Homunculis

She's a sprite,

giggling, tickling and no longer

contained.

Poking and prodding,

she remembers her birth

from your red-pencil reply:

"Perhaps if circumstances were different. . ."

I've tried to keep her close

and well-behaved.

But she just pops out

with a wide-eyed grin

to dance and laugh with maniacal innocence,

liking the bright light

and the chance for fun,

freedom and a damn good ribbing

now and then

and nothing more.

And she is all yours.

Nothing ordinary

Here is an excellent example of transforming the ordinary into something entirely unexpected and transcendent. Dare we bust out of our jars and go beyond our limited expectations? I dare you.

Once Upon a Time. . .

. . .there was love. True love.

We danced in joy,

cooked each other dinner and gave each other flowers.

We wrote each other poetry,

played music to the stars

and shared bottles of wine.

Because we loved.

We walked hand in hand among the trees,
made love in the Spring flowers,
or in the Autumn leaves.
Yes, we loved.

There were no hang-ups,

no inhibitions about age, gender or social status.

Because we loved freely,

fiercely and tenderly

and our passions were the envy

of the gods.

Because we could love.

And if it endured we were glad.

If it faded, we moved on without anger or regret.

Because once upon a time

we all loved.

Testament

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/20/30-beautiful-surreal-and-dark-art-pictures/

"This life is only a test. If it were an actual life, you would have been told what to do, where to go and exactly how to get there."

Twisted interpretations

http://psd.tutsplus.com/articles/inspiration/48-mind-blowing-examples-of-photo-manipulation-art/

I selected from this site a few more visuals that could describe the emotional chaos of the young and impressionable. Oh, and how impressionable we all are when lost inside the heart.

Storms

If I were lightening,
I'd scratch my name across the sky
and flash before your eyes
the slashing flares in my heart,
and pound sharp thunder
through your very soul
so you too could not forget.

Computer graphics and old Atari games

(We'll try this again since my hand hit the wrong button at the wrong time. . .)
Just got over with playing a game from Blitwise Productions called Neon Wars. I have just one phrase that describes this frenetic montauge of very bright colours: Asteroids on crack!

Computer graphics and old Atari games

What They Feel

This work by Andreea Anghel depicts what homeless kids usually feel about their situation. Homelessness is not just about having no address. It's also about having no identity or even the foundation from which to create one and therefore no reference to a social place other than what is designated to them by the "well-placed".

Nothing more than words. . .

I try to ignore
what's deep inside me
so the daily grunge can go on
until that day is done and I can close my eyes.
But it's a Phoenix
banked ember-bright down within
and hunkered within its own fires
and desires
scorching my untempered mind.
Useless ash then is scattered
to the four winds fanned
by the release of its flaming wings,
and it keeps burning
as though there is something left
more substansial than illusions;
a face,
a name
but never more
than a searing memory.

"Life here began out there."

When looking at pictures of other stars, of other galaxies, it truly blows my mind to hear people insist that we are the only ones in the Universe. Looking at the stars should be a sublime and humbling experience, not one of hubris.

When the moment strikes. . .

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/03/13/photo-manipulations-by-erik-johansson/

Sometimes you just have to do this to yourself.

mardis nenno - new work

mardis nenno - new work "Carry On"
Insomnia
This piece represents how my bed feels right now. Though it's relatively early for some, especially for those night owls, and even though I work nights, on my days off I have a non-vampire schedule and not sleeping at night really sucks. How can my dreams carry on when there is no sleep?

Art with Words

I drive eighty miles an hour
to reach a place free of your presence
and memory.
Petal to the metal and music drumming
to the sharp turns of the two-lane,
I seek the mountains now veiled in smoke
from wildfires and storms,
hoping to find some answers.
But those mountains,
like all the others from before,
jagged and glacier-capped,
touch the sky in a way that I cannot
and hold within their sharp folds
the folly of a wisdom
not meant for me.

Presentation

http://abduzeedo.com/crazy-photomanipulation

Most of the time we present to people something other than what we really are.

I totally love this particular piece because I have cats and I really like reptiles, and neither one are predictable.

"Go Fish"
http://maringouin.deviantart.com/art/Go-fish-129837685
This piece, found on deviantART, represents, I think, the constant trial and error of the adolescent experience. Even as adults we find ourselves in situations we never thought were possible.
But all things are possible, and rather than look down upon our youth as reckless and misguided "punks", we should support their courageous will and determination to try all things and learn for themselves through those experiences. How else will they have the confidence to take on what we consider to be adult responsibilities?
I just completed my three-night work week and I was once again amazed by the kids and their tenacity for survival in a concrete and glass world. And not only do they survive when many of us choose to give up, but they somehow find the means to express their very souls in a way most of us have forgotten.
Once again, Art is the act of expression and not the end result. Yet, the end result is truly beautiful.

Here is a link to Mardis' website so her work can be seen:
http://www.mardisnenno.com/shows/indelible.html#../images/indelible/wingChairRiser.jpg

Tasteful Work

I was looking around a bit on Digg.com and found some really cool street/house Artwork. Now this is definately something to brighten up our neighbourhoods!

mardis nenno - indelible

mardis nenno - indelible
"Spark Detail"
Think of being on the hot seat. Uncomfortable and relentless. That is what it's like for the homeless kids I work with. When they're on the hot seat, it's not about being in any kind of trouble with authority. It's about stressing out over where they're going to find shelter for the night, how they're going to get food for the day and especially about how they perceive, sometimes rightly, that the entire adult world is against them, and they feel deep down that their situation is truly indelible.
I say this notion now because tonight I begin my work week of three twelve-hour nights with these kids. I look forward to it on most days. On other days I would rather sit on the winged chair and pretend that this society is truly for the people.

Writing rightly

Today's notion is more about writing than about my former instructor's work. (Yes, Mardis was one of my Art instructors, and a damn good one too.)
Writing a four book series is very difficult. The trouble is not with destriptive settings and places, nor even the plots of the story itself. The challanges lay in wait in the form of the characters who have always had a mind of their own and are quite insistant about how their tale should be told. What's even more hilarious, (and I do find this experience quite laughable), is when a character comes along in a chapter, then dies in that same chapter.
When sunk in the creative process there is absolutely no room for an ego. Otherwise Art can't really happen, so, wanting this Writing Project, (as it's been dubbed over the last couple years), to be finished, I have really had to learn to let go of my own rather large ego. "I think, therefore I am" does not apply.

mardis nenno - safe passage

mardis nenno - safe passage

"Mary"

It's a good thing I know that my name is the most common one in the world. Otherwise I'd be a little worried. It's a good piece. I only wish the picture was larger so as to see the little details.

flying

"Wing Chair/Riser"
Flying while sitting is a sublime experience for artists in any field. As a writer, I quite literally feel as though I'm flying as the pencil is flipping across the page. It had been the same when I worked on illustrations many years ago. But when words held me aloft much longer than shapes and colours, that is when I truly found my wings. This piece by Mardis Nenno is, I think, the best example of the artistic experience.
But I have been wrong before.
P.S. As I am rather new to this site-creating thing and haven't yet figured out how to send pictures from one site to another, Google her full name and click on the top listing. Then you can see her work.