A GREAT READ

Yes, I am still here. Just very busy.

You must check out what is happening over at the Altered Page. Seth has created an amazing online artist question and answer series of posts, that will actually have you reading......so pour yourself some coffee, tea or a large cocktail....and get ready to be entertained.

If you don't want to read (you will) ,  just enjoy the photos and artwork.

I shall return.

TREES-SNEAK PEEK

This is a continuation of the sneak peeks I've been providing , from my altered book round robin with team USA and team Australia (just thought I'd throw that in, in honor of the Olympics).

"TREES" - copper flashing that has been "tooled" or drawn into, acrylic paint, liver of sulpher, Arches drawing paper, woodcut, pen and ink and fabric collage.

THE BEACH PART 2-THE BEACH IS A PAINT BOX

A dear friend came to visit us at the beach. She has two young children, adorable little girls.  Did we build sand castles? Did we splash in the surf? Did we bury each other in the sand? YES, just like everyone else. Did anyone else have paints and paper and use sea water to wet the paints? NO. Lucky us. 

As a former art teacher, I still get great pleasure out of seeing children play with a box of paints......and play we did.  After they got bored with the paper, we started body painting.  SWEET!

In the evening, we headed to the boardwalk , lots of people, lots of noise and food that will kill you.  Not my favorite place to hang out, but with little ones, it's a must.  The colors very much reminded me of that paint box.

I prefer the softer side.  Soft evening light.  Softer colors.  Sand like powder between your toes.

An evening breeze. Back to the beach for some sketching.

ANY BEACH WILL DO

"Live in the sunshine, 

swim in the sea,

drink the wild air....

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am currently enjoying a lovely two weeks at the beach. New Jersey, to be exact. Not the

 Riviera or the the Caribbean, but I love it non-the-less. Family and friends, digging in the sand, jumping over the waves, eating lots of any type of seafood, corn, tomato salads and slopping on the sunscreen.  Can you smell the salt air?

I've been an observer on the beach. You can really tell that some of these folks need a vacation.....BAD.  I sit and sketch under my umbrella. 

What did I see at the beach in Italy? People doing similar things. I was too busy sightseeing to lay down and just enjoy the air. 

Behold, Camogli, near sunset. The light was amazing.

For all of my writer and poetry friends, I loved this quote.....

"Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land,  wanting to fly in the air." -Carl Sandburg

FLOWER AND FLOUR~FIORE E FARINA

"Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers and never succeeding."

~Marc Chagall   

   Italy trip #2       Above- crayon and oil pastel  Below- terra cotta relief tile by Karen Cole

What ever happened to those "lazy,  hazy, crazy days of summer. I've had no time to blog. How in the world will I ever show anyone  photos of my Italy trip....and who cares? 

Trying to sort them all out is difficult, so again I have tried to narrow it down. What would a trip to Italy be without fiori (flowers) and flour (aka, pasta aka, farina).  I'll let the photos do the talking.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer and for my friends on the other side of the world....keep warm, summer will be here for you soon.

Scenes from the Roman Forum.

Painting on the wall of a church in Rome. I loved the colors.

Roman door, yes that's graffiti. I still love it.

Balcony on Rome at sunset.

Flowers in the window of the Santa Maria Novella shop in Florence.

The entry to the wonderful Villa Rosmarino in Camogli, near Porofino. Smell the rosemary?

A garden in the lovely town of Lumarzo, near Genoa.

Table at the Villa Rosmarino.

Guess what's for dinner?

My husband loves to cook. We are making our own.

The finished product.

Ravioli in Lumarzo. 

Linguini with clam sauce in Portofino.

See the salad? That's all that I'm eating now........

Salute!

"I hate flowers. I paint them because they are cheaper than models and they don't move."

~ Georgia O' Keefe

FORGOT YOUR FERRAGAMMOS?-OR FOOTLOOSE IN ITALY

Italian travel post- #1       Copper tooling, drawing and paint.

One of the highlights of my entire trip to Italy, was a "private tour" of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. To say I was blown away, would be an understatement. 

If you have ever been to Rome and the Vatican, you are familiar with the incredible crowds that wait in line and then walk in that line all of the way through the Vatican, through to the Chapel. I have done this.

We were with a group on this trip, probably 30 or so, for business. We were taken after hours and were the only ones in the museum. Imagine the Sistine Chapel.......quiet.....with room to lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling....if you wanted.

Walking to the chapel, we passed the halls hung with gorgeous old tapestries that I barely noticed before.  I specifically noticed the footwear on the people. Is there anything that isn't beautifully designed in Italy?

These people must surely be in awe of the sandals.

Yes, it's true, you are not supposed to take photos. .....well everyone else was doing it....and I did not use a flash.

Take note of how much blue Michaelangelo used in the Judgement Day scene on the far wall and that he did not use much on the ceiling.  Blue was one of the most expensive colors. You had to grind Lapis in order to get it. He could not afford it for the ceiling which was completed before the far wall.

Yes, yet another shadow shot. Me and one of the many beautiful maps of Italy in the museum.

Stay tuned ...... more travel shots to come.

We had an amazing time.

" I am a poor man and of little worth, who is laboring in that art that God has given me, in order to extend my life as long as possible."   - Michaelangelo

TENERE D'OCCHIO -KEEP AN EYE ON

Just returned this afternoon from an amazing trip to Italy. I'm not sure what day it is, but since my photos are not sorted....my suitcase hasn't been emptied, for crying out loud......I thought I would at least post two sneak peeks from my last altered book I worked in before I left. The theme on this one is "Observation".

So.....tenere d'occhio, which translated means" keep an eye on" things around here and soon you will see some of my Italian photos.

Btw- these are mixed media pieces. I'm using alot of tooled copper these days and paint.

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