Death and Bodies

Last weekend I visited the exhibit Body Worlds (the original exhibition of real human bodies). My expectations going into the show were hesitant and rather a bit nervous but chalked full of curiosity.

The line-ups were incredible. Tickets were sold to people for 15 minute intervals and we had to buy our tickets for late into the day as the earlier ones were sold out. At $26 a pop I figured there had better be something darn good in there for all the hype!

Well, there was.

I was not expected to be so moved. To contemplate death so fully and to admire the human body so. To revel in the fact that we are all mortal, as much as we walk the streets imagining that the routines and tasks we set about ourselves each day will allow us to live a long life, that possibly we may never have to face our own death. There grew a feeling inside me of something far different and less sad than the likes of a funeral where you must see death on someone you love. It was rather something settling, like a truth that has unveiled itself to be not good or evil but something that has been there all along, waiting for me to look it in the eye. I've never felt so bonded to life and the living things around me and although I've studied art and the human body I've never seen truly how beautiful we are. How the human head, stripped of bones and flesh; left only with veins, becomes an intricate plant, a rich red coral under the sea, so delicate and beautiful I wanted to reach out and touch. I felt honored for the first time in my life that I was made a woman (vs a man) when I saw the body of a pregnant woman with beautiful poor sweet baby in womb, tucked into her belly so perfectly.

Also to learn so much about dissection in art (and my favorite fact of the show: that our beloved Leonardo DiVinci was a grave robber!) and to learn about our bodies processes in laid out so plainly. To see for one's own eyes diseases, including a grossly blackened smokers lung and a non-smoker with the dotted stains of second hand smoke like a speckled egg. To see an obese man with fat surrounding every intestine and inner muscle (besides the obvious outer fat) and for once imagining how restrictive that must feel and how very trapped he must have been by his own body.

Beautiful bodies posed in athletic postures to small samples of different organs the Body Worlds is not just something to behold. It's an experience that I dare anyone to undertake, even if that means flying across the world to view it. In a world where death is muffled and is hardly whispered about I am so grateful I got over my fear and went to the exhibit. I promise to go again before it leaves this October with a sketchbook so I may pass along some of my interpretation of the show.

For those of you in the Edmonton Area, the Telus World of Science is hosting the exhibit until this October.

And for those not in Edmonton, here is a weird sketch I did this morning in order to give me an excuse to blog (I sometimes feel I can't blog until I have an image to show)

Illo Friday - Enough!

Ned had had quite enough of his silly companions who positively fawned over him. They were loud and their constant sighs of love made him uncomfortable (the other zombies were looking at him with blank stares).

Oh, and here's a dragon too. He doesn't care about the word "enough" (in fact he can't even talk). He just wants to eat his food and be by himself, thank you very much.

Bloggy Award...

I want to thank Jannie Ho of chickengirl design for awarding my blog this week! For those of you who don't know who she is I'd highly advise taking a look at her work!

The rules for accepting the award are as follows:

1. Add the logo of the award to my site

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your site

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Now I'm AWARDING (drum roll please!)
Red Dog and Jude, Sweet Pea, Woodyart, Mike Boldt, Rachelle Anne Miller, Kristen Elder, and Mark Meyers

The surprise from my garden

Thinking my cat had finally caught himself a fledgling bird on it's first flight from our homemade bird house I ran outside to capture then return the chickadee. How astonished was I to discover that it was instead a young mouse, thick with cat drool and positively beside himself with fright. Now what was I to do? I couldn't let my cat down him in one gulp (as he was probably full of worms or other such fowl crawlies) so I scooped him into my water glass where he calmly peered out and over the rim with sweet disposition and a doe-eyed blinkless stare as any mouse should give it's captor when being rescued.

Depositing him in our woodpile, sure to infest our garage in the days to come with other cute faced, (probably disease ridden) wee little ones I gave myself over to laughter. My cat, not having seen me take his prize, spent the next couple of hours amusing himself by the garden - waiting for the elusive mouse's return!

Studio Musings

I'm terribly obsessed with mermaids and doodle them on a constant basis. I even completed a plywood painting of one for the art walk last year. Perhaps I'll do one each year until I have 12 and publish a calendar? I know this is quite a horrible photograph but this particular mermaid is on a canvas I'd never dream of scanning... it's just too big! I'll update you on this as I have time to work on it (which these days is less and less).

And alas... here is my favorite studio lamp - bought at a thrift store for $8!

* A side note for those who have been inquiring about this year's artwalk: I decided not to do it this year opting for a holiday with my family.

Illustration Friday - Sour

Melodie looked on while Carl inspected his ragged and raw tongue up close. His addiction to Mr. Bobblepop's Extra Sour Licks was finally roaring it's ugly head.

* Done exclusively for illustration friday. My husband actually has a bit of a sour candy addiction so I'll dedicate this one to him!

Don't draw everyday

Happy Canada Day especially to those readers from Canada today!

This weekend I took a break from all things related to my career. For 3.5 days a few of my friends and I hiked through and up the Canadian Rockies (Jasper national park) and while I brought my sketchbook I did not crack it. I instead focused on not falling down steep mountain cliffs, feeling "the burn" and swimming in a glacially fed lake.

Take it from me - if there's one thing we should focus on during Canada day it shouldn't be our career.