ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY - Memories

Here's another contribution to the upcoming book, Somewhere in These Days of Morning by Bonny Belgum. Collaborating with Bonny on her book is such a treat, because my peculiar illustrations seem to fit her peculiar style of writing, and when a peculiar visual artist meets a peculiar writer - well, it's MAGIC! And you as a reader don't have to go to all the trouble of being peculiar, we will do it for you. All you have to do is come along for the ride - and it will be an adventure! You will look at your world a little differently - it will be a wider, wilder world , infinitely more interesting for the reading.

The chapter that follows spoke to me of memories that we all carry with us in our ancestral history, in our scrapbooks of our cultural heritage, in our DNA. Our pasts are a jungle filled with improvisations and mistakes and fleeting joys. We can't see the future, and if we are lucky or have lots of therapy, we don't care if we crash, because we know the landing is not that bad and we'll be in the company of so many who have crashed before us. It's a chapter filled with optimism. One of the advantages of a winter in our life is that we can see the world more clearly without those beautiful leaves getting in our way.

The chapter in its entirety:

She hears all the bird's songs, from all over the world, at once.

The voices from the jungle sound the most familiar. She may have lived there from before time. The birds where she stands, the birds she can see with our human eyes, are the most muted in the chorus. The jungle birds, the loudest, like to improvise. This is strange for a bird. You must trust your call as you trust your wings. The jungle birds don't care if no one answers, don't care if they crash down out of the sky. The jungle bed is thick and comfortable and never lonely.

The muted birds seem happiest on bare twigs, where you can see through the tree. They dread the coming of spring and new life. It plunges them into confusion until far away when the leaves fall and they regain control.

-excerpted from Somewhere in These Days of Morning by
Bonny Belgum, copyright 2008

Creativity expectations

I found this great article on a great website, so here's a link to them both...

First is Penelope Dullaghan's website. Penelope is a fabulous illustrator, the creator of the Illustration Friday phenomenon, and her website in a creative endeavor in itself. Check it out! penelopeillustration.com.


Within her posting was a reference to the following article which I identified with, especially lately. Being creative is not easy sometimes, even though it may be your calling. There are many roadblocks and hurdles, and most of them set up by yourself. This article was very insightful: HOW Design - Free Your Creativity: Overcome Unhealthy Expectations

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY - Routine

Here's another illustration that will appear in the soon to-be-published Somewhere in These Days of Morning by Bonny Belgum. This imaginative collection of thoughts will gently take your mind's hand and lead you down the road into some pretty funny, bizarre and entertaining mental countryside! A modern day Alice in Wonderland for grownups. And I thought this image would satisfy this week's theme of "routine".

Here's the chapter in its entirety:

Cooking takes up most of her time

because she only uses her left hand, and she is right-handed. This handedness does not change after years in the kitchen, because she does everything else right-handed. The food tastes better, though. Considerably so. The left hand has a far greater appetite, inspiring subtle influences of spice and heat for which the right hand has no patience.

- excerpted from Somewhere in These Days of Morning by Bonny Belgum copyright 2008

You can say hi to Bonny on her website: www.bonnysamerica.com. Say hi for me, too, OK?

Initiative

I know, I know. It's been a long time since I posted. I'm busy cooking up something for you.

Meanwhile, here's one of my favorite quotes about creativity and initiative, by Goethe:

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, their providence moves, too.

All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no (human) could have dreamed would come his way".

I believe this thought to be true since it has happened in my life so many times.

So if you're attempting to start something new, explore a different path, or jumping off the diving board of certainty into the unknown, take heart!

Interview

I have been following Aprile Elcich's collage blog for some time now (www.notpaper.net). It is a wonderful collection of artists working in this medium - who knew there were so many different ways to think up creations in this medium! It is so inspiring! I was very honored to be interviewed for the blog - if you would like to read my awkward responses, click here.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY - Detach

SOLD

The Roseate Spoonbill is an endangered species, and like the trees in the distance, it is possible that this beautiful bird will become....detached from this earth.

Minnesota Magazine

My first cover for Minnesota Medicine, it illustrates a key article about the universal phenomenon of doctors migrating from clinics to hospitals.

Wind and Water

I'm working on an assignment at the moment, so to keep you entertained, I'm posting an old painting. Oldie but goodie. This is from my Suburban Landscape series (doesn't this look like your neighborhood?). You can see more of these paintings at my website: www.andreetracey.com.

It occurred to me as I was posting this image that I seem to have a repeating theme in my artwork. I love water scenarios and also air. Many of my images, whether collage, illustration or photos, seem to have one of these two backgrounds. In this case, this painting was inspired by a dream I had of being in a house under water, and looking out the picture window at the ocean on the other side. I was on the phone, and the phone line ran from the house to the surface. If the water represents my subconscious, and the phone line represents communication, I must have been in need of some advice. And the children swimming in the water? I just made that up. I saw a photo of children deep sea diving in some tropical locale, and I thought this addition would make a fantastic composition as well as give it a narrative spin.

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY - Poof

A tornado is the ultimate poof!

This photo montage is an illustration for the upcoming book Somewhere in These Days of Morning by Bonny Belgum. Here is the chapter in its entirety:

Decoding is a state of mind

Slippery iron or chromium tubes are not carriers. Decoding is a parched landscape brimming with age, cracking all the world’s history into tiny laugh lines. If you can’t see in it the best jokes ever thought but not spoken, all the math in the collective wisdom vaults can’t help you. She and the Dalai Lama laugh so hard you can almost hear if you know where to look. Tornadoes spin them up to a little white wrought-iron tea table, where they eat lemon cakes and enjoy the brittle view.

She had an idea once, and for that she is sorry.

--excerpted from Somewhere in These Days of Morning, copyright 2008 Bonny Belgum

I love this! And to think there are many more chapters to illustrate, I can hardly wait to get out my thinking cap and scissors and paint and old magazines....! For more information about Bonny, you can visit her blog at bonnysamerica.com.