Thoughts on the Boston Marathon bombing

This is not a political blog. It is also not explicitly NOT a political blog.
This is not a political rambling I'm about to go on, but if you take something from it *shrug* you do what you do and I'll type.

I live not far from Boston, MA and have many friends who work and play there. It's a great city to visit and many say it's a great place to be. Boston is one of those "American cities", the cities that have been taken as representing America in the minds eye. The Big Apple, DC, Philly, LA, Beantown... notice the sheer volume of people you will meet, American and not, who know those cities by their nicknames!

Any place with high visibility becomes an alluring place for crazies to do crazy things for publicity... both over the top for a cause (climbing the Golden Gate Bridge with a "Free Tibet" banner) and horrifically cruel cowardly acts of violence like placing explosives at a televised event of peace.

This doesn't mean we stop living. The good of the human race perishes if we let the possibility of negatives overwhelm our daily lives. Just as in other sad days, it is only if we stay down, choose to live and act in fear, that those with ill will win. If we are brave enough to pick ourselves up, follow the examples set by the helpers*, and continue to carry on with loving lives... THAT is the world I am in. I will not stop my life for there is far too much worth living for.

The symbol of the Boston Marathon is a unicorn.
Not a runner, not a trophy or a shoe. The symbol of the Boston Marathon is a gold unicorn on blue. A shining mythical symbol on the color symbolic of the water & air we need to live.

Stephen Colbert introduced his April 16, 2013 show in spectacular fashion. Patton Oswald has said "The good outnumber you, and always will." Before that I overheard "They messed with the wrong city."

All of it, I happen to agree with. Now that the media got itself together and is not broadcasting over it's regular programming with their hosts and anchors blabbering non-stop with opinions I agree. They messed with the wrong city and the wrong event. The first clue should have been in the symbol of the marathon.

Unicorns have a special place in my personal spirituality, but in history and worldwide symbolism as well. I could go for pages about the importance of Ka'lin in Asia and the unicorn in medieval Europe, but I'll skip those and try for a condensed version.

The unicorn was a less flashy symbol than the fiery phoenix of resurrection and less greedy than that of a treasure seeking dragon. The unicorn is believed a symbol of healing in it's horn, beauty in it's physique, a comfort to the innocent. It was prized for those attributes and it's rarity.

What better symbol could there be for an event that encourages peaceful competition of the highest level of unprofessional athletics to people from around the globe. People run the marathon to raise monies for charities looking to heal pains in the world. People run the marathon for self-challenge. People run the marathon because running brings themselves comfort and strength. People support the marathon because even from the outside we feel the positive energy it creates. Regardless of the science and lack of proof of unicorns, the image persists throughout time and the world. This image that popular culture often deems childish persists with adults long after childhood is over. The unicorn persists in the human psyche... as we continue to persist in the world.

The good will always outnumber the bad. We strengthen the good when we are willing to be the visible good, the visible average, the visible caring human beings we are each very naturally capable of being.

*Those still struggling with how to talk with your children (and I purposely say WITH because I want you to let them speak too!), if you are left uninspired by the unicorn, I leave you with a quote from the prophetic Mr. Fred Rogers himself:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

There were helpers on 9/11/2001, and in the Tsunami's in Asia, the hurricanes of the southeast US, the Oklahoma City bombing. There are helpers right now in the Sudan. There are ALWAYS helpers. At the Boston Marathon there were helpers, not just the police in bright vests charging the baracade, but ordinary citizens pulling apart the baracades, applying pressure to wounds, running to retrieve wheelchairs for the wounded, the adults blocks away who spoke to every person they saw to make sure that other person was at least okay enough to speak. The newscasters who encouraged anyone they were interviewing to say their name and who they were with so that their loved ones might know they were safe. There were the amazing runners who thought a little ahead and walked themselves to the hospital to donate blood right away. There were the people online relaying messages to friends and family that loved ones were okay when the cell phone service was turned off. All of that, every single caring act of love, was beautiful comfort to someone. 

Cowards may have their moment of flash, but those who love will always rise for love is beautiful power.

Spring

And... I didn't post the entire month of March... whoops!

Working on life things. Nothing particularly exciting since February. Lame, I know.

Studios have been under construction, and there's been construction across from my home, so it has been difficult to be artistically productive as I had planned to be. I currently have 14 days to finish an acrylic painting. Yes, I have started. No, I don't blame you for asking and I sadly understand that it's a valid question.

Actually, I did 3 small acrylic paintings in the month of February, now that I stop to remember.

It was March that was a dud of a month. Sketches went well. Did another sillouette that I want to work into a larger multi media piece, but nothing that I am particularly fond of.... except for my phoenix sketch. I think I created the watermark for my online work (once I get a basic program like photoshop for myself) and it's a stylized phoenix. I do not like that phoenix and dragons have become "cool" so for that reason alone I am reluctant to use it, but now I keep finding myself doodling it on the back of napkins when I'm waiting and in my son's coloring books while I'm suppose to be waiting not coloring in any more without him. (Yes, I color with crayons with my son. I believe coloring books are good for everyone. It's calming... unless you're coloring with a 5 year old... then sometimes it's work!)

Open Studios this Saturday and no flashy new work to show for it.
Also, my business cards haven't come either. Both myself and my husband are out of business cards. Not good.
Thinking I might have to have us make up some tonight just for the sheer necessity of needing some for Saturday.
Guess I'm not doing well on "being on top of business side of things."
But what artist/stay at home mother in chronic pain with crazy family is?

Oh, and the excuse of getting another feeder to attract cardinals so I could study a female cardinal for my painting? It was total BS at the time, but low and behold, I have attracted a mated pair of cardinals to my yard and am getting to compare real life color for my painting. Photographs are great, but it's hard to tell when a photo has and hasn't been tweaked sometimes. Now I know I want more rust and less grey, less ocres and more umbers and it helps me stop arguing with myself. :-)

Holy moly long time no post.
Oh yeah... life... again.

I also vehemently hate that since I have a google account this blog is somehow linked to that account WAAAAY more than I want it to be. Truly, if I ever get the rest of my life organized I'll leave blogger and google for my art related things and build (with some help) my own site. I really do want my own online gallery. My cafepress site is a place holder and convenient way for me to get some of the items I personally want for myself. (Mugs. I am in love with my artwork on mugs that get used daily.) Etsy is great in theory, but I'm not comfortable with the amount of time it would take me being on my computer even more than I am to get my site seen more... I WANT it seen more, but until it is it feels like I'm losing more than I gain to have a fully stocked online shop on Etsy. If I had ever had a sale in the time I've had the site I'd be more willing, but I haven't. Add to that the utter frustration of not havign the images of my work that I need when I need them to upload to the site and I feel like I should give up.
Luckily, I'm stubborn.
Luckily, dreams never die... it is when hope fizzles out that dreams blink out.
And hope, however unlikely and quiet and invisible, I do not really lose.
Even when I can not see a positive, I have some hope.
It may seem fluffy and flowery, but in practice it is dirty and gritty and makes you scream in anguish.
Hope is the anguish that you endure to take that next step though you can not give a single believable reason why you aren't turning around and going home.
Hope...
To steal a line from my favorite movie:
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
Whoops... that's my favorite line... the one that applies here to this post:
"Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free."

So with hope I plan to dig in my heels at the beginning of my new year in March and honor the three parts of my life I cherish by getting with the plan and doing the work. All the way around. Some days will be horribly unpleasant, but so truly worth it.

In the Arts arena I've made a baby step - my next big project is started - by request it;s another bird.
Wish me luck!

Triple Project Tuesday

Today's pinterest inspired projects:
salt dough keepsakes & nutella hot cocoa & quick yard ghosts*

Now I've done the salt dough before but always left it out for a week to dry out on it's own.
SALT DOUGH: Very old simple recipe of 2 parts flour to 1 part salt plus water. Pinterest calls for you to "cure" it in the oven at 250 for 2 hours. Sillies had a blast playing with it... rolling it out (using an empty salt container because I couldn't find my rolling pin!) and cookie cutters. I used a skewer to poke holes in each of them so I could later be able to hang them with ribbon. Sillies is excited, but Momma didn't know he played with the timer so they were in for less than 2 hours... and the hand prints puffed. Not happy about the ornaments puffing up. The acorn ones are great, the larger hand prints don't feel right.
Project grade: end result + fun creating =B

Nutella hot cocoa. Splenda, more often hiding in the ingredient list as Sucrolose, makes my inside try to kill me. Serious intestinal pain. Sucrolose is the third or last ingredient in every hot cocoa packets I find in the store. It sucks. It's not just the low calorie ones... even the ones with lots of sugar will list Splenda/sucrolose as the last ingredient! < / rant >
Anyhow, it was chilly and my husband still isn't home and I don't know how to properly start the pellet stove (we moved here in Spring) so... hot cocoa craving! Then I was sad because I don't have any in the house (because I stopped buying it because of the sucrolose.) and... *blink blink blink* I remembered the pinterest 2 cups milk + 2 spoons Nutella = yum! So... I get out a saucepan, put in 2 cups milk and a big spoon of nutella and turn on simmer and then start the bath for my son. I return and stir and it's still too cold for all the nutella to come off the spoon and my son wants to then show me a bubble mohawk... so I then completely forget about it until after his bath. I used my rubber whisk, but it was slightly too late... the nutella got slightly scorched. It was better than no hot chocolate and much better than the packets of pain.
Project grade: A (my result =A- and I burnt it, so I totally recommend this hot cocoa recipe!)

Quick Yard Ghosts*
-Old handkerchief or a square that size of white fabric
-Whiffle ball
- large rubberband
-long stick
Super quick & easy & will withstand the rain. My son thinks they are awesome and was thrilled to put his shoes on and go put them in the yard near the driveway.
These I didn't find on pinterest, but it should be up there. If I had a working camera it totally would be up there! It's my creative way of giving my son the handmade ghosts for our yard that he said he wanted last week. "Not just a pumpkin Mommy, we need ghosts too!" By the way, a four pack of small whiffle balls was found at the dollar store, as well as one large flour sack cloth (which I cut into quarters) and I have been keeping rubberbands from veggies from the farmer's market... so I made 4 lawn ghosts for $2.

October starts

Hooray for mostly success!
I'm taking a moment from cleaning to do a pitiful excuse for a post.

-"We're all mad here" sign done, in need of touch up, but done
-Olde Tyme Faire sign figured out. This is a project I was asked to do for church. I still think less words is better, but whatever, the project isn't my baby like it is to the event chair person
-leftovers for dinner that didn't feel like leftovers
-octopus from old paper towel cardboard rolls
-play-doh funtime
-battery tea light in a plastic jackolantern basket = instant jackolantern for the window that can't burn down the hosue
-I came up with a useful short cut: votive candle in a wine goblet normally creates a mess... Get out a cupcake liner! Put the paper cup in the goblet, open it up as much as you can, place the votive in and light! The cup collects the wax protecting the glass, the glass protects the flame from drafts and the second half of the votive BURNS LONGER! The wax isn't forever spreading out making that huge puddle... which slows the burning. PLUS if you get themed cup liners like I do, it can be that much more decorative. :)
+I came up with a hanging ghost project at my son's request. (Styrofoam ball rant) I went to the dollar store to pick up whiffle balls in place of using the styrofoam for the head base. I couldn't find googley-eyes in the dollar store. Boo! Going to have my son glue together cloth circles and I'll attach the eyes with a single stitched 'x' in the middle of the eyes. (I hate to sew because I'm horrible at it!)
 +figured out my chess queen crown for my Halloween costume. Again, I'll be using a whiffle ball in place of the styrofoam ball. Again, will be interesting because I'm horrible with a sewing needle.

Projects done by October 5th:
-"We're all mad here"
-"goblet candles"
-Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (didn't turn out as well as the ones I did in September)

Started:
-Olde Tyme Faire
-portrait painting

So really, I'm still alive and well. I just get busy (new house!, child, health, life) and don't feel like I write very well so I either forget or tell myself "another day without writing won't kill my blog"... and it's true. While good blogs are like houseplants, this blog is like a dandelion... it persists whether you water it or cut it down.
And for that, sometimes, I am grateful.

I have  a friend who is doing attempting to do 365 projects from pinterest.com over a year's time. This young woman has two very young children. And she's blogging about the projects. And... the best part... she's amusing as hell and REAL. Like opening the front door-for-the-mailman-with-the-toothbrush-in-your-mouth real.

I love the concept and her writing.
And so I'm a little inspired.
At least so much so as to pledge to update my own blog once a week AND do my own project once a week.

I already do at least one project once a week, but now I'll keep track and try to share about it.
I am not above having my Halloween costume (The Red Queen) count in this as a project since I've put enough thought forward and intended to make my own crown too. (A proper Red Queen crown, not just any crown, NOT the Queen of Hearts Crown, but a chess queen crown.) I must admit today I caved while looking for a Mad Hatter hat in iParty.... I fell like a pawn for the ease of buying a $6 crown that I can easily use as a base and will only take 3 steps to modify. This will take incredibly less talent, patience and time than making a prom-quality type crown... and be less expensive. Did you know Styrofoam balls are a few bucks EACH? I can buy a pack of styrofoam cups (I don't, but I could) for the cost of ONE 4 inch styrofoam ball. It annoys the hell out of me. I an struggling to come up with a non-styryofoam option and will probably rant about having to spend $4 on a piece of styrofoam before it's Halloween.

The upside... it's October, I'm inspired to be creative, and my husband hasn't seen our credit card bills for the crafts & clothes I bought yet :)

Still Alive

Right arm still not corrected.
Still aching. Trip to a hand surgeon left me angry. Surgery is suggested although nothing physically changed in her examination over the year between her visits... except she noticed the movement where she ignored it before. She also ignored what symptoms I did and did NOT have. She ignored my actual concern - usage! Pain is painful. It makes me a b-I-t-C-h sometimes. That's not my primary concern. Diminished strength and usage of my dominant hand & arm is the biggest problem. blah.

So, I have done very little in the past few months in way of art. It makes me sad.

Have some non paint projects on the list to do over the next few weeks. Mixed media shadow boxes in the style of an old fashioned memory box. Wish me luck!