Another Visual Obsession: Artists At Work, Part II

Hello Lovelies,

More visual goodness - collected over this past summer - on the theme of "Artists At Work" that I love so much lately:

 

Helen Frankenthaler at work on a large canvas

Enjoy!
Alix of TeaButterfly.

Alix of T

Another Visual Obsession: Artists At Work

Hello Lovelies!

Anonymous artist's studio

"Artists At Work" is the title of a book of photographies by David Seidner that Ireally love. It's also the theme of a visual obsession I had lately: collecting pictures of artists and their studios/workshops, close-ups of canvases and brushes, etc... Maybe the fact that I have been a bit creatively stuck can explain my current fascination with the theme.


Anyway, here are a few faves on the subject:

 Recent view of Lisa Congdon's studio

 

  Playing with paint at Sandra Juto's house 

 Last page from a manuscript by William Styron, or the writer at work, via tumblr

A Scandinavian studio, via tumblr

 Playful abstract art on the walls of a Brazilian home

And don't even get me strated on the subject of home offices! Here's just one, a great one from Paris:

Enjoy!

Alix of TeaButterfly.

Hyper-creativity - a coping mechanism

Hello Lovelies,

This an updated post, formerly published on July 31st 2013 (oops, i just realized there are still a couple links missing in the post, and hope to be able to add them before the weekend starts).

"Art is a form of consciousness.

-Susan Sontag, 1964.

I've always liked (and seeked) the opportunity to be "trying something new", but I finally realized I am a "hypercreative" person - this is simply my coping mechanism as a former abused child (please note that I'm still abused TO THIS VERY DAY by family members and strangers alike).

Why hyper-creative?

Because during my lifetime, as a way to cope with abnormal, absurd and non-comprehensible violence towards me - physical, emotional & sexual types of violence - I tried (and was pretty successful) my hand at all of the following artistic disciplines:

writing/reading poetry and fiction (I have been published in digital format several times on ecrits-vains.com)
painting (oil, acrylic, mixed media) - several exhibitions as a solo artist at the Nozart Gallery in Toulouse, France
drawing
doodling
calligraphy
engraving (rubber, wood, metal and plastic sheets etc...)
textile printing
singing (this really SAVED MY LIFE, more on that process later)
dancing (mostly alone in my living-room, though I'm now determined to go out and rock the world, a bit!)
classical anatomy sculpting
swimming in an athletic way
I also walk for hours and can ride a bike pretty well, despite both activities being used by my abusers to make me suffer, too
acting: important support role in short film at age 5, several amateur theatre plays
in the film industry: editing, live translating, sub-titling
photography (official film set photographer etc... now an avid instagrammer)
speaking fluently 5 languages
...
the list goes on and on...


This long, long list makes me think about Shiva.. I know nearly nothing about Hinduism, but... but Shiva or even Kali, the Dark Goddess do come to mind...

I think this image of terrifying Kali:

is really me, the terrified abused child trying to make scary faces to scare off past & present abusers...

But maybe I am not a Hindi deity, but rather some kind of "nobody", aka the Beatles' "NoWhere Man":

Since June 2013, I have started to tap dance (yes, alone in my living-room, just by watching tap dance beginners' videos on youtube).

I desperately want to go back to engraving, some time soon (workshops will resume during back-to-school 2013 time).

Being hyper-creative helps me avoid resorting to violence myself, and it provides a place to express anger, anxiety and high levels of sadness in a non medical (aka official psychiatry) way.

I am NOT crazy, I am a SURVIVOR of repeated rapes and other wrongs done to me repeatly throughout my lifetime.

I do NOT seek revenge, other than in a metaphorical way:

* "the pen is mightier than the sword" - so I have started to write a testimonial about my first hand child abuse experience in short fiction form. I have chosen my working title and opening quote already and have a rough plan for the plot.

* "living well is the best revenge" so says the quote. Merely by surviving, by coping by thriving by being - albeit fleetingly - happy, and by taking good care of myself (no drugs whatsoever, no work in the porn or prostitution industries) and undertaking therapy, I daily mock my torturers' intention to kill me - literally.

(reflect on the meaning of the word "discipline" btw... it means both the abuse and punishment by abusive parents as well as my self-imposed artistic activities... weird double-entendre,here! see this except from wikpedia's article on child abuse: "Until quite recently, children had very few rights in regard to protection from violence by their parents, and still continue to do so in many parts of the world. Historically, fathers had virtually unlimited rights in regard to their children and how they chose to discipline them.")

So I chose the "D" answer as my main reason for joining the Feminine POwer FREE webinar, it's tonight live at 2AM Paris, France Time.

The D answer stands for " Infusing your life with meaning and purpose" - when your very own parents actively hate you and want you dead since your in utero state, it's hard to make any sense out of this life of absurd happennings and endless pain. 

links (still missing fro the time being): more about fem power here (simply check out their facebook page or feminine power.com ) + find your own time zone here.

there is NO WAY I am gonna be ashamed of myself: this is my true *NEW* name, my true face and my true story you see here. My google+ profile now displays a phot of Lana del Rey, but this is temporary of course and I'll add my own selfie soon.

No need to apologize for being alive and well!

...but the past abuse(s) don't really matter anymore - I'm moving forward. AND I'm taking my life, identity and own name back.

I was born again this very day and from now on my name is "Alix" - it's a mix of the normal-sounding-to-me first name "Alice" and the word "phoenix" because I am daily ressuscitating from my own ashes, "Alix" is also the name of the beautiful heroine of the recent French movie "Le Temps de l'aventure" featuring Gabriel Byrne and Emmanuelle Devos in the leading roles.

-Alix (formerly known as "Naomi Lipson").

"Ghosts": My very Own "Happiness Project" [personal photography project]

Hello Lovelies!

When illness imprisons you, you have to break free!

IMPORTANT NOTE: All pictures were taken by me, Naomi Lipson, during May 2013, in the park of the hospital I was staying in at the time. All rights reserved. Please ask for permission before using. thank you.

I think and read a lot about happiness, and I am pretty sure I am not alone in this. Two regular reads of mine on the Happiness subject are:

* Gretchen Rubin's famous Happiness Project
* Maria Popova's Brain Pickings blog, which deals quite a lot with the issue of happiness, too.

I am forever indebted to the lovely Jane Flanagan, who, through her delightful blog, made me aware of the ideas goldmine that is the Brain pickings website.

About my own "Happiness Project" - and what it has to do with ghosts.

First of all, you might be aware that I suffer from a chronic kind of illness, which means I have to check into a hospital, from time to time. This is a chronic illness, I have to live with it, but it is not life-threatening... Anyway...

As I am currently in a hospital, I wanted to describe through photography the long, not-so-often taken path from misery to recovery. In my initial project, I wanted to take pictures of a patient whose face I found particularly interesting, but after a few days of reflection, he shied away altogether from the project. He looked a bit like this:

photo (c) Naomi Lipson, 1999-2000.

So what I did is take pictures anyway, of all the places I wanted to take *his* photograph in, except he will be no longer there, except as a ghostly presence.

These are the photographs I came up with...

At first, you are behind the bars of illness and misery, you are a prisoner of depression (or any other illness). Can you see the unhappy ghost behind those rusty bars?

Then, through a more or less intricate labyrinth or maze (which symbolizes any kind of path, like undertaking therapy, you are chosing to get yourself out of misery), you  try to set yourself free:

On the long, complicated journey from misery to happiness, you might find different landscapes, open gates that symbolize opportunity, such as this one:

Sometimes, on this long and difficult journey, you may need some rest and will sit down on these scattered rocks:

I guess you get the picture now...

More photos available at my flickr photo set called: "The Ghost Project".

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

An Inspiring woman: Maria Sibyalla Merian (art & insects inside)

Hello Lovelies!

 The art of Maria Sibyalla Merian: Masterful insect drawing in the late 17th century, beginning of the 18th century. image via Jane's blog.

I have a board on pinterest called "Inspiring Women" - the inspiration for it obviously comes from Jane Flanagan's series of posts that are all about discovering the lives and deeds of incredibly "Inspiring Women" on her wonderful blog (a must daily read).

 Cover of the book "Amazing Rare Things". Art by Maria Sibylla Merian



On her blog, Jane has criticized our collective (mis)use of pinterest, and I fully understand her position. I try my best to not "hoard", as Jane puts it, that is I try not to mindlessly collecting beautiful images all day long while neglecting my own life.

That said, I find pinterest practical for the time being, as a virtual bookmark of sorts, especially now that we can have secret boards. I personally avoid pictures of hairdos, beauty products that are not organic, weddings, babies and tattoos on my pinterest boards.

 Maria Sibylla Merian, Passion flower plant and flat-legged bug, c. 1701-5 image via a great article on insects in art.

Some other boards I created aim to share the work of artists I admire, my own artwork, as well as other interests I think are valuable enough to share. That is why I mention the masterful art of the insect illustration by Maria Sibyalla Merian here today.

Maria Sibyalla Merian was a woman, an accomplished artist, an "insect lover" or rather a naturalist with a pioneering spirit, all wrapped in one. Her accomplishments as a woman living in the late 17th centurey are beyond amazing. Read more about her here.

So here am I adding today a "pinnable" image of one of her plant/insect illustration, so that anyone not aware of Jane's blog can see it on pinterest and get to know Maria Sibyalla Merian and many, many other inspiring women.



Enjoy!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Tea with... Einar Jolin

Hello Lovelies,

I discovered the Swedish painter Einar jolin's work through the great blog Fine Little Day, right here. What a lovely surprise! I love his still lifes and this "portrait" of a teapot:

via

So simple and serene, with the "punch" of a touch of orange.

Enjoy!
And click here for more Einar jolin.

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

A Small Blog Update

Hello Lovelies,

 dreams - via pinterest

I haven't published anything here in a while, wasn't feeling so well, but wanted to keep you lovelies posted.

Today, I have finally joined the google+ communtity, making it easier for you to share and like my content. Come join in the fun! All the google+ gadgets are on the far right column of this blog.

selfportrait, me smiling at last!

I also added a new profile picture of me, smiling at last! see above.

I also intend to share with you very soon my fall & winter essentials (from my French beauty tips series), the process of me drawing  and some new drawing and paintings. Stay tuned!

image by Stuart Wilson, check out his design blog!

And by the way, Hello December!

Naomi of TeaButterfly

Oh, and Happy, Happy Friday!

Hello Lovelies!

"Sagra Species" - new insect ink drawing. Lipson (c) 2012.

Spring is just around the corner, at last! I've bought myself hyacinths and daffodils at the farmers' market. This week, I also painted quite a lot... I tried my hand at acrylic, this time, and came up with this little trio:

I also tried my hand at making homemade yogurts... They turned out to be super easy to make and simply delicious! I also snapped pictures everyday, so as to go on with my photography  "2012 - 366" challenge. And, I started spring cleaning.

Now I need to sip some tea, slow down and relax. I hope you do that, too, this last weekend of February.

Check out my latest "doodles" & Enjoy!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

An Exciting Life

Hello Lovelies,

Drawing by David Hockney. Source.

Artist David Hockney says in a great interview:

"I think I’m greedy, but I’m not greedy for money – I think that can be a burden – I’m greedy for an exciting life. I want it to be exciting all the time, and I get it, actually. On the other hand, I can find excitement, I admit, in raindrops falling on a puddle and a lot of people wouldn’t. I intend to have it exciting until the day I fall over."

If you intend to have an exciting life, too, you might as well try this.

Enjoy!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.

Twelve New Doodles

Hello Lovelies!

photo and doodle by me, Vic of TeaButterfly. (c) 2011.

To Americans, tomorrow is the Fourth of July, or the American Independance Day... Here in France we celebrate the beginning of the summer holidays, or "grandes vacances"!

I thought it would be timely to publish here some new doodles from last May and June, before I head to the countryside and draw some more! Here are a few doodles, you can see the whole set at my flickr set called "TeaButterfly, Doodle of the Day"!

Here is my set for the all bunch of doodles, an open dictionary, a small found vase, and a succulent:

photo by me, Vic of TeaButterfly. (c) 2011.

Enjoy!

-Vic from TeaButterfly.