today's mantra.

“The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's "own" or "real" life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.” -C.S. Lewis

John O'Donohue

Today, I listened to this podcast; it is beautiful, relevant and poetic. If any of you have any interest in religion, ethics, or ideas, check out Krista Tippet's program...she always has amazing, interesting, and diverse thinkers on her program.

Here is an excerpt from his book, Anam Cara:

"In the Celtic tradition, there is a beautiful understanding of love and friendship. One of the fascinating ideas here is the idea of soul-love; the old Gaelic term for this is anam cara. Anam is the Gaelic word for soul and cara is the word for friend. In the early Celtic church, a person who acted as a teacher, companion, or spiritual guide was called an anam cara. It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed revealing the hidden intimacies of your life. With the anam cara you could share your innermost self, your mind, and your heart. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. … In everyone's life there is great need for an anam cara, a soul friend, in this love you are understood as you are without mask or pretension. Where you are understood, you are at home."

Soulful Excellence.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day walking around New York. My friend, Diana, and I went to the Whitney (which was, of course, AMAZING) and then went in and out of galleries in Chelsea until around 8pm. I saw some amazing art....and I also saw some ridiculous art, but all-in-all it was a perfect day. Here is a "smattering" of what I saw taken via my very low-tech phone-camera.

Love.

I don't have much to say, but I have been painting....and trust me, you'd rather see my paintings than read my ramblings.

more....new.....work.....

I'll recap about the Candler Park Fall Fest once I am not exhausted....but, until then, one of several new pieces that I premiered at this weekend.

Candler Park Fall Fest 2008

Please come to the Candler Park Fall Fest this weekend and see me and Anne Elser at the festival. I promise free vodka drinks to the first 10 people who show up to support their favorite local artists. For directions, click here.

more.

A new piece I did last night. The photograph is not so great and makes the colors not quite right, but I don't really feel like color-correcting in photoshop....I'm lazy, that's right.

John Keats

This is from John Keats' Endymion...and I thought it rather beautiful.

Weekend Fun...?

Tonight, I am attending a bachelorette party. Honestly, I cannot imagine a more hellish sequence of events than the following:
1. Dinner with 10-12 girls ranging in ages from 23-27 (obviously this excludes Montana and myself) who I don't know.
2. Attendance of a local strip club where I've been warned that the MALE strippers may try to "tea bag" me....every gay woman's dream, I tell you.
3. Dancing at a local club where I am told to dress like I am looking to "get laid"....by a man. This means cowboy shirts, NIKE flip-flop and cargo pants are out of the question.

A normal Saturday night for me usually consists of a nice bottle of wine, dinner at home or somewhere less than 5 miles away, some quality time with Nancy Grace and bedtime at 10pm. I think I'll start drinking now.

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I've had a bit of a creative resurgence. I did this last night...shaking off the cobwebs and getting back into the flow is not for the faint of heart.

Better than most of my recent posts...

I've spent the greater part of my life worrying about things that are beyond my control. Perhaps, the greatest insights I have gleaned from my short time on this earth is that there is very little that we absolutely have control over, failure is a part of growth and that love and kindness are truly the things that matter the most. Bearing witness to this extraordinary time in our history, I have felt a mixture of anxiety, excitement, fear, dread, hope, and irony. Despite my concern over the tactical aspects of being: will I continue to have a job, can I pay my bills, will I be able to afford to drive my car, what about retirement, is this a run-on sentence; I am finding that there is something rather freeing about this chaotic and uncertain time. Maybe it is just realizing that we don't really have control over anything, that the future really is uncertain, and that, above and beyond it all, the only thing we can really do is decide how we are going to live in the midst of it all. I have decided that I am not ever going to stand on the sidelines while my life passes me by. I have decided that I am always going to be optimistic about the future. I have decided that I am going to seek out creative partnerships and opportunities that feed my soul. It's that simple. It's my line in the sand.

in case you missed it.

Regardless of your political beliefs...simply brilliant.

insomnia.

What is it about insomnia that makes me want to buy this?

out of the flow.

Why is it that inspiration is so illusive? I have been in a creative dry spell for several months now and it is sheer frustration. Today, I come off of a week-long beach vacation and have an entire day to myself to work on some paintings...sounds great, right? Not so much....nothing is coming. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zlich.

I, of course, think I am losing it. I no longer have access to that part of myself that is able to freely create and express whatever is in my head or heart. "IT" is gone. But what is it? And I have to believe that "IT" is not gone, but just not accessible to me right now. But why? Theoretically, I am relaxed. My stress is moderate, but not high. Life is generally pretty great. So what gives? I know that when I "try" to be creative, I fail miserably....I am pushing when should be pulling, going north when I need to go south....all of those things. Maybe it is simply a relaxation thing. Maybe I am judging myself too harshly and not allowing the process to be fluid. Maybe anxiety is blocking me. The question, of course, is how to get unstuck, relax and get back into the flow.

Any suggestions?

Vacation. Day 1.

Truer words have never come across my computer screen.

Vacation Countdown

It has been 16 months since a "real vacation." Count em' one-six. Am I losing it? Possibly. Is it due to a variety of factors? Most likely. Do I want to delve into any of them here in a public forum? That is highly unlikely. I will share that a lack of vacation leads to irritability, excessive squirliness, slight melancholia, and bouts of insomnia. All of which I suffer from. Alas, Montana and I are finally getting to go away...for a week....to the beach. Sun, sand, books, naps, margaritas, no power point, no e-mail, no work, no worries.

That is, until, FAY....seriously, folks, (ahem, MOTHER nature), what the f*ck. Give me a break.

Hair, hair everywhere....

So, lately, I've been really busy. Not much time for blogging but have somehow found PLENTY of time to try on fake hair via the Ladies Home Journal "Try on a Hairstyle" program. Here are a few options....




What do you all think?

Chris and Don....

So, normally, I wouldn't go out of my way to see a "gay" movie...really, I make it a point NOT to go out of my way to see most movies, but this one caught my eye and it was fabulous. A beautiful story about the relationship between two men who, under most extraordinary circumstances, lived and flourished in a relationship that lasted 3 decades. A beautiful and soulful story that everyone should see.
Enjoy!

"junk" mail.

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." Victor Hugo

I got this quote in my inbox today...junk mail from an unknown sender. I often wonder how I get random offers for viagra, levitra, penis enlargement surgical procedures, etc. etc. Perhaps, now, the junk mail gods in the sky have figured out those offers do not really mean much to me and they are going to start hitting me up with information that would actually mean something to me. Even better was that there was no link to anything for me to buy! What a lovely way to start off the work-week.

My New Favorite Toys.

When you can sell these and make a living, you must live in the best country in the world.