Morning Thoughts....

I love the quiet morning time, being able to slip into the day slowly.

A beautiful sunrise inspires me and fills me with awe.

We live on an amazing planet, and I am glad

I can view it all with an Artist's Eye.

 

 

Mornings are filled with rich black coffee and good reading.

Sometimes the material is deep, sometimes not.

Thomas Merton is a favorite, especially when I want to think.

The above book is wonderful~~when strict Catholic Monk

meets the Asian religions, and finds we all

come from the same cloth.

What a wonderful thought!

Sometimes morning provokes a solitary mood;

being astounded at the beauty of ONE

is enough.

In a world burgeoning with MORE,

the singular sings.

I close my eyes and savor those notes.

And in the studio, my heart is like a child.

It is NOT serious here; there is fun to be found.

Let the rest of the responsibilities go and take a moment

to laugh, to play.

The day is started right.

With camera in hand, I find the still lifes of Mother Nature.

Not planned, not structured.

Left by the touch of the wind and perhaps a stray squirrel.

Arrangements better than I can create.

Earth~~the ultimate artist.

Ultimately, it all leads back to this.

Brushes, pencils, paint.

The tools, life blood, lust of every artist.

The studio a haven.

My thoughts returned to what I love so.

The day will be one of gesso and color,

light and dark,

canvas and paper.

This is a rich life.

I'd like to welcome a new follower, a dear friend from FaceBook, Todd-Michael St.Pierre. T-M is a fantastic author of both children's books and my personal downfall, Louisiana COOKBOOKS!

Please visit his web page HERE and take a look around. You need a cookbook. 

REALLY!

Trust me!

It fills the head with all sorts of GOOD Morning Thoughts!


Pax....

"Gris-Gris For The Itinerant Artist" (new art!)

"Gris-Gris For The Itinerant Artist" (c) 2011 A.M.H.Lockard

I have worked and worked on this piece.
It started with an anchovy tin I saved and stashed in the studio. It kept calling to me. Saying, work with me, make me into *something more*.
But an anchovy tin is small; I mean small. And I kept setting it aside, and it kept catching my eye.
Having finished one piece for my online class, I felt trying to get a second piece done, along with color washes, etc, was pushing it, but that danged little tin was there.....niggling at me. Thus, what you have here.
Small tin, lots of meaning, big name, big art.
Happy artist! ;-)

Texture abounds....

I added insult to injury by burning myself numerous times during the making of this little gem, and also caught a couple of the elements in it on fire.....I should not be allowed to OWN a heat gun of any sort. (and this was just with the embossing tool, not my commercial heat gun or torch....this is why DH insists I have a fire extinguisher in the studio...)

Crushed shell....the *gravel* of New Orleans.....

While small, it is rich with hidden meaning. 

Contents and wishes, offerings, gris-gris...

The third life of an old timer bell.....

I'm not sure I will write it all; there is a lot. But there is sentiment too, as the base is the bell section of an old timer my dad brought from the factory we worked at. It was broken, he fixed it, I used it for years before it gave up the ghost again and yet I saved it.
Now cannibalized for parts, it has another shot at a third life. And the gris-gris container has a place to stand. 

My trademark blue butterfly, with flame, representing inspiration and the soul.

Perfect.
Sometimes, the very small things speak volumes and the broken bits we save, in turn, save us.
I love this recycled art idea.
There is so much possible.......




Pax....

Blog Prizes Mailed.....

....I got out the door yesterday with everyone's goodies; I am not sure when they shall arrive but when you receive them, if you could pop me an e-mail please?

I am diligently working on the sewing---it's coming along nicely though, as usual, I have exhausted myself and frankly, my fingers hurt from needle-pulling! It's all good though. And yes, the pic is where I wish I was, in the French Quarter, enjoying life and some good food. Instead I settle for listening to WWOZ.org on the computer and dream......check it out if you love Jazz, Blues and NOLA based music!

Can't wait to get back on here full time as my giant brain is overflowing!!!! (or something is dribbling out of my head, and I figure it must be *important thoughts* that need to be shared---LOL!) But it is again, nose to the grindstone, or in this case, pins, needles and sewing machine.

I quickly cruised through a couple of blogs, seeing pics of wonderful work and it makes me long for the wet studio and time to paint.......oh, not soon enough! Those of you having the time to do this; I thoroughly ENVY you at the moment!  ;-)

I miss you all---take care of yourselves as more and more of my friends are coming down with what appears to be the same virus DH and I had. I mean that in all sincerity---take care of yourselves and your kin.

I bid you all good health, rest,  creativity, and of course, as always.....

Pax.