Monday, March 31, 2008

First sighting

The squirrels are back.

We'll see about that...


Friday, March 28, 2008

Buzzing Explosions



This is not a penguin floating in Peptobismal (sit back a little to see). It is a tulip!

I was just sitting here minding my own business compiling a whole host of goody links at dancingbeeacres bee products when KABOOM POP KABOOM!!! outta nowhere a light bulb exploded just over my head. So without further ado I am passing these on to you, links for the following wonderous products from the heavenly bees of eastern Oregon. The site has lots of great information, also regarding neem. Don't get me started on neem. It is the wonder plant/tree of all time. The bees and the neem make a pretty potent combination. Check these out for yourself. Yummm!

Royal Jelly         Healthy Hive Combo         Neem Honey



Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada


I just finished watching a 1993 VHS (written, produced, directed by Tom Neff) of Beatrice Wood being her amazing gracious and vivacious self. She was born in March 1893 and died the same month 105 years later. (Yes, 105 :) This film was made to celebrate her 100th birthday, and it shows current footage of her throwing at the wheel (and very well, too), and several interviews with herself and others. She attributed her youthfulness to young men and chocolate, which may be true, but her shining attitude probably had much more to do with it. What an inspiration. I'm not sure if the movie is still available as I borrowed it from a friend. 


If you'd like to read about her click here. If you'd like to see her autobiography, "I Shock Myself", it's here. And if you are drawn to her luminous ceramic work and have a spare $4,800 you can buy this large loving cup (shown above) from modernsculpture.com. I also love her plate of Elizabeth I (same site for $6,400). 

She said she would have these three sentences put on her epitaph: Now. Understanding Oneself. Compassion. This, and the quote below, gives us all (artist or not) encouragement to keep laughing, keep working and keep eating chocolate. Yum!

"Remarkably, it was during the artist's nineties that Wood produced some of her finest work including her now signature works, tall, complex, multi-volumed chalices in glittering golds, greens, pinks and bronzes."  

Monday, March 24, 2008

Grace

When we walk in the world with grace, it is a gift for everyone

Today I turned on Santa Fe public radio and caught the last minute of this inspiring woman's radio visit. This is a lovely story and can be found here

Some of you may know Dawna Markova's poem, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life. My my sister gave it to me ages ago on a card. Thank you Idy. It hung on my fridge and still does, and I have xeroxed it and passed it along over the years. Markova has several books she has authored (one of them being the title of this poem). The link to them is under 'BOOKS' on the sidebar. In–joy.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The 8th Annual Collect: Inside 8 opens March 22nd

CCA Santa Fe is celebrating the diversity of the New Mexico arts community by inviting emerging and established image makers to submit works that fit within an 8" cube. The opening is Saturday, March 22nd from 5-7 pm at the Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail. The show goes until April 6th.


Here is my piece entitled Alma Always Knows the Way. It is mixed media on panel with cold wax, and floats on a frame painted in copper with a verdegris finish. Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 2". This piece is also available as a limited edition print in its original size, 11 x 11" or 16 x 16", on paper or canvas, in my PhotoMontages gallery here.

CCA is a wonderful venue to showcase new work, and it's great fun to be in the company of so many diverse and gifted artists. 

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Shot from the Studio

Now where did I put those safety glasses?

One day I perched these here for safekeeping. Actually I could not figure out where to put them, so I stashed them here. A while later I looked over and saw her and cracked up. I'm still waiting for Sotheby's to authenticate this bust as a genu-yne Houdon.  :~)

Parlez goes in search of Spring

Parlez goes in search of spring...



and finds... 


    it comes to him!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Arctic Tale

If you like adventuring to far-off places (say, the arctic), in-joy nature programs, or always wanted to have David Attenborough for an uncle—and you haven't already seen this film—then may I boldly and humbly suggest: rent it, buy it, or steal (I mean borrow) it to watch. Don't let the cover fool you, as it did me. It's not an animated movie at all. And it contains some of the most glorious natural cinematography I've seen, both of the animals themselves and the land/seascape. I believe it took the filmmakers over eight years to get the footage. They had to wait four years just to see a walrus. And to actually come across a pup was quite miraculous apparently. I cannot imagine anyone other than Queen Latifah narrating it (sorry David). And there's even some original catchy music to accompany the adventures. The how-they-made-it portion is wonderful as well. I got my copy from National Geographic. You can rent it from Netflix. You can preview it here. Fire up the popcorn, hunker down and enjoy. 

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Everything is a vibration

It was January and I was catching up on some reading about the upcoming Chinese New Year. Young Parlez, pictured at left, decided he would jump up on my desk and position himself about two inches from my computer screen. Now this little guy hasn't been with us too long, but I'd never seen him do that before. I thought it very humorous he would be so interested in this email, especially as it contained some good pointers on the soon-to-be Year of the Rat. After sufficient study he jumped down and left me to finish reading about my Rat Return, being born under this auspicious (I now feel) year myself.

A couple of weeks later I was again at my computer and out of the corner of my eye I saw young Parlez fly through the kitty door with something wiggly in his mouth. Please don't let it be another Juniper Titmouse, I thought. Oh, and it wasn't. In fact I didn't know what it was. It was furry and kind of cute. No puncture wounds on it, just soggy shoulders. Despite it being a wonderful gift I knew it did not belong inside, and after a few panicked expletives I ran up the stairs to get a yogurt carton. A large one. A yogurt carton? It's not going to fit in there. And I ran back and shut the door so it couldn't scurry any further, wondering what I was going to put it in for transport, when I glimpsed an empty storage bin on the front porch. Perfect! I was able to scoop up the little big thing and liberate it back to wild kingdom, leaving Parlez searching in great earnest for his prized catch.

As I walked it out away from the house, way far away from the house, I was reassuring it that everything was quite alright. And sorry to displace him so far from his lodgings but I couldn't risk the great white hunter nabbing him again. The little big creature blinked up at me as I tipped it out (gently) and I said I hoped he'd be able to find his way back. Whereupon I went back to my office and thanked a perplexed Parlez for such a glorious gift, and shared with him that we could not keep it because it no doubt had a family of its own.

When SP (that would be Sweetie Pie, my partner) came home I said, "You'll never guess what Parlez brought in today."
"Oh? What was it?" And the rest of the conversation went something like this, because I honestly couldn't answer him as to what it was.
"Well, it was about this long [8 inches]. And about this big around [almost 3 inches]. And it was a really pretty red-brown color. And it had little ears and whiskers, and kind of a tail I suppose, an abbreviated one. And it was cute. I think it was a hampster."
And he, patiently listening to my discourse, gave me his best I-hate-to-break-it-to-you-look and said,
"Elsa, it was a rat."
And that was that.
And then I realized just how tuned in Parlez Beaucoups is. He does his research and knows his mamma is a rat (as it were) and goes out and gets one for her for Chinese New Year. How about that, for a cat?
Pythagoras was right. Everything is a vibration.