Friday, November 4, 2011

dem bones, art & journaling, the moon.


a leaf suspended from a spider web fragment

Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves.  
~Pamela Heyda 

~oOo~

before you say "what the heck is that"...here's a hint:
this Barred Owl made it!

it's a cough pellet.
whatever the owl can't digest...gets coughed up as this mass.
yeah, i know...ugh...delightful.
fur & tiny bones of lizards, moles, snakes...whatever the owl has been dining on.

~oOo~

speaking of bones...
we discovered a little pile of bones - jaws & skull pieces
on the side of the road.

we go by there all the time. these bones were not there last weekend.
they look weathered...and clean.  clean, except for the dirt. there's no meat on these bones.
they're a mix of Raccoon & Opossum bones.
but why only the skull parts?  and how did they all of a sudden appear here...
like someone dumped them?!
it couldn't be from a scavenger...they'd be scattered all over the place.
of course, i gathered them up, took them home and rinsed 'em.
the skull in the upper right & the assorted bottom jaws are raccoon
the smaller skull pieces are Opossum.

~oOo~

while we're on the subject of dead things...
guess how i got THIS close to this Gulf Fritillary?
it's dead.
i spotted it on the Lantana. took a couple of pictures from afar...
moved in closer...it didn't move...moved in even closer...it still didn't move.
after i took this picture, i plucked her off and took her inside.
at some point she will be memorialized on a piece of  'art'.

~oOo~

since we're talking about art...
i started to work on a few 'tea-light champagne glass candle holders'.

2nd hand/thrift store bought champagne glasses,
decorated with pressed flowers and wings!
before they're finished, i'll spray coat the outside 
and wrap wire with beads to the stems.

~oOo~

...speaking of art...
(inspired by Kel at the X facta ...i've started an 'Art Journal'.

kind of...like a 'picture diary'...whatever i feel like doing on whatever day i feel like doing it..
collage. paint. marker. pencil. pastels.
stuff of my life. my mood. maybe a quote.

i shopped for a journal. yikes, they're pricey!
so i went to the art store
and picked up a sketchbook for a third of the price of a journal with a fancy cover!
 i decided to make my own cover.

i'm not much of a painter. i wish i was though...
kind of like singing...sounds great in my head, 'til i open my mouth!
i can picture what i want my painting to look like, i just can't get it to come out like that!

i love watercolors. the way they blend and bleed.
 so i dug them out...cut a piece of heavy watercolor paper to fit the sketchbook...
started by drawing a BIG 'me'...and then began to paint.
no plans. just wing it. 

hmmm...feel a little sparkly...

and something vine-like...

finished. let it dry. laminated. mounted on the sketchbook's cover.

the moon. spiraling. light into dark. dark into light. healing. glittering. me. the intricacies of me.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - 
things I had no words for.  
~Georgia O'Keeffe 

now, if i could just decide where to start.
i know, i know...start with the first page.
but what to do ??   i'll keep you posted.

(check out Kel's  Art Journals here! amazing work!!)  

Happy Friday!  (or Happy Day!)

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride!
laura

last night's moon...
november 3. 2011.  8:27pm.
There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; 
there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
~ Matsuo Basho

28 comments:

  1. Well...I love this post. I buy journals, but then never use them because I don't want to "ruin" them. I am just like you, I see the painting in my head, but...
    I do love the cover of your new journal!!!
    That leaf photo is amazing!! And how weird about the bones but nice find for you!!
    Sounds like you are off to a wonderfully weird weekend--enjoy!!
    xx

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  2. I'm terrible in art, and I totally get what you mean, that the pictures never come out the same as we saw them in our heads! =)
    Your sketchbook cover art looks amazing!

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  3. the pile of skull and jaw bones is intriguing, for sure. maybe someone picked up the skulls then decided they didn't want them and tossed 'em from the car?

    good luck with your art journal. such pressure! :)

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  4. Love this post! I loved dissecting owl pellets with my kids in school! So gross but so interesting!
    I have awarded you the Versatile Blogger award - Check it out here - http://share-mymind.blogspot.com/2011/11/ive-been-nominated.html

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  5. Thanks for all the photos, they are superb.

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  6. great journal cover Laura - can't wait to see your first entry!

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  7. Lovely! And what a great idea to make your own cover.

    I always bypass those foo-foo pricey journals that are so beautiful too. I go through too many of them to afford them and those sketchbooks are nice and big to stretch out and scribble your heart out!

    Love the butterfly, dignified even in death.

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  8. those tea lights are exquisite ....and I look forward to seeing your journal unfold .........x

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  9. beautiful art!! love those glasses, they will look really pretty with little lights inside!

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  10. Oh my! I'm reading along...the leaf hanging in the web, the owl, the owl's upchuck, the mysterious pile of bones (and my amazement that you know what they are), the posing dead butterfly, the champagne glass tea light project (so pretty!)...and then I find out you are starting an art journal--whoohoo! And you made that awesome front cover already (which I love!). Wow! I can hardly wait to see what you do with the inside of yours. (It's new to me, as you know.)

    Beautiful moon shot! Love the quotes. Give Milo a neck scratch from me! :)

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  11. Hi Laura...finally back ...I loved this post..you are pretty artsy fartsy aren't you ..like those glasses and you cover is real cool...great job!

    Have a fun weekend!!
    Grace

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  12. :happy dance:

    ode to laura's journal launch

    oh I'm so happy to see
    a blog buddy joining with me
    to have fun with some art
    and strengthen their own heart

    i hope it brings you laughter
    and you journal for ever after
    it will help with the tears
    and fight off your fears

    playing with paint and paper
    found images and glue
    your journal is a sacred place
    the art temple of you

    :-)

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  13. Well, I don't know which part of this post I like the most. The mysterious bones? The gorgeous tea light holders? The exuberant journal cover?

    I think it was the journal. Have fun filling it!

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  14. thank you thank you thank you!! for all the kind words...compliments...POETRY!!!!

    i'm very excited about the Art journal...and have been thinking a lot about what to start with...i think i'll do something SOON...maybe once a month do a post with my journal entry!

    well, i'm behind, as usual, with blog reading...forgive me if i haven't been to YOU lately...i was planning to catch up this morn...but i OVERSLEPT, damnit!! tomorrow! yeah, tomorrow's another day! :)

    have a good one everybody!!

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  15. Loves the beautiful quote you opened up with.
    Then you followed up with my favorite bird "The Owl".

    Your comments were amusing to read about what the Owl spits up. " Yea I know, rather delightful. lol.

    Cute Champagne Glasses. I want to buy one!!
    Hope you're enjoying your weekend! Have an amazing November! xoxo

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  16. Excited that you are branching out to creative journaling--journals are freeing. Strathmore makes such fine paper. Rice paper is another freeing medium. It is like drawing on fabric. Best to you.

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  17. Love dem bones! I'm jealous!

    Your blog is such fun..never know what I'll find.

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  18. Hey, I made it back and glad of it. Your journal cover is great! I'm a fan of pastels that bleed into each other. And cool champagne glasses. I don't know how yu do that-looks like you have to carefully place the items and hope they don't fall off! I'm working on a cover page for a cookbook we're putting together at my office. They actually asked me to do it! I'll have to post it when I'm done. Have a fun and cool week!

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  19. As usual, Laura, your camera is so good at helping me some of those things I either can't see, or don't take the time to see. Your blog makes me want to carry a camera around me with!

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  20. I love your tea light holders...really stunning, Laura & the artwork in your journal is beautiful! You are incredibly talented (but you do know that, don't you?) Altogether, another delightful post. I leave here feeling a lot happier than I did after the Halloween post got my spine chills going :)

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  21. thanks everybody who has taken the time to leave a note!! we all know...how nice it feels to get that little xtra pat on the back...kind words...feedback!! i appreciate it a whole lot!!
    and i'm sorry to be slacking in my blog reading...i'll get there...i promise! it's tough to keep up, isn't it? there's just so many awesome places i like to go visit...but unfortunately, i have too much other sh...stuff...to take care of too! man, i can't wait to retire!! :) i hope everyone is having a terrific day!

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  22. THANKS - for the post, for the link, for being YOU! ...OH! and no apologies necessary - we all understand...

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  23. That owl pellet is pretty cool; I've never found one (then again, I live in a suburb). If I did I'd totally take it apart and see what the owl had for dinner! I know, I'm sort of weird ...

    If you're looking for more animal-themed art and such, I post some that catch my fancy on my blog :)

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  24. There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
    there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
    ~ Matsuo Basho

    I don't get it, lol.

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  25. This is such an inspiring post. I love it all, but especially the wine glasses.

    Quick Question: Have you read Woman who run with wolves? There is a piece int he first chapter about a bone woman and I could not help but think of you. I will scan and email it to you (just mail me if you've read it already).

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  26. thanks again for taking time out to find a rock...and leaver a note under it! :)
    just wanted to say...and i've posted about this before...i DO dissect the owl pellets!! i have boxes of bones...and make all sorts of *weird* things out of them! ha!
    and to Phoenix Rising - what i get out of that quote...everything you see is like a flower...the beauty in everything...if you take time to see, and the moon...for me...is so inspiring...it has magical...mysterious...qualities and is a part of me...my thinking...of everything...

    some quotes just have to be interpreted by the individual...we each see it differently...like poetry. and it just seemed to go with my post...esp my art journal cover & the moon shot at the end! :) thanks for leaving a note...

    thanks everybody!! have a nice day!

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  27. interesting finds in nature, bones, dead butterfly, cough up ;-) so Halloweeny.
    so fun that you enjoyed your ME art!

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  28. Laura, good for you! You are so creative and your art just comes out in a different medium than paint. I laughed at what you said about it being kind of like music, it sounds good in your head until you open your mouth! I am amazed at the butterfly frozen dead like that for it looks like it died with its tongue sticking out! I am amazed at your ability to find the beauty in death and create art from it.

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thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!