Channeling Edyth Prickly

Channeling Edyth Prickly
Originally uploaded by whyswomen.

This picture of Chelsea and I was taken in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, around 1981.

Chelsea was about 3 years old here (maybe four), a sweet young lady who had already lived a lot of life.

And me? Well, I kinda liked to shake things up when I lived in Moose Jaw. My attire was my own personal take on Edyth Prickly - Note the lucite purse sitting beside Chelsea...One time I filled it with water and stocked it with a single goldfish - and carried it about as if everything was perfectly normal...whatever that meant at the time...

Thank you Andre, Grant and Donna for holding on to these great photos for all these years...It was such a hoot to open the envelope and be flooded with fanciful memories....

Uploaded by whyswomen on 21 Jun '06, 8.38pm CDT.

Goose and Mannequin Dinner Party

Goose and Mannequin Dinner Party
Originally uploaded by whyswomen.

Today I received an envelope in the mail from a dear friend in Vancouver, Grant. He had sent me this picture, taken around 1980-81- of a dinner party another friend, Andre, had invited me to be part of.

As you can imagine, the conversation around the dinner table was scintillating, and the cuisine (hot dogs and kd) sans pareil...

Uploaded by whyswomen on 21 Jun '06, 8.33pm CDT.

The Human Pixel Project

I have been somewhat distracted from my Illustration Friday pursuits since I signed on to participate in the Human Pixel Project...it is such a great idea, and it gives me the opportunity to be creative in a totally collaborative way...I urge any of my friends who may read this blog to check out the link to the project...

I received my pixels on Friday, and a check for $2.00 (two dollars) American to send the completed pixels back...I have been working at them sporadically...I have done 3 so far, and have laid down the base color on the fourth...

I have been sort of linking each pixel together with a streak of interference gold acrylic that picks up where the last pixel leaves off, so that there is some sort of thematic structure to the whole.

While I know they will be separated after birth (think of it - conjoined pixel children), I nonetheless feel the need for some sort of coherence...Thus, I will only post a "showing" of my pieces once I have completed each and every one. I am trying to use all 10 colors, in combination with black outlining and the interference gold streaking...Did I mention taking my dremel to one of them? The whole concept is so intriguing to me - I can't wait to see where my pixels end up...

Portrait - Illustration Friday

Yesterday, I was on a walkabout with a friend from across the pond, Linda C. - showing her The Exchange district here in Winnipeg...I always like to check the window dressing at two vintage clothing stores on McDermot - Ragpickers and Deja Vu. I also like to take photos of the displays...

Here is one of the photos I took of the Deja Vu window...I particularly like that when I take pictures of this particular window, I usually end up with interesting reflections of the architecture of bygone days, and the photo to the left is no exception.

Yet when I looked more closely at it, I found that I really liked the way the reflection of the mannequin seemed to have an otherworldiness about it, dark and somewhat mysterious, looking forward while reflecting the past - with the apt caption of "De Ja Vu" partially visible...


So here is my conception of the word "portrait"for this week's Illustration Friday - I call it De Ja Vu on McDermot: A Portrait of Albert Street. I don't know...Maybe I am just seeing things...what do you think?

Finally, I created a paintbrush in Photoshop, based on the nose, lips, chin, and cheek of the mannequin's reflection, and used it to create a whole new abstraction...which I call portrait of a paintbrush...the profiles on the page sort of remind me of the stoic stone scultures on Easter Island...the placement is random, and the colors are just what appealed to me at the time...