Like millions of women across the globe I have been reading Fifty shades of Grey and just finished the first book in the trilogy (Fifty shades of Darker and Fifty shades of Freed).   I had actually had the book in my possession for about 3 months without reading it.  The reason was that I am much more of a biography type of girl and like to read what real people are doing and usually get a tad bored with fiction when I know it is not actually based on a true story.  I must admit I did read the first couple of chapters early on but found it boring and skipped through to some of the “good bits”.

However when I recently caught up with a girlfriend who is in her mid sixties, an ex librarian and very well read, who said that she actually enjoyed the book and was amazed at how the author could write the sex scenes with such fevor and variety, my interest was sparked again.  Furthermore she said her own daughter who is in her late 20’s read the 3 books over one weekend, which peaked my interest even more.

As you can see by this wall based sculpture “Adam and Eve” or the alternative title “Apple juice may be fine but I rather have some wine” (handmade ceramic and mosaic artwork) I always like exploring the theme of sexuality and you may also like to read these 14. Adam & Steve 2 Sculpture and 35. The First Adam and Steve Artwork

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

What is it with this book, Fifty Shades of Grey that crosses the generations and makes millions of women across the globe, yummy mummies, singles, married, rich, poor get all hot and heavy as they read about Christian Grey and Anastasia’s escapades?

Exploring this thought brought me back to thinking about the cavemen days, how did it work then? Did the caveman just drag the women by the hair into a bush or a cave and had his way with her.  Is there something in our DNA that still lingers on and makes us a “little” submissive?

I say a “little” submissive as the above scenario would be totally abhorrent if the caveman was a “sweaty one toothed Oaf” and the encounter was rape instead of a mutual attraction.

I think that is the key isn’t it, there has to be that spark of electricity that you can feel in the air when your eyes meet and sex is the foremost thing on your mind.

ARTISTIC LICENCE

Not that the couple in my Caveman acrylic on canvas board painting would have much privacy to get hot and heavy with all those children running around, but they must have found the time I figure!

It has been very interesting listening to the discussions around this book both in the media and also with friends.  One male friend who has not actually read the book is totally perplexed as he thinks all his perceptions of women and women’s lib has totally fallen by the wayside with the topic of S & M of Fifty shades of Grey.  However I was trying to tell him that after reading it I think he has totally missed the point – a point you only understand if you do read it.  For myself the thought of the Red room of Pain with some weird guy dressed like Hannibal Lecter would make me run for the hills (if I was able) and perhaps that is the idea some people that haven’t read the book think it is all about.   On the other hand if we are talking silk scarves or ties and there is trust and a strong mutual attraction, then that’s another thing, right? Personally I also really liked Anastasia’s feistiness and the clever use of words in their email banter.

THE ART OF CHOICE

Well E.L. James must have hit on a collective nerve.  Perhaps it is that in this day and age when we women for the most part are strong and independent.  We have the choices to live our lives the way that we want, have casual encounters, marry or not, travel the world, stay home with children or work.  Maybe even so, far down in our DNA we also have a need for the man to take charge.  Perhaps not all the time but there is something extremely sexual about giving over your control and not being in charge at least in the bedroom.   Also I think women enjoy the erotic mystery of the written word where as men are more visual creatures and like seeing (the old lights on lights off debate)the sexual act and are more turned on by pornography than women as a rule.

AGEING & THE ART OF SEX

Which brings me to a great article a girlfriend of mine Nadine Williams has written called “Brown’s long magazine life “Sex-cess” on her website, which is a must read.  Helen Gurley Brown recently died at the ripe old age of 90, she was a trail blazer and as Nadine says “her magazine mantra metamorphosed the sex lives of the modern woman.     The author of the 1962 best-seller Sex and the Single Girl reckoned if women weren’t sex objects, they were in trouble and while good girls went to heaven, bad girls got to go everywhere.”    I have always loved that quote as well as everything else that ever came out of Mae West’s mouth – another trail blazer for the modern woman.  If you fancy a read of my Art blog on Mae and see the Mae West painting here is a link 72. Mae West “Come up and see me some time” & Art

Anyway another thing that Helen Gurley Brown said;

“My own philosophy is if you’re not having sex, you’re finished.  It separates the girls from the old people”

And for what it is worth – I think she has a point, a good point!

I always sign off with Happy painting and sculpting, however this time I will also borrow from the movie with the music of the fabulous group ABBA called Mamma Mia and say Happy ….

Love Marie xxxx

Ps  I would really love to hear what your thoughts on the subject are so make a comment!

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.

This painting is one commissioned several years ago by my cousin Leif who lives in Sweden.  The naive art scene is of his brother Dan & Johnny’s former house here in Australia and depicts us all enjoying a day together by the pool.  As I told you in my previous art blog 156. ART & FREQUENT FLYER POINTS (there is the link if you wanna recap) we are now on our European tour and have arrived in Gothenburg where we got picked up by my gentle giant cousin Leif, his partner Lena and daughter Emma.

My cousin Leif decided early on that he wanted to work with disabled children and there he met the lovely Lena, the love of his life and they set up house together.  They both have hearts of gold and worked tirelessly to give their all to make life better for the kids in that institution where they both worked.

Eventually they decided to start a family of their own and as fate would have it when Lena finally gave birth it was to a little girl Emma, cute as a button, but severely handicapped herself with both Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (which is water on the brain)and several other problems too and requiring a wheelchair.

At first glance you may feel compassion and perhaps pity for this very special family unit, and yes of course that was also our first reaction.  However never judge a book by it’s cover, wait instead till you have had a good read.

ARTISTIC LICENCE

You can see Emma on my artwork on the right by the pool, with my husband and I close by.  Artistic licence of course as no aeroplane will allow her to fly, so going from Sweden to Australia has so far been out of question for her, but Lena and Leif have made the trip each with another travel partner so that the other one is home with Emma.

Emma communicates manly through noises which only her parents could properly decipher and really we did at first think that was wishful thinking on their behalf.  Well what fools we turned out to be because after spending time with them we saw Emma really does understand and can make herself understood in most instances, not only that but she understands English too!

Lena, Leif and Emma live in a gorgeous house on the outskirts of Gothenburg, just perfect for the 3 of them but as a lot of European houses no spare bedrooms so perhaps a bit harder to have people come and stay.  However they insisted that we take over their bedroom whilst they slept on trundle beds in with Emma, such lovely hosts and they spoilt us rotten.

THE ART OF LOVE

So my other observation was what a HAPPY little family they were, their little household sparkled with joy and happiness and their lives revolved around each other – not in a martyr or sacrifice type of way but in a way that showed such joy and happiness you couldn’t help but feel good in their company.  Emma had an infectious laugh and they all giggled around the clock, she did of course get upset at times particularly if it was time to get out of the car as being a passenger was her favorite pastime, but even then upset, she was gorgeous and that mood soon passed.

In a way I envied them – now don’t get me wrong I am eternally grateful that my two children were born healthy and I wish and pray that they will always be so.  No what I mean is when Kai and Hillivi were little I wished that they would never grow up and leave us, just be our little darlings forever.

That is what Leif and Lena have got – they have their little girl still cute as a button even though now she is 37 years old,  sharing their lives together the three of them.   What more can you wish for in life then to be loved and to truly love in return!

So here is a quote I think fits well here by an unknown author;

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn”

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you.

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.

This painting is a self portrait of me a couple of years ago when I had viral meningitis,(that itself is another story)  but what I want to focus on is the book that I am reading in this acrylic on board artwork, this painting which was bought by a psychiatrist  funnily enough.  Anyway the book is called “From France with Love” and is written by my dear friend Nadine Williams.

We  have been friends ever since she did a story about me in the South Australian daily newspaper The Advertiser where she had been a Senior Journalist for the last 20 years.   Here is a link to some of the stories photos from the Advertiser on my website News and News Archive

Over the years I have lost count of the number of times I have been interviewed, both as a model and an artist and I have meet lots of great reporters, but Nadine was really someone special and we immediately struck up a great friendship.

I think I liked her right away because she is such a warm hearted person, another generation up from myself but very young in her thinking, with an open mind and knowledgeably in just about every subject having dwelt into stories from around the globe at some stage or another.  Now Nadine has had some amazing things happening in her life lately.  Firstly she fell in love with a wonderful Frenchman Olivier Foubert.  He is quite the business man in his own right being the man behind the famous ‘Caleche by Colette Foubert ‘label, with a wicked sense of humor for a soft spoken very French kind of guy.   He totally cracks me up with his sly and dry remarks!

THE ART OF WRITING

Nadine decided to write about their love story with ‘baggage’ as she calls it, love in mature years and all that entails, and including a road trip in France.  The book became a best seller and the rest of course is history, as the book has now been optioned for a movie by acclaimed film producer Peta Astbury.  Peta shopped the possible film around Cannes recently, with quite a bit of interest, ”as there seems to be a gaping hole in the market for films targeted at baby boomers”,  she says.

ARTIST WEBSITES

Nadine and I have been on this website journey together as our websites were being designed at the same time, both of us with no knowledge in the world of the web or even with technology as our long suffering husbands know.    However, never say never,  because here we both are making quite an inroad on the net and getting some very good traffic numbers too.

So perhaps you may like to check out Nadine’s site, she is writing hers in a magazine style, offering up a regular blog on the delights of the French Kitchen, as well as covering everything from women’s issues, spirituality and sexuality, yes you will find articles on all matters, love, loss, relationships, family dynamics and divorce, gossip and book and movie reviews.  The age group she is aiming for is the 50 – 100 but I know it would appeal to a younger audience too.

So check it out www.nadinewilliams.com.au

Nadine and Ollie

But hey, don’t forget to come back and visit me too lol.

Here is a quote I like from writer Katherine Mansfield:

“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never look back.  Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only for wallowing in.”

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

Love Marie    (c)

(As you can see the book I painted and the one Nadine is holding in the photo below looks quite different, well that is because they changed the book cover for the second edition.)

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 drive my kids nuts, but hey that’s a mothers job, keeping them safe and out of danger.

Happy Mother’s day to all you wonderful mothers and being one is the most fantastic gift but at the same time a guilt ridden curse.  It was hard enough when they were little but at least then I was the boss and could tuck them safely into their beds at night and keep the monsters from the door.  Now I need a Lear jet and an Uzi to be of any use.

This Painting is one of several artworks I have painted over the years on the trial and tribulations of motherhood. Having a family is very inspirational for an artist and this acrylic on canvas painting is called ” A Mothers work is never done”.

ARTISTS AND IMAGINATION

Just had a call from my baby boy Kai, well baby boy is a bit much he would say, after all he is 23.  Funny though I know that, but he will always be my baby boy and I will probably be annoying him and his sister till I die, with various warnings of imminent danger just as I have done now.  I wonder if my imagination and worry is worse because I am an artist?

You see he has just called from Sweden in transit to London, and as you know they have had a terrorist attacks there, never mind that said baby boy has been living and surviving perfectly fine in London for the last 10 months or the fact that his’ imminent doom preaching mother’ takes us all off to Bali nearly every year for a holiday.

But oh no, that does not count, I am there to protect them.  Like Darth Vader against a terrorist bomb, that’s me! Then there is the volcano to worry about, he already had his flight to Sweden cancelled for a week.  Let’s not forget there is also swine flu, Pick pockets, the Bangkok riots, sitting no further that 7 seats from an exit on the plane, drink spiking and gangs with knifes!

( our family is the 4 people on the right on the detail of the painting below)

Oh grow up girl and get a grip, I know I should, but my children are so precious, bad enough with baby girl here in Adelaide, I know I drive her crazy too.  Poor baby girl 19 years old now and still having to text her mum after every car trip to say she is safe, never mind the fact that one could get ones eye poked out with a sharp stick (lol that was always my ARTIST dad’s warning too, as soon as me or my brother did anything remotely dangerous).

The Swedes have a very good word for my behavior and that is “Mesar” which is a bird in Sweden that is known as a little coward, wimpy, so that’s what an overprotective mother preaching excessive caution is called!

So Mums take a deep breath and enjoy your day, relax, permit yourself to get pampered and forget about the worries for one day.

Oh Bugger I wish I could….my baby boy is still in transit, London-Bangkok-Adelaide, I guess I will have to wait till next year……

Here from Douglas Pagels book “30 Beautiful things” -a thought, I wish for all of you.

May trouble, worries and problems never linger; may they only make you that much stronger and able and wise.  May you rise each day with sunlight in your heart, success in your path, answers to your prayers, and that smile – that I love to see – always there in your eyes.

Love Marie xxx

( Thanks Sonja and Jimmie )

Happy painting and sculpting to every one and a Big Happy Mothers Day to Nanna and Mormor and all of you too 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.

(c)

]]> https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/13-happy-mothers-day/feed/ 0 https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/7-more-tales-from-san-francisco/ https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/7-more-tales-from-san-francisco/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:35:25 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=555 HAPPY AND GAY HOTEL

In this art blog I will continue with our San Francisco travels and the inspirations for lots of artworks to come.

So we finally got to Hotel Carlton, a Joie de Vivre Hotel (and it was too) but at first we thought maybe a little too much as it had a distinctive gay feel (not that that would worry us in the slightest, some of our closest friends are gay) no I thought we may rain on their parade not being gay.  That feeling soon went away as we were welcomed very warmly as everybody are to this establishment, a delightful boutique hotel that even has a Happy Hour for the guests in the afternoon, so Happy in fact that all the wine is free, together with entertainment and encouragement for the guests to mingle, needless to say we got Happy every afternoon.  So much so that we had stopped our sightseeing activities and  rushed back not to miss it!

CHINA TOWN & PAINTING

As you can see in this close up of the SF painting we were just a stone throw away from everything, China Town was nearby as were Little Italy, Union Square and many other interesting places to explore.  Happily we wondered about enjoying the sights and smells of this city with not a care in the world…… well that was until we caught the news on the telly and found out there was a so called Muni Stabber on the loose (so called because his first victim was stabbed on the Muni Trams) at this stage he had attacked 6 people (I think it was) in broad daylight.  Just sliding up on the quite like ( like a fish, for you fans of the movie Chicken Run lol)  What gave us the Heeby Jeebies is that  only a few days before we arrived, he had snuck up on some unsuspecting soul on the street we were staying on and stabbed away.  So now me and Bryan became very concerned about who was walking behind us,lol.

FOOD IN MY PAINTINGS

I always love painting food too so for research sake mind you, we ate our way through this city (I do like my food) and went to many fantastic restaurants and had, Chinese, Indian, Iranian, Mexican, Italian and our hotel had a fantastic restaurant serving Arabic fusion cuisine, delicious!

(To be continued)

I do agree with this quote from Tommy Lasorda (baseball manager) from the book ‘Don’t forget to sing in the lifeboats’;

When we win, I’m so happy, I eat a lot.  When we lose, I’m so depressed, I eat a lot.  When we’re rained out, I’m so disappointed, I eat a lot.

Me too!

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 SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.