Midnight Stealth Weekly Update 3/24/14

I have not made much progress on my art this week.  Unfortunately I had a lot of other things I had to deal with in my life.  So instead of sharing my lack of progress with you all this week… I have decided to share with you the works of art I had completed in the past.



The Spirit Room


































Initial Light

The Elements

The Elements modified to include the zodiac signs.



Modified to include only the fire element and it's key words of it's signs' personality.

Modified to include only the earth element the and it's key words of it's signs' personality.

Modified to include only the air element and it's key words of it's signs' personality.



Modified to include only the water element and it's key words of it's signs' personality.



Aries symbolism something I wish I could make in real life as an alter piece or jewelry or something.  The Iron makes this difficult to do.
















All of these are included in my virtual gallery.  It is a print on demand service you can use to purchase what ever size you like of the above pictures.  Options of material included rolled print, printed canvas, or coffee mugs.  You can choose to include framing or not.  Please check out all of the purchasing options available to you at: http://www.artpal.com/MidnightStealth


Thank you for reading.  Love, light and blessings to all.


#art #artwork #paint #paintings #digital #digitalart #modified #digitalmodification #astrology #aries

My Beliefs Questioned by Others

So one day my husband and I got onto the topic of hell. He told me that if I were to study the religions I was reading into deeper, that I would discover that they have a hell similar to that of what is mentioned in the bible. He was referring to the statement that the grave is hell (not the fiery hell). I corrected him on what hell was in the particular religion I was reading about. He said, "I do not agree with that and cannot believe in it." I told him that I didn't believe in that particular aspect of the religion either, but that the rest of the religion's beliefs were very interesting and quite beautiful. He said, "Well you can't just pick and choose what you want to believe…it's all or nothing." The way he stated this really kind of irritated me. I kept my calm though and stated, "All ancient texts of all religions were once just oral tradition passed on from one generation to another, right?" He agreed. I said, "And we all know how the telephone game works out, right?" He asked what I meant. I continued on, "Rumors start…one group of people thinks the conversation meant this, another thought it meant that, and another group all together thought it meant something completely different." He agreed. Then I asked, "Well isn't it possible then that everyone was given the same information in the beginning but that it got all jumbled up as it was passed down through the generations? As people moved away themes or interpretations in one area prevailed while it ended up something completely different in another area?" He said, "Well yea, I guess it could have happened that way." I said, "Well then why can't I pick and choose what feels right to me?" He had no response.
I later talked about this conversation with a mother figure I had in the past. She said my reasoning was scary and that Jesus is the only way. She tried to convert me a little. However I stayed true to my beliefs and responded to her, "And that is what you believe and that is just fine. But belief and faith is individual and I believe differently." We were pretty much done talking about religion at that point. I am very happy that I have found a way to express my beliefs with out trying to force others to change theirs, accepting them for what they believe, while stating that I am holding to my belief.
Just thought I would share this conversation with all of you as it might prove helpful to someone out there.

Midnight Stealth Weekly Update

In my last newsletter I covered the how I came up with the idea for my current piece of work.  I shared the thought process of how I decided what the background of my picture would be and you saw the progress so far on the rioter element of the picture.  You can read that newsletter here
http://controllingthemayhem.blogspot.com/2014/03/art-newsletter-31014.html


Now I have the section of rioters together. 


















And I have placed the rioters in the approximate position related to the background that I would like them to be in.  This could change slightly.  I also adjusted the brightness of the rioters to closely match the lighting in the background.  Here it is so far: 



Now my modern day Aries needs some sort of stage or platform to stand on to lead these people from.  I contemplated what would be appropriate for this setting and the Temperament of the modern day Aries.  Café Astrology says that Aries' color is red and the animal associated with him is a Ram.  So what would be more perfect for this Aries than a big red Dodge Ram pickup truck?  NOTHING LOL! Except maybe adding some horn looking exhaust stacks to the truck…LOL.  Anyway I have not been able to find a perfect red Dodge Ram truck picture for my purpose.  So this is going to take some major modifying, copying, pasting, and layering just to give this Aries the perfect truck.  Here is what I have so far: 



I picked this one because the angle of the truck was almost perfect.  I had to reverse the picture to get the front where I wanted it.  You will see in future newsletters why it was important for me to find a picture with one tire off of the ground.  Oh the suspense.  I have already removed the background from the top portion of the picture and am currently working on the bottom half.  This particular truck will probably just be my reference for how the truck's angles look while situated with one tire off of the ground.  As you can see it does not have exhaust stacks and is not a very sharp picture.  It does however serve the purpose for reference and part angles. 


This is where I am at so far with my current piece of work.  I hope you enjoy these updates that let you peer into my creative mind showing you where the art comes from.  Love, light and blessings to all.  Please share.


#art #digital #artwork #West Quady, Maine #riot #Dodge #Ram #truck #Aries #astrology

The Question of Inspiring

So I decided one day to get a full numerology reading from Numerology.com more specifically from the Numerologist Mike Madigan. I decided to purchase this reading because the sample reading really did intrigue me and sounded pretty accurate. The full reading has inspired me to look into some areas that I previously had not thought about or had thought about but never followed through with. I love what it says about my potentials in life and really do prefer to take this direction. It feels so right in my heart.

So I am digging deeper into my numerology report. Looking for key words of things that maybe I should start researching more. I am going to see where this path of research takes me. Some previous topics of research aren't as fulfilling as I had hoped they would be. Maybe I am simply not ready to look at those yet. Hopefully approaching things from this direction will allow for more fulfillment.

It says my Life Path Number (a broad outline of opportunities and challenges I will face in life, the road I am traveling) is a number 11/2. 11 is a master number and is rarely reduced down to 2. The first thing it says is that I "have the potential to be a source of inspiration and illumination for people." To me it sounds like there are 3 key words in this sentence: inspiration, illumination, and people.

So now I am asking myself…Do I inspire others? I can imagine and speculate but only you guys can answer that question. How do I inspire others? What are some ways I can offer more inspiration to others? What am I inspiring them to do?

I imagine some of my writings offer some inspiration. However others maybe not so much. I do a lot of posts that are simply book notes. Do these inspire people? Probably not so much. Although knowledge it's self can be an inspiration I assume. Still anyone can get a book from a library, download a PDF or Kindle book, or buy a book. I kind of feel as though I had become a technical writer. Perhaps I should start writing more posts like this one or offering more personal insight on informational posts. I think this would offer more inspiration to the world. What do you guys think? Am I on the right track with this one?

Some of my art does inspire I believe such as the Spirit Room



or the Initial Light.



 

I think the others add a little flare to the informational writings I have done. Giving people something nice to look at that also SHOWS the topic's information. Making it visual for easier understanding. Here I am again getting technical…LOL Still I think the art could inspire others to learn more.

I guess so far I am inspiring people to learn more about the natural and supernatural world around them. If they inspired at all.

These questions definitely require some feedback from you all so please do comment! They also definitely require some deep inner reflection. These are the types of questions we all need to ask ourselves in order for real spiritual growth to happen. Regardless of what religion or form of spirituality you follow spiritual growth is usually a goal.

I have reflected on this a bit. My conclusion is that the best way I can be an inspiration to others is to have the courage to follow my own path, heart and destiny. Sharing my thoughts and what inspires me along the way. Different people are inspired by different things. I hope that along the way some one will be encouraged to follow their own path courageously as well. Offering their important yet unique piece to the cosmic puzzle and using their gifts to benefit all of humanity as well.

Peace, love and light to all! Please share <3

#numerology #life #path #number #11 #spiritual #spirituality #inspire #inspiration

Ruling Planets

Western Tropical Information:

Each zodiac sign has a planetary ruler.  This is a planet that is harmonious in temperament (it's nature or personality) with the sign it rules.  "The planet is the motivating power or force." (1p2)  The sign rulerships are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sign	Traditional Rulers	Modern Ruler/coRuler
^ - Aries	Mars	Mars
_ - Taurus	Venus	Venus
`  - Gemini	Mecury	Mecury
a - Cancer	Moon	Moon
b - Leo	Sun	Sun
c - Virgo	Mercury	Mercury
d - Libra	Venus	Venus
e - Scorpio	Mars	Pluto
f - Sagittarius	Jupiter	Jupiter
g - Capricorn	Saturn	Saturn
h - Aquarius	Saturn	Uranus
i   - Pisces	Jupiter	Neptune

 

This is what the modern planetary rulerships look like on the natural wheel.

 

 

 

So far that is all the book really says about the ruling planets.

 

I had to modify this article to account for all the rulers of the signs as to account for differences of opinion in the world of astrology.  I wanted to be sure to include this information though so that you would be aware of it should the debate ever arise.

 

The traditional rulerships are based off of ancient Greek text that account for eons of observation of the visible sky and it's affects on people.  Once Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered many astrologers started studying them and after decades of research and experimentation the modern rulers were accepted by most astrologers.  As new planetoids are discovered they are proposed as new rulers/co-rulers for Taurus and Virgo since their planets rule two signs.  This is a subject of many articles and debates.  Much examination and experimentation needs to be done before an appropriate new modern ruler can be assigned to either.

For the purposes of a beginner learning astrology I am going to continue to use what the book I am learning from uses and that is the currently accepted and established modern rulers of each sign.

 

More information from other sources will be added as I find it, so stay tuned.

 

#astrology #sign #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo  #libra #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #picses #planet #ruler #mars #venus #mercury #moon #sun #pluto #jupiter #saturn #uranus #neptune

 

Resources:

1. The Only Way to Learn Astrology: Vol. I-Basic Principles by Marion D. March & Joan McEvers.

Art Newsletter 3/10/14

Welcome to my new art newsletter! Keeping you up to date on all of my Midnight Stealth artwork in progress. I decided to start this newsletter to let my fans in on some of the processes I go through to create the art they love so much. Also informing you of how I got my inspiration to create the art. I hope this helps you to feel like you are part of the experience.
The current piece I am working on was inspired by reading an article about the astrological sign of Aries on Café Astrology. The article can be found here: http://www.cafeastrology.com/zodiacaries.html . After reading this articles I asked my self how the Aries sign might act in today's society. Which gave me the idea for the piece I am working on now. It is a very complex piece. Since I wanted to incorporate so much into this piece of art I decided to do it digitally. I wanted to do it this way at least until I got all of the parts I wanted to incorporate into the one work. I may decide to paint it later.
The first part I had to decide on was the scene in which my picture is going to take place, what the background was to be. Aries is associated with the direction east. Since I live in the United States of America I wanted the background to represent both. The most eastern point of the Continental United States is West Quady, Maine. So that is to be the location of my background. The sun rises in the east so I wanted to incorporate that as well. In the northern hemisphere the sign Aries represents the first month of Spring with the beginning of the sign starting on the Spring Equinox. So keeping all of these things in mind I looked for a picture that contained each of the items I was looking for as well as the proper depth. I found a picture although it had a few things in it that I didn't want in my work of art. So I removed them. Now for the background/scene for my piece of art.

I think I did a pretty good job altering the picture suite my needs considering all I had to work with was Microsoft Paint and Power Point. Lots of going back and forth.
The next thing I thought of when reading the article is that Aries are natural born leaders and tend to be very passionate about issues that are relevant to them or those they care about. Since not every Aries owns their own business or is a leader in politics I thought the modern day Aries need a different more common way to lead. Since they are so good at starting that initial spark in all of us, getting us all rallied up about something, their passion and enthusiasm rubbing off on those around them…I thought my modern day Aries needed a crowd of protestors to lead! I am not finished with the section of protestors yet but here is what I have so far.

I couldn't find any good simply NO symbol signs and didn't want to pick just one issue to picture sooo all rioters holding signs I liked made the cut. This is good though because it will show the era in which my picture is made in. All of the layering and adaptations required for each part of the picture takes quite a bit of time. This is all I have for now. Comeback next week to see the progress I make this week.

My Dream Vacation

Hi I am Christa.  I am a 80% service connected disabled Veteran, wife, mom, struggling blogger, and artist.  I am the Ultimate Funjetter because I love culture and I would fully take advantage of any vacation destination and opportunity.  Not only would I enjoy the fun and relaxing activities that all vacations include but I would also fully immerse myself in the culture of each destination learning as much from each experience as possible. Fulfilling my body and soul.  I am thankful for contest like this one making my dreams a possible reality

My ultimate dream vacation would be a world tour. My destinations would be Egypt, Dubai, India, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Greece, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Bahamas, the Keys, Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Texas, New Orleans, Pensacola FL, and Orlando FL.
In my travels I would see all of the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids and other ancient sites. I would visit the new attractions as well such as the Bibliotheca Alexandria and local museums.









I love Mexican food, music, and their resorts look very nice as well. I would enjoy these second only to the wonders of the Mayan world.
I would enjoy the local street and farmers markets and a tour through the Nile valley. I would fully immerse myself in all of the cultures I visit. Getting make-overs that transform my looks in the fashion of ancient priestess, goddess, princesses and queens and/or general people of today. I would love to feel as though I am living a day in their life. Lot's of great, fantastic, and even hilarious pictures of this would be a must. A one night stay in the palaces and temples or something similar to them would further enhance this feeling.






Other places I would do this with would be ancient Roman and Greek destinations. Here I can also imagine myself fully enjoying the food and drink of the region.





In a lot of my destinations there are underwater ruins and coral reefs so I would definitely enjoy going scuba diving to see these ruins and natural ocean species. I would enjoy all of the beaches at all of my destinations as well as the night life. The romance of a Venetian boat tour is a very appealing pursuit I would enjoy with my husband. I LOVE music and would so learn to Belly Dance while in Egypt and Hula dance while in Hawaii. I would enjoy the Reggae beats in the Bahamas as well. I would love to do a retreat while there similar to the one Tom Lescher will be doing in the Bahamas. It includes meditation, yoga, astrology, and swimming with the dolphins.


In India it would be the Mosques and Vedic traditions and art that appeals to me.




In Russia I would have to see the awesome cathedrals they are so colorful and intricate. I would have to see the golden subway as well.




In the United Kingdom I would have to see Stone Hinge and all the old Castles that are open for tours.



In France it is the Eiffel Tower.

I just like the culture of Spain there is a lot there I think I would enjoy. In Hawaii I would love to enjoy their resorts and I love their culture. I would definitely want to learn how to surf while there.



Las Vegas Nevada would totally just be a fun stop just to experience the Casinos and the Scene. I just want to see Texas. I want to return to New Orleans. I love the Creole food, Bourbon Street (the only place you can get the drink called a Hand Grenade…LOL I love the street performers and the culture in general. I would love to return to Pensacola, Florida because I love the squeaky white quartz sand of Pensacola Beach. The ultimate end to my dream vacation would be going to Disney World in Orlando Florida where I could be a kid again with my son. We would have so much fun together there. Another thing I would like to do is some boat tours, and attempting parasailing and water skiing. I also would like to go to nearby places to my destinations that would allow me to enjoy the natural environment as well. I also would love to attend any concert like the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas or the Summerfest in Sweden or any concert or party that has David Guetta involved. This is another reason I want to visit Russia they have always gotten the Techno scene right! I would definitely also enjoy some holistic healing and spa days for completely blissful physical relaxation. Maybe these would be best situated between concerts and climbing ruins. :)
The ideal way I would travel to all of my destinations would be a combination of flying, cruising, and a train ride would definitely be a must.
Travel is important to me because pictures just don't do any justice for most destinations. It is important to put myself in the place and thoroughly enjoying the moment. Completely feeling the place and doing everything you can while there, simply BEING! Pictures can give you an idea of what things, places, and cultures look like. Books and imagination can give you an idea of what it would feel like to be there. It still is not the same as BEING there and experiencing it for your self. For example the squeaky sand in Pensacola might be overlooked because the person writing about it may have been in awe over how white the quartz sand is. You also can't hear the squeaks in a picture. So BEING there is tremendously important. Something so simple as sand getting me excited…I can't wait to see how excited I get from all the experiences of this dream vacation!
I will never forget any of the ancient sites I visit. Anything I would be allowed to touch I would remember the feeling of. How the sand, dust, and dirt that accumulated on the structures felt on my hand and the texture of the building material it was made of. The beauty of it all. The energizing feeling it all brings to my entire being, body and soul. Bringing the knowledge and feeling of all the cultures of the world to my husband and son. Giving my son an experience that he will never forget. I will always also have the memory of feeling like a true princess in this world. Wishing to win this contest!