Hi and welcome! Medusa evolution

I found a seed. A seed with eyes which provides smiles, love, mystery and high skills for reproduction and propagation. Evolution started and the seed became a jellyfish or something similar. It is still evolving and let's see where we go.

Matryoshka family (and some notebook secrets)

Apparently the huge quantity of Matryoshkas dolls in the shops of St. Petersburg look just souvenirs for decoration. Most of them beautiful ones. Some even an artwork, for example these detailed and handmade I found and I couldn't resist to buy:

"When they are five dolls is the best case, they are like a family." That detail was the trigger to a never ending thinking. I know myself and I was sure there was a long path to explore about this idea. Matryoshka means mother in Russian language and it looks quite obvious the representation of a woman and reproduction.

However I always keep in mind one of the axioms in life. Here I write it. Do no forget. It's useful:

"Each thing generates its equal"

A said shown in El Quijote. Valid for everything. A tall woman generates tall children, a chicken generates chickens, a messy man generates messy desk and so on. Obviously the big matryoshka generates a chain of almost identical matryoshkas. That fully matches with my idea. And it does it in a beautiful way!

But why they are the same? Is there any force or code which rules that reproduction?

On top of that, matryoshkas open as eggs. Even they have egg shape. Usually oviparous produce eggs, however matryoshkas are eggs themselves. They are beings and eggs at the same time.

When an egg breaks from inside means life. A new life starts. When an egg breaks from outside means death.

So how could be a family (five dolls) be all women, all eggs, broken (from outside) and still being alive? Maybe they are different things together in that weird family. A cultural overview invites us to see a father, mother and three children in that family. Well, cultural ideas also say Pope clothes are elegant or wearing a tie is a serious thing.

First matryoshka, the big one, is the big mother. The creator. She is also the tallest one. But if they are a family that roll should be occupied by the father. In my page I've drawn a suspect woman. Actually he is a man. A transvestite. Anyways, let's call it "creator" (in metaphysics words). It contains everything from the beginning of the times. It also contains the time.

Second matryoshka represents the real mother. She is a real egg. The egg of creation. Number 2 in Tarot shows that: Female learning, accumulating knowledge, capacity of generate and incubating an egg.

Third matryoshka if the firstborn. The selected one. By coincidence (I can't find another reason), he stays in a special place in this page. Now it's time to tell a secret about my artjournal: Along the pages of my notebook there is a line which travels along some of them like a river. That's a mathematical line and can be seen putting all the pages together only. That magical line links the pages like a thread. Sometimes I highlight the way of that line with orange dots. The head of the third matryoshka is in that exact position so he is being illuminated. Some religions use a circle to represent that.

Fourth matryoshka is the middle son: The reference. I represent that with the changing space-time web and at the same time with something fixed, an absolute reference. In my notebook I use to include a fixed measure in different items. That absolute reference was shown in a previous page:

The needle keeps the metrical reference. That measure is not random and comes as the golden ratio of a physical item (not revealed by now). The third matryoshka has the same height.

The fifth matryoshka is the little boy. The last one? He is the most mysterious of all of them. He is not an egg and can't be open. Is he the end of the chain? We don't know because we can't see inside. He is solid. However he keeps something which remains from the beginning. Something inside him is mastering his existence and behavior. That could be a kind of DNA. He has the power to use it and maybe start another chain.

Or maybe start a mutation? An evolution?

I forgot to say the letters "Matryoshka" are made by little mosaics, just a wink to St. Petersburg amazing cathedral. All the inside are mosaic tiles.

No need to say this game is just for fun. I'm sure more new info will come about this some day. The little one has a lot to say.

About the Queen and diamonds

One of my alien friends asked me who are these women who are shown in coins, stamps and in everywhere.

First I had to explain him she is only one woman.

Me: Someone took photos of her in different ages and put them here and there.
My alien friend: Why?
Me: People do weird things all the time. I just tell the fact.
My alien friend: Oh, maybe she is someone very relevant and superior. Maybe a divinity?
Me: Sure she is for many!

My alien friend took his DNA analyzer device and checked a sample of Queen's DNA.

My alien friend: Looks nothing valuable. The result shows a damaged DNA from an old human, lower quality than average and not recommended to use for cloning.
Me: That's not the value. Please check up, in her head.
My alien friend: You mean her brain? Does she has privileged brain?
Me: No, no... Her crown! It's make of gold and full of diamonds. Diamonds!
My alien friend: But her crown is not she. Did she make it?
Me: Actually no... See, diamonds!

My alien friend used another device and checked one of the diamonds.

My alien friend: Well, it's just a normal Carbon structure, quite usual.
Me: Yes... it is.
My alien friend: But then, why...?
Me: Hey, see! The stamps are so colorful and nice!!!

Watercolor process

Millet Angelus offers unlimited interpretations. Here is one of them in tiny green watercolor. I will do many more since the details inside this famous painting stimulate the mind in a fast way.

Watercolor maps

Loving tiny watercolors and loving this map style.

Somehow the process of mastering the selected travel kit with only three colors is a great experience. This learning path also includes how to avoid curved paper when apply water otherwise the whole notebook shape could be destroyed. More to come.

Last read books

These are the books I read from January to May 2016.

Despite the unlimited information online, reading books is still in another level. Old books were difficult to edit and print therefore authors tried to be focus and write clear ideas. They used to go quite deep in the points and dedicated eyes were needed to read and understand. I guess today everything is fast-book, easy words, fast and next thing. By other hand, nowadays knowledge is so huge and some of the last discoveries could change our own existence point of view.

Conclusion: I like to read both.

I have to say I'm becoming quite addict to Eduardo Mendoza's books about no name detective. Hilarious and well written.

XV Le Diable

The more I go into Tarot the more I find Le Diable fascinating. Somehow it rules everything and looks like the center of the mandala.

Actually the Devil could be the same character than the angel rising from the dark. If it continues going up it will explode in the Tower.

Some clear details and links and many other under interpretations make this card really rich in information. I have to conclude saying "Everything is so weird!"

My current notebook

Notebook in use. Started in January. I love how it's getting fat in a beautiful way.

It's also my very first full handmade journal and now the connexion with it is stronger.

Ibiza watercolors

Process for little watercolors. I chose these three colors in order to master the art of maps. Now I realize they cover so many other scenarios and add the perfect atmosphere.

Actually I used mostly only two of them.

Watercolors are Winsor & Newton numbers Raw Sienna (552), Burnt Sienna (074) and Turquoise (654). Oh, loving turquoise and the palette it can generate.

The address book

This was my very first full handmade notebook. It includes leather cover.

It's a point of no return. I will never go back to a no handmade notebook, otherwise the strong link with it will be lost, same as a link between father and baby.

I used it for one of the most fascinating project I did last year: The address book. Highly recommended idea where the unique characteristics of the address book are shown and felt, all of them good ones. There are many names inside the pages and there is only a connection between all: Me. It also helps to bring memories since every name keeps a lot of information and brains knows it.
Names are written with ink, that means it's final, bla, bla.

About Chesterfield and more

Drawing beautiful things is always a pleasure. I didn't consider a Chesterfield couch in my "perfect studio" and now I imagine it could suit perfectly. Style and atmosphere.

And British.

Anna Karenina

When I started reading Anna Karenina I remembered the complex links between the characters and their names I found in Dostoevsky. I assume that's the Russian way to write novels. So I took notes of every person and the several names sometimes are associated to them.

Somehow I discovered a point of view for very known books. It's funny to elaborate since I didn't take too much care to do it perfect.

Regarding the book itself I wouldn't recommend it. The story and Anna Karenina character are great but the mindset, conversations and behavior are too sticked to high class and old style society, the opposite to freedom, creativity, passion or think out of the jail. Each one is limited for the roll assigned by the community and that has not value. Human being is much more than that.

Matisse y libélulas

Matisse (1869 - 1954) sujetando un palo. En realidad es más que un palo, es una pasión que sostiene con energía bajo cualquier tipo de condiciones. En la línea de Peter Beard: "I will write until I die". El palo está apuntando hacia arriba, claro. La inspiración muestra el camino, pero se debe volar y mirar fuera de la caja para alcanzarlo. Muy simbólico todo.


Poco después de esta imagen, Matisse acudió al doctor L. y tuvo lugar la siguiente conversación:

Matisse: Buenos días, doctor.
Doctor: ¡Matisse!

Evidentemente la conversación transcurrió íntegramente en francés. El lector puede añadir mentalmente la entonación y música de fondo francesas que prefiera. El acento francés del doctor es realmente marcado. A partir de ahora Matisse será "M" y el doctor L. será "D".

D: Adelante. ¡Un honor tenerlo aquí! Lo veo en plena forma -dijo el doctor, continuando la frase para sí mismo "... forma piramidal".
M: Gracias, estoy trabajando intensamente en mi forma corporal y, como ve, he hecho grandes avances.
D: Magnifique! Dígame, ¿qué le trae por aquí?
M: Verá, he estado jugando con libélulas y...
D: ¡Libélulas! -exclamó el doctor, abriendo los ojos expresivamente.
M: Y...
D: ¿Y?
M: Doctor, ¿las libélulas pican?
D: Oh, eso depende.
M: Una libélula ha estado revoloteando por el estudio y creo que me ha picado. Mire, mire el picotazo. Aún está el aguijón.
D: No se preocupe; ha acudido usted a un experto. Estudié la especialidad de libélulas en la facultad. ¿Ve allí el título? -dijo el doctor volviendo la vista a un título universitario colgado de la pared.
M: ¿Aquel? -preguntó Matisse señalándolo con el palo.
D: Ese mismo. Dígame, ¿qué tipo de libélula era?
M: Qué sé yo, apenas las conozco y no puedo diferenciarlas. Antes no había libélulas por aquí.
D: ¿Algún rasco concreto?
M: Ahora que lo dice... Era una de gran estética. Curvilínea, delicada, bellísima y de sensualidad extrema. Por donde volaba, dejaba un rastro de purpurina y todo lo que tocaba cuando se posaba, aumentaba de valor.
D: ¿Color?
M: Verde. No... ¡azul! Azul verdoso, creo.
D: Interesante, pero la clave podría estar en las patas. ¿Cómo eran?
M: Ah, ya recuerdo más: las patas traseras eran de color naranja. Las patas naranja se posaron sobre el palo naranja. ¡Todo encaja! ¿No serán venenosas? -dijo preocupado.
D: ¿Patas naranja? Jamás vi una libélula así. Debe ser una variedad rarísima o incluso un ejemplar único. Podría tratarse de una especie venida de fuera de la Tierra.
M: ¿Es eso posible? De su exclusividad no hay duda, ciertamente.
D: ¿Nota algún picor o mareos? Podría recetarle un antídoto.
M: Nunca me sentí mejor. Nada de antídotos. Me dan ganas de saltar y volar; el pincel va rapidísimo estos días, como si tuviera vida propia. Mire, mire.

Matisse volvió a coger el palo y adoptando una posición de bailarina, comenzó a pintar sobre las paredes a una velocidad pasmosa y generando dibujos de una categoría sublime.

D: ¡Qué cosas dice! Me ha puesto usted la consulta perdida.
M: ¿Qué es, doctor?
D: Parece un virus, el virus inspirationaris lilius. Aquí le dejo una cura, por si algún día cambia de idea.

Matisse miró con sorpresa el diminuto bote que el doctor había puesto sobre la mesa, que bien parecía un tintero de color verde, y lo guardó en su bolsillo. Por si las moscas libélulas.
Después la conversación se alargó un poco más sobre temas de menor interés.

M: Voy a ver si la libélula está todavía allí -dijo saliendo a toda prisa.
D: Au revoir!

Introduction to dragonflies

Dragonflies arrived to my notebook by surprise and they are welcome. ¿Las libélulas vuelan o reman?

They are so aesthetic and full of beauty. What an unique fancy created by the universe. Each thing generates its equal and just a little move in a finger could bring a river of dragonflies, like a river of inspiration. In an advanced level, someone could look closer, understand them and decode the hidden message. I'm sure it's poetry.

New constellation identified: Fishorgon

Universe is full of magic. Therefore there is an invitation to scientific and cultural interpretations. We know almost nothing but we can have fun with that little part.

Stellarium (excellent free software) helped me to go back in time and see how was the sky in my birthday, initial condition, t=0. After joining dots and training my eyes I could see a new constellation which looks like a fish, scorpion and dragon. Let's name it as Fishorgon.

Since it includes also planets, that configuration was seen during certain time only, that's worth because I can say the sky drew a Fishorgon to say welcome to me. Then it vanished.

Now, decades later, it comes to my notebook and exists again. Welcome Fishorgon!

The importance of making your own notebook

I've imagined many times my dream notebook. Too much thinking but doing nothing. However I had clear each detail in my mind: Size, thickness, leather cover, verge paper, full flat when open, etc.

Some reasons to encourage you to do your own notebook:

1. It's the only way to have it as you want. It's almost impossible to find your perfect notebook in a shop. Fortunately nowadays stores shows plenty of books with a number of brands never seen before. Most of them contain paper with non acceptable quality. If you like the paper but maybe not the cover, you get it and time later you realize it's not your perfect jewel because you see only the mistakes.

2. It's made with love. No industrial process. Everything takes energy and it's not the same if it was been created by a salaryman without any care than done with your own hands with passion. See how bookbinding is done here: http://josenaranja.blogspot.com.es/2015/07/about-bookbinding.html

3. A strong link is created with your notebook. This is the key. A mystical relation which will boost the creativity and will appear in each letter and drawing. Fountain pens note these details, you know, right?

The result can only be a beauty because it's in touch with reality.

Notebooks breathing

So many memories kept inside.
Notebooks are time machine and experiences vaults.
They are alive therefore they need to breath.

The wheel center

Big coincidence here. 

My last notebook is a mandala. Pages are connected in different ways. Some links are visible and some hidden but all of them contribute to create a new being.

The centre of the notebook is the centre of the wheel, The Wheel of Fortune. I had no idea what to draw in this singular point, too much thinking blocked me and I left this special page for the end.

The solution came in a mystical way: The universe sent me the proper information. First I drew just a circle, then I modified it into a egg shape (the egg of the creation). Suddenly it changed into a brain. Inside the brain I thought to set a big eye or a big vagina. Or a man in lotto position. 7 chakras was next natural association. Then I visited Mr. Google to check the right colors and I read "chakras" means "wheel". 

Everything goes to the same point!

Why worry too much about perfection?

An old topic. Trying to reach a level of perfection is not a good approach. Doing things fast and with a minimum of care if a disaster or, better I could say, it's random: Sometimes the result is amazing and most of the times it's not. What's the solution? There is not solution but experience helps. It will say if something works or not. To improve that superpower experiments are needed.

Perfection is not possible and not recommended. Excellence is the right way.

Here the test page, one of the last pages on every notebook I keep there to try inks and effects without any care. Now I realize it's so great and it has a touch of freedom. And it's much better than other pages.

Last tests for The Orange Manuscript: HAPPY & POSITIVE!

Good news. Last tests in a professional printing office gave amazing results. It makes me happy after so many attempts and loops looking for the best quality.

A big step in the manuscript adventure!

Teapots

Teapots are good teachers. Herman Hesse wrote a nice tale where a couch could be a teacher for eyes which are ready to learn. It shows the light, perspective and colors.

Teapots can do that too. In top of that they can talk.

Not forget to mention the power of a pencil plus empty paper. They ensure fun and a door to creativity. Accessible to everyone and everywhere. This in an important point.

Fountain pens party

My fountain pens in chronological order from left to right.

Treasure box. ALERT: Do NOT use these boxes for archival conditions

I was happy to include the last notebook together with his parents, grandparents and more. The family grows. I used to keep then inside a fireproof and waterproof box since they are treasures. I always remember the fire in Peter Beard's house and the lost of many years of notebooks. Tragedy.

However while trying to protect my notebooks I was putting them into a high risk. I know now these kind of fireproof boxes are not recommendable for humidity reasons. Indeed, I did some tests tracking the moisture inside and... surprise! The humidity increases even when it's empty and filled with room air (to discard the possibility of humidity caused by the items). It comes from the wall box, materials which contain water or something similar. Fortunately I keep a silica gel bag inside and the damage was not so bad, I hope.

It looks like keeping the notebooks safe from fire will have to wait until I discover a solution.

Eau de Donau, black version

I got this by surprise. Definitely it adds another point of view of this well known spread. Blackboard style.

Last notebook completed

Written during the last one and a half year: From Summer 2014 to end of 2015.

I see the notebook as the final artwork and I'm exploring challenges beyond its usual behavior. All pages together are part of a whole element, a mandala. They have secret connections and links which make richer the information, much more than they do separately.

10 years of Moleskine

10 years using Moleskine exactly now. Here my very first Moleskine notebook together with one of the last pages created now. Huge evolution. 

Happy birthday to me!

Reichsstraße

Homenaje a Reichsstraße.

Todos los lugares tienen un punto "magneto" que te atrapa. Normalmente es una calle o un puente mil veces recorrido. La calle magneto de Donauwörth es Reichsstraße: levemente alterable en el tiempo, acumulador de recuerdos, aviesa, que se va estrechando cuanto más se acerca al Rathaus y generador de identidad al pueblo que la alberga. Aunque se pueda pensar que todas las casas de Baviera son iguales, no es cierto. Cada pueblo se diferencia uno de otro en las sutilezas, sólo accesibles para ojos entrenados.

Podría enumerar cada una de las tiendas que la componen y me equivocaría poco. Tengo una colección de fotografías tomadas exactamente desde el mismo sitio: una alcantarilla al inicio de la calle donde, casualmente, cosa que descubrí un día por sorpresa, se coloca uno de los árboles de Navidad.

Aquí Reichsstraße luciendo algunos trajes:

Reichsstraße al anochecer. No gente.

Reichsstraße de noche.

Reichsstraße en verano.

Reichsstraße con nieve moderada.

Reichsstraße en invierno profundo. -18º en aquellos días. 

Reichsstraße en la celebración bianual de verano.

Reichsstraße en Lichternacht. ¡Con gente!

Reichsstraße con niebla. Estampa habitual.

Reichsstraße descolorida, también bastante habitual.

Reichsstraße preparándose para Navidad.

Reichsstraße en pre-Navidad.

Reichsstraße en Navidad.