SNOW!!

Our first snow of the season. Went to the movie -- the new Harry Potter movie -- 3 hours long -- jeez!-- went out to eat, and when we came out, it was snowing, just in t ime for Turkey day,. Maybe there will still be some on the ground tomorrow. Pretty.

I've been not too well the last couple of weeks.... just feeling icky without knowing why. No energy, feeling sick, but I don't have a cold or a fever or whatever. Finally went to the doctor (told him I was there to whine at him ), but of course he had no idea either. They did some blood tests, but now I can't get ahold of them or get anyone to call me back re: results. Sigh.

 

 

Ahh... now I can add text. Why didn't this window come up FIRST ALREADY???? Stooopid site.

Here's some nice flowers for the day.
 

Same fleurs. Ignore junk on table. The fuchia color was really dynamite. This doesn't quite capture it. 

Pretty flowers from the supermarket. I liked them so much, I'd like to make a potholder of them. I cut out some shapes with a dark background, but so far it's not quite right. I think I need a brighter yellow fabric. 

 

Africa 2

Hmmm... this time this stoopid thing won't let me start the text where I would like.

This is a quite large work done in the same technique as Waterfall 2. I think it's about 48" tall. It was a commission for American Airlines in Ft. Worth, TX, requested after they opened up routes to Africa. This work has all the cities and towns in Africa written all over the papers. I did most of the lettering when Steve (my husband) and I were visiting Carolina's aunt in Fortaleza (Brasil). I had bought a big map of Africa, and I systematically went through each country and wrote down all the cities and towns, and, oh yeah, the name of the country too.
The commission was based on earlier work I did called Africa Africa, now owned by some people in Talla., FL, where we used to live. I was concerned that the AA people might not like having barbed wire down the center. To me, it was a political statement. But tghey said, no, they liked the barbed wire because they were in Texas and Texas is cattle country. (Remind me never to work with barbed wire again!! -- because it was a grand pain in the neck to 1) straighten it out, and 2) to cut it. I used heavy gloves.)

Well, well, here's an old artwork of mine that I found on a website and was able to download to the desktop, and now here it is posted online. A major accomplishment for me!

It's one of my paper works (duh) where I use onion skin papers (yeah, the kind you used to use as a carbon copy in a typewriter [remember those?!!]), and I 'write' on the papers with a gold calligraphy pen and Caran d'Ache oil crayons. I may have used something from the I Ching in this work. Can't remember, and I'll have to go find it to see if I can figure out what I did. After some scribbling, I have fun using watercolors to put a lot of different colors over the gold and crayons. Both have a wonderful resist effect which I really like. When the papers are dry, I go over them with an acrylic medium to seal them. After that dries, I cut the sheets into quarters so I'm left with all these small rectangles of paper. Then I take a plexiglas rod about the size of a pencil, roll the papers loosely around it, and scrunch up the paper like you do with the paper on a straw. This gives the paper a very interesting texture, and it is then possible to fold and bend them in all kinds of interesting ways. I like these simple triangles. I fold the papers and glue them, and then I glue the triangle shapes to a background, usually foam core. This one has telephone wires down the center. It's not a very big piece.

I'm going to paste Arlee Barr's notes about herself here. They're interesting, and maybe they'll help me to think of similar things about myself. I "met" Arlee through Susan Sorell's on-line class thru Joggles.com on Fabric Collage where we learned how to make little quilts with applique and embroidery and beads and which I got everyone to call potholders 'cause that's about how big they are.

This is Arlee Barr:
1. I'm Canadian through and through.
2. I'm divorced with a 21 year old son.
3. I love all my cats and step-cats
4. I own 4 sewing machines and a serger
5. My day job is as a floral designer
6. I'm 5'9"
7. My hair constantly changes colour
8. Right now it's burgundy
9. I love to write
10. But not as much as I love to sew
11. I learned to sew when I was 5
12. By age 9, I was making my own clothes
13. My home ec teacher hated me cause I already knew how to make an apron
14. And I wanted--and did--more complicated projects than the other girls
15. My school friends thought I dressed weirdly
16. I was expressing my individuality with those red fake fur hotpants and blouses made from Granny's curtains
17. I don't usually use patterns
18. Unless I make the pattern myself
19. My mother was my biggest inspiration for being different from everyone else
20. My mother taught me to think outside of the box
21. I have my mother's sense of humour
22. My favourite colours are orange, purple and copper
23. I don't care for diamonds
24. Unless they're stitched with metallic threads
25. My favourite techniques are free motion embroidery and applique/collage
26. My favourite art period is the 20's and 30's
27. I make very strange dolls
28. I've finally entered my first artquilt challenge
29. I don't really like Christmas
30. But I like the feeling
31. I like shiny things
32. I'm learning to be more selective about collecting things
33. I'm learning to be more selective about collecting friends
34. I've supported myself and my son with my art
35. I never buy small spools of thread
36. All my fabrics are grouped either by colour, or by type
37. I could sew for a year and barely make a dint in my stash
38. I need more stash
39. I loathe plaids
40. My favourite fabrics are velvets, brocades and sheers
41. Texture and tactile quality are very important to me in my fabric choices
42. I like to teach
43. I'm a patient, clear, enthusiastic teacher
44. I don't understand people who don't know how/don't like to sew
45. I'm getting married again next summer
46. I've already designed my dress
47. It will not be white, traditional or conventional
48. It will be semi-mediaeval with a 20's flair
49. I've been only to one wedding and one baby shower
50. I've been to too many funerals
51. I believe in the 5 major food groups
52. Mostly they are sugar, salt, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol
53. But I do eat properly too and believe in exercise
54. I am neurotic about my sewing studio
55. It's the only place in my home that is organized
56. Most of what I own is in my studio
57. I want money to do things, not money to have things
58. I want to win the lottery
59. I just haven't figured out how to do that without buying a ticket
60. I have a list of people who will share in the winnings
61. I believe work is work and there is no shame in it
62. My best job ever was working on a garbage truck on Bowen Island
63. My worst job was selling shoes
64. I like my current job
65. My dream job would be to be jobless
66. Jobless actually means self employed
67. I hate confrontation
68. But I will stand up for myself
69. I can say no
70. I say yes a lot
71. I'm a published poet, book critic and illustrator
72. I've always wanted to write a trashy novel and a children's book
73. I've worked in theatre as a costume designer, stage manager and props master
74. I was in the Society for Creative Anachronism for 12 years
75. My persona was a slightly sleazy Russian gypsy
76. My family background is english, irish, french and russian
77. My family smuggled from England to France during the Napoleonic Wars
78. I would love to see the Rose Windows at Notre Dame de Chartres
79. I've been to Mexico once
80. I used to think computers were only good for storing recipes
81. Now I can't live without one
82. I spend too much time on the computer
83. I never finished high school
84. I'm not conceited but I know I'm damned good at what I do
85. I collect bones
86. I have skeletons in my closet
87. I made a jacket with bones appliqued on it that says "No Skeletons In My Closet"
88. I share and play well with others
89. I'm actually an introvert and a loner
90. People never guess that
91. I love my Grey Man very much
92. I don't believe in UFO's but I know there are ghosts
93. I love horror movies
94. The original 1961 B and W Night of the Living Dead still scares the crap out of me
95. I remember all my dreams
96. I dream in colour
97. My favourite movies are The Princess Bride and Dangerous Beauty
98. I hate/d anything Star Wars
99. My favourite actors are Sandra Bullock, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicholas Cage and Clive Owen
100. I'm a big CSI fan
101. I love all the shows about forensic investigation
102. I wanted to be a forensic specialist
103. Hmmmmmm that's more than 100 things about me...



I started a list on me earlier, but it turned into more detail than necessary. So I'll try again:
1. Born and raised in Calif. I still consider that "home" even if I haven't lived there in a long time.
2. I'm married... 2nd time.. First marriage lasted only a few months, and we got divorced 3 years later when Calif. changed the laws so you didn't have to declare adultery or whatever. I think the reasons after the change were irreconcilable differences and insanity. I went with the
insanity reason.

Fucking computer went and erased something.


Steve and I have been together for since 1970!!!! We got married after living together for 19 years. (The warranty was about to run out.)
3. No kids, but Steve has a daughter who is Brazilian, Carolina. I'll let you figure out that soap opera story.
4. I've had a cat or cats for almost all of my life. Current cats are 2 black buzzers I call the Beasty Boys. Well, one doesn't really buzz. You have to feel his throat to see if he is purring. Never learned how to purr out loud.
5. I have just reacquired a sewing machine but can't get it to work properly. Haven't sewn since we left Brazil... 20+ years.
6. I'm 5'4" and never mind how old I am or how much I weigh. I used to be skinny. (Just had a birthday.... my official age is 37).
7. My hair is blonde, but I just noticed that it's gotten very dark underneath on the top.
8. I have blue eyes.
9. I used to write and write and write, and most of my jobs involved writing. Now I am burned out on writing. (And here I am yapping away here.)
10. I have some degrees... graduated from college with a major in German ('cause I was an exchange student to Germany my jr. year) and a minor in English. Also have an MS in Communications, an MA in Soc., and a PhD in Soc. Never taught. Hated it.
11. I learned how to think outside of the box when I was in grad. school at Berk. The FSM (Freedom of Speech Movement) was going on then, and the newspapers lied about it everyday, saying there were riots on campus when there were not. So I learned not to believe everything the papers print.
12. Being an exchange student twice (also summer abroad to France in high school) really opened my horizons. Otherwise, I think I would have been a close-minded bigot who saw the world in one way only, and my way woul dhave been the only 'right' way.
13. I have a sense of humor... even if it's weird.
14. I have strong political and philosophical (not sure there's a difference) opinions.
15. I believe in a god, but she's definitely female and most likely is a black woman who is mad as hell.
16. I am not black, I'm white.
17. My favorite colors.... What's not to like? I love color, esp. bright, wild ones.
18. My favorite art period is the Impressionists.... and then there's Van Gogh, and expressionism, and lots of modern art. Also like cave paintings.
19. I love music. Music is very important to me. At one point, I wanted to be a singer, and I probably could have been one if I hadn't been too shy to sing in public. I have a decent voice. Now I sing in the car, along with the radio. I love rock and roll, jazz, and a lot of classical. Not much use for country or opera.
20. I've been calling myself an artist for a long time now. I've made handmade paper, other paper sculptures with watercolors and crayons, and am now making pot holders.
21. I was accepted into lots of shows, have won awards, didn't sell much. But I can't give it up.
22. My real life jobs have been varied: waitress, short-order cook (at college... I always burnt the hamburgers... didn't know better.... that was how my mother cooked them), social worker, computer programmer, project in Chicago on teenage mothers, directed a federal project on migrant farmworkers in Florida, managing editor of an academic journal. I lost that job about 3 years ago and haven't been outside employed since then. Feel guilty about it.
23. I like Xmas, but it'll never be like it was when I was a kid.
24. Re: Arlee's #52: Oh Arlee, I'm sorry you smoke. What a bummer.
25. I never smoked. Thank god. My husband smoked for a long time. We fought about it. He finally quit. I am so glad.
26. I once refused to get cigarettes for a friend when I was going out to the store. I said, Please don't ask me to do that. He called me a bitch. But we're still friends. I think he's stopped smoking, maybe because his partner is HIV-positive. And after maybe 20 years, he still has not developed AIDS. Thank god.
25. In the 70s, we lived with other people. That means we shared a house. The best years were in the Palo Alto area, and the best place was Stony Ridge. That was with Stu and Daphne, who are still some of our best friends.... and others. There were 6 of us. Because of the era, people thought we must be "dirty hippies." One person came to visit and made a comment about how clean our house was. We were all much too middle class to be "dirty hippies."
26. We also shared a house when we were at Cornell, a big old Victorian farmhouse. Rent for the whole house, $150/mo. A bargain even back then. That was with Jacqui and Doug, who are also still very good friends.
27. I play a lot of tennis. This is something I got into after playing a lot of racquetball and not being able to find female partners to play with. If I beat the guys, they would get into a snit like little 8-year-old boy brats. So I switched to tennis, which I'd had a long time aversion to because it seemed snooty and elitist. But in Talla., where we used to live, I made many friends among tennis players, and there were hardly any snooty types. However, it was way too lily-white.... hardly any black players, for ex.
28. Tennis keeps me sane, besides being good exercise. I play pretty good at my level.
29. And I watch tennis on TV. Would love to go to the US Open, the French Open, and Wimbleton sometime. And Australia too. Why not?
30. The house is a mess. I used to know where things were, even when it was a mess. Now I don't know where ANYTHING is. Can't handle it. It's been this way for 5 years since we moved.
31. Wow. Arlee is a published poet, book critic, AND illustrator!
32. I haven't even published my disertation, even though I was approached by a publisher. At that point, I never wanted to see it again.
33. I've always wanted to write a book that would get published. I have started books.... all from dreams... a fairy tale (this was started 100 years ago when I had a fabulous dream that started me off -- we were on a trip with S & D in Africa in the Serengeti in Tanzania... I wrote and wrote and wrote. I have filled 5 big notebooks with scribbles), a mystery story where I fly, a story about a big family and a girl with red hair who falls in love with a guy who goes away with no word for 2 years.
34. My family background... hmm... all this is way back when. My father used to say his relatives were here before the Mayflower. Norwegian background. And I always said that meant they must have been pirates. On my mother's side, Scotch, Irish, French, English, My middle name, never mind what (Pinocchio, ha ha) is French from a great great grandmother or something. My mother had black black hair and startling blue eyes.
35. Most interesting part of my father's background was being in Brasil in the 1500s, in Pernambuco, which is now where Recife is and which ain't that far from Natal, where Steve and I lived for 2 years. That blew me away when I found that out. 4 children born there. The father, after whom my father was named, Theodorus Polhemus, stayed behind when the French and the ... gosh I've forgotten which country now... anyway, there was a war over who was to control Brasil. This man sent his family off to NY, to Brooklyn, where they lived on Flatbrush Ave. !!! He stayed behind to make sure the Portuguese Jews got out safely. He was a Dutch minister... which probably means Lutheran? I love this story because Steve is Jewish and he grew up in Brooklyn and Flatbush Ave. is famous. My ancestor was the first Dutch minister in New Amsterdam... this is later NYC.
36. Also I hadn't known that there are Clawsons all over the Finger Lakes region around Ithaca.
That blew me away too. All these "coincidences" in my life. My mother had a collection of old letters between 2 brothers... one migrated to that part of New York state and the other went on to Michigan, which is where my father is from. The letters told of how Lake Cayuga froze over, and they were able to cross it to get away from Indians. Lake Cayuga is VERY deep, so I think this is a very rare occurrence. Imagine how cold it must have been. Also the horses got some awful disease that made their skin fall off. Yuk. I read these letters. My sister must have them somewhere. I sure hope she does.
37. Oh yeah, I have one sister. She's younger than me, by 18 months. We fought like cats and dogs when we were growing up. People think she's older than me because her hair is all white. Our mother's hair turned all white too, when she was 40. Probably when she lost our brother, who was born and died before we were born. He got his arm caught in an old washing machine wringer, and an incompetent anethesiologist murdered him. Awful story. My father never got over it. He could never talk about it, had to leave the room.
38. I would have been a totally different person with an older brother.
39. Ah... so Arlee has a French background but has never been to Paris. (# 78)
40. I've been to Paris many many many times. When we first moved here (near DC), I used to say that I knew the Paris metro better than the DC metro... which was true.
41. Because of Steve, I have traveled traveled and traveled. I am so lucky.
42. Oh yeah. I love to travel.
43. I used to think computers were a pain in the neck. (They still are in many ways.)
44. Now, like Arlee, I can't imagine living without one.
45. I may have to buy a laptop.
46. Arlee never finished high school!!! Wow. But she is so smart and creative.
47. # 85: She collects bones????!!!!
48. I collect stamps, but they sit on top of a messy desk, and I haven't put them in albums for months (although I did buy a new stamp book when we were in Hamburg in May.. I like the European ones... also they're easy to find in dept. stores and they're cheaper). Also have many stamps that I tear off from envelopes sitting in a box on the counter that need to soaked to take the paper off.
49. I collect... there's so much junk around, I must collect something else. ??? Junk, I think.
Now I seem to be collecting little fabric stashes. Love all those colors. See flickr.com/photos/zanny
50. I'm so much better at sharing and playing with others since I met Steve. I never wanted to share with my sister.... partly because she just took things without asking. Steve is one of the most generous people I've ever known, and he taught me to be generous. Now I believe that if you give it away, it will come back to you.
51. Oh yeah, I love to go to movies, and I love to read, esp. mysteries. However, lately, I've been doing X-word puzzles instead of reading (late at night in bed).
52. I started doing X-word puzzles 100 years ago when I came down with horrible depression. I think that coincided with the onset of menopause. At first, I could hardly do the little ones in the paper. Now those take me about 5 mins.
53. I've been having hot flashes for 20 years. 20 years!!!!!!! I asked my mother-in-law how long they lasted. She said, You don't want to know.
54. I have the nicest mother-in-law in the world. I am so lucky. And she would win the prize for best mother-in-law because she would think everybody else's mother-in-law is better than she is.
55. I'm mostly an introvert. I don't like parties where I hardly know anyone. Big parties are torture for me. I used to hide in a corner and read a magazine. Now I'm better at pretending to be human .
56. However, I realize that it's good -- important -- for me to go out and be among people.
56a. I also avoid big public gatherings, like concerts, or policital affairs on the Mall in DC, for ex. This is because years ago in Paris, we were up at Montmartre on 14. Juillet to watch the fireworks. Afterwards, when everyone was leaving, the crowd had to go thru a narrow place to get to the steps leading down from Sacre Coeur. The crowd was so thick, pressed in there, that if you had fallen, you would have been trampled to death. I was terrified, and now I avoid all situations like that.
57. I used to be terminally shy. That stopped when I worked at the Spot at college -- combination teeny tiny bookstore and short order place.
58. I learned to talk back and speak up for myself.
59. Of course, now I'm quite obnoxious.
60. But I can be nice too.
61. Hmmm.... UFOs. .... Who knows? Anything is possible.
62. 'Nuff for now.

I'm adding another blog so the Dreamz blog will just contain dreams. This one will be as the title says.