My Favorite Artist

Here is a photo of my favorite artist at work. My seven-year-old daughter Lily. I can't determine whether creating, acting or reading is at the top of her list. I guess it just depends on her mood.

For the past two weeks she went to the Penn State art camp for kids. The morning session was "Bugs" and the afternoon session was "Endangered Species". Regardless of the name, much creating was done. Which was fine by my daughter.

Last Friday, there were two art exhibits for her camps. I attended the morning event and hubby went in the afternoon. Between both classes, here is what we brought home:

I must say that my daughter was quite, uh, prolific. This "pile" does not include the artwork that is hanging on the shelves behind the table. Nor does it include the "panda" sculpture from the Endangered Species camp. I call it "Demento", but I am looking for better names.
When it came home from camp, my daughter and I talked about it for a few minutes, then I set in down on the kitchen counter. Later that night, when we were sure she was asleep, we looked at Demento together and, well, laughed. Hard and loud. But it was created by Lily and that makes it sweet. Almost. It looks almost as if it were created by two different people. Or, at least, two different personalities.

So, if anyone has a better name for this creature, please let me know.

More Talent in Their Little Fingers

It is Sunday. For some, the beginning of a new week. For others, the last day of the weekend. For me, the week starts on Monday. But this week is special. It is Arts Fest week. My favorite week of the year. So I will start it early. Today. Sunday.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts brings over 300 artists to my town. Good artists. Half of the festival is on the Penn State campus, the rest runs through several blocks near the campus. Since I live a half-block from campus, I have no excuse for not attending. So I attend every day. Sometimes several times in one day. I’ve been doing extra walking the last couple of weeks to get into shape for this event.

It is an exciting and humbling experience. Sure there are always a couple of artists I feel on par with, but the majority are inspiring and sometimes intimidating. I guess that is good thing. I plan on sharing my favorite artists with readers later in the week, but I thought I would get in a little practice today.

Today is a beautiful day. The kind of day you wake up to chirping birds and sunshine. The kind of day that makes you want to jump out of bed and get going. So that is just what I did today. I got on the computer and got going (yes, I will go outside later). I spent this morning looking for inspiration and talent, and darned if I didn’t find it.

For several weeks now, my favorite blogs sidebar has included The Cart Before the Horse. I can say that the artists make stuffed dolls. That would be like saying the Sahara Desert has a bit of sand. Jo James and her husband Dylan Curry (and their children) are amazing artists. I spent this lovely morning exploring their blogs, Ebay store, music videos, etc.

This morning I woke up feeling like a talented artist. Now, I’m thinking of what I can do to get just a small piece of one of their pinkie fingers in order to get some REAL talent. I have to say, I felt a little down a while ago. Why was the motherlode of talent dropped on their family? But now, I just get to sit back and enjoy it, revel in it, swim in it. Someone else has to create it.

Go on and have a look. Expect to spend a bit of time.

The Cart Before the Horse
Website
Paperhand Lincoln

Cloak of Invisibility

We've been into Harry Potter around here lately. My daughter has seen the movie (at least four times) and plays parts of the movie out throughout the day. She is now running around in her cloak of invisibility.

I feel as if I've been wearing that cloak lately. I've sent several emails out about joining Etsy teams, about being interviewed for a made-in-Pennsylvania group, and questions of Etsy sellers. No responses. Perhaps I'm a bit curt in my requests. I don't know. And now I've just discovered that one of my favorite blogs has just become members only. There's just something that felt like I was going to visit a friend and having them shut the door in my face. Not that they ever paid a visit to my blog and left a message. But that's ok. I guess they did not want me or others like me peaking in on their life. But why the hell have a blog? I guess I'll go and remove them from my blog list.

I do want to thank those that come and read my blog and especially those that leave comments. I do not take you for granted. I promise to do my best to entertain you in the future. And when I fail and do nothing but complain, like today, I apologize.

Perhaps my crankiness is brought on by two days of non-creativity. I am trying to get ready for my little show. I've spent two days attaching hangers and doing paperwork. Today I must do price tags and label all my work. More of that tomorrow. I hang everything up on Monday or Tuesday & I guess Wednesday will be saved for catching up on the things that will fall through the cracks before Wednesday.

Thursday begins the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Christmas in July! 325 artists! Four days of art, bands, and bad food. I love it! I'll only come home to shower and sleep. It will be an inspiring event, but it will be over a week before I have the chance to create anything new.

Hopefully, I can regale you with info. on my favorite artists.

46 and Yearning

Born a Poet, 6.5 x 4.5"

Yes, it is still June, but I have already turned my calendar to July. My birthday month.

Birthdays are no longer the joyous occasions they were when I was a child. Actually, they were quite fun until I turned 30. At 30, I was not freaked out about aging. I was freaked out about where I was in my life. I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. At 29, I was in a pretty good spot. I was doing computer graphics for an environmental company outside of Washington D.C. I was creating 300 slides for my company’s presentation in China. I had moved up from being a “word processor” typing in a room with 3 others to having my own office, and well, moving on up. I turned 30, the company was cutting back, and suddenly I was being informed that I would be assisting the receptionist, processing the mail, and making travel plans for those who actually got to go out into the world. WTF. I was NOT going to go backwards at the age of 30. So I quit. To do what, I didn’t know.

And almost 16 years later, I still do not know. Did I end up going backwards? Or was it sideways? Whichever way I went, I am apparently still going in that direction.

I want to write positive things on my blog. People seem to like that. When I’m positive, I blog a great deal. When I’m not, I don’t. Hence, my being quiet for the past few days. And now here comes July, my birthday, the time to evaluate my accomplishments over the past year. I won’t be going into that here. Part of the plan to keep this blog positive.

When I was in college, I yearned to get out into the world and make my mark. When I turned 30 and quit my job, I yearned to do something creative. Now that I am doing something creative, I yearn to make a living from it. I wish someone could get paid for yearning. But that is not the way the world works.

What am I going to do with the last half of my life? Yeah, the last half (or should I say second half). Whatever. It’s half over. I’m a half-empty-glass sort of person. I’m thinking that if you took a poll on how long people wanted to live, most would say 90. So here I am, going on over to 46 in a few days. It sounds, and feels, much different that 45.

What do I want for my birthday? I want a human GPS system. I want a firm, but friendly, vaguely British sounding woman to tell me to go 5.4 miles and take a left. When I accidentally blow past this turn, I want to hear the word “recalculating.” Then I want new instructions. I feel aimless. Actually, I feel like one of those cartoon characters that is heading off in a certain direction, where up ahead and out of sight, brickmasons are rapidly building a wall. And you know this character is going to walk right into it. Sigh.

My small goal this week, is to complete two more smallish pieces for the show next week. Yesterday I finished off four more of the teeny bird pieces. When this is done, I will take some time and do some yearning and see if I can find some direction. I’ve thought about adding some maps to my work. Perhaps this will help.

And now for some YouTube nostalgia, here’s a song from my college yearning days.

Hope and Possibility

Benefits of Sunshine I, II and III, each 10 x 10"

I have a short show coming up in a couple of weeks!

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts runs July 8-12. While I am not a participating artist (yet), I will be showing my work at Happy Valley Optical on Allen Street in State College. What? Purchase eyewear and art at the same establishment? Sure! Why not! The store is on the festival route & a few of my items will be shown in the window. So, my work will spend a few days in front of potential customers.

It will probably be a couple of weeks before I put any new items on Etsy. I'm saving my new smaller pieces for this show. What does not sell will appear on Etsy soon after. But hey, perhaps everything will sell.

There's always hope.

I will spend the next few days printing up new business cards and trying to find ways to hang my work from the ceiling with fishing wire. The hubby has constructed a stand to place in the display window. We'll cover it with black fabric and lay out some pieces on that. I will also have the use of a large table in the store. This is where I will display some of the teeny bird pieces on little easels. Which I must go out now and buy.

If all goes well (and possibly if not), I will have a "full" exhibit at the store this fall. I am looking forward to this possibility.

Birds, Book, Calvin Klein is Still a Prick

Birds

These are my two newest birds, available on Etsy. They are both 6.5 x 4.5" and are $26.00. There are at least two more to come this week. My Etsy shop will be well stocked soon, as I will be adding a new house quilt (as soon as I can name it), three 10 x 10" pieces, and pieces from my Ebay store which I am closing down.

I spent an hour or so this past Saturday at our local antiques mall looking for more vintage books. No luck. I did find a seller on Etsy just a few minutes ago. It's difficult to buy a vintage book without actually seeing it, smelling it, and feeling the pages. But I have no choice. So new inspiration for these little quilts will be coming in the mail soon.

Book

As I was suspecting, the next chapter in Eat, Pray, Love has left me unsatisified. Unlike the completely enjoyable Italy chapter, this one leaves me feeling inadequate. I am not as enlightened as our dear writer. I have not come close to meeting God. Or course, I haven't been trying. Apparently, it takes vast amounts of work. You must leave your life behind, head to India, and live in an Ashram for months at a time. I have a feeling that there's a load of people in this world that aren't gonna be finding God anytime soon.

Mediation is the word of the day here. For hours. I did not feel sorry for our dear author when her mantra was not working for her. She selected a new one. Seemed to work. I do have a feeling that I'm probably not the only person who felt somewhat repelled by this chapter. Sure, meditate away if that is what does it for you. But I have a feeling the majority of this world's residents just don't have that kind of time, nor the money to run away to find themselves. Their mantras probably relate to the economy. . . pay the bills pay the bills pay the bills.

Should I assume this is the only way. It is one way. It is also a way for someone to earn some money. Would a drumming circle give the same effect? What about just loving and hugging each other? Is it necessary to sit outside and be bitten by mosquitoes for two hours, just for the sake of doing it and getting through it?

Still, this section is not a complete loss for me. On page 178, there is a discussion on selecting your thoughts. Eliminating the bad. Ms. Gilbert mindfully repeats the thought, "I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore." This is something positive to take away.

And speaking of unhealthy thoughts . . .

Calvin Klein is Still a Prick

I've done some Googling this morning and have yet to read about that sign being removed. I have yet to read an apology from Mr. Klein. Therefore, Calvin Klein is still a prick. Men of less "importance" (I say that with a snarl), have been listed on the National Sex Offender Registry. Mr. Klein does not show up on this registry. Yet. I hope that blasted sign is down by October when I go with my family to New York City. Wouldn't it be ridiculous for me to be arrested to attempting to destroy the sign?

Calvin Klein is a Prick

This is a long tirade.  It may contain unpleasant words.  I’m sorry to deviate from my little blog of bird art.  But I must.  If you agree, feel free to pass it on.  If you disagree, just sit and think about it for a while.

For those who have not yet seen Mr. Klein’s latest jeans ad, here is a link.  I will not post the photo here without a link as I’m sure that there are children out there in the blog world who would see it.  There are probably moms who blog with their children in their laps.  I think it is important for a parent to chose whether or not their child views photos with sexual content.

 Am I the only one who feels that it is important for parents to be able to prevent their children from seeing photos of young men and women engaged in a threesome (apparently recently down from a foursome)?  I think that other parents would be in agreement with me.  But not Calvin Klein.  That prick!

Yes, I’m angry.

Who appointed him the Minister of Sexuality.  He did, himself!  I, for one, would like to see him removed from this self-appointed position.

Will I get in trouble for calling Mr. Klein a prick?  Possibly.  I don’t think that my calling anyone a prick could possibly be worse than public 50-foot-tall foursome fornication.  Yep, right there in Times Square in New York City.  Those kiddies on their way to see the Lion King and Mary Poppins (substitute any children’s theatre production) can see things that are usually only seen in the pages of adult magazines and in R-rated movies.

For those who do not know me, I am not a prude.  What two (or three or four or more) consenting adults want to do in the privacy of their own homes, hotel rooms, discreetly parked vehicles, is up to them.  I really don’t care.  These consenting adults can wrap each other up in duct tape and flog each other.  Whatever.  As long as I’m not being forced to participate in any way.  I really have no problem with nudity.  We have no locks on our bathroom doors at home.  We all know what each other looks like in my house.  I have yet to go into a museum and be completely offended by a graphic painting or sculpture.  If Mr. Klein’s ad had shown a topless woman in her Calvin undies, I wouldn’t have cared.  If it had been a man wearing only the skimpiest of marble bags, I wouldn’t have cared.  If I see four streakers on the streets of New York, I’m likely to cheer them on.  My 7-year-old daughter would probably have a good laugh.  But have those same four pretending to engage in sex in front of me in the city street in front of children, and yes, I will want to put a stop to it.

There were comments from readers accompanying this article.  There are a great deal of people in favor of the ad.  I seriously doubt that those who approve have young children.  What many said was that nudity is o.k.  But it is not the nudity that is the problem.  These folks do have some clothes on.  No genitalia is on display.  Not the point!  Some cited Europe as a reason to approve of this ad.  “Europeans would not disapprove of this ad,” some say.  So.  And they are right?  Didn’t their mothers ever say, “Just because those kids (countries) do it, doesn’t mean it’s right?”  Perhaps we should pass on our American beliefs to those European countries.  Yeah, they could start carrying guns to movie theaters just because Americans can do it.

Just who the hell does Calvin Klein think he is to force sex “education” on my child?  Anybody’s child?  Everybody’s child who is in viewing distance of one of his ads?  As I type, is he at a local child care center showing soft-core porn.  Is he planning on slipping his ad into Highlights magazine.  Does that sound like a little too much?  What is the difference between that and his 50-foot ad?

Sure, the economy is affecting everyone lately.  Even Calvin Klein.  Instead of putting out a good product to sell, he’s selling sex instead.  Forcing his ads on the innocent just to line his own damn pockets.  I’m not saying that this ad should be banned.  I am saying that it should be displayed in appropriate places.  Inside magazines, perhaps (not Highlights).   If this is Mr. Klein’s fantasy, fine.  Go for it dude.  Just keep it to yourself and those immediately involved.  Once you start inflicting this on innocent children, you are not an advertiser but a pedophile. 

Let’s put it this way.  Say my neighbor is an eccentric, reclusive man.  He waves my daughter over and shows her this photograph.  I think the police should be summoned.  I would classify that as a case of pedophilia (in its budding state).  But Calvin Klein thinks HE can get away with this?

I may have to update my title. . .

Calvin Klein is a rude, obnoxious Pedophile.

Great Christ, what is he going to do next?  Have men dressed in nothing but trenchcoats going throughout the city and exposing themselves.  Flinging open their coats and requesting our children get on their knees and open their mouths wide? 

I sure hope I didn’t give Mr. Klein and his ad agency full of money whores any ideas.