Nick Bantock Botanical Collection

I am blessed to be fortunate enough to have purchased four of Nick's botanical limited print series of 5. I promised several people I would photograph them so they could enjoy them too. Sadly, my photographs do not even come close to capturing his masterful work. The first image particularly reflects the noisy flash! In the 3 remaining, I added digital matting and frames. Nevertheless, they do succeed in giving you a flavor for his irrefutable talent.

I would also without question, recommend the workshops he offers throughout the year at his studio and gallery "The Forgetting Room" on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. The second time I was there I had the pleasure of viewing his entire collection from Griffin and Sabine. Many had me spellbound.

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Collage - Grist for the Mill

I was following a thread recently on a Yahoo Group - Assemblage Art. A question was posed to the group regarding the use of party hats, butterflies, etc. so commonly seen in magazines such as Somerset, Teesha Moore (Zettiology) and countless others, including me. A controversial question. Opinions were voiced by several subscribers to the group. My view is this - art is a personal process and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Once we become self-conscious about other's eyes, I think we risk the possibility of reaching our fullest creative potential. The "eye" in the collage is Jean DuBuffet's - a master Parisian painter and collage artist. He coined the phrase "Art Brut" - or outsider art. He was also known for his bizarre butterfly collages. The 'message' I attempted to convey is as follows: The mannequin (represents a blank canvas) and has presented Jean Dubuffet with the 'objects' that were discussed in the Yahoo group thread. Next to Jean DuBuffet's eye on the right is the "Artist", fully exposed (read:naked/personal) and therefore, vulnerable to the opinion of the Master - or the 'viewer.' She has lost the joy in the process of creating, and has instead been reduced to caring more about the 'opinions' of her audience. If people choose to glue party hats to crows, or attach wings to vintage women, LET it BE. It's ALL in the PLAYING. One last thought - passed on to me by Nick Bantock this past summer - The more we resist, the more we shrink. The more we search, the more we find. Follow your heart and do the soul work. If this includes pasting butterflies onto heads.....so be it.

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My First Effort at Artist Trading Cards - Summer 2006

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ATC's

This, another collection of Artist Trading Cards I recently put into frames.

The cards are from the following artists (from left to right): Row 1 Laura Pawlick Ron Huxley me me Yogi Grunwald Ank Debak Row 2 Ron Huxley Beth Akins Me Me Ank Debak Ruth Rae

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The first few layers of a new Kimono - #3

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Alphabetica Journal Exchange - Debby H.'s Yahoo Group

A is for Albert Einstein writing to B - as in Ben Franklin. I'm just beginning to create the letter Albert will be sending to Ben! Wish me luck! The theme of my book is based on Mail Art - artists will continue on with a person whose name begins with "C" and that person will write a letter to "D".

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Journal Exercise - Week Two

One of my Journal Class exercises this week was to choose from a group of objects Kathy had placed out on a table for us, stay present with it for a few moments, followed by entering our reflections into the journal. I decided to close my eyes and let the object choose me. This is the sand dollar that found my hand.

Each object had some sort of crack in it, either naturally or accidentally, symbolizing the theme of the class based on an excerpt from Leonard Cohen as follows: "Ring the bell that does not ring, Forget the perfect offering, There is a crack in everything , That's how the light gets in." This image will be a favorite - I love the shadows the sun cast on it and it sings of childhood memories of beachcombing and discovering a low tide peppered with sand dollars with my family. I was 12. A cherished memory.

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Today I Celebrate The Sun Casting Shadows on Fresh Snow

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The Coming In and Out - Fear, Irony and The Big Reveal

I attended my first class in a series of 6 journaling classes at a neighbor's home this afternoon. There were a dozen women in the class. I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy it - I suppose I wondered if I'd 'fit' in. I guess I often wonder where I fit, but that's another journal entry. One of the topics discussed today was the fear of having your writing read, and my soul did a somersault as I recalled a painful experience that reflected that fear - Fear revealed. A jealous boyfriend, a red felt pen 3 dozen yellow roses next to the open circled and highlighted journal - the rest is best unsaid. Fact is, it does happen. Boundaries are crossed and a severe case of curiosity can overcome someone's best moral judgment and at worst, an absence of integrity. And it is A W F U L. Reeling from memories of my incident, I offered a solution. How about a safety deposit box? A joke. But not as funny as the workshop leader, Kathy Legg suggested - Hide it in a Kotex napkin box...who would look in there? The crowd roared. Then she offered a potential 'con' - what would one think if they were to see a row of Kotex napkin boxes lined neatly up on her bookshelf? Valid point. After the first class, I had an AH-HA. I detest 'political correctness' and yet I keep to myself - an extroverted introvert. Bit of a hypocrite too. Since I don't particularly want to be a hypocrite, AH-HA step 1 I decided was to take a self-portrait, this time of my FACE, heaven forbid. But not just the face, my face in a rear view mirror - symbolizing that I was 'putting the past' behind me - a coming out, if you will. After all, what is the FEAR? Am I going to be voted off the island? Have at er! The traffic was light and slow. So witty (read: foolish) me, pulled it off, unscathed, and revealed. But the best part is the irony. So self-centered in capturing this AH-HA moment, I didn't see the helicopter until I downloaded the image. What do you think? Is it heading toward my head or carrying away my fear? I've decided I will think it's circled around and is on its way out. ba-bye f e a r. Not a big deal for most people, but from someone who is painfully camera shy (my past self-photos are of my feet) THIS WAS A BIG event.... I apologize for the frown. I don't plan on trying to improve my rear view mirror self-photo shots anytime soon (aka - don't try this at home) but I peeled off one layer of insecurity today and for that I am grateful to Kathy. The jury is still out on where to hide the journal. If you read this far, then you must be one of two people...Marjorie or Linda. Thanks guys for letting me ramble. If you aren't one of the aforementioned, then perhaps I've found a new friend!

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Joni Mitchell-Shine (Promotional Video)

Joni Mitchell has soothed my spirit for as long as I can remember. She has been a source of strength and inspiration to me in both love sick and love struck times beginning in my early teens. When I am outside and glance up to the sky to consider the clouds, being a Joni fan, you can guess what song resonates in my ind. I confess, had I dated someone who wasn't a Joni Mitchell fan, I've no qualms it would've been a brief affair. Equal to my love of Korean food - that's two strikes. After all, what else is more important than music and food when you are falling in love? Deep thought ...not. Joni recently released a new CD - Shine. It includes remakes of her classics. The above YouTube video is an interview (7 minutes) where Joni recalls her past and makes a few stabs suggesting this is the time of her life. While she continues to battle with the current tragedies of our planet, she does have a gift for expressing her angst. Of most joy to me is her choreographic talent in collaboration with John Grande-Maitre where together they marry her lyrics and music along with the talented Alberta Ballet Dance company. The small and frequent clips capture their efforts and they are worth the watch.

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World Vision

My annual Christmas card and art was a little late - but it did come from Africa - Kornaka West in Maradi, Niger. Initially I'm always excited to see it. I have sponsored children from World Vision since 1994. For the past 3 years, Jamila Adamou (she is 7 now) has sent along a piece of art work. You can see this year's drawing across to the left. Quite predictably my excitement soon transformed into gratitude. I stared a little longer and was soon fantasizing about a trip to Africa to visit Jamila. Logic then swiftly kicked my fantasy and up popped a desire to help more children. I googled around to see what I could learn about Niger. According to most sources I found, Niger is listed as the poorest country in the world. In terms of food shortage, a nutrition survey conducted by the Helen Keller International Foundation showed a global wasting rate (malnutrition and starvation) of 13.4% in children ages 6 - 59 months, (N-1800)...WFP estimates that as many as 135,700 children under five are suffering from malnutrition, with 24,700 of them severe cases in need of urgent medical and nutritional assistance. I appreciated the smile on the drawing all that much more. Embarrassment took the final spot spot in my long list of emotions, when I caught myself worrying about that 20 pounds I need to lose.

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Altered Art Journal Page for Mary

"a picture is worth a thousand words-"

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Fill In The Blank

Can you fill in the blank? He kept his -------all bottled up inside.

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Another Favorite Collage Artist - Richard Russell

I stumbled across this artist recently in Flickr. His work is imaginative and mindfully poignant! I've added his website to my list of Sources of Inspiration but you can view his work immediately by clicking on his name here: Richard Russell

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A great POSTAGE PEOPLE swap Marion is hosting

If you are interested in a fun swap with lots of talented artists, then I recommend you wander over to Marion's site by clicking on her name. This was my first try at incorporating "bodies" with stamp images - challenging yet lots of fun!

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