Happy Belated, Mr. Coltrane

http://www.johncoltrane.com/

Marchande de Fleurs

Marchande de Fleurs - digital collage

She to this earth belonged, where beauty fast
To direst fate is borne:
A rose, she lasted, as the roses last,
Only for one brief morn. 

- Consolation, François de Malherbe 

While this selection is from a poem to a friend whose daughter has died, it kept rattling around in my nut while I played with some travel photos today. (Click image to enlarge.)

I remembered the poem but not the poet. In my search I stumbled upon this lovely bit of music by Rafi Baladi.  

Consolation du Malherbe à son ami M. Du Périer-New richer version | Musicians Available

He was inspired upon rereading Consolation and imagining Malherbe's visit to his friend. Here is Mr. Baldi's eloquent explanation from his Muziboo page:

 "I read it again ten years ago (2000) and imagined him riding his horse to visit his friend on a dark rainy evening to deliver his Consolation to him. I imagined Du Périer open his countryside home and let him in. Each sipped a glass of wine on a chipped wooden table and Malherbre read his poem. Du Périer responded with gratitude commenting on Malherbre’s similar and earlier two tragedies with his own children. (Which is true) The peace of music is represented by two major sets of strings, one delivered by Malherbre and the other intervened, gently, by Du Périer." 

Click here to find out more about this composer and to listen to some of his music.

Random tunes & doodles

Ripe Fruit ACEO

I hadn't put pencil to paper in a while, so last night it was time to let my mind wander over some scraps. I set Itunes to shuffle & had fun scribbling. 

Here are some little 2.5" x 3.5" pieces and the songs that were playing at the time.

woman & fruit ACEO

If anything catches your eye, they are now in my ArtSnark etsy shop ($4 each + free shipping). Just click the captions for more info.

the psychic ACEO

Remember Crash Test Dummies? Man - I loved their 2nd album back in the day. Brings back some memories.....

bird girl ACEO

And this last less-than-lovely lady is just cuz I like zombies. Although I did have the phrase "Don't worry. I will never leave you" creeping around in my noggin.

Ghoul Girl ACEO

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. Still redoing the workspace so I need to go organize lots o' glue - woohoo! Actually I have a bit of a thing for adhesives and have  been looking forward to this. Weird I know. But, that is mixed media for you. Hope you all have a creative day!

Water Music on Mixed Media & Musical Monday

Today the Musical Monday theme is My First Concert

while Mixed Media Monday's prompt is Meaningful Music

When I was 10 we moved from our tiny town to a slightly larger, picturesque city by the sea. Though we only there 2 years, my eyes (& ears) were opened to some life altering experiences. My Mom started taking me to the local "Opera House" where I was introduced to everything from Shakespeare to Gilbert & Sullivan. She also took me to a number of concerts, mostly chamber music & classical soloists. And then 1 day.... it was Respighi's Pines of Rome! That was it - I was sold on both classical music & dreams of visiting Rome.

Trevi Letters

For a while I've wanted to paint again. Just too busy to work on anything big right now. So I've been "sketching" in my ancient photoshop elements. Trevi Letters is my prep for a bigger piece inspired by the 3rd movement from Respighi's Fontane di Roma. Think of it as part of series of love letters to Rome.

If you are curious, I digitally collaged a scrap of printed paper, a Polaroid emulsion transfer made from a close up of the Trevi fountain (yes, I did make it to Rome), and a charcoal drawing of a cellist from years ago. Then I played with some colors & swirls but when I printed it out, it looked like mud (my printer sucks). Rather than toss the print, I had fun adding watercolors, pencils, markers, white paint & gel pens. Unfortunately, I can't seem to capture the shimmer of the gel pens or the white highlights, but you get the basic idea.

If you've got a few minutes, click through the links above to see what other folks have posted today. Also, why not play along & add your own music / art while you are visiting them?


And while you're at it don't forget to visit Maternal Spark's Weekly Inspiration. What is inspiring me this week? I think you can guess what I'm going with.....

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By the way, still accepting entries for 2 random drawings:

On 10/1 one winner gets the matted print Little Gift from Amber Freeman. Just leave a comment before noon Thursday to enter. CLICK here to see print

On 10/22 one winner gets custom printed vinyl banner from Uprinting.com. CLICK here for prize details & rules

Mix It Up With Melange Challenge - Heavenly

Calling All Angels ATC

I made this ATC for a swap & (lucky for me ) it kinda fits this week's Mix It Up With Melange prompt. If you have any Heavenly mixed media art you've created, click through & add your link in the comments. If you just want to check out some cool art pieces, that is where you'll find them.

This atc started with a photo I took years ago that was altered in P.Elements. The angel was then printed onto textured paper & enhanced with watercolors. This was trimmed & glued to a piece of red mat board. The whole thing was worked over with colored pencils,pastels & metallic gel pen. Then colored swarovski crystal pieces were glued on. Unfortunately I had a hard time getting a good photo of the little sparkly bits

On different note, I finally had a sale on Etsy - feels like it has been forever! It is easy to come up with excuses, but the reality is that I've not listed anything new in ages. I've just been making stuff & setting it aside.

My drawings have not been selling, so I've pulled out the mat cutter and am busy making acid free mats. These will allow the art to fit easily into standard sized frames. I'll be adding these to ArtSnark.etsy.com this week & sure hope this helps make them more appealing.

By the way, If you haven't signed up for tomorrow's 2 random drawings, you have until noon (EST) on 9/24. Click through for details:

1 winner receives a custom printed 18" x 24" poster from Uprinting.com - US only

The 2nd winner chooses 1 print from Koniver.etsy.com - Worldwide

RTT is great...but can you dance to it?

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

I sooo love Random Tuesday. It's the bebop of blogging. Welcome to the jam session! Grab a button & play along

After 60 years clarinetist Stanley Drucker is retiring from the NY Philharmonic. He will have played in over 10,200 concerts. I caught this story in the shower this morning. He talked about backstage poker games in the 40s & other cool stuff. Learn a bit about Stanley at NPR.

Check out this vivacious gal from ArtFreebies

But she should be wearing this!!


Or anything else from BoringSidney

Take a minute & check out this fab etsy shop (great photos too)

The Lituus is back! WooHoo! Ok, so you can't see the mild sarcasm. Actually this is very cool.

I nicked the photo from Physorg.com. There's also an article & slide show on the recreation of this extinct musical instrument .

Last Wednesday's Melange challenge prompt was Dance. To play along, just CLICK HERE & link to your dance themed art.While you are there, visit the other lively pieces .

I was fussing with a collage for the challenge, but The Muse & I both wanted to lead. After stepping on each others toes, she elbowed me in the ribs & we went our separate ways. In the meantime here's an ACEO I made a while back.

She looks kind of unpleasant so I've decided she's really a Gorgon. Her sisters are here too.

These pieces are in layers & the top layer is a gold frosted paper.

They're all a little "off" - that metallic paper is a bear to photograph. It is kinda cool in hand though. Hold it one way you see the image. Tilt it a bit & all you see is the frosty gold & text.

Popped over to godchecker.com (great site by the way) & tossed Medusa into the search. I'd forgotten that she was once a lovely lady before a jealous Athena got a hold of her. Apparently her sisters, Stheno & Euryale, are super nasty AND immortal. Don't want to be running into them down some dark alley.

Somebody else who scares me a little, but in a good way, Is Keely The Un Mom. She's sort of the conductor (or is it high priestess?) of the Random Tuesday Thoughts orchestra. And the only person I (really don't) know who is taking on ninjas, chocolate cake, and dead mice all at once today.

Before you go, leave a comment! How much do I love hearing from you? Sooo much that your impulsive thought gets you 1 Entry into this Thursday's random Giveaway drawing. Actually, 2 since I'm drawing for an extra prize this week. For details & prize info CLICK HERE

MM x2 = Atarazzi #22 + Altered Ancestors

okay, I kinda stink at math but this isn't really about that.

it's just another Melding-Monday.

meets

Both ask "What moves you today?" For obvious reasons, Mothers have been on my mind a lot lately. Both my Grandmother & Mother in Law passed away last spring. They've inspired several paintings that are still stuck in my head. Something about the latest Artarazzi challenge photo triggered one that I'd been thinking about for a while.

Started fiddling with something yesterday.

MariaPia (My husband's Mum) is on the left with 2 of her siblings.

Last night I dreamed Mercutio's Queen Mab soliloquy ...again.... yes, I am a dork. Had to memorize the blasted thing in high school & it's been haunting me ever since. Mind you I can't even remember my own cell phone number - bah!

So the faerie queen was rattling around in my nut while I played with the Artarazzi piece today. I was also trying to remember a Donovan tune from a million years ago (1971) called Queen Mab. Couldn't find a listen online but there's a teeny tiny snippet on Amazon (#27). For the curious, lyrics are here. I remember hearing this album a few times as a kid (Though where, I don't recall - all we had on vinyl in our house were Xmas carols, The Carpenters, John Denver & show tunes....seriously). Think I'd like to track down a copy but not willing to shell out a hundred bucks for nostalgia.

Where am I going with this?
I added this lovely lady from the Art Freebies blog

Then I tweaked some butterfly wings I had lying about.
And here's the final:

Somehow all the jumbly bits came together in this digital collage tentatively called Queen Mab's Children. To see more interpretations of the original challenge photo (or to play along) click here & then visit the Mr. Linky section on the upper right.

Tuesday Note: Came to grips with the fact that I probably won't get my Mother piece for the Melange challenge done in time, so submitted this one instead. Click here & go thru the comments to visit the other Melange entries. Also check the Melange Team blog Wednesday for this week's new Melange challenge prompt

Fri 29th note: Am I milking this post or what?! I just heard about inspiremethursday.com & they're talking about Altered Ancestors. This piece seems to fit. Click through & Go check 'em out. Or link your own creation. There's also lots of free stuff & giveaway links. Pretty cool place

Monday's Muse meets Musical Mondays

Oh, I had a dream
It seemed I stood alone
And the veil of all the years
Goes sinking from my eyes just like a stone

-from Nostradamus by Al Stewart

Sue's Girl Life size charcoal drawing

Reading some interesting blogs tonight & decided to get a head start on

Over at Moss Hill Studios JoAnna Pierotti is talking about Mothers. Leave a comment on her blog about your maternal influence - you could win a space in one of her online workshops.

The charcoal drawing above, Sue's Girl, was a gift for my mother several years ago. My Mom is an interesting woman. We've not always had the best relationship, but it has certainly never been dull. We are very different in many ways, but one thing we have in common is a strong belief in intuition and dream. I fear I'm sounding a bit flaky, so I'll leave it at that.

A visit to Joy To The Blog introduced me to Musical Mondays, a cool idea that starts over at Good Mourning Glory. GMG is also running a drawing for free music. Click on the button & check out the details.


Tonight's music has been background. Mostly Al Stewart's Rhymes in Rooms. One of my favorites is Nostradamus. Unfortunately the only versions I'm finding to share have dopey background stuff going on. So instead here's Clifton in the Rain

The Butterfly Charmer & Faux Frescoes

Cleaning out some shelves & uncovered these wonderful teeny frames

Decided I needed to make a little something.

And I do mean little. The frames are 3"sq & almost 1.5" deep.
So made this tiny Butterfly Charmer

It feels good to create something...anything. Too many days without making stuff & I get cranky!

Hope to really dig my heels into something meaty soon.

Till then, I added 5 Polaroid Transfers to my etsy sale at ArtSnark.

These are emulsion transfers on marble tile.* Ready to hang
Fun to make The final look reminds me of old frescoes & ruined walls.Just click on any pic for details
* If you'd like to read more about the different steps for making emulsion vs. image Polaroid transfers click here. The photos I posted yesterday were image transfers. Friday's post featured an emulsion transfer

4 to beam up - It's Random Tuesday!

If he were still around, it'd be James Doohan's birthday today. I was thinking that no one actually said "Beam me up, Scotty" on the old Star Trek series (yes, yes Once a nerd, always a nerd) & a trip down google-lane ended at TV Tropes. They have fun lists of phrases now stuck in our minds that were never actually said on film/tv. My dweeby anal-retentive nature aside, a toast too ya Mr Doohan!I nicked this pic off a post called StarTrek's Greatest Moments in Drinking, another google gem

The Un Mom is still encouraging the zombie-luv...no not that kind of....ewww... I'm talking icky fun illustrations by Jason Chan! If you lean toward the dark side, I recommend a look around his blog. He has a great Norman-Rockwell's-evil-twin thing going on *ach, poorly phrased but meant to be a compliment*

Some of his pieces (like this lovely lady)would fit perfectly with all the squiggly-goodness over at cephalopod tea party

Joe Bagley has a freaking awesome papercutting of his eye on his blog today!

A peek at JanuaryWish's blog today introduced me to Airborne Toxic Event- Somewhere Around Midnight - very very cool

This looks good too - no fee online self portrait competition, deadline May 31. I say go for it! Or check out the entries that have been posted thus far

Gotta run. Final bit of trivia today. Another birthday wish to the famous gent who once said Mr. Watson- come here- I want to see you

Random Thoughts Tuesday

Ugg- Brain foggy..... Do you ever find that you're more awake when you tumble out of bed than 3 -4 hours later? (insert every mother's lecture about eating a proper breakfast here)

My random shuffle is doing better than I am at this today- Last 5 songs 1st to last have been

Tank - Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
Stealing the Pinch - David Holmes
D is for Drums - They Must Be Giants
Once again around the Dance floor - KD Lang
Evacuate - Boxer Rebellion

Hmm....Put Down the Duckie (Ernie & Hoots the Owl) just kicked in... gotta love Party Shuffle

While wasting time I don't really have searching for a link to David Holmes, I tripped into rhapsody.com - Haven't snooped around much yet but it gave me a nice clear rendition of Stealing the Pinch to share ( tho the last link takes you to all of Holmes' music)

...more coffee...ahh...much better

OK...here's the KD Lang song on rhapsody (link not exact but will lead you in the right direction)

If you've bothered following all this, you're slacking off as badly as I am & you need one of THESE .....what? were you expecting a personal assistant? You (and I ) wish!

You may notice I'm having some troubles with the whole time-management- resolution- thing.

But I Loooove Random thoughts Tuesday! And teeny tiny text

.....if you need a little more anarchy, go visit the Un-Mom warning rated pg-13 for real-life language today ;-D

A Day Of Sharing Song - Calling All Angels

"Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought. " E.Y. Harburg

Playing with another great idea from LK Ludwig:

"Songs can move us to places we haven't been in a long time, places we long for every day, or places we some day hope to be. The combination of music and poetry can transport us across distances, and through the years... Meeting new music, musicians, composers, poets, new ways for my soul to sing, is an intriguing concept. Want to go on this adventure with me? It will be easy to travel along...Dec 3 ...post a song that touches you...."

I've narrowed mine down to 2 -The 1st is Calling All Angels by Jill Siberry & KD Lang:
You can listen to it hereSanta Maria, Santa Teresa, Santa Anna, Santa Susannah
Santa Cecilia, Santa Copelia, Santa Domenica, Mary Angelica
Frater Achad, Frater Pietro, Julianus, Petronilla
Santa, Santos, Miroslaw, Vladimir
and all the rest

a man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries
and high above the church bells start to ring
and as the heaviness the body oh the heaviness settles in
somewhere you can hear a mother sing

then it's one foot then the other as you step out onto the road
how much weight? how much weight?
then it's how long? and how far?
and how many times before it's too late?

calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
calling all angels
calling all angels
we're cryin' and we're hurtin'
and we're not sure why...

and every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
it's almost...it's almost as if
if you could only crack the code
then you'd finally understand what this all means

but if you could...do you think you would
trade in all the pain and suffering?
ah, but then you'd miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving

calling all angels
calling all angels
walk me through this one
don't leave me alone
callin' all angels
callin' all angels
we're tryin'
we're hopin'
we're hurtin'
we're lovin'
we're cryin'
we're callin'
'cause we're not sure how this goes