First seen in this earlier post and then again in part 1, a certain coffee mug takes center stage as an example of a ‘quick TryOut’.
That said, the ‘quick TryOut’ to finish Aromatic Steam Arising is only as good as the sum of its parts. Meaning: one of those parts was to compose a soundtrack specific to the video. That part was right up my alley and I certainly had fun noodling around on both the UKE and CG for ideas. The noodling resulted in two separate 4 measure motifs which I then entered into my NOTION notation program and arranged as a duo. Adjusting for the duration of coffee mug’s stellar performance, I came up with the 34 seconds of music needed for use in the video.
That was the easy part. Next came the actual putting together of a cohesive video highlighting my raw unedited phone footage in sync with a NOTION instrument rendition of my ASA 34 Seconds accompanying audio track.
Enter stage left – the challenging part of my ‘quick TryOut.’
Armed with some working knowledge of Canva, I decided to go forth and dive deep into using their free tools for video/audio projects. It took me a few days but I learned much through the process.
As promised, here is my first attempt at making a video with my personal & original uploads using Canva tools. Enjoy!
“While many have detailed their goals in a manner worthy of the New Year, I have been floundering in my own Sea of Lists.”
Me
to finding a starting point in the beginning stages within a poem,
“Let us step outside for a moment As the sun breaks through clouds And shines on wet newfallen snow, And breathe the new air. So much has died that had to die this year.”
Goals began forming naturally, without limits. Dropping into loose categories of definition and prioritization.
Included in the mix are what I call ‘quick ToDos & TryOuts’. They surfaced as important periphery components orbiting the developing picture of individual goal categories.
An example of a ‘quick ToDo’ would be a Scrap Wrap-Up. In this case, a swift and decisive finish on a project lingering over the past ten years. This specific Scrap Wrap-Up involved the saved scraps from the original scraps used in creating my “Coffee Beans Means Love to Me” quilt (2014). This was a wall hanging quilt created with irregular shaped scrap strips gathered (dumpster dived*) & kept during our 3-year journey between homes**.
“Coffee Beans Means Love to Me” (2014) – No matter how tough things got for us during our between homes time, my hubby did his best to provide a bag of beans for me to grind up for my daily brew.
Once this quilt was finished, I had in mind at the time to stitch the scraps of the scraps into mini mats. The thinking being to use them as a bonus marketing item once the recorded/published portions of my Swimming with Swans: the music and vignettes of our three-year journey between homes project*** were released.
In time, I realized that idea embodied more of a lingering emotional need rather than an actual creative or marketing need which in fact the actual quilt already fulfilled. So after a few rounds of fabric purges, I stashed a few select scraps of the scraps into an already existing bin marked, Coffee Related Fabrics. 🙂
Scroll up to 2024 and my coffee mat with accompanying mug rug is a ‘quick ToDo’ finish.
Coffee Mat & Mug RugCoffee Mat BackMy Mini Coffee Station – Coffee is my fuel of choice. Leaded of course!
more to come featuring a few musical ‘quick TryOuts’ in part 2
*the story, feelings & circumstances behind the quilt as it was being constructed can be found here.
**our between homes dates: 6/2009-6/2012
***a portion of this project, my Swimming with Swans: Goat Suite (Saga) – The Music and Scoreswas released March 2022, with its accompanying set of vignettes in the cue for another stab at publishing. Several non-Goat Suite SwS compositions are recorded & fully scored, awaiting the recording of the remaining pieces to complete a final album & score set. Obviously, this has become a long-term project! 🙂
“The news broadcasts cover the dark side of humanity, the nasty, ugly, tough, brutal behaviors of some and I need to know that this is going on. But I also seek antidotes to this dark side, I look for the beauty inherent in nature. As I look atmy photographsof this sculpture*, I am reminded of the beauty of most of the people I know, but also know that this beauty is delicate. I (we) need to nurture this beauty in others so it can flourish.”
*Utopia by Jaume Plensa (installed at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI)
Pat, blogger & photographer
“We need to nurture this beauty in others so it can flourish.”
Here’s what should happen that’s of relevance to you my Readers/Subscribers (formerly called Followers):
This post should appear in your notifications however you get them – WP Reader, email, etc
There should be a space under the notification for you to comment and/or Like if so desired
You should still be subscribed (please check if you are) – problems with Jetpack originally included deleting subscribers/followers
See ya on the other side – hopefully Three’s the Charm…because ‘One‘ – is the loneliest number in the Internet…Nope not gonna embed the referenced & punned vid. …even if it is by Three Dog Night. 🙂
Instead. Head here for the marketing vid for lessons (with yours truly) the Arts Center slapped together in a 15 minute session between students. It’s buried deep within the reels of The Arts Center Facebook page. If you listen to the background music towards the end, they added stock Banjo music – say what?
FYI: I tried to ’embed’ it using the WP Facebook Block but found out that block no longer functions due to a Facebook decision…not at all related to Jetpack! HA! Yet another ‘test’.
Since I don’t do Facebook, this isn’t a real problem but I mention this as a ‘Public Service’ to my fellow WP bloggers.
And what should appear in my email but a notice from a certain Manc Bud Poet that he’d filmed a snippet of a song I love during a concert he attended just Friday night.
He wanted me to know that the vid was too large to send so – get this – he decided to post it on his blog instead…just so I could share in its musical delights!
Ya know, WP has many, many issues, but why I stick with it is because of guys like Andy…and all you other guys, too!
🙂
Meanwhile, here’s Infinite Sun by Kula Shaker via YouTube – Enjoy!
NOTE:
Yep, my website is functioning, but on only 2 cylinders. I find it interesting that my desire to blog has increased during the ‘Sounds of Silence’ stage and this further stage of waiting for fixes to be suggested and then implemented.
Jetpack tech assistance in the wp.org Forums is still pending, stuff is still messed up, but I’m back anyway.
“I went to your site the other day and saw that it was ‘under construction.’ Something new coming our way soon?” Deborah, a blogger-buddy
“I wish! I’ve been swamped with getting the site updated, prepped for migration to another host, then fixing the mess that arrived at the new host! The ‘new’ will have to wait, but I hope to have it live – intact – soon! HA! Thanks for checking up from time to time, though.” my response
Perhaps you’ve noticed. My site has been ‘under construction’ for quite some time. Silent for even longer than that.
It’s been awhile, I know. At first, partly due to lack of time to put together a ‘quality’ post, yes. But mostly, at first, in order to keep site-traffic at a minimum in prep for a full backup download and staging of the site.
That was a few weeks ago. At that time, I worked on the too-long-ignored WP/plugin updates and tidied up the website before proceeding with the scheduled migration to another hosting service.
Nothing quite jolts one out of techie-inertia like when one’s host service end date looms on the horizon. The very close horizon.
Those of us who are wordpress.org know that hosting servers offer fantastic prices as a first-time customer. Then, once the contract is over (in this case 3 years), the renewal cost increases by at least 3xs the initial rate.
This is common practice.
I knew going in, that I’d need to find a new host to park the website when the dreaded renewal date arrived. In my case, hubby found a great package for 4 years with another host server.
A little over 2 weeks ago, I initiated the move. There’s always a bit of trepidation during the change-over, migration, re-direct of dns to the new host and how well the new host service deals with customer help once the site is in their care.
And there are always problems. In the techie-realm, problems are normal. But, as they say, there are always solutions. If you know where to look for them…
Meanwhile, my newly migrated site went live. But without the ‘Under Construction Sign’ I’d painstakingly selected, put in place and made sure it worked while the migrated site was in ‘preview’ waiting to accept the re-direct and spring back into life. Why? Because the fixes I made in prep for the migration got messed up during the migration!
I’m no stranger to setting up staging sites and fixing/testing stuff on my website. But having my semi-broken site live & visible after I made sure it’d be invisible under the ‘Under Construction Sign’ was quite upsetting to me. More so than the loss of ‘likes’ and other weird data disappearances.
Turns out, Jetpack does not play well with migration. And, active Jetpack support on the WP Forums has all but disappeared. Just sayin’…
The good news?
If not for the excellent help from the live tech assistants at my new host service – this website might have remained ‘under construction’ forever. Yes, an exaggeration about the forever part. However, I reiterate: high accolades for the live tech assistants who walked me through the fixes!
Now for the leap of faith: pushing the staged site to live. Again.
If there are problems, so be it. Otherwise, it’s great to be back!
As per the title of this post: The Sounds of Silence phrase rounds out the content of this post – even if the lyrics of the beloved piece do not. I added it here for an aural respite from all things techie. 🙂
As per recent quilt-blogger discussions about how to mount certain fiber art pieces: Mary over at Zippy Quilts posted a callout for suggestions on how best to display a ‘map’ quilt she recently completed. The overriding consensus suggested mounting it over canvas.
About two years ago, I experimented with this technique.
“Homage à Ma’s Uncle Tran Mawicke” Laura Bruno Lilly, MMXXII – Mounted over canvas
During the Pandemic, while noodling around with the idea of floating a design utilizing negative space as part of the composition, my Homage à Ma’s Uncle Tran Mawicke came into being. Pleased with the result, I wanted an equally unique way of displaying it.
Ma’s Uncle Tran* was a prolific commercial & fine artist, illustrating numerous magazine articles, sci-fi books, fashion magazines & catalogues, calendars, advertisements, creating art by commission, for both private/personal and public purposes, etc.
My Homage features a common color palette used in many of his works, but does not reflect his style of art.
As a true ‘working artist’, I’ve no doubt he experimented with different modern techniques and emerging schools of art-thought during his lifelong career. I’d like to think he might have explored a sort of “abstract expressionism meets graphic art” approach to his own work. In that way, my Homage title makes sense.
That’s the cerebral narrative. Truth be told, at some point during my immersion in Homage, something about it ‘felt’ like the Great Uncle I never knew – connecting me to both him and my (he)artist Ma.
*Mini bio: Tran Mawicke was born in Chicago on September 20, 1911 and died November 28, 1988. He’s best known for his commercial illustration, landscapes, and portraits. A graduate of the American Academy of Fine Arts and Art Institute of Chicago, his work spanned from 1935-1988. A prolific storybook illustrator, he also has credits such as film posters, covers of magazines such as Collier’s, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, and BusinessWeek. Tran served as president of the Society of Illustrators from 1959-1961. He traveled extensively and called Bronxville, NY home-base for most of his life.
“Bonus Day”
Last Thursday was February 29th. A whole day inserted into 2024’s leap year to correct time discrepancies in our calendar related to Earth’s orbit around the sun. Think of it as an expanded version of the ‘extra’ hour received when we in most states of the US set clocks back in the Fall thus ending Daylight Saving Time.
This added date – an extra day tacked onto February – felt like a Bonus Day to me, hence the name. In fact, I planned for this Bonus Day in advance in order to take full advantage of my perceived ‘extra’ time!
Right before lunchtime, after a morning of unabashed glee pursuing indulgent (he)artistic endeavors, I got a text notice that my shingles shot was available & waiting for me at the CVS. Since this prescription had been ‘out of stock’ since December** I decided the unscheduled task took priority, so I got jabbed ASAP.
I am thinking you know what comes next…Yes, you’re correct in thinking my extra hours were then consumed by an overpowering fatigue – which for myself is a normal reaction to any vaccine.
And yes, you’d think I’d remember that – but no.
Overall I felt okay about that interruption, and I did indeed make up for that ‘lost extra’ time in the days that followed – gaining traction (and new insights) on a few music projects and progressing on a surprise gift I’m making for that new Papa cousin’s baby girl I mentioned in an earlier post. All of which I hope to reveal in the near future!
**What can I say? We live in an underserved area and that’s part of how life is for us. Case in point: a regular rhythmic cycle of empty shelves at stores has been a fact of life since moving here in 2012 – way before the Pandemic put that Reality front and center for many formerly unaccustomed to those sorts of issues.
A few weeks ago, we took to the road to attend my Uncle Dennis’ funeral in Chicago. He was the youngest and last of the three brothers in my Dad’s family.
3 Brothers, 3 Uncles, 3 Dads
L-R: Dennis Bruno, Albert Bruno (my dad), Frank Bruno (date unknown but maybe early 1940s)
My Aunt Dolores, as the baby in the family, is now the sole surviving sibling. Most everyone is sitting at that Family Table up in heaven now…
“Ma, this is what I wanted to play for you the day before you passed away; I wanted you to be the first to hear it – finally finished and ready to record – I wanted you to know – to feel me there with you, to be a part of your leaving us. Me. But I was too afraid…It’s taken me this long to understand why. Somehow deep inside I thought if I could play it for you, it would work its musical magic and you’d awaken – and be back with all of us. I couldn’t face you awakening somewhere else, someplace I couldn’t go along with you.”
me, 2008
Afterwards, on the way back home from Chicago somewhere in Kentucky, our 2003 Toyota Camry reached a milestone 444,444 miles. We’re getting closer to our return trip from the moon – it is now at 445,685, only 4,315 (at perigee) miles left to go!
My Saturday Project:
Baked up a batch of my “Laura’s Lovelies” – thusly named by Amy-next-door during a ‘circle’ block party (we lived on a cul-de-sac) in the old neighborhood ~ Lafayette, CO circa 1988.
My Sunday Project:
Eating above Saturday Project – with multiple cups of java of course! 🙂
I’m feeling the FREEDOM of moving forward. I completed important unfinished business from 2023 and let go of the unfinished business unworthy of my time, energy and focus.
During this process, I realized much of what I hung onto – whether perpetually unfinished items carried over to yet another ToDoList, or carefully curated/sorted/organized files placed in physical boxes and/or computer folders, or long decrepit souvenirs/accolades with no place to go but in an ever larger special memory box – were merely outdated ‘crutches’. They no longer serve a purpose because their purpose has already been served. Casting aside those crutches was liberating.
I’m feeling the FREEDOM of release, lightness & joy. Leaning into movement, dance and song takes me to a happy place. A safe place to explore, discover, create and
Dream. Build Upon. Begin Again.
I’m feeling the FREEDOM of community celebration. In keeping with 2024’s Black History Month Theme: African Americans and the Arts, this featured piece by Jon Batiste invites us to embrace our individuality, support others in their journeys, welcome cross-cultural experiences and dance to the rhythm of our lives with a sense of freedom.
