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chop suey Tuesday 21st Feb.

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Pl Precept # 15   All is a Mirror

My son called me a short while back, and asked me if I’d ever heard of Alan Watts. He was very serious about it, and I was totally surprised by his question.  In my mind, everyone knew Alan Watts (British philosopher best known for his interpretations and interest in Eastern philosophy)

I had learned a lot from Alan Watts, he had been one of my favourite authors, his words spoke to me, a young Taoist living in Canada where my thoughts and ways were so foreign to most around me.  Alan introduced and popularised Eastern philosophy by his writing and teachings  now I see that his lectures and talks have been transposed and are available on YouTube.  The wonders of the modern world.

For anyone interested, this is the official Alan Watts web page  Alan Watts.com

He was prolific as a writer, and speaker. One of the first to interpret Eastern wisdom for a Western Audience.  With our Church of Perfect Liberty here in Canada, at times this is how I sometimes feel, when I try to introduce and explain, that our church is a philosophy and way of life.

My son renewed my determination to work faithfully and diligently every day to bring the PL Way to North America.  World Peace is so so important to our well-being as inhabitants of this planet.

The PL teachings help us to live in a way that will encourage and help us, live a happy and peaceful, balanced life, this will radiate out from us… bringing more love and acceptance of our unique and diversified personalities and cultures, when we know and show respect, we ourselves, grow and gain from new beginnings..

We are all ONE –

know love, show love, be love.. nurture and exist in a peaceful world

Oyashikiri

original art-by Q

Sisters

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Out of the night, the eyes stare down and fix on the emotion and passions of “desire” the colours shout and harmonize to dominate the midnight skies.  Fireworks in the sky …Q

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My sister’s colours, charm and delight with the quiet passion of one who colours from her heart,  bright and cheerful and  full of warmth.  Mother’s Pansies …… V

Oyashikiri

PL Precept # 2       To live is to express One’s Self

2 sisters, two styles,

PL Precept # 1      Life is Art

How we express ourselves, whether on canvas or another form of expression, is us, being true to ourselves.  We are all unique, let us respect and do our best to understand the differences and challenges around us.

We are all ONE.

PL Precept # 11     Always be with GOD

Grunge art my way

grunge-water-colour

Good morning everyone.    For a little while now I have been playing with different media, doing some of this and some of that.  This all started when I began doing handmade cards for our church (Church of Perfect Liberty) (institucion Religiosa perfecta libertad)

The first Precept (1 of 21)   #1  Life is Art    This is not about how you paint or draw, but rather how you use your creative expression to get through the day to day challenges of life.  How you see the opportunities that come your way and in accepting them, being able to grow and channel new found energy into your daily life.


 

. I love life, I love being alive, and the sense of wonder I get from even what most could consider a mundane moment.  Death is a by-product of life.  It happens.  When you lose someone who has been a part of your life, there is a sadness and a feeling of loss. However, if you have lived loving and cherishing the person, there are no regrets.  You live forming honest interactions – always – some people you connect with instantly  and with others..  it can take a long time, or… it just never happens.

Important here, is to be true to yourself, not someone else’s expectations, or how other’s want you to act or do something.  This is a concept not everyone understands, or appreciates.  Again, we all have  to live with our SELVES…  To do something we like means to follow one’s instincts and do and use whatever makes it happen.

The above picture is a card that I did for ME.  Not to put in the collection of cards at the church for sale, but for ME.  My wise little sister once said.. remember you are making cards to sell, that means you have to make cards that people will want and like.  Not her exact wording, but you get the drift.  She was right.  Handmade cards or any other craft, where you put your personal time and energy into creating or making something is a balancing act.

The “Artisan” “Craft” person can spend hours even months making something creating a piece they love, yet find that putting a “retail” value on it, is very difficult.  Many people simply do not want to pay for something that they feel they can get at a dollar store.. the fact that what they are getting in these places is manufactured and basically are made in the 1000s, doesn’t matter.  -” To each his/her own”

Because we are a throw away society, what is IN now , may not be in a couple of months or years..  I digress…oh dear… bottom line… we will skip the rest of this for now.. I’m sure it will crop up again =^_^=

Back to the picture.  I hadn’t picked up a paint brush in years. I mean yearS.  When I did, I found that I didn’t want to put it down.  I have been trying for a distressed look on the cards, using inks, pencils and markers… but never felt I got the results I really wanted. At times not even close.

I had my own idea, or image in my head, it just wasn’t happening with the tools I had.. BUT when I took brush in hand, and some inexpensive water colours I found on sale.. POP, SHZAMMMM, I loved what I was seeing.  Best of all the cartoon characters that I discovered in a shop in Montreal, Scrapbook Centrale, made me smile.. It was a new line for me, PaperArtsy.. you can find more about them at http://www.paperartsy.co.uk

I am letting go of what I think other’s may want, and maintaining my own sense of wacky, wild and wonderful.. I got up this morning and tweaked the card some more. It is fun fun fun.

PL Precept # 2    To Live Is to Express One’s Self

Oyashikiri

Artist Loft 4 n1 brush – Michaels ** multi functional great value

Cardstock – watercolour 130 lb. Strathmore

Artist Loft – basic 24 colour pallet – Michaels

Prang – oval 16           DeSerres

Yasuyomo – mettalics (16)     DeSerres

good morning

breakfast-2

A change was made for about a week. instead of my solitary eggs.. (poached) I added fruit. I had a hankering for  persimmons and indulged myself.  Didn’t help that at T & T ( Asian grocery story,) they were only being sold by the crate.  During the Chinese New Year, this fruit is much in demand.

Lesson learned.  I am not a big fruit eater, love blueberries, (in season)  and will have the odd apple over the course of the year, but fruit is not part of my daily diet.  The lesson, one should do things in moderation…. this is a lesson, I seem to have to revisit more than I would like to.

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Meet Oskar, his human sent me this picture the other day.  I have yet to meet Oskar in person, he is such a charmer.  A morning smile is always  the best way to start the day.

Merci Oskar, than you Oskar for the smile..

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Blessings everyone, have a happy productive day, service is at 10 tomorrow, see you then.

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chop suey for Cindy

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Cindy this blog is for you.. I had to search through my huge inventory of photos to find a picture of the Wynx Otter.  (Wynx is a builder/designer in Second Life) she is the first builder to give us a huge variety of animal avatars.  The picture you see above is yours truly in her biggie (what we call human form) and in my Dinky avatar. The Dinky is an avatar created by the builder and designer, Etheria Parrott from the UK.

http://www.secondlife.come is the trademarked name of a virtual world, called Second Life. It comes to us from the United States, California.

Here are some examples of the variety offered.  The two avatars on the left upper corner, or the Wynx Otter avatars..  The next picture over shows you a possum, a kangaroo and I think a hippo. The otter is appears again in the white dress bottom right.  In SL (Second Life) for several years, I made clothes for the little avatars, so the pictures with the clothes, are of me modeling the outfit, for my marketing boards.

And yes, at one time, I was able to make enough money with my online shops to trade the linden dollars in for US dollars. I have been a virtual artist/creator since 2007.  I now longer design and make clothes for Tiny or Biggies, the market has changed dramatically with mesh and other software with technical advances that my brain simply does not want to relearn new techniques.. So now I just enjoy my friends.

In the virtual world our friends come from all corners of the world. We enjoy exchanging ideas, and sharing our creativity.  Of course there are many layers of the virtual world, like in our day to day world, it takes all kinds.. right..+^_^=    …

avatar-cabs-otterHere is a new avatar, by a designer who is more current with today’s animations, in that her avatars use a different animation than the Wynx AV.  And can use the regular human animations, they are not limited like the Wynx avatar, it has to have its own set of animations.  CABs store, in SL   For SL community members the link provided will take you to her shop.  If you are not a player in SL, you would have to visit http://www.secondlife.com to download the viewer.  It is FREE

Second Life is not “just” a game, it is a community of players who interact and yes build a second life in a virtual world.  It is very hard to explain, one has to experience it and form one’s own ideas.

Charities operate in SL, it is a source of revenue, may people who are handicapped or disabled and unable to participate in life the way they used to or want to, can do so with the use of an avatar.  Behind each avatar is a real person, sitting at a desk or at their keyboard interacting with you.

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Because of this two young ministers, were open to visiting SL and working at a Perfect Liberty “home” to work with people who had signed up to know more about the teachings of PL.  Unfortunately, they were transferred back to Japan before we could do much else, but get their avatars up and running.

There are many social agencies working in SL, for Seniors, for survivors of abuse, the educational land social network is vast.  At any given time there could be over 50,000 people on, and that would be a slow period.

I will leave you with some pictures of Dinky clothes being offered for the Dinky avatar, tell me they are not the cutest… =^_^=

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Thanks everyone, for sharing a bit of leisure with me today.  Cheers

50’s dinky line of clothing

optical artistry

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voici le moment

au fond de moi, j’en suis certaine

at this moment

I am certain

from deep within

my spirits stirs

I feel the warmth

of recognition

the comfort of knowing

a new day has begun

somewhere near

the sun is bright

even tho’

I am here in the night

God is everywhere

day and night

we are ONE

Oyashikiri

Wordless Wednesday -almost=^_^=

kappa-za

Happiness is when a group of people come together to combine their talents to bring smiles to the audience, young and old.

The Perfect Liberty Kappa-Za work tirelessly, and diligently to bring the “Way” of Perfect Liberty to everyone.

Let us also put “Makoto” (sincerity) into everything we do.  Make every second count.

Oyashikiri

finding Monday

4efef7f7e3503cced3dad81b5a0c3e65In quiet reflection today, I wanted to transport myself back to the Holy Land (Japan, headquarters)  if only one could simply snap one’s fingers and voila.. we would be standing where we wanted to be.

Wanting, wishing, does not make it so.  I am where I am, thousands of miles away, different continent, time zone and season.

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On my mind this morning, is Rev. Toyomi Hirayama, he was the minister who did the translations for me when I met with Rev. Mitsuo Michishita.  Sometimes when we are living a moment we don’t realize just how much that space in time will actually impact our everyday until months later.

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Rev. Ise Kouji who I only met during my last visit there, was so kind so thoughtful, always a big smile.Unable to speak English, he still conveyed happiness at sharing and exchanging time with the English visitor.

The minister there from Argentina, Sensi Arthuro Higashigata, it was the same, so friendly and outgoing.  We came from all over to attend the celebrations and lectures.  The actual physical time was short .. but the learning, and discovery of self, is ongoing.

sunshine and flowersFaith will shine through, even the darkest of times, Nature will go on with her infinite art forms, and in quiet meditation, I can be “home”

Pl Precept # 11  Always be with God

PL Precept #3  God appears through One’s Self.

Thank you for sharing this quiet time with me, love is pure and unconditional, when we LIVE IN PERFECT LIBERTY   PL Precept #21

Oyashikiri

 

-black garlic and..

black-garlic-yu-hongyuan

You kidding me right… nope… black garlic… it is AMAZING, says on the container YuHongYuan peeled black garlic head – ready to eat and cooking.  You have to know that I was not going to pass an opportunity to try it out.  Delicious.

Got it at the check out aisle of the local T & T Asian grocery store.  I do believe T & T has a website, you can likely find their other locations by checking the web.  You store it in a cool dry place. room temperature, avoid sunlight.  It is a product of China, imported by Uncle T foods, Richmond, BC.

Now.. please allow me to thank everyone who commented on the mixed media book cover, I’ve now finished with the one that I started the other day.  At least for now.

book-cover-finished-jan-22

It was a learning experience for me. I especially liked the texture and look of the Sludge that I got from DeSerres, you can’t see the reharvested copper cinder, because when it dried, it dried clear, but you can feel the texture when you are touching the various parts of the cover where it was used.  The particles are in a professional grade gel medium.  Product is TriArt’s reharvested series.

I used two different  batches of Sludge, #29211 ( deep forest greens)  Batch 27783 is deep purples. Sludge is made from 100% recycled pigments  harvested from TriArt’s washing process.  Remember if you want to be sure the colours are going to be similar .. use the same batch number, the shades can vary from batch to batch.  Again you will find this product at DeSerres.

Crackling acquired by using Distress crackle paint, this is a Rangers product.  I used clear rock candy in this project.  IMPORTANT,  allow the medium to dry on its own.  I believe you get better results by being patient.book-cover-another-view

I’m keen to start another one, but first, I need to catch up on the cards for the church. Hearts and Flowers month will soon be here, and I need to get some special cards done for our PL  Card table.

Happy dabbling and playing.  When you do something, do it with a happy and joyful intent.  Pl Precept # 2  To live is to Express One’s self.

Oyashikiri

La vie de l’homme est une suite d’expressions du soi.

making friends

As I pondered my life this morning, my Mother in the hospital, cherished friends in far distant lands, others busy with their lives I reflected on the current project I’m working on.

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This is another of the books I collected out of the throw away box.  It was published under the direction of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, The church of England, The church of Scotland,  the  list goes on.  It has maps and plans inside, along with the text of course.  The cover was rather battered, especially I don’t know how long it had been exposed to the elements or where it had been prior to being thrown away.

I’ve used masking tape to protect the center of the cover and I’m working at giving the rest of the cover some strength and I hope character back.

Our lives are lived pretty much like this book.  We are conceived, given birth to, presented to the world, and then……………  who knows where we will go or end up.  Each one of us  has our own  path, destination/goal, and how we achieve or get there.. is our own personal journey.

Facing the possibilities of my Mother’s journey, gives me plenty of time to reflect on my own journey.  Which brings me back to friendships.  Some friends you have known, have carved a place in your heart that will last forever, yet you may never see them again, for their paths have gone in different directions.  Or… the value of the friendship was not balanced, that happens too.

The one person, that is the most important person of all, is yourself.    When I’m working doing art projects, or creating, I’m allowing my self-expression to be seen or heard.  I may be the only one who sees it, but the act of BEING is…. in fact.. making friends with mySELF.

PL Precept #11  Always be with God.

PL Precept # 15   All is a Mirror

GOD is the constant in our lives.  When we are quiet, silent, STILL, we feel and hear from within, not the external machines and noises around us.

PL Precept 20  Live Maintaining Equilibrium between mind and matter

(Vivez en harmonie materielle et spirituelle)    this is so important for us to work towards achieving.

PL Precept #1   Life is ART

Oyashikiri

Thanksgiving Service tonight at 7 pm.  See you then =^_^=

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