"Systems"

As a writer, I am always analysing something- I can't help it even though it cause me grief sometimes, with my need to get down to the smallest detail- often my family takes my "intrigue" on past relationships and hard times as emotional upheaval on my part when in reality it is a desire to understand so that I can utilize that bit of reality in my writing. But that is a whole different blog.
Right now- I have a friend that I really clicked with at a writing conference- going through what most of us moms and dads would say is the worst nightmare- a child with cancer. And thanks to the Internet and a site called www.caringbridge.com- I can get daily updates on her son's progression of his treatment.
Today she was explaining the phases they will be going through and how each one is titled in a certain way and the literature that her and her husband get is very concise and worded in a way that if you are not a medical doctor you can still grasp what each one entails and more important-prepare for what is coming.Which I think is great that the children's hospitals they are dealing with are smart enough to hire some knowledgeable writers to lay this all out in a way where no one is surprised or overwhelmed in the gathering of information- because you are overwhelmed with so many other things when your kid is sick.
Things are also explained in a way for her son- who is six- so he can understand and communicate- a pain chart consisting of sad and smiley faces- a "comfort bin" instead of a bucket to throw up in- sounds a lot nicer.
Reading her updates reminds me of the fact I am muddling through learning Photoshop ( if you don't know what that is it is the professional standard software for the design industry- comes at a whopping price tag- $700 dollars- and there are whole design school classes devoted to it) and the current book I am reading- Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen's great novel~
Now before you say what the #$@$ do these have in common-let me explain- they are all "systems" and it never accord to me how many systems we have around us and what "Systems" truly do for us.
Obvious- Photoshop is a system- it is a set program- you have to learn- the program dictates all conduct- you can push the wrong button all day- it will not work in the third attempt or two hundredth attempt if it is the wrong button.
PC and Mac are systems on a computer- your computer will not humor you if you treat it like a Mac and in reality it is a PC. The system dictates.
My friend-who is dealing with hospitals- time is of the essence- a set vocabulary where everyone is on the same page is critical- it is not a place for a free thinker- not in the transmitting of info- no one should come up with their own terminology- that wastes time- Like I said a talented knowledgeable writer/writers thought of ways to word things so that quick understanding would come and God willing ( which all have faith he will) her son will go through the "System" of treatment and come out the other side a health boy!!!! and !!!!
Now on to Jane Austen- who wrote about another system that is still out there but might not as noticeable- Social Decorum. Austen wrote in an era of class structure- where depending on your place in it- you knew how to act- you knew who was allowed to address whom- who need to what until they were addressed. Where people -iF they thought of a clever- socially correct way to wield an insult they were praised for it- but if they blundered through a compliment- they were ostracized.
If you haven't read Jane Austen- do- or see one of the fine movies that are out now- just because books are on a shelve at B and N- doesn't mean they are any good, but the ones that are good- stick around for ever! Jane Austen wrote her books in the first two decades of the 1800s!!
Why are there so many systems around us? Well- mainly because when you are working in them- everyone knows what to expect- there are no surprises. The same vocab is used and the same steps are done- I am married to a lawyer- three years are spent in law school learning a system that shall NOT be deviated from- yes- an artist/lawyer marriage is also another blog!
There are people- and some of them my best friends- and yes my husband- who live quite nicely in a "System"- they have a certain way of thinking, brushing their teeth in a certain way, etc. and it is hard for them to deviate from it- then there are us writers- who want to move freely- humm? think that is where the phrase- "Buck the system" comes from?
Back to my husband- I am a writer, I am dyslexic and can be obstinate- and sometimes when describing things do not use the right adjective for the right noun- either to make a point or because I just say the wrong word- like this morning- like when I said- coming into the bathroom- "Where did that PILE of water come from?" referring to standing in water by the sink-" Now if you are with me and want to know "where it did come from" you are a person who does not have to operate in "System" - if you are back with my husband- bothered I used "Pile of Water" instead of "Puddle of Water", and five minutes later was unable to move forward because I was pushing the wrong button on the keyboard- and until I pushed the right button and acknowledge to him- yes technically it is a puddle not a pile- you might be a person who needs to operate in a system and really doesn't understand mixing things up for "dramatic effect"
Yes- in Photoshop, Law, Medical Treatment, computers technology we should have system- they are good- they are necessary- they save time and confusion- but read Jane Austen again- and read inbetween the lines- that lady knew "Dramatic Effect!"
And yes- Jane Austen in the most delicate way was "Bucking the System!"

how I'm doing?

"Up with the Sun," on the previous post was "tweaked" with Corel Paint Shop Pro X2 and me basically guessing! This "Up with the Sun" is after a crash course of about 8 hours a day for about four day- of me learning Photoshop- with the tutorials on Lynda.com- came highly recommended by several illustrators and even an art director and could not be happier- my eyes are crossed but I am learning so much- and this image is still not right- just thought I would see where I was at!.....okay the other one looks better- better go back and finish the tutorial on sharpening- learning a foreign language has to be easier then learning Photoshop!!!!!!!!

"IF- Heavy"

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is "Heavy" and we, here in the San Juan Mountains have gotten a "Heavy" amount of snow-coming out of drought cycle- (any wood on a computer?)we are now at over 150% of our average snowpack. In a week of warm, nearly two feet of snow just got done melting-teasing the livestock in the pastures with the tips of old grass-but this morning it is snowing again!
Next we will have a "season of mud" where our shoes can get "heavy" by the amount of mud attached to them.
Next week is Easter- I wonder if people will accept spring ain't here yet or stubornly were their opened toed easter sandels to church? No daffodils peeking through the earth or chirping birds- but did hear a stuborn woodpecker whacking away at our furance exhaust pipe (trying to impressive the lady woodpeckers-accoustics are great) and the skunks have woken up- and are looking for a dry piece of ground to hang out!

P.S.- thanks so much to all who gave advice on using the camera instead of the scanner- you were right- and all I needed was to update my Corel Paint Shop- which is now much similiar to Photoshop- and get a tripod- still working at it-but you can see the improvement if you scroll down to the last IF entry! Thanks again!!!

"From This Day Forward"

This weekend we expanded our living space by decreasing. Huhhhh? you say. We moved bedrooms around, got rid of our family room ( it technically is a master bedroom) and by opening up one wall of another downstairs bedroom have expanded our great room.
Now not to bore you with our families remodeling plan anymore, let me get to the point. In all the furniture moving I found a lot of cobwebs, it had been a long time since I had done any spring cleaning in my house and I have to say it felt good- to have really-pull the furniture out from the wall-lift up the rugs- clean rooms- I needed that!
Then I went to church and played keyboard with the Praise Team, something I haven't done for a long time, corporately played praise songs which I haven't pondered in a long time and realized I had other cobwebs in places I haven't been using very much lately, like inside me.
I could blame it on our winter- unusual for the Four Corners where the sun shines most day- even when it snows some time- we are over 150% of our normal snow pack and the skies have been dreary a lot or I could blame it on the loss of my husband's mother, right after Thanksgiving- which needless to say changed everything for our family, but honestly-my cobwebs have grown in places they shouldn't for one reason-they have found places I have stopped taking care of, be it behind furniture or in my soul.
Through out the ages,cobwebs have grown in God's people as well. The Old Testament is a record of Israel wanderings to and from the protection of God. Back and forth through the generations- lead by the judges and kings, the people swayed away in good times and coming back to God in bad times-usually whining and moaning- with only the prophets being a constant reminder of God's provisions and love.
Haggai was just one of those prophets that God kept talking to and as usually when things started going "south" the people looked back to God for help.
And this is what God told him to tell the people (cool first line-BTW)
"How does it look to you now?
Does it not seem to you like nothing...
Be strong, all you people of the land,'
declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,'
declares the LORD Almighty.
'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.
And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear."
Haggai 2:2-5
He goes on to tell them to basically clean out the cobwebs from their temple, from their barns, and from their lives and he will again bless them.
saying---
"From this day forward, I will bless you."
Haggai 2:19 NIV
So to have I realized I need to clean out my cobwebs from my soul. I am writing this to share- but also because it has been a long time since I have cracked the "book" and pondered the words of my Lord and Savior.
But thank goodness that the promise of "From this day forward" holds for me as well- because I need it about every day.
Was God with me- through the dreary winter and my families loss? Of course- he is with me always and I felt him- but like in a house, the cobwebs are not really very inviting- so it is time for some spring cleanig- consisting of a bit more praying and pondering through song and his word. Reality is once I blow the dust off- I'll start to feel better because He say...
"From this day forward I will bless you!"
It's a promise!!

"Thank you Miss Ginger!"

I'm a lucky person!I get to witness both the inner workings of making literature for children and seeing what that literature can do in the hands of a child! And I don't know which I like best- for the past five years I have had the fun of teaching ART to rural ranch kids and Native American kid,mostly Navajo, at Battle Rock Charter School in historical McElmo Canyon.
I'm also a freelance writer and aspiring freelance illustrator who is getting to know some very kind and cool illustrators-and one of the coolest and kindest is Ginger Nielson- who just donated a whole box full of her new book- "The Adventures of Cali" to my kindergarten through second graders.Written by Michele Lallouz Fisher, with wonderful "Ginger-esque" illustrations- she has such a distinct look- the story tracks the travel of a little caterpillar that is hiding in a delious tomato patch and found by a curious boy.
What makes these books really cool is they come with a little recorder- so the kids can have someone record the story and than they can read along listening to the device.
Anything, again I say anything, that gets these kids interested in reading is a good thing. As is true across the rural West,reading is a skill that is sometimes overlooked- and if a "gimmick" of a recorder- is used to get a kid in a lap of an adult reading- I'll do the happy dance.
The recorder, itself will be great for these kids as well- allowing them to listen to their own voices- Navajos, by their culture, can be very soft spoken- so sometimes it is hard to get these kids to talk much, but who doesn't like to hear the sound of their own voice!
So thank you, Miss Ginger, for your generosity- the kids loved the story and loved the illustration and thought it was pretty cool that I knew you! Some fuzzy caterpillars are coming your way- so watch your mailbox!!

IF- "Multiple"

This is an illustration I hadn't got up on the internet yet-and am using to try and learn how to use Photoshop lightroom- still not there but much, much better. ( and BTW- thank you a hundred times over for all the great advise I got on taking images of my artwork- you all were gracious and right on with the advice to use a ditigial camera instead of scanning!!! Thank you

I could use the theme "multiple" to describe the many attempt to figure this out and what a dunce I am at anything technical. But I have another thing to talk about- so if you are interested read on- if not- enjoy the illustration and have a great day!
Otherwise.....and this is about a writing assignment not art BTW

Today I gave up on "multiple" attempts to please an editor and just told him not pay me. It was work for hire and I just couldn't deliver what he wanted. Not that I didn't have the ability to do it- but I just thought it would be the wrong way of going about it. And since it involved teaching kids- I guess I wasn't willing to put my name on it.
When I was telling my friend about it, she didn't seem too surprised, saying "Of course- you're an artist."
What exactly is the definition of "artist?"
Does it mean just "creative"? Does it mean a person marches to their own drum- but then how can they touch the lives of others- what good is art for art sake if it doesn't move people? I'm hoping it doesn't mean "difficult" and "can't play well with others"
I think it definitely means- I don't need to be taking anymore Work For Hire writing assignments- cause I must not be very good at bring to life someone else vision-
and here again- I wonder, like I have written in this blog before- if my vision is anything that will ever be out there to "move" anyone.
It seems like I have explored a lot of doors down this hallway of creative pursuits and thus far with not the success I hoped for. I'm still turning doorknobs and have to be getting close just for the process of alimanation.
And I can hear the voices of my friends telling me the obvious- "finish your novel", "illustrate your own picturebook", "actually send something in" and Okay- you're right- but I just let my deluxe chef's oven slip through my fingers on a principle- so I need to vent-

IF- "Choose"

Help me "Choose!"
Should I get a new stove or Adobe Photoshop?



I am in a quandry!It takes a lot of "tweeking" to get my fabric collages back to looking good once I scan them onto the computer. The different textures and even some metalic threads in fabrics go all wacky. I finally gave up on this illustration-with courderoy and metalic tweed. I have been using Corel Paintshop Pro and it takes some doing to get the color and texture back sometimes.
I checked into Adobe Photoshop and of course am salivating at such a cool program- but Is it worth the almost $700 for color correction and digitial fixing? I am rationalizing that Photoshop is about 3/4 of a pretty nice range/stove I was eying and I do really like to cook!!
Anybody got some tips for scanning collages and texture and is it easier with Photshop?

IF- "Blanket"

Many times you see Navajos up in the mountains collecting long lodge pole pines for their teepees. No they do not live in them, but use them for pow wows and festivals. Often we'll see the poles stashed in a grove of evergreens, ready for camping or hunting season, when they will just bring up the canvas. I can't say I have ever seen a Navajo drive a classic old truck, mostly they are in minivans!

IF- "Plain"

Plain// (pl-a-n)An extensive, level, usually treeless area of land.

This "plain" is actually Lost Park, connected to South Park, below Kenosha Pass, off of HWY 285 heading east towards Denver, where my husband and I "romped around" and explored while he was getting his law degree at Denver University.

- this is not a depiction of "us" per say- our obsession with dogs hadn't started yet!

IF- Stitch

Well, for the Illustration Friday challenge I felt like I could do anything this week because, hey,everything I make is held together by "stitches". "Starry Night" was made with bits and pieces out of my scrap boxes. I save fabric as small as an inch square. Holidays, family needs and travel had kept me from my studio too long, so last week I just went in my studio, sketched this out and stitched just to get back in the groove.
As the needle went through the fabric and I could feel the friction of the thread, the stress of the last few monthes started to go away!

One of the First Picture Books!

Was listening to NPR coming home and the most intereting interview was on.From NPR -"Geraldine Brooks got the idea for her new book, People of the Book: A Novel, while covering the Bosnian war as a foreign correspondent. The book is a fictional account of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a centuries-old manuscript." here is the link to hear an interview.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17759173
I think it was so amazing,because Jewish tradition, did not like any illustrations of God or really people- based on the commandment of no graven images. As an illustrator that truly believes that God gives gifts and the gift he gave me was the ability to draw- I have always pondered the right to depict "Jesus, God and holy things"- all very intersting and I think I will need to read the book Brooks wrote- a fictional account of the books travels. Check out the NPR interview and the one I heard-today on the 10th- not up on their website yet.
"

IF- 100%

I am 100% ready for a new year with new opportunties and adventures! 2007 was full- full of growth and challenges, good times with wonderful people and also some sad events. And Moonflower Musing was a great way to look back and remanince! Bring on the journey of 2008!

IF- "Hats"

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "Hats"
"Whooooo" is one of my first fabric collages I did about a year or two ago? I actually knit the stocking cap- on about #0 knitting needles- don't know if it offers enough "wow!" to make it worth it. A friend of me encouraged me not to put so much stuff in- less lets you really look at everything and since I have made an effort to limit the "stuff" in a given illustration- so what is there can be appreciated.

Halloween @ Battle Rock

This year- Halloween fell on Wednesday,the day I teach art at Battle Rock Charter School. The cottonwoods along McElmo creek are in blazing yellow and the foliage below them in brilliant orange, set against the red sandstone of the canyon walls and the blue, blue sky- it was an awe inspiring drive.



Once at the school, I was met by superheros, and faires, monsters and princesses, in all shapes and sizes as school across the country were host too.



What is a little different about Battle Rock is it is just few miles from the Utah border and the Navajo Reservation- so we had a few unique spooks- including a very scary Navajo Grandmother- in a raggedy broom skirt and scarf complete with turquoise jewelery.



But once she was done scaring everyone- she gave us all a extra special treat- Fry Bread- yum! Pretty much at every festival or function around these parts, you can find a stand of Navajo ladies, stirring up dough and than slapping out a disc of flour and water- which is fried in a skillet of lard.


Cousin to the sophapia or funnel cake- fried bread is best eaten in the first few minutes of its creation and is yummy with a little honey,powder sugar or for the base of a Navajo Taco with all the fixings!

IF...Trick or Treat?

I confess- this is "Re-illustrating"- kind of like regifting- but I wont have time to get to a new illustration done and since Halloween is like my least favorite holiday- check out my Oct. 2006 archive to know why- if your curious, I guess I am not very motivated. This one, from last year works well- the theme around Halloween was "Ghost"- i.e. no feet-
So have a blessed "All Saints Day" and enjoy the harvest- the light and views in my corner of the West are amazing right now- I was driving out near the border of Utah/Colorado yesterday, early in the morning and I actually thought I was witnessing a UFO- no joke- the sun was behind me, just coming up and there was like lights in the sky- like those square rows of lights at the baseball field. It would move around and then they all would turn off for a second and then turn back on- I actually slowed down trying to figure out what it was. What is was- was a flock of white birds with grey underbellies flying in formation. The sun was casting light off their backs and not when they turned their underbellies towards the sun, they disappeared from sight.
Such things are why I love the Fall- the changes in the light, the air, the trees and the animals.
But alas I am an illustrator, a teacher and a mother- I ain't getting away from Halloween- so here is my offering!

Another history of a word...Nepotism

Thanks again to Wikipedia- here is an interesting "history of word"- Nepotism is a word that was created around the practice of Roman Catholic Popes appointing their nephews as Cardinals. Since they were celibate and had no children, a nephew was the the closest thing to family they had and I guess family pressure existed back there to get relatives in the "biz". You can read more about it at----

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal-nephew

Nepotism is still alive and well in politics and Hollywood. Ever wonder why a motion picture has like fifteen assistant producers? Nephews, nieces, cousins- the more things change the more they stay the same!!

"You can tell a man by the size of his kitchen."

This past spring we did a weekend trip to Saint George, Utah, one of the first Mormon settlements in Utah.Right after the Civil War-Brigham Young picked this spot for its mild climate and directed the Saints to plant cotton, harvest silkworms and yes-grow vineyards- to make wine- to sell to the near by miners and use as a tithe to fund the building of a small temple and tabernacle.
Young also picked Saint George as one of his seasonal homes and today you can tour the pretty little Desert Victorian house on the corner lot, surrounded by pecan trees and grape vines, where Harriet Amelia Folsom Young,one of his few wives that did not have children, would usually spend the winter.
When Young purchased the house he added a fine entryway.The craftsmen ship is amazing-with faux painted pine- the only wood they had- turned into the finest grained oak set against the finest furniture and art. While there Young would oversee the churches affair, receiving visitors either in the front parlor or in his bedroom- a massive room with high ceilings to accommodate a canopy bed,with a sitting area next to a tall desk.
But I think you can tell a man by the size of his kitchen and to tell you the truth I was not impressed by the size of Brigham Young's kitchen. After taking the tour through the house and hearing of the entertaining the Young's did in this little house- I was expecting a spacious kitchen with lots of places to work and room to move- well it wasn't that- it was cramped and small. Granted-a hired girl did the cooking for the Young's and who knows what the kitchen looked like really- before it became a museum- but it made me start thinking and realize you can tell a lot about a man by the size of his kitchen. Take for instance- my great grandfather James Jenson.
Jame's parents emigrated from Denmark and settle in Freeborn county Minnesota, where my great grandfather and all his brother and sister were born. I don't know much about his younger days, but I do know when the rest of his family decide to migrate west to Montana- James decide to stay- because he had his eye on a young Danish girl, Christine- who had just come from Denmark with her family and was too young to marry-So James waited- and when she was of age- he married her and started a farm. At first they lived in a shack. Christine, pregnant and with little ones to watch - cooked in a tent- providing meals for the men working the fields. Coming to James, she told him she didn't have a platter big enough to server the breakfast meats and eggs on. James returned from town, that day, with a large pretty platter asking her if it would do. The platter is still passed around our families table today with stories of our grandfather James and how crazy he was for our great grandmother. Also proved by their thirteen children- in a time that when you were done having kids-you stopped- well....
Eventually he built Christine a proper kitchen- spacious with nooks and drawers for her cooking things- next to a fine dining room full of wood and a beautiful archway where she hung large paper bells each Christmas- near the staircase to the top floor where my grandmother remembers seeing her father sitting and crying- when his youngest son, barely two, died of dehydration.
Later in their life, my great grandmother,waking in her sleep,fell down those stairs and James would let no one else carry her back up and to her bed.
I have stories of my other great and great great grandfathers- stories of how important they thought they were and how they liked to rule over their households-but I have never heard those stories about my great grandfather James. Yup, you can tell a man by the size of his kitchen.

IF-"Open Air"

The only way to see the amazing island of Maui is in an "open air" Jeep!

3:10 to Yuma?

I love Westerns, movies that is. They are by far my favorite "genre" because usually they are a "morality play", the setting is beautiful and who can resist a man on a horse!
So, this weekend-needing to be on the "Front Range"- i.e. Denver- for business and near a mega-plex movie theater- I took the opportunity to go see the new movie "3:10 to Yuma" with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe.
The movie is based on a short story by Elmore Leonard and the new film is a remake of a Classic Western with the same title, starring Glenn Ford in the role of the outlaw.
Okay- "get real!!" I watched this movie somewhat dumbfounded. Yes the movie was pleasing to the eye,the setting beautiful in Southern Arizona, Bale and Crowe are good at their parts- BUT!! Where do I start!

-Cowboys don't cuss in front on a women- yes they cussed up a "blue streak" otherwise but it was words like "dam" not "f**** and sh** and if the fourteen year old son of a farmer did it in front of his mother- his father (i.e. Bale) would make sure he did not sit down for a week.

-okay- when you lose your entire foot in the Civil War like the farmer(Bale) did- you will have a noticeable limp! And will probably not be able to run as fast as the outlaw(Crowe) through the streets of Yuma as bullets fly.

-If you were shot in the stomach- in the West- you were facing a slow and enviable death- Doctors did not have the knowledge to take care of a "gut shot"- you did not lay on a doctors table and hold still for him to pull out the bullet with a long tweezers and then hop on your horse to ride off and catch the bad guys!

-When someone starts shooting at you at night- you should extinguish all light sources- i.e. kick dirt over the campfire, like John Wayne would- and go out and sneak around in the dark yourself- Not huddle in the light of the fire, looking around!!

-Noise travels very far in the desert- and Cowboys listen- and Indians listen- and usually know when they are being tailed- not in this movie!

-Bullets travel really really far and there is no reason to be two inches away from the bad guy to draw your gun on him- even if it makes a cool "shot" as in movie shot-because he can knock the gun out of your hand-

- the West was and still is a dangerous place where life and death was established by two things- water and transportation- there are "lagistics" like losing your horse- that seemed to have no consequences in this movie- just keeping walking and you will find one around the next bend in the road- and the dangers of the Apaches that have been building in the script will turn into China men blasting tunnels for the railroad and your horses will be waiting for you! Oh and you can get electrocuted with little or no effect too!

It just seems like the "laws of physics and life" are getting more and more suspended- granted they always have been to a large degree- the roadrunner/coyote syndrome- fall off a thousand foot cliff and get up- but if Consequences are not part of the Western- we are losing a large parts of what makes the "genre" so special-
Because reality is the West is unforgiving- it still is- your "gut shot" you die- not ride a horse the next day- someone would and could by law hurt you bad for cussing in front of a woman- and when you have dodged bullets through the streets of Yuma and finally are successful in getting the Outlaw in the prison car- you don't expect the bad guys to give up and stop shooting- and turn your back to them- unless you are at 120 pages in your script and have run out of money!