Blog | Carol Wiebe ~Phantom Wings~

The Truth Is Rarely Pure

Jun 4, 2012
1 min

The Truth Is Rarely Pure

I make art like I live. I live artfully and create art that reflects my life. Art is at times my confessional, and sometimes a hallelujah chorus. It expresses my sorrow and my joy. At the altar of art, I lay down my fears and toss my exultations like rose petals. It teaches me about myself, and not always gently. However, I still consider it my salvation because it does not lie. It tells the truth, and I have to see it. Sooner or later. Confession In a controversy the instant

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A Passionate Exploration

May 9, 2012
1 min

A Passionate Exploration

I am teaching two classes this summer: Open Book for the Altered Ego at Wellington County Museum (see page 3 of the brochure) and Stitched Paper Explorations at Southampton Art School & Gallery. I am passionate about working with paper. Its marvellous capacity to accept any mark making method I throw at it (sometimes literally), every stitch I take through it, every cut, tear, and fold I put into it, never fails to excite and delight me. I want to share that excitement with y

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A Passionate Exploration

May 9, 2012
1 min

A Passionate Exploration

I am teaching two classes this summer: Open Book for the Altered Ego at Wellington County Museum (see page 3 of the brochure) and Stitched Paper Explorations at Southampton Art School & Gallery. I am passionate about working with paper. Its marvellous capacity to accept any mark making method I throw at it (sometimes literally), every stitch I take through it, every cut, tear, and fold I put into it, never fails to excite and delight me. I want to share that excitement with y

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Mar 19, 2012
1 min

Ideas That Keep Growing

There are some ideas that won’t leave you alone. They demand your attention, are always coming back even if you try to ignore them. And once they know you are thinking about them, they are unstoppable. There is no denying their growth. They fill your mind, your heart, they take over your life. If you haven’t had at least one of these kinds of ideas yet, hope and pray you will. It’s incredibly exciting to be part of an idea that takes on its own being and gets way bigger than

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Mar 6, 2012
1 min

When Your Spirit Wants to Wrestle

Maybe you are feeling as if your safety net has holes in it, and the fabric of your life is frayed beyond repair. Don’t settle for platitudes, or easy answers. Wait as long as it takes for understanding, for revelation to cast some light on your darkness. This is your time for digging deep, for tunnelling far beneath the level you were finding so comfortable. Your spirit wants to wrestle, so go ahead and fight. And if you fear you are fighting for your life, be assured that y

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Feb 9, 2012
2 min

Mary Oliver, Happier Than She’s Ever Been

I have loved the work of Mary Oliver for many years. Reading a poem by Oliver fills me, allows me to revel in a feeling so beautifully described that I can barely contain it within me. It wants to expand, grow, reach up to the moon, the stars. Barely Contained Oliver has always expressed her private nature, her solitary life, but recently I ran across this interview and was greatly surprised by how ebullient she was. I think my favorite question, posed by Maria Shriver, was “

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Sep 2, 2011
1 min

Playing Games

How do you get to a board game from a chorus of rusty legs? Well, perhaps the legs were “rusty” because they had not danced in a while. They were too busy playing games other than dancing (anyone for a round of double entendre?). Perhaps, life is a board game, and our purpose is to play as well as we can. Or at least to cross go (and stay out of jail). Our whole life is solving puzzles. …………~Erno Rubik Board Game 1 Board Game 2 #ErnoRubik #monopoly #jail #CWWOL20110902b #boar

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Jul 22, 2011
1 min

It Really Doesn’t Matter

It really doesn’t matter that the work I produce is not always profound and amazing and worthy of hanging in a gallery. What does matter is that I am doing it. I am learning how to make better art (closer to my vision) and constantly discovering what I have inside myself. That IS profound and amazing. Life is precious and short. What I choose to listen to, and do, is important. It determines what I am evolving into. This means, in my philosophy, that something about each and

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Jul 14, 2011
1 min

Faded Now or Just Discovering Another Kind of Beauty?

We are quick to mourn the “loss” of beauty. However, when we consider life to be a gift, a temporary gift, and can appreciate every stage of our lives, then there is no such thing as faded beauty, there is just the ever present now, in all its radiant glory. It is so sad that we often cannot appreciate the beauty, for instance, of a face that has lived long and achieved much, simply by living. Think Georgia O’Keefe: Think Liv Ullmann: Danny Miller said in 2006: Oh, how gratef

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Even a dead leaf has more life than styrofoam

Mar 25, 2011
1 min

Even a dead leaf has more life than styrofoam

This dry leaf curled into a cocoon like shape. Lying in an indentation in a piece of styrofoam, it stuck me that a dead leaf still has more life in it than the styrofoam. I have to admit that I like the webbed texture visible in the styrofoam, though. Dead leaf in styrofoam Inverting the color results in a version that looks somewhat like an x-ray. X-ray of dead leaf in styrofoam I really like the black and white version of this image: Dead leaf in styrofoam: b&w Copy, flip,

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As easy as falling off a log

Mar 22, 2011
1 min

As easy as falling off a log

Last night I tried a number of times to write a post, but WordPress was having difficulties and I couldn’t access my blogs. That is a first in my experience. Therefore, I am writing this on Wednesday morning and setting the date for yesterday. I also made a backup of my blogs (Tools, Export, Download export file to the folder of your choice). I have been much smarter with Carol Wiebe Wonders Out Loud than I was with Silverspring Studio (where I cut my blog teeth) in that I ha

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Stilled Life

Incubation and the Art Process

Dec 12, 2008
2 min

Incubation and the Art Process

I have an insightful friend/artist, who asked me a very pertinent question about the poetry I write. Let me tell you that when discussing things with her, you had better be prepared for razor sharp penetration to the heart of an issue. It is one of the things I love about her. I had mentioned that I wasn’t writing much anymore, because I was so focused on quilt making. Here was her question/statement: “Surely the contemplative nature of its incubation could be a productive pa

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Life, Passion, and Paint

Nov 30, 2008
2 min

Life, Passion, and Paint

I became quite intrigued by a book recommended by Kathryn Kendrick, titled Life, Paint and Passion by Michell Cassou and Stewart Cubley. I bought a copy for myself, and so far have not been disappointed. In her post, Kathryn was eagerly anticipating a workshop on the method this book is based on, at Esalen! I have heard of Esalen, off and on, for many years. It’s one of those “mythical” (mystical?) places that just keeps coming up: it is mentioned in books, I find references

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Repurposed Art

Sep 22, 2008
1 min

Repurposed Art

Cyndi Lavin asked a question this morning on her blog Layers upon Layers (Now BlissTree): Do you spend time shooting elements for later use too? I had to leave a comment, which went like this: Oh my, YES! I can hardly take “ordinary” pictures any more. I’m always thinking of line, texture, shape, colour for future artwork. And like Christy (whose work I really like, by the way), I take pictures of my own work in various stages to also use in future work. It’s like the mirror

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Life wants to be juicy

Sep 13, 2008
2 min

Life wants to be juicy

“Sometimes the world speaks to us unbidden, if we have the ears to hear it.” I heard that line on a show called Recreating Eden, on July 30, 2008. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the name of the person to attribute it to. But I agree with the gist: it’s all about surprise, being open to surprise and joy, cultivating a willingness to experience them, fully. I am always listening for the messages that the world, or life, is speaking. I will not pretend that I receive full blown

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