Weekend Plans - Memorial, Weather and Art

Today I will be leaving work early to attend my friend Rich's memorial/visitation in the funeral home north of the Twin Cities. Chickie will be helped by Jim and Chickie Mama to keep things going while I'm out of the shop. So I'll go up north in the rain and hug my friend's widow and daughter and wish that the whole thing was just a bad dream. But it's not.

We're supposed to be getting crazy weather today. Just a few weeks ago we were in spring with temps in the 60's and 70's. The flowers had popped on the trees, the tulips and daffodils were blooming and the grass was growing tall. What happened to spring, though? We've cooled down, and for the past week or so there has even been snow in parts of the state, some of it very heavy. I want spring to return. But, if it rains, I'm prepared. When I visited Milwaukee last year, I met up with a fellow writer, Zhie, and her husband a couple of times for dinner and drinks. They were really fun people and I fell in love with Zhie's Samuri-style umbrella. Since my own umbrella was broken, I needed a replacement. I just received my own Samuri-style umbrella in the mail yesterday. Now I'm set! Call me happy and bring on the rain!

My DH and I are tempted to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Art for Art In Bloom tomorrow. We happened to be at the Institute on the last day that they did this event and it was really interesting, even if it was more crowded than usual. The publicity text states:

  Join us for the 29th year of Art in Bloom, a four-day festival of fresh floral arrangements and fine art, presented by the Friends of the Institute at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This splendid spring celebration and fund-raiser highlights the talents of more than 150 floral artists, whose work will be on view next to the works of art that inspired them.

 The interpretations of the artwork in florals can range from just the colors to the actual sweeps of figures and sometimes the addition of sculptures, etc to have similarities to the artwork. Then the flowers are placed next to the artwork that influenced their construction. It's really interesting to see the inspiration next to the created work. Some of them are fabulous. We'll consider going, but having a lazy day at home also has its charms so...hard to say what we'll end up with.

Lilacs, Stories and Clothes

The lilacs suddenly came into bloom on Sunday. There was an electric current running silently from one bush to another throughout town and everyone agreed on a time. Suddenly, where there had been leafy green bushes, there were verdant high clumps of flowers blasting forth with their heady perfume and delighting the senses with their colors. Dark and intense purples, medium red-tinged purples of the French varieties, and the creamy whites, all are now blooming and making the city beautiful. It always amazes me that they are so wonderfully giving of themselves. I love lilacs, they are a sure sign of spring/summer, and their presence throughout our city just makes it even more beautiful.

I had been in a bit of a rut story-wise, just working on revisions of my B2ME stories before I post them at my archives. But yesterday both LOTR Community and Teitho came out with their May challenges and they are interesting to me, so I'm back into thinking about fiction again. That makes me happy because I don't just want to concentrate on the research I'm doing for my November novel. Since I can't write anything on the novel until November 1st (according to NaNoWriMo rules) I can only research, establish characters and dialects in my head, and decide on my plotlines, etc. I am thinking quite a bit about that, but it will be a relief to have some other things to work on in the interim.

I need to go shopping. I hate shopping, I hate shopping for clothes, I hate shopping. Did I mention I hate shopping? But three of my skirts bit the dust over the past year and yesterday one of my favorite shirts also died. I really should do a major shop, but the property taxes are due in two weeks, so that won't happen. But, if I can find one shirt and one skirt, I'll be happy. *sigh* Time to go shopping....

Pottermore Has Me In Its Spell

As usual, I get involved in things. Although I am still revising my own B2ME items so that I can post them at my archives, and still doing beta work for Lai, I am also trying to brew potions and cast spells in Pottermore. I am reading through the seven Harry Potter novels on my NookColor right now, and am reading the two remaining books in my "dialect can carry a story" recommendations. In other words, I'm busy (good).

I was sorted into Ravenclaw.  I'm actually rather pleased by that.  

I think what I like most about the silly games on Pottermore is that they are silly, therefore not life-threatening, not leaving bodies in my wake, and requiring a bit of skill and practice. I suppose it's just as well that my laptop computer's graphics card can't keep up with the graphics or else I'd play it at work too. As it is, I play it at home and that's bad enough. Oh well, I know this will be temporary and that my mind is just giving me a small break while I continue thinking about plot development, characterizations, and historical frameworks.

The pic of Diagon Alley is larger than I would usually post, but it's such a great scene.  

A week from now I'll be on the highway driving down to Lincoln, NE to meet my cousin for a quick visit. I'm starting to get excited, and I'm trying really hard to avoid unreasonable expectations. We last met face-to-face when her daughter was still quite young, probably no more than ten years old. Her daughter has graduated from college and got married last summer. My cousin and I grew up across the street from each other. She was my little sister, my friend and companion in escapades, and we were together almost every day for years and years. It seems so strange that it has been so long. So I'm really looking forward to having her close to me for two days and three nights. It'll be like a dream come true in so many ways.

What if? - Housecleaning and Vodka

So I know my house is a mess. On my day off, I do laundry and then usually spend the rest of the day working on my writing or drawing. In the meantime, the house gets a bit dirtier *sigh*. I want a self-cleaning house. What brings housecleaning to the forefront again?

A dear friend suddenly died yesterday morning. It's done a nice job shaking up my world because he was a couple of years younger than I am. He had some health issues - diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, etc. But generally speaking he was such a presence, it's really hard to visualize the world without him in it.

One of the first things my DH said to me was "We have to start getting our act together. If one of us died, we couldn't even have people over because the house is a mess." Well, that's a bit overstated, one room is a mess, but I understand where he is coming from. I want to start my Spring Cleaning and think I may just do that on Sunday. Then I'll see if he can live with my cleaning because I'm not going to sacrifice my limited hours on my studio day for the sake of cleaning, but I don't mind putting in a few hours on my Sundays.

I found this pic while looking for a pic of Vodka and just had to share with all of you!  Too bizarre!

While I'm out and about today I think I'll pick up some really cheap Vodka. I read that a 50/50 mix of Vodka and water does wonders on shower scum, so I think I might just try that. I'll make the shower drunk - LOL. Well, I'm running late, so have to fly...

So, I couldn't get the three books that I needed to read to progress in my Creative Writing course in an E-book format and had to actually reserve and pick them up from the library. Now, I don't mind going to the library. And picking up reserved books is so easy - go to the Hold shelving, find the books by my last name and number, take the books and my library card (which is a keychain fob) to one of the self check-out areas, and within two minutes I'm heading out of the door.

But as I was reading through Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" last night, I remembered why I really don't like library books. This book had spent time in the hands of a cigarette smoker and the residue of smoke clinging to the book was making me sick. I can't smell very well, the residuals of several auto accidents when I was a kid, but I was smelling this and it just turned my stomach. Icky! If I had been able to get the book via an E-book download I wouldn't have had this problem. As it is, I'm trying to cruise through the book as quickly as possible just to be able to return it and get it away from me.

For those who might be interested, three books were recommended so that I could get a good handle on how dialect and voice can move a story. The other two books were Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander" and Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God". I'll be cruising through these because I want to get back to fantasy books, but I do see why they are recommended. The voices are very strong and I'm enjoying this.

I'm also working on a variety of jump-start and writing exercises to give myself a bit better handle on voice, POV, tense and aspect, plot development, etc. I felt I needed to get back to the basics and as helpful as the people on LC have been, and they've been wonderful over the past year, I needed things codified, structured, and constructed in a manner where a strong foundation allows for soaring towers. I needed to go back to basics. In the long run this will make me a better writer and that's what's important to me.

And as a total aside, I melted my first cauldron in Pottermore's potions section last night *sigh*. I suspect it is only the first of many. I knew I was too tired to pay proper attention when I started the recipe and should have known better than to start it. I'll try to do better today because I really do need to start earning some house points. If you are playing Pottermore and would like to friend me, send me your name and I'll send you a friend invite. I'm in Ravenclaw, but I don't mind having friends from other houses. (This is not my own screen, and I have removed all identification marks from this.)

Thoughts and Falling

So my DH and I went to the American Craft Council show in St Paul on Sunday. There we met Chickie and Chickie Mama and began wandering up and down the aisles. We spent almost four hours there, walking, looking and enjoying. Although I was looking for a new pair of earrings, I didn't end up with anything at all.

On the way out of the center, we crossed the street at the crosswalk heading back to the parking garage. That's where things went wrong. The curb was exceptionally high, my shoe caught the top and I went sprawling directly into the metal base of the stoplight with my head. Fortunately I bounce. My glasses saved my nose from being broken, and they even survived. I am a bit sore this morning, but OK. My DH was very shaken up by it, though.

And before I switch to pictures for everyone to see from some of the artists whose work I loved, I wanted to acknowledge an anniversary. In 2007, on this day, the Pentacle was officially added to the VA's list of approved emblems for memorials, markers and gravestones. It was about time! Now...on to pictures below the cut...

I'm starting out with the glasswork of Richard M Parrish. Amazing stuff that stopped me dead in my tracks for a long time. His understanding of the media of glass, the transmission of light, and how colors work together allows his amazing pieces of fused glass to look like woven paper. But they aren't. The skill level that these simple pieces represent is top-notch and apparently is recognized throughout the world because he teaches throughout the world. I'd love to take a class from him and get some of his knowledge. Just looking at his pieces was a treat. Check out his website at Fusio Studio.

Carol and Jean-Pierre Hsu specialize in playful jewelry and mobiles featuring anodized aluminum. Colorful and bold, this pin is a small piece in a large offering. Take a look a their website.

Every year I fall in love anew with the large glass sculptures of Dan Neil Barnes. Such wonderful work with color and light - he does architectural glass as well as odd pieces. Sculptures and vessels are most of what he brings to the shows, but don't miss his windows and custom doors on his website. He also does restorations if anyone needs such work.

Nate Evans produces simple and elegant glassware with absolute precision and a wonderful contrast in finishes. He forms the glassware and then sandblasts select areas making geometric patterning that enhances the glass. His studio is in Iowa, so fairly close to me. It's tempting to take a field trip, but time isn't in my favor. Take a look at Red Hawk Glassworks.

The final offering for you is Sheryl Tuorila who is doing some of the nicest fine art tilework I've seen in a long time. She is a local artist for me, with studio space in the Northrup King building. The piece I've chosen to show you is a wall splash made for behind a stove or a sink. But she makes a large variety of art tiles in many different shapes and sizes. I know you'll enjoy seeing her work at sheryltuorila.com.