Early this year I was looking on You Tube for Diana Krall singing Boulevard of Broken Dreams. There were a couple of club performances but not very good quality. So of course I decided to make my own. Turned out to be a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I selected suitable photographs from my own collection. This evening when I was considering adding some of these photos to my blog I thought “Why not just post the video?” So here it is – Enjoy!
Category: Poetry and Photography
En Route
Mountain peaks or clouds
Clear vision or optic trick
Beauty is constant
Journey – August Haiku Art
I had been thinking about the change that I made a couple of months ago to working full time on developing my art and wondering if this was something I should have done years ago. Since making this decision I have been so energized. Not only is creating art something that I WANT to do but I feel that it’s something that I HAVE to do. I feel that I’m really in my element now.
Should I have done this i.e. made the switch – years ago? I could write pages about why not but the short answer is – No. Do I regret all the years spent doing other things? Was the time wasted? Absolutely not.
And here’s where the August prompt word makes its appearance in such a timely fashion. The word is “Journey”. I thought of Life’s Journey. About how EVERYTHING that we do has an impact on us. How everyone we meet leaves their mark. How we may look at some events as distractions or detours from our chosen path but that ultimately all these experiences (positive or negative) contribute to who we are. And often they equip us with the emotional skills that we need to forge ahead. I have confidence now that I didn’t have 20 years ago; I have certain practical skills to handle the business side of art; I have a sack full of life experiences to draw upon and I have gained perspective and understanding about what is important to me – especially at this time.
Journey
detours? distractions?
unplanned stops, uneven road
part of the journey
Techniques for “Journey”
- color wash
- random stamping using household utensils and distress ink
- road map collaged on
- manila tag painted and overpainted with distress inks
- attached to page with ribbon and brad
- messages in ink on art paper applied randomly to tag and page.
Balance – July Haiku Art
Balance – what comes into your mind when hearing this prompt word? I thought of my 10 year old granddaughter Abigail balancing on her unicycle and of the determined look on her face as she struggles to maintain her balance on the low wire. I thought of commonly used expressions such as “balance your checkbook” or “eat a balanced diet”.
Ultimately – what balance means to me these days is the attempt to put the mind and body into a balanced or integrated state as we do through Yoga practice.
This is the 2nd of a series about Yoga practice. It incorporates the words: “Shanti” which means peace and “so hum” . This is a mantra that we use for focus while doing deep breathing.
The Haiku
close your eyes breathe in
jasmine scented air swirling
find your center – stay
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| Shanti 2 |
Drowning
dreaming of drowning
battling the undertow
sink to the bottom
June Haiku Art: Waterfalls
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My theme for this month seems to be “change” – new directions, new resolve, fresh ideas.
I first thought that I would have to take a pass on the June Haiku project – so much else going on this month. But when presented with the prompt word: Waterways – I knew that I’d have to do something. The Haiku came pretty easily. Having grown up on the Great Lakes and steeped in the history and lore of the St. Lawrence Seaway I immediately thought of Niagara Falls. And a more recent Falls discovery – Minnehaha Falls.
Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis, MN
I am currently working on a couple of water related quilt art projects and did not want to start another one right now. So I turned to another art form and designed and made Waterfall earrings. Our Haiku Art project can be in whatever form we wish.
Waterfalls the Haiku
cascading splendor
mists rising torrents swirling
mighty falls thunder
and the Art
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| Waterfalls |
Swarovski Crystals and Sterling Silver
A Soft Day in Ireland Haiku Art for May 2011
The prompt word this month is “soft”. Now this will be interesting to see – how many directions will the artists go with this word. The possibilities are endless.
This one didn’t require too much deliberation on my part. During a trip to Ireland a few years back I latched on to the phrase “soft Irish day”. It really captured my imagination.
It rains a lot in Ireland. Sometimes it rains hard; sometimes the rain settles over the earth like a misty blanket. They call this a “soft day”.
steady gentle rain
Irish hills shrouded in mist
another soft day
I used fairly vivid commercial quilt cottons for the stylized hills then couched the edges with decorative fibers. Then I quilted the whole thing with 40 wt. variegated cotton in shades of green.
I arranged a piece of tulle over the quilt and tacked it down with vintage buttons. Finally I topped it with a piece of lace (Irish lace?) .
another fun Haiku Art challenge
Sunshine March Haiku Art
>The March word is…………………Sunshine!
I am fascinated by the patterns made by sunshine as it is filtered through dense foliage. Below is the Haiku that I wrote and the image that came to mind. It is a photo that I took while visiting the massive old trees in the Armstrong Redwoods State Park in California.
Forest Canopy
Clefts in rain soaked branches
Sunbeams bursting through
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| Armstrong Redwoods State Park |
Faultlines of the Heart
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When presented with the February word: “love” I thought of many ways to go with it – parental, romantic, physical, familial – even love of music, nature and so on. But what I really wanted to deal with was loss of love – specifically loss of loved ones. When my Mom passed away last year I had to deal with the sadness of her loss plus the fact that she was the last one. Her passing followed my Dad’s (by many years) and my brother and sister’s deaths more recently. I reflected on how we all suffer loss of love – or loved ones – then have to face our publics as though everything was completely right in our world.
Here you have a heart that has been fractured into many pieces along the faultlines that were there all along. And floating over the pieces of the heart are a tangle of ribbons attempting to hide the tears underneath.
Here you have a heart that has been fractured into many pieces along the faultlines that were there all along. And floating over the pieces of the heart are a tangle of ribbons attempting to hide the tears underneath.
Letting go of love
Hot salty tears flow freely
Bruised battered heart cracks.
All the red “shards” combine to form one complete heart. The pieces have been attached to the background with a lot of heavy quilting. I used heavy cotton plus metallic. The ribbons are hand tacked. Under the ribbons are tear-shaped beads peeking out. I purposefully left the thread tails and frayed edges alone as they are part of the over all feeling that I wanted to generate.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams_0002.wmv
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Guila's Art & Other Assorted Joys 