For this drawing challenge, I decided to share a couple of older pieces in which blue is prominently featured. I do tend to favor blue in general, but these are REALLY blue. I never get tired of looking at them (though one was sold). I hope you'll like them too.
As Above, So Below
mixed media, 17.75 x 10 inches
Sacred Geometry
monotype with mixed media, 22.5 x 17.5 inches
I feel like I could just drown in this blue, don't you? It's so saturated and rich. I hope the person who bought it is enjoying it as much as I enjoyed making it!
I just couldn't resist sharing Joni Mitchell's Blue; it was playing in my head the whole time I was working on this post. Enjoy!
This drawing challenge is hosted by Patrice of the wonderful Patrice A blog.
Please visit her for links to the other drawing challenge participants. I can't wait to see their blues!
The lovely Tammie Lee of Beauty Flows is hosting this week's drawing challenge, Prayer/ Meditation/ Still Point. As soon as I heard what the theme was, I knew I was in; much of my art revolves around these concepts, so it was right up my alley, as they say.
While I worked on this piece, I asked myself what "indestructible truth" actually means to me in relation to the theme of the drawing challenge. When I come right down to it, the only indestructible truth I know, that I feel sure of in my heart and soul, is that everything in the universe is connected to every other thing. Every human being, every blade of grass, every rock, every animal, every tree. When one thing is affected, it can have far-reaching consequences; this is known as, "the butterfly effect". Here's how Wikipedia describes it: "In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state." I prefer to meditate/pray while outdoors in nature; that "still point "is the moment I feel that connection, or 'become one with everything'. The experience cannot adequately be described in words.
This reminds me of a joke (and who doesn't love a good Buddhist joke, right?) A Buddhist walks into a vegetarian restaurant to order a veggie burger. The server asks, "What will you have?" The Buddhist replies, "Make me one with everything." (Sorry, I can hear the collective groan, but I just couldn't resist.)
Notes on technique/strategies:
Going back two posts ago, I wrote about strategies for pushing your art to another level. I incorporated a couple of them here, one being the "throw out your first ten ideas"idea. I really didn't keep count, but I threw out a lot of them, because I've developed habits of doing the same things over and over, and I felt the work was getting stale. I also limited my materials, in that I decided not to include any representational objects, unless they were real, such as the flower and the feather. Then, just to make it even more frustrating, I tried to limit the amount of compositional elements, because I've been feeling like my compositions were too busy. That required a great deal of restraint on my part; I just had to keep asking myself, "Will this improve the piece, or not?", and frequently the answer was "No!". As a result, I am happier with this piece than some of the others I've made lately.
Dont't forget to visit Beauty Flows for links to more posts on this drawing challenge!
This week's drawing challenge, hosted by Patrice, is COCOON. An fascinating concept to me, since much of my art has transformation, or metamorphosis, as a continuing theme. A cocoon is something that protects and provides safety as that process takes place, until the new, transformed being is ready to emerge.
Chrysalis I
I am currently in a particularly transformative and difficult period of my life. Major change is always a challenge for me; it feels safer to cling to the status quo, to stay where I am rather than venture into new territory. For many of us, change is scary. For me, it is a struggle not to let that fear rule my life.
Chrysalis II
I recently read a truly moving and inspiring post about fear on Crystal Neubaur's wonderful blog. Her writing on the subject is both eloquent and thoughtful; it gave me some important insights and made me feel less alone. I strongly encourage you to read this wonderful piece here.
One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. ~ Henry Ford
There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin
"Sixes and sevens" is a phrase I've heard, but never really gave much thought to. When I found out it was this week's drawing challenge, I just had to look it up; inquiring minds like mine want to know. According to Wikipedia, "To be "at sixes and sevens" is a British English idiom used to describe a state of confusion or disarray."
The origin of the phrase seems uncertain, but here are a couple of theories:
"The phrase probably derives from a complicated dice game called 'hazard' ....These [originally five and six] were considered to be the riskiest numbers to shoot for ...., and those who tried for them were considered careless or confused." Wikipedia goes on to say that, "A similar phrase, "to set the world on six and seven", is used by Geoffrey Chaucer in his 'Troilus and Criseyde". It dates from the mid-1380s and seems from its context to mean "to hazard the world" or "to risk one's life". William Shakespeare uses a similar phrase in 'Richard II': "But time will not permit: all is uneven, And every thing is left at six and seven"."
It's Not That Easy
mixed media, 6.25 x 5 inches
I think I understand what it means to be "at sixes and sevens". About a year ago, I was forced to take disability early retirement, due to stress-related health problems that wouldn't resolve. I don't want to get too serious here, but my whole life suddenly seemed upside-down and backwards. Everything was uneven and out of balance. I struggled to find some meaningful shape or form to fit my life into, some way to rise above the 'confusion and disarray', and still do at times. I spent a long time 'at sixes and sevens', but am finally starting to make some sense of it. Making art continues to be one of my saving graces.
" All great changes are preceded by chaos." ~ anonymous
To see more interpretations of the "Sixes and Sevens" theme, visit our hostess Nadine's blog, tinyWOOLF.
Shinrin Yoku is something I do a lot, though I hadn't known those words for it until Veronica named it the theme for her drawing challenge.
Shinrin Yoku is a Japanese phrase that translates as "forest bathing."
" A forest bathing trip involves visiting a forest for relaxation and
recreation while breathing in volatile substances, called phytoncides
(wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic
compounds derived from trees... It has now become a recognized
relaxation and/or stress management activity in Japan." (Wikipedia, Forest bathing)
Also called "forest medicine" and "forest therapy", shinrin yoku has
been promoted by the Forest Agency of the Japanese government since
1982.
It turns out that scientific evidence supports the idea that spending time in a forest is good for your health.
"A 2007 study by
researchers at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Medicine found
that 'forest environments are advantageous with respect to acute
emotions, especially among those experiencing chronic stress.
Accordingly, shinrin-yoku may be employed as a stress reduction method,
and forest environments can be viewed as therapeutic landscapes.'" ("Shinrin-yoku:The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing" by Stephen Robert Morse)
Here I am, shinrin yoku beside the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park.
My favorite place for shinrin yoku is at Shabo-Mekaw, our 60-acre tract of gorgeous forest in Lewis County, Kentucky.
It's the perfect place to let go of my stress and just be in the moment, letting the forest 'bathe' me in its peace and beauty.
Being there never fails to calm me and give me a fresh perspective on whatever problems I may be facing. Somehow, spending time with a huge, ancient tree makes my worries seem insignificant.
So thank you, Veronica, for introducing me to the wonderful concept of "forest bathing."
The word "image" leaves a lot of room for interpretation. But as I thought about it, something I saw on television a couple of days ago kept coming back to me. It was about a study which showed that the more makeup a woman was wearing, the more likely she was to be hired after a job interview. I found this astounding. Apparently, the more 'made up' she was, the more competent she was judged to be by the interviewers.
Image
collage on board, 7.25 x 6.5 inches
Is the perception of a woman's worth strictly judged by how she looks? Is our goal, or should it be, to look like "the goddess of Gucci"? Even the word "Gucci" is an iconic image in itself. Are women objects to be painted, to paint themselves, or to be painted on? How many of us have to "put our face on" before we go out?
Understand, I'm not advocating for women to stop wearing makeup. But as a child of the sixties, I somehow thought, or hoped, that we had come further than this with regard to our culture's image of women. Now, I wonder if things have changed so much after all. What do you think?
To see more interpretations of the theme "image", go to our hostess's blog, Tiny Woolf, and follow the links.
The key to my inspiration for making art, for me, has always been the interconnection of everything in the universe, particularly humans and the rest of the natural world. It seems that far too many people see us as separate from nature, when we are all parts of the same interwoven universe; science tells us that we are made of the same elements and originate from the same place. As Joni Mitchell said, "We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year-old carbon, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden."
The drawing challenge for this week, hosted by Tammie is 'pollinators'...
... and I just couldn't pass this one up, since my husband keeps bees... Don't forget to go to Tammie's beautiful blog to see what everyone else did for the challenge!
My piece for the drawing challenge has more to with the 'break' part than 'Spring'. I've been thinking lately of travel and exploring unique and far away places where I've never been (which covers just about everywhere).
Explore
collage, 5 x 5 inches
To see what others have done for the challenge, go to Veronica Roth's blog for all the links! Thanks for hosting, Veronica!
This is an older piece that I thought would work perfectly for this drawing challenge - Veronica said it was okay that it wasn't new. Hope you enjoy! Be sure to go to Veronica's blog to check out all the other interpretations of this theme!
The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.
~ Carl Rogers
It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.
~ Jim Rohn
Veronica Roth is the hostess of this drawing challenge with the theme AQUA, so head on over to her blog to check out the links to the other artists! I can't wait to see what everyone came up with!
This little collage was unexpected, even to me. It was put together pretty randomly, and when I saw the words that peeked out from the little ad there, I had to laugh. I thought it would be perfect for this drawing challenge, hosted by Spiegel-Beeld: The Unexpected. Hop on over there to check out the other artists' links!
I made this little collage for Eric Adama's drawing challenge; the theme was "time". So much fun to play along - I'm really enjoying this! Please visit Eric's wonderful blog to see how other artists interpreted the theme.
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
~ Albert Einstein
You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future.
ingedients: vintage book pages and ephemera, image transfers, Pitt artist pens
I just couldn't resist the theme of this drawing challenge, hosted by Eric Adama of the wonderful Cerulean blog: rara avis. So, I accepted his kind invitation to participate.
Defined: - a rare bird.
- an unusual, uncommon or exceptional person or thing.
Please go to Eric's blog on November 22 to follow the links to the other drawing challenge participants. Can't wait to see what everyone has come up with!
