Foods parking lot) and I wrote a little poem on my phone.  It’s those little things that can really make your day.

Isaac!

I actually went to the Jewish Museum with the purpose of seeing the “Unorthodox” exhibit, which closed last weekend (full of interesting things:  for a future post).  But imagine my delight as I stepped out onto the second floor and saw this:

Having worked in the fashion industry, Isaac Mizrahi is well known to me.  But this exhibit puts his work together in a way that has both surprises and charm.  The wall of color swatches that he has collected over his career was just the start.

There were costumes and accompanying videos of performances

walls of sketches

glamour and glitter.

I have always been fond of the totem pole dress and the native American-inspired beaded jacket.

The visitors, young and old, fashionista or not, seemed to latch on to Mizrahi’s exuberance with smiles.  The exhibit will be on display until August.

Wood Sprite

I tripped over this piece of wood in the woods and didn’t pick it up. When I tripped over it again I took it home. I saw something in it: some kind of animal. This piece of wood needed painting to bring it to life. 

I forgot to take a picture of the piece before I painted it.  

 
A rainy Monday but late March showers bring May flowers. 

Junk Mail Art: Call and Response 5

“Words and magic were in the beginning one and the same thing.”
–Sigmund Freud

possibility
invites words conjures magic
metamorphosis

Image on the left courtesy of Claudia McGill.  You can see all of the Call and Response group here.

http://silverthreading.com/2016/03/23/wqwwc-writers-quote-wednesday-writing-challenge-magic/

Art times two

Thanks to Lynn at Lynz Real Cooking for the Friday Friends feature! Check out her blog for great recipes, stories, and photos!

Self Portrait #13 (after Man Ray)

can you see?
lost in the web of
white, a black
scratch shadows
the surface, just a shimmer
of a lock and key

Once again Man Ray’s work is a photograph; the web is superimposed over the face.  I stitched my web over a drawing, and I think perhaps I should have used either thread or one strand of embroidery floss instead of two.  On the other hand, two strands makes it harder to see the drawing–the web becomes more like a mask than a veil, an effect which I also like.

At first I tried to create this self portrait by contorting myself in front of the bathroom mirror.  Luckily, my daughter was home and agreed to taking some photos of me in a similar pose to Ray’s photograph, and that worked much better.

Teresa at One Good Thing sponsors Selfie Art Day on the 25th of every month.  It gives me a deadline each month for my “100 self portrait” series which is also a good thing.

The poem was inspired by Weekly Writing Prompt #29 from The Secret Keeper.  The words fit perfectly into my stitched drawing.

Torso in the woods

That sounds rather gory but it’s not. I picked up this piece of birch wood on a dog walk and it looked uncannily like a torso. My neighbor cut off the jagged ends so it could stand up. I was going to paint it but when I looked at it I couldn’t–it seemed perfect. What do you think? Maybe I’ll just do the round top in rainbow colors. Or earth tones. Or is it just right as it is? 

   

I appreciate feedback on this one as this was a rare find. I don’t want to mess it up.