ABOUT MIRTA, THE ARTIST-WRITER

Once a writer, always a writer!
 As a child, I used to write about anything that came to mind; later on, though, my writings included essays, anecdotes and poems. But I also had a passion for painting, initially drawing the human figure, followed by oil renditions of landscapes and animals.
  At a point when I was very much involved in finding the right career path, after several three-year cycles of employment turnover, I realized that it was necessary to put aside my artistic dreams since all my efforts should be directed towards building for the future. I was lucky to succeed in banking and, years later, after selective collecting and planning, I opened an antiques store "Antiques are Forever," now inactive. My involvement in antiques brought me back to art: studying the masters' techniques from acquired paintings, book reading and by visiting museums. The latter created other interests in the visual arts field incuding abstracts and modernism.
  New creations included a series of over one hundred comic animals, several abstracts and, more recently, a series of paper birds set in a somewhat realistic environment.  One day I realized that the paintings told a story; thus, the book-writing began. Birdyjosh and Birdylu, a Paper Birds' Story was published in 2011 and now a General Fiction novel has been completed, currenty in the editing stages. Another fully-illustrated book is in the works pending completion of the novel. Other projects include several novellas to be published in e-Book format.
  Once a visual artist-book author-writer, the calling never fades . . .
                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 THAT LITTLE STAR
*

  If you happen to be that little star
up above in the black, stellar skies
don't  try to pair yourself
with  that larger pointed light

If  you happen to be smaller in size
or  different in your own right
you  should fully realize
how  much you shine inside

Stand  tall and be so proud
for  you live a radiant life
don't  let that big glittering star
forever  be your darkest cloud

Try if you will
and  in time you'll see
what  a big,
bright  star you'll be
~~~~
 
TRY
IF YOU WILL . . .

 We  all have something to give
We  must attempt to succeed
And  in the end, if we don't excel
not  all has gone to waste.
Having  learned from it well,
we  should be fulfilled
So try if you will . . .

(C) Mirta Oliva

WHO  SHOULD DICTATE, MY  HEARTor MY  MIND...?

While it is not easy to discern between the mind or heart's directives, I will try to
delve into my encounters with  mind reasoning and  heart  impulses plus 
my rationale as to which to trust. In general matters, adult thinking, in the
end, places my mind - literally - high above any heart influences, but not
before swaying the particular situation back and forth , trying to find a way
not to yield to heart impulses but rather to logically analyze and outweigh all
factors: a task for the mind.

In  other words, one must not succumb to what the heart "tells us to do" even
though, ultimately, it might be the path to follow. Why should we listen when
the heart "speaks" to us? Perhaps because we find it to be noble and spontaneous and, sometimes, it is right! 

But  it is those fleeting decisions of the heart that we must fear for they may block
away that wondrous power we possess, a mind to judge all facets of a situation
void of passion but within the full spectrum of logic. 

The cynics, of course, will tell you there is no such thing as heart emotions since
its symbolic shape is only a man-made illusion not suitable for emanating
feelings, but rather a very important part of our body, which it surely is. But
a cynic I am not, and I give my heart some credence even if only to challenge my
head, the one I will ultimately trust. To these people, the head will rule alone
since any unusual heart throbbing in response to inner sensations will be
attributed to normal muscle stimulus incapable of conveying a mood-driving
force, devoid of thought or reason but independent and intense in its
deliverance.  That is the cynic's prerogative, though.

In matters of love, however, we all know that it is the heart that rushes in to
open itself to that delightful feeling, ignoring any prudent advice or
reasoning. Mainly during adolescence, and to some extent during other stages in
life, this strong sentiment of the heart can disconnect us from the power of
thinking rationally, rendering us blind as to the one or more obvious reasons
why we should trust our heads and not our hearts. It is only when we have
matured emotionally, that logic begins to overpower our heart dictates and,
tough as it is , when there is conflict, it commands the path to follow: 
listen to your mind and let the heart heal...

~~~~
KEEPING THE WHEEL IN MOTION
   Let's forget for a moment the relevance of  who invented the wheel;.instead, let's figure out how to keep it moving forward. Think of it this way, if all the wheels in this world were to stop suddenly at  the same time - could you imagine the consequences? In this  instance, the wheel  is being associated with positive thinking which in turn yields  all types of inventions, production, labor of any kind, commitment, realization  of ideas, sharing knowledge, and so on. The retrogrades,or the ones who would like to stop the wheel (so hard to turn . . .)  would be  content with an idle body, a negative attitude and a wondering mind focused in  an absent world, waiting for something to happen. In the latter scenario, you  will hear the screeching sound of the wheel coming to an abrupt stop. Not good  for the body, the mind or the world.

~~~~ 

BIRDYJOSH AND BIRDYLU,
A Paper Birds' Story

(Condensed  In a Poem)
(c) Mirta Oliva

 I folded the paper time and again
And so you were born, my Origami paper bird
BIRDYLU  was your name - and you flew and you played
Your eyes always calling for a handsome paper mate 

So I went right along and folded paper again 
And soon he was born, BIRDYJOSH was his name 
The  pair was in love, I noticed one day
Thus I prepared a wedding for the sweet paper birds 

My prayers were answered, you flew in the room 
staring through the window at the green leaves and blooms
I only knew then they‘d be leaving my den 
But I’d always be watching both birdies and hatchlings.

To get seeds and other goodies they'd get out of the  roost
safeguarding their 'lil bodies by the light of the high moon
The birds built their nests - the chicks came and went 
And  Boxer my cat would not go  near them

 For it  happened one day, BIRDYLU was surprised  
a feathered-chick had arrived -  It really blew her away! 
With only one worm -   what was she to do?   
When two little beaks were begging for food!

It was then that I told her, you must feed both birds
The one with the feathers and the one  of papier  
So BIRDYLU fed both chicks and soon they would play 
Minding not a bit of what they were made    
 
And when the time was near for the feathered little chick 
To join her own breed, I saw more than one tear . . . 
All birds shared the forest very close to my backyard 
So  they would see each other  by the silver moon at night 
  
One day I arranged
 a big party in the skies 
 What a  sight, what a night,
I could not believe my eyes!
 
With the  colors of the rainbow more chicks were born
 They all lived in  harmony, they all shared the fun 
And BIRDYJOSH and BIRDYLU, dressed in red, green , yellow and  blue
remained always together, forever true . . . 

BELOW, VIEW SAMPLE PICTURES FROM THE BOOK
(This Website and its contents are protected by
Copyright Laws)
 .

A STAR NAMED "D"

  A  luminous star shines in the skies
She is not alone, but there she lies
looking about and around...

  Oh, how we rejoice to have just found
her tiny twinkles pointing  down
forever watching her prior loving  grounds.

                                            Her name is "D" 
                                          No  star beams so free
                                          yet, there she is for all to see...

                                              With no regrets, forever at  piece
                                            She lived indeed a noble life
                                            so full of  glee...
                                                                                                                    Lovingly by M. Oliva -
                                                                                                 9-22-2010

Please visit
http://www.olivaarteshow.com
To view a sample of my artwork
ALSO, on this page click "Blog" to view "Mirta's Blog of Ideas"

THANKS FOR VISITING THESE SITES