Chookas

◘ First up let’s check out the stats :
♦ We have 179 awesome EEG members – You all ROCK!!! =0þ
♦ We have of 2515 artworks, 629 writings, 85 t-shirts & 209 journals (& this one! lol)
♦ We have been about almost a whole year!!!!! ☼ YAY!!!! ☼ Cause for celebration!

◘ NEXT I bring to you this group news with immense apologies for Skipping September! <(
I had a good reason! – “♥ My two youngest children came to live with me full time!! ♥ ”:
[When I am allowed to I shall make a JE of the experience visible & link it here]
(meanwhile from the vaults of adgray ○ “not telling yet”- & ○ “and we can play again” may help you piece it together) ♥ For those of you who really wish to know, _{that for me is 10 years of being unfairly stifled Maternally, now irreversibly revoked and as such cause for great rejoicing and celebration! EXCEPT it was done via traumatic measures. Consequently September for us meant lots of doctors and Psychologist visits, close negotiations with school advisers, several legal representatives and observation contact between kids & father supervised by Department of Human Service Workers and more DHS interview visits and several court case appearances. It won’t be over for several months yet as the kid’s father is trying to fight it so it will end in a 5day trial early next year (First he admits to it and now he’s trying to deny it!)}
But for now, life in my home is once again VERY busy and extremely rewarding! ♥

◘ Consequently though, it has been brought to my attention how unprofessional I have been and allowed this to interfere with my commitment to you all (& to my other groups on the bubble) and how I really cannot expect to run this awesome group on my own any more. As I also have two abdominal surgeries coming up which could also cancel out my time on the net and which is not fair of me to expect you all to remain so patient.

Due to all this I sent out a call for assistance and have chosen some fellow EEG members to help me in the maintenance of this group.
So introducing ….
☼ CHOOKAS CHUMS ☼ =0þ
☼ “Isa Rodriguez” “Ice Ice Baby”

and EEG Newbies
☼ “Carlotta Peacock” “River Of Dreams”

☼ “JANET SUMMERS” “Enlightenment-the return to yourself”

♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦
♦☼♥ Thank you ladies so much for stepping up to help me do what we can for this awesome Group! – you all ROCK!!! ♥☼♦
(My other profile, adgray & fiance’s profile, Skik shall also remain.)
♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦☼♥☼♦

So I hope you can bear with us new Chums over the rest of the month as we endeavour to get to know each other, toss about ideas and sort out responsibility rosters and a comprehensive guideline to the work moderation.

NOW TO THE BUSINESS OF BELATED FEATURES!!!
◘ First of all, as it was the wonderful Isa Rodriguez who bmailed me in concern for my semi-inactivity and coaxed me into accepting co-hosts (not that I didn’t want to it’s just that I had asked before and gotten nowhere so thought none of you wanted to help!)
Anyway as Isa coaxed me into accepting her help, I now think of her as the Chief Bridesmaid (so to speak) of the Chums, (Does that make adgray the matron of honour …. & Skik the page boy? lol he’d love that! lol =0þ) _*
So I have asked her to do 6 features which are:
◘ Isa’s Features
Isa told me “I cannot tell you why I chose them… I know that is terrible… I am not a wordsmith by any means… lol … but, each one of these inspires me to smile or think on beauty or God or just wonderful people
♦ each one a treasure to behold .. and look upon .
♦ each one caters to some deep feeling of humanity “ and I tend to agree!

☼ “Abhijeet – Painting” by TREVOR IRWIN
_{Chookas says:} “This is such a sweet painting of a child subjected to a life that is not so sweet. Trevor is diligent in his tireless work to raise funds for her community. I am so glad there are people like him in the world and that he is bringing their plight through his art to our attention” ☼ *BRAVO!! ☼
Please check out his websight www.philadelphia33.org and see what you can do to help! ♥

☼ “Wind Owl Dance” by tkrosevear
_{Chookas says:} “Tammy does the most gloriously inspirational & spiritual art. Her images just fill your heart & soul with goodness and light!” ☼ BRAVO!! ☼
(PS Happy Birthday Gal! ♥)

☼ “LIVE LOVE LIFE and DREAM” by Kevin Mawson
_{Chookas says:} “Kevin is the Collaboration King! =0þ Not that collaborative efforts are strictly ekphrasis (I differentiate between them as – ekphrasis as a surprise compliment from the inspired artist to the inspiring artist; where as Collaboration is “Hey! Let’s get together and come up with …..”) But Kevin is the one collaborations seem to gravitate around. If it is not with another awesome visual artist it is with stunning writers! But then who else can take words and give them life?” ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “in another place in another time” by royAllenHunt”
_{Chookas says:} “This painting and song are a favourite of mine. Having worked with Indigenous Australians I can fully equate to the fact that the skin is the last similarity & it’s colour is the least of our worries – Also being a redhead you have no idea the discrimination I have suffered – it’s called “Bullying” apparently! Thank you Alen for bringing this to light in your art!” ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “the eyes of Jesus” by Jan Stead JEMproductions
_{Chookas says:} “I am not religious (that’s not to say I don’t believe there is a higher force or whatever I just don’t think Man should dictate what that is and how I should respect it!) However my good friend Jan is (as are many in this bubble and in this group) and when I saw this I almost changed my mind! How could you not want to believe there was a man who loved the world with eyes that showed it! Especially if those eyes looked like these! Jan concentrates on photography at the moment but I wish she would return to her painting art. I look at these eyes and I sigh and I want to be loved by those eyes!” ♥ ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “bush fire” by sweetscent62
_{Chookas says:} “Wendy did this when Australia was burning! Australia always burns at one stage or another. It is part of our botanical requirements. Our bush needs to burn out every now and then to clean it out and to regenerate itself. The poem Wendy adds to this piece explains the cycle.
The problem we are having is from whiteman’s interference – for 200 years we have been removing the bush and creating better fuel supplies for massive bushfires. Yes the Indigenous have been burning the bush periodically for their own gains too – flushing out food for one – But they’ve been doing small burns over 40,000 years – I think that’s an established pattern that the bush is expecting now! Damming and bottling our water (preventing natural balancing evaporation & precipitation) has also dried out our continent and made it very tinder dry and from now on the bush will burn stronger hotter and faster. But I have faith in Nature – yes we’ve had the worst element catastrophes on record (we are talking 150 -200 years not that long really) such as the worst drought, the worst floods (yes at the same time! lol) the worst bushfires, the worst salinity, the worst dust-storms etc But I see it as Nature trying to re-balance the world – I was told this story once of “a huge oil spill in the North Sea threatening Scotland and overnight it disappeared. Eventually they discovered there was a seaweed that grew at the bottom of the ocean and fed on oil so when the slick was detected this weed engorged and sucked in all the oil and then disappeared again.” which illustrates my point that Nature looks after the planet and perhaps we should stop hindering and start helping!
(Sorry I digressed & got a bit carried away! lol)
Wendy your poetry is superb and your art illustrates it perfectly!” ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

Overall a stunning collection of Exceptional Ekphrasis indeed!
☼ B R A V O !!! to you all !!!* ☼

◘ Chookas Features
I wanted to Feature some of the stunning pieces I have had the pleasure to have seen over the last two months. These truly are Exceptional Ekphrasis examples that we can all aspire to match!
_{There are a few of them so in the gallery please look to the next page of Features also!}
(Remember IMO “All art is important!” and so I never “delete” including the Exceptional Examples that are featured – they stay featured!)

☼ “Pressure” by Lynsye Medalia
Lynsye is a newbie to the EEG but this drawing of the Tattoo design for her sister is exceptional – interpreting the line “Some things I’ll never know & I had to let them go” from a favourite song “Pressure by Paramore” and gives the appropriate ink for us to get the oral experience that inspired this long distance sibling love. My sister is in the same city – only 30mins drive up the highway from me but our lifestyles are so busy and so different it is hard to keep the bond strong! But we always know no matter the length of the ribbon NOTHING will sever it! Welcome Lynsye! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼ (PS This would make a great T-shirt too! =0þ)

☼ “Roll over … ” by ToastedGhost
Another stunning newbie artist debuting with a piece that I just love! – what a way to celebrate Beethoven! Welcome to the EEG Toasted! ☼ BRAVO !! ☼

☼ “Wistful Girl Braiding Hair” by Shanina Conway
Shanina is another EEG Newbie but with this stunning caliber of ekphrasis work she is very welcome! This piece shows her skillful adaptation of the master Renoir! And she shows the steps she took and the original! I have to agree with the daring majority and prefer Shanina’s …. But then there is a certain plump warmth in the masters ….. =0þ Welcome Shanina! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “If Music Be The Food of Love, Play On… ” by Sarah Donoghue
This Shakespearean quote takes on a life of it’s own under the skillful t-shirt designing hands of Sarah Good Stuff! ☼ BRAVO !! ☼

☼ “a study in concentration” by Jan Stead JEMproductions
Once upon a ti,me the church-bells rang in code to tell the villagers and surrounding Farmers what was going on – did you know that? There was a certain pattern to the morning service call a certain pattern to the end of a wedding ceremony a certain pattern to the conclusion of a christening and a certain pattern to a funeral service. There were also patterns to warn the people of danger approaching and to call the people to the church to hear important news and then there were the patterns for school and the continual march of time! And who rang out all these patterns? Why the Bell-ringer! And it’s not as easy as you think! you had to coordinate with other ringers you had to pull “just so” so that the bell swung just enough and then you had to ring the right bell at the right time! as her poem says “Feeling the pealing” It’s more work than conducting an orchestra! (and Orchestral conductors have the sheet-music before them – bell ringers do it from memory!) Jan has just made a huge life move and this was from her old hometown church and so I know this would be special to her memory. And it is special to us for we are not all privy to this ancient art! Thank you Jan! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “Trouble’s a brewing” by Linda Sparks
Awesome Newbie Linda, debuts with this great action shot of a cowboy bank-robber about to dash to his escape with a guns blazing shootout in the Wilde Wilde west! (lol) Ok ok he’s an actor doing a demonstration of how movies were made on the lot back when Westerns were the in thing! and thus this is a great ekphrasis of that genre – acting about acting! lol Welcome Linda Encore! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “Red Bubble” by Shanina Conway
Hahaha!!! What a classic!!! =0þ It is rare that I choose 2 pieces from the same artist but this one is just PERFECT!!! lol Not only has she done a very respectful rendition of the work of Whistler but has spoofed redbubble with it brilliantly!!! lol I love it!!! =0þ ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “630 Sqdn Lancaster” by Woodie
Woodie is one of the established exceptional artists of the EEG His artistic paintings of the WW2 Aircraft are stunning! (I accept them as an ekphrasis as they are paintings done from photos in the style of the 40s artists & the vehicles are man-made & thus originally designed works of art – functional art but art! Besides Woodie and I had many discussions in bmails about this! lol) This one for me reminds me of the movie “Memphis Belle” and the heroism of the gunner trapped underneath knowing he was never going to live after the flight and the guys in the plane knowing that for them to live they will have to sacrifice the gunner! – What Courage these sterling men and all servicemen have shown in situations that were completely ridiculous! Lest We Forget!! the sacrifices for our luxurious peaceful life! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “Still I Rise” by Alice McMahon White
How GORGEOUS is this piece! Alice is a relatively new to the EEG and what a stunning artist to have join us! This piece is celebrating the poet “Maya Angelou” in portrait, inspired by her verse and a video interview. This is the exceptional example of what ekphrasis is all about! Paying compliment to the work of an inspiring artist !! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “Through the looking glass” by monocotylidono
George does it again!!!! Not only is this a spin of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice through the Looking Glass” it accompanies a pretty easy step by step guide of how to do what he did! Good one George! ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “271 – MEADOWLARK CASTLE – DAVE EDWARDS – COLOURED PENCILS & FINEWRITERS – 2009” by BLYTHART
This is a favourite of mine! Dave was in a bit of a block – we all have them! So he asked me to go through his gallery and pick a picture for him to do an ekphrasis to. I happen to like his patchwork / stained glass style and so asked for him to do his gorgeous Lark! And TADA!!! The best thing is he has been very busy again ever since! See ekphrasis is a great thing! =0þ ☼ BRAVO!! ☼

☼ “Give A Man A Fish” by taiche
I don’t want to offend anyone but this just cracked me up & still does! =D (after all having a sense of humour must be acceptable! lol) Thanks for the chuckles Taiche! =0þ ☼ BRAVO !! ☼

◘ And a list of the writing / video links also
☼ “turbulence” by Sally Omar
☼ “BROKEN VOWS” by Rhenastarr
☼ “Creative – Individual – Free” by Larry Davis
☼ “new tomorrows” by aaeiinnn
☼ “Praha (Prague)” by Mary Campbell
☼ “Some of my images” Video by David Parkin

◘ I have noticed over the time I was semi-active there have been a few new artists coming in to see what we are all about – so welcome to these artists
August


& September

& up til now in October

☼ WELCOME !! WELCOME !! WELCOME ALL OF YOU!!! ☼ =0þ

And for the ones who have diligently posted work (as well as the Chums) I thank you and declare you all Featured EEG members!

☼ Especially ☼
As writers:
☼ Sally Omar ☼ rhenastarr ☼ Larry Davis (& visual artwork)

And Visual artists:
☼ artisandelimage ☼ BLYTHART
☼ aaeiinnn ☼ Trudi’s Images
☼ Jan Stead JEMproductions ☼ Kevin Mawson
☼ Monocotylidono ☼ Malcolm Chant
☼ Shanina Conway ☼ TREVOR IRWIN
☼ Woodie
♦☼ Thank you all you are well valued Diamonds in the EEG!!! ☼♦

◘ And as promised a new CHALLENGE “☺HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY EEG!!!☺”- just for the fun of it!
(and the $20US RB Voucher!) =0þ
>> OPEN NOW << for entries!!! Closes 9AM [_EST] 27th (NEXT Tuesday)
• Voting starts on our birthday 27th (NEXT Tuesday) 9AM [_EST]
• Voting closes on Friday 30th 9AM [_EST]
• Winner announced 12 hours later at the party!
What Party??? I hear you ask

◘ THIS ONE!!!
☼ To Celebrate in style!!! ☼ =0þ
You are all invited to drop in on the “EEG FIRST BIRTHDAY BASH!!” Starting Friday 30th October 8pm [EST] and going on till who knows when! lol =0þ

So I’ll bring the FroggleToggle cake
Who’ll bring the balloons and the streamers
and the cocktail frankfurters and party pies and sausage rolls
and lately I have been also giving meatballs & sliced chicken schnitzels
and the dips‘n’bickies and carrot / celery sticks
and LOLLIES!!!
and CHIPS & DRINKS!!!!!
and CHOCOLATE!!!!
and …. Oh just ♥ C H O C O L A T E !!!!! ♥ lol =0þ
& ♦LOLLIES!!!♦ =0þ

On that note {{^LA♪}} =0þ
I think I shall bring this mammoth Journal to a close
and say sweet adieu until next we text! =0þ
Chookas all! ♥

PS Don’t forget the last weeks of NOVEMBER will be the next Avatar Challenge for December / January / February avatar picture! =0þ