Dear Friends,
Today, I mistakenly left the Jonathan Tropper book I was reading at home. So for some light lunch reading I grabbed an Ancient Civilization textbook from the room I was subbing in. Since my mind has been on the Far East, I opened to Ancient China. I’d read this chapter before but hadn’t thought beyond the 12-point Times Roman.
Through no fault of their own and perhaps a tad bit of ego, the ancient Chinese believed they were nearly alone in the world. There was no possibility of other powerful civilizations like the Egyptians, Romans or Greeks existing beyond the seas and mountains that cut them off from the rest of the planet. Convinced they were the center of the universe, the Ancient Chinese called themselves the Middle Kingdom. Funny, don’t many of us think this way? If we don’t extend ourselves, we too believe we are the center of our universe.
I like the idea of a Middle Kingdom. I wonder what the characters – cut off from the rest of their world – might look like. I collected some older sketches that could be interesting springboards for, “Monsters in the Middle.” Hey, isn’t that already a show?
This gal might be a protector of a crystal cradle –
This guy could be a water/sand creature-
And of course there would be other creatures dwelling mountainside, possibly deep within caves-
Thank you and goodnight. May your dreams be filled with gentle space creatures…
anntogether 
I love your creatures, AnnMarie. – Fawn
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🙂
I don’t alway sign my work but when I do my initials are ARK (I always think that’s fun)
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Reblogged this on triggershorse.
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I love how you let your imagination fly.
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These words – coming from one in possession of a blazing imagination, I thank you.
AnnMarie 🙂
I hope my thinking stays airborne, once in awhile I get that sinking feeling 😉
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I hate to say this Ann (and I really do) but you may want to purchase an e-reader. I have a Nook and a Nook app for my android, so I’m never without the book I’m currently reading. That gives me the willies. But, hey, you may not have come up with your middle earth idea had you not forgotten your book. Hm. Cool illustrations, girl.
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Don’t laugh at me Glenda, 😉 but I do own a lovely Kindle. And my old-fashioned fingers keep grabbing books off my shelf. They often refuse to take the Kindle. On the upside, my Kindle is having a wonderful relationship with my bedroom lamp.
Thank you for the kind words…
AnnMarie 🙂
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That is fascinating about China. I’m surprised they were so ethnocentric. I think you’re on to something with the Middle Kingdom!
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🙂
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I was thinking that someday I would love to write a poem to one of your pieces….my imagination always goes off when I see your work. Hope you are well, Dear Friend….I am getting ready to go back home for a week…..with getting ready, it has been hard to keep up with folks. Sorry if I have missed anything! Will catch up whilst away. Hugs & Love!!
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You say the word and my art is yours to write 🙂 I’d be honored, dearest Skye.
Enjoy your visit – ‘there’s no place like home,’ a sweet girl from Kansas once said.
AnnMarie 🙂
No worries 🙂
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Hi my lovely daughter, I am reading everything…how do you fit it all in your brain?…Missing you always…love, Mom
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I think my brain was passed down to me from some wonderful person with a brain far greater. I got a small genetic slice and that was just enough 🙂
XOXO
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Wow, scary pictures. You can really convey something.
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Hope they weren’t too scary – I’m quite the mush in real life. I can be quite goofy…I’ve always loved monsters, ever since I was little…hey, maybe I’m more sinister than I think 😉
AnnMarie 🙂
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Jaja, I did not mean that YOU were scary (or sinister). 🙂 I mean, you have to be able to create anything, from the evil to the good I think. At least as an artist. Everything can´t be sweetness and light. Everything is anyway about contrasts, hard against soft (forms for example), or good versus evil, dicotomies, and you combine them. Like life, or something.
I liked the pictures, because they communicated something. You get a concept of what you want to communicate. It is not about perfect drawings, it is more a concept of the whole pack together, the motif, and how the lines are done, a bit aggressive in this case, I mean, to communicate “evil dangerous wolf that wants to attack”, I think you have to “be” or feel like a evil dangerous wolf, that wants to attack, to be able to draw it well, describe in text etc, or having an idea of how that kind of being is or works, to be able to convey the idea one wants to communicate.
So, that became a bit long, but it triggered my philosophical side. Hope it did not bore you.
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WOW! that’s some extra clarification 🙂 Never any worries here, my friend – I’m smiling wide as I type this.
And never boring either – I like to read people’s philosophical sides…everyone is art unto themselves.
And I thank you ever so much for visiting my little house over here. I’ll stop by yours too.
AnnMarie 🙂
ps I should tell you some kiddies thought I was a vampire…a funny little story if you want to check it out. I think I titled that post – Miss K Are You a Vampire? or something close to that 🙂
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Cool, thanks for visiting! I will check the Miss K vampire story! 🙂
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https://anntogether.com/2014/05/08/miss-a-are-you-a-vampire/
oops – its Miss A, Are You a Vampire?
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I read parts of it, I will read it later. Sounds interesting.
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