"On the Road"

"...they danced down the street like dingledodies and I shambled after as usual as I've been doing all my life after people that interest me, because the only people that interest me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yearn or say a commonplace thing...but burn, burn, burn like roman candles across the night." ~ Jack Kerouac

I have come to learn that all the weird interests I obsess over -- little snippets I stumble on and then get a hair up my ass about and must immerse myself in fully, digesting every speck of dirt I dust off as I search to "uncover the truth" -- it's all inspiration of some kind.  I'm winding my way through a maze of artistic inspiration, and these "things" shall all culminate in serving as illumination as I make my way to the prize -- my authentic creation. 

I don't know what that is to be just yet, and I'm impatient to know when exactly I shall stumble upon that "a ha!" moment.  But I don't give up.

Some may call it a "waste of time," while I myself for years thought of it as "passing time."  It used to be a distraction for me.  It was my way of creating an Alternate Universe, some place to flee to that gave my days purpose (not to be confused with meaning), even if that purpose was just to amuse myself until tomorrow comes.  But every day continues to be an endless stretch of the evening before that ever elusive tomorrow.

Why am I writing this?  Can't rightly say.  It just crossed my mind and I felt the need to put it to paper...er, computer.  There might be something important in here, ya know!  Some secret...some elusive filament.  Or maybe I do it just to please my hoarder heart.  Some may say I'm a collector of crap.  I prefer to see myself as a sleuth of stimulus!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on the following...

Commissioned Wedding Piece

Once again, very poor quality photo!  But I needed shaded light in order to show the gold-leafing of the butterflies in this piece.  I'm delivering this commissioned work to its new owner tonight.  The finished piece is framed in a simple black frame, size 8 1/2" x 11".  Being a wedding gift, the couple's name and wedding date are written on it as well in simple cursive italics (done after this photo was taken). 

I must admit I'm quite partial to the imagery in this piece, or at least my interpretation of said imagery.  I love the idea of the tree as roots, or the foundation, of a newly-forming (or already existing family), with its leaves turning into butterflies that are flying off (or have flown off) into different directions in the world.

And here are the last few completed pieces for the American Indian series to be available at Artifest in June.

I will be mounting these pieces this weekend on black backings.  The reason why the backgrounds looks wavy on these is because I photographed the cut-outs, pre-mounted, on the black leather ottoman in my living room.  Sloppy, I know.  For shame!

Dancing Queens

When I first made a sincere push to get my work out to the public, I was taking belly dance lessons with a group of marvelous ladies.  I highly recommend this form of dance for all women!  I never felt so sexy and feminine before!!  It improved my posture AND my state of mind!  I miss it.  When I started focusing on my business, I gave up the lessons until I get myself established.  When my schedule loosens up a bit, I'll start dancing again. 

Some of the first pieces I released were these two pictured below.  I made them for my dance teacher, Lois, to put in her studio with my business cards.  I received lots of complements on them as well as requests for them.  But I decided not to mass produce either, keeping these as one-of-a-kinds for my teacher who I so adore!




Belly Dancer



Sword Dancer

I should point out that my teacher dances with a sword on occasion.  I remember the first time I saw her do it.  I was in complete awe at how she was able to keep her whole body in motion while balancing the sword on her head.  I should mention that I am a mere student and my dance abilities are nowhere close to that undertaking!  :)

The teaching assistant in the class, a brilliant dancer named Becky, recently contacted me to make a piece for her to use as a gift for her step-mother.  I wasn't able to post a picture of the piece on any of my sites until the piece was given because her step-mother views my Facebook page.  However the gift has since been given and I can now post!

 

The image idea came from a tiny picture that Becky sent me of a decal (I believe that's what it originally was) and asked if I could do something similar.  

For these three pieces, the main image is cut out and them mounted on a backing.  Here you see the cat cut out of black and mounted on parchment, with the paper types being reversed for the dancers -- parchment mounted on black. 

But some pieces I do differently -- cutting the image out of what is the top sheet and then mounting it so that the backing paper shows through the cuts, essentially filling in the image.  You'll see that when I post a picture of the commissioned piece I'm currently working on.  It is a tree with leaves that turn to butterflies and take flight.  This piece is for a wedding gift and will have some gold-leafing and calligraphy added to it before completion.  

I'm not aware that either way of making the picture defines it as scherenschnitte.  I was told that scherenschnitte means "scissors cuts."  Therefore, for a piece to be termed Scherenschnitte, it must be cut with scissors.  If a piece is cut with blades, then its just a papercutting.  If anyone out there knows otherwise, please correct me.  I definitely don't want to be spreading incorrect information!  Oh my!

Artifest

I am honored to be participating in a two-day event this year called  Artifest.  Artifest describes itself as "celebrating culture through art, music, dance and food."  Click on the link to see their website which shows beautifully all the exciting things this event has to offer.

Artifest is running June 8th & 9th at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, PA.  So not only do I have the pleasure of being a part of this exciting event, but I also get to check out this museum which has been on my list of "must see"s for gawd knows how long!  The Museum of Indian Culture is dedicated to educating all those who enter its doors on the Lenape (Delaware) people who inhabited this area.  They teach about other American Indian tribes as well.  Such an amazing organization!  I'm so honored that I was invited to be a part of such an event!

I had teased in my previous post that I'm doing some special pieces which I plan to debut at this event.  I have about 4 more designs to cut for this series.  Here is a preview of what's finished so far, with more to follow.

Think Spring

"To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart." ~ Thomas Watson, Sr. - Founder of IBM


Such inspirational words!!  And not only inspirational, but very profound for me at the moment. 

As I had mentioned last week, I had a small trip planned to visit family in Pittsburgh.  We spent an enjoyable time visiting with my dear darling sister (one and only sibling) and dearest brother-in-law.  They share a sweet Cape Cod with 2 adorable mini daschunds, Lady and Dimitri.  These dogs are sooo very precious and make for great portable heaters!  The minute your butt hits the sofa, they are on you!  They love to snuggle up tight against you under covers too!  I adore animals, especially snugly ones, so this made our visit all that more enjoyable.  Except for the fact that my son took ill while we were there, but let's not get into that now...

Once I returned from our little get-away, I had every intention of getting back to my blog and sharing with you all those exciting things I think of in the middle of the night or in the shower in the morning and just can't wait to talk about!  But then I returned to work.  And with returning to work came stress and exhaustion, and it just threw me for a loop this time for some particular reason.  Therefore, you haven't heard from me until now.  Needed to rest my brain a wee bit in order to write.  And even with that, I'm not fully rested so I admit this is a sad excuse for a blog post! 

But let's forge ahead and think happy thoughts here, shall we!  I have found that when I'm feeling less than creative, there are certain things that can help to spark me.  What do you do to get those creative juices flowing?  My go-to's include acts of quiet contemplation through meditation as well as immersions into favorite music or books.  Right now I'm hooked on this eerie piece of music from Abandoned Toys called The Witch's Garden.  If you enjoy any type of dark ambient, then this is for you!  Lots of piano, some strings, and an abundance of spooky sounds -- it totally transports me into a fantasy of roaming through a forest and stumbling upon an old abandoned stone cottage to snoop around.  (One of my favorite hobbies -- snooping around old abandoned buildings!  Ssshhhh...don't tell!!) 

Another thing that really gets those juices bubbling on high boil is flipping through the pages of any publication from Stampington & Company's Somerset Studio.  Right now I'm hooked on their newest publication Where Women Create Business.  So inspiring!  I highly recommend any of their publications, whether your interest be sewing, crafting, cooking, photography, journaling, scrapbooking, blogging...trust me, they have something for everyone! 

The weekend is upon us, and although I will be a bit busy, I will still have an opportunity to hit the reset button by doing some enjoyable things.  For example, I have a group of ladies I'll be gathering with tonight for wine, munchies, and lots of loud cackling.  Yes, we cackle!  There will also be some family time along with quiet time for reading and cutting.  And speaking of cutting...

I am finishing up some commissioned pieces and starting on a new series of cuts in preparation for an event I'll be participating in June 8th & 9th called Artifest.  It is at the Museum of Indian Culture in Allentown, PA.  More on that event and the special cuts I'm doing for it later.  In the meantime, let me leave you with some pictures of one of the commissioned pieces.  Well, this isn't specifically the commissioned one, but it's the original of the piece.  Let me explain -- I did a piece on butterflies, to get me in the mood for spring when I was feeling the melancholy of a long cold winter night.  When I posted the piece on my Facebook page, I was contacted with a request to make one that someone wanted to purchase as a gift, using a dark blue background.  The pictures you see here are of the original piece I did which is mounted on a black background.  But the imagery is the same. 

In parting remember to think spring thoughts as you turn those clocks ahead this weekend!  Woo hoo!!  Bring on the flowers!



close-up of cuts




another close-up



Until We Meet Again...

I'm traveling out of the area for a weekend visit with my sister in Pittsburgh.  Therefore, no time for a long-winded post.  Lucky you!

I will however post one picture -- This is the first house I cut in a series I'm doing this year.  I adore Victorians!  And I have every intention of owning my own one day.  I hope for it to be a restoration project (thinking of you Insomniac's Attic!) but am not opposed to acquiring one that has already had the work done! ;) 

The piecces will be done seasonally so expect to see the next in this series sometime in May.

Eastlake Victorian

So until my return online on Tuesday, have a wonderful weekend! :)