Amalfi Coast - October 2017

Edvin Cobaj - The Hub

A co-worker of mine has a son, Edvin, who is a creative soul.  She shared some of his work with me and it made me smile down to my very toes. He's young and he's doing it for the sheer love of doing art. I have to share it because that's what we creatives do for one another. Pass it forward. Share. Send it out to a wider audience. Enjoy!  :-)  Peace, L~



All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2017 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

James Bay's show at Radio City

Glittery NYC (9.30.16)

Protect Yo Heart

Cloud Gazing on Coney Island Beach

Up

Going back up the hill is so much tougher than going down the hill. I think I left a piece of my lung on that last turn.

Morning Walk

Tree lined narrow lane as I walk down the hill. Not ready for vacation to be over quite yet. 

Rome

And exhausting day in Rome. A lovely end with drinks with new friends.

Storm Clouds

A storm's a brewing. Spent the afternoon writing.

Parco Di Paestum

Walking among ancient Greek ruins in Italy.

Sweet Chilly Saturday

Tagged Scaffold on E. 77th.  Complete tag is "love yaya" (Nov. 2012)

I spent the day walking around Central Park.  People were out in droves.  It's chilly but walking around was exactly what I needed after I spent the morning writing.  Let's see it's day 3 of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, for short).  

Thursday's word count: 1,140.

Last night's word count: 1,420.

This morning's word count: 1,212.

Total word count so far: 3,772

It's amazing how a little writing every day adds up.  Hoorah. Feeling pretty proud of myself at the moment. I know it's only three days in and after I finish with this post, I'm going for a second writing jag. I'm trying to hit 3,000 words today and another 3,000 words tomorrow. Just trying to give myself a cushion in case the writing slows down during the week.  Always anticipating the worst.  Hehehe.  

Just had a bowl of chili with beans as a late lunch.  Brewing a pot of tea while I write this entry up.  And then I'm off to NYC in the year 2127.  Crazy shit is going down and my protagonist Castle has been accused of treason.  She's heading back to Alpha base to get some answers and to help clear her name but information is coming to light that makes it seem as if she might be working for the other side.   I think my role here is that of typist because this story is tumbling out onto the page faster than I can type.  Every time there is  a pause or a feeling like I'm not sure what else is coming up ahead...I just tweeze my eyebrows.  Yep, you read that right, I tweeze *giggle *  So my eyebrows are finally starting to have of a more tamed look to them finally...I've been sporting the crazy scientist version up until now.  I'm not even sure I meant to share that much information but hell, these bits are all part of the quirky eccentricities that make me, ME!   Yay!!  I feel a musical number bubbling up...hehehe.  

Anyway, one more pic uploaded below and then I'm off to try to hit my 3,000 word count.  

Sunlight on moving water in Central Park (Nov. 2012)

Voilà.

Peace,

L~ 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

A Bend in the Landscape

There is something 

delicious in disappearing

listening to the wind

leaves scrape dry

against frosted earth

sun descends behind

cloud cover

fingertips chilled

crows caw

a dose of cold air.

A walk, thin veil of rain

unravels thoughts 

onto naked branches

crackle gravel road

grey clouds race 

waves of swaying trees

bend the landscape.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Misdirection and Chili

A breeze comes in

the earth damp 

from last night’s rain

meet the blank page

in a procrastinating way.

Asian ladybugs skitter

against the window pane.

Sky full of puffy clouds

while tea brews 

a love story falls 

between the cracks

of the wooden floor.

Fishing line and wormy 

baits are needed to lure 

the words out.  

Pretend tenderness. 

There is strain, hem

and haw, spirals and

circles to loosen up

misdirection and chili,

watch birds,

wring words from 

hungry hands paint 

a stark land bright 

like the scent of pine 

trees on a cat’s fur coat.  

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

04.12.10

I spent the better part of the morning looking for Kiara, one of the dogs who lives on the farm.  She was nowhere to be found.  In the midst of looking for this dog, I came  across quite a few deer.  The first sighting happened when I reached the orchard.  I had just gotten a ways past the entrance and two deer shot out from the brush.  I think we startled each other.  The first one took a look at me and then the second one, who was right behind, dashed past which made the first one bolt as well.  They crossed my path and I watched their little white tails run up the hill.  I was completely amazed.  

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a deer in nature before.  I’m sure I’ve seen them at the zoo at one point in my life but it’s so different coming face to face with a large animal in their natural habitat.  Their coats were light brown and one of them had faded white dots on their fur.  Once the deer hit the top of the small hill one of them stopped, looked back and just stared at me.  All I could do was stare back and smile.  It was just for a couple of heartbeats but that moment filled me with pure joy.  That pause was a gift.  They turned and ran into the denser part of the woods and all I could see was a little white tail and white hind legs.  I kept walking and thought to myself this is so cool and I couldn’t help but smile out loud. 

I walked past the orchard, past the garden area, past another wooden gate, onto a path that would take me to a more wooded area.  I took only a couple of steps onto the path and the blue jays started screeching up a storm, startling me and quite a few deer in the process.  I can hear them bolting, branches breaking and I saw bits of hooves and quick dashes of light brown fur but I couldn’t quite make them out, there was too many tree trunks in the way to get a proper look.  I also knew there was no way Kiara would be out this way because that dog would have been hunting those deer down if she was anywhere nearby.  I walked further down the road until I hit the boulders but no sign of the dog. 

Tony mentioned the other day to me that the spirits of the land doesn’t like the presence of the dogs.  I wonder if Spirit cast Kiara out.  Perhaps her presence was too disruptive.  Hmmm.  I’m just worried that she is tangled up with her metal chain on trees and brush somewhere unable to free herself.  I may go out again and roam the land between the Indian pasture up into the denser paths to see if she’s just stuck. 

Anyway, I turned back and started heading back to the studio.  I swung by Mark’s place to see if Kiara had turned up and found Bo tucked underneath a white pickup truck for a little shade. No Kiara but Bo growled at me, of course.  After I filled his bowl up with cold water and he took a long drink, he was my best friend.  He tried to show his domination by sitting on my feet and leaning up against my legs but I pushed him off and started to walk up the hilly road. Once I cleared the hill, I found Zeus at the top by the chicken coops.  I filled up a bowl of cold water for him too since I was up by the pump, then headed back on the road.

If I wasn’t so scared of the chickens, I would have gone in and gotten some fresh eggs.  Yes, this is one of those moments that I know I didn’t grow up on a farm.  I tried it once on my own while at OAC but I get overwhelmed when all the chickens start to swarm around my legs.  They think I’m gonna feed them or something.  The panic starts to rise and then I’m running out of their coop.  Yes, it’s funny. Another day in the life of this Brooklyn girl in Belle, MO.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

03.19.10

Down by the Indian well today,

Sun high overhead, the breeze is cool

Zeus and Venus keep me company

I listen to the rustle of dry leaves

and swaying tree branches. 

In a quiet field a thin wind glides

and green grass sprouts in clumps.  

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Particulates

Venus takes off chasing cars.

Clouds do not move today

hover low without raining

A blue jay turns dry leaves

flips them away

add words to a page.

A black crow perches

on a white picket fence

dark shadows in the corner.

Dry hands if rub together

sounds like sandpaper

Eastern Bluebird flew up

bright indigo against brown leaves.

Keep moving and stretching,

restless energy starts to sneak up,

a mosquito flies into the window

over and over again. Mix medias, 

make them new again. Atrophied

muscles are being used. Venus

barks and howls outside.

Homemade blackberry jam

with creamy butter on bread.

Altra takes a catnap stretched

across a worktable and books.

 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Let it be an Elegy on an Empty Stage

A breeze comes in a chilled manner

birds glide in stream lines across

the earth damp from last night’s rain.

Heavy storm clouds move in this direction

seek shelter beneath the house, a crawl space.

Intimidated meeting the blank page

ramble without much direction

icy fingers start to ache

follow behind, pulled along by a thin line

a bright blue sky past large white clouds.

There is something beautiful in a sky full of fluffy clouds

Tea is brewing, I wish there was a couch I can curl up on and write from

My heart hurts, it feels wounded… tight achy spots

too many years of grief rolls me up into a tight little ball

These days my body pushes back.  It’s 12:07 and I am blank.

I feel a little isolated and lonely at the moment

What do you want the story to be about?

About love and utter desolation.

You can’t keep skirting this loss

An empty stage

Start with a woman

putting a chair off center

at an angle and go from there. 

You will know how to fill the space

once you start. She would be silent. 

Why? A sign of repression, self-hatred.

darkness starts looking into you as well

What is the pain level these days?

Walks in the woods, the large open space,

sun prickling my skin turning it pink when it peeks out,

wind in my hair, large puffy clouds overhead,

pulling me out of the dark and twisty place from time to time.

I put the chili on the stove to warm up and grated cheddar cheese to top it.

Ill-equipped to write something meaningful and worthwhile

Art is not about thinking something up.  It is about …getting something down.

I strain, hem and haw, procrastinate, write in circles.  A spiral of misdirection.

Avoiding this lonely time

Avoiding the empty page

Just keep putting words on a page

Resistance is futile

Dim afternoon light mostly covered by clouds.

Asian ladybugs skitter across the tabletop,

keep the creepy crawlies in check.

Altra, the cat, smells of pines needles

seated on the floor beside my chair

with her back towards me standing guard.  

Stark trees look like reaching hungry hands

against the grey skies. A large mug of milky

sweet earl grey tea to keep the memories at bay. 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

03.09.10

Chin in hand, my fingers curl over my mouth and I wait.  I look out the large window into a yellowish field and webbed tree line, watch crows fly overhead until they pass my sightline.  I wait while the heavy grey clouds above race past the hills that lay out to the north.  The only sounds I hear are the skittering of the Asian ladybugs landing on my stockpile of books, electronic toys and art materials.  The scent of sandalwood smoke fills the space to help with the odor that the ladybugs leave behind.  I wait for the voices to gather up but all I hear is silence and it’s deafening.  This quiet time alone without my usual distractions makes me tremble inside. So I watch the naked tree branches sway with each gust of wind that blows through the landscape.  I watch the clouds roll and skim and glide by and I wait for the stories to unfold.   

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Brooklyn Girl Takes a Walk in the Woods...and Gets Lost

My day started off with sunlight streaming in through my bedroom window.  It must have been about 7 am when the light actually woke me up but I rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour.  When I finally got up,  I made myself some country bacon and fried egg for breakfast...and a big cup of earl grey tea with milk...YUM!!  A girl needs her caffeine. 

I thought to myself, today is the day I go out and take a walk around.  I putzed around the studio for a bit, chatted online with Christine G., visited with Katherine who helps Mark with OAC, fed the cat, etc, etc.  Now Mark (director) told me he was going to take me around to show me the paths but I thought well I've walked around the place with Tony so it should be fine striking out on my own...right? Uhm, nope.

The paths were really muddy and the first big hill with the steep incline had me half walking, half sliding down.  I tried walking on the sides of the path where the dry leaves were, however I didn't realize these dry leaves were resting on top of moss and mud and branches.  Right.  Slipping and sliding it was after all.  I almost made it down to the very bottom of the hill without falling when I slipped and fell into a watery muddy mess.  My boot was stuck in the mud, my foot outside the boot tried to find it again so as not to step into the mud with only my sock, my shin is hot and aching where I came down on it.  I wasn't hurt, just a little tumble and a bit of mud on my cargo pants but I was still intact.  I walked toward the first open field and sat down by a water hole so I can pass a hand over my achy shin, it's going to leave a bruise.  I'll take a pic if it bruises up. 

All right, so I remembered there is this old tree on the land and I vaguely remembered where it stood from the last time I was at OAC.  I went in one vague direction and took some pics of it and rested upon it before heading out down another path.  Now Mark had made it very clear that I should stay on the designated paths and believe me when I tell you I tried but I took one wrong turn and I didn't realize I was off the path until I was completely lost.  So now I can't find the path and I am elbow deep in prickly vines...uhm ouch!  I didn't realize they were even there until they started slashing at me.  Argh!  I walked on and I was a bit panicked so I stopped taking pics.  I was just trying to find the trail again.  

I walked around like this for an hour.  I finally found a barbed wire fence and a wide open field, which I recognized.  YAY!  Only then did I realize that I could have used the GPS system on my iPhone to find my way back to the studio.  Live and learn.  

It was a bright beautifully day and I walked around for another hour and just took some time to look around.  Today, I am content and filled with gratitude to be in this space. 


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Afternoon Light, December

We walk along
the marshy path
to find faerie woods
where hardy vines
have kept their green,
it's warmer here
than the rest of the land
as the hills block the winds.

Ice is wrapped around
the base of a plant,
the water folded upon itself
to create loops of ice.
They shine where light
skims the outer face
and we are unable
to translate it onto film,
where the magic disappears.

Milkweed blossoms
glide lightly on the edge
of air in natural motion,
the monarchs who feed
upon it have long ago
departed south-bound.
Crimson and golden hues
brighten a brown stark path.

The frosted earth
crackles beneath our feet
and you are lost
in thoughts of departures,
unable to break away
from the afternoon light.


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2009 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.