Looking Forwards and Back

It's that time of year when the days are notably shorter and around the corner is the return to "Standard Time." We don't know about the rest of the planet, but "Daylight Savings Time" is nearing an end here in the States (Except for most of Arizona--we don't do that as we don't need to save sunlight, we could use blessedly less of it in summer!).

Sunset by
Brian Bender
wunderground.com

That's important for two reasons. One, we've already begun our planning for next year and have posted the prompts for all of 2016! And two, the inspiration for this week's word is supposedly and decidedly an American-originated concept: quilting. The pioneer women would piece together patches of fabric to create blankets and from "crazy," haphazard piecing came patterns.
There are plenty of complicated patterns out there, but "Nine-Patch," is one of the first, dating to early or mid 19th century and one of the simplest--three rows of three columns of squares.

Double Nine-Patch
Squares of Nine-Patch in a
Nine-Patch Pattern

Once you know the "rules," you can break them:

Disappearing Nine-Patch inside
Disappearing Nine-Patch

It's not a pattern that is expressly and solely associated with fabric.
There's glass:

Paper:

Chittlechattle.com

A total (diet) spoiler (Food as canvas):

We think everyone's a winner
in this game!
cupcakepedia.com

Computer program?

Nine-Patch for Android
Tutorial

Makes our collective neurons hurt! But you know us! We have to find off-the-wall, out-of-the-box
investigations as part of our on-going research. (For the record, we understand the underlying concept, but we were lost after the first word of the instructions. You know? Anything after "The...").

We've updated the last post, so check that out when you have a chance.

I was going to put that stuff here, but that would make things disorganized for the long term. And anyone who knows me, knows how organized I am (not! I'm going to grow up to be one of those crazy cat ladies who needs an intervention for 'stuff').

So show us your nine-patches in whatever medium you should choose! You know the deal--two inches!
Send your images of them to 1xeritas@gmail.com by Tuesday at 2PM Arizona Time (which never waivers), November 3, 2015. Include your blog post or what-have-yous for sharing!

Week 16--Is

No matter what your definition of "IS" is, it's hard to describe and yet more complicated to address artistically. We knew it when we put this into the challenge mix.
What has transpired is that more than one artist jumped right over it and went to the next challenge. And rather than spoil that fun, we'll save those with any others that come along for the November 3 post.

Sarah in Michigan was up for the challenging challenge!

Nature Is...
By Sarah

This is our official response to this week's:

A Daughter Is...
By Cheryl

Thank you so much for stopping by. Be sure to check out the artists that participate and let them know you appreciate their efforts. And perhaps, join in on the fun?!
Until next time....

Update 10.26.15:
From Freebird:

She writes:

i love the theme.  For me, the take on the theme IS was so clear.  1 Corinthians 13:13.  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these IS love.  So for my IS twinchie I redid a pattern that I designed for a Stethoscope bead that I designed for the nurse that took care of my daughter after her surgery.  It has a cross, a rainbow, and a dove, faith, hope and love. 

Love Is...
By Freebird

Isn't that just lovely?

It Depends on Your Definition

We have often ruminated on the testimony provided by then president William Jefferson Clinton during the Lewinsky trial. When asked if he had relations with Monica, he responded with, as best as we know, "It depends on what your definition of 'IS' is."

Bill Clinton
Official White House Photograph

Our take on it is, it either IS or it isn't, not much grey area there, right? Which, led us to the dictionary to find the definitions of "is," and we found there really is only ONE! "Is" is the third-person conjugation of "be," as in: he IS, she IS or it IS.
Not much to really figure out! But if you go further with the study, back to "be," things get more interesting.
First, you may consider one of Shakespear's most-quoted lines, as Hamlet asks himself if it is better "to be, or not to be. That is the question."

Edwin Booth as
Hamlet
by J. Gurney & Sons, 1870

You can find various philosophers that posit the essence of "being," but it was Rene Descartes that put forth, "Cogito, ergo sum," translated to "I think, therefore I am." Rodin created a beautiful sculpture to illustrate this concept.

The Thnker
Rodin
Philadelphia

In a variety of ways, we have seen this tripartite:

To Be is to Do--Socrates

To Do is to Be--Plato

Do be do be do--Sinatra

And from there, the opportunities to extrapolate are endless:

Scooby Doobee Doo!

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Hey, Boo Boo!

How about a Picnic Basket, Yogi?

Do be a Do Bee!

AND, last but not least:

Exactly! Now, go out and just make art, whatever YOUR definition of "IS" is!

Send us your twinchies by 2PM on Tuesday, October 20th to:

1xeritas@gmail.com

Include a link to your blog or what-have-you and spread the word!

Disclaimer: all of the above artwork is copyrighted by their respective owners, creators and companies. White House photographs are in the public domain as are those greater than 70 years, such as the image of "Hamlet." The images are represented here to offer creative opportunities and are not meant to infringe upon individual or corporate rights. 

Week 15--Hot

Our hearts go out to the residents of South Carolina that are battling weather like never seen before. Water is a powerful mechanism for change, evidence the Grand Canyon, for instance.
We hope everyone is staying warm and dry.
Ann in Denmark sent this cozy vignette:

Hot
by Ann

Freebird took hot in a different direction: up, Up, UP!

Hot Air Balloon with (HOT)
Sunset
by Freebird

And I guess we are feeling rather ghoulish as we went with a devilish theme:

Hot
by Cheryl

We appreciate everyone's participation and we always like to see what else they're up to. Make sure to check out the artist's works, tell them you saw it here. And, perhaps, consider joining in the fun!
Until next time...

Some Like it Hot

The word for the week is HOT. It's all relative. Think Alannah Myles singing "Black Velvet," the line about "Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell." That's hot!

Or, better yet, "Some Like it Hot," with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Racy for 1959. The silver dress!

When we were compiling the word list for 2015 we were really just thinking temperature. Here in Arizona, the summer heat doesn't start to fade until mid-October. Indeed, this year, right this minute, record temperatures and, well, it's a DRY heat. (And for the record, there are no Saguaro cactus near the monoliths of Monument Valley, but it makes for great scenery in our favorite cartoon!)

Don't laugh! We'll take it over a day in mid-July on the East Coast. A hundred and five with single-digit humidity is WAY better than 80 with 99 percent when it's NOT RAINING! Death Valley on the first day of summer, well, THAT took our breath away (and at 121 wasn't the hottest day of summer there!).
We're well adapted to desert living, but sometimes it feels like an inferno. It must be what Dante had in mind.

Limbo
First Circle of Hell
 Petites Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry

Of course, in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the end of winter, right? So, summer's heat is just a mirage. For now.
Meanwhile, we're sticking with our favorite coping mechanism:

From Women's Health Magazine

AHHHHHH! That's better.

Or else creating COOL art in air conditioned comfort. That works, too!

Show us your HOT twinchies!
Send them to:
1xeritas@gmail.com by 2PM Tuesday, October 6, 2015. Share your story/blog link as you so desire.
And spread the word so more can play!

Week 14--Cake

Our inbox has been filled with delightful stories and some very yummy offerings.

Ann in Denmark got her daughter involved--while Ann drew her twinchie, her soon-to-be ten year-old daughter actually baked a cake! She said by the time she finished drawing, the house smelled heavenly. YUM!

Cake
by Ann

Sarah shared this story from Michigan:

This year a very special thing happened while at lunch on my birthday. An older lady was having her birthday at the restaurant with a group of people. She was in her late 70's, and I was turning 38. I waved at her and wished her a happy birthday and said 'me too!' And she smiled. A half hour later one of the older ladies friends brings my Mom and I each a piece of coconut cream cake. 

I will treasure that moment as I said thank you, and the old lady waved and smiled. Definitely the best birthday cake ever. 

Cake
by Sarah

From Arkansas, Freebird sent a slightly off-centered wedding cake:

Cake
by Freebird

Our official response to the challenge is:

Cake
by Cheryl

This weeks offerings made us very hungry! It just happens to be a birthday WEEK in our house, but EVERY day is cause for celebration, isn't it?
Be sure to check out what all of these talented artists are doing--it's typically a LOT! And join in the fun, won't you?
Until next time....Let them eat CAKE!

It's Almost my Birthday!

Gil's fifty-one year-old sister has Down's Syndrome. Her birthday is in June and she'll remind you every single day that it's, "almost June." And every day after her birthday means that it's almost her birthday.

Even if it's 364 days away.

My children are both August babies and then there are just a slew of them in the family one right after another...and then there's mine. After six weeks of cake (and pizza or pizza and cake...), it's time for something different.
Growing up in New Jersey, there was really only one answer: apple pie!

From the foodnetwork.ca
YUM!

Thankfully, Gil is a baker and makes a mean apple pie! Because it's still summer in Phoenix, we're not cranking the oven up until about Thanksgiving. But, it's so good, I can wait!
In the meantime, we can dream of cakes!

(If we did that, we'd burn the house down!)

Or we can draw visions of cake! Or for the tanglers in the bunch, "Cayke, " by Rose Brown. 

The closest I can get to attribution of the art is via tanglepatterns.com, THE repository for Zentangle patterns, and Linda Farmer has done a nice interpretation there. I found this blog post by "Trish," as illustration:

Cayke Walk
by Trish

Hearts and flowers! How sweet!

So...how do you celebrate YOUR birthday? What kind of cake do you like? 

And more importantly, is there vanilla ice cream involved?!

Show us your "Cake" twinchies! Send them to:

1xeritas@gmail.com by 2PM Tuesday, September 22, 2015. 

We'll just have ONE BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY!