Hopping On The Bus

I believe there are many paths and roads one can take to reach the destination. For us to be able to draw from the fountain of universal wisdom, we need to have a means to do so. Some people draw from the fountain through prayer, some by talking with psychics or astrologers, others with coins, tarot cards, ruins, yarrow stalks or any of a number of related objects, still others by meditating, interpreting dreams or listening to the still small voice inside.

Every summer I would attend the activities provided by Parks and Recreation. They used the grade school in our neighborhood. I liked to play softball and make crafts. Parks and Recreation Centers provide wonderful activities for children.

If you don't have a center in your area take a look at the following lenses for some fun and interesting activities for children.

My Mother's younger brother was in the Marines and would visit us from time to time. When ever he had the opportunity he would jump on top of me. I was always able to get away - so thank God nothing happen to me. So when ever I had the opportunity I would lock him out of our house.

My Mother would yell at me for locking her brother out, but she never asked me why I did it. I never told her. My Father wasn't there so he must have been at work. My Mother always threatened to tell my Father, but she never did threaten me on this one.

I have had several different occasions when I have been garbed in the dark and even when I was much older working as a Realtor. I am a very conservative type of person and dresser - my blouse never opened more than one button if that (most of the time button to the top). Even at that I have nothing to show. So it just goes to show you crazy people will grab anyone.

For as long as I can remember I have been sewing and creating some sort of an art project. I believe I was born knowing how to sew. My mother couldn't sew a lick, her strong point was cooking. I liked cutting out paper dolls and dressing them in all their beautiful clothes.

One Christmas I received a toy sewing machine. It really worked and I happily spent my time sewing doll clothes. I was proud of my first project a pair of jeans for my doll.

I cut off a leg from a pair of my jeans for the fabric. I was even able to figure out how to make darts so the waist fit correctly. My aunt came over and said the doll and I looked like each other with our jeans and long messy blond hair.

Years later I studied Couture Sewing and Pattern Making in Montreal, Quebec.

One day on my way home from school, I was jumping from one big grove line in the sidewalk to the other big line making up the blocks on the sidewalk. My girlfriend was walking along in a very proper manner. My Father, the hawk eye, notice this abominable behavior.

That was why each Saturday I went to a Finishing and Modeling School to become a lady. I learned many things and I enjoyed myself. I entered a contest and won. I entered another contest, the next level, and just before going on my Mother told me I wasn't that pretty. I didn't win and that was the last of my contest days.

I never liked to look at myself in a mirror. I would keep the light off while talking off my makeup and washing my face. I am better about the light thing, but I still don't spend time looking in the mirror.

I started collecting small hand made mirrors that artists had created. Funny thing to collect for a person that doesn't look in a mirror. I no longer have the mirrors... they were separated from me.

This mirror is created by Asunta Pelaez "My designs are inspired by nature, and by typical scenes from my town and region. I feel very proud of the works that I create, and I look forward to sharing them with more and more people." I like this mirror very much.

Her work can be found at: http://www.novica.com

I was able to use my sewing skills to land a freelance job making costumes for the animated dolls to be used in a store window display. I looked at costumes from around the world and took the pictures as a guide to create the patterns.

Do you have a craft or skill and want to learn how you can generate some money? Or would you just like to earn some extra money? The following lenses may be of some help to you.

Tim approached me after seeing my Magic Cape in the gallery show and asked me if I wanted to design and make costumes for a production he was putting on - a fund raiser for a church. No pay, no money for materials. I had to depend on materials people had at home and were willing to donate to the cause.

Costumes were created using burlap, light gauze, plastic, bubble wrap and I had pots of left over fabric dyes.

Tim wanted me to make another magic cape for the production. That was a hard one it had taken me almost a year to make the Magic Cape. Finally an idea came to me that proved to be very successful.

There were a few other women that offered to help and we were able to complete the project.

My art work before coming to New York was done intuitively. I felt people could communicate through vibrations of intuition rather than verbally. My work was not purposely conceived, but simply followed my inspiration.

I felt if will was used, an artificial structure would be imposed upon the work. By obeying the improvisations of emotions - there came about a form born of organic growth.

I found form born of an individual character was endlessly varied and fruitful. A lot of the forms inferred, but did not depict. I remember reading somewhere... The more primitive a form is, the more closely it will be tied up with emotion.

I was using a blow torch and bending aluminum poles. I would place poly stuffing around the pole then I would wrap the total thing in strips of fabric that I had dyed. From the center would come a wrapped 50 foot cord.

I was very fortunate to be one of the eight students selected in undergraduate school to work in their own studio. Two of us shared a studio and the professors would come to us and critique our work.

Upon graduation I was asked if I wanted to remain and be their artist in resident. I had applied to only one graduate school. Fortunately or unfortunately I was accepted and left for New York.

The sculpture department appeared to have been bombed. There were huge pieces of rock and rubble that the students had to clear out to make studio space. I didn't feel comfortable working there at night.

Gradually my work took a complete turn. The following statement by Susanne K. Langer, "Expressiveness and Symbolism, in A Modern Book of Esthetics, started me in a new direction. "Language is the symbolic form of rational thought. A work of art is expressive in the way a proposition is expressive - as the formulation of an idea for conception."

My wall drawings took the form of logic propositions. I was concerned with ways of expressing philosophers definitions of art in terms of symbols. The concern was with conceptual growth and how the propositions were capable of logically following that growth. The drawings viewed within their context as art provide no information. The art idea and work are the same.

The time spent in school was a learning process. We studied different movements in art and learned the technique of each movement.

All of us started working realistically; then some of us started abstracting our work. While working and learning each of us passed through our own art history.

Some artists may stop in their art history journey at Abstract Expressionism, Hard Edge or Earthworks and other artists will continue on in their journey.

I remember reading an article which suggested a question each artist should ask her or himself. Am I merely reproducing something that has been done or am I really creating something?

I was on my own personal journey through my own Art History. I was questioning and exploring the question of the fundamental nature of Art itself.

I met my husband in church. The bliss did not last long. He was mentality and physically abusive. I wanted to leave right away but he wouldn't let me. We lived in an apartment and what I can't understand is... When people hear ear shattering screams why don't they call the police? But they never did.

I was threatened if I ever told the police he would come after me and no one would ever recognize that I was a woman.

One day after he left for work I grabbed my handbag and was leaving. I think we lived on the 6th floor and I was running down the back stairs. Right there half way down the flight of stairs there he was waiting for me. He told me he knew I was going to do this and dragged me up the stairs.

I was there for one year before I was able to make The Great Escape. I decided not to do anything to cause him to suspect that I was up to anything. When I had the chance I went out and found an apartment. The Real Estate Broker offered me a job. I took the job and received my Realtor License. I didn't tell the Broker any of my reasons for being there or why I needed an apartment.

The first opportunity I had I left in the middle of the night.

It only took me one year full time to complete my Textile Design requirements. Then off I went to work in the Home Furnishing Industry. I was a very good colorist and received a couple of industry recognitions for my designs. I did some geometric designs but mostly realistic flowers.

I purchased a four story building with tenants that no one in their right mind would touch with a ten foot pole. The basement had water up to your knees. The place was in bad shape, but it was on a very good block.

My plan was to hire people to do the work. But I was ripped off and ran out of money, so I had to do the work myself. I traded lodging for work. We would work all day and the next day I would come back and find that the work had been destroyed.

If I had any sense I should have walked away and forgot about the money. But I must have been hit in the head too many times, because I didn't want to loose my money. I stayed at it for five years.

My intention wasn't to sell the building. I wanted the building to pay for itself with enough money for me to have for my living expenses. The building was a mess. I figured I had a college education and I could read... I can do this. I wasn't strong enough to do the heavy plumbing work. So I would read and figure out how to do the job and explain what to do to my tenant.

I was constantly going to court. The building was in 100 times better shape after I arrived. But the tenants were taking me to court for being a slum landlord. We also had a lot of police activity. The people at the Court House and Police Department knew me and the building. Oh boy, not good. The Block Association wrote me a letter thanking me for cleaning up the neighborhood.

I learned and did plumbing, electrical wiring, tiling, scraping, sanding, plastering, painting... I was able to get this one room wired when even the old owner couldn't get the lights in that room to go on.

The last straw was went I found a saw off shot gun in the basement and learned about the drug dealing. I was threaten and extremely frightened. The building looked good enough and I was able to sell it right away.

The reason I was able to do this... I was totally naive.

End of my story telling.