Engaging the Senses

Shiny things. What is it about shiny things that grab our attention. Why choose shiny instead of dull, sparkling instead of drab? I suspect it has something to do with the long history of evolution of humanity as a species. I suspect it hits the deepest part of the brain; something like: 

"Hey, Sam! I think the water's this a'way. See that little bit of shine over yonder?" 

Look at this lovely waterfall. Here we get the swishing sound of the rushing
water, the smell of the water and the moss-covered rocks, the texture of
the rocks themselves, the smell of water and greenery, and I'm sure
the taste of the water would be wonderful and cold. 

Yes, that ability to find water by the sparkle of sunlight on the shiny arcs of liquid is a very human thing. I choose sight, because our sense of smell is rather dismal. There are animals who would be able to smell the water from long distances away, but humanity evolved into sight-operated entities with sound augmentation. We see, we hear and finally we smell and we taste. Sometimes touch comes into the equation too. To be truly satisfied on all levels, we must totally engage all of these aspects of being human. Think about it. 

The more senses are engaged in a project or event, the more you'll
be involved in it and the happier you'll generally be. Think about
attending a concert. You hear the music, you often drink a beverage
while listening, You see the musicians and their stage show. You
smell the people next to you and the singed smoke from any
pyrotechnics, and you touch the person dancing next to you. It's
a total experience. 

Two of the major products I sell are beads and jewelry. They are often sparkling, with a sheen from the lights and a color that is augmented by the colors that hang nearby. Although sound doesn't often play into jewelry, there is something intensely satisfying when pouring small beads onto a beading surface so they are ready to use in a project. It's a "swish" type of sound, a small rattle at a low pitch. There's no taste, and no smell for either jewelry or beads, the materials they are made from are inert. I suppose there's a back-of-the-mouth metallic tang if I put tongue to metal, but jewelry is rarely (if ever) made for tongue and taste. Touch is big, though. A good piece of jewelry, a beading project in the making, these are items that beg to be stroked, fondled, and hefted. 

This is an item entitled a "Jade Fondling Stone". I'd probably be
calling it a "worry stone", but the concept is the same. Just look
at it. doesn't the light texturing of the larger stone invite
the hand? Isn't that indentation just asking to be caressed? Stone
and other natural materials are popular because they beg to be
fondled and stroked. 

Think about it for a moment as you go through your day today. How many of your senses are you engaging at any given time? Vision is almost always a basic, but touch and smell certainly come into play often during an average day. Try to engage your senses more fully today. Pay attention to your reactions to sight, smell, sound, taste and texture. See how many ways you can experience that cup of coffee or that book from the shelf. Deepen your appreciation of the depths of your humanity and find that water sparkling far away in the distance. Happy Friday, I'll be back tomorrow. 

Possibilities I'm Bringing to the Table

My Workshop teacher, Andy Cooperman, sent a class-wide email of general "welcome" and minimal "instructions" out to those of us taking his class next week. I finally had a chance to read it in-depth a few days ago and one of the things he mentioned was a desire to have some photos of the items we were thinking about using in our project. So, I took photos of things I'm bringing along to use in my project (or not use, which often seems to be the end result), and I thought I might share them with you too. What we'll get in class are some basic materials - sheet metal of various types of metal including bronze - the larger equipment items like our torches, and bits of this and that. So, here's what I'm bringing to the table. 

This is a selection of items that I'm bringing along to my workshop.
Faceted cubic zirconia stones for setting, 2 differently sized
diameters of copper tubing, a carved face with an owl headdress
made from fossilized ivory (I'm a bit uncomfortable about using
any ivory, even though this is ancient), colored disks (yellow, white and
olive green) of Capiz shell, an old camera lens from an old digital
computer camera, irridescent abalone shell pieces, and two amber
 colored stone beads. 

Here is a photo of the entire array of things I'm bringing to play with. It's not really a lot of stuff. If I bring a bunch of stuff along, I'll spend my three days trying to decide what to work wish instead of just making a decision and rolling with it. I'll probably work with several of these, but many might travel there and back again unused. Let's look at some details, ok? 

Here's a close-up on some of the abalone shell pieces I'm thinking about
using. The left-hand pieces remind me of eyes, eyebrows or tears,
the right-hand piece evokes a nose or a beak. Possibilities exist and I
have a good selection of pieces in my bag. 

Here's some of the abalone pieces I'm bringing along. Abalone is a univalve sea shell with an iridescent nacre cushioning the interior of the shell. Think of it as the inside of an oyster shell, but larger than oysters usually grow. In many Native American cultures, abalone shells are used as vessels for burning sage to smudge rooms for purification. I've been using and selling abalone half-shells, buttons and odd pieces for many years. 

Just look at this piece of abalone shell. Doesn't it have the look of
a dog or wolf? I could quite easily make this into a
representation of the Egyptian god Annubis. 

This one piece of abalone I'm bringing along keeps tugging at me. Doesn't it look like a wolf or a dog to you? I'm seeing this as a side view of the god, Anubis, if I add ears. Fans of "Game of Thrones" might see it at a Stark wolf. It would certainly work for that image and world-view too. Whether I work with this one piece over the next few weeks or within the next few years, this one will be used - it's too amazing to waste in a drawer. 

I disassembled an old camera that was supposed to sit on top of a
computer monitor for using Skype or other interactive communications.
Cameras tend to come built-in now, and with much better graphics
capabilities, so I was going to donate this to my local Tech Dump. But
the depth and rings of the lens really intrigued me, so I tore it
apart for the lens. I would love to play with this. 

I am totally intrigued by the possibilities presented by this old camera lens. It has depth and texture. It's role could be an ever-hungry mouth or a symbol of a journey to inner peace - so many possibilities. I really want to play with this component and by choosing this, figure out the best ways to entrap items that can't handle the heat when combined with metals that require torches. 

These two stone beads aren't super large, and if I'm working on copper,
they might get lost because they could blend too much, but they're coming
along for the ride, because you never know what I might end up
using when push comes to shove. 

Finally, I have these two stone beads, because I am a beader and beads are usually incorporated in much of my work. They are quite different - one a flat, thin tab, the other a rounded cylinder. I love the color and entrapping beads is usually pretty easy - some wire through the hole, secure to a base plate, voila! 

So there you have it - my workshop possibilities. Along with a small carry-all of my tools, I think I'm ready for my classes. Now to actually pack clothing - the idea of no clothes just doesn't appeal to me. I have a few days to toss clothes into my suitcases, so I'm not really worried ... yet! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday. I might start getting intense about packing on Monday night - LOL. 

Don't You Hate It When...

Don't you hate it when you come up with the perfect sentence/words/theme while you're nowhere near any location to jot it down? That almost happened to me this morning. I have an assignment for humorous poetry - not usually too much of a problem - but I've been mulling it over in my head for days now. I was just about to step into the shower when the first verse hit me. Leaving the water on, I went to my computer and jotted down the verse to the best of my memory - the words already flying away with every second's delay. I quickly typed the first verse, returning to my awaiting shower afterward.

My showers are usually closer to 20 minutes, but how often do deep thoughts
hit you while the water pounds on your body? 

So I now had the first verse and before jumping into my emails and my blog, after my shower was complete and I was dressed for work, I continued writing the poem. I now have verses two and three complete and am trying to discover where the composition wants me to go. I'll take more looks at it throughout the day and perhaps will have this complete by the end of the day.

Poetry holds additional challenges for me. Although free verse
exists, I prefer my poetry to rhyme and to have meter and rhythm. 

The initial verse, however, was not written down in the identical words that first had hit while waiting for my shower water to heat up. No - those initial words ... that catchy rhythm and meter and those cogs that fit together so well, shook and twisted as I walked the 20 steps from the shower to the computer, putting my Word program onto my screen and pulling out my keyboard. Does this happen to you too? It's frustrating. I have no good memory for words, only concepts, forms and colors. I know each person has their strengths and weaknesses, but for me it is word memory.

"The Scribe" by Arthur Szyk is painted in a medieval style, although
he was an artist of the 20th century. My handwriting isn't good
enough to make a living as a scribe. 

I would make a terrible herald or messenger in olden days. I also wouldn't make it as a thespian and, given my poor handwriting, I doubt I'd make it as a scribe. Even my hieroglyphics need work to become readable. My cursive writing is impossible and printing takes too long.

I began typing when I was ten years old and have felt more
comfortable with a keyboard than a pen since then. By using
a keyboard I can keep up with my thoughts. 

I am a keyboarder - and a very good one. For years I worked my way through college as a secretary or keyboarder. I worked in the Journalism and the Anthropology departments in the back rooms where it was just me, a typewriter, and various duplication machines. It might have been boring, but I was appreciated for the work I performed, I was undisturbed, and I got lots of experience that helped me land my first job for pay after I had graduated. My fingers could fly across the keyboard at up to 120 cpm with very high accuracy. My arthritis now gets in the way and slows me down (but I refuse to acknowledge it unless it gets painful or throws extra characters into my words). My speed and accuracy have certainly dropped, though.

I might have made a good chicken in a play, but keep the main role
away from me - I won't remember the script. 

I make a great background in plays and productions. Just give me a tree costume and let me stand as moving decoration and I'm in my perfect role. Word memory and accuracy is so difficult for me that I wonder why I had signed up for my Theatre 101 course when I was a college student. I'm grateful that I did, though, because I met Seth in that small auditorium and my life has been enriched as a result of his friendship, love, and continued support.

Talent and Genius - I liked this explanation a lot. 

When do your best ideas hit you? Are you anywhere near a computer or notepad? Are you able to grasp the tenuous thoughts and pull them into ordered rows of graphic patterns so that you can read them again afterward? Do you remember your words exactly so that you can write them down at a later time? Share your thoughts with me...