Sunday, April 17, 2011

Eye of Argus, Eye of Joy

Awake

Awake by jj leatherman
Awake, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

tree of life

tree of life by jj leatherman
tree of life, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

fairy tale tree

fairy tale tree by jj leatherman
fairy tale tree, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Copper fingernails beckon me

Dancers in the apple tree 3

Untitled by jj leatherman
Untitled, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Dancers Tree Sepia

Untitled by jj leatherman
Untitled, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

dancers tree

dancers tree by jj leatherman
dancers tree, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

High Waters of the Ohio

The waters of March at our Ohio riverfront in Paducah, Ky...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

David

David by acrimonious
David a photo by acrimonious on Flickr.

From acrimonious...Inspiring Composition

Monday, March 14, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

cardinal wings open


cardinal wings open
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman
Feeding the birds this winter has saved me from developing full-on cabin fever. It has provided hours of birdwatching and photo opps.

Many cardinals have visited my patio. This guy was trying to take off in some heavy snow fall, and it made a pretty picture.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Moon Rabbit {from the Mayan to the ancient Asians}

I have become fascinated with how cultures have viewed 'the rabbit' on the moon...
Going to supplement my boys' schoolin' with some homeschoolin' on:

MIMETOLITHS-(this concept perfect for my rock-hounds)1b.  "Rabbit on the Moon,"  pattern of darker areas of full moon (circumferance- 10,864 km -- i.e.,~ 6790 miles) as seen from Chile.  Clicked image consists of three parts:  Left to right, the Full moon,  the "Rabbit on the moon," and a glyph of the Mixtec culture of  Mexico.  It is hypothesized that "the Mixtecas probably saw a rabbit-like shape on the surface of the full moon, and  thus elaborated the glyph that represents the moon as a rabbit." (Patricio Bustamante, personal communication, March, 2008).   For an explanatory text (in Spanish), see http://rupestreweb.info/hierofania.html  ,



 & The Rabbit 

what it means for the Maya:  


MAYA MOON - DOÑA LUNA
TEACHING IDEAS
from Marianne Mitchell
Maya Moon is a folktale from Mexico that "explains" why the moon changes shape. Here are some ways to use the story to supplement your curriculum. These activities can be adapted for grades K-3.
CULTURE
Mayan civilization flourished in the area of today's southern Mexico and Guatemala from about 300 A. D. until about 1700 A. D. The Mayas built huge cities and had extensive trading routes with other cultures, some as far away as New Mexico. For unknown reasons, these great cities were abandoned and lay hidden under dense jungle growth for many years. National Geographic Magazine has featured Mayan culture in several issues and is a good resource for more information.
GEOGRAPHY
Get out the map of Mexico and Central America and study where the Mayas lived. Did they live in a desert or a tropical environment? Did they live in the mountains or by the sea? What kinds of flora and fauna can be found where they lived. What was their most important crop?
ASTRONOMY
The Mayas were skilled astronomers and could predict lunar and solar eclipses. They studied the movement of the stars and the change of seasons and created a 365-day calendar that is almost as accurate as today's calendars, all without the aid of modern telescopes and computers. One of the remaining buildings at the city of Chichén Itzá is an observatory. Maya Moon is a folktale about why the moon changes shape. Discuss the scientific reasons why the moon appears in different sizes during the month.
ANIMALS
Maya Moon features four pesky sea turtles. Turtles also appear in many other Mayan legends. Have students learn about sea turtles-where they live, what they eat, how long they live, etc. How are they different from desert tortoises? Other animals were also important to the art, myths, and religion of the Mayas: rabbit, jaguar, deer, the quetzal and the hummingbird. Are any of these animals endangered today?
LITERATURE
What do other people around the world see on the face of the moon? Some see a face, a blacksmith, or a water girl. In Mexico, people say they see a rabbit on the moon. Some other books to share about the moon or about Mayan culture are: The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote by Tony Johnston, The Mystery of the Maya: Uncovering the Lost City of Palenque by Peter Lourie, Rain Player by David Wisniewski, Moon Rope by Lois Ehlert, and The Night the Moon Fell by Pat Mora.
SPANISH
Teach students new Spanish words from the story, Doña Luna: la luna (the moon), las tortugas (the turtles), la cueva (the cave), la cama (the bed), la luz (the light), los cuatro vientos (the four winds), la lluvia (the rain), la siesta (the nap), and Abuelita (Grandmother).
DRAMA
Help students make up a play based on Maya Moon. There are roles for the moon, four turtles, four winds, and the rain god Chac. Other students can be in a chorus or help design a mural for the backdrop. They can perform their play for parents or other classes.
WRITING
Most of the books created by the Mayas were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. The few that have survived reveal a detailed system of writing using picture glyphs. Their books were folded, accordion-style, and decorated with bright colors. Have students make folded books like the Mayas did. Instead of writing with words, they could make up a story using pictures or stamp art. Perhaps they could re-tell Maya Moon using glyphs, or pictures. Or they could make up other "how come" stories about things in nature.
MATH
The Mayas had a unique system of numbers using dots and bars instead of numerals like we do. They are credited with inventing the concept of zero using a shell symbol. They also invented a system of place value using a base of 20. Many of their glyphs and carvings feature numbers. Practice adding and subtracting the Mayan way. Have students write their numbers with bars and dots instead of numerals.

Happy Year of the Rabbit

Yes, there is a rabbit on the moon. I've seen the hare there for sometime now and feel quite validated after reading about Japanese Culture on this beautiful blog from Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/01/for-the-year-of-the-rabbit-some-musings-on-rabbits-and-hares-in-japanese-culture-and-history/

'So while the Chinese, with their traditional calendar, are still in the Year of the Tiger ( until February 3rd 2011), in Japan, where the new year now begins in January, we  have already entered THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT.'


It is because of the connection with fertility and abundant offspring that the ancient Asians ( Indians, Chinese, Japanese, etc) have long said that there is a rabbit (hare) on the moon....


Image from http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/mimetoliths/


Image from http://news.3yen.com/page/175/

Monday, January 10, 2011

New Year's Eve 2010

Performance for my friends' 65th Birthday party...he was born 65 years ago, December 31st. It was such an honor and a pleasure to spend the eve celebrating and honoring..I think 2011 is going to be a Stellar Year...

n'goni 12 cordes

Monday, January 3, 2011

Favorite Quotes

When inspiration calls, pick up the phone... {Will.i.am}




Quotation by Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards


Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards 

As quoted in The Life of Ellen H. Richards by Carolin...The Outlook magazine (April 24, 1897)
Related Subjects

There are women in middle life, whose days are crowded with practical duties, physical strain, and moral responsibility ... they fail to see that some use of the mind, in solid reading or in study, would refresh them by its contrast with carking cares, and would prepare interest and pleasure for their later years. Such women often sink into depression, as their cares fall away from them, and many even become insane. They are mentally starved to death.

Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911), U.S. chemist and educator. As quoted in The Life of Ellen H. Richards, ch. 9, by Caroline L. Hunt (1912). 
Written in the 1860s.



When it's over, I want to say: All my life, I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms."
--Mary Oliver
Make the most of yourself, for that is all there  is of you.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it. Jean Jacques Rousseau 
The eating of burning brimstone is an entirely fake performance. Harry Houdini 
Every performance is different. That's the beauty of it. Van Morrison
Let your performance do the thinking. Charlotte Bronte
The author himself is the best judge of his own performance; none has so deeply meditated on the subject; none is so sincerely interested in the event. Edward Gibbon 
An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises. Mae West 

Sunday, January 2, 2011

December 18, 2010

December 18, 2010 can not go unnoticed or undocumented {i.e. unblogged}…My youngest son’s Seventh Year on this planet begins. I celebrate his birth and blessedly giving birth once again...As I write it is January 2, 2011, we are heading into another decade. My resolutions are to relax and enjoy life as well as make a new business plan...to create a year of balance and joy.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Celebrating giving birth Nine Years ago today

Making Mass amounts of Spaghetti and Meatballs today for my son's family birthday celebration. I can't get to my external drive for photos as my PC is down (imagine that) and I am working on my macbook. So, I am thinking of internet archives and remember these 2 phots that the Spanish Literary Journal :: Margen Cero hosts as entries to their first ever {Premiere} photo competition. Troy and I  were first time parents with a camera and in love with life! So this is to make a note to self: Enter more photo competitions, and Remember to cherish life...it is what we make it...

 I am grateful that these photos are hosted in Cyperspace...we are entries 13 & 14...

http://www.margencero.com/BIBLIO/fotografia/fotos_concurso.htm
http://www.margencero.com/BIBLIO/fotografia/fotos_concurso.htm

Monday, October 18, 2010

Steamboat DELTA QUEEN

Revisiting Synchronicity : The Last Docking of The Delta Queen in The Port of Paducah, Kentucky


(c) jj leatherman                                      Nathan's Music



This morning I woke up with The Delta Queen (song by Nathan Lynn and Bawn in the Mash) playing in my head...then all this morning, I think I am hearing the Calliope Whistle loudly announcing??? Something...So, I peruse the Ol' BLOG and find that we are nearing that sad anniversary. I think it's worth a re-post and a re-visit. There is something about synchronicity and nostalgia that never grows old...


SAVE THE QUEEN~October 27, 2008
On Synchronicity: The Delta Queen and Nathan Lynn


We went early and made a day of it starting with a good morning salute to the Queen, and then headed to the River Maritime Museum, then onto the Railroad Museum, next for lunch: Kirchoff's good soup and sandwiches and then onto Wildhair Studios to pick up my first music purchase of Bawn in the Mash's Atomic City, their first album. Finally, we got back in the car and re- parked right down by the river to watch the Queen leave the Paducah Port for what could be the very last time.


Still in the sunny part of our day before the Queen's departure while relaxing in the warmth of the car by the river, I put the Atomic City album on and listened and stared at the old gal that is the Delta Queen paddle boat, and tried not to cry too hard in front of the children, but I was really sad, and then a head pops in our window~who but the singer of our farewell serenade: Nathan Lynn: http://www.nathanblakelynn.com/index.php.


 He popped his head in and said, 'hey I sing that song, that's me singin'" The boys were delighted, and I went and got his autograph, and he gave me a cd! I felt like the most privileged of fans.


www.save-the-delta-queen.org

After I hopped back in the car, my eldest son didn't believe that the person on the cd that we were listening to was who he said he was there at the river front, right in front of us, so I said~'hey, he's got that guitar on his back maybe he's about to prove it." So, then the boys and I shamelessly followed Lynn and Dixie up to where the river gage runs and Nathan commenced to singing his beautiful tune about none other than The Delta Queen. It was such an honor to be there at the confluence of great art and history.

Fort Massac at the Encampment 2010

Boydom

Friday, October 15, 2010

my son on hail bails ~flying 
In my inbox I get these: Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week From: DharmaOcean@lists.shambhala.com
http://lists.shambhala.com/mailman/listinfo/dharmaocean

October 15, 2010

FEARLESSNESS AND JOY ARE TRULY YOURS

When a warrior king presents a gift,
It could be a naked flame, which consumes the jungle of ego,
Or an ice cold mountain range, which cools the heat of aggression.
On the other hand, it could be a parachute.
One wonders whether it will open or not.
There is a further choice—Thunderbolt:
Whether you are capable of holding it with your bare hand is up to you.
So, my heartfelt child, take these gifts and use them
In the way that past warriors have done.


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Joie de vivre


Joie de vivre
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman
Happy Happy Joy Joy...I love these Coming of Age Portraits...

Simple Beauty


Simple Beauty
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman
One of the beauties from my 'First Senior Portraits' set.

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Hope Collage


Finally, I have a new piece up at the Benton Working Artist's Gallery~{B-WAG)...It is mixed media collage made with authentic vintage materials, dragon fly body, feathers, and my photography...

Friday, June 4, 2010

‘An Evening of Performance’

‘An Evening of Performance’

Yay! First time I've been in the paper since Governor's Scholars...and the GS article is with it. Ha!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Photography~My First{ Indian}Wedding


The Harbringers of Spring


I took this in Land Between The Lakes for a Freelance Cover/piece I'm working on...This is the fave photo I've taken in a while. I feel peace and hope when I look at it=Making Peace...