Geo Heart 73012,© BLD

Another in my sacred geometry explorations. I'm beginning a heart series. My gallery website should be up in about 24 hours and I'll begin adding some of these to it. This is going to be a limited edition at 11x14" dimensions.

Peace, B

Sweet Potatoes and Country Roads

Today I want to talk about vegetables and country roads.  


The kale, asparagus, and onion above are destined to be part of our stir-fry this evening. We are on a new life style eating regimen. I hesitate to call it a diet, as diet implies an end. This is a life-style, and like many of the country roads I've been on recently, there is seemingly no end.  


Age forces one to reevaluate one's habits and health and, as such, one's eating traditions. The fact that they are all related evades most people. Who would think that that soda one drinks might leech calcium from one's bones, or that perhaps you can't really process dairy well but never put that weight gain down to that being the cause. It's amazing what you learn when you really begin to examine the web we weave as humans.  


Changing food habits is quite challenging and affects everyone in your immediate world.  It forces others to consider what and what not you can consume when they entertain. It forces you, the devotee, to make difficult choices when faced with temptation. After all, it's only one glass of wine, or one brownie, or just one scoop of ice cream.


The thing is, it is all part of the larger picture that I seem to be going on and on about lately. We are but part of a larger force, humanity. While I am one person, I am part of a family, a community, a state, a nation, and a larger world. If I believe in a higher power, don't I owe it to myself and my world to be the strongest human I can be? When you come down to it, don't each of us owe to the rest of the world, our care, love, support, generosity and best person possible?


Ah, but I ramble. We spent a long afternoon in the car riding through the country. We were looking at properties, not for a specific reason, but to research. The weaving and winding of mountain roads are like the vines of my sweet potatoes as they attempt to overtake my garden with their wandering. Like the ties that bind, the asphalt and dirt by-ways connect the rural to the city, the bumpkin to the sofisticate. The roads connect us, perhaps all roads do lead to Rome. . . hm, or is that Home?


Or could it be that sweet potatoes are taking over my carb deprived mind?


Peace, B

Canaries in the Coal Mine

Newsflash:

There is a world wide helium shortage.

What?

So what. Not earth-shaking.

Why? Apparently helium is a by-product of fuel used in heat during the winter. The past winter wasn't terribly cold, therefore the fuel use was way down. This created a shortage of helium, and, resultantly a triple price increase.

Okay, big deal, a balloon now costs $3 instead of $1.

We bought two.

We held a small birthday party yesterday for one of my daughters.  It was a lovely event, Paris themed. The colors were black and pink, the food was paleo diet approved, and was amazing.  

The sun burst one balloon before anyone arrived. (Note to self: never buy a black helium balloon for outdoors in the summer sun). It was rather ironic though, it said "Happy Birthday...Blah, Blah, Blah!"                                                   

The paleo food is a result of the fact that four of us in the family are on this life style change for health reasons. It is a huge challenge for a group that is used to cooking incredible food with high quality ingredients. My eldest did it with style!  Her kitchen has basically become a science lab with jars of fermenting vegetables and organic produce. This kind of living comes with a price, many hours of kitchen work and dedication to research and preparation.  I admire her focus and research for her family's health and well-being. I am learning lots of new skills for my kitchen. But that is another day, another blog.

On with party and canaries... 

Here we have the lovely cupcakes for dessert. The pink frosted cupcakes are standard chocolate cupcakes filled with a cream cheese filling and chocolate chips. The top ones are paleo approved, zucchini made with coconut flour and topped with a cashew and xylitol frosting. They were truly wonderful, not too sweet and very satisfying. 

All this frivolity revolved around a wonderful afternoon in the pool. The weather was perfect and the rain clouds skirted by us and never exploded.  

The Eiffel Tower stood proudly on the table and provided a place for the French stickers from the cupcakes to reside once their eatable stands had been consumed.  Meanwhile the black balloon hung in the breeze reminding me of the short life of the helium that filled it.

$3.00, up in the air, or $3.00 sacrificed to the altar of irony. It wasn't lost on us at all. The thought of the helium shortage though, another story.

Warm winters, extreme summers, lack of small things we have grown to expect: helium, vegetables, un-chemically treated mattresses, safe drinking water.  It's a chain; a living, breathing, damageable chain.  It's the big picture, made up of all the tiny pictures.  

Families, friends, parties, everyday shopping for resources...stop and listen, please. 

Watch, because the canaries are dying at the corner of our eyes.

Peace, B

*In gratitude to Rachel Carson for her book Silent Spring, published 50 years ago this week. I read it in the mid-60s and it opened my eyes as much then as it could now. I think it's time to revisit the publication.

Cancer By Another Name, or Crab On My Mind

Just recently, a week ago to be specific, our church held a crab dinner.  It was a fund-raising event that the participants enjoy and look forward to every year.  This was my first time at this church's event.

I have a strange relationship with crabs.  As a young girl of 12-14 I would go to the dock near our little river side house in New Jersey and sit and catch crabs by the bucketful for my dad.  I was fascinated watching them crawl up through the soupy water to grab at the balls of white bread that were dangling near the surface.  All I needed was a net in the other hand to swoop down and scoop them up.

The catching was a solitary task, and I enjoyed it. I've always been one to enjoy solitude.  The hard part came when I got them home.  I had to cook them.

Oh Lord, how I hated that part.  I've always had a problem reconciling killing and eating. It is a challenge that has followed me into my almost senior years.  Finally I have learned that it is a part of the cycle of life and necessary in some way for my health and survival. I've adopted a rather tribal attitude toward the practice of thanking the animal for the sacrifice before I consume it.  Vegetarianism isn't in my DNA coding.  Three times failure and anemia and finally a bout of cancer cured me of anymore experimentation in that department. I respect those who can maintain the line, but I must beg your indulgence of my primitive needs in the nutrition department. But I meander, this is about crabs.

First the large pot came to a boil, then the act of dropping these innocent crustaceans into a quick death.  It was the scratching on the sides of the pan that I couldn't take.  That sound still stays with me and was renewed in the church kitchen when I happened to wander in for some extra coleslaw.

My father was ecstatic with his giant plate of crabs and would extol the virtues of this shellfish to me as he ate.  I would simply watch his joy and clean the aftermath.  I couldn't participate.

Which brings me back to the crab dinner last week.  I managed four crabs, that was it.  It was too hard for me psychologically to enjoy it.  I did enjoy, however, watching one of our youths learn how to crack the shells and harvest the meat.  She had a blast, and that made it worth it.

All of this reminded me strongly of my father.  To bring it full circle, this is his birthday month.  He was born on the 4th of July.  Oh the rush of memories that day triggers in my heart.  

Well, Dad, wherever you are, the crab remains king for many people and the sign of Cancer will always bring you to mind. 

Peace, B

Aftermath: Why do we call a horrific disease after the sign of the crab in the nebula?

The Disease:

"The word cancer is Latin for "crab". Its use for cancer goes back to Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC - ca. 370 BC) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer#History), who is said to have derived it from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with "the veins stretched on all sides as the animal the crab has its feet, whence it derives its name". 

As early as the 16th century the word "canker" was used in medieval English for disease in crops and later for extraneous growth or any of various types of non-healing sore or ulcer. Later it came to be used in the modern medical sense, frequently with a distinguishing word usually indicating the type or site of origin of the cancer. (Oxford English Dictionary)"

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_the_disease_cancer_called_cancer#ixzz21D7WXehG

The Zodiacal Symbol:

"the association of Cancer with the crab constellation reveals an archetype with a very protective outer nature that serves to hide a very soft, sensitive core. Cancer represents emotional and home security."

http://innerself.com/

WHEN IS IT CHEATING?

I have been led to discover sacred geometry due to a viewing of the movie Thrive.  Sacred geometry was not the theme of the movie, but it is part of the basis of explanation that everything is related, it's all connected.  This is a theme I've always felt in my art, but never found a way to satisfactorily express. . . until I found sacred geometry.


Symbols have always intrigued me.  I collect books on them. I draw them. I use them frequently in my art.  Now I feel I have found the key symbols, the basis of all other symbols and find that now I just want to use these to begin each piece. Where the piece goes after that is completely unpredictable, but it will be begun in sacred symbols.


Which brings me to my next discovery.  As most of you know, who follow me, I am an iPad addict. I also make no bones about using iPad apps to manipulate my work, especially my photos.  I have discovered a new app which not only does wonderful things to photos, but takes my iPad paintings to whole new realms of appeal for me. Now, am I cheating? I can't get these effects without the app at all, and each time I use it, the effects are different and unpredictable. I am so taken with it that I use it on almost all my images now. Perhaps I will tire of it in the future, but for now, it is my go to app for next to final touches.


I cannot promise that once I take these images onto my desktop that they won't change yet again. I never know with an image.  It's a matter of waiting for it to tell me that it's reached finality. So, am I cheating? No, I don't think so. I think this app is yet another tool in my digital paintbox, one which I find sets my mind loose to roam in realms of color and wonder.


All comment and discussion are welcome and encouraged.  I love nothing more than discussing art, well, perhaps making art is a wee bit higher on that list.


Peace & Happy Creating,
B
PS: The app for iPhone and iPad is called Percolator and it is for photographs - HA!

Yes, I've been absent, a long time absent.  There is no particular reason to hide behind; life is busy and sometimes gets so busy I forget the little things that ground me.  How is it that something as narcissistic as an internet blog can ground me?  It gives me pause as I know that somewhere out there someone I don't know is going to possibly take a moment to read it.  I find that a very sobering idea, and a reason to be honest.  I have never liked dishonesty at all, but this makes it even more important.  Somehow putting a false image out in cyberspace makes my skin crawl.  So, dear visitor, what you read is what you get.  The older I become the more outspoken and to the point I become.  Having cleared that from my thoughts I now share with you the process of one of my small works which may or may not ever see the light of day.

Here is a photo I took with my iPhone on my back lanai one morning. Nice orchids I thought.  Having never met a photo that I could leave untouched, I took it into the remarkable iPhone app, Phototoaster.  

Here is the toasted version, with which I was pretty happy. 

Until the filigree bug hit. 

This is an addiction I have which rears its head in much of my artwork. I suppose it is good that I am not unmeasurably rich as I would filigree the world in gold and silver if given the opportunity.  This photo was imported into ArtRage, an iPad app to which I owe a great deal of thanks and allegiance.  Using the filters and layers I am a happy girl for hours and hours at a time with any given subject.

The union of the creative mind and photo filters gives me joy beyond measure.  I would also take a moment to mention that I did about 6 different versions of the above piece.

I can never decide on which is the final medium - paint programs or photo programs.  So, I took the photo from the photo program into the paint program and then back into a photo program.  Here is the result using the above sketch in the iPad app, Percolator.  Darn this one is fun, and so appealing to me on so many levels.

Fortunately, I don't have to decide on a finished product as each can be saved on its own to become its own entity.  I am so very grateful for computer files.  The idea that all of this work isn't really real until it's printed is another idea which fascinates me to no end.  (I am simply amused!)  Each of these files will reside in cyberspace or on dvd until I decide to give one or all of them a physical presence in the world in the form of print or card, or perhaps a rice paper print submerged in an encaustic collage.  Meanwhile, they may travel the world of the internet in different capacities as much of my work has done. 

I don't want to grow up, I'm having way too much fun.  Honestly...

This is a fascinating time in which we live.  

Peace, B