MASKS, MYTHOLOGY and STEAMPUNK

June 1, 2015 

We had a lovely, but rainy weekend in Toronto with our daughter and grandkids.. it was a perfect happy birthday for me!! We were even able to cheer for our 12 year old grandson as he scored two hockey goals and several assists...he IS Canadian, after all!!

On the 4  hour car ride each way, I had lots of time to do some blog challenges on my ipad. The art apps on the ipad are wonderful, but don't allow for very intricate work like Photoshop. I created a few pieces to share...

For COLLAGE OBSESSION, I invite you to Venice for Carnivale... extraordinary masks and costumes!

Greek Mythology is SUNDAY POSTCARD ART's theme this week. I chose to create a piece with ICARUS, the son of a master craftsman who, with the help of wings his father constructed, flew too close to the sun. This caused the wax holding the  wings together to melt and Icarus to fall into the sea.

Finally, "steampunk" is the subject for TAKE A WORD. Steampunk refers to a sub-genre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy. In recent years, it also can describe a fashion and lifestyle movement. Steampunk incorporates technology and design inspired by 19th century industrial steam-powered machinery. My steampunk is animal oriented...a fun piece for me!!

That's it for now. Glad you stopped by. Please DO return before too long.

Enjoy your week... 

Big Hugs,

abbyj 

VIRTUAL MONACO,

GLAMOUR 

and

CELEBRATING DIWALI

November 6, 2012

Hindus celebrate good over evil...DIWALI

Hi Family and Friends,

Next week the Hindu people worldwide celebrate one of their most important annual holidays... DIWALI...the festival of lights. Challenge blog, SUNDAY POSTCARD ART, asked artists to create a celebratory piece in honor of the holiday. I pray that this years DIWALI celebration will light up the world with PEACE!
Lots of art this week...the gerbils in my head have been spinning the wheel overtime!!
The SoArtFul CHALLENGES blog wants to see a primarily RED piece...

The THREE MUSES are into masks this week... always a fun theme!

Ever heard of actress from the early 1900's, MAUDE FEALY? Her beautiful face is the subject for this week at DIGITALMANIA. She had a varied theater-related career, but also invented the roller luggage carrier ("they say.")

Finally, Art and Sole's POSTCARD CHALLENGE... our virtual trip to Monaco, the playground of the rich and famous. The second smallest country in the world, it's renown for its world class sporting and cultural events. Too, it boasts a spectacular and quite enormous aquarium...a jaw-dropping sight!! Here's my postcard (front and back) and my book page for MONACO!!

Lots of art his week, I know. Hope you can get through it all...
I wish you all a good week and a fulfilling Festival of Lights- Diwali- to my Hindu friends. Actually, I wish us all the peace that Diwali musts bring to all its Hindu followers.

Hugs...'til the next,
abbyj

MASKS

HIDING FOR FUN and TRADITION 
October 10, 2011 

"The mask I wear is ME"

COLLAGE OBSESSION, one of my favorite challenge blogs, requested participating artists to create some art around the theme of MASKS. I wonder about the use of masks...their purposes: fun, camouflage, fear, embarrassment, tradition, religion...the reasons one wears a mask are many. Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote:

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes-

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask......

 

This last tribal piece is of an Ethiopian friend of mine...an elder in the southern part of the country's Omo Region...a member of the Kara tribe. He and his tribe paint masks on their faces and decorate their bodies as a daily ritual...it's one of their traditions. I love the natural mask!

 

Thanks for stopping by...hope to see you for my next posting!

xox,

abbyj