Imagine A Magical World....by Josephine Wall

Receiving is the art of taking something into your awareness with all the power of your senses. It is the art of allowing, rather than reacting, being receptive, rather than active.

English artist Josephine Wall has been passionate about art since she was four years old. Now a respected artist, Josephine paints with a lively imagination and romanticism that escort her audience into a world of magical dimension. With hidden images and great detail, each painting reveals worlds within worlds which transport the viewer to places of ethereal beauty.

"Josephine's inspiration for her mystical images comes from her close observation of nature and her interest in its preservation. Though she often strives to impart a message in her scenes, she also hopes to inspire her audience to take a personal journey into the magical world of their own imagination. Josephine lives in a cottage in Poole, England, where she has created over four-hundred magnificent paintings to delight worldwide collectors." fairiesworld

The Moon Goddess-
"Draped in her glimmering veil of stars, the Goddess Selene tenderly guides the moon on its celestial journey, keeping watch over the night-bathed earth. Her face is lit by the gentle glow of moonbeams from the heavens and by the profound power of her own inner peace and love for mankind." josephinewall

This is one of Wall's less detailed paintings; however, still imaginative, powerful and magical. I'm inspired by this piece because I'm a definite night owl. I love looking (reviewing how each night is different) at the stars and moon, dreaming and relaxing. Since I'm obsessed with the night sky, Moon Goddess stood out to me the most and I felt a real, close appreciation and respect.

When I was growing up, I would always be drawing or coloring but never really perused my creative talent. Discovering Josephine Wall's work definitely lead me to be creative, be inspired by my dreams and use my imagination (since I'm a math major, I interpret things literally usually). In fall 2008, I registered for a drawing class and I loved it. It relaxed me, I let my mind wonder and ponder on various subjects from "negative painting" to "self graphite sketches" to "reflections." Apparently, I found out by taking that class, I have talent possibly peruse-able and maybe make a profession, or at least a hobby, out of drawing/painting. Epiphany!!!!!

Josephine Wall's work can now be found all over the world in many different forms including, cards, stationery, puzzles, journals, bookplates, back-to-school products, mugs, needle point kits and posters, as well as Limited edition prints. (I personally have a calender).

Wall has influenced many people and has brought a childhood imagination that has been suppressed into the subconscious of our minds back to present. Also, while looking and reviewing one of Wall's paintings, because of her use of color and her (obvious and hidden) details, we receive and take in so many things at once.

Even if you aren't really an art enthusiast, everyone can connect with a Josephine Wall painting or at least have fun trying to find hidden faces or themes. Her paintings range from zodiac signs to fairies to sky & water to goddesses to surreal to alternate dimensions. I can almost guarantee by browsing Google Images of her work, you'll find something you'll like to look at.

Love & War: My Favorite 2 Things

"Poor, poor dear Cat. And this was the price you paid for sleeping together. This was the end of the trap. This was what people got for loving each other."

A Farewell to Arms was written in 1929 by Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest literary lights of the twentieth century and my favorite author. Being Hemingway's most accomplished novel, A Farewell to Arms offers powerful descriptions of life during and after World War I and brilliantly maps the psychological complexities of the main characters using a revolutionary, pared-down prose style. In this particular novel, Hemingway also using a couple of different themes and symbols that can be identified through out the novel such as "the relationship between love and pain," the grim reality of war," and the symbol of "rain."

Some may suggest, as did my colleges at Rancho High when i originally wrote a critical essay on this novel (2007), that the writing style and the language Hemingway used was too complex to understand the context. But from my summaries and critical evaluation, they expressed that this book has it all. As one said (my boyfriend), "It has my two favorite things: Love and War." Similarly, a few actual credible critics, also had positive feed back. Published on Bookrags.com , in Margot Norris' Critical Essay, Norris "uses reader-response criticism to argue that Hemingway uses the love story in the novel to turn readers' attention from brutal realities." In Critical Reviews by T.S. Mathews and L.P. Hartley, Mathews "outlines Hemingway's transition in from the realism of war to the idealism of a love story," and Hartley "states that A Farewell to Arms is particularly interesting because of its account of war on the Italian front."

A Farewell to Arms tells a story, (modeled after Hemingway's personal experience in Milan), about Lieutenant Frederic Henry, a young American ambulance driver serving in the Italian army during World War I, who meets Catherine (Cat) Barkley, an English nurse's aide at the nearby British hospital. Catherine and Henry become involved in an elaborate game of seduction. Grieving from the recent death of her fiancé, Catherine longs for love so deeply that she will settle for the illusion of it. Her passion, even though pretended, wakens a desire for emotional interaction in Henry, whom the war has left coolly detached and numb. When Henry is wounded in the battlefield, he is brought to a hospital in Milan to recover. Henry learns that Catherine has been transfered to Milan and begins his recuperation under her care. During the following months, his relationship with Catherine intensifies. No longer simply a game with empty promises, but their love becomes real and powerful. Once Henry's damaged leg has healed, the army drafts him back to the front and before he leaves, Catherine reveals to him that she is pregnant. Hanry travels back to the front, where Italian forces are losing ground and soon after his arrival, a bombardment begins. Henry leads his team of ambulance drivers (whom he shoots when the refuse his orders) into a great column of evacuating troops. The battle police try to seize Henry but he breaks away and dives into a river. After swimming a safe distance, Henry boards a train bound for Milan where he hides beneath a tarps that covers stockpiled artillery. he thinks his obligations to the war effort are over and dreams of his return tho Catherine. Henry reunites with Catherine and they settle happily in a lovely alpine town call Montreux and agree to put the war behind them forever, although Henry is sometimes plagued by guilt for abandoning the men on the front to succeed in living a beautiful, peaceful life. When spring arrives, the couple move to Lausanne to be closer to the hospital and one early morning, Catherine goes into labor. The delivery is exceptionally painful and complicated. Catherine delivers a stillborn baby boy and, later that night, dies of a hemorrhage. Henry stays at her side until she is gone. He attempts to say goodbye but cannot. He walks back to his hotel in the rain.

Hemingway demonstrates in this novel, as quoted from Sparknotes.com "... masterful descriptions of the conflict's senseless brutality and violent chaos: the scene of the Italian army's retreat remains one of the most profound evocations of war in American literature" and "against the backdrop of war, Hemingway offers a deep, mournful meditation on the nature of love." These themes as different as they are and as complex as they are, Hemingway exceptionally combines them into one novel in-order to appeal to both male, female, and all age groups. Being written in 1929, A Farewell to Arms is still, after approx. eighty years, a widely enjoyable and a commonly researched novel for high school and college students.

My own personal experiences with this novel has inspired my love for romantic novels and has converted me into a hopeless romantic. Some of my other favorite novels, besides A Farewell to Arms, are The Notebook and The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks, Scribbles (a modern Romeo and Juliet novel), and Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (a relate able teen love-gone-bad novel). This novel is very influential and sparked my interest not only with romanticism, but also gruesome, graphic war/fight scenes (guts and glory lol) .

idea of LAUGHTER

Look back to your childhood. What do you see? What was your favorite thing or favorite thing to do that you remember?

My favorite thing was not an object that one can touch/feel, but more of something the "touched" my soul and made me who I am today--Laughter. But how would one define laughter?

Some would say laughter is a waste of energy. Truly, I believe in my heart that without laughter, or even the giggles here and there, life would be depressing and boring.

When I was a child, I remember playing with my friends and feeling happy all the time. When I was sad, laughter would bring my out of the dark and turn a bad day into a good day. That still happens to me today.

Today, when I hear laughter, I can't help but laugh too...even if I don"t know what I am laughing at. Sounds silly right? But think of how you would get the giggles, where you sad? No! If anything you would laugh more at the fact you couldn't stop laughing and "get tickled pink."

Even when I hear a child laugh, I can't help but be happy. Seeing a child enjoy laughter like how I did warms my heart and I say "awwww how cute!"

Now, imagine life without laughter. How do you see it? Boring, depressing, up-tight, serious? All those emotions aren't apart of a happy life. People would hate living and having no fun at all.

Could you live without laughter? I couldn't, I live to laugh! Even the dumbest, silliest or perverted jokes brighten my day. Tell me a fart joke and I'll be laughing the rest of the day making it a good day. I'll even try and retell the joke and end up laughing before I can say the punch-line or tell the joke completely wrong and make fun at myself. Everyone should be able to laugh at themselves.

Laughter is the cure for anything; even a boring, depressing day.