Karen's Muse and Musings

The Jackdaw

I had some fun today creating this altered playing card, the theme this week at Wednesday Stamper. First, I had to tear through my studio searching for the card. I knew I had some large cards, about 7" tall, someplace, but where? Obviously, I had put them in a very safe place. Safe from me, that is. A couple of hours later, I found the card and set to work.

I knew I wanted to use birds in some way, and since my card was the jack of spades, I thought of the jackdaw. I love that word. I found this member of the crow family in a book about birds of England, and as I was working on some other pieces, I came across a poem, "The Jackdaw of Rheims" by Richard Harris Barham, 1788-1845.

THE JACKDAW sat on the Cardinal’s chair!
Bishop and abbot and prior were there;
        Many a monk, and many a friar,
        Many a knight, and many a squire,
With a great many more of lesser degree,—
In sooth, a goodly company;
And they serv’d the Lord Primate on bended knee.
        Never, I ween,
        Was a prouder seen,
Read of in books, or dreamt of in dreams,
Than the Cardinal Lord Archbishop of Rheims!

It's very amusing but a little long, but still well worth reading, so if you have time, click here to read the entire poem.

Stamps used are by Stampington & Co., Stamper's Anonymous and Memories.

Invocation

Saint Cecilia or another muse must have heard my invocation yesterday. Something has possessed me all day as I worked on these pages for Debby's Stone Angel book.  More of the words of the Invocation to Saint Cecilia by Charles Hanson Towne appear on these pages: "Sing till the halls of heaven rejoice and music's very soul stirs!"

Dans ma maison il y a ...

la couleur verte!


That is this week's theme at Dans ma maison il y  a... and could there be a theme more to my liking? I don't think so. Green has always been my favorite color. (You don't think that's because I'm a redhead, do you?)

When creating this piece, I started with a piece of corrugated cardboard and added some French text and a piece torn from old sheet music. As I glued the music down, I read the words, "Sing, sing, till the heart of music wakes." My heart literally skipped a beat! I loved that. (Those of you who know about my musical background will not be surprised.) I looked back to see what the music was. It was "Invocation to Saint Cecilia" with music by Victor Harris, and the text was from a poem by Charles Hanson Towne. I searched the web to find the complete text of the poem, but it wasn't there for me to include the entire poem for you.

Wednesday Stamper — Be Square!

“Be square” is the fun theme at Wednesday Stamper this week. For my card, I cut squares of background papers that I made a while back, some stamped using a resist technique. I used that same leaf stamp from Inkadinkado to stamp the leaf embellishment and cut it out. The little girl is Hope from my collage sheets.

    Live in each season as it passes;
    breathe the air, drink the drink,
    taste the fruit, and resign yourself to
    the influences of each.
    – Henry David Thoreau

Gothic Arch — Flourishes

This is my entry for this week's theme, Flourishes, at Gothic Arches.

This arch with its quote, along with my entry and quote for Dans la maison this week, are dedicated to the loving memory of Daniel Randolph Warren, February 6, 1950 - May 15, 2008.

Dans ma maison il y a.... un papillon

This is my art for Dans ma maison this week.  The theme is Dans ma maison... un papillon. 

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.  –Rabindranath Tagore

In My House ...

... there is a little girl! Today I found a wonderful new online art challenge, Dans ma maison il y a ... This week's theme is une petite fille. For my house, I used various text papers, handmade paper, gel medium, acrylic paints, Shiva Paintstiks, Primary Elements and rub-ons. The image of the little girl is from my own collection.

Prairie Sisters

Did you watch Little House on the Prairie? When I saw the photograph of these two little girls dressed just alike, I thought of a particular episode in which the mother, Caroline, bought some beautiful fabric to make herself a new dress. However, she ended up making 2 identical dresses for her daughters, Mary and Laura, instead. True mother's love!

For the background of the collage, I used an old letter written from North Dakota in 1909. It begins, "Dear Sis." in English, but then continues in what I believe is Danish. I added some strips from an old primer and hymnal. I call the piece, Prairie Sister, and it's now for sale in my Etsy shop.

They were all happy that night. The fire on the hearth was pleasant, for on the High Prairie even the summer nights were cool. The red-checked cloth was on the table, the little china woman glimmered on the mantel-shelf, and the new floor was golden in the flickering firelight. Outside, the night was large and full of stars. Pa sat for a long time in the doorway and played his fiddle and sang to Ma and Mary and Laura in the house and to the starry night outside.

Laura Ingalls Wilder
(This quote is taken from "Little House On the Prairie," page 131)

Gothic Arch — Viva la France

Viva la France! This week's theme at Gothic Arches was selected by Frieda Oxenham, fabric artist extraordinaire. Click on her name to visit her blog and see her amazing art.

Lunching in Rome

I ate lunch in Rome yesterday. My sister, along with my niece just in from Athens, whisked us away for a lovely day in her private jet.

Gotcha! Actually it went more like this: I ate lunch in Rome, Georgia, yesterday. My sister, along with my niece just in from Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia, whisked us away for a lovely day in her Honda Accord.

The trip was planned as a Mother's Day treat for my mom who grew up in Rome. She and my other sister met us, and we really did have a wonderful day exploring the old Southern river city, having a delightful lunch at the Harvest Moon Cafe, and wandering through Myrtle Hill Cemetery. I couldn't believe that I forgot my camera! Luckily, my mother let me use her camera to capture some stone angel photos which I hope to use in future art projects. Here are a couple.

Oh, and by the way, here in Georgia we also have a Cairo and a Vienna!