clau_clara Archives - TheAppWhisperer

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 3 November 2019

03/11/201903/11/2019 by Joanne Carter

“Romantic love is an obsession, it possesses you“, said Dr Helen Fisher, an anthropologist in her book ‘Why we Love‘ and it’s true. It’s incredibly distracting, falling in love and yet it is perhaps the greatest natural high there is. When you mix Oxytocin – the love hormone with a good amount of Dopamine (the pleasure hormone), you get a very heady mix, perhaps you could say, it makes us insane but what if you’re not looking to fall in love and it creeps up on you when you least expect it…then that’s not walking on air, that’s flying by the seat of your pants… Can falling in love be diagnosed? I asked myself this week and I found the answer, according to Freud, yes, pretty much and there’s even a genuine condition called ‘broken-heart syndrome‘ when/if/usually things head west – and even knowing that that happens and it’s basically awful, we still crave the primary high. When you fall in love, everything looks better, the rain becomes gentle kissing drops on your face, as opposed to wet, cold, ghastly drops. A traffic jam becomes another excuse to dream of your loved one, as opposed to a delay for an appointment that’s going to cost you dearly. Actually, falling in love is getting into a beautiful trap set up by nature, a natural occurence that’s very hard to fight. The term ‘love is blind’, I feel is fitting, because you never know when your brain will encounter love. It’s a natural muse, one that will leave you puzzled and in deep thought…possessed even and ultimately exhausted…

I hope you all love this weeks mobile photography and art showcase as much as I do. Thank you to all the talented artists for submitting your works to our showcase this week. If you would like your work to be considered for entry in to our weekly Mobile Photography and Art Flickr Group, please submit it to our dedicated group, here. You can also submit images to our Instagram tag for this section #theappwhisperer.

Kathy Clay – @kathyc2136, Catherine Caddigan, @setanua – Seta Nua, Anca.balaj, Susan Latty, luison – Lrh Aquietco, ja_graham, @winter_lines, @imagomimago – Mimi Svanberg, jproudman.art – Joan Proudman, Filiz Ak, MaryJane Rosenfeld, @berleyart – Kim, clau_clara, @xxfromneptune – Aylin Argun, @patragraphy, mitrydate, effe5 – Guido Colla, Annette Armitage – @aaoffie, @hipstanitaelle – Anita Elle, Karen Axelrad, Cindy Buske, Hanni K, Jane Schultz, Deborah McMillion, Susan Rennie, p.a. hamel, Judy Wahlberg, Gianluca Ricoveri, Manuela Basaldella, Vadim Demjianov, Qingxian Guo, Susan Blase, Cintia Malhotra, Paul Toussaint, Arko Rayhan, Rita Colantonio, Andy Alexandre, Jun Yamaguchi, Michael Beresin.

This weeks’ music is by London Grammar, entitled ‘Wicked Game’ a very fitting song this week.

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 20 October 2019

20/10/201918/10/2019 by Joanne Carter

This week it was my husband’s birthday (and excuse me but I have to interject within this sentence as ‘husband’ just sounds such a formal a title to give to a man who has and continues to sustain our romantic union on the basis of deep mutual trust and desire, so forever and into the future when I mention him, I will refer to him as the ‘brunette’; it amazes me, like his mother, despite the gravity of time, he has not one grey hair, so my brunette he is), and as with each recurring birthday year, at least for the past 24, it almost always coincides with Lee Child’s latest novel being released. Child is so systematic with his writing schedule, that each October he drops another. I haven’t purchased it this year, our eldest son has pre-ordered it for him and will continue the tradition as I’ve stepped up to offer other gifts. But, no matter what I give, I know, the brunette loves nothing more than settling down, very close to me, one hand on my thigh, the other holding Lee Child’s latest novel. I think it’s Jack Reacher’s 6ft 5in, 250lb former US army military policeman that offers him all the fantasy he needs, or so it appears. Reacher is a loner, a wanderer, after leaving the army, he’s never settled into a normal life. There are similarities I can see, there’s no one that would ever accuse us of living a ‘normal’ life, it’s just not. But, saying that, I have to say the brunette normally carries more than a toothbrush when he lives the house. It has been said that there are many women that love Child’s books too, including leading academics. It’s interesting to me, to ponder what they crave, apparently, for some, it is his formal passages. Simple words but strung with a real mastery of rhythm, nothing complicated. His landscape visions in dusty American nowhere-towns also get some women swooning. Of course, we can’t be forgetting that Reacher is the perfect archetypal hero, the handsome stranger in town that avenges the wrongs. This years offering ‘Blue Moon’ apparently turns on male agression towards women and sexual exploitation, it’s seen as a female revenge drama. ( I’ve picked up that cue in the song title to this weeks mobile photography and art showcase, you’ll hear me, listen closely) . So, I’ll be reading it as soon as my guy hands it over. And despite Jack Reacher being a female sexual fantasy so…I’ve heard, I think I’ll stick with the real thing, the birthday boy does it for me…

Thank you to all the talented artists for submitting your works to our showcase this week. If you would like your work to be considered for entry in to our weekly Mobile Photography and Art Flickr Group, please submit it to our dedicated group, here. You can also submit images to our Instagram tag for this section #theappwhisperer.

rain.is.poetry, Lydia Cassatt, Filiz Ak, Anca Balaj, Anastasia Potekhina – @nassavva, @ja_graham – Jennifer Graham, Peter Wilkin, @marshadraws, @kimmartinodiaz – Kim Martino, @ipiotrxs, Ile Mont, @john_nieto, @berlewenjolixor, @to_be – Tuba, Emilio Nadales, Laurie Amerson – @laamerson, @pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, @patragraphy, @clau_clara, @theartofmayte – Mayte artist, @schwitter.li – Liliana Schwitter, @lorenka – Lorenka Campos, @sandralbmartins – Violet Martins, @effe5, @jenvoigt – Jenny, @marymodale, Jane Schultz – @before.1st.light, Sukru Mehmet Omur, Robin Robertis, @tatteredphotograph, @hipstanitaelle, @klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, Deborah McMillion, Clint Cline, Catherine Caddigan, Rita Colantonio, Andy Alexandre, Judy Wahlberg, Damian De Souza, Susan Blase, Linda Hollier, Tomaso Belloni, jilllian2 – Jill Lian.

Music this week is ‘Read all about it’ by Emile Sande – another of my favourite British singer/songwriters

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 6 October 2019

18/10/201906/10/2019 by Joanne Carter

One of the treatments I have commenced at hospital this week, is to take part in a six week course of Chi Kung and I’ve been practising it at home ever since, much to the amusement of those who I share my life with. Chi is considered to be the flow of energy through the universe. It is said to flow through channels in the human body and if blocked can lead to poor health. Chi kung involves performing movements that stimulate the flow of chi through the body. As such, it is often referred to as “meditation in motion”. You don’t need to be fit or athletic to do it, it can be adapted to your physical prowess. Chi Kung is very gentle on the body and arguably the most important thing to do when practising this ancient Chinese art is to relax, physically and mentally. To relax, you need to hold a position and take some deep breaths through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. In today’s society where we check our phones every 12 minutes, the lost art of concentration and relaxation is a concern. We need to switch off, as creatives, in order to create, make love, at least I do. When overwhelmed with mental stimulation, I have a few techniques up my sleeve, that I can call upon, these include, music – especially the music of Sade and I have included one of her tracks in this weeks showcase, this song speaks for me, another is photography, of course, I also read avidly, and particularly, when overwhelmed with physical pain, I love to descend into a very warm solitary bath and now I also have Chi Kung.

Whilst creating this weeks showcase, I have viewed all of the art through a Chi Kung lens and with each and every inspiring image, I have created a meditation, of your art. Feel the rhythm, the surging uplift, as we fall into mutual devoted freedom….

@pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, Eliza Eliza Tsitsimeaua-Badoiu, clau_clara, Nicole Christophe, @mitrydate, Kerry Mitchell, @dunga_brook, @rejanerubino, @sandralbmartins – Violet Martins, @impro_visions, sunflowerof21_365 – Elaine Taylor, @patragraphy, @marymodale – Dale Bradshaw Botha, @marianne.rieter Marianne Rieter, Jane Schultz, @marian.rubin – Marian Said Marian Seid Rubin, @ilemusi – Ile Mont, @janisbrandenburg Janis Brandenburg Lee, accidental_artist3 – Ransom Candice, @fichristian – Fiona Christian, @clarisse_debout – Clarisse Debout, @schwitter.li – Liliana Schwitter, @ange_ombre – Ro Lannes, @klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao M. Cecilia São Thiago, ja_graham – Jennifer Graham, @peterwilkin1 – Peter Wilkin, @remintrusions – Damian De Souza, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Jill Lian, Karen Axelrad, Yasuo Furue, Rita Colantonio, Gianluca Ricoveri, Catherine Catherine Schell Caddigan, Clint Cline, p.a.hamel, Susan Rennie, TheiPhoneArtGirl – Meri Walker, Lorenka Campos, Rob Pearson-Wright, Paul Yan, Mark Walton1.

Music this week, another of my favourites – Sade with ‘Somebody already broke my heart’ (lovers live)

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 29 September 2019

29/09/201929/09/2019 by Joanne Carter

Susan lived “in constant terror that [her mother] would withdraw suddenly and arbitrarily.” […] In the house she grew up in, love was not given unconditionally. Instead, it was extended temporarily, only to be dropped at will: a winnerless game whose rules the girl learned far too well. I am currently reviewing new literature by Benjamin Moser, a heavy tome of a book, entitled “Sontag: Her Life and Work”, sent to me by Allen Lane the publishers and a subsidiary of Penguin Books. I’ve not finished this book, not by a long way (yet). This week has been a tough one personally, not least with the resurgence of early years’ abuse, which actually coincided while I was reading the beginning chapters of this book and I’ve been staggered at some of the similarities with my own early life, as it pushed me back. I experienced much the same but was also berated for it and when it returned again this week, out of the blue, I struggled to climb out of the misery I felt. Fortunately or unfortunately I had other more pressing distressing problems to cope with and these took priority and I think that helped, funny how things work out. Of course, I will publish the full review of this book, in due course, but it will require two or three reads first. What I would say is Sontag was a controversial figure, but I have always truly admired her work. Unlike Sontag, I do know exactly what my feelings are and in respect of mobile photography and art, my perspective is demonstrated brilliantly in this weeks showcase. Enjoy!

@pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, @ringuin – Dieter Gaebel, @elizabadoiu – Eliza Badoiu, @patragraphy, schwitter.li – Liliana Schwitter, @christinemignon – Christine Mignon, @mitrydate – , @clixit2020 – Clint Cline, @loveanalogcollage1 – Jen, jilllian2 – Jill Lian, Deborah McMillion, Cintia Malhotra, Sergiy Beliayev, Lorenka Campos, Hanni K, Sheldon Serkin, Jun Yamaguchi, Russ Merz, Robin Robertis, Rita Colantonio, Jeremy Cassell, Sherrianne100, Karen Axelrad, Lindy Ginn, Laila, Ginaluca Ricoveri, Judy Wahlberg, p.a.hamel, Susan Rennie, Rob Pearson-Wright, Clint Cline, Linda Hollier, @imaco57 – Isabel Afonso, Sandra Martins – Violet, Clarisse Debout, @berleyart – Kim Clayton, Sukru Mehmet Omur, ja_graham – Jennifer Graham, clau_clara, @harkinjoyce – Joyce Harkin, @rkreationsmi, Ilise Harris, hedgehogstudio – Julie Denning, @wallopart.

Music this week is by Laura Doggett entitled ‘Old Faces’

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 22 September 2019

22/09/201922/09/2019 by Joanne Carter

The three of us, our bodies sharing a common goal and process, the same level of exhaustion reached – potentially. Coming together, tearing apart. Despite the degradation of our bodies, we pushed through. Toll was the point, haggard breaths, sweating foreheads, shaking thighs, pushed to the limits, exhaustion was the symptom but not the goal. The late night service station off the motorway, still somewhere far up North, was stark. But contained pockets of human existence joined by essential basic common needs, in the dead of the night. A millennial loved up couple, cuddled in the queue, ecstatic with the elation of food quashing their hunger, the woman pirouette’s around her man, rocking her ample breasts simultaneously, he yawns. A family, wife/mother (45) hunched and dressed in a hoodie, texting frantically, the husband/father (49) repeating loudly ‘I am so angry’ , the boy (12) expressing ‘she’s only going to live in the car for a year, Dad’. The sister (13) staring blankly into space. Another couple, man (65) woman (25) wander slowly into view, heads down, the woman I notice with heinous black inflamed eye, as they share an order booth. She selects (with difficulty) their food, her elongated manicured white nails, not fit for a touch screen. Another couple, man (29), woman (70) attempt to select their food in the booth with coupon codes, it takes 25 minutes for them to choose, as they finalise the order, the woman cries, she wanted to add a hot chocolate, they begin again. And now it’s the two of us, having left our middle son, miles and miles up the motorway, at university, we drive home, semi autonomously. Sometimes I feel I can do without the present, the past is more than enough, I silently weep, a job well done. Homeward bound…we change gear.

clau_clara, marshadraws, _soulkitchen_, dayindigo, wstairs, ja_graham, joe.legrand61, klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, ilemusi – Ile Mont, clizit2020 – Clint Cline, mitrydate, thelma.penteado, cooksbay, alisasmithwilliams, laurence_bouchard, coeiphoneart – Gerry Coe, rejanerubino, berleyart, lillorizzo, ritaipunina, dinalf – Dina Alfasi, eva.peopleoflondon, imaco57 – Isabel Alfonso, csernusphotography, kein_grund, Lee Atwell, p.a. hamel, Susan Rennie, Gianluca Ricoveri, Andy Alexandre, Jennifer Bracewell, Cintia, Sebastian Burczyk, Jun Yamaguchi, Damian De Souza, Tomaso Belloni, Lorenka Campos, Deborah McMillion, Christine O Sobczak.

Music this week is by Freya Ridings entitled ‘Lost Without You’

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 8 September 2019

08/09/2019 by Joanne Carter

This week, I’d like to talk with you about courage and it’s scary, being creative is a path for the brave. If you lose courage, you lose creativity. Each one of you has hidden treasures within you, as do I and we need to bring them to light and it takes a lot of faith and hard work, not least devotion. It’s important to say ‘no’ at times, I suppose, not that I’m one for that, it’s easy to say ‘no’, you’re off the hook but if you say ‘yes’ then what happens? It’s showtime! There are times, when you might need to lay low, as I have this week, many will notice my work output has slowed, I’ve been very unwell but that’s ok and do you know, why I know it’s ok? Because I have fierce trust in myself, I know I am a success with what I do, I believe in myself, I have had to and I know that I have so much more to do and so much further to go. The one thing you must never do, as a creative, is turn around and walk out. You show up, you do what you can in the time you’ve been allotted and you do it to the best of your ability and that’s what I’ve done today, with this weeks magical mobile photography and art showcase, I have tried my best to put this together, for all of us, although I am still unwell. You invited me to this party and I’m here to stay. Enjoy!

Tuba Korhan, Laila, before.1st.light – Jane Schultz, woltarise, borisbschulz2009, Clint Cline, Deborah McMillion, Susan Rennie, Paul Yan, Judy Wahlberg, TheiPhoneArtGirl – Meri Walker, Tomaso Belloni, Rita Colantonio, Jeremy Cassell, soul_engine, Enio Godoy, Catherine Caddigan, Manuela Basaldella, Linda Hollier, Peter Wilkin, Jun Yamaguchi, Chris Feichtner, anandamoy chatterji, Tricia Dewey, coeiphoneart – Gerry Coe, jdalerobertson – Dale Robertson, tanja_houwerzijl – Tanja Houwerzijl, sodium_light22 – Jenny Pieters, raveninnyc – Lori, effe5 – dinalf – Dina Alfasi, kathyc2136 – Kathy Clay, nicolechristophe – Nicole Christophe, joe.legrande61 – Joe LeGrand, ja_graham – Jenifer Graham, klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, remintrustions, Sarah Bichachi, vadqcooper – Vicki Cooper, clau_clara, iwo.ska, ringuin, ullahauer – Ulla Hauer, elizabadoiu – Eliza Badoiu.

Music this week, is another of my favourite bands – Cigarettes after Sex, with their track ‘Keep on Loving You’ – I always, keep on loving you all, even when I’m unwell, perhaps more so, then.