Tuesday 30 November 2010

Most recent Journal Pages…

…I´d thought I would just say a little about each page – what worked the way I wanted it to and what didn´t.  Just bear in mind that I am just beginning and experimenting with beginner´s wild abandon and also that I have not been out and purchased either new paper or new materials.  I am working with the bits and pieces I have collected over the years, which is by no means specialist.  This is really stretching the old creative muscle (where is that exactly?) and it is a good excuse for me not worrying about what I might otherwise have called, “mistakes”.

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The Asphyx

As soon as I saw this old Psychic TV poster, I wanted to try working in sepia tones.  The brown in the top left is my freehand drawing, copied from a pattern on my hot water bottle (inspiration, really is everywhere lol).  I do like the effect of sticking down the little bits from my old journals where the binder fastened the paper.  However, it was a royal pain to do because I am very messy with glue and I don´t even have the right sort.  Originally, I was going to use a marker and write in the little boxes but then I decided to try and write tiny on the white parts (stained with tea).  The bits I stuck down was sawdust from the firewood I was helping S. to saw up that day.  It wasn´t a great success with the glue I have as it is dropping everywhere.

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Cosmic

The inspiration for this one came because I wanted to look up Cosmic Tarot pictures on google but by accident, I typed just Cosmic.  I got some wonderful images with great titles such as Cosmic Rays, Cosmic Harmony, Cosmic Evolution and Cosmic Belt.  I decided to use this printout as the background.  The silver foil was a tiny bit I was going to throw out,  I was pleased how it took on the purple colour.  I also liked the old pill packet in the top left.  I squirted some rather thick, old glitter glue in each section and I fancied it looked like cosmic space pills!

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Let Go

This one has a printout from Effy Wild on the Wild Precious blog.  It was so inspirational when I read it yesterday and I have been writing variations on this theme in my journals for a while.  It captured my mood perfectly.  I did this one quite a lot quicker.  The larger ones are taking me hours and I do hope I will get quicker with practising more.  The border is old journals cut up and coloured with my Ferby pencils – the one bit of my art equipment that I can recommend. 

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Blue / Orange Colour Breathing

Unfortunately, the photo does not show the colour orange much.  The right-hand background is a print of marigolds from my garden and is much more vivid then it looks.  The border is coloured shapes from old journals.  I spent ages last night with felt tips and Ferby pencils, colouring in random cut-ups.  You can see the result below.  I like the blend of shapes and colours in today´s journal page and, as the text says, I was pleased with the colour effects.

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Sunday 28 November 2010

Inspiration from the Grocers Manuel…

…I can´t make up my mind just yet, what exactly I should do with my Father´s course-book.  Cutting it up may be traumatic.  So would taking gesso to the pages and making an altered book from it.  The book is so thick that I would have to cut out loads of pages.  I´m not sure if that is a feasible idea.

I did wonder if other art journallers would be interested in doing a swop of some of these pages for some of their trading material.  Just a thought…

Here are a few scans of the book.  The first one, I tried altering to black and white but it didn´t improve readability.  I´m afraid my scanner / printer is a bit basic for this sort of thing.

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Saturday 27 November 2010

Man in the Kitchen!…

…let a man loose in your kitchen and look what happens.  Not for him my, supposedly, “built for purpose” kitchen equipment.  S. wanted to make a cheesecake with only minor supervision from yours truly. 

When faced with my method of crushing biscuits (a few at a time in a strong plastic bag, then crushed with a rolling pin), that was far too slow and girlie.  He goes out to his tool shed and comes back with a rubber mallet.  And you know what…

…it did a damn fine job.  Rubber mallet is now officially added to “kitchen equipment”.

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Thursday 25 November 2010

Art Journal pages…

…this is the first one I tried using my newly developing style.  I apologise for the quality.  I could not scan it because I made it on larger than A4 paper.  The green and white circle in the centre says “Recycle”, as my main discovery was that, by editing my old journals, I have plenty of material to create something new and more “current me”. 

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The red background came from the cover of my Dad´s old Grocer´s Manual which inspired me a couple of days ago.  I think I would like to try an altered book project with it sometime but, as it has sentimental value and is a very thick tome, I will have to practice on something smaller first. 

One acknowledgement I must give is to Teesha´s Circus because when I saw one particular page from her own art journal, here, I had to take out my materials and getting cracking straight away.  The observant among you will spot that I cut out and recycled part of her border and a couple of her phrases which I think fitted well.  Thank you Teesha.

I feel a great creative surge at the moment and I had to write a list of projects “to do” to stop me firing off in too many directions.  Now I have the ideas written down, I can concentrate on the run up to Yule, which always seems to advance at super speed once my birthday is out of the way.

The next page is the one I did yesterday.  I like the light / dark contrast between the two pages. 

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I especially like the way the few lines from an old journal I pasted in the bottom left corner, ended up looking like an alien hand when I drew I line around it.  I emphasised this with a quote from a Younger Brother track, The Finger:

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Mother Henna–dealing with Money Gremlins…

…I was so impressed when I read this blog, that echoes the crazy thought processes in my own mind relating to money, success and my right to those things.  Here is Mother Henna´s inspiring journal page:

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and here is the link to the complete article:

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Otter Guides…

…prospective Art Journaller. 

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Since drawing the Otter card at Samhain, I´ve been wondering how and when I would feel her influence.  Now I definitely feel it.  I am bursting with creative inspiration and I´m really keen to develop my own style of art journal.

I have been checking out some really inspirational stuff at Daisy Yellow and Teesha´s Circus and also Mother Henna and Jamie Ridler.  I have to resist the urge to go on a spending binge for new materials and trust that I have everything I need to start right here.  It´s part of the process of celebrating my abundance.

The picture above, with Otter, is the front page of my Father´s text book from when he studied as a grocer.  It is from 1950, before I was born.  Like many old, yet not valuable books, it is full of interesting ephemera and odd facts.  I have been toying with throwing it out for a long time, but held back purely because of my Dad´s signature inside the cover.  It seemed too personal to him and I have precious little left of his things.  Now I just realised that it would make excellent material for my new journal.  It justifies me hanging on to it and I know Dad wouldn´t have minded me cutting it up, provided I was creating something new from it.

I want to have a go with some wacky writing directly onto this photocopy as soon as I´ve finished my chores for the day.

Friday 19 November 2010

Tonight´s Abundance Altar..

…working on healing some personal issues I have with abundance and my relationship to money.

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Dr. Rick Strassman interview – “DMT: The Spirit Molecule” – #095 - Gnostic Media

I really found the discussion about links between entheogen / psychedelics and the chakras, involving the chakras and ancient beliefs. If anyone has the time, do check out this fascinating podcast and I would really love to know what you think about this possibility:

Dr. Rick Strassman interview – “DMT: The Spirit Molecule” – #095 - Gnostic Media

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Birthday Incense for this Scorpio…

…here are some of the ingredients for a special birthday “Essence of Self” incense that I started making on my birthday last year.  If anybody is interested in more information about this, let me know.

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Monday 15 November 2010

Luscious Purple Olives…

…I just picked my favourite olive tree, that bears these enormous, purple-black kalamata fruits.  They look good enough to eat straight away, however, anyone who has ever tried olives straight from the tree will confirm that they are extremely bitter and inedible.

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Before they are ready for the table, they must be “cured” or “sweetened” as the Portuguese say.  There are many ways of doing this and here, it is traditional to cut a couple of slashes in the fruits with a sharp knife, before submerging them in clean water.  Personally, it would be a shame to cut these perfect olives and, as the reason for doing so is just to speed up the curing process, I don´t think it is essential.  I already have some green-purple-black kalamata olives curing that I did cut, and those should be ready first.

Most important to the curing procedure is to change the water regularly; at least as often as the water becomes scummy.  The scum is the bitter properties that must be removed.  One tip we were given is to leave the lid off the barrels in the rainy season and let the rainwater keep the water fresh.

Although many people add salt during curing, the way we were shown uses just plain water.  You need to keep tasting the olives every week or so after the first month to see how they are progressing.  The aim is to have some ready for the table by the end of the year.

We only add salt to a small quantity of cured fruits at a time but they could all be salted and have flavours added too e.g. piri-piri, lemon rind, garlic or oregano.  Personally, I enjoy them plain.

Touching Story: Death of a Portuguese Legend…

…O Snr do Adeus, a lonely man who waved at passers-by in Lisboa and became a well-known figure in Portugal, died last week.  Car horns were sounded all over the country, even in our rural neck of the woods, in honour and rememberence.

Here is a sweet video of Senhor do Adeus, standing and waving on his favourite corner, where there is now a movement in favour of erecting a statue to him.

Here is a some more biographical information, from the Expats Portugal website here:

For many years he stood in different corners in Lisbon, in the evenings and through the night, waving goodbye and blowing kisses to cars passing by.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiVISmYe_1Q

born to a rich family, he studied law and philosophy but dropped out because "it was too boring". Only son, he travelled the world with his mother. When she died, he found himself alone in the world. To escape his loneliness, he started waving to people in passing cars. When people started waving back, he made his mission in the world to give people a moment of hapiness and human contact by waving and blowing kisses at them.

He told a journalist: "[loneliness] is a wicked lady that chases me through the empy walls of my house. To escape, I come here [his favorite corner in a major Lisbon avenue]. This is my way of communicating, of feeling people"
a few hundred people staged spontaneous memorial services by standing in corners and waving at passing cars.

He achieved his life dream of becoming an actor by taking part in the first portuguese zombie movie, a short film named I'll see you in my dreams, where he played a Criswell spoof.

His friends created a Facebook page in his memory, who already has over 14000 fans: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/page...2920264127

A petition has been started, asking City Hall to place a commemorative statue in his favorite corner: http://www.petitiononline.com/ADEUS/petition.html

Saturday 13 November 2010

A very late entry for Day of the Dead...




...I knew that somewhere I had drawn my own Day of the Dead skull in my journal. (Besides the point that I drew it in May last year!)

I rather like it in a quirky way and it would be a good starting point for some more creative work - next Samhain!!
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St Anthony…Patron Saint of our Home…

…this plaque is on the outside of our home in Portugal.  There is more information about this saint on the LuckyMojo site here.

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The main thing this saint is known for, is helping to recover lost objects.  There are a couple of prayers / pleas to this saint on the LuckyMojo article, but my favourite is one of the simplest:

St. Anthony, St. Anthony
Please come down
Something is lost
And can't be found

The actual reason we put this saint on the outside of our building, was in remembrance of Snr. António, who we bought the quinta from in 2003.

Friday 12 November 2010

Journal Scan–“on Waking” thought…

…First of a series of regular scans from my journal; tarot/oracle related on my Hallowquest blog and anything else on here.
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Mind My mind talks rubbish – listen to my heart.
See what I mean ;-(

Struggling to stay in the Moment…

…I do WANT to communicate and I DO want the quality of the communication to be worth the time someone might take to read it.

And this is where the Inner Critic Kicks In – like a physical blow – knocking my SELF confidence and reminding me of the futility of it all.  All this communication is really another cry from the EGO – struggling to be heard as an individual.

Look at me - I´m different, I´m special, I´m creative, I´m loved ---

Not

i´m being laughed at , i´m stupid, i´m worthless

Anyhow, enough to this self indulgent stuff and a reminder first to my self with a little more Stream of Consciousness stuff.  (Should have put it on my Hallowquest blog really, as I went off on a tarot thought wave – never mind.)

Come back into the BODY to ground yourself from time to time. Come back in FULLY – feel yourself entering your body. Become yourSELF.

At these times of being fully in your body, use all your senses to examine your physical environment fully (Pentacles); check on your Emotional balance (Libra) – aim for CALM awareness – anger may rise, or joy, or fear – let them pass – they are just Emotions – not I (Cups); how is your Energy, are you tired or Energised (Wands); finally watch your Thoughts (Swords) – literally Observe them, as what they are – products of the EGO – Observe and get beyond them to the true SELF.

Come back into the BODY to ground yourself from time to time. Come back in FULLY – feel yourself entering your body. Become yourSELF.

…and second, of the amazing Psychic TV in 1982, with Ov Power from force the hand of chance.

And check out the album cover – my late entry for the Day of the Dead (scroll down a bit) haha

 

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Rune work: a few lines on Pertra reversed...

...a note from a previous journal seems relevant today:

Pertra (reversed)
Concentrate on your own life, your requirements for growth.

Don't focus on outcomes or on past achievements or you loose the "true present" - the only time in which self-change is realised.

Monday 8 November 2010

GM posing with Toad…

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…both unconcerned about each other.

I thought this was a particularly handsome toad.  Check its´ markings:

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Sunday 7 November 2010

More work with my Dark Moon Altar…

…things on my altar tend to get moved around as I work with the energy I am experiencing, in an intuitive way.

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Work in Progress on a Spell, Prosperity Oil and Scorpio Space Aroma from Starchild in Glastonbury.

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Kali with Lady Nada, Aura Soma Quintessence.

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Dr. Usui, Reiki Healing Requests envelope & Witches´ Protection Bottle

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Porcelain doll represents healing the past: inner child relationship with my parents.  Also, protective owl guardians from Cornwall, my I-Ching box and magickal box.

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A magickal working between my Rosalite and Green Quartz crystal to aid me with “balance” and “letting go”.  On a base of 8, inward pointing, single terminated quartz (8 for the Wheel of the Year and the Spider Woman), rests a coil of copper wire (Nathair, the Adder, representing Self).  On top of that is a broken spoon, blackened with candle soot, containing a drop of Prosperity Oil, a drop of Scorpio Space Aroma and a drop of Lady Nada Quintessence.  As well as being a potent magickal potion, the glossy oils against the sooty base, form an excellent Dark Mirror for scrying.

Saturday 6 November 2010

Dark Moon in Scorpio and Hekate Power is Rising…

 

this is where I want to be

this is where I´m needed

…Kate Bush, Never Be Mine: lyrics hitting right home.

I must NOT hold on - to a specific outcome.  This is a KEY.

Trust In The Plan

Hekate, Dark Moon in Scorpio and this Scorpion is flexing her tail ready for the sting.

A very strong magickal feeling in the air with the potential for very potent change.

This is why it is so important that I take control of the message from my previous post about being careful what  I  wish for!!!!!!!!! 

Floating, bumping noses… …illuminous

sings Syd Barrett in the background.  Everything becomes significant just for a moment and then I learn to follow the rhythm of

let go, let go, LET GO!!!

Klangstrhaller Projekt raising the tempto Tempo calling me back to what I was doing before the computer seduced me once again hahaha…

 

 

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Hekate Star - Hymn to Hekate, by Magin Rose

Where to from here?...

...or Be Careful What You Wish For!

Since Samhain I have been doing some serious thinking.  This has not been the manic monkey-mind style of unfocused thinking that is my usual style but really THINKING about what I want from the rest of my life.  I still cannot give an answer on that one, even though I can feel mySelf more in charge of my mind, rather than the other way around.  I forget that, just like my computer, my mind is a tool that has practical and useful purposes.  More often than not, my mind is in endless, egoistic and emotional turmoil, working against me, rather than for me.

I don't think I'm alone on that one!

Once, I wrote in my journal:
'"If I'm creating it all...
...WHY?"

This afternoon I experienced somewhat of a breakthrough moment.  I was sitting in the sun, deciding what my next move should be in the immediate sense, and where do I want to go from here in my life.  I realised that whatever action I took next, in the NOW, would make either a large or a small change to where I ended up in my life.  This is not rocket science and I have read similar advice in self help books for many years.  However, this time I felt the reality of this and saw very clearly that decisions I have pending will either make it more likely that I will stay where I am or, they will take me nearer to a move away from the quinta.

For example, purchasing a new washing machine, upgrading the plumbing and planting more trees are decisions that would increase the likelihood of me staying put; keeping in touch with friends who have offered to house-sit raises the chances of travel; upgrading the campervan and marketing our property are necessary steps if I want to move away and do something else.  Once a realisation like that becomes clear, there is no way I can go back to being a victim of circumstance.  I am creating it all and I must therefore be very careful that I do know WHY!

At the moment, I am looking around at the people I know best, and deciding whose life-style I most admire.  This is not because I intend to imitate someone else's life, but because I am currently so far out of touch with my true desires.  I need some pointers and some people provide better creative inspiration that others.  This brings me around to recommending a podcast that made me want to scream create, create, create'.  Do listen to the inspiring Mother Henna, talking with Jamie Ridler on Creative Living with Jamie.  Mother Henna managed to turn every woman's nightmare, the death of a baby, into creative expression that clearly permeates her whole life.  I was lifted by this podcast, which touched on many issues that are on my mind at the moment.  Thank you ladies for doing what you do and leaving signposts for others to follow your trail.

Mother Henna's website is here and her moving blog is here.  I've been following the work of Jamie Ridler for over a year, when I came across her explorations with the book "Wreck This Journal" by Keri Smith.  Here is her video that explains what that was about:

Jamie's Adventures through Wreck this Journal from Jamie Ridler on Vimeo.


I'm going to listen to the podcast again and probably again after that, until I start to convince myself that I too can have a creative life.  After all, I have been living away from the mainstream for over ten years now and I believe it's too late to turn my back on that.  I have to use what I have and create something wonderful from it - it's what the Goddess wants us all to do with our lives.