Archive for the ‘Inspirations’ Category

Have we become modern day topiaries?

Much like the structure of life, there are things in the world that shape us and make is who we are. A topiary, for instance, a cultivated trimmed and primed manicured element of nature that from it’s botanical beginnings is intended to be a finely shaped piece of living visual artwork. The expectation of perfectness is forced, no compromise, it’s real, it’s planned.  It is intended.

Are you a topiary?

In life this too can be the case if you allow it, the pruning of new growth is stifling . You cannot be free when your ambitions are constantly clipped, tucked away, rearranged and confined.  I suspect that lifes pressures can force the way we think, look, feel and live.

Have we become modern day topiaries?

Be a wildflower

Why do we listen and believe everything we hear and see? Get out of that rut. Let the grass grow, let your hair down and kick up some spontaneous thrills and adventures. No more excuses, no whining, no gripping. Just do it.

There is much to say about the wildflowers that roam free, they grow as they will without barriers, no permission, no structure for them.  With this comes more beauty and down to earth charm.

Let’s talk trash… tuffing it out

Originally posted on: Mach 26, 2008

The Shredding of My Life. (Perhaps it may be called recycling or re-use.) Whatever.

As of recent - I have come to the disturbing reality that it’s apparent that I have not been the savvy one for the spring cleaning seasonal things on the home front. Closets, under the bed, the garage, cabinets, more closets, and amongst the tuff shed comes the much dreaded tuff SHRED.

Shred Dread

Shred Dread

Ug. Evidently overall stupid ass crappola that I believe was saved for the ultimate time capsule of my memories gone by the way side…. until today. Twenty-five years of life long collective of papers, receipts, pay stubs, job offers, banking, kids report cards, memories the beloved kindergarden projects from the kids. Accumulated data like this is classic. It reminds us of where we came from, where we are on our way to and hope for the future to have less paperwork, more memories and enjoy life in a paperless world. Filing cabinets, will they eventually become obsolete…?

Taking that documented walk through memory lane is a “tuff” one sometimes, the jobs that were offered and the notice of a corporation now out of business, the new banking accounts, the never used credit card offered, the wills that were written and changed and changed and changed, the divorce folder chock full of faxes that are now all faded out of view… thankfully.

Folders of documents where birth certificates meets death certificates, followed by marriage certificates colliding with expired driver licenses and the rebate offers no longer valid stuck to the tax returns that are well long outdated, returns processed but the papers remain a reminder.

Gone.

For the most part. Bye bye non usable TCI Heritage Cable bills and Worldcom Cellular… you will see your way as paper packing or a pulp recipe for paper mache’. Now that the cabinets have been purged and their contents on their merry way to the re-use…. the tuff shed is the next project.

Beware dust bunnies, here I come… armed and dangerous.

Wearin’ my sunglasses at night

Originally posted on: January 10, 2008

First of all… I am a tad late for the first of the year with all of the nice salutations and feeling of relief that the holiday season is DONE!. Whew. Where do I start and what shall I say.

Second of all, I don’t do resolutions, I really think it’s ridiculously nutty that people drag a 3 ton wagon of guilt into this four digit thing we call a new year thinking that the wagon will roll away (aaack). Nope, you pulled it, it belongs to you and you aren’t going to park that thing in my space. Bye Bye.

I prefer to fancy the term “adventures”. Therefore I shall hope to get more done on my pursuit for new adventures and get the opportunity to meet new people, savor the relationships that I have already and create some kickass wild imagery straight from the heart and take nobody’s smarttin’ off. Oh yes, and to eat better. (hmmmm looks like a foodie theme trying to surface..).

Which all leads into the last painting of the previous year, formerly known as 2007.

I created a piece that is very personal to me, it’s called “Astro Gem” and she is working it baby! She’s got the radar going, wildly twisting in different directions, every which way in a universe that’s trying to catch up. She had the opportunity to have a sweet small robotic pal that keeps her at bay and truly grounded so her head won’t fly away. However after the chaos has settled, it’s just another day closer to painting the next series of more of “firsts” and “lasts”.

Astro Gem

Astro Gem

My newest artwork for the beginning of this new 365 day adventure is a really cool piece that I am not quite finished with, so stay tuned for more details. (*Smirk).

It’s so humorous to me that in a blink of an eye not only has a day passed - but so has the year…. we seem to welcome it with more car traffic, edgy re-gifterees and the ambition more than ever to get rid of stuff, throw away junk, sell it, junk it, pitch it.

You know you are in trouble when you come across a drawer full of oldie style sunglasses like the Nagel-esque hard rimmed black plastic Oakley’s from of the 80’s to the cheapest 8 dollar pair that ironically enough were the best pair of shades ever to land in that drawer with the others… the sentimentality that goes along with this type of serious house cleaning is vicious, blatantly awful. For some reason there is weird pull of “gotta keep ‘em”… so I compromised with myself. Don’t be surprised if you see these resurface into an art project!

Which is all rather ironic, because the optimistic vision that I had planned for the new year is truly becoming a reality (all kidding aside) there is something to be said for positive thinking. Great relationships maintain and wonderful opportunities are surfacing. I wish everyone great health, happiness and to seek the good things in life, most of these are relatively simple too.

Perhaps locating those sunglasses is one of those funny coincidences where you get that fuzzy chill.. so go for it, get the shades on because the days and nights can be brighter and more optimistic than ever.

Little Pups and Inspirations

Originally posted on: July 9, 2007

So here we are. It’s been a while since I have written in the blog-a-rama, only because we have been so busy here at the gallery ad I have been creating, painting, producing and on the go, go go!

Mariposa in Flight

Mariposa in Flight

After a hectic exhibition schedule I finally got inspired with some very cool things. I painted “Mariposa - In Flight”, a beautiful butterfly painting which is very meaningful to me:

This past weekend, after endlessly running after our fifteen week old Maltese puppy SAMi, I thought I needed to capture the moment and I did this fun and cute portrait of her:

We call her “Lil Miss SAMi” which is so suitable for her. She is so petite and small, however she has this streak of energy cuteness that just explodes out of her. I bought her a really fun and cool studded black collar which was not welcomed by some family members, but I like it (and so does she), therefore it’s a go!

Dog accessories are quite the thing these days. I will say that our pup will not be a pink wearing, glitter glamouring, crown sporting or rhinestone fashionista wannabe. We are a modest crew here, where Adidas rule and black is the classic “must have!”.

Portrait of Lil Miss SAMi

Portrait of Lil Miss SAMi

I really do like shopping pet stuff though - the squeaky toys kind of purchases. There are just waaaay too many fun toy things out there. We also recently discovered “Ziggies” which are the chewy stuffers for the almighty puppy Kong! Our friend Christine Benniger of the HSSV (Humane Society Silicon Valley) gave SAMi a bag of these as a gift. A very smart gift indeed, thanks Christine!

If you are interested in viewing more about out Lil Miss SAMI, you can visit her myspace page at:
http://www.myspace.com/misssamipup
She already has several nice doggie friends too!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, she has a MS page…. so what…but who the heck doesn’t…. there is a page dedicated to the Weinermobile…. h e l l o!

I just basically wanted to share her with family and friends, she has such a dedicated fan base that we wanted to keep track of her growth and progress as a little cute puppy!

Well must get back to creating, painting etc. ENJOY the new artworks, our little puppy and enjoy life in general!

Cheers, chill and ciao!

Tempered Glass

Originally posted on: April 27, 2007

(A fun optimistic outlook for a simply dangerous Friday!)

The true meaning for tempered glass is the process of heating floated glass panels then allowing them to cool rapidly. By doing this, the process makes the glass far more stronger vs. regular non tempered glass.Thus more useful for safer applications and more protective.temperedglass

If people can be more like tempered glass perhaps their outlooks on life will be more optimistic and therefore shatterproof. Many people tend to get caught up in the moment, this causes them to get quite agitated and confrontational.

No matter what, knowing in advance you will encounter problems in life and that difficult moments will arise and you will come in contact with “un-tempered” individuals will help buffer the crash.

Whether it’s a difficult family member, sister, brother, co-worker, parent, employee, your teen, or the moron with road rage etc., remember to be shatterproof and tempered.  Be on top of the situation, be the better person and in the most creative of words, do not *loose* your temper, keep your *cool*, and stay *shatterproof*. Chances are that you will remain safer that way.

Lil Miss SAMi

Originally posted on: May 22, 2007

I would like to introduce to you our newest member of our family. Miss S.A.M.i. puppaliscious! (SA.M.i is an acronym for Sonya and Mark.. heh heh heh sooo clever!)
Sonya and Miss SAMi

Lil Miss SAMi and Sonya

Lil Miss SAMi and Sonya

Lil Miss SAMi

Lil Miss SAMi

Lil Miss SAMi

She is an eight week old Teacup Maltese and too cute for words, we got her yesterday evening and if you can image here as cute as the images here, then you are right on!

An Avenger-ous Profession

Originally posted on: Thursday, March 01, 2007

Funny how life imitates art…. or is it that art imitates life… in any event there were many things that I wanted to be as a young child, the most impressionable icon I can recall is the TV series, The Avengers. Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, in my eyes, she was the coolest and most impressionistic person on television. She dressed in boots and leather, (mostly black attire as well which was the ultimate bonus) carried a firearm and had that ever so fashionable “flip” hairstyle that could stop a bullet.
What a great profession.

Where else can you wear black leather fitted outfits, carry a firearm and have awesomely cool hair. I was convinced at an early age that this was indeed the job for me.


Diana Riggs in the Avenger
Diana Riggs in the Avenger
I had an array of several different professions in my scope of jobs… I was a cake decorator in the late 70’s, because a florist (floral designer) in the early 80’s… ended up selling automobiles in the late 80’s then ventured down the road into high tech for almost 20 years being a test engineer for software to a web techie-junkie with some of the most prominent and cutting edge companies in existence today.

Regardless of all of the “other experiences” I have had… I am a full time artist, a painter, creator an Avenger to the all mightly brush, a dedicated companion to my arsenal of paints and creativity and a rebel with a cause.

Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) you and I are in sync, there will be a day that we will walk down the same avenue together, same sidewalk, same vision.

I love the challenge, I love the vision, I desire the pressure and feed on the deadline… Thank you.

~ Sonya Paz