Thought For The Day.

It seems I am always loosing something or looking for something that quietly migrated from my hand without me noticing so this little sketch made me smile. Enjoy the small things in life, the little things that make you, you, find the humor in them, like finding your cell phone in your already made up bed or realizing you have lost your key to the locker at gym...these are the things that make you special...and maybe slightly crazy :) much love G

ILLUSTRATION FRIDAYS.

I found this fun little site called Illustration Fridays. Basically they welcome all artists and inspired minds to create something every week. Every Friday a new one word topic gets posted to your inbox and you get to interpret it any way you want and create something with any medium you choose. It can be realistic or a cartoon, in colour or black and white, detailed or simple, the options are endless. Once done you send it to them and they post your art on their site. It is so much fun, what a great idea. And is so fantastic because it is a fun way to force you to be creative more often. To find the time to draw and make something beautiful. Its also really interesting to see how others interpret the topic.

So last Friday's topic was "Caged" and this is my interpretation. I quiet like the idea of it and think I will write a poem on this one. G :)

Inception And M.C Escher.

So I saw the movie Inception the other day. Wow. I was completely blown away. What an amazing movie. It has so many levels and breath taking scenes, you are literally glued physically and mentally to the story the second it starts (and are left thinking about it long after it ends). It really makes the mind work and forces the imagination into overdrive, by questioning the way we look at and shape our reality. It involves concepts like, been inside someone else's dream - taking their secrets and leaving ideas behind in their minds, dreams within dreams, within dreams, perception and the power of the mind. It is such a cleverly thought out movie, it is complex, crafty and visually amazing. I wish there was a book.

Inception reminded me a great deal of the work of M.C Escher. You can see his "Ascending and Descending" in the creation of staircases in dreams in this movie. And the concept that things work on a never ending cycle. The idea behind his "Drawing Hands" can also be seen in Inception. Escher's art seems to play tricks on peoples perception and often can be viewed in a few ways, instead of just one. He challenges us to expand our boundaries and understanding of reality. Very much like the concepts behind Inception. He was a very talented man, his imagination was boundless. Here are a few of his art works and some of his more famous quotes.

I really recommend you go and watch Inception, it will get your creative mind salivating. And why not do a bit of research and take a look at Escher's works and life, he was a pretty interesting man. Enjoy, G :)

"Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?" Escher

"He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder" Escher

"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check" Escher

"Originality is merely an illusion" Escher

http://www.mcescher.com/

Women's Day.

So yesterday it was Woman's day in South Africa. And what a wonderful time it is to be a woman. I consider myself incredibly lucky to be born in the century I was born in and in the country I was born in. I have a job, I can vote, I wear what I please, love who I want, live how I want, I have my own money, which I can spend anyhow I please, I can control every aspect of my life and I am free to be any version of me I choose to be. At a darker time and even still in dark places around the world, woman were and are not so lucky. For them, to be a woman is and was a curse. For these women my heart aches. Many died without knowing the freedom and strength they held within their souls, many still live without the taste of independence on their lips, caged in a flawed, antiquated world. But I am lucky enough to feel treasured and am so proud to be a spirited, free woman. As a woman I stand with pride for independence, love, passion, respect, equality, nurturing and kindness. And I give thanks to those women who gave us, the women of their future the power to live a life on equal terms, with love and respect. So yesterday I didn't celebrate my Woman's day by burning my bra or chaining myself naked to a government building, like our strong, beautiful, revolutionary ancestors, because of them I was able to go out and have a quiet, special day with my mother. We went to movies and then lunch and it was lovely. I am very grateful to be able to do this. I am grateful to be a woman. And I am very proud of the woman I am. So here is to all the remarkable woman of our present and our past. Make every day Woman's day, and walk with pride and respect, we owe it to those who got us here. G :)

Thought Of The Day.

Every little thing you do in this exact moment, will echo and verberate into your future and mould you into the you are soon going to be.

G ©

Jodi Picoult, Book Signing.

Last night I went to a book signing of the very talented, Jodi Picoult. For those of you who don't already know who she is, she is a brilliant, best-selling, American author, who has an outstanding skill with words. She brings all her books to life, with well researched, controversial themes and vivid characters. Jodi has written many well known books, the most commonly known, "My Sisters' Keeper" was recently made into a movie. I was so excited to meet such a passionate, accomplished author and she most definitely didn't disappoint. Her energy and intense love she has for writing is tangible. And because she researches her books so thoroughly before she starts writing them, she is a very intelligent,compassionate lady. To hear her speak about her writing made me ache and long to be in her shoes, to create something so beautiful, eloquent and deep. To bring something to life using only words - no sound or colour or touch, only the imagination. Wow. It was very inspiring and soul shaking. She was my age when she wrote her first book and has been writing ever since. She has only ever written one book that was not published. If that doesn't make you want to pick up a pen or one of her books, I don't know what would. I can't wait to get stuck into a few of her new books I brought and had signed. Her latest one called "House Rules" sounds amazing. So if anyone is looking for something rich and vibrant to stick their nose into, I recommend you give her a try. You will not be disappointed. G :)

http://www.jodipicoult.com/

I Miss You.

The world is different in your absence.

The space next to me trembles and throbs at its' loss.

My shaky hands feel wrong without yours' entwined in them.

My skin doesn't feel like my own.

My empty eyes are leaking.

The tap won't switch off.

The light won't switch on.

It's dark and lonely.

It hurts everyday.

Every single part of my body mourns.

It is like each limb on a string, is a puppet to my mangled heart.

The pain cuts through me.

Deep and ragged, raging red.

I hold my breath and grit my teeth.

Waiting for it to fade into a gentle ache.

In the middle of the night I wake up with tears streaming down my face, clutching my chest as it bleeds.

Everything is wrong.

Without you living feels false, like my glassy smile.

Every step I take I turn to look for you.

Each second I am waiting for your pleading call.

I fall asleep with your name on my lips and your tears in my eyes.

And wake up every morning wishing you were lying next to me.

But you have gone

And this day is erroneous.

This week. This month. I am simply functioning, no longer alive.

Just waiting for the next day, the next week, year.

Waiting for the pain to leave or for you to show up.

The world feels faulty.

I feel defective.

Hollow, numb, useless.

It's so easy to forget our grey

when the world without you is so deadly black and cold.

It's so easy to ignore the scar when

this open wound clots and the pain surges within my very core.

The bare space where my heart was throbs incessantly.

I am so lost without you.

I miss the chaos that was us.

I miss your smile, as well as my own.

I don't want to live without you.

But what other choice do i have.

G ©

Better In Black & White

Ah... there is simply nothing better than black and white photographs. (Everything looks better in black and white) They conjure up feelings of romance and an older time when things were less complicated and more beautiful :) These images make my heart sing. G :)

Crazed

I hear you.

In the back of my mind.

Whispering, whimpering.

I know you are all alone in there,

Confused and afraid.

I feel like I am going insane.

I guess if keep talking to myself, I am.

No one else is here except the walls

and their hollow echo.

No one seems to know my struggle.

Is anybody out there?

Do they even hear you?

I hear you crying out.

What else can I do?

I talk to you, comfort you.

Maybe that means I am going crazy.

Maybe that means I should be locked away.

But I hear you.

How can I ignore you,

Shivering in the corner.

Alone in the dark.

Damaged beyond repair.

Your wings broken.

Your heart numbed and deadened.

Your dreams limp next to you, perished.

You are to pathetic to ignore.

So I sit next to my friend.

I comfort you.

My tearful eyes looking back at me.

I will never leave you.

Maybe this means I am going insane.

Maybe this is the first sign of madness.

I don't care.

You are pretty good company.

Alone in the dark with myself.

G©

The Crows.

Well I don't know if you know but I have a secret obsession for crows. I think they are beautiful, dark and mysterious. I feel like they belong in another world other than our own, like they are watching us, smarter than we give them credit for. Anyway moving on, so I found this image and have fallen in love with it. I wish I had thought of the idea and painted it. I am not sure who did but he or she is awesome. This piece makes me feel something deep inside my core. So I wanted to share it. Do you like it? G

My Mood In Words.

I have had a really tough few weeks. Nothing is going well. The world feels wrong. And I feel like I am drowning on the very air I am breathing in. So it seemed appropriate to put my mood into words. These are a few fitting quotes I have found. Enjoy. Just keep breathing. We are alive and I guess that is a positive. G

The Hidden Path And The Looming Rainbow.

I haven't posted in a long time. To be honest I haven't been in the mood to do anything at all for a while now. Things don't seem to be working out at all how I saw them happening. In actual fact they are working out the opposite. Its funny how life happens like that. (not really funny ha ha, more peculiar, with a hint of darkness sort of funny) Without realizing it, I seem to have grown up really fast. I have in the past month realized my exact value and what I deserve in this life. How I should be treated and treasured. How I should hold myself above all else. I have learnt that you teach people how to treat you. I have learnt that no matter how much you want something to be, doesn't always mean it will be. And I have learnt that I need to think more with my brain and less with my heart. I feel I have stepped into a new world. Not a perfect, nirvana world, but the real world. It is good and sad all at the same time. (Even though I currently feel numb) But trust me this revelation did not come without pain, loss and many tears. I have realized that just because we have a plan, just because we have hope, trust and belief doesn't mean things will work out how we see them. Sometimes there really is nothing you can do. And even though it seems unfair and cruel it doesn't mean there isn't a better path waiting for you along the way. A path that you have not even thought possible. A path that leads you to true happiness and fulfillment. If you are not laughing loud and crying hard you are not doing life right. We live, we love and we learn. And with those lovely clichés, I will sign off saying, tomorrow is another day and even though today is dark and stormy, I know my rainbow will come. I just need to wait it out and heal my wounds.

Here is to rainbows (And even though I am now thinking like a rational adult, I still believe in wishing on stars) G :)

Mamma Earth

I am so sorry Mamma.

I know I have disappointed you. I am a disgrace.

I deserve to be condemned. I am your shameful child.

And I long to be punished.

I long for my guilt to dissolve by your reprimanding.

To feel the sting of your cold glare.

But you just smile, your love shining warm on me.

You have given me the world,

opening your loving arms, you shared your wealth with me.

You shared your mystery.

You have given me the sun to rise to and

Stars to wish on every dark night.

You blessed me with the salt of the sea and

Dark secrets of the forests.

You have given yourself, everyday.

You have given me your all without even been asked.

And in turn I have turned my back on you.

I have abandoned you.

Even though I can hear your silent sobs in the back of my mind.

I can see your scars, your open bleeding wounds, your disease.

I see you precious flesh on my hands,

My clothing soaked with your blood.

I am killing you.

My beautiful mother I shall be your demise.

I do not hold the dagger in my hands but

I stand aside and watch your murder.

Each day is another torture to you my precious mother.

Each day the cruelty of my brothers and sisters continues.

Their brutal blood lust continuing, growing,

Expanding with each day that passes.

Yet there is not a second that passes where your beauty and love fades.

You just keep giving of yourself, you keep sharing,

Even though we no longer deserve it.

Mamma you are so brave.

Not once have you complained, but I can see you are falling apart.

I can see under it all you are weakening.

As they rip at your seas, destroying all the magic you have created there,

I see you shudder.

They brutally slaughter your children, savoring their forbidden flesh.

Causing extinctions and death, taking lives that were not theirs to own.

I can taste the tears in your eyes as they poison, rape and leave you abandoned in the baron dirt.

A newborn child is murdered by her mother.

My brother is left on the side of the street

to take his last breath alone, in a pool of his own blood.

The sun and the stars are hidden by our filth.

The forests evaporate before our eyes, their secrets long lost in the wind.

My Mamma, what have I done!

Our hate is so thick in the air, we choke and suffocate on it.

Guns and bombs kill thousands, while armies smile on-all in a days work.

How do we kill our brothers over land and religion and pride.

Mama we have no pride, our land is your flesh and our religion is a cult.

I don't know what beast we have become.

Families torn apart, children left orphaned.

Pain and tears, death and lies.

Walking, talking skeletons, dying a slow painful starvation, when others are indulged to a point of disgust.

Have we all gone insane!

We look at images of our brothers starving, our sisters been raped, our children murdered, our mother exploited while we eat our dinner at night, in our safe little bubble, unfazed by these heinous crimes.

Desensitized, the soulless, dark creatures we have become.

What has happened to us, we have become barbarians. Demons, pure evil.

Everyone sees it happening, everyone hears your screams of pain and despair yet we carry on with averted eyes and hard, cold, black hearts.

My mother, my creator, my nurturer, my love,

Maker of all that is pure and beautiful, magical and untainted,

My poor dear, precious Mamma,

What have we done.

G©

Numb 2

I can not feel anymore.
The tears have stopped flowing.
When I eventually feel their salty warmth,
the pain does not intensify.
My heart does not throb, or jump or scream.
I don't even feel them slipping past my eyes onto my pillow.

I don't feel happy but I don't feel sad.
Surrounded by this radiant laughter and happiness,
It seems to hover on the outside not penetrating my core.
I feel my lips curve in a familiar smile.
But I don't feel the joy glowing inside me.
The flashing of my teeth only done by habit.

I receive bladed words from your sweet lips,
But they don't seem to cut at my skin.
Even as my clotted blood pours from my flesh,
Pooling around my feet.
I can not feel the pain.
I can not feel your thoughtless loathing.

I feel like I could simply float away.
Disappear into the sky.
Fall asleep and never wake up.
This would not upset me.
I am on the outside of this world.
Looking in but not truly here.

I am not suicidal.
I don't want death or pain.
But I do enjoy the numb.
Just darkness.
I want to slip into the black
and feel its peace fog and surround me.

My brain has finally taken control.
My wounded heart has shutdown.
Its wings have been broken, its spirit shattered.
Warm anesthetics is bled through my veins.
My body drinks it in, enjoying this welcomed numb.
Looking in through this hazy glass.

Finally I feel safe.

G©

Flesh

Do you see my desperate, tear-filled eyes?

Can you feel my searing fear, my pulse raging, my heart racing?

How can you not hear my piercing screams of terror and agony?

I look pleadingly into your eyes as you rip into my flesh,

but they are empty and cold.

I don’t understand. I don’t know what

I have done to deserve such pain.

Why am I been punished? Abused in this violent, monstrous way.

I trusted you. The betray is lodged deep inside my heart.

I can feel it ache.

The sent of fear is thick in the air.

I chock on my own blood, I feel it been drained from my body.

I struggle in a frantic yet futile attempt to escape.

This pain is unbearable.

My body suspended in it, drowning in your vicious hate.

I feel the blade slicing my skin, I feel it cutting deeply into my flesh,

I hear my warm blood splashing onto the cold concrete floor.

Terror, forces frenzied sobs out of my mouth.

It sounds like gurgling.

I can hear my families terrified cries. I hear them struggle,

battling to banish their own cruel, excruciating torture.

My blood reflects in your eyes, they are red, diabolical.

The panic and pain battle inside me.

Eventually the pain exceeds all else.

I can only feel my body been ripped apart, piece by piece.

The draining of my blood is excruciating,

the sound of each drop leaving my flesh is unbearable.

So this is how I will die. Surrounded by the death of those I love.

In this cold, sinister room.

Murdered by a man with blood thirsty eyes.

This is how my short life will end,

In fear and with a pain that does not belong in my world.

In a pool of my own blood.

It is all too much, my poor, suffering body longs for death.

I wait for my last breath. I long for this diabolical torture to end.

As the hours pass, I slowly feel my life leaving this world,

The pain ebbs, my struggles slow as my body weakens.

And eventually my pure, gentle soul leaves this body.

My peaceful existence terminated.

You took my life like it was yours to own.

I have been exploited in the most agonizing, heartbreaking way.

I hope you remember the fear in my eyes,

My pain-filled sobs.

I hope you remember me as you dig into your warm dinner tonight.

Remember my blood soaking your clothing,

staining your hands as you sit surrounded by those you love.

I hope the image of my lifeless body, dangling by a chain,

my tongue hanging from my mouth, my eyes wide with terror,

haunts your dreams at night.

Was the loss of my life, the loss of a soul so gentle and peaceful,

was the cold blooded murder of this life

really worth the taste lingering on your lips?

G ©