Nona’s Art — The Art of Transformation

Amicable Takeover of dh’s unused office Proceeds Apace!

2009-05-17T17:47:00.004+12:00

Last year, while he was overseas, I shifted dh’s office at university from a cramped unfriendly space on the fourth to a big warm office on the fifth floor, decluttering madly and making room for him to finish his book.

His “home” office, mostly unvisited during the past year, has been beckoning, suggesting expanded workspace for my ever-widening art interests. At long last dh has capitulated, and even assisted in my amicable takeover of his defunct home office.

Urging me on [f*ck! #)$$%*&^ f*ck!, etc], he helped shift furniture and a heavy, moth-infested carpet, so that now he has computer access at the front of the room, and I have a BIG worktable under the window at the back, with heaps of shelving. Go me!

I have shifted my jewelry-making operations into this new space, leaving the sitting room free for, well, sitting!

I also shifted heaps of stuff out of my current art room so that I actually have elbow room now.

Looking forward to arting in my new space!

New Stencils!

2009-05-10T13:55:00.003+12:00

Yesterday the gales died down a bit, and I grabbed the opportunity to test my new stencils :-D

I only got one sheet sprayed before my fingers iced up, but here it is:

This includes three of Gary Reef’s birds, my newspaper dancer, my chrysanthemum, and my plum blossom. I also tested several new doilies.

Before testing my handcut stencils I cast a set of plastic letters and numbers across the sheet and sprayed over them. I shot the resulting white letterforms with my New Colours: orange, turquoise, and purple!

Haven’t decided what to do with this just yet.

Hand Cut Stencils!

2009-05-04T19:34:00.004+12:00

Woo-hoo!! I’ve spent two fun afternoons cutting stencils, both with an exacto knife and with a stencil burner. Great Fun!

Here are some of my products:

The birds (thanks to Gary Reef!) and human figures were cut with an Xacto knife:

As was this, cut from a picture in a newspaper article:

This is my most “complex” stencil to date; I used a stencil burner to cut this one:

The Chrysanthemum is one of the emblems of the Japanese royal family; I plan to use this in my “Japan” Altered Book.

Makin’ More Art!

2009-04-22T15:05:00.006+12:00

I got tired of making Resolutions and Intentions to Make More Art — so I just started Makin’ More Art!

I’m taking 2 online courses: Stencilry with Mary Ann Moss, [closed]

and AB101 with Elizabeth, [closed]

so have been Playing and Experimenting and Messing About! And I’m having more fun than a pile of kittens with a ball of yarn!

I’m Pushing my Envelope in Myriad Ways — I try not to Think about it so I don’t seize up ;-)

Check out my flickr for more pix.

Crossed Structure Binding by Carmencho Arregui

2009-04-14T17:17:00.004+12:00

Recently I attended a Hutt Calligraphers’ workshop on the Crossed Structure Binding by Carmencho Arregui, taught by Teresa Francis. This unusual book is sewn to the back cover; self-straps on each cover cross the spine and are slotted into slits in the other cover. You can choose to expose, or to hide, the straps.

The cool thing about this book is that you can add signatures later!
More pictures can be seen here.

Haven’t posted lately...

2009-04-13T11:53:00.003+12:00

but I have been making art! With a little push from Cathy Johnson, I have begun sketching again. These two were done with Rotring pen and WN watercolours in the Hotel Bristol, Cuba Mall, Wellington.

S92A has been scrapped!!

2009-03-24T09:37:00.002+13:00

“Prime Minister John Key has announced that the government will throw out the controversial Section 92A of the Copyright Amendment Act and start again. Section 92A has been scrapped.”

This is fantastic news, and it’s great that Prime Minister John Key has taken a stand on this important issue.

Now we need to help make some sensible copyright law that will protect artists as well as all New Zealanders.

We’ve almost won! NZ Government delays copyright laws!

2009-02-24T09:26:00.002+13:00

The online protests of ‘blacked out’ websites attracted international attention, and culminated in a petition to parliament.

Now the Prime Minister has told the law’s backers they have a month to figure out how they can make it work, or it goes. “Let’s see if that code of practice can be achieved. They’ve been promising it for some time, they say they’re close, we’re giving them another month to do that,” says John Key.

See TVNZ link here.

Artists Against Guilt Upon Accusation Laws in NZ

2009-02-19T11:22:00.003+13:00

2009-02-17T19:16:00.004+13:00

Join The New Zealand Internet Blackout to protest against the Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A' that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Save the Net, Sign the Petition!

Sign the petition to support this statement:

I don't want Guilt Upon Accusation laws that will force the termination of internet connections and websites without evidence, and without a fair trial.

7,569 people have signed so far!

In case you were wondering, artists and non-artists alike can sign.

28 Mar 8.30 pm Turn off your lights for one hour

2009-02-12T22:40:00.000+13:00

On March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., local time, World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour -- Earth Hour -- to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate their commitment to finding solutions. Turn out. Take action. Be part of this historic event.

OWOH Winner!

2009-02-12T22:38:00.002+13:00

And the winner of Red Black One Love, selected by Random.org, is Nikki Wheeler of My Life as an Artist. Yay Nikki!

I want to thank all 329 of you who left appreciative comments -- y'all rock my world!

Are you Eating?

2009-02-10T21:24:00.005+13:00

If so, you will want to give a donation to animal rescue shelters that are in dire straights in this economy.

It’s a no-brainer — less money buying fewer goods means we’re all cutting back. We’re eating cheaper, growing our own veggies, and looking to cut costs across the board.

Animals rescued from Death Row at SPCA and other shelters don’t have a choice. And the saints who run the shelters are, themselves, in need.

Please. Donate to your local shelter. Now. Before it’s too late for an innocent fur-person.

your local shelter or A Place To Bark

One World One Heart Update

2009-01-28T21:24:00.005+13:00

WOW! Fully twenty-six per cent of those participating in OWOH have signed up for my giveaway funky bracelet! You all are outstanding!!

Thanks so very much for visiting me, and do come back later in life :-D

ONE WORLD ONE HEART GIVEAWAY

2009-01-21T20:33:00.006+13:00

One World One Heart Giveaway is all about making connections!

Between now and 11 Feb 2009, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win! The prize is a handmade, one-of-a-kind, unconventional, funky charm bracelet titled “Red Black One Love”.

This piece of art is composed of a variety of ordinary objects: a watchface, bulldog clip, pencils, dominoes, glass beads, lampwork beads, letter beads spelling out LOVE, an eyes milagro, a glass vial filled with tiny beads, a stamped UTEE house shape.

My unique bracelets have graced the wrists of many awesome folks, including Molly Gordon, of The Accidental Entrepreneur fame.

You are also invited to visit my shop, Funky Body Décor, and its blog for more funky jewellery and another chance to win!

At the end of the day on 11 Feb a random number generator will choose the winner. Good luck, and enjoy your trip through the OWOH blogs!

Is Procrastination eating your life? Check your motivation!

2009-01-11T12:54:00.007+13:00

I had the Very Best of intentions, a mile-long “To Do” list, a five-week research & arting trip to pack for, piles of Clutter I planned to tackle “soonest”, and a shiny new business that was slowly sliding into obscurity, but there I was, hiding from it all with the covers pulled over my head.

Can you say “Procrastination”? Caught out, I felt profoundly guilty.

Deciding [after 50-some years] to tackle this monster head-on, I went to the internet for help. Typing procrastination into Google, I watched in dismay as it produced 4,650,000 hits. There are websites that promise to Cure it, Stop it, Overcome it, Manage it, Study it, Research it, Make War on it, take a Quiz to see if I Have it, distinguish the Good procrastination from the Bad, discover Why I have it, Prime Myself for “concrete thinking” — even learn a Mathematical Equation for it!

Gaaah! This was clearly no place for DIY; I decided to take my moral bankruptcy to a professional.

Imagine my surprise at being told that solving procrastination is Way Easy! Caused by insufficient motivation to produce the desired behaviour, one need only discover sufficient motivation!

Well, d’oh! That wasn’t very motivating.

It was mid-November, the business I had created to fill the income-gap from reducing my hours at my day-job should be busy filling Christmas orders, but I couldn’t seem to get new items loaded to my shop or do the mandatory marketing! Whenever I so much as thought about doing it, I felt as if I were pushing against the well-known “immoveable object”! What was up with that?

It wasn’t difficult to find the obstacle: I had run into a glitch when my host changed its software for uploading images, and a flurry of emails to customer service failed to resolve the problem. The pictures of my jewellery meant to lure customers were showing up as thumbnails and couldn’t be seen without a magnifying glass!

It took Two exhausting Weeks of clicking every single button on every single page of the application to find the problem, and when at last it was fixed, I couldn’t stir up the energy to load new items. For even when the application was running well, it took me ten or more minutes to input the information for each item, and too often the app would time-out, losing ALL the data I had input!

No wonder I was procrastinating! My motivation to avoid annoyance and frustration was Greater than my motivation to get new pieces up on the site!

The professional and I considered my motivation to earn income from the site and concluded that it was insufficient to balance my annoyance-avoidance. However, a little more investigation showed I was Highly motivated to keep my day-job limited to half-time but might not be able to do this unless I received income from the site.

Well that was easy! End of website procrastination. As for the rest, well…when you’re not motivated, you’re just not motivated!

I wonder if any of those 4 million websites tell you this.

(image courtesy of Wordle)

Play for the Cure! Stop “Self Improvement” Now!

2009-01-07T10:29:00.009+13:00

Self-help is not a new concept — and self-help books have been around for a very long time. Samuel Smiles published a book titled Self Help back in 1882 (available as a free download from Project Gutenberg). Smiles writes:

““Heaven helps those who help themselves” is a well-tried maxim, embodying in a small compass the results of vast human experience. The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual…Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates.”

That an enormous population believes wholeheartedly in this spirit is obvious from the tremendous growth of the self-help industry over the past three decades. According to a 2006 Marketdata Enterprises report on the US self-help industry alone:

The total self-improvement market (incl. revenues of
weight loss programs) was estimated to be worth $9.59
billion in 2005. The market grew more than 24% between
2003 and 2005. We expect 11.4% yearly growth through
2010, to a value of $13.9 billion.

Now please understand that I have no quarrel with Self-Help. I am a believer in its spirit and have contributed thousands of dollars to the growth of the industry myself!

What I object to is the underlying assumption of Self Improvement that there is something about us that is fundamentally wrong and needs to be changed or fixed or improved!

How can this possibly be so? Here we stand, children of the Universe, packed full-to-the-teeth with a lifetime of experiences and understanding, beliefs and ideas, some of which work for us and others that do not. How can this possibly be improved upon?

We are, each of us, now, today, in exactly the right place to grow and learn as we need to! And what helps us help ourselves is good. Beating up on ourselves because we wish we were some other way is not only not helpful and argues with Reality, but actually impedes our growth by misdirecting our attention and thoughts to the imagined imperfection!

D’oh! Why would we want to focus on our perceived flaws when the Universe conspires to give us more of whatever we focus on??

Today at geniuscatalyst.com, Michael Neill addresses self-esteem as the catalyst for success, and offers Today’s Experiment:

1. Take the week off from working on yourself in any way. Don’t try to change, improve, or fix yourself — just enjoy hanging out with your work, your hobbies and your loved ones.

2. If you can’t bring yourself to take the whole week off, take a few days off. If you can’t get yourself to take a few days off, just take one. If you can’t even take one day off, repeat step one.

Do this experiment yourself, and let me know how you get on!

Self Improvement Sucks!

2009-01-06T11:24:00.005+13:00

Tired of feeling you need Fixing? Stop trying to improve yourself!

Read this inspiring and compassionate comparison of Self-Help vs Self Improvement at Carol Skolnick’s Soul Surgery and join me in jumping off the Self Improvement bandwagon!

Changes coming to The Art of Transformation!

2008-11-25T18:36:00.004+13:00

I’m making changes to this blog — it’s been the “poor relation” of my art life, receiving occasional recognition, but never serious attention.

I’m going to fix that. It’s time to transform The Art of Transformation!

I intend to use this venue to address some of the issues artists face — especially artists for whom art is a Journey to Discover the Self.

I have been an artist on a Journey of Self-Discovery for a very long time — longer than I even knew I was an artist!

I can’t tell you how to do it — but I can tell you how I’ve done it [and am still doing it!] and share the help I’ve received along the way.

I want to talk about, and share, resources available to you, and tips for making the most of your journey. I want to show you that your Self is not missing — it’s only hidden behind the masques you’ve worn as Self-protection. My Self was hidden for forty years behind protective walls and body armour. Believe me — if I could find my way out, so can you. And you will have guidance, and a compass, to assist you!

So join me, won’t you, on the Self-discovery Trail.

Plastic Bag Art & Couture

2008-11-15T11:46:00.004+13:00

Thanks to LoriZ for bringing this transformative art to my attention!

George Pricordeau creates art from plastic bags. Truly. He has a gift for design and colour, transforming what would otherwise become landfill and elevating it to art.

What kind of art, you may ask. George’s art runs from paintings to sculptures to haute couture. I was particularly taken with his gorgeous clothing, handbags, and hats!

We can do this too! Please help save the planet by using sustainable, reuseable bags and transforming our rubbish into art! You’ll be glad you did!

My art-jewelry shop is Launched!

2008-10-10T15:00:00.002+13:00

The newest art-jewelry collection online, Funky Body Décor was launched today at http://www.funkybodydecor.com

Your one-stop-shop to Get Décorated, Funky Body Décor offers you an exclusive selection of absolutely unique, fresh, unconventional art jewelry to decorate your body! From surprising charm bracelets that double as necklaces, to eye-catching earrings and brooches, FBD’s clever and unusual offerings are sure to cause comment wherever you wear them.

New items are being added daily, so be sure to check in regularly!

Crafting for Cats leads to online shop!

2008-09-29T14:32:00.004+13:00

The University library, where I work a day-job to support my art habit, had two resident cats. Tessa has now gone to the great scratching post in the sky, but she was still in good spirits and supervising the workroom at the time my tale begins.

Library staff regularly donated funds from their meagre wages to keep the cats fed and vetted, but when Sandy was diagnosed with diabetes, the vet bills got out-of-hand. One of my colleagues suggested a craft fair to benefit the cats, and Crafting & Cakes for Cats was born.

I had recently begun making and wearing some rather unusual charm bracelets, which attracted the attention of my co-workers, so I thought that jewellery might sell. Thinking small, I made several dozen pairs of cat-themed earrings, and a bunch of cat-themed brooches, most of which sold the first day! During the following week I was asked for additional pairs of earrings and brooches, bringing my total contribution to the cats to over $300!

I was dead chuffed! My confidence was so boosted that I decided to offer my wild & unique jewellery online!

My new shop, Funky Body Décor, is set to launch on 10 October! You can check out pre-launch happenings at its blog, funkybodydecor.blogspot.

Here are a few of the items I made for Crafting for Cats:

Feeling Great about Art!

2008-09-28T14:23:00.002+13:00

Today I finally got around to reading the documents that resulted from the recent panel I participated in, “Mapping the Future of the Arts in Wellington”, and boy am I excited! Participants from all the Arts, including practitioners and members of arts organisations, got together in multiple sessions over the course of a week, to determine the Big Questions that need to be asked and answered in order to effectively grow the Arts in Wellington.

To my surprise, the needs that were identified by visual artists, musicians, writers, performers, and indigenous artists were amazingly Similar!

If artists and arts organisations can work together to create a central hub to disseminate information, offer networking, mentoring, exhibiting, and performing opportunities, and centralise resources and marketing, Wellington City could become, in fact, the arts capital of New Zealand!

Then, while tidying my desktop, I came across a note to watch this video. WOW! I highly recommend that Every artist and artist-wannabe watch it! What a great time this is to be an artist!

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

2008-09-22T16:37:00.002+12:00

After a month of daily arting in July, August came as a dreadful shock! I actually had so much paid work in hand, all of it “urgent”, that I made not Scrap One of art until 30 Aug!!

Now September’s nearly gone, with the Promise of Spring at her heels.

And what have I to show for it? Well, I learned InDesign by my usual method: Trial by Fire. I had a bookcover to design for one client, and a manuscript to typeset for another, and both were required “Instanter”. The bookcover was relatively straightforward, but the manuscript used more than a dozen non-Latin typefaces!

Then I bought an online shop. I had decided to offer my unusual art jewellery for sale, and fell for the “Only Seven Easy Steps” line. Six frustrating weeks later, the site is still not live, and I have serious doubts I will be able to configure an American shopping cart to charge New Zealand dollars. Of course, while setting up the shop, I wasn’t making more art.

That was when I allowed myself to be strong-armed into co-moderating a Yahoo group. About Art. It’s a great group! don’t get me wrong! I just am a bit stressed with other issues.

Like, I need an electrician! There are now Four places in my house where the electric does not work! I also need an arborist! The holly I sawed down and poisoned ten years ago has reached two meters tall, and the sycamore definitely needs desexing. But my neighbours want to chop down the pohutukawa trees on Our property that provide the sole bit of summer shade to the deck and hold the front garden from falling into Their property. Oh, and I need a woodchipper! I have four square meters of brush spread across the deck, which I’d like to clear for sitting on.

Fortunately, it’s time to walk down the hill in the waning sunshine to my Pilates class. There, the tension and frustration will drain from me, and by 6pm I will be a New Woman!

And, with the bus drivers on strike, I will then be free to take the waewae express back up the hill to home, and call it exercise ;-)

Woohoo!! I MADE it!!

2008-08-04T13:55:00.002+12:00

I DID it!! I made art every day in July! In fact, I'm still making art!

Making More Art (my 2008 Resolution) appears to lead to more art-making! Experimentation, playing, the eternal “what if …” of trying something new and completely different, all lead to further investment in arting. I suppose I could have deduced this without experiencing it, but Experience is a more thorough teacher than Reason :-)

I read somewhere that it takes 28 days to create a habit. I hadn’t given this any consideration when I accepted Karen’s challenge. But I do seem to have gotten in the Habit, now, of making art. I’ll post some of July’s creations soon.

Got 15 minutes? That’s plenty of time to go make some art!

Art Every Day

2008-07-25T19:53:00.003+12:00

It’s 25 July, and so far I have made art every day this month! Whether making cards welcoming, farewelling, or celebrating work colleagues, magnetic poetry inchies for swaps, or jewelery to benefit the library cats, I have spent part of every day in July making art.

It’s been enlivening, gratifying, and FUN!

It’s amazing how much time I can find for arting, when I’m truly committed. Oh, I’ve moaned and groaned about how terribly busy I am, and I am! But this one small commitment has changed my life, and so much for the better!

There’s less than a week left to my commitment to make art every day, but I sincerely hope that it has now become a habit, and that I will find myself continuing without the contract!

My July committment

2008-06-30T21:32:00.002+12:00

OMG! What have I done??

At Alteredbooks I replied to Karen Campbell’s challenge: OK Karen, you're on! I accept the challenge, principally because tonight I assured someone who is “too busy” to do what she “wants” that she could Choose to make time, if it truly were her priority.

I am fully prepared to put my Time where my Mouth is: For the month of July, I commit to making a little art everyday.
(Signed)
Nona

Long time . . .

2008-06-28T19:32:00.002+12:00

I have too many projects going at once, per usual. The good news is I have actually been arting; the bad news is I’ve made more time for art by neglecting the computer ;-)

I hope to post some of the results of my arting soon.

Next . . .

2008-04-27T21:10:00.004+12:00

Well, it's been a while! Life has intervened, slowing posting.

Since then I've given a paper in the 3 Books 3 Scholars series in the Beaglehole Room at VUW and have reduced my work hours to half-time.

I hope to spend a good deal more time on art-making.

It's gonna be a Great 2008!

2008-01-12T11:14:00.000+13:00

I am eagerly anticipating another Transformational year! The new thoughts that I nurtured last year have now matured, dramatically changing the way I experience my life. This year I will sow the thoughts that will have me experience artistic success and a generally comfortable and relaxed lifestyle.

We may feel that we have little control over the circumstances of our lives, but we have total control of how we choose to think about them. To choose to alter our thoughts is to wield the greatest power available to humankind.

Let us choose to escape our conditioning. Let us choose to experience our world with new eyes and a clean slate. For What We Think truly is Who We Are. The choice is ours to make.

Check out this fabulous Altered Book!

2007-11-23T17:15:00.000+13:00

The Fortune is a wonderfully colourful and witty Altered Book all about $$Money$$

Cleverly constructed over the course of a couple of years, it remains fresh throughout. Elizabeth's spreads are visually appealing and marvelously punning, an altogether fun romp guaranteed to alter your financial point of view

Enjoy!

Tempus fugit . . . decluttering my days.

2007-11-10T13:29:00.000+13:00

HOW has a month flown by so quickly? The days just slipped away unnoticed, leaving me bewildered and feeling that Some-Thing Important has gone missing.

In one of the groups I belong to, we were asked to name our greatest Time-waster. Mine, naturally, is paid employment. Working a day-job eats up fully a third or more of my precious days! But that’s not what they meant.

So I was forced to admit/accept that I profligately waste Hours of potential art-making time on the computer. Embarrassingly, not posting to my blog, but trying to keep up with the daily hundreds of emails I receive from the 30+ groups I belong to.

I have been patting myself on the back for my success in systematically decluttering my home and my studio; now it’s Time to declutter my Days, too, removing from my daily schedule the time-wasters and habitual activities that support neither my resolution to Make More Art, nor my desire to earn my living through arting.

It’s hard to leave artist’s communities where I’ve gotten to know and enjoy the people. It’s sad, too, that the folks I think of as my community are overseas. But my Life Adventure is pressing me into the studio, to commit my creativity daily to paper, to canvas, to Objective Reality.

Please rejoice with me in my new enterprise, and stop by from time to time to keep me honest!

I've been tagged!

2007-10-11T20:52:00.000+13:00

OMG! I've been tagged!

Thanks, Pam!

Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

OK. Seven facts about myself:

1) I work in a university library. I've also worked as a sandwich-maker, steel broker, teacher, airport security guard, nurseryman, photographer, and commercial artist.

2) I've been in every one of the continental United States except North Dakota.

3) I'm ambidextrous. Except for brushing my teeth!

4) I'm solar-powered — a couple of rainy or grey days in a row gets me low.

5) When I grow up, I want to live at the beach.

6) I'd LOVE one day to have a flutter of Papillons!

7) I'm not “the artistic one” in our family -- my talented sister AJ is!

I'm tagging:

Lori

Cathy

Debra Ann

Jackie

Wendy

Kira

Anne

Life, Change, Death and Transformation

2007-09-27T18:27:00.000+12:00

I’m sure I was half-cat. If you want to upset a cat, change something. Cats do not care to adjust, adapt, take change in their stride. They complain, sniff, stalk about, and, if truly indignant, poop on your pillow. So much for change.

Unfortunately for us cats, Life IS change. It’s animated, exuberant, dynamic, energetic, vigorous, moving, CHANGING.

Mr Al tried to teach me this, but back then I was certain that if only I could get it Right, change would stop. If I could get it right, that perfect homeostasis would be mine for ever. Perfection. Stasis. No more uncertainty.

I struggled to become perfect.

Not surprisingly, this did not happen. Instead, once he’d reached his prime, Mr Al’s lungs gave out and he died. Now there’s a Change for you!

I tried hard to “get it”. Life is Change, he had said. Growing up is change, moving is change, working is change, every aspect of living was change . . . and death — well, death was the biggest change of all!

But that would mean . . . that death was the biggest part of Life?

Change, not cessation. Was that a sort of — metamorphosis? Could death simply be a form of . . . transformation?

My Daddy — a gentle soul

2007-09-21T19:00:00.000+12:00

I'll never forget you, Daddy.

My daddy had the gentlest soul. He made friends with the insects that invaded his garage.

“Bumble Boy” was a truly unintelligent bumble bee who kept flying into the garage whenever the door was open; my daddy would shoo him out, worrying that Bumble Boy would be trapped in the garage overnight.

“Arachne” was the spider who skillfully wove a beautiful web -- inside the garage, where she was likely to starve. I remember my daddy scuffing through the long grass at sunset to stir up the moths and other insects hiding there. He would catch them, carry them to the garage, and throw them, like sacrifices, into Arachne’s web.

One time, two of our housecats caught a bunny; my daddy rescued the bunny, drove far out into the countryside, and let the bunny go where he would not be worried by cats.

Surprisingly, my daddy was not much of a “pet” person. When my sister and I pleaded to be allowed to keep the orange kitty who arrived in a shoebox on our doorstep, he said no til it was pointed out it was late and the kitty would be left outside overnight. Not surprisingly, this kitty cleverly attached himself to my daddy and became “his” special kitty, walking up his body each morning to peek into his eyes to see if he was awake.

I cannot imagine ever forgetting these details about my daddy — but I am young, and memories get lost. I will journal about my recollections, hoping that while something is lost, much is gained just in remembering.

My daddy died

2007-09-19T22:01:00.000+12:00

Dear all,
My daddy died on 09/18/07. I hurt.

Used LoriZ's hand-decorated papers in my tip-ins!

2007-09-06T18:35:00.000+12:00

I had saved a whole weekend for making my tip-ins for the arttechniques swap. I had formed the basic plan each piece would take, and had figured out the paper-engineering well in advance. Now it was Time to Play!

For one piece I needed lots of interesting foliage. The green LoriZ papers were perfect for this. I pulled out my Sizzix and two different leaf dies and, wow!

I really liked how the leaves worked together!

For another piece I needed an outdoor view -- this LoriZ altered music sheet with a beautiful palm had just the feeling I was going for!

More about my tip-ins next post!

Oh Vickie, we miss you!

2007-08-19T16:43:00.000+12:00

Fare thee well, Vickie! You touched the lives of many people all over the globe, through your art, your art stamps, and your groups. Your generosity, and your encouragement of and genuine pleasure in all of our accomplishments means so very much to so many -- we are saddened by your going, but confident that you are in the creative zone, now and always. Thanks for everything you did for us!

Check out these gorgeous hand-decorated papers!

2007-08-13T18:11:00.000+12:00

My art-friend Lori makes the most beautiful hand-decorated papers. Thin, slick, lively and colourful, they are painted, stamped, written, drawn, and embellished. Lori's sense of rich colour and designerly treatment make these superb for collage, backgrounds, or just adding a touch of colour.

Drooling yet? She sells these from her blog: http://lorizartmaniac.blogspot.com/ and her etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6679951

I know you will love these!

I am currently using three of her gorgeous papers in my tip-ins for an arttechniques swap. I'll post pix once the recipients have them!

New Art Space

2007-07-13T22:56:00.000+12:00

Woohoo! I've gone from this:

To this:
My “new” art room.

The decuttered sitting room.

I have managed to clear my sitting room of art materials and projects; my “designated art space” still needs some organising and a LOT of culling! Still, I feel it's going to work.

My heartfelt thanks to all who have been supportive of my decluttering and shift, most especially Vickie Enkoff of OrganisedStudio and all the group members. Vickie is the Patron Saint of the Decluttered Studio!

Still more transformation!

2007-07-01T20:54:00.000+12:00

Freeing myself from the need to “improve” myself had interesting results. I felt less stressed, and much happier with who I am at present. But I also realised how very unhappy I am in my present work.

I have a seven-minute commute, walking. What could be better? I work in a library, housing ten stories of books. What could be better? I have no autonomy, my special abilities are ignored, and I push-pull-lug-sort-shelve-retrieve books all day. Ugh!

Clearly it’s Time for Transformation!

Meanwhile, on the homefront, I realised that expanding from my office/art room into the sitting room was not a clever idea. My art supplies were now all over the house, and I couldn't find anything I needed or wanted. Furthermore, hubby complained that he couldn't sit in front of the fire to toast his toes!

A trip to OrganizedStudio yahoo group, and joining FlyLady, had me working in 15 min increments to declutter my home. Assigning specific roles to each part of my tiny house made it possible to remove everything in those zones which does not support that zone’s activities. Suddenly my sink was shined and my bathroom was decluttered! Now my sitting room is clear for toes-toasting, my dining table is clear for dining, and my art supplies are stored in new, wheeled, storage shelving. My Art Room is beginning to get organised, I’m identifying items to sell, donate, or trash, and my Spirit, so much less encumbered, is lighter.

Now this is Transformation!

International Freedom From Self-Improvement Day is Here!

2007-05-16T11:54:00.000+12:00

Take today, and the rest of this week, as a holiday from self-improvement. Get in on the action here

This week, instead of improving myself so I can make art, I am just going ahead and making the art. Presently I am up to my elbows in decorative paper-making, enjoying being good enough just as I am!

International Freedom From Self-Improvement Day

2007-05-10T12:24:00.000+12:00

May 15 is International Freedom From Self-Improvement Day! Come celebrate! Details here

Being publicly invested in personal transformation, how is it that I wholeheartedly support International Freedom From Self-Improvement Day?

After all, don’t most people need to improve themselves? Maybe they’re carrying a few extra kilos, or have an unfulfilled dream, or just want a better Life. Isn’t self-improvement what personal transformation is all about?

The answer is No.

Jennifer Louden, best-selling author of The Woman’s Comfort Book, points out, “we know, deep down inside, that we already have everything we need right now, exactly as we are, and that accepting ourselves moment by moment, over and over again, is the fastest, cheapest and actually only way to ever be truly at peace, happy, and content.” She asks, “what if we all collectively gave up on being any different than we are, just for 24 hours?”

I think that would be a good start. Then we could expand — to a week, a month, a year…a lifetime! We have everything we need in order to live the Life we want; we don’t need improving!

Like the caterpillar, we already are the ingredients necessary to become the butterfly. All that is required is that we engage in the process of transformation. The caterpillar withdraws into his chrysalis and emerges a butterfly; we withdraw into contemplation and emerge as ourselves.

Is the butterfly “an improvement” on the caterpillar? If so, why does the butterfly lay caterpillar eggs?

Fresh StARTwork

2007-04-29T18:13:00.000+12:00

I like to think of myself as pretty well aware of the invitations in my life to use my art for personal transformation.

But that’s not where I was last week when I confessed to a journaling group that I don’t know why I’ve saved my old journals, as it’s too painful to read them, and I don’t want my children or husband to have to deal with them later. I simply couldn’t think what to do with them. “They aren’t like old clothes that can be recycled,” said I.

So I received a Wonderful, mind-opening gift when a new member suggested, among other great ideas, that I could use bits of my destroyed journals in “new, healing, fresh start artwork”.

And that is what I am going to do — I’m calling it my Fresh StARTwork.

Cicadas’ Summer Love Song

2007-03-27T20:07:00.000+12:00

Summer has finally arrived…it’s been hot and sunny, and the cicadas are filling the air with their love songs. It’s such a short time now til Easter and autumn.

My February postcards are far in arrears, and March’s offering is only an idea. Meanwhile, the month and the seasons march on with little notice of my sluggishness. I don’t know that I’m marching to a Different drummer, but I am certainly marching to a Slower one.

Transformation

2007-01-28T11:26:00.000+13:00

What is transformation really? And what has my art to do with it?

Transformation is the process by which one thing is converted into another that is equivalent in some important respect but is differently expressed or represented. Like a caterpillar into a butterfly.

My art expresses transformation in several ways. First, it expresses my own transformation as I live and learn. And because people are more alike than different and share more characteristics and experiences than not, other people frequently see themselves and their experiences in my art.

Second, the books I alter are themselves transformed, from literary expressions into graphical ones, and sometimes from “pages glued or sewn together on one side and bound in covers” into interactive objects with reader-activated parts. I do this by conveying my ideas and experiences by way of multimedia images which I then attach to the pages of printed books. I may alter the architecture of the book as well, creating windows, doors, foldouts, pop-ups, sliders and other devices which allow each viewer to engage with the art uniquely.

And finally, it is my hope that each viewer will be affected by my art in some transformative way, taking away from the experience some shared truth or feeling and expressing it uniquely.

Depression — an artist’s book

2007-01-21T20:05:00.000+13:00

Did you know that artists are over-represented among those diagnosed with major depressive disorder?

I am extremely fortunate to collaborate with the brilliant wordsmith Linda Gray on an artist’s book which delves into the whys and wherefores of depression. How does one come to be depressed? If one is diagnosed with it, how can one best live with it? These questions and more are graphically answered in our experimental artist’s book “Depression”.

Check in here for updates!

Beach Kaleidoscope

2007-01-20T14:54:00.000+13:00

Time to make some Art!

2007-01-20T13:54:00.000+13:00

Time goes by all too quickly as I juggle work, play, and art-making. This solar-powered gal has run off to the beach after work all this week, to breathe salt air, absorb the sun’s rays, and have the dust and cobwebs of unimaginative routine blown away. I feel connected to the sea and sky in ways the land yearns for.

I have way too many ideas for this month’s postcard swap! Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities when planning a piece of art? And that to choose one is to reject the others? With more time, would you try them all?

I have selected a process I used in a recent altered book for my January postcards, integrating photos with art papers. How can I make this reflect my journey through the New Zealand landscape? Can I comment on myself without also commenting on the culture I find here?

Welcome to Nona's Art!

2007-01-14T16:37:00.000+13:00

This is a new experience for me -- I've never blogged before! So please bear with me while I figure out what I'm doing here.

More coming soon!