Lucky pants, two kinds of illumination, and perspective...
Well it's D day, the last day to finish the tree so I am wearing my lucky pants: mustard yellow corduroys. I made good progress yesterday, though the lights continue to short out, as do I. As a teacher, I came to realize that the things that made some students stand out, their less than appealing traits, are the flip side of their gifts. This project illuminated (no pun intended, you'll see) something about the yin and the yang of my personality.The foresight that enables me to picture a completed project has a dark 'worst case scenario' side. So, when the tree lights shorted out the first time, I dissolved into a puddle of doom convinced that I would never be able to finish the tree and that somehow my very life was at risk. Ah, perspective. What an allusive yet invaluable coping mechanism.
I read Dave Egger's What is the What recently, and went on to watch the documentary God Grew Tired of Us about the crisis which continues in the Sudan. My friends the Masons adopted a group of five Sudanese children. I got to meet the youngest, Leek, who came to the U.S. when he was twelve and has just finished completing his Master's Degree at The London School of Economics. If you ever want a healthy dose of perspective I highly recommend both the book and the movie.
So, I'm off to finsh my joyous project. My new friend Ailene, who teaches the wonderful ESE kids at Edgewater High School, is coming to my rescue. Her husband John is a lighting specialist and is going to stop by the museum today to solve the lighting problem. I wish he could solve the tree skirt situation as well. At the moment it looks like a child's egg carton project gone wrong. I stuck a Michael's coupon in my purse in case I need to chuck it and start over.
I am arranging the colors similarly to my installation in Michigan and it is working well. The colors move from one to the next, swirling up the tree and finishing in an explosion of white and silver. I like to think it's reminiscent of the old fashioned aluminum trees with the color changing wheely light. So far the tree is a hit with the volunteers and designers working to get everything ready for opening day. Here is a link to the Festival of Trees schedule. I hope you get a chance to come see my biggest tree EVER (but don't look too closely at the skirt.)
Felz Naptha and the Holy Spirit...
I finished my last workshop today making it feels like a Friday. Students from West Orange High School's 'green team' joined me at Humphreys Junior High, a home school group that meets at our church. The green team group let me in on a recipe to make your own laundry soap. Apparently you boil grated Fels Naptha, add washing soda and borax, and you are good to go. And it smells good and works with a high efficiency machine. I am picturing myself as Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies, out in the back yard with my kettle of boiling suds.
Recently, I pictured myself as the guy on the hot sauce container, gaping mouth, protruding tongue, stars circling his head. Or the old man in the grocery store chase scene in Raising Arizona, face full in the camera, eyes protruding, hollering so wide you can see his tonsils. I am given to blood curdling screams in my sleep and have to warn people when I am a house guest or sharing a room. The night before last I had one of my worst bouts ever with on-going screaming and subsequent sobbing. Needless to say I end up feeling a little 'off' the next day, groggy and headachy, and reaching for the caffeine.
I try to start my mornings with a prayer/ journaling ritual that begins with avoiding the praying and journaling part. I remember being at a writer's conference when someone said the first rule of writing is "apply ass to chair." That's an irreverent quote since I am talking about prayer, but it seems to apply. I finally settled in this morning with my favorite pen and spiral bound notebook. I was trying to commit my day to God, but the words 'commit' and 'God' made me grit my teeth. I don't like that word 'commit', and authority figures along the way have caused me to trip on the word God too. So, I thought about "God is love" and Jesus saying he is truth. I began to think in terms of turning my day over to love, to peace, to patience, to kindness, to thankfulness, and to moderation (because I don't like the words 'self-control' either.)
With regard to control and the losing of it, to letting go, I'll close with a video of one of my favorite things to watch. Through our sliding glass door I can see white gauze curtains blowing in the wind. They hang from a cable strung between posts in our pool enclosure. The breeze moves them in beautiful folds of white on white, dancing furls, holding on and being held. I want to be like that. Dancing like fingers on a keyboard, shaped and reshaped, and gently folded into white upon white, moved by Beauty that is as unpredictable as it is constant.
Jack-o-lanterns, pink poodles, and Ricky Ricardo...
My adventure to Lake Orienta went well. It was rainy so we ditched the 80 kids at the picnic tables idea and taught a much more manageable classroom of about 20 lovely fifth graders.
Yesterday I sorted out my bottles, not counting the truckload that is still in my car. I think I'll be in good shape for the tree, but realized we were light on red and purple. I say 'were' because I went to visit my friends at Edgewater High School who have been cutting water bottles for me for a week. One of the helpers strung them on a piece of yarn and they looked so pretty. It reminded me of Oren showing me how the children in Haiti hang strings of flowers in their classrooms. They worked tirelessly for an hour and a half, cranked out an amazing quantity and array of purple and red blossoms as well as cut a big old bag full of painted bottles I had left from another school. 
There is a predominance of pink in my collection, but I think that will fit in nicely with the 50's theme of the festival this year. I keep thinking of these crazy poodles at the American Visionary Art Museum where our Danielle is getting married. I decided to paint the tree skirt to match and it's almost finished. Tomorrow and Wednesday I'm off to meet with a home school group and then I leave for the International Street Painters Festival in Sarasota. My friend Susan and I are going to attempt a Chuck Close painting. My kids have done two of his pieces at chalk festivals and have about gone cross-eyed, but the images turned out really cool and are different from what you usually see at street painting festivals. I couldn't find the painting we are going to do on-line, but I did find a CBS Sunday morning segment that references Close and last year's ArtPrize where an artist made incredible portraits using primary colored pushpins. I also found
I'll close with this picture of the 50s-ish sequins I am using to channel my inner Lucille Ball. "RICKYYYYYYY!"
"Random thoughts, epiphanies,and other leaps of faith..."
That has been my working book title since 1996, but it seems to describe my current state of mind. Today, I go to Lake Orienta Elementary where 80 fifth grade students gather for a bottle cutting/ painting/ glittering event. Splash mob? In preparation I am wearing my lucky mustard yellow pants that are beginning to feature splotches of paint. Seriously, I am working myself up into a frenzy about this, excited and scared to death at the same time. I told Lake Orienta's art teacher that I am forever running to a terrifying precipice to see if I can make the leap across to the other side. I feel that way about my Festival of Trees entry as well, so I am glad that the new trend instead of 'planking' is 'tebowing.' According to the official site: (vb) to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different. I am planning a photo op (or several) of me catching this trend today. (I think I might add a new internet trend of making the sign of the cross, or maybe breathing into a paper bag?)
"The first thing you learn in skating is how to get up. You know you are going to fall, and when you fall you are just going to get up, right?" Scott Hamilton,who is recovering from a brain tumor, is talking to children skating in Central Park this morning. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: " I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile I keep dancing."(Daniel Hillel) One of my biggest fears, right next to heights and involuntarily making a scene (like running out of a restaurant screaming, for example), is that I will let people down. I will fret all day that I have the time of our 'splash mob' wrong or will be late getting to the school which is a block from my house. Believe it or not, I set my alarm last night so I wouldn't oversleep. I am due at the school after lunch. I rarely sleep past 8:15.
I do have ADD, but not the energetic H component. My brilliant friend Oren Mason, who wrote a book on ADD/ADHD from the perspective of a doctor who has the condition and whose practice is devoted to it, says that people with ADD fuel themselves with anxiety in order to complete tasks. We do things like wait until the last minute, develop obsessive compulsive fears, or take on more than we can handle as a coping mechanisms to kick start the energy we need to focus. I think he is brilliant.
Speaking of the Masons, they introduced me to this fabulous recipe for making artisan bread in five minutes a day. I tried it and it works! The bread come out chewy and delicious. I overcooked mine a little, thus the too dark top. (I considered photoshopping it out, then you would never know.)
This week I worked with grades K-5 at Altamonte Christian School, then Natalie's classmates (class of 2012!) spent their study hall assembling the pieces, stacking them in threes, gluing, and inserting the floral pick so my installation next week at the museum will be a seamless as possible. My car is approaching the condition it was in when we left for the ArtPrize installation. (I think Oren is right. I really am the Johnny Appleseed of glitter.)
In the past, I have assembled the trees ahead of time, including one year when we built it like a ship in a bottle and couldn't get it out the door. This year, I am putting it together on-site, adding to my anxiety. I won't know for certain how it is going to look until I get there on Monday, Novemeber 7th and start the process. The up side is that I have 3 days to finish it and if worse comes to worst, Tuesday is recycling-day nearby, leaving me 24 hours until the deadline. Better go tebow.
Charlotte the Wonder Dog, making tea, and the dog park...
My friend Oren is wont to say "When making tea make tea" attributing it to Lao Tsu, but my first flirt with Google yielded no hits for the quote, so now I am inclined to think he just made it up. I like the sentiment behind Oren's proverb, but it brings to mind a day when all the kids were young and I was home schooling. I was stirring a big pot of soup, and thought to myself 'You stand here and stir while I go use the restroom,' only to realize there was only one of me. The tea is very good and I am trying to break from multi-tasking to fully enjoy it: "When drinking tea, drink tea."
Saturday, we took the dogs to the dog park. You cannot say the words 'dog park' in our house. The phrase is Charlotte's undoing. Her ears point, she spins, and then turns her head toward you with this intense eye contact that brings to mind heat seeking missiles. We tested her and you also cannot say anything that rhymes with dog park. Pog dark? Log stark? We had to stop trying out the variations and permutations because it was just too cruel getting her so wound up. (I was afraid she might turn herself inside-out.)
John cleared out the back of the van, moving all my bottle making paraphernalia up to the seats. The last row of seats is out of the car, leaving the rest of the back for the dogs to occupy. As soon as he opened the hatch Zuzu clamored to one of the two passenger seats, getting herself wedged between them with bags full of bottles lodged under her belly. She was virtually immobilized. After we dug her out, we moved all the stuff back to the hatch area and she and Charlotte each settled into a seat. Charlotte whined and yipped the entire way to the park. Chloe sat at my feet and kept trying to venture over to the driver's side floor, and Zuzu sat with impeccable manners, calmly enjoying the view. Once we arrived, Charlotte showed off her Frisbee skills. Zuzu can't catch the Frisbee, but she loves to help Charlotte bring it back. Charlotte finds this so annoying she sometimes refuses to play. Meanwhile, Chloe chased after the two of them, barking and snarling, large and in charge and willing to take on any dog in the park, including a pitbull named "Killer."
Charlotte the Wonder Dog (note Zuzu's lack of attention span)
Today I worked with the Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade at Altamonte Christian School. As I was cleaning up the paint and glitter I worried they might decide to expel my daughter. Tomorrow their 3-5 grade students will pitch in, and on Wednesday the high school (including my Natalie if she hasn't been kicked out) will assemble the ornaments. I'm holding my breath for Friday when I work with 80 fifth grade students at Lake Orienta Elementary. There should be a Ripley's for that, right?
Crankiness, gorgeous weather, and my zombie screenplay...
Zuzu breakfast, part II "Chloe goes first."
I've been super cranky the last few days. It it must be all the gorgeous weather coupled with my lack of a good 'excitement control valve'. Having imagined being a special needs teacher since I was in the third grade,so working with the kids at Edgewater was a dream come true. After two dreamy overly excited days, I crashed, and was slogging around like a zombie looking for a victim.
Speaking of zombies, I have the best storyline for a zombie movie: A 'greedy corporation' comes up with an agricultural formula for food that has no calories. People are wild for it, (no zombies yet, just people greedy for the skinny.) The more people eat, the thinner they become. After a honeymoon period of universal elegance, there being 'no such thing as too thin,' the corporation's plants cross pollinate with the nation's food supply and leave it with no nutritional value. Eventually, people start needing to fuel their bodies and you know the rest.
Which brings me back to yesterday's dark mood. I tried to shake it by working in my glass studio. I tried sitting in the sun, meditating, even reading a book on love. (I am enjoying Love Wins by Rob Bell.) I decided to make myself get out of the house and run errands. As I sat at a stop light grumbling that I don't want to be living in the city, too much traffic, blah blah blah, cuss cuss cuss my light turned green. I slowly entered the intersection and wiz BANG! a woman ran a red light, smashed into my front bumper, then swerved onto the median. I sat at the intersection so long, stunned and frozen and not knowing what to do, that the man behind me came to make sure I was OK. I was fine, just jittery. I pulled the car back into the parking lot and awaited the traffic police. Meanwhile, the woman who hit me left the scene in her left white 91 chevy with a dented right front bumper. (Maybe she fled because my eyes turned lime green, I was drooling, and she thought I was going to eat her. Tell it to the judge, sweetheart.) Thank you Guy in the Bright Red Pick-up, for bringing me her license plate number. And to think I was cursing big trucks as I was squeezing out of my car in a tight parking space earlier in the day.
ColdPlay is on the Today's show making me want to buy some low-tops and hop, skip, and spin around a stage. I love the sense of play they emanate. It reminds me of my 10-year-old Danielle, dressed in her terrycloth bathrobe, dancing in the rain. I will close on a very bright note: a couple more pictures I received from my friends at Edgewater.
Late for a very important date and Zuzu the smiling dog...
I was hoping Zuzu would do her breakfast dance for you, which involves leaping up from the floor, banking all fours on the bed to lunge out the door where she spins on the carpet in the foyer and jumps around until I pour kibble in her bowl. Instead, she felt compelled to smile for the camera, and sneeze. Her predecessor 'Checkers' used to speak sneeze. He would sneeze, then I would make a sneezy noise back, then he would sneeze longer. This interchange would continue until both of us were shaking our heads and 'chooing' through drooling jowls.
I overslept today. (Note to self: When changing the alarm clock feature on your telephone, always hit 'save.' ) Part of the reason Zuzu didn't do her full breakfast dance is that I had to rush out the door and didn't feed her until I got home. She was confused as to whether to do the 'breakfast dance' or the 'yay!! you're hoooooome!!' dance. Between that and the video camera going I completely threw off her timing.
If you come to our house, she and Charlotte, and occasionally Chloe, will wrestle for you (if not with you, or on you. ) Sit in our living room and they wrestle on the rug in the foyer. Rest your behind in our family room and they wrestle on the carpet i call "World Wrestling Federation." The rink is nestled in the middle of our sectional couch, providing ample front row seating for their performance where the dogs can enjoy your undivided attention. Refreshments are often served, but then their attention gets divided.
This morning, unfortunately, I could not give the poor puppies any attention, divided or not. I rushed out the door with no make-up on and crazy hair. I then proceeded to get lost on my way to the school causing me greater distress and whispered expletives. I kept envisioning the students dolefully looking at the clock and sighing "I bet she's not going to come." To my surprise they had already made a huge new batch of bottles! I can't get over how this project brings so much joy. Other teachers stopped in oooing and ahhhhhing. The students took my need to make 1,000 ornaments to heart and gave me the head start I needed. The pieces they made are fabulous! Thank you Mrs. Markam's class and all the helpers that pitched in to make the project work (and dealt with the glitter/paint aftermath of my visit.)
Voila! Some of our finished ornaments.
Third grade math, housekeeping, and the smell of lavender...
I was determined to clean yesterday. I usually have some kind of ritual to work up to the task. Years ago I would start with the hamster and bird cages, then give the all my kids haircuts. Now, my pattern is related to buying cleaning products. So I took a trip to the Dollar Tree and stocked up. When I got home I remembered that I had the supplies to make my own lavender lampe berge oil. I got all the supplies gathered on the kitchen counter and set to work. That took a while because I forgot where I put the 3 ingredients. They were they were in at least four places. I had to convert e-how recipe from ounces to teaspoons. The recipe calls for one quarter of a bottle of a 1/4 ounce bottle of oil, and 1/8 of an ounce of distilled water to be placed in 4 bottles of 90 % (not the 70% grocery store variety) isopropyl alcohol. Here's the link, don't trust my math.
Once I figured it out I decided to write it on the bottle so that I would have it handy for next time. I have made this recipe two or three times already and am weary of googling conversion charts. I kept getting mixed up so my isopropyl bottle looks more like a chalk board in a third grade classroom than a recipe. I got my fragrance made, switched out the wicks that I keep soaking in a plastic container (once I found it), and lit my lampes to create the right ambience for cleaning and cleaned the kitchen.
Today, I'm excited to be making recycled bottle ornaments with a group of special needs high school students. Next week I work with Altamonte Christian and the following week with a homeschool group. In between I am going to teach a fifth grade class at Lake Orienta Elementary school around the corner from my house which, while not entirely clean, smells lovely.
Crash and burn re-entry and Van Gogh's suicide...
I always do a little crash and burn after a big project or event calling it 're-entry.' My stomach was in knots and I felt out of sorts. Then, I started obsessing about the 12 foot tree I am scheduled to do, and the fact that I bought a tree skirt that I don't like. But then came the good news from Van Gogh's grave.
I was watching 60 minutes tonight and there is a new biography on Van Gogh. As some of you know, I have read just about anything I can get my hands on regarding dear old Vincent. I even tried to read the two volume set of his letters, but I made myself start at the beginning so as to read them in order. To my shame, I found the early letters a little boring. Imagine all of your letters put in chronological order and published. My collection would be a snoozer for sure.
My Vincent 'groupiness' led me to Arles and St. Remy, where Van Gogh was hospitalized and which remains a mental hospital to this day. I visited his room of paintings at Musee D'Orsay on two seperate occasions, and can get misty just thinking about how its four walls create a sense of embrace.
I was touched by how many people come to visit his humble grave. Some people request that their ashes be scattered there. It may sound crazy but I think it's a lovely idea. The biographers discussed what I call 'the ear incident.' Invariably, when I taught about Van Gogh, one of my students would pipe up and ask "Didn't he cut off his ear?" There are couple of interesting theories about the 'ear incident.' Arles, where Van Gogh lived, has a bullfighting arena which was active during his day. Traditionally, a bullfighter gives the ear of the bull to his lady. Vincent had his ear delivered to a woman he and Gauguin were vying for. Also, Van Gogh was obsessed with the story of Gethsemane in which St. Peter cuts off the ear of the high-priest's servant.
The sweetest part of the news story, and maybe it's wishful thinking, involved a new theory about his death. The new biographers wondered where Vincent got a gun, who would have given him a gun as the whole town knew he was crazy, how did he walk so far from the fields to the inn where he died 30 minutes later, and why did he shoot himself in the stomach? On top of that, he told police he didn't want them to accuse anyone. Much of the story didn't add up. The new biography recounts how Parisian boys who vacationed in Arles relentlessly and viscously bullied Van Gogh. The biographers found compelling evidence that the boys either accidentally or intentionally shot him, and he didn't want them to be blamed. That seems so in keeping with his character to me.
While I was watching all this television, I started gluing bottle caps on the tree skirt and it is looking pretty cute, making me feel better. While I worked on it I couldn't help imagining people exclaiming "Oh, they're bottle caps" at the Festival of Trees. My favorite ones are the caps that have initials written on them.
Straight A's, lentils, and fairy godmothers, or is it fairies godmother?
Basil babies waiting to put down roots...
True to form, I have wandered off with my camera battery, so until I put the pile of stuff on my dresser away, I guess I won't be posting pictures. I got some sour dough bread going this morning, and scanned through recipes for dinner. I kept coming up short one or two ingredients, then I heard from Natalie that she had made straight A's! I headed to the grocery store to pick up some flowers and a big red velvet cupcake. The flowers are fluorescent as are the leaves surrounding the blooms: spray paint. (What? Flowers don't come bright pink?) They are actually turning the water in the vase a lovely pink. I had the cupcake put in a smart little plastic take-out container, bagged seperately, but then decided to take all the groceries into the house at once. The cupcake tipped over, not unlike the fairy in my garden. I recollected an elderly relative who went to pick up pizza and tucked it under his arm vertically so that it sought its own level and became a calzone. Natalie still isn't home and doesn't know about the cupcake so....
One of her favorite casseroles awaits her and she doesn't have to know about the cupcake:
My friend Brenda's Rice Lentil Casserole
3/4 cups lentils (I really like the red ones best)
1/2 C brown rice
3 C chicken broth
1 onion chopped (which I did not have, thus the trip to the store)
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp each garlic powder, thyme, oregano
3/4 C grated cheddar cheese
Place all but cheese in a casserole. Bake for 2 1/2 hours covered at 300 degrees. Top with cheddar.
Once I had the casserole in the oven, I had time to freak out and realized that the Festival of Trees is only 3 weeks away.I caught myself and reworded my train of thought: " I have a whole THREE WHOLE WEEKS to finish the ornaments for the tree!" Even if my garden fairy has her head in the dirt, I have friends who, like good fairies, keep dropping off bags full of bottles. Imagine my bliss when I opened a huge black trash bag to uncover dozens of 1 and 2 liter bottles. Yes Virginia, there is a fairy godmother. I spent the afternoon cutting bottles to "Cold Case" tv shows. It's better than when I was home sick from work for an extended period and resorted to Biography: The Life of Andre the Giant.
Frida Kahlo, monster bags, and fallen angels...
Not to make light of people who are bed-ridden but I have often said that I would make a great invalid. I love working, eating, reading, and thinking off of my feet and propped up with pillows. If I could do all that from the bathtub I probably would, but so far I found a waterproof journal, Bible, and pen, but no i-Tub.
It looks like I'll be playing Frida Kahlo for Halloween, or shortly thereafter. Went to the orthopedic doctor today and was harrumphing about how there are so many reserved doctors spots while I was forced to limp a city block to get to the front door, when I realized that I didn't know where the front door was or the good parking spots for that matter. Not only that, I had gone to the wrong office. I was already late because I stayed up too late reading this really interesting article on the end of post-modernism that I am still thinking about. Once I finally arrived I limped in dramatically (for sympathy since I was late) to get the verdict: Arthroscopic surgery.
Since I am street painting at the Sarasota Chalk Festival, I asked the nurse if she thought I could crawl around on the ground a week or so after surgery. She was warming up to the idea of butt scooting on a little wheely cart when I told her I would also be needing to climb up and down a ladder for the Festival of Trees installation. That's when she drew the line, so I guess I will post-pone the knee repair until after November 10th when the tree is finished.
My poor garden is evidencing my neglect. One of my wooly lambs ear plants looks like either a science experiment or a Halloween decoration. My garden fairy and pineapple have the same opinion:
Another thing that cracks me up: These new Publix monster bags for Halloween. I couldn't resist, especially now that I shop at b.o.y.b. Aldi. I stocked up on buy one get one caramels for the apples I make every Christmas. I figure if we run out of candy I can give them out at Halloween, even though they are only slightly more exciting than the pennies and lunch snacks I usually resort to. Maybe I should just buy more candy. After I get some paperwork done I am hoping to 'get on my torch' as I like to say, though for some reason I picture a witch riding a tiki torch. Wonder if I can rig it so I can work from my bed?
Last entry then switching to 'Dale's Blog'
I didn't speak to John for about 6 hours because I was deep into A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. Chris said that you can't be her friend if you don't like it and I felt confident I would pass the test because apparently John Irving was a student when Frederick Beuchner (one of my favorites) was at Exeter. I was really worried at first, but then I couldn't put it down. What a relief. I was trying to think of a book litmus test for my friends but I have such weird book taste I wouldn't put them through it. (For what it is worth I am a non-fiction geek and especially love Annie Dillard.)
We got home last night just in time to be stopped at a roadblock for President Obama's motorcade, so I guess we kind of saw him, or at least all the red and blue flashing lights around him. I spent the day unpacking but at present, almost 5 pm, my bed is loaded with stacks of clothes. It's a switch to come back to 80-90 degree weather and I am in a quandary regarding cool weather clothes. I'd better make up my mind soon or I may end up having to sleep on the couch.
I came home to a nice clean house and stacks of mail, including a box of GLITTER! Ten pounds each of holographic chunky silver hexagons and a big bag of miscellaneous sequins. Next week I visit a class of intellectually disabled high school students for a workshop on making ornaments for our Festival of Trees entry. I am planning on an ornament making workshop at my house soon. I figure everyone can make an ornament to take with them as well as contribute MANY to our tree . I titled the tree "Bottle Tree Christmas: a Community Collaborative" and am hoping to venture out into various communities including a homeless shelter if I can swing it.
Natalie was hankering some healthy food so I am making one of her favorite casseroles a Weight Watchers recipe for a layered Mexican Casserole (I use light not fat free cheese and sour cream). I went to Aldi's for the first time which made grocery shopping almost fun. I was trying to figure out the coin operated shopping carts when a lady offered me the cart she was finished using if I gave her the quarter so I did. Aldi's only takes cash or debit cards and being as I don't know how to use our debit card, can't remember the pin, and don't know which card is the debit card, I was glad I had a little cash. Rather than keep track of how much I spend I prefer acts of faith at the register: "Please God, don't let me go over!" My money was so balled up from my travels it took an embarrassingly long time to pay, but at least I didn't come up short. When I was finished shopping I couldn't even give my cart away.
James made this cool camera gizmo so that you can even run with the video camera and the image will not be bumpy. Maybe I'll borrow it next year
run along my GIGANTIC ArtPrize entry. Sadly, for now I am switching to regular old 'Dale's Blog' since ArtPrize is over though I am hoping for some pictures of the trees in their new homes. Until then, I'll be putting all my updates on the Dale's blog section of my web-site.
Utilitarian sparkle and glitter litmus tests....
We're in Tennessee and half-way home. Yesterday, Chris and I had a last ditch flurry of creativity. We took the mess to the Mason's lawn trying to keep some of the glitter out of the house. That attracted a two-year-old who placed one hand each in two bags of glitter and beamed like the movie character 'Amelie' when she presses her hand through a barrel of dried beans. When John asked me where this magic took place, I answered 'in our front yard' and laughed at my mistake, recollecting Chris's habit of calling the trees 'our installation.' (Truth be told it did take a village. Chris, Oren, and John have every right to claim ownership, along with a host of others.) I made the toddler a flower on a stem. She circled around us as though playing 'duck, duck, goose' saying : "Sparkle, dust, sparkle, dust" while waving the flower like a wand and watching the glitter fall like rain.
I watch how people interact with dogs, interpreting their behavior as a sign of character. I am thinking glitter is a similar litmus test. Doug, of Public Works fame, laughed when he relayed that his wife asked him about the glitter on his cheek. It made Chris and I all the more committed to make sure the trees would find their home with his organization rather than with another potential buyer who hinted at glitter being a nuisance. Can you imagine? At any rate, Oren passes the litmus test because he couldn't resist 'glitterizing' their water utility cover. If only whole cities shared his zeal.
Winding down...
Serena stopped by today with her family. She helped us so much when were were first getting the trees secure and she was witness to the gale that ripped them all from their bases. She said that two of them ended up in the street. I am so thankful they weren't smashed to bits. She has offered to help if I come back next year and I have such a huge idea I think that I must.
Oren, Chris, and I went to The Public Museum after a 16th birthday breakfast with their son Paul. I was excited to get to see some more of the ArtPrize entries as well two of the finalists. My favorite is an installation called 'Rain' by Lynda Cole. It commands a solid cube of space yet is airy and flutters at the slightest breath. Apparently, with all the controversy, it is one piece that art critics and the public agree upon.
The fall leaves continue to unfurl mind boggling colors. I am not a very good driver at best, but the light show of trees almost caused me to have an accident when I completely missed a 'yield' sign posted next to a blindingly yellow tree. I was sure the tree had obstructed the sign, but when I drove by the next day (being sure to yield) it was in clear view. Like the images of 'Rain' my photographs of the leaves don't do them justice. I promise if you saw them in real life you would have missed the sign too.
I wanted to make a couple of 'thank-you' arrangements for Taco Bob's and Evergreen School so I painted up some bottles and headed down to the venue to do a little demonstration. It was a glorious day and I actually got a little sun. Tonight while the guys watch Paul's movie of choice for his birthday, Chris and I painted some watercolor paper to make notecards tomorrow; one last art project before I head home Monday.
Happy Pulaski Day!
Not only does ArtPrize begin its final weekend, but today is the start of Grand Rapids Pulaski days, a celebration of both a revolutionary war hero in General Washington's army and of Polish-American heritage. Beer and pierogies abound and on Sunday there is a 'polka mass.'
Back to the fish ladder I mentioned in my last post: I envisioned a tacky wooden ladder carved into the shape of a fish, painted in blues and greens. Doug took us to Grand Rapids' fish ladder, which was created next to a dam for salmon to swim upstream and spawn. It brought to mind what the leader of the artists' seminar said with regard to resting when you are approaching burn out: "Sure a salmon swims upstream, but not for its whole life."
Yesterday, I met with a group of students who helped create some of the plastic pieces. One student was grumpy because she thought I should have won the Nobel prize. Another was holding a bottle ready to add it to the tree. Every time I reached out to assist him he lovingly took hold of my hand and gazed sweetly into my eyes. We finally snapped it into place though, his hand over mine.
Last night, the final awards were presented. The first prize winner is Mia Tavonatti for a stunning glass mosaic altarpiece titled "The Crucifixion." Mia stopped by and chatted when ArtPrize first started and told me that she was glad the trees were big and bold and drawing crowds down our way. Last night as we watched the news coverage announcing the winner, I joked that it was too bad the other contenders were so far away from my forest or they might have taken first.
It is interesting how much conversation there is here with regard to the winners. Part of the artistic community is outraged while the man-on-the-street is confused by some of the juried awards. One thing that is for sure, a whole lot of people are out looking and talking about art.
I'll close with this installation, part of the permanent collection at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art where my seminar was held. It is made of a variety of lottery tickets.
For the record, people rarely realize that 
The Trees are Sold!
It has been an incredible whirlwind (not literally thank goodness) of activity for me the past couple of days. First and foremost, I sold the trees and the recycling goes full circle in the process! They will be installed at The Kent County Department of Public Works Recycling and Education Center where thousands of children tour in school groups each year. Now the challenge for us is moving them over. There are two areas we plan to place them, in the front lobby, and upstairs in the education center.
Chris and I met with The Grand Rapids Director of Public Works, Doug Wood, who took us on a tour of the facility. I felt a little like I was watching my favorite Mr. Roger's Neighborhood feature: the crayon making segment. The facility has an area looking out at workers and machines sorting piles of recycled materials that enter through a conveyer belt. I love conveyer belts. We watched from a viewing area then walked out onto a visitor's cat-walk where we saw paper being tossed in the air and sucked up to the paper section, a computer operated light scanner separating out PET plastic (my personal favorite), and workers tirelessly helping the environment by sorting out the rest. All but the glass gets baled into giant colorful bricks that are sent off to various area facilities for processing.
Doug was kind enough to give us a tour around Grand Rapids that included something you'll never find in Florida: an antique horse drawn snow plow. Wonder what they used for a snowmobile? He took us to another facility and Chris, who claims to not be an artist advised me to take this shot of the river:
Chris and Doug were chatting about Grand Rapids and what sights I had seen when Doug asked: "Have you seen the fish ladder?" More later....
Knee-ding a rest...
I was glad that a two-day artist seminar started today. I awakened an old knee injury and am hobbling around like Igor. The seminar was very informative and is helping me clarify the direction I want to go in next. I had to spin by the trees to enjoy their gorgeousness before I headed out of the city.
I took a little video of an piece that was in the top 25 for my area. I don't love the image but I love the name "Glitter Girl" and the fact that it is made up of a gazillion sequins hanging on pins. It sparkled and people were allowed to touch it which I did. It's very sturdy.
Here is a link to the top ten for the whole event. So far my favorite is Tempest II but I haven't seen all of them yet. The mosaic of Jesus is amazing too and it is made of tiny rectangles of glass in a gorgeous color palette. I'd better decide soon because voting ends tomorrow at midnight.