PLAYING WITH ART

May 13, 2014 

Hi Family and Friends,

I trust your week has started on an up note...I've spent some of my time trying to work the pounds off at the gym, keeping my limbs and muscles stretched and loose, finishing a book that I loved (Sue Monk Kidd's THE INVENTION of WINGS) and creating some challenge blog digital art pieces on the computer. I'd like to share them with you.

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART asked for a creation with DOORS...I used a piece of graffiti I photographed long ago in Barcelona, Spain, put it on a door I photographed in Italy, and added a Central New York dog...

Next, TAKE A WORD was thinking back to times of CHILDHOOD...so was I, creating a mixed media and photoshopped piece...

and finally, for THE THREE MUSES, they challenged participating artists to create POSTAGE STAMP PEOPLE... I used the same stamp for both because I couldn't decide which to use...

Thanks for checking in...enjoy the rest of your week.

'Til my next,

Hugs,

abbyj

 .

VIRTUAL RUSSIA 

and 

SPOOKY STUFF

October 18, 2012

...long dead bodies and skulls...spooooky
(for THREE MUSES challenge blog)

Still in the spirit of fall and Halloween... more vibrant leaves on the ground to crunch under our feet now...soooo beautiful. 

Our Art and Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE spirited us off to Russia this week. The largest country in the world (land-mass-wise, not by population,) it's a country with spectacular natural beauty and a great deal of unexpectedly jaw-dropping art, sculpture and architecture...to say nothing of its rich, extensive culture. I raise a (small) glass of vodka to honor Russia's art...in the subways, in the churches and cathedrals (from floor to ceiling frescoes and icons,) as well as on the streets. My postcard is a painting of one of Moscow's most extraordinary and fairytale-like sights, St. Basil's Cathedral with its colorful, onion-shaped domes. It's in Red Square.

My book page is of a memorial graffiti wall on old Arabat Street in Moscow. It was done in honor of a man named VIKTOR TSOI who was killed in an automobile accident in 1990, at the age of 28. He's regarded as one of the pioneers of Russian rock music and has many devoted fans even today. Few musicians in the history of Russian music have been more popular or have had more impact on their genre than Viktor Tsoi and his rock band, KINO.

Short and sweet...that's it for this posting. Hope to see you next time. Thanks for stopping by...

Hugs,

abbyj

COLLAGE WITH A STORY

ART THAT TELLS A STORY

February 24, 2011

COLLAGE OBSESSION always issues wonderful challenges...like this one. Our task was to transform the following picture to one that tells a story...a story WE want to tell. What fun I had... First, here is the original...

Now, here's MY story...take a look at it and think what story YOU'D tell from the picture...I'd love to hear it,  if you'd like to comment...

My story revolves around a family who emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States (actually, to New England) in the early 1920's. They were circus people in their country and were hoping to make a living plying their trade in this, their new world. Circus entertainment has been popular since Ancient Roman times and has always been a crowd-pleaser...it still is, today. (Through the years, though, like everything else, circuses have changed. Animal activists encouraged the biggest changes.) THIS (pictured above) was the home of an original circus family...the emigres from Eastern Europe. They lived here happily...modestly... for many decades and were, once again, successful circus performers. The home was passed down from one generation to the next...all circus people. As the world of the Big Top began to slump, so declined this hard-working family. They had been frugal during their working years, so they had amassed a large fortune.  As times and the economy worsened, the family began to fall away...from any kind of  professional life and from one another. Finally, only the youngest son was left in this big house...a house that was once a home filled with proud tradition, laughter, good times and love. Local legend says that this house, long abandoned, has a fortune hidden somewhere within, although no one has been able to find it.  Some even believe that it's haunted by the agitated spirits of its previous owners. It still stands as a reminder of better days...and is a constant curiosity to those who live near and far.

That's what I see in the above collage...what's YOUR story?

Thanks for stopping by...

XOX, abbyj