Fall 2020

Tuesday, September 22nd (2020)… first day of Fall

 

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020
In the spiritual side of things, maybe new age, there are theories about the properties of certain gems or crystals. I find these descriptions useful, for focusing on redirecting one’s self. Also, crystals do have their atomic mass, and thus their particular vibrations. They are also very beautiful, and refract light. They were formed over eons of time, and carry all that time’s impregnation!
Now, magic rock time!!!

“Moonstone is one of the most efficient crystals to help one to develop intuition and psychic abilities. It represents the moon and the power of divine femininity. It enhances spiritual growth & helps calm down emotions. It is a great crystal for those embarking on a journey to seek a new love or a deeper understanding of life.

Rhodonite works with the heart chakra & allows one to let go of anger, grudges & resentment to create space for love, affection & happiness. It helps restore emotional balance, making it one of the ideal crystals to help one overcome emotional pain to allow forgiveness. Rhodonite provides strength & courage while empowering one to discover hidden talents and skills.

Sunstone represents divine masculinity. It can be sunshine in a person’s life by revitalizing the body, encouraging growth, bringing joy, creativity, inspiration, motivation, optimism, raising confidence & enhancing leadership skills. Sunstone is great to work with when feeling tired, stressed, depressed, overwhelmed by seasonal mood disorders and drained by other people or situations.”

**moonstone and sunstone are not actually from the sun or moon… they are just called that…. one is white and opalescent, the other is sunshin-y!

 
 

Thursday, September 24th, 2020
This Python is a happy guy~
I was drawing again yesterday evening~
Dads’ Deck 4by6
(2nd to come)

 
 

Friday, September 25th, 2020
Prince Python’s Snaps for Fruit~

 
 

Wednesday, September 30th, 2020
I have been busy writing articles for the New York Times!

 
 

Thursday, October 1st, 2020
Freshwater Pearl Earring Set
Freshwater pearls are uneven in shape~ part of their natural beauty. I bought 3 pairs; but even the pairs that go together are a bit of a mismatch. There’s white, rose, and gray lilac.
I set them up in these boxes to wear a certain way~ plus, these are the biggest ones! (And my ears are pierced three times…)

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Saturday, October 3rd, 2020
Celestite cluster
(or it can be called a geode; it’s a partial geode)

 
 

Sunday, October 4th, 2020
Apatite Crystal Heart

 
 

Tuesday, October 6th, 2020
New 44-page book!
I made a new book!

 
 

Friday, October 9th, 2020
Its the long weekend! (7:45pm)

 
 

Thursday, October 15th, 2020

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT4d1LQy4es

Black Velvet was my favorite drink at the pub for a while! It has apple cider and Guinness…. like a two-phase, because it separates!

 
 

Saturday, October 17th, 2020
I made a new book…
There are 5 copies
This is totally independent, by me (only)
There is no publisher!

 
 

Saturday, October 17th, 2020
I was drawing again last night
Dads’ Deck 4by6
“Candies & Man’s Eye”
Photographed on leopard print

Do you know what it means? I buy candies for my husband! …& sometimes I leave some out with my artcards, when I drop some somewere

 
 

Saturday, October 17th, 2020
This is an enlarged photo of a pendant I was looking at~

 
 

Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
White gemstone heart pendant with accent stone set on silvertone gold, with silvertone chain

 
 

Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
I was drawing again last night~
Dads’ Deck 4by6
It’s a landscape at sunrise
I also photographed it with the Unicorn Prince postcard

 
 

Thursday, October 22nd, 2020

Saturday September 26th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com

The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“editorial”
Life in quarantine
by Alicia Surveyer
I am an artist, and mostly work from home, but still the effects of the quarantine hit hard…

The food
We were initially told the coronavirus was very very dangerous, and the quarantine rules were very strict, so if you could get out for food supplies, you would even wonder when you could again! Jog your memory about how far we have come in this… It meant, then, that if you went out for groceries, stock up! We started in about early March, now it is almost October. Things have opened up… but there were months with no restaurant food! We went through the “yeah I could never survive on this pantry food and cans routine”, to home-cooking more with meat, vegetables and potatoes – and to feeling the effects of that – to not panicking as much as to when the next food is getting got, to restaurants even, if you pick-up, or if you dare at all!

The drugstore
This was an essential outing always, for anyone who has prescriptions, or who needs crucial over the counter meds… so off on a dangerous expedition, or else there are very dangerous health consequences! Better pickup some TP, cat food, and laundry detergent while you’re out there!

Going out
Ah yes, to those like me who get cabin fever if they stay in even one whole day… there was no choice! Stay home and prosper! Enjoy your venture to the drugstore, if you can, and find every positive or productive thing to do at home… not just TV! And no media all day, please! My mother fell into the more endangered “elderly” category, so miss trooper here was happy to “go in”! The amount of people walking was to be noted… they were everywhere!

Working
I work from home, on my art and publishing it… so guess what I was doing? “Superficial” activities were a no… so double as much art-making! Honestly, for those in the “official” work force, it was all over the place, first of all, second I don’t know what people do when they miss their salary cheques. Just handle it!

Finances
“Just handle it”, subsidies, savings, working from home, working essential services jobs at the same amount of hours, maybe mooching… But also, keep up to date with your banking and bills when things like bank hours or bank phone calls are only available in limited quantities! Can you venture out to the bank? In a mask? Is your budget system, cellphone, credit cards, (etc), going to cave in?

The World Goes ‘Round…
This one is my favorite, maybe because I still had a cowboy attitude… keep going, it makes sure that the world still goes around!

 
 

Sunday September 27th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com

The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“arts & leisure”
Quick Parent-Child Halloween Art Project
by Alicia Surveyer
This dramatic and fun Halloween décor art project is relatively simple to make…
I made this one when I was a kid, and it still stands! It’s the spooky door project! Parent takes a dark green standard garbage bag, and cuts it down the sides, taking a small strip off each side. This allows you to unfold and “open” the bag into a long… dark…spooky… plastic sheet. It then gets tacked on a door frame, like your kid’s bedroom. But lets add a little more to it first. Mom or Dad can use the sheers again, and cut the bottom half of our spooky plastic sheet into two-inch strips, but only part of the way up the plastic. This creates a curtain you can walk through! Leave part of the top solid though, especially depending on your decorations! To adorn our spooky door curtain, parent and kid art commandos can make paper cutouts, with drawings or with construction (crafting) paper. Affix your bats, witches, pumpkins, black cats and spooks to your plastic curtain, just with some tape that holds. It could be decorated on both sides, and even hung in a way that the door can still close on its doorframe. Do you dare go through?

 
 

Tuesday September 29th, 2020
& Wednesday September 30th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“editorial”
(digest)
The traditions of love, marriage, and jewelry
by Alicia Surveyer
I hate to say it, but we’ve become overt… traditions are lost.
If you want to comprehend this phenomenon, you have to go back in time, to the 50’s and 60’s and the invention of the television. Television was very conservative, and the Beatles with their wild hair were even indecent. Fast forward thru the different phases of culture of the decades, and we’ve got overt TV, and other media- like all forms of press. It’s a sexualized media, versus a conservative one. Attitudes on dating are sarcastic, pessimistic, or on the other side of the odyssey there’s uplifting stories too, which can touch anyone’s soft side.
What do all these love things mean? We know them from society, and we know them from what is in us… in our hearts. Let’s go over it and re-learn them.
The concept of true love can be described as something to hope for or seek; it means a marriage where you are in love with everything about your mate, and this for life. Not too hard! This is not a sign of weakness either; to seek “true love”.
A hopeless romantic is a positive person; but maybe a naïve one, that falls into the pitfalls of love, without considering some of the realistic sides of couple-hood out there in the real world. A hopeless romantic keeps their hope and faith in love!
It is worth noting… remember the traditions, the facts of life, some people are perfectly happy to be celibate for life, and know this inside them! Perfectly normal. They would prefer to work, or help their friends and family, and they have no interest in ever getting married or having kids! Its just innate.
Love at first sight perhaps sounds ridiculous, but it is absolutely a true possibility. You would think it is based on looks, which it is, but it also happens because of a strong pull, or maybe even recognition of the other’s soul and energy. Maybe its their heartbeat!
“I want to find the one”, I want to find “the man I’m gonna marry”… these are statements from when maybe we feel a little behind, such as the biological clock saying. It means at about age 30, men or women, at square zero, are getting panicked for the timeframe! Where’s the dating, falling seriously in love, honeymoon time, marriage, being able to live together, then the kids??
Kids sometimes have their kids’ crush, or when older a sweet sixteen crush, or maybe a sweet-sixteen relationship, a couple that evolves to forever… I think teens can feel this very strong pull for being in a couple as well, feeling ready to have and find their true love, their marriage for life.
Back to 30, looking for the one for life; maybe you decide to be proactive and try blind dating, or maybe you “met someone new”; but there could be very very difficult consequences, such as not realizing you are trying to date for marriage while daters out there are using people, conning people, sexually scapegoating, or even this becoming a date rape, emotional assault, crime situation.
I also think that knowledge about what weddings are has gotten vague. Religious weddings, such as in the Catholic church, in a church, or about what a civil matrimony at town hall even is is not very descript to many.
Taking it slow, showing the love and care, yet setting boundaries, progressing, in love feelings
traditional gentleman thinks she’s “too fast”, even a “bachelor” A bachelor hasn’t found the right one! He is traditional, “a catch”, but wants to meet his match! “Bachelorette Alicia” (me) has always felt this way!!!
romance, flowers, jewelry, fancy, woman taking advantage, cheap guy, engagement ring 2 months salary, jewelry for the mother of your children
which parent works, or both, chores and cooking, family time, kids time, couple marriage time if it still interests you to have some date time, make ends meet; realistically

 
 

Thursday October 1st, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“editorial”
(digest)
Interference in relationships by bullying
by Alicia Surveyer
Pull the wool over my eyes…
Reality check: some of your best friends are your worst enemies. I have lived and learned of so much bald-faced lying, you would never think its possible… because you would never expect that of someone you love! Your closest friends, maybe even family members; they had something to say!

I’m a woman; so I had chick friends; and as it went, there were very catty behaviors between them, or towards me, at times. But I took the good with bad, and (mostly) stuck with my lifelong girlfriends. But boy was the tuque pulled low! And I need the great outdoors cool air! Lies upon lies upon years of lies!
These supposed friends of mine would invent things like Shakespeare! They would declare a guy by making up the relationship or dating they were doing with him. Never existed! Way to cop a veto! That man never gave them the time of day! What is nuts about this is that it was not only about staking a claim on their crush, sometimes it was simply to have more time with me, their chick friend! Like a two-year old! Keep their friend to themselves? “How about I just do everything you do, everyday forever, okay?”

This buried deceit involved lies about career, men they were dating or in relationships with, bisexual activities, extreme plastic surgeries, and even some hard drug use.

I think that in the girlfriends wolf-pack mentality, they can really gang up on each other, and especially target the sweet smart and pretty one. At least I still know it! Or it grew back, or something! No joke! God awful! Girls can be really vicious to each other.

Broken Hearts Club
“Why didn’t he call?”
“I… “ (men)
“I was too shy/nervous/scared (to start the relationship).”
“I realized that with my current job as a janitor, that I couldn’t afford a wife or family.”
“I have problems with my family that kept me away. I did not want her to be in that mess.”
“I have a problem with a woman that won’t leave me alone, and I am too scared she will tell lies to my new girlfriend.”
“I got peg-holed by catty women, and she will never know the difference or the truth, and I can’t tell her.”
“I’m too young. I have to finish school, start earning money, set up a home, then after I’ll go get her.”
“I can’t afford such a beautiful wife and all the nice things I would need to give her.”
“I’m an anti-social monk and don’t now how to be with her yet. I’m nervous. I need time.”
“I work three jobs to make ends meet and have very little free time. If I call her from work or miss a shift, I’ll be fired.”
But…
Dude never said!

 
 

Friday October 2nd, 2020
& Saturday October 3rd, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“leisure”
(digest)
Truth in astrology
by Alicia Surveyer
Astrology has a scientific basis, and is as old as knowledge…
(Look at photo)
Color: celestial, elestial, baby blue, periwinkle
I am a Cancer, and my Cancer traits are actually mostly on point. I have a happy, circular face, I am artistic, I make a beautiful home, I love taking care of my family, have a very motherly instinct, I am perceptive, and sometimes go about things sideways, like my sign, the crab. Cancer is a water sign, so it means that cancers have beautiful fluid emotions. Every sign has a planet that goes with it, and an element; for Cancer, it is the moon. The moon represents the magical magnetic pull of the ocean tides, and the 28-day cycle of women. It waxes and wanes, and Cancers share this subtlety. The crab dances back and forth at night on the seashore, right where the land and ocean meet. Cancers can be crabby, clingy, and homebodies. Even smothering. But there’s more to it, especially for me…
My rising sign is Sagittarius. Sagittarian traits are very different than Cancer’s; sometimes the opposite! Rising signs are important in astrology; second to your sun sign (the sign you were born in). A rising sign is what part of the far most eastern sky the sun was rising at your exact date and time of birth.
Sagittarians run wild; they are independent, on the go, athletic, and their sign is connected to the animal kingdom. They love to travel and broaden their horizons. My rising sign in Sagittarius is telling! The Cancer that likes to be on the move!
The third important aspect of your astrological birth chart is what sign the moon was in at the exact time of your birth. I have a Libra moon. Libra is represented by the scales; Librans always have to be in balance… upset their delicate way and you’ve got a hardheaded Libra! My Cancer planet, the moon, is in Libra, on the seashore… I balance balance, in the waves…
All your planets can be charted, at your exact birth time, if you have it, plus you have to use the time zone you were born in! The part of the world! It could be calculated and charted for any day, also.
Its easy to validate astrology by the seasons. Astrology is old knowledge, from the star constellations and their stories, and when you see them in the sky. Seasons rotate the constellations. You could say Virgos get their shyness, their effacing character, even though they are very smart and kind, from being born at the end of summer; when the cooler fall temperatures are on their way. Want more to study? Other than complicated charting? What are human anthropological seasonal habits? And in history?
There is new theory about Neptune’s dark spot. The planet Neptune is deep blue, with a large dark mark on it; like a thumbprint. Its now thought that Neptune basically causes all the trouble; like for any of our bad days. When that blue ray doesn’t shine on us, from far far away, it makes for one of our unlucky, bad days, or parts of our lives.
You have to be an astronomer to study astrology! You have to know how to read star maps (sky sections), and understand the orbits and angles of the Earth, moon, sun, the planets of the solar system.. and the significances, effects, and interpretations
What you read in the paper? Its good; its generalized; the planets in your sign that day can be interpreted into life events; take it or leave it! Its fun though, so read your rising sign and moon sign’s forecast too!

 
 

& Sunday October 4th, 2020 (for Monday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
“Its not a given”
Who would have thought collectable Olympic Canadian change, in your change, were medals of valor? Get the slip!!! This psychic sneaky author figured it out… among many other “deceptions”. Free or low cost gym? You’re sponsored, you idiot! I don’t want to “die and never have known”!

 
 

Monday October 5th, 2020 (for Tuesday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
“Rude accident”
A couple of months ago, I decided that I rarely paint in oils, and that The Frick had had my orange tiger lily painting, called “the darling”, long enough! I sent them a polite email, and I got a very rude reply from an infiltrator! A fired employee… with Frick email access!

 
 

Friday October 9th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“editorial”
(digest) (the arts)
I see, said the blind man
by Alicia Surveyer
“Now, what else to do…”
“Is it time to go downstairs for dinner yet? I’m from two of Alicia’s ancestors, and not to be insulted! I’m the grandchild to come, in a booming family, in a family mansion, and even though my look is based on great-grandma, I’m very well on my own. My ancestor painted me, Raphaela.”
Is Mr. Wardropper dropping drips of war everywhere? Things seem to have taken a turn for the worse with the Frick newsletters. Where are the ones with the effigy comments? Again, they don’t know what they have, and I have the “secrets of art.”
Miss Ingres, the highly insulted former darling, is coming back with a slam, by me; who liked her all along. I even bought the postcard! Aye, that was many moons ago.
Miss Ingres, is French from France, and is just moseying around her bedroom, making sure she is done her things, before dinner. She is a hopeful rendering of Raphael’s posterity! Luckily, I’m here to explain.
We know Raphael as Jacques Cartier, and Velazquez. Las Meninas is from the same mansion, and the same boat trip, where the candles burn low and run out. Raphael left the Vatican, along with his maps, to set sail and be the sailor he was always to be!
Miss Comtesse d’Haussonville has the floral decoration of the musketeers on her back! It’s a puzzle; reflections of the flowers on her velveted desk in the mirror behind her. Have a look at Las Meninas (by Velazquez). And although her finger alludes to her prancing around her room, it points up – to the empty candle stick. What about the moldings, also?
Ah… I exist… and to the Frick Collection: you have a Raphael!

 
 

Saturday October 10th, 2020 (for Monday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Growl, gripe, groan”
Leave Miss Blue-dress be, Mr. Poopy-pants! (This is supposed to be silly.) Sometimes it takes a woman’s touch… Evens out a battalion! I have my own thoughts. Luckily. “Pull up those britches!”, I tell myself, tell them to cool it; and “let’s have my own look-see into this….”

 
 

Saturday October 10th, 2020 (for Sunday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“editorial”
(digest) (liberal arts)
The Vail
by Alicia Surveyer
The curtain, the vail, the shroud of secrecy… what am I referring to? Being pregnant! No one notices, with my figure, even when I am about to pop, with multiples on the way! I have been pregnant for most of the past seven years, straight. I don’t get any special sympathies, nor fun talk about the kid on the way! Luckily, I’m a hard-ass anyway, mostly, and that’s pretty much my mommy philosophy, too.
There are things you learn, when you learn the ropes of pregnancy and motherhood! Don’t give even your baby~belly everything it wants! It (he or she) will learn quickly how to be naggy, and make life difficult! Not just a crying baby; babies are to be taught to be well-behaved, but a newborn not yet born that will decide to commandeer your body with rough physical symptoms!
There’s kicking, there’s kicking that means “time to get out of bed, I’m hungry and want to go for a bouncy ride”, there’s the obligatory multiple calls of nature, there are odd baby bumps… like they decided to decorate big mommy’s body! I had a foot blister from going barefoot at home, walking on my jogging pants too much, by accident, that just stayed forever! At one point my earlobe went protrusive and crooked… I called it my “elven ear”!
Its semi-ridiculous; no one notices; so I just kind of keep it under wraps. But I’m hauling… something!

 
 

Monday October 12th, 2020 (for Tuesday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Incarcerating Pumessa”
Horrible, horrible case this Thanksgiving morning in the courtroom. It took beat knowledge, finesse in the judge’s questioning, and no faltering! A woman gym-goer was being accused of rape, by two other women gym-goers, for grunting while training. This is a commonly used rule at the gym honey, for a reason! Some people grunt at the gym… stupid human quirk. The two lesbian women were targeting the other woman with a false accusation. Thank god we got her off!

 
 

Tuesday October 13th, 2020 (for Wednesday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Michelangelo Lives”
A certain painting by Hopper, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, has a Michelangelo look to it. I always remembered it… It mimics the effect of M’s sculptures of the allegories of day. Is it on purpose? That’s a very male model with breasts added… I’m positive I even drew him, too!

 
 

Email Reply to Pendant Wednesday Oct. 14th, 2020
Hi Chrissy-
Illustrating would be a great job! I also write, I also wonder if Pendant wants to have a stationary venture, if you don’t already have one! I have lots of talent for these various jobs with Pendant!

I attached two images of my drawings; one is however loosely based on Disney’s Aristocats.
These could make activity books for children and teens. Adults, even!
(I will say, that I could make beautiful illustrated children’s storybooks.)

I sent you a notebook; a blank notebook; to Pendant; and, to follow thru on the idea of that…
The workbook could have cues, and blank spaces. Lines, or pages!
For the blond prince of the forest art image;
What is the prince of the forest’s name? _________________
What is the title of this fairy tale? _____________
etc.

Then…
“Set the story with a beginning, that could have a place, a story about who the prince is, and what he has to do.”
(3 blank pages)
“What adventures does he go on?”
(3 blank pages)
“How does the story finish well?”
(3 blank pages)
“Is there a final lesson from your story?”
(3 blank pages)
Then, “THE END” at the bottom of a page.

All this could even repeat twice in the notebook; the purchaser-client can make two stories!

Let me know what you think…. or maybe forward my email to a person in charge of picking up staff and new projects…

Thanks,
Signed,
Alicia Surveyer
www.aliciasurveyer.com

TEL. +1 514 213-5578
EMAIL alicia.surveyer@hotmail.com

West Island, Montréal, Québec, Canada

________________________________________
From: Chrissy Martin
Sent: February 5, 2020 1:57 PM
To: alicia@aliciasurveyer.com
Subject: Thanks you for your artwork

We received your work and wanted to thank you for your submission. You have lovely artwork. Keep working on producing finished work and you’ll go far. We are no longer in need of illustrators. Thanks again for your interest in Pendant Publishing.

–
Chrissy Martin
Graphic Designer

 
 

Thursday October 15th, 2020 (for Friday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Inflation”
I don’t know if we are in for a whole year of this pandemic lifestyle. I think it can change the economy, and the way we shop! I don’t think we’ve been hit that hard, honestly! We managed somehow! Shops are like boneyards, pleasantly. And, in separate consensus with my uncle Jack, we rhetorically anticipate a stand-still in inflation, or, if we go for a long period of time, inflation tripling, with a big change in shopping habits, and even what’s offered!

 
 

Saturday October 17th, 2020 (for Monday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Bachelors”
Bachelors are sneaky, did you know? So sneaky, you can’t see the forest from the trees… nor them! By nature, they want the lion’s share, are lazy, and just seem to want to play “hidey-widey”! Shy prudes! Traditionally the advances are left up to the brute sex, but please, don’t be uncouth! I wait… like Jacqueline, Madame Champagne!

 
 

Sunday October 18th, 2020 (for Tuesday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Mix up”
Don’t call Andy Warhol Andy Warhol anymore! Something absurd was going on… art school! How does a teacher’s name get out of a private art school of 75 students? How does an oddball student make amends? I’ve been… I hold a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts… I’ve been… to Mars!

4054 words…
…more to come?

 
 

Little comics~
…~imps

 
 

 
 

Saturday, October 24th, 2020
NinKatia Lovestory~
New page~
♡♡
☆

 
 

I’ve expanded! My work is now in every Canadian province, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.!!

 
 

Saturday, October 24th, 2020
Jaq’s still sleeping~
Blissed out!

 
 

Saturday, October 24th, 2020
NinKatia Flower Sequence~
Photographs (& artificial flowers) by Nikolai Toivos

 

My pansies are like snaps! Beautiful ones!!

 
 

Sunday, October 25th, 2020
P.20
I was drawing a special NinKatia page last night~
I had planned it a nightmare ago~

 
 

Monday, October 26th, 2020
P.21
I was drawing a NinKatia Lovestory page last night~
I hope to push through & make enough drawings for another book… Volume 2!
In Nikolai’s photo gallery above, were my plans for drawings; all, that whole sequence, with no words; as expressions of Nin’s feelings

 
 

Tuesday, October 27th, 2020
…more work on newspaper articles

Saturday October 24th, 2020 (for Monday)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“I’m in love again”
I made a special page; page 19 to be exact; continuing on my Nin-Katia lovestory. I previously made a complete book… will there be a second one? The drawings are very elaborate. I call my book “the book that takes me away”! As I practice, I flip-flop..

Monday October 26th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
“editorial”
(digest) (the arts and love)

The Sanctity of Marriage
by Alicia Surveyer

In my art I make a lot of work with love and romance as the subject matter; the love~doctor is now in.
The first thing I would stress is about the seriousness of marriage: its not temporary, its not about breaking-up, or a possible divorce, its not plans of who you would date or cheat with in revenge, its not a wedding ceremony pinnacle with no substance left after… it’s a life-time vow of sticking together because you love each other, & working out life’s inevitable problems: those that can challenge a person or that can challenge a married couple’s life.

Where’s the money?
Who is the breadwinner in the couple, or do you both work, or how many hours, each, and where is the time left to be together? Who is blowing the budget? Who understands sweet-f*ck-all about personal finances? Who is being lazy and taking a free ride? Who is being miserly about how much money it takes to keep groceries in the house, for example? Do I just get a beater car? Why?

Keep up your physical appearance.
My beautiful wife. “I take this man…” It still counts after!!! Stay youthful, vibrant, in shape, do your grooming, or your look… Its not time to gain 30 pounds, live in sweats, and stop all aspects of “putting yourself together”. Nor quitting the gym or whatever is it you do to keep fit. There is however, acceptance. Or a serious concerned couple talk. Watch out for the ick-factor…

Where’s the dinner?
Who knows how to cook? The man, the woman, both, neither? Food is everyday forever, and a married couple has to have a balanced system of feeding themselves, and their children. Its hard-work! You can’t just dump it all on the other person because “you don’t feel like it.” The menu should be well-rounded, and who’s packing the lunches?

Why didn’t you do any of the chores?
Again. A marriage is a cooperation. A happy one. You cannot dump all the chores on the other person! A slob, a lazy slob, is a total turn-off. Its ethics; in marriage; in care; in kindness… split the jobs! Maybe one has a preference for doing the laundry, or the dishes… the tidy-up day… vacuuming…

Spend time with the kid.
A very busy couple has to make a very busy schedule that includes spending time with the children, even as they try to make the budget, and the home. There should be positive happy times for activities or talks with the kids. They are not to be planted in front of the TV for hours, and sorry- “husband work-72 hours a week”; you are not off the hook! The kids are only young once…

I just made a drawing for my lovestory book, with these ‘captions’ as the story on the art~page. Captions, now, with saintly explanations provided!

 
 

Wednesday, October 28th, 2020
Petey the Maltese
He just came back from the groomers last night~

 
 

Friday, October 30th, 2020
(P.22)
I was drawing a NinKatia Lovestory page last night~
Vol.2 Page 4!!

 
 

Friday, October 30th, 2020
Dads’ Deck 4by6
I drew this last night, after I made a Nin page (I made 2 drawings last night)
It’s a tree with pink blooms, at night

 
 

Sunday, November 1st, 2020
Newspaper Article Update (3)

Thursday October 29th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
(continuing on love topics)
“Reality check”
I have bad news… “in sickness and in health” can get you the ditch! It’s a cruel world, and telling your new flame, or even your spouse, that you are sick might not get you the sympathetic response you’d hoped for. By confiding, you could just get totally dumped!

Friday October 30th, 2020
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“From Russia, with love”
Just kidding! Have a Happy (& safe) Halloween… as best you can! Make a big mixed-up bowl of candy! For little ones, celebrations could be like Easter. Mr. Pumpkin came by! Like the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus… grandma… That’s about how cheap a bag of candy is…

*********
Saturday October 31st, 2020 (for Sunday Nov. 1st)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
(digest) (arts & leisure)
A picture painted with words
by Alicia Surveyer
When I show my art a key point to remember is not to put too many words to it everytime; let it speak on its own, as an art piece should.

Its Sunday, November 1st today. The Halloween shenanigans are to be cleaned up, put away, and candies are left for munching. Fall weather is to come; colder, windier, more clouds, the trees changing and losing all their leaves. It gets dark earlier, and this will continue over days as they pass. Walking a few blocks could be a very chilly wind-tunnel, so its time to dress warm, and scarves too.

Thanksgiving is to come – its November 26th – but who knows what plans can be made. Hopefully something peaceful & nice. When will some snowflakes come, and when will they stick? There’s two months left to wrap up 2020, and Christmas near the happy end of it.

Maybe make sure to get a brisk walk in, in central park – its worth it for the experience. But don’t get lost or carried away!

After a nice Thanksgiving at the end of the month, there is a whole other month to plan for a nice Christmas. There is nothing illegal about putting a tree up, on December 1st, and enjoying the sparkle; in the dim dark evenings; and planning for some nice things under it. There is always mailing Christmas cards, or even well-thought out parcels. You can use the annual update of your life option in Christmas cards, even if its about maybe accomplishments at work.

Delicious food is not illegal either; making a beautiful Thanksgiving & Christmas table is well-worth it! Even at party of one, or few. Slow it down… and enjoy.

 
 

Monday, November 2nd, 2020
Dads’ Deck 4by6
I just drew this new artcard
It’s Chirp, our parakeet, from childhood days. (The blue and white one was our 2nd budgie, and he was named Tweet)

 
 

Wednesday, November 4th, 2020
Miss Bluefine
NinKatia Lovestory pages volume 2 ☆
This is our supersweet new budgie… she’s a rescue!

 
 

Friday, November 6th, 2020
I was drawing last night~ ☆
Dads’ Deck 4by6
Heart that glows
Miss Bluefine’s Heart ♡

 
 

Saturday, November 7th, 2020
I was drawing last night~ ☆
NinKatia Lovestory
New page
Its to understand~ the other art ♡Our pair of portraits in masks♡

 
 

Saturday, November 7th, 2020
I have been working on new mock-ups~ ☆
5″ x 7″ postcards – standard matte

 
 

Saturday, November 7th, 2020
NinKatia Lovestory
New page, again; Page 7, Volume 2

 
 

Sunday, November 8th, 2020
Another update on my newspaper-article writing

Sunday November 1st, 2020 (For Monday) (Tomorrow)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
(digest) (arts & leisure) (gossipp-y)

Its too taboo to say
by Alicia Surveyer

I have an ice cream report from many sources; it’s the strange phenomena that brings about the prohibition of ice cream! Sources from the grocery store say that the entire ice cream section gets wiped out every evening, by closing! This has nothing to do with Covid! Apparently, Briars is popular; because of the size, and that it is easy to open, my sources say! And the dose is one tub per day!!! Certain foods are already “black market”; for public safety! You have to earn the right to purchase them, by being a gourmet cook! And knowing where to ask… Maraschino cherries in a jar, paraffin, & grenadine syrup are all examples. Big brother thinks people will lose control! The extra sad news is that ice cream parlors are full of weirdoes. Don’t go for ice cream… unless you expect a rough crowd! Linebackers of carnies! What’s the silliest, is that the Italian ice parlor doesn’t have any problems!! Ew to cream!!! But I guess gelato is okay!
The pizzeria lady, I mean, my sources at the pizzeria say that I am one of their favorite clients… because I have a good appetite! And… she said.. that it’s also because it’s not ice cream!!!

 

Saturday November 7th, 2020 (for Sunday Nov. 8th)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
(digest) (arts & leisure)

Its great having it all
by Alicia Surveyer

Anyone can, Feng Shui
I live in an ivory tower, but every man has his castle. I can say I have been able to provide for my family; my really big family; and it feels nice to be settled. How? Like an Indian from Canadian history- “le troc” – trading. I can always make.
Probably why my home is so overcrowded; I have working stations, and things cluttered around, but it is not a mess; it is peaceful, and beautiful. And organized! Chaotic organization!
How do you make your home? Is it big, and are you rich in your success? Is it a cozy apartment? A spacious one? How do you make your space your home, your palace, your peace? Do you run off to work and other every day, and keep a minimalist home? And the food sparse? Do you have nice things in your tidy home? Like signs of your life, favorite things, or accomplishments? Your peace? Your space? Is it tidy? Do you keep the foods you like, to make sure to be nourished and strong everyday? What do you do each week; what are your routines? Are your bed, sofa, and kitchen table nice spots for you?
How far have you come in your life, at your age? How can you look back on the growth, and different phases, of your life?
Time to clean up! Throw away, clean, place, organize, reflect… always! Make sure you have it all!

 
 

Sunday, November 8th, 2020
A geologist sold me (for very cheap) these two cabochons as a gift
I was told where to find them on the web… impartiality is maintained!
They are extremely beautiful specimens, & in the category of things that I like!!!!♡
Geologist Clint Eastwood owns the Smithsonian Museums… I sent them tons of art
Right back at you… as I photograph them; with my skills!♡

 
 

Wednesday, November 11th, 2020
This is an extra article that I wrote, that I couldn’t publish early!

Saturday November 7th, 2020 (for Monday Nov. 9th)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
Page 6 Gossip Column
By Alicia Surveyer
“Someone’s a floozy…”
I am not. But I am close friends with Uncle Don, and even semi-Canadian Joe Biden. Did you know that they are great men? They have more accomplishments under their belt than you would realize… and they are very smart and kind. In person! The race was close- the work they do is excellent.

 
 

Wednesday, November 11th, 2020
I won’t say anything about Remembrance day, because I wish I was remembered
(I wish I wasn’t left behind.)
Amen.
My country, the Canadian people, has let me down for so long

 
 

Thursday, November 12th, 2020
Gallery : Vivid Magenta & White Daisy Bouquet with Small Pink Carnations & Wilted Red Rose

 
 

Thursday, November 12th, 2020
Gallery : The Wilted Rose

 
 

Thursday, November 12th, 2020
Gallery : Study of Fallen Rose Leaves
These are leaves from roses; you should look up the keywords photosynthesis & chlorophyll

 
 

Friday, November 13th, 2020
Gallery white~wall: Flower bouquet, day 3
Although the bouquet is looking beautiful, the rosebud has completely fallen

 
 

Saturday, November 14th, 2020
the rosebud has completely fallen
it dried up even in the water from the vase

 
 

Sunday, November 15th, 2020
Newspaper Article; Sunday’s New York City Read

Saturday November 14th, 2020 (for Sunday Nov. 15th)

thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
(digest) (arts & leisure)

In a New York state of mind
by Alicia Surveyer

The Big Apple
Even though I am close friends with New York City, I am a Montrealer. New York City is known as an arts cultural mecca; it is also an 8-hour drive south, pretty much in a straight line, from Montreal; or a short-haul flight. I studied in Fine Arts in college and university; part of my learning was to go directly to the museums and cultural places, and see the art of the greats firsthand. I visited the Big Apple three times; I saw the city, and all the major museums. I also sketched… in the halls of the museums, and in Central Park!
Do the New York Times readers remember their town? There’s a certain flavor of culture, like hundred-year old bridges and buildings, there is also art museums and art galleries, the huge Central Park to explore; trendy shopping with some big fancies like Tiffany’s, there’s The Met, The Met, & The Met, and that’s pretty much what happened at the Statue of Liberty, out in the water.
Don’t forget Chinatown for eats; go where the Chinese go. Cabs are moderately priced, and there is Pearl’s Art Materials to see too, over in Chinatown. Don’t forget how many neighborhoods there are; fancy Manhattan, Soho with art galleries, Harlem, and the Irish and Italian neighborhoods, or even just the street that has all the restaurant appliance stores, and the one with the music stores. If you take the express elevator to the top of the Empire State building, get ready to be woozy… and have to take the special second elevator for the last ten floors! At night, you can look down at the tiny taxis…

exciting!

>”The Globe and Mail
Submissions
First Person guidelines
Dear Globe and Mail reader,
We want you to write for us! The daily First Person essay (formerly called Facts&Arguments) is a great forum for you to share your own experiences, viewpoints and writing flair with other Globe readers. Whether you are young or old, female or male, newly arrived in Canada or deeply rooted here, we want to be inspired by your unique perspective.
So what makes a good essay?
A few things we look for are: an original voice; an unexpected view; an unfamiliar perspective; humour; vivid details that show us rather than tell us; anecdotes that illuminate a wider theme.
A successful First Person essay may be funny, surprising, touching or enlightening – or all of these. It may present a slice of life or a powerful experience that changed you in some way. It may be a meditation on something that matters to you. It goes beyond a rant, and it is deft in moving from the particular to the universal.
Above all, an essay should be personal rather than political. It must be true, not fictional.”<

article November 16th 2020

Globe and Mail 11/15/20
First Person

Geronimo, Toronto!
By Alicia Surveyer

Family, and my art career, have taken me to Toronto and its outskirts (eastern mostly) many, many times! I showed my art on the walls of two galleries there, I am a big fan of the AGO, and love visiting all my aunts and uncles! There was also the interim leg; the Surveyer-family country ranch retreat, along the 401, before Toronto. My grandparents had it built! It was still modest, but imbued with nature, farming, peace, Catholicism, and art. (Hint: its where the sky gets big.)

I’m a Montrealer; albeit a well-traveled one. As a kid of the baby boomers, I will say, that some of my peers ended up in TO! The family homes were too expensive on the real estate market, to nest in, plus, if you only spoke English… off to the capitol of the province of Ontario, the business city, Toronto, to work!

The AGO museum, The Art Gallery of Ontario, hides the art of Canadian sovereign history! The club and art school of the go-to designers and painters… their work lies within! But also in Ottawa…

As an artist, I had business in the city; and even the six-hour drive, and loaning out my huge paintings there, weren’t the only big deals… it was an enormous venture for me! Like business. The day of one of my vernissages was hit with a huge snowfall, I had to road and trek to get there, with my aunt! Luckily, the paintings were already installed.

There was a lot of art-making on these adventures I took… very exciting! I hauled in my art supplies and painter’s easel! Working, in retreat, on art grant and museum proposals, happened too. Even the marker pens, if you know my work! Easier to transport…

 
 

Monday, November 16th, 2020
Can I draw this?
This is jaguaress’s husband; a black jaguar; a black panther. He’s posed & ready… & I want to draw him for the NinKatia Lovestory pages…
…I’ve been putting it off~

 
 

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020
I’m sharing this because of the new gloves I was offered!
Metallic green & Gold!!!
I luv u Rival

 
 

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020
NinKatia Lovestory~
New Art from yesterday night
New Page~ I luv u Troiki

 
 

Tuesday, November 17th, 2020
Flower Vase in the Kitchen
The pink carnations are the longest lived~
Pink rosettes

 
 

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020
I was drawing again last night~
NinKatia Lovestory page ☆
Pink Christmas Star

 
 

Thursday, November 19th, 2020
I rearranged my flowers, & took some photos again last night~
They are specifically nighttime photos of the pink carnation rosettes
In the kitchen~

 
 

Thursday, November 19th, 2020
Just now~
NinKatia Lovestory page
Page 10 for Volume 2~

 
 

Friday, November 20th, 2020
~from last night
NinKatia Lovestory page
Page 11 for Volume 2~

 

 
 

Saturday, November 21st, 2020
~from last night
NinKatia Lovestory page
Page 12 for Volume 2~

 
 

Sunday, November 22nd, 2020
~from last night
NinKatia Lovestory page
Page 13 for Volume 2~

 
 

Sunday, November 22nd, 2020
another new newspaper article

Friday November 20th, 2020 (for Sunday Nov. 22nd)
thearts@nytimes.com
The New York Times
Arts Contributor
(digest) (arts & leisure)

About NYC’s Museums
by Alicia Surveyer

Learn and go!

New York has many art galleries; they are like stores; boutiques; with artists’ original works for sale. But what also makes The Big Apple a major art center are the art museums; so here’s a quick rundown on what’s what. Lest we don’t know, or don’t go!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the big one; on fifth avenue, and if you wanted to really really see everything in it you would have to buy a ticket every weekday for a month! Take the weekend off… for research! The focus is on all of art; through history. That encompasses many times and cultures. You can find modern French painting in there, or Egyptian relics; American art, or European galleries with the best of history’s stuff. Its one of the finest in the US, and the world….. but still among several!

The Museum of Modern Art needs an art professional’s description; Modern Art really only means the period from about 1890 to the 1950’s. That’s when art turned “funky”! Art History moved in succession; 2D skill, into innovation, inspiration… Modern Art broke all the rules, and art was no longer just for royalty, for example, or the extremely rich. And when the camera and film arrived, it started to get copped out! At the MoMA, find the best of this modern art! There are beautiful pieces, and it’s a large museum.

The Whitney Museum of American Art holds the best of what came from artists of the US! The noteworthy ones. And, yes, this is still all in New York City! There was the American age of Modern Art! It’s a nice, big place to visit, with interesting art.

The Guggenheim twists on everything… literally! It was built in a spiral, so you climb the circling walkway to see the art there! There are flat galleries- ones off to the sides- like alcoves, and of course the hall at the top! Mostly modern pieces there, with some contemporary art. That means living artists!

Finally, there is the ritz of The Frick Collection. It is a big mansion filled with a very proficient art collector’s choices. The place is immaculate, and screams money. The collection is in very good taste, and the setting in the mansion is spectacular. Enjoy!

 
 

Monday, November 23rd, 2020
Is this a shining star for the highest bough?
An NFL player from the Houston Texans came to my mother’s house and slipped this to her to give to me…
It makes me think of my recent drawings on the NinKatia theme~
its just the one earring~

i had this complicated thing to do today; on the agenda; its like it “pointed the way” a bit also… he must have talked to my mom…

 
 

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020
Is this a shining star for the highest bough?
Card is ready to go>>>>
(I have to figure out who I’m sending it to,,, & what to write)
Wait… is it a football??

btw, its November 25th today

 
 

Thursday, November 26th, 2020
I bought a bouquet of flowers last night~
>>>>Gallery : Bouquet with light pink gerberas, a fuchsia chrysanthemum, white chrysanthemums, a vivid pink rose, deep green leaves, and light purple flower clusters

 
 

Friday, November 27th, 2020
Diamond pavé rose~gold tone metal tint blush sparkle lipstick~
>>>>crushing on fashion

 
 

Saturday, November 28th, 2020
My wilted rose is very eye-catching in the artistry of this photograph~

 
 

Monday, November 30th, 2020
4by6 Artcard: Dads’ Deck: Chirp’s Budgie Parakeet Heart

 
 

Tuesday, December 1st, 2020
Its a very grey day, but there’s new life on my flower bouquet (in the kitchen)

 
 

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020
This is a design preview mock~up; that’s why it appears blurry. But its something very exciting…. Volume 2 books are almost ready! I kept it a secret!

 
 

Thursday, December 10th, 2020
I kept it a secret!

 
 

 
 

Friday, December 11th, 2020
I kept it a secret!
Novel~ I decorated this copy that I got from a used book pile… I drew on it in black! It looks like the eye on the paperback version, that still has its “official” cover (l have both) (There is no dust jacket on the hardcover copy) There’s a buried mystery… in these photos (kind of)

 
 

Saturday, December 12th, 2020
NinKatia Lovestory volume 2 ♡♡
This is one of my original self-published picture books ♡♡

these are my photographs of my art book ♡♡

 
 

Wednesday, December 16th, 2020
Project~ museum mailers ♡♡
Hopefully, I’ll be done by Friday; I have pieces to add, then seal the gorgeous envelopes & mail them~ ♡♡

 
 

Wednesday, December 16th, 2020
Artcards & artboxes all over~ workstations ♡♡

 
 

Wednesday, December 16th, 2020
I bought myself a bereavement card- no joke ♡♡
I think the art is beautiful, & the words comforting ♡ ♡♡
It is also handmade art by the current owner of Hallmark ♡ ♡♡

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

top drawer ♡ ♡♡

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

^^^^ Thursday, December 17th, 2020^^^^
My gems again & mermaid money ♡♡
I think the art is beautiful ♡ ♡♡
The mermaid money is made with tiny layered incandescant cabochons♡♡

 
 

Friday, December 18th, 2020
From Canadian artist Alicia Surveyer…
…I sent my work to more art museums!
Here’s the updated list:
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia
New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick
The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, StJohns, Newfoundland
Beaconsfield Historic House, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

 
 

NEWS UPDATE
Friday, December 18th, 2020

Miss Bluefine is a silly kind of parakeet; she decided that the rainforest of South America was too loud and noisy for her, among the other parakeets, and that she wanted to see every mountain there was… to the west shore of the ocean! She hopped, flew, rested, stayed a time, and snacked, through the entire ginormous mountain range, until she indeed in fact make it to the ocean. She wanted to see it all! Then, thats when I found her.. looking sweet, posing for her portrait! We adopted the sweet “old lady”… but unbeknownst to her… her boyfriend had been tagging along the whole time! Now that she has rested, she has laid an egg!!!!