Here is another blog written by freelance contributing writer , Helen Farnes hope you find it interesting.

For many centuries now, we have cultivated a very persistent artistic stereotype. The idea of the tormented creative, driven by inner turmoil and the horrors within to create works of transcendent beauty and significance is one with which we are all familiar [1]. Indeed, many believe that the world’s greatest creative works have been born out of pain or pathology [2] – without such motivating factors, this view holds, the ‘art’ is nothing more than a blank reproduction, devoid of deeper emotional meaning. While this is perhaps a rather too exclusive view of creativity, it is true that many of the world’s greatest artists have found ‘inspiration’ in the darker recesses of their souls. The apparent ‘link’ (or otherwise) between ‘madness’ and creativity is one which continues to fascinate[3]. What is less explored, however, is the idea that the relationship between pain and creativity is less causal and more progressive. There is considerable evidence to suggest that engaging creatively can help to heal the psyche in the aftermath of traumatic events.

Cause Or Cure?

In the traditional view of things, the tormented artist is driven by the trauma they have experienced to relive their experience over and over again through the medium of art. As their artistic talents grow, so the artist themselves diminish, until they seem devoured by their work, and (more to the point), by the pathological problems upon which their creativity must feed. It’s a romantic scenario, and one which fires the popular imagination – not least because we can seemingly apply it to real people. Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, even Amy Winehouse – we enjoy the myths of these individuals as ‘troubled artists’, driven ultimately to their deaths by the fires which consumed them from within [4], as much as we enjoy the wonderful art they created. However, when studied closely, the art for which these people were known does not, actually, have a direct causal relationship with either their troubles or their tragic problems. Indeed, if looked at from another angle, it could be argued that their art kept these individuals back from the brink of disaster for many years, until finally trauma overwhelmed creativity. How much sooner would they have succumbed to their demons had not art expressed their problems and kept the demons at bay?

Creative Resilience

There is, in fact, a lot of evidence to suggest that creativity can play a vital role in resilience to and healing from traumatic events. The ability to express emotions through art is one which gives trauma survivors an effective ‘vent’. Those who lack this ability to safely express their feelings are at risk of developing more troubling ‘coping’ strategies, which could present a danger to themselves or others. Substance abuse, for example, is common among trauma survivors [5] who lack safer outlets with which to deal with their emotions. Female victims of trauma in particular may find themselves on the wrong side of the law [6]. However, those who are blessed with creative tools have another way to explore and deal with the problems with which their trauma has left them.  Exploring one’s emotions through art allows one to process and express psychological baggage in a non-confrontational way. Art allows one to express and explore at one’s own pace, and in one’s own way. It helps us to engage with emotions which we may otherwise shy away from, and lets us bring those dark, gnawing things out into the light, where they cannot hurt us. It can bring us greater self-awareness, and may even speed the process of healing.

Step By Step

Creative intervention and therapy will not, of course, work for all trauma survivors. The creative process is an intensely personal one, and not everyone will be able to express themselves creatively in a manner conducive to their own healing. Nor should creative arts ever be considered an isolated ‘cure-all’. However, when used in conjunction with other kinds of therapy, giving trauma survivors the opportunity to express themselves creatively can be of enormous help [7]. Had the likes of Van Gogh, Winehouse, and other troubled artists not had their art to help them, they arguably would have succumbed to their demons far earlier than they did. Had they had help in addition to their art then – who knows? – they may have led happier, calmer, and healthier lives.

[1] James White, “Suffering For Their Art: The Most Tortured Artists In Film History”, Empire, Nov 2014

[2] Kimbriel Dean, “Is Pain The Key To Good Art?”, Ignite, Mar 2013

[3] Ian Sample, “New study claims to find genetic link between creativity and mental illness”, The Guardian, Jun 2015

[4] Van Gogh Gallery, “Van Gogh’s Death”

[5] National Child Traumatic Stress Network, “Making The Connection: Trauma And Substance Abuse”, Jun 2008

[6] Jennifer Talley, “Context Matters: The Impact of Trauma, Culture and Policy on Women’s Health”, Rehabs.com, Apr 2015

[7] Family and Youth Services Bureau, “Calm Through Creativity: How Arts Can Aid Trauma Recovery

Is your child being bullied at school? Childhood bullying is unfortunately a widespread problem and faced by many of today’s youth.  According to the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study, 27% of students from year’s four to nine were bullied frequently, every few weeks or more during every term. The bullying that is endemic in schools most often takes the form of offensive teasing and being the victim of lies designed to damage reputation.

Previous generations could find a safe haven in their home but young people in the 21^st century have the added threat of cyberbullying so if they choose to use social media to chat with their friends they are also at risk of ‘trolling’. The same researchers found that people who bullied others at school would also bully online – although less common than face to face bullying, 14% of students experienced cyberbullying and 7% experienced both.  The most frequently used mediums to bully someone online are MSN Messenger, social networking sites, texting and email.

Usually the bully and their intended target know each other and may even describe each other as ‘friends’.

The person on the receiving end of the negative treatment may end up feeling anxious or depressed as a result as well as being isolated and lonely. There are also physical side-effects of bullying, like upset stomach, disturbed sleep and increased susceptibility to infection. This is because the child is pumping out extra cortisol, a stress hormone that raises blood pressure and pulse while suppressing the immune system.

If your child has become the victim of bullying, if their grades are slipping, they are skipping school or you think their mood is low, art therapy is a way you can help them release those negative tensions and start to feel good about themselves again.

What is Art Therapy

Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses art as a method of expression so that a person can communicate how they feel through painting and drawing. The approach is based upon psychoanalysis – a technique by which a person accesses his deepest held impulses and instincts and acknowledges them even if they are considered unacceptable. Repressed emotions can manifest into psychological problems so recognizing underlying feelings in important in maintaining good mental health and balance. Art therapy could be described as a symbolic language, that is, experiences that are too complicated or frightening to describe in words can be described more easily through the use of pictures. Just as Freud – the father of psychoanalysis – was able to interpret a patient’s true feelings and motivations through dream symbolism, the same can be done through picture symbolism.

Art can bring out the hidden desire for revenge against the bully or help the artist’s self-esteem by giving him an outlet to bring colorful creations to life.

Art therapy is often used for children who are victims of child abuse; physical, sexual, emotional or verbal and who may be suffering from mood disorders, attachment disorders and behavioral problems. As victims of bullying are also subject to emotional and verbal abuse – and sometimes physical abuse – this makes art therapy an ideal form of therapy for them too.

Art allows traumatic memories to be communicated on paper or other media and is particularly useful in children who find it difficult to talk about what has happened to them. Nurturing their creativity and expressing themselves through art can encourage some children to verbalize their experiences when they previously didn’t.

Is Art Therapy Effective?

Art therapy is an effective strategy for preventing anxiety caused by bullying and can be used as a way to explore self-empowerment methods. Edith Cowan University reported on a 10 year old girl who was psychologically affected by bullying and had started to skip school because she was worried she would experience more bullying. She was given six, directed art therapy sessions with one follow up session to encourage her to express her fears and worries about being bullied. She also saw a child psychologist before and after the art therapy intervention to get a measure of her emotional state pre and post treatment. After she had completed the course, she reduced the number of times she skipped school, had a greater opinion of herself and improved relationships with her family members, according to her own estimation and the opinion of her mother, the school principal and the child psychologist.

Art therapy can also be utilised by a child who is displaying bullying behaviour as an outlet for expressing negative emotions in a safe way instead of expressing them by intimidating others. This approach is increasingly being used by schools to prevent bullying from occurring in the first place.

References:

Art Therapy, Children and Interpersonal Violence, Psychology Today, accessed December 20, 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201310/art-therapy-children-and-interpersonal-violence

Bullying and Cyberbullying Facts, Queensland Government, accessed December 20, 2015, https://www.qld.gov.au/disability/children-young-people/bullying/facts.html#common

Physical Effects of Bullying, Kwik Med, accessed December 20, 2015, http://www.kwikmed.org/physical-effects-of-bullying/

Matthews, F. (1998). A Case Study : A Short Term Art Therapy Intervention For A Child Victim To Bullying, accessed December 20, 2015, http://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1449

Forest, Melanie (2006), Children who Bully: A School Based Intervention Using Cognitive Behavioural Art Therapy, Concordia University, accessed December 20, 2015, http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/8960/

Lyndal Bond et al, Does Bullying Cause Emotional Problems? A Prospective Study of Young Teenagers, BMJ 2001;323:480, accessed December 20, 2015, http://www.bmj.com/content/323/7311/480.short

For those who read my travel and art post a couple of weeks ago called Thailand here we come! this is the continuation of that.  As you may remember we were not very happy with the hotel and after a big of searching on the internet we decided to go and look at the hotels we liked the look of first hand, as we didn’t want to have another disappointment.

ORIENTAL PAINTING

This particular painting is actually of the Chinese Gardens in Sydney, but I think the oriental feel fits quite well into my Thailand story.  No doubt Phuket and this holiday will find its way into artworks later on, that’s for sure.  If you look closely you will find my hubby and I with the two kids in this painting (often we appear in my artwork) as this was a day we enjoyed whilst in Sydney for a wedding.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Anyway back to Thailand as we spent the first day going around checking hotels out in the Patong area and settled on the Mercure after checking out their rooms and facilities.   Our room was on the sixth floor with a balcony which was in a private position (away from the stairs and walkways) overlooking the lovely pool and swim up bar.   Breakfast in the restaurant was plentiful and we enjoyed cocktails in the swim up bar during happy hour as well as in the lobby area where there was also some great live music for a couple of hours each night. The hotel was central to all areas with Hard Rock Cafe across the road, the markets along the way and Bangla road and the beach within walking distance.

THE ART OF TRIPADVISOR

As I wrote a TRIPADVISOR MERCURE HOTEL review when we got back I was very happy to see that the General Manager had immediately taken up my two suggestions for improvement, needless to say that was not the case with our other hotel TRIPADVISOR BLISS HOTEL I must say that I do really like TripAdvisor which gives you a chance to see what peoples opinions are and also to rate your own experience both good and bad.  I find though that you have to take everything with a grain of salt to account for biases and tastes!

TAILORED ART

The rest of our stay was great, we found lots of good restaurants, had some suits and shirts made by a tailor David (he was originally from Burma but spoke very good English and also Swedish as it turned out) who I would also recommend.  We did of course do a lot of shopping at the markets and shops on our walks and the quality of the goods in Thailand was really good for the most part.  Saw quite a few “backrooms” with high end knockoffs too, which of course demanded a higher price.

I found the Thai people very friendly and nice, perhaps not quite as full on in their selling style as it is in Bali if you show the slightest bit of interest in their wares, which meant shopping was a little more relaxed.

THE ART OF THE HAPPY ENDING

We both loved the Thai food and also tried quite a few other cultures restaurants too, which was fun but my favourite thing to do was to have a massage.   Hillivi our daughter recommended a fantastic spa at very reasonable prices very central to everything called Limone where we went almost daily.  You really have to choose your spas with caution as we learned from an amusing story told by our friends (who recently celebrated 30 years of marriage)Jim and Ros Franks who on their Phuket holiday decided to have a massage each.  From what I understand they were in adjacent rooms at the same time, and both massages were lovely and relaxing, that was until Jim’s masseuse startled her client awake and said; “Only five bucks extra for a Happy Ending!”

So I will leave you with this quote from Jim Rohn (perhaps he is just home from Thailand too:), one that was perhaps faced by our friend Jim recently;

“Everyone must choose one of two pains:  The pain of discipline or the pain of regret”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting and of course lots of happy endings, lol.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I have recently come back from a wonderful 4 day trip to the Gold Coast with babygirl Hillivi and what a wonderful time we had.  I really should have stayed by the easel in my art studio painting but my daughter gave me quite the sales pitch, lol of why the 2 of us should fly up to Queensland together for a little getaway!

I must say that I am so glad she convinced me as we had so much fun, staying at the Chateau Beachside right in the middle of Surfers Paradise on the beach in a studio apartment with a sea view.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Even the flight up was really interesting when I sat next to a cute and talkative former soldier with a penchant for travel who recently returned from his deployment in Afghanistan and been part of some very hairy situations.   We declined his offer of a guided tour of Surfers and instead went and picked up our hire car.  As we had already taken out some extra insurance we debated back and forth on having to pay another lot that the car company was selling but in the end we signed up for that too (and as it turns out lucky we did).  Settling into the hotel, sightseeing and a Thai dinner followed.

Anyway the first day was spent at Movie World and wow what a time we had, after a fun start with a 4D Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs, we then got cracking with the rollercoaster’s good and proper.  For those of you who think that’s just for kids and teenagers you are soooo wrong, lol I just love a good ride!

MORE PAINTING IDEAS

First it was on to the Lethal Weapon coaster which had undergone some terrifying modifications and name change to Arkham Asylum and reaching speeds of up to 85km and pulling 4.5Gs.  Your feet hang in the air and miss the posts and poles by a toe length!  Now we are into it big time and run between that and the Green Lantern, Scooby-Doo and another of the favourites; Superman for the rest of the day.  Quite amazing we kept our lunch down as we spent more time upside down that upright I’m sure.

THE ART OF BIG BROTHER

Then after a quick drive and spruce up it is off to DreamWorld to be part of the audience for the Big Brother eviction night.  That was lots of fun too, being avid Big Brother tragics (yes I know, reality TV and all that, but apart from the fly on the wall intrigue I love the psychology of it too, and if you give it a go you can actually even learn some life lessons from the show yourself I find) But it is a program you cannot dip in and out off, unless you watch it from the start you won’t be able to follow and really get the gist of it.   In any case we caught up with Caleb one of the evictees (had seen him down the mall the night before too with Layla from last year) and he was every bit as nice as he seemed on the show.  The perfect gentleman and not just nice to the pretty girls but genuinely nice to everybody, so good on you Caleb the Fireman!

After seeing Heidi as the evicted housemate much to the surprise of the audience who had Tully pegged to go, we took off for Surfers for a late dinner and a squiz at the beachfront markets.

The rest of our trip will have to become another art blog for another day.  So I will finish with this quote that I think fits well here on psychology by Jerome Lawrence;

“A neurotic is a man who builds a castle in the air.  A psychotic is the man who lives in it.  A psychiatrist is the man who collects the rent.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Several years ago I was commissioned to paint a St Patrick’s Day painting celebrating all things Irish by my US Art Gallery. That was something that up until then had not occurred to me and one of the reasons I generally enjoy doing commissions so much is because there is always a new topic that you may not have thought of yourself and not only does it inspire you as an artist to paint it but it also makes you grow as a person by having to research whatever the subject is.

ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

The brief for the painting was to include the St Patrick’s Day Parade, the Blarney Castle, kissing the Blarney stone, an Irish Pub, four leaf clovers, St Patrick’s the Saint, Leprechauns, a rainbow and a pot of Gold. So the above acrylic on board painting was the result.

THE ART OF CELEBRATING

Here in Australia St Patrick’s day is taken pretty seriously as well, it is not an official holiday as it is in Ireland but there certainly is much celebration, Guinness, Irish Whisky followed by drunkenness, lol – any excuse will do for the Aussies! Well I guess there are quite a few with Irish decent here, being as Australia was started as a penal colony and many Irish along with the English came over as convicts during the 19th century. Added to this are a large number of Irish people who also emigrated to Australia later on, so there was much artistic inspiration to be had.  I am not sure if in all this celebrating the fact that it is really a religious celebration is a little lost on most of us?

SAINT PATRICK ON A PAINTING

As you can see on my painting Saint Patrick is on the top right.  St Patricks day was made an official feast day in the early 17th century in celebration of Patrick who was born into a wealthy Romano-British family in AD 385 and died on the 17th March AD 461.

Patrick’s grandfather was a priest and his father a deacon and he studied to become a priest, although that was after his ordeal of being kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. He apparently then had a dream where he was told by god to flee from his captors and that is what he then did in real life and returned to Britain. Later on after he had finished his studies he went back to Ireland as a bishop and is thought of as the principal champion of Irish Christianity.

BLUE AND GREEN COLOURS

Originally the colour associated with St Patrick was blue but that had changed as early as the 17th century, so these days all the Irish revellers dress in green colour and you see them all spilling out onto the street from all the pubs, particularly the dedicated Irish pubs which are very popular anyway in Australia.

THE ART OF COUNTING MONEY

Let’s not forget the Leprechauns either, not that I have ever seen one in real life but I have been reliably informed that they do exists and can be found at the end of every rainbow, next to the pot of gold counting their money stored away from making shoes! You really should try to catch one as they have magical powers and will grant humans three wishes in exchange for their release. They are easy to spot too as they are no taller than a small child, clad in a green coat (sometimes red) wearing a beard and a hat.

Or perhaps we better just stick to the old plan of working for a living eh?

So I leave you today with an Irish Blessing for all of you;

“May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night.”

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and celebrating.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Today’s tale begins at the end of another art and travel blog in our European trip and finds us just having finished lunch in 167. THE ART OF LETTING GO. Cousin Benny and his sister Berit her partner Anders were now taking us around Sundbyberg and Solna seeing the houses and schools where my parents lived and grew up.  If you want to recap even more of our European adventures here are some links; 156. ART & FREQUENT FLYER POINTS and 157. Art & Never judge a book by it’s cover and 155 The Art of Packing Light and 164. ART, TOILETS AND TRAVEL and 166. Rondellhund, Roundabout dogs Sculptures

ACRYLIC PAINTING

This acrylic on canvas board painting is of course influenced by growing up in Sweden although I think I may have used some artistic licence as the slopes were not that full of people skiing!

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

We were now on our way to where Benny lives in Vaxholm by car although it’s often reached by boat.  By boat it is a very atmospheric trip through Stockholm’s archipelago which comprises of some 30,000 islands would you believe.  Vaxholm itself is made up of about 70 small islands so a boat is required for the most part if you want to explore further.  Benny lived on the main island of Vaxholm not too far from Vaxholm Hotel where we stopped for a drink taking in the wonderful view over the archipelago.  The old town was originally a fishing community which sold most of their catch to the big city.  Many of the old wooden houses were built on stilts, hanging out over the water.   Everywhere you look is gorgeous houses wooden houses with beautiful roofs.   There is also a fortress built there in 1549 by King Gustav Vasa, originally to defend the capital of Stockholm from invasion and later used as a prison which is now Sweden’s biggest military museum.

SWEDISH ARTISTS, AUTHORS AND POETS

Many Swedish artists, authors and poets were influenced by the archipelago of Stockholm among them August Strindberg, Astrid Lindgren and ABBA to name a few.  Pippi Longstocking’s plays are often shown in Vaxholm during the summer months and some of the scenes in the movie were actually shot there.  (For those among you with children I can thoroughly recommend Pippi Longstocking and any books or movies based on Astrid Lindgren’s books, “Emil i Lonneberga”, “Karlson pa taket” and “Vi pa Saltkrakan” just to name a few.)

THE ARTY DOLLS HOUSE

Anyway I digress – here we are with my cousins Benny and Berit and after a lovely stroll  we go home to Benny.  He lives in what is known as the Dolls House which is the most gorgeous yellow and white little wooden house, beautifully decorated in white and blue inspired by the sea and boats.  The bedroom is decked out  like a captain’s cabin on a ship and everywhere you look there are influences from the sea.  An added bonus on our visit are hundreds of newly picked Kantareller (a yellow Swedish mushroom that grows in the forest) which were lying drying on the table and floor.

THE ARTISTIC COOK

The memories of this day are really a highlight of the entire trip, maybe it was because I finally came to terms with the death of my grandparents 167. THE ART OF LETTING GO and what could have been such a sad and sombre day actually was filled with delight both at seeing their final resting place and then our little party in the Dolls House. “ Moi” who is useless in the kitchen and has not a clue how to cook actually got the job of cutting up the mushrooms, luckily this activity was fuelled by red wine, lol.  Who would have thought but I actually had so much fun helping my much more experience cousins in the kitchen whilst hubby and Anders discussed the world, universe and everything!  (Berit has great experience in hospitality and these days has her own catering company) The meal of Stewed Kantareller in a Béchamel sauce on toasted long bread with asparagus was one of the yummiest I ever had!  Casually and relaxed we sat on the floor around the coffee table eating,  drinking good wine and really, I never wanted the night to end.

Here is a quote that fits perfectly by Pierce Harris;

“Memory is a child walking along a seashore.  You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting, and making memories to you all!

Love Marie xxxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Oh the 1980’s – I remember it well, those Girls nights out.   Well some of it at least although I have to admit through a glass colored by gin and tonic or champagne.  Those were the days when I could party all night, sleep for an hour and still attend a fashion shoot the next day and look fresh faced and bushy tailed.  My girlfriends and I would hit all the clubs in town, know all the bouncers and never line up.  Our favorite clubs were Regines, Toucan & Toucan Two, Limbo and Jules.

GICLEE PRINT

This image is one third of a painting called “The true colors of Hindley Street” the whole one can be seen on this link; and is a Giclee print, the original acrylic painting was 25cm x 155cm and was bought by a Physiatrist  and hung in the waiting room.  It was very popular with the clients I’ve been told.

Hindley Street was the hub of the clubs and the place to go and hang out in the 70’s & 80’s and the painting was called Cracking a Hindley originally as that what we called driving very slowly up the street with all of the car occupants hanging out the windows and interacting with the goings on!

PAINTING IDEAS

When I had the idea to do this painting I went around and photographed all the shops and businesses that were memorable for me.  I used my artistic licence to cut out some of the less colorful places as well as adding all I had seen over the years into the picture at the same time but apart from that it is pretty true to life.  Hindley street has changed a little since those days but it is still frequented by the night-owls, and trying to catch a cab there at 4am in the morning without queuing for ages is an impossibility as I recently found out. (Old habits die hard,lol!)

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

However in those days I would spend all night on the dance floor, dancing up a storm, the music pumping through my veins with just enough alcohol to lose the inhibitions.  That was the time when Michael Jackson was still black and cute and sang Thriller, Billie Jean & Beat it.  Kevin Rowland from Dexy’s Midnight Runner’s singing Come on Eileen, wearing nothing but blue jean overalls.  Who can forget Frank the owner of Toucan wearing suits without a shirt complete with gold necklaces!  The Eurythmics certainly had it right – Sweet Dreams are made of this and they were my Golden years.   The last song the DJ would spin on the turn table was U2’s; Still haven’t found what I am looking for!

But at that hour of the morning round about 4-5 am – what I would be looking for, was a snack and so would all the other clubbers too.  So off to Marcellina’s we’d trot, meeting up for a pizza with all the other die hards, some a little worse for wear!  Then tip toeing home, shoes in hand with the sun only to do it all again the next night.  Oh those were the days!

I can still party up a storm although these days it takes a little longer to recover and perhaps count my drinks a little more carefully unlike Dorothy Parker who said;

“I like to have a martini, two at the very most.  After three I’m under the table. After four I’m under the host”.

till next time

love Marie     (C)

(if you enjoyed that use these links for another couple of party story art blogs   51. When Laughter is the best medicine mmm…. and maybe a little bit of snake 53. A Hens night out..without mentioning the P…word!..impossible )

Footnote:  This Artwork has now been made into a Duvet and is on sale at ARTnBED website

http://www.artnbed.com/ Here is another blog about how that all came about if you fancy a read 140 ART n BED

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

No this time it’s not a tale about my poor long suffering daughter who wishes her mother would keep all those embarrassing childhood stories to herself.  No, this one is about Kicki the cute; butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, bitsa dog.  This painting below has the puppies in a gum boot being on their best behavior unlike the puppy in the story below.

You see my mother and father are cruising the Pacific, on the Dawn Princess no less, stopping in Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia and the like for two weeks, having silver service every night, playing dress up, sitting with the captain on his table no doubt, whilst we got stuck with little Miss Wee Wee (or Miss Pee Pee). Oh the unfairness of it all!

THE ART OF A PUPPY MINDER

Now Kicki is one year old and absolutely gorgeous, just a little puppy and so sweet BUT she has this one little fault – every time you come in the door, or go upstairs and reappear or talk to her or just about anything – she does a little pee.   It doesn’t seem to matter whether she is excited or frightened or happy or sad.  Any old time will do, just a little squat and whoops there is another pee to clean up.  No wonder when my parents dropped her off Mum arrived with a big bag full of goodies.  I was quite impressed; there was food and snacks enough for a month, then there was the cleaning products (mmm..perhaps that should have been a clue) and also some puppy training pads.  Turns out they are totally useless too, as it must be much more fun to pee next to them!

So an exciting time has been had by all, cleaning rag in the back pocket and a bottle of “Ajax clean and wipe” on the ready night and day.  As soon as there is a knock on the door, little Kicki gets rushed outside, as that is the only safe spot to say hello to the cute little girl, and don’t get me wrong she is adorable!  Just WET!

Here is another art blog and a movie too about dogs which you may enjoy; 98 Red Dog & Art

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

First day she is here we take our normal 40 minute morning walk, this time with the 3 dogs, very happy to see lots of pees and other “business” is getting done away from the house.  We laugh as she runs like the cartoon dog from “Footrott Flats” with her hind legs overtaking her head or alternatively is just like a fly on a string!  Then we spot a big dog off the lead heading straight for us and my poor hubby trips and falling down like a timber in the woods!  In the commotion he lets go of the 2 leads and there is a major panic with dogs and leads and traffic.

I got that sorted and back to the injured hubby who at this stage, was still was not moving.  We thought he had a broken foot & finger at the very least, as he slowly limped home.  Luckily it was a just a sprained foot and a cut and dislocated finger, but it hurt like hell according to the poor patient.  Guess what, the “Pee- cleaneruperer gang” is now cut by 50%, well you can’t do that with dislocated finger can you!!  I am telling a little fib now as handsome son Kai certainly is doing his share of the “Pee- patrol” too.

THE ART OF DESSERT

Must say though as it turned out little Kicki got her just desserts too, lol.  The next day she was out in the back yard actually sniffing around looking like she was really going to squat and do her business somewhere good, when our dog Cheech came along.  As fate would have it; just as Kicki lifted her head up, Cheech cocked his leg and let go of the longest pee and little KicKi just looked and blinked and blinked as the stream went all over her face and eyes and nose.  She looked cute as a button if you still can do that with your face full of pee?

So here is a quotation to contemplate from Max Eastman and the Enjoyment of Laughter:

“Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and dog minding to you all,

Love Marie xxx  (C)

If you enjoyed this story and artwork about a dog here is another of the art blog that may amuse 8. Thunder in the Thunder Box & Art

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Scoopon,  Cudo,  Our Deal and Catch of the Day are all the rage here in Australia – and what exactly are they one might ask?  Well it works something like this.  These website offer an item or a service at a special price,   often more than 50% discount and if enough of us buyers shows an interest the “deal is on”.  We have to buy it there and then and have a certain amount of time to use it usually 6 weeks up to one year depending on the fine print.  Yes do remember to read the fine print!!!

ACRYLIC PAINTING

So this little black chook, yes moi, have been buying up a storm lately of these vouchers, they represent very good value for money.  Who can say no to a dinner for 2, entree, main course, dessert and a bottle of wine at a lovely restaurant valued at $150 and only pay half of that or less.  Or perhaps a haircut, style and color with a massage and manicure thrown in with a glass of champagne and what about a round of golf with a couple of beers or fancy a spot of bowling for a family of four perhaps? Maybe a day at the zoo for the whole family with lunch, is more to your liking, as this acrylic painting which sold in Japan depicts.

I have been purchasing these deals both for ourselves as well as for gifts to family and friends and so far we had been very happy with our experiences.  That was until last night that is, lol.  It was my husband’s birthday yesterday so a lovely meal was in order and as I had previously bought a voucher with a Lebanese banquet for six, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use it.

We vaguely knew the name of the place but that was years ago and at that stage it was only a take away place.  So the fact that they had now added a restaurant sounded good.  As we are an adventurous family and like new experiences we thought we couldn’t go too wrong.  WRONG!

There were 5 of us in our car and our sons lovely girlfriend drove herself there a bit earlier as she had made a surprise pavlova (cake) for the birthday boy.  She went in and asked to put it in their fridge and then waited for us in the car park.  Poor sweetheart, her eyes were big as saucers by the time we arrived, well so were all of our eyes actually by the time we met up.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

You see as we finally got to our destination and found the place we could not believe our eyes – this was still a “take-away joint”, although to give them credit it had undergone a major revamp.  It was now stark and white with a big food counter and a couple of drink fridges, bright neon lights, like a hospital would use and a blinking open sign on the window.  We saw a few customers standing around waiting for their order and some kids running around playing.   They had a total of 3 tables and 2 of those were pushed together in between the counter and the window to fit the birthday party!

Bryan and I were sitting in the car too stunned to speak, luckily our daughter made the call – she said:  “There is no way that we are going to have dads birthday dinner in there”, and with that we all burst out in hysterical laughter till we had tears running down our cheeks.  Then everyone pointed the finger at me of course and said I was banned from buying any more of these you beaut deals on the net!!  Mmm… how quickly they all forget all the other good ones we had gotten, lol but in this case they were right.  So off we went to another establishment known to all of us and a lovely night was had by all.

So in the end it certainly was not a cheap night as in fact we paid for two dinners and one that we will probably never use.  To add insult to injury today I wasted another deal as I forgot to pick the item up when I was in the vicinity and the petrol and time to turn around and go back wasn’t worth it.

So lesson to self – ease up on the deals Marie!

Here is a quote I think fits perfectly here, by Joyce Brothers;

“Credit buying is much like being drunk.  The buzz happens immediately and gives you a lift… The hangover comes the day after.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxxx                 (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also enjoy this one 99 Cash Strapped & Artistic

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Have you seen Red Dog yet?  If not I thoroughly recommend it, it is one of those movies that the Aussies do really well.  Quirky and surprising and very real, not the Hollywood look at all.  Not a nip or tuck in sight that’s for sure, I spotted two sets of even teeth in the whole movie and one of those belonged to the American star Josh Lucas, who was the leading man.  The other set to Australian actor John Batchelor who plays Peeto, who also stars in the Underbelly series Razor.  He is no oil painting by any stretch of the imagination but there is just something magical about him, he has that x-factor and just light up the screen.  I love that about the Australian and British movies that people look like they do in real life, tall, skinny, short, fat, wrinkled and crooked teeth, young and old.   The cast includes Noah and Rachel Taylor (no relation) as well as many other fine Aussie actors and even includes several people as extras from Mallala, Two Wells and Balaklava.

ART SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL

So go to the movies prepared to both laugh and cry, because it certainly makes you feel and that is the whole reason for art isn’t it?  Whether it’s looking at paintings or sculptures or seeing a movie or a play, you want to come away from the experience feeling something!  This movie is guaranteed to do that.

DOGS AND ART

The story is about the famous” Red Dog” a Kelpie cattle dog cross, who roamed the countryside of the Western Australia’s Pilbara region, and rumour has it he even caught a ride on a ship to Japan.  He had a couple of “masters” during his life time but was for the most part an independent wanderer who would hitch a ride with motorists by sitting in the middle of the road.  It is said that Red was looking for his beloved “master” as he wandered from town to town looking into everyone’s faces as he searched far and wide.    Red was the best friend to nearly the entire population of the mining town Dampier in the 1970’s and it was here he eventually returned.   A bronze statue was erected in his honor after his death.

Dampier and the statue will no doubt get a lot more visitors now that the movie has alerted us to its existence.  Several books have been written about Red, however this movie is based on the book by British author Louis de Bernieres (author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin which also was made into a film starring Nicolas Cage & Penelope Cruz).  It certainly is a heartfelt movie superbly directed by Kriv Stender, which provides us with those ‘laugh out loud’ moments and is suitable for the whole family.

Another ‘laugh out loud’ moment I would like to tell you about is from our darling dog Saba, or Ali Baba as I used to call her.  She is the red dog in the above painting a Red Heeler and shared our lives on the farm.

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

My husband used to work away during the week and Saba would sleep in the ute during the night (as hotels are not too keen on the four legged variety of guest.)  Anyway one day a packet of Kraft Cheese singles (cheese slices individually wrapped in plastic) was left on the dashboard of the car and when hubby let Saba out in the morning the cheese of course were long gone – packet and all.

However a day later the Kraft Cheese reappeared in the grass although now they were curled up in the shape of pencils but otherwise still intact and still wrapped in plastic.  You could theoretically uncurled it, taken off the plastic and eaten it again lol, not that we did mind you!

Here is a quote I like by Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw);

“A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

Till next time painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx     (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog and would like another with a movie team here is 92 Art & walk across my swimming pool

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I just got home from a meditation class, which was only the second time in my life that I have attended one. It does seem to me to be a little bit crazy to be waking up with the alarm blaring in my ears so that I can go off to a class to sit and learn to relax! One would have thought if that’s what I needed perhaps staying in bed and a few more hours shut eye would have done it. But oh no – powers that be says otherwise, so off I trotted to the class!  Think the man in my ceramic and mosaic artwork below is doing more than meditating though – if you want to see the whole image of this sculpture use this link to the art blog 10. If You Remember The Sixties, You Weren’t There, ART

My mother used to go to mediation classes 25 years ago, and come home singing its praises. I could for the life of me not understand why someone would be going to sit in a room full of strangers and try to relax, it seemed like a complete oxymoron to me.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

The way to take time out for me in the past would be getting a massage or having a glass of wine and watch a good movie etc, and that has always worked well in the past.
However these days I find it harder to shut the clutter in my mind up. What is it with that – why do we have to have an internal dialogue in our head that just doesn’t shut up! A head full of random thoughts everything from great painting ideas, to new blogs, worries about health, children, pets, parents, car accidents, house burning down, and burglars (or a combination of all of the above at the same time, LOL). Never mind all the things I said and shouldn’t have, or the things I should have said but didn’t. Don’t start me on the stuff I did or didn’t do- that alone is a whole new chapter!
Get my drift, I really need to learn this meditation – just to be able to take time out and get some rest without actually being asleep.

So there I was this morning sitting in a room full of strangers, just like my mother 25 years ago. (She has always said about a lot of subjects “Just you wait and see” so this may be another of those “I told you so moments”!)

MORE IMAGES TO PAINT

Anyway it was not as bad as I thought, the strangers all turned out to be very nice people, friendly, kind and cheerful. A couple of them arrived in gophers (3 wheeled motorized bikes for the elderly or infirm) and as we got chatting I found out another person had Aspergers syndrome and ADD, which makes it even harder to get a quiet spell apparently.
There was a candle burning but apart from that there was no hokus pokus, just a soft speaking lady and a CD player with background sounds of waterfalls and birds tweeting and a voice guiding us through the meditation step by step.
There are lots of definitions about meditation but as far as I understand the idea is to contemplate; to keep the mind fixed upon; to study; To sit or lie down and come to a deep rest while still remaining conscious. I am aware of two different types; Insight meditation and Transcendental.

Insight meditation: A form of Buddhist meditation that employs concentration sharply focused on bodily sensations and mental events, practiced with the intention of gaining insight into reality.

Transcendental Meditation: A technique for detaching oneself from anxiety and promoting harmony and self-realization by meditation, repetition of a mantra, and other yogic practices, promulgated by an international organization founded by the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (c.1911–2008) (reference Google)

All very good if you manage to do it. However so far I have had little snippets of quietness in between sneaky thoughts that clamour in to disturb me, everything from; what I am going to eat at lunch to shopping lists and urgent matters I should be doing instead of sitting here with my eyes closed. Although there were a couple of times there when I nearly fell asleep and fell of my chair – maybe I just should have stayed in bed instead!

Perhaps one day I will manage to do it properly. Until then I leave you with a part of Kindness Contemplation, adapted from Jack Kornfield “Path with Heart” who in turn adapted it from a traditional Buddhist meditation.
May I be filled with kindness………..
May I be well…………..
May I be peaceful and at ease………
May I be happy……………….
May everyone be filled with kindness………………..
May everyone be well……………..
May everyone be peaceful and at ease…………..
May everyone be happy…………….
Till next time,
Love Marie xxx  (c)

Footnote;  A dear friend of mine has meditated twice daily for the last 40 years,  her name is Nadine Williams famous Author of bestselling book “From France with Love” a former senior journalist with the Advertiser and  now runs her own website.  Here is a link Nadine Williams as it is full of wonderful stories and information about just about everything.  So go and have a look and happy painting, sculpting, reading and mediating to you all.

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I miss New York and our New York friends so much today!  Don’t you just love the “Big Apple” the city that literally never sleeps.  Streets teaming with people of every race and nationality and shops and food from every culture.    Talking about the culture – what about all those fantastic Broadway shows and the fact that you can pick up a cheap ticket either in the booth at Times Square  or through the lottery the individual  theaters use.  New York has a multitude of artistic inspirations to which artists never tire of exploring in all art forms, including me of course having done many paintings and sculptures on the subject.

MODELLING AND ART

As I have mentioned before – hubby had promised to take me to New York 25 years prior to our arrival there – you cannot say he doesn’t keep his promises, lol.

In the early 80’s whilst I was modeling in Europe, Bryan backpacked  through Europe where he made lots of friends along the way,  American couple Peter & Amy were two of them,  newly married and on their honeymoon.  Later on when he found himself in New York he decided to look up them up, and was immediately offered a bed, being the gorgeous people they are.    Bryan stayed with Rosslyn & Sol (Amy’s parents) in Paramus which is in New Jersey about half an hour from the city centre of New York.

You know how life goes – they all kept in contact for the first 10 or so years with a letter or postcard here and there, then life got in the way and we would get the occasional postcard from Peter as he circumnavigated the globe on various adventures in his job as Chief Engineer on various ships.

So we plan our first trip together to the USA and although I had never met them I have spent the last 25 years hearing all about the great time Bryan had and the wonderful friends he met and now the search is on to try to reconnect.

Boy what a saga that was, endless searches on the internet and phone calls etc, but finally a bit of luck through the maritime college in New York where Peter used to teach, and bingo they got in touch.

(Below is my acrylic on board painting of the apes at the Bronx zoo, a must in the sightseeing schedule)

THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP

What came as a complete surprise however was the incredible warmth of these lovely people.  As soon as Amy heard that we and our children were coming their way, we were offered a bed with her parents in Paramus.  This is 25 years later mind you and for all she knew we may have turned up on her doorstep as Riff Raffs, lol but she had no hesitation and we spent 2 fantastic weeks there.

We spent 14 days on wonderful adventures in and around New York sometimes with Amy & Peter and also on our own investigating the city.  Met more of their family and friends too and spent a combined Christmas/Hanukkah as that year, the 2 celebrations fell on the same day.

Oh and what a feast that was.  Amy does not do things by half, the table was laden with goodies such as various finger foods; meat or vegetarian, platters of roast beef and other meats, vegetables in all their colors, a French dish made from filo pastry stuffed with cheeses and jam (to die for) a glorious Mushroom Pie (dead again,lol), olives, nuts, chips, crackers dips, pâtés, cheeses, fruits, bagels, pumpkin pie, cakes, biscuits and cookies in every shape and form.  Our eyes truly boggled and when I asked Amy how come she had bought and prepared so much food enough to feed an army, she said; “Well you got to have a choice, don’t you!”  It was one of those days where you ate and drank from midday to midnight and couldn’t possibly do up your pants or they would bust.

It is a Christmas that we will always treasure, so a big salute and cheers to our New York friends and I leave you with another dear New York friend,  Bob’s favorite quotations, he is funny as a fit and we met through Amy & Peter.

“Some people are like Slinky’s – not really good for anything buy they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs..”

“Why don’t you slip into something a little more comfortable….like a coma”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting everyone,

Love Marie xxx  (c)

If you enjoyed this art  & travel blog you may also like this one about New York: 137 ICE SKATING IN CENTRAL PARK

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Looking at this painting brings back so many memories from when the kids were little.  There is a four year age gap between our children Kai and Hillivi and were for the most part the best of friends growing up.  We lived on a farm until just recently and the nearest kids were 10 kilometers away so it was just as well that they enjoyed each other’s company.

In this particular painting they are playing tea party which was a favorite game.  Another one was playing restaurant, they would have all their soft toys and dolls sitting around the tables and come in ever so official with notepad and pencil and inquire what everyone wanted to order for dinner (obviously the toys could talk, because they got busy writing it all down.)  My gallery in Japan had bought them this huge set of plastic food and a burger counter and they would spend hours making and serving the food.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS & RED CORDIAL

I think though from the look of Kai bouncing on the bed he must have just come home from a friend’s birthday party!  You see we were rather careful on what we gave the kids to eat at home, healthy living and all that.  What we  found out the first time Kai as a little tacker came home from a party was that he was totally uncontrollable, he was literally bouncing of the walls, running from room to room like his pants was on fire and talking a million miles an hour.  With trial and error we found out that it was “red cordial” that affected him like that, so at least we knew that any time he went to a kids party he would come home all wild eyed and crazy.  (Weird too that any magazine or newspaper reports on the food colour issue during that time all said that food colors do not affect kids, where as the real life experience of a lot of parents are quite different.)

ART AND KIDS PARTIES

Little Miss Hillivi was not to be outdone however oh no, she would come home from every party and promptly chuck up!  The first time it happened I thought she had been food poisoned and rang the mother of her friend to warn her just in case it was affecting all the kids.  However as time went on we found out that every time Hillivi went to a kids party she would come home and throw up.  It took a little bit of investigating to find out that my sweet little baby girl would turn into the cookie monster when she arrived at any parties and stuff herself so full of snacks and lollies that her body could not cope with the overload, lol.

FOOD POISONING AND ART

Another time on the way home from a Saturday outing which had included a cafeteria lunch in a furniture store (no not Ikea!) both Kai and Hillivi complained that they are not feeling well, so we had to stop the car.  They of course hang out the back doors of the car and say goodbye to; what looked like a “very yummy trifle” an hour ago and this time as there had been no overeating it must have been bad food.

Try as I might – there was no chance of contacting the store on a weekend even though they were open both Saturday and Sunday.  The phone calls went straight to a recording and you couldn’t even leave a message – so I wonder how many other people got food poisoned that weekend, as there was a whole tray full of trifles there when we left the store.

Here are a couple of quotes that amused me on the “lovely” subject; the first by Johnny Depp;

“When the kids hit 1 year old, it’s like hanging out with a miniature drunk.  You have to hold onto them.  They bump into things.  They laugh and cry.  They urinate. They vomit”.

and the second one from the comedian and actor Jon Stewart:

“The night I turned twenty-two I drank a shot for every year.  I was so drunk. My friends drove me home and left me propped up on the couch holding a bucket.  I woke up with vomit all over me.  The bucket was clean as a whistle.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx    (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog and artwork you may want to read another here is a link about what comes out of the mouth of babes; 55. Art & The Rise and Fall of the Tooth

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I bet you all know where the inspiration for this painting came from, yes of course being pregnant and all that.   Seems like a long time ago now and a time filled with excitement and trepidation.  I cannot say it was a great state to be in as feeling sick and fat are not two of my favorite experiences; however the outcome which was two beautiful and healthy babies certainly was, and they have been my inspirations for countless of artworks both paintings and ceramic and mosaic sculptures over the years.

Why is it that when you are big and fat with a belly full of baby everybody wants to touch your stomach, however when I am in peak condition with a six pack and really would like to show that off, no bugger is interested in feeling my tummy, why is that?

In this painting you can see my Doctors waiting room, Dr Jack a wonderful friend apart from being a great obstetrician and his lovely offsider Sister Sue.

THE ART OF 9 MONTHS OF WAITING

You may also wonder why a few of the pregnant ladies are looking so grumpy – well let me tell you.  It’s not bad enough that you have a baby pressing on your bladder for 9 months but every time you go for an ultrasound they make you drink 2 liters of water (and no matter how busting you are, you are not allowed to go to the toilet.)  So imagine that a whole waiting room full of ladies wriggling around on their chairs totally unable to sit still, as if that’s not bad enough!  Oh no when its finally your turn (and don’t hold your breath) then you have to lie down and endure a very cold & gooey probe being pushed all around  on top of your stomach, before you are finally allowed to sprint off  to the toilet (or waddle lol whatever the case may be).

THE ART OF EATING

I for some reason also thought that being pregnant was a “free for all” in eating and managed singlehandedly to stack on 25 kilos during that time, seemed more like I was having a baby elephant than anything else.  Shame too that I couldn’t even blame the weight on the baby as both of my darlings were quite tiny when they arrived.    Really lucky that I was able to get my own body back after all that, as the one I borrowed (so to speak) seemed more like a strangers, lol.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

So where does babies come from you may ask…. Well there are many theories about this, could it be the birds and the bees or perhaps the baby was found behind the gooseberry bush or in the cabbage patch?  Now I will have to subscribe to the idea that babies are really delivered by the stork as when I did a bit of research on this matter I discovered that some say the myth originated from Scandinavia who believes storks are gentle birds with strong family ties,   although this myth does have some competition from both Germany and Holland.  Acclaimed author Hans Christian Anderson’s tale “The Storks” from 1838 tells a gruesome tale but I prefer to look on the bright side of life and think that Storks are a fertility symbol and associated with springtime and birth.

They are also a symbol of good luck and used to actually nest on top of roofs.  So I guess that’s maybe how the folklore got started; some embarrassed mum or dad when asked where babies came from, pointed at the stork on the roof sitting next to the chimney, and it would have seemed almost believable!  Well especially as we all know that Father Christmas uses that entrance too.

So here is a joke I found from the storks point of view.

“Two storks are sitting in their nest, a father and baby stork.  The baby stork is crying and the father stork is trying to calm him.  “Don’t worry son, your mother will come back she is only bringing people babies and making them happy.

The next night it’s the father turn to deliver, so mother and son are sitting in the nest, and the baby stork is again crying with the mother saying “Son, your father will be back as soon as possible, he is just bringing joy to new mommies and daddies.

A few days later the stork parents are desperate, their son has been absent from the nest all night.  When finally shortly before dawn he reappears – and they ask where he has been all night?

The baby stork says “Nowhere much, just scaring the shit out of college students!”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx    (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog you may enjoy this one; 6 A million miles an hour and little miss chuck up

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I had so much fun making this ceramic and mosaic artwork piece, firstly because I am a little piggy when it comes to food and just love to both eat and look at pictures of food and also it was fun to make the people all have open mouths with bits of broccoli and stuff poking out.  At least in my wall based sculpture I don’t have to worry about my table manners!

THE ART OF FONDUE

The fondue was such a lovely craze back in the 70’s when there would be Fondue parties held all the time.  However the history of the practice stems back to 1699 when it was firstly printed as a recipe in a cookbook (melted cheese cooked with wine to dip bread into.) As far as I understand Switzerland has always made wonderful cheeses but during the cold hard winter months of yesteryear the cheeses would dry out a little bit and since food was scarce and roads covered in snow they had to rely on a little imagination and voila the fondue were invented.    As early as 1875 it was already the Swiss National dish and then became popular in the United States in the 60’s & 70’s.

THE ART OF THE SWINGING SIXTIES

Perhaps why this dish became so popular in the rest of the world was because the Swiss had invented a little game as you sit and take your turn dipping the bread into the pot.  According to Hamlyn Press the publishers of The Fondue Cookbook it goes something like this:  If a woman drops a her bread into the pot she has to kiss all the men at the table, if a man drops the bread into the fondue pot, he has to buy a bottle of wine, and if either of them drops the bread for the second time, he or she must host the next fondue party.  So perhaps this was the start of the swinging 60’s and the Swingers party – it all started with cheese and not sex!

ARTISTIC FOOD INSPIRATIONS

The imagination boggles, lol but it sure makes stale bread taste great – although us Swedes (as opposed to the Swiss) have another way of doing that.

Our contribution to the stale bread is Fattiga Riddare (Poor Knights is the translation although the Google translation says it is French toast) however this dish has more in common with pancakes.  As the stale bread is left overnight soaking in milk (you can also add egg and flour if you want) and then they are stirred like a pancake mixture and fried.  Served with jam and cream or whatever you fancy.

Problem with writing about food is its making me hungry so if you just pardon me for a minute – I will be right back with you after a little spell to the kitchen……. Back again …bugger I will have to restart that diet tomorrow again!

THE ART OF MULLED WINE

Another of my favorite dishes when I was living and modeling in Switzerland was the Raclett, which is yummy melted cheese served with a couple of small boiled potatoes, gherkins and pickled onions, could also include some meat (but being a vegetarian I would opt out on that bit).  I don’t know if I remember it so fondly because of the food ingredients or because it was usually served with Glue wine (gluhwein is spiced and mulled wine served hot) In Sweden we call it Glogg and we add some vodka or brandy to the recipe too, oh trust the Swedes, lol.

So here is how to make Gluhwein/Glogg

Start with a bottle of red

6 cloves

Cinnamon stick (broken up)

Lemon rind/orange

Caster sugar to taste

Raisins, almonds

Assemble all in a saucepan. Heat it over a low flame and be careful not to let it boil, simmer for about 45 minutes then strain the bits out of it (or have fun picking cloves out of your teeth – well that’s not that bad as the raisins and almonds are delicious.)

Here is a quote by the wonderful artist Frida Kahlo

“I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx    (C)

If you enjoyed this art & food blog and would like to see another on this topic here is 73 The Art of Snack attack at hungry jacks

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Happy Easter to everyone and I hope you are all having the loveliest of times wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

This acrylic painting “You and me and Bunny makes three” was one I painted many years ago when I first started out as an artist.  I have always been fascinated with animals and wonder how they are feeling and what they think.  I think we don’t give them enough credit and assume they only do things by instinct and not because they actually think about things.  I feel sure they are a lot more like us humans.

(Here is another link to my art blog and painting about how ants really live in apartments 70.  ‘’CONDO’S OF KATHERINE”)

That said perhaps I have gone a tad overboard in my depiction of how the rabbits live – but you never know – have you been down a rabbit hole?

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

Really, if I could I would have asked our darling dog Moses who lived to be 18 years old; he had the heads up when it came to rabbits and their dwellings.    When we lived in a renovated church, we had the grave yard right next to the house and the rabbits thought the grave yard was the perfect place for their burrows, so nearly every grave had a hole or two going down into it.  My little dog Moses thought it was so much fun to chase the rabbits down there, as he just fitted into the holes.  Quick as a flash he would be gone and I was always so worried when he disappeared as I thought he might get stuck underground, or even worse come out with a bone in his mouth and not of the rabbit variety, lol!

THE ART OF KEEPING COOL

We were told when we moved in,  that the graveyard was not used anymore, and we never felt one bit of unease living so close to it.  It seemed to me to be a very peaceful place however I was a little bit unsettled when I came home from work one day and found that a fresh grave had been dug and there was a big mound with flowers left over from a  funeral.  That feeling passed however and nobody that had been put to rest there ever came back to visit or haunt us.

THE ART OF CELEBRATIONS

We spent many wonderful Easters both in the church and at the farm and now this year will be the first one in the new house by the sea.   Things are still a work in progress around here but we will be joined by both kids and their lovely partners for a little celebration.  We won’t be having all the trimmings as there is only so much you can do when you live in on a building site, lol.

However I can guarantee that there will be lots of food and wine and laughs anyway.    How us crazy Swedes normally celebrate Easter is something I have already written about and if you missed this Blog 2. SWEDISH EASTER & Art I would really urge you to have a look as it is quite a scream and has enjoyed a lot of traffic on the net!

Here is a quote I like in the spirit of Easter from Kahil Gibran (Lebanese American artist, poet and writer)

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. “

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxx       (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

The title of this painting was inspired by Redgum’s song “I’ve been to Bali too” sung and composed by John Schumann. A man I greatly admire both for his music and also for his effort to make this world a better place and make us all think.

This artwork depicts the four of us on our first family holiday to the dream island of Bali, I think the kids were only five and nine at the time.  Bryan and I had been to Bali once already, before we were married in our early 20’s. If I remember rightly we went there this time, in the September school holidays and it all came about because of the very miserable school holidays we had in July of the same year.  All four of us  had gotten the flu and spent nearly the whole two weeks sleeping and huddled together in the TV room at the farm. Too sick to do anything much more than venture out to the kitchen and get us something to eat and then just lay and sleep and watch telly, four misery gutses!

THE ART OF RECOVERY

Once we recovered and the kids were back in school I decided we must have a real fun holiday and make some memories together and obliterate that last miserable one from our minds. Bali here we come -our flight was great until the air hostess came around with the drinks service and gave everyone an orange juice in one of those plastic cups with an aluminum foil lid that you have to peel off yourself. Of course little miss Hillivi insisted on opening hers herself and it goes without saying that I thought that would not be a good idea and that I should open it for her.  However in the spirit of diplomacy and for the sake of the poor passengers overhearing this long discussion I against my better judgment let Hillivi open it herself whilst I for one moment turned away to sort out Kai.

ANOTHER ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

What greeted me when I turned back was a little 5 year old girl-covered from head to toe in orange liquid, my- I did not realize one of those containers could hold such a lot of juice as to have her completely dripping wet!  The look on her by now very pouty face was also so priceless that we just could not hold back the giggles as those airhostesses worth their weight in gold came to her rescue with the serviettes and mops!

PICTURE PERFECT IN DARWIN

We had a stopover in Darwin where we headed for the first loo we could find to change Hillivis former lovely blue dress (now orange) into something more appropriate.   Thereafter  we did a few touristy things ; spending quite a bit of time on a crocodile farm which had us all fascinated, seeing the crocks jumping up into the air and catching their food which was dangling on ropes and then having dinner on the Darwin wharf. So back to the airport we go to board our Bali flight, the kids were so excited as it was their first time overseas flying to a new country and we were eager to show them the picturesque island that we had come to love previously.

THE ART OF PERSUASION

But of course it could not be that easy could it-no of course not, now two hours before departure the customs fellow has decided that Bryans passport does not meet the requirements , admittedly there was a small crack on top of the photo as often happened with the old style passports.  However this passport had been sighted by a dozen or so officials at this point before this fellow in uniform full of his own importance thinks that the photo has been tampered with and starts to pick at the edges of the photo with a knife and making holes rendering it way worse.

Bryan gets called in for a full on interview and meanwhile me and the kids are worried sick.  When Bryan finally emerges he has been told that he can travel but does so at his own risk as most likely the Indonesian custom will put him on the first plane back home (the travel insurance would not cover this as now, we had been warned)leaving the kids and I to spend the time in Bali alone.  Fun, fun,fun in the sun,sun, sun-Not!

Well that put a dampener on our spirits, however we decided to give it a try as we have nothing to hide(and nothing left to loose) and with the broadest smiles we could muster got through the custom in Bali without a hitch and spent the holiday doing the one-finger-salute (metaphorically speaking of course) to the customs fellow who nearly ruined a perfectly innocent family holiday.

MUSIC AND ART

Just recently at a Christmas party I got introduced to John Schumann’s lovely wife Denny and proceeded to tell her how John and his Redgum music has inspired my art etc, whereby she ducks away and brings him over.  We had a lovely chat and he is just as inspirational in real life, and to boot –complimentary about my art too.

So all is well that ends well and this next quote by Samuel Johnson (poet and writer 1709-1784) fits well in here, in relation to that nasty customs fellow.

“Fear is implanted in us as a preservative from evil; but its duty, like that of other passions, is not to overbear reason, but to assist it.  It should not be suffered to tyrannize”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx       (c)

If you fancy a read of another art blog set in Bali here is a link 45.Happy Hour & Art

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

]]> http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/68-weve-been-to-bali-too/feed/ 1 http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/66-its-raining-men/ http://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/66-its-raining-men/#comments Fri, 21 Jan 2011 05:35:25 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=1950 THE ART OF RENOVATING

You know it is really strange to be living without a roof over your head for a while, you see, we are renovating, putting another story on our house and to be able to achieve that the old roof had to go. So we have had live-in workmen here for the best part of a month and the whole house is a shambles with dust and boxes, stacks of timber and insulation bats and bits of this and bits of that.This particular painting is called “It’s raining cats on dogs” but I will get to the “men” part later,  to explain the title of this art blog,  It’s Raining Men & Art.  Here is another link if you fancy a look later 42. Art & All That Packing ..mmm Better have a Holiday

It is driving our dogs crazy too as the workmen live on the ground floor and when they come up the stairs the dogs go mad and bark their heads off at what they perceive as the” hobos” from the basement, lol.  Now I must clarify that I don’t share the dogs view on this, not at all.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

You know there is something so enticing about guys who do physical work, all that sweat and the bare chests to look at, it is really quite easy on the eye!

One problem they have had is trying to do a balancing act up there on the rafters of the roof and we have had quite a few fall through the ceiling, all of a sudden as you are going about your business there is an almighty bang and a foot or a knee or something falls down.  My niece tells me when she had the same work done, her workman fell into the ceiling bum first, so that was a good view she said.  So I am patiently waiting for that and in the meantime find myself singing the song that “The Weather Girls” made famous – It’s raining men, hallelujah it’s raining men……

So it goes without saying then to get any work done at all I have had to rent a room 5 minutes away from here with a couple of uni students where I can have an art studio and paint in peace and that has been an interesting experience too.  However I find that after all these years of working from home I am quite disorganized and when I get to my other place I have invariable forgotten some important reference material, such as an art book or that special paint brush that I just needed that day.

Although I do have a bed in my new share house I have been going home to hubby and the renovations at night, most of the time the guys are still at it finishing off one thing or another and then we usually sit around and have drinks, chat and enjoy a BBQ.  I have discovered there are only so many BBQ’s that you can have in a week, lol but as we don’t have the gas connected to the house at the moment I will just have to eat it and shut up!

The Boss of the guys here is actually my nephew Kurt and we have especially enjoyed having him around not only is he just one of the best builders there is but also one hell of a nice guy and if that wasn’t enough-he plays the guitar too!  So at night we have been sitting around listening to the acoustic version of AC/DC hits such as Hell’s Bells and Highway to Hell.  I must confess that has me in my absolute element as they have always been one of my favorite bands.

In fact on a not so good a note lol, I think I will have to blame AC/DC on my slight hearing loss.

HEARING LOSS FOR THE SAKE OF ART

You see during my modelling days I spent quite a bit of time in Japan and the “Walkman” had just come on the market, so of course I had one glued to my ear everyday catching the subway and bullet trains to and from assignments.  The bands album “Back in Black” had just come out and I had that on full volume blasting my eardrums as they sang” Hell’s Bells”,” You shook me all night long”,” What do you do for money honey” and all the rest.  Funny isn’t it how when you are young you think you are invincible and those fuddy duddy adults and their silly warnings about hearing loss is just a load of rubbish.  Well maybe not! LOL.

So I think this quote by Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire (philosopher and writer) fits rather well here, although I must point out it is only the hearing loss that refers to me, lol not the other afflictions.

“I am a little deaf, a little blind, a little impotent, and on top of this are two or three abominable infirmities, but nothing destroys my hope.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and renovating to you all!

Love Marie xxx   (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Christmas is here again, comes around at break neck speed these days, but still warmly welcomed by me and my family, we love Christmas time.  This year will be a little better than last year as we will be all together again,  our son is back from his European adventures.  When we first arrived in Australia from Sweden it took us a little while to get used to summer and Santa as this painting below shows, being used to the Swedish Christmas with snow and freezing weather.

Father Christmas actually comes to our house on the 23^rd, go figure, probably as he has so many houses to get too!  He comes during the night and dutifully eats his cookies and drinks his milk and often leaves his footprints on the floor from the ash in the big fireplace in the lounge.  However this year I have got no clue how he will get inside as this new house does not have a fireplace at all!!

This year I said to the kids “I will just put all the presents under the tree when I have wrapped them” however Miss Hillivi (daughter) who now is 19 won’t hear of any changes and insists that we should keep the traditions just as we always have and that Santa is REAL, and is a bit miffed that we have not yet found her Christmas stocking to hang on her door (so Santa can put one present in there on his way out).  So I guess someone still has to do the sneaking around late at night, I can see another artwork coming up.

We will get up on the 24^th to a tree full of presents and have a little family celebration of our own before the big celebrations begin.  The” big one” happens usually around 3pm and starts with the Swedish tradition “Dop I Grytan” what is that I hear you ask?  Well it goes something like this;

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

In the olden days in Sweden when the big landowners had a lot of staff on their farms they would invite the hired help in for “Dip in the Saucepan”.  Not sure that it really was that generous of them as what they offered was the left over juice from the boiled ham.   The staff would all gather around the stove and were given bread which they dipped into the ham juice, put on mustard or cheese and ate it served with beer and also punch (pronounced POONCH; a sweet alcoholic beverage).  The ham juice is actually is very delicious though (I get the vegetarian kind boiled up especially by Mum and Dad) and fun way to start the day’s proceedings whilst standing in the kitchen and having a chat.

A PIECE OF ART – THE SMORGASBORD

Then we have a little break before the big Smorgasbord so several things will be on offer, perhaps a little walk around the neighborhood or a swim in the pool (its hot here remember) or perhaps a few will gather to play a board game or just sit and relax.  Then my mother the Matriarch and Game Master will get busy with various Christmas Stocking games and the Pièce de résistance; the big dance around the Christmas tree.  Don’t you try to get out of that one – not a chance to sit it out, I think even with a broken leg my mother would insist!

THE ART OF DANCE

Oh but all in good fun and I am so glad she does, because once you get up and get going IT IS JUST SO MUCH FUN!!!  So this year there will be 14 of us and we will go through all the songs from my childhood in Sweden and act them out such as –Sma Groderna,  Nu gar vi runt ett enerbars snar,  Bjornen Sover, Vi aro Musikanter and to finish of the Rocket.  In this finale we all lay down on the floor around the tree and slowly slap the ground with one hand after the other and then increase the tempo until it is as fast as we can go and then we stand up and go WHEEEeeeeeee and throw our arms into the air.  LOL now you may be excused in thinking that we have a heap of kids here all doing this, but oh no in that you are wrong.  There are only 2 kids present, my niece 6 and nephew 3, the rest of us are all adults!

This year will be the first for the newest member to our family, Kai’s girlfriend Samantha, so it will be interesting to find out what she thinks of this mad family’s goings on!  Brett, Hillivi’s boyfriend is an old hand at it by this stage as this will be his 5^th time and now he actually looks forward to it.  I remember the first year he tried very hard to stay in his chair when the Call to Dance came from my Mum, lol but as I told you earlier, no one has a chance to sit when the festivities begin!  If you would like to hear the continuation of this story here is another art blog for you 63. Smorgasbord (continuation of the Swedish Xmas celebrations)

Here is a something that amused me from the website Funniest Christmas Jokes,

“Waiter- There’s a fly in my Champagne”

A multi-national company held a reception to celebrate Christmas. The waiter gave each guest a glass of champagne, but on inspection, each guest noticed that their glass contained a fly.

• · The Swede asked for new champagne in the same glass.
• · The Englishman demanded to have new champagne in a new glass.
• · The Finn picked out the fly out and drank the champagne.
• · The Russian drank the champagne, fly and all.
• · The Chinese ate the fly but left the champagne.
• · The Israeli caught the fly and sold it to the Chinese.
• · The Italian drank two thirds of the champagne and then demanded to have a new glass.
• · The Norwegian took the fly and went off to fish.
• · The Irishman ground the fly and mixed it in the champagne, which he then donated to the Englishman
• · The American sued the restaurant and claimed for a $50 million compensation.
• · The Scotsman grabbed the fly by the throat and shouted, ‘Now spit out all that you swallowed.’

Have a very Merry Christmas and see you next time,

Till then happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xxx       (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

All roads lead to Mallala, is the name of this painting and when we first moved out to the country from the big “smoke” this is where we moved to, well nearly, 10 km from here, as you can see there is a lot that goes on in the country too depicted in my naive art way.

We lived in an old church which had been converted into a 2 story house, surrounded by paddocks and with a graveyard over the back fence.

A lot of people would comment that we were brave to live there, but even though I am a scary cat in other aspects the graveyard never affected me, it was a serene and peaceful place.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

We were told when we bought the place that it was no longer in use, so I must say that once when we arrived home and there was a fresh grave there it was a little confronting, lol.

But still no ghosts or any funny goings -on, the only funny business came from our dogs at the time Spike and Saba and the rabbits that lived under the graves.

Spike our small terrier used to chase them down the rabbit hole and I would be beside myself wondering if she would come out alive, or get stuck there forever, or goodness gracious- bring up a bone that did not belong to a rabbit!

If you enjoyed that dog story you may just enjoy this art blog  too 8. Thunder in the Thunder Box & Art

Mallala was our first taste of country life and we were welcomed to the district with open arms and met such a lot of nice people, some of whom we count as our best friends even today 20 something years later.

ART OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

However there was one less than friendly person there, who shall remain nameless lol.  In any case this woman was not from the district but opened a video hire outlet there in conjunction with the local takeaway.

She was grumpy as, heaven forbid you should bring a video in a minute after the allotted time, or even worse actually had faulty video that you could not watch and then complain about it.

It would be like facing the Gestapo; you would tremble at the thought of bringing the video back and telling her about it.  Of course she would insist it was your fault and that you deliberately broke the video and you better pay up or else.

Lol luckily this particular woman did not last long in this business.  Funny don’t you think when people run their own business and have a shop front and then have not learned to be friendly to their customers, they do not realize that repeat business comes not only from the product they sell but also from their demeanor too, you know customer service.  You can see the Video shop a little left of center in the artwork.

Here is a quote from Victor Hugo (writer)

“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you all!

Love Marie xx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.