The spirit of the wolf

I'm an animal lover, there's no doubt about that. But I feel a special connection with wolves. Perhaps it's their mysteriousness, or cunningness, or maybe it's their resemblance to domestic dogs. The PBS Film, "The Wolf that Changed America", certainly strengthened my reverence for them, as did one of my all time movies, Dances With Wolves.

So when I received an e-mail yesterday from Defender's of Wildlife that said gray wolves in the Rockies, especially Idaho, are in danger it made me very sad. According to them,

Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game has announced that they will target the Buffalo Ridge pack -- and 25 more packs -- for extermination once U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s decision to eliminate life-saving federal protections goes into effect on May 4th.

First of all, I just can't understand how we can still, with all of the knowledge that we have in our midst, still think we have the right to exterminate any species, regardless of what they have done. I really thought we were past the phase in human history where we believe it's o.k. to slaughter wild animals at the drop of a hat. (Wait, what am I thinking, wasn't it just last month that we kept hearing about governor Palin's aerial gunning campaign of the Alaskan wolf?) This exact thinking is what now puts the Mexican Gray wolf on the verge of extinction, and quite certainly will do the same for the Rocky Mountain gray wolves once again.

Fortunately, Defenders of wildlife, is running a campaign to stop this madness by taking legal action and helping ranchers to find alternatives to wolf killing. They are asking for donations to help their efforts, and since I don't have much money to donate, I devised another plan...

I've created a mixed-media painting that is for sale in my Etsy shop. This painting is done on a chip board card with found objects (like the leather strings from old shoes), acrylic, paper, pencil, and marker. I'm selling it for $35 in my shop (shipping included), of which $30 (my profit) will be donated to the Campaign to Save America's Wolves.
...and it was inspired by this poem:

The spirit of the Wolf resides in my heart
Mostly peacefully, yet ever wild
Running in time to the blowing wind
Dancing in the clouds that drift in the Heavens.

The spirit of the Wolf resides in my soul
Longing to hear the song of the Great One
Striving to be that which I am in my natural state
Succeeding only because of the Love that the Universe grants me.

Theme from Dances with Wolves

A special day!

Hi everyone...hope you all had a great Monday. I've been meaning to post a little something about this incredible blog that Jess Gonacha created called Pecannoot for quite some time now. Like many things lately, it has gotten pushed back, but today came the extra oomph...today Jess featured one of my pieces at her blog!!!


If you haven't been to Pecannoot, GO, hurry. You will fall in love instantly. Jess is one of the most kind-hearted and inspiring people I have come across in this virtual world. She radiates happiness and her blog is all about abundance. She's also an amazingly talented artist.

I start each and every weekday by visiting her because it is garunteed to be an instant pick-me-up. And it's opened my eyes to so many talented people out there...in fact, it's where I was introduced to Julia Da Rocha.

So, today she featured my digital illustration and I couldn't be more thrilled. I can't think of a greater honor than to have my art on her blog. Today is a special day :)

Oh, Happy Day :)

Oh, Happy Day, Oh Happy day...I literally started singing that song the other day when I checked the mail and found this beautiful present from Julia da Rocha.
Seriously, look how gorgeous these are and how talented she is. What's even more fabulous is that she hardly even knows me and was generous enough to send me such a wonderful present. She even wrote a little something on there especially for me. Such a nice touch.

She is truly sharing love with the world, as her blog name, ShareWorldLove, implies. It's comforting to know there are people like her in this world. People who genuinely want to make it a more loving place to live. I'll think you'll love her blog, so hop on by and say hi.

Guess what else? She is a talented graphic designer and is starting a webpage called Poz-art that I know you will love. Here's what it's all about:

Poz-Art was created to bring forward our passion for art and passion for life. We are surrounded by things that inspire us but sometimes fail to notice them. So we decided to capture some of our surroundings and illustrate them differently for you to see. With so much to come, from prints, books, and artwork we are excited to share with you our point of view.

Doesn't that sounds great? Right now you can find some wonderful eye-candy and desktop backgrounds. It seems as though there will be many more things to come too.

Check out her flickr page too for many more goodies.

And don't forget to share world love :)

Treasury

Hi all~ Just poppin' by quickly to say Artish at Etsy has been kind enough to feature my All Smiles Cards in her treasury at Etsy. Her theme, "Salmon Pike." Thanks, Artish!

Chihuly Glass at the Desert Botanical Gardens

I visited N this weekend up in Phoenix and he took me on a date to the Chihuly Glass Exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens. The fluid qualities and bright colors of the glass offered a stunning contrast to the subtle, structural forms of the desert. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the event.













You can see more of my Chihuly Pictures at my Flickr Account.

So much...

There's so much I've been wanting to say. So much to tell you.
But my head is spinning
with thoughts of urban wildlife
and calculations
and diagrams
and websites
and methods
and analysis
and results
there just isn't enough left in me right now
to give enough here.
I'm sorry.
I really wanted to.
Maybe soon?

Sharing a song with the Mockingbird

I've been missing in action for a few days now. It's gotten even more busy around here. That's a good thing as long as I can stay sane.

I started a graduate assistant position for a landscape planning class last week, which will help me greatly with my finances for the semester. It's a wonderful deal, but at first I was a bit stressed knowing that I also have to finish my thesis.

I've also just opened my very own Etsy shop, which I am very excited about. It's taking some time to get it all set up, and so far I only have a few things listed. But, I plan on listing more things like some artwork whenever I can squeeze in some time.
A few weeks ago I planted a tiny garden, and the seeds are starting to sprout with our beautiful sunny days we have been lucky to have.

Peas Pleeeaaase...

My garden will be nothing like Maya's Farm in Phoenix where I went last weekend with my mom and N. Maya's is part of the Farm at South Mountain, where we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to eat breakfast at the Morning Glory Cafe. If you live in Phoenix and haven't been, or make a trip there, all three of their restaurants are incredible. They use fresh, local ingredients, many of which are grown on the farm. It's such a beautiful setting and after breakfast you can roam around the gardens and savor the sun.

My dream garden is Maya's Farm...

Today has been a nice day. I spent some time cleaning house and getting rid of things I don't use anymore.

And there is a little mockingbird that lives in my yard who has been singing to me all day. His tune is so sweet to listen to, and he knows about every melody in the book.

if: climbing

Not so much "climbing" as "climbed."
Watercolor and ink.
Illustration Friday

Graffiti

Rachel at Cornflower Blue did a quick post on graffiti as art and it made me think about some graffiti I saw in Bisbee last year. I like graffiti that has a meaningful message like this:
If you can't read it it says:

"When the rivers
all run dry
The oceans go bare
and die
You can kill the forest
to build your castles in the sky
But can you eat money?"

Unfortunately, when I went back to Bisbee this year, the piece has been covered over with some gang tagging...the kind of graffiti I despise.

Then today on a walk downtown, I happened upon this stencil art:

I'm not sure whether it has a deeper meaning, but it did make me smile :)

Art as Gifts

Just a quick note to say that Wednesday, the 17th is the last day to order art prints at ImageKind.com with ground shipping. If you are still searching for a gift for someone this Christmas, they may enjoy a piece of art. There are thousands of beautiful works to choose from, and of course, my gallery is there as well (shameless plug). Really, though, there are so many talented artists out there and this site has a plethora of them. Even if you don't have a gift to buy, it is a fun place to visit for inspiration or eye candy.

Yay!

Excitement! My penguin peice was chosen for the children's art gift guide on Imagekind.com and it's the 4th one on there. It doesn't necessarily mean I will sell any prints, but it sure feels good :) I made this on a whim and it has always been one of my favorites. Sorry to gloat...

Hope : Optimism : Promise : Possibility : Dream

I believe that hope is what moves us to create, to laugh, to embrace, to sing, and to love. Without hope, what motivation is there for life? Hope is at the foundation of everyone's soul, yet it is sometimes masked by fear, greed, envy or ego. Although it is sometimes easy to get caught up in the emotions of fear or the insatiable desire that is greed, there is clear evidence that hope can overpower. The people that embrace hope, encourage peace, spread love--these are the people that we remember and love. These people offer us better lives and bring about true fulfillment. These are the heroes.

I'd like to share with you a few purveyors of hope:

• Artists across Philadelphia are offering hope to the masses with beautiful murals throughout the city. Philly's Mural Arts Program has been ongoing for 25 years. They have painted hundreds of murals that reflect the city's "history, culture, and vision." These murals have the power to engage the community, deter blight, beautify, demonstrate civic pride, and have even been shown to reduce crime. Truly inspiring.
  

Bridging the Diaspora, © 2008 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Willis Humphrey, 5741 Woodland Avenue, Sponsored by the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health, Photo by Jack Ramsdale

Holding Grandmother's Quilt, © 2004 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Donald Gensler, 3912 and 3932 Aspen Street, Photo by Jack Ramsdale

• These fabulous Poketo wallets are the work of student and artist teams in which students created short stories and well-known LA artists depicted these stories through art. 826 LA, the non-profit that works with children to improve their creative writing skills, is proof that good things are happening all over this world. I'm trying to decide which wallet I should get. What do you think?

• I don't want this to become a political statement, but one of my modern day heroes that is dedicated to inspiring hope is presidential hopeful Barack Obama. His book, The Audacity of Hope says it all. And here's a quote from him to end this post.
  

Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire; what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation; what led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom's cause. Hope is what led me here today--with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have courage to remake the world as it should be.

Barack Obama, speech, Jan. 3, 2008

A Little Bird Told Me...

...messing around in photoshop...I guess I was feeling a little creatively destructive tonight.

In the mood to paint...

Last night I was finally in the mood to paint again after a long, long break from it. This one was done fairly quickly, but I am somewhat happy with the results. I have realized if I don't finish it in one sitting it is probably not going to get done! Well, it was relaxing and hope I have time to paint again soon...