Welcome to my website

I’m glad you dropped by. Please stay for a while and let me introduce myself.

If you’d like to connect, just send me an email to maryinvancouver @gmail.com and I’ll get back in touch as soon as possible.

Mixed Media

Here are a few more pieces I’m getting framed for my next show.

Surfers. I’d cut out a photo from an old National Geographic of a closeup of a seal. And when I turned it over to glue it, I found these “surfer girls” and fell in love with them.

 

 

 

 

 

Corvid Says…

I’ve been experimenting with putting magnetic poetry words into my mixed-media pieces. On this one I used magnetic paint for the “bubble” or inside of the nest.  I’m looking forward to seeing how people use the words.  What would you do with them?

 

Tension of Opposites

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Here are my four most recent pieces – using various mixed-media techniques including cold wax. I used magnetic poetry for words that are (in some sense or another) opposites.

Next posting goal

I think this is funny. I posted about writing resolutions with a focus really on not taking them too seriously. and then wordpress congratulated me on my 129th post and  assigned me the Next Posting Goal: 130 Posts.

I am weak. I’ve spent so much time creating SMART goals for myself and others, the R for realistic side of this was just way too compelling to not do it.  But what now? Will I just get another goal assigned to me? Is this how my staff felt about our regular goal setting discussions?

Writing Wresolutions

It’s that time of year. The days are still long and here in Vancouver somewhere between damp and torrential and chilly for us.

But the LED lights are up and there’s a lull between festivities so I’m engaged in my annual time for reflection on my life so far and how I might want it shifted in the coming year. When I was younger I followed all the good advice about setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based) goals but I’m feeling more relaxed or possibly lazy or apathetic, depending on your view of these things.

More This; Less That – is the frame I seem to be working on. I remember a poem based on this being in some curriculum package from the government on stress management, but can’t find the original. If you know it, please post or send.

Anyhow it encourages slight shifts; gentle leanings forward and back; rather than the left-brained, logical, ego-driven goals that, less face it, often fail anyways. More exercise isn’t as daunting as exercising three times a week and possibly less expensive. I believe fitness centres and yoga studios do a great business in the first month of the new year.

Instead of lose weight (the #1 new year’s resolution, according to some), maybe more vegetables; less meat or more walk; less car.

Or to add the S for specific, which is often quite yummy and more interesting than generalities.. more buttnut squash; less hamburger; more walks along sandy beaches; less traffic jams.

Join me? Post your more or less resolution, why don’t you? I’m curious!

 

Wikipedia article needs help. Can you help?

Home, neat, home, is the top resolution on this Canadian Living article. The word “execution” scared me off the site.

Art from Cremains

I’ve pondering what to do with cremains (cremation ashes) and googling for “art cremains” to see what pops up.

Here’s what popped up:

http://www.glassmementos.com/lobby.html

http://www.artfromashes.com/faq.htm

http://www.evrmemories.com/Cremation-Art-Painting-s/241.htm

http://www.seaviewartglass.com/

http://denicelewis.com/

http://torchedart.blogspot.com/2011/03/cremains-beads.html

http://www2.sacurrent.com/news/story.asp?id=72168

Cremains used in Pet Portraits and

12 Weird Things to do with Cremains

NaNoWriMo2011

OK, So I’m going to do it again – 50,000 words in one month, that month being November. ready… set….

(don’t go yet – wait till post Hallowe’en)

 

Morning Glory Poem

Came across a little book of prose poems by Robert Bly called The Morning Glory with this haiku from Basho in the introduction:

 

The morning glory–

another thing

that will never be my friend.

I’ve been crocheting morning glory vine – most recently made two big “spider” webs for Hallowe’en decoration.

I’m trying to be a good friend..

Steve Jobs on Death

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.”

Words, Swords, Roses and Feathers

I’m playing with some ideas about turning the Compact (!!) Oxford Dictionary into an altered book art piece.

The idea so far is having one of the two volumes about swords or (s)words – i.e. words that cut, divide, separate, and the other about poetry/roses – i.e. words that connect, show love etc.

So I’ve done some google searching and here’s a few little links, I like:

http://www.wordsofafeather.net/quiz.html

And, in case you’ve never known what “compact” means, here are some images for you. This one has a rectangular microscope in the top drawer, but even, so you need pretty good eyesight to read any of the words. How many words are in this volume?