Midweek Features – Strength and Weakness – 16/03/2011

Looking at the art that has come in over the past week or so, I found there were many portrayals both of the strengths and weakness that we all feel from time to time. I thought it would make the perfect theme for this week.

I am starting with this powerful portrait, full of fire, passion and confidence.

Firefly by © skye oshea

But what if it is all for show, or even worse, delusion?

One Woman Show by © wordthrift

Once,
at dinner,
you showed me,
the “proper” way to steep my tea.
“Not like that,
like this”, you said.
And as selfish proclamations go,
they’re only a small part
in your endless one woman show.
You will never know all the things I know.

The next image struck me like a woman looking at herself VERY closely.

orange by © Manana11

Followed by this fab poem about a woman trying to avoid mirrors altogether.

Her bits and pieces ….. by © SimplyRed

pretty as a picture so young and so firm
all of the fellows they did confirm
she was a looker and that was for sure
until age came knocking at her door

first thing she noticed was her lovely bust
no longer looking pert , a bra was a must
swimming in water was such a delight
the breasts went all pert again
even stayed upright!!!

a nice taut tummy was what she once had
a little swelling there wasn’t sooo bad
best viewed front on rather than the side
must start walking or take a bike ride
fooled herself for a while indeed
no full length mirror did she need

sideways glances were not on her mind
she hadn’t noticed that thickening behind
her firm butt was as hard as cement
lots of pinching, for men it was meant
still no long mirror for this ageing duck
if it got broken seven years bad luck….

next thing she noticed these small little crinkles
under the eye there where most folk get wrinkles
a small crease it was…not noticeable at first
another appeared it was a damn curse…
those few lines looked cute for a wee while
her face paralysed she didn’t want to smile
I swear each night as she went to bed
a new crease would form right there on her head
so crows feet she had and this she was to accept
new lines started forming she really could o’ wept

one day she did noticed it caused her no harm….
when she read the phonebook she’d stretch out her arm
smaller and smaller the writing was getting
off to th eye doctor she now was a sweating
for it seemed that the print wasn’t shrinking
she needed glasses oh what was she thinking

after a few years she adjusted and felt clever
breasts pert and firm …gone now forever
tummy not flat and butt not so hot
even liked her specs which she wore when reading
a hearing aid she would surely not be needing
for her ears they worked well for many a year
nothing else could go wrong surely not Dear!!

in her forties and the top lip felt hairy
into the mirror for a look that was scarey
for upon the top lip lay a tale of woe
hormones were going she now had a moe…
so to the chemist shop she did scurry
raced home with a waxing kit now in a hurry
what’s next she thought as she made her lip bare
Oh Fuck it all …..is that a grey hair!!!!

I think we’re all guilty of lying to ourselves now and again, be it about that wrinkle just being a laughter line or the big red elephants…

If you can’t lie to yourself, who can you lie to? by © Ina Mar

However, here’s a poem asking for the truth to be faced, and, personally, this totally resonated with me.

mortal by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

I’m an inconvenient
truth –
a girl who
passion ate

I’ve a heart that
runs
on fumes –
and is rarely ever
neat

You had said
I came for you
but tell me
are
you sure

that you want
a girl like me –

who arrives
without
a
cure

Courage is one of those strengths that is hard to achieve and even harder to maintain. Maybe this should be on every fridgedoor and next to every bathroom mirror?

There Is No Virtue In Silence by © unbeknown

It is so much easier to deny what’s happening to yourself and others…

Denial by © singerchick

Disregard the naked truth
Evading its cloying taste
Never mind compelling proof
Instead, present your bogus case
And trust whatever fills the hole
Little lies, warm milk for the soul

What more truth than a self portrait, especially one like this where you accept yourself inspite or maybe because of your weakness?

 

When I Need Protection by © Laurie Search

And here it is, all the protection and haven one could ask for.

Twilight Moments by © AnniG

Serene is the twilight hour
when I wait for you to wrap me up
in wordless conversation
comfort me with your calming presence
inspire me with your ethereal aura
simply sit with me as we share the silence
staring through shattered windows
of an erstwhile existence
patiently waiting with firm intent
for swift transportation
to a sacred place in infinite space
exalted, untouched

from the mysterious nebulous shadows
I atone for multiple sins
as you wash the grief from my heart
with clear crystal tears
readily spilling from angel eyes
revitalizing my weary mind
with jubilant rhapsodies
effortlessly dancing upon your lips
sweep me up, raise me on high
to glide along wispy skies
slowly restoring trust
in the truth of kindred spirits

in the crepuscular dimness of dusk
you shelter me as I curl into you
finding safety in your guarded haven
while countless shimmering knights
appear in primordial heavens
the mellifluous song
of raven skies and babbling brooks
lull us into gentle slumber
twinkles picked from effulgent dreams
of sanguine encounters
and lucid memories conceived
under a twilight tree

satisfied magical memories
of twilight moments

However, in the end we are all a secret to be discovered, made up of our own unique strengths and weaknesses.

 

Secrets of My Soul You Will Never Understand…angry red, passion blue, but mostly shades of green by © CarmenHolly

I couldn’t resist this poem. Someone discovering a new aspect of themselves. Perfect to end these features, something to think about.

exercise by © Lisa Jewell

The atom living in breast foam that desperately clings to a pure squeaky shore is lonely.

My pace slows as I approach a simple restaurant on a less than simple street. This slowing occurs each workday. Time is 5.15 pm. He is always there. An elderly man seated at the same table at the same window. He is eating soup. Each day I slow my pace that bit more, so that I might catch his eyes. My craving to know him is escalating. I have thoughts racing through my mind. But the most significant I think is. Is he alone out of choice or is he alone because his wife (partner) has left him, or has died.

You don’t miss what you don’t know. Is that really true? The logic seems sound but what of rumour? Or a vivid imagination. Or that little ache that bubbles into an eruption of wanting a one. And what of the living after death. Gone. Sugary life goes on clichés are plastic. Plastic might last but what of aesthetics and character? It can’t be the same. It is not. I see it in the way he places each spoon into his mouth. There is ache and lonely.

The sadness is building in me. It is the type of sadness that brews from that deep part. No metaphor, analogy or symbology to convey. You know it. And what startles me is that I can feel the sadness building and it is me but I am living and happily so. Life is so fucking peculiar. There are times I feel I must be living two lives concurrently. I can’t possibly be happy and sad at the same time. Can I? And what of this man?

I hope you enjoyed these features. Please let the artists know if you did. 🙂

Sybille xo

Growing – Sunday Features – 27/02/2011

Sorry guys, I am still recovering from the flu and totally missed my Midweek Features. Since Anna is very busy with the magazine, I offered to do the Sunday Features for her.

It’s a bit of a mixed bag this week. Hope you like.

I love this image because I loved the colours and contrast and the fabulous dress! 🙂

Miss Cherry Lush by © Rookwood Studio

And this poem seemed to go perfectly with it, especially the bit “Just look at me disappear”.

Mixed Messages by © wordthrift

Hello,
every time I walk in a room. Just
look at me disappear. The
poor thing.

My mixed messages, they are
exceptional misdirection. Slow

Passing passerby.
listen, you’ll hear my
ear ache, it echoes the
absurd “me”. A
singing scream into a finite
eternity.

I couldn’t resist the colours in this image. Green and blue (I am told) don’t go together, but I love them and they certainly work in this striking image.

Patina Sliced, Blued and Greened by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

Autumnwind is one of my all time favourite poets and this poem just makes so many pictures in my head….

crashing into the moon by © autumnwind

hell is going around again…
its adamant and frantic
in truth its running rampant

though do no bother with a hide
it slithers underneath your hair
horror leaches wretched fear
oh we… why so unaware
Curse these hellish times…

traveling through arteries
up your burning spine
as it makes its crazy tree
of creeping bloody insane vines

hell it un-grounds your hold
lifts you up to scary heights
with scarring, poisoned claws
release is sudden proving power
fall to crawl
to shadow

when this circus finds your town
its carnival so cries
a laugh that screeches
demon lies
bleaching eyes
fooling us
yet one more time

hold onto your very soul
while this tempest turns your way
ones you love…swept away
hell is dark
this day

hell is going around again
a warning come my way
one I had to share with you
to relish
insouciant days

rejoice in freedom’s hour

on this earth
with sun and stars
and moon beams
forging magic

the thunder roars
it’s at your door

hell comes…
and it is tragic

This was one of the images I saw in my image stream and I knew I had to include it in the next features. So many dreams and hopes and wishes…

Girls by © Cabisha

Here is one of those questions I am sure many of us asked when we were young and looked at our mothers.

Tell me Mrs. by © callmejulia

Tell me Mrs.
Were you once like me?
Was there a time when you spoke instead of smiled?
A time where you dared to dream instead of dreamt of being daring.
Did you once possess an amber gaze and diamond voice?
And are those stones now set in a golden ring you wear on your left hand?
Did you notice when they replaced your diamond voice with glass?
A song now shattered.
Did you notice when your precious gaze became a dead lead stare?
The stare of the conquered.

Once you were the Shulammite girl with the eyes of doves.
Once you were Isobel, married to yourself.
Once you were Mulan, a flower with the spirit of a warrior.
Once you were Heroine, Queen and Priestess of your own heart.
And once you were like me.

So tell me Mrs.
Will I become you?

All the different stages of growing and all the connections we make.

Reflection by © Anji Johnston

I love this poem. That’s what this group is all about.

Sisters by © restlessd

As luck would have it
I am blessed with two
As Sisters we started
Now good friends too!

And then there are my Soul Sisters. . .
These are the ones
Whom I admire,
Who daily inspire,
Not related by flesh,
By hearts we enmesh. . .
In friendship we endeavor
As Soul Sisters forever. . .

You know who you are

A fabulous image, bright and full of whimsy and happiness.

Happy by © MissMoselle

This poem encapsulates all the love of life and living shown in the image.

Breathe in life and love… by © lisameryl

Open up your soul
take another chance
let the dice roll
believe in romance…

Release your inner glow
throw away doubt
let your light show
never live without…

Life and love are to be embraced, explored and shared
have a little faith
you’re never alone
trust in yourself and others…

I leave you with these words from my heart and soul
with all my love always…

Let pain fade away
heal your aching heart
breathe in another day
make a new start

Dancing under the moonlight
taste the midnight air
bathing in the Sunlight
warmth two can share

Follow all your dreams
wipe away the tears
live to full extremes
leave behind the fears

Embrace in the love
kisses you’ll never forget
beneath the stars above
passion without any regret

What an amazing image. Makes you think and wonder.

flw and flw by © mariasole oste

Another of my all time favourite poets. There’s something so very special about this poem, a trip and a half round the moon and back.

Moonlight Sonata in the palm of a Poet’s hand by © Kristin Reynolds

It’s no accident
that light comes through
like mosaics of windowless panes:
from Sunday hats and prayer bowls—
to screaming in a crowded room
no-one can hear

but you.

There are heads that know
no bounds,
and comedians who know
no jokes,
and constellations who’ve forgotten
they are constellations—
who’ve forgotten they were
once upon a time:
a man
a god—
a story only they really
ever knew;

not just a memory
of heaven, hung
like a world
in a sky
they cannot
control,
never-mind, remember.

Is it too much to be
able to call home, home?—
Or turn a mountain into
a bale of hay into
a crystal,
which can still sing
of roots
on top of still mountains
and still recall
every last

humble,
and rustling,
word?

I am calling out to you
from between the lines,
to hear my heart playing
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
from the palm
of your outstretched hand,
and to kiss
the sparkle
in my eye:

as a child does
a pane
of clear sunlit glass,

reflecting
only
his love.

Hope you like. 🙂 xo

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale – Sunday Features 20/2/11

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety……

A celebration of inner strength and beauty

For we are all beautiful by © iamelmana

For My Grandma – Poem in two parts by © ms Debbie

1 – told with the voice of Mrs Ivy Houston

I am an old woman.
Have lived a good life,
Don’t want another funeral, except my own.

I’ve always thought people
are best described in two ways:
can be compared with the sky or earth

Cumulous clouds, they’re the light fluffy ones.
Thunderclouds – dark, dangerous, trouble.
Gentle hills – steady, secure, my kind of person.

I am an old woman.
I can tell you this much:
Little things add up, they matter.

The good book shows me this too:
You can learn something every day.
Psalms and Proverbs define truth.

I’m not schooled,
but I know this.
Words matter, use them carefully.

I don’t like that meanings shift with time.
Children should never be called kids,
Those are baby goats, not precious at all.

I love my daughters, grand-children
and the great grand-children.
I’m proud of our history.

I don’t understand a lot of the modern things.
Mobile phones, internet, exciting, maybe,
but not for me. I prefer my wireless.

I am an old woman.
I’d rather listen to The old rugged cross
than the noise on radios nowadays.

2 – told with the voice of Ms Debbie

Your wise musings
gave way to groans.
Elderly and frail,
I winced with each new moan.

A strong woman
I’d always admired.
You became so weak,
while I was ashamed and tired.

That stroke after Easter,
so cruel in its fearsome might.
Blue veins trembling through paper-thin skin,
your deterioration an unwelcome sight.

But an end to the suffering?
If only. For that we hoped in vain.
Such a faithful Christian woman,
watching your mind slip, my thoughts a blood stain.

Rage-red eyes focused on your blue orbs.
Clutching at your withered and battered hands,
when you could no longer speak or smile,
the falsity of “One True God” was fully absorbed.

Touch Me/Don’t Touch Me!!! by © kasia ikasia

Prophetess by © Jenifer De Bellis

I’ve been called many things, been insulted;
ignored. Yet the visions keep coming: exalted,
they pour from me as if they were my own
Standing on the edge of what’s real, I’m alone
I see things before they happen, it’s true
And hear random facts before others, too
Sensing developing things on horizons,
feeling the auras change like the seasons,
yet wondering what it all really means
A simple understanding often gleans
half of the picture, blurring the unheard
Today I had a dream; it fled from words
most harsh… A nightmare on instant replay

It’s the same one I had yesterday

_________________

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety.
William Shakespeare, “Antony and Cleopatra”

“This is my Phenomenal Woman inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem by the same name, (see below), in this her third guise…she has been though a lot, but it has not made her any less beautiful, any less phenomenal in her life…she takes care of herself, her family and friends, and at the end she can say “I did my best“

Pastel pencil and Charcoal Pencil on Canvas kasiaikasia

Her Infinite Variety by © Janis Zroback

The Door In The Floor by © Cynthia Lund-Torroll

Vetiver and ginger
cast a spell on me
I drop and open deeply
to a state of reverie

Does it have a shelf life
magic in the hand
Turn and spin and permeate
grace infusing land

He thinks maybe
I think no
but who can really tell

The drunken have
consumed their host
The walls around us fell

_________________

“For me to describe what this piece means, seems next to impossible. i used a beautiful acquaintance of mine to depict what i wanted to portray. this stems from something deep within, from personal experience, and from learning to depend upon pain, instead of a man. when life happens, sometimes darkness can consume you, and there is peace in physical pain at times that can make the insanity of life’s experiences seem sane. i don’t know if this makes sense to anyone, but it’s crystal clear to me.

Peace in Pain by © Heather King

Seraphic by © Jenifer De Bellis

She was forced into a form she was never meant to fill
Her liquid limbs were drowning in her own deep blue sea

Sweet cherubim and choirs sung in melodies off-key
Neither beast nor burden could tame the raging tide

Her restless spirit cast out nets on both sides of the port
Searching for those whispered secrets trapped within the swell

________________
“For many religions and societies of the world, this is the image of the Antichrist. 6 of February is the international day against female genital mutilation. Between 120 and 140 million women have suffered this dangerous and harmful practice in at least 28 countries. 3 million girls are still at risk each year.” Tania Losada

Canon 400D
50mm f/1.8 Canon lens

6-F by © TaniaLosada

Roll the Dice by © lovelyrita

Does it feel good, honey?
Does it
make your lady wood
feel funny?

I’m so mad, I’m sh-shaking

This power that you’ve taken so easily

Like a strand of red
Red thread
Tie it round my wrist.

Tug it forward,
Pull it back

“I’m all submission*”

so attack
before the moment’s gone.

__________________
“One of a series of pastel compositions inspired by the statues depicting the draped female form traditionally used in ancient Greek architecture as embellishments for supporting columns. These stone sculptures depicted women as strong, powerful beings and the artist has aimed to capture this characteristic weight and solidity in the artwork.”Maria Gilbert

First Caryatid by © Maria Gilbert

Eternity © S.Flora

Beneath this veil
Where your mortal eyes
Will never touch these
Flaming tears of gold
Ask me if im ok
And i will tell you
What you wish to hear
And i will tell these singing eyes and fingers
There is freedom within
There is freedom without
For even a bird of paradise
In a cage of steel can know freedom
In her heart live the Phoenix
In her heart lives eternity

Congratulations to you all. Fabulous art and writing.

Midweek Features – 17/02/11 – Cocoon

Sorry guys, the features are a few days late. I am suffering from a horrible cold  so Anna let me off the hook. LOL

More bad news I am afraid – for the writers – my cold makes it difficult to concentrate so I felt I couldn’t do justice to the writings so it’s only art this week. I’ll make it up to you next week, promise!

This weeks theme is ‘cocoon’. Not sure what made me think of it. Maybe because the end of Winter is nigh and the feeling of waiting for Spring is upon us. All sorts of hidden emotion and things going on. 🙂

What better way to start us off on this week’s travels but Lily’s White Witch. There is something cocoon like about her half concealed face and closed eyes.

The White Witch by © lilynoelle

The curled up figure in Geraldine’s image continues the theme. I had this ear marked for the features as soon as it appeared in my image stream.

This Place by © Geraldine (Gezza) Maddrell

The next image is by Valerie. Someone is prevented to come out of their cocoon – to speak their mind or to maybe just say their name. We wonder, is this self inflicted or is she silenced by someone else?

Silenced by © Valerie Burke

The beautiful image by Hsien-Ku feels to me like a transformation about to happen.

H-K301 by © hsien-ku

Maria’s ‘Fate’ – fate is something waiting to happen, like a caterpillar in its cocoon is waiting to become a butterfly. I bet you wondered how I’ll get this one to fit! LOL

FATE by © Maria Gilbert

The husk we leave behind when we leave our cocoon by Kasia.

...Love don’t live here anymore …Just emptiness and memories … by © kasia ikasia

And here’s Strawberries depiction of xenophobia. Definitely someone who’d profit coming out of their shell…

Xenophobia by © strawberries

Mid-transformation? by dmcart.

Enredada by © dmcart

This is the image that started it all this time. Agnes’ Loneliness. It made me think of the way we hide ourselves away…

loneliness.. by © agnès trachet

What better way to hide than in plain sight and especially at a meeting like in Marlies’ image where a cocoon might replace armour?

Meeting of the queens by © Marlies Odehnal

In Trish’s image we see someone maybe still weak from coming out of their cocoon, letting go of the shell that protects us and often keeps us at arm’s length from others.

Letting go.. by © Trish Woodford

Finally, Leah Michelle’s image where someone has left their cocoon and is now stranded by the road side. We wonder what will happen next? At least I am wondering.

Still Waiting for You… by © Lea Michelle

I hope that despite the limitations this week (mine not the great art or writings in our group), you’ve enjoyed my little journey into the world of cocoons and other hiding places.

Midweek Features 09/02/2011 – Feeling Blue

I am feeling the Winter blues and I am yearning for Spring… So here are some images and writing that encapsulate the blues for me – either because of the colouring or the mood within.

The first image caught my attention because of the beautiful colouring and the windswept flowing movement within the image.

Lost Forever by © Amalia Iuliana Chitulescu

The perfect companion to the image.

Blue by © Tracy Faught

Blue,night,murky twighlight dances across the lake,waves washing cool carvings in the sand.

Aqua,water pebbels moving under my feet, grating into the cool bottom, looking down I see the rippling surface.

Saphire reflected from the sky,sun gone, moonlight passing through the dappled mystery in the blue below, splashing, cleansing,cooling, a window open to a watery world…below the waves, the mist and to the horizon beyond.

Envelop my senses.

Jacqleen’s image just seemed to be the logic continuation. I love the colouring and the depth.

just BREATHE… by © jacqleen

From air to water…

Colour of water by © Unique-Mystique

Colour of water
Flows on blue
Like your deep eyes view
Waves upon the crest
Smooth motion moves
Way back on the brink
Of the fast paced sink
Filling to the top
Where one chooses to bathe
Memories are compelled
All earth is scathed
To undo the tiny kots made
Swim on by this ocean blue
Let night fall become you

The next image just encapsulates the ‘blues’ for me. Fabulous image and text combination.

stark by © awdigitaldreams

What could be more blue than missed chances and opportunities?

I’m Sorry by © lovelyrita

I miss you sometimes
But I’d never tell you

The black box
matches the bottom of the ocean
and it’s locked,
sealed
closed.
I triple-checked.

I’d like to for you open it
but I’m scared you’ll laugh,
or cry,
or ignore me completely.

Maybe years from now,
when I’m dead
and you’re living off your art,
your heart will reach into the depths of the ocean
and dig out a little red or orange box
dry it off
read its contents

and say,
“Me too.”

There is so much honesty in this self portrait. The misery and unhappiness come off in waves.

Self portrait from 2006 by © homesick

Another triumph by Kristin and another truth and hard lesson to learn.

Karma’s a bitch: love comes whether you see it or not by © Kristin Reynolds

Feed me to the lions—
God knows I
would do the same
for you.

If not you,
than who, my love?
Who better than to gift me
a death?—
the miracle
of beginning again.

Who better
to sew up my dues
with black ribbons
fool wrapped
in honey?
By Kali’s
three-way black eye,
weaving
her head-turning poisons
back
like hurricanes
into the mouths
of prisoners.

Who better to chance me
a more beautiful shape
of being,
than eternity with her gown
to the floor—
her body
made of heavens and sweet
succulent blooms
spun from a lyre’s
hazy
immaculate web—

and just that much
closer to God.

I thank you,
my horrible, beautiful,
lost and found love
for learning each chord
of my lute,

then breaking it’s notes

down
to feed.

And following are two of the most beautiful portraits I’ve seen in some time. I love the celebration of feminity of this one…

May by © TaniaLosada

And one of those special poems by Cynthia – they are intricate and delicate as her art.

one.seven.twenty.eleven by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

It is so early
to be so long now
to see terrain
of noted exhales
of knots of energy
that pool around throat
and lungs

She heard the birds
falling from night skies
the black with red wings
found with blue
streaming from their mouths

They were her favorite
she liked their strange call
back twenty years more
a message noted
of orbits forming
of winds that gather
or sweep entirely free

and I love the depth and strength in this one. It doesn’t get much better.

Her eyes hold the world by © madworld

I leave you with a free falling poem by tinhearts.

past time by © tinhearts

days dream into space
inviting me anxiously
watching my life
a cat chasing his tail
i’m allowing this blank face
releasing all strife
luring me into oblivion
instincts don’t rely on details
fallacies open door
the world, as small
as it has become
seeing there is no opinion
i follow anymore
except the voice
i do believe in wearing nikes
this unknown world
i made a choice
feeling actually unattached
yet a part of it all
peace at the end of my flag pole
being alive i am free
innocence in the form of a snack
treasures in every beak
tapping on my window
they know i am their soul
skies, mountains peak
tipping their hat
watching the view
smiling in relief
i am 5 ft 0
a giant sized handful at that
in my minds eyes
looking in the mirror
not my cup of tea
common
take a trip on the wild side
become invisible
with me
i promise i’m not contagious
as far as i can see
however
who will be the judge
if i am
twirling your uncertainty
innocently cleaver
but courageous
catching you in a snare
freeing you as i am free
signing the dotted line
with my smudge
knowing we are thin air
dance with me
since it’s my dime
who knows when we will be
the next eclipse
spectators scopes observe
as the world turns
into bliss
in no time
we return
sublime
smiling as we
are the observers
wild and crazy
maybe
escaping
past time

*

Here’s hoping you enjoy feeling blue on this Winter’s day… 🙂

Sybille and Anna

Our Featured Artist for February – Cynthia Lund-Torroll

This month’s artist is Cynthia Lund Torroll

Cynthia Lund Torroll

She was one of first artists I discovered when I joined Redbubble and her art has always fascinated me. There’s a great mystery and magic about each single piece and I am so happy she has now started to write as well as I love her poetry and have featured it recently.

Here’s what she says about her art and herself…

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. My mother claims I was two when I started – in my high chair.

I didn’t always value it as an honorable activity. I sought studies in psychology and social work – wanting to help cure the world with my empathic skills. However I found myself crippled by my own fears – intense panic attacks and clinical depression along with complicated physiological factors. My world grew smaller – by intent and by force of circumstances. But I have always felt that there was something inviolate within that was stronger than anything topical/situational. So slowly, s L o w L y – and steadily over the past 22 years, I’ve brought myself back into life. The drawings are touch posts. They often speak louder than I – or they tap into a stronger, more fierce side of myself. They are a mystery to me – and often show more insight years after I complete them. But I am compelled to make them. They engage me. When I get the lines right, something within me is righted too.

Eckhart Tolle is one of my modern-day heroes. Along with my mother. I was heavily influenced by Picasso and Dali when in high school. I studied independently and was encouraged to develop my own visions – which I did. Since I didn’t go to art school or college actually (does one totally panic-stricken semester count?), I had to rely on my own sensibilities. I was also pretty much ignored by my family in regards to my work – so my flame was fanned internally – and then later – by some remarkable friends. At this point, I’m grateful that I never studied formally and am almost protective of my eyes in viewing other historical art figures. It’s really just been within the past few years that I have started to actively look at other work.

Right now, my favorite drawing is Timor Servilis
To me, it captures everything that’s been going on the past year with my life and my internally balancing.

Timor Servilis by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

The color work and writing are unique to Red Bubble. I have found the community here so warm, inviting and supportive – that I am experimenting greatly.

I love the way we’re all affected in so many ways by Redbubble – the friends we make the support we give and receive and that it allows us to experiment and try out new things. Therefore let’s start with one of Cynthia’s colour experiments. The colours and textures in this image are just wonderful, spirtual and magical all at once.

Mid May Maiden by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

Here are some more of my favourites

I love the delicacy of this one. An almost secret maybe to be told…

Wind of Steel by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

The detail images are so fabulous in their own right. Full of mystery and magic.

Under an Odd Moon (detail) by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

The colour of Viridis is just amazing and the face half-hidden by the leaves makes this special.

Viridis by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

An image in progress… totally fascinating to wonder where it will go but a beautifully detailed drawing in its own right.

The Witness (Day One work – detail) by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

I am a colour girl and I am so enamoured by the way Cynthia uses colour in a special, very delicate way even if the colours are as intense as in this image.

She Comes in Colours by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

It’s interesting to see how she plays with her drawings and creates new ‘logic’ from parts of drawings she’s already done. It’s a process one can almost follow, almost like a silver line going to somewhere else. More mystery perhaps.

Luna by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

The detail in this drawing is totally awe inspiring. Each little branch and the mysterious faces entwined within. Fabulous.

Cacophony by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

If I had to choose just a single image from Cynthia’s gallery, this would be it. I find it compelling and touching.

aWay (detail) by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

Another mysterious image – half the face hidden behind the fan and it makes you wonder if she smiles or if she’s about to tell a secret – all beautifully rendered in pencil…

The Fan by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

And here’s my final image. I am not sure how I managed to stop because there are many more I’d like to feature… 🙂 This is beautiful and I can almost hear the story unfolding.

The Calling by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

I am so pleased Cynthia agreed to be our featured artist for February. Her art is stunning and I wish her lots of luck with her art, her writing and her self discovery. Isn’t that what art is all about?

Please congratulate Cynthia and add your favourite images to this post.

Sybille and Anna xo

Skin Deep – Midweek Features 19/01/2011

There’s some amazing writing and art out there – meaningful and deep. I thought it deserves a special feature.

So without further ado…

…Mizuna’s soulful image.

Sorrow waste by © miruna uzdris

Followed by Kristin’s mythical mystical poem.

Donum Dei by © Kristin Reynold

Her love is a wheel set in motion
with hands
that were never
her own.

Each spoke speaks
with regardless clear eyes
and black
velveteen ears
unencumbered—

and before words
spoke softly
of movement,
there were chests
born of Rune shields
and The Enoch’s
one-way horns.

With each turn
she is moving
in place

in a space
far too tight for her nest,
her rats nest of laborious breath—

only more than enough
in her mind;
past her breast and her
skin born of crystalline frost
under winter’s
hungry-eye moon.

Hush.

There is a small something
stirring her motions—
her blood towards
heaven once more;

steeling her cart towards rest,

where love
will be
love

alone.

Sometimes the piercings are on the outside, sometimes on the inside…

Pierced I by © Kallena Kucers

…as shown here by Cynthia… This poem started the whole idea of ‘skin deep’ as a theme for the features.

mute by © Cynthia Lund Torroll

Self acknowledged since seventeen,
though more imposed than chosen,
it’s been nothing of a quiet life.

That first wave forgiven
because unawares are, well, unawares –
(even herself)
and secondly, why add to the noise?

(pencils all sharpened)

That actually became comical –
the glaring eyes and cries for help –
point blank
in your face
“Nice frame” a response.

Rinse/repeat. Rinse/repeat.

Later, much later,
all the words she’d been craving
covered her like the warmest blanket ever sewn
holding her suspended
holding her
holding her
HOLD.
HOLD.
HOLD.

Nine years of hold,
but not a day went by without hope
that she’d be given voice again.

And finally, without seconds to spare, soul dangling –
a channel appeared.
Happy turns of nouns and verbs – hour after hour.

She dove in.
Heart first.
Head second.
Deeper.
Deeper.
DOWN.

She’s quieted again.
Plug pulled.
Powered down.
Quieted.
Quieted.
Hush.
Shush.
STOP.

(but her pencils are sharper than ever…)

This caught my eye because pretense is what we do? Isn’t it?

Pretense by © strawberries

And here’s the question we should be asking.

Making a difference by © mnkreations

The question was posed: “What does it mean to ‘make a difference?’”

My reply is : Making a difference can have several implications good and bad. Most people, myself included, embrace making a difference as a means of changing the outlook, standing, or circumstances of others in a positive and constructive way either directly or indirectly, in an obvious or discrete way.

Most often change is made when there is an apparent or urgent need but, shouldn’t making a difference be more than a reaction to an immediate need? Shouldn’t making a difference be an ongoing, continual, present state of mind?

Shouldn’t making a difference, in the long run , be our way of life?

And so we go deeper into the soul with Shadowlea’s image.

eye of the soul by © shadowlea

Here’s a word I had to look up. LOL Apparently it means a positive belief or optimism. Correct me if I am wrong!

aisiodoxia by © RC deWinter

aisiodoxia

the thing with feathers,
the jewel in the box,
the glass half full,
the hopeful heart carries these and more
imprinted ineradicably
well beyond the surface of the spirit’s sanctum.
they share a spark, these things,
that only death can douse
and even then,
methinks that death’s merely the next
great adventure
in an endless loop of life:
life in countless colors,
fierce and frail forms,
spiraling passages to kaleidoscopic planes
of incarnation.
hope never dies unless,
like a child never wanted,
it is exposed undefended to the elements.

Some fabulous striking art created in collaboration by two of our members.

The Killing by © AmbientKreation and © VampVamp

Here’s some striking poetry by Jenifer to show how such a killing works…

Icy Hue by © Jenifer DeBellis

That was the day I went away

as quietly as I could manage.

Stopped asking the questions
that were never meant
to be answered for my sake.

Read the whole thing wrong
in my naivety, consumption
trumping professionalism
with the turn of each new page.
Plotted myself onto the wrong side
of the stylo-thematic map –

missing that first clue.

There was the crux of it all:
the carefree step into the fall;
the unheeded warning.

Thought I was ready to come out
of that box – hell, everyone thought
I was ready for that.

You pulled me out of that safe place
with what I perceived as care.
Even fanned through my pages
with what felt like a breath of fresh life.

I longed to be read that way, again.
And yet I read too much into even that.
Really thought I’d hold that special place
of interest for longer, eternally longer.

I suppose a biased heart judges poorly.

Should’ve just left me there
(where I was safe from remembering
what it felt like to be disregarded
over the time it takes to read
that highly recommended novel).
I knew how to cope with that –
I’d dog-eared that page years ago.

Yesterday was the day I dusted off
the box that I knew better than
to break down or throw out.

Today I stand staring at that box.

There’s something sad and desperate about this image, beautiful and nostalgic, a soul laid bare.

Dead flowers. Kuusisaari, Finland by © homesick

Finally, Rhena’s soul search poetry.

A Dream of Liberation by © Rhenastarr

I hear my name
Whispered on the wind
Not a gentle calling
Rather a dark and gloomy
Utterance
From somewhere outside
My dreaming
Is it the loneliness breaking
Free from inside of me
Offering up a cryptic glimpse
Into the black void of
My ramblings
My dark desires echo now
In the stilled chambers of
My wounded soul
Time lost in the muddy waters
Contemplating the vices that
Led me astray, stripping me raw
A haunting refrain, a lonely
Dirge
Sounding in my head and
I feel myself falling into
The void
I see myself wandering, lost
Down an avenue of deep
Despair
Buried memories surface
Through the chilling haze
Daring to trespass on my
Dark reverie
Awkward steps, faltering in
Their gait, as I feel the bony
Chilling fingers scatter across
My spine
Drumming spirals of dread
Shadows seeking the light
Of my reasoning
Seeking to suck the essence
That remains of the me
That has dissolved into a mass
Of broken dreams and shattered
Illusions, making up the shell that
Now encompasses my weakened
Soul
Fate, ever shifting like sands of time
Stealing the joy that once lit the
Corners of my life
How do I find sanctuary in the
Blackness descending
The ink of it’s dark liquid
Scribbling a bleak eternity
Dripping me onto an empty page
As it gathers I see an image of the
Me that has now emerged and
The mirror glint on smokey glass
Leaves me silent and subdued
Shamed into a figure of pathos
Scrabbling with a burning need
To find shelter, to find succor from
The demons that seek to shred
The remaining sanity that fights
For resurgence
I hear a voice, recognizing it as my own
Singing a song of salvation
I feel myself reaching, lifting myself
Out of the pit into the light
Of a new day
A dream of liberation ends as dawn
Streaks across the sky

I am sorry if I’ve taken you onto a rather rough journey today. It’s easy to just want to see the sunny side, but the darker side needs to be looked at and inspected on occasion, too.

Moments – Midweek Features 12/01/2011

Our lives change moment by moment and before we even realise everything seems to have changed. Here are some ‘moments’ I captured from our galleries and writing treasure trove…

This one just caught my eye – the colours, the expression, one moment of madness. Fabulous!

Ophelia by © strawberries

Anni’s (first) free streaming poem fits the madness and hunger in Strawberries’ image perfectly.

Opiate by © AnniG

Beyond the borders of
silent comprehension
lie illusions of emotion
deeply embedded in a
fleshy soul triumphantly
ruled by an ever hungry heart
in stark contradiction to ominous
predictions of a weary lonely mind
when once again delirium seeps
through cracks in armor to offer
renewed ecstasy, fervent pain
delivered in syrupy concoctions
still craving the devil’s sweet poison
hallowed hallucinations of love
a mighty drug, all the same

Which led me to the next picture. The first shows the inner madness we sometimes feel, not sure if the next shows the outer or inner madness?

Modern Vietnamese by © Marlies Odehnal

Sunrisegirl’s poem seemed to me to encapsulate the words on Marlies’ image. How often, especially with the net and other communication devices do we fail to understand each other?

Not today- you are not here by © sunrisegirl

My friends
we dance around
in never ending circles
hoping that he or she may see us
Looking for the happiness
which we often share
but not today
its not here

are you there or is this a dream
it feels like you in these figures i see

they dance around me graceful and slow
but if it is you i shall never know

the figures they fade out into the night
i can no longer grasp that memorizing sight

the feeling of warmth sparked a glow deep within me
i call out to you in hope that i see thee

Now it is cold where i stand on this ground
i stumble and fall as the fog wraps around

it shortens my breath
it tightens my chest
it confuses my head
and gives me no rest

yes there are friends
and people to see
but they give me nothing
when you’re not with me

And then there are the moments when we feel full of magic and something else…

Feline femininity by © iamelmana

And here is the something else in Wildwomenlove’s poem.

The witching hour by © wildwomenlove

This poem is very long so here’s only an extract – read the whole poem by clicking on the title above.

My cauldron
sings
of love and wonder
brewing magic potions
trickling down my thigh
under
the full moon
of my hearts desire

My black cat
nuzzles
the exquisite lace
beneath ample skirts
that swish
with grace
as
I dance

The full moon
glistens
and bathes
her light
robes heaving
breasts
sharing candle light
with my smile […]

From magic places to foreign places. I loved the contrast between tradition and modernity in this one. Great shot.

MAIKO by © Tatum Wulff

More far away places in Lisa’s poem, but sometimes we manage to stretch and stretch…

Bottled love messages…oceans apart… by © lisameryl

We’re oceans apart
forces of nature
paining infinite distance
within raging undercurrents

These windows of the soul
filled with tears
fall upon thy cheeks
bittersweet to taste

Our wishes and whispers
dreamings of concupiscence
crushing continental collaboration
alluring anticipated adoration

Entrusting high winds and roaring oceans to carry these bottled messages of eternity…

I succumb to only you. Accept my declaration of love. Trust me with your heart for I will always protect it. You have infinitely captured mine. There will be promises of seductions, serenades and symphonies. We’ll love beneath the moonlight of succulent fruit. Our lips will sing of passion.
Love and lust through Sunrise and Sunset. Embracing our souls for all eternity.

Forever Yours,
xxxx…xoxo…xxxx
Lisa

Staying in far away places, hsien-ku’s image and poetry (in the description of the image page) take me somewhere else entirely. I love diptychs and this one is stunning.

H-K310 by © hsien-ku

Rhena’s timely reminder. Her words were the starting point for these features.

THE MEASURE by © Rhenastarr

Measure your time
In
Unforgettable
moments
Not in
forgettable
Minutes

There’s something lonely and despondent about this image, but look closer, no one with stripy socks will be kept down for long… 🙂

Summer 2006 by © homesick

…hence the last and final poem. Even in those moments when everything seems lost, remember you’re a Dark Horse. 😉

Dark Horse by © bjeliMis

When your nails scratch for the end of a rope too far to grasp
Feeling the burn in your thighs from the acid in your muscles
The tight coiled knot in your stomach that pierces only as fear can
When your fingers shake and your lips tumble
Don’t break down
For there is an arctic wind whipping in your ribcage
That blows as strong as the top of a Tibetan mountain
Hold your fingers tight
You are beginning to stretch
You are beginning to hurt and live and take
Whatever these hurting days will cut in you
But you are a spoon, hallowed and deep
You hold
You don’t bend, or stab, or slice
You scoop
And take what has been given,
Holding the frozen spoonful of your image
That never makes it down defeat’s throat

Enjoy! xo

Feminist Art, What is it?

I found this fascinating article today and wanted to share it with you all.

Source….
Feminism & Feminist Art
The Art History Archive – Feminist Art

Feminist art sometimes poses or confronts such questions as:

1. How is a woman’s gaze different from a man’s? How does that difference influence the ways in which the two genders view the world? And how they view art?

2. What constitutes obscenity and pornography? Where do they come from? What are their results? Are they always transgessive? What place do they have in art?

Especially since the late 1960s, when the feminist art movement can be said to have emerged, women have been particularly interested in what makes them different from males — what makes women artists and their art different from male artists and their art. This has been most prominent in the United States, Britain, and Germany, although there are numerous precursors to the movement, and it has spread to many other cultures since the 1970s.

Feminists point out that throughout most of recorded history males have imposed patriarchal (father-centered) social systems (in which they have dominated females). Although it is not the goal of this article to recount the development of feminist theory in full, the history of feminist art cannot be understood apart from it. Feminist theory must take into account the circumstances of most women’s lives as mothers, household workers, and caregivers, in addition to the pervasive misconception that women are genetically inferior to men. Feminist art notes that significant in the dominant (meaning especially Western) culture’s patriarchal heritage is the preponderance of art made by males, and for male audiences, sometimes transgressing against females. Men have maintained a studio system which has excluded women from training as artists, a gallery system that has kept them from exhibiting and selling their work, as well as from being collected by museums — albeit somewhat less in recent years than before.

Here is a notice posted by the Guerrilla Girls (founded in 1985, a New York based group of otherwise unnamed women “artists, writers, performers and film makers who fight discrimination”) in a list they published in 1989:

The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist:

Working without the pressure of success.
Not having to be in shows with men.
Having an escape from the art world in your 4 free-lance jobs.
Knowing your career might pick up after you’re eighty.
Being reassured that whatever kind of art you make it will be labeled feminine.
Not being stuck in a tenured teaching position.
Seeing your ideas live on in the work of others.
Having the opportunity to choose between career and motherhood.
Not having to choke on those big cigars or paint in Italian suits.
Having more time to work when your mate dumps you for someone younger.
Being included in revised versions of art history.
Not having to undergo the embarrassment of being called a genius.
Getting your picture in the art magazines wearing a gorilla suit.
Feminist art history must be considered as part of this discussion. Its proponents have demanded that women’s arts from all cultures, of all periods, be included in studies and exhibitions of art. In 1971 Linda Nochlin (American, contemporary art critic) wrote a landmark article, Why Have There Been No GREAT Women Artists? giving tremendous momentum to feminist scholarship concerning women in the arts. Numerous histories of women artists were published in the 1970s, and several others have appeared in the years since then.

Before the late 1960s most women artists, struggling to participate in the male-dominated art world, had overwhelming disincentives to put feminist meanings into their work, and sought to de-gender their art. Often, on the basis of appearance alone, their work could not be identified as woman-made. Several countercultural movements arose simultaneously with feminism in the 1960s. At this time the United States experienced social upheaval coming with the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, economic prosperity, the arrival of oral contraceptives, reforms in the Catholic Church, nostalgia for the presidency of John F. Kennedy, and experimentation with psychotropic drugs. Many other countries experienced social unrest of various kinds during this period. Some gender issues have been of interest to both male and female artists. Although feminist art has arisen more from the concerns of artists of one gender, and some of those concerns are sexual in nature, more often than not feminist issues have been about women’s power in arenas of which sexuality (reproductive acts and roles) is an important part.

Feminist art sometimes poses or confronts such questions as:

1. How is a woman’s gaze different from a man’s? How does that difference influence the ways in which the two genders view the world? And how they view art?

2. What constitutes obscenity and pornography? Where do they come from? What are their results? Are they always transgessive? What place do they have in art?

Although feminist artists have shown great interest in the depiction of nude figures (both male and female), very few feminist artists have shown interest in creating erotic work. Learn more by reading Feminist Art Practices & Political Art.

Link to the original article.

Examples of Feminist Artists:

Cindy Sherman

Joyce Wieland

Frida Kahlo

Artemisia Gentileschi

Lilith Adler

Caroline Folkenroth

Candice Raquel Lee

Jennifer Linton

Martha Rosler

Rachel Stone

Victoria Van Dyke

William Blake

Other Famous Women Artists:

Emily Carr

Georgia O’Keeffe

Berthe Morisot

Rosa Bonheur

Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun

Articles about Feminist Art:

Feminist Art Practices & Political Art

Women Artists of the 20th & 21st Centuries

20th Century Feminist Artists

Gender in the Visual Arts

Slavery is a Woman

Why Have There Been No GREAT Women Artists?

Estonian Feminist Artists

Turkish Feminist Artists

A Feast of Feminist Art