Moving Forward Not Moving On

I remember

a time when I ran down the street so filled with frustration but I never stopped. I remember one foot in front of the other thanking my anger for fueling my workout — fast, furious, pushing my self to the limit routine.

I remember

thinking how boxed in I felt in the office in the grey cube. But I loved being that girl who saw so many powerful women in the 1980s go out in the workforce and be business woman. This was everything I always wanted and I was 100% into my career. I am so grateful for all the amazing women bosses and owners I worked for in marketing for 14 years. 

I remember 

how I felt just like Melanie Griffith in the movie Working Girl. The pavement bouncing away from my feet in confident long strides. Then when I finally had a child, looking into my first born's eyes. I did not want to leave her for a moment. I was a first-time mom and being the woman I always wanted to be — with children and with options to continue my career if I wished. 

I remember  

enjoying my children as little sweet beings: playing and exploring with them, having difficulties with them, being exhausted, all the Mom friends I met and this blog space which documented my artistic and yogic endeavors outside the kids. 

I remember

this iconic scene from Working Girl. It's a perfect place to transition this Blogger space which I held for over a decade. I honor it as record of my time in the late 2000s. 

Moving forward not moving on feels good. FIND MORE MUSINGS BY ME AT MY NEW SPACE HelenHillYoga and lots and lots and lots to share at NEW BLOG Yoga. Poems. Eats.

A bientot,
Helen

ps- (omg total segway hilarious quotes, a bit dated but awesome here) 

Kill My Darlings

10 Years of Work and Fire Pit

Today is the day that the light turns to darkness and where reason meets unattachment and closure seals a clearer path in my artistic endeavors. I have experimented with illustrations and writing for the Children's Literature market. I have had a few successes. Yet for the last five years, I have done more dappling into abstract paintings and the practice of yoga.

Today I sorted through my stories and illustrations from the last ten years and put my best work into a bomb fire. Burn baby burn! It smelt awful. Paper ash no good unless you have a steady metal grate that covers the fire. And it roared from about 10 am to 7 pm.

With the remaining work, I glued into three massive canvases. I then painted over my old, glued work! See below, this is the first of this series of paintings.

Phew! Feels awesome. A bientot!

The Black Goddess

Amplify This Super Blood Wolf Moon

Bonjour Mes Amies! Joyeux 2019!!

I have gone full throttle into my yoga practice this past fall and into 2019. I am part of a Teacher Training at Naturally Yoga which has immersed me in more consistent breathwork, smarter movement in poses and deep meditations. Along with a whole lot more! Look mates, all this yoga and I feel a little bit like . . . 

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

A Werewolf? No! Transformative? Yes! Yet the wolf theme relates, since tomorrow's Super Blood Wolf Moon (SBWM) is supposed to be the only total lunar eclipse of the year. It is named in this way because it denotes a lunar eclipse that happens on the first full moon of the new year. Specifically, super means the moon will be seen larger in the sky and blood for the earth's reddish shadow on the moon. Finally, there's wolf referring to wolf mating season during January and February.

I am hoping the lunar eclipse will be as electric as Solar Eclipse of 2017. Perhaps it's a call to move from old patterns and rise up only to what you want to bring forth. I am not sure if it means to stick to your new year's resolutions. I think it means have the courage to shut out external noise and really listen your inner energy. My sense since I've been doing all this yoga, I feel like the same old me, just redirecting my energy. I'd like to poetically say that I am vibrating at a different frequency. But I think I flipped a switch in my thinking. It reminds me of my rock and roll husband's influence on our house. I borrowed his Back in Black album the other day and couldn't be helped but be taken away.

AC/DC stands for Alternating Current/Direct Current so riff on this:
Yes, I'm let loose
From the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I've been looking at the sky
'Cause it's gettin' me high
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes

Angus Young and the rest of ACDC make me want to howl- like I am 18 years old. So maybe this SBWM means peeling away the labels I place on myself (mother, wife, daughter, sister, yogi, art teacher, artist, writer, etc...) When I look up at the eclipse tomorrow, I will wonder: Who am I in these dark, quiet moments? What sparkly secret will I whisper to myself? And most important, I will take a deep breath and feel.

May I gently suggest: turn off the bloody telly, forget your bloomin' screens and gaze until you meditate and meditate until you howl, howl, howl at the moon!! 

A bientot!

Big News: Blog Break

I am perched like Venus's Botticelli, on my clam shell ushering spring, and the cosmos. I am a creative vortex. I am pregnant.

I am taking a maternity leave from blogging to enjoy my time with this new little light. Fear not! I shall return to you all soon. Perhaps even before the break of winter, to usher in my own blog worthy spring.

A bientot and Happy Holidays!

Happy Halloween

Hello everyone:
It's raining today. . . will the orange and black celebration get runny and muddled into a swirl of murky brown? I think not! I got intensely crafty this Halloween. I will spare you most of my "witchiness."

And will however, share my leaf ghosts

 

and my magazine spiders

Happy Halloween to all!

A bientot.

Giant Dance Party Program

I created a program at my local library called Draw Out Loud where children are invited to hear a story then create an unconventional project based on the story I read.

Recently, I featured Betsy Bird's excellent and entertaining Giant Dance Party. After I read the story, we did some warm up exercises. I played music while the kids danced and when I paused the music,  all the kids froze into a pose. Then, one kid would hold their pose while the other kids ran to their pens and paper and sketched the posing kid. We had some good results:

 

Next, the kids traced their hands and feet, decorated them and trimmed out their colored hands and feet. They then used their cut outs to make up their own dances. Everyone created excellent posters, but I have to admit, the sideways tap dance was my favorite.

A bientot!

 

 

 

 

SCBWI Portfolio Review Night

I attended the SCBWI Portfolio Review Night at New York City's lovely Anthroposophical Society.

When I checked in, there were a few names in the lottery basket. My hopes were high. In a few minutes, the host was going to pull out three names which their portfolios would be reviewed by Art Direct Lucy Ruth Cummins of Simon and Schuster and Senior Designer Kerry Martin of Clarion Books.

I settled into my seat and scoped out my competition. They all seemed like decent tax paying folk. The room wasn't too full, my odds were high. The event was underway and I was riveted by Kerry and Lucy's presentations. Kerry reviewed Deb Lucke, the author illustrator who I took a class with. Next she mentioned Daniel Salimieri's work. Both his books are on my nightstand. I began to wonder if the stars were aligned for me on this night. I also heard about the style of art the publishers were interested in, some behind the scenes stories and how Lucy and Kerry work with illustrators.

Then, the names were picked. I thought I heard "Helen" but it was really "Ellen" and some other illustrators that weren't me. Tant pis, as the french say. Which means too bad but without the sense of trepidation that is associated in the English language.

Instantly, my competition became my community and it was fascinating to hear Lucy and Kerry critique the portfolios. The feedback was clear, analytical and practical. It was a lively discussion between the pickee, the publishers and the audience. Some takeaways were to:
 - Vary my color palette
 - Develop my lettering
 - Rotate the pieces in your portfolio, keep it fresh

I asked about Lucy and Kerry's pet peeves. Kerry is occasionally put off by unorganized portfolios that have work shown in landscape and portrait orientations as well as illustrators that show only a few pieces (show at least 8). Kerry mostly objects to in accurately drawn hands and anatomy (she urged us all to go to life drawing classes).

It was a great evening and I am very thankful for Bridget Casey, SCBWI NY Co-Regional Advisor, and the other the organizers of the event. I learned a good deal of information. And, if you'd like to see what I had prepared for the evening, please review a sampling of my latest portfolio here. A bientot!

The Steins Collection

I saw the Steins show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s on until June 3rd. I only have a few words: get there quick.

What can I say about this astounding exhibition: Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Pierre- Auguste Renoir to name a few. Not only are the paintings spectacular, the show is also an amazing story about two bohemian collectors who had tremendous foresight.

I was reminded of the movie Midnight in Paris which touches on the Gertrude Stein and her collaboration with artists of all types in Paris. I was fascinated to discover by the exhibit's virtual view of where Gertrude hosted the Saturday night salons in which the artists would come to her house and share their latest work.

I left the museum on such a high: Paris at the turn of the 20th century, walks through the Tuilliers, discovering Picasso, what romantic bliss! Je prends le champagne, darling!

A bientot.

Show at GWL

I had the pleasure of being part of the Art Extravaganza at the Greenwood Lake Public Library today. I was in a group of photographers and painters: Irving Fishman, Rene Fressola, Minna Harmon, Patty Kaminski and myself. This was the event for all the 2011-12 Works of Art Gallery artists to meet and mingle with local patrons. Kelly Corrado, the coordinator of the event, did a fantastic job of transforming the room and speaking about the Works of Art Gallery and its artists.

Here's a picture of my corner. I displayed my watercolors, a few abstract pieces and my portfolio. It was exhilarating to answer questions and tell the stories behind my paintings. I can't wait for the next opportunity to show my work. A bientot!

Pay it Forward

I had the most extraordinary thing happen to me. After a long day of running around in the spring weather, I drove 40 minutes out of my way to a specialty store and realized I forgot my wallet. So I asked the clerk at customer service if they would take a credit card number over the phone. She said no. I understood. I was ready to move on when, to my amazement, a complete stranger opened up her wallet and asked me how much money I needed. I couldn’t even register her words. I sort of stood there dumb founded. I was floored by her generosity. She handed me $80, we exchanged addresses and she left me saying this: 

I still feel like my jaw is on the floor over that kind gesture! I am left to wonder what kind of world we would live in if we all operated like this beautiful stranger . . .

A bientot!
PS: And if you are wondering if I paid her back, well, of course I did! 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

You may have seen my work at Fuse#8 Production yesterday. I had a lot of fun doing the exercise: take a famous children's illustrator's style and reinterpret a page from a Dr. Seuss book. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Horton the Elephant in the style of William Steig

Horton the elephant in the style of Beatrix Potter