See Saw

GUARDIAN CAT WOMAN GODDESSES, ART THERAPY and DREAM TIME

2013-06-06T20:08:16-05:00

Two cat woman guardians Drawing in cray pas. Liza Cowan 1990

Way back in 1989/90 I studied Art Therapy with Dr. Erika Steinberg at The New School For Social Research in New York City. Dr. Steinberg had us all keep extensive journals of drawing exercises, dream and meditaion notes, and the process of drawing. It was an amazing class, with some extraordinary students, including a gifted and now- famous psychic/intuitive practitioner who subsequently became a best selling author, but during that year was just beginning her career, and, for those two semesters, was a good buddy of mine. Her insights amplified our work in many ways. The class met twice a week for two semesters, and it was the environment in which I rediscovered how much I liked drawing and the process of making art.

I chose not to become an art therapist, but the techniques of dream work and art therapy clung. I was reminded of this last night as I was listening to a radio broadcast that, almost in passing, mentioned feline guardian beings and goddesses. Of course, cats were goddesses in ancient Egypt and around the world, but I don't think I was thinking about them as I began this small series. Not consciously at any rate. The images came from dreams and meditation.

In our art journals, Dr. Stienberg had us keep notes, short ones, on three things: Environment, Process and Product. That is, what we were feeling and the physical space we were in while we were drawing, how we made the drawing, and a description of the work itself.

Cat woman guardian. Drawing in colored pencil. Liza Cowan 1990

Product: Cat/woman #1. February 19th, 1990

She is facing the world, staring right into its eyes. I love drawing mouths as circles. Like she's talking and kind of surprised, too. The boulders are from a dream I had two weeks ago, just after we got our dream-box assignment. In the dream I saw huge dark boulders and received instructions that my job was to decipher the rocks. Like, that's one of my lifetime jobs. The water is fluid and reflective. Her feet are not quite in it, or maybe her toes are just touching that unconscious substance.

Cat woman, drawing in colored pencil. Liza Cowan 1990

Product, Cat/woman #2 Feb. 19th,1990

She is still a bit stormy, but a lot more peaceful. I love this drawing. She is a solid presence. Heat or emotions rising from her, intense but rhythmical.

( I don't know what the "stormy" is in reference to.)

Mama lion and cub. Drawing over photocopy Liza Cowan 1990

Lion/woman. April 1, 1990. Woodstock

Environment: Hanging out at home in Woodstock

Process: I was looking through some magazines and came across this photo of a lioness and her cub, or a cub and her mother. I was moved by how they looked both peaceful and ferocious at the same time. I made a photo copy of the picture and drew over it with cray pas. I gave the mother lion my hair. I know that it is the male lions who have the mane, not the females, but in this case she, like me, has the tresses.

Product: Sometimes I describe myself as a mother lion when I am protecting people or things I care about. I can be ferocious in my guardianship, alert and calm. I love how the cub stands enfolded in her mothers arms and head.

The following drawing is from a week before the first cat drawings. I believe that the animals in this dream either were, or became, the cat figures in the subsequent images.

Dream of man and marsupials. Liza Cowan Feb 11, 1990

Product: This is a dream I had last night - from notes I took when I awoke from the dream at 5:30 am:

"I am at a Woodstock gathering, I have my video camera and am ready to tape, but nothing appeals to me.

Suddenly a small man is doing a "show" with strange looking animals, maybe marsupials, who are delivering ecology messages. They keep changing shapes and exit by disappearing into the ground. I get the whole thing on tape. I have no idea how this strange little man feels about my recording him. He comes over and smiles and hugs me warmly. Very lovely. He's glad I recorded it. I am going to give him my business card but suddenly everyone leaves the gathering in a big crowd and I wake up."

This drawing does not convey the eeriness of the dream. It was almost frightening, the animals were so strange and so was the man. But he was so nice that it ended up not being scarey at all.

I don't have a vivid image of the animals, so I just drew anything, figuring it was still accurate. The big eyes and stripes feel right.

Before I fell asleep I was reaing a Jungian magazine and I think it influenced ths dream.

The creatures are intense, especially their eyes, as they were in the dream. Their message was profound, but I forget it."

Collecting postcards: watching the bathers

2013-05-30T07:45:54-05:00

As summer approaches here in the Northern Hemisphere, we begin to think of trips to the beach. Here, from my collection of turn-of-the-century postcards, is a gorgeous beach scene.

The woman who sent this, Ethel W, found something funny about the card, which she set out to fix. Although the title of the card is "watching the bathers" Ethel noticed that there were, in fact, very few bathers present, none in the water, and mostly fully dressed folks sitting on the beach. So she drew some bathers into the water, and wrote on the face of the card, "I don't see many, do you? They forgot to put them in so I had to help them out."

Here's what she drew. Notice that many of the bathers are cyphers, literally question marks:

We are having a great time.

She drew in the bathers

Another detail. Most folks in full dress. A few in bathing costumes.

FLOWER FAIRIES OF SUMMER: Photos from the garden

2013-05-22T08:01:31-05:00

Mother Nature and the Flower Fairies have been busy in my garden making the flowers grow. My job is to take pictures of the results.

Image source

Wisteria in my garden. ©Liza Cowan

Peony Bud. Photo ©Liza Cowan

Pink Lilacs on white. Photo ©Liza cowan

Pink Lilacs on black. Photo ©Liza Cowan

Geranium blossom on white. Photo ©Liza Cowan

Geranium blossom on black. ©Liza Cowan

HOW TO: cheap and easy way to organize small cables for mobile devices and games.

2013-05-22T05:50:36-05:00

Organizing: a chore and a fascination. I've searched high and low for an easy way to orgainize an ever-growing collections cables and accessories for all those phones, players and games that can accumulate. My kids and I were always misplacing ours, so I had to figure out a way to keep track.

Organize small cables and chargers with binder clips

So far, this is my favorite. It's cheap, easy and quick. The only thing you'll need is a bunch of binder clips, available at stationery stores, and they come in an assortment of sizes and colors.

Happy Mothers Day

2013-05-11T17:46:43-05:00

Saki wishes all mothers everywhere a happy day

Barbie sewing patterns, vintage

2013-04-27T09:56:59-05:00

I borrowed these from the collections of Margaret Tramulonis. She gave me permission to scan and post them. Classic Barbie sewing patterns. Look at the detail, my goodness. When I was a kid I made lots of Barbie clothing, but nothing like these. I was more about drape and a quick stitch. These are formidable.

Barbie, Buttrick pattern 2519. Courtesy of Margaret Tramulonis Collections

Barbie, Butterick Pattern 2519. Back of package. Courtesy of Margaret Tramulonis Collections.

Barbie, McCalls's Patern 7430. Margaret Tramulonis Collections

Barbie, McCall pattern 7430 assembly directions. Margaret Tramulonis Collections

Barbie, McCalls Pattern 6901. "Instant" doll clothes. Margaret Tramulonis collections.

Barbie, McCalls pattern 6901 assembly instructions. Margaret Tramulonis collections.

These patterns look excruciatingly dificult to me. I so admire the women who probably made them for their daughters and granddaughters. The love, the care - I hope that some of these finshed pieces are preserved somewhere.

HOW TO MAKE GINGER LEMON HONEY TEA

2013-03-03T14:51:19-05:00

I love ginger tea with a real kick, and have been experimenting with making it for a while. All the ingredients I use are not only delicious but very good for your health. Here's my recipe.

Ingredients for ginger honey lemon tea

Ingredients:

water: about a gallon

one whole fresh ginger

two lemons

4 tablespoons organic honey

dash of cayenne pepper

equipment:

grater

pot to boil water

strainer

squeezer

container for finished brew

fresh ginger

grater for the ginger

I use a hand grater. It's what I have. If you have some kind of machine, I'm sure that would be useful. Ginger has a lot of fiber, so grating is not as smooth as grating a carrot, but you can do it. There will be bits you can't grate, so just cut them up.

grated ginger for tea

Some recipes ask you to peel the ginger, but I don't know why. You're not going to eat the pulp.

fill pot with water

I use about a gallon of water. I usually measure by filling my carafe first then dump that into the pot.

Dump grated ginger into the pot and boil until it bubbles. Then let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut two lemons in half.

cut two lemons

strain boiled water and ginger

I strain directly into the carafe, but you don't have to. But DO strain it.

squeeze lemons

Squeeze and strain the lemons. I squeeze/strain directly into the carafe, but you don't have to. But DO strain them.

Add honey

Raw organic honey has healing properties. I get the best quality I can find. You don't have to, but DO make sure you use raw honey if you can.

cayenne pepper

I add about three modest shakes from a jar of cayenne pepper to the brew. I guess you could call it a pinch. This adds extra kick, and cayenne pepper is good for you. This step is optional and depends on your taste. Try it with and without, vary the amounts by trial and error, and decide which way you prefer it.

stir

The honey and lemon bits will obey the laws of gravity, so give it a good stir. I use a long handled wooden spoon, but it doesn't really matter. I use it because it reaches the bottom of my carafe.

Enjoy your ginger honey lemon tea.

I like to drink ginger lemon tea hot in the winter and over ice in the summer. Hot, it is soothing and warming. Over ice, it is very refreshing.

For storage, I simply put the whole carafe in the refrigerator, and pour myself a cup when I want. Make sure to stir it up again every time you pour some because the laws of gravity still apply. I admit, I heat mine in a cup in the microwave.

I can't tell you how long it will last in the fridge because I drink it so frequently that I go through the gallon in a day or two. This brew is delicious and more that that, I think it's really healthful.

Let me know what you think!

More Dogs and Annie Sloan Paint

2013-01-29T19:15:20-05:00

My new photography show, Saki, Pug For Fun opens in two days but I'm still shooting for it. Crazy, right? Today I took four pictures I'm very satisfied with. One will go in the show, maybe two.

Spotted Chair. Painted by Liza Cowan with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Recently I started painting old chairs. This was my first. It's been a lot of fun and I'm so pleased with the results. I paint on any surface, really. Glass, walls, wood, canvas. And in the past I've painted some furniture, but discovering Annie Sloan Chalk Paint really made a difference. That suff goes on so easily and covers so beautifully. And no smell. And water cleanup.

Today I decided to photograph the chairs, on a beat up old table in front of my living room wall. I painted the wall 11 years ago when I moved into my house. You can see I like spots. I'm shooting with my iPhone 4, using the Camera+ app.

Saki on Spotted Chair. ©Liza Cowan

Here's Saki on the spotted chair. Saki is a very good poser. For a dog who doesn't relax even when she's asleep, it's fascinating to me that she will calm down and pose as soon as she sees a camera.

Stella, my doxie, on the spotted chair. ©Liza Cowan

And here is Stella, the doxy. Stella's not quite as happy in front of the camera but the floor was a long way down and she was not about to attempt a jump. So she sat. Here she was listening to the sound of a car outside. It's best when something captures their attention.

Saki, relaxed in front of the camera. © Liza Cowan

Most of these images will soon be available as greeting cards on my online store.

Saki, Pug For Fun

2013-01-21T23:06:31-05:00

Stay tuned for more about the upcoming exhibit, Saki, Pug For Fun.

saki pug for fun photo liza cowan

Guest post: Speaking The Unspeakable In Newtown. Laurie Essig

2012-12-17T15:39:14-05:00

name it: Male Violence. CowanDesign

This was originally published in the Forbes Magazine Blog by one of their regular columnists, Laurie Essig. They pulled it after a few hours and fired Essig as a columnist. She named the unspeakable: Male Violence. I reprint it here with her permission so that it can be widely shared. December 17th, 2012

Many people are already commenting on what can and cannot be said about the shootings in Newtown, CT. Words like unspeakable evil and gun control are said and unsaid as our country struggles to make sense of the incomprehensible. But some of the words being used about the tragedy are perhaps even more important to pay attention to. Words like “parents” are dominating much of President Obama’s and the nation’s public processing of the event even as other words like “masculinity” and “gender’ remain unsaid.

As I drove home from work Friday with two colleagues who are not parents, I cringed when I heard Obama’s words:“I react not as a president, but as anybody else would as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do."Our President was somehow suggesting that parents are more able to feel the pain and horror of this tragedy. This is in line with other ideological claims that people who are parents and are married are somehow better than and more deserving of rights than those who are not, but surely people who are not parents are just as grief stricken by the massacre at the Sandy Hook school.

It happened again yesterday when the President addressed the grieving community in Newtown. "With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of ourselves — our child — is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or malice. And every parent knows there is nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. And yet, we also know that with that child’s very first step, and each step after that, they are separating from us; that we won’t — that we can’t always be there for them… It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize, no matter how much you love these kids, you can’t do it by yourself. That this job of keeping our children safe, and teaching them well, is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community, and the help of a nation. And in that way, we come to realize that we bear a responsibility for every child because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours; that we’re all parents; that they’re all our children."

Although Obama offers all Americans the possibility of being “parents” he also continues to locate the need and desire to protect children in the role of reproduction and outside other roles like teachers or even adults who have close and binding relationships with children who are not their own.Yet even as Obama made the love of children about the reproductive family, he refused acknowledge the evidence that is before us: our love for children might in fact be far more about gender than about parenting.

Consider these facts:~There have been nineteen mass shootings in the past five years every single one of these mass shootings has been committed by a man~On the exact same day the massacre in Newtown happened, a man in Chenpeng, China walked into a kindergarten and stabbed 22 children and an 85-year old. This is one of a growing number of knife attacks in China, all committed by men against school children and young women.~ Far more women (and Blacks, Democrats, and residents of the Northeast) support gun control than men.

As terrible as it is to say aloud, we must acknowledge that masculinity, far more than parenthood, is what makes these tragedies comprehensible. Even as we discuss what we as a country ought or ought not to do about gun control and mental illness, we also need to look deep inside ourselves and ask if there is something pathological about a masculinity so deeply and fully rooted in violence. That violence occurs in play- whether video games or sports, but it also occurs as a measure of manhood, a demand that “real men” are willing to kill for their country or even to “protect” their family. And until our President and we as a culture are willing to talk about manhood, the twentieth mass shooting will undoubtedly be just ahead on an increasingly grim horizon.

THE AMAZONS ARE STILL TRAVELING

2012-11-11T03:37:20-05:00

The Amazons are still travelling. Digital collages by Liza Cowan. Here's a sample of where they've been. For the complete series check them out on Flickr

Amazons Allons-Y. Water Is Life. No Fracking

Amazons Allons-y. At the Statue Of Liberty

Amazons Allons-Y. In Paris.

Amazons Allons-Y. In Bretagne.

Amazons Allons-Y. London, Westminster Cathedral

Amazons Allons-Y. In Egypt

Amazons Allons-y. Circle the sky

Amazons Allons-Y. Teipei

Amazons Allons-Y. Seeds Awaken

Amazons Allons-Y. Remember Matriarchy. Teipei

Amazons Allons-Y. the Magic.

AMAZONS ON WALKABOUT

2012-09-13T13:26:13-05:00

The Amazons are on walkabout, roaming the earth and skies, at work and at play.

Amazons Allons-Y. Let's go save Mother Earth. Liza Cowan/CowanDesign

Amazons Allons-Y. Background from the cover of the charming children's book, Trees In Britain, by S.R.Badmin, Puffin Picture Books. Amazon drawings based on Greek vase paintings.

Amazons, Let's Go Make Mother Earth Safe For All. Made on Sept. 12th, just after the news of the troubles in Cairo and Libya. Safety for all beings on the planet.

Amazons Allons-Y. CowanDesign

You can follow the Amazons on Flickr

OBAMA OR ELSE, 2012: LET'S REVIST TMNK, THE ME NOBODY KNOWS

2012-09-07T15:36:12-05:00

Four years ago I found the artist TMNK, The Me Nobody Knows. I was searching for art about Obama, because I believed in him passionately, and wanted to spread the word about him through art. I was running an art gallery at the time. I found "Nobody" on a google search for Obama art. Thus began a wonderful relationship.

TMNK, The Me Nobody Knows. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. 2008. Used by permission of the artist.

Once again, I passionately support Obama for his second term as President. So here is a small re-visit of some of TMNK's Obama paintings.

TMNK, The Me Nobody Knows. The Blacker The Berry. 2008

TMNK. The Me Nobody Knows. Innaugural Obama. 2009.

In 2010, TMNK presented his work at my gallery during Art Hop, which is New England's largest art fair. Close to a thousand people saw his work during Art Hop, and over the next month. "Nobody" came to spend the weekend with me during the Art Hop, and to meet what turned out to be an adoring public.

TMNK, The Me Nobody Knows, hanging his show at Pine Street Art Works.

This weekend (September 7, 8, and 9) is Art Hop in Burlington, Vermont. I no longer run a gallery. And Obama is running again. "Nobody" is doing phenomenally well in his career. Visit his website HERE, The painting "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" hangs in my living room.

And once again I say, Obama Or Else, 2012.

AMAZONS, ALLONS -Y

2012-08-25T20:06:55-05:00

Amazons, Allons-Y. Let's go save Mother Earth. Drawings by Liza Cowan. Map, 1880 Japan. Liza Cowan, CowanDesign.

As far as I am concerned, The 10th Doctor can be an honorary Amazon.

OBAMA OR ELSE, 2012

2012-08-24T11:20:16-05:00

Share freely.

Obama Or Else, 2012. Design by Liza Cowan, CowanDesign.

ONE TERM MORE: A POLITICAL PARODY. OBAMA 2012

2012-08-19T16:39:10-05:00

Broadway and musical theatre performers Sean Smith, David Burnham, Kim Huber, Christina Saffran Ashford, Damon Kirsche, David Engel, Jennifer Shelton, Emma Ashford, Matthew Ashford, Ali B. Olmo, Johnny Pastor, Bubba Dean Rambo, William Martinez, Flora Rubenhold, Takako Gregg, Teri Yates, Mason Keane, and Paula Keane sing from their heart with the lyrics of Don DeMesquita, in a parody of One Day More from "Les Miserables". For more info and facts, go to www.OneTermMore.com

My favorite phrase: "To the Dark Side they've succumbed" meaning, of course, the Romney Ryan team.

Vote. It still means the world. Obama 2012

2012-08-17T22:06:42-05:00

VOTE. It still means the World. Obama 2012. CowanDesign

‎"The right to vote and be voted for is the first of rights," says the National Race Congress. "It is the vital principal of self-government and individual liberty. The ballot marks the difference between the citizen and the serf. Without the ballot the Colored American is powerless to contend for right and justice and civil equality; with the ballot he is all powerful to act in defense of every lawful privilege" September 20, 1919, The Union Newspaper.

Source

At ALICE AUSTEN HOUSE MUSEUM

2012-06-12T16:53:23-05:00

My daughter and I enjoyed ourselves thoroughly at the Pug Fest at Alice Austen House Museum last weekend. Not only are we pug fans (and owners) but we are fans of Alice's life work as a pioneering 19th Century photographer. See more about Alice on this blog here and the Alice Austen House Museum website here.

This view across the Narrows would have been very different in Alice's day. But it is still gorgeous.

Staten Island circa 1900. You can see The Narrows in the upper right.

ALICE AUSTEN in jeans

2012-06-11T05:57:53-05:00

At the Alice Austen House Museum, Pug Day. What a beautiful day to be at Clear Comfort, Alice's Staten Island, NY, house on the water. Here, my daughter and I recreate Alice's self portrait with her pug, Punch. I bet Alice would have loved to be able to wear jeans and boots, and keep her hair short. Imagine lugging hundreds of pounds of camera equipment around wearing a corset and floor length dress. Kudos to Alice for managing so beautifully.

Alice Austen and Punch, self portrait. Willa and Saki by Liza Cowan

Evolution of a Billboard: Barneys New York, Helmut Newton and us.

2012-06-08T20:20:59-05:00

Last week I posted this image of a billboard in progress in Greenwich Village, NYC.

Today my friend Penny sent me this picture of the finished billboard. It's for Barneys New York.

And here's the inspiration for the billboard:

screen capture from wallpaper.com

"Helmut Lang's cast-resin replica of five front-row seats from his final fashion collection are installed in a concrete room in the window of Barneys, replicating the artist's own basement, where the piece has been stored. Flat-panel plaques on the floor display the fashion items the artist selected as highlights of 2009"

Another day in the city: Nuns,The Missionaries Of Charity.

2012-06-03T09:01:35-05:00

When I started following the sisters it was because I loved the flow of their saris and the way they walked so closely together. When they entered the bank I had to laugh. I'm sure that the Missionaries of Charity have bank business, but for a brief moment I had a vision of them robbing the joint. You know - to give to the poor.

Another day in NYC: The King of Thailand and some wooden shoe forms.

2012-06-01T15:22:13-05:00

More images from around NYC. Wooden shoe molds I saw at Fishes Eddy- a store And a view through a tailor's shop window to a portrait of of the king of Thailand and spools of thread.

Flaneur in NYC

2012-06-01T08:49:09-05:00

Walking around New York City is never dull. I grew up in the city but now I am just another visitor with a camera.

This is my first post via iPad do bear with me as I learn. Always a journey, right?

No Water, Don't Waste It!! No Guns.

2012-05-19T15:05:33-05:00

No Water Don't Waste it No Guns!

Artist, William Tasker. Federal Art Project, Silkscreen, circa 1941/3. Source

I found this image on Pinterest. It's one of the things I enjoy about Pinterest - finding great images, even if people don't source them well, grrr.

This one caught my eye not just for the great graphic but because the message seems so awkward now. It was made to remind/convince people to conserve water for the war effort. That's the "guns." Government wartime propaganda.

But as a viewer in 2012 I read it as, No Water, No Guns....don't waste it. That is, there is no water and no guns....therefor don't waste these recources. Which brings to mind some dystopic sci fi movie, or contemporary news and activism about water as a resource. Big topic. Water. Resource. Or did it mean, War over Water...another dystopic story -in- the making.

It only took me a minute to remember to adjust my time frame to World War 2 to realize that the idea of conserving water for the wartime/militarizaion effort would be common enough that the poster made sense immediately.

It's also possibly true that it's just not that well written enough to telegraph it's meaning. I can't tell from here.

Scrapbooks: Writing With Scissors - Ellen Gruber Garvey

2012-05-10T08:18:41-05:00

Speaking of Pinterest (I was, actually) I came across this blog post about the history of scrapbooking. I urge you to read the whole thing, but here's a snippet:

"May 5 is National Scrapbooking Day. Like National Fig Newton Day or National Golf Month, its purpose is mainly commercial and it was unsurprisingly started by an album company. Scrapbook making is hugely popular and profitable. Stores that sell scrapbooking supplies use the day to sponsor scrapping gatherings or crops where scrapbookers (nearly all women) get together. They spread their projects out at tables with equipment for diecutting, embossing, and distressing paper (to make it look old). Tips about layout and technique are shared as they paste family pictures and memorabilia into their scrapbooks.

The men and women who compiled scrapbooks in the nineteenth century had a different idea of what a scrapbook looked like and what it was for. Abraham Lincoln, Sarah Bernhardt, Thomas Jefferson, and Susan B. Anthony all made scrapbooks. Like the thousands of other nineteenth-century scrapbook makers, they created scrapbooks from their reading, mainly for their own and their contemporaries’ uses. Their records — without family photos — are intimate and revealing. These scrapbook makers saw their interests reflected in the newspaper. Worried about losing the poems, articles, and stories that spoke to them, they made scrapbooks of them — sometimes hundreds of volumes."

1878 Agricultural Reports repurposed as a scrapbook. Page toward the end shows underlying text. Source: collection of Ellen Gruber Garvey

The book is Writing With Scissors: American Scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance.

The blog post this I've quoted is HERE

Another Ellen Gruber Garvey article on scrapbooks, Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Appropriation is HERE