tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13428609705904909682024-03-28T05:35:00.916-07:00Moti BlackCaroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-57992492875869902512024-03-07T14:11:00.000-08:002024-03-27T07:52:36.139-07:00The Casa Martyrs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21LHGhQO6u50ZFV0aNi3GtOJSTwFJPTCOC7D3nOkwNmpLN3mMxUiIhklsDtYtQ549XYuOe8U4Ee_09ani_wqLJTaB43MhsipD0NJGzflEF9-fmnt0eZDgoSeH4HPctVL759A9HL2PwaxSwp83yyCNem5hBzFKJiIySdBaZL5SebEQzpeFqR9x1hLK4AyU/s2560/AUG%202023%20Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A book cover. The image is a bust of a woman's head with a red fantasy landscape with a tall dark blue mountain and a red sky with white clouds. The Text reads: The Casa Martyrs. Moti Black. Book One of the Blazing Court Trilogy." border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21LHGhQO6u50ZFV0aNi3GtOJSTwFJPTCOC7D3nOkwNmpLN3mMxUiIhklsDtYtQ549XYuOe8U4Ee_09ani_wqLJTaB43MhsipD0NJGzflEF9-fmnt0eZDgoSeH4HPctVL759A9HL2PwaxSwp83yyCNem5hBzFKJiIySdBaZL5SebEQzpeFqR9x1hLK4AyU/w250-h400/AUG%202023%20Cover.jpg" title="Book Cover: The Casa Martyrs" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Out now on kindle, paperback, and hardback in the Amazon store</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CNZQ8418" target="_blank">UK</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNZQ8418" target="_blank">US</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CNZQ8418" target="_blank">Canada</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CNZQ8418" target="_blank">Australia</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">I present to you The Casa Martyrs! The first book of The Blazing Court trilogy. </h2><div>The Casa Martyrs is a contemporary low fantasy adventure with an authentic Autistic female protagonist (25 y/o) recovering from sexual abuse and living with cPTSD. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyTu-JB6D7tv9vTwXVr-3DWAY1WODWywCZX-2XFmbqtb3YSQ8mbqOP8leBOZHidjfC9ELNLLy9YdQblOrlp1s3PjKaNV2ZzbjvJ6wRIhWW5SOk04IxcLqZKodVUS_l3dW9KNYjK750gHDNN1QIn4e9MUvnn6EHK8RdXyVUO0nS9ToAQQFVnrk-fI2iLnj/s2000/Small%20WM%20Grey%20Head.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A shape of a woman's head filled with a grey image of a tall mountain, clouds in the sky, and desert like landscape." border="0" data-original-height="1996" data-original-width="2000" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyTu-JB6D7tv9vTwXVr-3DWAY1WODWywCZX-2XFmbqtb3YSQ8mbqOP8leBOZHidjfC9ELNLLy9YdQblOrlp1s3PjKaNV2ZzbjvJ6wRIhWW5SOk04IxcLqZKodVUS_l3dW9KNYjK750gHDNN1QIn4e9MUvnn6EHK8RdXyVUO0nS9ToAQQFVnrk-fI2iLnj/w200-h199/Small%20WM%20Grey%20Head.png" title="Casa Martyr's Bust" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">How far would you go to protect your home?</h2><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: right;">And is the devil willing to go further? </h2><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Kerella has her own fantasy world where the rulers of the afterlife can’t be trusted, librarians are rewriting history, and mathematicians eat babies. Her father is the devil, and she’s on the run from an arranged marriage.</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br />In the real world, ‘The Casa Martyrs’ needs to win a charity Battle of the Bands to save the local community centre, and Kerella is their new keyboardist.</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br />Wrapped up in her imagination, she decides the guitarist is her ‘soul mate’ helping her escape the clutches of her intended suitor, and the bassist is the devil. </h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br />When she realises her stories are putting her sanity and victory at the battle of the bands at risk, she takes action to burn her fantasy world down. By doing so, she’s putting her ‘soul mate’s’ life in danger, delivering herself back into an arranged marriage, and making the most humiliating mistake of her life. </h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br />But it’s not like her fantasy world is real…</h3><div><br /></div><div>If you like a companion document with your books, there's a Casa Martyrs Glossary PDF which can be downloaded <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_FxO5-6tdnNnqCCX9Sq5wwkMJcUe7jwu/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>. (A smaller version is also included in the paperback version of the book.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;">Merchandise for The Casa Martyrs is available on the Moti Black RedBubble Store</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6obAr3ICllG6Og3Z4vdWuvPeMGiPEQ6lwjINyehoQRzBYpS9_Qjq4ASFFk4BIOOXR8Shb3gsw9oL18xykyEHYJjtbjH6hsWJwR_hFzeo2VApqC0E5bmJuBR_vLUbbHxBdVYk16A2sD7FJFsNfz7KyZiOOK-fYZfowtlo7TKhEbHLRNUFukCHEilj0RP-G/s1000/ssrco,tote,cotton,canvas_creme,flatlay,square,1000x1000-bg,f8f8f8.1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The shape of a woman's head on a cloth bag" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6obAr3ICllG6Og3Z4vdWuvPeMGiPEQ6lwjINyehoQRzBYpS9_Qjq4ASFFk4BIOOXR8Shb3gsw9oL18xykyEHYJjtbjH6hsWJwR_hFzeo2VApqC0E5bmJuBR_vLUbbHxBdVYk16A2sD7FJFsNfz7KyZiOOK-fYZfowtlo7TKhEbHLRNUFukCHEilj0RP-G/w200-h200/ssrco,tote,cotton,canvas_creme,flatlay,square,1000x1000-bg,f8f8f8.1.jpg" title="Cloth Tote" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtD1Sgm-5EX9Dws4fKXHmRQFvlRH22jPI0h6TVaZ1tL9dJCb1RDHJ0wjo_6q2UV1CmJjIxbRO6B9NZukizhemroV3Y55-ZFPUbYmJ4QWVRotj54QqXgR0o_1ZRItr1N2Zrvw8z58qxa3d1r8NL6sayKhyphenhyphenSL3qs0CMwuUkajqsZBerPQNp05KqF8YWN5JT1/s1000/mug,standard,x1000,right-pad,1000x1000,f8f8f8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The shape of a woman's head on a mug." border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtD1Sgm-5EX9Dws4fKXHmRQFvlRH22jPI0h6TVaZ1tL9dJCb1RDHJ0wjo_6q2UV1CmJjIxbRO6B9NZukizhemroV3Y55-ZFPUbYmJ4QWVRotj54QqXgR0o_1ZRItr1N2Zrvw8z58qxa3d1r8NL6sayKhyphenhyphenSL3qs0CMwuUkajqsZBerPQNp05KqF8YWN5JT1/w200-h200/mug,standard,x1000,right-pad,1000x1000,f8f8f8.jpg" title="The Casa Martyrs mug" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBtx34v04VW4o6yJZL1xR7RsNR6b4BhGxrGP3Wm0FLa54aSZx1w3ErXdoGkrqEGP9Kz868IuYfH38tyX2zsASydNZOr8vnis4CIdprqhKZq_CtOtHlSXpmK8uXTlm5xliZD-lg9yuWfuWYjhDFAh6_nCUvnU22k_VwGJPbiuPr5vAd65d_uXHU-bSjQS6/s1000/throwpillow,small,1000x-bg,f8f8f8-c,0,200,1000,1000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A shape of a woman's head on a cushion cover" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="999" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBtx34v04VW4o6yJZL1xR7RsNR6b4BhGxrGP3Wm0FLa54aSZx1w3ErXdoGkrqEGP9Kz868IuYfH38tyX2zsASydNZOr8vnis4CIdprqhKZq_CtOtHlSXpmK8uXTlm5xliZD-lg9yuWfuWYjhDFAh6_nCUvnU22k_VwGJPbiuPr5vAd65d_uXHU-bSjQS6/w200-h200/throwpillow,small,1000x-bg,f8f8f8-c,0,200,1000,1000.jpg" title="The Casa Martyrs Cushion" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbF6kyH7cVsIoMipDBuc6CvTv-AkpKDirgB6wWNT0WI3xHC1fPvqUOr_MMVCgE9MUg8Pd9oxX7mTIoKOaSEZBy8gyMsv8aIRjInKAFYq8pAByf2_WKzwKQKKSMFUMjT8vL6Us53OPZ3bL_WxwhEM7WClViH62csiNIrbG0SF_2cf6MrGnisrMcgLgIDK3B/s1000/ur,pin_large_front,square,1000x1000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The shape of a woman's head on a badge." border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbF6kyH7cVsIoMipDBuc6CvTv-AkpKDirgB6wWNT0WI3xHC1fPvqUOr_MMVCgE9MUg8Pd9oxX7mTIoKOaSEZBy8gyMsv8aIRjInKAFYq8pAByf2_WKzwKQKKSMFUMjT8vL6Us53OPZ3bL_WxwhEM7WClViH62csiNIrbG0SF_2cf6MrGnisrMcgLgIDK3B/w200-h200/ur,pin_large_front,square,1000x1000.jpg" title="The Casa Martyrs Badge" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/shop?artistUserName=MotiBlack&collections=3716037&iaCode=all-departments&sortOrder=relevant" target="_blank">The Casa Martyrs Collection</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/MotiBlack/shop?asc=u&ref=account-nav-dropdown" target="_blank">The Moti Black RedBubble Store Front</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>All writing and artwork is the work of Moti Black and totally AI free.<div><br /></div><div><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;">My favourite reviews from Amazon:</h2><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Review by Poppy:</b></h4><p>The Casa Martyrs by Moti Black is an absolute masterpiece! With a revolutionary perspective that has impacted my life for the better. I’ve never related to a character the way that I have related to the main character, Kerella.</p><p>Being an autistic person myself, I related to so many things about Kerella. The way people treated her. The way she thinks, talks, acts. Relating to her love of music, tarot, art, and love of history was an absolute bonus! Experiencing this kind of representation had me in tears on multiple occasions. Her last song. Wow, just wow! Chills. Chills. Chills.</p><p>I’ve always been interested in spirituality and the occult, so I loved the Kaetian world, themes of reincarnation, and the different realms featured in this story. I feel as though I learned many valuable lessons. How to be more confident and kind to myself is one that comes to mind. Kerella is so damn cool. Maybe I am too!</p><div><b><br /></b></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Review by Weird Book Girl:</b></h4><div><p>I need the second book out, like, yesterday! I adore it and am waaay too invested in certain characters!</p><p>So, THE CASA MARTYRS is a contemporary low fantasy novel, the first part of a trilogy titled The Blazing Court. It revolves around Kerella, an autistic young woman with a difficult past and cPTSD, living somewhere in a British coastal village.</p><p>What I absolutely adore about the book, along with the beautiful prose, is the very realistic representation of an autistic person with cPTSD. The author didn’t shy away from showing what rock bottom looks like, and how society’s ignorance and treatment of broken people doesn’t help at all. Kerella’s sometimes seemingly irrational behaviour is typical to many neurodivergent people, and provides the reader with a sneak peek into what it is like to be different, opening the window for learning, dialogue, and empathy.</p><p>The story follows Kerella as she starts to build her adult life from the rubble of her childhood, finds new friends, new meaning, and falls in love with someone who is seemingly meant to be hers.</p><p>But life isn’t simple with so much baggage. Things go horribly wrong, she loses everything, and she’s forced to find herself and learn to stand her ground, once and for all.</p><p>Oh, and she might be the main deity of a civilisation in a different dimension, holding the world’s fate in her hands. Or she might just be slowly losing her grip on reality. Only one way to find out!</p><p><br /></p></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Review by S Paul:</b></h4><p>Vivid characters and surprising plot twists make The Casa Martyrs a bonafide page-turner!</p><p>The narrative artfully spans two worlds that each, in their own way, show what it takes to connect with others in a world fraught with unseen dangers.</p><p>It's both an incisive look at what it means to be autistic and always on the edge of social groups, and also a universal exploration of love, loss... and hope.</p><p>Am looking forward to the next installment!!</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv-uiGwvZB0l0sYrtuhl1cXcnD-XXnb7xYxWdFBk5Ivp0GUuyomcFbiSTTqO8F-yj8NN7EsbfJrf2naSKTNayafIyn-E_iApdaIEqQaEvmfAMe9qs7ueHLgx2snwQ-eY47Xmzc2yQlHR1WaKDAPgAxtp3eeXMy8BpNqn1cK2oPkyNw3HXBqvv1LPCQXNO/s1566/Mountain%20Small%20WM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A painting of a tall blue mountain with three twisted turrets at the top" border="0" data-original-height="1566" data-original-width="1500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv-uiGwvZB0l0sYrtuhl1cXcnD-XXnb7xYxWdFBk5Ivp0GUuyomcFbiSTTqO8F-yj8NN7EsbfJrf2naSKTNayafIyn-E_iApdaIEqQaEvmfAMe9qs7ueHLgx2snwQ-eY47Xmzc2yQlHR1WaKDAPgAxtp3eeXMy8BpNqn1cK2oPkyNw3HXBqvv1LPCQXNO/w192-h200/Mountain%20Small%20WM.png" title="The Black Mountain from The Casa Martyrs" width="192" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-1155216116122006292023-06-19T13:33:00.002-07:002023-06-19T13:38:15.778-07:00The Odd Bods and Death Husk<p>By Moti Black</p><p>The first version of this story was a runner up in the Cymera 2021 short fiction competition.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56---FHSG41ExUTGZ6g3fKQimu9c8hdDYbY1gBpZQQVCz9Pm5k2BAs1vIDDYJoJDGmvga-yzVxG2gWTjB7BnRb-FRv9pq4znxJahJWUFgQUbX9rvr-ietMcl-G72R8TVxPVyi2FLmBATiX8RhC1EON0ghMorV0It42s-8goIt9N9FWP3EsX1Ao247IuiD/s700/WM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A cartoon ant made up of green olives." border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="700" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56---FHSG41ExUTGZ6g3fKQimu9c8hdDYbY1gBpZQQVCz9Pm5k2BAs1vIDDYJoJDGmvga-yzVxG2gWTjB7BnRb-FRv9pq4znxJahJWUFgQUbX9rvr-ietMcl-G72R8TVxPVyi2FLmBATiX8RhC1EON0ghMorV0It42s-8goIt9N9FWP3EsX1Ao247IuiD/w320-h171/WM.png" title="Olive Ant" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Temporary Art work until I draw some more bugs!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Olive Ant can be found on my RedBubble shop <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/94929129" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><p><br /></p><p>It has been over three months since the last reported case of Death Husk, the bacterial infection which starts as a minor belly ache and, within two weeks, reduces the body to a desiccated pile of chitinous membrane. </p><p>Our offspring had not long left home for the glamour of the Central Colony when the Information Dissemination Network (IDN) carried news of the first deaths there. Shortly after, most of the bugs in that colony had died, and those who survived perished in the purifying fires that followed. </p><p>Five of us mourned our six beautiful children. </p><p>Keh-tuh and Keh-kah, who worked in the infirmary, said that even a remote colony like ours would be lucky to make it through with half of us still alive. </p><p>Teh-teh and Keh-ti, who worked with larvae in the nursery, said that maybe death would be a blessing.</p><p>They were right.</p><p>The last thing each of them did before they died was to crawl into their own self-dug graves at the bottom of our garden and wait for death. The next day, officials in protective suits came to spray their remains, and cold machines dumped soil over their bodies. </p><p>I had to watch from the window, not even allowed to set foot in my own garden to say goodbye, as the four bugs I loved most disappeared into the earth. </p><p>At least there were only four occupied graves in our garden, not ten, and I didn’t have to watch our children shrivel up and die. I could pretend their deaths weren’t real, that they were still out there somewhere: immortal and exploring the world. </p><p>At the thought of my own little Tah-teh-keh, my legs buckle, and I skitter to the floor. </p><p>Tah-teh-keh always wanted to travel, visit far off colonies, get away from our parochial hub and the stigma she faced from our unconventional family life.</p><p>And now she is free.</p><p>Through the thin clay walls, I hear the family next door cheering. I guess a household which still has a garden full of empty graves has a lot to celebrate.</p><p>The shuffling sound of something being pushed under my door forces me to stir myself from my lethargy and retrieve the correspondence. </p><p>It’s a small card bearing the IDN logo. </p><p>“Quarantine lifted”</p><p>The sensation of being outside runs through me: the breeze against my skin; licking the nectar out of the blue flowers that grow by the pond; rolling around the grass with Tah-teh-keh when she was still a little grub; watching the sun’s rays bring out the blue sheen in Ke-tuh’s exoskeleton, the amber glow of Keh-ti and Teh-teh and the red tint of Keh-kah… </p><p>And I’m back to the present, the fleeting memory of pleasure making my grief all the more painful. I used to wish Tah-teh-keh would grow up to shine the same blue as her father; I’m such a dull brown colour. Now I just wish she’d had the chance to grow up.</p><p>I pry open the back door, which has not been opened since Keh-ti left six months ago; but I can’t go into the garden and return to my old life. </p><p>There is no life to return to. </p><p>I used to tend an abundant garden, collecting small flies and tasty foliage to feed my family. Now I only have myself to feed, and I have no appetite.</p><p>I sit on the hard clay floor, staring through the open door at the untamed chaos of colour and foliage that grew rampant during my housebound year. The old me would have loved it, but the new me has four heaps of dirt and one empty grave at the bottom of the garden. </p><p>I know that when I cross that threshold, my family will be gone, and I’ll be alone facing a future I do not want.</p><p>I try to think of food. Something to lure myself through that portal. Maybe the flies that swarm around those yellow coneflowers. I never really liked them, they were too sweet, but Tah-teh-keh loved them, so I always made sure the yellow coneflowers thrived. </p><p>Over the last year, I’ve only eaten the expensive, tasteless, chemical packed, unethically sourced IDN rations which were delivered to the doorstep once a week. Each month, the credits were deducted from the household account, even though we had no choice. We couldn’t go out and collect our own food, choose suppliers, or even the food which was delivered.</p><p>Our health suffered and we went into debt. </p><p>I can no longer remember what a fresh fly tastes like or recall the sensation of gnawing on a leaf right off the plant. </p><p>I could experience all that right now if I could just get up and walk through the door.</p><p>Maybe I’ll go mainstream and eat the IDN junk like everyone else. Now I’m on my own, living authentically is a lot scarier. I was never the strong one, and if I act like the other bugs, I might find a job, pay off the debts of my dead spouses, and find acceptance into a conventional family.</p><p>It’s not a future that appeals, but it’s a future that’s livable.</p><p>Why did I survive? </p><p>Next door spill out into their garden, the adults talking loudly, the children screaming and laughing. </p><p>Over the last year, I’ve heard them far more than I care to have done.</p><p>After Keh-kah dragged herself from the house into her grave on that horrendous night, I lay in bed and could hear the pompous Huh-kah-keh through the walls. </p><p>“What did they expect when they live like that? Of course the Death Husk will take them! Bloody odd bods, bringing the neighbourhood down.” </p><p>I inhaled sharply at the slur, and lifted my leg to bang on the wall, but Teh-teh gently pulled me back to the bed. </p><p>“She worked in the infirmary, that’s why she caught Death Husk.” I sobbed into their amber chitin. “Huh-kah-keh can work from home, so can all of his family with their cushy IDN jobs. Keh-kah’s death has got nothing to do with how we live.”</p><p>The stridulating sound of Teh-teh’s legs rubbing together calmed me.</p><p>A sound that is lost to the air.</p><p>I rub my legs together, but my sound was never as beautiful as Teh-teh’s.</p><p>Maybe Huh-kah-keh was right. Why else is my entire family gone, and he’s still sitting high with his family intact. </p><p>His voice booms through the air. “We’ll strip all this back and pack it with clay. After this year, I never want to see another weed in this garden. We don’t want people thinking we’re like those freaks that used to live next door.”</p><p>The six adults chatter about their next holiday and the kids play fractiously. Before long, the novelty of being outside wears off, and they return inside. </p><p>My garden is empty of all sounds except the whispers of ghosts.</p><p>I see Keh-kah dragging herself out to her grave. Halfway across the lawn, she stands up and starts dancing the way she used to. Teh-teh rubs their legs together, Keh-ti sings, and Keh-tuh beats his legs on the ground.</p><p>I pull myself to my feet, and move forward to join in with the percussion, but trip as I step over the doorframe.</p><p>And they’re gone.</p><p>I walk out onto the overgrown lawn and throw myself down.</p><p>I think about Keh-tuh and Keh-kah, who worked so hard and cared so deeply for those who were ill, and the work Teh-teh and Keh-ti did, shaping the formative years of our young grubs. Why do their lives mean so little to our world, when the likes of Huh-kah-keh, whose IDN job consists of ‘shaping’ information into ‘official versions’, are considered so valuable? </p><p>In the safety of our home, we called the IDN the ‘Dis-information Network’, but far too many believe their lies. </p><p>I know that the bacteria that killed my family infected them because they went out and helped people, despite the risks. But the official record will say they died because we lived as a family with an odd number of adults. </p><p>And part of me believes it, as Death Husk has sapped my strength to have faith in myself.</p><p>I hear Huh-kah-keh’s voice echoing through the walls and my head. “Why do they insist on forcing us to think about their sleeping arrangements? How difficult is it to add someone to their household? They have to wave it in our faces! Do they all sleep in one chamber, or is it three in one and two in the other? A good bug doesn’t need this distraction!”</p><p>I move my legs through the long grass. I like the garden this way. I snap a fly out of the air and enjoy my first organic snack in over a year. </p><p>So, do I conform? Or do I seek what comes naturally, falling in love with those I am drawn to? Whether that be an even number of bugs, or an odd number.</p><p>Shakily, I get to my feet. I know a third option: the best option for an exhausted odd bod like me. Too old to make an impact; too tired to go on.</p><p>I walk to the bottom of the garden and stand by the four full graves and my empty pit. The last time I stood here was when quarantine was announced. We all had to dig our own graves ‘just in case’, then retreat inside and let Death Husk take its course. </p><p>I climb down into my grave and lie down. I’ll stay here until starvation takes me to join my family. I close my eyes and listen to my ghosts.</p><p>“Ka-ka-keck, we love you… Mamma… Ka-ka-keck… Mamma…”</p><p>I hear Tah-teh-keh’s voice so clearly. She’s calling me. </p><p>“Mamma!” Tah-teh-keh jumps on top of me, rubbing her antennas against mine. “Don’t scare me like that! I thought you were dead!”</p><p>“But you are.” I say without opening my eyes. She has come to get me.</p><p>“No, I’m not! I met up with some friends and we went to the coast instead of the Central Colony. I survived Mamma, I survived!”</p><p>I sit up slowly and she hops back out of my grave.</p><p>I look at her juvenile face. She’s still a nymph, a few sheds away from her adult form, but it is my Tah-teh-keh, slowly turning a mottled blue like her father.</p><p>“You came home.” I say to her.</p><p>“I’ve come to take you away from here.”</p><p>“But I can’t leave my garden, my flowers.”</p><p>“Mamma, we have to leave. There’s nothing left for us here. And the bugs out there don’t care if we live in a household of four, five, six or even eleven.”</p><p>“But you like the flies on these flowers.” I say, dragging my aching limbs out of my grave and limping over to the patch of yellow coneflowers.</p><p>“Mamma, flowers grow everywhere; prejudice only roots where people let it, and this place has watered those weeds for too long.”</p><p>“You are young and idealistic. It’s the same everywhere; you just don’t see it when you’re hopping past on your travels.”</p><p>“No, Mamma. There are whole colonies that reject prejudice and fight against the Dis-Information Network. Whilst we’ve been locked down, the DIN has grown stronger. Now we have to fight back. I believe I survived for a reason, and I will make the world a better place before they put me in the ground. Will you come with me and help me build a better future?”</p><p>I’m old and weary, but when I look at her, I know. </p><p>There is only one option.</p><p>“I will come with you. I will tell the world about those we lost. I will keep them alive and show people that we may love differently to them, but that is the only difference. Maybe then future generations will grow up in a better world.” </p><p>She reaches her pretarsus out for mine and leads me out of the garden. </p><p>We leave the past behind us, but never forget those we loved.</p><div><br /></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">© Copyright Moti Black</span></div>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-33439930599949740592023-05-19T11:06:00.006-07:002023-08-29T12:32:32.126-07:00Me. Me. Meme.<p>By Moti Black</p><p>I stumble into the bathroom, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I drop my hands down heavily on the basin and stare at my face in the mirror. </p><p>I never used to look at myself in the mirror. I don’t have that kind of face. I used to tell myself that it was okay that my appearance was jarring, because I had personality. I was a character. But then the way I looked made me famous, and now I have to stare into my bulging eyes every day, meticulously maintain the product everyone is using to sell the latest trend, to laugh, to entertain, to click. Click. Click. CLICK.</p><p>#ShyBookGirl loved me before all the craziness. #ShyBookGirl loved my character. Now she is gone, and here am I drawing lines over myself to please the masses.</p><p>And I am rich. I am so goddamn rich. With lines as faded as my soul.</p><p>I yawn deeply and shake my head. </p><p>I pick up the eraser and clean my face. Then I use the ink pen to bring my brand back into line. The ink goes on smooth and even. I didn’t always have such good pens; when I let myself get run down, I can see the wobbly biro lines of my birth, the jumping, staccato lines, the place on my right arm where the ink stopped flowing and my creator dug the nib in and scribbled until a blotchy line joined up with my neck. I don’t have eyelashes, but every morning I draw three vertical lines on each upper lid, framing my eyes ready for my trademarked ‘crazy pop’.</p><p>I am ready. I look exactly the way I looked yesterday, and I will look like this tomorrow.</p><p>I call for a taxi, slip on my large sunglasses, and head down to the street to wait. </p><p>As I stand in the street, strangers scream at me. </p><p>“Bored!”</p><p>“Yo! Behbeh! I’m BORED!”</p><p>“Go crazy for us, bitch!”</p><p>Cameras flash in my face, and I stare at my phone as the crowd gathers. </p><p>I check my Me.Me. profile. The platform rates all its users according to their popularity. I have climbed to 4,567/253,467,679. Not quite the target my manager had set for me, but close enough that she’ll be happy. I am still the highest performing two-dimensional meme on the platform, and that is the reason I will be appearing on national TV tonight, which will no doubt push me into the top 4,000.</p><p>I click on #ShyBookGirl’s profile. She has sunk to 237,468,356. I feel sad for her, even though all her posts these days are bitter tirades aimed at me.</p><p>The taxi arrives and takes me to my first appointment of the day: a photoshoot for my latest meme. I lost editorial control when I signed my contract, so I don’t even know the content yet. ‘It’s just less work for more zeros.’ I tell myself. But I feel my artistic integrity has dissipated into the ether. </p><p>It started as a simple four box cartoon satirising internet trends, with me sitting at my computer scrolling through posts, passing three similar posts, saying ‘Bored’, ‘Bored’, ‘Bored’, before hitting a fourth option which is pretty much the same as the first three, and saying ‘CRAZY, whilst putting on my super enthusiastic face where I pop my eyes into their wonky bulging position, my hair stands out from my head, and I open my mouth and drool.</p><p>Somehow this has morphed into brands and celebrities hiring me to highlight how they are subtly different from the milieu and worth going crazy over. I find it highly ironic, and I can imagine #ShyBookGirl and I rolling about on the floor guffawing at the absurdity. But she hasn’t answered a DM from me since I overtook her in the Me.Me. ratings.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStjnEoCsWu5WSCIHADE4OczTfiuZqxKRNanvJh-5gjvtM5292LPeL-CVF1zf74A7x2wnO3Qo6vFPVwYM1K_VHsQdGNl9w_vOJtxXQelZErUtn3rNWhwWh5CqSpE26fOQs6PgCo5EU_IR1xerHLvWITPsh4pJx6aed935kmaogz4tT8c8dwINUgKzFjQ/s1790/Bored%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A cartoon of a woman sat by a computer screen with a book on the screen with the title Blah and the word Bored in the air above." border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="1790" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStjnEoCsWu5WSCIHADE4OczTfiuZqxKRNanvJh-5gjvtM5292LPeL-CVF1zf74A7x2wnO3Qo6vFPVwYM1K_VHsQdGNl9w_vOJtxXQelZErUtn3rNWhwWh5CqSpE26fOQs6PgCo5EU_IR1xerHLvWITPsh4pJx6aed935kmaogz4tT8c8dwINUgKzFjQ/w320-h320/Bored%201.jpg" title="Bored" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I strut down the corridors towards the studio. My assistant catches up with me and hands me my caramel mochaccino in my branded reusable to-go cup.</p><p>My manager, Margot, trots up, takes my drink from me and removes my sunglasses, before rubbing an eraser over my face. “So today, darling, we are looking at the dresses from last night’s award ceremony. I thought to give the meme a bit of class, you could wear this custom-made cloudburst blue.” She hands me a marker pen.</p><p>I sigh and head off to the toilets to colour in my dress, feeling the complete drudgery of my life pressing in on me. I don’t care about fashion. I don’t want to promote some three-dimensional human’s dress. I wear marker pen for crying out loud. But for half an hour of my time and four words, I will earn more than a lot of people in this country will earn in a year.</p><p>I come out of the toilets, give my agent a twirl, sit down at the computer, carefully envisage the font I want to use, and project my catchphrase into the air: “Bored. Bored. Bored. CRAZY!” As my eyes pop and the drool drips down my chin, the photographer snaps away, and the staff in the studio cheer, clap, and stamp their feet.</p><p>“That was fantastic, Stella.” Margot says, cleaning up my chin where the drool has made the ink run. “But, can we try it again with a little less sarcasm in your voice?” </p><p>“How are they going to hear my tone in a photograph?” I snap, but like a good little meme, I run through the pathetic charade once more.</p><p>The photographer loads the images up on his computer, and he and Margot hover over the screen for a few minutes before picking the images they will use for tonight’s viral (stealth-promoted) meme.</p><p>I stand up, grab my caramel mochaccino from my assistant, and head towards the lift.</p><p>“Before you go, Stella.” Margot calls out to me. </p><p>I stop and slowly turn back around.</p><p>“I know you said you didn’t want to do this kind of thing, but piggles pork sausages have asked us to do an advert for them. All you need to do is bite three of the competition sausages, throw them over your shoulder whilst saying ‘bored’, then bite a piggles sausage and go crazy.”</p><p>“No! No! No! I said no outright advertising. And I’m a vegan, I can’t eat four sausages.”</p><p>“It doesn’t have to be a real piggles, we can get some vegan alternative, and put it in a piggles packet.”</p><p>“Seriously? You want me to be filmed saying people should buy something I would never eat and have no idea about the quality? You don’t find that an ethical problem?”</p><p>“When they are talking mid-six-figures, I don’t think it matters: just say the line, suck the sausage, take the cash.”</p><p>“And you can live like this?” I say, waving my stick arms around the studio. “You are happy that this is your life?”</p><p>Margot stepped back and looked at me through narrowed eyes. She shook her head and muttered, “Fucking 2Ds.” under her breath, before coming to stand right in front of me and saying:</p><p>“I made you. You have no real talent. Yes, you were very careful with the wording of your contract so you could wiggle out of assignments you thought would damage your brand, but there are ways around that, and unless you have the money to buy yourself out of your contract, I advise you to do as you are told and laugh all the way to the bank with your crazy freakazoid eyes. Remember, in the three-dimensional world, things are always more complicated than your little flat brain can comprehend.”</p><p>“It’s my body that’s flat, not my fucking brain.” I said storming to the lift and sliding through the closing doors before Margot could say another word.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk659ci3iX3ZlTm_lrqQDCmq24IOgdCwcySjaDyS-J3ipr-5teLsFtuPSDen2zQneUGoWVO3Yf7ohbKTBrKIx-9CEEQzaP8xwM017idO5Tn9si0XSPexCtmn-B8PcLXJbahTfn7zXHx97srIJxLtzlj0LjJmd2Np4rum1U8nFCFNCGVhxIHnb9L7lr4w/s1790/Bored%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A cartoon of a woman sat by a computer screen with a book on the screen with the title Boring and the word Bored in the air above." border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="1790" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk659ci3iX3ZlTm_lrqQDCmq24IOgdCwcySjaDyS-J3ipr-5teLsFtuPSDen2zQneUGoWVO3Yf7ohbKTBrKIx-9CEEQzaP8xwM017idO5Tn9si0XSPexCtmn-B8PcLXJbahTfn7zXHx97srIJxLtzlj0LjJmd2Np4rum1U8nFCFNCGVhxIHnb9L7lr4w/w320-h320/Bored%202.jpg" title="Bored" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>All the way down, I thought about where this had all started, about the lazy afternoons lying in bed with #ShyBookGirl, running my chunky fingers over her delicate lines. She had a much better lineage than me: she was all tonal shading and careful criss-cross hatching. I loved the way her hair had that line of paler ink to make it shine, and the little breve under her eyes, giving her cheeks those adorable dimples. </p><p>We’d blow off Modern Communication for the Internet Age lectures and hang out in her bedroom analysing the latest viral memes, trying to work out a formula to catapult her to fame and fortune. I painted a mural of a library on her bedroom wall, monochrome like #ShyBookGirl, and used my phone to photograph her performing bookish memes she had written the night before.</p><p>She gained a small following, but nothing ever did that well because she over thought every idea. Her posts required a thorough knowledge of the books to get the joke, and even when she managed to keep it simple, she’d run into seven or more frames. </p><p>I was never keen on being on the other side of the camera, but to try and show her that simple sells, I came up with the stupid ‘Bored. Bored. Bored. CRAZY!’ Meme. </p><p>She photographed me by a plain white wall, we edited it, and hit send on my first Me.Me. post. Then we fell into bed, giggling.</p><p>When we surfaced an hour later, I had already gone viral. #ShyBookGirl screamed for joy. I still remember her cheeks burning up with excitement and emitting the most beautiful pink under all her layers of grey.</p><p>We tried simple #ShyBookGirl memes, where she dressed as a pop-up book and jumped out at unsuspecting students in the university library. They did better, but each day I rose through the Me.Me. ranks, and even though she had seven years of stats on me, within three weeks I overtook her.</p><p>That was the day she took a swing at me with her book bag. I was with the pencil surgeon for hours to get the kink taken out of my leg.</p><p>She’s refused to see me since.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p>I slip through the 2D entrance at the TV studios, and somehow my assistant is already waiting for me with another caramel mochaccino. To be honest, I have no idea who hired him, but he is at all my appointments, following me around, making sure I never miss anything, and the assortment of pens that lad has in his man-bag is phenomenal. I feel bad that I don’t know his name, but I can’t realistically ask him what he’s called after working with him for over a year.</p><p>He scuttles after me as I stride down the corridor. “You’re going to be on straight after #InappropriatePartyGirl. She ranks in the top 2000 on Me.Me. and only joined last month.”</p><p>“I know who she is.” I snap, nerves starting to get the better of me.</p><p>#InappropriatePartyGirl shot to fame out of nowhere by simply wearing a shocking red dress, drinking cocktails, and partying in very drab and inappropriate places. She started out in a Classics lecture, and since then has turned up in the same outfit and pose in almost every place she shouldn’t be, from court houses to funerals. It’s a simple formula, helped by the fact that she is three-dimensional, very good looking, with a chest that barely fits inside her shiny red dress. Also, there are rumours that money exchanged hands to tweak her stats.</p><p>I go to makeup, where the colour of my dress is changed from cloudburst blue to #InappropriateRed, and my eyelashes are drawn on with a slightly shinier and thicker ink. A layer of paper balm is applied over me to make the paper shine brighter.</p><p>I watch the end of #InappropriatePartyGirl’s interview, and then it is time for my big TV debut.</p><p>Stan, the host, looks into camera one. “You’ve seen her as you scroll over breakfast, you’ve pasted your ex’s face into her bored box, and I don’t want to know what you have put in her crazy box. You all know her, please give a warm welcome to #BehbehCraze!”</p><p>The studio audience claps, and I walk out, waving at them with the circle and four lines that form my hand. There will be two questions, then I am to pull my crazy face. This should be easy.</p><p>I sit on the sofa next to #InappropriatePartyGirl, who raises her glass to welcome me. I try not to look in the direction of her chest, and smile at Stan.</p><p>“So, #BehbehCraze, where did you get your name?”</p><p>“Well, Stan, as you know my meme goes, ‘Bored. Bored. Bored. CRAZY!’” A cheer ripples through the audience. “So, ‘Bored. Bored. Bored’. Reduced to ‘BBB’. Then I dropped a B, well, I’m no Apiarist…” I pause for a laugh, but clearly no one in the audience is a fan of bees, so I continue, although my confidence has been a bit shaken. “And voilà, Beh Beh Craze.”</p><p>There was a polite applause.</p><p>“I never knew that. That’s fascinating.” Stan said. “So where did you get the idea for your meme?”</p><p>Margot had written this answer, and instructed me that under no circumstance was I ever allowed to say ‘I was making fun of the lameness of half the stuff that goes viral and is admired by the mindless drones’ </p><p>I smile my public smile at Stan and reply. “In this modern age, there are so many people and products vying for our attention, and everything’s kind of the same. Then, every once in a while, something comes along with that subtle difference which makes us go crazy. Take you, Stan.” </p><p>Stan pulls a fake nervous expression, knowing full well what was about to happen.</p><p>There are hosts. There’s this host. ‘Boring’. There’s that host. ‘Boring.’ There’s another host, ‘Boring.’ And then there is you.” I pause. I can feel the audience’s excitement, and I hold on to it a moment longer. </p><p>And then I pop my eyes, and project the text into the air. “CRAZY!”</p><p>I get a standing ovation for that. </p><p>People are really as stupid as they have ever been in history.</p><p>After the audience calms down. Stan introduces a band, and whilst they are performing, #InappropriatePartyGirl and I are led off set. </p><p>As we walk down the corridor, I send a DM to #ShyBookGirl. “OMG just been on TV. I am not cut out for this shit. I really wish you were here with me.”</p><p>Our escort leaves us by a large Swiss Cheese Plant. </p><p>“Hey, Behbeh.” #InappropriatePartyGirl says.</p><p>“Oh. Call me Stella.”</p><p>“Enchanté, Stella. You can call me Nicky.”</p><p>“Nice to meet you.” I swallow, trying not to let my eyes settle on her cleavage.</p><p>She drains the dregs of her cocktail and abandons the glass under a leaf of the Swiss Cheese Plant.</p><p>“That shade of red really brings out your eyes.”</p><p>“Erm. Thank you. I believe it’s your trademark #InappropriateRed. They just give me the pens; I don’t pick the colours myself.”</p><p>She laughs. “Oh, you are so witty. And I loved your beekeeping joke. I knew you had a sharp mind behind all your memes. Before the publicity hounds got their teeth into you.”</p><p>She looks at me, then reaches out and runs her three-dimensional hand through my spiky ink-line hair.</p><p>“How about we shake off our handlers and do some insider trading, lady. You and me. Restaurant. Tonight. A date. A few cocktails. A little real connection. Leave the hashtags and brand parameters at home.”</p><p>I stare at her. This superstar wants to go on a date with… me? I feel my mouth hanging open and the drool starting to dampen the paper around my mouth, so quickly wipe my face and nod. Afterall, #ShyBookGirl doesn’t want me, and I am a super-rich meme in the Screen-City. Why can’t I party with #InappropriatePartyGirl? </p><p>“Why not?” I say and smile the most beguiling smile I can manage, trying my best to stop my eyes bulging.</p><p>“See you at seven.” She says, sashaying away and waving at her fans as she walks out of the main door.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjR1e0uLyFNTrpNkEdqgR2xgNj9y8FpMTt51VM7TbgcscPOWz4h92jAhY7C8UwPw8AbD2DjYK4ecd7HxYNlygCSEKJFFjXkiQv3WuOGUMs2YMJ9HURWXY7Ui3ZxDyv0PfbKGw4xAfql16fJcDua1_hNWsYMhTJqT8rVfH2ofzaYmPNadgaQACUxDqZg/s1790/Bored%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A cartoon of a woman sat by a computer screen with a book on the screen with the title DNF and the word Bored in the air above." border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="1790" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjR1e0uLyFNTrpNkEdqgR2xgNj9y8FpMTt51VM7TbgcscPOWz4h92jAhY7C8UwPw8AbD2DjYK4ecd7HxYNlygCSEKJFFjXkiQv3WuOGUMs2YMJ9HURWXY7Ui3ZxDyv0PfbKGw4xAfql16fJcDua1_hNWsYMhTJqT8rVfH2ofzaYmPNadgaQACUxDqZg/w320-h320/Bored%203.jpg" title="Bored" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p>I sit down at the table and order a margarita. Nicky is running late, so I use the time to catch up with the latest meme trends on my phone. A frog who is supposed to look like a famous actor has gone viral but I either don’t know the actor, or the likeness is poor. </p><p>Out of habit I visit #ShyBookGirl’s profile. She hasn’t posted anything today. </p><p>I fidget with my dress. I used two of my best marker pens on it. The kind that smell a bit too much of solvent, and leave you feeling light headed and indulgent. </p><p>I feel self-conscious and notice that I am getting a few looks from the other patrons of the restaurant. This is a high-end influencer restaurant, so I think the looks are more to do with the fact that I am a 2D than because they recognise me from my memes, as everyone here has been in a meme in one form or another, and I am the only one of my kind here.</p><p>I order another margarita.</p><p>Nicky finally arrives, looking as stunning as ever. I lick my lips too much as I stand to greet her. What am I even thinking? I’m not some kind of purist prude who frowns on the mixing of the 2D and the 3D, but it’s not something I ever thought I would be doing. To be honest, I’ve only ever been close to #ShyBookGirl, and at the time, I thought she was my eternity.</p><p>And who wouldn’t be drawn to #InappropriatePartyGirl. Nicky. I mean, Nicky.</p><p>“You look stunning.” I manage to say.</p><p>“As do you. I love the lines you created on your dress.” She says, letting me hold her chair for her as she sits down.</p><p>She clicks her fingers, and a cosmopolitan shimmering with gold is instantly brought to our table.</p><p>“So, Stella.” She says, picking a slice of orange out of her glass and slowly sucking on it. “Did you always know you wanted to be a meme?”</p><p>“Oh no! It was the last thing I thought I would do. I always wanted to be a kind of behind-the-scenes gal. Maybe do political pieces, or write a column.”</p><p>A waiter approaches. Nicky smiles at me, “The vegan tasting menu?”</p><p>“You know I’m vegan?” </p><p>“I do my research.”</p><p>The waiter nods and leaves.</p><p>“What about you? Did you want to be a meme when you were growing up?”</p><p>“It was an inevitability.” She says. “Call it fate, call it intuition, I just have a knack for the limelight.” She winks over my shoulder and a flash goes off. </p><p>“Well, you certainly do.” I stammer, finishing my margarita, which is replaced before I manage to put the glass down on the table.</p><p>Two small bowls of soup and a basket of artisan bread arrive on the table.</p><p>I pick out a nice looking piece of cornbread and dip it into the soup.</p><p>“But you.” Nicky says, taking a sip of her cosmopolitan, leaving a golden sheen on her lips. “I can’t believe you didn’t know all your life that being a meme was your calling.”</p><p>She dips her finger in her drink and draws a shimmering line across her chest.</p><p>“You so have the knack for it.” She licks her lips. “Go on. For me.”</p><p>“I… I… I don’t usually.”</p><p>“For me.” She says in a sultry tone.</p><p>I take a deep breath. I hate this. I feel cornered. But it is who I am. </p><p>I pick out a piece of white bread from the basket and throw it over my shoulder. </p><p>“Bored.”</p><p>I pick the piece of lime out of my margarita and throw it over my shoulder.</p><p>“Bored.”</p><p>I pick up the serviette and throw it over my shoulder. </p><p>“Bored.”</p><p>I look into Nicky’s face and swallow. </p><p>“CRAZY!” And then I pop my eyes.</p><p>All of a sudden, she stands up and thrusts her chest in my face. A flash goes off. I’m startled, and my left eye falls into the soup. </p><p>“Ow! Ow! Ow!” I scream, as I fish it out and dunk it in the jug of water before sticking it back in my face.</p><p>“Thanks shug. I got what I needed.” She high fives the paparazzi as she walks out of the restaurant in her tight red dress and black stilettos.</p><p>I slump back in my chair, down the rest of my margarita, and signal the waiter for the bill.</p><p>I’m a 2D fool, and everyone is laughing at me. And how can I blame them? I created #BehbehCraze, I can’t complain that people treat me as a disposable meme.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p>In the morning I wake up with a raging hangover. I reach for my phone. My ratings have shot up, but also trending was #BehbehCrazySexPest</p><p>I open a browser and I’m hit in the face with films and photos of the incident edited together to make me look like a lecherous fool. Nicky even had a disgusted look on her face as I shoved my head into her cleavage.</p><p>Headlines such as Byebye Behbeh, The Craze that Crashed, and Today’s Two-D, Tomorrow’s Trash, swim in front of my eyes. I hit Me.Me. to see the reactions and see thousands of posts from people I have never met, claiming I drooled on them and always made them feel uncomfortable. That is except #ShyBookGirl who had posted a video of herself saying that she knew me better than anyone in the world and that there was no way I was a sex pest.</p><p>My phone pings with an email from my manager’s assistant cancelling my contract. I no longer need to buy myself out of the contract, but due to ‘questionable character flaws’ they escaped the termination fee.</p><p>And with that, #BehbehCraze was dead.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfXTz4E-N8AAg_Rv0J_50xl7a56YeaGAR-SjG4HlUolhtsb7CMX1OMitfbK9omqUUdUyNc3PHrDQ3CeoztNSfJp4B9MoxqScwiTr9WPgwQMbbdCzk46m_adOCv3b7zsRovf_XedNj2y43NpBSwvvn9Yfwgg0pnFVhjztwVCiMV3n38CBxqQM2USV-LA/s1790/Crazy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A woman sat at the computer looking excited at a book with the title The Casa Martyrs by Moti Black. In the air above, is the word Crazy." border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="1790" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfXTz4E-N8AAg_Rv0J_50xl7a56YeaGAR-SjG4HlUolhtsb7CMX1OMitfbK9omqUUdUyNc3PHrDQ3CeoztNSfJp4B9MoxqScwiTr9WPgwQMbbdCzk46m_adOCv3b7zsRovf_XedNj2y43NpBSwvvn9Yfwgg0pnFVhjztwVCiMV3n38CBxqQM2USV-LA/w320-h320/Crazy.jpg" title="Crazy" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I turn my phone off and drop it on the floor. I have no appointments; I have no obligations. I can’t leave my flat, as everywhere I go from now on, I will be treated like some kind of letch, but I am back in control of my life.</p><p>I exfoliate, I erase, I apply high-end paper balm, until the small figure standing in the corner of the oversized mirror looks something like my old self. </p><p>And the rest of the day is mine. I walk along my bookcases. Over the last year, I kept binge buying books, but never had the time to read any, so the shelves are overflowing with so many exciting unopened adventures.</p><p>I pick one at random and throw myself onto my settee to leisurely enjoy my first day of pariah status. Who needs the stupid world, anyway?</p><p>A few hours later, just as the mother was chasing the naughty mice with a broom, there’s a quiet knock at my door.</p><p>There is only one person in the world the doorman is allowed to let up without buzzing, even though she has never taken me up on the invitation. But I also know the paparazzi can be very sneaky, so I opened the door very carefully.</p><p>And there she is, in all her glorious shades of grey.</p><p>“Hey, #StickFigureStella.”</p><p>“Hey, #ShyBookGirl.”</p><p>She starts crying. “Can you ever forgive me?”</p><p>I pull her into my stick figure arms, and we both ball our eyes out, until our ink is mingling. “There’s nothing to forgive.” I say, as we head into the flat.</p><p>“But there is!” She protests. “I know you would have absolutely hated that attention, and all I could do was be jealous of you. I should have been at your side the whole time.”</p><p>“Well, I’m not going anywhere for a while, and I have a few books to keep me busy. Care to join me in a reading marathon?”</p><p>She giggles, picks three books from the shelf and throws herself onto the settee. “Do books have pages?”</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">And we read happily ever after.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The End.</p><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">© Copyright Moti Black</span></p>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-43132853773728196142022-05-16T18:29:00.001-07:002022-05-17T07:36:39.878-07:00Around the Colour Wheel in Eighty Shades: Part Two<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The following three paintings were created using Daniel Smith Ultramarine Blue and Permanent Orange. For Georgie, I also used a bit of Winsor and Newton Indian Red to add the russet depths of the Strawberry Labrador breed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0eE-42UFzUrVlC18gNsisdFpE9A-C-9_rQUp7b3NDxBy2JklG92o1i6kTKk1F-afp0qYm2G0_r1ombl_fAkKUKMyLw5abD7lTySMg1RF-WdwMP1gFaCcYoGOjJl7o_2qsZ2JfpSuJtf7MGAEmSg0dKqqJZ2etJFXgF4ooOLF0PakGzNAow5zSf5Ytg/s1500/WM%20Print%20Low%20Res.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A watercolour painting or Pittenweem Harbour at sunset" border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0eE-42UFzUrVlC18gNsisdFpE9A-C-9_rQUp7b3NDxBy2JklG92o1i6kTKk1F-afp0qYm2G0_r1ombl_fAkKUKMyLw5abD7lTySMg1RF-WdwMP1gFaCcYoGOjJl7o_2qsZ2JfpSuJtf7MGAEmSg0dKqqJZ2etJFXgF4ooOLF0PakGzNAow5zSf5Ytg/w320-h214/WM%20Print%20Low%20Res.jpg" title="Pittenweem Harbour at Sunset" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pittenweem Harbour at Sunset, Watercolour, Moti Black</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/84361927-pittenweem-harbour-at-sunset?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPn4IKs8AeWmqPWK4L4lEk7WxERSOOAIPcwMqb58zZXUjRwpEA9NGUtg4ccGPpq_alAs1-KzrdRNkT3qcFK5IvLQwc8qEk5kKkw2Gx61GDjV11DRQobiwF5gK9LzieqSjmwymf_TI_rc5b3XutJEMhZht4A5atktvUPxJRyYtoHtF34YKp0oXbXceMA/s1923/WM%20LowRes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A watercolour painting of Lindisfarne Castle" border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1923" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPn4IKs8AeWmqPWK4L4lEk7WxERSOOAIPcwMqb58zZXUjRwpEA9NGUtg4ccGPpq_alAs1-KzrdRNkT3qcFK5IvLQwc8qEk5kKkw2Gx61GDjV11DRQobiwF5gK9LzieqSjmwymf_TI_rc5b3XutJEMhZht4A5atktvUPxJRyYtoHtF34YKp0oXbXceMA/w320-h215/WM%20LowRes.jpg" title="Lindisfarne Castle" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lindisfarne Castle, Watercolour, Moti Black</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/89670109-lindisfarne-castle?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I painted this for my parents' sapphire wedding anniversary. They met on Holy Island.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoe-YkUT7vgqN21rxHbOEJe_KEA49KnAgLCCPQosG9T-c8TayrEG75MHEz05Rq-b7IqEcVkw8nTpD2IRELsuTatVrD6zEomouxjUcmDLSMb_KaqZL3l2EwrT3obhTaRlD9Sgqwjuab7g87iOWpJMPiRUpZAW_AIXnOijhkoVQHXyvHbcA4GiJfX55pg/s1500/WM%20LowRes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A watercolour painting of a strawberry labrador" border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1500" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoe-YkUT7vgqN21rxHbOEJe_KEA49KnAgLCCPQosG9T-c8TayrEG75MHEz05Rq-b7IqEcVkw8nTpD2IRELsuTatVrD6zEomouxjUcmDLSMb_KaqZL3l2EwrT3obhTaRlD9Sgqwjuab7g87iOWpJMPiRUpZAW_AIXnOijhkoVQHXyvHbcA4GiJfX55pg/w320-h226/WM%20LowRes.jpg" title="Georgie the Strawberry Labrador" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Georgie the Strawberry Labrador, Watercolour, Moti Black</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/111028431-georgie-the-strawberry-labrador?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>.</div></div><p><br /></p><br />I love this colour combination, as you get the warmest orange to bring the focal point of the image forward and the cool blue to push the rest into the background.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>As the blues in this part of the colour wheel are quite granulated, I find they are not so good for small detail, but they are easy to lift away if you make a mistake.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqEEojJv8yHRTAlP3F1hG4FjxntDZhxT5PVdoK2R034HtvIgv5E5zq0ZoZI-0gbbGmgTi4FgJsM9XgXfbJMxv35AW-02eWTOJ3o-NJbKoz0NpG1flEOEW81-a8kNgonVqJu5GxGjiDOAk1T8n6R-Hp0WDkgqGZnDPLD_9XJRhdSQAzi_GeTgHVf20Tg/s3607/IMG-0787.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A selection of watercolour swatches between orange and blue" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3607" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqEEojJv8yHRTAlP3F1hG4FjxntDZhxT5PVdoK2R034HtvIgv5E5zq0ZoZI-0gbbGmgTi4FgJsM9XgXfbJMxv35AW-02eWTOJ3o-NJbKoz0NpG1flEOEW81-a8kNgonVqJu5GxGjiDOAk1T8n6R-Hp0WDkgqGZnDPLD_9XJRhdSQAzi_GeTgHVf20Tg/w320-h268/IMG-0787.jpg" title="Orange and Blue colour samples" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I glue sample-circles of my watercolour collection onto magnets and stick them to a white board over colour strips. Where two colours are complementary, when you mix them, the colour will turn a neutral colour, and these strips help me identify the complementary colours. </p><p>When I am planning a painting, I move the magnets around and look at the colour strips on my colour board.</p><p>When I set out on my mission to categorise all my paints, I hoped to definitively create a list of where each paint fell on the colour wheel. With this section, because of the granulation of the blues, and with the creaminess of some of the oranges, I found I could not make up my mind which paints best matched the other paints, so in the end, I left it a bit fluid.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's a list of the colours that fit on my paint strips for this section. Mostly I use Daniel Smith Ultramarine Blue and Permanent Orange, but there are many other options.</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Oranges:</h4><p>Permanent Orange (Daniel Smith)</p><p>Winsor Orange (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Cadmium Orange (Winsor and Newton)</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Shades in the middle:</h4><p>Gold Ochre (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Brown Ochre (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Burnt Sienna (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Magnesium Brown (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Burnt Umber (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Duochrome Desert Bronze (Daniel Smith)</p><p>Tigers Eye (Daniel Smith)</p><p>Vandyke Brown (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Blue Apatite (Daniel Smith) - a bit green for the overall section, but it fits when Ultramarine Green Shade (Winsor and Newton) is Mixed with Permanent Orange (Daniel Smith) and is a gorgeous paint to work with.</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Blues:</h4><p>Ultramarine Green Shade (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>French Ultramarine (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Cobalt Blue Deep (Winsor and Newton)</p><p>Ultramarine Blue (Daniel Smith)</p><p><br /></p><p>I always think this colour scheme will work fantastically with Winsor and Newton Gold Ink, but as yet, I have never dared splash it on a finished painting. I hope one day I will be brave enough.</p><p><br /></p><p>Happy creating! And if you do create anything using these colour combinations, please tag me on social media so I can see your fantastic art.</p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><br />@motiblackart</h2><p style="text-align: center;"> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/motiblackart" target="_blank">facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/motiblackart" target="_blank">twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/motiblackart/" target="_blank">instagram</a>. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">See my art portfolio on my <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/MotiBlack/explore?asc=u&page=1&sortOrder=recent" target="_blank">RedBubble Shop</a>!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-20694945734321778722021-10-10T12:53:00.003-07:002022-08-26T04:09:45.951-07:00My Top 20 pumpkins from 2018-2020<p>Pumpkin season is upon us, and I have dug out my carving tools, picked my three home grown pumpkins and bought my ticket to the Cairnie pumpkin patch.</p><p><br /></p><p>This will be my fourth year carving pumpkins, and once again, The Dory, Pittenweem, have kindly offered to display my carvings in their window.</p><p><br /></p><p>I'll upload my carvings as I finish them to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/motiblackart/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/motiblackart" target="_blank">Twitter, </a>and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/motiblackart" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. If an image works particularly well, I will upload it to <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/MotiBlack/explore?asc=u&page=1&sortOrder=recent" target="_blank">RedBubble</a>, but this year I will be focusing more on display pumpkins than carving to the camera.</p><p><br /></p><p>Before I start carving, I thought I would have a look back at my favourite carvings from the last three years.</p><p><br /></p><p>I carve real pumpkins using U gouges and craft knifes. All the designs are my own.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">20th</h2><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtAWZrqnk4ABWxqW92xCCsGSqFd_QU1TQn5hoMUZ-fhx9AP1piEUCf6ToXEoxuR7wFKoScPT5XIBhUNGLYkXoubPCGQkjcD7sRm5Al-HMVNlZv6h-UnwA3TXctik5HhVb8I2ZQay8UPu3/s2048/Pixie+on+a+Pumpkin+Close+Up+and+Watermarked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtAWZrqnk4ABWxqW92xCCsGSqFd_QU1TQn5hoMUZ-fhx9AP1piEUCf6ToXEoxuR7wFKoScPT5XIBhUNGLYkXoubPCGQkjcD7sRm5Al-HMVNlZv6h-UnwA3TXctik5HhVb8I2ZQay8UPu3/s2048/Pixie+on+a+Pumpkin+Close+Up+and+Watermarked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjro8TOBiea7VAhRvis4CMugI70Rl90yDcVRpveSBALV0ZtOkulJk_2uhWIb_oUv78XKGWBYxsSw26w5v1JMVUL0VZODybzwKezCo7M_IzPM4jEhOxuBpNknh_7T47Us7xtEhy9Le3FNWN/s2048/Pumpkin+Cat+Wm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pumpkin Carving of a Cat" border="0" data-original-height="1441" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjro8TOBiea7VAhRvis4CMugI70Rl90yDcVRpveSBALV0ZtOkulJk_2uhWIb_oUv78XKGWBYxsSw26w5v1JMVUL0VZODybzwKezCo7M_IzPM4jEhOxuBpNknh_7T47Us7xtEhy9Le3FNWN/w320-h225/Pumpkin+Cat+Wm.jpg" title="Cat Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Toast the Tabby Cat, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2>19th</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cnKjYpGA3LH4PUvjHdvinoMlCKwvj69E9LObOk0wjRqITdekWvfQIYQMrHLh4cibOEVBpozJrGyVxpZ37pz8x2Vpv3BAwP3JDRDLyPysqVCBRV5Rue4tT4QuNHx4g14X8IHplLnl7yNK/s2048/Crail+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pumpkin Carving of Crail" border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cnKjYpGA3LH4PUvjHdvinoMlCKwvj69E9LObOk0wjRqITdekWvfQIYQMrHLh4cibOEVBpozJrGyVxpZ37pz8x2Vpv3BAwP3JDRDLyPysqVCBRV5Rue4tT4QuNHx4g14X8IHplLnl7yNK/w320-h213/Crail+WM.jpg" title="Crail Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Crail, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2020</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>This was my big carve of last year. Because I got my pumpkin seeds in late, over watered them, and with Covid, I wasn't going out shopping for pumpkins, I was working on an under ripe, waterlogged pumpkin, and I wasn't carving at my optimum level, so I plan to redo this design this year.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br />18th<br /></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Pumpkin Carving of Pamela Coleman Smith" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtAWZrqnk4ABWxqW92xCCsGSqFd_QU1TQn5hoMUZ-fhx9AP1piEUCf6ToXEoxuR7wFKoScPT5XIBhUNGLYkXoubPCGQkjcD7sRm5Al-HMVNlZv6h-UnwA3TXctik5HhVb8I2ZQay8UPu3/w213-h320/Pixie+on+a+Pumpkin+Close+Up+and+Watermarked.jpg" title="Pamela Coleman Smith Pumpkin Carving" width="213" /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pamela Coleman Smith, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2018</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was one of my first pumpkin carvings. It was my second attempt at the image, and I went on to win a carving competition with it. It was probably the carving that got me seriously interested in carving, and the reason I am now tired and in pain every October.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">17th</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWpuaOs1joMc6Lu0Tvt0pn4ay4Kc3Or3kHxdk_UH62ItFaXcWPDm5Yuzry_fO4mXIPd4ZHnqhUKKuTfww65omY1eUMIoyRot63qRnw-MiAYSp_Xforv9Fj8mPHt0OH6lwMUdRGekJr60E/s2048/WM+Hedgehog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pumpkin Carving of a Hedgehog" border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="2048" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWpuaOs1joMc6Lu0Tvt0pn4ay4Kc3Or3kHxdk_UH62ItFaXcWPDm5Yuzry_fO4mXIPd4ZHnqhUKKuTfww65omY1eUMIoyRot63qRnw-MiAYSp_Xforv9Fj8mPHt0OH6lwMUdRGekJr60E/w320-h246/WM+Hedgehog.jpg" title="Hedgehog Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hedgehog, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2020</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had finished pumpkin carving for the year, when a friend of mine prompted me to enter a competition. Although this pumpkin was rotting, so I couldn't get the lighting right, it won me the competition :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">16th<br /></h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMrJvxNWq_XSuSbchiTKPDlLBPehmFcYpSMIk_bskZuXZ5FIxEPJKmHnfmM8CnxkgPreAJxsed6mXuGXNe2bRmZBxk22ME_O3OSqBdh0sSoQ6nIN-ttRBn9dtmJ5baEmThlh9UuDLdE48/s2048/Lobster+Pumpkin+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="pumpkin carving of a lobster" border="0" data-original-height="1745" data-original-width="2048" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMrJvxNWq_XSuSbchiTKPDlLBPehmFcYpSMIk_bskZuXZ5FIxEPJKmHnfmM8CnxkgPreAJxsed6mXuGXNe2bRmZBxk22ME_O3OSqBdh0sSoQ6nIN-ttRBn9dtmJ5baEmThlh9UuDLdE48/w320-h273/Lobster+Pumpkin+WM.jpg" title="Lobster pumpkin carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Lobster, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2020</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/60786322" target="_blank">here</a>.</div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last year I was so rusty when I started carving, it took me three goes to get this carving. But I finally got one I was happy with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">15th</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBD5EoWtIQ9lIZ6EyhLzA6B-62B5Dm8rzX0GGtQfNPLMvriUES0jBOQQbEGulQQbOd71mMf99OsqZ5otSmselkJWhO5DGci0603sINTAdHE-jbJBlwHQ-uV5cPz0fPWb95Azbqgiz4Z_5/s2048/St+Monan%2527s+Kirk+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pumpkin Carving of St Monans Church" border="0" data-original-height="1634" data-original-width="2048" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBD5EoWtIQ9lIZ6EyhLzA6B-62B5Dm8rzX0GGtQfNPLMvriUES0jBOQQbEGulQQbOd71mMf99OsqZ5otSmselkJWhO5DGci0603sINTAdHE-jbJBlwHQ-uV5cPz0fPWb95Azbqgiz4Z_5/w320-h255/St+Monan%2527s+Kirk+WM.jpg" title="St Monans Kirk Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">St Monans Kirk, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/45831014" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My first attempt at shaded images combining holes all the way through the pumpkin, trying to make the windows look like they were lit up with light coming from within the Kirk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">14th</h2><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hTfLbYusouJkg-MKRYkGo5clMOo52mTTLUCrCHOIrNp4mixVmstW07anztC2Gg19YcnCJktiWKyTWmZrOnRiA0zySCKvsq79IAk5uenIoV4MDBkYladPPyWwo356cOEKjPJK-xZPWd9U/s2048/Horn+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pumpkin Carving of a French Horn" border="0" data-original-height="1881" data-original-width="2048" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hTfLbYusouJkg-MKRYkGo5clMOo52mTTLUCrCHOIrNp4mixVmstW07anztC2Gg19YcnCJktiWKyTWmZrOnRiA0zySCKvsq79IAk5uenIoV4MDBkYladPPyWwo356cOEKjPJK-xZPWd9U/w320-h294/Horn+WM.jpg" title="French Horn Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">French Horn, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2020</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP3jhSr7uMWxl0ju_Qi94LxrCGgRByXdL0ohmOzfmmkx6dKn9svM1ndSG-Qxdhoeo_YRcqhFVpGDMab_ypZGPs-XUPHqkOcjf0BCYWEARamSDY6EiaLLvb19wQS3G_UspCpo4WgHDee6h/s1500/Trumpet+Low+Res.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Trumpet carved on a Pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1500" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieP3jhSr7uMWxl0ju_Qi94LxrCGgRByXdL0ohmOzfmmkx6dKn9svM1ndSG-Qxdhoeo_YRcqhFVpGDMab_ypZGPs-XUPHqkOcjf0BCYWEARamSDY6EiaLLvb19wQS3G_UspCpo4WgHDee6h/w320-h180/Trumpet+Low+Res.jpg" title="Trumpet Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Trumpet, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black 2020</div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My niece plays the French Horn, so I thought I would have a go at carving one on a pumpkin, as I loved the way the tubes wrap around and form different layers. I thought I would do a whole brass section on one pumpkin, but started with the images being too small and abandoned the project. (The hedgehog ended up on the other side of this pumpkin.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">13th<br /></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygNYXaDYvPJKAR8Yl16QcCcC-QQaS4OSddcUCltp-fgCGzCFvVDwQJ0LVhsPbuIzGPkMI9QbExo82qCme6yRSWLVA9cixyh5D_7yDFHsnWEhQA2QNuwSFPCkvj3npSxDQMVxvkNr3m9_z/s2048/Celtic+Cross+1+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Celtic Knot carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1850" data-original-width="2048" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygNYXaDYvPJKAR8Yl16QcCcC-QQaS4OSddcUCltp-fgCGzCFvVDwQJ0LVhsPbuIzGPkMI9QbExo82qCme6yRSWLVA9cixyh5D_7yDFHsnWEhQA2QNuwSFPCkvj3npSxDQMVxvkNr3m9_z/w320-h289/Celtic+Cross+1+WM.jpg" title="Celtic Knot Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Celtic Knot, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/41708037" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think celtic knots are my favouirite things to carve on pumpkins. As long as you have a clear stencil to work with and approach it methodically, very little can go wrong, and when you finish, you can photoshop the image to create some fantastic patterns in many different colours.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">12th</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gxiIS2QUqtyq51pFAb3urQe78SkWKwLDO7POEzBJI1QTZyP9jGe3x_UzDdzHFNmYu5KZ00iXn33PIu5GA-ghIpCsbaAXnqza1XXY6WmzO2L-kfwrKh_k_AFEoNcr0hMWKa9ZM8mEsdUO/s2048/Celtic+Knot+2+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Celtic knot Carved on a Pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1606" data-original-width="2048" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gxiIS2QUqtyq51pFAb3urQe78SkWKwLDO7POEzBJI1QTZyP9jGe3x_UzDdzHFNmYu5KZ00iXn33PIu5GA-ghIpCsbaAXnqza1XXY6WmzO2L-kfwrKh_k_AFEoNcr0hMWKa9ZM8mEsdUO/w320-h251/Celtic+Knot+2+WM.jpg" title="Celtic Knot Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Celtic Knot, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/41810453" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">11th</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eREpttpKPveABGqx9d-NWok_LURG9WZZtbcAzgqhs4xP4iZkstGL6-rG-OpQ0wKbfxM1-QnqVXf5NJVJGd7m8S-WitcA-pLFC-SWiK-qtAKCzJz_vwFC1lRU7mEqTmzDJclZAgHCoYCq/s2048/WM+Small+File+Size.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An all over pumpkin carving using a celtic knot design" border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eREpttpKPveABGqx9d-NWok_LURG9WZZtbcAzgqhs4xP4iZkstGL6-rG-OpQ0wKbfxM1-QnqVXf5NJVJGd7m8S-WitcA-pLFC-SWiK-qtAKCzJz_vwFC1lRU7mEqTmzDJclZAgHCoYCq/w320-h213/WM+Small+File+Size.jpg" title="360 Celtic Knot Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">360 Celtic Knot, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2021</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have wanted to do an all over carve for a while, and as I had an early ripener in the garden, I took the opportunity to create a 360 celtic knot design. It looked great, but I was in agony after two solid days of carving, so I won't be repeating that again any time soon.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">10th<br /></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKBX6XAJPSE2N04hDzeFP_02SR6PX7-Qa8ai9c4qwrJr3uQnCpfQnH2uArOAT0ZV-t5HrnDA22-HhwCZeIleSdxf1tDSPm8UisD4kt184_YHNxXdXXqRrZXY-EQ6XRWlIpuVO4w8dLUw8/s2048/Chosen+Pumpkin+Watermarked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sunflower carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1534" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKBX6XAJPSE2N04hDzeFP_02SR6PX7-Qa8ai9c4qwrJr3uQnCpfQnH2uArOAT0ZV-t5HrnDA22-HhwCZeIleSdxf1tDSPm8UisD4kt184_YHNxXdXXqRrZXY-EQ6XRWlIpuVO4w8dLUw8/w320-h240/Chosen+Pumpkin+Watermarked.jpg" title="Sunflower Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sunflower, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2>9th<br /></h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYXwvrtRXwFr1wmVu2MxkhwOSRz0FiUM38aXOwZAZwNDp1LAHAlSKi0abS4rxehHLdEq3OcjPjnuxka5IK_qpOMBN0qLTo-PyYJdSlATYQvEaFkQj3ZNM36wGqBPYyjX2-WitHfDN2k_D/s2048/WM+Print.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An Owl carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYXwvrtRXwFr1wmVu2MxkhwOSRz0FiUM38aXOwZAZwNDp1LAHAlSKi0abS4rxehHLdEq3OcjPjnuxka5IK_qpOMBN0qLTo-PyYJdSlATYQvEaFkQj3ZNM36wGqBPYyjX2-WitHfDN2k_D/w320-h320/WM+Print.jpg" title="Owl Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dark owl, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/41576771" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">8th<br /></h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDvStIgNUjqdJm2MaXFyKs8ORfzOOWb7RyAA4t2clrw6HGJTc3s-oQk-8RI2WGQmg9w_EhrGbgXGcsLTaM-4SVcPWijmgCIwa5ABeTfEP2sa1DXjRYBxLLP1h3PJiKatXhmd1TDGwSFZq/s2048/WM+Skull.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A skull carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1873" data-original-width="2048" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDvStIgNUjqdJm2MaXFyKs8ORfzOOWb7RyAA4t2clrw6HGJTc3s-oQk-8RI2WGQmg9w_EhrGbgXGcsLTaM-4SVcPWijmgCIwa5ABeTfEP2sa1DXjRYBxLLP1h3PJiKatXhmd1TDGwSFZq/w320-h293/WM+Skull.jpg" title="Skull Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Skull, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/42298787" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2>7th</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWc4w0pt3TLQ0MYoLhLRkZlW0IrHA7dsiEy5iQfVB3BY0g0_65FVnDHLp8i5B7-Kd218lXOKrAvHsuuTcruLMPmHNue_B76Vk0gzuKHvseLLikEwKcrt_fuawHvVpG6EkNkT3IP878GSed/s2048/WM+Hayden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A young boy carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1948" data-original-width="2048" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWc4w0pt3TLQ0MYoLhLRkZlW0IrHA7dsiEy5iQfVB3BY0g0_65FVnDHLp8i5B7-Kd218lXOKrAvHsuuTcruLMPmHNue_B76Vk0gzuKHvseLLikEwKcrt_fuawHvVpG6EkNkT3IP878GSed/w320-h304/WM+Hayden.jpg" title="Pumpkin Carving of a boy" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hayden, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Based on a photo by James Palmer</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">6th<br /></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBeHvwfk7rFpiQ4QJxVPlaBsofvHKlPc__EVr3N78vVteXH6xJDCIM2XaFw1IY5DwN3g8Xb1vweaP6xeStniOCb6kx7GG3AOJO6BPbpwKzIMBx4GuqWWmzLQnDr4tg9EnzlJbibLuhXvz/s2048/Dory+Fish+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Dory Logo carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1854" data-original-width="2048" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBeHvwfk7rFpiQ4QJxVPlaBsofvHKlPc__EVr3N78vVteXH6xJDCIM2XaFw1IY5DwN3g8Xb1vweaP6xeStniOCb6kx7GG3AOJO6BPbpwKzIMBx4GuqWWmzLQnDr4tg9EnzlJbibLuhXvz/w320-h290/Dory+Fish+WM.jpg" title="Dory Logo Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dory Logo, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Dory Bistro in Pittenweem kindly display my pumpkins in their window, so I thought as a surprise for them, I would do their logo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div><h2>5th</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bXZjc4Cwq3VIWpf01Ety42YXEFsZfP2az3mMRvGyCEzy0WVpu2ccwBlpOCH9bl7qqDRvgHCB1yLuGBJrMGflF-o0zyK3fzCugYH2THUNe6ba_XhvhjW_apoMrlAeI2pb1Ldqp28kB5CM/s2048/Dreel+Halls+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Dreel Halls in Anstruther carved onto a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1523" data-original-width="2048" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bXZjc4Cwq3VIWpf01Ety42YXEFsZfP2az3mMRvGyCEzy0WVpu2ccwBlpOCH9bl7qqDRvgHCB1yLuGBJrMGflF-o0zyK3fzCugYH2THUNe6ba_XhvhjW_apoMrlAeI2pb1Ldqp28kB5CM/w320-h238/Dreel+Halls+WM.jpg" title="Dreel Halls Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dreel Halls, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/41845216" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br />4th<br /></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSGXEACQw-Ki8iSq2qjNye-DU1-UgV2mO5w8wfZE4toF82HNOaG_gkl3rlH-cg_3luxxd9svATYcLmg3qdToVa5y5MHtvKTouLuvaLQ-rRIgU8fZHM6UZckHf0usnci6UMKkQr8kg3faP/s2048/St+Andrews+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="St Andrews Cathedral carved onto a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1935" data-original-width="2048" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSGXEACQw-Ki8iSq2qjNye-DU1-UgV2mO5w8wfZE4toF82HNOaG_gkl3rlH-cg_3luxxd9svATYcLmg3qdToVa5y5MHtvKTouLuvaLQ-rRIgU8fZHM6UZckHf0usnci6UMKkQr8kg3faP/w320-h302/St+Andrews+WM.jpg" title="St Andrews Cathedral Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">St Andrews Cathedral, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/41826533" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">3rd<br /></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznFlRIufuNL1KRa1rYMONhOTsJjq5sSEuTnIf1r_65MKebC-cWiVU0BIMBV1VEHlFQdEO_8M7EKo7z9xzi0wk1gKIdkpqRtF634hcM0h0BGUv7MuLk2uN4HCI1lgiavk7N-5-H7jjAzWC/s2048/Tree+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A leafless winter tree carved onto a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="2048" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznFlRIufuNL1KRa1rYMONhOTsJjq5sSEuTnIf1r_65MKebC-cWiVU0BIMBV1VEHlFQdEO_8M7EKo7z9xzi0wk1gKIdkpqRtF634hcM0h0BGUv7MuLk2uN4HCI1lgiavk7N-5-H7jjAzWC/w320-h205/Tree+WM.jpg" title="Winter Tree Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Winter Tree, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/45831512" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This pumpkin had started rotting when I started carving, so I thought I would choose an easy design. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as I thought and took me two days, during which, the pumpkin was going brown and soggy. This is why it is my only pumpkin photographed without the top on since I stopped using real tea lights.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">2nd<br /></h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xJ-qgtuYytU1oAbLNZsePkzw0THNB-0zx_HBlUrAvEWSHeZo1jtbF2-9KJjI8TMdibN5uhgsMfWmwW3LGjLoXKurIpWi3OZ1eaUWJKNH43VH3ERqRa9d82fSNZ0OiWf8VK19GRz9gnJh/s2048/Low+Light+2+WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lighthouse carved on a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1822" data-original-width="2048" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xJ-qgtuYytU1oAbLNZsePkzw0THNB-0zx_HBlUrAvEWSHeZo1jtbF2-9KJjI8TMdibN5uhgsMfWmwW3LGjLoXKurIpWi3OZ1eaUWJKNH43VH3ERqRa9d82fSNZ0OiWf8VK19GRz9gnJh/w320-h285/Low+Light+2+WM.jpg" title="Low Light on the Isle of May pumpkin carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Low Light on the Isle of May, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/42027125" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is actually my personal favourite carving, but the Pittenweem West Shore took about four times as long to carve and is much more popular, so I have let that one have first place.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">1st<br /></h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QlkzlB12p9J95qg85NqTivQJI0btqweC508NoqPRYRimrPYF6VyLn3r76bNL4eB7mUqwkjzsqTbNl1EHnviBTKY1bW7ZdU1g2qvAi_HL-g13PS6tTd99QgJVzKfxWKkcz0pkSIVQHCow/s2048/WM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pittenweem West Shore carved onto a pumpkin" border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="2048" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8QlkzlB12p9J95qg85NqTivQJI0btqweC508NoqPRYRimrPYF6VyLn3r76bNL4eB7mUqwkjzsqTbNl1EHnviBTKY1bW7ZdU1g2qvAi_HL-g13PS6tTd99QgJVzKfxWKkcz0pkSIVQHCow/w320-h208/WM.jpg" title="Pittenweem West Shore Pumpkin Carving" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Pittenweem West Shore, Pumpkin Carving, Moti Black, 2019</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/42183822" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I grew this pumpkin in my garden and the carve took two days. I've not managed to create something as large or as intricate since, but I hope to do a couple this year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy Carving</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-317857022878474182021-07-06T13:47:00.007-07:002021-07-06T13:52:28.146-07:00Around the Colour Wheel in Eighty Shades: Part One <p>I've been asked quite a bit lately about my colour choices in my paintings. I have been reluctant to write about it, as I am a self taught artist and assume I have huge holes in my knowledge, but as there seems to be some interest, and I started to tell people I would blog about it, here we go.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Cadmium Scarlet and Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)<br /></span></h2><p style="text-align: left;">When I am starting a painting, I pick two colours which are opposite each other on the colour wheel, so when they are combined in the right amounts, they create a neutral greyish colour. As you mix these two colours, they create a range of colours, some of which can be matched with other paints, which may have different and useful properties.</p><p><br /></p><p>With my Firth of Forth series, I mostly use Cadmium Scarlet and Winsor Blue (Red Shade). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OEeYAGzNHVvB-eAEX5xHxv6qboMVHt7qHxFUsFvNO-PilMRI449fsr-hXXjFuv1RIFAovLP2_3hDTVqNW8sK64Z9cl2sjOTsR-hbBX0d0rFn_Oiu3kaNNzln_Oyj7ERE6FbZ1-D93OUr/s2048/Watermarked+Bass+Rock.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1389" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OEeYAGzNHVvB-eAEX5xHxv6qboMVHt7qHxFUsFvNO-PilMRI449fsr-hXXjFuv1RIFAovLP2_3hDTVqNW8sK64Z9cl2sjOTsR-hbBX0d0rFn_Oiu3kaNNzln_Oyj7ERE6FbZ1-D93OUr/s320/Watermarked+Bass+Rock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bass Rock, November 2018, Watercolur, Moti Black</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Available on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/35744400-bass-rock-november-2018?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-weWeiNJskSl-hEBYGO0siqNP6a_kfH_7o4z9cVZOqlAr0TQ-IsIFJXC6rr3JzIkKq_mndkh1haW3L873Iu8E6mqnHXxr1QeXNmhBPpHlgNW2iCywGyS7_nk_XngCRJ5B-v8unDHdr5a/s2048/Watermarked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1628" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-weWeiNJskSl-hEBYGO0siqNP6a_kfH_7o4z9cVZOqlAr0TQ-IsIFJXC6rr3JzIkKq_mndkh1haW3L873Iu8E6mqnHXxr1QeXNmhBPpHlgNW2iCywGyS7_nk_XngCRJ5B-v8unDHdr5a/s320/Watermarked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Isle of May, August 2018, Watercolour, Moti Black</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Available on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/33439886-isle-of-may-august-2018?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEo28e3hsLuIsKDSeQvLANURVu9Ttx746hgX04hQfbTdBzvZe2vm5EPfp6mITm3MlsDxUpo4r-sdHhQqO4k7Thrl59409MparMuMfd8-vBLox6Q76hhU-8Vw0XPoyciHeoBjwy1DuKSrw3/s2048/Berwick+Law+3+Cropped+Print+Watermarked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1554" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEo28e3hsLuIsKDSeQvLANURVu9Ttx746hgX04hQfbTdBzvZe2vm5EPfp6mITm3MlsDxUpo4r-sdHhQqO4k7Thrl59409MparMuMfd8-vBLox6Q76hhU-8Vw0XPoyciHeoBjwy1DuKSrw3/s320/Berwick+Law+3+Cropped+Print+Watermarked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Berwick Law and Craig Leith, November 2018</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Available on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/35758597-berwick-law-and-craig-leith-november-2018?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRtR3giE9r5GKCKv-incF-BWL3CS19AiytmTbmCkap2l57Qc3rKJ9mzUcEyS99gxmOxungR8EZ0PgcLv3QRNWyB-MqDJq2BYXIqmH6s8-DKZBz-l9BRWrnYv81eKLPzbzopEYSOjTMe24/s2048/IMG_1675.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRtR3giE9r5GKCKv-incF-BWL3CS19AiytmTbmCkap2l57Qc3rKJ9mzUcEyS99gxmOxungR8EZ0PgcLv3QRNWyB-MqDJq2BYXIqmH6s8-DKZBz-l9BRWrnYv81eKLPzbzopEYSOjTMe24/s320/IMG_1675.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The paints that fit in with this colour scheme are</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Phthalo Blue, Red Shade - Holbein Artists' Watercolour. Lovely and bright blue. Useful when you want to give the sky an extra oomph. However, it does leave a darker blue line around where you apply the wet paint.</li><li>Phthalo Sapphire - Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour. Very similar to the Holbein, Phthalo Blue Red Shade, but a limited edition, so may be hard to get your hands on.</li><li>Winsor Blue, Red Shade - Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour. My go to paint for paintings in these colours, but it doesn't work very well if you want to do effects with clingfilm, and like the Hobein, leaves a darker blue line at the edge of the wet paint when it dries.</li><li>Prussian Blue - Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour. I haven't used this much.</li><li>Indigo - Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour. I love the properties of this paint. It works really well with clingfilm. However, I find it is best used with plenty of water as can develop a coppery sheen.</li><li>Venetian Red - Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour. I haven't used this much</li><li>Light Red - Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour, again, I haven't used this much.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With the Firth of Forth Scenes Range, I only use Phthalo Blue, Red Shade (Holbein Artists' Watercolour), Winsor Blue, Red Shade (Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour), Indigo (Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour) and Cadmium Scarlet (Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour). (Sometimes I have used Chinese White to pick out the white areas, but I do try to leave the paper blank where I can.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I have also found these colours useful in other paintings, where I first paint the image using Winsor Blue Red Shade and Cadmium Scarlet, then add minimal colours from elsewhere in the colour wheel.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>For example, the colours are perfect for house sparrows. Here I added a bit of Raw Umber (Winsor and Newton Professional) on the feathers and Permanent Green Light (Daniel Smith) for the background.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnX9NiitTCENlx6aINP16_Qec9SyTJjGC3HCppQXkyT-UTfzvZglPLo9L2h2xu5OM5C5ol3CS4Hkm4ySgCKvk_aSKl1qlRRgL8wvIAJwTuQV3oncfhDYmFrnBW_guh26j_bRxdx_Hw_7uh/s2048/WM+Square.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnX9NiitTCENlx6aINP16_Qec9SyTJjGC3HCppQXkyT-UTfzvZglPLo9L2h2xu5OM5C5ol3CS4Hkm4ySgCKvk_aSKl1qlRRgL8wvIAJwTuQV3oncfhDYmFrnBW_guh26j_bRxdx_Hw_7uh/s320/WM+Square.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">House Sparrow, Watercolour, Moti Black</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This image is on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/46075198-sparrow-on-a-bird-feeder?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>I used the colour scheme again in my 'Dragon Attack on Pittenweem', with just a bit of Viridian (Winsor and Newton Professional) for the green doors, plants and reflections and Permanent Carmine (Winsor and Newton Professional) for the pink house.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlXX8mzJgMnsD3yv5ExQDPbsZtMlVHa-QgZZEPLhJoB-Fdk6GZIJA-xwU7flMx-Dlg0Fxb9k_pJYjOxPb-BhyphenhyphenNguShrT9-fLfinKxk5BVUM-EPZ48iP3m9a4Npr0-RGU_0fYzY7BWvtDJ/s2048/Watermarked.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1702" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlXX8mzJgMnsD3yv5ExQDPbsZtMlVHa-QgZZEPLhJoB-Fdk6GZIJA-xwU7flMx-Dlg0Fxb9k_pJYjOxPb-BhyphenhyphenNguShrT9-fLfinKxk5BVUM-EPZ48iP3m9a4Npr0-RGU_0fYzY7BWvtDJ/s320/Watermarked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dragon Attack on Pittenweem, Moti Black, Watercolour</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Available on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/73552938-dragon-attack-on-pittenweem?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;">Happy Painting!</h2></div><div><br /></div>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-77804435382153738552021-02-04T16:22:00.006-08:002021-02-05T08:56:44.075-08:00Piracy and Psychic Protection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(Continuing from <a href="http://motiblack.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-seven-swords-that-are-killing-art.html">The seven swords that are killing art</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You have worked hard on your creative endeavour: it is finished and you are proud of it. Your magnum opus now exists in the real world, the spiritual world, and for better or worse, the online world. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Piracy, plagiarism and misappropriation are unpleasant but all-pervasive features of today’s world, and, short of hiding your work under your bed, there is nothing you can do to guarantee that no one will exploit your work for their own reasons. They may scan a print and then sell copies, lift the image from the internet and stick their name over it, copy your book and upload it to a free-for-all website, misquote your words and plaster your name all over statements you don't agree with, or cut and paste your words and pass them off as their own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First things first, don’t make it easy for people to steal from you. Use watermarks, or if you don’t like them, be creative when photographing your artwork for use online: place leaves, crystals, logos, business cards in the way, so they can’t be easily cropped off. Join relevant support groups, report copyright infringement to the websites, hosts, and publishers. Work with others to raise awareness of the real costs of piracy and copyright infringement, and most importantly, practice what you preach. Spiritually, like attracts like, so don’t complain about people stealing your work, and then download music for free or take an image off the internet without permission and repurpose it for your own use.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7s9wZxx-1gn2riffjGEYQoyUuIgPGbY7KSI33PONsEOdlOLFVsfUPeu6NehPT-RMb9W1lBXDSd8CZnzS5FUfrIGuVzcrOLJKR9GPgXXC5u-oDJwxTYb4al6E9BccFLZ40hBM5IqUqk2E/s2048/WM+Eye+of+Horus.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Eye of Horus Watercolour Painting" border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="2048" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7s9wZxx-1gn2riffjGEYQoyUuIgPGbY7KSI33PONsEOdlOLFVsfUPeu6NehPT-RMb9W1lBXDSd8CZnzS5FUfrIGuVzcrOLJKR9GPgXXC5u-oDJwxTYb4al6E9BccFLZ40hBM5IqUqk2E/w400-h221/WM+Eye+of+Horus.png" title="Eye of Horus Painting" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Eye of Horus, Watercolour, Moti Black 2020</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This image can be found on my RedBubble shop <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/67573465-eye-of-horus?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xr11M34CaCI9R7qOSbOLhjca4JwFJC7hJysscc__Ag6qeBP7kiiDgB9_IFyLJA3kF08zJRUEHMrxhB47uu2qOn1AZcbclnKk-62r62VN7eMAQxSefRpHoCR7fvsDSeDjFGQB2TJcR4tB/s1000/Eye+of+Horus+Canvas+Bag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Eye of Horus on a RedBubble Canvas Bag" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xr11M34CaCI9R7qOSbOLhjca4JwFJC7hJysscc__Ag6qeBP7kiiDgB9_IFyLJA3kF08zJRUEHMrxhB47uu2qOn1AZcbclnKk-62r62VN7eMAQxSefRpHoCR7fvsDSeDjFGQB2TJcR4tB/w200-h200/Eye+of+Horus+Canvas+Bag.jpg" title="Eye of Horus on Canvas Bag" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Meditation to Protect your Artistic Creations</h2><div><br /></div><div>Firstly, you will need an imaginary safe space with a clear boundary and gateway. This may be an art gallery, book shop, dance floor, garden enclosed by a hedge, or whatever works best for you and your creation. Take time to develop this space, you need to get the balance right between a protective area you can control, and a welcoming space people can come into and experience your work. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>In the middle of this space, have your work on display. Maybe it is a lectern with your book on it, or your painting hanging on a special wall. Think about how you wish to present your precious creation to the world and ensure the layout reflects this. In front of your work, place a protective symbol of your choosing, such as the Eye of Horus, a pentacle, a bunch of heather, or an eye. Have a real life version of this symbol you can see and touch every day.</div><div><br /></div><div>Relax yourself into a deep meditative state. Look around your safe space and admire your work on display. Be pleased with what you have created. Touch your fingers to the protective symbol and recite a prepared short protection mantra. If you can write your own mantra, it will be more powerful, but if not, feel free to use the following. If you write your own, remember positive statements hold more power and be very careful about your choice of words, don't 'release your work into the universe', or put up barriers so high no one will fight through to enjoy your work. </div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: center;">Behold: resources, time, love, energy. <br />This work I forge, now invite you to see. <br />May our hearts witness a shared synergy,<br />And fair exchange guide this journey.</h2></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Have one gateway, door or portal leading into your safe space. By this gateway, place a symbolic receptacle. This could be an honesty jar, a till, a contactless payment point, or what feels right to you. Imagine people entering, and as they pass the symbolic receptacle, throwing tokens into a jar, swiping their card, or whatever you choose to symbolise their payment, so the spiritual balance is maintained. Once people have entered and a fair exchange has taken place, they get to enjoy your work and you are fairly compensated for the work you put in to bring the artwork into being.</div><div><br /></div><div>Take time to enjoy watching the people milling around the space, enjoying your art. If you have created a work of literature, why not imagine some lovely reading nooks and watch people snuggle down with your book? If you have composed a piece of music, why not have some comfy listening stations or a thriving dance floor? And don’t forget to create a special space for all the people who helped you along the way. Make sure they get a fair share of the tokens people have ‘paid’ to come into the space and use this opportunity to say thank you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Focus on the boundaries of your safe space, and slowly fill the area with a beautiful golden light. Thank the people who have entered this space for appreciating your art and wish them well. Maintaining the golden light in the space, walk over to the display where your creation proudly stands. Focus this light on the art. If pieces of your art have been stolen or misused, imagine fragments of its soul flying back through the ether to reunite with the original, restoring it in its original state within its own safe space. Some people like to beat a drum or sing during soul retrieval rituals, so if you wish to imagine yourself singing, or beating a drum, do it. Once your amazing artistic creation is glowing and whole. Touch your fingers to the protective symbol.</div><div><br /></div><div>Leaving your fans enjoying your work, bring yourself out of the meditation, and touch your real life symbol. Keep this symbol close by and touch it regularly whilst repeating your mantra to top up your protection. Revisit your safe space every so often, add new works, enjoy your time there and always thank those who help you along the way.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I believe everyone is completely responsible for their own choices and spiritual development. However, I would advise against cursing people who steal from you. It is upsetting when people profit from your work without paying either you or all the people who helped you on your journey. It is also heart breaking (and theft) when people distribute your art for free without your permission. But by sending curses and negative energy out into the universe, you attract negativity back to yourself. </div><div><br /></div><div>In terms of this meditation, I see the golden wonderful environment you create in your safe space as meaning those who engage with your work through genuine channels will have a profound experience. Those who steal or take your work from other sources, will find your work cold and disinteresting, reducing demand for pirated goods. </div><div><br /></div><div>Don't forget legal routes and awareness raising are still one hundred percent valid routes for tackling these issues. </div><p></p>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-10016564375099472402021-01-21T16:33:00.004-08:002021-02-04T16:23:45.802-08:00The seven swords that are killing art<p>Back in spring 2020 a few artist friends of mine were rallying against an increasing trend in the tarot community: pirated decks. </p><p>Online retailers were offering cheap pirated decks, for which the publishers and artists received no payment. </p><p>What shocked me the most was the number of people within the tarot community who jumped to defend their right to buy cheap pirated decks.</p><p>Two artists I admire announced that they planned to stop creating new decks, as they could not financially afford to inadvertently give their art away for free. I saw two exciting projects abandoned, and another deck creator said that they were leaving the field as why should they create art for a community that steals from them.</p><p>Friends of mine were attacked on line for defending the rights of artists (and publishers, and agents, and assistants, and all the people involved in bringing creative works to life). Things were getting pretty unpleasant.</p><p>People were arguing that they had a right to buy pirated decks and that the artists were ungrateful for the praise they should feel that people admired their art work this much!</p><p>At this point, I stuck my oar in, and, although I fortunately have never knowingly had my intellectual property stolen from me, I wanted to stand in solidarity with the artists and those being attacked for saying piracy is wrong.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4XU21ToN8B_p6pPfRawWwrBN1PehsC9x1PMrf3_2-iODiMVCB7K8wf7aL02-0AoM1BYixI-eekG0mmmRDmIv_WqV17p_qlslrPsVRlMjaN2F76_6pAVGqrC_bqX1xBAzt-a1LmRfL1nH/s2048/7+Swords.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TA poem about piracy based around the Seven of Swords" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4XU21ToN8B_p6pPfRawWwrBN1PehsC9x1PMrf3_2-iODiMVCB7K8wf7aL02-0AoM1BYixI-eekG0mmmRDmIv_WqV17p_qlslrPsVRlMjaN2F76_6pAVGqrC_bqX1xBAzt-a1LmRfL1nH/w426-h640/7+Swords.jpg" title="The Seven Swords of Piracy a Poem by Moti Black" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Seven Swords of Piracy by Moti Black, March 2020</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The background image is based on a skull pumpkin carving I did in 2019. The image can be found on my RedBubble shop <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/42298787-skull-from-a-pumpkin-carving?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0sg8InzPCWPjyulDXhRLi0JdpGM1orzph7TLYpNtg37oCVje59AC00Qesiti5EczetzlhkYisjX7KYU5S4tE9exJAgCZN54Fl-O_y_9yjFUjpKRmfOoMzh0gJLl7GTdHGLai6ypbNIU0/s1000/Pumpkin+Skull+Cushion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Skull Pumpkin Carving on a RedBubble Cushion" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="999" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0sg8InzPCWPjyulDXhRLi0JdpGM1orzph7TLYpNtg37oCVje59AC00Qesiti5EczetzlhkYisjX7KYU5S4tE9exJAgCZN54Fl-O_y_9yjFUjpKRmfOoMzh0gJLl7GTdHGLai6ypbNIU0/w200-h200/Pumpkin+Skull+Cushion.jpg" title="Skull Pumpkin Carving Cushion" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Seven Swords of Piracy</h2><p class="MsoNormal">By Moti Black</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Ignorance</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm;">I cannot be held accountable for
the things it is I buy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm;">How can I tell if it’s genuine, when
sellers always lie?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do a bit of research, check why it’s too good to be true.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Look at the product and the vendor: assess the real value.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Foregoing Responsibility</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm;">I am not the bad guy here, it’s got
nothing to do with me,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm;">I paid money, I did not steal: my
friends tell me they agree.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You paid someone to steal for you, you condone the work they
do.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Money makes this market grow: the money that comes from you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Consequence Denial</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm;">I get something a bit cheap; the artist
gets a free advert,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1cm;">You’re making a fuss over nothing,
no one is getting hurt.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You’re handing money to criminals, and what that funds, who
knows?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You hurt the artist, reduce investment, and bring fresh art
to new lows.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Greed</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">The greedy artists charge too much,
they must be rich, don’t you see?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">I can’t afford the prices they
charge, that’s why there’s piracy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most artists aren’t as rich as you think, and you clearly don’t
value their art.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Would you be happy working for free for some self-entitled
upstart?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Compulsion Disorders</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">I have an addiction and you have
no right to make me feel like this.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1cm;">Publishers should not push their
wares when they know that we can’t resist.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are being genuine, please seek professional advice.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it’s not an excuse and don’t tell others to buy fake
merchandise.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Faux Ethics</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 21.3pt;">There’re always those silly
extras, that come with authentic goods.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 21.3pt;">I’m doing it for the environment,
I’m helping to save those woods.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You could buy the item second hand, or not buy it at all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your blatant consumerism weakens your claim to a higher call.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>The Blithe Shopper</b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 21.3pt;">Look, I don’t care, say what you
want, it’ll have no impact on me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 21.3pt;">To be honest, if I could, I’d be
printing art out for free.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For all the artists, can I just say, you are not welcome to our
art.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To knowingly buy pirated goods, reveals a truly selfish
heart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Unfortunately, things went down hill from there. A facebook group was discovered where people were sharing images of decks for others to print them out for free, a publishing house an acquaintance had most of their books and decks published with went under, and a friend who makes a small income from a couple of niche ebooks found their work in several places on download for free websites.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I saw friends and acquaintances suffer financial hardship, stress and depression; jobs lost; the market for new decks and books shrink; and people attacked on the internet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the middle of all this, I was writing my first novel and trying to expand my nascent art career. I was sure I must be crazy, but all I have ever wanted to be was a writer, (or an artist if that fell through), and I finally got to have a stab at it now I was north of forty. So embrace the crazy I did.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Whilst writing The Casa Martyrs, I did a lot of research into psychic protection to make sure the magic system I was creating was as authentic as possible. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am by no means an expert in the area, but one night I thought, 'Hey! why not put these two things together and create a little meditation for sending new creative works off out into the universe with a little bit of spiritual protective (environmentally friendly) glitter scattered all over it?'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is what I created... (<a href="http://motiblack.blogspot.com/2021/02/piracy-and-psychic-protection.html">Piracy and Psychic Protection</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-84617846019969857542020-05-23T07:50:00.003-07:002021-01-09T13:25:08.539-08:00The Quiet Panic<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxghPVJBHrpDurJC_iBKgTDuZtipicFZx_HH6pdXgOK1_xYOHigm15zUo6e-NVwkktl97nu007YUJN3XielYF9j2inkg7Np88OAcRTQ6sOlyOgWRqvNaR-_HXr1YDv9x2pliSV0pZt5ccu/s1600/The+Quiet+Panic+LowRes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A Covid Poem (text below) over a painting of Berwick Law" border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="1600" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxghPVJBHrpDurJC_iBKgTDuZtipicFZx_HH6pdXgOK1_xYOHigm15zUo6e-NVwkktl97nu007YUJN3XielYF9j2inkg7Np88OAcRTQ6sOlyOgWRqvNaR-_HXr1YDv9x2pliSV0pZt5ccu/w640-h481/The+Quiet+Panic+LowRes.jpg" title="The Quiet Panic" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Quiet Panic by Moti Black April 2020</div>
<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #6eacb4; font-size: x-large;">
The Quiet Panic</span></h4>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
By Moti Black</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
This is a quiet panic:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
A sedate fear behind doors.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Behind screens and links that click;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
That’s finally reached our shores.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Elsewhere, there’s cacophony:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Key workers risking it all;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Death with no ceremony;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Heroes answering a call.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
In the quiet of cancelled plans,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
That space between scared and bored,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
I use the time on my hands,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
To ignite dreams long ignored.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
I practice skills, write my tome;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Send good wishes, clap at eight:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Cocooned safely in my home.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Late at night, I cry and shake.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Shopping trips with toothcomb queues</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Remind me normal is gone.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Hurry home to watch the news,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Think: ‘crying emoticon’.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
This is a quiet panic:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Measured in memes and death tolls.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
PPE and numbers sick,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">
Stock levels and toilet rolls.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lockdown hit as I was revving up for the art season. With all my exhibitions called off, I rather abruptly put away all my art supplies and jumped into my writing. I wasn't completely serious when I said I was going to have my novel finished by the end of quarantine, but now I am, as I only have six chapters left. </div>
<div>
<br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div>The above image, minus the text, can be found on my RedBubble shop, <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/35758597-berwick-law-and-craig-leith-november-2018?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7qqutPebxuc98XHPpkv9m9dIS4UTRBjAiMhY4EaC49fTKwzUJaubNMd88WZk5wavhkq1sDTecI0bsQ5QJcU2lBSYENrTzAQFRQYu7iKXld_pulqF4CDXr8X17xYe-LALcu7H9VQX_lf5/s1000/Berwick+Law+Notebook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A photo of a hardback notebook featuring a watercolour painting of Berwick Law" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7qqutPebxuc98XHPpkv9m9dIS4UTRBjAiMhY4EaC49fTKwzUJaubNMd88WZk5wavhkq1sDTecI0bsQ5QJcU2lBSYENrTzAQFRQYu7iKXld_pulqF4CDXr8X17xYe-LALcu7H9VQX_lf5/w320-h320/Berwick+Law+Notebook.jpg" title="Berwick law Notebook" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/notebook/Berwick-Law-and-Craig-Leith-November-2018-by-MotiBlack/35758597.RXH2R" target="_blank">Hardback Notebook featuring Berwick Law by Moti Black</a></div><br /><div><br /></div>
Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342860970590490968.post-84033178165036408152018-12-04T13:30:00.001-08:002021-01-09T13:25:39.236-08:00Tarot Spread for a Writing Project<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I entered the TABI pumpkin competition with the Pamela
Colman Smith pumpkin from my last blog post and I won! The prize was a copy of
the <a href="https://www.jdarkwater.com/" target="_blank">Darkwater Tarot by James Douglas</a>, and the
deck hasn’t even hit the shops yet! It is a stunning black and white deck,
which Margo reviewed for the TABI blog <a href="https://tabi.org.uk/2018/08/deck-review-the-darkwater-tarot/" target="_blank">here</a>.
So a huge thank you to James for donating the deck to TABI for the competition,
and for everyone who voted for me and my Pixie on a Pumpkin :-)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The winning image can be seen on RedBubble <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/motiblack/works/39825923-pixie-on-a-pumpkin?asc=u" target="_blank">here</a>, on in my previous blog post.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead of writing another review of the deck, I thought I
would create a spread to see how the deck works in action, and to have a
challenging and honest look at my work on The Casa Martyrs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qcBXo2csQ95IezXpHGXc-UsASP3nght1/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Here is a downloadable PDF of the spread if you want to try it with one of your writing projects.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaITcGTgFCuL8kdwcZR__NscWh0O5BV8S55vZjHDsHYqY_Ovs0xhUUfS3LLxNnLwXABqTVBjCSvLCJkMtZPfwEXg2lyHuNtEr0cD-mPUCktclRFSTq7nS3BUPdQC2To9AfAwOTY-GbnJT/s1600/Tarot+Spread+Focus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1093" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaITcGTgFCuL8kdwcZR__NscWh0O5BV8S55vZjHDsHYqY_Ovs0xhUUfS3LLxNnLwXABqTVBjCSvLCJkMtZPfwEXg2lyHuNtEr0cD-mPUCktclRFSTq7nS3BUPdQC2To9AfAwOTY-GbnJT/s400/Tarot+Spread+Focus.jpg" width="272" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The photos of the cards from the Darkwater Tarot deck used in this post aren't very good quality, but the cards themselves are! If you want to have a better look at the cards, please visit the <a href="https://www.jdarkwater.com/darkwater-tarot" target="_blank">Darkwater website</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>1 – The Author: As the creator of this work of fiction, what
role do I play? Am I truly committed to helping this work reach it’s potential,
or do I have other motives, distractions or limitations?</b></h2><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBP8OHA4w6ZLAwrLnkkAJCOg96-eazZN2c_jtKSOjbnXTLnxT7KxgxcO1WMqHY8zalqHn6NrfVR93Ddu1ceS-dKzvOeJH5KJyg8miTcQt6s6gqSYawyoD86a0hfzQx6JzTZrJGQ4oOWg6/s1600/2+Cups.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="630" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBP8OHA4w6ZLAwrLnkkAJCOg96-eazZN2c_jtKSOjbnXTLnxT7KxgxcO1WMqHY8zalqHn6NrfVR93Ddu1ceS-dKzvOeJH5KJyg8miTcQt6s6gqSYawyoD86a0hfzQx6JzTZrJGQ4oOWg6/s200/2+Cups.png" width="121" /></a>Two of Cups: There are two hands reaching out towards each
other at the top of this card. The first thought that came to mind was the
divine spark in Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
Maybe my ego is reaching a bit there, but certainly, this is a good card to
represent my commitment to The Casa Martyrs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This has been a long-term project, which has been pushed to
the background whilst I have taken on other commitments, sometimes for years at
a time, but I have finally taken the steps to dedicate the time and energy required
to see this through to the end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two cups in the card are of different sizes and remind
me of how I feel about the projects I try to juggle. These days, I can only
really concentrate on one thing at a time: I focus on the big cup in front of
me, it dances around, I hope I do a good job, but it is at the expense of the
small cups in the background. Thankfully after a few years of culling the
responsibilities which weren’t helping me maintain a balanced life, I am nearly
at the position where I feel I have two cups (projects) on the go: my art and
my writing. However, I am still either writing for a stretch of time, or I am painting,
I can’t mix the two very well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>2 – The Characters: have I done justice to the characters in
my writing? Could they be fuller, more believable, or do they have something
else to say? </b></h2><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe picking Justice reversed with other decks would say
something different, but the second I saw the image of the Darkwater Tarot, I
thought it could not be more apt. The Darkwater Tarot comes with the
description “Rather than reverse a reading, the design and content of each card
provides alternative pathways for the reader to discover.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The title of the novel I am writing is The Casa Martyrs. On
one level, “The Casa Martyrs” is just the name of a band, on another level it explores
the notion of what ‘home’ (Casa) is, the sacrifices people will make for their
perception of ‘home’, and the fallout when people force their views of home on
other people, especially children, who are often held hostage to other people’s
interpretations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SunQHMHU7XiilH7TqvA-_yfpVeCu6DDnBsS4TUZgsE5y03fU1w3OupPCdCO_vtXJVV73AP0EmzbVbqM2bmp41ahzOoFUB2SpzSnmZo3Qr2CESur0w-MR2kqaFhYjbO__JId9EXz3uEgi/s1600/Justice+Rx.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="599" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SunQHMHU7XiilH7TqvA-_yfpVeCu6DDnBsS4TUZgsE5y03fU1w3OupPCdCO_vtXJVV73AP0EmzbVbqM2bmp41ahzOoFUB2SpzSnmZo3Qr2CESur0w-MR2kqaFhYjbO__JId9EXz3uEgi/s200/Justice+Rx.png" width="128" /></a>So, when Justice turns up, reversed, with a lop-sided
picture saying ‘There’s no place like home’, it feels like my characters are
telling me I have put them through the wringer by challenging their home lives,
but I have also helped them learn more about themselves by letting them explore
what home means to them, and what they will do to protect it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the Darkwater Tarot, there is a symbol of the tree of
life on the Major and Court Cards. In the upright position, the leaves are at
the top, reversed, the root system is uppermost. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the Justice card, when it is reversed, the root system is
under a bed. In Chapter One of The Casa Martyrs, The Protagonist, Kerella, finds
herself in a dream:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 35.45pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Bending
down by the bed, I reach under the valance, past those smiling yellow stars and
into the more accurate representation of my childhood. Damp leaves stick to my
hand. I pat the ground and sink my fingers into decomposing vegetation.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 35.45pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kerella delves into the under-bed ecosystem (her subconscious)
and rummages about in the roots, trying to drag out her demons to face. It is a
harsh process of facing up to things that happened in the past, many of
which were unjust, but she has to find a way to come to terms with them so
she can play an active role in shaping her future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The word ‘Difference’ is at the top of this card. In the
Casa Martyrs, the three main characters have a presence in both the real world,
and Kerella’s fantasy world. As they all have two separate upbringings and
home lives, I get to play around with the environmental factors and see what
character traits remain constant. For example, in her fantasy world, Kerella is
brought up primarily in isolation, reading in a small room. In the real world,
Kerella creates a different type of isolation and still reads a lot of books,
despite having other opportunities available to her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Hebrew letter, Lamed, is in the top right-hand corner of
the card, and the significance for the characters is the journey they will take
over the course of the story. Chronologically, they start in a situation where
strong but severe societal structures frame their relationships, but that is
shaken up and they are sent down a difficult path which will challenge their
sense of self and their view of each other. This leads them to a greater
understanding of themselves and enable more genuine relationships to develop.
As Lamed is often described as goading or prodding down a certain tricky path, as I am writing and proof reading, I will keep an eye out
for where the characters’ development doesn’t flow quite as freely as I feel it
should.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The symbol for Air is in the top left-hand corner. I have
been really enjoying writing the dialogue between the characters, and as air
can refer to communications, I hope this is the character’s telling me they
have been enjoying the chatter just as much as me: they certainly like to take over and say things I wasn't expecting!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>3 – The Plot: Does the story hold together well? Is there a
good balance between detail and forward moving momentum? Are there any major
plot holes? Is the story achieving what it set out to achieve?</b></h2><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulGUWzNaR_QtRE6hfkqmG06xf3cnoZyK_6OdJMs_rwwtecPRWsn4Xm4JlD_mCvTaYrsZK65V9cOlLBT1ALIWSAWxCF0OphYpUNdAXmso6eGlIxx_T3GPEisxA6KS8dBEQKyPVPG3Rb70y/s1600/Knight+of+Swords.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="677" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulGUWzNaR_QtRE6hfkqmG06xf3cnoZyK_6OdJMs_rwwtecPRWsn4Xm4JlD_mCvTaYrsZK65V9cOlLBT1ALIWSAWxCF0OphYpUNdAXmso6eGlIxx_T3GPEisxA6KS8dBEQKyPVPG3Rb70y/s200/Knight+of+Swords.png" width="113" /></a>Knight of Swords: Well, I was aiming for a fast-paced plot,
but maybe the Air of Air is a bit too much, and certainly not sustainable for
three books! It also runs the risk of floating off and not being grounded,
alienating the readers. As the knight is wearing a helmet in the card in the upright position, I feel that if I go too quickly, the reader
won’t get to see the real face of the characters. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now my brain has gone off on a tangent, trying to work
out which court card my favourite kind of plot would be. Probably the Knight of
Wands, as I’d have the energy of fire combined with the momentum and communication of
air. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are two flowers at the top of the card, a black rose
and a white lily. White Lilies often symbolise purity, and black roses have
often been associated with danger and death. In terms of balance, I feel this
is a good sign. There is also a plot theme running through my novel dealing
with concepts of good and evil.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>4 – The Words: How have I assembled the building blocks of
my writing project? Have I used language effectively? Do I need to be aware of
any bad habits I have developed?</b></h2><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hKHMTTs9vVc3cYseyoxkREFTEyZUl6dKi1zCuSb-hnCiWJVNpNQF80N_u6TpHmr83SwefNx0nxQnhY5huOM6WVqDJHXHfnGUSIACC2l-OSGkHBnVqHgNS58JuVRQ8iPA4GdB4Uvh1ZVM/s1600/Three+of+Pentacles.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="672" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hKHMTTs9vVc3cYseyoxkREFTEyZUl6dKi1zCuSb-hnCiWJVNpNQF80N_u6TpHmr83SwefNx0nxQnhY5huOM6WVqDJHXHfnGUSIACC2l-OSGkHBnVqHgNS58JuVRQ8iPA4GdB4Uvh1ZVM/s200/Three+of+Pentacles.png" width="126" /></a>Three of Pentacles: If you ever want the pedantry of
pentacles and symbolism of a great project, this is the card!<br />
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The Darkwater
Tarot has the symbol of a column in the top right-hand corner, signifying all
the hard work, planning, skill and investment a successful project needs to reach fruition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I am writing, I like to consider myself as very
deliberate in my choice of words and punctuation, as I believe these are as
important to the tone of the story as the other facets of a writing project.
However, there are three faces on this card, and the three of pentacles is the
card of successful team work. Although I would never think of putting my work
out there, self-published and untouched by a professional editor, I think this
is a wake-up call that the final version will involve the input of
professionals in the field who will know a lot more than me about the publishing
market, and it may soon be time to recruit a willing friend or two to read through what I have written so far!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>5 -The Audience: How will my intended audience react to my
writing project? Does the project have any marketing potential? </b></h2><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nYiOCVau8wUnt-dTEB7eEz0EeIxfQrLCq6HnIh-c4i2B8Ka8eqi_QUII9JYZavLzLv8r-gEA7PmIfSUlNhlluO2y9cDfPEHvSZ0yLtukgioImeq2Bd_emSGOBvFYItURbHjFYIsjm6uE/s1600/The+Moon.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="623" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nYiOCVau8wUnt-dTEB7eEz0EeIxfQrLCq6HnIh-c4i2B8Ka8eqi_QUII9JYZavLzLv8r-gEA7PmIfSUlNhlluO2y9cDfPEHvSZ0yLtukgioImeq2Bd_emSGOBvFYItURbHjFYIsjm6uE/s200/The+Moon.png" width="120" /></a>The Moon: My initial reaction wasn’t very positive
to considering my future readers as dogs howling at the moon, at night, when
nothing is at it seems. I was making a cup of tea the next day when it hit me:
this is a work of fiction that I am enthusiastic about. If other people wish to
get as hyped as me about the story, I am not misleading them and just sharing the joy I have had over the years whilst I created the story.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The symbol of Pisces leads us to water, which coupled with the Moon, gives us the tides. This is telling me interest will wax and wane. When it is high tide, I have to be careful not to get carried away by the delusions of the moon, and when the tide is low, I need to remember that it will come back in, so not to get too disheartened.<br />
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Looking at the spread, one thing that stands out is the lack
of fire and that might explain why I find moving forward so difficult at times.
I decided a while back to finish the entire draft before sharing it with friends
or approaching potential agents, but it makes for a very long dark tunnel and
it is easy to switch back to art for a while, as I can show people what I am
doing and bring in a few pennies to keep me going. This reminds me of a reading I
did for a <a href="https://tabi.org.uk/2018/07/3621/" target="_blank">TABI blog post</a> earlier this year which warned me the fiery nature of
my art may distract from my writing! <o:p></o:p><br />
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On which note, I am going to put my writing to one side for a while, as
I have some arty commitments I have made which need to be finished this month. However, I still plan to finish chapter 14 by the end of the year.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Caroline Blacklerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03457012680563994684noreply@blogger.com0