Today's AEM project sends you to a website where you can create virtual paintings. What fun, what fun.
Couldn't figure out how to save/post what I'd done on my site (if anyone figures that out - please share...). I also made a bunch of stuff that I didn't save - it was just fun to play with something experimental and impermanent. Kind of eased the pressure of the whole it's-gotta-be-good-and-brilliant-and-insightful-and-moving-and-blahblahblah capital A "art" thing for me. (not that the other day's photo offering was brilliant - i was going for 'drag' for godsake!) (and i failed delightfully at the drag part, didn't i?)
The piece I did save in 'artpad' is a pattern I've been playing with in other media for a while - tried it in pencil ... tried it with my old (leaky) rapidograph ... didn't like them. It's a similar to the pattern on a ring that my mother used to wear that now belongs to me. It's a wonderful squiggle of gold (on my otherwise silverly adorned hand/bod) and I've never seen a ring like it before. She wore it all the time. (it was the only piece of jewelery of hers that I really wanted after she died).
When I first started wearing it, I couldn't look down without visualizing my mother's hand in my head. Talking to her friend Jean a little while after she'd died, Jean kept glancing at my hand, finally saying: It's so strange to see that ring on anyone but her.
I know what she meant, but I've gotten used to it now. I no longer look down at my hand surprised to see it there. I toy around with having it 'dipped' in white gold so it blends in with my silver stuff, but for now I've decided to keep it as it is; it's still Mom's ring, I just wear it now.
Wow, that's intense. At least it is for me--I struggle thinking what will happen to my parent's stuff. I'll want to keep it I'm sure, couldn't stand the thought of it all walking around in someone elses life.
But then again it might be too much to have it all still around screaming the past at me.
Not sure what I'll do yet. Cross that bridge when I come to it. Glad I don't have to think about it now.
Posted by: Will | November 17, 2005 at 02:51 PM
Oh what a fun site! I could doodle and play for hours. Here is my random dumping of paint, squiggling of lines, just having fun experimenting. http://artpad.art.com/?iq2gb01h0d04 jackie
Posted by: jackie | November 16, 2005 at 04:21 PM
This website it totally cool. I am sure I will have playing with it for hours. As for saving it, it has an option after clicking the save&send button to get the link for your creation. I was able to see one that I recreated, but I wasn't able to see Kerstin's (in the comments above). One thing you can do if you don't care about the animation is to copy your screen (what you see on your monitor). Hold Alt and press Prt Scrn (usually above the Insert/Home/PageUp Buttons). This puts a copy of what is on the screen on to a clipboard that you should be able to paste in any photo editor.
Posted by: bad andy | November 16, 2005 at 11:36 AM
A very moving post, Deb ... that starts out innocently enough with a little art link, and ends with with this memento of your mom, which of course, makes me think of your loss. She did leave the world a better place, though ... she gave us you.
... I kinda like the gold, even though I'm a silver person, too.
Posted by: maria | November 16, 2005 at 08:09 AM
Deb-
Thanks for the fun link.
Makes it easy to do a bit of art daily, huh? Does knitting count in the art? I have been trying to design a few things. I like this whole month theme.
Te
Posted by: T | November 16, 2005 at 07:42 AM
What a great little website that is! I am not great at painting and this wasn't easy because I only use a mousepad on my laptop, don't have a mouse. But hey, it was fun!! I did a silly Xmas card (http://artpad.art.com/gallery/?iq16cyiiyvo) because that's what's been on my mind today (seeing that I have already passed the US deadline for parcels to Europe!).
The story about your mother's ring is very moving and it's weird because I wrote a post yesterday about wearing my grandmother's ring and how odd it felt at first to see it on MY hand instead of hers. I don't wear it everyday but always for special occoasions or when I am feeling down like last weekend when I was so homesick. I am convinced it has magical powers because it always makes me feel better almost instantly.
Nice post :)
Kerstin
Posted by: Kerstin | November 15, 2005 at 11:55 PM