Our First Art Exchange Showing-Artist Stash Project 1

The rules were few and simple-we drew names and sent the person whose name we got some of our many bits and pieces we had stashed around the house.  The person who received the box would then create something using all or some of the bits.

My box came from Lolo (and I wish I had remembered to take a picture of it.  I know Lo, and I've followed her art, so I know her art.  I wanted to create something that was reminiscent of her, and without copying her style-which would be futile-she's incomparable!

I wanted to pay homage to her bag lady series-so I tried to think of something that was like a paper bag, but wasn't.  Now that is harder than it sounds-I came up with "Cardboard Box" tab.

She also sent some ATC-s so I wanted to do a 'series' because I've been playing in digital mediums with the same image several ways.  It's harder in 3-D.

Then I said pooh, I wanna do a paper bag.  This is my test bag where I played with different pens and stuff to see how they would react to the paper bag.The dog tag is all Lolo-I just put it on the bag and added some stuff she sent.  The only thing that I added to this one was the vinyl for the snake.  This was all accomplished this morning.  I've been playing with ideas, of course they all went out the door when I sat down, but what fun I had!  I hope we can do this again, because it was really as stretch for me to move out of my digital world and I enjoyed it very much.

Here  we have what Anne Jeffries created from KJ's stashbox.  She couldn't be with us today but sent this to me to put up.  Isn't it lovely?  I see bits of both people in this-I love it!

I realize, after posting my poem on Sadness and its inspiration from the poet Giacomo Leopardi, that I probably should have also posted the first part that was a larger piece of writing. This reflection and the resultant poem are the culmination of a lot of reading and thinking I've been doing on the subject of Sadness. It has actually been a very happy time because of the answers I've been receiving.

Hugs to all on Blogland Lane. Your comments are dear to me.
Annie at 53A

St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the Great Sadness, that fundamental characteristic of a life lived with awareness. When I first read these words, I was gripped with an understanding so deep, so intense, that I've now spent days unraveling the meaning and how these words relate to my own personal experience of sadness.

I grew up with a mother who suffered tremendous sadness in her early life and youth. I was too young to understand what this meant to me in my own youth and then I arrived at my own teen years wrapped in my own particular teen angst. But, with adulthood and by my late 20's, having suffered my own disappointments, I was firmly wrapped in layers of melancholy that were not just my own but also my mother's. Sadness and covering it up was my rule but what it all meant still needed to be learned.

A Life Lived With Awareness

Examining sadness - I learned that my experience cannot be compared to any other's. Comparison is a trap that blocks learning the value of one's own personal sadness. Comparison blinds you to solutions and a clear awareness of the life around you. Comparison leads to guilt; guilt leads to ineffectual action or even non-action.

For example; when I see a shabby person standing on a corner with a sign, do I think - druggy begger, wino, or loser, or do I ignore that person, or hand out an impersonal dollar bill, or worse - change the direction of my car thereby making them completely invisible?

OR

Can I feel sadness, true sadness, and really see the need in their eyes? Is there a solution I can reach for, a human touch I can offer? Can really seeing them go beyond the "me" (there but for the Grace of God) and reach the "I" that lives within me? Can touchng that "I" spark I call Christ bring me to a solution for the "man" on the corner?

Matt 25:35 led me to an answer, or rather my own experience of sadness, uncluttered by judgments, comparison, or guilt led me to my personal answer to the dilemma of the "man" on the corner. Matt 25:35 simply confirmed my answer.

This search for the understanding of sadness and its role in our lives can be applied to anything outside of ourselves that touches us in some way. Sadness is a positive experience as long as we don't allow ourselves to sink into melancholia or depression, then guilt, and perhaps ultimately despair and loss of hope. Our lives overflow with examples of events that induce sadness. How we view and deal with these events, based on our understanding of the source of our sadness, is what can lead us to remarkable and life-changing solutions. We may never know a life has been changed but each effective action we take towards a solution changes each of us for the better.

Sadness

Poetry from 53A

POEM - Hommage to Giacomo Leopardi

Sadness

Lonely heartache, no trace
Tomorrow erases and renews
Sadness passes away
Life lived aware
passes away.
Evidence erased, bits of sand
In time's history.
Eagerly looking forward
Holiday time now over
Wakeful
Unhappy
Grasping
For yesterday.

Art Box Exchange Gallery Opening Tomorrow

The gallery will open tomorrow at Noon CST to share your work.  I suggest you give it a few hours if you want to see the entire gallery-or just come back often as people share their work.  


I will start a post.  If you are participant, you can go in and edit the post and add your own work-or if you want, e-mail the jpeg to me and I'll add it for you.


Don't be shy about posting up what you've created-the point was to take something someone else was drawn to and transform it, as well as just to share with other people on the blog.  This is a total no pressure exercise!

Moon's dad's locality

Neighbors!! How are you!? I'm from #602 who always pokes you to come to his nest to join tea party! Remember now? Haha...! Guys... Today I want to share some snaps of a recent tour I had...

Last Tuesday... We (friends) had a short trip to one of our friend's village home. The name of the village is "Chader Baper para". It means "Moon's dad's locality". That village is located at a place named "Chokoria". It's an Upzilla of "Cox's Bazar". If you haven't heard about Cox's Bazar, I would like to request to you to Google it! Well... the trip was well 'unplanned'!! Nagib (we went to his village home) offered us the trip just 10 hours before we get started. We planned to return home on the same day... But "unfortunately" we couldn't. His dad insisted us to stay there for at least one full day. We couldn't disagree anymore. That's how "unfortunately" we became "fortunate". It was fullmoon at the night. I have never seen the moon at this beauty! I don't have words to describe it. Neither had a good camera to capture... But had eyes to see the sight. It was... AMAZINGLY beautiful!

This post is more like a post to be shared in a personal blog. I'm publishing it here cause I want to share the moments with you guys!!!! Here are some ugly (my cell camera sucks a big big big time!) snaps of those beautiful moments:

[At the 1st floor of their farm house. This house is made of mud and wood... Two storied mud-made house is very rare one here!!] [I was kind of stopping their stick fighting... LOL] [I have water phobia... But I couldn't resist any more when 3 of my friends got down into the pond... Look how that friend of mine was calling me... and also look how confused I was!!]["All your eyes can see around 360 degree is ours".... Yes Nagib is allowed to say this. We were on the way to "Mohua Garden"][This is "Mohua". One sort of liquid is obtained from this thing which is very tasty... Sadly... we couldn't taste it][My friend Emon... Now that's a POSE too!!][Night shots... We were gossiping beside a huge pond. Got bored of gossiping once. That boredom resulted into Gothic photography!]

I would love to learn about the trips you guys had recently... Anyone interested to share? I guess there has to be tea when you tell a long story... Why don't you come at my place and share your moments...! I will take care of the tea!! :)

Have a good day guys!

Holidays: Part 2

Let the ripples expand as they will,

circling to find ourselves and eachother.

love

kj

TeaTime

Please come join me for tea in Aspen. Many of us from all of the world are flying in to enjoy a Christmas Tea hosted by Mr. Hot Toast and Jam.