Not Funny

Perhaps you've noticed -- there have been few posts lately. I'm not too sure why. I've been a bit crabby. I don't want my blog to be a crabby place. I know I have a rant or two. I do enjoy adding to my whining and complaining category. I just prefer to do it in a funny way. I just couldn't summon up the funny today. Or yesterday. Or the day before.

So I've surfed blogs a bit. I've found quite a few angry ones. A few nasty ones (like 'em but not a steady diet of 'em). And many depressing ones. I do want bloggers to write what they think and feel. It's just too heavy for me this week. Maybe its the health care thing getting to me. But we are NOT going into that here.

So, for your enjoyment, here's a photo of me as a child. I was crabby. Or maybe it was just a bookful of bad jokes. I don't recall. Perhaps I had just been forced to eat spinach. I doubt it though, 'cause that's my grandmother's house. I got to eat all kinds of bad-for-you stuff there. Circus peanuts candy (way nasty), Mr. Pibb and all kinds of cheap cheese. I probably have a tummy ache.

Bye for now. I'm off to look for happy things.

One of those Dang Quizzes

A friend of mine tagged me with one of those Facebook quizzes. And then I was supposed to tag 25 other people. I decided I was far too lazy for all of that. I did answer the questions though. So here they are:

1. What time did you get up this morning?
6:45 (yes, on a Sunday)

2. How do you like your steak?
medium rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Up

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Weeds - at present. Frank's Place - all time favorite.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
New Orleans – without the crime

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Fruity Cheerios

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
French

8. What foods do you dislike?
Oversalted junk from chain restaurants

9. Favorite Place to Eat?
Home with food cooked by my husband

10. Favorite dressing?
Otto’s restaurant Maple Balsamic

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Honda Pilot

12. What are your favorite clothes?
Jeans, cool shirts, black boots

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Lots of places: New York, New Orleans, China, Africa, any European country

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
1/2 empty

15. Where would you want to retire?
Paris with nice people (but would it still be Paris?), New Orleans (without the crime), New York. All three.

16. Favorite time of day?
morning

17. Where were you born?
Roanoke, Va

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Most any Olympic event. Don’t like sports much when it is not for an Olympic medal

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
This question is irrelevant

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
This question is irrelevant, too.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
Everyone

22. Bird watcher?
Yes, on an amateur level. Bunny and chipmunk watcher, too. And other cute creatures.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning. Didn’t I kind of answer this already?

24. Do you have any pets?
1 cat and 1 obnoxious dog.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
Not at this time.

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Artist, architect (even though I didn’t know what you called them at the time), stand up comedian.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Dinner at my grandparents’ houses.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
both

9. Are you married?
Yes

30. Always wear your seat belt?
yes

31. Been in a car accident?
Only minor ones

32. Any pet peeves?
Rude people, public spitting, ignorance as a choice

33. Favorite Pizza Topping?
Bacon w/ red onions

34. Favorite Flower?
Lily

35. Favorite ice cream?
chocolate

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
None

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
none.

38. From whom did you get your last email?
Obama’s people

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
An art gallery

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Made art

41. Like your job?
I love it, though the pay is bad

42. Broccoli?
yes

43. What was your favorite vacation?
I’m not sure I’ve had a bad one. If I did, I’ve forgotten it.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
My husband

45. What are you listening to right now?
My husband reading bedtime stories to my daughter

46.Favorite Colors?
Brown and orange

47. How many tattoos do you have?
none

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
Not gonna do that

49. What time did you finish this quiz?
8:15 pm

50. Coffee Drinker?
Shouldn’t drink it, but I slip frequently. Gotta have a vice or two (or three or . . .)

My Favorite Things

The long weekend is over. We must all get back to work now. This is why I'm blog surfing long after I should have gone into the studio. I've done all I can do on Facebook. But first, I must tell my readers important stuff on my blog.

The good new is, in about two hours, I will have Medicine Man completed. I'm hoping to have it photographed and posted in a day or two. The bad news is, until then, I will just have to tell you more things about me that I've probably already revealed before.

Thanks for your comments on my last post. I'm however, proud to be a square. I guess I have labeled myself and that probably is a bad thing. I'm just attracted to squares. Squares of all kinds.

Put three men in a room. One of them is built, bearded and has a motorcycle helmet under his arm. The next one has just climbed out of a swimming pool after an Olympic event and is wearing a gold medal. The third is wearing a plaid shirt with a pocket protector. It's going to be man #3 for me.

If there are several books on a table, I'm going to reach for the square one first. I always want to buy the square greeting card (until I realize extra postage is required). I like square windows, square houses, square boxes.

And just a bit more filler until I can come up with a more profound post . . .


My favorite things:

Squares (duh)
Trees
Books
Chickens
Heat
Good dogs
Cities
Pencils and paper (although I can’t seem to get them together often enough)
Cute little houses
Wine
Kids’ artwork


This week's Ebay auction is Gingko in Amber.













Is everyone out there being productive today?

Summer Rerun #1

My mind is on other things this week instead of blogging. I am reading blogs. But I just can't whip up something exciting and new to post for you guys. So I'm going to do what they do on television - rerun old episodes.

This is one of my favorites in my autobiography series. How did I get to be where I am today?

In Junior High School, I made a D in geometry. I did not go further in the world of math than that (it was much easier to get into college in the old days). So, at times, I am surprised I am able to quilt. Pioneer women who never learned to read had a far better grasp on geometry than I will ever have. Most of those women quilted. Using triangles and other shapes that I do not know the names of. They made eight-pointed stars out of cloth!

I like squares and rectangles. They generally like me. We get along. I like the challenge of limiting myself to these shapes. It makes me grow as a person. I'm going to rationalize it that way.

Years ago, I went to a seminar called "the business of art". The speaker asked us to raise our hand when our favorite shape was called. First was "triangle". 40% of the audience raised their hands. The second was "circle", 59.5% raised their hands (there were approximately 200 people in attendance). The third was "square". I raised my hand. I was alone. Then the speaker told us what our favorite shapes had to do with our personalities. The "triangles" were go-getters. Nothing could stand in the way of these brilliant, creative people. The "circles" were also quite creative, but in a more contemplative way. They were relaxed, popular people and easy to be around (no pun intended). The "squares" (me and me alone), were not creative and were unable to think outside of the box. We should be accountants. The room was filled with laughter. I felt shamed. At that time. I feel shamed no more.

I love the square. I am a square. They did not give the option of choosing "rectangle" at the seminar. I probably would have chosen that over the square. Just marginally. The rectangle is more versatile. It fits almost everywhere. But, I am a square. I accept that.

Have any other artists out there been pegged in such a way? Are you circles? Are you triangles? Are there any other square artists?

Those 100 Things I've Done

Well, since it is Christmastime, the time for lists, I will list my 100 things I've done that my readers MUST know about me. I normally don't do these things, but I'm baking Christmas cookies and if I travel too far away from the oven to do other things, I will forget the cookies and set the house on fire. So, here I go. . .


1. Start your own blog
2. Slept under the stars -- if so, not intentionally
3. Played in a band band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity - maybe, maybe not. Did not declare bankruptcy as a result.
7. Been to Disneyland - went to Disneyworld for the first time when I was 35. It was awesome!!
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo - at least, I think. I opened my mouth to sing a solo when I was in the childs' choir at church. I can't remember if any sound came out.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - quilting
15. Adopted a child - best thing I have ever done on this list!
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables - I grew peas this year. Got two peas. Grew a carrot. It was 1 inch long.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - over the heads of 200 Japanese men taking photos
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked - my hubby and I had to when our car broke down on the highway 10 miles from my parent's house. We didn't know what we were getting into until the car started off and dozens of beer cans rolled out from under the seats.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - most likely
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse - lunar, from a mountain top in Colorado. I did not hike that mountain.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a homerun
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community - just over yonder mountain, we have to start buggy dodging.
36. Taught yourself a new language. - working on French from Rosetta Stone
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I think so anyway
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michaelangelo's David - had to view him from the back. There were too many people viewing from the front.
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - it is now in my basement
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been go the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in-theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at at soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - used to not weight enough to donate blood. Not true anymore, should do it.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - many! In basement with portrait.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London - saw them, but they weren't changing
77. Broken a bone - well, only a toe
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Brought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Red the entire bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - only the accidental gnat
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life - quite possible, perhaps they would have lived anyway, at least I didn't hurt them.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Well, there you have it. Anything else you want to know?

How Did I Get Here? Where Am I Going? Part III

This is not my Mother's fridge. This is my big, beautiful art-covered ice box.

When my kitchen was brand new 10 years ago, I envisioned clean expanses of counter space, beautifully arranged open shelving (that I have achieved YAY), and a pristine white fridge.

This is what I have. And I do love it. I love it when my daughter comes in from kindergarten with a backpack brimming with the products of her creative mind. As far as I'm concerned, she is a genius and I must let the world (or anyone who ventures into my kitchen) know that. She takes great pride in putting up her newest work and rearranging her older works. Perhaps we are letting that little ego grow too large, but so what. The world will cut her down in time. She needs to shine now. Perhaps this fridge display will help her to shine in the future.

This in not my Mother's fridge. Hers was (and still is) a Harvest Gold Void. I know that magnets existed 40 years ago. My mother just didn't believe in them. I do not recall what I created back in kindergarten (or up to 8th grade for that matter). I'm assuming these artworks went into the garbage. Perhaps they went into the "special" garbage can. My childhood bedroom was in the upstairs of a Cape Cod house. Lots of nooks and crannies. One little storage room attached to my bedroom had loads of family wonders hidden in its dark depths. One of these wonders was (still is?) an old metal trash can. This is where the family treasures were "stored". Family photos - toss 'em in the can. A corsage - throw it in the can. Enchanting childhood memories - pitch 'em in the can.

I do remember drawing in my room. I remember presenting colorful works to my Mother. Whatever happened to them once they were placed in my Mother's hands I do not know. Could this be the reason for the lack of confidence I frequently feel in my work? Am I making it easy on myself to feel inadequate as an artist? Should I just get over it? Finally? Should I make some room on my fridge for my own work?

Actually, I have a magnet on my fridge that is one of my own pieces. Have a look at my Cafe Press site. For a small handful of bucks you could own a copy of one of my favorite pieces.

I'M ON THE FRIDGE!

How Did I Get Here? Where Am I Going? Part II

I recently realized that I never called my grandparents by those names that grandchildren normally call their grandparents. There was Maw and Paul (Paul being my step-grandfather. We called my father’s father "Daddy’s Daddy" and pretty much left it at that. We didn’t talk about him too often. Any art inspired by him would be fairly grim). Then there was Teddy (short for Theresa) and Guy.

A trip to Teddy and Guy’s house was a bit more subdued than a trip to Maw and Paul’s house (as described in last Monday’s post). However, there was plenty there to interest a young child. I was pretty much allowed to play anywhere, except my Grandfather’s room.

In the attic was an old coal-burning stove, recently out of commission and replaced. It featured in my nightmares for years to come. It was a large, black, multi-armed (a couple of pipes sticking out) monster. I loved it and feared it at the same time. My sister and I used to dare each other to go in the little slanted room and touch it.

My Grandmother’s closet was filled with water-colored 1960’s grandmotherly dresses. I loved to trace the patterns on them. My Grandmother thought I was a bit odd, as she often caught me fondling her dresses. Her top dresser drawer was filled with dozens of bars of guest soaps from all kinds of exotic sounding hotels from far-flung lands such as Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia. Needless to say, I spent hours arranging these soaps into different patterns.

I loved to visit the bathroom. My Grandfather thought I was a bit odd, as I was caught a couple of times arranging his bottles of shaving cream and aftershave. Once again, busted for experimenting with color. I loved those shades of amber and aqua.

My Grandfather’s TV chair was covered with an old striped beach towel. It was probably my favorite textile as a child. Yes, I had limited exposure to finer textiles. I’m sure the towel was there to prevent the chair from being stained from my Grandfather’s hair cream (Fop? Dapper Dan?). I always saw it as a design statement.

Then there was the kitchen with its vivid red Formica table. That thing would be worth a fortune today! I loved to arrange the (pretty much unused) bottles of orange, ochre, rust, and brown spices against the red table.

The property was a graphic delight for me. Hidden stepping stones. Pink Sweet Peas. The yellow house viewed against the huge green barn or the mysterious orange shed.

The photo above is an acrylic painting called "Mysterious Orange Shed." When I decided to experiment with paint last spring, I painted memories of my Grandmother’s yard. I think I was only allowed into the mysterious orange shed once. Filled with jars, broken chairs & Heaven knows what). The crows represent all of my strange relatives. My Grandmother’s sister and her children. They would gather at my Grandparent’s house each Christmas. Once they all got to talking, they sounded like a yard full of crows.

All of this just to let you know that inspiration is truly everywhere.

Tune in next Monday to learn how I was scarred from not having my artwork on the fridge.

How Did I Get Here, Where am I Going? A Serial

I was born July 14, 1963. I really don’t remember much of my early years. I do remember intentionally crawling under a moving swing – one of those two-seater jobs. It knocked me out. Other memories are hard to come by until I was 4 years old. Then I remember pre-school, where we drove around in little pedal cars and took naps. I think I will begin with the memories of a 5-year-old.

I was always obsessed with blocks. Lincoln Logs, Legos, Tinker Toys, and any other building toys that never caught on. While I loved to build with these toys, I was happy just to lay them out on the ground and design with them that way. As I got older, I got all kinds of games for Christmas and Birthdays, yet instead of reading directions and inviting other kids over to play these games with me, I would just use the parts and make designs with them. I was quite a fan of Spirograph, too.

In the photo shown, I have just turned eight and I don’t look too happy about it. I don’t know why. I am at my Grandmother’s house, one of my favorite places in the entire world to be. Lord knows what I would give up just to have a day to play in her house right now.

There was very little that was off limits in that house – only my Grandfather’s closet and underwear drawer. Everywhere else was like a fantasy land for me.

Of all of my Grandmother’s belongings, my favorite "toys" were her beautiful handkerchiefs. I don’t recall how many she owned, it felt like dozens. I will never forget one with an ivory Dogwood blossom on a dark brown background. I used to lay out these hankies in all sorts of patterns: light to dark, pinks and purples, pastels, primary colors. Then I would arrange them much as I would arrange a quilt now.

Then there was the drawer of costume jewelry. I loved to match the rhinestone brooches up with the hankies. I was dizzy with color!

Even the candy drawer kept me mesmerized. How beautiful those nasty orange Circus Peanuts were placed against the even nastier chalky pink peppermint tablets.

Another day, I would pull out all of her bitty fabric samples. My Grandmother was a large woman who found it difficult to find clothing in stores and who probably was at her most comfortable in stretchy polyester clothes. Every few weeks, my Grandmother would receive catalogs and fabric samples from companies that manufactured highly unattractive dresses and pantsuits. My Grandmother saved all of these swatches for me, and I would spend hours rearranging these bits into "quilts". All of these fabrics were singularly ugly, but once the herringbones were placed next to the limes and fuschias, they all became beautiful.

Perhaps it was on Fridays, that I pulled out the greeting card collection. My Grandmother bought the things in bulk. Twenty-five or 30 to a box, these things covered weddings, deaths, birthdays, Easter, Mother’s Day, etc. What do you think I did with the cards?

Next Monday, we will take a trip to my other Grandmother’s house.

If You're Square and You Know it, Raise Your Hand

In Junior High School, I made a D in geometry. I did not go further in the world of math than that (it was much easier to get into college in the old days). So, at times, I am surprised I am able to quilt. Pioneer women who never learned to read had a far better grasp on geometry than I will ever have. Most of those women quilted. Using triangles and other shapes that I do not know the names of. They made eight-pointed stars out of cloth!

I like squares and rectangles. They generally like me. We get along. I like the challenge of limiting myself to these shapes. It makes me grow as a person. I like to rationalize.

Years ago, I went to a seminar called "the business of art". The speaker asked us to raise our hand when our favorite shape was called. First was "triangle". 40% of the audience raised their hands. The second was "circle", 59.5% raised their hands (there were approximately 200 people in attendance). The third was "square". I raised my hand. I was alone. Then the speaker told us what our favorite shapes had to do with our personalities. The "triangles" were go-getters. Nothing could stand in the way of these brilliant, creative people. The "circles" were also quite creative, but in a more contemplative way. They were relaxed, popular people and easy to be around (no pun intended). The "squares" (me and me alone), were not creative and were unable to think outside of the box. We should be accountants. The room was filled with laughter. I felt shamed. At the time. I feel shamed no more.

I love the square. I am a square. They did not give the option of choosing "rectangle" at the seminar. I probably would have chosen that over the square. Just marginally. The rectangle is more versatile. It fits almost everywhere. But, I am a square. I accept that.