JUST PLAYING...
October 6, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving, my Canadian dear ones!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving for our neighbors to the north... my dear daughter and her family and dear friends. I'm thankful for you all!!!
I've had an opportunity to play on the computer in Photoshop so, of course,  I answered some blog challenges... some new tricks and some old...

'By the light of the full moon' for SUNDAY POSTCARD ART...

'Balloons' for TAKE A WORD challenge blog...

'The Sea' for THE THREE MUSES

I trust that you're enjoying your weekend... I wish you a great week ahead!

Hugs 'til the next,

abbyj

 

EARLY OCTOBER
October 4, 2012

This rose is for my readers!!

Inspired by INSPIRATION AVENUE's challenge blog, the rose above is for them...and for you all!! Thank you for stopping by for this posting of THE VIVERE!
Here in Central New York, I'm missing my favorite part of Autumn...the vibrant colors of the leaves before they fall from the trees and crunch beneath our feet. This year, the colors are very slow to come and many have fallen STILL GREEN!!   That's why I welcomed SOARTFUL CHALLENGES current blog theme, HARVEST MOON...colorful!

Also a colorful presentation for CRAZY AMIGO's theme for the week, NEW HOME...

COLLAGE OBSESSION called for art about an ISLAND... I chose the blue-footed boobies on the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador... so colorful and fun to observe!

Finally, this week's country for Art and Sole's POSTCARD CHALLENGE is Portugal...one of the world's oldest nations. It was established in the 12th century- that's 4 centuries before ROME!!! A very colorful country, the people really seem to enjoy living their lives. Their unoifficial symbol is a brilliantly hued rooster... the Rooster of Barcelos (see it  next to the address on the postcard!)  Tile-making is the country's most popular art form... everything is decorated with them. They can be blue and white or full of color... they're on the sidewalks, buildings, walls... note the sidewalks and roads also done in mosaic tiles in many varied designs. Fishing is a major industry and the seafood is plentiful and  excellent. Something else unique about this country to the left of Spain... a genre of music specific to Portugal...FADO. Traced back to the 1820's (but probably has much earlier origins,) it's characterized by mournful, melancholic tunes and lyrics... often about the sea or the life of the poor. Today, though, Fado can be about anything...as long as a feeling of loss is involved. One shows appreciation for fado performances in two ways... clapping/applauding or coughing and clearing your throat... odd, huh? Here are my postcard and book page...

AuRevoir until the next, dear family and friends. Thanks again for stopping by...

Hugs,
abbyj

Ancient Manuscripts, Gluttony and the Czech Republic
September 27, 2012

"I am an explorer of  food"  Erma Bombeck

Greetings folks...happy you're here! I love sharing my art and inspiration with you. This week's 6-word memoir (above) is inspired by the challenge blog called COLLAGE OBSESSION...their theme is "confections-"  YUM  :)

TAKE A WORD blog's challenge is to create an art piece with a manuscript theme... I went mostly medieval!

 My last art pieces for this posting are inspired by the Art and Sole Postcard Challenge, my year-long commitment. This week, we take a virtual trip to the Czech Republic. My correspondants all met in Prague, the Czech Republic's capital city!  It's a smorgasboard of architectural styles, artistic details, painted (sgraffito) buildings and patterned pavements. From the cobblestones underfoot to the spires on its churches, every element is meant to be pleasing to the eye!  Here  are some of the outstanding sites...

Both of the buildings above are adorned with sgraffito... centuries old, they're a precursor to today's graffiti!

These are views of the famous Charles Bridge and a view FROM the bridge. It connects Prague's Old Town and New Town. It's decorated with statues and is a popular place for food, art and souvenir vendors.

The ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK in the Old Town Square is a sight to behold! It's original parts date back to the 1400's, but has been updated throughout the centuries. It tells time, but also shows the positions of the moon and sun, astrological signs, sunset and sunrise times and even the phases of the moon...though it takes a genius to figure it all out at first glance! It also has a collection of figures that come out each hour! Simply amazing!!!

Marionette operas and theater are a prominent part of Prague's contemporary art and culture scene...it has a long history throughout the Czech Republic.

The John Lennon graffiti wall dates from 1980 to the present. During communist times, it was used as a place for student commentary and today is a wall of peace and love!

One of the most unusual and bizarre sights I've ever seen (as my husband and I were really in Prague...these are my photographs...) was just a couple of hours outside of Prague in KUTNA HORA... the Bone Chapel. It's a small church that holds the bones of more than 40,000 people, most of whom died during the Plague. All the decorations in the chapel are made of human bones.

This is actually a family coat of arms!

Now for the Art and Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE correspondance postcard and book page...

Thanks so much for joining me for this posting... hope to see you for the next. Wishing you the best...

Hugs,

abbyj 

CHALLENGES 3
September 23, 2012

Hi Folks,

I DO love the blogs that set up artistic challenges for their readers... they're fun, they make you stretch your abilities and techniques, you learn new art techniques, they promote learning through research you may do for unfamiliar themes... and you make new friends when you participate! All good!!!

Here are my latest 3... 

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART asked for a BOHEMIAN themed piece...

TAKE A WORD was in a BLUE mood...

Finally, THE THREE MUSES asked participants to include a bird in their art...

Hope to see you next time for my regular blog posting. Thank you for stopping by...

'Til Soon,
abbyj

FRIENDSHIP, AUTUMN and DUBAI
September 20, 2012

"Her spirit is still with me..."

It's almost the weekend...time to kick back and relax for most. But when you're retired, you can kick back and relax at anytime. Nice!! This week, the INSPIRATION AVENUE blog challenge has a theme of  friendship. Of course, I thought of my dear friends's recent passing... she was a spiritual leader of  the Onondaga Nation- one of the 6 nations that make up the Iroquois Confederacy. The above piece is done in her honor... I did another piece describing "friendship" as well, but I combined it with an "autumn" theme that THE THREE MUSES challenge blog requested... this is it!

A virtual trip to Dubai was our pleasure at Art and Sole's POSTCARD CHALLENGE. Dubai isn't a country, it's a city and an emirate in the United Arab Emirates. Imposing architecture and sophisticated culture... and great shopping, make Dubai one of the most beautiful and popular tourist hot spots in the world.  It boasts the only INDOOR ski resort... part of a giant mall. Dubai also claims the tallest skyscrapers as well as the largest total area shopping mall in the world, housing a gigantic aquarium, among other things. Dubai has stringent behavioral laws in place and kissing and dancing in public is illegal. Islam is their official religion. Although they're tolerant of other religions, Muslim religious restrictions must be obeyed by non-Muslims too. Interesting that over 80% of Dubai's poulation consists of foreigners!! Looks like an amazing place... a fun place to visit one day FOR REAL!! Here are my postcard and book pages for Dubai...

Thanks for checking in. Hope to see your next posting. Enjoy your weekend and week...

Hugs 'till soon,
abbyj 

PLUS ONE for Collage Obsession
Also September 16, 2012

Hi Folks,
One more challenge to add... for one of my favorite creatures on earth, the OWL! Hope you like him...

Bye again,
abbyj

EXTRA STUFF
September 16, 2012

Hi Family and Friends,

This is a quickie posting to document some art challenges and to tell you that this week is my SECOND YEAR as a blogger! Hard to imagine as it's flown by. I've "met"  so many wonderful folks in cyber-space...people with hearts and loves like mine. Nice!! Thanks to all those who have continued to check in to LIFE...THE VIVERE. I hope you'll continue to do so!

Last week, COLLAGE OBSESSION declared their theme to be "Anthropomorphism" (giving human attributes to animals and non-living things.) I didn't get mine in on time, so here it is now...from a tree stump in Uganda.

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART took us back to the 1920's...the Flapper Era.

Finally, THREE MUSES asked us to "think autumn!"

Hope to see you again...thanks for stopping by.

Hugs...'til soon,
abbyj

JOURNEY TO GREECE
September 15, 2012

Greek Islands...all works of art

Hi Family, friends and fellow artists,

What a beautiful week we had in Central New York. The nights are getting cooler... a sure sign that autumn is on its way. It's been a busy week, so I just concentrated on my ever-enjoyable Art and Sole Postcard Challenge... Greece is this weeks country of choice. When one thinks of Greece, visions of Ancient Greece come to mind. Athens, its capital city, holds so many treasures. Most notable, the Acropolis of Athens. It's an ancient citadel, located on a high, rocky area above the city. It contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance... among them, the Parthenon.

When my husband and I were there years ago, we spent a little time in Athens, but our favorite parts of Greece were the Greek Islands. You can see why by my photos below...they're mostly from Rhodes, Mykonos and Santorini...

Some quick facts about Greece in general:

* It's home to the Olympic Games

* Greece has about 2000 islands (227 are inhabited)

* 55% of the y0uth in Greece graduate from a 4 year        college...the highest rate in the world

* Greece has the lowest crime rate in Europe, 2nd in the world

*Athens is the oldest city in Europe as well as the birthplace of democracy

* 13% of the English dictionary is derived from Greek words

Here's my correspondance this week...with the page from my Postcard Challenge book.

Glad you stopped in this week... wishing you a happy day, happy week and if you're fortunate enough to be traveling someplace, happy travels!!

Until the next,

Hugs,

abbyj