Lessons Learned From Storms

 There is so much unspoken wisdom in this piece of wood. Wisdom felt…not spoken… of how to survive storms that cause you to lean and creak…break and regrow…straighten and lift yourself back up.  I recognize myself in her…and the lessons learned from storms…..

A Symbol of Peace

 Flames from the fire caused by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima still burn today. 

“In August of 1945, a woman who lost her son in the bombing went to the city while it was still burning and, believing that the spirit of her son was inside that flame, captured a bit of fire and brought it to her home a hundred miles away. She kept it burning for more than twenty years, and then passed it on to a Buddhist priest, who decided to make it a symbol of peace, and took the flame on a walking pilgrimage across Japan, burning in a lantern, and passed it on to others, lighting new lanterns for those who would take the flame. “ ~ Masanori Oe/The Abundance of Less

I won’t comment on what is happening in our world currently as my opinion is most probably not that of the general population. All I will say is…there is good….and there is evil at play here…and in the end…God wins. I am thankful to be present during this time in history and may God bless all those who have fought and are fighting for humanity.

The Craftsperson

 "A craftperson's job is half meditation...half creation. It takes creativity to design whatever you are working on...but it takes meditation to do it right. Making things with one's own hands cultivates a certain generosity and openness of the heart. It nourishes the state of mind in the craftsperson themselves...which is intimately connected with an entire way of life. The process of making something cultivates humility while connecting us with something fundamental about our humanity:  the interaction between the remarkable capacity of our own human hands and the ingenuity of our minds. Looking back on the things you've made is an enjoyable experience. It is almost as if the energy you put into making something remains stored in the object and feeds your spirit every time you look at or touch it."

I am called to work with wood. It's as simple as that....a love affair I cherish with my whole heart.

Evil Eye

 

I made a trip to one of the larger cities about an hour away from my little town yesterday. During one of my stops, as  I was going to the car, I saw a pendant on the ground. When I picked it up I saw that it was an Evil Eye pendant. They are supposed to bring you good luck and protect you. It was a small parking lot behind several businesses and the parking spaces were really close. As I started to squeeze into the car I made the decision to gift the pendant and placed it on the door handle of the car beside me. I hope they will realize what they got and that it brings them lots of luck and protection.

Hypnotized

 

 

 If I could only choose one app it would be Procreate. I have Photoshop and more apps than I should admit to but.....Procreate is da bomb!

This is a simple digital drawing done and animated in Procreate. Fun! Fun! Fun!

ET Phone Home

 

I’ve had this one cut out for several weeks waiting for the moon to cooperate. These are all taken with my iphone, which usually takes pretty good pictures, but didn’t do this moon justice.

There’s always that primitive part of me that wants to howl at the moon. This one’s been waiting patiently also. 

I have a pocket folder where I keep all my cut outs, carrying it around in my car so I can be inspired by locations. I hope to start doing some day trips to some of the interesting places near me and get some great shots.

I’m Baaaaaack!

 Lordt….I have seriously neglected my blog! Is there a reason….nope. That’s just how I roll.

So… what have I been up to…. a little of this…a little of that. I’ve lately been obsessed with paper cutting…which lead to animating my paper cuts. I began paper cutting with the generic things and then got into photographing places around where I live with a paper cut in the picture and posting them on my Facebook feed. It’s been so much fun although I struggle with keeping the photos geared towards my local “audience”…. my mind works in strange and mysterious ways that most people don’t “get”. 

I’ve been teaching myself to animate my cut outs using the Procreate app. It’s so much easier than when I first tried animation using hand drawn art and multiple apps. To say I’m obsessed with this art medium is an understatement. 

Here are a few samples:

And a few of my animations:

This is where the magic starts:

and ends up here:

Just one more thing:  Did you miss me?