Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Incredible Story
Y'all know those touchy-feely email that vring to you all those cozy fuzzy wonder stories, right? We all get them, they go round and round and round.
Well, I got this today from Amir, who added "I decided you will appreciate this story".
He sent it to me in Hebrew, and I liked it so much I tried to find it in a langage y'all can read. And while at it, I discovered the incredible website of sickipedia (where I found this one).
In 1986, Dan Harrison was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.
The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.
As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.
The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being
trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr. were standing.
The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.
Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the nclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.
The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly. . .
. . .
. . . Probably wasn't the same elephant!
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin', Nature, People
Friday, September 05, 2008
ArtPact #65 - Addendum
Some of you asked if I would post what I wrote about my pieces in the "Earth Expressions" show.
As I stated, we were asked to write a short statement that relates the artwork to the theme of the show. Many of the artists chose to skip it, which I can relate to, as I personally don't like to explain my art. I'd rather let my art speak for itself. One reason is that my art doesn't have the accent that I do when I speak English. But moreover, I think that giving a very explicit title to your work or saying too much about it, prevents the viewers from interpreting it in their own ways, which are always fascinating to follow.
Imagine 'The Mona Lisa' was titled 'The Mona Lisa smiles because she has such bad teeth'. Now, wouldn't that take away all the mystery and reduce it to be yet-another-portrait?
Still, being the highly obedient me (for the readers who know me - please do not choke on that last statement...), I decided to give it a go, and found it to be a fun experience: putting in words what I've put with my brush (or printer) on the paper.
As I said, The JohnnyB was a tremendous help (both finding tittles and what to write) - he even expanded his services to gallantly come to the rescue of a lovely maiden who was also fighting with this kind of writing. Hmm... dare I think he was also enjoying it?
Thing is, once I got into it, I became unstoppable, so the 2-sentence-only limitaton was actually an even better exercise at being succinct. Kinda like writing a haiku.
And so, there we go.
Uhm... ah... (just clearing my throat here)
(To Bill of the On Painting blog, the title for this one is 100% courtesy of The JohnnyB, and I do thoroughly apologize if the following shatters your bloody vision of me killing my models...).
Title: "Dust to Dust"
"This portrait was painted with walnut ink (a natural product) on Tyvek (a manmade product that lasts forever). The more the painting materialized, it became about the fleetingness of life versus the permanency of some of our creations."
Title: "Open Spaces Blues"
"I took this photo while hiking in an overcrowded park. With all the effort put into preserving open spaces, so that everyone enjoys the same little spot, are we really protecting nature? "
The next one was tricky, as I did not want to reveal WHAT is in the photo. I have quite a few photographs where I wanted the viewer to concentrate on the shapes and textures and bits of color, plus it is so much fun to see people trying to guess what it is. So, I had to keep it very vague. Did I mention I don't like to give away too much? This, by the way, is perhpas my current favorite photo. Perhaps because I just cannot paint non-objective paintings (I always have to toss a figure in...), so taking abstract photos answers that need of mine.
Title: "Found Textures #4"
"So many times I stop in my tracks when I see yet another proof that Mother Nature is the best artist of us all. This is one in a series of photographs on textures found in nature."
That's it. Now I get my act together, frame the painting (the photos are already framed, phew!), update my Bio, go help hang the show (if my Plantar Fasciitis ridden foot allows me - yeah, it still hurts but getting better, thank you for asking!), and attend the reception next Friday.
Now, what does one wear to an "Earth Expressions" themed reception?
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Nature, Wonders of The JohnnyB
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Art Pact #65
Still not really painting, but I hope for a change soon.One of the big shows of the year is coming up. This year it's going to be a bit different, as - in addition to the usual show and reception, we'll be having an auction, with the sales profits going to the Shelter Box Project.
And, with the judge and auctioneer being Stefan Baumann from The Grand View TV show. Should be a very interesting reception.
Anyway - as I said in the previous post, we could each submit up to 3 artworks for this show for them to be juried.
Last week we got the verdict of who got in, with how many pieces.
All my 3 pieces made it, plus this one, a photograph that I am donating for the auction:
Since the passing year was a very non-painting one for me, I entered one painting (the serious dude shown at the top of this post - sorry, there was simply no way to photograph this painting in a way that will do him justice!), with the others being photographs.
Hey - photography is art, too!
The theme of the show is Earth Expressions, and we were asked to write something that connects the piece to the theme. With a great help for The JohnnyB, some cool titles and blurbs were created.
Hanging and reception is next Friday, as well as the awards announcements.
In my pre-Plantar Fasciitis days, I have volunteered to help hang the show. Need to see if my foot will back me up on that task.
Stay tuned.
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
97 Degrees In The Shade...
...That's where the temperatures were aiming at on Saturday, totally ignoring the dozens of artists who assembled on the grounds of the Triton Museum in Santa Clara to display their art.
97 degrees (36 Celsius) before the end of June - as if the weather decided to justify the name of the event "Midsummer Art Celebration".
I was showing with two organizations - watercolors with one of them, photography with the other. It took A LOT of preparation and work, from choosing what to display, to printing it (photography) or adding last-minute touches (paintings), to matting and framing and creating labels and deciding on pricing and designing myself two business cards (one for each display) - throughout the whole time, The JohnnyB provided moral support and helped me choose, price, frame, assemble, arrange, stay sane...
...After a night of troubled sleep, I woke up early Saturday. We loaded our two cars - and off we went, to the fair. A frantic email from one of the organizers has sent The JohnnyB off to buy loads of ice and bottled water, to make sure his lovely wife and her artist friends (well, at least the ones in both groups she was showing with) would not go into a domino-effect of fainting. While he was away, I hung my paintings in one place, ran to hang the photography in another, ran back to the paintings site to arrange and rearrange, back to the photography display - it was damn hot!
But at 10am, as the place opened to the public, we were a all smiling and calm, (I wish I could say 'cool', but that would be a lie - we were all flushed and sweaty by then), awaiting potential collectors.
It was my very first time to be in an art fair as one of the displaying artists. I never thought I would, as I always felt there's something sad about sitting around waiting for people to come see your art. I mean, you put your soul on the display panels, you wait for appreciative eyes, and sometimes all you meet is a bored indifferent look - - -
- - - ah, wait, but that happens anyway, even with people who come to our house and look (or don't) at the art hung on the wall with no comment.
So, I decided to go for it, with both organizations.
It was a hot, hot day. One booth (with the watercolors) was underneath some nice shady trees, the other in what seemed to be the hottest spot on the planet - no shade, save for a couple of clouds who came by to visit around noon, and then decided to pull a joke and rain on us all for 2 minutes. It was short, but enough to send some artists flying in panic to save their art from the conniving drops. I just enjoyed the much needed shower, and then it got a bit more bearable, with some breeze.
All in all, it was a fun day.
Lots of mingling with fellow artists, not so much - alas - with visitors to the event, as, well, not many have come. Lack of publicity, plus a tucked away location, topped by the heat, kept people indoors and away from our art. 
As the more experienced amongst us exclaimed, it was the worst sales event ever. I wouldn't know, as it was my very first time at that. Yes, I hoped to sell something; I have never showed such a body of work at one time (6 paintings plus 6 photographs plus 5 matted pieces) - but once I saw that most people came looking for small inexpensive things, with very few exceptions, I managed to reset my expectations, and prevented myself from being disappointed. All the artists got into this sarcastic mode, in which a sale of a $4 card was celebrated with cheers and cold water. I didn't have time to print cards, so I wasn't amongst the celebrated ones.
It was a huge learning experience, an intoxicating feeling of getting very positive feedback on my photography (which was a novelty to those who know me mainly as a painter), and an initiation by fire (well, it was hot enough!) to the world of art fairs.
And now, we rest.
Labels: Art, Major Achievements, Nature
Thursday, May 29, 2008
ArtPact #55
Among other activities, our watercolor organization arranges weekly paint outs (or, to be fancy, plein-air painting outings). I usually do not participate in them, as they collide with our critique group meetings, and I am not quite a landscape painter.
But today was an afternoon session. Plus it was held in a Japanese garden. Plus the organizer, PleinieJ, is a wonderful fiber artist (in addition to being a great plein air painter), so my sister - also a fiber artist - wanted to look at PleinieJ's work and show off with her own (after impressing the critique group with them this morning. Hey, one of the works had gallstones - which she incorporated into the piece after undergoing a gall bladder surgery).So we went.
It's a lovely place, as Japanese gardens tend to be: the token wooden bridge, a pond filled with koi fish, ducks, sculpted little trees, background rocks - and I am sure somewhere in the garden was hiding the inevitable bamboo thingy with water dripping through. Y'know, the thingy that makes this noise without which a Japanese garden is just not it. Painters with their easels were spread all around the garden, rendering the beauty with their brushes; my sister was taking photos as if she's never seen a Japanese garden before (well, she hasn't, actually); and I - I looked for something to sketch.
I tried drawing the ducks... the plants... almost attempted the koi - all with no success.
And suddenly - an adorable chubby little kid, accompanied by his mom and aunt approached the pond. He stood there fascinated, admiring the ducks and fish and water and little tadpoles and whatnot. The other painters frowned, as he blocked their view - but I was beaming, as I have found my subject!!
I skecthed his gesture quickly, as - being a little kid, he moved quite a bit, but I recalled what our incredible sketching teacher, Jim Smyth, used to tell us: "Little kids and athletes have a very limited repertoire of poses - if you sketch them, and they move, just wait till they get back to that pose again". As always, he was right.
So, I sketched the little guy, trying to capture his nonchalant yet curious pose. One minute - that's all I had, before he abandoned the ducks and came to see what I was doing. I showed him the sketch. He was utterly unimpressed, informed me his name was Freddie, and went back to the pond. They left, and I sat there, adding some colors and the surroundings. Then they came back. Freddie was very keen on feeding the ducks (by that time, my camera was ready!). While he was becoming popular with the ducks, his aunt approached me, and after a lot of hesitation asked if she could take a photo of my sketch.
"Sure", I replied graciously.
But then, I gave it another thought, and said "actually... let ME take a photo, and I'll give you the original".
She was quite surprised by the offer, and after I made sure she indeed likes it (and won't just toss it in the nearest garbage can), I insisted.
I took a photo, signed the sketch, and carefully tore the page out of my sketchbook. Again, Freddie came to see what the commotion is about. Again, he couldn't care less, showed me the bag of marshmallows he took out of his mom's basket, and exclaimed "Mine!".
His mom offered me one - and he tried to hide his anxiety. I politely said "No" (you don't want to upset the model!) but she insisted, so I carefully took one piece. By the time my sister was offered a marshmallow, Freddie's wide open eyes were showing increasing signs of distress. As tempting as it was, we rejected a second piece. After all, that would have been like taking candy from a baby...
We parted as friends, and after a while, I admit had some pangs of regret that I gave the sketch away, as I liked it quite a bit. But hey - a random act of kindness. Plus, I took so many photos of Freddie, that he might become a series one day.
Obviously, Freddie's own opinion was that a piece of marshmallow was way too high a price to pay for a sketch...
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Nature, People, Time Out
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Self Portrait With Flower?
If anything, I find this quite sad.
Sent to me by Yev - Thanks!
Labels: Art, Creativity of Others, Damn Technology, Meta Bloggin', Nature, WTF?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Recipe: Not for the Faint of Heart
Sometimes, the simplest ingredients make for the best results.
Here's a very simple recipe that I'm trying for the third time in the last couple of months.
Ingredients:
- Water. Lots and lots of water.
Directions:
- Pour water into pots, or fill an electric kettle. Or two.
- Wait for the water to boil, while thinking to yourself "Ah, I should have used warm tap water to make it faster!".
- Bring water to a boil - better to have several pots/kettles, so they can boil in parallel- you'll need it soon!
- Turn burner to maximum temperature.
- Carefully carry pot with boiling water to the backyard.
- Pour water on the highway of swarming ants that are walking along the rim of the cement under cover of the night.
- Concentrate first on those carrying big white eggs, those with wings (queens to be) and those that are bigger (the fat-ass VIPs of the colony who came out of the nest to give emergency orders).
- Return to kitchen.
- Refill pot (this time with warm tap water!), put on burner.
- Take next pot outside. You know what to do.
- Repeat forever - or until you are exhausted.
- Drive away any remorseful thoughts of barbarism.
- Ignore the itchy feeling you suddenly get all over your body. This is psychosomatic. ,
- Hope that ants do not hold grudge. They know where you live.
For a special treat, if you see a veeeeeeeeeery big and long ant with a lot of ants trying to lead her somewhere safe - go for it! it may very well be the queen. Don't forget to courteously bow before sending her to the queens' heaven. She is, after all, royalty.
It's 2am now, and I am after 4 rounds of the above.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Good night.
Labels: Damn Technology, Nature, Scary, This Old House, WTF?
Monday, May 05, 2008
ArtPact #53
Time really flies in the blogosphere... I haven't published an art-related post for just over 3 weeks - and it seems like forever.
Haven't been painting recently - partly because we went on a 10-day vacation to Utah and Arizona, for some glorious views and time-out.
I still have the sights carved on the inside of my eyelids: the majestic rocks of Zion, the awesome hoodoos of Bryce against the snowy background (yup, there's still snow on the slopes), the sensual spirals of Antelope Slot Canyon and the overall sublime vastness of the desert. And all those textures, shapes, lines, colors - a true feast for the eyes, especially when the eyes belong to an artist. Mother Nature sure has an incredible exhibit out there!
I took hundreds of photos, and yes, I did take my sketching kit, but it turned out into one of these trips that were too hectic to sketch.
And yet - on the very last afternoon in Zion, while The JohnnyB took his nap, I sat in the garden of the incredible B&B (Harvest House - highly recommended!!!), thoroughly enjoying the tranquility of the sorroundings, and tried to transfer to paper the feeling of having The Watchman cliff facing me eye to eye.I reached for my sketchbook, but then saw the watercolor postcards pack that I carry with me on every trip, but never used them.
"OK then - postcard it is!", I decided. I'll make one for my sister and send it to her.
Ambitious? Of course!
And... probably not the sharpest idea to try and capture such a sight on a 4"x6" piece of paper!
I made two attempts, of which I am bravely posting the least disastrous one. It was fun - but it makes me think the world would be a better place if I stuck with painting people...
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Driving, Nature, Vacation
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
UTAH Rocks: From Zion to Bryce
After another wonderful breakfast at the Harvest House B&B, we bade farewell to Springdale. We were not happy to leave, as we really fell for Springdale, the B&B, Zion... but - Bryce was awaiting.
I have to confess here: when we planned this vacation, Zion was more of a must-do for me. I didn't expect it to be special. Nor beautiful. Nor impressive. Just a park that needs to be visited coz it was on the way. I basically wanted to be done with it and get going to the real attractions. And so, when I saw Zion with all its glory, I was utterly stunned, to say the least.
What I really yearned to see was Bryce Canyon and Antelope Slot Canyon. And now we were heading there.
But, just before leaving Zion, we went through the little ghost town of Grafton, of which we heard from a guest at the B&B, who told us about the town and the graveyard. My imagination went flying into full-gear, wallowing in images of ruined buildings against the dramatic mountains, with tumbleweeds rolling in the gloomy wind and the spirits of the deceased still haunting the graveyard.
Nope.
A bunch of few well-preserved buildings, and a graveyard that was well kept. No ghosts. No mystery.
It was interesting, though, to see the plate that listed down the causes of deaths in the particularly unlucky year of 1866, from "Killed by Indians" to "swing broke". 
Another interesting thing was to see the graves of the Mormon settlers, all with proper gravestones, full names, dates and inscriptions, side by side with three graves of Indians who were probably converted to be Mormons, but were - apparently - not worthy of a gravestone nor a full name. And so, their graves are marked with little wooden signs saying "Ind. Wiley", "Ind. Puss" and "Cedar Pete". Y'see, they were not even worthy of fully spelling the word Indian. Makes you think, eh?
Interesting place.
And we proceeded to Bryce, driving through the scenic Utah byway 89 - which suddenly started to be spotted with white!
WHITE???
Yup!
Patches of snow that became frequent and bigger.
Lunchtime was getting close, and we were getting hungry - but all the little towns we drove through seemed utterly deserted. 
I mean, Grafton suddenly looked like it had a lively rich community life in comparison...
Hmm - not a fun feeling, and it was a bit surreal, verging on unnerving - until we reached the town of Hatch, and a sign that pointed at a restaurant that claimed to be open! With tears of gratitude, we sat at a table, and enjoyed a buffalo hamburger (never had it - very tasty) and the view from the window.
With renewed energy, we hit the road again.
The scenery changed, with a lot of pine forests dipping their feet in white patches of snow, and a lot of rock formations that got me very excited, as they started to look like the photos of hoodoos I saw online.
We were - apparently - in Dixie National Forest, and came to the Red Canyon. Gorgeous place that made me wonder how come it was not mentioned as a highlight, as it had such cool rocks! The JohnnyB said that a lot of people who arrive at the Red Canyon think it doesn't get better than this, so they don't bother to continue to Bryce.
We bothered.
I was so anxious to see this legendary canyon - just couldn't wait to get there. Finally arriving at the entrance, we went to the visitor center, where we read the somber warnings about hiking in Bryce. The keyword was hiking boots. We didn't have any. We had good sturdy hiking shoes, but the ranger we spoke to was very strict on that, giving us apocalyptic prophecies of how crucial it is to have good grip for the ankles. We started to contemplate getting hiking boots at the general store of the little town(?) of Ruby's Inn, but as we asked him about the trails that really captured our attention, we learned that some of them were closed because of snow. As in 5-6 feet of snow!
OK then - we decided that our hiking shoes are enough, and we'll stick with the non-snowy parts.
We left the visitor center, checked in to our accommodations in the nearby small town of Tropic - and The JohnnyB got a lot of points by offering to give up on his nap and go see Bryce.
We went back to Bryce and headed towards to the first overlook, Sunset Point, to get a first glimpse of Bryce Canyon
- - -
- - - and to have words fail us.
Labels: Nature, Photohgraphy, Time Out, Vacation
Saturday, April 26, 2008
UTAH Rocks: Zion
5 days since we got back - and I'm starting to get used to having no desert around me. No cliffs, no majestic views other than traffic lights and Safeway signs. No living out of a suitcase, no more hiking shoes or Teva sandals composing my footwear wardrobe. It's good to be home, but - I am missing the views, the fresh air, the stars, the silence, that sense of awe that I felt wherever I looked.
Time to reminisce, then.
We flew to Las Vegas on Saturday, 2 weeks ago - one day later than planned, but let's forget this part.
Having never been to that city, I pressed my nose in anticipation against the window of the airplane, and was very surprised to see how small it actually is. I imagined it so much bigger, and very different. It was almost surreal to see a group of tall buildings bunched up, surrounded by a vast area of, well, nothing. I was very curious to see it up close, so we drove through The Strip.Hmm... I was actually amused to see the the mighty sphinx of Luxor ogling the Statue of Liberty, the juxtaposition of Eiffel Tower with Rio, and the cocktail of Tropicana with a sprits of Mandalay Bay, all garnished with the Bellagio. OK then... got the idea after a couple of minutes, but we were yet to make our way out of the busy traffic. I'm sure it's much more impressive at night with the lights and all. Plus - I wanted to see nature!
And so, after a few left turns and a quick lunch (In-n-Out seemed like the best choice under the circumstances), we started to head towards the little town of Springdale, UT, that resides on the edge of Zion National Park.
It didn't us take long to start enjoying the feel of the desert - weird cacti on the roadside grabbed our attention, and the winding road among cliffs had a great positive impact on our stressed-out mood.
Arriving at Springdale, we checked into the Harvest House B&B, overlooking The Watchman cliff. We had high expectations. Very high, in fact, as it was rated #1 on Trip Advisor. Got a very warm welcome from Tom, the owner, and followed him to our room on the second floor. WOW! Great room, meticulously clean to the extent that you are almost afraid to step in it - and the whole house had this wonderful fresh smell that is still a riddle to us. And - as I stepped out of the room to the private porch, The Watchman was, like, right there! As if it's the most natural thing in the world to have this majestic cliff peeking at the window. The room - and the breakfast - exceeded our expectations - this place gracefully made its way to the top 3 B&B we've ever stayed in (and we have a lot of B&Bs in our histories), in all aspects.Since we arrived in the evening, we took a couple of hours to fall in love with the very cute town of Springdale, its many little shops and the friendly people strolling around, before having a wonderful birthday dinner at The Spotted Dog café. Two friendly guys were sitting at the table next to us, looking like the ultra-hikers type, so I asked them what they recommend for newcomers who have one day only in the park. They diagnosed us as out-of-shape rookies (well, sadly, we were!) and told us about the easier ways to enjoy Zion.
The morning after, we had a wonderful breakfast prepared by Tom, the B&B owner. The star was a divine stuffed French toast - a dish I have never had before and I would give a lot to have again! That was accompanied by an interesting conversation with the two other couples who stayed at the B&B: one Mormon couple, and one very yuppie couple from Los Angeles. Quite a contrast, eh?
And - we headed to the park. We started off by a drive through the tunnel (very cool!!) and a hike to the Zion Overlook, where The JohnnyB has discovered - much to his dismay - that he has joined the rest of us mortals by developing a fear of heights. (Ah, I still recall when I first found out I adopted this fear - four years ago, on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as we were climbing it! Not a good place to discover such a thing, so I just kept going, trying to look good in pale...). Anyway, looking down the overlook became a bit of an unexpected challenge, but the views were remarkable nonetheless.
See the tiny white spot sorrounded by a red circle in the photo below? (this red circle is my ArtPact for the day...). That's a white tour bus that had the courtesy to climb up the road and serve as a nice perspective reference so y'all can appreciate the size we're talkin' about.
From there, we drove back, parked the car next to the visitor center, and took the shuttle all the way to the Temple of Sinawava, taking the time to get off at some stops in order to overuse the "Wow!" word and take photos galore.
We took the shuttle back, and went for the Riverside Walk - a nice stroll (can't really call it a hike, as it's on a paved trail) that takes you down the Virgin River. A very popular route, so it seems, as it attracted quite a few fellow visitors.
We heard a lot about The Narrows and the fun walk in the water that takes you to the cliff called Wall Street - TexieD told me that was one of the best parts of Zion - but that trail was closed for the day. Too much water flowing too fast in too low a temperature. Bummer.
Still - The JohnnyB would never give up the opportunity to dip his feet in water. A true Minnesotan is not afraid of the cold. So, as we arrived at the river, he took his dusty hiking shoes off, and dipped - - -
- - - And, 10 minutes later, his feet got back to their natural color. A shame, really, as he was quite cute in his transformation into a smurf.We went back to Springdale for dinner. this time, went for the Switchback Grill. Another nice, friendly restaurant with decent food, that made me very happy because their presentation of the food resembles the scenery of Zion, with mashed potatoes and other sides arranged like the rock formations in the park. Now, that's creative!
And, after an obligatory orange sunset (oh yes, that's what it looks like. Really. Flaming rocks against the cobalt blue skies, and so much silence!), we hit the sack. A long day - and Bryce Canyon - were awaiting us.
More to come.
Labels: Holidays, Nature, Time Out, Vacation
Thursday, April 24, 2008
UTAH Rocks!
And so does Arizona!
Came back on Monday afternoon, after 10 days in the deserts of Utah and Arizona. Although I never got to see that specific location that I was dreaming about, our eyelids now carry dozens of stunning views engraved inside them, along with Lots of new places, lots of different weather (from the hot Zion to the snowy slopes of Bryce), lots of people and lots of stories.
And - LOTS of rocks and red dirt. So many textures and lines and shapes and colors - and so, so many photos... The above is a tiny sample of the hundreds (yup) that I took.
Oh, and one shirt that has the brilliant title of this post.
Now it's time to get back to the suburban life, and try to digest all that we've seen. More details to come, I think.
Labels: Creativity of Others, Nature, Photohgraphy, Vacation
Thursday, March 06, 2008
ArtPact #50
Woo Hoo - made it to 50 ArtPacts! And it took just over 15 months (the first one being in November 2006).
Not too bad.
As I mentioned last week, spring is in the air. We've had some gorgeous days, and now it's cooling down again. Still, there's a lot of bloom, the neighborhood birds are coming up with new CDs and everything feels, well, different.
Which is probably why I suddenly got fed up with my usual colors. As you probably know, I often paint with a lot of neutral colors and subtle hue changes, with hardly any intense pure bright colors. If you had to make a list of 5 painters you know who paint cheery paintings, I bet my name would not come up. Come to think of it, if the list was supposed to have 50 painters, the result would not change.
But the last week I was tired of all that. I wanted to reach for the oranges, the yellows, the reds, even considered the pinks (ahhhhh, the horror!) - all the warm colors that sit in my drawer and look at me with big eyes full of deprivation and sorrow each and every time I go for the blues (pun intended).
I was also kinda annoyed that I did not get to paint for a while, as I was busy with the show I helped organizing and hanging, plus other stuff that needed to be done for our organization - I wanted to bloody paint!!!
I do have a painting in the making, but it's yet another somber one, and I just didn't feel like agonizing over it (plus, it's my first painting that involves hands, and they are quite challenging, so it did not contribute to a cheery state of being).
So, last evening, I just went for it. Just for fun. Decided to work from a photo sent to me by Dinush whose portrait I painted in the previous ArtPact. The photo is of the conductor of the choral group in which my sister and Dinush sing in back in Israel. This image was stewing in my mind for a couple of weeks; not only does it have a wonderful light pattern, I was also captured by the attitude and the posture. I also want to start doing more figures and go beyond the face. As I pulled the tubes of long-forgotten warm colors out of the drawer, they blinked against the light (poor things, they are so used to the cozy darkness of my art cabinet). I did a very simple drawing, and started to have fun with color. Worked without a break for about 3 hours, during which The JohnnyB came home, made lasagna from scratch (as in starting with flour, water and eggs for the pasta itself - that kind of scratch!!), took a break for dinner, and proceeded to work on it till about 2:30am. It was the kind of painting that just kept happening and told me what needs to be done next. I couldn't just leave it in the middle and go to sleep. That would just be impolite.
I painted it on Tyvek - I am finally starting to get the hang of this surface, discovering the good and the bad with every new painting I do on do, and falling in love with it each and every time. It keeps challenging me, never ceases to surprise (for better and worse), prevents me from getting too tight and forces me to find new creative solutions to the problems that arise during the painting, making sure there's never a dull moment while working on it. All that, while proving this incredible texture - What more can you ask for?
When I showed the painting to The JohnnyB, he said with sheer astionishment "I love the colors!". I don't think I've ever used such vivid colors in a painting without toning them down. Our critique group responded with similarl shock, and then came up with a petition that I continue to paint with bursting color. Well, I had such fun painting like this, I think I just might do that occasionally.
previous ArtPact ... ...next ArtPact
Friday, February 29, 2008
Spring. ish.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A Thousand Words - And Then Some #19
Sometimes even I find myself putting down the camera. Hard times call for sacrificing documentary photography in order to grab weapons of mass destruction.
In short:
One ant on our bedroom ceiling. Rest her soul. During this discovery, I was talkin' on the phone to LimaB, who had a field day on me getting freaked about it.
Apparently, my gut feeling was correct. It always is.
Went out to the garage to fetch something from the drier - - -
- - - and a small section of the floor was practically moving. Lo and behold: a trail of ants from underneath a shelf in the garage was trekking all the way to the other end, up the garage sink leg and upwards along the wall. Some of them were very big and different in shape, which means it was a popular venue to which the VIPs of the nest also came, black-tie, valet parking and all (not sure it was the queen, though). They all seemed to really like Miracle Grow, which made me ponder - but I did not stop to have a chat about their queer taste. I prefered to put them all in the RIP state of being.
Investigating where they may come from was in vain. Outside, the sky was blue and the birds were chirping and the world looked innocent and totally ant-less.
Only then I saw some of those critters rushing out of our cactus planter.
"It's been a while since I've last watered the cacti", I thought, and poured a glass of water into one of them - - -
<--------- - - - - - - and that was the immediate result.
WHOA!!!
Swarming is an understatement.
A MAJOR understatement.
Y'see, this plant is a light green cactus. See the delightful blossoms on top of its finger-like thingies?
These are about seven thousand sixty nine billion three hundred seventy two million four thousands five hundred and sixty three ants.
Could be sixty four. It was hard to tell - they were moving fast! What am I, Rain Man?
By all means, click on the photo to see it larger and up close while you're sitting at your safe ant-less house. (not a bad macro photo for someone in an acute shock, eh?)
Not sure if that is the source, but The JohnnyB is going on a quest for that Combat thingy that CherkyB recommended.
So . . . anyone knows a pet store that's carrying ant eaters?
.
previous 1000 Words... ...next 1000 words
Labels: Nature, Scary, This Old House, WTF?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Sun-Day
Breaking news: sun came out this weekend! 
I know y'all are thinking why would anyone from California even bother to mention the weather - but we did have our share of cold gray wet windy bleak wet rainy and rainier spell in the past couple of weeks. Did i mention it was wet?
So, after several weekends of staying at home like grumpy hermits, socializing with our many many pet ants, we finally went out, blinking against the sun.
Yesterday we went to an exhibit where WackieM, StampieJ and some other artists were showing their artwork. As many others, I have seen a lot of WackieM's creations on her blog. Which is why it was so very cool to see them face to face, in real life! Much, MUCH more impressive and inspiring. Da woman rocks! Add to that her bubbly cheery unassuming personality, and you'd undertstand why is was such pure fun. The JohnnyB, as usual, was painfully honest in expressing his opinion about her work. Don't get me wrong - he likes her work quite a bit, but he did have his share of comments which he did not hesitate to share with her. I wonder if he was getting back at her for the famous sentence of the month. I am starting to suspect The JohnnyB is much more into what we call happy safe art, and not so much into art loaded with emotion which I tend to adore (and sometimes manage to create).
We enjoyed the other artists' work as well, only eventually The JohnnyB has reached the limit of the amount of the artistic patience that was bestowed upon him, and so we had to leave very early (from my point of view!), had an alfresco lunch at the only restaurant that bothered to put tables outside in the midst of February (best hamburger in a long, long time!) , and went back home.
And yet, I wanted more sun, more fresh air, less walls.
So today, we went to a nearby county park, located 15 minutes drive from our house. In the (soon-to-be-6-years!) time that I am here, we've never ever went to that park. Outrageous, right? Well, The JohnnyB lives in this area 15 years and has never been there either.
Took us forever to find a parking spot. I think everyone was celebrating what felt like the first day of spring. It was soooooooooooo beautiful, so warm, so sunny, so blueskyish - would have been a shame to spend such a gorgeous day indoors.
We found out this is one great park, full of majestic oak trees and trails galore that combine uphill sections with a blessed majority of flat strolling. We are painfully aware of how much we suck when it comes to being in shape - and today we kept getting constant reminders of that each and every time we passed many a joggers whose breath was not nearly as heavy as ours after a 30-second slight-slope... Shame on us!
It ended up being one of those nothing-to-write-home-about days. Just a hike in the park, looking at the animals at the "model farm" they have there with chicken and napping pigs and curly sheep and a nice little vegetable garden and lots of happy people walking around with hats, providing me with some cool reference photos. Oh yes, and some very cool shadows.
See, I am learning to highly appreciate and cherish the dull moments.
What is that you're asking? Ants?
Oh, they kept popping for visits, and we think we've finally found their entry way into the shower. But why ruin a perfect day discussing them creatures?
Labels: Nature, Photohgraphy, Time Out
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
5.6
That's what they say the magnitude was.
Around 8pm this evening, we were walking the aisles in Safeway, looking for cool candy (ended up with lots, including 2 bags of body parts candy - I think we're gonna be very popular with the little costumed candy bandits tomorrow night).
There we were, hunting for fun sugary stuff, when The JohnnyB stopped in his tracks and started to look over and yonder, at directions that had clearly nothing to do with candy. I followed his eyes, looked up and saw the signs above the cashiers, swaying in the wind.
Only, there was no wind.
"It's shakin'", said the woman next to us, looking significantly concerned.
I, in my blessed oblivion, just gazed at her, totally clueless as for what it's all about. And yet, her wide open eyes made me very alert. I felt a cold hand gripping my heart, as everyone now stopped and just stood there, waiting. For what?
And then it hit me. Earthquake!
I wanted to rush and find a solid and safe place to stand under, I wanted to run outside, anywhere but next to heaps of candy and shelves and high ceilings and animated "Express Line - 15 items" signs...
...but everyone just kept standing still, as if it was a moment of silence. As if time froze. Why aren't they moving? Why isn't anyone going anywhere?? It was all so surreal!
And then it was over.
Everyone proceeded with their shopping, the signs started to slowly come to a halt, and I - I was a vision in different shades of white.
With shaken legs and melting knees, I followed The JohnnyB along the aisles, walking very close to him, chanting, "Why did we not go out? What were we supposed to do? When is the right time to run? Where should we have gone? Whom should I have followed? wh - - - ".
"Relax", said the man, "It was nothing".
5.6!! nothing? NOTHING??
On the way home, he gave me a thorough review on earthquakes, what to do if and when. "If you can get outside quickly, do it", he enlightened the uninitiated. "Otherwise, find a strong beam or a doorway to stand under".
"So, why not always just run outside, if that's the best thing?", I inquired, using my common sense.
"Because you may not have time. When it hits, it's going very quickly", he patiently explained.
"So why didn't we go out immediately when it started?", I wondered.
"'cause we waited to see if it's a big one", came the self-assured reply.
"But you said that when it hits, it's quick!!?!??!", I insisted.
"Well...", said The JohnnyB, looking at me with the patronizing disdain of he who experienced the Loma Prieta '89 earthquake, "you just know".
I remained quiet, taking the time to fully appreciate and absorb the highly educational value of that profound bit of information. I am so glad I asked.
In fact, The JohnnyB is quite surprised at me. Y'see, I grew up and lived in a city that had its share of being the ultimate target for terror attacks and exploding busses and cafes. (Some of you may have heard of it: Jerusalem). Several years later, we were the target for Saddam's Scad missiles and the US Patriots missiles that added to the damage and fear. You just got used to it and went on with your life. Some people here even insist that I could kill a man with my hands. And after all that, I get all freaked out by a little tiny itsy bitsy earthquake?
Well, yes, I do!
I'm going to bed now, and shall do my best to follow the helpful advice my concerned loving sister gave me over the phone: "be careful".
Labels: Acculturation, Nature, WTF?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Fall?
Not to tread on the corns of those from Austin or other tropical areas...
But here, in sunny and warm California, we are starting to spot clouds in the sky.
- - - The last few evenings were somewhat-chilly.
- - - - - - And the leaves of our neighbor's tree are deep in premature blush.
I do believe that autumn is coming.
Oh, that's Keith Jarret, playing "Autumn leaves".
Labels: Meta Bloggin', Nature, Stating The Obvious
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Color Green
The JohnnyB is back from vacation.
Since he spent most of it being seriously sick, he obviously had a lot of time to contemplate some serious life issues.
One of them is reducing carbon footprint by, like, not eating.
Kinda.
So, drop that bag of chips, put away that beer (yes, you!) and go read it!
.
Labels: Food, Nature, Ode to other blogs, People
Thursday, August 02, 2007
It's a Bird... It's a Snowflake...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
OK, Who Was It?
'cause I know for a fact that one of you washed their car yesterday. (*)
Otherwise, how do you explain the fact that it's raining here today???
July 18th- - - and it's raining.
In California.
Makes no sense at all.
But it's so cool - well, literally as well.
Feels weird to suddenly have the sensation of first rain, with the fresh scents of wet soil and happy flowers and clean air and perfect visibility. It's giving the illusion of a new season for a couple of hours, shaking you out of the it's-too-warm-to-do-anything mood.
And so, after way too long a time, I'm going to paint now!
(*) Can't be me. I have the perfect alibi - my car is in the garage, getting some new fancy-priced parts, 'cause some weird-named thingy is not doing whatever it needs to be doing, and thus the water pump and thermostat are being replaced. As well the air vent unit. Plus a VW recall for a break light.
Labels: Nature
