A Canadian Spring...

 The last two days...  a winter storm with LOTS of snow...

Today... a red-wing blackbird sings of its arrival...

Today,:I'm TIRED!!! - To Fall Like a Drop of Rain...

I'm TIRED!!!

However, I think it's a good thing to be tired sometimes... When I'm tired or unwell, I can't do the extra things I'm used to doing.  Life gets pared down... only bare essentials can be done, so I get to see what is REALLY necessary and essential... Maybe having experienced this pared down life, I decide to drop some of the extras... maybe I want to re-prioritize my life and cut some of the unnecessary things I'm used to doing and put the time and energy I save into  what I've seen REALLY is essential.... Strangely, it seems that being tired or unwell, in spite of the discomfort, can in fact be a step towards a better lived life!

My thought for today...

This Post's Flavor(s):  difficulty/pleasure,human,process.
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Today: Sowing Seeds... - To Fall Like a Drop of Rain...

 

Today's picture on my Page-a-Day Art Gallery Calendar is Vincent Van Gogh's "The Sower"... It sets me to thinking...

How much of life is like sowing seeds or planting plants...  Seeds are a truly unknown commodity... As an example, last year, the packet of seeds said they would grow into "Sentimental Blue Balloon Flowers"... but the ones I sowed all ended up white... and one of these was something else... no idea what it was going to be; except that it was going to be HUGE... too big for the space I had, so it had to go...  and then conditions are anyone's guess... For the past few years in my garden the summers have been HOT and DRY, so I'm choosing plants that like these conditions... but maybe the next few years are all COOL and DAMP... OH! DEAR!! Will what I've planted make it through???  I research plants carefully before I buy, but  the information  I find isn't always indicative of what I can expect to happen in my garden... The nurseries make EVERY plant sound WONDERFUL!!!  Even plants like staghorn sumac, with which I have personal experience, are listed as GREAT to buy and place in your garden...  The grove of sumac I had on the fringe of the property, which apparently were the result of someone 3 or 4 doors down planting a single tree... grew over 15 feet high (15 feet is supposed to be their maximum height) and were like THUGS, wanting to take over the entire property... their roots went down more than two feet in compacted gravel and clay (I don't know how much farther down they went, because I couldn't dig farther) and spread out at least 30 feet, sprouting vigorously at every node and then, on top of this, they self-seeded too...  After trying to work with them for years, I finally just cut them all to the ground in the fall of 2020...so I tend to take what the nurseries say with a BIG "grain of salt"... and do my own, independent investigation on the Internet... However, this too, isn't really reliable... Often I've seen the Internet say this kind of plant grows to 6 feet tall in one place and 4 feet in another... but what I really want to know is how big it will grow in my garden???  No-one can tell me this... Maybe it grows only 2 feet, or maybe 8 or even 10... one place lists it as Zone 5 and another Zone 3... What am I to believe??? I'm supposed to be in Zone 4, so it makes a difference!  Zone 5 things aren't likely to survive the winters here... and this is just a small sampling of what sowing and planting is like in my garden space where some research is possible... Even if it is of questionable value, I still do the research because it broadens the view and is at least a little more informative than the nursery's glowing words and "pretty" flower pictures... The extra information allows me to get a  "feel" for the plant and whether I have a space for it in my garden... However, I NEVER know... it's always a gamble! Each time I sow a seed or place a plant in the ground it's a step into the unknown; a gateway into another world where potentially strange or  unexpected consequences can occur... To me, it always feels a little like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit's hole...

Eating isn't much different... I put things in my mouth... but I don't know if my body is going to be able to digest and use them... or ... not...  My body has done SEVERAL radical shifts, where the food she'd been used to eating and digesting was suddenly completely INDIGESTIBLE!  She'd been able to digest it quite happily yesterday, but today NO and the NO is strong and stays in place for weeks or months or years... Consequently, I never really know if she's going to be able to use what I've so carefully stocked in my pantry, prepared and chewed...  Here too, I find body's digestive process isn't well understood... even the generalizations, that assume we all have similar bodies, have gaping holes where a lack of understanding is readily apparent... and then, I think we all have unique bodies, uniquely tied to unique souls, and if this is the case, the generalizations are frequently going to be inaccurate and incorrect... If  my thinking is correct, it would render at least some, and maybe much of the "knowledge" we've gained so far  useless in a practical sense...  landing us back again with Alice in Wonderland, sowing seeds of unknown type and result... whenever we eat...

In my "secret" private, inner garden, I sow the seeds and plant the plants of "qualities" and "traits of character" I think I want to grow there...  but how they will REALLY grow, or what they may require or... I have NO idea! 

My Web-site... well it's the same...  I put things out there, on it, that make the "best" contribution I can for now...  However, what I put there are very much like seeds... I have NO idea what will grow as a result... in me or in my readers...

Gardening... wherever and however we do it... isn't as simple and easy as it would appear... No matter where or how it's undertaken, it is a CHALLENGING activity, with many unknown variables and unforeseeable consequences!   

This Post's Flavor(s):  food,gardening,human,process,puzzle,art
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Today:Is it REALLY Spring?? - To Fall Like a Drop of Rain...

WOW!!! You Should Hear The Birds Today!

They think it's Spring... Maybe it is... Maybe their feelings are sharper... Maybe my vision is clouded by technology and my fingers and toes more numbed by cold...

Mid January in Quebec...

Clear, Sunny and COLD!

Wind Chill minus 35 C last night...

Up from minus 40 the night before...

Tomorrow's forecast... a major winter storm...

BUT...

The air is FULL of bird song and chatter

As though it were Spring...

Can they sense what I can't???

Maybe... 

This Post's Flavor(s):  poetry,puzzle,beginning/ending,

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Post #1 of An Exhibition of Paper Mâché Art by Sylvia Kay

Today - #1 in a Series of 7 Posts  

Paper Mâché Art by Sylvia Kay

This post was originally published Apr. 6/2016... I've republished it on Dec 22/21, so it appears first rather than last in the series...

Below: Four views of an "empty" bowl... The bowl is in two pieces... and the color is actually a silvery, grey/green.... as is the spiral in the gold interior...  I'm new to photography and don't know why it shows as blue in my pictures.... A little imagination will therefore be required for the first  three pictures.... The fourth picture was taken outdoors and the green color is accurate... but the gold is better represented in the first three pictures... I've decided  the blue color either has something to do with the light indoors or is reflecting some of the blue in the table top it sits on....

I made the bowl first and then decided it wasn't complete.... It needed a base... The base I made is a separate piece with the four phases of the moon on each quadrant and small gold dots in between for stars.  Being separate, it allows the bowl to be tilted this way or that way or....

It is strategically placed beneath my "Wheel of Fortune" hanging art... poised, ready to catch any droplets of work which spill or fall from its "spinning" wheel through the tangled, golden ball of confusion, passed the butterflies and dolphins, to land in the bowl.....


The bowl with its base...  From one side...

From above....

From another side...

The final picture - taken outside in daylight...




















Although it is made with objects joined with beading and ribbon rather than with Paper Mâché; to the right, you can see a picture  of my "Wheel of Fortune" which hangs above the bowl....






I  Just LOVE Working with Paper Mâché....

• I use scraps of "useless" paper, fabric or other materials which would be discarded otherwise, transforming these discards into  "beautiful,", functional pieces of art...
• In addition to paper, I can also incorporate cardboard, fabric, metal, wood and other found objects for interesting effects...
• The materials are as non-toxic as is possible with artists materials...
• It's VERY flexible... I can add or subtract pieces at any stage... changing the shape,  color or the texture  at any time...
• By nature, it is lightweight.... but  weight can be easily added if I need a heavier piece...
• Parts of the process have to be done with care and precision, but other parts can be sloppy and messy...
• Working with the paper and glue is very tactile, reminiscent of making "mud pies" as a child...
• None of the materials are expensive and no special equipment is required...
• I can take my time creating them... there's no problem with allowing them to sit at any stage... so there's no rush or hurry....
• I can make all kinds of shapes.... and create functional three dimensional art I can use in my every day life...

Below are some pieces I made to hold my brushes, pens and nibs.... Ready for use...
They too, are made in pieces, so they can be easily taken apart for cleaning....  

I hope you enjoy my exhibition... I plan to do seven of these posts, so you're welcome to come back to see more.... or revisit ones you've already seen as many times as you wish...and please pass the information about this exhibition on to others you think may be interested...



This Post's Flavor(s):  art, creativity, process

Click on any of these under "Labels" in the list on the right to bring up posts with a similar flavor...  Searching "art" will bring up only posts featuring actual artwork, but searching either "creativity" or "process" will bring up other posts as well,  which contribute additional dimensions and information...

Post #2 of An Exhibition of Paper Mâché Art by Sylvia Kay

Today - #2 in a Series of 7 Posts  

Paper Mâché Art: My Art Is A Process, It's Never "Finished"...

This post was originally published Apr. 6/2016... I've republished it on Dec 21/21, so it appears in the proper viewing order...

Because of its flexibility and mode of construction, Paper Mâché  is ideally suited to working with things in perpetual process....always in a state of becoming....and this is another reason why I enjoy working with it SO MUCH!

The picture above is of a "jug" I've been working with... part way through its process....  For awhile, I thought it was "finished" as you see it in this picture.... but then... the handle needed work and it became...

It's done, for now, as you see it in the pictures above, but....


My work is always in process.... Some pieces are more "finished" than others.... and sometimes I think they're "finished".... They look finished and I don't have further instructions.... but usually they're just resting.....They can rest, seemingly finished, for years and then suddenly I'll notice something "not quite right" which needs altering.... and I'm back in the midst of a process of becoming with them... I don't like to sell my art, because I'd miss the process.... and like with life, it's the process which feels MOST important...  


The two pictures below clearly demonstrate the "process" nature of my work...  They are of the same piece... but...  The one on the left is "Wind Chimes with Golden Ball" as it was in 2009 when I used this picture on my web-site....  However, now, several years later, with the addition of the egg, the wheel, some butterflies and more ribbon and beading,  it has become "The Wheel of Fortune"...   When I used it on my web-site, I already understood the tangled golden ball represented confusion... but, I had no idea what it was to become...  I didn't know why it needed an egg or a wheel or.... However, as I worked on it, its name became clear and then so did the rich symbolism of each part.... which has yielded an uncommon interpretation of this tarot card...

The picture below shows two pieces which are definitely "un-finished" ... They're resting like this until I know what I need to do with them... In the meantime, I sit with them and enjoy their structural "beauty"... The one on the right uses an old shampoo bottle as a framework, with sand in the bottom under the bottle, to give it weight.  It was made as a vase and can hold water, but I didn't have anything to put in it....so the top came into being....  The  one on the left uses an empty peanut butter container and is used to hold string.... My sense is that it wants to be an "elf" who sits on my counter top.... I've never created a  three dimensional "elf" before, and have never done a face with paper Mâché, so I don't know how it becomes....

Instead of selling my art, I prefer to share it... particularly when I can use it to demonstrate process and the value of process...  My books, with their blend of art and writing and their description of how I work with my art to discover parts of me are therefore perfect venues for the kind of sharing of my work which I like to do.....Several of my posts here are also about process in general and the creative process in particular.... If you search creativity or process you'll find them... If you're interested, my web-site (https://www.sylviakay.ca) gives more information about my books and art...



I hope you enjoy my exhibition... I plan to do seven of these posts, so you're welcome to come back to see more.... or revisit ones you've already seen as many times as you wish...and please pass the information about this exhibition on to others you think may be interested...  However, since gardening season is now beginning... the other posts in this series may emerge slowly...



This Post's Flavor(s):  art, creativity, process
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Post #3 of An Exhibition of Paper Mâché Art by Sylvia Kay

Today - #3 in a Series of 7 Posts 

Paper Mâché Art: Uniqueness...

The art works on this post showcase some unique objects made with paper mâché ...

This post was originally published Feb. 11/2017... I've republished it on Dec 20/21, so it appears in the proper viewing order...

This past year I've been working with "Dream Catchers"... I made a few pieces of  jewelry with feathers, beads, scraps of fabric and lace and then the dream catcher tree you see below...  It stands on a plant stand beside my front door and is about 2 1/2 feet tall. Its construction incorporates cardboard, copper foil, paint, bead work, copper wire, feathers, ribbon, tree twigs and copper tubing in addition to paper mâché.... The base uses a small box filled with stones to provide weight and keep the tree stable...  

Top Detail of Dream Catcher Tree

Base Detail of Dream Catcher Tree

Full Dream Catcher Tree - Art by Sylvia Kay

The three photos below are of two candle holders which sit in front of my kitchen window.  

They are made reversible... and look quite different each way...

However, they are equally happy to stand right side up as upside down and were made specifically for the candles they hold...

The photo on the left shows them as I usually display them, holding their "special" candles...









The three photos below show a paper mâché holder I made for a vase. Even filled with stones the vase tended to be quite prone to tip.  The vase holder contains it and prevents tipping... It was made with paper, and cardboard, and filled with gravel to give it weight... It is covered with fabric and ribbon and embellished with a little paint...

Above is the vase holder with the vase and bouquet... The whole thing is just a little over 2  feet tall...


To the left you can see the empty holder...






On the right you can see the vase holder with the vase in place...








The next three photos are of a vase I made to hold a bouquet which sits on my bathroom vanity... Each of the vase's  three sides are shown... The vase is made with cardboard and paper, covered with fabric and some lace, to which I added additional paint...  It is about 8 inches tall and the bottom of this vase is also filled with sand or gravel (I don't remember which now) to give it weight so it doesn't tip....

I hope you enjoy my exhibition... I plan to do seven of these posts, so you're welcome to come back to see more.... or revisit ones you've already seen as many times as you wish... and please pass the information about this exhibition on to others you think may be interested...

This Post's Flavor(s):  art, creativity, process

Click on any of these under "Labels" in the list on the right to bring up posts with a similar flavor...

Post #4 of An Exhibition of Paper Mâché Art by Sylvia Kay

Today - #4 in a Series of 7 Posts 

Paper Mâché Art: Some Utilitarian Objects...

This post was originally published Feb 11/2017... I've republished it on Dec 19/21, so it appears in the proper viewing order...

The art works included in this post show utilitarian (useful) objects I've made with paper mâché...  However, for me, both art and writing have a larger use... I use both to pull what's inside me out so I can see what's there to work on it...  

For several years I was physically unable to do either writing or art.  It was a HARD time, but with these avenues shut down I learned other ways of working with what was inside me, which I wouldn't have learned otherwise... In retrospect I can see going through this HARD time has been HELPFUL!!!  I now have many more avenues  open with which to explore how I am inside... ones I'd NEVER have found or learned to use otherwise. 

Nonetheless, I'm ENJOYING coming back to clarifying pieces of my confusion by journalling... I don't do it every day like I used to, but I write there frequently.  I'm  also GRATEFUL to be back doing art!!  I'm working with both art and writing differently. The kind of journal I keep now, bears little resemblance to the kind of journal I kept before... I've changed and so has my journal... The process is slower and because I use these newly discovered ways too, I don't need to do so much...  However, to again have access to these familiar and much loved tools of art and writing and now, mostly even without pain, is a TREMENDOUS gift!! I'm VERY grateful!!  

For me, this exhibition, of new art in a new form, is a celebration of my physical renewal or rejuvenation which has made art possible for me again......

I've tried to add interesting details to ordinary, functional objects I use every day...

To the left is a detail of three of the objects pictured below...

The pieces above were made to hold lotions, scrubs, toothbrushes etc. on my bathroom vanity...

The picture on the left and the three below, show boxes made to hold underwear and socks...











They sit on a four tier wire shelf which holds shoes, slippers and sandals...









There is a mauve one, a green one and a pinkish/blue one.... My shower curtain has the same colors...

The objects I particularly enjoy  creating are those which end up being not only interesting and sometimes perhaps a little beautiful, but also more functionally suitable than anything I could buy ready-made.  Over the years I've made many such things... They give me pleasure each time I look at them or use them...  On this post, I've displayed a few I've made with paper mâché... 

The picture on the right is a photographic collage showing four sides and the top of a small box made to hold twist ties....










The picture on the left is a photographic collage showing three sides and the top of a yogurt container covered with paper mâché... It holds more ties and some pieces of string....








The two pictures below show two candle sticks made with  paper mâché... I enjoy candles, especially the scent of the beeswax ones I have, but I don't light them, so the paper mâché holders work fine...  (I lit the one on the right below, just to take its picture...)


























The picture on the left is a photographic collage showing two sides of a container made from cardboard covered with paper mâché... As you can see it is designed to hold my scissors...










The picture on the right is also a photographic collage showing two views of an object made with paper mâché, which holds and dispenses string from two balls... 

I hope you enjoy my exhibition... I have seven of these posts planned, so you're welcome to come back to see more.... or revisit ones you've already seen as many times as you wish... and please pass the information about this exhibition on to others you think may be interested...

This Post's Flavor(s):  art, creativity, process
Click on any of these under "Labels" in the list on the right to bring up posts with a similar flavor...