Objects of Desire

For the show "Objects of Desire", a sale for the Springfield Regional Arts Council, I did something I've long wanted to do....paint shoes.  Not just any shoes, but my sneakers...with an homage to Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night."

Fun project.  Fun results.

Photo Recap

Find Fun Where You Can Get It

I had lots of reasons to smile last night.  All of the reasons had to do with the evening, a fund-raiser for R.A.E.   Tess Harper was the featured reader.  The evening consisted of:

• Two short stories of Daniel Woodrell's, one read by Kurt Heinlein, a wonderful, young MSU theatre professor and CEC member.  The stories were so visual, so creepy, even funny (but I felt guilty laughing at the cruelty...wierd stuff, very Woodrell).  Tess Harper enacted the last Woodrell story and concluded the evening with a lively reading.
• An excellent story by Woodrell's wife, Katie Estill, the story read by three women, one of whom is Donna Bloodworth, wife of Terry Bloodworth, the glass blower.  Donna is an actress in her own right.  Sarah Wiggin and Maggie Marlin of R.A.E, rounded out the performance. 
• And the fine feeling of, oh, we're doing something cool, something different, something worthwhile (know the feeling?)

I was feeling like hot stuff, with my bright orange, pleated, short Loft skirt, orange tights, blue-pinned striped shirt from H&M, and my uber-cool navy, orange, red, russet printed cardigan from Target.  I was turning heads, dude.  When I walked in, Tess Harper herself complimented me on my outfit.  I was hot stuff.  As I sat down and took off my coat, my hand brushed across the back of my skirt.  Which was tucked inside my tights. 

Humble.  Pie.  Thank you very much.

I had to laugh.  It was a great evening.

Tess Harper was completely real and down-to-earth.  The readings were excellent. 

And I'm wearing pants today.

Five Is the Funnest Number...

according to Junie Bugs Elizabeth Chumbley who turned five on Octatober (her pronunciation) 26th.  Oh, the excitment of growing older when you are five.

It was a fun, family effort to celebrate with this beloved grandchild.  Peach pie was the requested dessert

preceeded by a handmade invitation to a very select group of friends

Even while waiting for Saskia to arrive, we were in full party mode.

We pinned features on a pumpkin (re-used from last year).  It was a little baffling to the three, four and five year old set who wanted to "correct" one another's art work.

But the height of the evening was a puppet show put on my Grammy and Poppy (narration by Poppy, special effects by Grammy).  The evening was rather sedate up to that point.  But the spiders in the puppet show brought out lots of laughs and squeals.

What a wonderful group of girls!  Grammy and Poppy had a blast with these delightful ladies.

Thanks be to God for June and Christa.







Parallel Universe

A world within a world.  Or a world on top of your world.  Check this out.

http://pleaseenjoy.com/projects/personal/parallel-world/#image355

I Love The Internet

and I love travel.  And I love it when ideas and possibilities meet and marry and live happily ever after.

I recently discovered "Atlas Obscura:  A Compendium of the World's Wonders, Curiosities and Esoterica."  Type in a search for your state and see what's in your neck of the woods to be discovered.

Currently On The Bedside Table

Sigh.  You gotta read this book.  No, you've got to slowly savor this book, one delightful page at a time.  Maybe with a glass of red wine in one hand and some cheese in the other.  While sitting in a comfortable chair.  After napping.



Later That Same Weekend

I learned how to eat an ice cream cone.  Who knew it was an whole body experience?

Happiness is a chocolate ice cream cone.



Yup, It Was A Good Weekend

No, it wasn't all about alcoholic excess.

I took an iPhoneography class at the Gilloz Theatre Saturday morning from Elise Ellis, studio photographer and iPhone proponent.  After an informative introduction, covering topics such as:

• how to organize your photographs
• types of light
• elements of composition
• iPhone options
• external applications
• editing applications

she turned us loose in downtown Springfield to photograph the world around us.

On a beautiful, bright fall day, it wasn't hard to do.  

Ullapool View

I'm well on my way to my goal of having a dozen paintings ready for a show (venue still to be determined) by the end of October.  This is painting number 11, entitled "Ullapool View."  Ullapool, a small town on the west coast of Scotland is well worth the visit; for the views, for the hiking and for the music. 

All American Girls...

drive tractors.

They pet big cows. 

They are fearless.

Half the Sky

Sometimes, movies move me deeply and it takes time to process them and to respond.  One such movie, that I saw Sunday evening, is Half the Sky.

I don't even know how to write about it.  So, lamely, all I can do is refer/copy from their website:

"The Half the Sky Movement is cutting across platforms to ignite the change needed to put an end to the oppression of women and girls worldwide, the defining issue of our time. Inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book of the same name, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide brings together video, websites, games, blogs and other educational tools to not only raise awareness of women's issues, but to also provide concrete steps to fight these problems and empower women. Change is possible, and you can be part of the solution.

The Series

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide includes a four-hour television series for PBS and international broadcast, shot in 10 countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the U.S. Traveling with intrepid reporter Nicholas Kristof and A-list celebrity advocates America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde, the series introduces women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable — and fighting bravely to change them. Their intimate, dramatic and immediate stories of struggle reflect viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offer an actionable blueprint for transformation. The series will premiere in the United States Oct. 1 and 2, 2012, with international broadcast to follow." 

For the women and the girls in your life, for the women and girls around the world, get and read the book; watch the film.  Be open and be changed. 



Arran Rocks

in more ways than one!

Please try to ignore the shadows in the middle.  I used some older canvas for this that had been folded in half.  The painting has been wetted down and is stretching in the studio over night and the creases should be gone by tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.

Prayer of Being

My dear friend Jennifer shared this beautiful, Celtic-like prayer/song with me.  Spoiler-alert!  If you don't want your spirit to be lifted, don't read these words (Words and Music by Mark Hayes):

Be in my life,
Be in my breath;
Be in my walk,
Be in my rest.
Be in this humble heart of mine;
Be ever present in my mind.

Be in my hands,
Be in my feet;
Be in my eyes
And in my speech.
Be in the smile I give away;
Be in each healing word I say.

Be in my work,
Be in my play:
Be in the struggles of each day.

Be in my joy,
Be in my pain;
Be in my loss,
Be in my gain.
Be in my thoughts,
Be in my song;
Be in my spirit all day long.

Be in my prayers,
At dawn's first light;
Be in my dreams,
all through the night.

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
The prayer of my heart
Forever shall be;
In in You and You in me.

God bless you today,
Penny

Saying Du Jour

The problem with doing everything is that you have no time for doing nothing
    -- Anonymous

In the Company of Strangers

Once upon a time, a couple from the Midwest in the United States took a long, long journey to a far away place, a place of water, sky, mountains, sheep and wildflowers.  In this land, people of good hearts and a lilting language lived.  They spoke in poetry and told wonderful stories.  Let's visit some of these characters:

• a Glaswegian cab driver who described the look of his sulky, teenaged daughter as "the look of one thousand stares"
• a distributor of British made vacuum cleaners on a religious pilgrimage to Iona with a twinkle in his eyes, ruddy cheeks and stories to tell
• the English actor David Suchet, in his every day personna on a lashing wet day in the Iona Heritage Centre, sharing a video program with the handful of other visitors
• young Charles, wearer-of-Viking-hat, lover of Viking culture and church architecture (and vicars) and his loving, devoted mother Charlotte, soon to be made redundant from her teaching post.  Charles, with a terminal disease, partial blindness, mild CP, a stroke survivor, walking with a limp and a strong need for paternal love.  Charles:  talkative, other-worldly, living intensely, needing hugs and touches.  Charlotte, abandoned by her husband at Charles' birth, ignored by both sides of the family and soon to face unemployment.  Cheerful, determined, careful Charlotte.  Mother and son on holiday, watching every penny, camping wild, alone together. 
• a young woman of tumbling, curly, soft red hair dressed in a mossy, green sweater trimmed in grosgrain ribbon, a green tweed skirt and knee high wellies. 
• an English woman on the ferry to Harris who comes back every year, for the landscape and seascapes and the mystery that is Harris
• our neighbor down the lane in Harris, who walks in the heavy rain without umbrella or hat, his snow white hair shining in the gray rain, a man of "wee" jobs in the community, helping his neighbors with sheep shearing and sheep rustling (is there such a thing?)
• an English couple who spoke in whispers about a secret hotel/castle on the south of the island in a secret location
• a Danish/Scottish potter who, with his photographer wife, renovated an old Mission House, escaping the demands of life in London
• a world class weaver, provider of Harris Tweeds to the tailors on Savile Row, an MBE
• members of the Harris Gaelic Choir, singing songs of beauty and longing with clear, strong voices of passion and purity.  Singers who bring tears to the eyes of the listeners.

This place of peace, this mystical place is peace:  inner and outer peace.  It is a place of rest, of clean air.  This place feels like home, home in the truest sense.

Happy Birthday Matt!

I bet you've never seen cupcakes like this before.

These are technicolor cupcakes created by these two little chefs:

Yes, we all wear name badges in our test kitchen.

We were all so busy having fun that we (um, grammy) forgot to put the shortening in the batter.  Hence, no after shot.  I'll leave that to your imagination.  Needless to say, they were made with love.

Scottish Coastlines

What the Isle of Harris Means to Me...Yes, Another Photo Essay

What Iona Means To Me...Another Photo Essay

So sad to go