Eye of the beholder

This is how I think I look when I work in the studio

This is what I really look like, usually with an inkspudge on my nose to boot!

Take it easy

bathroom door at the local record shop,
reminds me of my mind right now

Against my better judgement I have been doing things slowly...

I figured the harder I tried to fight towards my next goal thru the haze of exhaustion,

I would not make wise choices.

I took a reality check pill or something.

So yesterday I made a new plate in the Autumn sun, and looked up some competitions. While today I organized images for future projects, ignored the pile of laundry and watched movie after movie.

I have so many ideas I am swirling, and trying to decide which direction to go first.

So I I have been feeding my internal image file...

Alice in Wonderland and  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

what amazing films; colorful and inventive and dark and moody...I ate them up!

Now I just wait for the dreams to come and bring me the rest.

Maybe it is ok to simply "take it easy", mental health time...very important

NaBloPoMo

I am off to try it again...can I post something of interest for a month strait?

We are celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary tonight.

We got married on Dia De Los Muertos.

We wanted to make sure that anyone who had passed could still come to our wedding!

So after 10 years of dating,

 Hubby got a wild hair and asked me to marry him!

I was totally fine to live in sin the rest of our natural life

...but I agreed and boy I am glad I did!

I first meet hubby in a pottery class.

I had just come home from a trip to Europe to study art in Paris and then ended up traveling alone for an additional three months.

On arrival home, I was filled with a pure sense of self and "cahones" and was on the prowl!

I signed up to take a pottery class with my mom at the local community college

and had given myself one of my many ultimatums,

I said to myself, self you get no pleasure from creating things in this class, then it is time to pursue another field of study.

Well on the first day while they were taking attendance a few late comers were coming into the room and one of them was this dark haired guy

and

when I saw him the WHOLE ROOM went black except for him!

 I swear to the heavens...I am telling the truth.

It was there and then that I set forth to find out more about this man....

He never had a chance

I think it took another two classes to get him alone in class,

and when I did I handed him a piece of paper with my phone number on it

and said the smooth line

" It looks like you need to talk, call me"

Much to my surprise he did that night and invited me over to his place the next morning for a homemade breakfast!

I didn't know how to cook so I grabbed the chance for a free meal with a hottie....

We ate, we walked in the rain and that was the first day of the last 18 years!

oh yeah, and I am still making art too.

20 years later

My grandfather in the dark shirt

My grandfather passed away 20 years ago July 13th. I have been quiet these last few days reflecting on him.

I was 20 years old when he died and it has been 20 years since he died....strange to think that the amount of time that has passed is the amount of time I had him in my life.

My grandfather was a hardworking passionate man. My memories of him are intertwined with childhood and summertimes with him and my grandmother. He never graduated high school, and after the first date with my grandmother, he had decided he was going to marry her. He fell in love instantly with a girl who wanted out of her home and didn't tease him about his teeth or his stutter. She remembered that he was wearing a new suit, and was soft spoken and would do anything for her.

He worked in the garment industry as a pattern cutter. In his later life he sold bolt ends at the swapmeet and could look at a person and tell them how much fabric they would need to make a dress for themselves.

He had a love for food, and would struggle his whole life with people accepting that about him. He loved the heat and a good "shavitz" (sweat), you would often find him in the pool soaking in the sun and tanning himself in the summer sun.

He died of ALS, a disease that took away his love of food, conversation and mobility.

Some doctors thought that years in a warehouse inhaling fiber, or chemicals for color might have contributed to the disease. In the end it didn't matter, he was dying and nothing could stop or change that.

On the night before he passed I was sleeping at the convalescent home in the bed next to his. Santa Barbara was on fire, as it was battling the Painted Cave fire. I saw him and his best friend walking down the hallway with cigars in their hands.

I was there when he took his last breath....and felt relief and deep sadness all at the same time.

So here I am 20 years later, wondering where all this time went. Why even after all these years I am still filled with sadness and hope to have one more conversation. I can still hear a whisper of his voice, like it is coming from down a long hall. Sometimes he visits me in dreams, but often says nothing.

Here is to you grandpa, I hope you are no longer in pain, and are able to go anywhere, have a few bucks in your wallet and eat anything you want.

I see you in my nephew and get to say your name when I call to my niece.

You are remembered, and honored.

Dream...

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.
Henry David Thoreau

Pictured above" I awoke from the dream within my dream"

© Monica Wiesblott

Over the last few months I have been creating images for this show, with one theme in mind. This focus has allowed me to refine my ideas and vision for this exhibition.

Ever since I was a child, I have had a combination of awakened dreams and thinly veiled sleep. For this show I have created a theme based on this idea. I found that these images when viewed together create a starting point for dream time remembrances. My hope is that when viewing these works you are drawn back to that sensation; that moment of subconscious awareness and journey.
I will have 6 images in the gallery and two in the studio space. All relate to one another.
I hope you are able to make the show and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these images.

Here are details about the show location and times : CLICK HERE