Diana, Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt and More

Arriving in California to the LA area in 1985 with many mixed emotions I recall the season. It was Christmas, a particularly tough time for me each year with the co mingling memories of Christmas past. This one involved the unsteady marriage after 20 years, the pending separation, the sale of our home, and the move to Irvine. 

Irvine, a city (planned community) extolled by the Russian news agency "Tass" as an example of how Marxism in america can succeed. "Mr." susette had chosen a town where I could not even own my vehicle, a red pick up truck, unless I was a licensed gardner....

...A town where the garage door could only be elevated for 20 minutes without violation and a fine, thus preventing garage sales, a form of money-making ventured only by the peasant-folk, the likes of which I was. Irvine where the opener at any party event was,  "...and what do YOU do?" ugh. 

Irvine screamed of yuppie class bourgousie. These were societal members who could speak of the leather interiors of a 3.2 liter Ferrarie, but could not distinguish between a carbeurator and fuel injector.  Mr. susette could not even change his own oil, but he was destined to purchase the high line Mercedez. "We need to look the part for my business!" 

...and so...we were at the party and for the 12th time I was asked what I 'do' - and searching for an answer I said, "I am in shoes." Hoping the man would go away, he added, "Oh, you design?"   I took a second and responded, "...uh, no I wear...and sometimes I sell." Mr. susette was horrified and upset with my undignified attempt at sarcastic humor. "Well, Christ, someone has to sell them!" 

Just then a woman not as perfect looking as the other pretenders approached me. Her hair was bobbed below the ear, blue black and a natural black at that. She had a nonconforming gap between the two front lower teeth which gave an amazing humor and impish quality to her open invitation to laugh along with her. Diana wore huge glasses. She asked the awful question. "What do YOU do?" and I set down the wine glass and said, "I don't do a damned thing." 

At that, Mr. susette erupted. He nullified my answer immediately with denials and proposals of grandeur. "Yes, she DOES! She is a singer, and she plays guitar, she paints and she writes and decorates." He amazed me. ...and now I amazed myself! If I was that super, I wondered why he didn't treat me like the Goddess that I was. 

The woman burst into laughter, and Diana became my best friend. She too sang, played guitar and wrote. She was a professional writer, a professor and a philosopher.  We spent so many hours and days and weeks trading thoughts, bending the perameters of the universe we shared and dedicated to friendship, secrets, sex, lies and video. Once on a drive to Mexico (in my red pick up), there was an exchange at the border between Diana and a 17 year old young man. I only picked up a few of the words, but was grateful to learn later that she had not entered into a business transaction that day for gainful employment - mine. 

Diana made me laugh and I made her write. She taught me about love contracts, and I made her write. She denounced the painful kiss-ass industry and I forced her to bow to it in order to obtain her goal. She did both. Then there was an absence during which time I moved back and forth only to end up at her door once again after two years. 

Greeting me at the door "bald", but that glowing gap tooth grin smiling at me, Diana explained simply, "Susette, I am not long for this world." (Not long for this world?) Cryptic to most, she and I spoke the same language and I knew that the next few hours would be harder for me than for her. 

I had to be the strong one, not letting go, not showing the feelings, not feeling at all. Laughing without feeling funny. 

Diana had a lover, a writer who cared for her enough to be there for her. And Diana with her love contracts, also had a roommate who was her lover, a man about 20 years her junior. He was devoted and sweet, naive and enigmatic and would care for her as well to her last day.

 As I closed the door behind me that day, my cheeks finally felt the salty burn of tears held back from my beloved friend and teacher. She passed to the stars and became a mythical force sometime while I was busy searching for my car stolen by my delinquent daughter, and while I was emptying bottles belonging to my sodden boyfriend on his way to rehab. A fire took all of her published books from me, and all I have left of her is the world. She is a lot of places, and she is in my hotel where she has never checked out.

Titanic

Once again, contrasts in product images and in mood along with some subcontext in French.  I use antique images here and the story of Rosa Parks, half a century after the dramatic Titanic disaster - times going on, and we can see it in movies while partaking of our popcorn and soda....as if it never really --- happened.  Just posters.  Just paper.  

Rosa Parks

Here again making use of the beautiful language of love (in the background), French, a dominatrix boot/leg, French poster art, a photo from the 50s of an unknown relative, a news clip from 1953, and who is Rosa Parks?  The word at top of card says "Reportage," French for 'the news report,' and these seem to be news flashes in telebytes.  (Rosa is the subject of another card in this series;she being the 'Negress' who refused to sit at the back of the bus.) I love contrasts.  and I am posting this late on Martin Luther King Day.

Western Cactus/Sombrero (Paintings by Susette)

Former Spouse Fred has the beautiful 1920s kitchen standing cupboard, cabinets whereon I painted these large in-color images of laid-back Mexicana.  This black & white photo of one of the pieces I then framed with a border found in a beautiful magazine high-lighting Western Living.   Simple....and delicately touched with some gold ink to define the sombrero, now we can all savor the remains of my loss in that divorce settlement!  (...Ah, comeon, Freddie, gimme back my cabinets!)

Card Art - Sexy Inner Goddess

Sexy Inner Goddess

Well, if I had an inner Goddess, she would look like Sarah Jessica Parker.  The violet color in this is just very passionate, like spilt elderberry wine, and carries the dreaming woman through passionate dream thoughts.  My dreams are always interrupted by confused specks of cartoonish thoughts, husbands I  have never known...for one...   This just seems to float like a dream full of beauty and my attachment to French art work.  But to no husbands at all...not yours - not mine.

Art Card - Van Gough

Once again, a background of total FrenchNESS, from the text to the painting by Van Gough, which I have cut into puzzle-like collage pieces and refitted.  The nostalgia era Barbie is also dissected, so part of her is over there...and over there (VOILA!...et..VOILA ENCORE!)  Clocks and watches are great add-ins to created works, this must mean "Time for a big red martini!"  (WHAT?)

World War I - Willard Earley Memoriam

Quick watercolor/tissue-applied acrylic painting with autobiographia in different 'hand writing' styles, these paraphrase my Father's service.  Done quickly for a spur of the moment ASAP today type of thing just for fun on poster board.  The map is of the region where he was stationed, the poppies are there in Flanders, and an impression of a Belgian village with a bloody history is at the fore, flanked by the living contrasting pure daisies.  I added one of Dad's Veteran Of Foreign War pins in the area of a poem written for him.

Face Cast - Mayan Me

This face cast also done by Raven McClain, I have decorated in a New Orleans style Mardi Gras spirit.  The ear rings (10cents!) gave it a Mayan flare, so I flew with that adding different sized and differently cut antique rhinestones, crystals, beads, hand made beads....into the head band and front fandangle.  There is a tiny rhinestone on the lips.  This was the first one I did, so handled with a great deal of tension and time, I breathed easy once completed finally!

Fast Cast - Metamorphosis

This casting done by Raven McClain, brought to my attention how much I have come to resemble Benjamin Franklin in my old age.   So on the right - as you face it - a torn facsimilie of Ben, as he sits on a $100 bill, is torn and glued to the image and under the chin.   Most of the piece is covered in green tissue, also symbolic of living foliage and currency.  The left half of the face is a photo of me as a 4 year old, cut into segments.  Honeysuckle vine withers...and the loveliness of red Sumac lasts as long as it can.  Thus we go from our youth to our end.

Art Card - Grey Goose

Grey Goose

Poignant with humor this spicy story.  WOW! What a story THIS Brother B was/is.  A dichotomy of one.  The inspiration for the vivisectioned family photos displaying how we are all parts of a larger entirety formed by the entirety of others yet.  This Brother was fond of the Band of Brothers series, looked on his family as strangely unique, a band indeed.  In love with his alcoholic past, dreaming longingly perhaps of its controlled dormancy,  as he controls all things around him, sans the total escape to his past which he loved and lost in San Francisco and beyond.  Here, I am controlling/holding him by his shoulder, as he loses himself in my cleavage at the side of the card...I think it's mine, he doesn't.  Below his image in my hand, pieces of him 'fall out of the picture' symbolically.  

Apollo & Daphne (Happy Trails)

Ah, yes, Bill - the Brother B....this fabulous sculpture of Apollo and Daphne (by Bernini) depicts the moment she turns herself into a laurel bush to avoid his act of rape.  This was the second of the vivisection photo collages, as members of 'Billy's family were pieced randomly to show the fractured family as the results of their mixed dynamics, thus forming the fractions and fractals of their personalities.   The ground also is foil, and saran wrap makes the wrinkles over the entire piece.  As the main character here wishes to return to Tucson, my farewell is included as Dale Evans might have sung to the Bucko Bill himself....

Art Card - Bobby Kennedy (Peace, Love & Planet Earth)

The political life and the amazing high-profile Kennedys is exemplified here by Bobby, and amplified by the meaningful words, the bit of currency, an all-seeing eye.  A sunburst of words are bits of French, as are those at the edge of the card, just something I like to toss into my creations.  Why is Mickey there...upside down?  Well, we all like to have fun!

Aurora Harlequin (Face Casts - AKA "Death Masks")

This cast is made by Raven McClain.  The subject is my grand daughter Aurora Hubiak.   She has a greatly unique profile incorporating the dynamic profile of her Ayrian (Germanic) father as well as features modifying that which derive from some Native American blood line, and Roman prevailing markers.  

This piece uses tissue paper as a skull cap - typical of Harlequin costuming - which strongly blends into the gold wire ribbon.  The face is covered with pieces of lavendar cellophane, overlapping slightly to make a mosaic effect.  Makeup adds under the eyes and cheekbones, also some white dots to form some design here and there, plus broken 

mirror glass in the tear drops.

Buffalo Hogan Card

This is my first experiment using this site, so perhaps not quite up to speed on this set-up, but just saying....here is a card made by using a painting of mine (photo copied in B&W rather than color) and added to cut-outs from a Western magazine.   I think the hat is too large for the cowboy...eh?  but he doesn't know that...if You get my drift!  and Drift we will until the next card posting and ...or...journal story!  Thanks for the visit!