Symbiosis Metamorphosis or Time to Fly

Recently I took a three week course on transitions. A wealth of information was shared in the class. We learned about our strengths, why we do what we do, and how best to match our uniqueness to responsibilities.

I created my Symbiosis Metamorphosis journal as a way to visually sort all of the valuable information that was causing my "little gray cells" to implode.

 

The butterfly ephemera is from 1965, by the National Wildlife foundation.

Amber stain from old tape adds charm.

 

 

This journal section shows a butterfly resting on a decaying pear. Death and re-birth. Symbols of change and future possibilities. Could it be that this butterfly gathers nourishment prior to flight? I think that it is curious that this image is paired with the image of the fragile girl. Displaying the feminine icon with a postmark of Paris symbolize my own personal change and future possibilities.

Within the center of my journal is a "Love to Do" page. The image of the woman on lime green painted paper symbolizes my constant brain activity. Breaks slow down my thinking. My favorite break is to beat Sensi in Yahtzee. Another favorite retreat is to fill in squares on crosswords. Sometimes it takes me a whole week to complete a New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle. I also love to chat with friends over coffee, read and look at the stars.
 

Hans Christian Anderson wisely noticed, "Just living is not enough, said the butterfly, One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."

 

 

 

Now, go nibble on life's pear and then go fly!

 

 

Crusade 53 - Color Mixing

GPP Street Team's challenge for the month of July is "Mad Scientist". I love it when you are painting and one color on your brush crashes into another blop of paint and I end up with an unexpected hue. For July's Art Crusade I intentionally blended four preselected colors to produce three new experimental colors. On my palette I set out black cherry, pumpkin, moon yellow, and coastal blue. These colors have a similarity to primary colors with a twist. As I mixed I was careful not to make my colors dirty. I was trying to create muted vibrancy. My combinations are the top three. It was really fun to name them. God must have had a rip-roaring time naming everything, because I had a giggle just naming three colors. Ta-da...introducing fig, french pear, and anise.

From my new palette I created two pages for an altered book collaboration. Currently I am creating in Maryann Ready's book. Her book theme is cut-up. I found that a cut-out window toward the back pages revealed part of an abstract clown. Here is the base page:

I then created two cut-ups that have peak through images to the clown base page. Both characters are layerings of painted papers. A variety of painted papers were made from the fig, french pear, and anise colors. Accents were texturized through glazing from the more vibrant coastal blue and pumpkin.