Tracy Rocca -Painter

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Came across a talented painter this week.

Her name is Tracy Rocca and she resides

and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Her oil paintings are softly blurred out of focus

swathes of colour and light. The artist intends the

viewer to experience a meditative effect

when viewing the work. "The goal of my work

is to create a place where the mind can rest"

she asserts.

Her galleries are Winston Wachter Fine Art -Seattle

and New York and Karan Ruhlen Gallery-Santa Fe.

She was educated in Seattle and California.

See her work above and at her

web-site www.tracyrocca.com

Hope you enjoy these images.

Have a notice-the-small-moments-

kind of day

Helen.

Zebra Wallpaper (Scalamandre)

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Dear Everyone:

As you know, I am assisting

a sophisticated 30-something

friend with a decorating project.

Came across this fantastic wallpaper

named Zebras by Scalamandre.

See this wallpaper above as displayed

in the December 2009 issue of

Elle Decor. Also see this wallpaper

at habituallychic.blogspot.com.

Heather Clawson did some research

after reader inquiries. The wallpaper

comes in 4 colourways- masai red,

serengti green, zanzibar gold, and

safari brown. See her posting

of 25/02/2010 for these colourways.

She originally featured the wallpaper

in a piece on the New York apartment
of Andy and Kate Spade of Kate Spade fame.

See the green colourway in the Spade's guest

bath.

Just a very striking pattern.

Have a struck-by-the-out-

of-the-ordinary type of day.

Helen.

Woodland Story 2010

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Captured some great shots of woods.

Hope that you enjoy these images.

Helen.

Eszter Burghardt at Bau-Xi

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Dear Everyone:

I had to share this work.

Eszter Burghardt is an Hungarian-Canadian

painter and photographer. She lives and

works in Vancouver and has a BFA from

the Emily Carr Institue of art.

She completed some artists' residencies

in Iceland and immersed herself in the

landscape while there.

Working from memory she created

dioramas out of wool, which she

processed, dyed, knit and felted,

and then photographed. The results

(see above) are amongst the

most interesting work I have ever seen.

See her exhibit March 6-20th at

the Bau-Xi gallery-Toronto

at 340 Dundas St. West.

The web-site is http://www.bau-xi.com/

Helen.

The Peacock in Hinduism

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Here are some stories of the role

of the peacock in Hindu myth.

Each of the gods and goddesses in the

Hindu pantheon have animals associated

with them. One association is the use of

an animal as a vehicle.

Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and wealth,

rides an owl or a peacock. Goddess Saraswati

also rides a swan or a peacock. She is the goddess

of the performing arts such as prose, poetry and music.

Indra, the god of war, was fighting with a demon-king.

A peacock took pity on him and hid him behind

his fan of tail feathers. A dull brown like the pea-hen.

Indra, to thank, the peacock gave him the brilliant
green and blue plummage we see today.

Krishna, is recognized as an avatar of Vishnu.

Portrayed as a child playing he was moved from

a threat at a palace with his parents to be raised

by cow-herders hence he herded cows himself

until returning to his birthplace. As a child

he saw a peacock feather which everyone else

disparaged and picked it up. He is now depicted

with a peacock feather on his head, as a result.

He is known as a warrior and teacher.

Lord Murugan, is the child of Shiva. He is

associated as the god of war and rides a peacock.

He is recognized as being good-looking

and a skilled lover hence he is also associated

with fertility worship.

Finally, there is a fable of a peacock

and a tortoise. The peacock and tortoise

were friends and lived by a river.

A bird-catcher came and caught the

peacock to take him to market.

The peacock asked to say good-bye

to his friend the tortoise. The tortoise

was very upset and asked the bird-catcher

to let the peacock go. The bird-catcher

refused saying this was his livelihood.

The tortoise offered the bird-catcher

a gift in exchange for the peacock.

The bird-catcher agreed. The tortoise

dove and came up from the river with a pearl

to give the bird-catcher. The bird-catcher

released the peacock and accepted the pearl

in his stead. The tortoise then told the

peacock to hide high in the mountains.

On a later day the bird-catcher

returned demanding more payment.

The tortoise was angry. He told the

bird-catcher give me the pearl and I

will dive and find it a match. The bird-catcher

agreed. The tortoise took the pearl and dove

and hid and failed to give anything back

to the bird-catcher. The bird-catcher

always regretted his greed.

Have a spiritual-kind-0f-day today.

Helen.

Muralscape 2010

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Photographs of another mural from a downtown

building.

Have a hard-work-brings-satisfaction-

kind-of-day.

Helen.

True Self (Swan Figure) 2010

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I have wanted to sketch and paint

a figure capturing emergence since

seeing my Valentine's swans image.

I wanted to produce a female figure to be

emerging from a swan.

The script is"

"your true self may be

who you are in the process

of becoming".

Hope you enjoy this image.

Have a make a wish-list-

kind of day.

Helen

Ganesha 2010

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The image of the elephant god painted

on the exterior facade of the store

"The Black Market" is a depiction

of the Hindu god Ganesha.

One of the most popular of

the Hindu deities he is worshipped

across sects in India.

He is considered the god of success

or "remover of obstacles". He is also

associated with wisdom, knowledge

and learning.

He has an elephantine head,

four arms, and a pot belly.

He rides the humble mouse.

The son of Shiva and Parvati

he came into being as follows:

One day Parvati was taking a bath.

She created a son to guard her
in the house. When her husband

Shiva returned he was stopped

by the son. Enraged Shiva shore

off his head. Parvati was grief-stricken

and to appease her Shiva asked his army

to find a creature facing north. The

army brought back the head of an elephant.

Shiva attached the elephantine head

to his son's body and created Ganesha

who returned to life. Shiva made him

the leader of his troops and a deity to be

worshipped in his own right.

Ganesha is worshipped in a ten day

festival titled Ganesh Charturthi

and his image can be found in many

Hindu households.

Helen.

Tiger 2010

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Dear Everyone:

This is the last of my images

to be posted from my outing

on Saturday.

This mural of a tiger was

also on the exterior of the

very decorative facade

of the store "The Black Market'.

This image reminds me a bit of the

subject matter and style of

naive artist Henri Rousseau

(1844-1920). Rousseau

was self-taught but his talent

was recognized in his time

and Picasso for instance

championed his work.

Hope that you enjoy this image.

Helen.

Demolition 2010

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Dear Everyone:

Captured some shots of buildings

under demolition. Liked the gritty poetry

of the architecture and the debris.

Hope that you enjoy these shots.

Helen.

Decorative Triptych 2010

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Dear Everyone:

Did a photo outing downtown
on Saturday.


Shot a highly decorative building
housing the store named
"The Black Market" which
I will share on today's post.

Also shot a set of buildings
under demolition that
I will share tomorrow.

Today's posting is
of a triptych.

Hope that you enjoy this image.


Have a notice-beauty-day
today.

Helen.

False poem 2010

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Dear Everyone:

Here is a clipped poem by Wanda Campbell
(2009): Lethbridge, Alberta -Blue Grama
Publications corp.p.73

FALSE


poetry is easy
you said
just find the truth
and tell it


but false is everywhere
false step
false prophet
false eyelashes
false alarm
false front
falsehood


and me thinking
I'm better at losing
than finding


car keys
contact lenses
important papers
especially things in pairs
socks mittens earrings

I never lose both
which means I'm left
with the half truths
lined up lonely
in my jewelry box
waiting to meet their match


Hope that you enjoyed this
poem.

Helen.

Valentine's Day: An Ode to Romantic Love 2010

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Above all else Valentine's Day celebrates romantic
love.

Here are several of my poems of the same bent:


"You are the sentiment of my heart"

"Every time I see you a poem rises
to my lips"

"I've been gathering towards this
moment here with you all of my life"

"I love you to the point of heartbreak"

"My feelings for you are non-refundable"

"When you are away from me it is like
a night without stars"

"Life with you is like a conversation
that never gets dull"

"You are like a poem on the landscape
of my heart"

"Your love is ever varied- it is both
soothing and energizing, urgent
and calm, it is both danger and safety"

"I would like to make love and
tangle up my limbs with yours"

"When we are apart I miss
you to the point of loneliness"

Whisper to me, whisper to
me in the night
When all is still, whisper to me
whisper to me words of love

Last night-I dreamed of you
in water, wet


Hope your heart is full
for Valentine's Day.

Have a pink-and-red hues kind of day.

Helen.

Valentine's swans 2010

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Dear Everyone:



I am struck by the beauty and magic of swans.
Most importantly as a symbol of love
for Valentine's Day- swans mate for life.
This then fits with the idea of a soul-mate
for humans. A soul-mate hopefully
becomes a partner for life.

This is an earlier poem:

"Soul-mates never diminish a person
they assist you to become your most
authentic self."

So, if life has thrown you a curve
and you don't have a romantic soul-mate
surround yourself by friends who share
the same values and interests and likes
and dislikes. Friends who weather
the ups and downs with you.

Lastly as an individual find what
makes your self and soul feel complete.
Vis a vis Laura Hollick's (of Soul Art studio)
belief that your life is your soul's art.

The richness of nurturing your soul
and spirit can come from many different
sources.

Have a spend-a-few-minutes-with
-your-soul-kind of day.


Helen.

Blogs new to me 2010

Dear Everyone:

A dear friend has been discussing blogs with me.

Here are 3 blogs new to me that she forwarded.

The first is by a writer and photographer
named Elisabeth Aarhus Hudson based
in Norway. She works for interior decorating
magazines and has published much of her work
on her blog - titled-

inspirationalspaces.blogspot.com.

The main thing that struck me was how spartan
the Norwegian decor is for the most part.
Very contemporary. Very understated. White walls.
Blacks and browns. Mimimal furniture and objects.
Sort of refreshing. Definitely worth a look.

The second blog forwarded by my friend is
a fashion blog by a photographer based in
Manhattan. He shoots mainly men's fashion on the street
in such cities as Manhattan, Paris and Milan.
He also covers top designers and stores.

The title is:

thesartorialist.blogspot.com

Lastly, an author and cook from
Seattle, writes the blog-

orangette.blogspot.com

She mixes personal reverie in
high style with recipes. She has
also authored a book:
The Homemade Life: Stories and
Recipes from my Kitchen Table
and opened a Seattle-based pizza restaurant-
named Delancey.

What struck me about all 3 sites is
the personal passion of the bloggers.

Enjoy.

Have a browse-a-blog-site-
kind-0f-day.

Helen.

Top model (sensuous) 2010

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Dear Everyone:

I continue to sketch and paint

the faces of female models.

This is the latest image.

Hope that you enjoy this image.

Have a great-get-outdoors-

and-breathe-in-the-air

kind of day.

Helen.

Blue room February 2010

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Dear Everyone:

I check into about 12 blogs once a day

or so.

I saw a highly inspiring room on one

of my favourite blogs (habituallychic.

blogspot.com) this morning posted

yesterday (08/02/2010).

The room is featured as it is blue

and blogger and interior designer

Heather Clawson was showing

a collection of images of blue rooms.

I have no information on the

room other than that it is by

Antony Todd.

Look at the deeply saturated

turqouise wall colour. The furniture

makes me think of the white stucco

walls of the houses of the Greek islands

against the turquoise sea. The sisal rug

is casual underfoot. The lamp is over-sized

and almost looks like a statue on a plinth.

The coffee table looks like 2 leather ottomans.

The 2 occasional chairs introduce an earlier

aesthetic. Just a perfect room.

This room made me lose my breath

when I saw it.

Hope that you enjoy this image.

Helen.

Faces in the Architecture III 2010

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Dear Everyone:

I returned to the same building

to capture more faces in the architecture.

I set out to capture a more 3D effect.

I think this worked with the best example

being facesinthearchitecture112010 -

one of the lion images.

I also think the composition of

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is very strong.

Hope that you enjoy these

images.

Have a keep-trying-until-

you-get-it-right-kind-of-day.

Helen.

Faces in the Architecture cont'd 2010

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Dear Everyone:

Two more images of stonework

on the same building as posted a

few days ago.

This figure looks like Neptune, the sea god,

however I am not certain.

Hope that you enjoy these

images.

Have a buckle-down-and-

catch-up kind of day.

Helen.

Stone lion 2010

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This folk art painting of a lion

in stone is based on my photos

from a day or so ago.

I enjoy using my own photos

as a photo reference for a

painting.

Hope that you enjoy this

image.

Have a plan-an-outing-to-

an-art-gallery kind of day.

Helen.

Faces in the architecture 2010

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Dear Everyone:

I have always loved statues and stonework

featuring faces in the architecture.

Here are a few images I took yesterday.

Hope that you enjoy them.

Have a stay-inside-sheltered-

from-the-bitter-cold kind of day.

Helen.

Cafe curtain 2010

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Dear Everyone:

This photograph (above) is of a lace
curtain at a local cafe. I liked
the eyelet fabric and the way
the curtain draped at the window.

Then I thought. Wouldn't it be
interesting to photograph patrons
of the cafe as they walked past
the window walking toward
the entry shooting from inside
the cafe through the glass.

So I might do so as a project.

We will see.


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This second image (above) is from several

years ago but I think it still holds up well.

Have a pay-attention-to-new-ideas-kind of day.

Helen.