All is like a dream or a magic show.

It does seem like that these days. Like all is a magic show. The title of this post is a direct quote from a Tibetan Buddhist Treatise from the 11th century. Remember the story about how I found a book about submarines a few posts back? Well the magic is happening again. Same bookstore too!
Here is the lead up (to the story). I did scherenschnitte and fraktur back in the 80s and enjoyed it thoroughly. Over the past year or so I've been called to think about and notice these artforms once again and I sort of dreamily imagine things I would do. I even did a few cuttings and put them on ebay not too long ago. But I didn't want to just go over the same ground artistically speaking. Having said that, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. All I knew is this: a) I wanted script writing, not heavy gothic lettering, b) I wanted to join up scherenschnitte with fraktur in some way, c) I wanted a quote [this being the most important 'want' on the list], d) I wanted to incorporate india ink line drawing by my own hand, and e) I wanted to mix up the spiritual with the religious and add a dash of magic for spice. I really did not want to take it too too seriously. I needed to find some quotes that allowed me to quote from one religion so I could maybe use an image from another religion that had an organic attraction to one another. For example I have a cutting of Jesus on the cross in one cutting in my stash of cuttings I did years ago. He is surrounded by wonderful flowers and shrubs and urns and I was thinking that maybe I could put a line drawing of buddha in there instead. You get the idea. I thought that I'd have to google quotes and just start compiling quotes willy nilly.
UNTIL yesterday, when I found this book: The Quotable Spirit ~ A Treasury of Religious and Spiritual Quotations, from Ancient Times to the 20th Century.
The day before yesterday I went shopping and it means walking 3 miles and because I have M.S. I take the walking as a serious blessing and enjoy every step. I am glad to not be in a wheel chair. I have long periods of remission and I live my life not only a day at a time, but an hour at a time. But I do get tired. So anyway, I purchased purple onions and other heavy stuff and I just knew I would not have enough energy to do anything but go directly home. I wanted to so badly go to the library and sniff around and then pop into my favorite used book store but I wisely talked myself out of it. I made it home. But the next day, the pull was still there and so I just let myself drift in that direction and soon found myself browsing the stacks in the used book store. It did not take me too too long to find the book. I knew as soon as I put my hand on it that that was what I need and that is why I made my way to the book store.
Yes I know that if I'd of googled it and typed in the correct information, I'd of found similar books (it didn't occur to me to do that because it didn't occur to me that a book such as this exists) and I'd of been able to obtain a book like this, or even this book. But I feel the specialness of this event because I felt the specialness of the pull to the bookstore. It was s-t-r-o-n-g! So it may be just one of those things in life where you pay attention to what you notice, and notice what you pay attention to, but in the end I have this fabby book and I'm inspired. I have a 'vision.'
I think I will add f) a tiny bit of sparkle, to my list of what I want to do in my scherenschnitte/fraktur art piece(s)!
Okay this is all and well but I have to put this on my back burner because I have some paper artdolls on my plate, and a few other things. At least I know in what direction I am going with this.
Hope everyone is having a fun time. Talk soon, *smiles* Norma
P.S. look at those heart rocks on the cover beside the box of glitter. I just received them in the mail from Firuzan, a generous and wonderful artist who has become a friend.

A bit of magic...

Well you know how the muse works! Surprises everywhere...today is another mystery. I am supposed to be working on a paper artdoll. I have started to paint the face and I've got the dress designed in my head so it's off to a good start. The dress (skirt at this point) is made from used tea bags (paper) and I've sewn the outline of a plum blossom on it using music paper as a base. Lately I've been noticing the use of tea bag paper and let me say I'm speechless with excitement about using it, and often I am thinking. The first experiment was the skirt of my paper doll and as I said I'm off to a good start. Except that I looked at something on line (a blog I follow) that talks about using Pine Sol cleaner as a transfer technique. Somehow I got off on a different path altogether (this is the surprise part). The transfer technique didn't work at all (this will be another blog post), but here is what designed itself. Where it came from is a COMPLETE MYSTERY to me. My muse is at work here.
This is a wee bird pretty much the same size and shape as my paper inspirational bird (small size), but is made of used tea bag paper that was doubled over for strength. Encased inside are some fennel seeds which are believed in some folklore to ward off evil persons but I am using them to ward off evil thoughts. Sequins decorate it and chicken feathers (oh I am feeling the voodoo vibe here) feature in the tail. There's a small bell for the idea of sound and the bird hangs on a gold cord.
I am calling this a paper bird talisman to ward off evil thoughts. It is a complete prototype and I've used sequins and cord that were readily available so have given no thought as to color. It is stamped with the rubber stamp which says 'aspire to BE' and this talisman will hang by my computer screen to remind me that I would like to be a person who has more positive thoughts going on.
Now it is back to the paper doll. Have fun everyone! *smiles* Norma

Bird Angels and Submarines and the full moon...

I was just out looking at the moon and enjoying the beauty and wonder of it and remembering magic and how somehow it seems that the moon and magic are tied together and I don't know how this is but it just seems like it is. So here's the magic part. About three weeks ago I passed up a book, a funny little book that I would never in one thousand years find myself interested in. Nonetheless I noticed it right away in the stacks of hundreds and hundreds of spines at my local thrift store, and found myself leafing through it. I couldn't put it down. I did this twice during two different visits. You know, if I was paying attention I should have known that this was an important book for me. But it is so out of character (subject wise) that I just didn't know what to do so I put it back. And then went looking for it the next time I was there and it was gone and I've been chastising myself for not buying it ever since. This went on for days. I even go back still to that same rack hoping for a miracle. Nope, somebody else got it. Dang. I had no choice but to let it go, forget about it and move on. So today, a full moon day, a day of magic, I'm enticed to walk two miles to a second hand book store (different from the thrift store) and you know what's coming, right? Right. This book store is undescribeable. I was there only yesterday when I combed the stacks. There was absolutely no reason for me to go there today. You cannot imagine the mess the books are in. It's one long wall in a dimly lit back room and say 30 feet long of floor to ceiling books that are in no order and shoved in sideways, etc. The draw is that all books are either one dollar for anything paperbacked and two dollars for anything hardcover. Obviously I have scored major finds in that back room. But anyway, today I waltzed in there just to have a peek at goodness knows what and the book jumped out at me in under a minute at eye level in the very first shelf I looked at. The book! It was the book! I grabbed it, pressed it to my heart and immediately went to the checkout as obviously that was the sole reason for my going in there, of walking two miles to go to a bookstore I'd just been in the day before. This time...the third time I held the book in my hands, I bought it. What is the book? SUBMARINES OF THE WORLD a fully illustrated with superb side-view artwork of the vessels and weapons. I don't even know what to say. Only that I am not into war machines let alone boats of any description. My muse is up to something. This book was very important to her (I think my muse is female [but now that I think of it maybe it's male].) So now the muse is happy and who knows how it will appear in my work. It'll be as much a surprise to me as anyone. But the point of the whole story is that this little bit of magic (my finding the book in the way I did) happened on this full moon day.
So in the spirit of magic, I dug out an old photo of a little papier mache beauty I made years ago and who does much magic herself. She is a bird angel and her job is to help sick or wounded or dying birds in garden areas of the city and to find their family and bring them back together. This doll was a prototype and her woolen dress has been attacked my moths and her papier mache parts have been eaten by mice and so she is looking very very bedraggled. But she is a cutie hey?
Well, happy full moon day to everyone! Actually, it is night here now. Make a wish!!