Text Art: Exhibit 6

The Alphabet, by Jaspar Johns

You Are, by Early Bird

Saint Ghetto of the Loans, by Gabriel Pomerand

ASCII Art Goes Overboard, by Grakn Labs

By Leo Cullum, New Yorker Cartoonist

Allen Ginsberg Quotations, America

Letters as Art, By The Sheridan

Cuneiform Tablet, 3100 BCE

Sackner Archives of Visual and Concrete Poetry

Ruth and Marvin Sackner

Concrete Poetry and Text Art Directory and Guide

Exhibits at the Cyber Garden Gazebo

Graphic Arts: Shape Poems: Lettrisme

Smile Softly as You Walk

"Start out walking a little faster than normal, and gradually slow down to a normal walking speed, and then continue to slow down until you start to feel artificial or off balance. Speed up just enough to feel comfortable, physically and psychologically. At first you may need to walk fairly fast to feel smooth in your gait, but with practice, as your balance improves, you should be able to walk more slowly. Be mindful of your breathing, without trying to control it. Allow the breath to become diaphragmatic if possible, but always make sure your breathing feels natural, not artificial. Allow the breath to become circular, and fluid.

Walk with 'soft vision' allowing the eyes to relax and focus upon nothing, while aware of everything. Smile softly with your eyes. Gradually allow the smile to spread from your eyes to your face and throughout your body. This is called an "organic smile" or a "thalamus smile". Imagine every cell of your body smiling softly. Let all worry and sadness fall away from you as you walk.

Walk in silence, both internal and external. Be mindful of your walking, make each step a gesture, so that you move in a state of grace, and each footprint is an impression of the peace and love you feel for the universe. Walk with slow, small, deliberate, balanced, graceful foot steps."
- Charles MacInerney, Walking Meditation

Naked Branches in Winter

An old walnut orchard in January 2009 near Los Molinos, California.

Huge tractors removed this entire orchard in 2014.
Mostly replanted with almonds.
Almond orchards in blossom in February are a spectacular sight.

"Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky,
How beautiful it is?
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness
There is a poem, there is a song.
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring.
When the spring comes, it again fills the tree with
The music of many leaves,
Which in due season fall and are blown away.
And this is the way of life."
-  Krishnamurti  

"One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
An, nothing himslef, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is."
-  Wallace Stevens, The Snow Man, 1923 

Cloud Hands Blog Title

Cloud Hands Blog Name??



Why call this blog "Cloud Hands"?  What does "Cloud Hands" mean?  

The title phrase "Cloud Hands" comes from Tai Chi Chuan practices.  One movement sequence in Tai Chi Chuan is called "Cloud Hands."  Variations of the name include "Waving Hands Like Clouds" or "Moving Hands Like Clouds."  

Cloud Hands    云手  Yun Shou 

The movement sequence (e.g. #10 in 24 Form) is from the right side to the left side, flow left to 3:00, done three to four times, with both legs and arms moving fluidly, slowly, gracefully, in coordination, on form, and expressively.  





The ability to use the hands creatively, gracefully, beautifully, skillfully, precisely and artistically is essential to nearly all fine and applied arts.  The whole subject of the uses of our Hands is hightly interesting to me.  

Clouds can form dramatic and changing sights in the sky.  They can be calm and beautiful, or awesome, or frightening.  The cloud cover changes throughtout the four seasons provides endless variety.  

Rolling clouds and rolling hands.  Legs quietly moving in steps, like smaller waves at low tide.  Flowing clouds, rivers of air and water, out of reach, out of hand.  And we enjoying pretending, playing, mimicking, and imitatating moving clouds with our hands and feet.  We are playing hands like clouds. 



Is drawing or painting clouds on paper a form of moving hands like clouds?  


Clouds and hands are in two different categories.  However, it is category mistakes (Gilbert Ryle), Freudian slips, muddled concepts, boners, fallacies, contradictory ideas, gaffes, verbal mistakes, and bumbling that make for laughter, awkwardness, interesting imaginative thinking, weird impressions, and new awareness.  Clouds and hands don't go together in normal discourse.  Of course Air is in Space, empty space, in which we move our hands; but clouds and hands are like apples and aluminum.  So, "Cloud Hands" is a little offbeat, weird, on the border.  

I first learned to perform, on my own, the "Cloud Hands" movement sequence in Yang Style Taijiquan at the age of 40.  Exercise, relaxation, dance, and performance art are all combined in Taijiquan.  

One martial interpretation of mine, of the Yang Syle Taijiquan Cloud Hands (palms face inward to you), is they are back hand strikes to the face of the opponent.  Kind of like the backhand slaps of wrestler Ric Flair, or the flourishing moving confusing hands of Aikidoist Steven Seagal.  In Chen Style Taijiquan Cloud Hands the palms face out from you, and the overall movement seems more like a two handed sideways push of the opponent.  A way to redirect the opponents energy and direction, and shove them away.  Just brush those foggy clouds from your jacket, just fling opponents away.   

That is how this Cloud Hands Blog got its name in 2005.  I was teaching 6 classes each week in 2005 at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff, California.   I taught Taijiquan and Yoga classes each week from 2002-2016, from age 56 to70.  

I have always used Blogger from Google since it is free and fits with how I work.  I have probably underutilized some Blogger features in the last 15 years.  

Jumpin Jack Flash

When I start feeling a bit down, I play the song "Jumpin Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones created in 1968.

We all have past and present difficulties, problems, negative experiences, frustrations, friends and family that get sick and die, we get old, people fail us and we fail others, disappointments mount, sadness pervades...  

BUT don't WHINE.  Jump Up, Jump Up.  Let go of the past.  Be like Jumpin Jack Flash.  Resurrect Yourself!  Count your Blessings, today!  Onward!

"But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, Im Jumpin Jack flash,

It's a gas! gas! gas!"

Life is, for me, generally, a GAS!   It's a gas, gas, gas!



"I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. Im Jumpin Jack Flash,
Its a gas! gas! gas!





I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, Im Jumpin Jack flash,
Its a gas! gas! gas!

I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, Im Jumpin Jack flash,
It's a gas! gas! gas!"

Text Art: Exhibit 5

A Note to Self, J. Cole Typographic Art by SyaOfKanada

Are Your Fonts Like a 1970's Suit, Herderman

ASCII animated art

ASCII Art

By Hillary Price

By Abbey Kleinert

I Feel Most Colored, Glen Ligon

Concrete/Visual Poetry and Graphic Arts Directory and Guide

Exhibits at the Onion Garden

TextArt and Lettrisme

Sensitive Awareness: Drishti

"Drishti (IPA: [ dɽʂʈi ]; Sanskrit: दृष्टि; IAST:dṛṣṭi), or focused gaze, is a means for developing concentrated intention. It relates to the fifth limb of yoga (pratyahara) concerning sense withdrawal as well as the sixth limb dharana relating to concentration."
Drishti - Wikipedia


While doing various yoga postures the eyes gaze at and concentrate on eight specific parts of the body: 
middle of the thumb
eyes lowered, imagine gazing at third eye in the middle of the forehead
tip of the nose
palm of the hand and fingers
look to left side or right side
look upwards at sky or ceiling
navel
toes


"Simply speaking, drushti is sensitive awareness to that which you are doing. This has two aspects that are vital to every aspect of our practice. First it means bringing your mind to bear exactly on what you are doing. Not doing one thing while thinking another. This actually means learning not even to be thinking about what you are doing. Rather, just be doing it, feeling it. In the beginning we must think before we act. Then we act. Then think again. But we must learn to separate these two processes so that we can act with precision and clarity, without the distraction of thought. Eventually we will learn to trust the intelligence of the body and will be able to dispense with the thinking process more and more. Then our practice becomes meditation in action."

"The second aspect is to feel the effect of what we are doing. Not only at the point of the action itself, but throughout the whole structure of the body and the quality of the mind. We must feel its impact on the functioning of the body, breath and mind. We use this feedback to go deeper into the poses by making adjustments according to the four secondary techniques of asana, vinyasa, bandha and pranayama. Then through the dynamic created between our intention and our actions, a meditative awareness emerges."

- Godfrey Devereux, Dynamic Yoga, 1998, p. 24 

Seeing, Looking, Watching

Yoga:  Posture Lists, Research, Reading Lists, Notes   By Mike Garofalo

Meditation

Qigong (Chi Kung)

Body-Mind: Theory and Practices


"Seeing is a gift that comes with practice."
-   Stephanie Mills   

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."
-  John Lubbock    

Dao De Jing by Laozi, Chapter 4

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 4


"Tao, when put in use for its hollowness is not likely to be filled.
In its profundity it seems to be the origin of all things.
In its depth it seems ever to remain.
I do not know whose offspring it is;
But it looks like the predecessor of Nature."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 4


"Tao is an empty vessel;
it is used but never exhausted.
It is the fathomless source
of the ten thousand beings!
It blunts the sharp
and untangles the knots.
It softens the glare
and unites with the dust of the world.
It is tranquil and serene
and endures forever.
I don't know form where it comes
yet it is the ancestor of all."
- Translated by Solala Towler, 2016, Chapter 4



"The Tao is like the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fullness.
How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honored Ancestor of all things!
We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things;
We should temper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others.
How pure and still the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue!
I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 4 



道沖而用之或不盈.
淵兮似萬物之宗.
挫其銳.
解其紛.
和其光同其塵.
湛兮似或存.
吾不知誰之子.
象帝之先.
-  Chinese characters, Chapter 4, Tao Te Ching


tao ch'ung erh yung chih huo pu ying.
yüan hsi ssu wan wu chih tsung.
ts'o ch'i jui.
chieh ch'i fên.
ho ch'i kuang t'ung ch'i ch'ên.
chan hsi ssu huo ts'un.
wu pu chih shui chih tzu.
hsiang ti chih hsien.
-  Wade-Giles transliteration, Chapter 4, Tao Te Ching

dao chang er yong zhi huo bu ying.
yuan xi si wan wu zhi zong.
cuo qi rui.
jie qi fen.
he qi guang tong qi chen.
zhan xi si huo cun.
wu bu zhi shui zhi zi.
xiang di zhi xian.  -  Pinyin transliteration, Chapter 4, Daodejing


"Existence, by nothing bred,
Breeds everything.
Parent of the universe,
It smoothes rough edges,
Unties hard knots,
Tempers the sharp sun,
Lays blowing dust,
Its image in the wellspring never fails.
But how was it conceived?--this image
Of no other sire."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 4  

"The way is empty, yet use will not drain it.
Deep, it is like the ancestor of the myriad creatures.
Blunt the sharpness;
Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare;
Let your wheels move only along old ruts.
Darkly visible, it only seems as if it were there.
I know not whose son it is.
It images the forefather of God."
-  Translated by D. C. Lau, 1963, Chapter 4   

"The Tao is like an empty container:
 it can never be emptied and can never be filled.
 Infinitely deep, it is the source of all things.
 It dulls the sharp, unties the knotted,
 shades the lighted, and unites all of creation with dust.
  It is hidden but always present.
 I don't know who gave birth to it.
 It is older than the concept of God."
 -  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 4
  

"Tao is infinite.
If we use It, we find It inexhaustible,
Deep!
It appears to be Ancestor of all things.
It rounds our angles. It unravels our difficulties. It harmonizes our Light. It brings our atoms into Unity.
Pure!
It appears to be everlasting in principle.
I do not know whose Son It is,
It existed before God was manifest in Form."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 4


"Tao is empty- its use never exhausted.
Bottomless - the origin of all things.
It blunts sharp edges, Unties knots,
Softens glare, Becomes one with the dusty world.
Deeply subsistent -
I don't know whose child it is. It is older than the Ancestor."
- Translated by Stephen Addis, 1993, Chapter 4

"Source Non-Existent
Wu Yuan

Tao is hollow, yet its utility
Seems unlikely to reach the limit.
Profound indeed it is;
It seems to be the fount of all things.
It blunts the sharp;
It unravels the tangled;
It harmonizes with the light;
It mingles with the dust.
Calm like a deep pool it seems to remain.
I do not know whose son it is.
It apparently antecedes the Creator."
- Translated by Henry Wei, 1982, Chapter 4 

"The Way is like an empty vessel
That yet may be drawn from
Without ever needing to be filled.
It is bottomless; the very progenitor of all things in the world.
In it all sharpness is blunted,
All tangles untied,
All glare tempered,
All dust soothed.
It is like a deep pool that never dries.
Was it too the child of something else?
We cannot tell.
But as a substanceless image it existed before the Ancestor."
- Translated by Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 4

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 or more different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 or more Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.

Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization. In 2020, I will be improving the indexing.

Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter. An electronic Concordance for all 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching is provided.

Chapter 4, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Concordance for the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

  

Current Work Projects

I have been working, playing, and learning on my home computer this past month.  

1.  Learing how to use CorelDraw 2019.

2.  Improving my concrete poetry and TextArt webpages:

Concrete Poetry and TextArt: Directory, Guide, Index, Bibliography

Mirror:  Concrete/Visual Poetry and Graphic Arts: Directory, Guide, Index, Bibliography

Text Art, Concrete Poetry, Graphic Arts: Index, Information, Directory

Exhibits at the Onion Garden

3.  Improving my Tao Te Ching Webpages

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Tao Te Ching Electronic Concordance and Index

4.  Posting regularly on my Cloud Hands Blog and Facebook.  

5.  Reading books on graphic arts, vector graphics software, TextArt.  

Happy New Year

My New Year's Day celebrations for the last 73 years have consisted of enjoying time off from work or school for a national holiday, socializing with family and friends, eating special meals, watching football (Rose Bowl) or basketball games, playing in the yard, watching the Rose Parade in Pasadena, playing with children and adults, drinking, laughing, etc.  All this time was spent in California, Oregon, or Washington, USA. 

I have been very fortunate in my life, and I am very grateful.

In 2020, I am planning to enjoy learning more about using vector graphics software, learning how to draw, practicing Tai Chi Chuan every day, walking every day, and keeping a daily journal.  This, of course, is on top of all the chores I have to do for basic daily living in the suburbs of Vancouver.  Fun family activites and local travel also occupy my time in a very pleasant manner.

As for my Lifetime Body I plan to exercise more, eat less, take my medicine properly, and hope for the best.  The many Paths to Fitness and Well Being are also quite pleasurable. 


Best Wishes to All

For a Healthy, Prosperous, Peaceful, and Happy New Year

Farewell to 2019

"So long, it's been good to know yuh;
So long, it's been good to know yuh;
So long, it's been good to know yuh.
This dusty old dust is a-gettin' my home,
And I got to be driftin' along."
-  Woody Guthrie, 1940

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne."
- Robert Burns

For me, 2019 was a taste of a cup of kindness.

Karen and I were in good health and live comfortably in Vancouver, Washington.

Some family and friends passed on in 2019.  We were priviledged to share part of our life's journey with them.  Others are battling against illness.  We wish them well.

Overall, our families are prosperous, living in peacetime, productive, and in good health.

California, Oregon, and Washington have many prosperous cities and towns. 

How about way back when I said Farewell to 2006?

Best Wishes to All!  Cheers!  Cheers!  Salud!  

You Can't Dance and Stay Uptight

Dancing in the Moonlight
By King Harvest
1972

"We get it almost every night
When that moon gets big and bright
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

We like our fun and we never fight
You can't dance and stay uptight
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight"

Text Art: Communicating with Text

Communicating with Text

By Michael P. Garofalo

Text Art and Concrete Poetry Directory

Exhibits at the Onion Garden

Graphic Arts

Movement and Awareness

"Correction of movements is the best means of self-improvement:
1.  The nervous system is occupied mainly with movement.
2.  It is easier to distinguish the quality of movement.
3.  We have a richer experience of movement.
4.  The ability to move is important to self-value.
5.  All muscular activity is movement.
6.  Movements reflect the state of the nervous system.
7.  Movement is the basis of awareness.
8.  Breathing is movement.
9.  Hinges of habit."
-  Moshe Feldenkrais, Awareness Through Movement, pp. 33-39, 1972

Notes on Feldenkrais Methods

Home For the Holidays

My best wishes to all for a peaceful and pleasant winter holiday season.  May we remember our accomplishments this past year, have few regrets, and hope for good health, peace and prosperity.  May our shared history make us proud.  May the Earth rest and bear the sweetist Wenatachee cherries and gently cradle the mighty Columbia River.

Katelyn, Mike, Karen, Makenna, Beryl

We have our Christmas and New Year Celebrations with family and friends.  This year we did Italian style meals.  Karen and I decorated interiors of our house with typical holiday season art.  We exchanged presents and best wishes.

Today, our children and their families will have lunch together at our home: lasagna, brocholli beef roll, cardoon (Texas Celery, artichoke stalks cooked, breaded, and fried), wine, and ourdourves.  Karen is positive and joyful.  Feasting for Fun!  Good Cheer!

Time for my NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS:
Walk our dog Bruno once each day.
Learn how to effectively use CorelDRAW 2019 and Corel PaintShop Pro 2020 software.
Take a class in drawing.
Practice Tai Chi Chuan in class led by Jill Ross on Friday and Saturday.


Because of my interests and hobbies, and the fact that I am now retired at age 73, I spend a lot of my time indoors in my office, study, mancave, den, reading room, art studio, hang out space, retreat, etc.

The temperatures outdoors are mostly in the 40F's these days, and it gently rains a lot.  There are few gardening chores in December.  My reading and writing ROOM is nice and dry, cozy, and comfortable.  The room is insulated.  I always dress to stay warm.  I use an electrical heater set at 50F.

My STUDY is about 10'x12'x8'.  Bookshelves that we made cover the north and south wall.  A window faces south.  A small closet is on the east side of the room.  In front of the west wall is a large table with computer equipment.  Another small wood table is on the south side is used for art projects, reading, laptop computer, games.  The room is carpeted, but I would prefer a hardwood floor for easier rolling on my large office chair.

The computer equipment in my home OFFICE includes a Dell Inspiron desktop with Windows 10, Epson Workforce WF-3640 Printer, Samsung 21"dia screen, Logitech keyboard, old Toshiba laptop, and an Epson Perfection V600 scanner.  I purchase Internet access, and other services, from XFinity Comcast.  My annual modest earnings from my websites keep me current with computer hardware and software every four or five years.

Here is a photo of my STUDY, looking to the south on a foggy winter day.  There is a large sweet gum tree in our front yard.  I can use the wood table for drawing and art projects, books, laptop computer, digital camera equipment, a game, or a small  electronic keyboard.

My dog, Bruno, thinks my study/office/studio is his DOG CAVE.