Connection

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the meaning of connection now and many years ago. I got a lot of pictures from very personal to general ones.

Some of them have remained the same since the beginning of time like a man and woman kissing or a small baby at its mother’s breast. People were always connected at the family and tribal level to ensure security and food sources.

At a certain point, people wanted to expand, seek new territories, which usually did not happen without bleeding. The new type of connection between conqueror and native habitant was established, worldwide, through the whole history.

To reach new territories quickly meant the development of transportation. Millions of new roads and railways began to crisscross the globe to better connect places and people. Later, transport also spread above the earth’s surface by airplanes and space shuttles.

Industry and other technologies were developed hand in hand with transportation, reality has reached the fantasy of filmmakers. I wonder if it was the steam engine that established a new kind of connection between man and machine, the connection where the machine stands above everything else.

It made me think if the pride of connecting to machines is similar to the pride of the people who built the Tower of Babel. I am trying not to lose the truth of my heart, the most important connection.

Love and hugs,

Ivana

The illustration above is made from heart by colored pencils.

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Being a winner

Most people like to feel like a winner, at least from time to time. For some, a small victory on a daily basic is sufficient, others need to accumulate wealth or climb the highest mountains in the world. The greater the risk, the greater victory and often also pride.

Folk psychology says “Feel like a winner and you will get it”.

But is it that easy for everyone? Being a winner means leaving a number of losers behind. And many people are not willing to give the loser’s label to the others, because they used to get them too often earlier. They may have a traumatic experience with a so-called winner, who climbed on the backs of others, often by humiliating them.

Being a winner in a healthy way means to remain humble and supportive to all who have allowed him to win. And always take into account feelings of the losers behind.

So I painted a fake winner, who is blinded by his own glow. One could see a winner whose glory extends to heaven or a gilded dummy in the backyard in front of a poorly painted wall. It’s up to you 🙂

I would like to meet just a few fake winners and a lot of sensitive ones. Then it would be nice to join them.

Love and hugs to both, winners and losers!

Ivana

Being a stranger

Do you ever think you don’t understand anything as if you’re on the planet for the first day? People seem to speak a weird language and want bizarre things, even from you!

Then I’m back in the little girl’s shoes, clueless and naive, pure blond and pink.

Because of the virus, we don’t live in standard circumstances, it is clear enough. But what some can make up to take advantage at the expense of the others, it took my breath away. In various forms, they grow like mushrooms after rain, considering themselves clever and others as fools.

Remaining a fool, I seek my balance in nature, where wisdom is still stable, hopefully.

Warm greetings to all who are still human and do not become hyenas.

Hug and love,

Ivana

P.S. Regarding my beginner’s watercolor painting, I’ve got a good advice today – less effort could bring a better result. I’ll try to implement it next time 🙂

Coffee

I stopped drinking coffee more than 15 months ago, but I still dream about it. I still feel its tempting scent and still imagine its full and bitter taste. If you ask what is black hell and great heaven at the same time, my clear answer is coffee!

To feed my watercolor practice while satisfying the virtual coffee addiction, I tried to paint it. Staying home due to the virus becomes more bearable.

Hope you are doing well. Happy Holidays!
Love, Ivana

Miracles of the Light

Light was a first act of G*d creating the earth and living on it.

Light is an essential for most living creatures. It’s a part of nutrition without which we suffer and die. 

Light is a symbol of hope. It’s a lighthouse in the stormy waters of life, leading our steps to safety. 

Light attracts living beings and brings them to socialize and create community. 

Light helps to measure time and set milestones between seasons. 

Light phenomena in the sky were often a subject of various prophecies. 

Whether we call it Solstice, Hanukkah or Christmas, now it’s the right time to celebrate miracles of the light. 

Enjoy it!

Ivana

 

Ten Commandments

Perhaps I live in a small world, naturally influenced by the culture of Central Europe where I was born, educated and where I developed my knowledge and skills. And no experience from traveling could change rooted paradigms such as the Ten Commandments are known to everyone in the world, regardless of religion. At least they exist and that it was God’s message to people, a sort of moral code.

Was it completely stupid? It looks like it.

Currently I’m discovering nooks of deviant art. Everyone knows and I’m wondering. Hey, contest? I want to participate! I have never experienced that!

So I met the Magic contest and it was the topic why I decided to submit one of my works. I chose among several favorites and the winner was the picture To be connected – full colored drawing with Hebrew manuscript of Ten Commandments. First, I like the picture so much that I have it as wallpaper. And second, I consider giving the commandments to Moses to be a great magic. Naturally it must be magic as it came from God.

Satisfied with the idea, I submitted for the contest. I didn’t expect to win the prize because I have healthy eyes and I see a tremendous amount of talent and experience of other artists. But also I didn’t expect the content could be questioned.

Today I’ve been asked for precise translation of the Hebrew manuscript to English because not everyone knows the Ten Commandments.

As if the translation could clear the overall message. Or as if any words could clear magic which was the topic of contest.

This little intermezzo turned me back to the ground. I found the translation on internet and fed a hungry dog. Additionally, I found the second version of my Ten Commandments drawing as above. Should I submit it for the contest as well? Of course with full translation! 😋

Back in an optimistic mood,

Ivana

Drawing Tarot cards

Opening an account on the deviant art platform makes me to take even old drawings from hidden cabinets and show them without shame. I never claimed to be a professional artist. I draw by heart and cannot do it better.

Long ago, I started to draw my own tarot cards with related Aura-Soma bottles on them. At that time I was sitting several hours a day surrounded by this colorful miracle and absorbed the energy and story inside. I was fascinated, so it’s no wonder I put them into the system.

I made about half of the major arcana when I realized how cowardly I was trying to avoid drawing people because it was a nightmare for me. At the same time I clearly saw that cards without people didn’t have enough energy, they were somehow flat. But the others looked strange because the people didn’t fit anatomically. I began to feel more frustration then pleasure, so I interrupted the whole project.

I took the cards from the bottom of scrap last week with the same result as many years ago. The cards without people are nice but flat, the cards with people are strange but strong enough. The only difference happened in the mind. It seems that I began to like my strange people and even the strange perspective. And I proudly show you some of them today.

I’ve been always saying that my drawing replaces therapy. It took several years, but hopefully I did accept my imperfection finally.

With love and respect to imperfections,

Ivana

In the case you’d like to look at more of my tarot drawings, here is link to the gallery.

I became a deviant!

I have to repeat it again, because I cannot believe it. I have always considered myself as a decent woman with the only deviation – love for nature and herbs. So how did it happen to become a real deviant?

Long ago, I began to think about placing my drawings in a suitable part of cyberspace. Just to have them together and perhaps to get encouragement when I need it. And maybe my drawings could provide good mood to someone else who needs a bit of optimism.

I have checked various platforms and something kept me coming back to the server that my mind aversively refused. I would call my drawings naive, childish, non-educated, too colorful, but deviant?

I fought a long inner battle with labeling and prejudice, trying to find another alternative all the time. But the group of deviants attracted me beyond my control, so I gave up last week and became one of them. Still I cannot used to hear someone called me a deviant and my drawings deviations, but I work on it.

I slowly orient myself in a new environment and re-discover the old truth that every environment is like a pot of soup. You will find nice pieces of vegetable or meat, but also a lot of dirty water. It is  up to you what to join. And I hope to be a carrot there 😊

Although I add my pictures to the gallery slowly and you probably have seen many of them already, I would like to invite you to my small deviant exhibition here.

Thanks for coming!

Ivana

Being happy

Originally, I wrote a post called “Out of Eden”, wandering if everything was great and joyful in paradise, while outside it was only sweat, blood and thistle. But then, even my drawing looked too depressing. So, I slightly changed the angle.

During last days I’ve met several people who couldn’t find their joy. It was lost and they couldn’t remember anything what would make them happy. Some of them even blamed me I wasn’t able to understand because I have so many interests – sources of happiness. At that moment, it seemed that joy was a crime. As if the existence of joy meant the absence of problems.

It didn’t make sense to explain that I feel drowned in troubles sometimes. But I insist on my right to joy anyway. I cultivate my small sources of joy everyday, because they help me to overcome mistakes and suffering that are part of everybody’s life.

Finally, I realized that medicine is not the number of interests and activities, although they can help. The most important thing is to start reacting spontaneously, freeing joy from the fortress of control and social conventions.

And the truth is, I’ve always been a little rebel in this field. I laughed at places where it didn’t fit. Sometimes it was more cramping than real joy, but smiling has been part of my life philosophy for many years. And sometimes it’s really difficult to find a smile, but it doesn’t mean I’m not trying to do it.

So, today I announce a revolt against sadness and I’m sending the picture of a crazy joy to all who want to smile at least a little.

With joy and love, Ivana

From Hate to Love

As I have already mentioned, drawing is for me a matter of emotions, something between prayer and therapy. The picture above is 5 years old, but its story is still alive and here it is.

Once upon a time I woke up with a strong feeling of hate. There was no reason, I barely opened my eyes from sleep, but the emotion was there and I had a full throat of it. The hate almost choked me up even though it had no specification. It was a pure hate without direction, the feeling itself.

I had no time to think how strange it is or why it’s happening to me. I needed to give it away quickly otherwise that emotion could destroy my whole day. So I took the color pencils into my hand and tried to vomit the hate on the paper.

There was no intention to create a drawing, nothing to say about a beautiful drawing, it was a blind and wild scribble in the beginning. But as time passed, my soul and hand calmed down, and suddenly the first hearts appeared on the paper. It was a 100% automatic drawing, so I watched with surprise what my hand was creating. It took time, but I wanted to be sure that the hate had gone.

I would say that the original scribble is no more visible under waves of beauty and love. But I know how the picture was developed and appreciate the very personal experience that love is really everywhere, even on the bottom of hate.

Ivana