Expect the unexpected

I’ve probably discussed this before, but when it keeps happening then you talk about it again. It can be a learning experience. We don’t know what the future holds and certainly not day to day. We just have to take things as they come and deal with them the best that we can. For some of us it can feel like dejavu all over.
Yesterday I was talking with someone that is part of the evacuation preparedness program. The city has employees that are part of a first responders group. They will work with EMS, firefighters and the coast guard in the event of a hurricane. As most of us know we can practice and be told things in advance, but no matter how much we prepare when it is time for the actual event we are not always as calm and collected.

Our personal lives can do the same thing. Once our parents took care of us and many people are finding themselves having to care for their parents or other elderly relatives. Every situation is different, but it still means a change in the way you do things.
In some cases it’s a new person in your home. Both parties then have to adjust. Everyone has to feel comfortable.

Life has been divided up for us in phases, but they don’t effect us all the same way. We are all children, but some of us have to grow up faster than others. There are the teens years, where it’s the greatest time of your life and for others it is the most miserable time. Once you become an adult things change for some of us and others just keep on living the way they always have. Some people get a formal education and get degrees and others take another route. Some people are just more focused than others. They have goals, an agenda in life if you will.

Just because you become a person of a certain age doesn’t mean you have to stop doing certain things if you can still enjoy them. Despite the reports that more people are obese, there are quite a few older people who aren’t and they are living longer. There is a certain mind set that goes along with keeping oneself healthy. In order to do that one has to be happy with where they are in their life. You have to want to see another day. You want to see your family, see your dreams come true. You just can’t give up. Of course those words are easy to say because when you’re actually in a situation it all changes.



Taking it one day at a time and keeping the faith.

Check back and see where this journey leads.

While you’re here why not become a follower.

Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind. What is meant to be…

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Coming Up: Thoughts from an Artist Part 2, What happens next?(Army Corps Eng), Cutting back, Entering contests, Selling Stuff,

Arranging and framing photographs.

This is a shot of a rainbow inside a fountain at City Park's Popps Fountain in New Orleans. It's currently going through some renovations. I've used this location for several photo shoots.

So many people have photographs and it can be overwhelming and expensive to put them into frames. You have to decide which type of frame you want to get. One to hang on the wall or a table top frame. That decision can be made by the size of the picture. Anything larger than 8 x 10 should be hung on the wall. The same style of frame in different sizes can work as well as different colors. If color isn’t your thing then go with basic black, silver or gold.

You have to do what makes you comfortable. You don’t want the wall or table to feel cluttered. Using the same types of frames even in different sizes is a great solution when trying to decide on a frame. Once you have the frame you need to decide on the image that will go inside the frame and then decide on the matting. Matting is used so that the image doesn’t touch the glass. Should there be moisture the image could stick to the frame when it dries and if you try to remove the picture it could rip.

If you chose a colorless frame, then you could go with colored matting. The matting can match something in the picture or you could match the décor in the room. It allows you to express who you are.



Thanks for stopping by; do come again. Keep an open mind.

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Restoration

There have been a few times where I've looked at images by other artist and wondered how did they do that. I've been drawing since I was a kid and there are still things that I can't figure out. Sometimes a magazine will give a secret which helps me a lot. I realize then that I wasn't losing my touch in the creative process. I think all artist look at their earlier work and you either like it or you hate it. Sometimes its so good you wonder why can't you do it now? You begin to question your ability and whether or not you are any good.

Like all things in our world its become easier to create different things if we wish to buy a program that shows us how to do it. The shortcuts if you will. It may take some skill to learn the program and its still art, but I prefer to create it myself with my hands. Every now and then I may use the paint program to color a drawing just to see how it will come out.

Recently I discovered a drawing I had done back in 1981. The drawing is called Halloween. It was actually done on Halloween that afternoon. Back then I was recording times on my drawings with the date. The paper was beginning to fade and tear around the edges. After Katrina I had left many drawings on the walls. When I took them out of the discolored matting I just rolled them up. They were just stored in my studio closet and I didn't do anything with them until yesterday. I decided I liked this drawing too much to just photograph it and toss it in the trash. It measured 17 x 22. I had a frame that was 16 x 20. I decided the focal point of the drawing is the eyes and the lips. That's what I would make sure came through in the matting. I decided to use some markers and pencils to bring out the colors and make them pop through the frame. I was so thrilled that I decided to do this. I like the way the image turned out and now its hanging on my wall of my new home.

I need to go through more of my drawings to see how they are holding up. Some are in tubes and some are in portfolios. I'm trying to declutter, but when it comes to my art it is hard to part with something that means so much.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again. Remember, keep an open mind.

The Art of Decluttering

There is an art to everything: Sex, cooking, leadership, relationships, etc. Not everyone understands how it works and then there are those that do things their way.

Getting rid of clutter is no different. There are some people who can just throw stuff away without even thinking about it. Then there are those who have an attachment to things.

For me it started at a young age. Someone gave me something and it meant a lot that they thought of me. Then there are those things that I started collecting on my own.
I held on to that Disneyland poster until the edges frayed and it was no longer holding up. Of course its possible I still have some of it in a file somewhere and I just haven’t run across it.

When I began traveling I began picking up little things because that seemed to be the thing that you did when you traveled. For me it started at the age of 12. I went to Houston Texas with my dad and some friends. We did Astroworld and attended a baseball game at the Astrodome. It was quite exciting and it was the first time my dad and I had ever taken a trip just the two of us.

There are a few items I have from that particular trip. My map of Astroworld and the miniature baseball bat that I picked up at the Astrodome. I had also collected a pendant, but I don’t know if its still hanging over a doorway in my home in NOLA or not. I’m still dealing with that situation as well.

I bring stuff back and then there isn’t a place for it so it gets put aside and before you know it you have created clutter. It’s easy to find a place for the small things, but the larger items are difficult to store.

Still there are the memories and I like running across things when I’m looking for something else and reliving that moment for a while.
I have thousands of photographs, but that adds another dimension to it all. They are tucked away in a binder and you don’t always look at them. I must admit that I do take time out to look at the stuff that I have collected.

I must admit there are some things in which I’ve gone overboard. My art supplies, there are so many I could open my own store. I’m trying to paint canvas and work on other things, but I know the minute I throw certain things away will be the minute I will be looking for it.

There are things that hold family history and its my story that I feel I must hold on too.
I am getting to the point where something must be done, but I hate to just throw something in the trash. I’d rather pass it along to someone who can make use of it.
One man’s trash…

Many experts have ways of getting rid of clutter. Certain items you can scan into your computer or take a picture to keep the memory alive. You can create a sort of recycling system. Stuff to keep, stuff to donate and stuff to sell, etc. Deciding what to keep is really easy, but we tend to let our emotions get in the way. We hold on to that item that we may never where or an invent that has long been gone and all that is remembered is that item that is hanging in the closet.
You know its bad when you look in the closet and there are still things with the price tag on it. If you can research the receipt its even worse to find out you’ve had the item for several years and never worn it.

If we create a sentimental pile and then move on to create a pile of not sure why we are keeping it and a pile of stuff we can actually sell and maybe even a pile of stuff to just give away we make some progress.

Usually when I look at certain items and I think of someone that might be able to use it or if someone gave it to me, I always call that person to see if they would like to have it back before I pass it along to someone else. I think its proper etiquette.

Sometimes we become oblivious to the things we’ve collected. Then one day we look around and we see we’ve got a museum of candles, vases, flowers, art, DVDs, video games, CDs, and the list goes on.
Sometimes I can go through and just toss it and then there are times when I stop with each item and reflect.
Working on one room at a time is the best way to do things because you won’t become too overwhelmed.

Sometimes just opening the door to that closet or room can be overwhelming if you have really let things get out of control.

It’s like a credit card with a high balance and you’re only paying the minimum. It doesn’t seem as if you’re doing anything, it keeps building and building.
You’ve got to try harder and don’t be afraid to throw it out if it serves no purpose at all. If its tucked away and you don’t know its there, you really won’t miss it when its gone.

Thanks for stopping by; do come again. Keep an open mind.

http://www.dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

Inspiration from...

In the mid 70's I adapted a fascination with the musical group LaBelle. It was mainly Nona Hendrix and then Patti Labelle, but the theatrics and costumes of the group grabbed my attention. This image is from one of their television appearances.

I get inspiration from everything around me. From a book, magazine and the people around me. Art comes in many forms. One word can be considered art depending on how it is displayed. I'm sure many of you have seen the Love, Hope and Faith, posters, paintings, etc. The biggest thing that keeps me going as an artist is that there are things that I like, but don't totally appeal to me. I created my own series of Chefs, but the thing is after you've hung up the art, does one still create?
Of course, you just have to decide to share the art with someone else. Pricing art can be the hardest thing for an artist. You don't always want to part with the piece, but you've put a lot into the work and sometimes it takes a couple of hours, weeks, months and years.
I've mentioned this before, but artists do think alike. They can be miles away from each other and yet have the same idea of an image, but create a different variation.
The thing about being an artist is letting a part of yourself be seen. You reveal things about yourself in your art after doing it for a long time.

Thanks for stopping by; do come back again.

Absolutely the last entry for 2010

Art outside of a bookstore/gallery on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans. FM Books in the Marigny I believe is the full name.

(I posted the wrong entry to this blog.)

As the year comes to a close I start thinking about some of the things I saw this year that I could create. Some of them I did create over the holidays. I decorated wine bottles and filled them with M & M's which added to the Christmas theme.

I had thought about buying chargers, but I could never find the color I wanted and the price I thought was a bit much at $1.99 or higher. I finally caught a sale at Wal Mart when they were have price, 4 for $2.50 which put them at about .62 cents each.
They work well with the decor and now I can decorate them to add a little more style and art. I'll have two that I can display as art and if I like the way it looks then I can decorate the ones on the table in a similar fashion.

Since I'm big on recycling, the possibilities are endless as to what you can do with the stuff that you have.

You really don't have to spend a lot of money because most of what you need is lying around the house. Candles, scrapbook paper or newspaper, hole punch, glue or hot glue and photographs. You are only limited by your imagination.

Thank you for stopping by and do come back next year as I present more art and craft ideas.

Last Entry for 2010

Can I take a trip? I had been going back and forth with this for quite some time. I wanted so much to actually get away to clear my head. Work on some art and immerse myself in my creative process. Every now and then it is good to have a change of scenery and to be with different people.

I’ve been wanting to go back to the Big Island to create some art and to spend time with a friend and pick up my belongings. I know when the time is right it will come together. I had opportunities to go other places, but I just didn’t feel it at that time. I believe in going with the vibe in just about everything that I do.

As this is the last day of the new year this is the last entry of 2010. For most of us it was a scary year. We didn’t know if we were going to have a job, funds to pay bills or even stay in our homes.

2010 was filled with happiness and sadness for some of us. I tried to get my own talk show and even be a part of Good Morning America, but it wasn’t meant to be. We had the opportunities to be with family and friends. We tried on new hats and took time to reflect on what life offered us. No matter what happened, we are still hear and we can make a change in the new year. Exercise, get healthy, quit smoking, etc.

I’m doing laundry and getting the house in order. You want to start off the new year with clean clothes and a clean house. Of course I’ve always spent the new year by myself which means I end the new year by myself. It just depends on how you look at it and it is after all my choice.

The new year will bring lots of new opportunities and I will begin a new journey. I hope to bring out even more of my creative flow and that I can share it with a larger group of people. You can find out more by checking back to see how this journey unfolds. I want to thank all of you who came back on a regular basis. Those that became followers and maybe I helped to create a conversation between you and your friends.

Have a safe evening, and I lift my glass in a toast to wish you all a happy new year.

Coming up: Writing the Levee Board

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