Post a Week Photo Challenge: Shadow

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Babs

image

Haven’t had much of a chance to blog these last couple weeks our home internet connection has been flaky. Thought I’d try to see if I could post from my phone.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Round

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Babs

“O”, OM, Obama, Osama, Oprah

"O"

It’s been another busy week.  I have an art opening this weekend at Riverside Arts Center. So, I wasn’t sure I was going to have time to participate in this challenge.

Thinking of “round,” the letter “O” kept popping into my head.  Regardless of your political views you must agree the names Obama, Osama and Oprah are dominating our media this week.  Obama’s running for re-election. Oprah’s farewell count down is wrapping up, only 17 more shows. The airwaves are full of the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed.

How do we put this all in perspective? The world has changed so much in the last 10 years. Sometimes I imagine having a conversation with a deceased relative and try to catch them up on the happenings of the 21st century. The “OM” refers to my recent attempts to reintroduce yoga to my life. Hopefully meditation and prayer will help lead me to better understanding of how I fit into all this.

I can’t help but think of that line from the movie Casablanca:  “…but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. Here’s looking at you, kid.”

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Weekly Photo Challenge: One

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Babs

Matryoska Doll from Lviv, Ukraine

Sometimes “one” can end up being many.  This photo is of a Matryoshka Doll I bought at an outdoor art bazaar near the Opera house in Lviv, Ukraine, when I was there in 1999.  It is one doll turned in wood, but contains 4 smaller dolls, each nesting inside the next larger one.  A version of these women character toys have been around since 1890. They originated in Russia, however, during Soviet times were made in many of the satellite countries like Ukraine. I’ve read that the word Matryoshka is linked to the Latin root “mater,” meaning mother and is associated with fertility.  During the 19th Century the realistic faces were painted utilizing many of the Byzantine iconographic styles.

I’m drawn to them because they are narrative sculptures. Each one tells a story.  The one I’ve pictured here, each figure has a landmark building in Lviv, Ukraine painted on it.  They and the traditional Byzantine icons continue to provide inspiration for my artwork.

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