Curiously Confined

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

It’s funny how we are so confined by things of our own choosing. I know most people at some time feel confined by a relationship, but lack the courage to break away. I certainly felt that way. But now that I am looking back on it, I am puzzled by why I didn’t see the writing on the wall, which actually I did but ignored it, and why I lacked the courage to do something about it. Time to put it in the rear view mirror, dimly.

Moving forward has inclined me to think less about the past, and look forward to the future, which is becoming very interesting. Life is good and getting better every day.

Curiously Confined - read more and let me know if you’d like to take it home.

Mellow Yellow

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

What is with me and yellow these days? I almost never use yellow in my work, and all of a sudden there’s yellow all over the place. I wonder what that’s about?

I read the Wikipedia article on the song, Mellow Yellow, which inspired this not so subtle piece of erotica, inasmuch as I do erotica. Really, it’s just mildly naughty when you get to the heart of it.

I was especially pleased to get to use a hand printed Christmas card from my friend, Kit Donnelly, whose card ended up as the legs and feet of my sassy girl.

Back to the yellow thing. I can’t imagine what would cause me to suddenly shift my color palette. I have been a blues and greens person forever. So I Googled color meanings, and yellow stands for happiness, hope, and spontaneity.

Yeah, I see that a lot. Embracing the mellow yellow for real.

You can read more about this piece at Mellow Yellow.

Cultural Appropriation

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

You know, if cultural appropriation had been a thing when I was in high school and college, people would have been all over me because I was constantly crawling around thrift stores and coming home with all kinds of ethnic gack, much to my mother’s chagrin.

It wasn’t that I was trying to offend anyone, except possibly my mother, but it was more that I wondered at and wanted to celebrate all these cool clothes and make them part of my self expression. I guess it’s a good thing I grew up in the 1960s instead of today.

I am part Scottish, so I think the plaid men’s shirts I got from Goodwill the other day are going to be OK, and since I am a small part Swedish according to Ancestry DNA, I am thinking my IKEA furniture is safe. As for the leopard print heels, they made it back to Goodwill, hopefully to fall on an appropriate pair of feet before I get back there.

You can read more about this piece at Cultural Appropriation. You can even buy it.

The Terror of Too Many Choices

© Natalie Schorr 2021

I was reading just recently that, when presented with too many choices, people will opt to make no choice at all. That makes no sense to me, but I have a relatively easy time making up my mind on most things.

I wonder if it’s the same with online dating? I signed up with eHarmony. According to their literature, you get presented with new matches daily, but just a few so you don’t get overwhelmed.

Not.

I have had the same 35 matches every day since I joined and I can pretty much tell you that I had no trouble sorting through them and making some quick decisions. Not that they were all losers, but they were definitely not a good fit for me. And to be honest, I am guessing that they felt the same as none of them so much as batted an eye in my direction. But I can’t see what it’s like on the other side, so it could be that the guys are being served a huge number of new gals every day, and hence, the terror of too many choices would apply.

But I kind of doubt it.

Read more on The Terror of Too Many Choices.

Caught Red-Handed

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

I don’t really know where I was going with this one, but my friend Peggy gave a killer explanation over on Caught Left-Handed.

I kind of like the outfit with all the different patterns, but I know there are those who would break out in hives if they had to wear something so interesting. And I feel for her slightly swollen, red eyes. I think I resemble that more often than not. But I’m making progress toward moving forward, so yay me!

I’m going home to visit for a week. I think I will benefit from some long lunches heavily laced with laughter. There has been little to laugh about here in Georgia, and I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon.

Concealed Carry

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

I may be the last person on the planet to get a gun. I really don’t see it happening, but who’s to say what will be?

I recently moved to Augusta, Georgia, as a result of the end of my marriage, and let me say, it’s been quite an adjustment. Not just the part where I’m living alone, but the part wherein the neighbors next door have a thriving “cottage business” running out of their home that brings a steady stream of people stopping by at pretty much all hours of the day and night. There have been no shootings so far, but this is America, where everyone is packing heat, so I’m beginning to take it as a fact that most everyone around here is carrying something with lethal capabilities. I can’t decide if I should feel less safe or more.

I found these images of guns, and they are certainly works of art. I doubt they’ve spent much time up in a backyard deer stand or tucked into someone’s waistband but I imagine they can kill just as well as the plain ones. I hope never to find out.

You can read more about this piece and even (gasp!) purchase it at Concealed Carry.

Wild Pitch

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

Those of you who know me know I can bring almost any conversation back to baseball.

I had a lot of things rattling around when I did this piece. My pet duck, Norman, is in there. And baseball. Maybe it’s the elegance of her posture, as if she is holding a baseball mitt and posing. You see that, right?

The season is heating up and the Braves, well, not so much. But I never want to give up hope, so we’ll see. There are a lot of games left.

This piece uses hand printed and commercially printed elements along with colored pencil and acrylics. You can read more about Norman and this piece at Wild Pitch. And don’t hesitate to reach out and make something your own.

Beauty is Fleeting

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

OK, not getting any younger here, and finally agreeing to a divorce on my 60th birthday was not exactly comforting. But it’s done and forward I go into the abyss, whatever it is.

I would imagine that those of you who are of “a certain age” feel my pain. It’s getting harder to look in the mirror and believe that I’m still 22. I am resolved, however, that I will not be deterred from enjoying the rest of my life, and I’m going to get out there and live finally.

Yes, I’m aware that there’s a pandemic. Hopefully it will not be here forever.

In the meantime, I am getting a lot of meditating done, and finally some new art. Life is looking up.

You can read more about this piece, Beauty is Fleeting, and don’t hesitate to drop me a line and tell me you would love to hang it in your living room. I’d be incredibly grateful

Conditional Love

© Natalie Schorr, 2021

Conditional love - you will never be worthy. Boy, that’s a real downer, huh?

I am back to working, which is to say I’m not crying every day the way I was, but mostly I’m just working and spending a lot of time meditating, trying to figure out my life. Starting over sucks, but conditional love, which has pretty much plagued me my whole life as well, also sucks, so maybe the two will cancel each other out. I don’t know.

I was trying a lot of stuff with this piece, and I think that’s why it seems a little experimental. I sort of feel like that there’s some potential there, but I’ve really got to play with it a bit to be sure. We’ll see what happens with the next piece.

I used more colored pencil than usual, but I am pleased that I am getting better at letting go of my notions of scale and proportion. That’s progress, I think.

You can read more about it here at Conditional Love.

Medusa Manifesting a New Destiny

What better way to get out a bit of rage than with a Medusa?

Medusa Manifesting a New Destiny, © Natalie Schorr 2021

It took me awhile on this one, as I needed to carve both feet and a whole plate full of snakes, which took a considerable amount of time.

Why the snaky hair? Medusa was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple. This ticked off Athena, who turned Medusa’s beautiful hair to snakes. Of course, it’s much more nuanced than that, with lots of layers, but that’s sort of the gist of it. Medusa is raped, and then punished for being the victim. Sound familiar?

Medusae are usually depicted looking directly at the viewer, which is a show of their strength, but is also a bit uncomfortable for some viewers. To them I say, get over it. There are more of these to come.

Medusa Manifesting a New Destiny uses a variety of linocuts, colored pencil, and acrylic along with metallic spray paint, old wallpapers, magazine scraps, and, you know, general stuff.