Goodbye My Nina

Posted on April 19, 2015 by AM Roselli

her body is vacant
a thin layer of flesh keeps the bones warm
this contorted figure is not one I recognize
this is not her anymore
gone is the root of the cherry blossom
or the ledge before the precipice
she is elsewhere
but her eyes, those eyes still dark and breathing
through those dark, glassy windows
a beautiful soul prepares to make its escape
Godspeed, sweet Nina

Curl/charcoal

For my beautiful aunt, may she go swiftly into the night…
May cancer cures be found…
Charcoal figure drawn when Nina was healthy and much younger.

Those Were the Days, My Friend

Posted on March 27, 2015 by AM Roselli

you and I once sang
all the time
your knees were knobby, mine round
we sang out
those were the days, my friend
we loved that song
remember
singing for nana and papa
our little voices were bigger back then
before time pushed notes down our throats
and set us to rhythms
for a while
we fought the changes
when our little voices were bold
and we sang
those were the days, my friend
I think about you often
hoping you remember
those unabashed girls
sisters
friends
whose little voices
rang out
those were the days, my friend

May you dream of your sisters and hold them tight…
Photo of me and my sis way back when we never changed our shirts or cared 🙂 and below, my tea for 2 lady created with Prisma a few months back.
And a big thank you to my friend, Deb Levy who provided me with – Deb for Dummies – step-by-step instructions on how to embed a video – this is my very first and I couldn’t wait ’til Monday!

Tea Cap

Peace to the families and friends of the Germanwings jet tragedy

Smile Everlasting

Posted on March 26, 2015 by AM Roselli

illuminating the atmosphere
she leaves a room
her brightness remains
how blessed are those
sharing the light of her company
I’d love to believe
moments live on forever
I’d like to be remembered
for my mother’s breathtaking smile
May you dream of all selfless mothers everlasting…

Photos taken from two entertainment shows my mom’s community center put on. In both pics she (I think) lip syncing Peggy Lee. In real life my mom has lovely brown hair and doesn’t wear plastered makeup, but she gets a kick out of these pics. I hope you do too. In the top photo (most recent) she is 79 years old, photo below she is 78.
Below is one of my kooky graphics from a few months back. Done in Prisma pencil.

Aged Smile

Our Moment

Posted on March 9, 2015 by AM Roselli

In our moment
we are invincible
in mind
in body

Our moment ceases
we are invisible
in mind
in body

Our moment remembered
we are alive
in love
in spirit

Thank you. May you dream of everlasting…

Girl with Dirty Cabbage Patch, pastel created long before I had children

Dream Well 2014

Posted on January 7, 2015 by AM Roselli

My Friends,
We begin each year with promise. We end each year with hope. And in between we live. For me 2014 consisted of 365 attempts – some successes, some failures – to find daily fulfillment. The last months were wrapped in family, friends and food. I’d like to share a quick reel of my recent holiday season with you. Feel free to hum, The Twelve Days of Christmas while viewing.

My holiday season began with Thanksgivingpalooza (5 days of family, food, fun and shopping, did I say food) –

Delicate daughter posed like a Christmas Tree, free of charge, for her mom’s art –
Dealt with holiday shopping exhaustion –
Shared big son’s wrestling moments –
Rocky the Shepherd and yours truly, tried shedding T’day pounds before Christmas –
Made holiday decorations using fruit mailer packaging –
Attempted snapping Xmas photo with all subjects cooperating –
‘Christmas Eve-ing’ at The Roselli’s – Manjia!
A few Roselli’s and attachments (more were hiding in other rooms) –
Dessert, dessert, did I say dessert… –
Elf on Shelf terrified Rocky the Fierce –
Waited for Santa or wanted to draw yellow snow angels (they’re creative) –
Big son went missing when Santa showed up (He still admits nothing) –
Tried lifting away Christmas pounds before New Year’s –
Laughed in the New Year with family & friends –
The giant husband can still hear my voice above the din of the crowd –
Right eyebrow arched high, fist supported chin, sleep was not far behind –
After the 2015 New Year’s ball lands, we begin the wait for mall Santa’s return –
Hopefully Mojo the Dachshund will divulge where he hid Elf on the Shelf before next Christmas –
We breathe a moment while peering out the window –
and look to the stars –
and take comfort in knowing they’ll shine no matter the time of year.
Dream well 2014.

Thank you. Here’s to dreaming your 2015 hopes into reality.
And don’t forget to start polishing up those Valentines 😉

Holiday Disorder

A Crime of Crayons

Posted on January 5, 2015 by AM Roselli

A Crayon Crime

It seemed in 1973 everyone in school had 64 crayons – everyone – except me. On the day in question, desperation had clouded my judgement. It had corrupted my creative sensibility. I was ten at the time and in dire need of 64 colors. I had Crayola’s 24 pack which included colors for growing robust apple trees, fluid blue skies and abstract butterflies. It wasn’t enough. I needed more pigment. I coveted the built-in sharpener too.

One day while shopping with my mother and 2 other siblings, fate waxing at my feet, divine intervention struck. On this ominous morning, I glanced down at the beige store tiles. My disbelieving eyes engaged my sleeping brain. My little fingers snatched up the crumpled dollar on the floor. Much to my horror I discovered it was one-half of a paper dollar, and the other half was nowhere in sight. Nothing mattered. My heart was jolting in 64 magnificent colors. My brain was a prism of planning. “Art cannot be stopped,” my greying conscience defended. While Mom busied herself shopping and shepherding my two younger siblings around cans of tomatoes, I cleverly rolled the dollar into a cylinder.

There wasn’t much time. Grocery cart loading for a family of eight was nearly done. I told Mom I needed the bathroom. I flew to the school supply section, grabbed Crayola’s 64 box then sprinted to the register hoping to make an express purchase. I handed the masterfully rolled dollar to a young cashier. I didn’t know how much the crayons cost and I didn’t wait. I grabbed my fabulous box and bolted toward the exit doors.

In hindsight, I should’ve selected the silver-haired cashier. The swift employee ran after me as did my mother. My crime was foiled on the spot. I had to return the crayons. I had to write a letter of apology. And, I was grounded.

So there I was stuck in my room with just 24 crayons and two weeks to think about all the colors I didn’t have.

Wildlife Resolve

Posted on January 4, 2015 by AM Roselli

My friends,
Yesterday after watching the big son’s wrestling tournament, then returning home to a messy house, I did nothing. The icy rain allowed a guilt-free couch plopping session. My family ate frozen pizza.

Today the big son has day two of his wrestling tournament. The delicate daughter goes to work in the early afternoon. The giant husband plans to start working down his winter ‘to do’ list. Rocky the Shepherd and Mojo the Dachshund will get their outdoor exercise. I must empty the fridge of all holiday food remnants then fill it with resolution food after grocery shopping. I’ll take down Christmas and all its trappings. I will return to my studio in the evening and mentally prepare for a new work week. Laundry must also be done or my family will travel naked tomorrow.

This morning I find myself struggling to ignite my New Year’s resolve. I’m fighting the ennui smothering my warm slippered feet. Sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee, the Christmas Tree taunts me while nearby wildlife drawings stare at me. My eyes begin focusing.

AnnMarie, wildlife doesn’t feel sorry for itself. Wildlife doesn’t put on slippers and ‘veg.’ Wildlife pushes through each day until physically unable.

Today, I resolve to embody the wildlife spirit – to live without complaint, to care for my young without issue, to live each day as if it’s the one I must get through to see tomorrow. Today I resolve to be as wise as wildlife.
Thank you. May you dream of accomplishing your resolutions…
Staring Gorilla created in 2008

Lying for an Angel

Posted on January 2, 2015 by AM Roselli

My Friends,
Sadly this tale is not a yarn. It is a true story, one that I’m not proud of. I was nine when hallowed inspiration struck. This creative shining moment in 1972 continues to cause me pangs of guilt. Even now I await delivery of a Time Machine ordered on Amazon, so I might return to the scene of my crime – the moment I lied for an angel.

My Grandmother’s Closet
My grandmother had her own bedroom in our home. It was a magical place. There was candy and small treasures wrapped in gift paper in her dresser. In the walk-in closet, she kept packages of Wrigley’s. The gum often called to me. I occasionally answered by sneaking a stick or two hoping it would never be missed. It never was. I thought myself clever.

The Inspiration
It was nearing Christmas – that most magical time in ‘kiddom.’ I can’t recall why I needed gum this particular morning but I did. I tiptoed into Grandma’s room and into the big closet. While borrowing a stick of gum, I heard footsteps and was forced to wait. As I held my breath, I began perusing Grandma’s knitting supplies. This closet was loaded with rainbow balls of wool and oodles of parchment patterns. Some wool was in balls while other threads were wrapped around cardboard cones. With my laser vision, I saw naked cones – I saw angels.

The Crime
In the blindness of inspired excitement, I threw caution to the wind. I took two large wool skeins and unravelled both until I held two precious cardboard cones in my thieving hands. I was going to make angels. There were swatches of fabric in our attic. One in particular, a beautiful light blue with silver and gold threads would be perfect for my angels’ gowns and the metallic pipe cleaners in my room could be fashioned into halos and wings.

The Lie
I cleverly concealed the heaping wool piles behind Grandma’s shoes. With the evidence camouflaged so was the crime. How did Grandma find the displaced wool so quickly? Hadn’t I been stealth? Hadn’t I swiped gum without a single repercussion ever? With five other siblings, there might be a chance to frame someone else, or I could outright lie when prosecuted. I remember Grandma calling me into her room and pointing to the woolen spaghetti. I remember her asking me if I unravelled the wool. I remember, with Christmas only weeks away, lying for an angel.

The Guilt
I don’t know what became of the first angel. The second, wearing a doily gown (there wasn’t enough blue fabric) remains with me. She hangs in my studio always nearby. I never admitted my crime to Grandma. And whenever I look at my cone angel she whispers, “Grandma knew all along. She kept the first angel, the one with the beautiful gown of blue, because she thought her precious.”
Thank you. Dream of being the most honest version of yourself you can be 🙂

HAPPINESS AND PEACE IN THIS NEW YEAR, MY FRIENDS

Hear the Bells

Posted on December 22, 2014 by AM Roselli

Dear Friends,
A Christmas song that remains near to my heart, like the satin chime of a throaty bell is the tune, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. The passionate words were written on December 25, 1864 by a master of American poetry, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Wadsworth’s prose were polished into a shimmering melody by John Baptiste Calkin in 1872.
Though Wadsworth penned this song beneath the onus of war, I like to imagine it represents worldwide peace arrived at nonviolently…
I love playing “Bells,” on my piano (albeit badly). I don’t practice as much as a should. Hmm, is there a New Year’s Resolution ringing in my ears? 🙂
Thank you. May you fall asleep to the sweet lullaby of magical bells…
Galeen’s Bell Song rendered a week ago after plinking the ivories awhile. I couldn’t get Rocky the Shepherd or Mojo the Dachshund to pose, so Snoopy signed on for a very reasonable rate. 🙂

The Big Heart of A Little Sister

Posted on December 2, 2014 by AM Roselli

Dear Friends,
I’m the proud owner of a little sister. Those of you that own little sisters know full well that as much as we age, our little sisters remain little in our hearts forever. They often keep us young. Mine keeps me laughing. She has a wry, wicked sense of humor. Whenever she tells a joke – which is often – her blue eyes sparkle and she wears the impish grin of her pig-tail days.

My little sister is an avid dog-lover. She keeps two dogs as friends. I used one of her pet portraits as inspiration for my artwork below. The eccentric pooch – Shamus – was adopted many years ago. Shamus has many issues and enjoys dressing in my sister’s lingerie. The other one, Jamie – adopted a year ago – is black as night and as crazy as a bat in daylight. Jamie is a ninety pound pooch who believes his work office is on the nearest person’s lap.