When your singing bowl won’t sing for you

I am happy to say, that I learned more from the students at the collage workshop I ‘instructed’ last month than they probably learned from me. Here are some favorite photos from that day:

This is the art table, my view from my seat, a long and lovingly nicked solid surface for our purposes. And the other photo is of my PowerPoint and video. 

 This student, posing with his (unfinished) “depiction of sadness” is awesome. He made use of both the music sheets I’d brought along, and some puzzle pieces I brought. Note: I do not use puzzle pieces as some sort of autism symbol or statement, I like the colors, that simple. The music sheets here, which he chose for the background, were from a 1950s music book with such songs in it as: Eating Goober Peas. A terrific book, a terrific re-use of its pages. I NEVER would’ve thought of using the puzzle pieces in this manner. That’s what I mean by having learned from the students. He created an eye, and then had puzzle pieces flowing from it and to further depict sadness and tears, he put translucent blue velum paper over the puzzle pieces! It has a quality that allows the puzzle pieces to show through –Brilliant!

 Days before the workshop, I was working on this, because I put a step-by-step collage demo into my Powerpoint. This is a paper strip trellis which I later glued morning glories onto. I ALWAYS use my fingers to do collage. Imagine my surprise when Patricia asked if I’d brought paintbrushes for everyone for applying the glue! Luckily, she did because GUESS WHAT? Most people do not use their fingers. Who knew? 🙂 Like the mosaics I love, the feel of grout, of glue is part of the experience for me I suppose.

 

This is me in purple. Patricia, (my new friend, and GoodPurposeGallery coordinator) is seated here, with glasses. Note: I misplaced my glasses and worked the whole 2 1/2 hours without glasses only to find them when we cleaned up- two feet away from me.

 

A couple of my collages-in-progress here. I’ve got a lot of unfinished art around the house, like those shown here:

 

This is going to be a very “mosaic’ed looking” snow scene when I finish. Quite abstract.

The above drawing, is really preliminary. I worked on it yesterday and it serves to be a very unfinished undersketch for a future work.

Thanks to Patricia and GoodPurpose for putting up Al and I at The Chambrey Inn which had a fireplace in the room, a jacuzzi in the bathroom, and BEST of all dim corridors, neat niches, olde charm, room service, dark corridors and mucho interesting history! It was founded by nuns who came over from France and pictures of nuns with their students (which they taught when the Inn was a school) are adorned on the walls.

In case you’ve been following this blog, you may know

-I wish to grow morning glories again this year and have started them indoors in peat pots from seed.

-I am designing a fairy village for my wheelbarrow and planted seed on the top of one of the little houses.

Here’s the progress:

Have you seen AANE’s human faces project? They’ve featured images and quotes from people like myself, and have modeled the project after the Humans Of NY thing. Links at bottom of this blogpost.

There’s something else I’m working on, and that is recording an interview for Professor Elizabeth Stringer-Keefe, for my small part of the symposium on April 20th, 2017, next Thursday. I’m looking forward to this as I love a chance for travel, particularly to Boston. I will take a few art pieces with me for display at The Hines. And onstage at the symposium. I’ll be signing books too if anyone will be in Boston next Thursday-

Today is easter and I’m feeling a bit of empty nest syndrome. But morning is lengthening and I’ve got to get dressed, right? First I want to share a picture of my newly acquired Tibetan Singing Bowl. You are supposed to choose a bowl with a tone that appeals to you. At the flea market last Sunday I listened to several bowls as a nice young man demonstrated how to make them sing by running the leather wand over the rim. Well this is supposed to bring inner tranquility, right? Then why am I frustrated?

I can’t get the hang of it yet. When your singing bowl won’t sing, you have to trust there’s song in there somewhere and in time it’ll come out. I have experience with stifled song. It won’t sing. Yet. 

I have to let the situation be what that is 

and not what I think it should be. 

 

When your singing bowl is muted, when it won’t sing for you, well you just set it down and let it be and try again some other time. There’s song in there. 

That’s it. I’m jonesing for more coffee, heavy on the cream. Will keep you posted on upcoming writing, some exciting projects in the works.

Oh since it’s Easter here’s a memory:

This picture I am 3 years old with Easter “bonnet.” I think my fondest memory of Easter is being about six years old popping out of bed. Wishing my parents “Happy Easter! I’m going to go see if the bunny came.” 

My parents exchange looks and say “Today is Easter? Uhoh Joe.”

“Wait a minute Kimmy” says my father. “let me check first.” (Sounds of kitchen door and pantry scuffling) then:

“oh hey Kimmy come out in the kitchen!”

And there on the table a filled basket and in the chair sitting was a giant stuffed rabbit as big as me which I named George. He had long legs and elastic on the feet so I could fix him to my shoes and dance with him. So I ask: “what was that sound I heard like the kitchen door?”

My father without missing a beat: “that was the darnedest thing! I caught the Rabbit in the act. Chased him right out the kitchen door!”

Me: “awwww! I wanted to see him!”

My mother: “maybe next year. He’s long gone now.”

Sounds of me rushing to all the windows to see if I could get a glimpse. And my parents’ wonderful laughter, what they were laughing at I didn’t know.

 

 K
For more on the AANE project:
It’s #VoicesofAANE

http://www.2017mygram.club/tag/voicesofaane