Music Mondays: Carolaoke Song #27

I have another Patsy Cline tune for this week’s Music Monday. I remember seeing the Patsy Cline movie and loving it. Actually, I love Music-mentaries of all kinds and have an unhealthy love for “The Temptations” mini-series which I own on DVD. I guess it’s time to purchase the digital version and while I’m at it, I’m thinking of researching if the Patsy Cline movie exists digitally in these modern times. Those movies are always super inspiring to watch.

Please enjoy my scratch track Carolaoke version of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” and please keep well.

Read more

Freaky Fridays #4

I’ve been completely inside my head lately with little words coming out. Sometimes it just needs to be that way. I need to collect myself and focus.

HOWEVER, I was able to get back into making more cards for The Bird People Tarot deck this past week. I got out my colored dyes (finally) and experimented with some new card backgrounds for new cards. Did a little paper surgery creating new bird people and tiny words.

The ones I’m posting today, however, are not new. They were created in 2016, and that’s what I’m posting for this Freaky Friday because I'm currently in extreme introvert mode. I hope to have more words next week. Although I can’t guarantee that. Please keep safe and well this weekend.

Tarot deck 07
Minor Arcana: Queen of Pentacles

Upright Meanings:
Greatness of soul
Sincere
Economic freedom
Confident
Bold
Reversed Meanings:
Treachery
Bad Health
Doubt
Mistrust
Timidity

Tarot deck 08
Minor Arcana: Four of Pentacles

Upright Meanings:
Fear of loss
Offering
Gift
Generosity
Kindness
Reversed Meanings:
Obstruction
Financial loss
Monopolizing
Delays in payment
Cloistered

Tarot deck 09
Major Arcana: #13 Death

Upright Meanings:
Change
End
Transformation
Failure
Mortality
Reversed Meanings:
Stagnation
Sleepwalking
Discouragement
Pessimism
Depression

Read more

Studio Closeup #28

Welcome to today's Studio Closeup #28! This one is part of The Museum Series. I've been in the mood to revisit the Milwaukee County Zoo's bird aviary lately so since that's on hold presently due to the pandemic, I thought I'd bury myself inside a made-up bird aviary instead. Please enjoy!

Title: The Museum Series: Red-Legged Honeycreeper
Year: 2021
Media: Acrylic Paint, Paper Diorama and Collage on Wood Panel
Total Dimension: 10" x 10" (1.5" Cradle)

Blue tanager 01
The Museum Series: Red-Legged Honeycreeper
Blu tanager 02
Inside Diorama Closeup

Read more

Music Mondays: Carolaoke Song #26

Welcome to today’s Carolaoke Song #26. Today I chose to cover vintage Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”. I know I’m no Madonna, not even close, but I love this song and I love to sing this song. ESPECIALLY in the car. IN FACT, I still have the original 45 and its original paper jacket it came in as you will see below. I remember I had my learner’s permit and drove downtown to “Mainstream Music” in our 1984 stick-shift Pontiac Phoenix on a beautiful spring day and bought this 45. When I got home, I opened my bedroom windows and proceeded to play this song over and over all day pretending I was Spanish Madonna. The Latin-esque music was what really caught my attention when I heard this song on the radio and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I also kept this record jacket in mind when I needed inspiration for my senior pictures in 1990 which I've also included. So, I guess I always was nuts, living out loud with my heart on my sleeve, trying to find the good in everything weirdo. Although, finding the good in everything in modern times is more of a “Well, hm, let’s try to find some (any) positive aspect of this current shitstorm we’re experiencing” approach. I’m also trying to rebuild that wide-eyed ambitious living out loud with my heart on my sleeve girl who got lost in Life’s fray. I know she’s still in there, it’s just a matter of coaxing her out, little by little by slowly.

Thanks for stopping by today! Please enjoy this homemade scratch track cover of Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”.

Madonna 01
Madonna 02
Madonna 03
Me at age of 18 in 1990.

Read more

Freaky Fridays #3

Last Friday I posted some cards from the Bird People Tarot deck that I've been working on in no particular order because that’s the way I do things. It occured to me that we could all learn Tarot together as I go. For example, the first 22 cards of a Tarot deck (The Major Arcana) are the most powerful cards that are in the deck and “are based on the Hebrew system of numbers and the alphabetical sequence of its 22 letters. In fact, the name Tarot [pronounced “ta-roh”] is closely related to the Hebrew word Torah.”

I also was mistaken last week when I said I need to make 72 cards. I actually have to make 78 pieces of art, but I'm cool with that because it’ll help me learn and remember the meanings of the cards rather than using books during a reading. I’ve decided to break each card down to five words that describe the card in its upright position and five words that describe its reversed position in a reading. After the Major Arcana there comes the Minor Arcana (which are all the suit cards) that have elements attached to them just like in Astrology. For example:

Wands: Fire
Cups: Water
Swords: Air
Pentacles: Earth

For today’s Freaky Friday installment, I decided to reveal three more cards from The Bird People Tarot Deck. Two cards are from the Minor Arcana and one card is from the Major Arcana. I’m hoping by posting this weird shit, it will motivate me to continue working on the deck and learn more about Tarot. And really, what else are we going to do right now.

Enjoy and please keep safe and well.

Tarot deck 04
Minor Arcana: Knight of Pentacles

Upright Meanings:
An active man
Obliging
Kind
Helpful
Important
Reversed Meanings:
Apathy
Peace
Tranquility
Discouragement
Carelessness

Tarot deck 05
Minor Arcana: Two of Cups

Upright Meanings:
Choices
Sincerity
Friendship
Love
Empathy
Reversed Meanings:
Hindrances
Obstacles
Separation
Covetousness
Dissatisfaction

Tarot deck 06
Major Arcana: #0 The Fool

Upright Meanings:
Innocent
Foolery
Intoxication
Irrational
Extravagance
Reversed Meanings:
Bad Decision
Distraction
Mistakes
Hesitation
Absence

Read more