Numbers/Letters

In response to this week's 2thingsphotochallenge Numbers/Letters, abound.

On a recent road trip to Idyllwild, CA from inside the car.


I thought this sign was interesting for the description of the towns people.


and just as we rounded the bend on this small country road,
before entering the main town of Idyllwild we came upon this sign
in front of a local artist's home.
My mouth dropped open, and my immediate thought was 'this is the town for me'.



Idyllwild is a small alpine village about 2 hours from our home in San Diego. There is a wonderful art community here Art Alliance of Idyllwild.



Here's (1) thought for you:
"Mind your p's and q's, but let your a's and b's run wild."

Have a wonderful day! Thanks for your visits and kind words.

My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

WS- Purple

9 x 13 journal page
Golden Fluid Acrylics, rub-ons, acrylic ink, metallic pens
collage fodder

This week's Wednesday Stamper challenge is the color "Purple".

Some trivia about the color Purple:

This color associated with royalty, nobility, spirituality and funk.
I'll take spirituality and funk.

This color has been recognized to have mystical and spiritual qualities, in such gemstones as Amethyst and Tanzanite and has a very strong, color vibration in the spiritual realm, in connection with the (7th chakra), it also has a sacred place in nature, with flowers such as lavender, orchid, lilacs and violets.

Purple was Cleopatra's favorite color.

Purple robes are worn by people of authority and high rank.

The Purple Heart is a U.S. Military decoration given to soldiers wounded in battle.

I enjoy the color purple next to green.

When I paint in these blue/red spectrums, I am definitely not in my comfort zone. I find it challenging to manipulate these colors and yet I don't feel any tension.
There must be some truth to the calming effect of this color.

My best to all of you. Have a wonderful week!

"ThE Artful Eye"

How Green is My Valley?

9 X 13 journal
hand carved rubber stamps
collage fodder

For awhile now green has been the color of my soul. I began thinking about the color green and what did it mean to me.

What did the color green feel like?
It feels waxy, stiff, and full like a short stubby echeveria, and sometimes it's prickly like a teddy bear cholla or nopales cactus, or it can be as soft as the leaf of a wooly lambs ear.

What did the color green sound like?
It sounds like the trees quaking in the wind, it sounds like aluminum cans being crushed for recycle. It's sometimes silent.

What did the color green smell like?
It smells like Christmas, pine, fresh cut grass, life

What did the color green remind me of?
It reminds me of trees, leaves, thin blades of grass, a lime, Kermit, money, a Praying Mantis, Lisa's Chrysalis,

What does the color green taste like?
Like a wheat grass smoothie, a mountain dew, a granny smith apple, jiggly lime jello.

Do you have a favorite color? What does it do for you?

"I've never seen a guy so green, have the blues so bad"
- Fozzie Bear about Kermit

Have a wonderful day!

Thank-you for your visits and kind words, "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

The Book of Eve

9x13 journal

I've started my journal and decided to name it "The Book of Eve". I had chosen the name Yvette, for myself at the tender young age of 8 for my Confirmation name. (Confirmation a ritual in Catholicism.) I've since defected.

It sounded French, sophisticated and in short, I could be Eve. I loved the sound of Eve. Eve would be my muse. I never did much with this third name over the years and I grew up as Andrea Gabrielle.

I've decided to get this name out of the closet. The name has great meaning in Hebrew 'chavvah' "to breathe and 'chayah' "to live" in other words life-giving. This is right up my alley.

So I begin "The Book of Eve", breathing life into each page. I'll post these pages as they are accomplished interpersed with other works of art. I hope you'll join me on my journey.

L'chaim-- To Life!

Thanks for your visits and kind words. My other blog local: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

It's Easter Peeps!

The Just Born company started in 1910

To all my peeps out there, it is here that I will make my confession that "Peeps" those sugary, squishy, marshmallowy, gritty critters are my favorite Easter candy of all time. Note: The chicks came on the scene from 1940's-1950's. Look here if you want a "Peep in Time "

There are only two exceptions to my favorite candy rule on Easter and that is my Grandmother Lucia would always give us a round tin of Droste chocolates along with some Perugina Baci chocolate hazelnut kisses. I'm not sure how my Italian grandmother discovered these Netherland's chocolates but I loved these round disks of goodness that would melt in your mouth and miss receiving them from her.

Well that's all I have to say about candy, because on any other day I'd much prefer a crusty baquette.
Now for some creative Peep art:
I know there are some Project Runway fans out there. Have you seen this video?

Project Peepway



Look here at these crazy wonderful diorama's created for:
Peeps Show II

*You may need to listen to 5 sec. commercial, but it's worth the wait.


Happy Spring! and thanks for stopping by!
My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

Dead/Alive

My contribution to this week's 2thingsphotochallenge -Dead/Alive

This lifeless slate rockwall, intertwined with living ivy.

Newport, Rhode Island


Mariposa Grove- Wawona, CA "The Fallen Monarch"
located nr. the southernmost tip of Yosemite Valley

What is depicted here is the dead root base of a Giant Sequoia tree named the "Fallen Monarch". Biologists suspect this tree fell somewhere around the late 18th century. Notice however it is surrounded by some very much alive Giant Sequoias. It is here where you will find some of the oldest living trees in the world, some of which are currently 3000+ years old.

The dead root of this tree is approximately 50 feet in diameter and some of these living trees have bases 92 feet in diameter. The tallest of these trees has been measured at 368ft.

Mariposa Grove is also the home of the famous California Tunnel tree which was tunneled through in 1895, so that stagecoaches could pass through and today you can still drive your car through one of these trees.

A beautiful, fascinating place to visit.

Thanks for stopping by! My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

Sun/Shadow

Here's my contribution to this week's 2thingsphotochallenge. Sun/Shadow

Couldn't decide which to post, so enjoy.


reading our community paper while driving to work (doesn't that sound safe)
actually husband is driving ms. daisy
note headline: Snow Day in Country Estates- that's right we had 3-4 inches of snow


window shopping at a faux Hollywood confectioner's window in
California Adventure Park at Disneyland-Anaheim, Ca

When we stopped to look in this window I couldn't resist this photo collage before my eyes, there were so many reflections and images.
"I'll take one photo collage to go, please."


ground hog saw her shadow in this informational post


glimpse of life in the shadow of the Anza Borrego Desert


a single panel at Vietnam War Memorial- Washington, D.C.

When we visit these memorials we bring the light back, for a moment, we resurrect these souls, from the dark shadows of war.

Let us never forget the men whose lives were lost while fighting for the freedom we enjoy today.

Thanks for your visits and your many kind words- My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuLEyE"

The good 'ole Red, White and Blue

Longmont, Colorado 1980


My contribution to this week's 2thingsphotochallenge Red, Blue or Purple.

Imagine... "for purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plains...


Now this pic below was taken of the ceiling at The Greek Palace"
Comedy Club here in San Diego,CA. I should have been paying attention to the comedians because they were quite hilarious, but then I happened to look up and whipped out my camera and the comedian yelled, "Hey, lady ...I'm over here.


Thank you for your kind words, and visits.... Vaya con dios, mis amigos!

Have a wonderful weekend! My other blogspot: ThE ArTfuL EyE"

IF-Leap

8.5 x 11.5
Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons,
Golden Fluid Acrylic, rubberstamps
and a good ole pencil.

Here is my contribution to this week's Illustration Friday challenge "Leap"

I have always associated the word 'leap' with faith. I like taking chances and am not afraid to fall, most believe you should not tempt fate. I personally have never learned anything by playing it safe, as a matter of fact, I'm a 'big ole' risk taker and I enjoy the thrill of the challenge.

I believe fate should not tempt me. What about you?

Thought for the Day:-
"If you don't know your limits, then you don't know the heights of what you can achieve."

Happy Sunday! and a BIG thank-you, for your visits and kind words-

My other locale: "ThE ArTfuL Eye"

Miriam

8.5 x 11.5 mixed media

My contribution to this week's Illustration Friday challenge "Multiple"
This piece has multiple layer's, multiple elements and Miriam is wearing multiple bracelets.

Who is Miriam anyway? Good question...because this is the name that came to mind when I was creating this piece. So now I'm in search of Miriam.

Here's what I found:

Miriam, a Hebrew name meaning either "wished for child", "bitter", or "rebellious" but it may have been derived from an Egyptian name myr "beloved or mr "love" or Meryamun "beloved of Amun". Miriam was the older sister of Moses and Aaron.

I found this blog Miriam's ideas very interesting, Miriam has a lot to say.

Miriam Webster is an Australian gospel singer/songwriter and no relation to Merriam Webster.

There is a restaurant name "Miriam" in Park Slope area of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Miriam is a font.

A myriad on Miriam.

Miriam is someone's great grandmother, grandmother, mother, aunt, cousin, sister, niece, a wife, daughter, a girlfriend.

Thanks for visiting! Do stop by "ThE ArTful EyE"

The Empty Apartment No. 7

9x12 canvas board, collage ephemera
image transfers with fine pumice medium and glass bead gel medium
fluid acrylics

My cut-up diddy:

-lonely on my way home,
on the street, having conversation.
I drop my eyes and rest boyishly on my hands, I slowly near my building. Stillness.
I don't have to speak. You're No. 7, she said. I pay attention.
this sets me free. Like meditation.
I closed the door.

Now for inquiring minds:

"The cut-up technique was invented by Brion Gysin January 19, 1916 - July 13, 1986 who was a painter, writer, poet, and performance artist born outside of London.

This technique is also known as fishbowling, is an aleatory literary technique, or genre in which text is cut up at random and rearranged to create a new text."

Gysin introduced writer William S. Burroughs to the technique at the Beat Hotel. The pair later applied the technique to printed media and audio recordings in an effort to decode the material's implicit content, hypothesing that such a technique could be used to discover the true meaning of a given text. Burroughs also suggested cut-ups may be effective as a form of divination saying, "When you cut into the present the future leaks out."Burroughs also further developed the "fold-in" technique.


"After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say "I want to see the manager." -William S. Burroughs

Thanks for stopping by! My other blogspot: ThE ArTfuL EyE"

Necco Dream

6x11.5 mixed media collage, renaissance art stamps, candy hearts, paint

My offering for Wednesday Stamper's-"Valentine" challenge

Here is the same image manipulated with filters in photoshop.


and here again manipulated using Glowing Edge filter.


As I mentioned in earlier comments, I am not one for the "V" day hoopla, nor all the commercialism that follows this holiday, but I am nostalgic about hearts cut from paper, paper laced doillies and the old timey candy hearts from Necco.

I loved receiving these as a child and I love receiving them as an adult. When I arrived at work on Thursday, I was greeted by a box of these Necco Sweetheart candies and a cut paper heart with a lovely handwritten sentiment on the back, "Happy V Day" from Gracie. Imagine my delight.

Unfortunately these sayings aren't stamped as clear and sharp as they were a long time ago but the sentiment and feelings are the same. I don't even like to eat these candies, they just make me smile, so I thought best to memorialize them in a collage.

You can learn more about the candy confectioners who have been making these candies since 1847 here at Necco.com

I leave you my sweet hearts and thanks for stopping by!
My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL Eye"

Chased by Meme..ster's

"Are you looking at me? " Broadway and Prince St. Prada Store/ New York SoHo

I've just been tagged by Neda and John for the Book Meme.

What on earth is a "meme" you might ask?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary a meme pronounced m(long e)m as in meem is:
n. A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

posted on Jargon file a hacker term:
/meem/ n. [coined by analogy with `gene', by Richard Dawkins] An idea considered as a replicator, esp. with the connotation that memes parasitize people into propagating them much as viruses do.

[Shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme, from Greek mimēma, something imitated, from mimeisthai, to imitate; see mimesis.]

Andrea's take in short...a replicating, virus of tags for more memes.

So here I meme, broken hearted, found my read and just got started.

What to do next?
1) pick up the nearest book, in my case books that I'm currently reading 123 pages or more.
2) Find Page 123.
3) Find the first 5 sentences.
4) Post the next 3 sentences. Tag 5 people.

Since I've been tagged by (2) I'm giving you double the dose.



I am reading:
"ZEN and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" an inquiry into values
by Robert M. Pirsig /First copyright c. 1974

excerpt: "That's also in someone's mind...Ghosts. That's really what Phaedrus was talking about when he said it's all in the mind. It sounds insane when you just jump up and say it without reference to anything specific like an engine."

My take so far... it's modern day Greek philosphy, life altering, thought provoking motorcycle ride and examination of how we live and are led by our beliefs.

I am also reading:
"Getting Things Done" The Art of Stress-Free Productivity"
by David Allen, Penguin Books /copyright 2001

excerpt: "You may find you have a tendency, while processing your in-basket, to pick something up, not know exactly what you want to do about it, and then let your eyes wander onto another item farther down the stack and get engaged with it. That item may be more attractive to your psyche because you know right away what to do with it-- and you don't feel like thinking about what's in your hand. This is dangerous territory."

My take so far: I desperately need this book. There are way too many good thoughts going on here that need attention. "Mind like Water"

So there you have it my friends, I will ask unconventionally, respectively and with love, that you tag yourselves if you are interested in playing memely along.

Carpe Diem! "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

Love/Bird

This weeks response to 2things photo challenge Love/Bird.

and as you can see we have plenty of birds to love.


another pic of our wild finch. My husband is placing him on the thistle bag.




This baby hummingbird is no bigger than one inch and he's perched in his nest in our Queen Palm eagerly awaiting his mother's return.

For those of you who have seen my earlier post, here's another shot of our little wild finch who spent two weeks visiting us and landing happily in our hands.


This photo was taken from inside the house. Can you see the Red Tail hawk perched on the fence, he's patiently waiting for a family of Quail to emerge from the shrubs. This pic doesn't do this bird justice he's well over 18" in size. I went outside and eventually scared him away so I would not have to endure a Quail massacre.


and what we have here are five baby Western Bluebirds. We had 6 eggs and one never made it.
We watched these birds from from the time the parents set up camp until the time they fledged. We have Western Bluebirds visiting all the time and hope we'll see more mating soon.

Have a wonderful day! Thanks for the visits.

My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

Feeling Nostalgic?

c. 1963 Bergen Beach- Brooklyn N.Y.

Won't you consider joining us at Yesterday's Pictures

Let's share our memories, the houses we lived in, the games we played and all things nostalgia, music, stories of our past. Post photos of family and friends, your holidays, old romances, idols, the world in which you lived in yesterday and long ago.

Feel free to invite others to join. All you have to do is head on over to Yesterday's Pictures and send an email with the text: I want to join, and they will send you an invitation.

Hope to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by! My other blogspot: "ThE ArTful EyE"

Ode to A Mermaid

Mermaid by definition:
(in folklore) a female marine creature,having the head,torso and arms of a woman and the tail of a fish.

I was recently asked if I'd be interested in participating in a Mermaid swap by Michelle at Hold Dear. I have never participated in one of these swap events, so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. I was assigned a swap partner, Heidi. You can visit Heidi and her wonderfully created treasures here at Fancies, Musings and Whimsies. The objective was to put together a package of mermaid and seaside inspired ephemera, and to also include a handmade item for exchange with your partner. Below are the items I created for Heidi's package:


3x5 acrylic block reverse painted and collage ephemera
and text transparency


cigar box painted with Golden Fluid and Heavy Body Acrylics
text transparencies and other collage emphemera


used piece of Abalone shell for clasp with pearl


inside box - a mermaid diorama- shells from my travels, sea moss,marbles, sea glass, sand and glitter awash with Golden titan buff.

I created the undulating sand with gel medium, beach sand and used dryer sheets. I did not initially intend to create what has become the mermaid's tail. I saw this once the bottom layer was completely dry and and realized all it needed was a head and torso. Viola!

Here are some snippets of the ephemera that were included in her package.



Have a swimmingly good day! Thanks for stopping.


My other blogspot:"ThE ArTful EyE"

Paper or Plastic?

I went outside this a.m. to scout around the property before heading off to work and found these paper whites had pushed through the frozen hard earth. I used the plastic wrap filter in PS to alter the image which you see here below the original. It's reflects how I think these delicate flowers should look in 28 degree temperatures but as a matter of fact it's the cold snap that helped these fragrant flowers along. I found these in the wild behind our house a couple of years ago and pulled up some bulbs and replanted around the house. These little gems come back every year after the cold snap.

Here's to Spring in the horizon or your step whichever comes first!

" Worry takes just as much time as work and pays less"

Thanks for your visits! My other blog: ThE ArTfuL EyE"

Day/Time-Death Valley

My contribution to 2things weekly challenge Day/Time.

This photo taken in the spring just after heavy winter rains in Death Valley, CA. I stood in amazement, seeing this fragile flower amidst the dry desert floor, it's survival seemed effortless in this harsh landscape.

Thought for today:
" A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life"

Thanks for stopping by!
My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

IF- Blanket

"Blanket" is this week's theme at Illustration Friday

This blanket idea came to me as I was sipping my cuppa coffee and reading the Sunday paper. Why not just weave my own tale? If the media can do it, why can't I? So I embarked on creating my own blanket editorial- snip.weave.snip- to obscure and obstruct those skewed opinions presented before me. Much better reading, I'd say.

"Freedom of expression is the well that sustains civilization"

Now how about a little Cream with that coffee?

This is a great illustrated video.


Thanks for stopping! My other blogspot: "ThE ArTfuL EyE"

...more of the Cape with a sprinkle of Newport, Rhode Island

Welcome back, Mwahh...

I took this pic on one of my early morning "the way i see it" strolls through Provincetown, window shopping before the town was awake. I liked seeing the reflection of image across the street it had a double exposure feel.
For an earlier post of another mannequin window take a look here.


This photo was also taken early morning just as the sun was going to rise. I liked it alot because it was out of focus and actually has a pastel feel to it.


I've embedded the following slideshow of assorted images for your perusal.

It's a small compilation of "The Way I Saw It" in the Cape Cape and Newport. I have so many wonderful photos of this area, and these are just a few snippets taken from catalog. I have added captions so that you would know where these photos were taken.

My husband and I had taken a side trip to see the Newport Mansions. I have include some photos of these mansions and the beautiful cliff walk that surrounds the area. These were the homes of The Vanderbilt's,The Cortlandt's,the coal magnates of the Colonial Era through the Gilded Age. You can learn more about the mansions here.

Newport Rhode Island is also the home of "The International Tennis Hall of Fame", and the oldest Synagogue in America "Touro Synagogue" a place that is symbolic of the religious freedom for all Americans, "that the right of the individual freely and without governmental restraint to follow the dictate of his own conscience in religious worship could be exercised without danger to the state."

Another great find was the National Museum of Amercan Illustrator's which houses the works of the master Illustrators such as, Maxfield Parrish,J.C. Leyendecker, N.C. Wyeth,Norman Rockwell, Howard Pyle,Jessie Wilcox Smith to name a few.

I hope you learned a bit of trivia you didn't know and enjoyed your visit.

You can click on this slide show to view larger images.



I leave you with this thought:
"Learn to listen or your tongue will keep you deaf"

Please stop by my other blogspot, "ThE ArTfuL EyE"