It’s December 31st, and yesterday I saw a guy in tank top and shorts walking into a store. Something is wrong, I miss winter.
P.S. Louder is not necessarily better, I’m looking at you, opening acts. Also, the Popes rocked last night, but what’s new?
Archive for December, 2006
I had a wonderful Christmas, aside from the absence of snow. It was really foggy making for a somewhat white Christmas after all, as Dacia said. We had dinner at the Doty’s house and it has been really nice to share Christmas with them the last few years.
They had a pregnant stray cat this summer that was dumped near their house, as you do when you live out in the country. It was tortoiseshell and had, I think, 5 kittens, orange tabby, gray tabby, a tortoiseshell and 2 black. Well they are pretty grown up now, but still so absolutely adorable. They let you pick them up and are completely tame, unlike most barn cats who resemble rats and scatter when they see daylight. They have stumpy short legs and are all pudgy and stout and purr like crazy. I put one in my sweatshirt and wanted to take it home with me. Funny enough, Dacia said they lost two when cars out on the road hit them. Okay, that is not really funny, but the ones that were hit were the solid black ones and it corroborates my theory that all black cats are psychotic. Survival of the fittest, I guess. I’m hoping to have the Makers over this evening for a workshop meeting. We haven’t met for months and our last project of a print exchange book has fallen through the cracks. It is going to be a work meeting though, open for everyone to work on whatever they wish. Lastly, may I be selfish and once again beg your 2006 wall calendars off of you. I can put to use the images for each month in a number of ways through my artwork and random crafts. I know I used to save them, but I never knew what to do with them and if you are like I was, now I give you a place to unload them gladly. I hope everyone else had a warm and merry Christmas.
All I want for Christmas is a real winter. That means snow. Not just one snow storm and then it melts a week later. I mean like the real winters I grew up with, where there would be snow on the ground all winter long. Not rain, like we’ve had for the past 3 or 4 days. Come on now, it wasn’t even freezing rain. We haven’t had a real winter in about 6 years and that scares me. People don’t even remember what real winters are like. We’re from the North people! We had one mild snow storm and they shut the world down, everyone forgot how to drive, no one went to work, they closed all businesses, there was no more bread or milk at the grocery stores… all for a measley amount of snow.
When I say I want it to snow everyone hisses at me and says “oh, of course, you don’t have a sidewalk to shovel“. Guess what, I would gladly go and shovel my parents and have before.
I am asking Santa for snow tomorrow morning. I’ve been good, I deserve it.
Raise your hand if you find you ever find yourself more excited about the wrapping paper than the present itself.
Tee Hee! This is the damage done in just about an hour. I had a shopping binge with one of my tops of the pops, Erin. I was “exhaustified” after work and the prospect of having to do last minute Christmas shopping seemed so daunting until I got downtown and last minute I saw parking spots open right in front of Megan Morrisons and Moxie, (their new website). Parking downtown DeKalb, that never happens, better grab it while it’s there.
the vintage racks at Moxie
I planned on going to Moxie first but figured since I was right in front of Megan Morrisons I’d just go in there first. Afterwards, right as I was about to cross the street to go to Moxie there were sirens and police going through red lights and a cop stopped right next me. I stood paralyzed as I honestly thought he was going to reprimand me for trying to jaywalk. But then more police showed up and I was just stunned as they all stopped their cars in the middle of the road and then ran across the street. Looking across the street I see a familiar face and a wave as a similarly stunned Erin shouts my name.
Apparently she said some guy called the police saying some woman had a knife at a nearby location. She had just come from Moxie and decided to join me and have me help her decide on some items she was debating to buy or not. Afterwards we went to M.M.s where I had just been and I bought more!
I am so excited, I found so many excellent presents, perfect for some loved ones. I still have more shopping, but at least I don’t feel so unprepared. Anyway, it was a nice, little, unexpected occurance.
Off topic, look at what Erin recently made. Now that is lots of patience. We’ve both taken metalwork classes under The Man, The Myth, The Legend, Michael Bennett, but she is so much more driven to teach herself new things. I really admire her for that.
So now, I think I will pop in a DVD and make myself cozy while I paint some more artomat pieces.
Two “new to me” websites that I am fawning over.
I’m feeling very inspired and quite relieved.
Over the past several months I have received a small handful of emails from people wanting to know when or where they could buy more artomat paintings. It makes me feel good to know that people were actually searching out my artwork specifically, but nervous because I hadn’t settled on what to paint next. I had a couple ideas floating in my head but nothing I felt great about. My heart wasn’t in any of these ideas and so it was very hard to actually get started. I have all my canvases built and covered and gessoed but they just sat there blank, mocking me.
Sunday it finally came to me, I put together several things in my head and it just clicked. It is silly that this idea had not come to me before. I have been filling pages in my sketchbook with concepts and even starting and completing a couple pieces. It feels so great to be working, to be productive and inspired. Obviously, it is a much preferred state compared to the other option, which is guilt that I am not doing anything and constantly looking for inspiration but finding none that speaks to me.
I am excited to share what I have been working on, but need to wait till I am further along and have more of my work completed before then.
Happy, Happy, Happy
Love the snow - Hate the cold. What’s the point of the snow when it is so cold. It doesn’t pack, you can’t build snowmen or have snowball fights. Instead of having fun mushing the slush with your winter boots, every step sounds like you are stepping on styrofoam, aka the worst sound and feeling in the world.
It is so verrrrry cold. 5 DEGREES, PEOPLE, 5 DEGREES!
I was talking to Erin yesterday, and it got me thinking about creative activities to do. I just thought i would post some links to resources full of ideas to cure boredom:
Keri Smith has been compiling a list of 100 things to do, she is almost complete.
I have the 52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity book by Jeffrey Yamaguchi, and loved it so much I bought several and gave them out as gifts to friends. The book is filled with, you guessed it, 52 different projects for you to do. The website is just as wonderful as the book, complete with countless links to other creative websites and groups that have formed around certain projects from the book. I will share my favorite project: Project number 29 in which you address a regular envelope to someone you care about and then stuff it full of so much stuff that it has to taped shut, put correct postage on and send it off.
learningtoloveyoumore.com is a website devoted to assignments you might like to participate in. They vary from Taking a picture of strangers holding hands, to make and publicly post a flier of your daily schedule. Assignments cover many creative aspects, and all different senses. A very interesting fact about the website is that is co-founded by Miranda July the film maker behind You, Me and Everyone We Know.
Friday night I hosted my “First Annual Gingerbread House Making Contest”.
Although my lease says I am only allowed to have over 3 non-related guests in my apartment at a time, I packed the place with up to 12 people during the night, shhhh don’t tell anyone. It was a quiet type of party though, so no harm done.
Matt helped me considerably, running errands and making the frosting. We had Christmas decorations up and Christmas music playing. Erin brought card tables and chairs. Everyone brought bags and bags of candy, it was insane. We used everything from jellybeans, starlight mints, twizlers to pretzels, almond slivers and coffee beans, any kind of candy you can think of; it was there. There was coconut, sprinkles and even handmade Turkish delight. Everyone made their own house and at the end everyone voted for a winner. A gift certificate to Borders was presented to Jenny who built a haunted gingerbread house. A great time was had by all. I’m glad I did it, but I realized that I am not really the “hostessing” type. I was constantly worrying that people weren’t enjoying themselves, and couldn’t live up to my charismatic usual self :D Plus I suffer from stage fright while trying to create artwork, while others are around me, so my gingerbread house was a complete dud.
Note to self: next year I will be sure to ask people to bring ONLY 2 bags of their candies of choice. People arrived with grocery bags full of stuff, we still had bags and bags of stuff unopened after it was over. Fortunately many people left with bags of candy, as not to tempt me with leftovers and leave me in a sugar coma for the next month or two.
Please check out the flickr photoset for the Gingerbread House Making Contest of 2006.
Saturday my mom, sister and I went to Christmastime at the Fine Line. They had some really wonderful stuff, so if you have time go check it out, it runs till December 9th. I love the Fine Line!
Lastly, tonight my sister, erica, matt and I went to see Stomp. It was great of course and reminded me a lot of Blue Man Group, which I have seen a couple times. Apparently BMG is coming to the area.
