StumbleUpon | kathysart's blog posts

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/36838034/

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:05:02 -0700

Subject: Join me in standing with Dawn

Hi,

For two years, CIGNA has denied Dawn Smith treatment for her brain tumor. She's had enough, so she's heading to Philadelphia to confront CIGNA's CEO in person.

Dawn wants to make sure that CIGNA can't ignore her when she gets there, so she's been collecting hundreds of pill bottles with messages of support along the way.

But MoveOn is taking it up a notch. They're collecting thousands of statements of support online, putting them in pill bottles, and delivering them to Philadelphia in time for Dawn's big arrival. I just sent one in and it's being printed now. Will you join me in standing with Dawn at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/dawnmessage/

Thanks!

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/33392883/

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:51:52 -0700

Looking to self.. where are we within any given picture? We all have insecurities. Perhaps YOU will see yourself in this story.

Such a fairy
such a sacrifice
a bloodletting
would be her demise?

She stood outside the doorway
looking in.
If she could have
she would've let those roses
bleed
to their pitiful death.
A bloodletting of the infant soul
heartaches till now
not fully disclosed.

Whimsical angel
drown out all those intrusions
scissors that cut away
well meaning
but distant
compared to other keyholes
and villain
moles.

Stairways usually lead to
somewhere.
Bandages usually cover wounds.
Fairies
can drown in a drop of dew
if you aren't watching
carefully.

Who sees?

Everyone gets lost
from their own selves
once in awhile
pieces of memories
stored
come predictably
from clouds
exposing leaves on trees
all
most pitifully
dried out.

Slipping under the surface
of any painting you choose
it is there in the artists deliverance
because...
she sees
"YOU".

So let me paint your portrait
will you?
Create a setting
past the rhythm of routine
now that we've exposed YOU
my caring queen
past the shroud
clarity set
truth
aroused?
Surprised of the turn
about?

Aroused are you?

Past any fairy
you stumbled upon
broken
there between your breaths
she and I
found
YOU.
Bloodletting
not yet through.

So stop and think
at this very second
reflect on WHO YOU
are.

Afraid...
are you?
A bit exposed now?

YOU wonder
saying
this is stupid
I thought this was a story about a fairy
bleeding
this is NOT about ME.

You've been caught!
YOU
sorting out lost ambitions
stifling your soul
waiting
for neglected days
to come
out
waiting for them
to unfold.

Surprised...
are you?
That all of this is not about a fairy
at all..
it is not about her bloodletting
it is all about
YOU.
It is indeed a trick
designed to pull
YOU
helplessly
out.

I saw your last night
wondered about your words
misspoken
maybe?
Yes.. you have been
found
out.

And all I have to say to you
at this point is
lets gather all those pieces of what you left
behind
that you have
in the back of your mind
been crying about.
Right?

Time to paint a new portrait
self
coming out.

by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2009

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/32992745/

Thu, 21 May 2009 12:22:43 -0700

No message other than that... "Dick" is evil.

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/31363591/

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:44:00 -0700

Happiness verses UN-Happy? Feeling sadness verses feelings of elation?

I was prompted by someone dear to me to consider what happiness is and how to find it. I must tell you ahead of time that I am an artist and my consideration of happiness might be distorted from yours.. yes you may think so. My approach is that we are ALL floundering to find our way. We stumble, recognize the pebbles and sometimes boulders and then? We continue on because we have learned a few things. (?)

Take me with a grain of salt and perhaps your own conclusions as well.

You can't let anyone, be it spouse or lover, put you in a 'specific' box, just because you don't know what kind of box works for you. Just because what makes them happy does not make you happy, does not mean that you can't be happy, once you FIND what makes you happy. You can't settle for what someone else loves in life, just because you don't know yet. Just because you don't feel the same as another person, does not mean there is something wrong with you.

Here is what "I" think...

Happiness is a very elusive thing... overrated as I have said before to some who know me. It comes in spurts.. and I think most times we don't recognize it when it is...

ALL AROUND US...

and then...

It is gone.

We have to try to see it when it is there though and then begin to embrace it. The more we do, the more we will understand what there was/is about it that makes us feel that way. I think it is much easier to cradle.. coddle even, pain and the dark side. I do that... that is what art is about to me. I am just being honest as an artist with the artist's soul I was born with. I have always said and felt too, that there is nothing particularly "interesting about happy". It just isn't that interesting... and does not spring forth any great works of art. There are many who would beg to differ with me... and I understand their approach to things, but it just does not work for me. Am I doomed for depression? At times I guess yes. A bitter pill is swallowed and I hold it within my trembling hands before I partake... each and every single time.

Consider...

I think there is a part of ME that does not really want to be happy... in happy there is no art, not what I consider to be true art... no true passion and the mere fact that it is so fleeting makes it too fragile to deal with. So again I go back to "What is INTERESTING about happy?"

There is a spot inside everyone's soul that seeks to understand their passion... and so they eternally lust after it. I do. You do, even if you deny that it might come artistically... it does. If God exists at all, it is in creativity. He/she... IT... IS CREATIVITY. Consider flowers in the desert. To deny that part of yourself.. or for me to put it on the shelf, is in fact the greatest sin. But as I wrote... this is just me, take it or leave it.

I say...

FEEL DEEPLY

SEEK WHAT YOU FEEL WITH A LOVERS LUST AND FEED THAT PASSION.

And if you don't know what it is? It is NEVER up to ANYONE else to tell you or to confine you in theirs...

the RESPONSIBILITY IS YOURS.

This is after all... YOUR LIFE.

Life is fragile and yet... difficult to kill. We give it away or we honor it... it is up to you and up to me to do with it as we will.

The mix of happiness and unhappiness is so that we will know the difference.

We are not in Africa watching our baby being held high with a sword... that is not unhappy, that is evil. So we can't confuse those things with atrocities. We must recognize them though.. because it takes true passion to overcome evil.

Back to being happy? IS IT in those fleeting seconds that are within a song that makes us feel that we can indeed fly? If so, that is passion known.

To neglect it is like leaving a baby on the

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/28809935/

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:33:20 -0800

"Mr. Magnusen"
36x48x2 oil on canvas
by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

Artist's Statement:

Mr. Magnusen, the subject of my painting, shares many of my same memories. We grew up not far from one another In S. California and later attended the same high school. It was in high school that I fell in love with Dennis G Magnusen. That love story was put on hold for some 30 years.

In 1967 Dennis was drafted by the US Army, and subsequently went to Vietnam in 1968. Circumstances and follies of youth would cause us to follow separate paths.

While in Vietnam Dennis was strongly affected by the children he saw there. "Children were never meant to experience war", he told me years later. He decided that he wanted to do his part to change the world. "Real change in any society begins with the children," was Dennis' mantra, so he became a teacher. He worked with gang zone high school kids in the evenings and intermediate students in the afternoon. Grades of F's and D's were bought up to A's and B's. Mr. Magnusen reached beyond his own expectations, leading kids to an understanding of their own worth, thus opening doors to their potential futures. He created a surf club and got the community to help. He was often featured on local TV and newspapers as someone who was making a difference in children's lives. Dennis also became a Mentor teacher, lending help to other educators. Being somewhat of a rebel he advised fellow teaches of ideas that reached beyond standard textbook techniques.

Sadly the ghost of Vietnam took away Mr. Magnusen's strength in the form of Peripheral Neuropathy, caused by Agent Orange. By 1990 he was too ill to continue his beloved teaching career. It broke his heart. Seeking rest, relief from stress, needing a special place to deal with the physical pain that comes with Small Nerve Fiber Neuropathy, he relocated to Hawaii. Hawaii has been his solace and a cool breeze when memories of who he once was for kids becomes faint.

About three months ago "Mr. Magnusen" was contacted by a former student. Amy had been looking for him for eighteen years. She had heard he had died from Agent Orange complications, but still hoped that she would find him. You see, Amy became a teacher and she wanted to find Mr. Magnusen to tell him how much he had affected her life. While working on her Masters in Literature, Amy wrote a paper describing the most influential person in her life. That person was Mr. Magnusen. Amy called to tell Mr. Magnusen that she wanted to make a difference in this world too. For a teacher there can be no greater reward.

As for me? I found Dennis once again after 30 years, through a miracle of circumstance, but that I guess is another story.

~ Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2008

~~*~~

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/28810126/

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:32:15 -0800

Congratulations, you're a winner! Your art has been selected for the barebrush N*des-of-the-Month January 2009 calendar by D.S. Wade of First Street Gallery in Chelsea (NYC).

Ilene Skeen
CEO
ILS Designs, LLC
372 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7D
New York, NY 10018

Tel: 917-806-7992

http://www.barebrush.com
dedicated to the art of the nude

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/28205031/

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:25:04 -0800

Remember that contest I asked everyone to help me with?

Claudia Seymour Picks "Primal 1" for Barebrush Competition?

I WON!!

Yup! Thanks to you guys and my MySpace friends...

I WON!!

THANK YOU!!

Kathy

~~*~~

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/26314677/

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:44:41 -0700

Aloha from Kathy,

It is not always comfortable to speak out but necessary.

I am most disturbed by some of the recent political tactics of Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin regarding Barack Obama and the idea that he is connected to terrorism. Thus, I have written a statement below to be sent to the Republican and Democratic Party, and to the media.

IF you agree with my opinion, please pass it on.

Cut and Paste these demands or write your own and send to one or the entire list provided at the bottom. Unfortunately, you cannot send them all at once, they will come back.

Thank you,

Kathy

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

Dear Sir or Madam:

The latest McCain/Palin tactic of promoting the idea that Barack Obama is connected to terrorism is totally unacceptable.

This is dangerous and everybody KNOWS it!

This is NOT about choices; this is about inciting emotional upheaval that could in fact produce the next crazy. They are rabble-rousing and treading on dangerous ground.

I personally demand that Senator McCain and Governor Palin rebuke the roar of the crowds that they have created. Hold a press conference and DEFUSE their latest smear tactics against Barack Obama.

This is dangerous and needs to stop immediately! We, as Americans, DEMAND that McCain and Palin stop this outrageous behavior and do as he so often says, `put country first.'

We are Americans and we are better than this!

Signed: YOUR NAME, CITY, STATE and ZIP CODE HERE

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

SEND to one or all of the following:

Republican National Committee:

Office of the Chairman
Mike Duncan, RNC Chairman
Phone: 202-863-8700
Fax: 202-863-8820
Email: Chairman@gop.com

Political
Campaign Operations
Voter Programs
Phone: 202-863-8600
Fax: 202-863-8808
Email: Political@gop.com

More places to contact within the RNC:

http://www.gop.com/Connect/ContactUs.htm

Democratic National Committee:

Tell the DNC to put pressure on the RNC.

You will need to go to their site to enter a message, cut and paste mine or write your own. Email can be sent at:

http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contactissues

Mailing Address:
Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Main Phone Number:
202-863-8000
(For questions about contributions, please call 877-336-7200)

Media Email List

Network/Cable Television

ABC News
77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777
General e-mail: netaudr@abc.com

Nightline: nightline@abcnews.com
20/20: 2020@abc.com

CBS News
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893

Email forms for all CBS news programs

CBS Evening News: evening@cbsnews.com
The Early Show: earlyshow@cbs.com
60 Minutes II: 60II@cbsnews.com
48 Hours: 48hours@cbsnews.com
Face The Nation: ftn@cbsnews.com

CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1906
Email forms for all CNN news programs:

http://www.cnn.com/feedback

Fox News Channel
1211 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 301-3000
Fax: (212) 301-4229
comments@foxnews.com
List of Email addresses for all Fox News Channel programs

Special Report with Brit Hume: Special@foxnews.com
FOX Report with Shepard Smith: Foxreport@foxnews.com
The O'Reilly Factor: Oreilly@foxnews.com
Hannity & Colmes: Hannity@foxnews.com, Colmes@foxnews.com
On the Record with Greta: Ontherecord@foxnews.com

NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: 212-664-4444
Fax: 212-664-4426

List of Email addresses for all NBC news programs

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: nightly@msnbc.com
NBC News Today: today@nbc.com
Dateline NBC: dateline@nbc.com

MSNBC
One MSNBC Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: (201) 583-5000
Fax: (201) 583-5453

CNBC
2200 Fletcher Ave.
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Phone: (201) 585-2622
Fax: (201) 583-5453

List of Email addresses for all MSNBC news programs
Hardball with Chris Matthews: hardball@msnbc.com
MSNBC Reports with Joe Scarborough: msnbcre

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/26078760/

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:40:36 -0700

The clear winner of the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin was Joe Biden. He has a clear sense of the issues.

Sarah learned her lines well and I am sure her passion meets the 'speeches' she projected. The policies of McCain/Bush spoke louder than Palin's 'rehearsed' lines though, as Biden proved his knowledge on the issues and did some fact checks on Palin's assertions.

What disturbed me most about the VP debate was Sarah Palin's suggestion that she wants MORE power than Cheney. Wow! Thinking of that scenario is stunning. I thought the RNC was about less government... no? The idea of more power, not balanced power, is scary and not Constitutional.

There was a very poignant moment when Joe Biden choked up, as he referenced his own experience of being a single father with a sick child. It was more than disturbing to watch Palin not even take pause, as she bolted in with her memorized rhetoric. It unveiled the truth of her character. Her objective to get out her cued message, regardless of present circumstances, gave a peek into her psyche, as one who does not have the ability to notice the struggles of real people in their everyday lives.

Palin's reference to "Joe six pack" and her back at 'cha' charm, is cute, but it is not what I hope to see in a leader. I am not looking for someone to go to soccer games or have a beer with, or someone who relates to dishes in the sink, in a VP or President....that's called a 'girlfriend'. I am looking for someone who is smart and understands the critical issues that meet society and the world. That person is not Sarah Palin and it is not John McCain, who voted with Bush 90% of the time. There is simply no avoiding those numbers.

Bottom line in this election it is about America's policies and each of the parties platforms. It is not a personality contest, it is way too important for that.

http://kathysart.stumbleupon.com/review/26001963/

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:07:17 -0700

Facts of the Vietnam War-We Learned From That? Or Did We? Who Will You VOTE For?

Facts of the Vietnam War?
Lots of people died
Vietnam War pictures
prove that.
History
defines us
we learn
regain our strength
pull up our bootstraps
and then ask
for more...
Do we?

If somebody asked you to defend them
would you?
And if you would
just how far would that line go?

Line in the sand
is there one?
Does it stretch across the desert
or end before your feet
take
one single step
forward?

So you are thinking it all over
are you?
Dare I say
I hope so?
What depths does life depends on
what line is worth defending?

How many lines have been obscured
before you even look out your window
have your morning coffee
read your newspaper
listen to the news
on TV?

How many tokens does it take?
How many bumper stickers
how many walls
how many monuments
how many gravestones
uniforms
folded flags
passed on
to the next grieving family?

Who do we allow
to send a son to war
and now a daughter too?
How many orphans will we allow
a decision maker
make?

Who
do we allow
to set that contract
telling a mother
a father
a husband
a wife
a sister
a brother
and the most pitiful of all
a child
of a human race
to race on.

Who?
do you
VOTE for
Who?
Do you
allow to set the stakes
and for what victory?

If somebody asked you to defend them
would you?
And if you would
just how far would that line go?

Thinking it over
decided on that line?
Set with your thinking
are you?
Or maybe
just maybe
does it all need to be better
defined?

Facts of the Vietnam War?
Lots of people died
Vietnam War pictures
prove that.
History
defines us
we learn
regain our strength
pull up our bootstraps
and then ask
for more...
Do we?

by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2008

~~*~~

First image is of my painting:
"Denny"~detail
30x40x2 oil on canvas

ABOUT Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

I paint and sculpt female fantasy art and map fairy tale adventures. I dream of beautiful women on canvas and art of exotic women.

I have illustrated for Hay House Inc.,"Meditations For Women Who Do Too Much" CARDS, taken from Anne Wilson Schaef's book. I also illustrated for Neil Davidson, who was considered for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing, and several other publications. My paintings are collected worldwide.

Giclee canvas art work, greeting cards and posters are available for sale on my website:

http://www.kathysart.com

Sign up for my mailing list for FREE ART GIFTS suitable for children: Drawings of whimsical angel pictures, legends of mermaids and fairies in art. Tiny angels whisper fantasy art for shrink art, or coloring pages. Also a "Letter From the Tooth Fairy", ya just never know when you might need one!

I am Represented by:

Monkdogz Urban Art, Inc., 547 West 27th Street, 5th floor, New York, NY 10001

ORIGINAL ART may be purchased through Monkdogz

http://www.monkdogz.com

Check out my Squidoo Lens:

http://www.squidoo.com/martinlutherkingvideoshowcase

~~*~~

Peripheral Neuropathy HELP and SUPPORT:

http://www.neuropathy.org

The Neuropathy Association is the leading national non-profit organization serving the peripheral neuropathy community. We provide support and education, advocate for patients' interests, and promote research into the causes of and cures for neuropathy.