Creativity is Flowing

I partly attribute my recent spurt of studio enthusiasm to my participation in New Haven's annual City Wide Open Studios. There's something about involvement with hundreds of other artists- many friends- and the attendance by loads of willing audience (almost 1000 on Sunday!) that just plain feels good. Where else can you get so much contact and feedback? I rarely sell anything and even less frequently get asked to show because of random curators, critics and kunst- hustlers that happen to hustle through, but hey! It's good clean aesthetic fun.
On a happy note, though, I seem to have broken through or somehow overcome my past years inability to make collages. Let's face it: my eye injury is major and traumatic and my vision has resolved into a very odd mash-up of scratchiness and blurriness and imperfection. But it's mine! And I can remarkably do a weird variety of things. Until a few weeks ago, collage wasn't one of them.
But then I started pestering whatever part of us creative people that creates. I have a persistent urge towards a particular subject and look of that subject. Just had to do it! And it's working out splendidly.
I certainly don't see any better than I did a while ago, but somehow I'm working around and through that obstacle course that is my present sight and I am able to cut up small pieces of paper into meaningful shapes.  So stay tuned. A new book is in the offing and it looks great. The above shape fell onto the corner of my table and I immortalized it as a flake of creation.

All the Things to be Thankful For

I made a wreath to bring to Mommy's house for Thanksgiving. I hardly think I'm jumping the gun as too many neighbors already sport Santas and reindeer and lights, lights, lights for that pre-mature Xmas feel. And, yes, I acknowledge my wreath is lopsided and not one of those perfect circular items available at LL Bean. In fact, it could be referred to as "artistic" as anything vaguely lumpy or irregular is!
My list! of things to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving Day:
Barack Obama is still president. Hoorah! (That's a big one!)
My horse trade seems to have gone well. Just got a report that Crispin has a "girlfriend" and the kids like his rocking chair canter. (It was his best asset!) And Maggie the Horse? Just what the doctor ordered: small dark and very quiet. She's a good little horse.
Bob and I are happy and healthy and semi-solvent.
Jules. He's such a good dog- even when he's bad!
My mother (aka Mommy) still is able to live at home and be there for Thanksgiving.
My sisters and friends are good people and not some crazy tea party nut jobs.
The weather's nice; not sleet and shit falling from the heavens.
I didn't eat too much today...

Pink Sky at Night...

I am posting several beautiful pictures- taken as you might guess, a week past when we had that brief dalliance with a Nor'Easter. There was snow! And a lovely sky... I went outside to play with Jules and we were leaping around, tossing snow balls and facing east. I turned back towards the house and was totally blown away by the color of the sky. Fortunately, the miracle that is digital photography did it justice.

Our house looks covered in raspberry jam!
This posting is a way for me to chill out and cool down as there is smoke (the very color of that sky) billowing out of both ears. I feel so frustrated and my circuits feel overwhelmed.
Work has been tough; another auction squeezed in and lots of time constraints. My sisters and I trying to deal with the continuing dilemma of our aging mother (aka Mommy). The endless horse saga and my wondering why on earth it's taken so long to swap them out. And the general feeling of no time just for myself...

And so I get off the phone a while ago,  my lunch gone cold and I reach to pull the shade down as the afternoon sun was in my eyes. The shade leaps off it's bracket and crashes square onto the dining table- how it didn't hit Bob or I is a miracle! And as if that wasn't enough, I missed my chair when I sat back down and landed right on Jules (who was asleep under my chair). He cushioned my fall, for which I am grateful, and he sprang to his feet unhurt, but I scared him (and Bob and myself). No harm done! And I think it forced some of the days bad energy out into the cosmos.

Still Celebrating!

We're still celebrating and I certainly think the planet and people of many stripes are also. Sanity has prevailed and that bottle of champagne that has lingered in the back of our refrigerator- a gift from my boss at our End of Summer party- proved just the libation.
I'm not much of a white wine or champagne drinker as we all know. Red's my preferred swill, but when presented with a better bottle of the bubbly than I'll spring for, I'm game. Especially when concluding the recent endless slog through red herrings, mud slinging, turd blossoming Season in Hell that was
Election 2012. Republicans are doing their every-several-year hand wringing and wound- licking wondering what they did wrong. I can tell them. Hell, we can ALL tell them. Everything!
As I'm preaching to the (unaffiliated, non-Mormon tabernacle) choir, I'll skip the exegesis and just say I'm available as an inebriated consultant (at a reasonable rate) to the regrouping, non-Karl-Roving GOP. I have loads of swell ideas! Cheap!
Two fun images to leave you with are as follows: George W. Bush (and I sure hope this is true!) ostensibly went into his polling place way down there in Texas and accidentally voted for Barack Obama. And then argued loudly with poll workers that he wanted to change his vote, which of course, he wasn't allowed to do... still stoopid after all these years!
And damn! I just can't remember the second one; there are just too many things that float to the surface and then run away- like dreams. But we never (hopefully) will ever again see a "Linda" sign on anyone's lawn. That in itself is a blessing.
I know! I know! I remember what that other truly awful (not really funny) image is: Mitt Romney's canceling all the credit cards of the people who traveled and worked and put out for him. So when they went to pay their hotel and restaurant bills, the cards provided by the campaign were declined. How pathetic!!!

A Great Day in America

Looking out the kitchen window at the first snow and WE COULDN'T BE HAPPIER. The snow is incidental, in fact most friends know I'm not a huge fan of the fluffy white stuff. BUT we are relieved and delighted and excited that sanity and hope prevailed and Barack Obama was re-elected. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
I'd have to admit we will all be sleeping more soundly here after the favorable election outcome. I had soem trouble sleeping soundly, worrying about what would happen to all of us (that's ALL of us) if that Romnesiac had been elected. Please. How about huge tax cuts and more moolah for the uber rich? (who most assuredly wouldn't trickle that to us any time soon. Didn't happen in the past, wouldn't happen now!) No health care, war with Iran, drill baby drill and frack baby frack. Yeeesh. And let's pause to consider that Republican war on women.
But the campaign did provide some remarkable moments of levity. Several times, when I could not sleep, I sought comfort on the Internet, there discovering some truly outrageous and hysterical bits by concerned citizens. A few nights, Bob actually got woken up by my peals of laughter at 3:00 a.m. Parodies of Dr. Seuess (One Mitt, Two Mitt, Red Mitt, Blue Mitt), "Romney Style" videos and my very favorite, Dogs Against Romney. Dogs Against Romney sought to educate people about Mitt's treatment of their then-dog Seamus. It is true that he was ensconced in a pet crate and strapped to the roof of the Romney car for a 12 hour trip to Canada. Can you imagine? And Mitt thought he was fit for the presidency?  Of course, Mitt wasn't concerned about the so-called "47%", of which I guess (as an artist) I am very happily a member.
Anyway, enough! Congratulations to President Obama and his great family! Thank goodness that "Linda" didn't win after 90 million dollars (couldn't spend it on something classier than trying to buy votes?) A good day all around, even with snow.