I’m a creative, experienced, multi-purpose artist and art director
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Friday, September 2, 2011

"Mysterious"

I love mysteries. Not so much mystery novels, but the actual mysteries that surround us all the time – and we’re surrounded by them. Why do some cancers spontaneously go into remission? What’s really inside the nucleus of an atom? How does a whole tree come out of an acorn? What really happens to us when we die? How does intuition work? What’s outside of our universe? Is there an end to space? An end to infinity?

Some people roll their eyes and tell me I think too much, but I can’t help it. I never grew out of my terrible twos phase of questioning. There are endless mysteries and conspiracy theories and ghost stories and so many other things for which we’re never going to know the answers. Why shouldn’t I be open to the idea of the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot, or Chupacabras?

Professional debunkers make me about as crazy as the government policy to spread stories of swamp gas. Debunkers make their living from merely saying “No”, but you can’t prove something doesn’t exist. Scientists used to think a certain fish existed only in fossils and became extinct millennia ago… until someone caught one. If the scientists had listened to the local fishermen, they would’ve known that the fishermen had caught that kind of fish before. If more scientists listened to stories about lights in the sky, maybe we’d know what’s up there by now?

Or for a different example, let’s think about acupuncture. It was mocked in the west as an Eastern superstition until somebody actually dared to ask the question of “Gee, does it actually work?” Well, as it turns out, yes. Now we have a whole new tier of questions about how and why and where can we go from here. As long as people remain in lock step with each other, the world is going to remain flat.

I know I’m not alone. Conspiracy theories and ghost hunters wouldn’t exist if there weren’t people who wondered or saw strange things. Religions wouldn’t exist if I was the only one who wonders what happens when we die. Colleges wouldn’t have research labs if somebody somewhere didn’t ask exactly the same kinds of questions as children before children’s questions are squashed into conformity.

When I was a kid, my dad had a squeaky old oil can like the Wizard of Oz’s Tin Man. I thought it looked a lot like a watering can, and I liked the smell of the oil, so I “watered” all the flowers by the side of the house. The flowers didn’t look too good the next week, so I “watered” them some more. The flowers got progressively more sickly looking, so redoubled my efforts to help them. For some reason they eventually gave up the ghost and died. Hmm… Interesting fact. Flowers don’t thrive in oil. Now how would I have learned that important fact if I wasn’t open to experimentation?

The crystal ball is super old art, but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw the word for the week. I made it for a newspaper section about predicting the future of business. I’ll admit it was never one of my favorite pieces, but I liked bits of it like the bird. I could do this piece so much better now. Ahhh… life before computers :)

The acorn is a quickie from today. I often type and free associate when I see the IF word for the week, and the idea of a whole tree in an acorn seemed like a logical visual.

26 comments:

  1. I have a feeling that the mysterious Linda is in the eye of the bird there..go on take a look, I'm sure you used your eyes!! Even more clever is the tree in the acorn above... Linda, I always enjoy your take on IF!
    Have a great weekend,
    Jane x

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  2. Very nice artwork. I especially like the one with the crystal ball. So speaking of mysteries...My daughter tells me a so-called coincidence today that happened at school. Last winter she was walking the halls of her highschool when she lost a picture of her little brother that was hanging off of her backpack on a keychain, never to be found. Today with her newly assigned locker, she opens the locker door, a bug flies in, as she's shooing it away she notices in the lower corner of her locker, stuck to the wall, is the picture she lost almost a year back. Nobody knows what locker she is going to be assigned, let alone that the picture is her brother; and even if they did, her locker combination? Ya gotta wonder?? I think somethings in the air lately.

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  3. Well that's a new one on me Mary Lou! Let's sing The Twilight Zone theme song together... I think your daughter should be extra nice to her brother today :)

    I wonder if I were more clever and/or mysterious if I could figure that one out Jane?

    Thanks for the comments!

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  4. Hello Linda, I'm not quite sure what I admire the most. Is it your illustrations, your writing or your philosophy. That's my mystery for today. Thanks!

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  5. I vote for the acorn. It took me 3 looks to see the big tree in it. We think it is mysterious because of the difference in size (acorn and tree), however, change to thinking in energies and we can admire life itself (which is a big mystery too).
    Another charming post, Linda.

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  6. As always, wonderful work on all fronts! And Mary Lou's story is just a bonus. As always, thank you for all!

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  7. Always a fan of an unsolved mystery, too. Life would be so boring if we had answers to everything!
    Love your mysterious images, here. Have a great weekend! :o)

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  8. Heisann!

    Thank you for bringing us into your mysterious thinking ;:OD)
    Sometimes I say to myself, stop... you can't do anything with it, but I like to understand!
    Then I conclude... you don't need to understand everything, that's what is fascinating!

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  9. I think the joy is in trying to understand everything while accepting that we're just not going to ever achieve that goal. Thanks for the comments everybody!

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  10. Your "free associations" are very creative! So interesting...and I love the images. All good....all 'round! :)

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  11. I agree that mystery of the unknown makes life interesting. I love your acorn, it's not depicted by what it is, but by what it has the potential to become. Great post!

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  12. I agree the acorn (and it's ilk) is a profound mystery.




    ~~that and the photocopy machine.
    I like the acorn drawing the best of the 3 you posted.
    has the most oomph.


    .

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  13. Gee, you remember life before computers? Boy you must be really really old :) As always I love how you have written something that makes us think, and how well you have bridged the different ideas, and how you made me laugh with the flower story hahahah! and of course the images just sit well with everything else, a nice organic whole :)

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  14. Very profound. Never stop asking questions...just make sure they're the right ones. And my vote is for the acorn, although there are bits I love in each of them. Something about the almost reflective quality to it, I think:)

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  15. Thanks everybody! It's nice to know people like the acorn best since that's the one I just did. I'm taking that as meaning I've actually made some artistic growth over the years :) And yes Andrew, I'm really, really old -- or at least I feel that way sometimes! Thanks for the comments!

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  16. Lol! Well, you've certainly found the fountain of youth if you're really really old! :)

    It's wonderful to see your artistic growth and I love the concept of the tree in the acorn, a true mystery!

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  17. Linda, I'm feeling better, and it helps to have wonderful people like you sending out your great energy to me!

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  18. You did a great job illustrating the crystal ball. It really glows. And as always very thought provoking.

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  19. Simplicity of the image itself holds a lot, grows on you - rather like the acorn itself. Nice post.

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  20. Great post, love the tree in the acorn

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  21. Thanks everyone!

    I'm glad you're feeling a little better Indigene. Rough times, but friends help.

    Thanks for the follow Ebipon!!!

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  22. Hey Linda,
    A standing thank you for your wonderful comments on my blog! I just love this world of wonderful support and "atta, girl/boy" love! Along those lines, your last comment inspired the second post of "mysterious"! Loved your take on who came first (horse or zebra)...

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  23. I love all the atta girls/boys too Penelope. Blogging is a wonderful world where the good kids come out to play :)

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  24. I like how you think! (And the art's neat, too!)

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  25. It actually *is* a nice crystal ball piece, Linda...no poo-pooing allowed! Your two newest posts are like wonderful conversations with an old friend...I love how you can write so conversationally, telling it like it is really, humanly is too. And, you are not alone: I never grew out of my Terrible Two's either--I drive E. crazy with my odd questions and wonderings...like, "What happens if you *don't* hold your ear while you're using that Q-tip, and do you know that doing so couldn't possibly make the ear canal any bigger or straighter...?" Sigh. I used to not talk at all: much, much safer. But the pressure built!!

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  26. LOL Susan! Maybe all that built up pressure is why you needed to contemplate Q-tips? I used to be quieter too, but then I figured out I had as much to say as anybody else. Thanks for the comment!

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