VIRTUAL SWEDEN...only

December 6, 2012

Hi Family and Friends,

A quicky post this week as it's been a tough week health-wise...bad, bad cold and an uncooperative back have kept me lying down more than sitting!! I'm getting better as I write... I hope your week has been more comfortable and full of seasonal joy :-) !

Darcy Wilkinson's year-long Art and Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE invited travelers to explore SWEDEN this week...only a few weeks left before the challenge is over and my Postcard Book is complete!

Sweden has some definite stereotypes: Abba, blondes, Volvo and IKEA. Although all of these are evident in Swedish society, it has, of course, grown and extended its horizons. Today, aspects of foreign cultures are woven into everyday life from music to food to fashion. If you visit Sweden, there are some things you must take very seriously:  being on time, taking shoes off when entering someone's home, personal privacy and recycling!!!

My art for this country is of famous film actress of  who starred in 28 films, GRETA GARBO, a daughter of  Sweden...

Hard to see, but in the background is the very first ICE HOTEL ever built. Now, one can find these unique hotels in a variety of locations throughout the world. But, the first one was in Sweden.

The book page for Sweden celebrates its unique Easter tradition. Like our Halloween, the children dress up... here, they dress as old, raggety people and with their face make-up applied and their brooms in hand, they go trick or treating. They often give those whom they visit, Easter cards that they made...sweet... a treat for a treat!

That's it for this week...back to the couch and my heating pad for my back!! This getting old stuff is NOT for sissies!!!

Enjoy your week. I hope that this beautiful season gives you the happy, grateful feeling that it gives me.

Thanks for stopping by.

'Til the next,

Hugs,

abbyj

VIRTUAL ARGENTINA, DIGITALMANIA 

and 

A TURKEY VOYEUR

November 29, 2012

Stop looking at me...GO AWAY!

I know...it's the week after Thanksgiving but this turkey is STILL hanging around our house with his pals. I don't mind when they're around the house, but I DO mind when they stop and look into my office window at me. Here we are...eye to eye... neither of us, particularly friendly!! Don't know what I was doing that was so interesting...

Blog travel leader from Art and Sole's POSTCARD CHALLENGE, Darcy, invited us to explore Argentina this week. What a forward-looking, interesting country. It's the birthplace of the TANGO, home to the counterpart of our American cowboy...the GAUCHO, home of the 2nd EVER world radio broadcast, the world's 3rd largest beef and 5th largest wine producer, and the homeland of one Eva Duarte de Peron...EVITA!! Further, it boasts a literacy rate of 97.6% ...and soccer is the preferred sport.

The art of British born artist, Nickie Newfield is DIGITALMANIA's artist of the week. I tried to create images in a similar style to hers...she's a painter, collage artist and her latest work combines lots of rich texture, a variety of layered papers, renaissance and religious images...and often, metallic paint. Since I can't paint, I did what I could digitally...

I wish you all a pleasant weekend...with no turkeys watching you from your windows!!!

'Til the next, I send you hugs,

abbyj

CHALLENGE CATCH-UP

November 27, 2012

Good Day, Family and Friends,

I think my stomach is still full from the Thanksgiving festivities. We had a most enjoyable family reunion...traditions are lovely, aren't they? 

Thanksgiving 2012

I've been playing, as usual, with some of the online challenge blogs... the resulting art is below. It's certainly an eclectic mix this week...
For THE THREE MUSES, "hats;"

TAKE A WORD... "something fishy;"

CRAZY AMIGOS..."gifts;"

SUNDAY POSTCARD ART..."rainy days;"

Finally, COLLAGE OBSESSION..."jesters or jokers."

Thanks for checking in. I'll have a new posting this weekend when the year-long Art & Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE invites intrepid travelers to explore Argentina. Hope to see you then!

Enjoy your week...

Hugs,
abbyj

VIRTUAL JAMAICA, EYES and

MATHEW STAR THOMAS

November 19, 2012

I

Wishing you a very blessed Thanksgiving!
(...in the style of Hungarian artist, Sarolta Ban)

I hope that this Thanksgiving finds you surrounded by loved ones. But, if not, spend some time thinking of all the things you're thankful for... I pray that there are many!! For those dear ones not celebrating the holiday, I wish you a peaceful and fulfilling week.

This week brought some fun art challenges into my lap... The THREE MUSES want an EYE included in our art...

The Flicker art group, DIGITALMANIA, asked participating artists to create a piece in the style of artist MATHEW STAR THOMAS...

Finally, in Darcy's Art and Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE, we traveled to the Caribbean island of  JAMAICA...land of lush vegetation, waterfalls, beaches, palm trees... a definite vacation destination for those who love summer weather all the time! Jamaica was the first Caribbean country to gain independence. It was the chosen home of James Bond novelist, Ian Fleming, for at least 10 of his novels; it was the first tropical country to enter the Winter Olympics...and apart from the United States, Jamaica has won the most world and olympic medals; it was the first commercial producer of bananas in the Western Hemisphere; its national drink is rum...and the island's motto is "OUT OF MANY, ONE PEOPLE..." a great reflection of the melting pot that Jamaica is!

Thank you for joining me for this blog posting. Our family will be visiting for Thanksgiving so I hope to see you after our holiday!! Blessings to you all...

Hugs,
abbyj 

VIRTUAL TIBET, AFRICAN PATTERNS and a PARTIALLY BROKEN ANGEL

November 15th, 2012

Turkeys are hiding...it's almost Thanksgiving!

It must be close to Thanksgiving because we have turkeys running through our back yard day and night! Very strange... We always look forward to our family celebration as it reminds us what's truly important in our lives. (The piece above is for the  CRAZY AMIGOS challenge blog... STRIPES is the theme!)

There are a few more pieces of art I'd like to show you... SUNDAY POSTCARD ART's challenge blog asked artists to create a piece with a PATTERNS theme. I immediately thought of Africa where the cloth wraps worn by the women and men are so colorful and beautiful...and the manner in which many of the Ethiopian people (in particular) paint their bodies...patterns!

TAKE A WORD asked for an angel... I called upon a photo I took in a chapel in Orvieto, Italy. She was a bit broken, but nonetheless beautiful.

Finally, this week's Art and Sole POSTCARD CHALLENGE took us to TIBET. Such an interesting place with a huge Chinese police presence mixed in with the throngs of religious Buddhist peoples worshipping at the many monasteries and temples. The Tibetans truly LIVE their religion. They're soft-spoken, warm, honest, friendly people living in a more than uncomfortable oppressive situation. Still under Chinese rule, these people are strong in their traditions, beliefs and values...and they stand resolute defending them. The head of state and Buddhist spiritual leader of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama, was born in Tibet, though he's been living in exile in India. Tibet is also the locale of the world's highest mountain...Mt. Everest. It's on the border between Tibet and Nepal. If you have further interest in Tibet, please check out my blog posting from November 4, 2010...Journey to the Top of the World... as it details our visit to this beautiful country.

All for now, dear ones. Hope you have a peaceful but fun weekend and early week...

Hugs 'til my next,
abbyj

MID-WEEK GREETINGS

November 13, 2012

Happy Mid-week, family and friends. Our trees are bare, a sporadic fallen leaf crunches beneath my feet, skies are grey and foreboding...come on, snow!!! I'm ready for you!!!

I'd like to share some mid-week art challenges with you...if I may!!

First, for DIGITALMANIA's Flicker group, some art in the photoallegory style of Hungarian artist SAROLTA BAN...

For The THREE MUSES challenge blog, some animal art...

And finally, for challenge blog TAKE A WORD,  THINK PINK...

Please stop by again for the next page in The Vivere: 
the Life!! Happy to "see" you again.

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

DIGITALMANIA 

and 

VIRTUAL SLOVENIA

November 1, 2012

"Dear ones grow much too fast!"

Hi Folks,

I hope you've all survived FRANKENSTORM (thankfully, we only had heavy rain...) as well as all those cute little Trick or Treaters! New month...Thanksgiving is on its way. 

We spent last weekend with our daughter and grandkids...they are the inspiration for my first entry in the DIGITALMANIA challenges group on Flicker! That will be a fun challenge group to add to the others I play with :-)
While in Toronto, we took in one of our subscription shows...an original, first time ever, morbidly entertaining new Canadian musical based on the true story of the West Port murders... BLOODLESS: THE TRIAL of BURKE and HARE. It tells the story of two 19th century Irish serial killers who go into business selling corpses to anatomy schools in Edinburgh, Scotland. How do they get the bodies? By killing, of course!!! It's an eerie tale of deceit and murder told in song. Loved it. Hope it continues on to Broadway!! 

This week's virtual journey for ART and SOLE's POSTCARD CHALLENGE is to Slovenia, the secret gem of central Europe. The home of the famous Lippizzaner stallions; the oldest grape vine (over 400 years old) in the world...in Maribor, still bearing a respectable quantity of red grapes annually; home to more than 500 brown bears in their extensive forests; boasts the most visited cave in all of Europe, the Postojna Cave in Slovenia's Karst region...with its numerous rooms, nooks and crannies as well as huge stalagtites and stalagmites; and home to the Kurentovanje Festival when the Kurents chase away winter each February, (now in its 53rd season,) in their wonderful costumes and masks. 
The Tarot-like cards (shown on my postcard) are not for divination purposes. They're a record of the life and death days in the Concentration Camp of Allach, a sub-camp of Dachau, where their artist, Boris Kobe, was held as a political prisoner. He was an architect and painter before and after the war. Here's the art...

Wishing you all a safe, dry week and to those affected by the big east coast storm, a quick recovery and lots of prayers.
See you next time...

Hugs,
abbyj