Anatomy

I've been thinking a lot about anatomy lately.

Halloween projects have caused me to explore the human skull and the submission for The Anton Art Centre show led me to thinking about the truth we hold inside. My youngest son is in premed at the University of Michigan (have I told you how proud I am of him?) and is currently taking a bio anatomy class. In a recent phone call, he described a dissection that involved a female leg, toenail polish and all! He loves exploring the human body and is fascinated by its inner workings.

On top of all of this, I watched the TV show Numbers last night where Rob Morrow described himself as a bag of bone and tissue. He was lamenting the loss of his feeling of invincibility following a gun shot wound. So, what are we? A fascinating complex organism both tough in its endurance and vulnerable in its fragility? Or, are we simply a bag of bones? Most likely a very interesting combination of both. Here's to anatomy!

October Sneaky Pete

Look! The little thief has gutted our pumpkin!

We had so much fun watching the squirrels dig out our pumpkins last Fall. Instead of putting our various gourds (I like a lot of pumpkins) out with the trash after Halloween, we placed them in the backyard and watched as the neighborhood squirrels had themselves a Thanksgiving sized banquet large enough to last them through the long cold Michigan winter.

My husband took lots of pictures and we included this one in our 2009 calendar collaboration. The vintage sisters looking on from one of my favorite windows look absolutely delighted with the scene in front of them.......:)

The Ultimate Mask: The Human Face

I recently completed an entry for the Anton Art Centre's fall exhibit. The theme was "mask". I tried to come up with a clever mask to create but didn't feel inspired by Mardi Gras or Halloween type masks.

I'm not sure if difficulties at work may have led me down this path (I've stopped questioning why or where inspiration is leading me) but ultimately, I couldn't think of a more effective mask than the human face. From there, things just began to fall in to place.

The dapper gentleman is my grandfather and the stern looking lady is an adopted relative. They are out for a stroll with their true selves and have brought along their public faces just in case the occasion arises which would require false charity. This collage is dedicated to my friend Veronica who has proven herself to be a Halloween Goddess in the ATC world!

My Prayer Box

There once was a little house built with love and filled with prayers. Each prayer was carefully

printed on encaustic parchment and packed with reverence and faith. This is a house built on hope and optimism. Welcome!

Someone I know is in dire need of prayer. I gladly offer mine up for her and her family. It seems as though every time I think things are tough in my own life, I hear about someone else's burdens and feel ashamed for my grousing. It isn't that I doubt my right to feel what I feel, it's just that other people's problems can sometimes make mine seem less significant.

Inspire Me Thursday

Plaid!! Plaid tidings from my heart to yours! What if our hearts were secretly plaid? And what if each section of the plaid were a secret chamber? And what if we were able to keep all of our deepest darkest secrets in each of those chambers? Well I think that would just be plaidtastic!

Mixed Media Collage: vintage papers, anatomical clip art, gesso, wire

The Circus is Back in Town!

All I can say is, thank goodness I had such a steady stream of inspiration this summer! I am now back in the, "I'm too tired to do anything but come home and collapse" mode. I'm either bringing school work home or sitting on the couch like a lump staring into space every night. It always happens this way at the beginning of the school year. I am pulled in so many directions all day long that I feel as though I never get anything done.

I know that the teachers working directly with kids right now are equally exhausted, but I never realized until I moved to the office just how mentally exhausting working with adults and doing paperwork can be too.

In two weeks, I will begin working with my students again. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, once my body and brain adjust to the circus being back in town, I 'll have some energy left at the end of the day to do something creative..........

This assemblage is titled "On Entertaining Clowns" because after all, clowns need a little magic in their lives too, don't they?

Favorite Movie Quote

My friend Veronica sent me this wonderful ATC as part of our "Favorite Movie Quotes" swap. I love her glammy, glitzy style. This quote is from the movie, "Ghost". Our next swap theme is "Halloween". I had a sneak peek at her contribution on her blog, http://artbyveronica.blogspot.com/, and I can't wait to see it in person :)

Inspire Me Thursday Challenge

I did this "Gal Pals" collage several years ago and had it framed for our living room. We attempted to scan it through the frame, and I'm not crazy about the outcome. It seems that everything I scan through my scanner lately ends up with a blue cast. Frustration!

I created this background with a number of chalk ink colors, oil pastels, vintage photos, and stickers. The embedded text describes the ups and downs of relationships between women.

I like my "Gal Pals", I wish you could see it in all its glory :)

Hearts! Hearts! Hearts!

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” Albert Einstein

My exploration of the human heart continues as I work through my grief. This quote by Albert Einstein strikes a cord. It makes me think about idealism, political posturing, fanaticism, basically folks jumping on band wagons without examining what may lie in their own hearts. I think this is especially true today when people are so busy and pulled in so many different directions just trying to get through the business of life. It's easier to let others sway us with their opinions than to take the time to understand the issues ourselves and then make conscious, informed, heartfelt decisions. We need to slow down. It's too important that we try to "see things with (our) own eyes, and feel things with (our) own hearts........."

The heart above was created by my mother-in-law . Thank you!

Inspire Me Thursday Challenge

God finds a low branch for the bird that cannot fly......

I came across this Turkish proverb recently and it really struck a cord with me. When I first saw it, I related it to my work. I think of those little birds I work with who find it difficult to fly at the same pace as their peers. The proverb helps to assure me that they too will find their path, their "lower branch", and live happy successful lives.

When I saw the theme for this week's challenge, the proverb was still on my mind. My chair represents the "lower branch" provided by a kindly caretaker for a tired little bird who could no longer fly to protect her family.........

Chair created out of foamcore, mixture of vintage Bible papers, cheesecloth, dry brushed with Gesso, rusted wire, garden screening, bark from Marquette, Michigan, handmade nest created with excelsior, thread, shredded paper, and store bought eggs........

Hearts for Mama!

My beautiful son Joel has made his mama a heart for my heart challenge! He is a wonderful cook and is always very good to his mama. I love you Joel!

An Idea is Born

I recently viewed Diana Evans, www.dianaevans.blogspot.com response to IMT's theme of pears. She has a wonderful, unique style of painting that includes the look of stitches. Her painting of a pear included a light bulb shape within the pear itself.

Diana's painting reminded me of a piece I completed last summer that usually sits in my office at work. The piece is called An Idea is Born. The piece includes an old cigar box, a used paintbrush, aged copper, a handwoven bird's nest, old papers, an antique light bulb, and a purchased bird.

What began as a typical morning of laying eggs, became quite a surprise for our little mama bird. As her egg grew and grew, she realized that this particular contribution to the nature of things most likely qualified her to wear the title of "Queen Mother".......thus, the crown!