Painting building murals not a new idea.

     During the Great Depression, part of Roosevelt's New Deal included the Public Works of Art Project (1933-1934). The idea was to give artist workers jobs and assure the public better times were coming. Under the direction of the new agency, they oversaw the production of 15,660 works of art by 3,750 artists. These included 700 murals on public display.

 The New Deal also allowed for the formation of the CCC (the Civilian Conservation Corp) which my Father was a part of, and the construction of federal buildings, such as courthouses, schools, libraries, post offices and other public structures, nationwide.

               Post Office in Moline, Illinois

    Starting in 1938, now called the Section of Fine Arts under the U.S. Treasury Department, more than 1,400 murals were commissioned for federal post office buildings in more than 1,300 cities across America.

Moline, the town where I grew up had one of those post office murals. To a child's eyes it seemed especially huge and intriguing. I remember staring up at it at in fascination every time we went to the P.O. 

    It wasn't too surprising our mural depicted the manufacturing of plowshares. Moline is the home of John Deere, we even had an antique looking plow on our class ring, and growing up we had an International Harvester refrigerator!

 The paintings were to depict ordinary citizens in a realistic manner. Abstract and modern art styles were discouraged. Artists were also encouraged to produce works that would be appropriate to the communities where they were to be located and to avoid controversial subjects.

Is there a mural in a Post Office near you? Go here to find out......
List of Post Office Murals

More Pictures here...

“Located at the Moline post office is a mural entitled “Ploughshare Manufacturing” by Edward Millman. Created in 1937, this mural is an “egg tempera on gesso” …

Born in Chicago in 1907, Edward Millman attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later became the chief illustrator for the Chicago Evening American. He is regarded as one the most productive Depression-era muralists in Illinois, creating post office murals in Decatur, Moline, and Chicago. The mural located in Moline–“Ploughshare Manufacturing”—has been described as “depict[ing] laborers…in a dramatic and dynamic scene where workers and machines almost struggle with each other”

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Beware the Ides of March?

     Did the death of Caesar curse the day, or was it just Shakespeare’s mastery of language that forever darkened an otherwise normal box on the calendar? If you look through history, you can certainly find enough horrible things that happened on March 15, but is it a case of life imitating art? Or art imitating life?

   The Ides of March actually has a non-threatening origin story. Kalends, Nones and Ides were ancient markers used to reference dates in relation to lunar phases. Ides simply referred to the first full moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. In fact, the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing.

Drawing from history, the quote from Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar (1599) is a warning uttered by a soothsayer who is letting Roman leader Julius Caesar know that his life is in danger, and he should probably stay home and be careful when March 15th, the Ides of March, rolls around. 

   In 44 BC, March 15th did become notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history. Talk about a rough day in politics....Ceaser is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus (here we also get the term et tu Brute from Shakespeare meaning "even you Brutus")

                        So beware or be square, 
                   or just don't care, it's up to you!

Fae Warriors' cover makes top 6 !

                         March Magic Cover Contest 
               STILL MOMENTS MAGAZINE

                     Portence makes the cut. 
      Please vote for #6 (only one vote per person) 
  
               
 Two easier ways to vote. Just leave a comment on Facebook Still Moments face book or send an email from Still Moments Blog. Those two are the easiest.                                      

Portence Fae Warriors Book 3
In the final battle to save the Earth, Fae Warrior, Portence Goodeve, stands ready to serve Mother Nature. But as she fights for the future of the planet, she’s haunted by her past. One near-death experience and a betrayal that goes deep become weapons that could get her killed.

Malachi, a cross/breed, half-sorcerer and half-Fae, is back to help fight the Reptile invaders. Once upon a time, his sexy Fae-half stole Portence's heart, breath, and good sense.  Then he abandoned her—what if it happens again? Should she surrender to desire, giving both Malachi and love another chance? Or seek retribution, and be done with him forever?

Portence and her sisters as well as their Earth partners, are in a fight for their lives. When Malachi's magic is stolen and his life is in danger, will she discover the path to her future is bound by both love and duty? 

The Goblin Bat

Perhaps this is a post more suited for Halloween (Samhain), but I couldn't wait!

The little goblin bat (Mormopterus minutus) is a species of bat in the family of the free-tailed bats.

                             

                                 Roosting trees.
They are endemic to Cuba and are vulnerable due to habitat loss. During the day they can be found roosting in the palm tree, and in human-made structures. Using echolocation in a variable pattern of calls, the diet of this bat is entirely composed of insects.

   Although  many bats use echolocation, this species has the ability to change its style based on the environment it is in.

       

                           

The White Temple of Thailand

                            
    It snowed last night, and when I got up it was 5 degrees. Chores were not as much fun that morning...but it was beautiful...like living in a Christmas Card. The trees and fences were frosted in stark white, the sky so blue it hurt your eyes. 

     I heard that special scrunchy sound made only by walking on snow. Then the peacefulness was broken by a flock of noisy Canada geese flying low overhead. 

         While feeding my rambunctious, hungry "herd",

I thought how fortunate I was to be enjoying such a magical moment. And gazing at a world dipped in snow I remembered an article about the White Temple of Thailand.                               Wat Rong Khun, stands outside the town of Chiang Rai. Contemporary, unconventional, and privately owned, the white color and the use of pieces of glass in the plaster, sparkling in the sun, make it unique among temples. 
Built in 1997, by Thai visual artist, Chalermachai Kositpipat to date the temple is not finished. 
Eventually there will be nine buildings including a holy prayer room, a hall to enshrine Buddhist relics, a meditation hall, the monks living quarters and an art gallery.

             

 The main building, is reached by crossing a bridge over a small lake. In front of the bridge are hundreds of outreaching hands that symbolize unrestrained desire. 

The bridge proclaims that the way to happiness is by foregoing temptation, greed, and desire. 

Next to the lake stand two very elegant Kinnaree, half-human, half-bird creatures from Buddhist mythology.

The interior houses a gallery of great visual contrast. Lots of reds and oranges with murals of flame interspersed with modern day and ancient people and characters. It is said to be quite unsettling.

(Although they can be found on-line, photo's of the interior are forbidden.) 

        

There is something both very romantic and

very macabre about this place!

                                         

Solace Reviewer's Choice award PLEASE vote.

           Voting starts today 2/8/18 though 2/18/18

                        Please go here to vote for SOLACE

 Solace Goodeve, one of Mother Nature’s favorite Fae Warriors, is assigned to Earth to help save the planet. Reptile invaders, disguising themselves as humans,

are waging a takeover—and Mother is mad enough to eat asteroids. Solace is ready to prove herself as a warrior, but having a human for a partner is not in her battle plan—even if the man is rugged, ripped, and ready for action.

Ex-Army Ranger, Tanner Jackson, has seen his share of black op missions. The last one took a toll on both body and soul. Tanner isn’t looking for love, even though his new partner is six-foot-tall and drop dead gorgeous. However, after Solace shows him a new meaning to working undercover, he may have to reconsider that possibility.

As the Reps plan to sabotage NOAA, Tanner and Solace must learn to trust one another. But as they're trying to save the world, Solace and Tanner might just lose their hearts—and that takes the most courage of all.

Excerpt:

   “I mean it Solace. What’s going on? Who do you really work for?”

   She opened her mouth then closed it, and those lips he coveted flatten in to a line of determination barring words she seemed to be fighting to hold back.

    “If you have to ask, I can’t tell you,” she finally said, her gaze searching his face as if she sought some grand truth, her expression almost one of pain. “I really do need to see everything.”     

  Tanner balled his hands into fists, trying to keep his cool. Accustomed to giving orders, blindly take them went against the grain. It went against his instincts. It went against his training. What if she were lying? The stuff she was about to see was beyond top secret. It was experimental, and in the wrong hands, it could bring down an entire country.

   “Please,” she said.

   Although unspoken, the words trust me seemed to fill the space between them.

  “It truly is important,” she added.

   Tanner stepped in front of her. She didn’t blink or flinch, but rather she calmly returned his malevolent glare, the one he’d perfected to scare his worst combat enemies. Her show of toughness turned him on. And friend or enemy, he wanted her—right here, right now. He eased closer, his body pressing hers back up against the wall. Recollections of being with her at the party, and stolen kisses on her balcony, flooded his mind. “Are you remembering what we shared that night?” he asked.

    In answer to his question, a hint of a smile curved those luscious lips. “Business first,” she whispered, against his cheek. “I promise it will be worth the wait.”

   “I intend to see you keep that promise,” he said, bumping his hips up against hers.

_____________