READY FOR CHALLENGES... 

August 22, 2012  

RAINBOWS refresh my heart and soul!

Welcome back, family and friends, 
Hope this posting finds you all well and enjoying the tail end of the season (wherever you may be!) This weeks posting is all about art challenges...

The challenge blog at 4X4 FRIDAY asked participating artists to create a piece with a rainbow... I also chose "rainbows" for my 6 word memoir this week as well- they ARE beautiful, aren't they? 

COLLAGE OBSESSION and SUNDAY POSTCARD ART both declared their themes to be CIRCUS...I'm really into them having just finished reading "Night Circus."  INSPIRATION AVENUE asked artists to show where they wished to be...of course, in my current frame of mind, I chose THE CIRCUS!~!!~ Finally, THREE MUSES wanted to see something in black and white plus one more color...guess what my theme was for that?  Obviously...CIRCUS!!!

B and W and one color

One more CIRCUS theme...my choice... TAKE A WORD requested a piece of art that looked TATTERED- my last circus themed piece...I promise!!

Last (but not least,) CRAZY AMIGO CHALLENGE wanted to see if we were given a choice, where we'd travel to...of course, I chose AFRICA.

One last thing...a sneak peek at a project the PHOTOARTJOURNALS online Yahoo art group has been working on...love this group as it's all about photography and improving your photographic skills. We're in the process of putting together a collaborative book using our photographs, but inverting the color...makes it look like a negative. Interesting effect...here's one photo I've played with: can you guess where I took the picture? 

All for now, dear family and friends.  Hope you'll stop by again.

Hugs,
abbyj 

ART and SOUTH AFRICA 
August 13, 2012 

"Reading a great book...NIGHT CIRCUS"

Hi Folks,

Hope you're enjoying your week. I'm trying to make time to JUST READ and have found an intriguing book to capture my attention...NIGHT CIRCUS. It's about... well, ostensibly, a circus of a different sort that's only open from sunset to sunrise! I'm only 1/3 into it and am loving it thus far... definitely one of the joys of being retired!! 

I have found time to do some art blog challenges... starting with my year-long Art and Sole Postcard Challenge 2012 where Darcy (our host) has us making a looooong flight to South Africa. I was able to use my own photos for this one as the African continent is like my second home...my favorite place on earth!!  In South Africa, there are 25 different languages spoken so you can imagine how many varied ethnic groups or tribes are represented. Culturally diverse, colorful, beautiful and a place that's fabulous to visit!! The people are so creative and inventive...artistic and musical. Here is my book page and my card... 

Other blog challenges include the SOARTFUL CHALLENGE to create a circus-type piece using red and white stripes, blue and yellow...

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART asked participants to think "travel..." and all I could think of was how much fun it USED TO BE to fly...not now with all the security precautions!!!  :(

Finally, THINK MONDAY-THINK ATC left us all in a field of poppies... sweet!!

 

Here's hoping you do something that relaxes you and "lulls your soul" this week.

Hugs 'til the next,

abbyj

FLAT STANLEY AND FRIENDS...

FLAT PEOPLE...TRAVELING
June 14, 2011
Hi Friends,

Have you given any thought to a six-word story that would serve as YOUR current memoir? Here's mine for the week... I was recalling a comical incident that occurred when I was recently in Italy. I guess I'm a shopper at heart... (my husband wouldn't argue with THAT!!)

Literally caught with my pants down by my friend, DJ, who was shopping with me...but what's a girl to do when there's no dressing room???

This was a week where I returned to some of my favorite online art group roots...  PAPER TRADERS is one of them. Happily for them and for all of our group members, there's now a blog for us to enjoy. They've asked group members and random readers to create an art piece entitled CELEBRATION... to toast the creation of this new blog. Here's mine...

The group created an ongoing challenge for group members...we're working on a Word Prompt Journal that involves creating pieces of art with words of inspiration... here are LOVE, COURAGE and COMPASSION: 

 A long-time cyber friend in Germany, with whom I've exchanged pieces of art through the years... Marion Bockelman...has asked some of her artist friends to participate in a swap. Our task is to create 3 small pieces utilizing artists' portraits of women of the Renaissance. (By small, I mean 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"... they're called  ATCs or Artist Trading Cards.) She's calling the swap "MONA and FRIENDS." See it on her blog, and see my entries here...

 

Now, let's consider a different kind of art... the art of writing! Have you heard of  FLAT STANLEY? 

Poor Stanley was a normal little boy who was FLATTENED when a bulletin board  fell on him during the night. This was both good and bad...he could certainly journey to places he'd never thought of visiting before he was flattened, but he couldn't be a normal little boy. He  could fit in an envelope or in a suitcase and travel ANYWHERE! What adventures...what possibilities! Our family has our own Flat Hunter and Flat Lilly...(our dear grandchildren) that we take with us on most of our travels. Their appearances have been altered considerably through the years, but the thought is the same...here they are on some of their travels as Flat Hunter and Flat Lilly...

Flat kids overlooking the city of Jerusalem, Israel, on top of a camel saddle

Flat kids with part of my extended family in Ethiopia...Dido and his son, Gallipo

Christmas in Paris, France

Enjoying the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy

In a temple niche in India

 Since turnabout is fair play, on a recent trip that our daughter, son-in-law and our grandchildren (aka Flat Hunter and Flat Lilly) took to Las Vegas, they brought FLAT PAPA and FLAT DOODLELOO (that's me) with THEM!!

Finally, a quick look at recent visitors to my bird feeder...must get a book about birds  so I can learn their names-  I'm new to this bird-feeder thing! They're so sweet, though...I photoshopped a bit, but the birds were truly a couple of today's many visitors...

Thanks for stopping by this week...hope to see you next week...


xox, abbyj

TWO MORE...

THEMES GALORE! 
April 19, 2011

My next several weeks are going to be very busy so I probably won't have time to post any art...it's the old "LIFE" getting in the way! But I'll be having a wonderful, instructive time at an art workshop with DJ Pettitt...can't wait as I love her art. Check these sites and you'll see what I mean!

                                                                                  http://djpettitt.typepad.com/djpettitt/
                                                                                  http://www.djpettitt.blogspot.com/

Here are my last two pieces 'til soon...

For TAKE A WORD's challenge blog...it's all about TRAVEL!

For 4X4 FRIDAY, we were asked to THINK "Summer..." even though it's SPRING that's around the corner for us, here in Central New York. Summer????

 Thanks for checking in. I'll TRY to blog during the next 3 weeks... please DO check back after May 15th. I look forward to "seeing you" again.

xox, abbyj 

CHAOS for CHRISTMAS

CHAOS for CHRISTMAS

 On vacation...overseas.
  Canceled flight...luggage lost
Our clakety train to Nuremberg
glides along snow-packed rails
rapidly...silently...steadily,
dulling travel trauma anxieties:
Naked tree limbs droop heavily to the ground
readjusting to weighty, glistening layers of their
wet, white blankets- an easier adjustment for rooftops, cemetery stones,
cars coated white...hints of original hue revealed,
snow-quilted fields punctuated with rusted tractors...
pillows of snow on the seats...
Winter in Germany, Austria and Slovakia.

Train from Frankfurt, where we landed, to Nuremberg

 

View from the train

 December 29, 2010

 Europe's major cities were halted by what they called "major snow storms." Who are they kidding? London's Heathrow Airport was stymied by a mere FIVE INCHES! In our own Upstate New York, that's called a DUSTING of snow! We flew through Frankfurt, Germany with the expectation of flying on to Nuremberg... ALL  flights were canceled. 

Plane landing  (Frankfurt, Germany)

BONUS: I'm sure we saw Santa leaving the Frankfurt area as we were landing

Can't see our bags in this pile...perhaps in another pile???

 We jumped aboard the next train to Nuremberg sans luggage and to this day, our luggage is somewhere between Frankfurt, Germany (maybe) and our home! We shopped for basics... undergarments, pants, tops and toiletries...survival items...and the snow kept falling.


We saw some beautiful sights from the windows of our riverboat cabin as we navigated the Danube River through Germany, Austria and Slovakia…

Our extremely looooong riverboat, the Viking Legend

the locks of its river canals… 

Definitely a GUY THING...I thought the locks were greasy, filthy and a bit scary...Michael had a childlike fascination with them- (must be the engineer in him...)

and we explored the cities and villages by whose waters we docked. 

Our riverboat at night, waiting as we explored ...

Vienna

A bridge built in medieval times

Right out of the Harry Potter movies, this library is part of a large Abbey... one of my most favorite sites

In Linz...

Notice how this trolley comes right to the street's curbside...many of the cities and towns have trolleys,  busses, and special, small trains for public transportation

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia- don't you love the tribute to Andy Warhol, the Campbell's Soup can? Actually, there was quite a lot of art in this developing nation's city

Vienna, Austria

Also Vienna...

I DO love graffiti that is true artistic expression. Along the canal in Vienna, there was quite a bit to feed my artistic soul...

Finally, the Christmas Markets, better known as CHRISKINDEL Markets, were most important, colorful, quite beautiful...unique to this time of year. The handcrafts sold at these markets were kitchy and fun. But we really enjoyed  sampling some of the country's traditional food and drink...the 1/2 meter hot dogs or sausages with mustard and sauerkraut, langos (frisbee-sized discs of fried dough with garlic butter and salt,) gingerbread and the fabulous hot, spicy mulled wine. There was something to excite  ALL our senses! Everyone, locals and travelers alike, were in the spirit of the holidays...

Small Chriskindel Market before opening for the long hours ahead...

How I'd love one of those 1/2 meter hot dogs with sweet sauerkraut RIGHT NOW...

Michael, warming up with some hot, mulled wine...Yummmm!

The sights, sounds and smells of this riverboat Christmas trip were dreamlike... sometimes very fairytale-ish…gothic and baroque churches ranging from the very ornate to the quietly decorative...all different and all unique to their periods.

This is a very special church for us as it's where we spent Christmas Eve's Midnight Mass, 12/24/2010. Located in a tiny village of 600 residents, DURNSTEIN, it was magnificent...rivaling any major cathedral in Italy!! The paintings, intricate carvings, sculptures...all very baroque, ornate and yet ANOTHER feast for the eyes... and the SPIRIT. There was a local choir before the actual service and they were wonderful. During the service, the "professional choir," organist and individual musicians along with the priest's soothing voice swelled my heart and indeed, made me thankful for my loved ones as well as just for... BEING!!!

St.Peter's grand cathedral in Vienna

 Finally, houses, were sights to behold- many, hundreds of years old and maintained in their individual styles, pastel colors and origins.  Most of what we saw dated back to the 16-17th centuries…the streets, too… primarily cobbled. All in all, it was a magical time. I must admit that for me, the huge snowflakes drifting down on us, creating feathery crowns for our heads, added to the beauty and magic of this season's Christmas trip on the Danube. (The hot, spicy mulled wine didn't hurt the images, either  :o) !  XOX, Abbyj