Twin and I had the best day yesterday - we explored an abandoned village! Several houses of 1800s to early 1900s vintage are scattered along two roads leading essentially nowhere. In one house, I found a flat, porous gray rock with a top of lettuce-green spiky, conish crystals! I was also able to take a little bit of vintage wallpaper to use in my journal as a reminder of the adventure.
Twin and I bring out the adventurer in each other! I never would have done it without him, and he says he never would have done it without me. It was fascinating walking through the two old houses, both quite enticing, both houses we would enjoy living in.
To be continued . . . .
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving gifts
This year, Thanksgiving was different. It is like the question asked at Passover, how is this Thanksgiving different from all other Thanksgivings? I didn't spend it with my family, now shrunken to my brother and former sister-in-law, both of whom decamped to sunnier climes, leaving me behind.
Although my beloved friend Lydia invited me, and although it meant boarding my cat Orange Boy, which is traumatic for him, traumatic for me, and expensive, I decided the right thing to do was to accompany sweetie Twin down to Virginia to spend the day with his 90-year-old father and his care-giving brother.
The ride was long and arduous; thankfully, Twin is a terrific driver and a wonderful travel companion. And when we arrived, Twin's brother and father were so welcoming, and so outspokenly grateful that we came, and that I came, I knew I had made the right decision. It was what Thanksgiving should be about - family, gratitude, warmth.
AND when we got back to the hotel, the heated pool was still open, so Twin and I played Sole Tag and Marco Polo!
Two gifts along the way - going there, lighted crosses on a mountain that flickered and seemed to move, ethereal and supernatural looking; returning, a huge, pale rainbow spanning the horizon. Thank you, God.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Altered Book Workshop
I signed up for an Altered Book Workshop* this Fall, and apart from missing the first of four sessions because I misplaced my appointment book and misremembered the start date, it has been such a boost!
It isn't about learning techniques - so far I know everything that has been taught - it's about creating with other living, breathing creative people in the room. We are separate but together, giving each other support and space in equal measure. It lifts my spirits and encourages me. The last session is this Saturday, which is a bummer, but I am so glad I signed up and followed through. I have a problem with inertia, and often have meant to sign up for a class and then at the last minute decided to bag it.
My altered book is a board book, and I have had fun making painted and stamped layered backgrounds. I accidentally hit on a theme - wings - I had just been working along, creating whatever felt right, when I realized that everything in my book had wings. There was a bingo card I used as a background, so I cut out a W and S from a magazine and pasted them over the B and O to make the word WINGS. I really want to finish this book by the end of the last session.
And then I want to take other classes - if there are any that are appropriate. It adds to my life and reduces my tendency to self-isolate.
*For those of you who don't know, altered books are published books which the artist then uses as a kind of canvas for art, thereby altering the book. The kind of art done in the books varies widely. It can be collage, painting, drawing; it can cover the entire original page of the book, obscuring the original printing, or it can use what is printed in the book. Some people black out words, leaving other words visible to create odd, obscure poems. Some people draw on the existing illustrations. The quality of art varies widely, even in published altered books. Many are just plain horrible and trite. But many are fascinating, surprising treasures to be lingered over.
It isn't about learning techniques - so far I know everything that has been taught - it's about creating with other living, breathing creative people in the room. We are separate but together, giving each other support and space in equal measure. It lifts my spirits and encourages me. The last session is this Saturday, which is a bummer, but I am so glad I signed up and followed through. I have a problem with inertia, and often have meant to sign up for a class and then at the last minute decided to bag it.
My altered book is a board book, and I have had fun making painted and stamped layered backgrounds. I accidentally hit on a theme - wings - I had just been working along, creating whatever felt right, when I realized that everything in my book had wings. There was a bingo card I used as a background, so I cut out a W and S from a magazine and pasted them over the B and O to make the word WINGS. I really want to finish this book by the end of the last session.
And then I want to take other classes - if there are any that are appropriate. It adds to my life and reduces my tendency to self-isolate.
*For those of you who don't know, altered books are published books which the artist then uses as a kind of canvas for art, thereby altering the book. The kind of art done in the books varies widely. It can be collage, painting, drawing; it can cover the entire original page of the book, obscuring the original printing, or it can use what is printed in the book. Some people black out words, leaving other words visible to create odd, obscure poems. Some people draw on the existing illustrations. The quality of art varies widely, even in published altered books. Many are just plain horrible and trite. But many are fascinating, surprising treasures to be lingered over.
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