More good things

I have so many exciting things on my horizon the next few months I am close to bursting! Here is a piece that is mostly finished that I will put in the collage show in September. Most of you know, I am crazy for book arts and this is a collage show. I just got rolling and the next thing I knew I had a piece of hybrid art!

The Humanities in the back is the front cover of a wonderful old book, which was already in pieces, and the collage pages are between the covers of another recycled oldie.

There are a total of 16 collages in here. Some still need a coat of gel medium and some need a little text. I feel really happy to have figured all of this out. Normally, I would have just settled on an easy application which would mean I settled on a finished piece that was not exactly what I wanted. The book is bound with rings that go through the Humanities board so it is secure and won't flop around when people go through it. Believe me, it was a huge achievement for someone as technically challenged as I am.

There is a hanger on the back of the Humanities board so it can be hung up. I am trying to imagine how I can include a sign encouraging people to look through the book. I recently read an article that reminded me of the theory that simply observing a thing actually changes that thing. I want to invite people to "change" this exhibit simply by looking at it. Tossing and turning on a sleepless night last week, I went so far as to imagine a traveling exhibit of somethings like this by a variety of artists with the theme being "Look and Change: a challenge for our times."

Then there is this:

a journal made from the cardboard "sleeve" that Amazon sends your books in. Inspired by my friend Aleta who saw the potential in that bit of trash. I'm going to enter this as well; it is not filled with collage but it is a journal that IS a collage.

The black and gold paper covering the back board is over 200 years old, courtesy of my friend who sells antique prints. So, this piece is a repository of things and people that are dear to me.

There are two facing journals inside. Sort of the Drost effect.

This can be taken from the wall to write or art in them.

The frosty piece of glass that holds the book closed was a find made by my granddaughter. As you know, we had a huge fire up here several years ago and our greenhouse burned to nothing. Now bits of this amazing glass are working their way to the surface. The technicalities of making this work as a closure were suggested by the husband.

Here's another bit of thinking I've done.

The potential of the butterfly

motivates every caterpillar

and the wisdom and patience

of the caterpillar must be honored

by every butterfly.

I'm probably the last person on the planet to "get" this. Of course I have heard all of the metaphore, but for some reason I just GOT this bigger (or is it smaller?) picture.

This art and this writing are entwined in my mind. I feel like I am moving to the next place. It's not that I am dissatisfied, it's more like differentsatisfied.

Oh how I babble on. Thanks for listening while I self- obsess.

Summer at Trail's End

Thanks to all my friends and family for the nudging to post!!!!




We have been keeping cool thanks to our solar panels. We run the air night and day and have the satisfaction of sending even more power back down the grid. You are welcome.

In August, I will perform my first wedding. Yep, you read that right. I have attended several weddings officiated by what I call "Yellow Page Ministers" and I always thought how wonderful it would be to do this. After much procrastinating and with much urging from friends, I got what I need in the State of California to perform legal weddings. I am excited and have a few butterflies, this being the first and the fact that it is for good friends. Wish the beautiful couple all the best which means wish that I will do as good a job as I want to!

The day after this great affair, I am off to Roanoake Va. to attend a sculpture class with the most talented and gracious Cheryl Dolby. Take a peek here at her lovely blog and click on the side for a look at her Faces Sculpture Classl. You WILL be jealous.

Several months back, I went to Malibu for a class with another art goddess, Judy Wise and I have been working in the journal I started there. It is a bigger book than I usually make and I am getting used to having more page to work on. Here are several examples in various stages of completion.







Any thing you read on my pages are the seeds, the embryos of poems. I go back into my journal for writing prompts. It seems that the drawing inspires the writing, never the other way around. For me, that is. How about you?



Then there is the doodling! I have evolved and learned to love my doodles enough to move from scrap paper to painted journal pages.





And, the iPhone camera is still my pal. Always there, in my pocket, ready to get as excited about an image as I am when we happen on one.





See, the iPhone camera and I are still clicking away at 2 A.M.



Let's just say "several" years ago I delivered my first baby. How could I have known that gifts like this would be showered upon me from then on?



Lovely Laura demonstrates what the Husband calls the Recessive Sewing Gene. Actually, it just skipped a generation. My grandmother sewed up a storm and my mom spent her time at the machine. This lovely case, which makes carrying your favorite drawing instruments so convenient,




is actually a little quilt. Two of the strips are my journal pages that Laura printed on fabric.



This whole thing just touches my heart. It's not even my birthday or anything! A JUST BECAUSE present...Thank you little Katie!



This photo captures one of those moments that remind me that I am on an incredible journey of discovery. This guy would not budge. We tapped his tail, etc. He would just look at us. Click to enlarge and take a look at that face! He did not seem injured and moved on of his own accord later. Here is Spirit Come to Take a Look, as my old friend Martha Lou used to say.

What a wonderful Spring

we have been having here at Trails End.

Too much rain, too many clouds for some, but not for me. It may be because I'm from Cleveland, but I need rain and some overcast days. And the lush, green results are a sight to behold.

This next photo is one of my car shots, attempting to capture the magic of all of the screaming yellow on the hillsides and road sides in SoCal in the Spring. Wild Mustard and Scotch Broom everywhere. Needless to say, roaring down the freeway is not the way to capture these golden wonders. So I had some fun altering one of the shots I did get.

I'm thinking of painting this. Maybe adding a Tuscan villa in the background.

Easter was all about flowers here. I got these beauties from a dear friend

and these are from the husband. I am so lucky, I get roses all of the time.

And, we all know how addicted I am to shadows. Each season has a distinct quality of light and a distinct nuance of shadow, something I never noticed until I lived here on the ranch. Another gift of this magical place, along with the views and the opportunity to meet the nicest people on the road.

I love TED and this clip really moved me. I found it interesting and entertaining as well. It certainly is a worthy hope.

Speaking of right brain, I wish I was 5 again. I would so wear my granddaughter's shoes.

It is my intention (but we all know about intention) to blog more frequently. Next time I have some art to share with you.

Right now, I'm thinking of all of the blessings that Spring and life in general have brought to me. I'm so grateful for all of you and your kind words and encouragement. Join me in a nice cuppa?

As seen on FaceBook!

Many of you have seen multiple photos of our beloved ranch, but now you have a chance to see it like never before! Some of you know we have it on the market. We have always wanted to live at the beach and we realize we aren't getting any younger. Our realtor has arranged a beautiful web site for us and I would like to share that with you. Trails End Ranch Help us spread the word that our little piece of heaven is for sale.

I have been in Malibu

taking a wonderful class with the very special Judy Wise,

Great teacher, great food, lovely surroundings.

Photos of the many things I learned will be coming soon.

In the mean time, here is some iPhone fun.

Let me leave you with a new poem. I'd be interested to know what it says to you.

The Woman at Land’s End

You will see her at the ocean's edge

catching the lacy tide in her arms, ignoring

the moon as it demands the return of ebb and flow.

She traps stars in the tangle of her hair and when

the diaphanous Milky Way drops it’s net to retrieve

it's sparkle, it is lost to the heavens in her raven waves.

She swallows the wind in a greedy breath, starves the

snake when she steals his fangs, feeds her cats

the birds whose wings she has taken in envy.

Beware the woman at lands end.

She walks the planet trailing foaming white Chantilly,

crowned with heaven's jewels. With poison dripping

from her lips, she casts spells that conjure the whirlwind,

so desperately does she long to fly.

Lm

3/2011

As seen on FaceBook!

Sleeping Goddess

Neither Woman nor Child,
she sleeps in the misty
light of myth, sleeps in-spite
of the din of mayhem, wars
of aggression and coercion
are being waged for her soul.
Awaken, dear goddess, awaken
and proclaim your own myth
and show us how to wage wars
of love and understanding.
Awaken in nubile wisdom,
teach us to value innocent hopes and spirits.
Share the lessons of your green dreams,
tender as the first buds. Can a salted tail
catch a bird? Can a talisman protect
us from our own evil? Can the codex
birth enlightened minds?
Rise goddess, like the butterfly, deceptively
new with the old soul of that which
has crawled upon the earth.
lm/2011

The words below are part of a long piece of writing. I find it interesting how they seem to mean something different taken from their context. The woman in the photos, from which I made the stamp for the mono print, is my grandmother who raised 7 children in the depths of the depression with a hard drinking husband who regularly beat her to unconsciousness. The story does have a happy ending. My grandfather got into one of the first AA programs in the Cleveland area and once he got sober, God love him, he stayed sober. He called my grandmother his Queen and spent the rest of this life making it up to her. So my little verse is fraught with meaning.


This is a photo I took years ago in Monterey. One of those moments when you are sure that the universe put something out there just for you. I could not believe my luck when this image crossed my path. Something like the perfect shot of the three ducks that you will find many posts back. Forgive me if I've posted this before, but you know I'm on a poster kick. I think it makes a great poster and I think I'm going to go have a big one made!

I've been thinking of our Canadian friend, Tony, who passed a while ago. I took this photo while driving through the beautiful Canadian country side that you must pass through to reach their town. We took the trip to visit him, knowing he was very ill, and he died the night of the day we left. Another blessing, he was lucid and in great spirits and we were able to enjoy his company one more time.

I'm thinking of assurance that there is wisdom and love enough among us. Based on personal experience, I am sure that peace, prosperity and justice for all is headed our way. But, also from personal experience, I'm guessing it might not look like I'm expecting it to look. I just need to be open and ready to embrace it. And I need to remember we have to share, to lift each other up. Pay attention to each other, respect each other. In the meantime, I am remembering my grandmother, who not only survived, she thrived.