Surf's up!

Welcome back to the surf with Mother Henna!  It has been the most art inspiring week here!  Can't wait to show you all the great finds, so let's jump in right quick:

We got to spend a day at the newly re-done Seattle Art Museum, and I discovered so many feasts for the dreamer.  One of the exhibits featured two films by Hirsch Perlman where he says he wanted to study the affect of music on the visual art.  They are really very silly pieces of visual.  One, a rubber band being flung against a wall, and the other, two cigarettes burning down to stubs in an ashtray.  But it is very interesting to watch these two with the music played over them.  There *is* an affect. 

And I have to wonder:  does music just do that?  Or are we so conditioned to the "sound track" telling us what to feel, that we are led by the nose through all films?  Delighted to discover he's got portions of these films online!!  See these and several other "studies of affect" at:

http://www.blumandpoe.com/hirschperlman/vids.htm

Essaydi's brilliant use of henna

The other feast for my heart was Lalla Essaydi's series "Converging Territories" where she photographed various scenes set with models and materials all covered in handpainted Islamic calligraphy -- and the paint she used???  HENNA!  Wow wow wow. 

This photo here is the one they now have the collection at SAM, so I got to see it live and in person.  But also, over on Artnet, Essaydi's series is featured and sold.  Check it out!

Do you know the history of where you live?

A friend wrote to me recently and asked the meaning of word Vashon, the name of the island on which we live.  So I did a quick look up to see if I could find the origin and history, and lookie lookie what I found!  A whole website about the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Museum!  Click through and see for yourself -- they have the most amazing collection of old photos to share there!

Speedy Delivery

There will always be a soft spot in my heart for Mister Rogers Neighborhood. 

Two things I took away from my experience working there are:

1) enduring friendships and

2) amazement at the dedication of the people behind the scenes at Family Communications (producers of the Neighborhood and other projects). 

Finally there is proper documentation of our good neighbor Mr. McFeely aka David Newell!  Check out the site and photos for "Speedy Delivery: The Movie" and snag a look into the life of this extraordinary neighbor.

Papayalicious is delicious

While I was zooming around the mainland last week, I stepped into a storefront and was overcome with the brilliant details of the cards, journals, papers, and more from the Papayalicious label!  What ingenious works. 

And what fun to surf through online.  I had no idea that Teesha Moore was a part of this group, too.  The works of Anahata are so full and balanced and I could stare at them all day long, seeing new things over and over again!  Their online shop has that 5 star Japanese pen that supposedly writes over anything and everything. 

And they have an amazing array of workshops and retreats -- including one in Bali!  What fun that would be -- ArtFest on Bali beaches?!   I cannot tell you how much I would love to honor my son's 10th angelversary by being at this retreat on his birth/death day next March.  Dreaming, dreaming.

One last find: 
language lessons with some spunk

Surfing around iTunes for audiobooks and podcasts, and I turned up this nifty little series of language lessons under the title, "NOT Lost In Translation".  And I was thrilled to see they had an English to Italian title, so I snagged it.  Now fair warning:  it includes tracks for all the normal things like greetings, dining out, finding the restroom, but it also includes hilarious tracks for learning pick up lines and curse words!  ha ha ha!  I love it.  And one day, you know, my Blog Railing Tour will take me training around Europe to meet blogging artists there, so I need to know Italian basics :)  I doubt I'll use the pick up lines though :)

Miracles,
k-

This has been an entry of:
The Surfing Life of An Artist
Mother Henna seems to spend as much time surfing as she does making art.  Each Thursday she will plunge into the history of her browser and share what she's swum through during the past week.  Sometimes it's all a splash in the beauty of other artists' sites and blogs, sometimes it's a plunge into the submission guidelines of various publication, sometimes a kick board thru YouTube videos that show "how to" do this and that. You just never know what you'll find in Mother's history.  Get your fins and flippers and come swim with Mother!

About Mother Henna
Mother Henna (aka Kara L.C. Jones) wears many hats:  artist, writer, photo assistant, Reiki Master/Teacher, workshop facilitator, wife, bereaved mum, step mum, grandma, and more.  You'll find more detail about Mother Henna than you could ever really want by clicking here.  To follow the progression of the 1,000 Faces of Mother Henna project, check out the blog at MotherHenna.blogspot.com.  Lots of items are out in the world with Mother's designs featured:
Handmade items at MotherHenna.etsy.com
Books & Ephemera at Mother's Lulu.com shop
Tshirts, sweatshirts, baby onesies and more at Mother's CafePress shop