June 3, 2022 Weekly Musings

Announcements:

Coming soon! Artist Muse 5 Online Exhibition

The artwork and poem, Dawn, by David Barnhill will be displayed as part of the new gallery that Christine Alfery is opening called Christine's Gallery. Its first exhibition is called "Artist Muse 5." For this event, poets and artists teamed up to be each other's muses. There will be approximately 40 artist and poet pairs. It is a wonderful opportunity for Wisconsin Artists and Poets to share their works to the public on line - especially with all the art gallery closings since COVID.

"Make it new. Day by day, make it new."
--The Great Learning

The night has been long, chill, quiet, except for the occasional call of a great horned owl. Now the eastern sky begins to lighten. Long braided bands of clouds lie along the horizon, reaching up and out. They remain midnight blue as streaks of orange and red form above silhouetted pines.

Each moment is an emerging of presence, upholding, enfolding. We can sense it like faint fragrance, a sound at the edge of hearing, a light we can't quite see, a spring under a lake that no one will ever find. And an endless darkness that gives repose.

Above my kayak are feathers of cirrus clouds. On the western horizon is the final fading of night, the last echo of stars. And then, slowly, silently, finally, it rises: the sun.

     mirror smooth lake:
           gazing down
               into the depths
                    of sky

Wisconsin Visual Artists

I am proud member of the Wisconsin Visual Artists. Personally, I support in some way or another as many art groups as I possibly can as it is my small way of promoting the visual arts within our culture and within our communities.
Recently the Wisconsin Visual Artists published a flip book online and I would like to share it with you all. Click here to view.

Blogs:

Marsh

Featured image: Marsh

Went fishing early this morning along a long shoreline that is quite marshy.
The Spring colors coming out are just absolutely gorgeous with lime greens, rust yellows the white dogwood.
There is just a faint, hint of green like green silver across silver bushes.
Deep deep deep deep green from the pines.
I love early mornings.

 

 

 

Dancing Moving – Wind Up Toy Series 

Featured image: Painted Bird Wind Up Toy

Don’t dance like a puppet or move like a wind-up toy.
Throw away that wind up key.
Cut the puppets strings.
Dance in the rain. Move with the wind.
Find your unique key.
Imagine and create authentically.
You are like no other.

I have collected wind up toys for some time now. They fascinate me. I’m also fascinated by the wonderful contrast between the way that I played with a wind up toy as a young girl and the young kids that have no aesthetic experiences such as a wind up toy or a pull toy. Instead, they sit still and only move their fingers on a computer. I love thinking about the history of those older wind up toys that I collect and the newer ones. The newer ones are a novelty that many put on their work desk but I take my collection and let kids play with them while their parents are visiting the studio. They have races with them and just laugh and giggle. I love those sounds.

 

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The Teachable Moment

Every negative experience provides you with an opportunity for growth. It is what some call a teachable moment.


What stands in the way becomes the way and you can move forward. Only you in this situation and me as an artist, can control and choose how to move forward. The more you free yourself of the idea of an either-or situation, the more you can open yourself to teachable moments and the more you grow as and artist and a creative person.


This bird, “Linus,” became a wonderful teaching moment for me as it was combined with the character Linus from the Charles Schultz character in his cartoon series Peanuts. The characters in the Peanuts cartoons all presented very teachable moments. My Linus II is a combination of the Linus in the Peanuts cartoon who is a voice of reason and my writings about life. It is a balance between the mechanical and the organic in my gears series. Click here to read.


Linus, according to peanuts.com is a thoughtful and respectful, Linus is often the voice of reason among his peers. He is a deep thinker and a student of philosophy. Despite his run-ins with cantankerous Lucy, and the fact no one understands why he carries a security blanket, Linus remains delightfully hopeful.
This bird, “Linus, is just that. The rings and circles around him represent thought and respect. His voice is a voice of reason. He respects who he is and is not afraid to fluff up his wonderful bright colors. He is hopeful that there is no one so small as to judge him because of his colors. He is thoughtful with his ability to reason, think and realize that it isn’t very helpful to play tricks on others as his sister Lucy does.


Some Linus quotes I love that illustrate this balance between the mechanical and the reasonable:
“ I love mankind … it’s people I can’t stand.”
“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.”
“A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.”
“Sometimes it is very hard to decide.”
And this one is one of my all time favorite:
“There is not a heavier burden than great potential!”


Perhaps today is the day that some of you might want to share your favorite quotes, maybe even a Linus quote on my Facebook page. It would be fun.

Blessings to all. c

Anti- Utopian

New works:

Direction

Your Path

Purple Tulips II