Sunday, October 19, 2014

Seasons challenge at IA


It’s Autumn

The challenge theme at Inspiration Avenue this week is Seasons.

Here is my (undoubtedly) unpopular view on Autumn.


The Autumn always gets me badly, as it breaks into colors.
I want to go south, where there is no autumn, 
where the cold doesn't crouch over one 
like a snow leopard waiting to pounce.

~ D. H. Lawrence



Me, thinking about winter.


I hope you're enjoying the weekend, and if you love autumn
like everyone else I know, may you have plenty of colorful leaves,
apple cider, pumpkin carving, and brisk walks through the fallen leaves :-)

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Monday, October 6, 2014

Studying Modigliani

The Magical Journals have traveled the full circle.

Here is the last journal that I will do (until next time).
It belongs to Priti Lisa and went off in the mail to her today.
Her artist is Amedeo Modigliani, and as I thought,
he was not easy! But every one of the artists chosen 
were or are masters of their techniques, 
so how could they not be difficult to emulate?!

This is a photo transfer of a portrait of Modigliani.
He was a handsome man with very regular features,
so other than the part of his hair being on the wrong side, 
I don't think it's too obvious that the picture is reversed.
I like this quote, although it could be interpreted 
as being rather self indulgent. But maybe a lot of artists'
self indulgence allows them to do their best work.


Who was Modigliani speaking of when he said this?
Was it Jeanne Hébuterne, his lover and mother of his child?
Or the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova who influenced the course of his art? 
Anna outlived him by many years and died an old woman.
Jeanne Hébuterne, pregnant with their second child,
stepped out of a fifth floor window a day after the death 
of Modigliani from tuberculosis at the age of 35. 
Jeanne was only 20 years old and died along with her unborn child.


Lisa's book is square (or almost square?). I don't know why I chose to
use the full length of the folded pages, except that Modigliani's
figures are always elongated, especially the faces.
Somehow it seemed like the thing to do.

I hate it when I make stupid mistakes.
I'm so irritated that the words,
"Never stop dreaming" are facing the wrong way.
They should have faced the same way as the quote
under the portrait since they are partially visible
when the pages are folded.

The fact that the pages were all unbound this time
has thrown me off again. Maybe I have some
syndrome like dyslexia that doesn't allow me to 
visualize how the pages will appear in a bound book.
I'm always putting the fold on the wrong side.
Or something like these flipped letters.
I hope Lisa can make the best of it when she binds the book!

I'm so looking forward to seeing my own journal,
filled with art in the style of José Manuel Merello.
Blog post coming on that, for sure!
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