What's Next, Pure and Simple

I hope for all you that stop by that your festive falalala season was everything you needed and nothing you don't.
That may seem slightly cynical, but it's been, well, a little too much of stuff that I could do without. My sister is having a time of it trying to accept our brother's death last month and yesterday she had to put one of her dogs to sleep after a brief but mighty fight with liver cancer. After Craig's funeral, we agreed that we would check in with each other DAILY. This is different for both of us as I used to hear from her every four months or so.
That she's not in a good place emotionally gives me more to worry about and she's 2000 miles away.
Closer to home, I had the kids over for Christmas, an event we have not shared for about five years. It was fun, short and sweet. I decorated a tree for the first time since moving here, which is crazy as I used to decorate one for every room. Gil fixed our pellet stove, for which we are blissful, as it's been freezing here and the warmth is amazing. (In Arizona! For real!).
Gifts all around were plentiful and practical.
I am blessed.
It's time to take stock as this year winds down and we all look toward the newest of years.
I was crazy enough to start a challenge blog this year. The journey that got me to that point is fodder enough for a book. I really enjoy seeing what other artists create and how talented they are and hope more participate in 2016.
I have really liked meeting the ladies across the globe (for whatever reason, it's all women!) and how much they pack into Every Inchie Monday. There are the Zentangle challenges that I attempt not so regularly, and am grateful for their creators (there are many, but try here, and here and here!) and the effect the art form has on my psyche.
Indeed, playing with artist materials has been quite beneficial to me mentally (and covered my refrigerator with magnets to the point that you can't tell the finish is black).
Here are some photos of work that went into this week's TwobyTwo. The word for the day is, "white." I started with a concept that I've seen for learning more about brush strokes and personal style, without color to worry about.

Titanium White on
Hardwood panel

Only thing is that is 4 x 4. An interesting challenge unto itself to just stick to one color.
Then I pulled out some ephemera and odd ball "stuff."

Whites
Novels, receipts, barcodes, lace, paint, beads,
Glitter and various papers, foamcore

The center one is 4 x 4 and the others are approximately 2 x 2. The top left is my official response to "white," paper cutouts on a glitter paper. Let's just say they didn't want to stick together. A LOT of glue was involved! The same could be said for the lace one, too. The biggest one has a picture of an old lady flinging a car tire. Hilarious! For that one, I used paint instead of glue to hold everything in place.

A close-up:

Silent Night
Ink jet and Glitter papers
Glue and Sharpie

While I was trying to do the cut-outs, I drew more than a couple houses. And I got to thinking about the EIM for the week, "next," a dangerous thing. Thinking, that is. There's next year, which is about to become THIS year any minute, but I had more in mind "next door." Thus, here'e the houses next door, even if they don't look anything like a house near here:

Maybe I'll attempt another Silent Night. In the meantime, it's time to prepare for festivities to bring in the new year and to find out what's "next."

Additionally, the winner of last post's raffle is Wendy from England! Wendy, please send your address to: 1xeritas@gmail.com and I'll get your prize out to you!

Thank you so much for joining me here, following my mental meanderings and sharing your awesome perspectives. I wish you a happy new year!

Un Poco Loco (Just a Little Crazy)

'Tis the season for a lot of craziness, isn't it? And that's what I was channeling when I pondered the EIM this week. The word out on Monday was, "locomotive." My son used to love trains in all sizes. His six birthday was spent on the Verde Valley Railroad. Another, much more recent, on the Durango-Silverton line. My dad had worked for Tyco a long while back and designed rail cars for some of their model trains. My nanna worked for the Pennsy railroad for a long time, affording my mother free travel before she married.
So I figured it'd be a piece of cake to dig up SOMETHING.
Not happening!
Which is why you get this:

Locomotion!

I did some research along the way and found out Little Eva was the original singer of "Loco-Motion" and Grand Funk Railroad really got it out there, but I wasn't drawing anything of the sort. So, let's move along, shall we?

It's the TwobyTwobyTuesday day and the word I selected was, "sparkle," thinking I'd find all sorts of glorious options from holiday goings on.

First up is from cookie baking day with my daughter last Saturday, a tradition carried on by the MEN in the family. With the passing of my brother last month, my dad passed it along to me as the cookie press is getting hard for him to manipulate. Thankfully, my daughter did a lot of it as the dough is, well, a tough cookie. Really yummy, though. The recipe is a family secret and the decorating is a day-long project, but quite worthwhile. Now, to ship the results to family far and wide!

Butter Cookies

All those candy sugars really sparkle, as do the real silver star candies at the top of the trees.

I went to Michael's last week for some art goodies and came home with these:

OOOH! Pretty!

But my official response to the twinchie and the Diva Challenge this week is this gift to the world, a sparkly star ZIA.

And one lucky visitor will get the original. So leave a message and I'll pick somebody to send this little two-inch gifty. (Disclaimer: it won't arrive before next Saturday, especially by international post).  Meanwhile, I'm going to try to clean up some of this glitter I have all over!

Thanks for stopping by! I do hope you are enjoying the festivities and all the sparkle of the season!

My Guardian Angel

If you visited with me last week, you're pretty up to date on goings on. I thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.

We've been busy taking underwater photographs at local swim schools. I do all the post-processing so my hands and my brain have to stay focused for that, which is great for the ol' brain. I need that right now. I'd share some of the work I do, but I have to protect our young clients.

I am continually amazed at how life and art intersect, aren't you? I love that there are so many parallels. For instance, at EIM the word of the week is "angel." Mine needs a set of wings, but he still is keeping an eye on me. My brother used to paint fantasy figurines and this one is about three inches tall.  No small challenge as he had 20-300 vision last I checked.
It's is the last one he worked on; I picked him off his workbench (Or did HE pick ME?). I have no idea who he is supposed to be--is he a character from history or the latest video game? I now have him on my dashboard to light my way and protect me on the freeways (And kick butt, if necessary). Now, there's a full-time job if there ever was one.

I just need to get him some wings, not that he hasn't already earned them. 

Crochet 501

This is certainly not going to be my shining hour, just fair warning.
The challenge for the week at EIM is crochet. It's something I'm crazy familiar with, and if you've visited with me before, you may know that already. If not, check out my "Woobie" page for the lowdown.
I made a blanket earlier this year that I was exceptionally pleased with and I gave it to my parents. I had reason to visit them last week and I took a photo of it, not realizing I could put it to good use! This is what it looks like:

Woobie 501

The reason for my visit brings me great sadness as I share the news that my "baby" brother died of a heart attack last week. Craig was 51. He leaves a wife, Rose and her children, Sarah and Willy; his son, Damon and Damon's mother, Judith; our parents, Allan and Grace; our sister, Deborah and her daughter, Justine; my children, Terrance and Erica.
That's my compact little family; both of our parents are only children, so that's it.
The evening sky has one less star to light it up; his light gone all too soon from his earthly vessel. Damon wrote an amazing tribute that any parent would be so honored to have bestowed upon them. I have copied it here, as a reminder that I, too, could live to this standard.

Though not a huge fan of speeches, there is something needing to be said that comes straight from the heart.

You were honestly the one person in my life that I could always turn to when something was wrong or I needed someone to talk to. Some people have to choose to only remember the good parts of someone when they die, but I don't. Even when you were alive I could say nothing but positive things about you. You were one of the few people I could say 'I love you' to and mean it with all of my heart and soul. Nobody in the world will ever be able to replace such a wonderful man, a man that only ever wanted one thing: world peace. I hope one day your dreams will be achieved and that you'll have a birthday in which I can actually say your wish was achieved. 

You were always there for me and I'll always be there for you. You taught me everything you knew, you taught me about being passionate about peace, you were the best person to ask for anything math related, and you were one of the easiest humans on earth to naturally feel love for. I still can't believe you're gone from this earthly plane of existence, and although you were never a religious man, there is something inside me that continues to hope that you're looking down at all of us, probably making your wonderfully corny dad jokes. I miss you so much and there's nothing I wouldn't give to see you again, even for a moment.

You will always be an amazing person, and more importantly the best father I could have ever asked to have. Rest in eternal peace and I hope with all of my being to see you again one day.

I can only wonder what my kids will have to say about me when the time comes? I have vowed to myself to use the good china, drink the champagne instead of waiting for the "right" occasion, to hug my children a little bit longer, to love Gil with all my being and to find the light again on Earth. 

Have a brilliant day!

She's a Maniac!

Over at EIM the theme this week is "Nymph." Unlike many weeks this past year, I was not at a complete loss as to what to do. However, I learned that there is a tangle called, "Nymph," by Melinda Barlow that I'd not seen before (or was blissfully unawares).
If you have been here before, you may recognize my discontent with patterns featuring triangles.
UGH.
But, I will NOT be defeated!
And as my procrastinator self loves a good distraction; I dove right in!

Nymph Bijoux

Nymphie Twinchies and Zinchies, oh my!
on Waffle box paperboard

Then I pulled out a box of Staedtler Karat Aquarelle, which up to now I had not opened. 

Little did I know what I've been missing!

Nymph
Mixed-Media Fridge Magnets
Aquarelle, Sharpie, Perle Cotton and Sequins

Whew! I even made a French knot with some antique Perle cotton from my Nanna's stash. I could hardly contain myself. That's when I started singing the disco song from "Flashdance," which started out more from the Nymph side of things than the mania. 

Think about it. Uh huh.

But I digress. This is a (mostly) family-oriented venue, after all.

Where were we? Oh, yeah....

I wanted to see what these Nymphs could do in a more traditional setting, so this came about:

Nymph
Before Shading

Nymph
After Shading

Which do you prefer?

Along the way I saw samples of this week's Diva Challenge focusing on simplicity, or at least giving tangles some space to breathe. I enjoy Laura's challenges, but I had not done one in a bit.

So you get this:

Simple Flower
Free!

Totally unadorned, I want you to have this to do with it as you like. If you do decide to use this, please do me two favors: 1) credit me for drawing this simple pattern in the first place and 2) show me what you did with it by link or attachment to:

1xeritas@gmail.com

I'd love to see what, if anything, happens with it!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a brilliant day! 

In the Water

This is a spastic time of year for us. We love the excitement, but could use a little less, you know what I mean?
The next couple weeks are going to be spent being in and around water. Gil does underwater portraits and clients like to have holiday photographs. It's fun and a lot of work, but the results can be pretty spectacular (if I don't say so myself).

Jenna
by H2Oh!Photo

I don't get too wet; my job is all the post-processing. Keeps me out of trouble for weeks on end. Thankfully, he's also quite handy in the kitchen and takes on the bird for Thanksgiving, which is right around the corner!

The word of the week at EIM is, "Nymph," and while some of those beauties could be classified as water nymphs, this is my take on it. The botanical name for the water lily family is Nymphaeaceae and I took this photograph at the Conservatory in San Francisco in 2006.

Nymph inchie

Water Nymphs
San Francisco
2006

A bit easier than trying to draw a nymph or anything closely related. I'll have to give that a try when I'm a bit less busy!

A Conscious Decision

This past week was spent in New Jersey comforting a new widow. I only met her and her husband a year ago, though to Gil, a lifelong friend. I did not feel I had the right to intrude upon her during what is obviously a stressful and emotional time. But when the diagnosis was dire, we made immediate plans to visit, not expecting that Lloyd's departure from this Earth would be almost instantaneous.
Sylvia still wished us to visit.
Thus I went to the land of my birth, but do not recognize it anymore. That was very disconcerting.
She was a gracious host and completely at a loss of what to say or do, much like myself, plunged into the midst of her emotional pain.
I was so happy to see the trees had left some of their blazon autumnal color after what has been a warm fall for the area. I was even more grateful for a brief escape to the shore to get that salt air and sand into my lungs, my hair, my shoes. We busied ourselves, if only for a mere hour, with nothing more than picking up colorful scallop shells, our only souvenirs of the trip.

Long Beach Island

Well, not quite only. We came away with the knowledge that we offered comfort, a small dose of healing and a lot of hugs. An invitation has been extended for her to visit for the upcoming holidays, which we hope she takes us up on.
And there is that conscious emotional decision, to have hope, to seek joy and wonder. And thus this inchie within a twinchie:

The prompt for the week is appropriately enough, "Emotion." It's always kind of freaky when the art and the life intersect like so. But isn't that part of art? To explore the present, even if the emotions are raw. Isn't that what makes us insanely human?

(There are SIX "joys" buried in this two-inch square. I found a magazine from last December and it was loaded with "JOY!" For collage freaks, it was made from a single-source).

For the twinchie challenge, TwobytwobyTuesday, that I also host, I made an actual pieced Nine-Patch to go along with this weeks concept. Not my shining hour considering I've been sewing for, well, a long while. But I had to try to do it!

Eventually that'll make it into a much larger patchwork!

I haven't done much else this week. My son was visiting and well, the weather said the high country had a bit of snow overnight, so we decided to have lunch in Flagstaff. (For the record, about 10 inches fell there). Just a quick jaunt...

Not exactly what comes to mind when you think of sunny Arizona, huh? We're supposed to have frost here at home tonight! Crazy!

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate the company and your thoughts. If you have a chance, check out the other blogs I've mentioned here and the fine artists that participate. And even give them a chance to create teenie artworks!

Have a brilliant day!

The Postman Bringeth

This past week has been hectic. It included providing a part-time living arrangement for my son, which included putting a bed in the office and rearranging just about every other room in the house to accommodate the stuff that had been where the bed is now. It's chaotic right now.
Obviously, not a planned-for event.

I was oh, so happy when I went to the mailbox and retrieved some goodies that are perfect fodder for collage and other artsy projects. A much needed distraction.

First, a thank you note from a birthday girl became:

Spring Fashion (1963)
Greeting card, gift wrap,
Duck tape (in glitter!) and a
Rhinestone

It's a bit more "girlie" than my usual, but I think it has just the right edginess to it to not stray into "cute" territory. Besides, the woman's expression just glares at you as if to say, "You can't afford me."

An invitation from the Phoenix zoo had the perfect collection of images to attempt a mosaic for the next TwobyTwo twinchie challenge. Coming up next is, "Nine-patch." Cutting perfect squares was, ahem, tedious, then trying to arrange them?! 

Whose idea was this? Oh, yeah, mine! 

Tigers
Nine-patch mosaic and
Hodge-podge

I don't know if I'll try the perfectly square mosaic thing again. Like, maybe never!.I'll stick to my more typical throw stuff down and see what works methodology, which I also did. I still have a bunch of pretty pictures to play with another time. 

I may go see the beautiful tigers, but I'm not joining the zoo for $179; that I'm fairly certain of.

Lastly, the same mailman left a postbox out in the pouring rain and we found it about three hours later. His job may be to deliver the mail in the rain, but mine is not to go schlepping to find it! The box was soaked and the corrugated paper peeling apart. Luckily the paper scrapbooking supplies inside did not get wet!

But the box provided plenty of fodder for little artworks! Besides, corrugated paper is my favorite (and I still owe you all my story as to WHY!)!
So, I collected some goodies.

The teenie paper has a note from my daughter asking to play with a friend--actually, more of a demand. I remember she had finished her chores, made an accounting thereof and slipped the note to me in the bathroom!

So I glued some of this up after applying some paint and trying to get 400 grit sandpaper to stick (it wanted very badly to curl!). I don't consider it a big success, but it includes my offering for the EIM, "texture."

Texture Inchie in a
Twinchie

You win some and you lose some! I'm going to try working on some more Nine-Patch thingies. Don't you want to join the fun?

It's....

We've been watching the DVDs of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the preeminent British comedy from the Seventies. I think we have made it through the fourth of sixteen tons. You know the beginning? Where the guy who looks like he has lived under a rock for twenty years goes through some sort of difficulty to just be able to say, "It's...."?
A very important line he has, to introduce the show. Then it's the full complement of collage images that include flowers popping out of heads and not just a couple naked ladies....

I think that's where my fascination with collage began--the vintage photographs, the sometimes silly juxtaposition of images. Everything is fair game.

The word of the week at the art challenge I host, the TwobyTwobyTuesday, is: "IS." I know it's a bit of a stretch, but there it is. It's a concept I've wanted to pursue for awhile, at least since Bill Clinton was in office and that whole mess with the blue dress. I try not to venture into the territory of "Mature Audiences ONLY," as my kids like to see what I'm up to. I'm not attempting censure on their part but while they are adults, they are still my children.
Yet, when I pulled out my collage goodies, I pulled together this cuteness:

Is
Magazines, dictionary definition and
Greeting card

My daughter LOVES sunflowers. I have many fridge magnets that I have made with sunflowers on them, but this one is specifically for her.

I put together this one starting with a tough challenge over at EIM. Every Monday can be challenging, but what do you do with this week's, "yogurt?" Well, for starters, you empty a container! Lately, my favorite is a Greek-style plain with honey and Grape Nuts, which is what I'll probably have for lunch. In my collage stash I found a Yoplait lid for Breast Cancer awareness. It promptly became an element in yet another fridge magnet!

I'm all for that, and I think it's a stitch that our football players are running around with pink accessories this month (those shoes!!!) to draw attention to the cause. But it's not the leading killer of women--coronary disease and accidents far outweigh cancer deaths. And it's not even the leading cause of cancer deaths--lung cancer is, all the way around.

I bring that up as a friend of ours recently went under the knife suspecting lymphoma and found he is in very good health and another who was the image of perfect health, was diagnosed with liver cancer just a month ago and died last night. We are saddened; we're to go to New Jersey to see him next week. Right now, we're still going....

Life is precious. Enjoy dessert NOW! One of my favorites: pound cake covered with dollops of Yoplait lemon yogurt and whipped cream with sliced strawberries on top. Mayoe I'll have THAT for lunch!

Meanwhile, see what all the lovely ladies are doing over at EIM and please check out the TwobyTwo. Everybody's welcome to join in the fun! It's....

Can I Borrow the Khakis?

I just came across a key that was given us on the day we bought that house 14 years ago. My son identified it as the one he kept, based on the key ring it was attached to and has added it to his current one, It was a happier time for him, before he went to live with his dad and then his grandfather.
He has become a fine young man through it all. It is what we wish for our children: to grow up and be their own adults.
You can have the key to success and then, the key to the city.
You can hold the key to someone's heart.
You can sing songs in the Key of Life, according to Stevie Wonder.
Our DNA holds the keys to our lives (and this story tells of how getting rid of some can prolong life!)
You can be entrusted with a house key at a fairly young age and when you reach one of life's milestones, you ask your parents for the keys, to borrow the car that they taught you to drive. (I taught my son to drive, and that was quite an experience, considering he worked for a company that repaired vintage race cars. My daughter taught herself to drive and boy, was I surprised to find out she did!)
Which in a very round-about kind of way brings me to:

Khakis

If you live in Boston, like I did for twenty years, if you ask for the kah kees, you may or may not get the keys to the "cah," you may just get a pair of pants! Notice the subtle differences in pronunciation.(I still do not know what they do with all those extra "R's" they don't use!)
Additionally, khakis are a specific fabric, fit and color. They are NOT black, brown or green. They ONLY have FOUR pockets. They can be pleated and cuffed but never riveted.
Think school uniforms, that's what khakis are. But kah kees will not get you into my car like this will:

I love my car, I love to drive it and it has loved me for 160 of its 213 thousand miles. We have taken it places that Lexus just THINKS it can go. I hope to get 350 out of it and when I do I'll get another one just like it (just with fewer miles). Meanwhile, I'm going to hang up my car keys so i'm not digging through my khakis later to try and find them.

Let's All Sing Together, Shall We?

I was very excited to see "Lumberjack" as the word at EIM this week. We have been watching the Monty Python show DVDs and we're up to, I think, the third "ton," which includes the notorious skit. My partner in crime has been singing the song for a week now and I hope we can get past that soon.
I was thinking I'd make something with tea and scones or even pressed flowers, but I really want to move along from the song.
Arizona has three major universities: ASU, Arizona State Sun Devils

That's HOT!

UofA, University of Arizona Wildcats

And NAU, Northern Arizona LUMBERJACKS!

I don't know WHY any self-respecting lumberjack would wear yellow, but that and blue are the team colors. When I think lumberjack, he has to be wearing red buffalo plaid. (and I'm not being sexist, but women should know better than to freeze their buns while wielding chainsaws. I'll stay inside where it's warm). Also, they've changed their mascot to something more menacing. I don't like that, either.

I put together this little collage for the EIM including a pinecone because Flagstaff, home of the 'Jacks, hosts a pinecone drop for New Year's eve. It's similar to the ball drop in Times Square, just different. 

The theme for the TwobyTwo is "HOT," so I got into the SPIRIT of things with this macabre item:

For those of you who may have been wondering what "xeritas" could possibly mean, I offer this: "xeri-" is a Greek prefix that addresses hot and arid; "-itas" was a Roman superlative that the ruling class used. Thus it would have been Augustus Cesearitas to show he was better than everyone else. He was emperor, after all.

So, Xeritas is a word I made up that loosely means, "hotter is better." And, now you know!

I'm going to poke around the internet a bit thinking warm thoughts. It's 70 and raining today (thirty degrees colder than this time last week!). We're going to need our pellet stove ASAP and it's needing repairs.
I'll leave you with this. We just returned from the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM. The weather was not the best for flying, so this is an image of my favorite photographed by Andi Wolfe:

So, should pigs fly and hell freezes over....

Can YOU say, "System Restore?"

I know you can.
That's what I'm up to.
YIPPEE!

Meanwhile, I worked on a concept for "hotel," the EIM word of the week

Because that's how I feel!

No one can hear you SCREAM!

Creepy.

Let Them eat Cake!

It's birthday week! Or, it's an excuse to do a lot of fun stuff. Either way, we both win! Last night I was treated to a trip to the gun range to improve my rusty skills and then dinner at our favorite Italian place. What fun!
I don't know what the rest of the week may bring, but I'm working  on my take on "CAKE!"
I've never shied away from having just cake for dinner, or breakfast, for that matter. Is anyone else amused by the women's magazines that advertise how to lose five-ten-fifteen pounds THIS WEEK plus a recipe for an awesome chocolate cake that weighs in at over 600 calories per slice? That's more than I normally consume for dinner, so why not skip the meat and potatoes and go straight to dessert?
We can always be good tomorrow. Or, the next day!

I've visited this concept before now:

But I wanted to do a glue and paste collage--this is more correctly termed an assemblage--to add to my collection of fridge magnets:

My Favorite Chinese Fortune

What's your favorite cake? (Mine has to be any that I don't make myself--which is ALL of them as I'm not the baker in the household!)
Check out what the other artists have whipped up for their response to cake, and perhaps join the fun!
I also tackled the EIM for the week, "Myth."
There are endless possibilities there--perhaps the Kokopelli of the ancient Arizona ancestors? You know what I mean--the ubiquitous flute players, the gods of fun and fertility. But to do that properly deserves some photographs. I'll have to revisit that concept another time.
Instead, I chose the Phoenix, the mythical bird that rises from the ashes. I saw a couple memes that suggest that the bird is more beautiful after the fire than before, and a relationship to the Irish adage, "That which does not kill you makes you stronger."

Feenix
Color pencil and marker

No surprise, the symbol appears on the flag of the city. It's a very interesting emblem that deserves reprise. And all the crayons in the box. Have a brilliant day!

Soundtrack of Life

I am truly blessed. The love of my life adores me, his words, not mine. But he holds the line at my singing and for good reason. I cannot carry a tune to save my life.
This does not preclude me from enjoying good music and I truly love to dance (though I've taken no formal training, I just shake my booty).
My man immediately introduced me to flamenco guitar artists...remember Charo? Coochi-coochi? She plays a mean guitar. And he's fond of newer artists like Jesse Cook, Ottmar Leibert and Strunz and Farrar (and we've been able to see them all in concert in fairly intimate venues). Some of their songs are so emotional and passionate, they've become the soundtrack to our love affair.
But there's one song in particular that stands out from all the others: Malagena Salerosa, a classic mariachi song. The rock band Chingon recreated it and we like that rendition. But we really like going to El Encanto in Cave Creek and asking the guitarist to sing it--he can carry those notes for forever.
So I created this digital assemblage of a flamenco dancer and the music:

Malagena Salerosa

The impetus for this was the word of the week at EIM: "rhythm." I started with the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, which is hosting the world's only heavy metal mariachi band on Sunday: Metalachi. I'm not sure if Planet Earth needs more than one, but they have a VERY interesting sound.
In between, I learned that there are minimum requirements for the players in a mariachi band--there are specific numbers of violins, guitars and horns that make up the band. And pity the poor guy who has to lug around the humongous guitarron. He's the unsung leader as it is this instrument that sets the beat.

I leave you with this one.
What's the soundtrack to YOUR life?

The Other Ear

I just had to try another ear; the concept just begs to be heard, doesn't it? HA! Spurred on by yesterdays comments, I had to work through this one. It's a twinchie, not an inchie!

LOGIC is the new SEXY

Zoe, this one's for YOU! Whaddya think?!

And I got busy with some Zentangles and finally scanned in some "stuff." Oh, boy! What a day!
First was the Diva's Challenge to use the new Can T tangle. It vaguely reminds me of a bunch of other choices, but...let's stick to the plan, shall we? [NB: I am what happens when AD meets OC; an alphabet soup of disorders!]

Diva 234
What CanT Can do!

It didn't really do what I was willing it to do, and you know what happens when you even ATTEMPT to make a tangle do your bidding! At least I was willing to show my work, just like I had to in Calculus class. Talk about back to school!
Then it's the String Thing:

IAST 109
It's a Bug's Life

In between, I drew one JUST FOR FUN! Whaddya think about THAT?!

Standing Room Only

And the crowd goes wild!

(If you can't get enough of this, check out the rest of the work I've posted on my Flickr page.)
Thanks for spending some of your very valuable time here with me. It's always appreciated.

I'm ALL Ears!

This week's EIM is "ear." I immediately thought of Van Gogh's ear, which is an intriguing, if not really creepy story; the epitome of the deranged artist.

NO! The OTHER ear!
Portrait de l'artiste

The intense colors, the thick impasto and the rich imagery! I was going to dig out my paints and try something like that, but the to-do list is ridiculous today. (Do NOT mention the word, "pool" to me. Just don't!)
Thus, I went looking for other famous "ears."

"You meet the most eeeeenteresting people..."

I was having a good time, laughing about Gossamer, the monster, but I was getting farther afield and no closer to my goal, when I found:

The Internet is all a twitter over the upcoming Star Wars installment, so it's timely. I haven't seen the "first" three, so I don't know about "VII." (Nothing quite compares with the very first one, in my mind).

I had to create a little more something, so here goes:

A Yoda Meme

There are plenty of Yoda-isms out there, but the Force is strong in this one. Indeed, thus speaks the Lord of the Nerds:

This is the most important lesson I have learned from Master Yoda. Anything that starts out negative will only yield negative results. Do not fight fire with fire. All humans feel fear but we shouldn’t let it control us. We all feel anger towards other people but we must let it pass and never let it turn into hatred because hatred is like drinking a bottle of poison and expecting the other person to die from it.

A decent life lesson.