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Showing posts from September, 2009

The Dish on the Divas... (what's the red dot?!)

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Hard to believe a week has flown by since the opening of the Dishy Divas show, and a fabulous event it was... wine and hors d'oeuvres, photographers from Skirt Magazine and a great turnout. Jim was proud of me for not being nervous or piling stuffed mushrooms on a plate for ammo; we stayed for half an hour and the kids were hungry so we walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant and enjoyed a family dinner... no adolescent bickering, and the kids did great too! At the opening, I only spent 5 minutes back in the area where my collage and journals were displayed; they are in very good company, surrounded by several of Rodney Hatfield 's paintings - I urge you to click on the link and take a look at his amazing art. Sold and exhibited nationally, we've followed his career for years. I was fortunate (smart:) enough to purchase a small sculpture of his about ten years ago, a Christmas gift (and inspiration) for my talented artist-husband Jim! My mother was disappointed that s

Dishy Divas...

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Dishy Divas, a group figurative show, opens tonight in Lexington at New Editions Gallery . The show is co-hosted by Skirt Magazine, publisher of my favorite book, Life is a Verb - 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful and Live Intentionally, written by Patti Digh. She and David Robinson are helping me do just that; I'm halfway through the Life is a Verb Coaching Class , on my journey to living my wild and precious life. Two of my mixed media pieces will hang in the show along with four journals to increase my presence in the gallery. I am looking forward to the opening. I think. This is my first 'real' exhibit and part of me wants to throw up. So far, for the past few years anyway, I've been engaged in the creative process for the sake of process. I know this doesn't change my focus, but there's something about putting my work out there that is... well, scary. What if I happen to overhear someone say, "ewwww, what's that," as they view one of my collages

Time Will Tell

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Alicia Caudill has published Art Bits' third ArtZine , and it's loaded with amazing black and white collage, assemblage, photography, encaustic, and mixed media pieces. Individually, the work is amazing, as a collection it's diverse, amazing, and takes several studied readings to soak it all in... which I've been trying to do for the past couple of days. Oh, and I am fortunate enough to be featured on page 13!! which really blows me away, considering the talent and accomplishments of the artists included in this issue - Seth Apter , the lovely Mistress Debrina , Kerin Gale , Alicia's own amazing pieces (including a sneak peek at a cool collaborative series in the works with her hubby), and dozens of other accomplished, talented artists. I hope you'll visit Alicia and take a look at the ArtZine - and Altered Bits , her gallery is fabulous and her shop is loaded with interesting and unusual treasures.

Local (Businesses) First

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My son, Dylan is a whiz on the snare and I was so proud of him for marching in the Roots & Heritage Festival parade, a celebration of our African American cultural history. He plays with March Madness, a band formed to promote Local First, a group dedicated to supporting local businesses. I've blogged about it before, and, yes, I have an Amazon Card, shop at Michaels and buy jeans at Old Navy; but whenever possible I patronize restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, galleries and other businesses owned and operated by fellow Kentuckians. And I usually get a little better at it after watching the band put forth such extraordinary effort at one of their events. It was a splendid, warm (but not hot) day with brilliant blue skies, the air filled with the sounds of jazz and, of course, March Madness, performing pieces from Austin Powers and other traditional parade music. White people may be a minority at the event, but green, yellow and red abound!

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week

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Ordinarily I wouldn't dream of posting this page... I was at the lake with 12 crayons (acrylic:) and a sketchbook and I started working on a tree to practice my drawing skills. It started out as day and night and then I started thinking about the metaphor, the light opposing the dark, how the same tree can appear so different depending upon the light. And I started thinking about the way my days are. Everyone has bad days. Everyone gets sick. But for five years? I added flames beneath the darkened tree, the burning hopes, the potential that often remains just that, latent potential, smoke swirling, dispersing in the night air; the pain and frustration that, like the illness, are unseen in the absence of light. Living with a chronic illness sometimes feels like a silent thief steals in and swipes so many hours and dreams, and options, leaving me with swollen aching joints and debilitating fatigue. So I got out a couple of pens and began to journal about my anger and frustration, als

9.11.09

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Haiku leaves, so much the same how can we know that they fall from different trees ~patti edmon 9.11.09 For a moment let us put aside our differences and look at ourselves not as Democrat or Republican, black or white, Presbyterian or Baptist, Jewish or Muslim. Or atheist. Or corporate, academic, small business owner or fast food cook. Let us consider how this world would be if we put aside bias and judgment and remember that we are all one people. For an amazing post and names of all the individuals who died on 9.11.01, visit Patti Digh's blog . She challenges us to appreciate our freedom to choose how we move forward, as we remember those who do not have that opportunity. I choose to seek grace with an open heart and undivided mind and an abundance of thanks for all that I have been blessed with on this sunny, warm, quiet day.

I Wonder

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This is the last piece, I think, in my latest collage series. I am rather attached to these colors though, so I'm sure I'll find other ways to use this palette. Speaking of other, I planned to title this piece "Hope." Then I started thinking - usually my first mistake:) - about the article I'd read on Rat Race Trap about shifting from hoping to wondering, and how it helps avoid disappointment. It's a good read; author Stephen Mills talks about how, when what we hope for doesn't happen, our hopes are dashed. His intent certainly isn't to promote pessimism. Far from it; he cites Susan Jeffers' book, Embracing Uncertainty , and her premise that, since we have little - or no - control over the future of our art, our jobs, our children, that if we merely wonder, there is no outcome attached to those hopes. It removes the pressure from the future. Same goes for wishing and wanting. I find that idea so appealing... instead of hoping that my guardian ang