| This Week's Illustration Friday Submission for... |
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07:54pm 02/10/2009 |
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..."Pattern" This one was a real toughie. Sure I could put one of my zillions of patterns that I create, but I would have had the "professor in my head" shrugging and rolling his eyes and saying and saying, " Uh... yes... that's a pattern." I knew I had to step it up a notch. So I took it back to what I knew best. Kids in a classroom. And This is what I got.  Still, I was up till 5:00 in the morning finishing this. And I am getting way to old for sleep deprivation! |
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| Here's to You, Dad!!! |
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04:38pm 04/09/2009 |
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As I stop for a breather in this insanely busy 2 months, I realized I'm a month late in wishing my Dad a Happy Birthday. I'm not a birthday person. Perhaps it's because my own birthday was overshadowed by a major holiday that birthdays have never been something I've done well. So how did I remember this occasion approximately one month after the fact? Well I was dying my hair. and I was thinking about how so many people who have said that they could never do this. And I was thinking that I never had the realistic option to pay big money like most of the people who dwell in this area of "old money." When I got married, my "old country" parents wished me well and said that it was time for me to make my own life. And then I realized that I had had dropped the ball in birthday wishes to one of those parents. I think the thing that I am most grateful for is the stainless steel spoon my Dad put in my mouth at birth. Not a silver one that would bail me out of my mistakes, but a solid one that would aid me in digging my way to the solutions to my problems. The times of confusion and cultural differences between the "haves" that I have always lived among and the tightly disciplined way that I was raised have always been a cause of consternation for me. I needed to be accepted by my peers. And they would give me advise to do what they believed was the "right thing." And I would find that doing the "right thing" would often land me in more hot water than i could hardly handle. In exasperation, my father accused me of being one of "those people." I would spend many years wondering who "those people" were and feverishly worrying that I may be turning into one of them. By the time I reached young adulthood, I slowly began to understand that most people confuse the "right thing" with "loyalty issues." And learning to walk between the two is something that builds and establishes integrity and credibility. And no amount of money can either buy those or bail you out of the trouble caused by the lack of those two things. Despite smear tactics that are used without a bit of conscience, the need for this, (Now referred to as 'transparency") will always remain. I have been given bits insight from both great people and people that I would rather burn in hell than befriend. But their secrets are safe in my soul. I have even dwelt in the realm of insanity for a period of time learning how to hold in what should not be shared with the world. And as I fight for what I believe is the "right thing", I also realize my own beliefs are still just my opinions, and there is still a long time before everyone on this planet is on the "Same Page" And that we are living in a world that is rapidly losing it's ability to distinguish between the "right thing" and "loyalty issues." Much less how to walk between them. My earliest memories of my Dad teaching me is when he would take us to the lake swimming. He would take me to the deep part, and when I was treading water, he would back away, saying, "Swim to me!" Of course the first times he was there close by. Then he gradually backed further and further away each time. My Dad, I'm sure never thought that I really "got" what he was trying to teach me. But his daughter was just a bit smarter than he realized - I understood from the start that this was not about swimming skills. As a youth, I often had dreams of swimming the length of the lake and back (though I don't think I ever really did this! LOL!) As I got older, the lake became an ocean in my dreams and In my 50's, I now often swim (in my dreams!) to the arctic circle and return to the tropics. My Dad taught me how to be a good swimmer - both in water and in life. And he did it by making me do it myself, not holding my hand. I wonder how many parents have he courage to do this in this day and age? In these troubled times, it will be the strongest swimmers that survive. Thank you Dad - Your lessons did not fall on deaf ears! |
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| Losing a Mother-in-Law |
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11:21pm 28/08/2009 |
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This has been such a difficult time. My husband has just lost his mother. Being a man who has had to walk between two very different women in his life, I think he had the chance to look at her as a person as well as a Mom. And love her all the more for it. HIs morning is deep. And the pain comes in waves that overpower this giant of a man as he breaks down and weeps - sometimes for no apparent reason. And my daughters are also grieving deeply. For them, she was "Grandma Kitty." My own mother was going through things in her own life that kept her from becoming close to my girls. But Dave's mom - she just stepped right in and loved them from the start. She could not have been more proud of them.
My oldest daughter, already heavy with the twins she is carrying, had tears streaming continuously down her face. My 5 year old granddaughter, was trying to understand why mommy couldn't stop crying. My youngest daughter had taken some approved days off from veterinary school to help us with the funeral . She was the one who was there for her at the nursing home, some times feeding or washing her. She told me how she remembered me reading "Love You Forever " to her as she did this for her beloved Grandma Kitty . Both daughters, with red faces and swollen eyes, hugged each other often consoling each other at this shared loss.
I did alright until the end. At this point in my life, I realized that this is where we are all headed, and at 52, I realize it will end up being sooner than later. I have made peace with that already several years ago. And I was alright with the flood of memories. From the time I met this woman... The good times, the arguments, the times of support and concern. The times I wanted to scream and the times I desperately wanted to hug her dearly. And the thankfulness that she was able to be for my Daughters what my Grandmother had been for me. I grieve in my own way, realizing that the greatest blessings in life are not always wrapped in the most elegant packages, but in the common everyday moments shared with dear ones. As I held her hand for one last goodbye, the tears rolled.
Those times, and she, will be sorely missed. 
JUNE ANN KASS JACKSON, 83, a native and 80-year resident, of East Liverpool, died Monday, August 24, 2009, at 11:50 a.m. at Country View of Sunbury, in Sunbury, Ohio.
Born in East Liverpool, June 30, 1926, she was a daughter of the late John B. Kass, Sr. and Amelia Walderhaug Kass. A dedicated homemaker, she held several jobs in the area. She was a graduate of the East Liverpool High School Class of 1944 and a member for nearly 60 years of the First Church of Christ, Disciples where she had served as a deaconess and a Sunday school teacher among other activities. A part owner of the Kass China Company with her family, she enjoyed collecting pottery and had an interest in the history of the ceramic industry in East Liverpool. She also cared for and enjoyed the company of animals, especially her beloved cats. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband David Jackson, Jr., and a brother, John B. Kass along with four sisters, Kristine Walker, Mary Burlingame, Wallie Clark and Ruth DiLucca. Survivors include a daughter, Barbara A. Paddock, and her husband Harold D., of Westerville, Ohio and a son, David Jackson III, and his wife Deborah L., of Aurora, Ohio. There are three grandchildren, David M. Paddock, Stephanie M. Merriman, and her husband, Anthony, and Emily A. Jackson as well as one great-grandchild, Kaylee M. Merriman. Other survivors include three cousins, Elizabeth Wimmer of East Liverpool, Inger Lloyd, of Wellsville, Sue Hute of Salem, a sister-in-law, Margaret Thorn of Wellsville, one brother-in-law, James DiLucca Sr., three nephews, Martin Keith Thorn, Jr., William Burlingame, and James DiLucca of Wooster, and two nieces Mary Elizabeth Clark of South Euclid, and Joanne Schlub, and her husband Robert, of Guam.
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| The Art of Gothic European Cathedrals |
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04:01pm 01/07/2009 |
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OK, I have to admit. Other than drawing stories, I grew up never understanding art as anything other than drawing what pleased me. Yes I could see the need for balance, that was just apparent. So it was in design school that I was asked constantly (ad nauseum) things such as, "Why did you put that line there and not here? Why did you make that object placement here and not there? Why did you choose the thickness of this bar? Why did you choose that particular shape? etc. etc. etc. My designs were torn apart like a computer drawing would be broken down pixel by pixel. There was never a one thousandth of an inch piece that was not thoroughly examined and questioned. Because we were working by hand, our eyes literally changed appearance over time due to the eye muscles becoming so highly worked out. Our minds became so attuned to infinite visual details that we became real PITAS to our families. And we began to realize that the master artists of history were different than the casual artist who was able to draw or paint very well. Through line, space, and color there were messages left like their signatures throughout history - hints and clues about what they believed but not allowed to verbalize. Master artists created more than an interesting picture. They created a thesis in puzzle pieces. The piece I am doing now requires me to duplicate an alcove of St Denis Cathedral. How simple it looks. Two large stained glass windows in an arched little niche. But my background does not allow me that luxury. Looking again, I realize these twin windows are not even closely related. Although the colors used are the same and the pieces are both tiny and intricately arranged, they do not even have the same border design, much less the same placement of similar shapes within the window. The task is enormous that awaits me, but I can't help but begin to try to decipher these hand designed windows. I remember being told that a set of windows was placed in one church in such a way as to to reflect blue apples on the inside wall of the building. Blue Apples are a distinct code for the early followers of the Magdalene churches in France as they battled the ever growing Roman version of Christianity. I would love to be able to decipher what these two windows are saying. mood: contemplative music: Gaudete |
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| What is a "Conspiracy Theory," ...Really? |
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04:48pm 22/06/2009 |
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I'm reading a book called Hidden Codes and Grand Designs, by Pierre Berloquin. It's a fascinating book on the history of coding used for closed communication channels. It seems that nowadays if you talk about possible hidden codes, you automatically become a "Conspiracy Theory Nut." Or a crazy treasure hunter like the characters in National Treasure. But let's face it. Codes have existed since the time of Pythagoras. And so have secret societies. (I mean, let's face it. What's the fun of coming up with a secret code if you don't have a club to share it with?) So what's going to happen when the society starts getting wealthy? And when the members start getting into positions of power? Or in a position of guarding government info that's not appropo to share with it's constituents? Aren't they going to have secret agendas? And aren't they going to communicate this agenda via their secret code? And aren't they going to get creative about passing on their code so the average person just "isn't going to get it?" Come on! Whether you want to call it a secret agenda or a conspiracy, this stuff goes on as readily as dandelion seeds blowing in the wind! |
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| Trip to China |
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11:03pm 16/06/2009 |
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Hubby visited China in May with his class and there was a video made of the trip. I posted both parts. Hubby is in part 1, but part 2 has all the places they saw - SO COOL!
(Documentary of trip to Beijing and Shanghai, China in May 2009 for International Business Experience class for Kent State University Executive MBA Program. Business and cultural events are explained.)
Part 1 - of my husband's class' (KSU EMBA) trip to China. (That's my Hubby on the pic! ) Part 2 - Hubby's not in this one but it's got all the goodies, so I had to share |
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| Writer's Block: Talking Ducks |
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12:22pm 09/06/2009 |
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Early Disney was laden with adult innuendo - From a sexy Tinkerbell, to a Duck that yelled "QUACK,QUACK,QUACK!" every time he was angry. Actually all of the earliest cartoons were just a bit edgy, But it was two newer cartoons that left me ill every time ; Ren and Stimpy, and the Christmas Poop on South Park .Both left me wondering how something so twisted and perverse could be so popular? Even Family Guy and American Dad - which are both pretty bad, come nowhere near the perversity of the two previous shows. |
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| October 2009 |
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| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
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Illustrator 222 will be appearing soon on DLJ Illustrations.com. Meanwhile, oheck out her gallery and explore the house. More new things added every day!
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illustrator222's journal
