Fashioning My Cyber Microcosm: A Secret Code Carved.

The past week was a strange mixture of elation and a touch of melancholy; I spent the last 10 days accompanying my husband on one of his training workshops out of town which was held in Phoenix AZ, in an attempt to allow myself to "get out more" for the new year. I was listening obsessively to Pagan Poetry by Björk that it turned into my unofficial theme song.

I took the opportunity to plan the weekend with one of my friends I met while living in Holbrook; we packed as much into the weekend as humanly possible-- we took a tour at Taliesin West, watched a piano duel, tasted a cheese platter, went to the zoo, rode a camel, fed giraffes, experienced a "4D" theater, shopped at the mall, and I tasted sushi for the very first time. Actually, there were a lot of firsts this past weekend, now that I think about it... You see how tiny the rock I lived under was? It gets even smaller, trust me.

The spider rolls were my favorite

That's right, up until the past weekend I had never tasted sushi or anything like it at all. To be frank, the idea of sushi sounded repulsive-- raw fish? Kinda crazy, I thought. However, seeing as I am forcing myself out of the proverbial box, I said to hell with regression.
I have never been so totally wrong about something in my entire life; it was, without a shadow of a doubt, the single most exquisite dining experience I have ever had. The explosion of flavors and sensations were borderline intoxicating.
And I used chopsticks... awkward, but certainly new and refreshing for me!
It's funny to have such an experience in a place that was slightly commercial, heh. Regardless, I certainly can't wait for the next time I have sushi again!

At the zoo, I took the opportunity to get up and close to the large animals; again, up until that point I have never even seen a horse up close.

So, they were offering camel rides... I heard the familiar voice that told me that they're all dangerous, and that's why I've never tried going up to animals unless there was several hundred feet or reinforced glass between us. I ignored that voice again and rode the camel. It was surreal.

The giraffes were ready for snack time, so we did that too; I would have never guessed that a giraffe's tongue is almost dry-ish and spiky, like a cats. I was guessing it was more similar to a dogs, slobbery and slimy. It took several snacks to get a few good shots because it kept nabbing it from my hands rather quickly, hah-- what a tongue!

After the weekend with my friend, I settled into the next hotel with my husband and that is when I found out Bowie had past; it set a rather melancholy mood for the next couple days, as he was an inspiration to us all. I stewed a bit in that gloom and grabbed my sketch pad, and began to draw...

There are few things that inspire art like loss does... it sounds like such a cruel reality. I'd like to think it is through the creation of art after loss that we as artists carry the memory of those we respected and appreciated during their life.
In one of his last videos, Blackstar, there was a scene of the floating headless skeleton drifting towards an eclipsed star-- I kept thinking, and thinking about it after the news.

I don't know why I decided to reattach the head... I simply felt like I needed to after the news. Progress stopped Wednesday after deciding I needed to give it an india ink and watercolor wash for the background, while adding the finishing touch to it-- all which required masking fluid, which I didn't/don't have a designated brush for yet...
I do have plans to finally go shopping for more supplies tomorrow-- I'll need it all for the watercolor class I signed up for coming up the week after next, heh.

There is definitive change coming in 2016, and it is felt indirectly through the passing of some of our greatest and most beloved icons. Though is saddens me to see them go under the nemesis cancer, it is a reminder to continue living life with little apprehension, and a surplus of passion. Death doesn't care about tomorrow's and some other times.