Spring is Springy
May 2nd, 2007
I feel like I've got a little extra bounce in my step this week. Feels lovely. I'm aware that spring is in the air. In fact, when I looked up yesterday I happened to get a good view of two birds doin it. It wasn't pretty, but there it is...birds and the bees and all that. This is the time of year for it. It's not just spring for the animals and the plants, blooming in true growth spurt fashion, it's also spring for humans. I mean, gosh, I can't tell you how many people in my life are pregnant and then there are many blog friends who are pregnant too...babies, babies, everywhere! And then today, I walked down to the nearby river to do some outdoor journaling and soon after I sat down a young man (oh, dear I sound old saying that!) parked his bike in the grass and sat nearby to watch the river, drink a coke and listen to his ipod...and he kept looking at me and smiling. I could feel him looking at me which made me look up and I smiled back. Who knows, maybe I had bird poo in my hair, but it felt flirtatious to me and I wanted to say, "honey, I know I look like much like you in sloppy teenager gear, but I'm way too old for you." Hah! Then, walking home, some creepy middle aged guy in a truck said something to me. I didn't hear what he said, just someone talking and I turned to see him smiling in a creepy way before he drove off. Blech. Probably better that I didn't hear what he had to say.
Here's another piece from the workshop. This piece, "Memory Tree" was done in encaustic (heated wax) with wax transfers and a bit of oil stick on 12"x12" cradled clayboard. I loved doing the transfers on wax as it was so much easier than the other types I've tried. The wax set up is quite a process though, so I'm not sure how much of it I'll do in the near future. Encaustic medium is a combination of heated wax with damar crystals (which help the wax to adhere.) Here's a cool link with pics and descriptions of the process that says it better than I could. After laying down some wax and fusing it (heating it with a heat gun), I was able to do three transfers (photocopied images of a brain and one of a shadow), Then I layered on some more wax, fused and let it cool. Then I had loads of fun scraping into the wax to create the tree and using oil sticks to add some color.
When I was doing this piece, I was thinking about memory and Alzheimers disease (which my grandmother suffers from). I was thinking about how the brain's pathways often remind me of the branches of a tree.
Before my walk, I checked my mail and was super excited to see a package from Nikki (from the CaC journal swap). I took it with me down to the river and opened it there. It is so beautiful! I can't believe this is her first altered book! I'll have to take a picture of it later on, but in the meantime, I saw Nikki has some pics up on her page. Thank you Nikki, I really love it! And I'll be using it for morning pages.
Speaking of CaC, today is Getting to Know You Day and I decided to play along. We are asked to share what book, movie, and song changed us and changed how we thought about the medium. This is so tough! Why did I decide to play along? Ok, so let's see...Book, I think I'll go with Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins. I read this book when I was really struggling with spiritual issues of my own and he said so many of the things I was thinking about in such a brilliant and humorous way. After reading his book, my eyes were opened to many authors out there who wrote in a witty and intelligent way that really suited me in a way that all the books I'd read previously had not. For music, I think I'll go with Soul Coughing...something about the layering of the music and sounds hit me in a new and profound way. It's like musical collage, so I guess it's no wonder I love it so much! Oh wait, that's not a song...ah well. Movie, gosh, I'm having trouble with this one. I love movies, but, well, ok, I'll go with Psycho. My god, that movie scared the ever-living-crap out of me when I first saw it at the age of 11. And it wasn't really the visuals that scared me the most, but the music. That was the first time I realized how important the music is in a movie. I could block my eyes and still be scared to death by the soundtrack. I had to go upstairs after awhile cause I got too freaked out. haha! As for it changing my life, no, it didn't do that, but I definitely never looked at (or listened to) movies the same way again.
19 Responses
I now have some new music to check out!
I love your memory tree. I did a lot of course work in Brain stuff and it truly is mind boggling (ha-ha) to grapple with the complexity of it.
I am glad to hear that you are feeling a spring in your step.
Often, after spending time socially, I need a huge ‘recovery’ period. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the time that I spend with others it’s just that my energy definitely rebuilds when I am on my own. I hope you are migraine free for a good stretch now (I will email you soon with more details of my story).
Anyways, I too have BABIES everywhere in my life and I cannot get them off my mind!!!!
Posted by: Tori | May 2, 2007 at 8:30 pm |
Yes, I’ve noticed a good bit of oogling lately too. ‘Tis the season, like you say!
Beautiful piece! It looks so grounded and calming. Really beautiful work, as all of your pieces are!
Posted by: Karen Beth | May 2, 2007 at 9:08 pm |
I guess that as the flowers bloom, so shall the men drool. LOL. I love your memory tree. A big, thick trunk represents your connections to family and tradition. (Or so I’ve been told). And the many intricate branches… it’s a beauty.
I think I’m gonna check out Soul Coughing which sounds lie my kind of music! Have a great day, my dear!
Posted by: bella | May 3, 2007 at 7:59 am |
i’ve really got to stop gushing all the time about your work – you’ll soon think i’m some freaky girl or something! but really, this piece is so gorgeous and i’m in love with encaustic art.
loved your CaC answers here – it’s funny to read everyone’s movie firsts, how impressionable they are!
i’m glad i’ve never seen birds do it – i’m still trying to recover from seeing box turtles do it when i was seven years old. that is something that i hope to never see again!!
Posted by: kristen | May 3, 2007 at 8:17 am |
This is so emotional, I really get into piece when they have such a great connection with what goes on in our daily lifes.
~v~Laura
Posted by: Laura | May 3, 2007 at 8:27 am |
I love the memory tree!
I love your answers too and I’m glad you played.
Psycho-yes the music. That’s why my movie pick is so important.
Posted by: paintergirl | May 3, 2007 at 2:06 pm |
I have a really hard time trying to decide movies, books, etc. that were most influential for me…
Posted by: violetismycolor | May 3, 2007 at 2:12 pm |
Nice piece, slightly haunting, very effective. My Nan suffers with Memory Loss too.
Glad you have got a Springy Spring in your step. Tra Lah Lah…
Posted by: Lizzi | May 3, 2007 at 3:15 pm |
Another wonderful tree. I love your trees. All the swirls and life in them. And this one is most excellent. And the whole picture is so moody (in a very good way) – such energy moving around!
Yes, Spring has sprung…last week everyone was out buying flowers and plants. Must be in our genes….
Posted by: tammy vitale | May 3, 2007 at 3:45 pm |
What a rich and interesting day! And Memory Tree is a very powerful art piece. It’s stirring. I love the layers in both mood and texture.
And your CaC choices really made me think. Maybe I’m going to have to answer those questions too!
Posted by: Jamie | May 3, 2007 at 5:22 pm |
Hey, I posted and it disappeared into the ethers.
Leah, more great trees and lovely days of sitting by the river. My eyes are turning green. And oh, I remember what I said in the other post that didn’t make it.
You speak in a way that is so real. I look forward to each post because you say it like it is.
Posted by: tammigirl | May 3, 2007 at 5:22 pm |
it’s funny…whenever i draw a tree, the swirlies are in the branches. i love how you imagined you tree! and that little outdoor exchange – so endearing
xo, mindy
Posted by: wish studio | May 5, 2007 at 12:22 pm |
That tree is stunning! I love the sense of depth, the colours, I just want to touch it!
Posted by: angie | May 6, 2007 at 2:43 am |
Beautiful artwork, Leah. Illos of neuron networks have reminded me of tree branches/roots, too.
Skinny Legs and All is one of my favorite books, and probably my favorite Robbins book – though Jitterbug Perfume is a close second.
I haven’t heard of Soul Coughing – I’m going to have to check that out.
Posted by: tinker | May 6, 2007 at 4:54 am |
This piece calls to mind for me a novel I just finished: “The Thin Place” by Kathryn Davis. I’m not sure how the author would exactly define it, but I took it to mean that there are places and people where that ‘veil’ separating us from other dimensions is thinner and therefore more easily accessed. There’s always so much going on all around us that we don’t even notice because we can’t literally SEE it. Lovely work.
Posted by: Marilyn | May 6, 2007 at 5:13 pm |
I love the tree and the swirlies in the bark.
This is a great spring-time post and I love reading about your life.
And YES! What’s up with all the pro-creating???
I notice that too, everywhere I go lately…and in blog-land too!!
Posted by: Bohemian mom | May 6, 2007 at 6:55 pm |
Leah, “Memory Tree” is so haunting and beautiful all at once. I am intrigued by the encaustic process. My old painting prof. used to do a lot of it and I was always sort of mesmerized by the word alone. You make me want to learn more about it–just for the sake of knowing.
Posted by: Jessie | May 6, 2007 at 9:13 pm |
I adore your tree piece – i love wax – so sensual and romantic
and changing in the light…
i am going to check out the music link…sounds fascinating:)
Posted by: maddie | May 6, 2007 at 10:12 pm |
Great post, very informative, and I really enjoyed the wax piece.
Posted by: equine art | May 9, 2007 at 5:08 pm |