What's the Difference?

Do you ever ask Google what the difference is between two different things? There's even a website devoted to clarification: differencebetween.com, naturally. We used it this past week to try to determine how to differentiate a jewel from a gem.
And the answer is: NADA!
At least as far as we can see.
For the particular person, a gem could be a stone left in its natural state while a jewel is more refined and ornamental.
Thus if this is a gem:

Then this is a jewel:

It's a game that we may or may not have played before:

And someone we have listened to once or twice:

So, show us your jewels and gems, if you wish. Send your images to 1xeritas@gmail.com by 2PM Tuesday, September 6, 2016 along with whatever message you want to add and your blog post, if applicable. We'll post them later the same day. 

Have a brilliant day!

Week 38--Poetry

How to put words into pictures? Isn't that what defines the artistic endeavor? To convert thoughts and ideas into images?

Sometimes easier said than done!

Freebird wanted to channel her inner Edgar Allan Poe and chose to illustrate setting quill to paper with her bead art:

We, too, wanted to go in a different direction than where we finally ended up. We started with concrete and ended up in water for the official response:

Meanwhile, Mr. Poe's words rattle around in the grey matter:
"This is it and nothing more...
Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore'."

Until next time....

Roses are Red

Violets are blue....

Although we never could grow violets quite like Mom does. Nor roses. Could be the desert weather being a tad bit drier and hotter than either prefer.
But there is nothing quite like the poetry that Mother Nature writes. Joyce Kilmer wrote of trees, which prompted us to create this a few months back for a different challenge blog, the Every Inchie Monday devoted to inchies.

A different kind of visual poetry is called "Concrete," which has nothing to do with this:

Concrete poetry has to do with the shape that the words take more than what is actually written:

Can't wait to see what happens with this one, especially since we won't re-use the inspiration for the EIM. Put your thinking caps on and send us your twinchies to:

1xeritas@gmail.com by 2 PM, Tuesday, August 23, 2016. Include any blog links or thoughts on inspiration, as so desired. We'll post the art later the same day.

Week 37--Navajo

This past week we drew inspiration from a Native American culture. To narrow the theme of "Navajo" down to just one thing is a difficult task as the body of their work is extensive and covers all manner of mediums.

Freebird was very excited to work on this topic and chose the "Yeis," superpowers called upon for healing.

Check out her blog to read about her work and what this means to her.

Our official response:

This won't make sense until you read this blog entry.

Please take the time to check out the artists' works and their stories. You will be appreciated and rewarded.
Until next time...

Art of the Dine

The official word of the week here is, "Navajo," as it is a recognizable name for a Native people (and depending on the source, the largest, or second-largest, population of  Native Americans--about 300,000. Compare that to the total population of the USA of 350 million). It can be spelled differently, with a "b" or an "h," especially since the "j" sounds like an "h." In describing themselves, they call themselves, "Indians," but collectively they are the Dine Nation.
[Note: the "e" has an accent, so it's pronounced, "Dee Nay"].
The Dine live in the northeast corner of Arizona and their reservation crosses into New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. They keep different time than the rest of Arizona, quite literally and figuratively. We could write many a page on their relationship to the Earth, their spiritual beliefs and lifestyle. For now, we will stick to their more creative endeavors.
From the Spanish conquistadores and the Mexicans after them, the Dine learned silver smithing and rug-weaving. Here are a few examples:

This is a "Squash Blossom" necklace, silver with turquoise.

This an antique wool rug with a fascinating color palette.

The "Tree of Life" is a recurring theme for the pictorial blankets which show a corn stalk growing from a ceremonial basket with birds or other animals. These are to signify major life events (such as a wedding), abundance and good fortune, at least to our understanding.

The Navajo language is very difficult to understand, from our perspective. And we're not the only ones. During WWII a group of Marine Corps code talkers were able to get messages past the Japanese with their unique code.

This I can understand; it's just beautiful (to me, anyway):

That would be a (close-up of a) seed pot. Put seeds inside and to sow, tilt it just so and the seeds pop out, although this one is probably merely decorative. The clay is the color of the soil, high in iron. Drive through there and the car is that same rust color!

On the reservation are many a stall set up to sell a variety of wares, such as ceramics, rugs and jewelry. While most of the choices are outside our budget, we have come away with small pieces, similar to this beaded lighter case:

They are a proud people. They should be most proud of their Utah real estate at Monument Valley. You may recognize this from the movie, Forrest Gump?

All the time we've driven through there, I've never been crazy enough to stop and take that photograph. Stand in the middle of that road? No way! Are you crazy?!

While that should be plenty of inspiration, there's still room for a little Zen.

From Caren Mlot, CZT, we have the tangle, "Navaho." As she writes on her blog, "patterns are everywhere." You just have to know where to look!

Show us your "Navajo" twinchies! Send your two-inch art to:
1xeritas@gmail.com by 2PM, Tuesday, August 9, 2016 along with a blog link or your thoughts and we'll post them later the same day. Thanks for taking the TwobyTwo challenge!