Another school shooting? Yes. Another.

We are all in the gutter,

but some of us are looking at the stars.

- Oscar Wilde

Over this past week, it's been difficult

to keep looking at the stars, hasn't it?

On Valentine's day,

17 children in the US (Parkland, Florida) were murdered. 

Gunned down by another young, crazed, angry, white man.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

An 18 year old in the US can buy an AR-15 assault rifle,

but he can't buy a beer.

Some teenagers started eating Tide Pods (don't ask me why!)

and now, Tide Pods in grocery stores are practically kept

under lock & key, so as to avoid another incident.

In most pharmacies, certain medication

is kept safely stored behind the counter.

The guns - oh, those are ok.

You can buy them at Walmart,

along with 1000 of rounds of ammunition.

Not a problem at all.

IT.

IS.

INSANE.

It breaks my heart to know that these children

went through such hell.

I have faith that many of these young ones

are going to channel their anger and fear

into something grand and powerful.

Lord knows the old, white, wealthy politicians

are too busy counting their money to care at all.

So over the past week or so,

I've been busy cleaning & organizing!

It's not something I do often, trust me -

but lately, I've felt the need to get rid of some stuff,

externally and internally. ;)

The photo above is "before"

and the photo below here is "after".

It may not look that clean to some,

but it's more than fine for me.

I bought this fabulous book last weekend.
An illustrated book on how we are all
connected to the universe.

Science and art, rolled into one.
Hardcover, and it was something like $18 (CAN).

I love the book.

Anything that encourages
learning and thinking
is a good thing.

Too many of us have lost the ability (or the desire?)
to spend any time thinking on things.
We keep ourselves so busy,
that we barely allow ourselves time
to think of what to make for supper.

And with cell phones now,
we are almost constantly distracted 
from our own thoughts.

Sometimes, when things get heavy out there,

or when things just don't make any sense to me -

it feels good to be reminded that we are ALL part

of a huge universe,

more connected than not,

and that even in nature, 

there is suffering.

So I didn't just clean my desk,

I cleaned the whole room,

and man, did it feel good once it was done.

And the best part?

I got rid of a LOT of books.

Like between 75 or 100.

That's huge for me.

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes 

to getting rid of books.

They just feel much more a "part of me"

than clothes or shoes or furniture. 

But I let them go with good intentions,

hoping that whoever reads them,

gets as much out of them as I did.

Besides, there's a time for everything, right?

Some of the books I purged had me thinking:

"why the hell did I want to read THIS?!?" :)

Ta Daaaaaa!

Both book shelves - done.

I like organizing my books by color,

but I haven't tackled that since the cleanup.

I'm visual so whenever I'm looking for a certain book,

I can always remember the color,

and I usually find it quickly.

Plus, it looks cool when it's color coded. ;)

So I did this (below) on the evening of Feb 14th...
I was (and am still) so angry about it all.

And I did this one (below) the day after...
still processing the anger and sadness.

Some people can talk about it for an hour,
and then they're fine.
They move on to something else.

Not me.

I need to sit with the stories
and the questions, 
and the words -
sometimes for days.
None of it makes any sense,
but I'm at least able
to turn the anger & sadness
into art that becomes somewhat healing for me.

I can only hope the families of those murdered
can find their own path
to healing somehow...

Thanks for being here!
I'll keep you posted here on my new website 
as soon as it's live!
Wishing you all a happy week!
xo

she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!

hi everyone!

It's Saturday night, and i'm enjoying a(nother) glass of wine ;-)

Stay with me a while!

I felt like doing something meditative tonight,

so i chose a photo i liked of the Beatles

and decided on doing watercolor.

Yeah, i could have meditated, I guess

but meditation is almost exercise for me

and i don't do exercise on a Saturday night. ;-)

Besides, i needed an activity

that included the glass of wine.

;-)

(is that inspiration i see coming around the corner?!?)

A quick outline of the faces....

the first layer of watercolor...

i think i used burnt sienna.

I always begin a little lighter with watercolor,

so i always use more water for the first layer.

When it's dry, 

i just go over certain sections to create layers.

Still creating layers...

The final layer - darker than the rest.

(i just use very little water in the color)

Doesn't look much like the Beatles.

Poor Paul looks like Mr. Big Head.

'course he kinda is... ;-)

You can see that there's very little detail in the faces.

I like that.

Sometimes, i feel like doing fine detail,

but not tonight.

And this little baby was done last night...

Don't ask me what the hell this is...

I only know that when i sat down,

i picked up my colored pencils

and just felt like doodling without anything in mind.

Well, obviously, there WAS something in my mind,

i just didn't know what it was yet. 

I do like the two faces,

and i kinda like the whale/bird thingie 

floating in the water at the bottom.

Or floating on the tree roots. 

:-)

Someone kindly asked me in a comment recently

if i try to "out-do" myself with art.

Short answer: no.

Long answer:

(and you can leave now if this is boring you...)

I am not the least bit interested in competing

with myself or others.

I am not a perfectionist, 

nor do i keep tabs on what other people are doing,

so that i can go one step further

and out-shine them.

It's just not who i am.

I think we all have a place in the world

and the last thing i am interested in

is putting myself on a higher pedestal than the rest.

I'll let the politicians do that. ;-)

I would suck as an Olympian athlete.

Really. I would.

:-)

I don't believe much in talent.

i think talent develops itself

with consistent, creative,

determined, hard work.

Anyone who has participated in a weekly (or daily) art challenge

knows what i'm talking about.

I've seen it on some of your blogs,

in your artwork.

What begins as

fearful, doubtful,

hesitant artwork,

is transformed with daily practice to

confident,

creative,

courageous artwork.

It shows.

So whenever i hear someone say,

"oh, she's so talented"...

i know that the reality is

she most likely practices her art,

or her music,

or her balance beam

every day.

So it's not really talent.

It's just the results of hard work.

By the way, i want to thank you all

for leaving such lovely comments on my blog.

i am always so grateful to know

that so many of you out there

visit this little space of mine.

This on-line community has given me more

than i ever thought possible.

Yesterday, i even got the chance to meet

a wonderful on-line friend, in person - near my home!

The beautiful Stéphanie,

visionary and artist at heart. :-)

She was vacationing here and we met for coffee

and chatted for 2 hours about art and inspiration 

as if we had known each other

our whole lives.

That's what happens when you put like-minds together.

Which is why this on-line community has become

so important to me.

Like minds.

Artists.

People who love to share.

People who love to learn.

Inspiration.

So yeah, ok, glass is empty, it's getting late,

and i did end up writing a friggin' book.

what a boob.

Thanks for reading folks.

Wishing you all a happy Sunday.

G'night John Boy...

xox

woman at train station and blue waves...

hi everyone!

I'm linking this to Illustration Friday,

another weekly challenge that encourages art.

The word for this week is: HURRY!

:-)

It's always so inspiring

to see some of the fabulous work there...

(this is mixed media - acrylic on paper, charcoal, micron pens.)

I've made a conscious decision in the past few weeks

to spend less time on the computer,

and more time with art.

I am determined to make a decent living as an artist

if it kills me, dammit. 

:-)

A few posts ago, I wrote about  how i believe

it takes a lot of courage to be an artist. 

It also takes hard work.

It may look easy,

but it's not all sparkles and rainbows.

Besides the naysayers

and the awkward feeling of never fitting in to society,

some things may happen sometimes

that cause us to question

the value of our own work.

In the past few years,

I've sent my work to several magazine publishers,

and have been rejected.

I've sent my paintings to a juried show -

rejected.

I've sent my writings to book publishers -

rejected.

I've sent more paintings to another juried show -

again, rejected.

I've sent paintings to a gallery,

rejected,

just in a more chi chi poo poo kinda way. 

;-)

See where the courage comes in handy?

In addition to courage, it also takes

perseverance

and hard work

and determination

and vision

and confidence

and clarity

and patience.

Yes, above all, patience.

Chocolate and wine don't hurt either.

;-)

I am comforted by the fact

that many successful artists and writers

had their walls plastered with rejection slips

at one time or another.

I am also comforted by the fact

that I know this is where my heart belongs.

I know this is my truth.

This is where my love lies.

And so, i will carry on -

regardless of who likes or doesn't like,

regardless of who approves or not,

regardless of sales,

and i hope that those of you

who are struggling sometimes,

all do the same.

If it means getting yourself a part time job somewhere

to allow yourself to keep creating,

do it.

You'll find a way.

Keep making good work.

Keep sharing it.

Your art needs to be put out in the world...

because that's where it belongs.

Your songs need to be shared

because that's how they become songs...

Don't die with your songs

still in you.

He who has a why to live for

can bear almost any how.

Nietzsche

Rex Ray: Art and Design

I saw this video last week on Julie's lovely site (Spaark - Artistically Afflicted)

and i just had to share for those of you who aren't familiar with Rex Ray.

Rex Ray. Artist. Collage lover. Designer extraordinaire. :-)

I love this guy.

This is for all of you out there

who ever feel like you're wasting time

when you're collaging or playing with paints.

Rex reminds us all

that playing is good.

That being creative is the essence of life itself.

That developing our own style

or body of work,

isn't always obvious or even necessary

and that the true pleasure

is the process itself.

He also reminded me that

there's room for everyone

and that we all see the world differently

and we should all embrace each others' views

and learn from one another

rather than compete and compare.

What works for one artist

may not work for another.

When i worked as a designer

for a large corporation

i often felt like a fish out of water.

Today,

i am not only working from home

- i am at home.

:-)

So let yourself be inspired by Rex

and take out those magazines

and spread them out everywhere

and use those scissors you love

to cut whatever your little heart desires

and play baby - play!