Artings

The latest creations from my mind-womb!!!!!

"Java Baby"

"Water Baby"

"Oil Baby"

"Monthly."

"Moon Time"

I'm considering these sketches for future paintings. I've made stickers out of most of them. Let me know if you'd like some. : )

Something that bothers me...

Everyone has opinions. Everyone has opinions that are rooted in ignorance. Lack of understanding makes fools out of people. I have had multiple instances this week when people have voiced their opinions to me and have sounded like cynics and idiots because they have no idea what they are talking about. If there is something you "don't get", ask about it. Make an inquiry. Read a book. Take a class. Have a conversation with an educated person that has answers. Don't make excuses for your ignorance by leaving it at "I just don't get it" or "that doesn't make sense" or "that's stupid" or "that sounds way too far out to be true". Standing behind your ignorance with statements like that just makes you sound closed-minded and under educated.

I have a hard time respecting any opinion that is voiced in ignorance, especially when it has to do with concepts that are known to be foreign to the person voicing them. For example...

If you aren't gay, don't know anyone that is gay, and don't want to branch out and at least try to understand what being queer is like, then don't say things like "Whatever, a man is a man and a woman is a woman. Just because gay people can't handle that, doesn't mean they are entitled to special treatment and media coverage. I don't get why they can't just can't be happy with their gender. They were born whatever sex they were born with, they shouldn't have problems with that." Congratulations, you've just lumped transgendered, transexual, transvestite, and homosexual people into the same categorie without even considering the vast difference between them. You've also labeled the entire gay community as abnormal and incorrect. Check yourself, you're about to sound homophobic and hostile.

If you have never delved into the vast universe of spirituality, don't say things like "So I saw this crystal today that said it was supposed to align my chakras and bring balance to my life. As if! I mean, how do they know that that rock even does that? There's no way they can know that. And where do they get this stuff anyway? I refuse to believe that any of that stuff actually works." Congratulations, you've just confirmed that you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, and have completely failed to consider the history and tradition surrounding that spiritual system. Not only that, but you've also completely failed to recognize the validity that this system brings to the lives of its believers. It may not work for you (not that you've tried it), but that is no reason to belittle its significance to those who have faith in it.

These are very specific examples. And as such, I apologize to those people who have voiced these opinions for not having the patience and self-control to curb my anger and counter your argument when you voiced it. I hope you will excuse the snark and remember that you are my friends, and I am yours. We have both spoken strong words this week, and I hope we will both learn from them.

The moral of this story is: understanding and acceptance are the key to a peaceful existence. Read a book.

Creative Design

I don't get to do a lot of creative design at work, but when I do, coolness ensues! Here's what I've done in the last few months:

A postcard for Alchemy Salon & Spa. They didn't want to go with this design and we're still going rounds on the content of the card. I liked this one the best. And I hope to hear back from them soon on the other design I made for them. Once they approve the postcard, I'll get to work on the business card and use the postcard for inspiration.

A Banner for Exchange Club. They adored it! So do I.

This is the card for 103.7 The Eagle in Flagstaff! They loved it. I'll post the final once they approve it. It will have rounded corners and I've made some minor adjustments.

These are a few drafts of the card for RC Optical. I didn't make this logo. I've had this job since June. Their design decisions keep on getting worse and worse... But I live to please. These 4 are all rejects, but they're my favorites.

I feel Autumn today.

Like I said. Today is ripe with the scent of familiarity. It's my favorite time of the year again. Despite the Fates' attempt to commandeer my feelings about Autumn, I still regard her as my favorite season. There's color, change, and promise of rebirth. Everything getting ready for the long winter ahead. It's as if the earth is breathing in after breathing out since the Spring.

I'm feeling very creative today, we'll see how that shapes up, but I definitely think some drawing is in order.

And now for something Gothic. So much color surrounds Autumn. Yellows, oranges, reds, browns, and clinging shades of fading green. There are grays and whites and blacks toward the end, and some blues. Then Winter, in all of its minimal white, flecked here and there in blacks and greys, like ash from an autumn explosion. The irony here, is that Autumn, for all its color and whimsical holidays, is first and foremost a season of death. The veil between the worlds is reputedly thin at this time, the earth seems to waste and decay, the color fades. Ghosts return to us in this season on holy days like samhain, halloween, El Dia de los Muertos, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, and a host of others. Harvest, the gathering of the fruit of dying plants for storage through the winter and the eating of harvested meat is celebrated on various feast days in Autumn. Underlying all of these joyful festivities is the theme of death, eturnity, blissful sleep, and faith that Spring will return after the Winter. All the life that is sucked out of the landscape will magically return as the Sun begins to show its face more and the days lengthen. A gamble, at best.

The theme of death has been shrouded more and more in the gradual evolution of the Autumn holidays. What used to be regarded as solumn celebrations of ancestors and lives lost has turned into the candy-flinging frolic of Halloween, and the gorge-fests of Thanksgiving, the Feast of St. Michael (one of the 4 evangelists), the Mid-Autumn Festival (celebrated in many Asian countries), Durga Puja (a feast for Durga, Mother Goddess and slayer of demons), and countless others.

But, also underlying the theme of death is a feeling of hope and deliverance. Why would we gather and store for the Winter unless we were sure we'd be alive after the sun "dies" on the eve of the Winter Solstace? We take solace in knowing, by faith, that it will be reborn again on the morning of the Solstace. And Spring will return, so we can do it all again.

This musing brought to you by... A faint scent, and a feeling. It is Autumn today. I love it.