To Love is a Holy Thing

“Tis a Fearful Thing
‘Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch.
A fearful thing to love, to hope, to dream, to be –

to be, And oh, to lose.
A thing for fools, this,
And a holy thing,
a holy thing to love.

For your life has lived in me, your laugh once lifted me, your word was gift to me.
To remember this brings painful joy.
‘Tis a human thing, love, a holy thing, to love what death has touched.”
― Yehuda HaLevi

Gentle readers..

this is the third death,
 that has occurred 
 in my circle of friends,

and I wanted to create a small tribute..

in my way to mark the passing

and..

To honor the life of 

my friend, 
Ken Murphy..

may he rest in peace

a gentle soul, a gentle man,

and for his wife,

 my sweet and dear friend 
Vera..

I am sending you my love 

and hope the words

and this simple tribute

sends my heart out to you..

xox

3 Ways to Use Mono Prints in Mixed Media

What to do with all those

yummy mono prints?

Today I share my favorite ways to incorporate them into 

mixed media and collage.. 

I love using them in my work and I hope you try out the techniques..

Use them as backgrounds, embellishments and as the subject..

what ever you do with them, they will enhance your work..

May your weekend be glorious..

gentle viewers..

Ciao, ciao!

Art and Suicide

Gentle readers..

I am sharing deeply from my heart today..

I promised this year to dig deeper..

In the recent news of the suicides of Spade and Bourdain,

there have been many articles about suicide, depression and people sharing their thoughts and feeling about the subject. There are endless posts offering the hotline number for suicide prevention, 

which is all good. 

I am glad that we are having a larger discussion about this topic..

because it has touched me personally, not once but twice 

so today,

 I wanted to share some art

that I created in order to assist my healing and perhaps urge others to 

put pen to paper and paint on canvas..

to rip the stigma from this topic..

suicide

Peter

The painting below was done in May of 2009 when I found out that my brother had shot himself 

The title is..

I Think I'll Disappear Now

It is mixed media on canvas and hangs in my studio.

My brother was born angry. 

He was the kind of toddler who threw tantrums, pulled hair and jewelry. I remember him as always frustrated by someone or something.. he needed to be in control at all times. 

He was also talented, a poet and loved to write.. of course, that was not considered to be very macho at the time. 

 Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media on cradled canvas, I Think I'll Disappear Now, 12 x 16

I wasn't surprised to hear of his death..

I was only surprised that he had lived so long. 

people with so much anger and resistance don't last long..

 I realized then that death had finally brought him peace..

and that he could rest..

without being angry about someone or something

that he could not control.

There are some family members that feel it was an accident.. I can understand that...

Roger

I can contrast that death with the suicide of my best friend, many years earlier..

Roger was charming, cultured, brilliant and artistic but, 

he was never going to be the football player that his father wanted.

We talked for hours about art, and music, he introduced me to the work of Constable, and was positively crazy about Turner... 

I was miserable, when I found out that Roger had taken his life in 1978

understandably

 because I was going to miss him ..

dreadfully

But the worst part was that..

 Roger was a gay man just wanting to live his life with his sweetheart.

He took his life because he could not have the life he wanted. 

He was frustrated by the prison built for him,

 by society, and his family..

I have no art to share with you about Roger..

because I held it deep inside..

Caterina Giglio, Art Journal Page, 2012, The Dream

Peter

 In 2012.. I had the loveliest dream about my brother

 and I shared this spread on my blog..

when it happened..

In the dream, he waved to me in the distance and 

he walked up to me, he looked so radiant and beautiful..

I had just found a dead dragonfly and I held it out to him, feeling sad about it's death...

Pete just shrugged and grinned at me...

and then turned and walked off, waving goodbye to me as he

literally walked into the light of the sun..

For some reason that dream made sense to me of 

suicide..

I know it is shocking to hear when someone has voluntarily decided to take

their own life..

believe me, 

try bringing it up in conversation
 when discussing naturally about the death of siblings..

"and how did your brother die?"

they ask innocently..

and as I answer the room suddenly goes still...

Stigma..
there is that word that lingers and is silently associated with the deed..
Suicide..

Caroll Giglio and Peter Giglio 1958

Fortunately suicide is no longer a crime.. 

I mean what would they do anyway, give you the death penalty?

But the stigma still remains..

The silence is pervasive..

I am just an artist working through the events that have made me..

but what I do know is 

that there are as many reasons for suicide as there are people..

Depression is not the only reason for suicide

it can be as simple as anger..

it doesn't really matter if the prison is created

 by the mind or by society..

it is time to unlock the cell..

xox

May Art Journal Pages

May...

the fifth month always seems to find a way 

of bringing change...

five signifies changes 

and so I have been dealing with

death..

no... not mine or family

but close friends..

and people I care for...

So gentle reader..

and dear friends..

as I went to the studio to journal write my feelings and collage

on top of the writing...

this spread took shape..

and after some resistance,

I just let go..

It seems that each day brings a new email..

and letters carry such emotion...

It is simply the circle of life..

to accept death..

but acknowledging that it is not always easy..

opens the door for healing..

Ingredients: Gelatos, antique ephemera, book pages, wrapping papers, acrylic ink, colored pencil.

At the moment I have a couple of submissions

in the works..

which you will hear about at a much later date..

and I will be 

working in the studio planning our next YT video..

Thank you always for reading, watching and leaving

such great questions and comments..

I feel so blessed by you all..

Ciao, ciao!

Mono Printing with Masks

What cool prints 

develop

using simple household items..

In this video,

I wanted to share 3 common ingredients

that most people can find in their homes..

string..

lace..

leaves..

and create prints from them..

Using a mask is such an interesting way

to add to a print and you often get three prints..

the print itself,

the ghost and the print from the object..

Have fun with this, 

I will be interested to hear your results..

Hope you enjoy some print making this weekend..

and look forward to Part 2 when I share how

easy it is to incorporate your prints in your 

collage and mixed media work..

Have a glorious weekend...

gentle reader...

xox 

Works in Progress

This is one of those

busy weeks in the studio..

I have lots of projects in the works..

and one submission..

but instead of telling you about it..

I thought I would just share some photos..

about what is taking place tabletop...

My excavation series is making progress...

I know, they look like a whole lotta nothing...

until they come together at the end...

and I am working on 

a new monoprinting video

that we will film 

this week for my YouTube channel

and my May Pages are 

in the process of being born..

although a bit painful right now..

and I am getting

these beauties below, 

ready to hang and ship

to 

142 Bis Gallerie

I always look forward to watching them fly away

to the homes where they belong...

I look forward to inviting you into the studio

this week for a new adventure in 

Monoprinting..

and until then, 

thank you ever so much for stopping by..

Ciao, ciao!

Blog Changes, Art Books and Blog Friends

In case you have not noticed, I have made a few changes

to my site..

First of all .. 

I changed my side bar and added a page for 

Blog Friends

just below my header...

If you do not see your blog there 

please remind me to add your name, 

the other change is a feature that I added

to the side bar..

Concerning art books...

I realized that I rarely mention the books 

that I am reading,

and thought you might be interested in knowing what I 

I was reading..

I am a reader, 

and read as much as I can while still 

putting in as much time in the studio

as possible..

The books listed here will all be art books..

fiction, non fiction

and technique..

if it has to do with art, I will probably want to read it..

this book

was a holiday present..

and I have been waiting to read it..

putting it off and enjoying the anticipation

of devouring each page of loveliness 

Titian Peale's Lost Manuscript

so as I sat down to peruse and enjoy..

I thought you would like to peek over my shoulder

and take a look inside..

because it is stunning.. 

If you are a reader like me..

I hope you enjoy the new feature

I am also on Goodreads..

so you can find me there..

I am just updating my art book past reads..

thanks so much for stopping by..

have a great week..

xox