Kathy's Home Page

Kathy Bentley's Homepage

This is ME!

Who Am I ?

Why am I here? Hey, this is my eye!

What is the meaning of Life?

"I think, therefore I am."--Rene Descartes

This is one of the many questions I ask myself all the time--"Who am I?"

As well as the other most fundamental philosophical questions--"Why am I here?"

"Where was I before I was here, in this life?" "What happens after this life is over?" "Is there a purpose?" "What is the meaning of life?" "Is there a higher being--a creator?" "If there is a creator, what is the creator's purpose for the Universe, for Life...for my Life?"

MY ANSWER? I don't have just one. And for most of the questions, I don't know the answers yet, but I know that I'm here for a reason. So much for being esoteric; here are some facts about me on the most basic level. In this life, I am Kathryn Ann Kienzle Bentley. I am married to Robert Bentley. I have two children--Sean, 17, and Laura, 15. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art, a minor in Philosophy. I have taken Art Education and am certified to teach Kindergarten through 12th grade. I didn't become a teacher when I first got out of college because of "Life" and "Fate"(lack of job opportunities at the time and different types of jobs coming up after that)! Maybe I am supposed to "teach" in other ways? I have had more than a few adventures after getting my formal education and the present. Some were very strange and some mundane, but all have led me to the point where you find me today. I may be a weird person, but I still like me! (ha ha!)

But, of course, I wouldn't be who I am now if I hadn't gone through the experiences that brought me to this point, would I? A couple of goals of mine are someday to be a famous artist and author. I know already that I can do artwork fairly well; I just want to improve what talents I have (...and become "famous"). As for being an author, I started writing a book--my first! So with writing, I will be testing the water. I think I can do it too! I am still writing it though, only a little more inspiration and a hundred or so pages to go! (Ha Ha!) It is a "science fiction/fantasy", I guess, but doesn't totally fit in a category. I thought it might be easier to write and illustrate a children's book first?? Hmmmm? (Definitely not as long as a novel!) But, I am still working on the Sci-Fi book. In the meantime, I am a freelance artist and am always looking for the perfect job, until I finish/sell my book, of course! (ha ha!) For a few years I had been doing substitute teaching and applying to be an art teacher locally, but still haven't gotten a job doing that yet, usually because they need someone who can teach more than one subject. So, I've been considering painting portraits or opening an art studio/gallery!?? Proposing an art education television show? Getting a state job...Winning the lottery...Maybe just selling artwork...Hmmm??
Well, I haven't answered any of my earlier questions here except literally what I am doing which I suppose really isn't an answer. Sometimes I think that there is some truth in "reincarnation", the progression of souls/consciousness through many lifetimes (no, not coming back as an animal but as a human). Sometimes I think that we are part of a multi-verse, a many layered, interdimensional universe. Sometimes I think that all there is, is "nothingness"--that we are born and we will die and that is it. I think that I have a mix of all the varieties of religious study and philosophical ponderings that I have be exposed to throughout my life, jumbled together with some scientific theories, and spurted out into my own ideology. I don't believe in heaven and hell, but I do think that there is some kind of "afterlife", at least "consciousness". I like to think that we are here for a "reason", but I don't really know what it is? Most of the time, I think we "exist"/we are "here" for a reason, probably to "learn"--to progress in this life as much as we can and to "enjoy" the journey. I think there is a higher consciousness beyond our own, and I call that "God". I think there is a "purpose" for Life beyond just being alive, probably to raise the consciousness of humanity to a higher level. As far as the rest of the questions go, I still haven't figured out all of the answers although I do have a few theories. I'll let you know if and when I do find the answers though and hopefully I'll be able to articulate my thoughts well enough so that someone else can understand what I am trying to say! I've heard that it is cliche to ask "Why" questions, but maybe I am simplistic in that way because I really do wonder what is going on and I do want to "know" if it is possible to "know"! It is hard to imagine how to live every day and "never" think about it. I just hope that if and when I reach this enlightenment presuming I do someday, I hope I don't instantly die! Ha ha! Well for now, I am still trying to figure it out!...I am still kicking!

"You never know where experience leads you..."--(...a quote from a Zen lesson I read somewhere!)

Most of my time is spent doing my favorite thing, which is taking care of my two kids: Sean, and Laura; many pets (four cats, one "inside" dog, and two "outside" dogs; and, of course, spending a lot of my time with my husband, Robert!

Click here to see a few pictures of all of us!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't! You are right!"--Henry Ford

As I said before I fantasize about being a famous author as well as a renowned artist! When not really dreaming or daydreaming, I like to draw and paint when I take advantage of the opportunity. I guess my "drug" of choice is television; I do seem to have an addiction to TV and videos though which keeps me from doing some things I ought to do! Computers, too, come to think of it! ;-)

"Eat right, exercise, die anyway!"--from a very fatalistic bumpersticker ;-)

I have also always liked to read, especially books having to do with science-fiction ("think outside the box" books, fantasy ("imagination or is it?" books), mysteries and the "mysterious", philosophy ("Why?" books), parapsychology and the paranormal (What other realities are there?), young adult/children's books (ex., Harry Potter series)/(little kid books to decide if I could do the artwork or write one), history, art ("What can I say?"), and architecture (I wanted to be an architect a one time!), etc....

"If at first you don't succeed, blame it on someone else, then get counseling!"--another joking bumpersticker ;-p

When it comes down to it probably more than anything else, I just like to think about things, try to figure out why I am here and what is going on, and to talk about what I think about with a kindred spirit or two...

"I am always in the hope of
Making a discovery by
Wedding two complementary colors,
Their mingling and opposition
The mysterious vibration of
Kindred spirits."--Vincent Van Gogh

My Artwork

My goal is to be the best artist that I can be...and to try to do the best that I can at whatever I do and being an artist seems to be where most of my talent lies. The medium that I work best in is drawing with pencil, followed by painting--watercolors, oils, and acrylics. I mainly do portraits and some fantasy subjects. I would like to get in some local art shows held throughout the year, so I will be doing as many paintings as possible in preparation. Many are juried shows, so I will need some really good samples in order to be considered for each. I had two paintings chosen to be on display in the annual "Paris on Paseo" exhibition (October 2005) at a Paseo art gallery in the Paseo Art District in Oklahoma City. Soon I will put those online.
Click here to see some other examples of my artwork.

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There are more pages than this as well, but that is part of the fun of looking at a website, finding them. ;-)
Really when it comes down to it, it is about finding what interests you!

NOTE: I read today (April 23, 20009) that Geocities was no longer going to continue with the Geocities Websites in the late summer 2009, so I will place the information on this website on a new site after the time when this site's availablity changes. I will still have a website, just a different URL. :-)

To see SEAN AND LAURA'S POKEMON PAGES, click here!

Sean and Laura's POKEMON Pages
My kids were obsessed with Pokemon like so many kids in America and Japan were, I guess!
Even though they are too old for it now, they still occasionally like to look at them. I left this page up for them! :-)
I am making them an anime page because now they love the Hayao Miyazaki animes, like Princess Mononoke,
Spirited Away, My Neighbor, Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle In the Sky & Howl's Moving Castle, and a variety of
Japanese animes on cable/YouTube, like Full Metal Alchemist, DragonBall Z, Bleach, Inuyasha,
Case Closed, Cowboy Bebop, Naruto, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, Wolf's Rain, Blood Trinity,
Avatar--Last of the Airbenders (American, I think, not Japanese), etc.

FULL METAL ALCHEMIST
Laura loves Full Metal Alchemist, a Japanese anime about two young brothers
who learn to use alchemy to try to bring their mother back to life.

To see LAURA'S SAILOR MOON PAGE, click here!

LAURA'S SAILOR MOON PAGE
Laura decided a few years ago that she loved Sailor Moon; this was for her!
(and for her cousin, Lauren!) They are both obsessed
with anime and manga (Japanese animation and printed cartoons).

WE LOVE THE MOON!
SPONGMONKEYS
Ugly, but I like their song! One of my favorites! Funny!

I wish they would bring back new episodes of Highlander or create a new show!

I LOVE THE HIGHLANDER SERIES!
If there is anything to a past life, I must have been
a swashbuckling swordfighter in some lifetime because I used to love to
watch HIGHLANDER and Highlander: The Raven! Also, I was on the
fencing team in college and I was pretty good at it! Hmmmm?!

LA FEMME NIKITA
I started watching this TV show in the fall of 2003 and really liked it. I wish they
would have made more of these episodes, but it isn't even on cable here anymore. :-(
I guess that watching James Bond movies and Mission Impossible episodes
when I was younger made me like spy shows and the "save the world" mentality prevailed!
This is way before the "Heroes'" "Save the Cheerleader" campaign! Ha ha!

I can almost see myself!
M. C. ESCHER
He was one of the best artists ever in my opinion! I wish
I could draw as well as he could with so many intricacies!

One of the greatest stories of all time!

THE LORD OF THE RINGS
I first read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion
when I was 16 and loved them ever since and anything to do with them!

A Unique Musician, who disembodied too soon!

JIMMIE SPHEERIS MEMORIAL
Jimmie Spheeris was an eccentric, interesting musician who was an influential person in my appreciation of music when
I was a teenager. On March 1, 2000, I read on the internet that he had been killed in a motorcycle wreck in the 1980's;
although I didn't know until then that he had died, I was truly saddened to realize that he had disappeared from the face of the
earth in such a "permanent" way! You really have to be in the mood for his music. It is often melancholy, but equally ethereal,
"spacy" in general. His lyrics give you the impression that he believed in other realities beyond this one and probably
in multiple lifetimes, "life after death"... He succeeded in describing the seemingly indescribable by "painting"
pictures with his words, creating mental imagery unlike anyone else's. I was able to see him in concert two or three times.
I am glad I was lucky enough to hear him perform in person.