CreativeCoup

They are following me

This bunch even has silver smelly pine cones. 

  

l'odeur à la cannelle, fausse et brute / gross fake cinnamon smell

From October to December my nostrils are assaulted with the fake cinnamon pine cone smell. They must have developed the "cin-aroma" along with the "pine"sol smell because neither come close to the real deal and both make me want to vomit. 

 

Who decided cinnamon is the smell of the season? It's everywhere and no matter where I go, it seems, there is an obligatory holiday display of these smelly pine cones. I think the obnoxious aroma from these pine cones highlights the twisted reality of many holiday celebrations, fake and overdone. They are always at the front of the store so you have to walk by them as you enter. It feels like cigarette smoke to me and seems to adhere to my clothes and hair. I am keeping febreeze in my car so I can decontaminate when necessary.

I swear, I will pass out one day going through the magic doors at the grocery store because I have held my breath trying to get past those fuckers. 

I think egg nogg candles should be outlawed, don't get me started! LOL 

Hallo, möchte ich von Ihnen hören, guten tag

bonjour, j'aimerais entendre de vous

hello, jag skulle tycka om att höra från du

The Mystery Castle

Saturday we couldn't decide what to do, it was such a beautiful day we hated to waste it inside. I remembered visiting this place on a field trip as a kid and decided to see if it was still around. Turns out it is number 14 on a list of 120 things to see in Phoenix. who knew?

 

The castle is located in the foothills of South Mountain Park, the view of downtown Phoenix is worth the trip. This is one of those kitschy (meant lovingly) kinds of places with so much to see. Boyce Luther Gulley spent 15 years building this castle with rocks and glass containers and bottles and discarded auto parts and rejected bricks, oh and priceless artifacts like petroglyph's. 

I would LOVE to have a party at this place! Talk about the ultimate up-cycling project.

These kinds of places really awaken my sense of wonder. What was he thinking? Did people think he was crazy? Would they think he was crazy if they knew some 70 years later people would still visit and be taken by its quirky style? 

 

There are some really cool buildings at the entrance of South Mountain Park, I think I will have to get some pics of the winks there for the holiday cards. (yes, it is already that time, sheesh) 

I had to Ps some graffiti.

 

 
 

November, here today, gone this Tuesday.

It seems like we were just gearing up for tricks and treats and the next thing you know all the pumpkin pie is gone! All those things I was planning for way down the road in November have come and gone and December is staring me square in the eye. yowzie!

I am working on a 1/1 Ornie swap with MLB Studios, fun, I am really enjoying smaller swaps you can work in greater detail without killing yourself in the process. Sometimes you think cutting an 8 sided snowflake with an exacto is no biggie until you are on number 16 of 40! LOL, I know you have been there!

Here is a sample of some fabric I painted for the base of my ornament. I used Clear Heavy Body Gel and stamped into it just for a transparent layer of texture, then dry brushed some white on top of it. It doesn't show quite as well in the picture but it creates a second repeat with the pattern. 

 

My Inbox Overfloweth

It has been a zoo around here with emails. I am working with a great groups of volunteers for several projects and it is getting a tad crazy. I need to sort and save but I couldn't resist documenting the 1000 mark! funny, I will need a venti quad latte to get through them all, then again, maybe I just need a personal assistant. 

I think to mark the occasion I will have a mystery give away. In honor of the New Moon Movie Release it will be a red, black, white themed supply goody pack! 1st comment wins! Woo Hoo!

Love Letters

 

_{^{I wanted to share some very personal love letters with all my sweet blogger friends, I know they get a little mushy so bare with me. I think true love is a thing to celebrate and I am deeply in love so why not shout it from the rooftops?!?!}}

Dear Progesterone,

I wanted to take the time to thank you for being such a special part of my life. Things haven't always been easy for us. It was a shame we ever broke up, we were so good together. A few years ago when you moved out, I never thought I'd see you again and I realized the truth of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." 

When you moved out I got really bitchy and gained weight. Nothing like a lost love to drive you head on into a bag of Doritos. (or 12) My belly ached for you and I felt like I would bleed to death. The heart palpitations were the worst, I was sure I'd die of a broken heart. When you started messing with my head I knew how cruel true love can be. I felt confused and lost, when you left so did my zest for life. Each month the anniversary of your departure devastated me, I was pale, bloated and sluggish. I thought maybe I was just punishing myself for our failed relationship. What had I done to upset you? Had I taken you for granted? I didn't deserve you, as I age the buff and polish is wearing thin and what am I to expect? 

I went to several doctors to see if I could get along without you.  It took time for me to admit I needed you back, you complete me.

I went to great lengths to find you. I spared no expense in tracking you down and I am not embarrassed to admit I hired an investigator to locate you. I was so happy to finally figure out how far away you were and when you arrived on my doorstep I couldn't think of a time I had felt happier.

That first night we were together again was magic, the stars seemed to shine beaming about our reunion. When I woke up the next morning my skin was glowing and I felt like a giddy teenager. I felt my femininity return to me like an early morning pink sunrise, quiet but spectacular.

Having you back was an immediate reminder of how wonderful you are and how blessed I am to have you. The impact your return made in my life brought tears of joy to my eyes.

As the weeks passed I knew I would do whatever it takes to keep you in my life forever. I hope the things we've been through will make our relationship better and stronger. Let's promise each other to put our relationship first so we never fail one another again. I am ready to grow old with you by my side.

I love you forever and ever,

Stephanie

----------------------

Dear Stephanie,

I got your letter and wanted to tell you my side of the story. I am traveling but I will be back on the 12th and we can spend time together again. I am so glad you have welcomed me back after the way I behaved.

You didn't do anything wrong. When I knew you as a younger woman, our life together was simple. I would visit between my travels and you were always there for me. Once you had children things changed between us and it just seemed our relationship got off track. After the rough patch, you were so busy raising toddlers that you hardly noticed when I started visiting less and less. I guess I felt unappreciated but that is no excuse for my behavior. I left perhaps when you needed me most. I will never forgive myself for the pain and discomfort I caused you.

It was sad to see from a distance that you started to let yourself go, hell, girl you could have kept on top of the chin waxes! I noticed that each month you would hibernate with the discomfort of my absence, it was hard to watch. You changed so dramatically I hardly knew you anymore. How do you go back when you don't know if things will ever be the same? I wanted my girl back just like the good ol' days. 

I was overjoyed when you found me. I agree, that first night together again the stars seemed brighter than before. I could tell you were happy to see me to and that meant the world to me. I will never leave you again being apart was too painful for both of us, I see that now. 

I will see you on the 12th this month from now until forever.

Your Knight in shining armor,

Progesterone

Celebrate

Take a moment today to celebrate your life and the lives of those who have passed on.

I made this a few years ago for Dia de los Muertos. 

I am very happy to be working on a shrine for an auction benefitting the children of Oxaca hosted by Rebecca. I saw this last year and was bummed I missed the opportunity. I have been sketching some ideas and I haven't settled on one yet. It is not uncommon for me to have so many ideas brewing about one topic. Sometimes I think it may be easier to just make a series of something to materialize all the ideas and not have to limit myself. I am still on the hunt for the perfect container for my shrine. I will post some pictures of my doodle journal sketches for the shrine in the next few days.

Bwaha ha ha haaaa!

In the Frenzy of the season I participated in a Halloween Book Swap. I was inspired by the creepiest rubber stamps ever created by T!M Holtz mad clowns. heebie geebies I used techniques from a couple of my Art Unraveled classes this year. The pages are made of canvas then layered with stitching, gesso, paint, ink, and tissue paper.

 

 

 

 

The pages I got back are very cool one of my favorites is of Marie Antoinette carrying her head in a birdcage, gory and gorgeous at the same time! 

I have been reading so much lately about bloggers posting other artists work it leaves me uncomfortable to post any more pictures of other peoples creations period. I have many mixed feelings about this and I am letting them marinate before I devote a post to that subject. 

I would love to get some feedback on this. You can email me swright426@aol.com if you don't want to make your thoughts public.

I had a funny situation recently, someone took an exact description and photo of something off my blog and posted in another forum. I recognized it instantly and thought, wow that's weird, that is my stuff. It was a gut reaction and I thought, I'd love to know what they thought. Surely their opinion and picture wouldn't be the same as mine, verbatim. 

What are your thoughts about the wild animal known as blogs and posting artwork made by other people? 

Is imitation the best form of flattery even in the artistic porridge of the web? 

What if I think I am doing you a favor to "advertise" for you even though you didn't ask me to?

What if I seem very nice and say thank you, even though I didn't really ask?

Do artists "own" techniques or styles? 

When artists release books does all propriety fly out the window? 

How have artists through the ages dealt with the subject of mimicry? Did you notice that it's mi mi cry?

Is it just artist drama in the year 2009? 

Don't all artists borrow and build on the backs of the artists before them to some degree? 

When you pay for a class $30-$400 does it give you the right to glean material you can recycle into your own class? Are there grey areas here and how does "inspired by" differ from "copied from?" 

Do instructors have the right to photograph and publish what you make in their class?

Why has there been such an uneasy shift recently with posting art on blogs, are we sharing too much? Are we too attached to what we create? Is it ok to borrow if the blogger isn't very well known, or does this only apply to "famous/published" artists?

Are more blogs becoming advertisements or is it just me?

My Sister Versus the Cockroach.

Books still available if your interested, see the previous post.

You should know that I have my sister's blessing in sharing the events and pictures of last Saturday night, and even if I didn't I would still do it. 

I had just taken my bedtime cough syrup and was watching SNL when my nephew called at 11:30PM, he had 'that' tone in his voice when he asked "Bippy, do you know where a 24 hour urgent care is?" (yeah, they call me Bippy) 

As I googled frantically to find the nearest location I say "ok, what's going on?" "um, my mom fell and hurt herself." 

I keep him on the phone while making calls to Urgent Care facilities that say they are 24 hour only to find they have shortened their hours and in our area the only option is the ER. My nephew only recently got his drivers license and doesn't have much experience with the big suburban so I decided to go get her.

It is important to note that I have been very sick, the nasty cough that makes you gag as you piss your pants kind of sick. 

Her boys and I carry and drag her to the car, her 100lb  black Labrador (Venus) thinks it's time to 'go with Bippy' and charges toward the car. (I have been known to drive the dog around the block in the minivan, I don't really know how it started) I see another catastrophe about to occur and manage to get the door shut and wrastle Venus back into the house. I was shocked about how messed up Kelly seemed to be, she couldn't put any weight on her feet and her hand was on ice. Good thing her boys are Eagle Scouts and have trained rigorously for such an event.

As we drive to the ER Kelly says "do you want to know what happened?"  

"yes, what the hell did you do to yourself, you are a mess."

"well, I was in the shower and I pulled a towel open to dry myself off and there was a 3 inch cockroach on my towel. So I freaked out and kind of lost my balance and when I went to steady myself I grabbed onto the shower door which flew open. The next thing I knew I was on the floor. I laid there and cried for a minute and steadied myself on my knees to grab another towel and realized that I haven't been vacuuming very well because I had black dog hair stuck all over my wet body. I crawled over to my bed and covered up, then I called the boys to get me some clothes."

That is when the hysterical giggling began, I explained that she should omit the cockroach part or people would think she is gross. I express concern that teenage boys would be traumatized knowing their Mom was naked under the covers and they had to touch her panties. Then she holds up her hand and her finger looked like a knobby carnation stem that got bent in the package. Then the giggles got worse.

She was doing the snorting giggle while I took this photo. 

We pull up to the ER and I run up to get a wheel chair, they only had the extra large wheel chair. It was so big it couldn't fit in between the cars. Every time I would start to laugh I would also start the gross crypt keeper cough, which made Kelly laugh that much harder. We were quite a pair, her with the noodle finger and me with the phlegm. I told her she looked like Edith Ann and that's the truth :P thhhhthpppp.

She was trying to look pitiful in this photo.

We rolled into the ER and can I say Mercy, Mercy they were not prepared for two slap happy sisters with the giggles. The triage nurse was very nice, when Kelly started to tell him what happened I began to laugh again and as I coughed and gagged the nice guy asked if I needed something for my cough. 

I think the reason this was so funny is because while she was in a bit of pain she wasn't in agony. I have had too many occasions to visit the ER with people who are at the edge of death and have really serious issues so a broken finger is just nothing to be worried about.

"Kelly, don't go towards the light."

They sent in another nurse to do the evaluation and she said," do you want something for the pain?' Kelly, who has 9lb babies with no pain meds casually says, "I am probably fine." The nurse says "let's see the finger." I think she didn't believe with all the giggles that is was ER worthy. When Kelly lifted up her hand and gravity pulled her finger over like the golden arches the nurses eyes widened  asked again about pain meds. I said "you better give her something, she must have hit her head too."

Once Kelly was flying high on percocet and my cough syrup kicked in there was no end to our laughter. The freak show that is the ER on a Saturday night provides rich sources of laughter and characters you just couldn't dream up. It wasn't busy which was great but we still didn't get outta there till 4:15.

We headed toward her house and came across a very sweet and chatty pharmacist. (must be lonely at the 24 hour Walgreens) We decided to make a run to the border for burritos while she filled the scrip. I asked her if she wanted anything and I swear her eyes welled up when she said "nobody has ever offered to bring me food, that is sooooo nice." She must not have sisters or friends.

When we got her back home it was even harder to get her back in the house because she was still loopy from the drugs and couldn't figure out how the hell to hop on her almost good foot. This resulted in me bending over and her pressing both pointy elbows into the small of my back. We counted one, two, hop all the way inside to her chair where she has remained for four days, all thanks to the cockroach.

She told our mother that it was the most fun we have ever had together, must have been the percocet.

I feel the moral of this story is that at our age you should be more afraid of falling than a damn cockroach. 

I got the books, if you got the time.

Here are a few books that need to find someone new to share their story with.

Just leave a comment with the book you're interested in, first come, first serve. :)

 

Stardust- pure rich fantasy, magic and mystery weave together like chocolate and peanut butter. Just a very fun escape of a book, I'd love to visit the world he created. Mini peanut butter cups (chilled of course)  from Trader Joe's are the perfect snack for this book. 250 pages make it a great escape while the kids are at school.

The Birth of Venus- gorgeous historical fiction, the way the author describes the act of painting and sketching is inspired. It has all the perfect elements of everything forbidden in the 1500's. I was hooked from the prologue and I never read them. For this book you're gonna need a balance of salty and sweet, perhaps a flavored potato chip and fruity iced tea.

Both Birth of Venus and Stardust are heading to Cali, thanks Kelly, hope you enjoy!
 

Wings-I bought this because it came with the endorsement of Stephenie Meyer. It is teen lit at it's best, the ho-hum of the typical life with a dash of adventure. It's short and sweet with a dash of danger. I recommend hard candy to go with this book, watermelon jolly rancher would be perfect!

 

The Woman's Retreat book- I have had this for quite awhile. This book is a blueprint for setting aside time to be with yourself and creating intention with rituals. I liked the direct approach of claiming your time and your space while setting goals for reflection or spiritual enrichment. Warm tea with honey and a carrot or zucchini muffin would pair nicely with this book.