Tag Archives: peace

Something About Balance and Power

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I believe Art’s authentic value is held in the heart of the viewer. This large acrylic (5′ x 5′) work was painted decades ago. Over the years, viewers have given me the gift of their unique interpretations of this image.

I know why I painted this image back then, but today, for me, it has come to bear an entirely different meaning – one that I hold in my heart.

Feel free to share your interpretation if you’d like. (I’ll not comment on your thoughts, good or bad – swing away)

I hope you’re managing during this time of… (so many words I want to put here, but we’re being bombarded enough)

Peace,
am

The man across the street

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  just stepped up the little stairs to reach his steering wheel. This vehicle is not required for his line of work. My studio, a converted porch, faces his yellow house, his big truck. My home, rising during the Great Depression, has withstood many assaults over time. Her old bones don’t deserve to be rattled.

The sky is bright, the birds are singing, and every morning the man across the street shatters this peaceful illusion. His truck’s reverb frazzles the neighborhood, echoes through my chest. Maybe the man across the street needs the sleepy world agitated at 5:45 AM, maybe tremors make his shadow grow.

If someday he should acknowledge the next phase of life, I pray he doesn’t buy a bigger truck. I don’t want to become another person in this burning world who adds more noise to the hate. I dislike the man across the street. I do not hate him. I will admit, however, to hating his fucking truck.

I painted this a few months ago. Reference taken from a photo of Chris Lee as Dracula. Thought this image was somewhat fitting for this piece:)

I hope you’re all keeping cool.
am:)

“to live”

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A March 2024 sketch done with a ridiculously large Ticonderoga preschooler pencil
“Little Karole” would blossom into a six-foot-tall, gorgeous woman who’d live an amazing life as a stained glass artist. And much later, she’d become my beautiful mother-in-law.

perhaps it is my 60 years of age inspiring the words below, it could be that the majority of my new friends, most in their 70’s and 80’s, continue to open my eyes in every direction but down

“to live”

I don’t believe the phrase “to live” means escaping our burdens

I don’t believe “to live” means transforming ourselves or collecting accolades

I don’t believe “to live” includes acquiring wealth or building empires  

I don’t believe “to live” means ignoring the past or focusing on the remaining years as we age

I never believe “to live” is expressed through curated media or grinning images

I do believe “to live” creates dubious comparisons of one against the other

I do believe the phrase “what it means to live” suffocates dreams before they begin

I do believe “to live” finding strength in our efforts amid others indifference

“to live” brave in our ‘individualness’ while accepting others in theirs

“to live” caring for ourselves so we can care for others

 “to live” stepping forward when we’ve lost someone behind us

And I always believe “to live for today” when it is tomorrow

am:)

A Post-Holiday Post

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Apologies for the post-holiday posting of this. It somehow landed in drafts when I imagined tapping the “publish” button.

A merry montage for my family that I share with you this Christmas.

May you, your family and friends, near and far, enjoy a peaceful and joyous holiday.

Love, am

Nero the Cane Corso, friend and muse to my sister, Grace; Honey the Pit mix, adopted this year, crazy companion to my sister, Dolores; Cormac/Mac-mac the Malamute, snow-lover and liege to my sister, Virginia; Mojo the Dachshund, long-bodied, big-hearted buddy to my family; and last but never least, Kiwi the Testudo tortoise, roommate and foil to my daughter, Caroline❤️🎄🌟

From my dragon to yours

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holidragondragon / dragons [ drag-uhnz]
noun

are cruel; bring good fortune; are the stuff of legend; are born of pre-scientific conjecture; are endangered; protect the gods; hide from man; are heart balms in stuffed lizards; are vicious plastic forms on gaming boards; have multiple heads; are purple singers with green polka dots; eat humans; protect mankind; have wings whether invisible or not; don’t do transactional relationships; are powerful cinematic stars; are shy; are pure of heart; have Sir Sean Connery’s voice; have honor; have the name Draco, Lachrymose or Puff; carry your fire.

Though their remarkable eyes are permanently shut, each vivid bright eye (they have two, they have twenty) follows you through a transparent scale. Your dragon always sees you even when you are alone in the world.


From my dragon to yours,

Merry Holidays to you and your loved ones

Be safe, be well, enjoy some flaming rum punch and never stop embracing your fire…

(image above – Holly Dragon makes an appearance every Christmas)

Sometimes Painting a Dog

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I hope you and your loved ones are well.

I believe every human being should paint a dog. This is our Mojo. My daughter, who will miss him when she leaves in August to study Sustainability, asked me to paint his endearing face for one of her blank walls.

Mojo


I’ve been on a personal mission to improve my word and art mind while trying to avoid deep media dives. I generally remain off-politic on this site, maintaining this space as my creative respite. But there’s so much going on out there, and I worry what this world will be like for my young adult children and their future families. The heat isn’t only climate-related.

I believe every human being is entitled to:
be whoever they believe they are
love whoever they choose
A woman’s body is her own as are her personal choices
I pray my daughter has the freedom to make her own choices
(Mojo’s background was originally purple, my daughter requested more earthly tones:) )

mojo purple

’22 Year of the Benevolent Ballerina

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2022 dances in as a benevolent ballerina in a shining tutu (2 2)
Her flowing muslin calms our hearts, her beautiful resilience eases our minds
With universal joy, our eyes gaze upon her, bitterness and worries of the past forgotten
What a lovely thought to embrace…

Through all that remains ahead for us (and it is quite heavy), may we resolve to pull through together
I wish you all peace, love, kindness, and good health in 2022 – Year of the Benevolent Ballerina

dancer

Fierce Joy

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May fierce joy, love and peace embrace us all this holiday season❤️
holidragon
I bring this lovely lady back every Christmas. She adores the holidays!
A warm Merry to all🌲❤️🌟
AnnMarie:)

Halo, How Are You?

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Been awhile since I’ve been here. I do so hope you and those in your circles, near and far, are doing well. ❤️

My family and I have been busy settling into our new, upstate New York, home built in 1930. I often think about the families who’ve passed through a place built during the Great Depression. They survived. I believe we will too. Peace, kindness, and love are out there in the world…
sainted flapper

With peace and love for the holidays🌟
AnnMarie

I painted this gal in 2016, seems so much farther back…

she shared her orbit of joy

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