Lost Aussie on the loose

Hurricane Irene - Who Came and Went

The last 18 hours have been less than fun I must confess, but thank fully apart from a shredded garden and a good layer of leaves in our pool we have escaped the wrath of the hurricane unscathed.

It was not in the top #10 of life experiences.  DH was away and I chose to hunker down on a makeshift bed in the basement for a good 12 hours or so and it's really only in the last bit of this evening that the winds have calmed enough for me to head back upstairs and start to restore the house to it's usual place.

We'd taken lots of precautions, putting things away, moving furniture and vulnerable knick knacks out of harms way.  Boxed papers and documents into storm proof containers.  And whilst the repair of all those efforts will take time I don't regret the preparations for a minute.

It was scary!  And I spare many a thought for those on Long Island (and elsewhere) who have been much less fortunate.

Living a'top a hill is apparently a good thing.

Whilst managing the Hurricane I was also dealing with life enfolding dramas down in Australia...
#1 Son had a terrible bicycle accident on Friday night and ended up breaking his hand and incurring some nasty cuts and abrasions and was ambulanced off to Hospital.

His first time dealing with this sort of thing with no "next of kin" available and I was scrambling to find people to check on him in a proper fashion.

Thank God for Skype and internet connections that keep you in constant contact - hurricanes or hospitals, it is indispensible.

(Image courtesy http://www.thedailybeast.com/)

Something In The Air

Either my cats have suddenly developed acute hearing and have been tuned to the news .... or, more likely, their sense of self-preservation is kicking in.

All day they have been meowing and moody and clingy.  They know something is up.

Irene is on her way.

It's already windy outside.  Today I took pictures of the summer garden, I don't expect there will be too much left of it after Sunday.

Stay tuned ......

Still Standin'

Seems there was a teensy weesny bit of an earthquake hearabouts.  2pm or so they say.  I think I was shopping in Trader Joes or on the road and, well I can't say that I felt a thing. 

Probably good as my last memories of earthquakes were back in Australia in 1968 and not something that I ever need to revisit.  Earthquakes are right up there with snakes as far as I am concerned.  The less I know and the fewer I see the better.

I'm just glad to know that I missed the excitment, for whatever the reason.

The Sketchbook Project

On Saturday we braved the BQE and headed into Brooklyn in search of the Sketchbook Project which is housed at the Brooklyn Art Library.

It's a quaint and tiny place, housed in a repurposed warehouse.  They sell all manner of art goodness, including oil paints and other lovely paper things ... and then they have the Sketchbooks.

A collation of all the books that subscibers sought fit to submit, from all over the world.

Some are fabulous.  Others are a big yawn in a black hole.  But you can pick 4 books at at time to peruse.  They don't mind if you take pictures (which is a nice bonus) and you can pick books to search by category, geographical genre or even by name!  Ha Ha! Chris I got you!

I looked at about 36 books this go around.  I sourced some from Australia, and then went on and picked friends that I knew who had contributed.
The place was REALLY busy which I thought was pretty neat.

I'd actually applied to do a book last  year but got cold feet, thinking that what I would contribute would not be good enough -  I won't make the same mistake again next year and will ask for a 2012 book soon.

It's a very fun and forgiving project and each person's voice was amazing.

If you are at all inclined to "anything" artistic, I would recommend the project.  It's totally fabulous and the the community it engenders is just the best.

Art cheers to Sophie's Daddy, Chris and her grids and lines and the lovely and hopefully still afloat girl from Queeensland!

Art and Music

How is it that these two genres of creative expression are so inextricably entwined?

Whether you groove to the soul sister beat, move to Mraz, Mozart or Goo to the Dolls, it  seems that invariably there is a connection between creative expression and music.

As a child, music was of the turn table variety ... I think Bing Crosby at Chrismas was the most memorable event. 

Then at 15 my first boyfriend was a radio DJ and so music became a BIG thing.  Listening to the radio under the covers of my quilt, when I was supposed to be asleep. Yeah really!
And then at 16 going to the Radio Station and hearing first hand the tapes of Casey Kasem.
Later, sitting in the sound studio and getting to press the PLAY buttons, with a wicked smile on my face but able to say nothing....

Oh yes,.... the radio and music were everything at that point.

And now?  Thanks to my sons and DH (who loves to jam with his guitar and is a big rock fan) I get to listen to it all, both old and new.

And... where was I going with this? - yes, Amy Winehouse.
It's sad when an artist of her calibre is lost.
She has accompanied many a mad painting moment.

What is it about music that when it is playing loud and hard that we can create?

Perhaps not for you, but that's the way it works for me.

Triple bass, bother the neighbours kind of loud.  The kind of loud that they "facebook" your kid in Australia to say there is a problem next door! (yeah really!)

I make great art - then.

I shall miss Amy and mourn a life cut too short.

RIP Ms W.

Over at the Altered Page - A New Pulse

Acrosss at the Altered Page, Seth is getting ready to unveil the latest episode of "The Pulse".

and to mercilessly borrow from his eloquent words ... The Pulse is ...

...." an online survey in words and pictures of over 125 artists, starts out with a bang this coming Fourth of July weekend.
The Pulse is a collaborative project that has been part of The Altered Page since January 2008.
Its purpose is to "tap into the pulse" of the mixed-media arts community and share with you the "state of the art."
This project will introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and provide a window into the creative hearts and minds of the talented pool of artists working today."
Seth Apter.

Seth is also introducing Style File - a response to ‘How would you describe your artistic style’.

I'm not quite sure if I can remember what I said, but apparently it's going to be part of the "Style File".
So check out Seth's page this weekend.
It's sure to be full of artistic goodness and delight!

Be Seen Doing

I've listened in amazement at the connundrums that have plauged the American Government this week.  How is it that a caucus of parlimentarians can fail to find common ground and see to the good of a nation?

That they would  be willing to put in jeopardy the fate and livelihood of good women and men who serve this Nation - without the risk of their own paycheck?

I'm sorry, but that does not seem to be what democracy is about.  Making - or not making in this case, decisions that affect millions but leaves the lawmakers with their own salaries in reprieve, their "per diems" intact whilst the rest of America trembles and wonders if they can make their car payment next week ????

I don't believe that those who currently sit in government are setting anything near a "visionary" example for generations to come.

In fact, their example is extremely wanting in my opinion and that makes me rather sad.

What do you think?  I'd be interested to know.

Out and About in NYC

With the first day of temps over the 55F mark, DH and I headed into the City today to get a little fresh air and check out the Art Scene.

First we stopped by a few galleries around 10th Ave and 19th - 23rd Streets.  One building we stopped at was full of artist studios and during our exploration of the building we had the chance to meet with Mark Weiner and had a great conversation with him about his abstract art.

Then we tripped along to visit the Armory Art Show. 

There was quite a long line to wait to get inside and I'm darned glad it was in the 60f's and not much chillier, otherwise the outcome of our adventure would have been significantly different.

Anyway, having waited out the line and fought our way inside we were treated to the usual display of mind boggling creations.  Some that were "eyecatching" and others that were totally "baffling".

This year there was a definite upswing in the amount of artwork that required complex manufacturing, aside from the artistic process - she said, somewhat tongue in cheek!

No false teeth in glasses of water this year, but certainly many other pieces that begged a question.... or two...

I guess that's the whole point though!

Do You Know TED?

This is a fabulous website that has a wealth of wonderful information to share on all sorts of topics.

If you view nothing else, you can't go wrong by seeing this video at least.....  it's really worth taking the time to listen!

A Day to Stay In

11 to 14 inches of fluffy white stuff.

We knew, it was coming, and when I awoke, it was there.

Thankfully, our exhorbitant property taxes pay off in the Winter time and our street was plowed.

It took DH and I another 2 and a half hours to get the driveway done.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that a snow blower would be a girls best friend!