I've been working on this linocut for a ridiculously long time.  Originally in was twice as big and had so much going on in it.  It was too busy and rather incomprehensible.  There was a flying colander and more little fork head people as well as a giant cake.  My idea for this linocut is hard to pin down.  I can danse all around the idea, but never quite express it precisely.  Maybe this is because the idea has to do with those thoughts that you quickly forget as soon as you wake up, or the things you think you see out of the corner of your eye, but disappear as soon as you turn your head.

The organizing faculities of our left brains want us to see life in a certain way...the proper way.  But what is really there?  Everything we see and know is filtered through our brains and  is our own subjective interpretation.  I would love to see things a little differently and add a little visual metaphor to my life; a little everyday magic to my routine.  Children do this quite easily.  The fork becomes a person and your friend becomes a cat.   Adults should do this too.  It would make life so much more interesting!

Between the Polar Vortex and the Ice Storm and the endless predictions for a  few more centimeters of snow, this has been a tough winter and it's only mid January!  Everyday this week I've seen people slipping on ice.  Thankfully they've all gotten up unharmed.  Those puffy snowsuits that children wear should probably be mandatory in this weather.  They're great padding, although they can make movement difficult.  My cat has stopped going outside and is blaming me for the cold.  He is putting on weight at an alarming rate, but doing nothing but eating, sleeping and yowling at your person will do that.   To combat the cold and difficulty of getting around I like to submerse myself in warm colours like red and brown and think of large plants and gardens.  One day they'll return...won't they?  These are two new collages made with my linocut images.  The backgrounds are done with printers ink, a stencil and a brayer.   Then the cut images are arranged on top.  If my cat could learn to do art, he might not be so bored!  These are in my Etsy store now.  I hope everyone has heat and power!