Flying Squirrels & Letting Go

Ted Andrews who wrote "Animal Speak" and many other great reads is one of my heroes. I learned so much from that book and a few others he wrote that I automatically pay attention to the animals that I encounter in my daily life as a sign from spirit.

Last night we had an unexpected visitor that our cat "Sivee" (meaning grey in Ukrainian) brought to us just as we sat down to dinner. We had the back door open because the temperature has finally dropped in Florida. It was an injured flying squirrel. Seeing no visible injuries or blood on it, my husband took it outside, hoping that it would regain some strength and return to the trees. Later my daughter Maya and I checked on it only to find that it had died. So innocent and humble it was. Immediately, we were angry at our cat. Calling him out on it, he only stared back at us and disappeared for the rest of the night. I'm hoping that Sivee found it injured instead of making the kill himself. I guess I'll give him the benefit of doubt this time, since it's the first creature he has brought home to us.

So what does this mean? Here are some squirrel attributes.

Squirrels are often observed scrounging about for food and digging holes in the earth and storing nuts and other food sources for later times. Their keen sense of smell will enable them to find their stored caches even if they do forget where they buried their nuts.  Flying squirrels, do not really fly. Their skin stretches and enables it to glide from tree to ground or tree to tree. It is nocturnal. It strongly dislikes being disturbed during the day. Owls are usually the flying squirrel's chief predators.

I ask myself; 1. Are you too active? 2. Not active enough? 3. Are you not planning at all for the future, distant or near? 4. Are you becoming too erratic--running to and fro and not accomplishing anything? 5. Do you need to learn how to save and ration on any level--including time, money, energy, etc.? 6. Are you afraid you will never have enough? 7. Are you getting too hung up on collecting and accumulating? 8. Are you gathering and not giving?

I qualify for "yes" to over half of these questions. Squirrels can teach us balance within the circle of gathering and giving out. If we are doing too much of one or the other, squirrel may appear to help us. Squirrels are the masters at preparing but they also are reminders that in our quest for our goals, we should always make time to socialize and play. Work and play go hand-in-hand, or the work will create problems and become more difficult and less fruitful.

So like a squirrel, for the last few months I have been dividing my time and energy on several different projects or jobs, hoping that one or two of them would bring more abundance into our lives. While all have brought money, my time, energy and temper are stretched thin. So the message is clear to focus on the areas where the nuts are bigger or more plentiful. In a nut shell it's time to pare down those projects that attack my time and energy and yield little reward.

Things to consider when working with the squirrel totem:

You are preparing for the future by storing up time, resources, and energy; resting during unproductive times. You are moving to a higher level of consciousness to avoid harassment. Sometimes its appearance means changes or the approach of adversaries. Warning, wisdom, change, trust, discovery, truth, balance, harmony. Use as a spiritual watch-dog to warn you of danger on any level.

What animals have you encountered lately?

Art & Clay Summer Camp 2013

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="456,463,462,461,460,459,458,457,454,453,452,451,450,438,445,446,447,448,449"] Every year the fantastic clay artist Katherine Mathisen and myself hold a week-long art camp for children in Maitland. It is always a great time for the kids and so much great art is produced.

I helped the kids create the 2-d projects. We made a watercolor of an elephant and I guided the children through a step-by-step drawing process of the elephant. We created a mixed media still life,  using old pages out of science books, acrylics, oil pastels and rubber stamps. We made Gelli prints and used the prints as the flowers of the mixed media piece.  I assisted Katherine Mathisen in her portion of the clay camp. She expertly showed the children how to make a bust, a bug on a leaf and a decorative heart.

We also made a series of greeting cards. It seems sending and receiving cards is becoming a dying art (thanks to e-mail and the immediacy of the internet) and I asked to keep one of the cards to save as a pen pal kind of project. I'm working with a friend in Australia to see if there is a group of children there that would like to make some cards and start an exchange with my art campers. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out.

Thanks for taking the time to view my blog. It's been a while since I posted. With the return to the school year, perhaps I can get back to a regular weekly posting. :)

View some of Katherine’s awesome claywork: http://www.katherinemathisen.com/

Gelli Prints

Here are a couple of photos of my wonderful Middle school art students and the prints they created using Gelli Plates. We had such fun! Here is a link to the website where you can purchase a plate for yourself;  http://www.gelliarts.com/

Doggie Art Festival 2013

This past Sunday was the 10th Annual Doggie Art Festival. I had my art and booth there, as I normally do for almost all 10 years of events! I'm getting old and time flies by! Thanks to Brian and Jeff, owners of the Doggie Door in Winter Park, FL. this has turned into a must attend dog and art event attracting art and animals lovers from all over the state and beyond. Profits go to help the non-profit http://sebastianhaulfund.org/.

It is always such a fun festival to do and attend. There are so many different types of dogs. definitely like a dog party. My GSD Sasha was in attendance, enjoying a perfect weather day outside with her family and the squirrels.

I learned about a new breed of dog the "Tundra Shepherd." The biggest German Shepherd Dog I have ever seen casually walked into my booth standing as tall a Great Dane and with a slightly wild look of a wolf. I was so taken a back that I didn't get a photo of him. The owner said the Tundra Shepherd is a rare breed, first bred by the military in the 1960's. He was gorgeous and created a crowd of dog lovers around him. The owner called him his "Rock star". For more information and photos check out this rescue group in Arizona; http://2001.homestead.com/tundrashepherd.html

Clients, relatives and friends stopped by. Here are a few photos to share. Click on the image for a larger view and slideshow. Enjoy and make sure to catch you're next dog event in your town! Such fun!

[gallery ids="410,408,409,407,405,404,403,412,413"]

Rainbow Zebras & 4 Year Olds

This year a parent from our Montessori Pre-school asked if I would do some private lessons with their 4 year old daughter.  Their daughter is quite gifted and likes to stay busy, so accepted the task. At this age children like to tell stories and draw from their imagination in their artwork. So I am trying to approach her lessons with that in mind while at the same time teaching her the basics of drawing and using different medias. In teaching her, it made me think back to my first drawings and I realized that I still had one hidden inside an old music book. I had drawn it when I was 4 and I had drawn it inside the first page of the book. Naughty me! I thought that this may be a good lesson for Alexis to try in oil pastel.

When teaching one-on-one I usually paint/draw along with the student, kind of showing them a step by step process and at the end of the project we have 2 finished pieces. Both usually go home with the student. When we started working I realized how much better Alexis was at drawing and color then I was at 4! I also realized that I still approach art in the same way I did when I was 4. A whimsical central subject and lots of color! So both Alexis and I are still learning. Do you have any of your artwork from when you were 4?

Pondering the finished product.

After School Art- Assemblage!

We just finished a 4 week assemblage project in my after school art class. The children did a fantastic job! I am just amazed with their creativity and imagination. We used mainly repurposed materials. Jewelry that I collected over the years, scrabble tiles and inspiration from the fantastic Lynn Whipple (my old studio pal from McRae Art Studios), corrugated cardboard from my husband's warehouse and more that I can't remember to list. Enjoy! Here is a definition of assemblage;

assemblage -  a collection or gathering of things or people : a wondrous assemblage of noble knights, cruel temptresses,and impossible loves.• a machine or object made of pieces fitted together : some vast assemblage of gears and cogs.• a work of art made by grouping found or unrelated objects.• the action of gathering or fitting things together.

Picasso did quite a few assemblage pieces. Here is a link to an example of one using similar materials;

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=34095

There are really no rules in assemblage, just the limits of your imagination! You should try one!

[gallery type="rectangular" columns="2" ids="370,367,369,362,371,363,373,372,364,365,366,368"]

To see more of Lynn's great work: http://www.lynnwhipple.com/

Website of a great co-op art studio in Winter Park, FL. http://www.mcraeartstudios.com/

Instagram - Instant, Connecting, Creative & Invasive

I've recently discovered Instagram and was inspired to do the photo-a-day challenge thanks to one of my dance mom friends. It's really quite easy and I'm quite happy at how artsy my images are turning out. I guess I will try to upload them continually to this post throughout the month. Here's what I've done so far.

http://instagram.com/p/SuF7_AIyDE/

DAY 1 - My view today. Painting with little dancers. :)

http://instagram.com/p/Sx2g6foyAU/

DAY 2 - My favorite holiday movie

http://instagram.com/p/Sx3Pw8oyAw/

DAY 3 - Red. At South of the Border

http://instagram.com/p/S1eIKToyD1/

DAY 4 - Joyous. The 10 of cups embodies that word.

http://instagram.com/p/S3-L2KoyBw/

DAY 5 - Today's Temperature. From my car's dashboard in sunny Florida.

http://instagram.com/p/S6XRmiIyKh/

DAY 6 - Shopping. Anthropolgie. One of my favorite stores.

http://instagram.com/p/S89MdRoyJN/

DAY 7 - Bright. My neighbor's palm tree. It gets decorated every year and just gets brighter and brighter!

http://instagram.com/p/TAAl9XIyCj/

DAY 8 - Ornaments. Although we haven't gotten the tree up yet, the ornaments are down from the attic. So I just snapped one of the prettier ones.

http://instagram.com/p/TCizZHoyGx/

DAY 9 - What I'm reading. Cloud Atlas.

http://instagram.com/p/TE0z9TIyFZ/

DAY 10 - Wrapping paper. Busy day. Uninspired....

http://instagram.com/p/TJDOoJIyOb/

DAY 11 - Green. My beautiful butterfly plants after an overnight rain.

http://instagram.com/p/TJES-jIyPG/

DAY 12 - A Beautiful sight. My daughter dancing.

http://instagram.com/p/TLmmq-IyAy/

DAY 13 - Family.

http://instagram.com/p/TPMd9_IyG9/

DAY 14 - Christmas Tree. No Christmas tree at our house yet, it's the one from the sushi resturant.

http://instagram.com/p/TSEzZToyH2/

DAY 15 - Favorite Christmas Song.

http://instagram.com/p/TUgPhBIyAp/

DAY 16 - Outside Christmas lights.

http://instagram.com/p/TW1XWNoyJS/

DAY 17 - Presents. My grey cat Sivee is the best present!

http://instagram.com/p/TdyP0CoyFA/

DAY 18 - Stockings

http://instagram.com/p/TdxKi2oyEB/

DAY 19 - Candy Cane.

http://instagram.com/p/Tyc7HHIyI0/

DAY 20 - Tree Topper.

http://instagram.com/p/TzxMtVIyJL/

DAY 21 - Peace

http://instagram.com/p/TmJNPcoyC-/

DAY 22 - Tradition. Christmas Cookies, A Herbert tradition.

http://instagram.com/p/TyeDhYIyJw/

DAY 23 - Scarf. It doesn't get very cold in Florida. This was kind of tough.

http://instagram.com/p/TzyHENIyKK/

DAY 24 - Favorite Part of Christmas Eve. Midnight Mass.

http://instagram.com/p/TxG0PjoyM7/

DAY 25 - Morning. My grey cat Sivee is the best present!

http://instagram.com/p/T4MlY9IyOH/

DAY 26 - Grateful. Want to be more so in 2013.

http://instagram.com/p/Tw9aPmIyBK/

DAY 27 - Night Time

http://instagram.com/p/Tzvt7MoyHr/

DAY 28 - Words. From a book of Russian legends.

http://instagram.com/p/T1ZKkWoyLF/

DAY 29 - Sky View. Shot at the entrance to our neighborhood.

http://instagram.com/p/T4Lv4QoyNW/

DAY 30 - Your Winter Wonderland. My childhood winter wonderland, circa 1971. Yikes! So long a go now!

http://instagram.com/p/T69ZkAoyIx/

DAY 31 - Fun! Christmas Eve with my designer friend/client KC Malhan. Check out their website! www.kcmalhan.com

The other really cool thing I love about Instragram is being able to see celebrities view of the world through their Instagram posts. My current favorite is @bigbaldhead or Norman Reedus or Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. Here are some of his latest posts.

http://instagram.com/p/SwUd40McMv/

http://instagram.com/p/S1jY29scDL/

http://instagram.com/p/SoHXBsMcC1/

Recent Portraits

I completed a couple of portraits lately and thought I'd share. I paint animals much easier than people but it is all about the process, applying the paint, choosing the right colors, letting the work grow and speak on its own.

The piece above was done for a girl turning 13, for her bat mitzvah. I've watched the girl grow up. Her mom is part of McRae Art Studios in Winter Park, FL. A co-op art studio that I belonged to for over 10 years. She has always been sweet, smart and goofy. Filled with grace, and sometimes aloof. A beauty and a tomboy.

The next piece was part of a donation the I agreed to do for my Montessori School PTA fundraiser. The winners of the donation were a very much-loved and hip teacher couple who work at the school. They are fans of the work of Sylvia Ji. They asked my to do a piece similar to her work. Enjoy!

Curious Cats

This is a commission I just completed and that I think really turned out well!

Here is the process;

1. I receive photos from the client and we agree to a size and price.

2. I create one or two pencil sketches for approval.

3. I begin the painting which can take a couple of weeks or a couple of months, depending on how crazy my life is.

4. I ship or deliver it to the client and they add it to their decor and awesome art collection!

For interior design help in the Washington D.C. area check out; www.thurstonscottinteriors.com

[slideshow]

Black Cats, Halloween & Healing

One of my wonderful art collectors lost her beloved black cat this week, Mr. Meeshka. He lived a long and happy life (15 I believe) and from what I know about him he was a pretty cool and laid back cat.

Superstitions. A Witches familiar.....

In Europe a black cat crossing your path is bad luck. In Japan it is good luck. In Scotland a strange black cat appearing on your porch is an omen as well but a good one. It means that prosperity is on the way. If you hear a cat sneeze in Italy then you are in for a streak of good luck.Cats are not allowed in the room if family is having a private talk in the Netherlands. The fear is that the cat will spread gossip all over town, and the family secrets will be out. Don’t be too hard on the cat in Ireland, however killing a cat there brings 17 years of bad luck.

I think there's something great about black cats! I've never met one that I didn't like. They look at you with a knowing of the depth of your soul. They are playful and mellow, alert and smart. Unfortunately, they are targets for strange pranks around Halloween.

The first cat I owned in my adult life was black and chose me and my husband as its owners. It used to follow us into our apartment at night and because it was black, we didn't notice it until about 15 minutes after we were in the apartment. The first meal we fed her was collard greens (the only thing we had in the fridge) and she ate every bite. We knew then that she was a stray. After about a week of following us around we decided to keep her and named her Mystic. She really lived up to her name! The first mysterious thing we found while giving her a flea bath was a tattoo on her stomach. It wasn't a number, or a name, it was a symbol. It was the female symbol with

a 6 pointed star in the circle part of the symbol. We were quite shocked by this and I went to the library to look for answers. I really didn't find anything except a reference that the symbol may be used as part of witchcraft ceremonies. A few year later, a psychic friend of mine put Mystic on her lap and intuitively saw that she had been part of a Halloween ceremony, perhaps a satanic ritual and had gotten the tattoo that way.  Mystic somehow had gotten away before the ritual was complete.

Mystic was pretty smart and would play hide n' seek with us. She would also, always eat and eat just about anything you sat in front of her.

When my mother was home with hospice, dying of breast cancer, Mystic would not leave her side, except to eat or go to the bathroom. It was only on the day of her death that Mystic left the room and then did not return until she has passed. She lived to the good age of 13, fat and happy. At that age she began to have seizures. Alarmed we took her to the vet who said she had an advanced stage of cancer and should be put down right away. It was a shock to us and my poor husband helped Mystic in the end, as I could not bear to see her go.

Scientists now believe that a cats purr may be healing or a self-healing mechanism. Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz. investigations have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing.

Is it a coincidence that Mystic had cancer, as did my mother? Does it just say that our environment is screwed up? Was her presence helpful to my mother and her illness? I was to me at least. Will there be rituals and ceremonies performed on black cats this Halloween? Will it be bad luck or good luck the next time  a black cat crosses your path?

Maitland Art Festival

[slideshow] This art show is basically in "my neighborhood" and I have done it off and on many times through the years. It is a gorgeous setting around a lake with a big fountain in the middle (Lake Lilly). A few years ago they changed it from a 2 day 10-6 show to a 3 day night show, 10-10. It is beautiful at night and the art in the booths are just wonderfully illuminated. The orchestra plays in the evening and people watch them peacefully from a grassy nole. The 3 days show is hard on the artists however, long hours, 90 degree temps and sometimes iffy weather and sales. My advice to artists thinking of applying to the show; request a booth space on a main path. I was in a new area this year. It was nice and grassy but off the main path. It was, seemingly, for the dozen or so artists in that area, our own private cul-de-sac.

The highlight of this show and all outdoor art shows (if you do a lot of them) are my neighbors and friends.

Doug Delind. My neighbor to the left. A great craftsman who loves Raku, the process and drawing.

http://www.brianjonesart.com/gallerymain.asp?GalleryID=88161&AKey=9b782dlq

Kevin Kichar. My neighbor to the right. His work looks like painting from far away but when you get close, you will see that it is filled with texture and dimension. He uses papermaking techniques and paint to make his colorful, stylish artwork.

www.kevenkichar.com

Cindy Anderson. Friend and president of McRae Art Studios, a local art co-op that I was part of for over 10 year. She created brand new work for this show and completely redesigned her booth.

http://www.cindyanderson.com/

John and Lynn Whipple. truly free spirits, greatly talented, with open hearts. They are always cutting edge and pushing themselves towards new work and processes. You will always see new work in their booths and gallery shows.

http://whippleart.wordpress.com/

http://www.lynnwhipple.com/

Pop Art of George!

Here's a newly finished piece that my Middle School art students did for display at the student section of the Maitland Art festival. I am so proud of them! They did a great job and seemed to have fun They decided to do Gilbert Stuart's George Washington portrait in a"Andy Warhol" style. Each student picked numbers out of a basket that corresponded to a square in the grid style painting. They drew out what part of the painting fit on their section of grid and painted their 2-3 squares in acrylics. We then put the piece all together and touched up what squares didn't match. Did you know that the unfinished portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart was used as a model for Gilbert and his daughter's? They painted around 100 paintings of Pres. Washington based on that great unfinished work and sold them for around $100 each. Probably a big amount for the time.

Whale Song

This past week I received a vision for a woman who's totem was "Whale" which I had not personally encountered before during a reading. I definitely saw a Ballen whale, the ones without teeth. They strain sea water through bony plates, feeding on the plankton or sea life within it. Also, the whale was a humpback which are noted for their beautiful song. These characteristics were telling the woman to look to her inner depths and express herself  more through song, poetry and words. She should also look at her diet and perhaps change it to reflect fresher or more local foods.

Whales use a form of sonar or echo-location. People with this totem are good at using energy vibrations to determine where people are "coming from." Sometimes people with this totem are very creative but must re-anchor themselves in the world, they must breach, breathe out of the water. Whale is a large and beautiful beast, creative and practical, it travel deep oceans but also surfaces to the air for breath. Duality and balance in both worlds.

Native cultures saw the whale as a gift form the Great Spirit. It allowed them to survive in a harsh climate. They used every part of the whale to live and gave thanks to the Great Spirit for it gift.

Whale symbolize;

• communication
• music
• emotional sensitivity
• creativity

When whale appears to you it is time to examine the use (or lack of use) of your own creatively. Are you tuning into the sounds and frequencies around you so that you can navigate life better? Are you awakening to new creative depths and resurfacing to daily life with a new breathe?

For more information on Patricia Carroll's work visit; http://www.ascentaspirations.ca/patsbio.htm

Dragonfly Encounter

I have a friend that had some amazing encounters with dragonfly in the last couple of months. The first one happened while she was travelling. She opened up her wallet to pay for something and a beautiful dragonfly flew out of it from seemingly nowhere! The second was while she was visiting her gallery at night. A dragonfly had lost its way inside the gallery and was flying around madly trying to find its way out. In doing so, it flew right up to my friends face and kissed her on the lips! So what could these encounters mean?

Dragonflies (as well as butterflies) signify transformation from one level of knowledge to another, physically, spiritually or mentally. Dragonflies in their early stages are known as Nymphs and spend most of their lives in the water. It takes two years for a nymph to transform into an adult. This can reflect the number of years it will take to make this personal change or transformation. As an adult they fly through the air in swift flight. They transform from a water creature to an air creature. Through that transformation they show that conquering water and sky is possible by one small creature, that nothing is impossible with belief in self. Dragonfly asks us  to release ideas of powerlessness, limitation or fear.

Dragonflies come in many different colors. For most dragonflies, colors are caused almost the same way rainbows are formed. Structures in their shells scatter and refract light, making them look iridescent. As they age, they may pass through several color changes. This ability to refract light has caused dragonfly to be associated with magic and mysticism – including color magic. Dragonfly may be telling you to work with color to transform your life. To attract love, focus on reds or violets. Green helps with creativity and new beginnings. To feel more in the now or moment, focus on yellow. To feel more connected to the universe use all shades of blues and indigo.

In the Native American tradition, dragonflies represent the souls of the dead. This may be the best explanation for my friend, as she is going through personal trials with her parents, one having cancer and the other, Alzheimer's disease. Perhaps her mother's slowly fleeting spirit is telling her to (paint) work in love, light and color - quickly!

In the words of Ted Andrews; "Dragonfly can help you see through your illusions and allow your own light to shine through. They bring the brightness of transformation and the wonder of a colorful new vision."

Take time to check out Cindy Anderson's work. She is a dragonfly person and has enjoyed painting them for a few years now!

Cindy's Website; http://www.cindyanderson.com/

You can purchase a print here; http://www.etsy.com/listing/85799618/blue-moon-print

Spider Totem

A "totem" is an object representing an animal or plant that serves as an emblem of a group of people, reminding them of their mythic past or impending future.

Signs of animals in everyday life can clue us into what we need to glean from the world and universe around us. They show us through 'what they are', behaviour and traits that can help us in our everyday human struggle. It is said if we try to take on some of the totem's traits it will help us grow in the physical and spiritual world. A friend of mine asked recently what "Spider" meant. She had been bitten by a couple of different spiders recently and was seeing them frequently in her environment.

Spiders are very delicate creatures that play an important role in the myths and lore of many people's as the teacher of balance between the past and future, the physical and spiritual. The web they weave is symbolic of time interlacing, past, present and future. The spider can move anywhere in the web and can physically move her web or home anywhere, thus she is able to move anywhere in space and time. She calls us to use our creativity and weave our own dreams into reality. She asks, how are we designing the most effective life? To my friend she is saying "Pay attention!" nothing dies, everything is accessible to you through the web.

To the Native Americans, Spider is Grandmother, she who sits at the great galactic center and is the link to the past and future. She is the female force of all creation who joins all nations, all tribes, all galactic families, and all realities together, in her web. During dream time we remove part of our consciousness from physical reality and venture off through 'her' web experiencing that which we cannot understand with our physical consciousness. The Native American "dream catcher" is part of the spider mythology.

In India it's associated with Maya, the weaver of illusions. The term Maya comes from the Sanskrit root “Ma” which means no form or limit. The term Maya describes the illusory nature of appearances or illusion. The Spider’s association with Maya brings about the understanding that not all things are as they appear to be.

The Internet is a modern manifestation of the Web symbol.  We are able to gather information from all corners of the globe, from the past and present, valid information and not so valid information. The "web" helps show us what Spider Woman is. 

Spiders have eight eyes and all have eight legs. The number eight is also a symbol of infinity  (an eight turned on its side). Also, the vibrational frequency indicates the meaning of number eight involves cycles, passage of time, and evolution.

Other spider symbolic meanings;

• Cunning
• Progressive
• Female
• Cyclical
• Rebirth
• Death
• Crafty
• Resourceful
• Creation
• Protection
• Fate

Zombies

I've been reading tarot cards for 21 years. Wow! That makes me feel old. I never thought I could do anything continuously for 20 years. Tarot, meditation and other spiritual matters/musings help you focus on the world differently. You begin to see signs in everyday life, synchronicities and serendipities that are like magic! You see Jung's collective unconscious on TV, in books and in national events, even words spoken by friends. For the last few months I've seen a lot of zombie symbols and decided to talk a little about them. Maybe I'm exercising the zombie in me? What is the collective unconscious?

The collective unconscious, originally defined by Carl Jung, refers to a segment of the deepest unconscious mind. As opposed to the personal unconscious, which is composed of long-forgotten memories and experiences, the collective unconscious consists of archetypes that represent an inherited set of beliefs and understandings. These archetypes exist to varying degrees in all humans. Many believe that over time, the collective unconscious evolves and changes to incorporate new information that is globally recognized and accepted. Some believe that their may be a genetic memory that collective unconscious that ties into and it helps our evolution and our survival as a species.

Zombies are a product of our modern collective conscience. This archetype is so prevalent currently, with the popular AMC series Walking Dead. (I love that gory show, although I am behind in viewing the second season.) We even have an example of the myth coming to life and the 6 o'clock news with the Miami man who viciously attacked and chewed on the face of an older homeless man. Tests showed that he only had marijuana in his system. Was he operating on a mental level that allowed the zombie archetype to express itself through him? We will probably never know why he preformed such a horrific crime.

Originally zombies came from an ancient African voodoo belief that a corpse could be put under the spell of a sorcerer who reanimate it and control it like a mindless automation. many say the practice still goes on it Haiti today. George Romero gave Zombies a scarier twist in "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) by retaining the "rising from the grave" element but losing the idea of the controlling sorcerer. Romero also introduced the idea of a "bite" turning people into zombies and that there was no controlling force or reason/explanation for their existence. That gave the archetype a modern twist and power.

So we have to ask ourselves what are zombies trying to tell us? What is our "collective unconscious" trying to tell us, with so many zombie examples around us? It seems to me that zombies are a symbol for the great indifference of our population, to our politics, to our gas prices, to our wars, to our everyday automaton 9 to 5 life. We are the protagonists but we are also the zombies. Our deepest unconscious minds are telling us to "wake up."

Hurricanes!

I married a Floridian and have lived 25+ in Florida, so I guess I can consider myself one too. As such, I think TS Issac will just bring Central Florida some rain and if it stays in South Florida, blue skies and a balmy wind to the Orlando area. That's what Hurricane Andrew was for Central Florida. My friends in South Florida were not so lucky.

But the impending visitation of TS/ Hurricane Issac upon us, I can't help but think of the year 2004. That year we endured 4 hurricanes. The worst of those being Hurricane Charlie, my friend Shellie was trapped in her downtown Orlando neighborhood for a week, without power and with downed trees blocking the entrance in and out of their street. Shellie said it was on of the worst thing she ever experienced. I hope she will post a comment or two to this, she has a wicked sense of humor and is a good writer herself!

Most of my friends were without power for 1 week or more. Our Apopka neighborhood was lucky. My father in-law says, "We live in a holler." During all 4 hurricanes that year we never really lost power except for Frances,  where we lost power for a day. We were pretty lucky.

For the most part Central Floridians don't really worry about impeding hurricanes. The storms usually lose their punch by the time they reach Orlando. For many it's an excuse for BBQ and a hurricane party. Some locals do panic and there's grocery store and Home Depot buying mayhem. Everyone does lots of local news viewing until the power goes out. The good thing about these storms is that friends and family get together and we get to know and help our neighbors. We realize that most people have good/big hearts and just want to help in a bad situation.

If the course of the storm looks like it's coming my way, I'll keep you updated as best as possible!

Here's Tony website. http://www.tonymendozaart.com He is a great artist, whom I had the pleasure to get to know during my Florida and Garden Festival stint at Epcot, 2005. Good luck to Tony and my other South Florida friends! Keep us posted!

My good friend and psychic mama did this post last week featuring my Chinese Key holders pieces, which are now for sale on Etsy. She is an excellent writer and psychic!

15 Questions All Dogs Should Answer

Well this is the first time I've done a commissioned painting of a dog and the dog has his own Facebook Page. I thought in honor of that I would have to interview him for my newish blog, seeing that he is hooked up with social media. Dieter is a black German Shepherd, living in the San Fracisco Bay area, obviously much loved by his humans.

1.  How do you feel about having a portrait done of yourself?  I've always been fantastically handsome, so I love it.

2. What artists do you admire?  There is nothing like the lovely smell of flowers, so I'd have to say Georgia O'Keeffe.

3.  Not all dogs have a FB page. What inspired you to make one?  I'm very photogenic, and well loved, so it's a good place to share all of those things. Plus, I have some very impressive poops to share.

4.  What do you think about animals that text or have their own twitter account, i.e. Texts with Dog or Glen Bearian? I love Texts with Dog we're definitely on the same brain wave. Emily just won't get me my own cellphone.

5.  Can you tell us what your earliest memory is? My first memory is how sick I was on the car ride home for the first time, but then I barfed on the front porch and it was all good from there.

6.  What's your favorite activity? My favorite thing to do is working out at the Shutzhund Club. I get to do aggression exercises like attack a guy in a padded suit. It's supposed to make me more obedient. http://www.schutzhundcluboforlando.org/sco_008.htm 

7.  How do you feel about cats? I love cats they're delicious.

8.  What do you like to do while alone? Usually I nap when I'm alone. I'm a people person, for sure.

9.  Do you like to listen to music? If so, what's your favorite? Oh I love music, I especially like it when Emily puts on The Police or Fleetwood Mac.

10.  Did you make a New Year's Resolution?  I've been underwear chewing free since!

11.  If you weren't a dog what would you be? If I wasn't a dog I'd be batman.

12. What's you're favorite word and your least favorite word? My favorite word is 'dinner' and I'm not big on 'drop it'.

13. Do you speak German?  I know a little German but my accent is shameful.

14.  What is your favorite toy? I love the tug rope and it keeps my teeth nice and white.

15. Do you have an answer to the age-old question, what is the meaning of life?  Eat, sleep, play, love. That's about all I'm good for!

Bio: Dieter Von Poopenwolf is an AKC registered German Shepherd Dog. Emily got him on August 21, 2011. He enjoys moonlit walks on the beach, beef carpacio, and is a Cancer. There won't be kids in the future, he went under the knife a couple of months ago. The way to his heart is through cheese and affection.

Here is a link to Dieter's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/dieter.vonpoopenwolf

Bele Chere

[slideshow] So every summer it gets very hot in Florida and I always try to book an art show out of state to escape the heat. This year I did the Bele Chere show in Asheville, NC.

Asheville is a very cool town with a wonderful art scene and beautiful mountain surroundings. I would move there in a heartbeat! I knew that they would have an event there called "Air Dogs" where dogs jump into a large pool of water chasing after a ball and compete to see which one can jump the farthest! It is very fun to watch and you can tell that the dogs love it so much! Anyway, I thought by being near this event I would catch a lot of dog lovers into my booth. Unfortunately, if they did come to my booth, they did not have any money to buy art.

Bele Chere is quite a spectacle, with music, art, special street performances, lots of resturants and galleries. There are even holy rollers that come out with signs and loud speakers, preaching what they believe to be the "correct" word of God. If you look at the video below and go to 2:31 you will see the guy that stood about 3 booths down from my booth preaching on Sat. for almost an hour. The man in red is Daniel, a preacher from Myrtle Beach, SC, who was so irrate about what the holy roller man was saying that he stayed and counter preached and prayed to him almost the whole time. I am now a fan of  Daniel. If I were more religious and lived in Myrtle Beach, I would attend his church. This was the strangest part of the show. In addition to this we had winds and rain, college guys running/hopping down the street in blue dresses, a toppless woman,  and a man in a gorilla suit. Whew!

Well, we took Monday and went into the mountains. Hopefully in the future we can return to view the spectacle wtihout being in the middle of it!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeApSW1skZ8]