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This is my first post since the end of 2017.  So, belatedly, Happy New Year!

I’ve been spending the last 6 weeks working on a new piano composition.  It has been coming to me very slowly, in bits and pieces, but now feels complete.  It’s a very simple tune, but also has some lyrical complexity that intrigues me.  It feels like riding a wave.  I had 5 or 6 different ideas for the title, but settled on “Awakening.”  Awakening to the day.  Awakening to what’s happening in the world.  Awakening to one’s own inner “music.”  Awakening in consciousness.

I have also been working on drawings for the book I plan to write.  Each chapter (there will be seven) will have a drawing that represents the theme of that chapter.  Five drawings are finished.  When I complete the other two, I will share them all in my next blog post.  The drawings are inspired by the seven chakras, or wheels of energy in the body that relate to various stages of our human and spiritual development.

I still think about the book a lot, and have written a few pages of the first chapter, but mostly the ideas are still just sloshing around in my brain, and I feel like the time is not fully ripe for actual writing.  I guess it’s the incubation (or gestation) phase of the process!  But now that my piano piece is complete (as long as I don’t get enticed by something new), and as soon as my other two drawings are done, I believe I’ll be ready to immerse.  Or, maybe I’m just procrastinating???

Anyway, here is “Awakening.”  I’d love your feedback!

Happy New Year!  (Almost).  I am very excited to welcome 2018 and see 2017 in the rear view mirror.  Although, it has been a wonderful year for me personally, I am acutely aware of how difficult it has been for so many others.  Innumerable calamities (both natural and man made) to endure and transcend.  I marvel that the threads in our fabric are holding together.  In retrospect, it seems miraculous we’re still in one piece!

I wanted to share something amazing that happened to me a few weeks ago.  I met with a young woman who does tarot readings, and something quite interesting occurred.  She “saw” me writing books, particularly for young people.  Not stories, but books that educate, guide, encourage, support, etc.  It was something utterly unexpected.  Me, write? Mystified, I asked her what I should write about.  She paused for a long time and said: you already know.

Well, that sounds pretty woo-woo, doesn’t it?  The odd thing is, on my way home, a book concept flashed into my mind – fully formed.  Complete with title, chapters, format, layout, and general content.  Literally within minutes, this perfectly packaged idea burst into my brain, and it felt completely “right.”  Along with it came an equivalent feeling of certainty that I would be spending 2018 writing this book!

The target audience for the book is young people (teens and young adults) who are struggling to find there way in life.  Perhaps with drug and alcohol problems, or just problems coping.  Those who feel dis-empowered, overwhelmed, lost and confused.  I expect my own problematic youth will be inspiration for me…  

Wishing you all many blessings in the new year!

Hello All!

I am so excited that this wonderful book store, Wellington Square Bookshop  in Exton, PA is now selling boxes of my note cards in their store!  Just in time for holiday shopping.  They are displayed on a shelf in the back room.  A variety pack of 5 cards will be sold for $19.95.  The store is located in the Eagleview Town Center.  The address is 549 Wellington Square, Exton, PA.

These are the images selected for the boxed set.

Cards are still available directly from me, as well, in any combination you like.

2017 has been a wonderful start to my new venture.  I appreciate all the support and encouragement I have received from all of you.  I am already planning some new ventures and projects for 2018 to keep up the momentum.  Will keep you posted on developments as things unfold.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

On the heels of finishing “Angels Lament,” another piece of music just started to emerge today, so stay tuned!  I just have an opening theme so far…

I wanted to share my most recent art project.  Recently I was asked by the husband of my friend, Linda, to create a collage made of hearts that he could give as a gift to clients of his.  I thought this could be an enjoyable project.  There are unique challenges when you are working to make something that meets someone else’s expectations or according to specific parameters, but it is also fun to have to work within certain constraints, giving the project a particular focus.  The three pieces below were the result of this effort.  They are 9″ x 12″ in size.

It took me a few days to come up with these ideas and execute them.  I tried 3 distinctly different ideas because I didn’t know what style might speak to him.

Dave liked the one in the middle best (which is also my favorite).  So it is now framed and ready to deliver to him tomorrow.  Not sure what’s next, but I’ll keep you posted!

The new piano (Korg G1 Air) arrived! Randy put it together for me on Saturday morning. Its sound is much richer and more resonant than my old piano, and there are more choices and features, which will be fun to explore in the coming days.

My latest piece, “Angels Lament,” is finished.  I thought it might be interesting to share some aspects of the composition process with you.  NOTE: If you want to jump ahead and hear the whole thing, go to the very end of this blog or click on my “Piano Music” page.

As I mentioned in my blog on November 11, I began this piece with one small set of notes.  Literally four beats repeated once.  The progression just captured me and I kept playing the notes over and over.  It all started with this:

First few notes

Then I fleshed out that initial theme with what became the first movement.  I call this movement “Exhortation” because its music made me think of angel trumpets blaring, pleading with us to heed the warning bells clanging loudly and urgently all around us.  Calling us to action.  Calling us to wake up and repent our perilous fall from grace.

Exhortation

Then I started work on the second movement.  I thought of the tinkling sound of angel voices, their flapping wings, more and more joining the chorus, imploring God to help us.  The name for this movement became “Invocation.”  A prayer for divine intervention on our behalf.

Invocation

Finally, the third movement.  I wanted to integrate the “voices” of the first two movements.  My hope was that the final movement would be a reconciliation.  All would be well.  Divine victory would prevail.  But, the actual music doesn’t seem to reflect that wish. It took me awhile to identify a name for this movement. Then the word “Capitulation” popped into my mind. To capitulate is to surrender.  To cease resistance.  To give in to more powerful forces. Who capitulates?  The angels?  We, the people? To what do we capitulate? Our highest nature or our basest instincts? The ending is more somber than I wanted it to be.  It is slightly dissonant, discordant, and unresolved, yet it also feels like a perfect resolution! What it conveys remains a mystery to me.

Capitulation

OKAY!  So here is the full composition.  Would love your feedback, impressions, etc.

Angels Lament

I continue to work on “Angels Lament.”  The second movement is almost complete, and ideas are percolating for the third movement, which will be a a synthesis of the themes in the first and second movements.

I’m thinking of calling the last movement “Reconciliation.”   Its meaning: “to make one view or belief compatible with another.”  I reflect on the current polarization in our country.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there could be a way to reconcile such disparate perspectives?  Did this song come to me because the angels truly do lament our human dysfunction, or is it because I need reconciliation within myself?  Maybe it’s both!

We will be purchasing a new digital piano for my upcoming birthday in February.  I’m very excited.  The piano Randy (my husband) bought for me two years ago is a basic “entry” model.  We didn’t know at the time that I would play it very much.  Turns out I play every day, at least an hour, sometimes many hours.  With all that playing, unfortunately, a number of keys have become “loose” and they clack annoyingly.  It is driving me absolutely NUTS!!!

SO – we’ve done a lot of research, and the next piano will not only be much better quality, it will also enable me to record directly on the piano itself.  I may hold off recording this latest work until I have my new toy.

Stay tuned… (pun intended) 🙂

I sent an email out to many of you, but want to mention here, as well, that the note cards on my Shop page are now on sale for the holidays.  Individual cards are $4.00 each.  The boxed set of all 8 designs is now $30.00.  Envelopes included, of course.

This sale will continue through the end of 2017.  Happy Holidays!

Today is apparently an “auspicious” day.  In numerology, 11 is considered a Master Number and is said to hold an angelic vibration that makes wishes and dreams manifest more easily.  11 is also believed to be the number of spiritual awakenings and signifies the rising of consciousness.  Of course, we all know 11 and 7 are considered lucky numbers.  So I hope everyone experiences good fortune today!

I thought it would be cool to share with you on this particular day that I’ve been working on a new piece of music, and it is, serendipitously, titled: “Angels Lament.”  The piece will have 3 movements, which is standard practice in classical composition.  It will tell a story, much like my earlier piece: Election 2016.

The first movement is finished.  It started with one small progression of notes.  Literally just one measure of notes.  But their sound intrigued me, and compelled me to keep playing them over and over.  Eventually more notes came, and then my fingers sort of flew around the keyboard striving to flesh out that initial theme that was calling me.

The way I compose is a bit strange, I think.  I don’t hear the music first in my head. I find it on the keyboard by stumbling around on the keys and discovering what I’m NOT hearing in my head when I don’t find the “right” notes!  It seems to be a backward process, but it works.  I completely defer to my fingers.  They take me where they want to go, and then my ears let me know when I’m on (or off) the right track!   The conscious brain just watches the whole thing unfold.

My concept/title for the first movement is “Exhortation,”  which is an appeal, or a call to action. In the biblical sense, it is a call to repent.  I am currently working on the second movement, and its concept/title is “Invocation.”  In this movement, the angels summon divine intervention and assistance.   I have some ideas, but the third movement remains TBD!

Please stay tuned.  I will post a recording of the piece when it’s complete!

Jill.

This week I immersed myself in the project of creating five original card designs for my dear friend, Liz.  She asked me if I would consider designing some cards for her organization that she and her business partner, Michelle, could use as a fundraising tool.  I loved being offered this challenge and opportunity.  I was given complete freedom to approach the task, with no specific direction or expectations.

That freedom made the project a lot of fun, but it also was a bit daunting!  So many decisions to make.  What colors should I use?  How can I make these designs look like a cohesive “set?”  What would the unifying theme be?  Should I continue working with geometric design, or try something more flowing, more symbolic, or even more abstract?  Will the designs meet their expectations?

I began the process the way I always do, by playing around with various papers to see what colors and patterns catch my eye.  I decided I would work on a smaller scale for this project, so began cutting 9″ x 12″ pieces of mat board while I mulled over paper choice and design ideas.

Colors?  I had an inspiration that the organization’s logo would be a great way to focus my paper choices and give the designs a cohesive  feel.  As a bonus, I thought the images could work as a branding tool!

Once the papers were selected and the size determined, I grabbed my newsprint pad and sketched some ideas.  These sketches were just a starting point.  The thing that happens whenever I work on a piece – even if I start with a clear design and idea – is that it ALWAYS evolves and changes as I work with it!  The finished piece is never identical to the initial concept.  That’s what makes the creative process so much fun.  There is an elusive, mysterious “dialogue” that occurs between the artist and the image in progress.  It is literally interactive.  Sometimes I will look at a piece for hours, moving various shapes and colors around until I receive the “aha” insight that this particular position, color, shape is the perfect one.  Only then do I glue the paper to the mat board.

And, yes, those geometric patterns seem to keep coming through me, so I “obey” and allow them to emerge!

Creating art is a profound meditation.  I lose all sense of time and place while I’m working.  I don’t think about anything.  I am solely focused on the image as it evolves.  This state of meditation is exhilarating beyond description.  And when the piece is complete, there is a rewarding sense of rightness, of satisfaction and joy, and sometimes awe, that something that did not exist before has emerged out of  nothingness to concretely exist in the world.  It’s magic!

Hello!  My “Shop” page is now available on the website for note card sales!  There are 8 designs from which to choose.  You can buy any quantity of each design individually, or a boxed set of all 8 designs.  Every five cards purchased will be shipped in a gift box.

If you have any questions or have any issues with the payment process, please feel free to reach out to me via my contact page.  This is my first shot at selling online, so I don’t know if there will be any kinks in the process!  Right now, I don’t have a way to collect sales tax with the PayPal setup, so for now there will be no taxes on purchases. I will always offer free shipping.

I am working with several local businesses to offer these cards for sale in their establishments.  For those of you who are local and would like to purchase in person, I will provide the location details to you when cards are ready for sale.

Might make nice holiday gifts! 🙂

Jill.