Day 44. "You Parted Your Hair Differently" (No Longer Available)

Here's another gal that's one of a kind. My friend Cassie Bruce is funny and smart as a whip. And see, she has one of those sharp, quick-witted minds--like acid laced with honey. (-;  Cutting edge, man, but a heart of gold.  Watch out for Cassie, world, she's the type that people underestimate, and she's got more going on than anyone knows.

My friend Shelley says we're like that, too.  That people underestimate us and don't realize that we're smart, because we laugh a lot.  I'm laughing now!  Boy, could we/I sound any vainer? ¡Dios Mio! (I'm going to leave the admission, though, because sometimes that's what good friends say to each other.)  But, Shelley, Cassie, and I like being "Columbo-like" (hmm, the 2nd time I've mentioned Columbo is this blog.  One of my childhood idols?  Perhaps, so!)  I was little, little when my mom used to watch Peter Falk fumble and mumble his way through investigations.  People always slipped and told him little snippets of details that would skewer them like a shish kebob in the end, because they thought he was dumb-dee-dumb-dumb.

It's like being a Rocky.  And while I drew and painted and wrote tonight, I cued up "Rocky" on my computer and watched/listened to it.  I like tender-hearted underdogs.  Maybe because I'm feeling that way right now...or maybe it's because I see people like Cassie, working 2 jobs, raising a little girl with her man, going to school, and being smarter and more wonderful than people know.

This is a little conversation we had today.  P.S., this looks nothing like Cassie.  ha! (-;

Me:  "Your hair looks cute.  You parted it differently today."
Cassie:  "It was cuter in the morning."
Me:  "What happened?  A hat?  The wind?
Cassie: "Life."

There's all sorts of full-length "Columbo" episodes on YouTube.  Here's just a little peek at him for all you youngsters out there.  I had forgotten that he was always referring to his wife. (-:  I told you, I was just a itty, bitty pipsqueak then!

Day 43. Swimming Against the Current SOLD

Isn't it amazing how quickly you can sometimes go from riding a wave to swimming against the current?

2nd Set of 21 days--6 weeks people!

My 2nd set of 21 days

Day 42. I Like Your Pink Sunglasses.

Today as I was walking into work, there was a girl sitting on a picnic table outside (32 degrees--heatwave!) who had on a great pair of sunglasses.

Never too shy, I say to her, "I like your pink sunglasses."

"Thanks, I got them for 22 euros from a street vendor in Barcelona," she happily replies.

Ah, magical words!

I say, "'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' is one of my favorite movies!"

..

Isn't talking to people great?  I felt like I went to Europe today and didn't have to pay a cent. (-:

When Woody Allen put out that movie, I watched it over and over again!  I just love it--art, painting, Barcelona, Javier Bardem (loved him ever since seeing him in '94's "Jamon, Jamon"),
Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Spanish, great guitar playing!  I mean, what more could you want?

The soundtrack is great, too, and every time I even say the movie's name, I hear the theme song--"Barcelona" by Guilio & Los Tellarini--swirling around me for an hour afterwards.

Day 41 Did I Eat Too Many Raw Oysters Last Night?

Did I eat too many raw oysters last night or do these 2 look almost identical?

SUPERBOWL XLVII
This is going to be an extra-emotional one.

Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh and San Francisco 49ers' Jim Harbaugh--brothers-in-arms...well, not for today.

If you don't know what's going on, here's a little catch-up:

Check HBO Sports link below for a great interview with the brothers and father (couldn't they have asked the mom one question?  Loved the story about the apple butter sandwiches!)

http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/REAL-SPORTS-WITH-BRYANT-GUMBEL-to-Replay-John-Jim-Harbaugh-Feature-122-20130121

Day 40. "You transfix me, quite."

Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" 

A few weeks ago I watched Cary Joji Fukunaga's 2011 version of "Jane Eyre" with Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska.  There is a scene, where Mr. Rochester (Fassbender) is speaking to Jane.  He is intrigued by her; she possesses an innocence and lightness of mind--even though she has suffered greatly in her short life--that he has lost.  At one point he stares at her intensely and says,

"You transfix me, quite."

It was...arresting.  I think I caught my breath.  

What a beautiful wording...putting that "quite" on the end of the sentence.  Of course, the fact that Michael Fassbender uttered them in a low, deep voice, with piercing blues eyes did not hurt.

In January 2004, James Lipton aired an interview with Russell Crowe. Lipton always asks actors the same questions at the end of the interview, one of which is, "What turns you on?" 

Russell Crowe replied, "A well-constructed sentence will give me chills."  I completely understand.

"You transfix me, quite."

Here's another great one from the movie:

I struggled with this painting.  His face came and went as I reworked it.  It looked good, and then I lost it.  I wanted to portray him "lost in grayness"--the color of his torment--contrasted with the soft green and violet of the plants growing out of the grayness--the possibility of lightness with Jane.  I guess it was apropos that is was a struggle, as their love--and what stood in there way--was a struggle.

This is the man I was watching (Day 37. "I'm So Tired, a.k.a that darn YouTube") on Youtube on the Irish "Late, Late Show."  And the bizarre twist was, right after I had seen "Jane Eyre," I saw Fassbender in "Shame" on IFC (Independent Film Channel)--or Sundance Channel.  "Shame" is about sexual addiction.  And as you may suspect, Michael's blessings of physical attractiveness extends to every area...ahem.  Here's the thing, though.  This man is such a great actor...so unbelievably talented.  So much so, that even in the midst of the most graphic sex scenes, he can convey miniscule pleasure overcome by painful desperation.  His despair in his addiction is palpable.  What an incredible actor.

Day 39. "Brutal Winter and a Red Cardinal"

Today was supposed to be my big reveal on why I was up all night (see Day 37 "I'm So Tired") and also the launching off of my month of "Love."

Forget it.

Today kicked me to the curb.  We had a 16 degree below zero windchill factor as students and staff alike walked from our faraway parking lots into college today.  A student walking behind me said to her friend, "I feel like crying."  It's that brutal.  The cold is so oppressive.  I used to be a winter girl, but I'm starting to finally understand why fragile-bodied retirees flee towards the sun, their flaky, phyllo-dough skin yearning for warmth.

And why wasn't that bird flying toward the equator?  Yesterday I saw a red cardinal outside our building window, and he has been on my mind ever since.  There were several birds flitting around a bare-branched tree.  I watched the cardinal rise toward the branches and then fall back to the ground.  Was it injured?  It didn't look like it had a broken wing.  Soon it was the only bird left.  I wanted to go rescue it from the balmy 8 degree below zero windchill, but suddenly it was pecking at the ground for/at food.

I started pecking inside my brain and pulled forth 5th grade.   Cardinals don't migrate in the winter.  And, they mate for life.  Maybe this is a love story after all.  I'm still worried about that little guy, though...and myself as I start to consider where I can migrate until the spring equinox.

Day 38. "I Was Just Going to Call You" SOLD.

I have a great friend, Cindy.  She is hilarious!  She treats us every Friday with a "happy dance" and no one tells a story with better delivery than Cinderella!  One of the best qualities she has is really appreciating you for your special qualities; that, and her incredible sense of humor.  AND she's a fantastic baker!  If you're in her presence for more than 2 minutes, you can't help but start laughing.  Whenever she starts a story, she begins by saying, "O.K." ....  All she has to utter are those two letters, and I'm already cracking up, because I know I'm in for a treat.  Anyway, here's a little exchange we had recently.  I bet you have a Cindy in your life, too!

Look below--This little phone is magnetized--isn't that so cute?  Now I've got it to my ear--you know, those "old-fashioned" type of phones. Poor little phone, I miss you.

Here are some pics of Cindy, with an updo, visiting my art booth last August.  And her little, tiny feet. (-:

Day 37. "I'm so tired - a.k.a. that darn YouTube" $25

Cool room, soft sheets, dark skies outside creeping into my abode and weighting my eyelids down.  It was so hard to get up this morning.  My husband leaves a lot earlier than I do for work so it's just me and our animals lounging around in the a.m.  Strangely, even my dog never once arose from his bed.  In the bathroom, I could hear the soft and steady, click, click, click of the second hand. Quiet.  A few cats wandered in, but they too immediately curled up on the floor.  Did we all take a Tylenol P.M.?  Is there a gas leak taking us gently down into never, neverland?  I know what my problem was.  I stayed up far too late watching one of my favorite actors on a late night Irish talk show.  What?  Who? I know you're asking. (-;  And I'm telling...but on February 1st--at the beginning of the month of love when you will understand why I caused myself to look like a gangrene zombie in the morning.  Because he is soooooooooo worth it. (-;

 

And a little additional treat--one of my favorite Beatle's songs from "The White Album."

Day 36. "A Spring Day Folded into Winter" SOLD

It felt like we were plucked out of the middle of "frigidville" and dropped into April today.  Sunday we were coated with ice and today we had rainy, 60 degree weather.  Welcome to the Midwest.  In two days we'll be close to 0 degrees again, but for now we had raindrops, short-sleeve shirts, muddy paws, and little shoots coming out of dark, wet soil.  I wanted to whisper to them, go back to sleep little ones, it's a false alarm.

 

Day 35. "The Dipping Sauce Gave It Away" $25

A friend tells me today that two Georgia men stole $65,000 worth of chicken wings in broad daylight from their place of employment.  There's a big chicken wing shortage going on, which could spell certain havoc at Superbowl parties across the nation.  Seeing a money-making opportunity, they allegedly used a forklift to load 10 pallets worth of Tyson frozen chicken wings into a rental truck.  The men were arrested and released upon posting bail, but the whereabouts of the chicken wings remain a mystery.

I think this is an easily solvable case.  My Columbo-like mind reasons that if the police just track grocery store sales of Buffalo Bleu Cheese Dipping sauce ingredients, they'll be able to find out where this SUPER, SUPERBOWL party is taking place!

"We got ya'.  No one eats that many vegetables on Superbowl Sunday unless you're making dipping sauce for $65,000 (worth) of chicken wings."

Or as our friend Yulandist says:

 "I just get enough to season it, 

freeze it, 

and cook it up when I need it."

That philosophy sure would have kept those dudes outta trouble! (-;

Day 34. "Brain Word Invasion"

My brain has been invaded by six words and an idea.  I went to bed last night thinking about it and then again all day today.  It's like a little honeycomb is being built inside my cerebral cortex!  I don't know whether or not I'll be able to condense it onto a small canvas...I might want to spread this one over a bigger swag of cotton duck.  More to come on the musician and a Portland (OR) gal who triggered and then reawakened, respectively, this idea.

How it started:

Day 33. "You Smell Like Coffee" $15

Don't you love having time to sit in a coffee shop on the weekend?  After remaining there for a couple of hours, the smoky bean aroma permeates into your hair, your coat, your skin.  It's a good smell.  Hours later, I'm hanging with the man.

"Why do I smell coffee?" he asks.

"Because I'm freshly roasted," I reply.

Mmm. Caffeinated comfort.

Day 32. Watching "The Birds" $30

Ah, Friday!  You've made it through another work week...freedom awaits!  Off to the bank and off to the grocery store.  At home, I unload everything and see that Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds" will soon be on t.v.  I really have never seen that show in its entirety. Plus, I keep catching pieces of HBO's "The Girl" with Sienna Miller, about Hitchcock's obsession with Tippi Hedren while filming "The Birds" and "Marnie."  So, my husband is working late, I'm intrigued, and this is a good way to huddle into the comfort of the weekend.  It only took the first bird attack to decide what the painting for the day will be!

Afterwards, I have a stomachache.  Wow, that movie really affected me...except then I realize it's because I went grocery shopping.  I had eaten some organic blueberries; a Green and Black's organic Almond Chocolate Bar; 3 pieces of Delusso's roasted turkey lunchmeat with mustard; some Hubert's Limeade; and an entire package (2 servings, 60 calories) of roasted Korean seaweed in sesame oil.  That Hitchcock was a genius! (-;

Day 31. Inspiration - Fleeting - Part 3

Finally, I can't tell you the number of times I've thought, I don't need to write that down.  I'll never forget that idea or those words or what this sketch means.

Not long ago I went to sleep thinking about some brilliant idea. Well, it really didn't seem brilliant, but it was a good idea for a painting.  I briefly thought about getting up and writing it down, but I was sooooooo tired.  I went to sleep and fleshed the idea out more fully in my dreams.  About 2 a.m., I woke up, and I had a nudging, this one more insistent than the first that said, "get up and write it down."  But the idea was so easy to remember--I tested myself, do I still remember it?  Yes, I totally do!  It's so easy, so simple, no way I could forget it.  I slept fitfully, because I kept waking up, assuring myself of my sufficient memory recall, and falling back to sleep.

Well, you can see where this is going more clearly than the fate of two frisky teenagers in an abandoned woods in a "Friday 13th" sequel.  I woke up in the morning, and I thought, what was it?  I couldn't remember AT ALL.  Nothing.  Later, while taking a bath, often the place where warm water and mindless thinking bring forth a light bulb moment, I almost, almost grasped a detail.  It was right within my reach....what....was....it?  And then, it was gone.  Floating off into a sadly beautiful, amorphous, shimmery cloud with all the other inspirational thoughts I had let slip away with passing time and lack of a notepad.

Day 30. Inspiration - Flying - Part 2 $25

Sometimes inspiration comes from hearing and seeing it whizzing by me.  Why, sometimes so many ideas are flying around, it's like a heavy blinking of lightning bugs on a summer night.

My friends no longer even bat an eye when during conversations, some idea hits me from what we are discussing, and I furious grab any nearby piece of paper to write it down.  I've filled up hundreds of post-it notes and numerous little notebooks with quirky sayings and quick sketches.  My biggest problem is finding them later--or worse yet--having them, but having no clue what they mean!  Finally, peeps, I work at a college.  You'd be amazed at what I overhear.  It's all good for artistic inspiration, though!

Day 29. Inspiration - Bubbling - Part 1 SOLD

Sometimes inspiration comes bubbling out like when you used to get a black cow or a purple cow (root beer or grape soda, respectively, combined with ice cream).  You'd get to the very bottom and start blowing into your straw and create an avalanche of beautiful bubbles that would always get you in trouble if your mom was around.  Sometimes (I want to say in Spanish, "A veces") there's so many ideas inside of me, I can't get them down fast enough.

Day 28. Eyedrop Confusion = Eyepatch Results

I first heard of artist, author, and photographer, Sabrina Ward Harrison,* when she was mentioned in one of SARK's** (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) wonderful books.  I've since read all of Sabrina's publications beginning with her debut books, "Spilling Open:  The Art of Becoming Yourself" (2000) and "Brave on the Rocks" (2001).  Give yourself a huge gift, and check them out.  It's amazing the number of people who have copied her style, but people, she was the originator of that collage and running India ink technique!

Anyway, Sabrina was kind enough to become my Facebook friend.  A couple of weeks ago she posted that she had mixed up two little bottles and squirted white paint into her eyes instead of her allergy eyedrops!  It reminded me of when I did a similar thing some years back.  My husband and I were on our way to a concert, and well, here was my comment back to Sabrina:

"You have all my sympathy! About 16 years ago, I had done the same thing--but with Clinique acne spot solution (instead of contact eyedrops)! I put that into my eye in the car as my husband and I were on our way to a concert. We had to take some exit to a hospital in the middle of nowhere and I had to have an "eye flush" for 45 minutes to flush out the salicylic acid. Sometimes all those little tubes look the same. I went to the concert with an eye patch, so at least I really looked "rock n' roll-like."

Uh-huh.  Here's a couple shots of my painting of that memory, along with me and my pirate ship:

Geez, even with an eyepatch, I still look pretty wholesome.  Maybe if they had used black bandages...

*Here's Sabrina's website:  http://www.sabrinawardharrison.com/ee/  (Make sure you have the /ee/ on the end.

**Here's Sark's website:  http://www.planetsark.com

 

Day 27. Saber, Conocer, a wheelbarrow, & a suitcase SOLD

In Spanish, there are 2 ways to express the concept "to know."

Loosely, you use the verb "conocer" (koh-noh-SAIR) to indicate that you have met/been introduced to someone or that you are familiar with something--that you know "of it."  For instance, you could be aware of say, New York City--that it exists, but you really know nothing about it nor have you ever been there.  On the other hand, you have the verb "saber" (sah-BAIR).  You use this verb to indicate that you know facts; you have deep knowledge of something.  Let's go back to the New York City example. We have one person who has heard of it, but has no knowledge of it/nor has been there (conocer) vs. Woody Allen, someone who has lived there his entire life and knows the city's every nook and cranny--someone who has even made a film, Manhattan, about his deep love/knowledge/tribute to the city.  He's a "saber." (-;

Now, my mind, it be a ramblin', and I'm letting it.  Somehow I think of William Carlos Williams' poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow."

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

 Ah, beautiful.  You can see the image, can't you?  Simple.  But that phrase, "so much depends upon."  Why, those 4 words change everything!  You stare at the scene before you, nothing that hasn't been there perhaps hundreds of times before.  But somehow, the image triggers something in your brain--some feeling of complete happiness in the beauty of an ordinary item or somehow this time, something elicits a completely different feeling.  What the h-e-double-toothpick am I talking about?  Read on, brave souls!

I have a good friend who was going through a crisis in her marriage.  On a weekend getaway with her children in tow, a platonic, male friend accompanied her.  Over the two-day trip, he opened doors for her, carried her suitcase, spoke to her kindly and easily.  In essence, he acted the way a man should courteously and respectfully treat a woman.  She was unaccustomed to such natural, generous treatment.  She decided to try a test when she got home.  She left her suitcase at the front door upon her arrival. What would be her husband's reaction to this?  The suitcase sat there all evening.  It remained in its stationary position by the door throughout the next day and into evening.  Her husband walked past it continually, but never did he think to pick up his wife's luggage and carry it upstairs for her, just...because.  The dichotomy of actions she received from a friend versus her mate in regards to that suitcase... It sat by that doorway, throbbing more and more loudly with meaning, until it took her through a different door and a new life.

so much depends 

upon 

a wheel

barrow...

*******

so much depends

upon

a suit

case...

When does the meaning of a representational "something" (marriage, weight loss, job, anything) change from a "conocer" to a "saber?"  When do you look at something and really understand--know--it's meaning?

Day 26. Passionfruit Tart with a Cookie Crust

Wish I had this for dessert.

Day 25. Eyes Green With Envy $15

Eyes green with envy, she tried to remember the old Southern saying, "You just see the glory, but you don't know the whole story."

Day 24. Goodbye Dear Abby - $25-SOLD

I remember as a kid & teenager, grabbing the paper to read the comics, my horoscope, and Dear Abby.  She had a witty humor and a "cut to the chase 'tude" that offered insight and a sparkling sly wink. You were great at telling it like it was, Pauline Phillips. Goodbye, Dear Abby.  Thank you for all your advice.

Read all about her and some of her fabulous advice here: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/dear-abby-dead-pauline-phillips-dies_n_2497457.html.