The week begins....

 Keith S. Chambers sent me two cards from his soup series. So fun! And to think that I was planning to go as Andy Warhol to a costume party! Perfect.

 During the putting together of the damaged rooms, I came across the outfit that our daughter is wearing in this photo. Our grand will get to wear it this coming spring. Cute photo, outfit, and if I say so myself, child!

 Here's Bizoo asleep on my lap. I took this selfie, awkwardly. That's my ear on the left.

 And here's our Zinn eating pasta from her Papa's bowl at Stella's. She's wearing the sweater that I made using Greek cotton yarn. Perfect for eating at a Greek restaurant.

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 Another find during the move in was this circa 1990 postcard from Polidor restaurant in Paris. I added 2 postage stamps and the "big" girl.

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I made this card for a birthday of someone who works with flowers. The Victorian scrap paired with the Chagall painting and a few words that echo the sentiment on the Victorian scrap. A few dots, et voila, a finished piece of Mail Art.

Sleepy kitty, clouds, a couch, and of course, some Mail Art.

Okay, so our Bizoo is enormous! See how he fills up the wave scratcher? So big! 

And yesterday, we had such amazing clouds and colors in the sky. I couldn't get a clear angle to get the part with the orange but this photo, with the top of the monument is pretty dramatic, right?


We had dinner at an interesting place, a home set in a working space. When I turned to look, the couch was illuminated and looked like a stage set. There's the dog's lounging area in front, and behind, out the windows, you can catch a glimpse of part of the orange sky. This, too, is pretty dramatic. I'm having such interesting (dramatic) visual experiences, aren't I?

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I've been very fond of this little house and am happy to use it isolated like this. Random text makes things mysterious, and the flat "wall paper" underneath does, too.








Time to alter some old postcards again. I cut out lots of the little Victorian scraps so I'd be ready when the "inspiration" struck. I made some comment on how this little gal always cries when visiting the shrine. I'm sure you can come up with a better explanation.

 

 

 

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Today's Mail Art is a rondo - I used the cover from a round of President (brand) brie cheese. It's 6" in diameter and a nice color, don't you think. I'd had it awhile and am happy to use it. The big bird with the small woman is a nice scale change. She's a beautiful, Iranian actress. I didn't see the film she's in but it's supposed to be good. Now, what's the name of it? hmmm.

More Catching up on Mail Art, while away from home -

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 This piece was made on the train heading north. I got the image and text from the Amtrak magazine. Very minimal and I like it that way.

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This was made our first day in the city. We stayed at an Airbnb place and it was very nice. I used an image from the Amtrak magazine, a stamp I'd brought with me, and some punched out circles. Is she whistling?






Second day in the city, I used an eye from the Amtrak magazine, a stamp I'd brought and the paper that the holes were punched from the previous day. This is an "eye" series all of a sudden!









We stayed very busy all day long, so tired at the end of the day. I made my Mail Art in the morning before starting out. Here it's about the eyes, too.

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Here's another version of the eye from the Amtrak magazine. We were on our way back home when I made this one. I used the last of the stamps that I'd brought in my traveling Mail Art kit.










Some clouds. How I love looking up at the clouds, Always different. We've had some lovely sunsets. This one was taken by the Science Museum where I had a view with our overhead wires.

My son took this photo of our grand. He's a good photographer and she's a good model. Getting ready for the celebration of Halloween! What a cutie.

Catching up on Mail Art - before the little trip -

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 I was feeling kind of out of sorts before a train trip of several days, and wasn't sure if I'd have a theme for my Mail Art before I left.

I had a hand, I had some words, and then I had a kitten - okay, so it works! And everyday, I make Mail Art.

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Simple - just some torn map strips, a circle, and a butterfly sticker.











Here I'm playing with some scraps of topo maps, creating new pathways, lining up disparate roads and waterways. I added some words just because.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More map connecting. Here I didn't add any words. The map paths just were what they were.

  Bizoo is betting too big to hang around my neck and quite heavy. He doesn't know that and still wants to ride around this way. He'll be 8 months old on the 8th of November. Still a kitten, right?

I was going through old photos when putting albums back on the shelves. Here's one of my mom and her sisters. It might have been taken in the 80s. All are gone except for mom and she's the oldest. That's her on the right.

BLOG ACTION DAY! HUMAN RIGHTS

Since the topic for this year's Blog Action Day is Human Rights, I've decided to "talk" about the Human Rights Campaign. For over 30 years, this organization has been   focusing on the rights of persons who are lesbian, gay, Bi- or trans-sexual. It is now the largest LGBT advocacy group in the United States with over 1.5 million members and supporters.

Why do I think it’s important to spot-light this group, and this issue, when there are so many other human rights issues? Issues like asylum seeking, human trafficking, and others? Because I know many people personally who have experienced prejudice and hatred because of their sexuality. People who have had to pretend to be someone else, people who couldn't share in the rights that I have, people who have suffered emotionally and mentally because of who they are. And because of those people, young and old, who continue to suffer.

A number of years ago, my daughter Mica Scalin, worked on a documentary, Same Sex America, about the laws in Massachusetts changing to permit marriage between same sex partners. This film was so heart warming and wrenching, at the same time. Why? Why? What is the problem here with not permitting people who love and care about each other to have the same equal protection, under the law, as I have. Why haven’t they been permitted to have hospital visiting rights, decision making rights, shared legal power, and on and on.

We all need to support this basic Human Right because we all know a person who is lesbian, gay, bi or trans-sexual. Even if we don’t KNOW it, we do know them, they are our friends, relatives, and neighbors. They are our teachers, police officers, bank tellers, postal workers, students, doctors, etc.; they are us. And we all need to be equal under the law. I do believe this.

Support equal rights, support HUMAN RIGHTS.

Some Mail Art, and the Babies!

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 Three scraps and yet so much is going on.












Here I'm using a piece that shows part of an El Anatsui sculpture. I do so love his work. Three scraps and some random type were used for this one.

Here's Bizoo resting on our comforter the other morning.

And here's Bizoo this afternoon. I let him sit on the kitchen table briefly so that I could get this photo. 

 Last night, we watched our baby while her parents were busy elsewhere. She's being her adorable self here, pleased that she's found this rubbery thing to bite on.

She's charming me!

Testing

I'm testing to see if I can post from my phone in prep for an up-coming trip. This is Bizoo keeping me company while I rest with my bad back.

Gray day, some Mail Art, and some sky.

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 The other day, someone left a nice comment on my post. She's now included me in a post on her blog - about Mail Art. See it here. 

This postcard includes a photo that I inherited from my friend. She's the littlest girl in the front, surrounded by her cousins.





Today, it's very gray; a rainy day was predicted and we got it! I used some subtle colors from a paper sample book and some random text for this card.

 We've been having spectacular sunsets! Reds and violets that are so intense. There are too many trees in my neighborhood so I don't get the big picture but friends have posted clear shots of the sky on Facebook. Amazing. Does this bode ill or well for us, does it mean that a volcano blew up some where? I remember reading once that some gorgeous sunsets we had years ago were because of that. Anybody? Do you know what these sunsets are cause by?

The photo of the sky above fountain lake, taken last week on the way home from Spanish. I may have posted this before but I really really like it so I'm posting it again.

This was another sky last week. I was driving home from my book club and I pulled into a parking lot so that I could take this photo.

Clouds! Never two the same, right?

Some images other than Mail Art, just to share

 My little neighbor friends gave me a huge egg that their little white hen laid. It had a double yolk.

 I snapped this while stopped at a stop light. The clouds were so nice. I discovered that the update on my camera gave me filters! So I tried one on this. 

I checked on my neighbors kitties the other day. This is groucho, who I usually see when she's out and about, and comes into my yard. She's tiny and sweet, mottle peach and gray with a peach mustache. So cute. She didn't hold still so the photo is a bit blurry. 

I went on a day trip to Ikea, with a friend, to buy some storage boxes for the studio. This view of the building really pleased me. It was a terrific composition just waiting for me to take the photo.

Here's Bizoo interrupting my letter writing. 

Here's our baby at the pumpkin patch this past weekend. She's sitting up, she's crawling, she's sitting in a high chair, she's eating tiny bits of food, and slurping soup, and recognizing ME! Yay!

More from the past 13 days.

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 Here are the remaining 7 postcards from the past 13 days since I posted.

They are a mixture of collages, some usig old photographs that I "inherited" from a friend. I feel like I'm saving her memories, and sending them out to other people to keep.

I do not know who the people in the photos are.

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I like the juxtaposition of the circles and the eye.











This might be my friend in her carriage.














A bit of Manet here.












This is a Roman woman from either a fresco or an encaustic. I love that face. I feel like I know her.










And today, I just felt like using some bits of paper from a paper sample book. It seems right for autumn, though we've had  couple of really hot days here.