Distractions

I recently noticed that I've been very restless and distracted. When I thought about it, I realized that I feel this way every Spring and Fall. They are my favorite times of year. Here in Wisconsin, the Winter is cold and brutal. And the damp and cold can easily span from November to May. Summers can be hot and humid. These extremes tend to send me indoors.

In the pleasantly cool Spring and Fall, I find it difficult to sit still anywhere. My feet are always itching to be on the move. These seasons are so short, it seems every moment must be seized. All my senses are focused on the present.

Our Fall colors weren't especially colorful this year, and many leaves simply dropped off the trees earlier than usual. But I am still frequently tempted outdoors by the promise of the rustling of dry leaves underfoot and the distinctly crisp smells of the natural world rushing to ready itself for a long Winter's nap.

I even find it difficult to stay focused on art projects. Instead, like a squirrel, I find myself flitting from one project to another. Putting a bit of paint on one project, and leaving it to dry while I finish a brooch, paint some fabric, walk the dog, stop to take a long sniff in the Fall breeze, felt some wool, crochet a square, sort some beads, or make some applesauce.

Summer and Winter are my times to enjoy the comforts of my nest. Today I'm too distracted by the world out there.

Speaking of the world out there. I heard something fascinating today about one of the creatures closest to us in many ways.

Photo: Monica Szczupider / National Geographic

Dorothy, a beloved female chimp died at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon recently. The incredible picture above is of her burial, which was witnessed by the rest of the chimps residing there.

Before being rescued, Dorothy had spent 25 years tethered to the ground by a chain around her neck, only able to move a few feet in any direction. She had been taught to drink beer and smoke cigarettes, and had spent most of her life taunted and teased in the amusement park where she was a mascot. It's shameful what happened to this beautiful creature.

After her rescue, and once she was comfortable in her new home at the Rescue Center, Dorothy became a kind and loving surrogate mother to many of the younger chimps. She mothered orphaned and rescued chimps for many years and became a prominent figure in this group of about 25 chimps.

Monica Szczupider, a volunteer at the Rescue Center, took this photo that showed a wall of grieving chimps paying their last respects. This was her reaction to the amazing scene she witnessed:

"Chimps are not silent. They are gregarious, loud, vocal creatures, usually with relatively short attention spans", she said.

"But they could not take their eyes off Dorothy, and their silence, more than anything, spoke volumes."

To see and read more about this fascinating story, here's a link for you at National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions-of-earth/visions-earth-2009?image=2.


Thank you again, so much, for all your wonderful comments and e-mails in response to my three Invisible Woman self portraits. It was so interesting and gratifying to read the feelings and impressions these little works of mine stirred up in you.

I'm working on something totally new for me right now. It's totally experimental and a bit time-consuming, but I hope to have something to show you next week.

Thanks for all your continued support in my journey into and through artistic expression!

Remind me that I Have The Power

I Have the Power!

I made homemade biscuits last night to go with a fresh kale and bean soup. Good way to ring in the Fall weather. Just a tad cooler here and the poplars are juuuust beginning to turn that beautiful golden yellow. I took this picture from my backporch in mid November last year. It won't be long.


I'm licking honey from my chin as I type. Finishing off the next to the last biscuit. Hey, I can multitask with the best of them!
Multitasking with a husband who is suddenly, after a lifetime, always home, is another thing. YES, LET THE WHINING BEGIN! AGAIN!
You should know by now, this is how I problem solve. Whine....process....regroup....start NEW!
I LOVE this man I call JOe. But as another fellow artist once told me of her experience trying to create with a husband in the house...."the air just feels different. He doesn't even have to be in the same room."
I'm gettin' there! It gets easier and better everyday. Susan is right. It takes time. And I've got time.

Other News: "Art After Dark" was great fun. Here I am waiting to be fed. The City of Locust Grove provided wine and shopkeepers provided the goodies.

Great turn out!
Especially nice to get person to person feedback and see what people gravitated to.

People love the Big Biddies and this makes me happy.

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Tomorrow I'm off to St. Marys. Fall gardening and housework, but I'll be taking the paints and brushes. I have a few orders to fill and a few new ideas to try. I'm looking forward to it.

I've got to go get that last biscuit before Joe does. I'll catch up with you soon. Some fresh apple cider would be good with that biscuit. Good Grief! My body must be preparing for hibernation.
I'm hungry.
Love and all good things,
Ronnie
aka Joe's stove operator

Reality: My light shines from within

An Invisible Woman
"Reality: My light shines from within"
self-portrait
mixed media
on 8 x 10 canvas board

Here's #3 in my series of invisible woman self-portraits. (See #1 here, and #2 here.)

I love how this one turned out! It's a dark, rainy day here today, so I had some trouble with the quality of the photos, but if you click on the images, you can get an idea of the textures and colors. The human image is highly textured with modeling paste, which I applied and sculpted with a palette knife. Many rich acrylic colors were applied and rubbed in, and then the human image was finished with a satin varnish. The background was finished with a matte varnish.

(detail)

When I started this piece, I had only a vague idea where I was going with it. It was a lot like life. After I had painted for a while, I stepped back to look at the human figure, and I loved all layers of colors, all the nooks and crannies, the glowing heart and mind, and the glow emanating from the figure.

It looked like my life feels. Full of ups and downs, dark and light. Rich and full and, ultimately, immensely satisfying.

(detail)

I feel incredibly beautiful, powerful and wise after working on this series. Totally comfortable with my place in life. And very optimistic about my future. I do not reflect what others think about me. I know my self-worth with every fiber of my being. My feelings of self-worth come from inside me, from deep within my heart, mind and soul.

Now I can finally move on to some other ideas and pieces of art, because I feel like I've worked through something powerful and important.

While I was working on this series, I was also looking for quotes about older women. I was a bit distressed to find many where older women are referred to in a negative way: ugly, evil, witches, etc. It's like the quotes were all taken from the time of Shakespeare. But I was finally able to find quite a few terrific quotes about older women, by older women. And really, who knows best what an older woman really has to offer? Another older woman, of course, and perhaps a few enlightened men.

So here are some terrific quotes about women, by women.


"I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations: and suddenly find - at age fifty, say - that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about. . . It is as if fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.
~ Agatha Christie


"We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations."
~ Anais Nin


"So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls, why doesn't somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?"
~ Harriet Beecher Stowe


"First you are young; then middle-aged; then you are old; then you are wonderful."
~ Lady Diana Cooper


"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been."
~ Madeleine L'Engle


"One sign of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them."
~ Virginia Woolf


"Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force."
~ Dorothy L. Sayers


"The most creative force in the world is the menopausal woman with zest."
~ Margaret Mead


I was going to also add the poem "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou here, but the phenomenal Marion at Dragonfly's Poetry and Prolixity already did it on her wonderful blog (here) so please be sure to stop by her blog to read this wonderful poem about what it means to be a phenomenal, ripe and luscious woman.


And, finally, some wise words for any of us, at any age:



"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt



I'm feeling good about where I am in my journey through life, and I hope you are, too, no matter what your age.

Hugs,
Angela

Perception: As relevant as yesterday's newspaper

An Invisible Woman
"Perception: As relevant as yesterday's newspaper"
self-portrait
mixed media
on 8 x 10 canvas board

First I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and reactions to my first Invisible woman self-portrait (here). I really enjoyed reading your reactions. My intention was to leave the interpretation of the painting open, because I think art should stir up something different and personal in each individual, rather than having each brush stroke and symbol neatly explained.

Many of you saw things in the painting that I didn't notice until you pointed them out. I love that!

This painting is the second in a series of 3 that I have been working on. The background is a busy and garishly colorful crazy-quilt design, while the image of the woman is a generic symbol of a woman cut out of an old newspaper.

An invisible woman
"Perception: As relevant as yesterday's newspaper"
(detail)

If you click on the detail photo, you may be able to see something I found amusing. The circle which I used for the head was originally meant to be the other side of the paper. But as I was about to apply it to the painting, it slipped from my hand and fell onto the painting upside down. The only readable word on this side of the paper was "older," so I decided to leave that side up. Another happy accident.

While doing this piece, I was reminded of one of my favorite Georgia O'Keeffe quotes:

"I found I could say things
with color and shapes
that I couldn't say
in any other way. . .
things I had no words for."

I must apologize if I haven't been to visit your blog as often as I'd like, or if I haven't responded yet to a comment you have left. I'll try to do better in the future. Please forgive me. I've been terribly busy and inspired in so many different creative directions, I feel a bit like Emily Dickinson when she wrote:

"To live is so startling
it leaves little time
for anything else."

Thinking Pink

The talented and kind Julie Mitchell, at When the Spirit Moves Me, recently presented me with the Kreativ Blogger award. Julie is a dear blogger friend and fiber artist who makes the most beautiful Spirit Figures and Art Dolls. Please visit her blog (here) to see her gorgeous creations, and to read about her life and her many interests.

Thank you Julie!

As you probably know by now, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Mammograms, like colonoscopies, are something we don't enjoy, but they are well worth the temporary discomfort.

I've had at least one every year for since my twenties, since I am at very high risk. Everyone should follow their own doctor's advice on when to begin having mammograms, and how frequently to have them.

Here are a few links you may be interested in:

- for breast cancer symptoms and diagnosis, breastcancer.org has some easy-to-understand information and links (here)

- to find out your personal risk of breast cancer, cancer.gov has a simple on-line assessment tool (here)

- to find out what you can do to help prevent breast cancer, the National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov) has some terrific information to get you started (here)

- if you cannot afford a mammogram or have no insurance, liv.com can help you find a location in your state that offers free mammograms (here)

- and for information about inflammatory breast cancer, a type of cancer which cannot be detected by a mammogram, the IBC Research Foundation (ibcresearch.org) has a very comprehensive website here

I am an invisible woman

"I am an invisible woman"
self-portrait
mixed media on 8 x 10 canvas board
acrylic, collage, egg-carton papier mache

I just finished this piece this week. It's the first in a series, I think. It represents how society doesn't see women of a certain age anymore.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

As an invisible woman, we gain power, too. We can become keen observers and, if we choose, wise and unconventional teachers. We come into our own in so many ways, and that can be an incredibly freeing and powerful feeling.

"I am an invisible woman"
(detail)

I have also been working on an art website called "Bleeding Heart Studio," and while I was jotting down some ideas for it, I wrote this:

"After spending over a decade working my way up the corporate ladder in the marketing departments of several well-known large corporations, I chose to become a full-time mother to raise my two children. This I did, for longer than I ever felt possible. It was the most worthwhile thing I have ever done.

I emerged from this period of self-imposed domesticity to discover that, during this time, I had become an invisible woman in society.

So I returned to my first love. Art.

This time I started with some self-portraits."

What this description doesn't mention is that out of necessity I've also had a series of horrible part-time jobs during my post-corporate years. We live simply, and we are by no means rich. So, like many women, I've had my share of funny, mind-numbing, soul-sucking part-time jobs. The sulphur smell of hard-boiled eggs reminds me of two of them.
:0)

I have been an artist of sorts my whole life. It started when I was young. I drew almost daily well into my teens. I was a writer, designer, and coordinator during much of my corporate career. (That's how I could be corporate, without losing my mind.) I was a creative mother, encouraging my children to explore anything and everything. I have had a large kitchen garden, and am still a creative cook. And I've painted and made jewelery, off and on, for years.

Now is my time, I think. It's my time to really see where this burning love of art can take me.

*****

October 15 is Blog Action Day. Bloggers from over 139 countries will be writing about climate change, reaching over 11 million readers with their message. Please join me on my environmental blog, A note from your Mother, where I'll have links to some interesting information on the topic.

Thanks!

Domestic Witch and The Deborah Award

I've been a bad, bad blogger.

I've been avoiding passing on two lovely awards I received, because I cannot possibly narrow down the list of recipients to just a few of my favorite blogs. So, please, any and all of you who visit me here, please take these awards and place them on your blog. Each of you, and each of your blogs, is special to me in a very different way.

The Domestic Witch Award was presented to me a while ago by my dear blogging friend, the wonderful art doll artist, Sue Barton from Barton Originals. Please click here to visit her beautiful blog, which is full of gorgeous art and inspiration.

The Deborah Award was presented to me just a few days ago by another dear blogging friend of mine, the talented artist Silke Powers. Her blog, Metamorphosis, is also filled with her lovely art, as well as photos of her beloved Savannah, Georgia, her travels, and her delicious cooking. Please be sure to visit her blog as well. (Please click here.)

And so it goes, people who will probably never meet in "real" life, connecting in ways we never could have imagined just a few years ago.

Pretty amazing, this blogging.

You can change the world

I found this interesting blog today, and thought you might be interested. Please click on the picture above or go to http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/ for all kinds of wonderful information about how we can make the world a better, cleaner place.

I have also posted this link on my other blog, A note from your Mother, where I occasionally post information I find interesting about Mother Earth. I'm planning to post on this blog more regularly again, too, so be sure to take a look once in a while, if you're interested.

You can click on the link on the right sidebar or here to read A note from your Mother.

Thanks.
:0)

A few interesting things I've learned

Here's just a little something to show you that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Did you know that the health care debate is not new in the US? In fact, the idea that access to adequate health care should be the right of all Americans was first introduced by President Harry Truman in November of 1945. Click here to connect to information at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

Franklin Roosevelt began in 1932 to speak about the need for social and economic rights to complement the political rights provided for in our original Bill of Rights. In January of 1944, he proposed what he called a "Second Bill of Rights."

If you are interested, you can click here and here for more detailed information.

This is a portion of his 1944 State of the Union address in which he described his proposed social and economic rights:

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the Nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.

What the heck is a Recada anyway?

I know you are just desperate to know what a Recada is, right?

I wish I knew.

All I know is, it's my middle name. My father wanted a boy he could call "Richard," but he got me, instead. So he made up a middle name for me. He was always making up names for people. Believe me, I'm lucky my middle name is something as normal as Recada!

So when I started blogging, I decided that's who I'd be. Angela Recada. It's the only thing that's mine alone. It's me. It's the only time I'm not someone who carries a last name from a father, or uses a last name received through marriage. Just me.

It reflects the me who is reaching for the stars.

It reflects the me who is moving forward, running with enthusiasm, with open arms and an open heart, toward anything and everything that interests me.

It reflects the silly me. The me who laughs more and tries to find a bit of joy in every day. The me who's not afraid anymore to play, and try new things, and make mistakes

But, if by some chance "recada" means something in another language, would you please tell me? I mean, especially if it means something bad. I'd hate to think my middle name means something like "poopie pants," or worse.
:0)

Summer aka BLOG KILLER!

My new favorite t-shirt
"I live in my own world, but it's OK... they like me here."

Hey Lovely Bloggers!
It has been 42 days since my last blog post! This was certainly not intentional, but Summer grabbed me with the tenacity of a gator on a terrier!
A quick refresher: Joe has retired. Life as I have known it for decades is gone, vanished, kaput.
We have no trouble filling up our days, but now, every day seems like a weekend. If asked what day it is, Joe and I both glaze over... "Saturday?"
It has been fun, but I have sorely missed my art. There have been so many moments when I have been stopped in my tracks by pure inspiration, images conjured that I KNEW were destined for solid form. Dozens of ideas have simply floated away... stolen away by a cluttered mind and too much activity.
Where do lost ideas go!? I don't know, but I'm on a mission to find them!
I keep telling myself, "You need to create a notebook necklace". When inspiration hits, paper and pencil are RIGHT THERE! Scribble it down quick. Grab it while ya got it.
Today, I find myself blissfully alone. WEEEEEEEEEEE! As I type, Joe is headed for a race in Virginia (VIR for you race fans). I begged off with a kiss and a wave-goodbye from the driveway.

Here's Joe, happy as a clam, in the pits with APR Motorsports

Wasting no time, I headed off to the nearby village of Locust Grove to meet with Brenda, the owner of Old South Ceramics. She will host me as "her artist" at a local art event called "Art After Dark". I have until Oct 9th to get it together, interrupted only by jury duty on the 5th. Wish me luck that it's not a long drawn out horrible trial. I just don't have time for justice these days!

Locust Grove, Georgia
site of Art After Dark, October 10th

It's good to be back. I'll be posting pictures of two more Hawaiian artists I met during our August trip and of course all the goings on around here! See you then.
Is there a chill in the air? Are the leaves beginning to fall where you live?
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

Ink on my face

self portrait
walnut ink
on 9" x 12" watercolor paper

I've been so busy hunting and gathering, playing and experimenting, that I've been forgetting to take pictures of what I've been doing! So I'll rectify that by showing you a walnut ink self-portrait I did yesterday.

I love, love, LOVE walnut ink! And I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, although the shadows at the top of my head turned out a bit dark. That's because the ink pooled on the paper and dried while I stepped away to do something else. Walnut ink is wonderful to use, though, a lot like watercolor, in that you can lay down layers of washes to create dramatic shadows.

For inspiration, I used a photo of myself that I had played around with on our old, old computer earlier this Summer. The old computer still had a Corel photo editing program on it which was terrific for adding special effects. We don't have anything comparable to that program on our new computer yet, so I'm glad I had that photo to use as inspiration for the dramatic shadows.

I've found that I'm really enjoying using self-portraits as a way to experiment with different materials and techniques. That way the subject doesn't get in the way, because it's already so familiar to me.

A week or so ago, I mentioned that I had attended a family wedding. One of the things I really enjoy doing is people-watching, and as I looked around, I was reminded of this Picasso painting.

Picasso
The Two Saltimbanques (1901)

I was doodling a few days later, and ended up with this drawing of two middle-aged women. All dressed up, but essentially invisible as far as society is concerned.

Invisible Women at the Wedding

I'm not disciplined enough to keep a journal, but if I did, this would be a journal page. Swirling around the women, I wrote the lyrics of some stereotypical wedding songs, common banter between men about the joys of an open bar, and conversation one typically hears later in the evening between people who meet for the first time at weddings.
:0)
After I was finished doodling in ink, I added a little water color and then collaged yellow tissue paper over the background and tissue paper with hearts on the table. The little bouquet of flowers was cut from some very old German Easter tissue paper. The pink swirls are also tissue paper.

And this is the maple tree I can see from my kitchen window. It's one of the first trees to change color in the Fall in our garden, and it's colors transform almost daily. Fall and Spring are definitely my favorite seasons. Not too hot, not too cold, and Mother Nature changes subtly every day. I love the visual aspects, but I also love the sounds, tastes and smells of the changing seasons, don't you? I love the crackling of the leaves underfoot in the Fall, the smell of the cool, crisp air early in the morning, the first bite into a juicy apple, the subtle shifting of the angle of the sun, and the large full harvest moon.

I hope you find something to tantalize all your senses today!

***
(OK, this is annoying. It's five hours since I posted this and it still hasn't appeared on blog rolls, my dashboard, or Blogger's Google Reader. What's up with Blogger today?!?)
***
(Almost 9 hours later, I've tried re-publishing. I've published, and since deleted, another post that didn't show up either. I give up for today!)
***
Maybe I really am invisible!
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