Friday, August 29, 2008

"From Inside An Open Grave My Lily Did Escape"



"From Inside An Open Grave My Lily did Escape"

Lily opened her eyes from sleeping
lest death take her ore
and rob her of her own breath
this grave
opened up toward hope.
Remembering all
in conflict
wound or victory
thus
Lily spoke:

"Let me be a snowflake
drift in the wind
connect with the atmosphere.
Solace
solace
floating till I reach another wound
past this one.
This one is too hard.

Healing.
Let me know that space
no one around
freedom to dance over oceans
feet never even touching
its liquid whispers
at all.
Yes
I want to fly that high.
I don't care what you say.

I met a sea lion once
he sang along with me
as I ran across the beach.
At first I felt afraid
as magic entered too close.
How could I possibly be that free?
And then?
I melted into it.
Not one other soul around
to deny me
my own tongue
worrisome
broken
setting boundaries
silent to forbidding
if only for a time.

Am I strong enough
To get that back?
Does the breeze tell me I'm OK?
Am I thirsty enough
to stretch past my own clauses?
Am I visible
to me
at all?

How black can the sea be?
How far is the sky?
Might I capture those stars?
How empty, how full
how long
how many times will I commit
to being my own self?

Stars do turn in different directions
within their same galaxy.
Perhaps I am too judgmental.
Wouldn't that be OK
for me too?
Choices to not just embrace
but become their living shadows.

The mystery combs my hair
cleans my body
brushes my teeth
scrapes every single barnacle
away
when I let it.

How lonely is that dragon
or is he in fact
really OK?
Has he gone on to march in parades
under the sea
without me?
Is it really true
what doubters say?

Silver Strand
forever glistening
I hear it still
and I need to
get back.

There is a sandcastle there
the tide cannot overtake it
the magic forever saved
deep inside
my mind.
Dragons yes
they live forever.
And everyone else is a lier.

In moment of doubt
transgressions plotted
It crossed my mind.
It's maybe true
what insecurities say
I might just be addicted
to every unknown fall.
Unsure
standing still I see them
attaching themselves to me
stubborn on my face
will I ever recognize my soul?
Will I ever come up for air?

Masked recusers died in the Fall
I saw them changing
their minds.
All of those promises
dropping to the ground
brown
raked up
and burned before winter.
Singing
earthquakes come here too.

I wanted to run
to that other side they talk about.
With blood in my ears
I realized
they were mistaken
plagued
by their own determination
that was actually indifference
to love.
Because
oh
they forgot to be kind.
I thought that was the message.

No matter
a dragon awaits me
I felt him breathing
once
on the Silver Strand
Tis not a poor desert flower
in a jar.
No.
I set my table
candle lit
messages unmarred.
And each and every breath
I now take
reflects a sacred note.
My dragon lives forever
with in that grave and out."

by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
28 August 2008

My career has ALWAYS been art. It has up and downs, for creativity is a very tempestuous lover. Some days I hate it, but I cannot help myself. I succumb to its relentless outbursts that include too many colors to ignore. Not always perfect but always striving.

Be sure to check out my Squidoo lens: Fantasy Art Woman|Beautiful Women Goddess Art:
http://www.squidoo.com/kathysart


Do you Twitter? Here is mine: http://twitter.com/kathysart

The image is "Bronze Nude 1" 24x36 oil on canvas. It can be found at Barebrush:
http://www.barebrush.com/Artists/ALB43e.html

~~*~~

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

"Sometimes I Feel Frozen - Bleeding Snow"




Frozen,
that is how I feel.
At times,
I am still haunted by our flaws,
together.

Some people must take separate roads,
travel does not come easy,
despite what you thought,
I truly never blessed it.

Evenings get cold,
sometimes,
still,
without breezes,
and oft times without breathing.

You remember that song I wrote?
The one about ice on the sidewalk,
bleeding snow,
that's just the way I saw you,
as bleeding snow.
Yet, you never claimed that kind of ice.

I write in the afternoons now,
no more pretending I don't,
no longer hiding scraps of paper,
on past due notes.

No one is perfect,
that will always,
always be true.

When I'm alone I send out apologies,
to passers by,
no matter they don't hear me.
I evoke social graces,
sentiments that may fall empty,
on a perfect stranger's deaf ears.
I owed you that much,
I am the first to say,
too little and way too late.

Yet...
you never got it,
never heard,
never dreamed my dreams,
or wanted to.
Who would frame that kind of art?

Being cold,
takes a long time to recover from.
Frozen statues in the dark,
if I look out past windows,
I still can see you.

Frozen,
that is how I feel,
at times.
I am still haunted by our flaws,
together.
Yet standing still,
has given me...
wisdom,
despite my un-mending.

I ask myself often,
what was I fleeing to?
If I stay very still,
not moving one single bit,
and feel the colors I now paint with?
I know.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

30 July 2008
by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2008


The image is of my painting, "Sunset" 24x48 oil on canvas. It is from my "Passion Series"

I am represented by Monkdogz Urban Art in New York http://www.monkdogz.com

Check out one of my Squidoo lenses: Hawaiian Travel|Hawaiian Fun Food
http://www.squidoo.com/hawaiianartprints/


Aloha, Kathy


~~*~~


Saturday, July 19, 2008

Article Writing-Listing Top Seven is Heaven



Top 7 is heaven
that's what I've heard
ring out the bells
this tips not absurd.

Article writing
make a list of top seven
pick out a subject
and present it with leaven.

A plan is so useful
tools of the trade
follow a guideline
with your words to parade.

Writing articles
to create a good following
thoughts that contribute
to readers is hallowing.

Write those articles
come one and all
bring sales to your website
send out that call.

To write is sublime
no excuses to clatter
aim for the sky
and stop all that chatter.

Seven is heaven
that's what I've heard
now pay attention
to what I have learned.

Chris Knight is right
his knowledge accepted
Seven's the number
to not be neglected.

Keep up your standards
plenty of text
roll out those lines
and don't get rejected.

Line up those thoughts
introduction in mind
then list your seven
a conclusion to find.

Take your sweet time
do not whine
fingers to keyboard
forever sublime.

Write those top tips
Seven or ten
organized thoughts
will bring a good end.

Blog it, log it
set the stage
top tips of seven
will bring a new age.

Apply yourself
and you will see
your efforts will soar
its revolutionary

Discover new things
don't be a bore
writing new wisdom
will bring comments galore!

No slackin' you're askin'?
Why no that's silly
write your articles
and make them a dilly.

However you write
or despite all your plights
its writing, yes writing
that will give you delight.

So onward young man
despite your said age
no fooling around
as you write the next page.

Young ladies move forward
29 our said line
stay forever lovely
as you write in spare time.

Onward writing soldiers
write and submit
and remember that seven
will make you legit.

18 July 2008
Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2008

The image is a little painting I did of a frog.. well DA huh? I do a lot of little watercolor sketches just for fun. I paint them then put them in a shoe box. I do the same with my poems... put them in a pile.. yet with my poems and articles I also post them on my blogs and Ezine Articles which is the top ezine to post on. I have one poem on Ezine Articles that has had over 25K reads. Obviously that is more than I could get on any one of my zillion blogs.

Happy day to you and if you are in New York be sure to stop by Monkdogz Urban Art who is showing my work in an International show called "Zepher". http://www.monkdogz.com

Aloha, Kathy

~~*~~



Sunday, January 6, 2008

A Dark Wanderer in a Free Obituary Search

A Dark Wanderer in a Free Obituary Search

I think sometimes I'll discover me
dark wanderer
in a free obituary search.
I'll find that I have gone past here
and found a different now.

Drawings of scorpions
and grim reaper drawings
gothic angel art?
I forgot to list their names.
I think it is because they sang
so darkly.

Neon Blue slept here
I feared she would.
She got tired of all those noises.
She got tired of all the screams
that made havoc in her mind.
Projected inappropriately
past those midnight walls
Lily heard her
letting them come out.
Lily and I
in the dark holding hands.
And will hear those memories
forever.

Grim reaper
grim reaper
on my walls
and in my bed
late at night
I hear you breathing.
Obituary searches found my name?
You have stained my heart
caused me forever to know sadness
despite tokens of good cheer
tiny angels will not rest here with ease.
Not for me and not for Lily
despite her well dressed protests.


It is with sadness
colored with regret
I hear her
and yet dear Lily
tiny angel
will forever point toward stars.
In the light I see her
still hopeful.
I always have.

And yet..
Moans come from the closet still.
I want to drag them out
wrap them in a blanket
suffocate their need of me
tie them to the other side
of somewhere I can't find again.
I want to become cold
become a calloused word.

Lily won't speak of it to her
she would not recall it anyway
not an honest story she'd remember.
Perfect not to admit to.
Who would?
I will hold back all those tainted fields.
No daisies
no roses planted with care
no little ponds I wished I could maintain
that would love me back
and lend comfort to a little girl.

In times of weakness
Yes, I think sometimes I'll discover me
dark wanderer
in a free obituary search.
I'll find that I have gone past here
and found a different now
yet I know one thing more
secrets shared
I will always find peace in Lily's arms.


copyright 2008
Kathy Ostman-Magnusen




Unlock Creativity|Critical Thinking Creative Writing Active Reading=Great Art
http://www.squidoo.com/createart/

Fantasy Art Woman|Beautiful Women Goddess Art:
http://www.squidoo.com/kathysart


Hawaiian Travel|Hawaiian Fun Food
http://www.squidoo.com/hawaiianartprints/


Kathy's ACEO on Squidoo:
http://www.squidoo.com/kathysaceo
http://www.squidoo.com/kathysaceo

Fantasy Art|Artwork in a Butterfly Garden|Legend of Pegasus|Fantasy Poetry:
http://www.squidoo.com/legendofpegasus/




Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Songs I've Written

----------------------------

"Speak Of The Devil"

a song:

1)
Where do you go
when you're not with me?
Who do you see
when you're not seeing me?
Who do you smile at
with those eyes... that I
wish I never knew?

2)
Who grew the flowers
in the vase on your table?
Who props your pillow
and strokes all your moods?
Who is the one
you stare off in the distance to?
Who is the one
you leave here for?

Chorus:
I weave a little token
a blanket made of smoke
as the colors touch each other
I remember
the fire

3)
Who do I run to
when the road leads black?
Where do I surface
when hell freezes over?
Bleeding out passions
that I knew
once
Well... speak of the devil
Sphere of the devil
oh Babe it's you


---------------------------

"I Fall For You"

a song:

1)
You could have had my soul for free
Never needed to pay
just to be here with me.
You always had a way
Roses for breakfast
and sleeping 'til noon
You...
me with you.

2)
You ask me how my life
could decay this way.
You never realized it was you
who
brought me to
this place
this place

Break:
I fall in love each time
I smell roses in June
I think of you
I remember your eyes
when the wind blows free
each time
your eyes on mine.
But this time
you left crumbs on the bed
and half filled glasses
of the cheapest wine
me
and the wine
left behind
with the things you said
I was hoping
I was hoping
you never meant.
Your eyes
I fall in love each time.

------------------------


"Neon Blue"

1) She seemed a walking wound,
a howl inside the moon.
Her colors mingled to an empty space,
a silent shattered tune.
Such plans amoung us,
we hardly recognized,
our host of bright lights,
had passed and left her prime.

Chorus:
Do you want to dance 'til noon
and fly across the moon?
Do you want to dance 'til noon
and follow Neon Blue?

And she cried Hold me,
hold me 'til my final hour.
Hold me,
hold me through the night.

2) My teeth chatter,
a warm day cold,
and in a moment,
just for comfort,

I reach for anything old
and hold it close,
all those sentimental tunes of Neon Blue.
------------------------
"Miles Away"

a song:

Chorus: It rains miles away, miles and miles away
It rains miles away, miles and miles away

1)
I don't want to steal your dreams away.
I don't want my presence to intrude...
on you.
I used a compass to find this place.
I used the moon to guide me through
your moods.
You say...
you're only miles away.

2)
She smiled and said, "Well yes I know,
there's an element that seems to grow,
in all of us.
I think you've learned
to talk very far.
You give the feeling that your sorrow never ends,
but it's not as if the rain didn't fall here too,
when it fell on you."

Chorus

3)
There is an element of conscience,
that keeps blowing thru cool winds,
and I think if you don't stop to listen,
I might lose before I win.
New things are hard to handle.
It's unclear of what's to gain,
But after all
its' like you say
you're only miles away.

Chorus

-----------------------
"It Smells Like Silence"

a song:

1)
It smells like silence
The kind where no one cares
Your clothes are filled with the fragrance
of someone who left
If I wash them for you
will the memories be removed?
Or has all the fighting
that suffocates the loving
worn the deeper groove?

2)
It smells like silence
and isn't silence cold?
the ribbons have unraveled
no future to hold
A hint of life discarded
you packed and sent away
tidy little sentiments
of warmer days

Break:
I suppose I could wash these clothes
and no one will ever know
Only you ... for the fragrance will be gone
But then there's all that silence left behind
miles of better dreams and saner songs
mingled with the scenes of loveless eyes

It smells like silence
the kind where no one cares.

--------------------------------------

"Mystie"

a song:

1)
There are places
that you've never been to
There are spaces
where you'll never go
There are passions
waiting to be lived yet
Mystie I know

chorus:
Mystie I know (four times in background)
When the rain falls
cold on my shoulder
Mystie I know (three times)

2)
Vacant eyes hold
tears that rest silent
faces scatter
a child needs to grow
and the wounded
continue their struggle
Mystie I know

chorus

"I Grasp A Circle"

(a song)

I touch the wind inside my eyes
I grasp a circle and I hold it tight
I close the door
and I form a simple key
to keep me in here
and you
out there

If there are other circles to the day
better memories on display
will you help me
to unwind them?
I'm bound to see them
don't you think
If I ponder on the moment long enough

Does time cease
do memories?

You may not use my memories
You may not misconstrue
because as they're unfolded
they are me
of course
and not you

*******************************************
---------------------
"Princess Hurry"

On this night
She took her eyes from the clear flight
buried her dreams in a sons light
wrapped up in patriots marching.

Approaching
the turbulent sound of a peace dove
handed her fate with a white glove
that hastily captured the moment.

....Hurry ....... hurry...

And truly
white doves were made to be trusted
stories were meant to be ended
she had her cause
she pretended

Her dreams
focused on whole hearted ventures
always her lover would enter
climb up the mountain
and take her.

.....Hurry.... hurry .....

I think
clouds should be noticed as dark signs
.... no time to waste
....so I'll....
......hurry
climb to the mountain
no time to waste
....hurry

Chorus:

(in soft voices in the background... continual)
No time to waste so I'll rescue the Princess
Hurry...... hurry

------------------------
"Without Blinking"

Last night I dreamed it
I hope it's not true
the shelter for many
had grown to quite few
No resting spaces
and no quiet time
they're closing up our borders
and standing by their lines
hoping the few who're left standing
will die
in little time

Oh my God
we're killing thousands
without thinking at all
Oh my God
we're killing thousands
without blinking

Some people have no faces
they live with withered hearts
they sing "Amazing Grace" only
because they know their parts

In a hungry lost world
it's not enough to say
I go to church on Sundays
and before I eat I pray
-----------------------
" Till Time Is Right"

a song:

1)
We sat at the kitchen table
as her tears most freely fell.
She said she'd like to tell me
of a friend she'd never met.
Her husband had left years ago
upon her own request.
but since that time she's been alone
and alone is a lonely plan.

Chorus:

'Till time is right
'till time is right
we only have one life to live
but still the rules apply.
We'll wait
'till the time is right

2)
She had spied a stranger
while sitting in the sun.
The moment that their eyes locked
she felt her soul
undone.
A friend had planned a dinner
to introduce their lives.
Formal invitations
she waited
'till the time was right.

3)
One night she was out driving
along a lone ravine.
A car crash did seem suspect
a car that she had seen.
And when she called
and asked her friend
if what she feared was true
she said that yes..
he left a note to say
I'm lonely too.

Bridge:

Who knows why or when we'll meet again.
If we'll crawl or if we'll fly.
But I know one thing
that's clear
fell from my mother's eyes.

------------------------

"Where to Begin'

a song:

Complex emotions
tight fisted seas
turn around
be found
in a circle of hostilities.
Up in the air
no one cares
be free.. to be
anywhere.

I can't tell you all that you need to know to do
but I can tell you that the road goes through.
I can tell you what I mean
from my soul.
I can tell you
and you need to know...

So I can breath... again.

I fell in... to where to begin.
I fell in... to start again.

I need to breath... again.

Hand me those pages of notes
that I've told you.
Tell me the story.. though old.
I fell in
to the path overgrown
I fell in
to where to begin.

I need to breath... again.

--------------------------

"Kuamoo Road"

a song:

There is a man who waits
at the stem of Kuamoo Road
and he is waiting
for his life
to begin.

There is a woman who sits in the dark
and she drinks all alone,
she is waiting for
her life
to end.

I stand alone
in shadows
and I sketch out their frames
sitting near
in the secret
of disguise.

I'll be a lilac
be at least a petal
or an amaranth
in their wake
I will treasure all
the lessons found
as I fly
so very far away.

Feb. 2000
Imperial Beach, CA

------------------------

"Break Not Your Heart"

a song:

1)
There will be times
and treasures I've known,
there will be rivers
melted from snow.

2)
There will be dreams
attached to autumn leaves,
there will be springtime
and reasons to flee.

Chorus:

And break not your heart
hold back the wounds
however inflicted
they were not meant for you.

3)
There will be seas
only airplanes and ships adorn
there will be silence
for a sorrow too worn.

4)
There will be sighs
as the ruler points wrong
yet... there will be comfort
in the rainbow of song.

Chorus

Break:

Time passes by
I plot to hear you call
and yet I know why
and have accepted it all.

Chorus

1996 Kauai

----------------------------

"Gecko Song"

1)
Gecko gecko on the ceiling
waiting for that special feeling. Turned his head and he smiled at me
as I lied down and watched TV.
Then he gave a little sigh
as he dropped his do do in my eye.

Chorus:
Isn't that the way things go (2 times)

2)
I watched a man walk past my window
head turned down
he was on the go.
He never looked up
to view the sky
but he'll never know do do
in his eye.

He'd say,

Chorus:
Isn't that the way things go (2 times)

Heads up, stand up, get in line
move out, get out, watch the signs.
If you move through life
and ignore the view
you'll never know
what geckos do

Say now,

Chorus:
Isn't that the way things go (2 times)

--------------------------

"So Goes The Time"

a song:

Dreams encircle my mind

live up to promises

stolen by time... take back the time

when dreams were young and you were mine.

Slide into shadow and waves

remembered by some

some.... who were young

remember the time, remember the time?

chorus:

Cherish the simple

the mood in my stead

reach out to love songs

stroking your breath.

I will be there

in all that you do

in all that you dream

and don't follow thru.

Dreams collide or abide

testing their way

some... will decay

but I... I miss you, the closeness of you.

A blow delivered by fate

she smiles and eyes know

and dance...to the rhymes

but I...will always remember the time, the time.

And so goes the time

so goes the time

and so goes the time.

-------------------------

"In You"

a song:

1)
In you... I saw a vision fleeting by,
no tale nor reason to de-nigh
a dream so dim
yet waiting to begin.

2)
In you...the ships could sail behind your eyes
encase a world or hasten time.
The color blue...in you
casts another hue.

3)
And you... escaped my grasp
I cannot tell
If all is lost I wish you well
another time
where stories never rhymed.

4)
In you... I saw a vision fleeting by
in songs, in notes, in passers by,
a stories end
no longer to pretend
in you.
------------------


Sunday, December 23, 2007

Portrait Prices-Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

* A portrait from photographs
* Oil painting on canvas
* One person, a couple, or the whole family
* Face only, or full figure with landscape background (prices vary/not reflected in prices below)
* Your human essence or your mermaid or faerie self.


Portrait from photos - Photographs offer boundless possibilities for creative poses, expressive gestures, and subtle detail. You may furnish your own photograph, (need to be approved by Kathy) of the pose you'd like painted, or have a private photo session with the artist and her photographer, husband, Dennis Magnusen. We recommend the a photography session.

Photo session with Kathy .......$75.


Price Guide

Oils (18 x 24")
one person
$900
each additional person
400


Oils (24 x 30" to 30 x 40")
one person
2000
each additional person
1000


Shipping and Care

Oils -
Your painting will be packed in a professionally custom-built container at a cost of the length plus the width of the stretched canvas (Example: an 18 x 24" costs $42.00 to pack) add Fedex cost to ship.

Oils won't fade or smear, and framing is optional. It is recommended that after six months of drying time, an oil painting be coated with varnish for a glossy finish and easy cleaning. High quality varnishes are available at art supply stores and can be sprayed or brushed on.

Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
free art gifts
http://www.kathysart.com





Hawaii News-Local artist featured at Pictures Plus

Local artist featured at Pictures Plus

Local Artist Kathy Ostman-Magnusen is being featured as "Artist of the Month" at Hilo's Pictures Plus for the month of December.

Pictures Plus store manager Alatia Adams, created wall space to allow local artists to show their work and interact with art lovers and Prince Kuhio Plaza, mall shoppers. Kathy Ostman-Magnusen was the featured artist for November and looks forward to showing her Hawaiian art through the month of December as well. Kathy is often seen enhancing her giclees or digital prints, near the entrance of Pictures Plus. She enjoys encouraging young artists and relates that she knew she would grow up to be an artist as early as four years old. She shares her belief that, "Talent is desire and the rest is practice ". She loves giving tips to budding talent no matter the age, saying that people are never to young or old to start doing art.

Kathy has dealt with disabilities that she says have actually given her strength. She relates that she in not defined by her disabilities, rather her approach to overcome them. Creativity is not only a great friend but a healer of the spirit, says Ostman-Magnusen.

Kathy Ostman-Magnusen is represented in New York by Monkdogz Urban Art. Her work opened in an International show, November 29th, showing until January 12, 2008 at Monkdogz in Chesea, right in the hubbub of the art world.

Her artwork can also be seen on her website http://www.kathysart.com