Recent life in pictures

I'm taking a cue from my friend Andi and posting some life without much text just pics. Hey, don't they say that a picture is worth a thousand words? Just think how much time we're saving on reading it all this way. ;-)

4th of July















Swaps in Yahoo groups: first up, inchies.











Next we have charms for swaps, in process and done:









Summer field--the pic wasn't very good, so I goofed with it a bit.



Prepping for the 4-H dog show. Okay, the dog didn't go in the fitting and showing class this way! The spoils? My daughter won a blue and a red and we all lived throught it. Now I remember why I quit showing horses, though.



New art in progress. This piece was started last spring and is finally moving forward. A new palette of colors for me--I don't usually use greens and yellows without pink and I avoid orange like the plague. Well, unless it's with some pink...

Good News!

If you read the bit below about our teacher trying to bring his family into our country legally, then you'll be pleased to know the updated story: he's found the sponsors!

Other good news--our powerful confuser is once again connecting with the e-world. I really like my space bar and am most appreciative of its normal sound and easy functionality.

I actually had an art day today. The family went into the mountains on a disappointing huckleberry run. Such a small amount for all their effort on a hot day. But I had fun at home. I worked on a piece that I started earlier in the spring and got a lot done on it. Of course the nice spring quote odesn't quite fit now, but I'll work something out. I'll share pics when done. I also painted some pages in an altered book that had been in my brain for a couple years now. It's a sort-of pop culture take on different Bible verses (not irreverent, though, by any means). I've been saving all kinds of bits and pieces and need to start piecing together and glueing. Just getting the little bits and pieces stuck in something so I can throw away the extra will be so nice. My sweet husband once referred to my office/studio space as a "mouse playground" but he was off a bit--it's a packrat's paradise!

Looking forward to more art time tomorrow. I'm trying to be more disciplined this week with mornings set aside for study and afternoons set aside for some play. We'll see how it goes.

Away...

Well, I've had lots of things in my brain to share lately, but our internet is down again, so I'll be away until the service provider can resume providing. I'm at the library right now on a computer with a space bar that either sticks or is inordinately loud. Or maybe they're all loud and I'm just the only one using the space bar. Stay cool wherever you are!

Need a sponsor to come to the U.S.

In my personal life I tend to be very opinionated when it comes to politics and such, but I try to keep it away from my blog for a variety of reasons. So I hope any readers will not be offended by the following small indulgence, along the way to a serious need. (Is that what is referred to as a disclaimer? ;-) )

Life is so interesting. While our country has a serious problem with control over its borders and is dealing with providing health and education services to vast numbers of people in this country having not come through the proper channels (which would technically be a breaking of the law), and while the politicos try to drum up support for allowing these people to stay regardless of proper procedures, one of our teachers is trying desperately to get his family into this country legally. The challenge? For each family member he must have a sponsor who will sign papers stating that they will provide financial support in case of catastrophe. The reason? So they will not become wards of the state and drain our government financially. Which makes me scratch my head in wonderment at the aforementioned politicos.

Why are so many of them endorsing breaking our own country's law in this immigration debate? I know, I know--I've heard the heart-appealing arguments about not wanting to break up families who already have one member here. Wait a moment, what about our teacher? His family is stuck in another country because of our law. Oh and then there's the other argument about needed labor. Well, here's a novel idea about putting to work some folk who aren't doing much right now. Obviously not appropriate in all cases, but certainly for some it could be and it would be job training to provide skills for after release (and I'm sure much more effectively than my feeble attempt to teach short story writing in this environment!). As for the cost of rounding up people who are here without proper paperwork--what if we quit providing government-funded services and put that savings toward finding them and returning them to their proper country. If they want to come back that's fine--just do it the right way. Just go through all the red tape and proverbial hoops, like our teacher is doing. Too hard to do all that? Well, I was always taught that anything worthwhile takes sacrifice.

I'm not trying to be heartless. My great-great-grandparents were all immigrants, as were many peoples' ancestors. Come--just follow the law. And on that note, if there is anyone who can help Mr. Phillips, here is the link to his blog again. He needs one to three people to step up as sponsors for his family to be allowed to come. He gives info on how to reach him, if you can help, or know someone who can. Or contact me and I can pass info on to him.

Thanks for indulging my little rant. Yes, I know it's a complex issue, and no, I'm not without a heart. But I do look at the situation of one family trying to do everything right and how difficult it is for them and then look at the state of this issue in our country and wonder what has happened to the sanity of our leadership. Oh, and yes, I called my Senatorial representative and let him know my thoughts also. ;-)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

The Early Bird Award Goes to...

...this fellow. Can you imagine? I can't--coming from the clan of the perpetually late, the early bird award isn't one we're holding our breath over. But it does leave me wondering how this sort of thing gets to be one of the top mentioned stories on MSN? Nothing more important going on in the world?

Sorry, was that sarcasm?

So the days go by

There is always something to occupy my time lately. I just wish it wasn't so much work. Oh well, I guess I need to clean off the dining room table every now and then--hee hee. Yesterday I spent some time photographing some items and listing them on Etsy. Most of them are various supplies I've collected and won't be using, but there are also some new waxed stars and some sets of bookmarks. If you want to check them out, visit my Etsy shop. I hope to stay on track and add some more stuff later today, but since my library books are looming due (at a fairly local University and I've already extended the deadline once) I should probably finish at least a couple.

Aesthetics. That's the current topic. I think the academic brain is finally coming back (it only took 30 chapters so so!)--or maybe the topic just changed enough that my mom brain is now comprehending. Or maybe it's the quiet reading time from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. that is allowing me to focus better...

Who knows, but the contemplation of beauty and what it means has made me want to go out and water my flowers. But it's too hot so now I'm too tired and I haven't even gone outside yet. Perhaps laying on the couch will bring back my motivation, but what's that? Socks on the floor. Now whoever could have put those there? Ah, wait, these are my daughter's, so I'll just pop into her room and oh my! What a frightful disaster. What kind of mother lets her child live in a room like this. This will never do so I'd better march right downstairs and get her to come up and clean it. Well, how come this bowl never made it back upstairs? I guess I'd better take it upstairs before I forget. Drat! Look at all those dishes piled up-how do we use so many in a day--I mean I just did them yesterday. Which reminds me, I need to call the insurance to see if they've processed our claim yet. But there are messages on the phone--I wonder who called and how I missed them... And so on. Anyone else have a life that resembles this situation?

Wait--I have a solution (no, not fire! We already had a close call with that!). If I just leave out the punctuation I can pretend I'm living in a James Joyce stream-of-consciousness novel, right? No reality here. It will return tomorrow. But wait, tomorrow is one day before the library books are due and we're going to the beach, so I'd better read today. Oh Mr. Kant, where are you?


P.S. In the time it has taken blogger to attempt to post this message I've actually gone outside and deadheaded my flowers and watered while I read. Really, I did!

Art History Answers--The Ambassadors

Hmm, well it's been a while since I've had time to post some updated art history. I'll give some answers to my last post and retire the program for a while. The last image I posted was "The Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein the Younger (yes, there was an Older and he was an artist also). The items on the shelf between the two men represent many aspects of their lives. The globe is set to show the location of a town in France from whence one of the men came. The lute reflects their mutual interest in music and had one broken string as a reminder of the decay of the world (a vanitas reference found in many paintings; whenever you see skulls, decayed items or timepieces they are frequently references to mortality). One of the books is open to a hymn by Martin Luther. There are also several tools used by astronomers, reflecting again their common interest in science and the heavens. Off the top of my head those are the items I remember, but I'm sure there are more.

But what about that bizarre thing in the middle of the floor? It is the ultimate vanitas reference painted in anamorphic perspective. The object is a skull and it is easily visible if one observes the painting from the lower right side of the painting. Many historians/critics speculate that the painting hung on a staircase where the descending viewer would see the skull in correct perspective for a moment while passing. Sort of a nice way to remind you to make the day count because you'll soon be dead. Wondering what to do about the whole death question? Don't miss the small silver crucifix in the upper left corner of the painting. Don't leave earth without Him--at least that's my intention, if not the artist's also.

Want to learn even more about this fascinating painting? Visit here for a deeper discussion of the symbolic meaning of the items and here for more information on the history of anamorphic painting. That's all for art history for a while. I'm busy reading about aesthetics now, so maybe we'll return with philosophical questions in the fall... In the meantime I need to make some art!

And here is a skewed and cropped version of the skull. I tried to leave a bit of the image as a reference point.

Yay!

Andy Warhol may have his 15 minutes--I got a whole day--lol! ;-)

Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh

I've always liked Vincent Van Gogh and thought this was a wonderful way to experience his work. If you want to know more, scroll down toward the bottom of my link section and visit Katey of Blue-Eyed Duck for insight into Vincent's life and death. --L

Flickr & other new things

I've finally taken the time to load a few photos to my Flickr account. No pics of art--those are in my ZNE gallery; I have updated that space recently, too. So, if you'd like to see either, your best bet is to use the links at the top of my link section because I'm still working on getting them to work in my text. ;-)

And thanks to Carol C. (also in my links) for the help on how to create a banner for my blog. I was able to get that to work today. So there is hope for my tech savvy...

How unusual am I? How unusual are you?

I've been tagged to share seven things about me--unusual things, habitual things, or things no-one else knows. After that I'll tag seven more people. So, here goes:

1. I find 4-leaf clovers all the time, anywhere there is clover. But I believe in God, not luck.

2. I once taught short story writing in a prison. The class ended after only about five sessions when a couple of my students were released and my star student was thrown into lockup (the others just quit coming). When I quit, the volunteer coordinator told me that I had lasted longer than the poetry teacher!

3. I'm a Tintin fan. My grandma brought me "The Black Island" from Martinique when I was quite young, but it was in French, so I couldn't read it until my mom found an English copy when I was in the fourth grade.

4. I really detest most chick flicks. That goes for chick fiction, too. I'm not terribly sentimental. Give me "Lord of the Rings" anyday--I much prefer adventure and action.


5. I should be a member of the Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things.
(Yes, I used to watch Monty Python, but don't much anymore.) My office is a constant battle against large piles of things, although my fabrics are all filed by color and my buttons are sorted by color and my beads are sorted by color, my spices are sorted by color--okay, not really, but I am noticing a pattern here.



6. I've always wanted to go to England and used to watch soccer just to hear the accent (so I could practice my own) when I was a kid. Instead I've been to Canada, eh.

7. I still have my Viewmaster and all my disks of pictures, as well as my Breyer horse collection. I rarely throw anything away--see #5. ;-)

Hmm, unusual enough? Now I have to tag seven other people to share seven random facts, sooo, how about:
Amber at http://altered-art-by-amber.blogspot.com
Dianne at http://www.magpiesenvy.blogspot.com
Becky at http://www.bees-in-my-bonnet.blogspot.com
Carol C. at http://carolclasper.blogspot.com
Jenny at http://jennysaustralianneedleart.blogspot.com
Nola at http://inchtextiles.blogspot.com
and Steve at http://www.orangefrog76.blogspot.com

I still don't know how to get the links to show up. Help, anyone? I try the little link thingy at the top of the posting page and it just doesn't work, so you'll have to copy and paste to your browser to visit my friends' pages. It just seems so, so, low tech--the horror!

Women In Art

I found this YouTube video on a friend's blog today and thought I would share it. I love the images and how they merge. And after intensely studying my art history for the last eight months I even recognize a number of them. Woohoo! See if you recognize any of them.

Art History--test your knowledge

Now that school is finally out I have a little time and hope to update with some of my art form this spring sometime soon. In the meantime, here's another art challenge!

But first, the answer to the last one. The image was "The Presentation in the Temple" by Ambrogio Lorenzetti from 1342. Originally part of an altarpiece (many were cut apart and sold in pieces through the centuries), this painting is considered one of the first accurate and realistic portrayals of an interior space since Roman times. Quite beautiful. Ambrogio painted the famous frescoes of the Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena (the town of which was the artistic rival of Florence for a time). His brother Pietro was also an artist who painted some of the frescoes in the lower section of San Francesco in Assisi. Both brothers died during the plague of 1348.

Now, on to the new. This time I am presenting a famous double portrait from the Northern Renaissance. The men pictured were friends, from France. One was sent as an ambassador to London and his friend, the bishop in the picture, was visiting London. The items on the table each represent different aspects of the two men's lives. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what the items mean, but what I really want to know is what is that strange object in the lower foreground of the painting and why is it there? Happy hunting.

Woohoo!

School's out for the summer! I almost can't believe it. I'm crashing now--wait I have training next week. Still, that's easier than the last two weeks. Wowza yowza!

Magic Bean of Power

So, if you had a magic bean of power what would you wish for? After flicking remains of tonight's dinner from the table to the floor and receiving a reminder that there will be no bean-flicking, but rather bean-throwing-away, my DD asked "But what if it's a bean of power?" I said, "Then wish for something important."

She wished for our car trunk to not be broken. (The aftermath of our most recent adventure with emergency personnel. The car is going to be totalled. This is both a good thing and a bad thing--but back to the regularly scheduled post...)

My son wished for his room to be clean.

Well, if you're five that's important, I guess. ;-)

So, if you had a magic bean of power, what would you wish for?

New art listed on Etsy

Well, nothing like an expiration date to get me moving. Helps me clean out the fridge, and tonight seeing nothing showing up on my Etsy, due to expirations, prompted me to finally get some new things listed. *Well, I was going to say you could visit here and add a link, but I'm an html moron and can't get the link to work, so you'll have to visit my shop via the second link in my link section to the lower right--those ones work!*


But here are a couple sneak peaks:



Left is a new waxed star about beauty. This piece resulted from wondering what else I can do with my stars.



At right, a bottle cap necklace.



This wood sign currently sits in my dining room and I'm almost loath to let it go. I wish I had bought more when I found them--they were on such a good sale. Sigh.

Okay, for the other new items, check out Offerings, my Etsy shop! ;-)

Art History Challenge Week 3

Time for the answer to Art history Quiz week 2a. The artist was Artemisia Gentileschi, a female artist of the Baroque period who was taught by her father. Nude figure drawing was not considered suitable or proper for women at that time, so many women artists were trained by relatives or in other circumstances. Artemisia's style was modeled after Caravaggio, who was a master of contrasting light and dark. One of her frequent subjects was the story of Judith from the Apocrypha. More information can be found here: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/d/duccio/buoninse/biograph.html

Now, on to the next challenge! This painting has the distinction of being known as one of the first accurate depictions of an interior space. Who painted it?

A few more days off...

Well, I'll be taking a few more days away than I had planned. Someone ran into our car on the way home from school the other day. Not a major accident--no blood or broken bones, but the standard whiplash-type injury, so my back is not desiring to sit at the computer for long. And such an unneeded hassle. :-( But I must remember to praise God because we were knocked into the intersection as the light changed and we could have been hit again and much worse. Thank You, Lord, for holding us close! May God's blessings rain down on you where ever you are today! --L

Busy, busy, frightfully busy

Too much life this week--good, though. I'll be back in a couple days with some new art to share and a new art history challenge. My dd scored our soccer team's first goal in regular play the other night--and it was a close one! Woohoo! We moved to a new league this season and our team has really taken a beating. Blessings to you and a double portion to all those moms! --L

Art History challenge week 2, option 2

Clue added May 6--Italian and this picture is a self-portrait as part of a story.

In the same theme: a woman artist, in the Baroque period. Tell me who she is and what who her style is modeled after. For bonus points, she painted one subject several times--what story was it she painted? (Trying to make it more challenging!)