Toot, toot, toot -

"Susu's Little Toy Trumpet"
tempera-on-paper by Mick Mather

"... he seems determined to make a trumpet
sound like a tin whistle ..."
- Aneurin Bevan

As easy as baking a cake -

"Covered Cake Pan"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... my therapist told me the way to achieve
true inner peace is to finish what I start;
so far today, I have finished two bags of M&M's
and a chocolate cake; I feel better already ..."
- Dave Barry

Wingtip-to-wingtip -

"Flying in Formation"
digital drawing & collage by Mick Mather
"... every extreme attitude is a flight from the self ..."
- Eric Hoffer

Hand-made -

"Up Against the Wall"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... there's no sense being pessimistic,
it wouldn't work anyway ..."
- Unknown

Illustration Friday: Asleep -

"A Stoker's Midnight Dream"
digital collage & digital drawing by Mick Mather

"... sooty and black, a broken back,
amazing feat, scorched by heat,
second to none, shovel a ton,
sweat dreams of a coaling jack ..."
- Unknown

Thursday Challenge: Wet -

"The Papermaker's Beater"
digital photograph by Mick Mather

This is my old papermaking blender filled with water and the remains of "Erosion Cube". Kris Henderson's "Erosion Bundle Project" is now in it's final stage which means, for my part in her project, making a piece of paper from what's left. Stay tuned.

I love you -

"Love Birds"
digital drawing by Mick Mather

"... the love birds tweet and chirp and coo,
perched side by side, pitching woo ..."
- Unknown

They have sown the wind -

"Tornado Alley"
digital collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... fanatics in power

and the funnel of a tornado
have this in common -
the narrow path in which they move
is marked by violence and destruction ..."
- Oscar Ostlund

In the town where I was born -

"Lived A Man Who Sailed the Sea"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... (full speed ahead, Mr. Barkley,
full speed ahead!) ..."
- The Beatles

Shattered -

"Flying the Flag"
digital collage & drawing by Mick Mather

"... I'm in tatters ..."
- Jagger/Richards

999 -

"Fire Down Below"
digital collage & digital drawing by Mick Mather

"... all fires go out eventually ..."
- Unknown

Illustration Friday: Soaked -

"Oversold and Under-delivered"
cut paper collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... I've been soaked ..."
- Unknown
from a Customer Service Reply Card

Thursday Challenge: Happy -

"Happy is She Who Owns A Warm Coat"
manipulated digital photograph by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... the world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings ..."
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Sugar or lemon?

"Time for Tea"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... I always fear that creation will expire before teatime ..."
- Sydney Smith

Stop, drop and roll -

"The Acid Takers Closet"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... there are three side effects of acid:
enhanced long-term memory,
decreased short-term memory,
and I forget the third ..."
- Timothy Leary

Letting in a little light -

"Study Room Window"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... I will study and get ready,
and perhaps my chance will come ..."
- Abraham Lincoln

Where answers lead to more questions -

"Hidden Truths in Old Books"
digitally manipulated fractal flame & collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -
"... to sit alone in the lamplight
with a book spread out before you,
and hold intimate converse
with men of unseen generations -
such is pleasure beyond compare ..."
- Kenko Yoshida

Built for comfort -

"His Old Brown Overcoat"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... wear the old coat
and buy the new book ..."
- Austin Phelps

Illustration Friday: Safari -

"Surfin' Safari"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... let's go surfin' now,
everybody's learnin' how,
come on and Safari with me ..."
- The Beach Boys

Thursday Challenge: Pets -

"The Family Dog"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

"... dogs are not our whole life
but they make our life whole ..."
- Roger Caras

Nowhere to go -

"Into the Transfer Booth"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... Louis Wu found a transfer booth,
inserted his credit card in the slot and dialed ..."
- Larry Niven, from Ringworld

Ship ahoy -

"Anchor Home"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... if my ship sails from sight,
it doesn't mean my journey ends,
it simply means the river bends ..."
- John Enoch Powell

From a whisper to a scream -

"The Wind in the Trees"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... a great wind is blowing, and that gives you
either imagination or a headache ..."
- Catherine the Great

Happy Mother's Day -

"Mother's Day 2011"
digitally manipulated fractal flame & digital drawing by Mick Mather

"... before a day was over,
home comes the rover,
for Mother's kiss - sweeter this
than any other thing ..."
- William Allingham

Tearing paper -

"Brunhilde Jumps for Joy"
torn paper collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... nimble thought can jump both sea and land ..."
- William Shakespeare

Illustration Friday: Beginner -

"The Initiate"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... not all who wander are lost ..."
- J.R.R. Tolkien

Thursday Challenge: Beautiful -

"Beautiful"
manipulated digital photograph by Mick Mather

"... by plucking the petals,
you do not gather the beauty of the flower ..."
- Rabindrath Tagore

Mule skinner -

"Mule Team"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... a mule will labor ten years
willingly and patiently for you,
for the privilege of kicking you once ..."
- William Faulkner

Round-a-bout -

"Driver Safety First"
digital collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... the best car safety device
is a rear view mirror
with a cop in it ..."
- Dudley Moore

Final Erosion Bundle Update -

"Erosion Cube, April 30th 2011"
manipulated digital photographs by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

It's finally time to take down Erosion Cube and move it along to the next step. The final reveal scheduled in Kris Henderson's The Erosion Bundle Project is due August first and the final destination for this sculpture is a piece-of-paper. As you can see, the last 30-days were less than kind to the cube and I have serious doubts about the size and quality of the planned outcome of this project. Be that as it may, the remains are steeping in a water-filled blender to soften and break down the various elements gently. Later, everything will be tossed into a boiling pot before being returned to the blender for beating and chopping. After that, into the deckle and frame ... stay tuned.

Burn, baby, burn -

"AOK"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"... if ignorance is bliss
there should be more happy people ..."
- Unknown