We the People

God Bless The United States of America.

 

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…” The U.S. Constitution

On July 4th we the citizens of The United States of America are celebrating our countries 239th anniversary. As countries go, we aren’t by any stretch of the imagination the oldest governed country in the world. There are actual populated cities on this earth that are far older. But for what we may lack in age and maturity, we certainly make-up with in brashness, can-do spirit, and audacity. Is that good? I don’t know, any perspective less than a hundred years old I immediately consider suspect at best.

Regardless of my nation’s sometimes bloody, sometimes noble, sometimes idiotic, sometimes unfair, and sometime brilliant past or present, I do love my home and nation – warts and all. Our US flag stands for a great deal, some bad, but so much more that is good.

Consider how many people from around the world would move to the US at the drop of a hat. Think of all our Latin American neighbors sneaking in against or laws and policies because they would rather live here than their own nations. I work at a University and meet many students from other nations who would rather stay here than go back to their own nations as their academic careers draw to a close. Many struggle to stay, some are not so successful.

No matter what people may think of the United States of America, it is for me the most wonderful place to live in the world. If you were born in a different place and take offense at my statement, I truly hope you love your home as much as I love mine. My wish for you is that you will work hard to make your nation a great and a wonderful place to live.  As for me, I will endeavor to help my home maintain our national identity as “one nation under God, indivisible with justice for all.”

Is our country perfect? What does perfect mean anyway? Is their room for improvement, absolutely.  But if we don’t learn to work together and face our difficulties with civility and respect, the alternative will always be bleak.

 

Name one thing you love about your home in the United States and one thing you would change for the better.

 

DRAWING LESSONS ANYONE?

This post definitely comes under the and-now-for-something-completely-different category. Today, I want to celebrate creativity in a different way. Many don’t know it, but I’m also a professional artist. I have done line drawings for 3 novels, commission work, have visited schools as an illustrator, and am now embarking upon my first picture book. The book is called Growing Up In Wild Horse Canyon, written by Karen Autio and will be published by Sono Nis Press in 2016.

(The above is a commission I did about 15 years ago of a friend and her horse.)
Over many years of associating with creative people, I’ve noticed something about them: they often express their creativity in many ways. They may also be musicians, actors, decorators, architects, fabulous landscapers, painters, sculptors, gaming wizards, or even think-out-of-the-box mathematicians, engineers and scientists. (Have I missed anything?)

(The above was inspired by a trip to France. I do love horses, so had to paint another couple!)
And with drawing, many of you may have had discouraging experiences in school years of not being able to draw as well as the next kid, so you backed off completely. Now, though, many have a hankering to try it out again, but don’t know how to go about it.

(The above was done with water colour pencil crayons, one of my favourite mediums!)
Well, have I a deal for all you closet artists! I would like to offer all our Scriblerian followers a chance to learn to express yourself in two dimensional art. I will teach you some artist’s secrets that have been known since cave art and have been used throughout history in architecture, sculpture, paintings, and drawings. But the cool thing is that these same secrets are even now staples in decorating knowledge of landscapes and homes. I teach a few of the same things in my school visits, along with my different approach to drawing that enables anyone to learn to draw. And what you learn will enable you to draw anything, not just the object we are working on. The only things you need are patience, an open mind, and a pencil and paper.

(The above is a sketch from my fantasy WIP Orion’s Sword)

(The above sketch is from one of the books I illustrated called One Thing I Know For Sure coming out soon)
What I ask of you is to reply with your email and name. I will put them all together in a bag and choose 5 people to be my students, and will notify you with an email that you have won. I will send you the 5 or so lessons via email and you can scan your drawings (or take a picture of them) and send them back to me. We will have a back and forth correspondence until you have finished your picture. This is of course meant to be fun and you will be free of knowing how well ‘the next kid’ is doing in comparison. Perhaps if you’d like, we can post your picture on a later post. Remember though, we all learn in different ways and at different speeds.
After the lessons you will never look at artwork the same again. You will be able to spot artwork done by a professionally trained (or unprofessionally trained) artist from 10 paces, and will be able to appreciate two dimensional and three dimensional art as you never have before.
If you’d like to see more of my artwork, go to http://www.lorainekemp.com or http://www.facebook.com/lorainekempartist
So, if this is what you’d like to try for a sideways expression of your creative spirit, let me hear from you! Don’t be scared! Let the games begin!!