January 16, 2009

Photo by Sharon Lee

Today i had an "ah ha" vegan moment. I was talking to a friend who told me that she was burning her ex-husband's clothes. I stopped her mid sentence and asked if any of the items were wool as I wanted to use the fabric from old wool sweaters and assemble a pattern of sorts to make a wool hat, sized specifically for my large head. Although I no longer purchase any animal products at the time I thought it fine to use these sweaters as they would be wasted in the fire. My feeling was by using the wool that was to be disposed of I would be "honoring" the sheep by wearing the sweater. After all they had already suffered for it that suffering should not go to waste. It then occurred to me that wearing the remnants of suffering did not honor the animal in any way in fact it was a constant reminder of the suffering that had occurred, was only about me and left the sheep's best interest out of the scenario completely.

Peace Always

Sharon

October 8, 2008

As a vegan, the question most often asked, second to 'How do you get your protein?" is "What do you eat. When I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian it was very easy to grab something to eat even in a meat heavy eating environment such as central Pennsylvania. To stick to a vegan diet a bit of pre-planning and more home cooking is required.

Today, with the cooler weather I set out a pot of lentils, picked some kale and combined with onions, garlic, and a tomato made a fabulous international lunch.

Using my newest cookbook addition, The World in Your Kitchen, the lentils were transformed into "Yemesirkik (lentil stew-Ethiopia), and the kale was substituted for spinach and became "Saag"(India). With a cup of rice or some flatbread I've yet to create, I will have prepared food for the next 2-1/2-3 days.

Peace Always

Sharon

October 1, 2008

In honor of three important celebrations:
Photo of Brianna by Sharon Lee
Photo of Sophie by Sharon Lee
A Silver Titter Stole My Baby
2008
acrylic on hemp and organic cotton

Today marks the celebration of three things that have much importance to me. Hopefully you will forgive me posting more personal less art today.

Happy Birthday to me niece Brianna who turns 16 today. Brianna and I share the talent for art. Her insight into her symbolism and such is remarkable and I love being able to share my love of creativity with her.

My dog, Sophie also celebrates her birthday today. Though the day was not spent as she would have planned, the doggie biscotti, peas from the garden and a long game of catch made it tolerable.*

Today is also World Vegetarian Day. I am what is considered a strict vegetarian (vegan) meaning my diet and lifestyle tries to minimize the use of animal products and their secretions. Because of the way our society is set up it is almost impossible too be a 100% vegan. Tires, medicines and most likely every bit of technology equipment use some animal product.

Peace Always

Sharon

July 16, 2008

Blah,Blah, Blah
2007
acrylic on hemp and organic cotton
38" x 38 "

I painted Blah, Blah, Blah when I first became a vegan and was excited to share all the information I was learning about the way foods are being processed and animals mistreated. The woman a the top is visually based on my daughter which represents those who don't listen but look away. In her case it is assumed that she is reacting by an outside source looking at her. The person to her right (our left) is visually based on my neighbor (a friend). This figure represent those who can absorb information but notable to process it correctly and implode. In this figure's case we just see the beginning with a crack throughout his head and his facial expression of pain.

The books in the protagonist's (me) arms are Vegan Freak by Bob and Jenna Torres and Animal Rights, which is a made up book based on Podcasts by Gary Francione, Eric Markus and Collen Patrick-Goudreau

I had seen a barred owl in the woods during the time I way creating Blah, Blah, Blah, felt it was a special few minutes and wanted to mark the occasion in this painting.

The symbol that the owl is siting on is "Om" which seems to have many meanings, I've seen it used in several different cultures. In sanskrit I believe it represents original (first) sound but most recently here in the U.S. is known to represent yoga.

The mountain, ferns and trees are all inspired by the area I live in. The animal at my feet is my departed dog Jackson (he was blind when I painted this as you can tell from the color of his eyes)

June 24, 2008

My Pants

If you met me in person you would have already wondered about my pants. Actually it is a collection of pants that I own that are covered with paint particularly the right leg. My art training is in Graphic Design. Although I have taken many art classes over the years at various Universities and schools I have never taken a painting class. Had I taken even the most basic class in painting I would have learned the "acceptable" way to clean a brush after I have used it to mix a new color. In fact most likely a brush should not be used at all to mix colors with but rather a palette knife or something of that nature. However not taking any painting classes my paint experience has been restricted to hands on learning with little guidance or useful professional tips of the trade.

So my pants become the brush rag. There is actually a rhythm to the mix, wipe, wash, wipe a second time, grab a drop or so of paint from the palette, paint, technique that I have developed. The paint wipe is an down-up-down. As I said in the beginning I have a collection of these pants. Any pair of pants that passes through my hands that are comfortable and sturdy become "work" pants which I wear when working on the house, gardening, cooking, sanding yoga blocks and/or painting.

If I have to run into town for a quick errand I often wear my painted work pants. At the grocery store small children stare. It's a great conversation starter for adults. Some people ask if my pants were purchased this way which always makes me laugh. It's fun carrying my palette around with me for one reason it matches the paint on my hands and arms.

Only a few days left for this auction! If you like my work and want to support my endeavors please consider purchasing a painting. I have just put up the painting, "A Silver Titter Stole My Baby" on Ebay. It is a painting I'm proud for artistically as well as socially. It is acrylic paint on organic cotton and hemp canvas. Please feel free to pass the link to friends and family members and if you are so inclined feel free to purchase this painting for yourself.

June 13, 2008

Tonight I attended the high school graduation of the son of a close friend. If you've ever attended a graduation I'm sure you'll nod your head in agreement that most of it is fairly boring and yawn inspiring. Finally one of the speakers graceiously used his speaking time to quote someone who was much more a wordsmith than the speaker at the podeum. The poem quoted was Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson. First thing I did when I came home (after I heated a cup of chai, fed the animals and poured myself a bowl of rice cereal was to look up the quote on the computer with the idea that it might be useful in the context of today's post. The first site I go to states that it has been inaccuratly attributed to R.W.E. and was possibbly penned by another poet, Bessie Stanley. Nevertheless it is a nice poem and I am reproducing it here in this post


To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.



I have just put up the painting, "A Silver Titter Stole my Baby"" on Ebay. It is a painting I'm proud for artistically as well as socially. Please feel free to pass the link to friends and family members and if you are so inclined feel free to purchase this painting for yourself.


Peace always

Sharon

June 2, 2008

Alright you guys caught me again. No painting today. This is indeed the frustrating life of an artist. I would have liked to blame the weather as it was a most beautiful day and hours of gardening and hiking in the woods could have almost justified not painting. But no I have no lofty excuse. I went on a date with my almost 19 year old to a matinee to see Sex and the City. I'm not going to give away any plots (if they had any to give) and I won't give my opinion on its merit as entertainment. However my daughter rarely wants to socialize with mom except for out Wednesday night take out dinners (which used to be take out and movie watching but now has been shortened to meal and taking left overs with her to her next stop). So I went see a movie that is over and under my head on so many levels that I needed a 2 hour nap when I got home.

I did still have thoughts about yesterday's blog concerning the suffering that goes on in this world. I heard on the Angry Hippie blog that because of money making opportunities rice would be diverted from Cambodia which is send there as part of a relief effort, News stories abound about the horrors of Darfur,the Middle East, the animal industry, bigotry, sexism, racism, speciesism, and on and on. As an artist I want to include thoughts concerning these things. Some are offensive to see and/or think about. I once heard Eric Marcus (an animal activist) beg people to help causes whether it was animal, human or environment issues. When I first heard this I was discouraged as I didn't see myself as a person who could stand on the corner passing out leaflet showing the horrid of animal treatment (as in the case with vegan outreach). But I do have a creative talent and I can paint. So when you are looking at my piece although initially they may seem bright and cheery there may be an underlying message that a few viewers will get. And for those people who do get what I say I hope that you will also use your talents to improve a world that is much in need of improvement.

Peace always

Sharon

May 18, 2008

Most times when I paint I listen to either podcasts or music. I'm not sure how these things work but having background noise on tends to keep my mind still and focussed what is visually in front of me. Today I was listening to Vegan Radio which is a vegan radio show broadcasted from Northampton, Massachusetts. Today the hosts were talking about animal testing and they mentioned Felix the chimp who was serving science by being a test subject and who was scheduled to be terminated once the tests are concluded. This gave me an idea to paint the bottom of the painting of earth as we know it with its turmoils (such as the demise of Felix) in opposition to the upper parts of the painting which is a view from heaven, much simpler and not as visually busy. Ofttimes I have a general sense of what I want to say in a painting but draw inspiration from the various things I listen to often adding and/or manipulating the painting to reflect ideas that I get from both podcasts and music.

May 12, 2008

When I first became a vegan I immersed myself in all things vegan and read books, searched the internet and listened to as many podcasts about veganism, animal rights and cooking as I could find. A reoccurring theme that immersed was that as a vegan it is important to go a step more and use talents and skills to promote veganism in the world which is largely a non-vegan one. Some suggestions were to do pass out literature in public, write letters to various sources,and/ or write a book. I considered these options careful but knew my limitations and skills and decided to incorporate a message of veganism whenever I could in my artwork. One such piece, "A Silver Titter Stole My Baby" is about the dairy industry and how mother cows never get to have any relationship with their offspring. When I was a vegetarian and not a vegan I never considered this fact. It was only after hearing what other vegans had uncovered that the truth became clear to me. When one supports the dairy industry as I did as a vegetarian who ate dairy you support the veal industry as well as all non female offspring are sent to veal sheds to live their brief lives in a dark small closet. All babies, male and female are taken almost immediately from the mother so the mother can be a milk producer for the human animals not her calves. As a mother myself I thought of the angst that a mother would feel to have all her children taken away from her, never to realize the bond that mother and children have, only the stresses of having her offspring taken away. No matter how simple cows are I knew that from all accounts cows have real emotions when this happens by the verbal reactions both mom and child had when separated.

April 22, 2008

I have been thinking about doing an Earth Day post today for the past week or so. As an environmental, vegan, animal rights, localvore, back-to-nature person this day is a celebration of many things that I believe in. Normally for me Earth Day is spent either gardening, cleaning a local state park, or attending Penn State's Earth Day celebration. However.....
Today was the most un-Earth Day I have spent in a long long time.
My day was spent accompanying my friend while he fished (while I photographed the process), me and my daughter watched the unloading of the Ringling Brother's circus train, and I drove more than I normally do in an entire week. My dinner was packaged cereal with a banana and I bought meat to feed my dog and two cats. Although this was truly a non-Earth Day experience I did have very Earth Day thoughts. First while my friend was fishing (no fish were caught) I noticed a yellow flower that I have not seen before. While my daughter and I waited two hours for the circus train to unload, we sat outside on a beautiful sunny day discussing how uncomfortable the elephants must be in the train cars as the train cars were obviously too small for the elephants to stand. We imagined the elephants chained down in the cars and how uncomfortable and cruel that was. Although I drove more than normal, I took my daughter's VW bug which is considerable more fuel efficient than my older Volvo x-country. Yes I ate a packaged food but it was organic cereal with a organic banana and organic soy milk. Tomorrow I will be back to making much of my food from basic organic vegetables and grains, will walk in the woods with my dog, cultivate my organic garden and try not to use the car. But every day can't be perfect. This earth day I did not follow my prescribed lifestyle of living simple and with minimal impact. Some days this just can't be done. Instead today as I did things I normally don't I thought about the impact my decisions have on the planet as well as its inhabitants human and non human and how a single person can minimize a negative effect even when things do not going as planned.