March 30

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March 29

Another dream has followed me, replaying a scene through my day.

You may, or may not, have noticed that my people have no hair.

That isn't because I don't like to draw or paint hair; it isn't because I can't draw or paint hair...

          

     The details of my dream are sketchy, of who and where, but I think I'm with my husband and another couple, and we are at a fairly empty gallery, standing and talking, when my husband reaches over and pulls off my hat, leaving me standing there bald.  I turn to him, and he gives it back, and I put it on again, and we continue on.  This interaction replays itself until the male in the couple talking to us says something like "enough already - leave her alone - cut it out!"  The odd thing was, I wasn't upset, though I was a bit surprised the first time he did it, and had a flash of embarrassment, but afterwards getting my hat back was like scratching an itch - I simply did it, and my husband didn't resist the retrieval, he just handed it to me!  (This whole thing would be totally uncharacteristic of my husband to do, so that may be why the images are fuzzy - it's hard for me to imagine him acting that way!)  Anyway, it's obviously at least partly about being exposed, unveiled, revealed, and finding the different levels of comfort and acceptance in that.

     Twenty years ago, when I first started having odd joint pain that interfered enough to start seeking medical help, I also discovered patches of hair loss.  These are common symptoms of lupus, yet it took another ten years before I actually got the lupus diagnosis, and at that point I looked so much like Beetlejuice I decided to shave my head.  That's no longer necessary, as I have what's known as alopecia universalis.  I usually wear scarves, hats, and wigs, but what I really want to do is design my own tattoo and cover my head with it.  My husband is opposed - afraid it might hurt me too much, or knowing my body and it's history (remember, I rejected hypoallergenic titanium, bringing on my last back surgery) I'd be allergic to the inks!

Still, a girl can dream...

For Renee

Sometimes I just want to create something beautiful to look at,

and with the way I've been feeling,

that seemed like a good focus for today.

     When I found out there was a birthday to celebrate,

of a person with a most beautiful spirit and heart, the imagery flowed forward - 

so while I'm creating on the 27th, it is to celebrate a magnificent occurrence on March 28th!  

Happy birthday Renee!!

This artwork is for you Renee, so you don't even have to steal it - heh!  

Friend of my heart, one who inspires, woman of courage, limitless one, I hand to you the moon and the stars, the eternal ocean, and of course my heart, 

along with oh so many others...

I love you,

Karin

           

Involve Yourself...

     It feels good. It feels good to be part of something. It feels even better to be a part of something that has the intent of making positive change.  It feels even better to be a part of something working towards positive change on a global level.

     How amazing is it that we can do it without spending a penny - not only that, but you'll actually be saving some, but that's the least of what you'll be doing. By joining together with the world community, you'll be sending a message that your home, your planet, is important to you and to those that come after you.  

     So join me, and ask others to join you.  See how many people you can get to join you on your street, neighbor to neighbor - we may not live on Broadway, or in the Empire State building, but you can embrace the darkness where ever you are!

☾ ❍ ☼ ❍ ☽

     However before you turn out your lights, check out all the great artistic venues occurring all over the world showcasing the fabulous talents of Women Artists everywhere. Musicians, performers, painters, writers, creators of all modalities will be sharing their wares and ways for SWAN Day!  Also known as Support Women Artist's Now, in case you were wondering. From puppetry to tea parties, rock concerts to poetry readings, there just may be some creative fun happening near you that would be well worth looking into.  So, how do you do that? 

Click SWAN,

_______________________

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find your location, and see what's up.

Let me know if you do participate, enjoy the arts, and the dark!

If you are in Virginia Beach I know one fabulous participant -

my good friend Donna Iona Drozda

from Drozda's Art Life.

lucky VA!!

Have a great weekend ♥

March 26 & Vision Collaboration continues

The last couple of days have been pretty challenging.  For those of you that are new, I had my third back surgery a few months ago, and have been slowly recovering.  I started p/t 5 weeks ago and have definitely made some progress, but over the past couple of days I've seen that progress unravel nearly completely.  Can't say there is any specific reason why, but as many of you know, I also deal with auto immune issues and pain levels have elevated along with inflammation, frustration, and quite frankly I'm just feeling sad about it all.  Usually my art is where I find refuge, but my hands have been hurting a great deal as well, so I'm not finding relief or escape in any of the places I tend to turn to.  An artist without her hands is not a happy camper!

           

click on images for closer view

___________________________________

So, here is the inside cover and first page of my collaborative project, which you can read about a few posts down.  One more page and I can pack 'er up and ship 'er off to make the switch with Lynne!  Then the real fun begins - heh heh heh.

The key here is attached with wire that is threaded through from the front of the cover, where I had hung the eye from the milagro seen here.  I had poked the hole through and to anchor that eye bead/pendant and there were these wires, so I used the wire ends to wrap around the key and anchor it in on this side of the cover.  I hope that makes sense...

On this page, I sliced around the eye, and inserted a pocket to hold the 'frotune telling card', which you see peeking out, and pictured below for a better view.

Animated Wall Art

I've been doing some work on the butterfly donation piece, 

which has me sitting and standing, challenging my still recovering back, 

so I'm headed for a nice reclined position and probably 

will not be getting to my journal today.  

Instead I thought I'd share this video, which I have fallen in love with.

 I came across it recently via a Twitter sharing.  

For further exploration you can click on this post's title and you will be taken 

to the artist's web site where you can explore more of the videos, 

sketchbooks, drawings, etc., created.

Enjoy!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Pretty dang cool, if you ask me!!

March 24

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As I sit here thinking about how people have said they like when I've written a little about my images recently, I realize why I don't do it often. I find myself finishing these pages rather late in the day. It's now reading 2:37 a.m. on my desk top clock, and verbal brain function isn't at it's peak, but I'll give it a try!

Yesterday, or was it the day before yesterday now, I was reading Renee's post on dream interpretations for images starting with the letter P, at Circling My Head.  When I came to Palm: Suggests that you hold all the knowledge you need in your own hands. The palm is a symbol of openness and a generous nature; a reminder for you to reach and utilize your full potential. Suddenly I flashed on a fragment of my dream from the night before, where I was staring into my own palm. I chalked it up to having a friend who is taking a series of palm reading classes (50 weeks!) and has been practicing on me, and the day before she had told me about something she learned regarding a characteristic in my hands.  My palms are  pretty solidly covered with a fine web of lines - like a screen covers my whole hand.  She said she'd never seen that many lines, and wondered what it might mean, so she asked her teacher about it.  The teacher interpreted it by saying I was a memory keeper, and that I am very sensitive and held by and to these memories... if you knew me well, you'd know just how much that fits.  

Anyway, I'm also currently reading a novel where the main character is a psychic/palm reader/tarot card reader, so I figured not a surprise that the palm popped into my dream world.  I love Renee's interpretation of this dream imagery though, and like to think that's what's going on!  When something recurs again and again, visiting in both waking and sleeping hours I do give it a bit more thought - and so you see the palm images in the back ground of these pages.

The birds represent the goldfinches that have returned to our feeders!  They aren't as vibrant as they get later in the summer, but they are a welcome sight as harbingers of the warmer days soon to come.  The back ground design is all done with metallic golds and copper, but I'm not sure that shows up too well in these photos.

OKay, time to sign off - it's now 3:05 a.m. and time to see what imagery will visit me tonight...

sweet dreams

An eye for an I...

Okay, I am on my way...

Now that my book is done, I had to get started on it.  

This is the front cover.  I tried to hold back some,

since the idea is that both Lynne and I will be working on

each surface of each page - and that includes the cover!

I know from experience there is still plenty of room for

more to be added here, and it's amazing how there's

 nearly always room for a tweak here or a tweak there.

The search and discovery for what's been added, 

after a few trips back and forth, is half the fun!!

The metal eye piece, in the center of the book,

is a milagro.  I got it either when I was living

in Arizona or from one of my trips into Mexico.  

Milagros are used as prayer offerings, but also as 

a talisman or amulet for protection and good luck.

I added the glass set third eye for added insight ;-)

you may click on images for closer view

A Collaborative Vision

As many of you know, Lynne Hoppe and I are stepping into a collaborative journey working on a book exchange process. She starts a book, I start a book, we begin creating on a few pages and the cover, swap books, work over and with what the other person has done, start a few new pages, exchange and continue adding to and layering - interweaving each other's images until we feel complete. The results will be two undoubtedly fabulous books filled with sharing, exploring, creating, learning, and having some fun!

So here is a bit of the process. The book is 6"x 6". We used 40 pieces of paper to create 20 pages. Each square was joined to the next with a strip of folded paper, which created a hinge. I began by creating pairs of pages - hinging the binding edge.

I then flipped the stack over hinged the opposite ends to create an accordion book. We did not want to work in an accordion style book, however. We wanted the feel of a bound book that we could open flat, so we used tabs of paper which we folded in half, and glued in between the hinged folds on one edge - the binding edge of our book. The photo below shows where I had begun the process on the left.

In the mean time, I had started to work on covers for the book. I decided I wanted a hard cover, which I made by cutting bookbinders board, which I paper machéd.

Here are the results of it all put together - I love it!!

As always, click on any picture for a better view.

I have to say - I actually thought an adhesive bound book was going to be easier than stitching. I was absolutely 100% wrong. I have done all glued books before, but never quite this large and detailed. I do love the results, am thrilled that I have this one, but I can guarantee you won't be seeing me creating this style of a book again any time soon - if ever!

Oh yeah, I added ties, since I'm sure it will be bulging in no time, right Lynne?!

Maybe my book can be contained :^)

Oh, and another thing - I also decided I really wanted to have a theme for my book. I've done others with no theme or focus. Two fell to the way side without completion, and the one I've shared with you was often a struggle for me, because I felt so scattered through out the creating process. This time I wanted to at least begin with some sort of path for myself, and when I thought about it a pair of eyes popped into my mind, looking back at me. So that was it - Vision will be the theme.

Lynne liked that idea as well, because we can take it in so many directions. After all, anything we 'see' can fall into the category of being a part of our vision. So at least to start us off, we'll be sharing our visions; being visionaries; envisioning... okay you get the idea!

March 20

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This first day of spring morning, when I pulled back the curtains, I was greeted by a fresh coat of snow. The branches were all coated in fluffy white and the blanketed grass contrasted sharply against the darkened wet street. Not very spring like at all, but quite beautiful. By noon it had disappeared, though it still wasn't feeling much like spring!

The day progressed roughly for me. After pouring myself a full mug of steaming hot coffee, I sat down to enjoy it, but my hands have been hurting a lot lately and the cup simply felt too heavy and my hand gave out, releasing the scalding liquid all over my lap, over flowing onto the wool rug at my feet, and soaking the off white chair I was sitting in. Spring forward?! After a good cry and slowly making it through the clean up, I did enjoy a two handed cup, as my lap radiated up at me.

A bit later, I decided to water my plants. I have a lot of plants - well over 100 scattered through out the house. Most are of the cacti variety, so at least I don't have to water as often! I thought I was being conservative, but again and again, as I turned away from a series of pots, I'd begin to hear that drip drip drip of an over flowing drip tray. Table and floor puddle formed here and there.

I started to see a pattern in this day - the over flow, things not being able to be contained. From the unexpected snow, to a cup running over, flowing tears and watering plant puddles... My body wanted to curl into a ball, not reach and stretch and wipe and launder - remember, this all started with the bone on bone grinding that sent my mug tumbling... but come on. I'm sitting here in my beyond comfortable home, electricity humming to bring my images to you, heat warming the room where I sit, belly full from a tasty dinner...

My cup runneth over. I can not be contained.

March 18

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March 17

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I don't remember dreams often, probably because I'm not a very good sleeper, but when I do, they tend to be the kind that last all night. They even have intermission, where I get up, go back to bed and when sleep returns, I pick up where I left off. These simple pages are about a complex kind of night.  I'm not going to explain the dream in full detail, but here is some of the writing you see in the back ground:

I dreamt a spark ignited and sprang between the walls

not my home, but family's of mine, not mine of birth

misplaced in a neighborhood of birth

of another family connected, disconnected

woven into the cloth of my genetics

my marriage family, my life here, my lives past

the fire burns hidden revealing wisps

a sign the inferno is building

alerting all "our house is on fire"

unheard, my screams repeat,

on fire, on fire, on fire, on fire, on fire, 

until alone 

a fire cannot be tamed, the others shrug surrender.

I walk and see another home ignites

my insular cousins, tight knit ready to ignore outsiders

deaf and blind to me I decide the discovery is theirs to make

and walk away

flames within walls destroyed from the inside out

leaving the shell for last

smoke rises, no one sees...

March 14 & 15

           

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You may be wondering what this spread is all about. 

Aside from being an obvious example of my tendencies towards obsessive compulsivity, it is a collage comprised solely of postage stamps.

I learned the art of collage with postage stamps during a week long workshop with Nick Bantock that I took a few years ago. Below are the first two pieces I did using this technique with him.

Nick gave us the assignment of working within a 2" x 2" square, no cutting was allowed, and the theme was "Stranger in a Strange Land. If I remember correctly, he gave us half an hour to complete one image. I was so inspired, I went crazy and did both of these.

A good source for hundreds of stamps, really cheap, is Kenmore stamps.  Keep in mind that when you buy your first batch (if you buy the 300 stamps for $2 deal) you are essentially joining a club - like a book club, and you will receive more stamps for approval to buy.  If you do not want future shipments, after your first batch, just let them know and the membership will be ended - no obligations.  There are fun themes you can get - collections of insects, flowers, birds, women in art, etc.

My original order came in a mish mash of colors and themes, and I have found that it's helpful to do some sorting.  

These have been separated by color group.  Once you have pools of colors, you can sort of 'paint' with the stamps, to create a back ground scene, and then add in specific images to tell your story.  I don't think I'll ever work as large as I did for these journal pages again.  My eyes are seeing little blurry color splotches every where!   Right about now I'm feeling like if I never see a stamp again...