Hi everyone! I’m happy to pass on the name of the two poster giveaway winners!

Linda Robinson
~•~ and ~•~
slommer

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy the prints! Thank you, ArtSnark, for such a fun giveaway!! Thanks to everyone who entered and helped promote the give-away.

Jacquelyn Berl (aka Ascender Rises Above ), California.

I live and work in paradise. My apartment *is* my studio; a place where I go to get completely lost in time, a place to dream and play.

Over the years, my studio has grown from one corner to taking over the entire living room. Living and working under the same rooftop is perfect for me. It’s freeing to be begin creating whenever I get the urge, even in the middle of the night.

My workstation powers from sitting to standing – depending on how much I am moving around. I try to keep it tidy, most of the time. My screen sits atop three college books about architectural graphic standards; college was a few years ago (ahem; cough, cough). I hide the regulation bird’s nest of wires and gadgets behind a curtain which unfolds as I power my workstation to standing. It isn’t cutting edge, but then, neither am I. Like me, it usually gets the job done nonetheless.

Other stuff on my desk includes the essential broken coffee cup with assorted pens, a big stack of paper, lists, notes and letters next to the keyboard. I keep my active files in a hanging rack to the left of my workstation. I still use my scanner from time to time, and my workhorse LaserWriter 12/640, so old that the ink cartridges don’t have expiration notices on them; unlike my HP 1200 office inkjet. (grr). I listen to music (Pandora or i-tunes) when painting or doing pastels. I don’t like music playing while working on the computer.

The wall in front of the workstation bland; colorless and devoid of artwork (both my own as well as other peoples). I think it’s better for the creative process that way – less external influence allowing you too focus on balancing the colors in the piece at hand. At one time I had assorted framed Scatterlings on the wall above my desk but found I was forever referencing them and trying to redo aspects I’d thought successful. Do you do that? Besides the whole area is cranked up with radiation from the computer etc anyway; right? (Note the carbon monoxide alarm on the wall; I try not to think about it being there. If it sounded I would have a cow right where I am sitting)

To the left of my workstation is an ancient entertainment center which is the size of a decent sized buffalo, filled with inspiring magazines and books, photo albums and a few of my scrapbooks. I’ve been working professionally as an artist since the age of 24, so over the years I’ve acquired a pretty nice library. I have to limit myself to the amount of books this thing can hold or else the whole room would be full of books — I do try to recycle out the books that have outlived their usefulness about twice a year.

Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of artwork in my rooms; piled thick with it. It’s just all on the wall behind my workstation when I’m working. Most of these are the larger pieces I’ve been working on.. I keep paintings over the fireplace on rotation through out the rest of the house. I try not to get too attached to seeing them in one spot or I will never be able to part with any of it. I used to keep all sorts of fun items on the mantel but removed them too.

(riddle me this batman – why, oh why, did they put a fire place leading into the hallway?)

On my front door is a large six week calendar where I stick that all-important ’stuff’, postcards, lists, notes of huge importance and a list of paper dimensions, because I never remember anything the slightest bit technical, even down to paper.

This is a a bookcase made for my art supplies; it is quite thin. I go ahead and leave my supplies in the open or I would completely forget what I have and where I have put it. It is in an area that doesn’t get a lot of attention.

Embellishments, feathers, collage, mixed media supplies, glues, beads; glass bottles preserving dried flowers; stamps, inks; critters in the making. In a few minutes you will forget it is there too.

I have begun to seriously took up collecting for future assemblages – next year!

Every year I say “next year”; meanwhile I collect whatever tiny items I find on the ground. This is part of my collection of found items from the last six years. I have realized that I don’t make these assemblages because I am afraid of ruining the items.

I usually work on my standing light table and an easel which collapses down to store between light table and wall. I’m fortunate enough to have a lot of natural light. The light table is quite large and durable, it has the light mechanism built inside … Can you even still find these today? (I got this light table from my former job where I worked as a designer on a marketing team for a state wide newspaper; they cleared them out when the department shifted to computers.)

I have modified the light table to attach permanently to a small work table. I wish the black trays to the right were attached permanently – I want to use them but tend to keep them empty due to the amount of times I have bumped into them and knocked them on the floor. I got tired of picking it all up. (Why don’t I just fix them?)

I tucked two 2-shelf bookcases from IKEA in front of the light table – the perfect size as they look built into the light table.

This area is really quite organized at the moment, due to the fact that I have just finished one brief project and will soon be starting another. My daughter and I are putting finishing touches to a couple of paint-by-numbers for her apartment. (I tossed the instructions to mine and altered the painting style; I am picking up colors she used in hers so there will be a consistent color key). Usually this area is a little chaotic and when I can’t see my desk, or the floor, or find anything, I tidy up and start again.

I have a small coffee table behind the light table which I continually trip over; I keep the answering machine on it; a land line which I rarely pick up. (I wish I could get Victoria’s voice to answer the machine).

Behind the coffee table are doors/windows to a small porch which I sometimes escape to. I have flowers and trees out here. Every year a random flower popped up. I don’t know what this one is. My orange tree behind it needs some food badly.

I grow, dry and press most of the flowers used in my Scatterlings.

Items on my wish list for my apartment/studio/apartment are:
wall of bookcases!
flat files!
An empty wall to paint half with chalkboard paint and half with magnetic paint!
I want a loft… I need a loft… I deserve a loft.

Ascender Rises Above Site
Ascender on Linked In
Ascender’s Squidoo
Ascender on Art Bistro
Ascender on Facebook
Ascender Facebook Fan Page
Ascender on Twitter
Check out What’s On My Desk

When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

I declare laughter to be the highest religious quality. And if we can decide that every year, for one hour, at a certain date, at a certain time, the whole world will laugh (together), it will help to dispel darkness, violence and stupidities – because laughter is a unique human characteristic… It can relax you, it can make you feel light, it can make your world a beautiful experience. It can change everything in your life. Laughter can make life worth living, something to be grateful for.

Buddha

What’s On My Desk – Golden’s Iridescent and Interference Acrylics on stone tile.

I have wanting to paint this robin since taking his photo in the tea garden earlier this spring. The tile I am painting on is stone; 12″ x 12″, larger than my illuminated tiles. I have am leaving sides unpainted. In talking to people at the Danville Festival many had inquired about wishing to purchase tiles to place them within walls that they are finishing. The sides are still attractive enough to be placed on easels. Other acrylics on stone tiles: Rebirth of Ideas, I Must Not Fear, Not A Word

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

Dickinson uses the metaphorical image of a bird to describe the abstract idea of hope. Hope, of course, is not an animate thing, it is inanimate, but by giving hope feathers. These feathers enable you to fly to a new hope, a new beginning.

In contrast, broken feathers or a broken wing grounds a person, and conjures up the image of needy person who has been beaten down by life. Their wings have been broken and they no longer have the power to hope.

Hope is a free gift. It exists for all of us. All we must do is not clip the wings of hope and let it fly and sing freely. Its song can be heard over the strangest seas, coldest lands, and in the worst storms. It is a song that never ends as long as we do not let it.

Detail in The Canary by William McGregor Paxton

Paxton, an American Impressionist painter, was the member of the Boston School; known for images of women in beautiful doemestic interiors. He was well known for his extraordinary attention to the effects of light and detail in flesh and fabric. Paxton uses “binocular vision,” in that that only one area in his compositions was entirely in focus, while the rest were somewhat blurred. In this case the focus is on the bird and hand.

I love that idea and imagine the different painterly technique it might require to give this overall effect.

✿•**•.¸¸♥¸¸.•**•✿ 6 days remain on my joint give-away continues over at ArtSnark’s blog – I am giving away two posters for free; See more on her “meet the artist Ascender” post and her “Ascender Studio Tour“. Also a mere 6 days also remain for special pricing on my entire line of limited run prints listed here. Read more about my pricing here. And this is the limited run page to choose from. Here are a few bird inspired prints:

Three In The Bush – Acrylics on Canvas print. Read more about my pricing for it here.

Be Kind #2; Collage on Paper Print. Read more about my pricing for it here.

Blessing the Birds; Collage on Tile print. Read more about my pricing for it here.

Sing Me A Lullaby; Collage on Paper Print.Read more about my pricing for it here.

Be Kind (#1); Collage on Paper Print. Read more about my pricing for it here.

Got Moo? of “When The Curtain Parted”; Pastel

Did you notice? I have been busy updating pages which I had gotten behind during the festival season.

•) I updated my Exhibitions Page: I am preparing for my upcoming exhibit at Caffe Sportivo. August 1 – 27th, 2010: Selected limited-run prints. Caffe Sportivo (site) (blog) (facebook) • 965 Brewster Avenue, Redwood City, CA 94063 (Directions and map). Return on September 2, 2010 for more information and photos.

•) I’ve also added Burlingame Public Library. (info) November 1 – December 31, 2010. Two month exhibit. Woot! What a great way to wind up the year!

•) Five weeks remain to see “Sombrero Surprise” and “A Few Of My Favorite Things”; Pen & Ink stippling / pointillism prints at the Pacific Bank in Burlingame July 1 – September 1, 2010 on exhibit with other Burlingame Art Society artists(Directions and Map)

•) Only 1 week remains on my joint give-away continues over at ArtSnark’s blog – I am giving away two posters for free; See more on her “meet the artist Ascender” post and her “Ascender Studio Tour“. Also a mere 1 week also remains on my special pricing on my entire line of limited run prints listed here. Read more about my pricing for it here. And this is the limited run page to choose from.

•) My daughter convinced me to add the final photo at the end of maggie and milly and molly and may series of photos the other day. Ok – I am nervous about this one. When we took the photo we weren’t too worried about him standing, turning and chasing us down to take our camera.

Just Vitality; Collage, Pen & Ink, ©ascenderrisesabove

The word landed with a stony thud
Onto my still-beating breast.
Nevermind, I was prepared,
I will manage with the rest.

I have a lot of work to do today;
I need to slaughter memory,
Turn my living soul to stone
Then teach myself to live again. . .

But how. The hot summer rustles
Like a carnival outside my window;
I have long had this premonition
Of a bright day and a deserted house.

Anna Akhmatova

I’ve returned, at least for the day, to collage and pen and ink; “Just Vitality“.  I kind of like the direction it took; the feeling of a diving board and water splashing all around.

Detail of Chateau Thierry by William James Glackens; a U.S. realist painter known for his dark-hued paintings of street scenes and daily life in the city’s neighborhoods. (photo of Glackens)

Glackens co-founded what came to be called the Ashcan School art movement, a group of artists, dubbed by the press “the Eight Independent Painters” or The Eight, whom chose to exhibit their works without pre-approval by the juries of the existing art establishment. Other members included Robert Henri, Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Prendergast, Ernest Lawson, Everett Shinn, John French Sloan, and George Luks. (photos of The Eight; group photo)

Like Glackens, they were journalists, writers, or illustrators before becoming painters; artists who chose to continue with the style of illustration, which emphasized immediacy as well as community and interaction.

Working drawings show how Glackens made quick sketches on the street, then went through a painstaking process of compositional studies to arrive at a finished illustration, sometimes making several versions of the drawing before he was satisfied. The precision of the signage and architectural settings in these drawings suggests that Glackens may have used photographs for the background, but the variety, frenetic energy, and clever rendering that make the traders far more individualistic than they would appear to a camera are the artist’s invention.

Some of my personal favorites of Glackens

The Soda Fountain

Still Life with Three Glasses

Tänzerin in rosa Kleid

Artist Daughter in Chinese Costume

Chez Mouquin

“how to tell the wild animals”; my favorite incoming search engine words this month.

I feel a new series coming on. You know the Birds On A Wire series… and the Bees Knees series. This series will be called “Randomness“; random photos with random words and random links; general randomness.

Isn’t this a great chicken photo at webbnorriswebb

Couldn’t you look at babies expressions all day long at younghouselove

Lindsey Carr’s oil coated scarlet ibis at myloveforyou

also Mike Maxwells’ rocks at myloveforyou

These tile frames might work for my illuminated tiles(?) at apartmenttherapy

Frida sidewalk chalk image at papaya

mmmm purple doors at designsponge

shipping containers stacked high as art at inhabitat

cute cute cute at shuttersisters

Not enough randomness? Check out my previous random post:
ascender sitting (randomness 1)

✿•**•.¸¸♥¸¸.•**•✿ Have you entered the new random drawing? I have donated 2 of my 11″ x 17″ prints to this great giveaway. There will be 2 winners & each will get to choose one favorite print from this page of limited run prints. Click Here For Details & to enter this drawing which ends 7/29. Or find out more about my deal here!

Lastly; I want to share my self portrait from Pescadero last weekend. Shine on!

Her Deal!

I don’t normally do give-aways but am so appreciative to ArtSnark for the Studio Tour that I agreed to give away to two lucky winners limited run 11×17 prints. Your choice of print! If you’d like to be eligible to win (U.S. only) just leave a comment on this post or on ArtSnarks (here) with the title of the poster and why you’d like to win it by Thursday, July 29th at 1 a.m. EST. Stacey uses a random number generator and will announce the two (2) winners.

My Deal!

I couldn’t quite decide if I would do “Buy One, Get Half-Off the 2nd Poster”… or “Buy Two Posters, Get One Free”; so I thought I would leave the choice up to you. If either of these limited time prices sound good to you; send me an email at AscenderRisesAbove (at) gmail (dot) com or here with the poster titles of your choice and I will mail you a request for funds through PayPal.

Easy Peasy .

These posters are printed on 80 lb Dull Cover paper with HP Indigo Inks on an Indigo 5000 press (a commercial printer, not a home printer!)

Printed to the border, signed on the back and dated. Cropped as shown. Copyright notice is to protect the digital image. It will NOT appear on the actual print. I ship flat inside a sturdy non-bending envelope using First Class USPS mail to assure it arrives to you in newborn condition. Shipping: $4.95.

Buy One, Get Half-Off the 2nd Poster Price:
$17.00 (1st print) + $8.50 (2nd print) = $26.50 + $4.95 (shipping) = Total $31.45

Buy Two Posters, Get One Poster Free Price:
$17.00 (1st print) + $17.00 (2nd print) + $0.00 (third print) = $34.00 + $4.95 (shipping) = Total $38.95

Thanks again to Stacey for sharing my studio tour! It has been fun getting to know her and all her great fans!

There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths,
which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them,
and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof,
and then fly away.

Henry Ward Beecher

Need more of my birds (plus assorted objects)? Check out these:

(Hitchcock) Bird On A Wire I,

(Let’s Talk) Bird On A Wire II,

(Leonard Cohen) Bird On A Wire III

(Heard It From A Friend…) Bird On A Wire IV

(Water Soaked) Bird On a Wire V

(Tangled Up) Bird On a Wire VII

(On Edge) Bird On A Wire VIII

(Twitter/Tweeter) Bird On a Wire IX

(Uninvited Guest) Bird On a Wire X

(Let’s Do Lunch) Bird On a Wire XI

(Birds Of A Feather) Bird On a Wire XII

(High Wire) Bird on a Wire XIII

(Bird Over A Wire) Bird On A Wire XIV

(Bird On A… Post) Bird on a Wire XV

(Bird On A Branch… and off) Bird On a Wire XVI

(Blessed By A Bird) Bird On a Wire XVII

(Bird Screameing on a porch) Bird On a Wire XVIII

(Bird In A Bath) Bird On A Wire XIX

(Birds Pasadena Style) Bird On A Wire XX

(Bird Is The Word) Bird On A Wire XXI

(Birds at Dusk) Bird On A Wire XXII

(Birds In Your Path) Bird On a Wire XXIII

(Crow’s Blue Reflection) Bird On A Wire XXIV

(Bird On A Board) Bird On A Wire XXV

(The Early Bird Gets The Chair) Bird On A Wire XXVI

All is well with me. The rain doesn’t reach me,
my room is well heated, what more can one ask for?
There’s no shortage of work, either…

Paul Klee

Stacey Merrill of ArtSnark so kindly asked for a studio tour the other day. I actually enjoyed the break from the normal humdrum. I hope you will take some time to go see it. (ArtSnark’s Etsy.) Stacey has a collection of studio tours here.

]]> http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?feed=rss2&p=10211 3 http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=10192 http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=10192#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:06:02 +0000 AscenderRisesAbove http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=10192

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles and
may come home with a smooth rounded stone
as small as a world and as big as alone.
for whatever we loose (like a you or a me)
it is always ourselves we find in the sea.

e.e. cummings

“ascender sitting” = my favorite search terms for June! What was your favorite search term this month?

knitting clothes for statues *and* fake mustaches (grrl + dog)

remember my ‘in search of an american gothic‘ post? (see: a beautiful mess)

eggs in Cabinet of Curiosity (rodrigvitz style)

remember my charles burchfield post? (see: edward winkleman)

did i mention that I, too, met unbecoming lily a few weeks ago; daughters oh-so-cute

a touch of blood red to quicken the pulse (blood milk)

Crude Awakening by Jane Fulton Alt (lenscratch)

mail carriers stopped in the Bahamas (postcrossing)

remember my poppy gargantua series? (princess haiku)

incredible crayon carvings (craftzine)

State Fair by John Steuart Curry.

John Steuart Curry, an American painter, noted for his paintings depicting life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood, hailed as one of the three great painters of American Regionalism of the first half of the twentieth century.

State Fair, as well as other circus and fair-related paintings was inspired by Curry’s New England tour with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, as well as his frequent attendance at rural county fairs. (photo of Curry in front of this painting)

Regionalism were concerned with rural nostalgia, and the American heartland; essentially a revolt against at least one major evil of the industrial revolution (centralization which established low cost efficient factories and assembly line production, which promoted mass production and reduced individual characteristics.)

(Detail of State Fair)

As an Antimodernist style and reaction against the modern European style, American Scene Painting (including American Social Realism) was seen as an attempt to define a uniquely American style of art. The term did not signify an organized movement, but rather an aspect of a broad tendency for American artists to move away from Abstraction and the Avant-Garde in the period between the two world wars.

Despite popularity among the rest of the country, native Kansans were less than thrilled with his works. What Curry (Self Portrait) believed to be images that expressed positive virtues about the place he remembered from childhood were conceived to be making fun of the worst aspects of the state. Kansans found the inclusion of outdoor baptisms (Baptism in Kansas) and tornadoes (Tornado Over Kansas) to perpetuate negative stereotypes associated with Kansas and lead to public embarrassment. Curry had sought to capture the pastoral serenity of the Kansas landscape (Kansas Cornfield) but when these paintings were displayed in New York galleries the already overwhelming inferiority complex among Kansans grew and they were humiliated by Curry’s paintings.

Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going,
don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.

David Niven

Me? I like my feet planted solidly on terra firma.

Speaking of running away to join the circus; I still have photos left to show from the Maker Fair:

The Flaming Lotus Girls were a big hit; a female-driven group of artists creating their first sculpture, the Flaming Lotus; composed of steel , stainless steel, copper, glass, wood, light, and fire. Fames blaze in sizes ranging from 2 inches to 150+ feet.

(If you are a parent, you’ll love the above shot; with the little girl whining about wanting something…. I can’t hear you. )

Radio Fiyer; the largest Little Red Wagon (I guess the misspelling was intentional?) A ‘23 Model T frame with a custom fabricated body and a Chevy engine.

Demo by Jack Sparx; a licensed electrical contractor and provide safe educational excitement of seeing and feeling electricity using Tesla coils, Van de Graff generators, Propane “Poofers” and other fun Special Effects.

Sad, dejected, in the corner, all alone, I found B9 from Lost is Space. Danger Will Robinson.

I am not sure what this robot’s name is but at least he was moving and interacting with the public…

Bye for now.

“Come clean with a child heart. Laugh as peaches in the summer wind. Let rain on a house roof be a song. Let the writing on your face be a smell of apple orchards on late June.” Carl Sandburg

The Early Bird Gets The Chair; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

Use the talents you possess
for the woods would be a very silent place
if no birds sang except for the best.

Henry Van Dyke

Need more of my birds (plus assorted objects)? Check out these birds on wires:

(Hitchcock) Bird On A Wire I,

(Let’s Talk) Bird On A Wire II,

(Leonard Cohen) Bird On A Wire III

(Heard It From A Friend…) Bird On A Wire IV

(Water Soaked) Bird On a Wire V

(Tangled Up) Bird On a Wire VII

(On Edge) Bird On A Wire VIII

(Twitter/Tweeter) Bird On a Wire IX

(Uninvited Guest) Bird On a Wire X

(Let’s Do Lunch) Bird On a Wire XI

(Birds Of A Feather) Bird On a Wire XII

(High Wire) Bird on a Wire XIII

(Bird Over A Wire) Bird On A Wire XIV

(Bird On A… Post) Bird on a Wire XV

(Bird On A Branch… and off) Bird On a Wire XVI

(Blessed By A Bird) Bird On a Wire XVII

(Bird Screameing on a porch) Bird On a Wire XVIII

(Bird In A Bath) Bird On A Wire XIX

(Birds Pasadena Style) Bird On A Wire XX

(Bird Is The Word) Bird On A Wire XXI

(Birds at Dusk) Bird On A Wire XXII

(Birds In Your Path) Bird On a Wire XXIII

(Crow’s Blue Reflection) Bird On A Wire XXIV

(Bird On A Board) Bird On A Wire XXV

I’m back.

After two festival week-ends in row I am ready to take time to calm my mind from the prepping, setting up, selling, closing up, driving.

And that was just the first day.

Returning, setting up, selling, closing up, driving and unpacking.

It is always great getting of feedback and of having your work received by a public you’re sheltered yourself from can be invigorating, exciting and downright thrilling at times.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to come by and say hello, and your complements.

I met some fantastic people who surprisingly either follow my blog and speak to me on FaceBook and dropped by to say so.

I met students of art, mothers and daughters, a whole lot of fathers (It was Fathers Day!), other artists and crafters, shop owners and a few folks from government art agencies and many new faces!

It was so nice to meet, talk with and see you all!

As busy as a…

I have been busy pulling together Danville Art Festival booth preparations.

Looks like they are calling for drizzle during the set up time in the wee hours. I’ve not set up in rain and wind before; any tips? This is what it was like in Tibuorn last year.

Start Time: Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 10:00am
End Time: Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 8:00pm
Location: Booth #252
Street: Hartz Avenue
City/Town: Danville, CA
Map of the festival area; my booth my booth (#252) is in the center!

Now in its nineteenth year and attracts over 50,000 people every year to beautiful Hartz Avenue in downtown Danville-a city 40 miles east of San Francisco that’s a mix of beautiful residences from the Gold Rush days along with magnificent homes of the future. Quaint Hartz Avenue is a natural for unique specialty shops and gourmet dining. During June, the weather is usually very warm, but the tree-lined street offers plenty of shady rest areas.

I love the sound of a festival being constructed. Everyone running about (busy as a bees) and there is a quiet hummmm that occurs. So many people in one area; a hive of activity.

Once ‘up’ you glance around to see if your neighbor needs anything; you help them; and then look to the larger area; introduce yourself, have a quick sip of coffee; then the public arrives.

(That’s one of my dear daughters explaining the Scatterlings. So proud.)

Suddenly it is four or five hours into the day and you realize you have not sat down. The festival people will come around and ask if you need help, allow you to get away for something to eat, powder your nose, regain your sanity. Then it is back to work.

Before you know it the day is over; you tear down the art and go home. You find some ‘real food’ and hop into bed; exhausted; waking up at the wee hours to return and replace your art on the walls.

Rinse, Wash, Repeat.

Then it is over and with-in a few days you are recounting what worked, what didn’t work and planning your next festival.

I used “Chasing The Wind” for my new business card this year. The original and other Scatterlings© and prints will be available for purchase.

Scatterlings© is a collection of self-directed enchantment art which combines actual foliage with watercolor and color pencil mediums. Hidden among the actual and rendered foliage are an enchanted assortment of Scatterlings; mythical animals and fairies. These one-of-a-kind folk art pieces take up to a year to complete as flowers and leaves are collected, pressed, preserved and finally hidden within a vision that evolves continually. (Mixed Media; Pressed Foliage, Watercolor, Colored Pencil, Pen and Ink on Handmade Paper.

Read more of Scatterlings. And here. Prints available.

Italian Street Painters will create their 12 x 12 ft. masterpieces on Prospect Street’s asphalt canvas while only using chalk as their medium. (

Entertainment will be presented by three street corner musicians throughout the weekend along Hartz Avenue. A wide variety of music to suit your fancy.

For those wishing to park closeby, the Town of Danville will be offering unlimited parking in all city-owned parking lots and on all street curbside parking spaces.

See you there?

I was talking to chum; Lisa Edmondson, about the trees in the photo I posted of Burlingame Art in the Park on Facebook yesterday. Lisa and I worked at The Trib together ‘back in the day’ where she was a staff photographer extraordinaire!

I researched the trees she asked about…. Metasequoia glyptostroboides aka Dawn Redwood.

The Dawn Redwood is one of only a few known deciduous conifers (needle and cone bearing trees that lose their leaves in the winter). The species was once thought extinct and known only in fossils.

Burlingame is known as the “City of Trees” due to the number of trees within the city (18,000 public trees). In 1908, the Burlingame board of trustees passed an ordinance “prohibiting cutting, injuring, or destroying trees”.

The park was originally part of the millionaire cigar retailer Moses A. Gunst Estate, and some of the existing large trees within the park were part of this estate.

So there you have it.

It was not quite as hot yesterday as the day before in the park.  Thank goodness for that!

This week will be spent pulling things together for next weekend’s Danville Arts Festival(more on that later this week).

A few shots for the joint Burlingame Art Society booth today at the Burlingame Art In The Park.

And it was hot! (Remember to wear sunscreen!)

Burlingame’s Art in the Park is set amongst the beautiful trees in Washington Park.

Fine arts and crafts with live entertainment on two stages; children’s activity corner; a special exhibit, My Monet: A Children’s Art Exhibit. For the first year ever at Art in the Park, dozens of exceptional selected works of art from Burlingame children will be on display for the entire Burlingame community to enjoy. These beautiful art pieces created by children ages five through ten, will showcase children’s artistic talents. (I didn’t see that today but will try to get photos tomorrow.)

I’m telling you; everyone was there!

Here is the Burlingame Art Society putting finishing touches on the booth. It certainly goes up faster with 16 people helping!

Pat, she’s so friendly; she greeted all: “Welcome… 17 amazing artists who are your neighbors!”

Yesterday’s Dream PRINT (original seen in photos above); click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Burlingame Art In The Park continues tomorrow; stop by and say hello if you are in the area. (info)

Detail of an Art Car at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. (Yes… I still have hundreds more photos I have not shown you yet!) An art car is a vehicle that has had its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art cars are usually driven and owned by their creators, who are sometimes referred to as “Cartists” and often dress in a matching motif when displaying their cars.

Most car artists are ordinary people with no artistic training. . They are largely self taught and self funded. Some consider their art to be created as a source of income or as “professional” artworks. Most others agree that creating and driving an art car daily is its own reward. Well known artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol etc. have designed BMW Art Cars.

I’ve ordered some new business cards with a new phone number; but did not want to destroy my old Moos… I have been leaving them around here and there for anyone who might find them.

During the late 1960s, singer Janis Joplin had a psychedelically-painted Porsche 356 and John Lennon, a paisley Rolls Royce. An art car community began to cohere in the 1990s, inspired by movies and books with the development of innovative art display venues such as Burning Man. One of the main forces behind this is filmmaker Harrod Blank who has not only made 3 full-length documentary films on art cars and who founded the U.S.’s second largest art car festival in the San Francisco Bay Area.

One common type of art car is referred to as a gluey in that objects of all types imaginable are glued onto the car’s surface. Silicone adhesive is a favorite type of glue, with epoxy and liquid nails being other favorites.

He is making sure I am looking and not touching, I think.

I touched a different one instead…

I touched it with a moo.

Artists seeking to attach objects (not moos) in a way that can easily be removed will often use magnets. These can range from items as small as pennies to entire sculptures which are several feet tall. Temporary car coverings can be tied on with string and rope or even with the edges of them being wrapped around doors and trunks before they are closed. The fact that an art car has some temporary decorations does not necessarily mean that it is a temporary art car. Many cars will have permanent modifications that they drive around with on a daily basis as well as temporary modifications that are attached only for special events and parades due to the delicacy of these objects, potential for theft and vandalism, or their unsuitability for driving at high speeds.

Lighting in the forms such as christmas lights, el wire and neon tubes helps to enhance the nighttime appearance of a car. These lights can be powered separately from the car’s electrical system, plugged into the cigarette lighter, or wired directly to the battery.

Art cars range from simply painted to complete bodies constructed from the ground up. For painted cars, one-shot sign enamel is a favorite due to its bright colors and high durability.

Artists will also expand the surfaces with sculptural materials such as expandable spray foam and bondo body-filler. For attaching larger and heavier objects or objects that do not adhere well to glue, bolts, screws, pop rivets and welding can be used.

Artistic style must be carefully dove tailed with the constraints of the law. Although pulled over by police at times the car artist who is fluent in the law will find that the police are glad to be educated as they themselves often do not realize what is possible under the many law codes on the books.

More Maker Faire Photos on this blog. More Moo on this blog.

The Luckiest Girl In The World (#1); Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

I Still Seek You, Collage and Acrylics on Canvas Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Ride With The Herd!; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos on this blog

We took the two-hour tour of Harley’s Goat Dairy on Memorial Day; located near Pescadero. CA.

Harley Farms is one of the very few farmstead dairies in the United States which raise milking goats and make cheese from their milk on the farm. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the farm, its goats, and the cheese-making process. What I appreciated the most was how sensitive they were in making sure that the cheese produced there is of the highest quality, and that was explained to our tour to such a great detail.

Dalia(lama) and Fernando(lama) are retired show llamas protecting the younger female goats as they graze during the day. They protect their territory and herd of goats from coyotes, dogs, and other intruders, by chasing the intruder and/or herding the flock into a safer place. Llamas generally live for up to 25 years. If you listen real closely you might hear them humming.

Harley Farms recently received a four-year EQUIP grant which will allow them to enhance their water conservation program – There is no water waste on the entire farm. ‘Back in the day’ buildings were painted with milk paint; all their signs are painted with cheese paint using natural pigments. Seriously.

Harley Farms Dairy Facebook. (and my facebook fan page while we are at it!)

The herd of American Alpine goats are separated by age. The mature goats are milked twice a day, at 5am and 5pm. Each goat will produce a gallon of milk a day. That gallon makes one pound of cheese. 300 goats = 300 gallons of goat milk = 300 pounds of goat cheese per day x 365 days = well, you do the math.

Dee Harley and her amazing team give their goats the utmost love and respect and quite possibly, the happiest lives goats which goats could ever have. The goats are spoiled. No wonder their cheese tastes so good.

Dinner in the converted hayloft is said to be magical — sit at the amazing table that measures at least 25-feet long, entirely hewn from one large tree that had fallen into the nearby river.

The farm has won over thirty national ribbons from the American Cheese Society, and two world medals. This is because, according to the experts, ‘you taste the grasses in the pasture, the milk of the alpine goats, the salt breeze of the California coast’.

Here is what we bought, I got the cranberry/walnut goat cheese and my daughter picked up one of these (Monet!) edible floral goat cheeses. I rather thought they looked like Scatterlings© cheese?

You can eat these petals; (you can’t eat my Scatterlings) Calendula, borage, viola, salvia, pinks and cornflower have centuries of kitchen and medicinal history.

Speaking of Scatterlings – I have been putting on the final touches to packaging the Scatterlings (and other prints) for my booth for the upcoming Burlingame Art in the Park and then the Danville Arts Festival that following week.

Bird’s Eye View; click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more of “Bird’s Eye View”© here and here

Yesterday’s Dream; click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more of “Yesterday’s Dream” here and here

Remaining limited run images here, 11″x17″; These posters are printed on 80 lb Dull Cover paper with HP Indigo Inks on an Indigo 5000 press (a commercial printer, not a home printer!) Printed to the border, signed on the back and dated. Cropped as shown. Copyright notice is to protect the digital image. It will NOT appear on the actual print. I ship flat inside a sturdy nonbending envelope using First Class USPS mail to assure it arrives to you in newborn condition.

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a 1,000 winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sun on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled light. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry I am not there; I did not die. (A Hopi Prayer)

Greetings earthlings…

More shots from the Maker Faire (see my post)… You really don’t know what to expect at an event like this, but that’s kind of the point. Somewhat of a two-day reinvention of the world as it would look if 10-year-old nerds were running everything.

Jason Dietz’s UFO lamps standing 5-feet 5-inches tall and are made out of recycled glass tubes, light diffusers, and acrylic rings; holdingapproximately 10 gallons of water each. They use a series of different lights that include CFLs, LEDs, and halogens. They each have a 110-volt 20-gallon air pump that produces the bubbles from the bottom. The theme is a cow being abducted out of a grassy pasture — look carefully to see the cow in the giant plasma tube.

The Mondo Spider is a 1600 lb, 8 legged walking machine originally built by a Vancouver-based team of artists and engineers in 2006. Initially gas-powered, the spider has been converted to run entirely on battery power, making it the world’s first 100% electric, zero-emissions walking vehicle.

Land Sharks! Designed and built by sculptor/shark wrangler Todd Williams, “Betty” and “Sparky” are two four–foot-long, animated, three-dimensional neon sharks, stalking the murky depths of the darkened hall this year… swimming up to 25 MPH, breathing through sequenced gills, and feeding through sequenced jaws.

Some sort of robotic spriro-graphic something-or-other.

The Bay Area LEGO Users Group presents a large model train layout made entirely of LEGO. Bill Ward is the Vice President of the Bay Area LEGO Users Group (BayLUG) and has been building with LEGO since he was a kid (except for a few “dark ages” during his teens and twenties when they stayed in the closet). He joined BayLUG in 2002 and has been an active member of the club ever since.

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship is built upon a future-rustic vision of yesterday’s tomorrow. Aesthetically based on 1930s – early 1950s science fiction, the rocketship is a 41-foot-tall immersive environment, designed to carry explorers into the realm of rayguns, strange planets, and aliens, friendly or otherwise.

In three minutes get a typed poem, about anything you want, satisfaction guaranteed. yes, typed poems! most kids have never seen a typewriter, what parents often call “the original computer,” while children say, “it’s a printer.” whatever you call it, the poetry store proves old technologies are still useful for making beautiful things.

My guess is that it’s a revolving solar system…

You really don’t know what to expect at an event like this… but that’s kind of the point. When you gather a large group of creative, smart, artistic people in one place, the only thing you’re guaranteed is to stumble across some of the most unique projects you’ve ever seen.

Maker Faire, a two-day extravaganza of creativity at the San Mateo County Event Center; over 80,000 people flocked to the fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday to soak in others’ ingenuity and get their own creative juices.

A giant cardboard robot costume! The costume has built-in stilts and I’m guessing he’s about 9 ft. tall. Here’s a pattern so you can make your own!

A lot of the faire involved robots. There were robots playing soccer, wearing red lingerie, spewing flames, doing sit-ups and push-ups, and offering flower bouquets.

The event is an all-weekend do-it-yourself-o-rama, with all that one needs to build everything from model rocket kits to remote-control robots.

There were other vehicles, this is a bike-driven multi-passenger cartoon on wheels that would randomly groove past …

… which looked just as cool driving away as it did approaching.

Greg Solberg, the cupcake guy; after awhile you stop asking why.

These cupcake cars (sometimes called muffin cars) were invented in 2004. They can go as fast as 15 mph. Each car has room for just one person, whose head sticks out the top of the cupcake. There are currently 16 cupcake cars in existence, and they are stored in a “secret location,” in Berkeley, California.

Saphira, the fire-breathing dragon! Rar!

The Maker Faire, now in its fifth year, is that rare place where people who like to build stuff and people who like to blow stuff up can get their groove on.

More than 600 “makers” showed off the fruits of their extremely active imaginations. This is some sort of kit in for a teacher to build cells… (genes?) (something.)

California Dog Ballroom Dance Competition. Doggie Boogie combines America’s love for dancing and dogs. This wild quest for personal identity answers the question, ‚”Why does my dog look at me that way?”

A little blurry, but a great shot none the less, this chess playing robot just took out this girl’s pawn in a human against machine battle of wits.

A group of taiko drummers from Wadaiko Newark on-site demonstrating how they make gorgeous taiko drums from reclaimed wine barrels.

Demonstration at the CRAFT stage of Cathe Holden’s brilliant tutorial for creating a book cover for your dull planner from a cool vintage book. She’s also doing a giveaway on her blog for some of the notebooks. Be sure to go over, check it out and enter.

I took over 1000 photos and these are just a few; return this week for more.

Sheep At Pasture by Charles Jacque

A French painter of animals (animalier), Jacque was part of the Barbizon School.

Fleeing the Cholera epidemics that besieged Paris in the mid-nineteenth century, Charles Jacque relocated to Barbizon in 1849 with Millet. There, he painted rustic or pastoral subject matter: shepherds, flocks of sheep, pigs, and scenes of farm life. In addition to painting, Jacque was also famous for his etchings and engravings. He, along with Felix Bracquemond and Felix Buhot, is credited with the nineteenth-century revival of seventeenth-century techniques.

The Barbizon school (circa 1830–1870) of painters is named after the village of Barbizon near Fontainebleau Forest, France, where the artists gathered in a movement towards realism in art which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. There, he painted rustic or pastoral subject matter: shepherds, flocks of sheep, pigs, and scenes of farm life. (more paintings).

Charles Jacques painting in his studio, ca. 1885

Nishmy?

]]> http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?feed=rss2&p=9890 4 http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=9855 http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=9855#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 16:44:27 +0000 AscenderRisesAbove http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=9855

The Crucible of Changes, Pastel on Paper

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For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit… start whenever you want… you can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that stop you. I hope you feel things that you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”

Benjamin Button

In Taoist philosophy, yin and yang arise together from an initial quiescence or emptiness (wuji, sometimes symbolized by an empty circle), and continue moving in tandem until quiescence is reached again. It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without some reference to the opposite, since yin–yang are bound together as parts of a mutual whole. Yin and yang transform each other: like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. Thus, a seed will sprout from the earth and grow upwards towards the sky – an intrinsically yang movement. Then when it reaches its full potential height it will descend.

Nothing is completely Yin or completely Yang.

The nature of both Yin and Yang flows and changes with time.

One aspect increases the other decreases to maintain overall balance of the whole

Four possible imbalances exist:
* Deficiency Yang
* Deficiency Yin
* Excess Yang
* Excess Yin

Yin and Yang can be subdivided into additional aspects.

The Crucible of Changes, Pastel on Paper print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here.

Growth Spurt, Pastel on Paper print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here.

Shut Up, Pastel on Paper print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here.

Working on a project with my daughter: paint-by-numbers in assorted styles; tossing away the color key (and caution to the wind), choosing our own color palettes.

Quality Paint-By-Number boards seem very hard to find; do you know of a source on line?

Favorite things to look at this week?

Hypochondriacs, when you are sleeping, a heart that is true, twins

30 years ago today

George Washington in 3-D, Blooming Pot

Loved (loved) the photo of little boy with hand in the air; this made me a bit sad

Love this artist, love this art

I’ll take one of these in orange please. and one of these with the writing on it.  ok, and the poodle lamp

I’m going to be here this weekend, will you?!? Come back for photos next week!

Tropical Altar; Collage on Tile print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Daffodil Opposition; Watercolor on Paper print. Click on image for larger view.Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here.

Three In The Bush – Acrylics on Canvas print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here.

Unraveling Yellow – Acrylics on Canvas print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here.

60 people wish to walk across the Golden Gate. How about you?  On average about 120,000 people walk each day. From 1 million – 4 million drive across the golden gate bridge every day. Tip: use ‘Slacker Hill’ on the other side for a rest.

“oneirophobia fear of dreams”; my favorite search engine terms for visitors this week.

Favorite things to look at this week?

love (love) this art, this artist

stay-tuned.

city boundaries.

living with Frida.

by leaps and bounds.

hugging the gulf states

ok; one more: back stage

Do Things, Doing Things; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Got moo?

Dreams of Queens; Collage on Tile print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

I’ve been busy preparing for the upcoming festivals; trying to ‘fashion’ a heavy crate into a filing cabinet for the prints, being side-tracked by pretty things, doing small things in order to accomplish large things.

What are your plans? What are you doing?

Making a decision to have a child–it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. (Elizabeth Stone)

Guest artist award-winning Mary Stahl gives a pastel demonstration at Burlingame Art Society on Tuesday. (site) (Mary’s upcoming events) (contact Mary)

Mary uses alla prima techniques and paints in a representational style. Use “Alla prima” if you are after a quick, fresh and spontaneous look in your paintings. Alla prima; also known as “direct painting” or “wet on wet”, is an Italian term which means “at first”. Using this technique, you complete entire paintings in one session or two without waiting for the paint layers to dry completely.

~~~

Perhaps you have noticed on my left sidebar that I have added another art festival: June 12 – 13, 2010. Burlingame Art In The Park? (info). Sharing a booth with other Burlingame Art Society artists

* and *

May 1 – July 1, 2010. “Hopes and Promises” and “Offering Gold” (images below) collage on tile prints can now be viewed with other paintings by the Burlingame Art Society artists at the Pacific Bank (Directions and Map)

1) Offering Gold; Collage on Tile print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) Hopes and Promises; Collage on Tile Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Check this page for the full line of limited run prints.

Painting of the Sunken Garden (Muckross Estate – Ireland) at Filoli House. Children in painting represent William Bowers Bourn’s grandchildren, Elizabeth Rose Vincent and Arthur William Bourn Vincent playing.

I’ve been (avoiding work) spending time playing in my garden and surfing with Google Reader; it is the only way I surf these days – and I am not being paid to say that.

Some things that have caught my eye this week:

Dahlia corsage

harvest

101 strangers

I thought it was about what it looked like it was about.

flip, fold, flip, fold, smush

my daughter has a cup just like this one

organize google reader feeder

Do you surf with a reader? What work are you avoiding by surfing?

Bird On A Board; Photo More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

You are lucky to be one of those people who wishes to build sand castles with words, who is willing to create a place where your imagination can wander. We build this place with the sand of memories; these castles are our memories and inventiveness made tangible. So part of us believes that when the tide starts coming in, we won’t really have lost anything, because actually only a symbol of it was there in the sand. Another part of us thinks we’ll figure out a way to divert the ocean. This is what separates artists from ordinary people: the belief, deep in our hearts, that if we build our castles well enough, somehow the ocean won’t wash them away. I think this is a wonderful kind of person to be.”

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

My daughter and I toured WildCare yesterday (the website is twice as big then the actual location) – a truly urban wildlife rehabilitation center, working to make sure all species can coexist– not just by treating sick or injured animals (over 3,000 of them a year), but also by teaching people how to live peacefully with wildlife and by advocating for better protection of wildlife and our remaining open spaces. Hoping to create a more sustainable world for all.

More on Bird by Bird…

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” (art propelled)

More on Bird by Bird…

“If the truth be told, and I guess now it will be, I carry my beloved hardback copy of Bird by Bird around with my own photograph pasted on the back of it, as if I myself, my little person, this one, had written it. (And it’s an old photo, the kind that when you use it to announce your speech in a conference program, people act puzzled and disappointed when they finally meet you because, truthfully, you no longer look anything like that younger version of yourself, what with the prematurely gray hair and all…) I read Bird by Bird several times a year, particularly in those moments when I think I should be writing, but am doubtful that I actually can, or when I’m in need of a reminder about what it means to write (37 Days)

More on Bird by Bird…

A lot of what you write will be awful. Please understand that every writer you admire produces a lot of garbage. Cultivate what Anne Lamott calls the “shitty first draft.” In fact, try to write as horribly as you possibly can. Break all writing rules. Use lots of clichés and redundancies. Be trite. Write about stupid ideas. Insult your readers. Make no sense. Make simple ideas as complicated and obtuse as possible. If you can’t find the right word for something, or a particular word or phrase just bugs you, [put it in brackets] and come back to it later. Keep writing. (copyblogger)

More on Bird by Bird…

“as your read it, you realize you can substitute any artist–painter, sculptor, potter, quilter, photographer, collage and assemblage artist, graphic designer, textile artist, and so on.. for the word “writer”. As artists we are all faced with the ‘blank page’. We all have that big, hard to define “goal” of becoming a better artist. How do you measure such a large ongoing goal? The goal really should be to keep growing, to keep learning, to keep trying something new. We learn new techniques, read books, study art history, go to galleries and museums, take workshops, and experiment. Along the way, we have successes and sometimes, rejections. And we discover that the journey to become a better artist never ends. If it did, we would stop growing. The journey is more important than the destination. (layers)

“I was only on page two of the introduction when I read this passage about her path to becoming a writer and something about it struck a serious chord within as it reminds me of me as a child: “I suspect that he was a child who thought differently than his peers… Throughout my childhood I believed that what I thought about was different from what other kids thought about. It was not necessarily more profound, but there was a struggle going on inside me to find some sort of creative or spiritual or aesthetic way of seeing the world and organizing it in my head.” (Schmoopy)

Be Kind #2; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling

Be Kind (#1); Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

I liked this one; an internal landscape for a vulture?

Need more of my birds (plus assorted objects)? Check out these birds on wires:

(Hitchcock) Bird On A Wire I,

(Let’s Talk) Bird On A Wire II,

(Leonard Cohen) Bird On A Wire III

(Heard It From A Friend…) Bird On A Wire IV

(Water Soaked) Bird On a Wire V

(Tangled Up) Bird On a Wire VII

(On Edge) Bird On A Wire VIII

(Twitter/Tweeter) Bird On a Wire IX

(Uninvited Guest) Bird On a Wire X

(Let’s Do Lunch) Bird On a Wire XI

(Birds Of A Feather) Bird On a Wire XII

(High Wire) Bird on a Wire XIII

(Bird Over A Wire) Bird On A Wire XIV

(Bird On A… Post) Bird on a Wire XV

(Bird On A Branch… and off) Bird On a Wire XVI

(Blessed By A Bird) Bird On a Wire XVII

(Bird Screameing on a porch) Bird On a Wire XVIII

(Bird In A Bath) Bird On A Wire XIX

(Birds Pasadena Style) Bird On A Wire XX

(Bird Is The Word) Bird On A Wire XXI

(Birds at Dusk) Bird On A Wire XXII

(Birds In Your Path) Bird On a Wire XXIII

(Crow’s Blue Reflection) Bird On A Wire XXIV

I Still Seek You, Collage and Acrylics on Canvas Print. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping & handling. See more here.

~~~

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver

I have been running around in circles, gearing up for the Danville Arts Festival in mid-June. (info)

I am rethinking my booth from my Tiburon festival to make room for the limited run prints; how to package those (in clear envelopes?) (with backing?) (take a file cabinet?) (make a file cabinet?). Should I bring the framed prints or hang them on a clothesline and let people pluck them off? Will they get damaged that way? I don’t want to get in peoples’ way rehanging them. The thought process of festival preparation is never ending.

Do you have any tips on festival preparation that you can pass along? What is it that you recall about a great booth you have seen in the past? What is your chief complaint?

So many questions and running out of time.

I am also taking down “Beyond the Visible Terrain”© and putting up another painting at the US Bank with the Burlingame Art Society artists. (Directions and Map). I think, perhaps, I will put up a print there this month and to announce that all the prints will be available in Danville.

Hmmm… I dunno.

I also don’t know what this framed cage-like thing is doing in the woods above. Or this hallowed out tree next to a giant redwood near Pescadero last weekend?

Speaking of Burlingame Arts Society; it turns out that there will be a Burlingame Art In The Park this year and I will have four Scatterlings originals available there and helping with the booth for a few hours.

I was thinking maybe the below was some sort of outdoor patio area; can you picture it at night with lights wrapped around the poles; two long tables with benches down the center?

You can see that I am getting distracted by things.

There is also the Tiburon Arts Festival judging to think of; drop off a piece to be judged and pick it up the next day. (Who can complain about an extra trip to Tiburon?!) Followed closely by hanging an exhibit at Caffe Sportivo (site) August 1 – 27th, 2010. (Directions and map)

How many years do you think it takes to regrow a Christmas Tree lot?

Focus… focus… focus…

~~~

The space that I can call mine.. is so small that my ideas have become small. I am like a caterpillar in a cocoon of paper; all around me are sketches for sculptures, small drawings that seem like moths fluttering against the windows, beating their wings to escape from this tiny space.. Every day the ideas come more reluctantly, as though they know I will starve them and stunt their growth.”

Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife)

Rebirth Of Ideas; 11- 3/4″ x 11- 3/4″; acrylics on tile. Contact Ascender to purchase.

Beach Cupcake. Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Thinking about something is like picking up a stone when taking a walk, either while skipping rocks on the beach, for example, or looking for a way to shatter the glass doors of a museum. When you think about something, it adds a bit of weight to your walk, and as you think about more and more things you are liable to feel heavier and heavier, until you are so burdened you cannot take any further steps, and can only sit and stare at the gentle movements of the ocean waves or security guards, thinking too hard bout too many things to do anything else.

Lemony Snicket

I’m Sending Out An SOS To You!

I am wondering if any Northern California artist/crafter would be interested in renting/selling their festival canopy/panels to me for June? (even the bare minimum such as in the photo below)  Message me ASAP by Thursday morning with amount, please!  Thanks! Jacque

Thanks to those who responded – see you at the Danville Arts Festival. June 19 – 20, 2010. (info)

Open House in Pescadero House; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

In dreams you don’t need to make any distinctions between things. Not at all.
Boundaries don’t exist. So in dreams there are hardly ever collisions.
Even if there are, they don’t hurt. Reality is different.
Reality bites.

Haruki Murakami

Here’s seven things you don’t need to know about me but might anyway because I’m about to write them down and then I will tell you of ten other people who did the same, cluttering up the internet with 49 random things…

I received the kreative award from blogger chum Anke Martin. Anke, mixed media artist, recently updated her blog to Creative Spirits Connect! Have you checked it out lately?

You know: I like to pay-it-backwards to see how far the award has come and try to find the original source. (It gets confusing when some blogs receive the award from several sources. Let’s see how far back we can take it… Ascender Rises Above <- Creative Spirits Connect! <- Fat Bottom Bags <- junctshop <- Rekindle Me <- Mexico Insights <- A Creative Dreamer <- Faint Heart Art <- Random Veracity <- kellys art journaling <- Bird On Her Head <- Janet’s Art Play.

Ok; on to the 7 things you probably don’t know about me. I’ve been blogging a long time – there probably isn’t much you don’t know about me.

1) I filled out that art contest in the back of comic books back in the day – you know the one next to the sea monkeys. The (young) artist would copy this drawing (I drew the pirate – arrr Matie) and send it in to see if he/she would be talented enough to be accepted into the correspondence school. I drew mine and sent it in, and got a letter from the school telling me that I had been accepted! They sent a representative to my house and asked that I begin art school there. Had I went at 15 yr old I would no doubt be rich and famous; or so they said.

2) I buy used books by the bag full and after reading them I leave the good ones on park benches. If you see me leave a book on a park bench – don’t track me down and give it back to me. I secretly wish I could be paid to read would be a great job! Occasionally I will alter books.

3) In my waitressing days I served pizza to Johnny Paycheck; $20 tip. Who is Johnny Paycheck you say?

4) I majored in Interior Design in college – I loved painting the renderings and matching the colors and the space planning – but not fluffing the pillows. Architecture or Commercial Art would have been better choices. In the end I did them both anyway. Hind sight: 20/20.

5) I hate flying. I used to enjoy it – but now: bring on the big drugs. The more I fly, the more I like my feet planted firmly here on terra-firma. And if I am in a car I want to be the one driving. Scoot over – I am taking over the wheel.

6) I joined epidemic proportions of the population and had a cortisone injection into my hand for trigger finger yesterday. Darned repetitious gripping; the dangers of being an artist.

7) I have allergies: penicillin, cats, kiwi, cockroaches, sports and math. 4 out of 5 times I hate fractions.

And now I am supposed to tag 7 bloggers… Tagging is the hard part; choosing seven from all the readers? Let’s do it this way; drop me a comment with your Kreative Blogger award post and I will drop you a link here:!

Here are the rules of the award for those I nominated:1) Post the award on your blog. 2) Thank the person who nominated you – post a link. 3) Share your own list of seven ‘things that you probably don’t know about me’. 4) Nominate and link to seven other creative bloggers who you follow and pass the award on by leaving a comment on their blogs so they know.

~~~

You can’t give your heart to a wild thing; the more you do, the stronger they get.
Until they’re strong enough to run into the woods.
Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky.
That’s how you’ll end up…. If you let yourself love a wild thing.
You’ll end up looking at the sky.

Truman Capote

“you mustn’t give your heart to a wild thing” – I love those search terms that brought someone to my blog. (Still chuckling that Jeana Marie’s comment that ‘untidy living room’ are terms that sometime brings people to her blog. She neglected to say tha ‘lovely, stirring, caressing, fastening, unfastening, sewing, waving. ‘ are also terms that bring people to her blog.)

Detail of Rhapsody In Plume. (I am trying to get a photograph to show the shine of Iridescent and Interference Acrylics used)

ArtSnark mentioned yesterday that my Rhapsody In Plume reminded her of Charles Burchfield work; an artist I had not heard of. So I set out to find out more. I can kind of see what she is saying…

According to Burchfield’s friend and colleague Edward Hopper, “The work of Charles Burchfield is most decidedly founded, not on art, but on life, and the life that he knows and loves best.”

His work is usually divided into three periods: typically insects and frogs (Insect Chorus) and abstractions depicting moods – frequently morbid and fearful (Blue Dome of June). Cicada sounds are depicted with zigzag strokes radiating outward, and flowers and houses seem to have faces, not always pleasant. (Sultry Moon)

Determined to record all the area’s flowering plants one spring, he stayed up late at night painting whole bouquets of the blooms and had a bout of what was referred to at the time as “brain fever,” which might now be termed mania. (A Sea of Queen Anne’s Lace)

In his middle period, from 1919 until 1943, he depicted small-town and industrial scenes. (Saturday Afternoon). These large paintings have a solid look unusual in watercolors, resembling oil paintings, and they are the works most often seen in art history texts. (Lilacs) (Landscape with Gray Clouds) One critic commented that Burchfield was “Edward Hopper on a rainy day.” (House and Trees in the Snow)

In his late period, from 1943 on, possibly facing a psychological crisis as he turned fifty years old, he returned to the preoccupations of the early work, incorporating the painting skills he had mastered during his middle period – which he eventually saw as a “diversion” from his true path, and developed large, hallucinatory renditions of nature captured in swirling strokes, heightened colors and exaggerated forms. (Gateway to September) (Heatwaves In A Swamp) (The Four Seasons)

In his writings he expressed an aim to depict an earlier era in the history of human consciousness when man saw gods and spirits in natural objects and forces. Was he materializing a muse?

Rhapsody In Plume; Acrylic on Canvas. Contact Ascender for availability.

~~~

The dream was always running ahead of me. to catch up,
to live for a moment in unison, was the miracle.

Anaïs Nin

I continue reading Memory and Dream, the novel I mentioned the other day… I have been thinking a lot about it. It speaks provides a great deal of insight into both the creative process and the student/teacher relationship. The artist begins to discover an ability to bring faerie creatures to life through her paintings. These creatures “cross over” from “the before” to take up real lives in Isabelle’s world.

What if?… Would I be responsible for this shape-shifting peacock? Would it follow me around, slipping in and out of the wallpaper?

To see a peacock in your dream, represents spring, birth, new growth, longevity, and love. It is a good omen, signaling prestige, success and contentment in your relationship and career.

In Greco-Roman mythology the Peacock is identified with Hera (Juno) who created the Peacock from Argus whose hundred eyes (seen on the tail feathers of the Peacock) symbolize the vault of heaven and the “eyes” of the stars.

In Hinduism the Peacock is associated with Lakshmi who is a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck.

Similar to Lakshmi, the Peacock is associated with Kwan-yin in Asian spirituality. Kwan-yin (or Quan Yin) is also an emblem of love, compassionate watchfulness, good-will, nurturing, and kind-heartedness. Legend tells us she chose to remain a mortal even though she could be immortal because she wished to stay behind and aid humanity in their spiritual evolution.

In Babylonia and Persia the Peacock is seen as a guardian to royalty, and is often seen in engravings upon the thrones of royalty.

… Themes of renewal are also linked to alchemical traditions to, as many schools of thought compare the resurrecting phoenix to the modern-day Peacock.

Contemplate the powers of the Peacock when you need more vibrancy and vitality in your experience. The Peacock can also help you on your spiritual Path, and breath new life into your walk of faith…

Work in progress; acrylics on tile.

~~~

Muses work all day long and then at night get together and dance.

Edgar Degas

No, there were no rainbows as I predicted in yesterday’s post. It rained off and on with intermittent sun as I worked on the above tile. I ventured out and captured these beautiful pink flowers. I am not sure what they are; they looked like some sort of crysthanamum tree. That’s my word; there is no such thing.

Is it coincidence that I had been painting similar pink flowers in my work in progress at the beginning of this post?

I find myself asking me these questions since beginning to read Memory and Dream by Charles Delint.

Five years after the untimely death of writer and social activist Kathy Mully, two of her longtime friends-editor Alan Grant and artist Isabelle Copley-come together to publish a final edition of Mully’s stories, unaware that they are about to bridge the gap between the real world and the realm that lies just beyond most humans’ perceptions. In his latest crossover, de Lint returns to the fictional Canadian town of Newford, where magical creatures coexist (for those who can see them) with ordinary citizens. He moves gracefully through the borders between reality and imagination, weaving a powerful tale about the relationship between an artist and her work. A strong addition to fantasy collections. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This novel so closely follows my process of my Scatterlings©… not to mention some personal experiences that I find it uncanny. I even stopped a couple chapters into the novel to check the copyright date to see if the author had been using my art as a muse for this book. Nope, copyright 1994; before I first started creating Scatterlings.

Which leaves me to wonder did I materialize his muse?

Many famous artists and writers have claimed to have had a “Muse”.

What is a Muse? The definition says it’s a guiding genius who motivates you.

Do you have a Muse? Is there someone who inspires you and your art? It doesn’t have to be a real person, maybe it’s a thing or a place.

Do muses, real or imagined, visit you in your studio space?

Beaded Pink Rose, Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”

Langston Hughes

I’ve just finished an acrylics on canvas and will show you the whole piece in the next few days. Today (while listening to the pitter patter of the drops) I am prepping another hand-painted tile.

I snapped this photo a week ago during a down-pour in Half Moon Bay. Thirsty lilies in a nest opening their mouths like baby birds don’t you think?

Watery reflections in the neighborhood. I am going to try to get out when the rain stops today to get some photos of rainbows. I have not had my camera with me the last three storms and missed them all.

Soft Lullaby, Speaking Rain; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

I Cannot Understand Why My Arm Is Not A Lilac Tree; Photo.  More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

e.e. cummings

Lilacs blooming on the porch. My daughter rescued this tree from the garden center a few years back – they were going to toss it. It was very uncooperative at first and refused to produce any blooms.

I found out the hard way to prune your lilac shrub at least every few years. When snipping off flowers take care to only snip the old blooms but don’t cut the flower buds at the base (on lilacs buds are easy to spot and form in pairs). When pruning, cut older stems, remove weak growth, and leave some vigorous suckers. It’s best to prune annually to thin out and remove seeds once bloom time has passed; this allows lilacs to conserve energy and improves appearance.

Lilacs produce its flower buds from late summer through fall for the following year’s display. Prune after, say, July 4th in the north and you risk reducing next year’s bloom. Prune in fall or early spring, and you guarantee that disappointment.

Lilacs; my favorite flowers.  What’s yours?

2 Bees; or Not 2 Bees. More Ascender’s Bee’s Knees: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII

~~~

Someone is always falling in love with you:
men and women, infants and children,
octogenarians and adolescents.
A tenant of heaven-haven on the pearly doorstep
hopes you will wave your hand in passing.
Where you stood just now a white bird
has flown into a ponderosa pine
and a black bee hovers in a bush of yellow flowers.

Living on Fire by Virginia Adair

More bee hive information then you can shake a stick at at Farmama. (Never, ever , shake a stick at a bee hive!)

Anna has an entire world of bees! Who knew there were entire bee species who live off of cactuses (cacti?) alone! And winter bees over at Border Bees.

“But don’t you understand?” mother would say. “Bees sting people but they also pollinate flowers and make honey that man uses as a sweetener. They are good insects. Not like houseflies, spiders or cock roaches. They are like the silkworm I told you about before.” (Autographed Letters Signed)

Holy moley; look at Stephanie’s Bee’s Knees. Close enough that you can literally reach out and pet it! Bee-sized cups indeed!

Bird loaded with willow pollen over at Lavendercreek.

Super Performance Doping at Carpetblog… Doping’s secret ingredient, which also distinguishes it from the other 15 jars we bought, is apparently bee pollen and its less well-known and equally potent cousin, bee milk.

“For every one who wants to be young with a strong mind and nerves and for every old man who dreams to have his youth back.”

Bees dancing on fading flowers over at Writing Every Day. I am not a brave photographer either of bees.

(Oh man… don’t you hate it when you get to the end of a post and just before you publish you lose every single link that you worked hours to scrounge up? Grrr)

Chimborazo by Frederic Church; oil on canvas, 48 x 84 in.

~~~

You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you.
You have to go to them sometimes.

A.A. Milne – Winnie the Pooh

Frederic Church was one of the leading American landscape painters of the 19th century and a key figure in the so-called Hudson River School, launched by his mentor, Thomas Cole, in the 1820s.

Although Church frequently depicted the grandeur of American scenery, he traveled widely and his subjects ranged from icebergs in the Arctic to ancient ruins in the Mediterranean to the jungles of South America.

Chimborazo is one of three monumental canvases that resulted from two trips Church made to Ecuador and Colombia in the 1850s, presenting a sublime view of nature in all of its magnificence and reflect the ideas of the European naturalist, Alexander von Humboldt. Rich in detail, Chimborazo is not a topographically accurate view. Rather it compresses into one painting the various environments found in Ecuador–the high desert, the mountains, and the jungle.

Is it just me; or does that strangely look like a white winged Scatterlings child standing on the boat; off to the right?

I think so. Detail of Scatterlings Sanctuary of Grace…

Not a detail in the Chimborazo painting… I found this Kingfisher in a mural at the Environmental Education Center (EEC) when visiting the Tilden Recreational Park last week.

Sanctuary of Grace print now available; click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more of “Sanctuary of Grace” here

“This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had”: my favorite search terms of last month. (Acrylics on Canvas, work in progress)

~~~

Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.”

Kahlil Gibrán

I seem to be taking my time with this piece; adding a layer here, taking away a layer there.  Maybe I will finally stop when I run out of paint?  It occurs to me that my process is many times different then some others.  Rather then having a subject in mind before hand I, more often then not, apply brush to canvas and begin.  Perhaps it is time to rethink…

Previous favorite search terms: “Acts of the Ascender“; “Quest Of The Purple-Fringed“. What terms are bringing people to your blog?

I received a critique on my Scatterlings© Dreams of Childhood from Ann McMillan (blog) at last night’s Burlingame Art Society “Wine & Cheese” Critique.

Ann suggested that I might create a series of Scatterlings© illustrations for children’s books. It is a thought that I am seriously considering. What think you?

Ann is a Central Coast artist studies the interaction of light and color in the tradition of California Impressionism. (I can’t seem to recall whose painting she is critiquing here)

Ann works in two styles in oil; palette knife work, and Impressionist “dab” work, using a brush or a pastel stick. These dab paintings take a long time: cleanly mixing each color and each daub is a pure stroke resulting in a lovely luminosity. Her pastel work taught her how bright and precise paint needs to be.

Her recent work emphasizes the intensity and subtlety of sun and shadow working to organize her painting around solid design and carefully mixed color. (I loved her “Tools of The Trade“… thick and creamy colors and texture – like painting with frosting!)

I also spoke to Boris Koodrin and Bardi Koodrin who asked me to consider exhibiting and selling these pieces at the San Mateo County Fair.

The fair should be fun this year; a Laser Spectacular’s Tribute to Michael Jackson, School of Rock, entertainment by Rick Springfield and Eddie Money… Recalling Weird Al Yankavic from a few years ago…

Here are some of my upcoming events:

Now through May 1, 2010 • “Beyond the Visible Terrain”© can now be viewed with other paintings by the Burlingame Art Society artists at the US Bank (Directions and Map)

• June 19 – 20, 2010 • Danville Arts Festival. (info) Check back for details.

• August 1 – 27th, 2010 • Selected limited-run prints; Caffe Sportivo (site) (Directions and map)

• (pending) August 27-28, 2010 • Tiburon Arts Festival. (info) Check back for details.

• October 16 – 17, 2010 • Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival. (info) Check back for details.

Riding With The Wind; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Butterflies and zebras
And moonbeams and fairy tales
That’s all she ever thinks about
Riding with the wind.

Jimi Hendrix

How was your Easter weekend?

We were expecting rain on Sunday, so we explored Tilden Recreational Park on Saturday and had some family time at home on Sunday.

Tilden Park Merry Go Round; The beautiful menagerie carousel was built by the Herschell- Spillman Company of North Tonawanda, New York for Ross Davis in 1911. According to the National Carousel Association web site San Francisco is something of a classic merry-go-round Mecca valued at nearly $2.5 million.

The  2,079-acre park is  between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.

(map)

Berkeley as seen near the entrance of Tilden Park.  That is the Golden Gate in the distance.

One more photo  before I let you go… On the way up to the entrance of the park we spotted a family of five young deer walking down the sidewalk toward Berkeley.

And get this…

It was on the corner of Easter Road.

Some kind of sign?

I think so.

Yellow Dreams; Photos. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Blasts from the past were like the rooms one entered and re-entered in dreams: they would not stay nailed down. When you returned to them, they had changed – they suddenly had more space or a tilt or a door that had not been there before. New people were milling around, the floors undulated, and the sun shone newly, strangely in the windows, or through the now blasted-open ceiling, or else it shone not at all, as if having fled the sky.

Lorrie Moore

What’s On My Desk; Acrylic on Canvas

~~~

Baker Baker, baking a cake
make me a day, make me whole again
And I wonder, what’s in a day
what’s in your cake this time

Tori Amos

It’s coming up spring. A little bit of rain, a little bit of sun. A little bit of painting, a little bit of cleaning. A little bit of dancing…

My show comes down at 3 Bees Coffee House today. I have been thinking of the upcoming art festivals in Danville and Half Moon Bay; trying to dream of ways to build my own easels. (Know of any?) I am thinking of creating some prayer flags to fly in my booth beneath my banner… but I don’t want to hide the red lanterns. (What do you think?)

I scouted the web for photos of other’s prayer and peace flags: (chuckling at Google’s April Fools Day prank of leaving all the vowels off it’s search engine page). See photos of peace/prayer flags here:

Gritz Photo Blog

City Mama

scrap blog me baby

songs of light

karen michel here and here

rodrigvitz style

bird dog press

on my tip toes

wandering chef

bee creative

clarissa callesen

I glanced out the window and caught this jay taking off the porch. It reminded me of a conversation with Vickie Henderson on Facebook who posed with a jay on her head. I think hercjays are much more tame then ours!

We have lift off.

Tunnel Vision; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you.”

Aerosmith

I mentioned the other day that I would tell you a bit about Baker-Barry Tunnel….

Formerly a military tunnel connecting Fort Baker and Fort Cronkhite, the half-mile Baker-Barry Tunnel serves as an important gateway to the Marin Headlands (part of the greater Golden Gate National Recreation Area ).

The narrow tunnel has one lane for vehicles, but has bike lanes in both directions. It is closed to pedestrians. The traffic signal alternates every 5 minute to allow the opposing direction of vehicle traffic to proceed. Bikes may proceed at any time, and a flashing beacon can be activated by cyclists to warn motorists that there are bikes in the tunnel

The tunnel gives cyclists a relatively level alternative to a hilly overland route, and provides access to features of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area such as the Point Bonita Lighthouse, the Marine Mammal Center, and Fort Cronkhite (location map).

A reversible lane (called a counterflow lane or contraflow lane in transport engineeringnomenclature) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions.

When you emerge from the tunnel this is one of the first buildings you see. No frogs were harmed at any point in our trip.

Bird on a pole; Fort Cronkhite in the background; home to Headlands Center for the Arts, perfectly situated for exploring both natural and urban environments.

I loved this biki team logo; in the shape of a sugarskull.

The end of a another sunny weekend, rain moving in tomorrow. Back to the salt mines.

What’s On My Desk. Acrylic on canvas.

Don’t Touch Me! Don’t Touch Anyone Who Looks Like Me!; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

When the seals accidentally touch they bellow
and fuss, they throw their heads to the sky,
they wave and writhe and moan
the other away until again each feels
itself owner of the shoreline.

Landscapes with Elephant Seals and Umbrellas by C.J. Sage

I didn’t mention on my post the other day that we were on the way to The Marine Mammal Center when we were sidetracked into Fort Cronkhite and explored Battery Townsley. The Marine Mammal Center rescues, rehabilitates, and does environmental research and education with marine mammals such as cetaceans and seals.

Elephant seal statue located in front of the center.

The major causes of marine animals needing rescue are loss of weight and dehydration, disease and/or parasites, injury from other sea animals or man, pollution and being caught in nets. The center is able to rehabilitate and release about 90% of the ones they rescue.

Those with weight loss and dehydration issues are placed in the “nursery” where they have a heated floor and wrapped in warm towels. These seals and sea lions usually did not learn to be competitive eaters and must first be tube fed “fish smoothies”, then fed frozen fish and eventually are actually taught to eat by the animal handlers. To do that job, the handlers need to be strong and quick to avoid being bitten.

No one is allowed to talk to the animals. They are not pets and we don’t want them bonding to humans. The exception is the “pups” that have to be bottle fed. They automatically imprint on their humans and therefore cannot be released in the wild. They are sent to zoos.

Me, looking into an operating room. Some of the hospital functions include thoracic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and orthopedic surgery as well as routine examinations and blood sampling for patient diagnosis.

Some of the techniques used include electroencephalography, positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

It was on the way to the main cages that we noticed this sign. Things that make you go ‘hmmm’.

Isn’t this a great bird on a wire that I captured on the fence? I didn’t alter the image – the blue mirror was the only color in that area. It’s the sign of the crow… still following me wherever I go.

I thought this guy was flashing a tooth when we were leaving… but look – it’s the Bee’s Knees! (I am not sure what the purple mark means.)

To find out the number of animals check out the current patients page or call The Center’s main line at 415.289.7325 (SEAL).

Although a grant pays for a full time veterinarian, almost everything else is supported by volunteers and donations. The Marine Mammal Center’s new hospital is a “green” marvel in its use of recycled building materials, approach to conserving energy, and the way it maintains harmony between the existing natural landscape of the Marin Headlands and its patient’s needs.

I think it bears repeating that the Center is a hospital with the goal of releasing rehabilitated marine mammals back to the wild. Not all animals are visible from public viewing areas. Animals that are especially sensitive are placed outside of public viewing areas to limit the impact of human activity around the animals. Riding the seals are never allowed.

Golden Gate from the highway to Sausalito (from Spanish: sauzalito “small willow grove” + “place of abundance”)

We slipped into Sausalito for a few minutes. Prior to the building of The Golden Gate, Sausalito developed rapidly as a shipbuilding center in World War II, the city’s industrial character gave way in postwar years to a reputation as an artistic enclave.

And it was back home over the Golden Gate, now shrouded in fog.  I have still to tell you about “the tunnel”

Over the ledge from Battery Townsley in Sausalito; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

Roald Dahl

It was a sunny day Sunday, perfect for a road trip, as we set off of the Marine Mammal Center (more on that in a later post) and was pulled into Fort Cronkhite area where we discovered Battery Townsley.

The location of Battery Townsesly was so concealed that not even civilians living in San Francisco knew of it. The location lended to much isolation from civilization and some of the the soldiers even requested to be transferred, as they didn’t feel they were sufficiently helping out in the war effort.

Golden Gate as seen from Battery Townsesly

Yeah; that is a really big crack in the foundation that my oldest daughter is walking over. The Golden Gate in the far distance.

Battery construction was begun in Jan 1938, completed 1 Jul 1940 and transferred to the Coastal Artillery for use 24 Jul 1940 at a total cost of $595,000. Deactivated in 1948 after World War II.

Looking out the look-out tower

Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile…

Banksy

Battery Townsley was a high security operation. A battery of this design had never been actually fired before, so the soldiers underwent several months of practice before firing the guns for the first time. The men were subjected to endless training, often under difficult situations: in the rain, in the pitch dark with all the electricity shut off, or with their commanding officer blocking the traditional route to the battery. The practice of dealing with any contingency ensured that the soldiers could operate their guns at a moment’s notice (and almost in their sleep) if ever under enemy attack.

Oldest daughter doing the happy dance on top of the world.

Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall – it’s wet. “

Banksy

My oh so very brave youngest daughter; she’s goin’ in.

By summer of 1940, Battery Townsley was ready for testing with live ammunition. The army estimated that the projectile’s farthest range would be 30 miles out to sea, about 5 miles beyond the Farallon Islands. Waiting for a non-foggy day in July took some patience, but finally, the fog cleared and the test shot was fired. As the whole mountain shook with the power of this incredible machine, the projectile went even farther than anticipated. Battery Townsley, together with Battery Davis at Fort Funston on the Pacific shore south of the Golden Gate, became the prototypes for the army’s future coastal defenses; the army planned to construct at least 25 additional 16-inch gun batteries along both the nation’s eastern and western seaboards. (Remember Fort Funston? We went there the other day here and here)

beer? loser? If graffiti warns you to stay out; would you even know?

Concrete ghost? Even a few trees with graffiti.

Dreaming of Bees; Photo.  More Ascender’s Bee’s Knees: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII

~~~

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt – marvellous error! -
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

Antonio Machado

Spring brings good news:  I am proud to announce I was juried into the Danville Arts Festival and the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival.  Woot.  More details soon.

Finally Spring? Photo. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

The world is exploding in emerald, sage, and lusty chartreuse – neon green with so much yellow in it. It is an explosive green that, if one could watch it moment by moment throughout the day, would grow in every dimension.”

Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World by Amy Seidl

My exhibit continues at 3 Bees Coffee House (224 East 3rd Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401) (Directions and map) through April 1, 2010.

I Still Seek You, Collage and Acrylics on Canvas Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Scatterling darting behind a tree? Proof? Photo. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful
without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Some people need proof that Scatterlings© exists…

“Beyond the Visible Terrain”© Original can now be viewed with other paintings by the Burlingame Art Society artists at the US Bank (1423 Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame, CA) from March 12, 2010 through May 6, 2010. (Directions and Map)

The framed print is being exhibited at 3 Bees Coffee House (224 East 3rd Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401) (Directions and map) through April 1, 2010.

Beyond the Visible Terrain; click on image for larger view. Purchase a limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Ancestral Hall; Acrylic on Stone; 12″ x 12″

~~~

HELPED are those who love all the colors of all the human beings, as they love all the colors of the animals and plants; none of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.

Alice Walker

My most recent painting is inspired by layers of peeling wallpaper – the project’s aim is to highlight the beauty of the aging material by transforming a surface destroyed by time and usage into another form. Painting peeling wallpaper; not as easy as you would think…

DEtail of Hear Me Bench in San Mateo; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

e.e. cummings

Do you remember studying Anyone lived in a pretty how town in school? It exemplifies the busy life that humans live and their inability to focus on the little things in life.

Of course I had to go and search out an example of ee cummings as a painter…

“Less well-known, however, are Cummings’ achievements as a visual artist and the extent to which they express in an entirely different medium the same aesthetic principles and rigorous artistic intelligence that inform his poetry. Cummings viewed himself as much a painter as a poet, as evidenced by the enormous amount of time and energy he devoted to this lesser-known half of his “twin obsession.” Not only did Cummings spend a greater portion of his time painting than writing, he also produced thousands of pages of carefully thought-out notes concerning his own aesthetics of painting: color-theory, analysis of the human form, the “intelligence” of painting, reflections on the Masters, etc…. www.eecummingsart.com

When Cummings died in 1962, he left to his estate a large oeuvre of visual art, including oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings. The current collection comprises the bulk of the material he left at his death–a large number of pieces representing the width and breadth of Cummings’ visual output. Included are landscape, travels, portraits (… more)

Still Waiting For Spring. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

A shy man seeks perfection in his art:
Across vast acres, color and shape of tidiness,
Iowa’s unruly grass submits, blade by blade.
The blue of Mother’s dishes tints the sky.

Across vast acres, color and shape of tidiness,
sloping rows and rectangles piece a new land.
The blue of Mother’s dishes tints the sky.
Like a black quilt tied with loops of green,

sloping rows and rectangles piece the new land.
The reassuring fields of corn unfold
like black quilts tied with loops of green.
Under the artist’s alchemy,

the reassuring fields of corn unfold.
Sweet clouds hover like the hands of God.
Under the artist’s alchemy,
even winter’s leaden skies grow bright.

Sweet clouds hover like the hands of God
as the Thirties’ skylines and bread lines disappear.
Even winter’s leaden skies grow bright.
A yellow hill rises, like the belly of a woman ripe with child,

as the skylines and bread lines disappear.
Iowa’s unruly grass submits, blade by blade,
a yellow hill rises—
and the shy man finds perfection in his art.

For Grant Wood by Margaret Mackinnon

Still Life In A Green Chair by Roger Medearis; egg tempera on board.

Roger Medearis was an American Regionalist painter. He was a student of Thomas Hart Benton while at the Kansas City Art Institute in the late 1930s and took up the technique of egg tempera painting, a rediscovered medium popular with Regionalists.

Regionalism is the artistic focus was from artists who shunned city life, and rapidly developing technological advances, to create scenes of rural life. Regionalist style was at its height from 1930 to 1935, and is best-known through the so-called “Regionalist Triumvirate” of Grant Wood in Iowa, Thomas Hart Benton in Missouri, and John Steuart Curry in Kansas. During the Great Depression of the 1930s. Regionalist-type imagery appeared in magazine advertisements, and influenced American children’s book illustrators such as Holling Clancy Holling.

You remember Grant Wood’s oft-parodied American Gothic, right? It’s common knowledge that the models of the painting were Wood’s sister, Nan Wood Graham (1900-90), & his local dentist from Cedar Rapids, Dr. Byron H. McKeeby (1867-1950), interestingly, both sat separately and never in situ in front of the Carpenter Gothic style house (Sears, Roebuck & Co. used to sell them as kits) which still is standing in Eldon, Wapello County, Iowa.

Which, of course, set me off on Google to search for some American Gothic parodied paintings:

Warm Christmas American Gothic

Picnic American Gothi

Amazon Robot American Gothic

Feet American Gothic

robert parada

galgas

Jeffrey hill

stu jenks

Vera’s Doll Stories

Fading Ad

angelninas photography

Julie Blackmon

Penn Stater

rodrigvitz style

More Paintings by Roger Medearis. (Don’t you love Godly Susan at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art?)

I’ve Read Of Bravery print now available.

~~~

Creativity takes courage.

Henri Matisse

Remember when I used to do blogtipping? When I first began blogging I was introduced to the idea of blogtipping, and I learned there was a tradition pointing readers to other blogs you like. Many fellow bloggers were kind enough to tip people to my blog, and I’ve done it several times – although not for quite a while.

Perhaps the tradition has moved to  Facebook or Twitter ? I’m on Twitter but prefer writing and reading blogs (not limited by 140 characters!)

So; here are a five blogs I’ve recently popped into my Google Reader. Because my theme today is “bravery”; I have chose ones I think to use brave subject matter and worth reading, I hope you agree.

The Flog; launched in 2005 by Fette as a way to connect with the flourishing art scene of Los Angeles and to promote the work of the artists working there. Fette live in Berlin, and sometimes in Los Angeles. She runs fette’s gallery and takes photographs.

Conscientious; Jörg Colberg’s weblog about fine-art photography (and more). Some strong content.

Zoe Strauss; photographs – many quite brave.

Lunch Bunch; wo friends that get together once a week to create home-made meal packages to pass out to the homeless of Los Angeles, CA.

art or idiocy; Erik Wenzel; art… or not so much?

Three prints exhibited at 3 Bees Coffee House • March 1 – April 1, 2010 • 224 East 3rd Avenue; San Mateo, CA 94401 (Directions and map)

“Acts Of The Asender”: my top search term last month. (What’s On My Desk. acrylics)

~~~

It’s funny. I met a man once who did a lot of mountain climbing. I asked him which was harder, ascending or descending?

He said without a doubt descending, because ascending you were so focused on reaching the top, you avoided mistakes.

The backside of a mountain is a fight against human nature,” he said. “You have to care as much about yourself on the way down as you did on the way up.”

Mitch Albom (For One More Day)

Detail of “It’s A Slippery Hole” print; read more here.

Through the window of 3 Bees Coffee House;
224 East 3rd Avenue; San Mateo, CA 94401 (Directions and map). March 1 – April 1, 2010

Mr Johnny Depp! Photo. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”

Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Exhibit at Three Bees

~~~

And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.

Dr. Seuss

Shoe tree in San Francisco by the Pier. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

I’ve got nothing to do today but smile.

Simon and Garfunkel

Work in progress.

~~~

As the air warms, and rains come, the mountain flowers pop colors out like paint buckets have been spilled all over the mountainsides.

The Education of Little Tree

A visit to the tea garden the other day. This robin should make up for that bird stink eye I posted previously. The first robin of the season.

Mossy, refreshing, tranquil, watery and green.

These ducks seem to have taken quite a liking to me; every time I visit they follow me around like puppies.

But that stroll was all the other day.

Today it rains, meaning more snow next week for the midwest.

Again, did I mention I saw my first robin of the spring?

One Bee’s Knees, Photos. More Bee’s Knees. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved.”

Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees)

Two Bee’s Knees.

I will be exhibiting at 3 Bees Coffee House in San Mateo from March 1st to April 1st – located at 224 East 3rd Avenue (Directions and map). I will be exhibiting framed prints from the limited run series I mentioned earlier in the year.

I think in order to grow every artist should continually challenge themselves and try new things and these prints were the result of trying out new techniques, styles while trying to engage more interaction in the composition of the works. I try to continue to work at being an ‘adaptable’ artist in several forms of mediums and concepts while still remaining true to myself and creating series of works. Here is a critique of some of my collages being exhibited.

If you can’t make it to the cafe you can see my online selection here, but you’ll be missing the coffee, pastries and ambiance.

Three Bee’s Knees. See more Ascender’s Bee’s Knees I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI

Here is a sampling of some of the art being shown:

The Parlor Door; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

It’s A Slippery Hole; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

The No Good; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Work in progress, acrylics on tile.

~~~

Her lips were open – not a sound
Came though the parted lines of red

Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

Tulip Deconstructed; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos

~~~

And I am aware of my heart: it opens and closes
Its bowl of red blooms out of sheer love of me.

Sylvia Plath, Tulips

Tulip Mania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed. At the peak of tulip mania in February 1637, tulip contracts sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. It is generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble (or economic bubble)

(I took the photo before I read the connection to the economic bubble – ha, serendipity.)

The modern discussion of tulip mania began with the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, published in 1841 by the Scottish journalist Charles Mackay; he proposed that crowds of people often behave irrationally, and tulip mania was one of his primary examples.

Legend tells of Ferhad, a Persian youth, who fell in love with a young woman. Her name was Shirin and she did not feel the same about him as he did about her. Because of this Ferhad traveled into the desert to die, from a “broken heart.” As he began to feel heartache, he started to cry. His tears are said to have turned into beautiful tulips. Because of this legend, the Persians use the tulip as an offering a young man makes to his beloved.

Tulip Shrine at Be, Dream, Play

Stained glass tulip pattern at Ornamental

Tulip as landscape at Daily Mail UK

Tulips down under at Unbecoming Lily

Purple tulip at Paris Parfait

Painting in progress; acrylics on tile. The first of a series.

~~~

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn to the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Frank Herbert in Dune

We returned to Fort Funston last week. Fort Funston is one of the best places on the planet to hang glide. Consistently flyable winds year round, easy access from all over the SF Bay Area, a variety of challenging and rewarding weather conditions, convenient top landing, and the near-mythical Funston Shear make it an all-around favorite. Fly Funston

The world record for the farthest thrown object was set here in 2003 by Erin Hemmings, who threw an Aerobie flying ring 1,333 feet. See the conditions right now – check out the hang-gliders’ Fort Funston web cam.

Rocky Landscape by John Frederick Kensett, American artist and engraver.

~~~

Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous halo, a semitransparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end.”

Virginia Woolf

Kensett is best known for his landscape and seascapes of coastal New England. He is most closely associated with the so-called “second generation” of the Hudson River School. Along with Sanford Robinson Gifford, Fitz Hugh Lane, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Martin Johnson Heade and others, the works of the “Luminists,” as they came to be known, were characterized by unselfconscious, nearly invisible brushstrokes used to convey the qualities and effects of atmospheric light.

In some ways, the style is similar to Tonalism, with an emphasis on tone (light and shadow) more than color. What makes Luminism different is the sense of light — and sometimes contrast — that make the subject seem to glow. It could be considered the spiritual, if not stylistic, cousin to Impressionism.

Valentine’s Day road trip! Some luminescent green fields near Half Moon Bay

and some luminescent pumpkins remaining from last years Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay

I no sooner spotted this tee-pee when I immediately lost it behind a hill.

Next destination: the ocean!

Yippee!

Some frolicking ensued, our first sun in this area in weeks.

When the puppy would no longer play it was off to explore the ocean floor for sea urchins.

Yes; that is the notorious surf you heard about this weekend.

(I just noticed it appears that the tide took her away… nope; it’s a different rock.)

Speaking of luminists: here is a print that I have available with the same luminous green seen in the hills of California…

I Still Seek You, Collage and Acrylics on Canvas Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more here. Full list of limited run prints here.

I Sleep In The Park; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.

Attributed to Claudia Ghandi

I spotted this little guy in the park napping in the center of a flower.

Sleeping Scatterlings© are everywhere! You just need to look closely to find them.

Detail of a Scatterlings from the Bird’s Eye View print.

Bird’s Eye View (Scatterlings©); click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more of “Bird’s Eye View”© here and here

See more Scatterlings©. Read critique.

A huge selection on a limited run (25 ea) 11×17 prints of my top 50 images here.

These prints are at the affordable price of $17.00 – a great opportunity to purchase one of these 50 assorted images. They won’t be listed here again at this sensational price.

These posters are printed on 80 lb Dull Cover paper with HP Indigo Inks on an Indigo 5000 press (a commercial printer, not a home printer!)

Printed to the border, signed on the back and dated. Cropped as shown. Copyright notice is to protect the digital image. It will NOT appear on the actual print. I ship flat inside a sturdy nonbending envelope using First Class USPS mail to assure it arrives to you in newborn condition. Shipping: $4.95.

1) Sanctuary of Grace; click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more of “Sanctuary of Grace” here

2) Bird’s Eye View; click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See more of “Bird’s Eye View”© here and here

Fort Funston, looking towards the ocean. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Today was good.
Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.

Dr. Seuss

Entering Fort Funston (aka Dog Heaven) Let the fun begin.

Fort Funston is a rugged stretch of coastal headlands, sand, and dunes south of Ocean Beach. In some places, the dunes reach heights of 200 feet or more. At the foot of Fort Funston’s cliffs is a wild and windy beach suitable for walking or horseback riding.

A wooden viewing deck hugs the hillside at Fort Funston, right off the parking area, and offers spectacular views of soaring hang-gliders and the coastline.

If you like to wade in the ocean, beware of riptides – actually rip “currents”. Here’s an excellent 4 minute video that explains how rip currents form and how to survive one. And one more danger (the “Pacific” Ocean isn’t always peaceful!) – beware of sneaker waves. These are disproportionately large waves that appear without warning and can sweep people off the beach and out to sea. (Check SFWATER to make sure there aren’t any sewage spills on the beach – especially during the storm season.)

From the cliffs that Fort Funston sits upon, you are given a great view point of the Pacific Ocean. Along here, it is possible to see whales swimming along and dolphins playing in the waves.

The area’s one gigantic canine playground, with sand and birds and cliffs and seaweed and smelly rotting stuff and lots of other happy dogs and dog-happy people.

Except under the most adverse weather conditions you will find yourself sharing the parking lot with hang-glider enthusiasts. From here check the ocean for flocks of feeding birds that may include Brown Pelicans, Brandt’s Cormorants, Western and Heerman’s Gulls as well as Forster’s, Elegant and Caspian Terns. There is always a chance of a Pomarine or Parasitic Jaeger, particularly during late summer and fall. Although few birds stop in the shrubs near the overlook, this scrub growth has attracted vagrants, notably a Sedge Wren and a Blackburnian Warbler. Killdeer, Blackbird and American Pipits

Unstable cliff area. People and dogs have been injured falling from these cliffs. (How funny are those illustrations of dog and person falling?)

Park visitors come to Fort Funston with their well-behaved dogs. Enjoy the fresh air, commune with nature, and enhance your and your dog’s social skills. Although off-leash activity is permitted, bring a leash for each dog in case more control is needed, and make sure you’ve always got an extra pick-up bag.

(I was concerned about the little girl with no shoes, it was quite chilly that day)

Major General Frederick Funston became a hero in San Francisco on April 18, 1906 when the city was struck by a massive earthquake. Funston led the army into the city to help fight the massive fires and provide aid to the survivors. That’s the Golden Gate in the distance.

Warning. Powerless flight vehicles operate in this area. Crashes have occurred on this observation deck. Serious bodily injury can occur. Use At Your Own Risk. (huh? powerless flight vehicles?)

The strong, steady winds make the cliffs overlooking the beach a popular site for hang gliding. The world record for the farthest thrown object was set here in 2003 by Erin Hemmings, who threw an Aerobie flying ring 1,333 feet. See the conditions right now – check out the hang-gliders’ Fort Funston web cam.

The fort, renamed for Major General Frederick Funston in 1917, began to take shape during World War I, with the construction of a parade ground, barracks and a series of coastal batteries. The batteries were declared obsolete shortly after World War II, but Fort Funston later became a Nike missile launch site. The fort was inactivated in 1963 and eventually transferred to the National Parks Service to be administered as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The barrels of its two massive, 16-inch guns weighed 146 tons apiece. Battery Davis served as the prototype for all 16-inch gun emplacements built in America after 1938.

(Chuckle… That is a dog walking my daughter in the background)

Detail of The Luckiest Girl In The World #2

~~~

Love has crept into her sealed heart
As a field bee, black and amber,
Breaks from the winter-cell, to clamber
Up the warm grass where the sunbeams start.

Love has crept into her summery eyes,
And a glint of colored sunshine brings
Such as his along the folded wings
Of the bee before he flies.

Song (“Love has crept…”) by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

Facebook friend Sarah asks: Best Love Song Ever? Sticky-sweet? Or sappy? Or genuinely romantic?

Some of mine:

Brand New Key by Melanie

Happy Together by The Turtles

Maybe I’m Amazed by Wings

Something by The Beatles… and pretty much everything on Across The Universe.

Building A Mystery by Sarah McLachlan

I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick

Alison by Elvis Costello

Unforgettable by Nat King Cole

I’m Already There by Lonestar

I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab For Cutie

What are your favorite love songs?

1) The Luckiest Girl In The World #2; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) Be Kind #2; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Bird Stink Eye; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Stink Eye sideswipes into you
out of nowhere
where somebody been thinking
evil thoughts about you,
wishing bad luck to blow bad breath upon you,
knock you down,
forget your words,
drop your tools,
make you sputter and drool.
Under the bed,
in Stink Eye’s room,
get one picture of you
stabbed like one pin cushion
with so many needles, stabbed
like one cactus, stabbed like one porcupine.

Stink Eye by Cathy Song

Detail of Be Kind #2; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view.

Detail of Be Kind (#1); Collage on Paper Print.

1) The Luckiest Girl In The World #2; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) Be Kind #2; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

1) Be Kind (#1); Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) Annie; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Detail of The Luckiest Girl In The World (#1) print

~~~

Come live in my heart and pay no rent.

Samuel Lover

The Luckiest Girl In The World (#1); Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Why send a valentine, when you can send a poster?

These prints are at the affordable price of $17.00 – a great opportunity to purchase one of these 50 assorted images. They won’t be listed here again at this sensational price.

1) Tightrope Walker; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling

2) Laying With The Lily; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

See full line A limited run (25 ea.) of my top 50 images, 11″x17″.

These posters are printed on 80 lb Dull Cover paper with HP Indigo Inks on an Indigo 5000 press (a commercial printer, not a home printer!

Printed to the border, signed on the back and dated. Cropped as shown. Copyright notice is to protect the digital image. It will NOT appear on the actual print. I ship flat inside a sturdy nonbending envelope using First Class USPS mail to assure it arrives to you in newborn condition. Shipping: $4.95

Unknown painting at the Huntington (anyone know the title?)

~~~

To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.

Jane Austen

Austen’s plots are fundamentally about education; her heroines come to see themselves and their conduct more clearly, and become better, more moral people. Most critics agree that her novels highlight how some female characters take charge of their own worlds while others are confined, physically and spiritually. Almost all of her works explore the precarious economic situation in which women of the late 18th and early 19th centuries found themselves.

Jane Austen inspired blogs:

• A Jane Austen Outlook on Life
• Addicted to Jane Austen
• Ask Jane Austen
• Austen Efforts
• Austen Endeavours
• Austen Inspiration
• Austen Pride
• Austen Sequels
• Austen-tatious
• austen.com
• Austenacious
• AustenBlog
• Austencats
• Austenesque Reviews
• Austenfans
• Austenonly
• Austenprose
• Austentation
• Becoming Jane Fansite
• Embarking On A Course Of Study
• Emma Adaptations
• Enchanted Serenity of Period Films
• Fans of Jane Austen
• Finding Jane Austen
• Idolising Jane
• Jane Austen Addict
• Jane Austen Addict2
• Jane Austen Fan
• Jane Austen Forever More
• Jane Austen in Vermont
• Jane Austen Quote of the Day
• Jane Austen Regrets
• Jane Austen Reviews
• Jane Austen Sequels (Jane Odiwe)
• Jane Austen Sequels (Joan Ellen Delman)
• Jane Austen Today
• Jane Austen’s House Museum: Writer in Residence
• Jane Austen’s World
• Jane Obsessed with Jane
• JaneAusten.org
• Janetility
• Mending My Own Pen
• Mollands
• Musings on Pride and Prejudice
• My Pride and Prejudice
• Old Fogey
• Old Grey Pony
• Only a Novel
• PBS Remotely Conneted Blog: The Complete Jane Austen
• Pride and Prejudice (2005) Blog
• Reading Jane Austen
• Republic of Pemberley
• Rethinking Jane Austen
• Seeking Jane Austen
• Solitary Elegance
• Story and History: A Guide to Everything Jane Austen
• The Complete Jane Austen on PBS
• The Jane Austen FanListing
• The Loiterer

1) The No Good; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) Do Things, Doing Things; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Saddlebag, Mixed Media, Collage. Inquire to purchase a print.

~~~

dark
presences slowly
focus
revelation of
tulip blacks, delicate
browns

A March by Denise Levertov

Horse Totem:

The horse symbolizes freedom and the power that comes with being free, although taming the horse wasn’t easy, as their spirit for freedom was a fire that burned within them.

Those with this medicine can be fiercely independent and have little tolerance for anything or anyone that limits their free expression. Those with this totem are teachers to their partners, friends and family showing them how to stand solid within themselves. Individuals who choose to be involved with a horse person do so because the need for self empowerment is strong. They seek the horse and the power it holds rather than the horse seeking them. Intuitive and wise they make excellent therapists. Horses need a close-knit group of friends and family, as, despite his independence, the horse is also a herd animal.

If horse has come to you, you are being offered a gift of safe movement. Is there somewhere that you want or need to go? Horse can help you get there, whether the place is physical or spiritual. The horse asks you to awaken your inner power and move forward with courage.

1) Soft Lullaby, Speaking Rain; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) I’ve Read Of Bravery; Collage on Paper Print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Find more of my limited run (25 ea.) of my top 50 images here, 11″ x 17″. These posters are printed on 80 lb Dull Cover paper with HP Indigo Inks on an Indigo 5000 press (a commercial printer, not a home printer!) Printed to the border, signed on the back and dated. Cropped as shown. Copyright notice is to protect the digital image. It will NOT appear on the actual print. I ship flat inside a sturdy nonbending envelope using First Class USPS mail to assure it arrives to you in newborn condition.

]]> http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?feed=rss2&p=7373 7 http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=8940 http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=8940#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:24:53 +0000 AscenderRisesAbove http://ascenderrisesabove.com/?p=8940

Farewell; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”

J.D. Salinger

Moonjuice; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

~~~

Feel of rain in the face
moonjuice/
partial to poets
the lady’s tears

Tony Scibella

Tony Scibella was a member of a Beat Generation colony in Venice, California—nestled on beach front just south of Santa Monica—that flourished briefly in the late 50s before it was publicized into ruination.

Scibella begins from the blue-collar Italian childhood that he spent so much time trying to break away from. In recognizable Beat Prosody that comprises fractured grammar, ragged margins and angular rhythms, he swings back and forth from young urban impressions and memories of wartime propaganda…

Scibella has somehow managed to capture the immediacy of life in Venice, not just his life, but street life in general, all in his nonstop hipster patter. It’s infectious, powerful testimony. We can use as much of that as we can get.

The Dying Sea Gull by Elhiu Vedder

~~~

Fly on, sea-birds!
fly sideways,
or wheel in large circles high in the air;
Receive the summer sky,
you water,
and faithfully hold it
till all downcast eyes have time
to take it from you!
Diverge,
fine spokes of light,
from the shape of my head,
or any one’s head,
in the sunlit water!

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman

The American artist Elihu Vedder (1836-1923); an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet; is little known in contemporary art circles.

Vedder made a small living by undertaking commercial illustrations. He was involved in the bohemian ‘Pfaff’s’ coffee house group, and painted some of his most memorable paintings notable for their visionary nature, romantic imagery and often Oriental influences. Paintings of this time include ‘The Roc’s Egg’, ‘The Fisherman and the Genii’ and one of his most famous works, ‘Lair of the Sea Serpent.’ In the USA he sought out and became friends with Walt Whitman, Herman Melville and William Morris Hunt.

At the end of the Civil War he left America to live in Italy. He married Caroline Rosekrans and had four children. His daughter Anita Herriman Vedder played a vital role in handling the business of her father, who was notorious for his general aloofness towards details. Elihu’s son Enoch Rosekrans Vedder was a promising architect who married jewelry designer Angela Reston.

Elhiu Vedder often painted scenes of tragedy and death.  In The Dying Seagull one bird from the flock of Black headed gulls has fallen to the beach. Gulls are monogamous and the dying birds mate remains with it while their flock flies away in the distance. The paintings’ poignant meditation on the loss of family had particular resonance for Vedder; who two of this children had died before he painted this image.

To create paintings such as the dying sea gull Vedder combined observation of nature with fantasy. A similar seascape appears in several of Vedders’ paintings and is most like based in a beach in Italy where he lived much of his adult life. While the setting is from Vedders experience the artist’s subjects came from his imagination memory or literary sources.

Click on image for larger view.

1) Blessing the Birds; Collage on Tile print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

2) Tropical Altar; Collage on Tile print. Click on image for larger view. Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling.

Find more of my limited run (25 ea.) of my top 50 images here, 11″x17″; one time price of $17.00 plus 4.95 shipping!

The Quest Of The Purple-Fringed; Photos. More Ascender’s Photos.

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Hers is the savage splendor of the swamp,
With pomp of scarlet and of purple bloom,
Where blow warm, furtive breezes faint and damp,
Strange insects whir, and stalking bitterns boom

The South by Emma Lazarus

Strange insects whir, and stalking bitterns boom… Detail of “Unscene; Scatterlings©”.

Scatterlings© is a collection of self-directed enchantment art which combines actual foliage with watercolor and color pencil mediums. Hidden among the actual and rendered foliage are an enchanted assortment of Scatterlings; mythical animals and fairies. These one-of-a-kind folk art pieces take up to a year to complete as flowers and leaves are collected, pressed, preserved and finally hidden within a vision that evolves continually. (Mixed Media; Pressed Foliage, Watercolor, Colored Pencil, Pen and Ink on Handmade Paper. See more of this “Unscene”© here

Purchase limited-run 11×17 print for $17.00 + shipping and handling. See remaining prints here. These posters are printed on 80 lb Dull Cover paper with HP Indigo Inks on an Indigo 5000 press (a commercial printer, not a home printer!) Click on image for a larger view.

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I always enjoy reading on others blogs which search engine terms bring viewers. Search terms are words placed in search engines that led innocent reader to our blogs. Said terms are frequently amusing, intriguing, and unrelated:

the quest of the purple-fringed

filippo brunelleschi demonstrated the geometrical method of perspective

Lagardo Tackett eggheads

monster truck

bird feather composition and origin

hair raising images

mourning parlor door

ascender sandal

hearing voices running water bipolar

photo images for drunk in a midnight choi

desk phone with see you see me

tightrope walker photography falling circus

picture of 4 feathered birds used in cooking

7th child accident prone

A few misspelled words bring visitors. :

caaligraphy abstrauct painting

toilet to tap signs on hgihway

picutre of hair raising

strawberry firleds. art. stipling

I can’t help but wonder who’s doing these searches and why – I’ll probably never know.  I guess I will go on a quest for the purple fringed accident prone tightrope walker Ascender as I hear voices and see drunk midnight images of four feathered birds while painting abstrauct hgihway and firleds picutres.

What terms bring people to your blog?

The Soul Can Split The Sky In Two; Photo. More Ascender’s Photos.

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The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide;
Above the world is stretched the sky,
No higher than the soul is high.

The heart can push the sea and land
Farther away on either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two,

Renascence by Edna St. Vincent Millay

I mentioned to Aravis yesterday that I would try to find out more on this building on the rocks near Pacifica. I have been unable to get a non-blurry photo of it… and I must have 100 blurry ones. It is in an area called Devils Slide on Highway One. It is the remnants of a WWII bunker, similar to those at Fort Funston; a highly protected area that is nearly impossible to explore.

“Prior to 01 July 1940, the War Department acquired 9.61 … acres for a triangulation station and observation site. Devil’s Slide was one of a series of observation posts during pre-radar days and was a part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco. Military personnel would use binoculars and compasses to search for ships at sea and relay the position … using information received from other observation posts. Improvements to the site began in 1943, and included three observation pill-boxes, one electric generatorbunker, one communications and command bunker, and an observation tower.” ( see non blurry photos at artificialowl.net)

Map of bunker one and bunker two

Bird flock splitting the skies on Highway 5 on the way to LA

Sunset behind palms near The Grapevine on Highway 5.

Near Gilroy

Cattle, sheep, horses; all along Highway 5.

Speaking of land meeting sky… did you notice that I place all 50 images of the limited run (25 ea) 11×17 prints on it’s own page while supplies last.  Thanks Aravis, for your kind words about your Scatterlings© print purchase!

I’m A Little Bird #5; First Time Limited-Run Prints of (More!) Collage

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I am
reduced to bird
watching.

just thought I’d
let you
know,

8 count by Charles Bukowski

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Ok… This is the last prints from the pro