Saturday, June 6, 2009

Run Through The Wringer....

....I'll tell you right now folks, I don't think there will be artistic content in today's post. Acerbic humor maybe (hopefully!) but I feel as though the art has been drained from my body. I feel like I should be living in the above photo----in this grey, windblown, desolate shack with the bottle trees out front.
They are, as far as I know, a Southern Thing. I have always wanted one. The original purpose was to ward off bad spirits. Blue bottles would have some water put in them, and they would be hung in quantity from trees. Evil spirits, being inquisitive, would go into the bottles and not come out. The modern bottle trees--and yes, you can ORDER one.....OY!--are just a variety of bottles usually on a rebar welded shape. Not the same.
With the goings on lately, I think I could have used a yard surrounded by real old fashioned blue bottled trees. And maybe a moat and a few bear traps. Can't get into it right now, but I am sure that some evil spirit has sucked the artistic soul out of me and I am a black and white walking shell.
Today is the first day I have had off in, oh my gosh, I don't know how long and I wasn't going to post but discovered I had a new follower and thought "Get thee off thy lazy pouting rear and DO IT!" So a very hearty WELCOME! to my new follower and usually my posts have more depth or at least a good rant or sometimes, if we're all lucky---ART!!!!
I know I am rambling today---the photo I posted is a favorite of mine. I don't know why other than it expresses a long gone era and it has a quality of, hmmmm, almost that feeling when you walk by a cemetery at dusk. There is mystery that you want to investigate but not too much. There is back story but you're not sure you want to know it. It, in some ways, reminds me of the poorer areas of my grandfathers farm in Virginia, where he moved when the TVA took the land they lived on . I do recall he built a small, small house (we would call it a shack by today's standards) until the family could settle and get a proper home built.
Maybe that is what I see in this---a legacy of people surviving anything.
Which of course circles back to me and my whining. And that's what it is.
I think I will go cut roses off my old fashioned shrubs and bring them in. And then go to the wet studio and clean things. Purge. Throw things out. Start anew. Burn some of my candles to clear the air, smudge the place. Do whatever necessary to refresh my inner artist.
On the other hand, since two of those things involve FIRE, maybe I should just get a spritz of air freshener and call it good!
I love seeing firemen in all their get up, riding those big trucks.......but not in my driveway! LOL!!!
So from me to all of you, may you be protected from everything that dries your creativity, may I be your little bag of gris-gris, shielding the inner artist and drawing away the distractions.
And may you step out of the black and white and into the world of full color creativity!
Now get thee off thy rear and go have a productive day!
Or make gris-gris and send me some........

12 comments:

Tristan Robin said...

sounds like you need a sweat lodge
anything around you that accepts women?

My Vagabond Heart said...

PS...I forgot to mention I love the idea of the bottles in the tree. Every fall John carves a gaggle of jack o lanterns for the similar reasons!

Leslie said...

They do water jugs of coloured water around here, interesting to see it translated to the Great Northeast by the transplanted.

How about Air Force firemen, Erin and I saw three of them while we were waiting for the movie to start. Nummy!

This too shall pass and you will get out of your funk, love you!

Jan said...

Sorry things are going so badly over there, I hope you get your equilibrium back soon and that things get back to something like normal. Maybe you should run away and come over here, hide out in my studio. Just bring some art supplies and a change of clothes. You know what they say, "This too shall pass." Make it soon!!!

peggy gatto said...

I am speechless and sad.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Tristan,

I don't need a sweat lodge---I'm in middle age and have enough problems with HOT FLASHES!!!! LOL!!!
Went to a local quilt show and that helped. And I have actually been doing some cleaning, and that's helping.
Sometimes you just need to blow steam.......

XXXOOO!!!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Ah for Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns and all the fun stuff! I love Halloween! Thanks for reminding me Vicki!!!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey girls---I'll be okay---it's just sometimes it all hits at once and you know how it is.
Leslie, I'd not heard of the colored water but that is quite interesting. Each culture with it's own ritual of blocking evil.
Jan, believe me, if we all were closer, there would be a big Pirate Party and no one would be in the dumps afterwards!!!!
Peggy, for those who have known me a long time, they know I'm a VERY TOUGH NUT TO CRACK!!!! I just get upset when the trickle-down affects others, and that is sort of the situation here. But it will pass and I'll be fine.
Throwing away crap from the cellar.
It's SOOOOOO cleansing!!!! (especially when it is not YOURS! LOL!!!!)
Hugs to all!

Lutra said...

Anne,
I have truly missed your blog..
When I get home I will be back online more and can follow along...
I know that your artistic soul will return in full force... you just needed a little break and a new perspective...
I can't wait to see what you come up with....
I have to admit that I have a bottle tree... mostly blue and green bottles...
When I was a kid my dad would bring home the little bottles from his business trips and we had a mini bottle tree...I loved it...

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Jane, do you remember the little cobalt blue bottles that would frequently be unearthed in the yards of older neighborhoods? And how many of those did I have???? OY. Of course, none now.....
Yes, sometimes it just takes something big to make you sit back and rethink. It's okay---I'm getting more and more at peace with it and know it will be okay.
I absolutely MUST start a serious pursuit of a bottle tree.....it's just in my blood! (plus it should freak out the locals....SNARF!)

My Vagabond Heart said...

Is it the same type of bottle trees in the movie "Because of Winn Dixie"?

PS...A PS doesn't make sense when there wasn't a script to bring with...hehehe ~8->

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

I have not seen that---but if it's Southern, I need to check it out!
Yeah, I know the PS didn't make sense, but the reasoning behind it DID! LOL!!!!

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