Sunday, July 31, 2011

Ramblings of Creativity

dia duit

pronounced gee-ah ditch

Gaelic, literally 'God be with you'


I have browsed a few of my older posts.
My goodness I am a 'Chatty Cathy' !!!!!
Some of them look like mini-books!

So, perhaps I need to post a note above the computer saying:

Michael says:
You don't need to write a book every blog.

:0)

Today I am in a
wandering through my creative processes kind of day.
Caution:
this could be scary to some...

Yippee - Laundry Day

I just posted 5 new Collage Art Dolls on my etsy shop.

I also added a set of Happy Hollister Books
(3 with 1 free bonus book)

and a couple of bottlecap magnets
When I work on my bottlecaps, my table looks like this:

actually, that's kind of clean for my usual mess...

I cut all my graphics and words from junk mail,
catalogs, recycled magazines, brochures,
those annoying ads people stick in between your door,
or on the outside of your mailbox...
pretty much if it's paper, I have fun with it.
That's where the quirky humor comes in.

you know, a dog has questions....

and we ALL know cats get messages from the cat planet...

It is way too frightening to take a picture of me going through the magazines, et al. I have stacks in various stages of being cut apart.  My living room chair is surrounded by little bits of cut paper.

Cinderella's Stepsister Steppin' Out
Collage Art Doll, one-of-a-kind (ooak)

Currently I have been doing some cut art work.
The little scraps of black paper look like spiders.
eek!

a black widow spider beaded necklace I have for sale

I can't show you my finished pieces,
as The Printer is being returned as I type....
A new one, from Costco (great prices)
only the window with lights that lets you copy from the machine (not using your computer) is blank.
No lights.
Can't use that function.

So I can't scan right now.
Here are some of my older cut-work
also called scherensnitte
(sheer-en-snit-uh)

This one I actually did do a couple of weeks ago.
I haven't attached it yet,
but I do have a frame ready to go!

This is the pattern I used. If I am careful in how I cut,
and of course the right kind of pattern,
I can use the pattern paper as framed art also!

another example

I don't know, maybe I really should finish this net-beaded bracelet
 I have in-the-works next to my living room chair.
It's a pattern that I am trying to remember from two I did before,
but have lost the directions to.
There is this new pattern in a Bead&Button magazine that looked interesting, but I just couldn't figure out their directions.
It looked similar to my previous bracelets, in the starting bit,
so, I am practicing.
I can't stand to just do something for the sake of doing it
(like practicing!)
so I thought I would just make it into a bracelet.
Four tries later, I've got it down,
but now I'm so bored with it, it is hard to finish!
Sound complicated?
I did warn you that my brain paths may be scary....

This is a truly stunning netted necklace I beaded.
My photos don't show up the pearlescent beads, silver accents and the pearls I used in it. Alas, after I photographed it I accidentally dropped it, and my Great Dane Koda stepped on it.
Broken thread, little tiny seed beads on my front porch..
not a pretty sight.

Sigh. I'm going to have to do major re-work to fix it now.
So, it sits in my 'Jewelry That Needs Help' box.

This is a very simple netted pattern that I made when I was first learning the netting stitch, using tiny seed beads.

my daisy chains -
Whenever I get 'stuck' trying to sort out a difficult pattern,
or I want to do beads, but just am not in the mood for following a pattern, I make a daisy chain!

I call them my happy beads!
I learned the pattern in junior high school, I think.


Here is another pattern I do when I want to bead,
but again I am watching tv or something,
and don't want to concentrate on a difficult pattern.


all the same basic pattern, which I have modified from the original

Hmmmm....
I am starting a new Michael Jecks medieval mystery,
and sure would like to spend some time reading....
this is one of the ones I have recently finished:

I really like these cover graphics. The 'new' ones have more of a realistic close-up of a warrior in armor.

My sister-in-law via my mom-in-law just loaned me a copy
of Carol Burnett's memoirs.
Love that lady!
Great actress!

Uh-oh.
I'm writing a blogbook again.
And I'm getting side-tracked.
Think I will go watch my 'new' John Wayne movie
'Alleghany Uprising'
and do some more scherensnitte,

although there's that bracelet,

and I just received some 'new' magazines to cut apart,

and I need to match up some words with some bottlecap graphics,

and, oh yes! I haven't eaten lunch yet,
and it's 4:30pm!

recycled bottlecap magnet,

Think I better quit while I'm....
ahead?

inkspired

with recycled junk mail graphics and words.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Paradise in a Flower

Bula Uro

(Fijian for an informal 'Hello')


Let's step into 'paradise' for a moment,
and check out
the Bird of Paradise flower



I fell in love with the Bird of Paradise flower
at my Grandpa Troup's funeral.
I was 8 years old.
I know, odd connection.
But that was the first time I had ever seen a flower like that.
It was stunning!
It was so bright!
The stem was thick, and the flower petals...
just so sci-fi amazing to me!
My parents let me take one home.
It lived in the back window of our car from Michigan to Kentucky.
I was very sad when it 'died'.

courtesy of TeleFlora

The history of the Bird of Paradise flower I find interesting.

Chuck Burgess
 is an HGIC Information Specialist at Clemson University.
He has a very informative page on the Bird of Paradise.
I also found some good info from Teleflora.

A photo I took at DisneyWorld

 The Bird of Paradise is native to South Africa.
It's botanical name is "Strelitzia reginae".
At first, botanists didn't know what to do with this odd flower!
It was once classified in the banana family because of it's leaves.
It didn't really fit.
They finally gave up, and gave it its' own botanical place!

a vintage hand colored engraving, 1840

Because the flower looks like a brightly colored bird in flight,
they gave it it's common name:

Bird of Paradise

Works for me!

painting by Johnny Karwan

Birds of Paradise Flower Meaning:
Birds of Paradise represent joyfulness and
[no surprise here]
paradise!
They are also the 9th wedding anniversary flower!
Well, I agree. I think the Bird Of Paradise is a joyful flower.


Some Amazing Facts:

The plant will grow to a height and width of about five feet.
It has a trunkless, clump-forming pattern of growth.
The thick, stiff leaves grow to be
 about 6 inches wide
and 18 inches long.
The leaves are attached to a long stalk that sometimes reaches
5 feet high
Are you getting a picture in your mind, here?

found at landscapingtechs.com   no photo cred

I just never thought of Birds of Paradise growing in
clumps!

Okay, there's more!
On the same up to 5 feet high stalks, the flower is blossoming.
And what a blossom it is!
Modified leaves at the end of the stalk
form canoe-like structures,
4 - 8 inches long.
Out of the 'canoe' leaves the blossom is formed.


{Check them out, they have fantastic patterns!!}

As the flowers open, pointed petals of brilliant orange are contrasted with the arrow shaped 'tongue' of vivid blue.
Wow.
Beginning in late winter/early spring the flowers will open
one right after another.
Unless you live in Disneyland,
where you can find Birds of Paradise almost year 'round.
It is a magical place you know...

There normally are 1 - 3 flowers on each stalk.


There was a very pretty photo of a Bird of Paradise here,
but the photographer became extremely upset when she saw
that I had used it in my blog.
So I have removed it.

What do you think?
Her copyright info and address of where to find it were on the photo,
and I put a note underneath "see photo for info".
Should I have done more?
Should I have not used her photo?
Let me know your opinion!!!

There are actually 4 different kinds of Bird of Paradise.
They are identified by their color.
The most common,
Orange Bird of Paradise
is the one we all think of.

The second one is the
White Bird of Paradise.
The thing that impresses me about this one is
It is even Huge-er!!!
[gotta' love those made-up words...]
So it grows 5 - 6 feet wide
and about 18 feet tall.
The leaves look about the same, only much larger.
18 - 24 inches wide
and 3 - 4 feet long.
Big.
The flowers are larger (10 - 12)
and white, with a light blue tongue in a purplish bract.


I didn't find very many pictures that looked very attractive!

The 3rd kind is called
Juncea Bird of Paradise.
It is a variation of the Orange Bird of Paradise,
but produces a smaller flower.
It also has leaf blades that do not develop!
The leaves rise up from the base, at the soil line
(instead of the 5 foot high variety!).
The flowers do grow on a stalk, just like the one we're familiar with, but again, smaller flowers.


Okay, last but certainly not least,
The Giant Bird of Paradise
Just when I was trying to get my head around how big the flowers are, the 5 foot tall stalks, the clumping...
now we have GIANT.
Probably not a good backyard garden type.
It can grow 30 feet high.
The trunk (think clump) can be 20 feet.
The leaves are identical to the White Bird of Paradise,
except they are attached to the trunk in a fan pattern
on opposite sides of the trunk.
The flowers are white with blue tongues and reddish-brown bracts
only about 18 inches long.
They can be difficult to see as they are so high up.

Ya' think??!!!

www.britannica.com photo cred Scott Bauer

Birds of Paradise are so striking.
They have inspired a lot of creative thinking in the arts.
Here is just one example:

Colleen Quen, the Queen
birdofparadisegown, califashionista


No photo cred - do you know? Let me know.
Birds of Paradise, not blooming yet

God's creations are so stunning!
Think about all the unique characteristics,
coloring, sizes and shape -
All that effort into just ONE flowering plant.
He made a whole lot more,
all unique and special in their own way.
Big Wow.

I hope you have enjoyed today's step into paradise.
Maybe you need to add a little
joyfulness
into your life today.
I bet the town florist just might have a bloom for you....

You can even go get that hula skirt from
my past blog on Hula!

:0)
inkspired

Friday, July 29, 2011

Jeannie and the Genie in a Bottle

roj bahsh

(Kurdish, pronounced rohzj bahsh)

Kurdistan is now split between Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria.
Kurdish language is spoken in two main dialects:
Sorani (East & South of Kurdistan)
and
Kurmanji (in West and North of Kurdistan).

A little world knowledge for you!

Today I am going to let the genie out of the bottle.
Or is that Jeannie out of the bottle?
okay,
we'll do both!

Barbara Eden in the role of Jeannie,
from the tv series "I Dream of Jeannie"


For my last birthday my husband gave me THREE new Barbie dolls!
Boy, does he know how to make me happy!
I got the Bewitched tv doll,
the vintage repro of an airline stewardess
(that was the only thing I wanted to be when I was growing up!)
and
an I Dream of Jeannie Barbie doll!

way cool!


There is an artist that creates 'genie' bottles.
They are just beautiful. Here are a few:

Three of the original cast members
with Mario, a genie bottle artist


These next few are by the bottle artist - Shannon


Barbara Eden with Shannon, and handmade bottle



Barbara Eden with Larry Hagman
and two convention goers

'I Dream about Jeannie' tv cast photo promotional

Notice that the censors at that time did not allow
the showing of belly buttons.
Guess they were too sexy?

As the show had repeat seasons, her costume was 'modified'.

At first, her top was cut much higher also,
covering more bosom!

This Danbury Mint collectible doll shows
the more modest original costume:


These vintage song sheet covers show what was acceptable
 back in the early 1900's, of similar costumes:

c.1912

c.1919

Quite a bit different than this 'pin-up' ad from the 1950's:

This was wayyyy too racy for the television censors!

Here is later promotional photo.
Quite the difference!


a glass genie bottle

So who came up with this design of a genie bottle?
I have always liked the traditional bottle shape from
Aladdin:

Well, I suppose the actual difference is that
 Aladdin had a lamp,
and I Dream of Jeannie had a bottle.

They are both genies, so I guess I will be happy with both!

"Genie out of the Bottle"
original art glass sculpture by Merja Waters 

African wood carved genie bottle

Brass Genie Lamp

Time for a little coloring project!


Neither look much like the Disney version of a Genie!

I like the Big Blue however!


Now this one is scary!

and this one:
Genie-in-a-bottle wine cap

photo fun

a plastic toy

Another clever photograph play:



a cool digital image:


More traditional illustration paintings:


Most men would prefer their genie to look more like this I think:

'Dancing With the Stars' tv program shot

Phoebe

Barbara Eden as "Jeannie", flying on a magic carpet

adult costumes for sale

available at Costume Heaven

photo from a Halloween Party,
Terri with a Genie Bottle


I think these look more fun -




I Dream of Jeannie fabric!


I think I'm a bit 'genied' out now!




Don't forget to practice your 'crossed arms, blink,
and wish for something' pose today!

inkspired

credit to Sharon Michaels