FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS

"Spaceship EARTH: The problem for the passengers is that there is no manual to identify all of the parts and no instructions on how to operate the spaceship. " -R. Buckminster Fuller

This post is filed under the "nothing poetic, just being silly" category.

I followed no directions making this journal for my upcoming trip to Italy. I had a few moments to wait for the pages I made for the altered book round robin I'm in, to dry and thought "hey!" I can actually do two things at once, I'll make a journal.

Where am I going with this, other to bella Italia?

I spent last weekend visiting my wonderful son and his wife in Washington D.C.. We went to the Air and Space Museum. I am not usually a big fan of looking at dozens of aircraft, so I try and find smaller things to focus on.


The first thing you see walking in is the Enola Gay. For those of you that don't know......please tell me you all do know..... the Enola Gay is the airplane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.

What did I notice? Check out the "no smoking within 100ft. sign. Now clearly, someone did not follow directions. How ironic, huh?


The next sign with directions I noticed was on the Space Shuttle. There were lots. So who is supposed to follow these directions??? ME? I have this fear now that the shuttle will land in my backyard and I am going to have to follow these "rescue" directions and get those astronauts out quickly, YIKES!


I wish you could see this tag better. It says "please remove before flight". Is that the same as please remove before wearing, like when you buy clothes? What if they don't remove it, what then? What's the point, anyway? And who is in charge of removing it?


Now here is a handy item. Does one REALLY need to apply makeup while in space? For a space walk, maybe? Think you'll run into anyone?

Here is the BEST thing I saw. The food looks like crap....yes, real crap.....you know what I mean. BUT!!!!! drum roll please........THEY TAKE REAL M & M'S!!! Sign me up.

Oh.....darn. I think I changed my mind. If you look below, you'll see why.


Above, using the ideas of the brilliant minds in the aeronautical industry, I thought I'd provide directions for myself, so I'd know what to do in case I have time to actually DO something in my journal.

Well, see you guys in a little while. In the meantime, make sure you follow the directions carefully. Ciao!

"Life is one big road with lots of signs. When you are riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from the hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake up and live" - Bob Marley

BLOGGERS BY THE SEA

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." -Anais Nin


Oh yes......we had a meeting. In Ocean Grove New Jersey on a beautiful day , we, Constance, Susanna, Isabel and Sandy, got together for a picnic, poetry reading, walk about town and the beach and so much more.





Now if I could only get this blogger, making the photos BIG thing together, everything would be perfect!!! Ahhhhhhhh.........

IMITATION AND INSPIRATION

" Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing." -Salvador Dali

The above is a portion of a ceramic relief piece I did quite a few years ago. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at the home of a dear departed friend, Paula Schaefer, a woman who was an incredible inspiration to me in many ways. Some of you may remember last year at this time, I wrote about the death of her husband, Chic.

Their children have sold their home and are in the process of going through everything and cleaning things out. They told me I could come and choose a ceramic piece and some other things. I was thrilled to be able to take a piece of her spirit home with me and was very glad to have the chance to look around the house one last time.

I found that Dali quote to be especially meaningful at this time. I see and hear a lot about people imitating one another in the arts, mostly in the negative and I have to say that I don't feel that way at all.

Not only was Paula an amazing artist and inspirational in every way artistically, especially working in clay (BOY DID I EVER TRY SOME OF HER TECHNIQUES....I LOVED HER WORK),
but she was a woman with an impeccable style. Classy doesn't even scratch the surface. Cook, designer, business woman, great sense of humor, compassionate and YES.....I wanted to "imitate" her.

I photographed some things at the house that were especially "Paulesque" to me and will remember them , her and Chic with love and gratitude.

Bench on the front porch.

The curve of the , oh so beautiful sofa.

The serving cart with the bicycle wheels.


...ohhhh, that fabulous lamp.


The table and chairs where we ate some wonderful meals.


Some of Paula's pieces.


A still life of beautiful objects everywhere.


Things left in an empty studio. The energy is still present.

Some of the items I chose. The clay piece and ......for all of you who know my old brush "fetish", a beautiful used brush. Think of all of the small leftover , lovely scraps that were whisked away with that .

Imitate away, my friends.

TEXTURE

" I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject, all of the texture around it....I always want to see the third dimension of something....I want to come alive with the object." - Andrew Wyeth


This months round robin book had the theme "Texture". Again, I can only offer a sneak peek at what I have done. It has truly been an inspiring experience for me. I look forward to ,what has now become a huge box, arriving at my door each month.....at least until November when we will be completing the project.



Texture- an element of art that is the way an object feels or looks like it feels.

MY SEAT BELT WAS FASTENED

"Never ask whether you can do something. Say instead that you are going to do it, then fasten your seat belt." -Julia Cameron

I just returned from an exhausting but exhilarating trip to the Art and Soul retreat in Hampton Virginia. What you see above is a photo of some of my images before they were used in my workshops. Many of the classes that I attended were new techniques and trying to complete projects in a day was quite a challenge, as I am a MAJOR PRODUCT ORIENTED person. I thought that the seat belt quote was incredibly appropriate.

One of my instructors, Stephanie Lee (terrific BTW), told me that someone has studied the creative process and it is the equivalent of running a marathon. Try that for 5 days. I'm not complaining here, just explaining the exhausted part.

"Things are not difficult to make. What is difficult is putting ourselves in a state of mind to make them."- Constantin Brancusi

I always marvel at those people that come with this amazing plan. Sketches, a thought process and reason for what they are about to do. I operate on what is around me and on the table in front of me. No plan. Half of my creative day is arranging . Below are just a few examples of what my unplanned attack produced.......please don't compare me to George Bush!!!

From Susan Lenart Kazmers class of transparent resin pages-




Michael Demengs "morpheous box" class, a "totemic" theme was born. If you have ever wondered about taking a class with him, don't. He is a master of knowledge, fun , music and the critique. I've taken a few and I never tire of his creative energy.


Inside of my " morphous" box. are samples from my class with the lovely Jane Wynn. We learned about patinas on all types of surfaces.

I took two great classes with Stephanie Lee. Below is from her plaster meets wax workshop. Just a detail. Much of my work hasn't been completed. Many of the classes were process oriented........yikes! That's tough for me. But like I said my seat belt was fastened.

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge". -Albert Einstein

Last but certainly not least, I had such a wonderful time with all of the old and new friends that I was lucky enough to spend time with. I did not take many photos this trip. Below is one you can puzzle over. Taken after too many beers on the last night.
duh!

eb........you look maaaaahvalous!!! .....as do you, Leslie and Jerri.

DID YOU EVER WONDER....

"Alas, for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them". - Oliver Wendall Holmes

So I went to see the new Rolling Stones movie, "Shine a Light" in Imax. I loved it.

The music sounded great. They played some things that were very different from their regular play list and performed some of them with some of my favorite people, including Buddy Guy......dam right I got the blues!!! Martin Scorsese added old interview clips that were woven in beautifully and were quite humorous.

What REALLY MAKES ME CRAZY though, is when the music is rockin, there is a room full of people and NONE OF THEM ARE MOVING.

IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME? I watch something like this and hear amazing rhythms being played......I have to move. You don't even have to like the Stones. I jump up and down in my seat. My feet are bouncing. My head is swaying and nodding. I look around. Everyone else is still.

So, what would you be doing?

"Vintage" studio drawing by Karen Cole

MARGARITA ON THE ROCKS, PLEASE

The translation of the odd artsortment of photos above (the eyes are from a self portrait).....if you haven't figured it out yet is, I LOVE MEXICO!!! Yes, this travel slut went from skiing in Colorado, spent one day at home switching suitcases and headed off to Los Cabos, Mexico. It's been a yearly business/pleasure trip offered to us by one of our manufacturers. I had planned to not go this year. I thought it may be too much time away from responsibilities.......but, things fell into place nicely (don't you love when that happens).....and I was able to go.


"The whole world as we experience it visually, comes to us through the realm of color". -Hans Hoffman

There are some cultures, as in Mexico, that just sing with color. I feel so alive when I look around and am blasted by orange, pink, blue....you name it and it's painted on everything. Of course, the one time I have the time to actually sit down and sketch something I choose something quietly colorful. Perhaps if I had some decent materials with me I would have been a bit more adventurous.













I tried in vain to post while I was away. It's amazing how disconnected I start to feel. I can't decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing. The connection was beyond poor, so......to those of you that I haven't been able to connect with and answer I apologize.

In the meantime, I MUST mention what Seth is doing at thealteredpage. Get over there NOW!!!! I feel honored that I am a part of it. Have a seat and take a peek.