So over the weekend in my quest for rest and recovery time I watched a french movie called The Piano Teacher. This was a dark twisted movie and in my current state of mind appropriate.
There is a moment when the protagonist Erika begins to crack open to let another human being in and I was rooting for her to find love and get her happily ever after but it went terribly terribly wrong. (I should have know, it is a french film after all.) And the moment it goes wrong it was heartbreaking to watch. She is this broken creature too damaged to let love in. And when the young love interest tries to fulfill her desires, he in turn is tainted with the damage he causes. It's absolutely devastating. The story has stayed with me for the past couple of days now. It hasn't let go, there are scenes that replay in my head and I want her to make another choice. It's a long film, close to three hours, and at the very end...I still wanted her to be well enough to reach for what she craved most. The ending is brutal for a hopeless romantic like myself.
The movie made such a deep impression that I wanted to share it.
Lily~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 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.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Lousy week
I really thought after having such an excellent time with the MOMA visit that it would be all butterflies and daffodils the rest of the week. Boy was I wrong!! I've had the lousiest week ever. Where do I begin?
Well, first off, I didn't write this week (with the exception of that one blog entry, nothing else.) That alone has left me in a foul mood. I've allowed life distractions to get in the way and now I'm feeling irked at myself. I had some real momentum going a couple of weeks ago with the story and since then I haven't written a thing. Ergh! What crap!! Then I lost my monthly metrocard (which I just bought)...and I'm one of those people that really really really hates losing things. I felt myself going a little mental over it...even turning my bag inside out and still not coming to terms with the fact that it was gone.
Then on another morning, I actually got stopped by cops and had my bag inspected...I hate that!! Fascist pigs!!...on a day that I was running late for work, which made me miss my train and I got to the office almost twenty minutes late. Again, what crap!! I feel hollowed out...like someone scooped my insides and left a shell of a person standing on my stoop. To top everything off I've come down with another chest cold...which has left me feverish, with body aches and a rattling cough...so much so that I can't sleep. Which explains why I'm up at 1:44 am writing this blog entry.
I did manage to take a sick day from work yesterday...just couldn't get myself out of bed after a hacking cough the night before. This morning, I reached out to a friend needing some sympathy only to have the conversation start to go down on a rant about incompetent people. Not really what I wanted to hear and left me hanging up pretty quickly and hiding under my duvet. So now I can't sleep. I'm tossing and turning and coughing and there is no Nyquil to be found in the medicine cabinet. Mental note to buy a bottle in the morning and some Lipton chicken noodle soup. I'm really glad this week is over.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 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.
Well, first off, I didn't write this week (with the exception of that one blog entry, nothing else.) That alone has left me in a foul mood. I've allowed life distractions to get in the way and now I'm feeling irked at myself. I had some real momentum going a couple of weeks ago with the story and since then I haven't written a thing. Ergh! What crap!! Then I lost my monthly metrocard (which I just bought)...and I'm one of those people that really really really hates losing things. I felt myself going a little mental over it...even turning my bag inside out and still not coming to terms with the fact that it was gone.
Then on another morning, I actually got stopped by cops and had my bag inspected...I hate that!! Fascist pigs!!...on a day that I was running late for work, which made me miss my train and I got to the office almost twenty minutes late. Again, what crap!! I feel hollowed out...like someone scooped my insides and left a shell of a person standing on my stoop. To top everything off I've come down with another chest cold...which has left me feverish, with body aches and a rattling cough...so much so that I can't sleep. Which explains why I'm up at 1:44 am writing this blog entry.
I did manage to take a sick day from work yesterday...just couldn't get myself out of bed after a hacking cough the night before. This morning, I reached out to a friend needing some sympathy only to have the conversation start to go down on a rant about incompetent people. Not really what I wanted to hear and left me hanging up pretty quickly and hiding under my duvet. So now I can't sleep. I'm tossing and turning and coughing and there is no Nyquil to be found in the medicine cabinet. Mental note to buy a bottle in the morning and some Lipton chicken noodle soup. I'm really glad this week is over.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 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.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Happy New Year!!
I know it feels like I’ve fallen off the face of the earth but I’ve been hard at work trying to reach my goal of 50,000 words by the end of 2010. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach it. Ergh. My face just went crooked. I know this was a self-imposed goal and I think it was my way of getting into the habit of writing every day on the actual novel. Two weeks ago I wrote over 7,000 words and last week I reach 5,000 words. I also managed to pull together an application for a writing grant. * keeping my fingers crossed on that one. *
On Sunday, I finally, finally, finally went to the MOMA to check out the Abstract Expressionist New York exhibit. Despite the crowds, I still managed to have those moments when the crowd fell away and my body felt on fire experiencing these pieces first hand. There were Pollocks which always makes my heart beat just a little bit faster. Why does his work affect me so? I think he was having an encounter with God/Spirit/the Universe when he did some of his paintings. They crackle and sparkle with life. I get goose bumps when I look upon his work because he was onto something so profound and the only way he could transmit that experience was through his paintings.
And then there was de Kooning, I think as I’ve gotten older I’ve really started to appreciate his work. His one piece, A Tree in Naples is exquisite and the blue so vibrant and alive that I couldn’t help but just stay there and look for awhile. Lee Krasner’s Gaea was exciting to see and seems to bloom off the canvas. She has this spray/splatter technique that she used sparingly but it gives the piece movement. I was also pleased to see a painting by Joan Mitchell, Ladybug. I had mentioned discovering this artist for the first time over the summer so it was amazing to see one of her pieces in person. Oh, and Hedda Sterne’s New York, VIII captured the essence of New York City. Although it’s a dark piece, the light elements on the canvas gave it a hazy glow. Alfred Leslie’s, The Second Two-Panel Horizontal was subtle and understated with its bluish-grey hues and contrasting black fields but it made a gorgeous impact.
I sometimes struggle over the idea of buying prints of some of these pieces but realize the posters are such a flat medium in contrast to the thick impasto use of paints. For example, I think it was Richard Pousette-Dart’s piece, Desert who built up his canvas so thickly that it was a relief painting. A print couldn’t capture the beauty of that landscape. Anyway, looking at these abstract pieces reminds me that I miss painting. This year, I am going to make a concerted effort to spend some time in this creative medium again. I’ve been so focused on the writing that I haven’t allowed myself to play and explore the painting medium. Here’s to the creative life in the New Year. Cheers~
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.
On Sunday, I finally, finally, finally went to the MOMA to check out the Abstract Expressionist New York exhibit. Despite the crowds, I still managed to have those moments when the crowd fell away and my body felt on fire experiencing these pieces first hand. There were Pollocks which always makes my heart beat just a little bit faster. Why does his work affect me so? I think he was having an encounter with God/Spirit/the Universe when he did some of his paintings. They crackle and sparkle with life. I get goose bumps when I look upon his work because he was onto something so profound and the only way he could transmit that experience was through his paintings.
And then there was de Kooning, I think as I’ve gotten older I’ve really started to appreciate his work. His one piece, A Tree in Naples is exquisite and the blue so vibrant and alive that I couldn’t help but just stay there and look for awhile. Lee Krasner’s Gaea was exciting to see and seems to bloom off the canvas. She has this spray/splatter technique that she used sparingly but it gives the piece movement. I was also pleased to see a painting by Joan Mitchell, Ladybug. I had mentioned discovering this artist for the first time over the summer so it was amazing to see one of her pieces in person. Oh, and Hedda Sterne’s New York, VIII captured the essence of New York City. Although it’s a dark piece, the light elements on the canvas gave it a hazy glow. Alfred Leslie’s, The Second Two-Panel Horizontal was subtle and understated with its bluish-grey hues and contrasting black fields but it made a gorgeous impact.
I sometimes struggle over the idea of buying prints of some of these pieces but realize the posters are such a flat medium in contrast to the thick impasto use of paints. For example, I think it was Richard Pousette-Dart’s piece, Desert who built up his canvas so thickly that it was a relief painting. A print couldn’t capture the beauty of that landscape. Anyway, looking at these abstract pieces reminds me that I miss painting. This year, I am going to make a concerted effort to spend some time in this creative medium again. I’ve been so focused on the writing that I haven’t allowed myself to play and explore the painting medium. Here’s to the creative life in the New Year. Cheers~
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
