Crayons and Snow Men

I found these in the same box I found my old art work from elementary school days. They're not mine. They were my father's from his school days art class. A hand made booklet full of snowmen in different positions with different faces and expressions.












Today is my father's birthday, or would have been. I have only to walk into my studio and see and smell the old Cabinet cigar box which holds his school days crayons, and feel like he is here with me.

I have gleaned several things from my father: One is don't judge a person by "it's cover" or certainly, until you take the time to get to know that person. We are all different and the things we carry with us have a lot to do with the baggage we carry, the places we've been, how we were raised and more. None of us knows what it is to have walked in another's shoes, until we have done so ourselves.
And, adults really don't have all the answers - that adults can and do make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes can be pretty big ones. It is up to us whether we can forgive, when, and in what way we do, whether it's ourselves or someone else.
I think if my Dad were here today, I'd have a lot to talk with him about. I'd have a lot of art to show him and songs to sing. Happy Birthday, Dad. I miss you.

More Mail Art

Thinking without doing is just waiting.
Doing is hard.
Doing repeatedly is incredibly hard
but it's what you need to do.
~Danielle Nelson




I'm having fun with this mail art.

I laid out all the post cards I made on the floor and it became one large, colorful piece. I kind of like it.

Writing With My Left Hand

Recently I came across some very old art work of mine when I was in elementary school. One page was totally colored with brightly colored chalk shapes. While art journaling recently, I decided to cut out some of these shapes and use them. Seemed to fit. Seemed to fit on this particular page where there were shapes already. Here it is in progress.

I have also decided that I am pretty clever writing with my left hand for journal backgrounds, but find it even more clever when I can write with my left hand backwards. Did you ever do that in a secret letter message when you were a kid and then hold it up in the mirror to read it? I did.

Art Says "I Am."

"Creativity is medicine. It is not dangerous or egotistical.
It is life affirming and essential. The more we use it, the
more steadily, readily and easily we use it. The "healthier"
we are."
~Julia Cameron

This is a work MY MAN and I collaborated on back in June. It's about 16x15 plywood and hangs over my computer desk.

Recently I left a few pieces on MY MAN's work table for him to add to. He passed them back to me and then I passed them back to him. That's how we work or have so far. We may pass it back and forth several times before one of us decides it's done. The rule is: there are no rules. But there are a lot of chuckles and it's another way to keep us connected and have fun.

When we've accumulated enough maybe we'll put them all on a large piece of wood to hang somewhere in the house.... if there are still any empty walls left.

I Forgot to Mention................

I was nominated for this award by Robin at Pink House Studio and Ann at Anne's Art. I am sorry I don't know how to properly display your websites/blogspots.I guess I need to learn about linking...... lol. I recently purchased Blogging for Dummies. :) I thank you both for this award.

Kokoro

And those who were seen dancing were thought
to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
~Nietzsche



I am liking this new found freedom of throwing things down, giving myself only a few minutes to do each task. I am not thinking about it as I do it even though I hear my inner critics' words tell me, "Wait! Do you really want to put that there?"
"Yes, and be quiet!" I say.
I am finding it amusing to throw in old photos into my art work.

The little munchkin is yours truely.

That's my Mom around 18 yrs old in the upper left corner.

And that's me in the lower left hand corner on the beach in Lake Champlain one summer. That's the place I remember as a kid where a sea gull "left a present" on my father's head. You know, my father, the minister. That's when I learned where "Gad Zukes!!" came from. Many of them......








Kokoro, I have read, means heart, mind and soul in Japanese.
More later.