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“Art” books

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Good morning everyone. these are a few of the books I’m recycling. A few have been worked on more that others.  At this stage, they are really being prepped, or prepared for their days of adventure ahead

Some get collage, on half a page, some a full page, this is a start to revamping them into a collection of ideas, and possibilities.  Each page is a new canvas.  To work on the pages  they have to prepared.  By working this way, one gets to see how the media works on the different qualities of paper used by the book maker.

For example, glossy papers are not handled in the same way as pages from a dictionary or an older book that may have faded yellowed pages, that you want to keep, the page still needs to be prepped but you require a product that enhance and preserve the parts of the page you want to keep.

It took me awhile to begin working with recycled books, I was always taught to treasure a book.  When I saw so many that were simply discarded, slowly my thinking changed.  One of the books in the little grouping was an old library book with the little piece of paper in the back where it would have been stamped in and out by the library staff, and a small pocket for what used to hold the library card info.

The content pages of the book were all detached from the binding, some pages so faded and old they couldn’t be read or handled that much.  When asked what would be done with the book, I was told it would be junked (garbage)  It was a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Black Arrow.  It had been published in London,W1 by Bancroft Classics, original sale price $1.25

Sorry friends, I bought it and came home with my prize.  I’ve put aside the original text from the books, and reused the cover and spine, adding different card stocks and Kraft papers to build a new body for it.  Not sure yet what I will do with the text pages, but I can use them .. and eventually I will.

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When I am working on these books, I get to read the pages, and see where the book falls open to.. meaning the previous owner had looked at these pages often, and by the highlighting, they wanted to retain, and learn the lessons, this book provided them.

That quote by Thomas Paine is “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

The Sophocles quote  ” One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is Love”

Life is for living, sharing and enjoying. Where a discard book is recycled, it once more shares “itself” with the world.

Oyashikiri

PL Precept #1   Life is Art

 

 

journals -discovery

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After a meeting at the church, a friend and I went out to lunch, after all Chinese New Year is happening, and the Mandarin on Hunt Club was having a special Chinese New Year Buffet, offering dim sum, and other special dishes. for the celebration.  Having indulged ourselves in the many dishes, and the array of desserts offered, we headed back to the church so my friend could get her car.

A stop along the way, was for me a small bonanza of free books.  Now that I’m happily working on recycling books, into my own personal versions of “junk journals” I picked out books by size and age. I was not interested in the content but rather the size .. quality of paper was also important but I was going to be using gesso or acrylic paints to change them anyway.

I was particularly drawn to this little 4x 6 book, it was nicely bound and had enough pages for me to get “junk” look to go with my other projects.  I had no intention of doing any work on the books when I got home, I planned on just putting them aside for another day.

PL Precept #7     Everything exists in Relativity

PL Precept #15    All is a Mirror

When I got in, the little book fell to the floor, I bent down to retrieve it and saw handwriting in it.  I glanced at  the writing and realized that it was someone’s journal.  The pages were highlighted, small pencil notations were on almost every second page.  Someone had read and re read the book from cover to cover.  In the back I saw that this particular book was one obtained at a conference on the theme of the book.  There was a page with the 12 steps (12 step program) and a few other pages, with goals and objectives etc.

Needless to say, it was like looking into someone’s private, very private thoughts. The person had even identified the book, in case of loss, name and address labels were prominent on both back and front covers.  The book was not current.  I wondered how it had come to be in a pile of books being given away, left out as garbage at a thrift shop.

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Without further thought, I found myself searching for papers, cuttings and colours to depersonalize the book, I removed the labels and then began to paint and glue.

Pl Precept # 19   Begin Once you Perceive

The transformation will not happen overnight, these journals take sometimes years to complete.  IF EVER….. that is just the nature of the journals. Unless you are doing a particular theme for a give away, or to share .. They are ongoing projects, and become part of your “personal” inventory of treasures

When I told my friend about the find, she asked if the person had achieved their goal..  I didn’t have the answer, it would have meant that I would have  had to read her/his thoughts and try to know his/her mind.  Some artistic expressions are to share, others… are for one’s own pleasure.

There are printed pages of the book, that I will leave as is, there are thoughts in there that I can reflect on when I visit the journal from time to time.  Like sharing with a friend.

I love sharing with a friend, and today I made a new one.  how beautiful is that.

Oyashikiri

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lazy day

There is something to be said about a cold sunny day, when you can see the shimmering bling of the icicles as they hang from the roof edge.  I have been trying to listen to the good advice from friends, “stay in, stay out of the cold, REST”, I think I’m soon going to be able to say, its been 4 weeks now! cough, cough, splutter, sneeze, wheeze and darn I’m tired.

windows-iceThis is a much better shot of the beautiful sculptured ice.  The sky was the beckoning blue that makes me want to be outside.  I don’t care it is cold, I’m happy outside, I layer up and I’m toasty warm.. the air is so fresh, crisp and deliciously brisk.

Thanks for the great feedback on the Sludge project, thought I’d show you a sneak peek.

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This is a piece of a cover that I was very taken with.  I liked it so much I kept the magazine for ages.  Doing these “Art” journals has given me a new way to display and keep the pictures I like, without keeping a whole magazine.  Eventually some time in the future, I will add to the pages.. this is the fun of it all.. there is no rush, no deadlines, just a great way to have quality time with myself doing “stuff” I like.

PL Precept #1   Life is Art

PL Precept # 18  Each Moment is a Turning Point

Make each moment count, enjoy being alive, be grateful, and appreciate that God is in your life…

PL Precept #11   Always be with God

When we live with love in our hearts…it is so much easier to express ourselves.

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

Oyashikiri

YaBaDab -A-Do

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Awen this is not a wombat, it is Q wearing a Chaffro outfit, for the Chinese New Year, coming soon to place near you.

I learned lately that my sisters and I who are real siblings, do not speak the same language. message received, “Moana is too full. Decided to go to la la land”

What I understood, my sister for some reason had referred to herself as Moana, she ate too much of the dinner ( she had sent me pictures of the shrimp dish she had made) and now was taking herself off to bed.  I didn’t know why she was sharing this, she sends cryptic messages from time to time, so I really didn’t dwell on it too long.  However I was curious as to why she had decided to call herself Mona, so I sent back a text, asking her.

She replied to me so obviously my other sister, knew exactly what she was speaking of.. she wrote back 3 words,  Disney movie Moana (she isn’t long on texting or writing)

Ahhh older sister’s light bulb flashed, “so la la land didn’t mean you were going to bed” brilliant deduction Watson, La La Land has to be another movie.

These generation gaps, can be hard on the communication system.

So YaBaDab-a-do to you dear friends… we start another day!  Hur-Ray!  And what a day, freezing rain, on first back to work day for many of the Federal and Provincial government employees over the slippery roads we go.. hi ho hi ho hi ho

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Q was a Meerkat…The avatar above is a Wynx Tiny found in virtual worlds of Second Life and InworldZ.  For those of you who go into Virtual, Q is no longer a Meerkat but a Dinky, and still a cat, but a Dinky Siamese Cat.  The Dinky line is a product of Etheria Parrott a very talented builder/designer and artist in the Tiny community of RaglanShire. Below is picture of Q in her work studio working on her clothing line .pffft. She has a shop in Raglan and at Tiny Outpost (run by Sylkye Taffetta, who is still a meerkat)

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Life is to be lived…. Live it your way… just be happy doing it.  If you are not happy, you need to revisit your decisions, and make changes.

In PL, (Perfect Liberty) we pray that each day, will enable us to find ways to enhance our time here, and that includes the happiness of others.  We strive for and want World Peace.

Oyashikiri

clearly, languages are not just words, but our understanding of them… and there-by a means of miscommunications…

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Do NOT

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Text and drive.

Everywhere, we hear the sounds of holiday cheer,

people know the new year is near

please stay safe

with the new year

comes new beginnings

be with us

to not only ring in the new

but to be with family and friends

who like me,

value and love you.

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PL Precept # 1    Life is ART

virtual photography by Q

PL Precept #11 Always be with God

May the joy of sharing

the gifts of appreciation

love, good health

and happiness

Bless your world

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with friendships and experiences

that bring ever lasting

harmony

filling your days and nights

with heart-felt

peace for everyone

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quiet beckoning

ompah-hwy-7Ompah is in Ontario, a little out-of-the-way, but not so far one can’t get to it.  The seasons change, right now I’m sure it doesn’t look like this.  It will be snow-covered, and likely there will be a chill in the air.

My body has a cold right now.  Notice I’ve disengaged myself from the body that is wanting to sneeze, wheeze and be a total drain on my energy.

I envision this wonderful location, patiently waiting for the cold to have its day and disappear.

Such is life, sometimes, Nature has its own agenda, time for me to settle down, find a cave and  hibernate for a while. =^_^=

I’ll do that after Hubby takes me out for our anniversary dinner…..International Buffet.. yum.. what is it, you feed a cold or starve a cold??   later, I’ll dwell on it later… =^_^=

smilePencil                                                          Oyashikiri

I know… I will own my decision to go out, when I should be tucked in bed…  I will not complain if/when my body does not take kindly to my actions.

Pl Principle #2     the last part….. ” I will always be creative and will look for shortcomings in my OWN thinking and ACTIONS”

 

 

stuck in traffic

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it happens, you are trying to get somewhere and up ahead, the flashing lights and sirens give advance warning, that just ahead, someone is having not so good a day.  I knew I had to have the truck home in time for Hubby to get to the vet… I checked the dashboard, and saw if the delay wasn’t too long, I’d make it on time.

Turning on the radio, I was immediately surrounded with the drive home news, the traffic delays and the accidents, roads to avoid etc.  Didn’t seem to matter which station, they were all about the snarled traffic, and the bumper to bumper drive home for those stuck on what is supposed to be a freeway. Even the express lanes it seems were not moving, except at a snails pace.

Other cars, and a big school bus were trying to maneuver their vehicles to take side streets. With cars/trucks  at a standstill, and no where to move to it made their task very difficult.  Fortunately for me I had my ice coffee to sip on, and enough for a second refill in my extra container. I decided to turn off the busy nattering, and just sit in the truck pondering the days events.

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I had actually had a wonderful visit with a dear friend who  after almost 10 years of visiting back and forth via the internet, had met over lunch a couple of months back.  She is like a breath of fresh air, we share a lot of interests, so we had a show and tell luncheon, and I admit to being rather chuffed about it. To share with someone else who knows the excitement of a “blank page” or what one can do with a rubber stamp or wafer thin die, is rather exhilarating. I had even taken my experiments (work in progress) to show her.  How cool is that…. To be able to present your “babies” and bask in the glow of having another “artist/crafter” understand why you think a typeset page, turned into a blank page with bumps and creases is so great.  It had been a fantastic lunch… so being stuck in traffic was not going to spoil my mood.

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There are choices we make in life, we can grumble and complain about a negative inconvenience that we have no control over, or we can dwell on a positive.  I always lean towards the positive.  I find it so much more productive for me, and time passes, and I get to appreciate, all the more, the experience of sharing with a friend.

PL Precept #4   Being Annoyed Limits Your Expression

PL Principle # 5  I will not get angry at anyone or anything.

This Wednesday, December 21st. is when the church of Perfect Liberty, celebrates Thanksgiving,  Service is at 7 PM.  Being stuck in the traffic gave me much time to reflect on the many blessings in my life.  Someone else (the reason for the flashing lights) was not as blessed. While I give thanks for my day, I pray that something positive will balance out the negative that happened to someone else.

Oyashikiri

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many steps

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we begin with an idea…

PL Precept # 19   Begin Once you Perceive

PL Precept #17   Grasp what is most essential

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In this case, my sister lovingly sought out and found this material  and presented it to me.  I loved it..  I wanted it to be something that would be used, and appreciated every day.  I don’t get to see my sister every day, she lives in California, but I appreciate her every day. This pillow graces our bed, so every day, she is part of my daily life.   A sister is a precious gift, I am lucky and have two =^_^=

PL Precept # 7  Everything Exists in Relativity

In PL we have a Thanksgiving service every month on the 21st.  It is the most important service of the month, held at 7 pm.  Members humbly express appreciation to God for all the blessings of the past month, and sincerely renew our determination to follow and practice the PL “Way”

Our 2017  Perfect Liberty Calendars are here and ready for those interested in obtaining one or having them for gifts to friends and family for the coming year.  They are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and of course Japanese.  A reminder if you need them mailed to you, there would be a cost for the shipping.

YOU are a blessing in my life

Oyashikiri

snow- start to the week

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Getting around wasn’t easy for some today, the snow started last night, and kept falling well into the day.  City crews did their best to ensure that the main  highways were cleared, but it was made clear, side streets would not be cleared till after the afternoon drive home rush hours.

On the six o’clock news they showed one enterprising young man, Xross-country skiing into work.  I recall one year when I snow- shoed in =^_^=  I didn’t have to go out today, but I wanted to take advantage of the weather and attend a sale, that is usually impossible to get close to, especially if you want to park your vehicle, in my case, a big truck.

I was right, traffic was light, it was mid morning, and I had plenty of room to park. My day went very well, I found some great “deals” and enjoyed being out in the brisk snow filled air. Sure one had to drive slowly and with care, but we should be doing that at all time anyway.   I was able to get some shopping in without a lot of fuss, and get home at a decent hour.

The PL philosophy is that if you start your day with a positive attitude, and a sincere appreciation for the weather and the world around you, your chances of having a full and productive day are very good.

PL Precept #15  all is a mirror

PL Principle # 2  I will not have complaints about others, matters, nor the weather.  Rather I will always be creative and will for shortcomings in my own thinking and actions.

PL Principle # 3   I will live with a mind of appreciation towards others and things.

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