Saturday, July 30, 2016

Rug, Phase 1--DONE

Just in time, as the next big heatwave is supposed to start tomorrow!  I will be planning/drawing Phase 2, but no way am I hooking until it cools off here.

 

Thursday, July 21, 2016

First in a long time

I have been drawing/sketching/painting since I was 10  (long, LONG time ago!)  Over the years, I got into many other things, and this ability just sat there and quietly waited for me to come back.

When I decided to come back to it, I first needed my model/muse--then she arrived.  Then Amazon had Prime Day, and I treated myself to glorious new art materials, some of which I never knew existed!  This is 11" by 14", done in watercolor pencils and inks.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

My Muse has Arrived!

For quite a while now, I have been searching for a "model" for my drawing and painting, which I have decided to get back into.  She had to have certain qualifications--I needed her to be very posable, and able to hold those poses--I didn't want some "cover girl",  I wanted her to be slightly "other worldly", maybe a bit Goth, have a certain haunting quality to her looks--not be necessarily beautiful, so much as interesting.
So, yes, all of this is a tall order, and not easy to find. But find her I did!  Meet Ember, who came all the way from Russia to be my model.




 

Friday, July 15, 2016

Almost!




One corner left to do!  Hopefully will be ready for the binding/finishing on Sunday, it is so big and heavy, I need Wade to help hold it while I am machine sewing the binding to the edges.
While I am planning "phase 2", I am in no rush to draw it and start working--supposed to get super hot, and I need a break, so I will work on something else.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

And--VALIDATION


ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota's largest labor union serving law enforcement across the state is calling Governor Dayton's recent comments following the shooting death of Philando Castile "unthinkable and irresponsible," and "reckless."
On Sunday, Sean Gormley, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services, released the following statement:
Last week’s tragic shootings in Dallas, Falcon Heights, Minn. and Baton Rouge have tested our emotions, our faith and our resolve as a community and a nation. Difficult issues are justifiably being confronted and tensions are running high.
Thorough and impartial investigations of these incidents are essential to ensure and preserve the public trust in law enforcement. Indeed, the families and loved ones personally affected by these tragedies deserve no less.
However, the fact that Governor Dayton would disregard this investigatory process and use the power of his office to share a premature and unsupported conclusion about the shooting of Mr. Castile just hours after his death is unthinkable and irresponsible.
Further, in light of the fatal shootings of five Dallas police officers later the same day, amid heightened tensions across the entire nation, the governor’s comments could also be viewed as reckless.
As members of law enforcement, we understand there will always be questions when officers discharge their weapons and lives are lost. We acknowledge the anger and the demand for answers that these incidents can trigger.
As we all mourn the lives lost in these tragedies and seek a thoughtful dialogue on issues of race and law enforcement practices, the governor has unfortunately already chosen sides and cast judgment on all cops.
Police officers have a duty to protect and to serve all—including those who dislike or distrust cops. The governor’s comments have only deepened the divide between these groups and made our jobs more difficult and more dangerous.

We expect a great deal more from the holder of the highest office in the state of Minnesota.

HEY DAYTON--are you happy NOW???


Mayor Chris Coleman and St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell held a news conference regarding overnight protests Sunday morning.
"This has been a very, very long evening and early morning for the city of St. Paul," said Coleman. "Unfortunately last night, some of the individuals who gathered at the Governor's residence, decided to go from peaceful protest and exercise of the First Amendment rights, to rioting."
There were 21 St. Paul police officers who were injured in the overnight protests.
Chief Axtell spoke following Mayor Coleman.
"Last night, really was the first time in my 28 years as a police officer, that I had observed the level of violence that was directed towards public servants," said Axtell. "It's really a disgrace. Protesters last night turned into criminals. I'm absolutely disgusted by the actions of some. We will not tolerate it."
Meanwhile, six Minnesota State Patrol troopers were injured during the incident.
"Those troopers and officers went right into harm's way and it was very difficult to watch and make decisions to put them in harm's way knowing they were being pelted, assaulted and thrown (at) with rocks, rebar and otehr items," said Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer.
A total of 102 people were arrested during a protest that shut down parts of Interstate 94 in St. Paul Saturday night in response to the shooting death of Philando Castile.
Crews cleaned debris off the road as crowds started leaving I-94 after over four hours of protesting and headed toward the governor's residence, where the protest originally began Saturday afternoon.
Around 9 p.m. Saint Paul Police Department officers negotiated with protesters to make "symbolic arrests." The protest remained peaceful until about 9:30 p.m. At one point as the protest turned violent, children were removed from I-94 for safety measures.
Protesters began throwing objects, including fireworks, rebar, bricks and a molotov cocktail at officers, according to the St. Paul Police Department. There were 21 police officers injured from thrown objects, including a hit to the head from a 25 pound item.
St. Paul Police Department officers started using glass balls with smoke and marking rounds on aggressors. Protesters later covered their noses and mouths after a different form of gas was released.
Police officers warned protesters it was an unlawful assembly and crowd and would be arrested if they did not disperse.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

This was NOT about RACE!

I am sure that by now, most everyone has heard about a Minnesota policeman who killed an innocent man.  

I have seen the videos.  I have heard the statements.  This was, in my opinion, murder.  Murder by a trigger happy, scared, poorly trained policeman. When Philandro Castile told the police officer that he was carrying a gun, and had a license to carry it, the RIGHT thing for the cop to have done was say--

"Put your hands where I can see them, and slowly exit the vehicle."

At this point, Castile could have been handcuffed--for the officers safety--and patted down to find the gun.

This is what SHOULD have happened, and tonight an innocent man would not be dead.

Yes, it is horrible.  But then, what do we hear?  Our IDIOT GOVERNOR DAYTON publicly stating that Castile would not have been shot if he had been white.

Dayton, just where the hell do you get off making such an incredibly asinine statement???   WHY would you bring race into this?  ANYONE who had been sitting in that seat would have been shot by this cop, because he was going to shoot first and ask questions later.  This was NOT about color, but by publicly saying it was, you have dropped a match into a fire that has been on simmer for many months.  You had no right to make such an assumption and make it sound like fact, when it is just your pathetic attempt  to make yourself look good to the black community.  You are a stupid, stupid man. This careless statement could be the catalyst for violence, riots, officers being targeted, all kinds of bad things.  Guess whose shoulders this will all be on? Hint--the name sounds like Gov Dayton.

I have said it before, I say it still--
Men in denim built this land-----
Men in suits destroyed it.