Seventh sense sleepy rant

Tonight's insomnia got me thinking (as insomnia is bound to do) about success and art and society and on and on...

I guess the most compelling thought (at least to me in the midst of sleepy-headed-ness) was that I think there should be a seventh sense; warmth. The type of warmth that only the touch of life can give. In this increasingly technological world I find myself longing for music, art, clothing, food etc. that contains some element of the warmth of life.

It seems that everything these days can be "fixed" and "polished" and "streamlined" and "perfected" with gizmos and plugins and gadgets and I miss all the little "imperfections" that to me make things FEEL real.

I love the missed brush stroke and the prize of the occasional finger moving against a steel string on a guitar. I'm not such a fan of out of tune singing but I'd much prefer every once in a while to hear a note that's a tiny bit off than to hear that other worldly tin can sound of auto tuning... I'd rather eat a carrot that's not bright orange than to taste a faint sensation of fish in a genetically modified carrot. I miss the differentness of things...

I find myself looking for "vintage" on ebay and "handmade" on etsy, but even that category "handmade" turns up pages of mass production thanks to technology that leaves me wondering what exactly "handmade" means anymore...

This year Jono and I got to see David Byrne's concert when he toured his latest record. I've never really been a big fan although I've always recognized the talent. The concert was one of the most beautiful performances I've seen in many, many years. Afterward, when we were talking about it and trying to explain why it was so moving, what it boiled down to was that it was very- human-. It wasn't about fancy light shows or techno tricks. It was a performance based on talent and it was full of the warmth of life. The dancers were more in the modern dance vain than the shooka shooka scantily clad sell it however you can vain. The musicians were all extremely talented and there was a simplicity that was honest, inviting and seemed to strive for connection rather than perfection. And it was pretty close to perfect as well!

Even hospitals and healthcare overall have paid more heed to the impersonal aspects of the industry and have infused care with technology and wellness has suffered for it. We don't have to make eye contact very often but we are very efficient. But are we?

At what cost to art, to health, to society on a whole is this missing seventh sense which we never named and always took for granted ?!

Toby and Mary

I usually use that big gigantic recycled glass dish you gave me for watermelon but this year we discovered it's the perfect Thanksgiving turkey carving/serving dish. We were very thankful to have it. It made me think of you...

winter is when...

winter is when we tunnel inward

looking for light in other ways

everything good is in there shining

growing, living, waiting for spring.

winter collects the dreams we nurture

keeps them in a basket of twigs

bundled up in swaths of memory

with silken ribbons and downy wings.

winter sings a solemn snowfall

with harmonies of giggling kids

starlight dances twinkling two steps

tangos, ballets, Irish jigs.

winter is when we hibernate

even when we go to town

something in us keeps itself warm

and grows in silent leaps and bounds.

winter has a gentle hand

to hush our shivers when they come

winter will pass in a single blink

the earth will flourish, new and warm.

thankful & grateful & happy!

Thankful and grateful and happy for life! For the joy of small things. For good health. For big love. For the slowness of wintertime hunkering down. For the bursting forth of energy in spring. For the round hot bright sun of summer and for the deep exhale of fall...

Thankful and grateful and happy for strength! The reliability of self. The support of friends and family. The ability to support, to sustain, to carry forth whatever comes our way...

Thankful and grateful and happy for "art"! For words. For music. For images. For motion. For color and texture and taste and smell...

Thankful and grateful and happy for inspiration! However it comes. For being moved to feel, to act, to think, to imagine...

Thankful and grateful and happy for you!

Tent Rocks

One more magical place on earth

where I live

can go

walk, climb up, look out across the world

and almost fly

to everywhere...

L.I.N.D.S.E.Y.

Love Is Never Dormant Sweet Eternal You!!!

one day closer to spring

It's happening again already. Hmmmph! Burrrrr! GGGGGGaaaaaackh.........One day closer to spring!

UNDER THE SEA

In an effort to keep the blogspot going on, happenin', in & hip, I'm digging deep to find some little treats to post. These are from a series of mono prints called Under the Sea which I did as an exercise/exorcize to help me get over my intense fear of the ocean or more specifically the animals that live in the ocean. I tried to go for the sexy/beautiful aspect which is definitely a big piece of life under water but the peculiar and bizarro aspect always grabs my by the bottom of my feet and completely schkeeves me out when faced with any real life prolonged oceanic experience... I really liked the prints though and I do love the beach...

(Mac, your sting ray experience nearly destroyed me! I was deeply concerned about the whole thing but figured it was best not to throw my fears into the mix:)) I'm so glad you survived!!!!

DAY OF BOUNTY!

Today I received two things

two things beautiful that make me smile just to think of them and make me so happy to have them on my body/in my home.

The first is a pendant that was made by a jeweler who's work I am always in awe of. The top is a shard found here in New Mexico at a ruin that until a few years ago was mostly unknown. The bottom is a shard from an ancient roman drain pipe found at Pompeii. Two small things picked up from the dust and now preserved with reverence. It feels like forever in both directions around my neck!

The second is a painting that was given to me by a dear friend. He is someone who's work is always unusual, even when he's painting perfectly captured landscapes... I sometimes model for him and we usually trade for artwork. This time, when he offered me One Windy Day (otherwise known to me as The Long Neck Girl) instead of a long lost commission I could not have been happier! I absolutely love it so much!!!

Jono has been wearing a pendant that another jeweler friend made and accidently left up at the studio. When Jono told him he'd left it there (Jerry) told him to wear it because it would attract prosperity and abundance. The afternoon Jono put it on he received a tax return check, we were taken out to dinner and the next day we were taken out to the movies. Today, day three, I had this incredible day of bounty...

Prosperity and abundance, We'll take it!!!!!

2x2 cont.

& then a couple others

born from flowers

could it be that we

were born from flowers

initially at least

back then when

storms were earthly showers

for roots and leaves

a drop into a puddle

into streams and lakes

a flower bending down to have a taste

the first lips, the first tongue

the first sip, the first face

then wanting more

the first arms

to bathe the first cheeks

the first breath

the first trembling of knees...

could it be that we

uncurled our leaves

initially at least

that we smiled from

the center of our petals

that we got our wings

by drinking from the sea

doughnut cake party

I'm going to a "doughnut cake" party (operative syllable; nut! A first for me.

Anyhow I tried to go for full on penetration but couldn't figure out how to support the upper body in a fully edible manner so settled for this instead. Kind of busy and hard to read visually (particularly in a photo). Maybe should have gone for a chocolate doughnut bed for better contrast. But you get the idea...

Sharon's birthday

The other night we went to a REALLY FUN party with delicious food, nice, happy people and almost spontaneous music (only not spontaneous because people brought instruments just in case...). This is how I fantasize my home being. Lots of creative people stopping by, always a big enough pot of food on the stove, community, music, enjoyment!

That's Sharon, sitting on her bass & tuning her mandolin. I love that image!

one out of four...

cami

i want to make something really beautiful with these and send it to you to say thank you but in the meantime it is not because i don't think these are incredible that you haven't yet heard me say it. thinking about them fills my head at night while i think of embroidered gypsy pouches with one button on each draw string... one day i'll show you what i mean. and you really didn't have to cough up the 5 dollas!!!

ps- the pic of Finley is the best. i hadn't noticed before how the two people in the background are perfectly framed inside the diamonds of the fence. and of course, the face the smile the cookie love is simply divine! & the google eyes too...

some little leafy branchy bundles

all ready for the wood stove

the winter cold

the kindling

all ready for the good heat

with a sweet treat

by the fire...

trees are mostly made of air

sometimes water sometimes wood

of nests birds and flowering fruits

until the winter when they're bare

birds are mostly made of light

sometimes feather sometimes song

a morning tune a hollow bone

against the sky when they're in flight

the sky is mostly made of breath

sometimes blue sometimes gold

of inhales, exhales, lover's swoon

the rumbling thunder warmth of death

death is mostly made of dreams

sometimes nightmare sometimes sweet

from which we wake toward where we lean

collected memory falling leaves

leaves that fall are made of time

sometimes dull sometimes divine

seasons round the sea of seconds

life's most cruel and simple crime

Daily practice...

I finally did it. I asked for a gallery show and I got it... MAY.

Every day I make a 2x2 drawing . Some come out good, some come out.... really RED!

By March or April I'll select ten of these little drawings to enlarge and add collage/other embellishments to. For now this is my daily practice. Inspired or not I make a 2x2 and I've found it to be very interesting. I figure that in 6 months I should be able to come up with 10 images that I like enough to work more on but I think the real project will be the 6 month diary of images. At least for me anyway! & they're really fun to do...