Poetry Friday

It's nine o'clock on a Friday night and I'm sitting here desperately trying to write. Not write blog posts, that's easy for me. I'm trying to write fiction. I've just started a book that makes me want to write so badly I can taste it. I want beautiful and delicious words to spring from my hands. So I type in a couple of lines, and then my brain panics. It screams at me "what the hell are you doing?" and "you can't do that" and all other sorts of crap that my brain likes to give me. And so I close the word document without saving and stare at the computer for a bit longer. As if my courage will somehow come by contemplating this ancient computer. And then I repeat.

So to break the monotony of the cycle I'm posting a poem. I wanted something fearless, something bold. And I sat and read poem after poem looking for inspiration. Instead I remembered this. It's not fearless or even my opinion. But it does make me smile.

For my friends the true carnivores. You know who you are.

The Health-Food Diner

by Maya Angelou

No sprouted wheat and soya shoots

And Brussels in a cake,

Carrot straw and spinach raw,

(Today, I need a steak).

Not thick brown rice and rice pilaw

Or mushrooms creamed on toast,

Turnips mashed and parsnips hashed,

(I'm dreaming of a roast).

Health-food folks around the world

Are thinned by anxious zeal,

They look for help in seafood kelp

(I count on breaded veal).

No smoking signs, raw mustard greens,

Zucchini by the ton,

Uncooked kale and bodies frail

Are sure to make me run

to

Loins of pork and chicken thighs

And standing rib, so prime,

Pork chops brown and fresh ground round

(I crave them all the time).

Irish stews and boiled corned beef

and hot dogs by the scores,

or any place that saves a space

For smoking carnivores.

Twice Studios

A couple days ago I mentioned that my boss had an art photography/t-shirt store that he ran in his free time. What I didn’t mention in that post is that I’m going to very quickly go broke buying things from the store. Not because he’s my boss. Because the art photography has to be some of the most unique and beautiful I’ve seen in a while. And the t-shirts are easily the softest (and most interesting) I’ve ever worn. In fact I’m sitting here writing this in the t-shirt I bought from the store last week. I’ve had a couple people comment on it already. Comfort and a conversation starter, I’m in.

The store is Twice Studios; and it’s run by my boss, his sister-in-law (the photographer) and his brother-in-law (the medical illustrator). Now I know what you’re thinking, a photographer and a medical illustrator, what type of store is this? My favorite kind, of course. A bit eccentric, a bit odd, and just the right amount of beautiful. The photography is what originally interested me in checking the store out. My boss had mentioned it as a hobby of his but when I checked out the art images I was instantly infatuated. I’m already thinking of adding the image above (Mermaid) to my walls along with the Tea Party image below. Prints are so reasonable that I’m also thinking of adding this image (Truth) to the walls of my studio.

I walked into one of the local stores that sell Twice’s t-shirts last weekend and picked up this shirt. Heart has quickly become my favorite t-shirt. It’s interesting certainly. I get a lot of people commenting. But what really makes me want to wear it is the softness. This shirt is incredible, one of the softest I’ve ever worn. And you all know how much I like comfort. The other one I would love to purchase is the firefly shirt. There are a couple local places that carry the t-shirts but I’ll be picking up my art prints from the Etsy store. I love the idea of supporting local artists and particularly ones whose work is so interesting.

I’m thinking about buying the t-shirt below for my brother. For those of you not of a medical bent, this is a Sphenoid bone, a beautiful butterfly shaped bone found at the base of the skull. As a doctor I think he’d love it. Heck, knowing him he’d try to wear it to clinic to see patients. As a big fan of comfort, I think he’d wear it all the time.

It's All Relative

On Thursday night, Jeff and I had dinner with my aunt and uncle and the rest of my in-town family. We had a fantastic time getting together. Late that night my father and uncle boarded a bus to take them fishing in Canada, leaving my aunt in Des Moines with my mom. Having my aunt here, lead to possibly one of the most family filled weekends I've had in a long time. It was a blast but wow am I exhausted.


On Thursday it was dinner and talking until pretty late. On Friday night Jeff and I had dinner with my mom and aunt and then took my aunt out to the local baseball game. We had beautiful seats on one of the most perfect weather nights I can remember. There were fireworks after the game and then we drove her around the city a little before dropping her home to my mom. She had a blast and even though it wasn't her beloved White Sox, it was an exciting enough game to keep her interested. She even almost caught a foul ball (instead she ended up with a bruised elbow).



On Saturday we picked up my mother and her sister and the four of us headed out to the Des Moines Art Festival. Despite the fact that it was egg-fryingly hot, we wandered among the booths for a couple hours and my mother even bought a gorgeous handmade kaleidoscope. I debated heavily about some amazing steampunk bird sculptures but in the end didn't have the money to buy. Those might become a regret.



After lunch at Centro, we headed out to the other Des Moines art fair (yes there are two competing fairs in one weekend) where my mother bought me a beautiful piece of artwork that uses handpoured pewter leaves. I've already hung it up. It was just stunning. Thanks Mom!! After both artfairs we were all wiped out. We headed back to my mom's place to have a light dinner and play some board games.



Sunday was supposed to be Jeff and my day but my mother called with an offer I couldn't refuse. We went to the zoo and had a great time. There have been so many changes in the last year at the zoo. Jeff and I were there in the fall last year. This trip, there were areas that I didn't recognize. Amazing. It just keeps getting better and better. The highlights were the beautiful birds that wandered right up to us in the discovery center. Particularly the Victoria Crowned Pigeon which was easily the size of a wild turkey and appeared to have no fear of us (see below). After the zoo we dropped the ladies off and spent a quiet evening cleaning the house. I'm so far behind on getting things done. Of course I'd have to be home at some point for things to get done.



On Monday we decided to do a girl's day since my sister was off work. We went shopping for our upcoming trip and ended up picking up a number of nice things. I bought a ring and a new travel bag. Then after a nice sushi dinner, Jeff and I headed out to the library. Of course the moment I brought my new books home I was lost. Nothing got done the rest of the night as I sat on the couch and read. It was an amazing weekend, filled to the brim. But now I'm exhausted. And ready for things to return to normal. Just a couple more days.

Epic Win

First let me start with an apology. I don't normally whine as much as I did yesterday. I try to keep this a mostly positive place, other than the occasional rant about some pet peeve of mine. And reading back through my post yesterday I realize just how much of a downer it was. I'm not normally the type of person to use words like regret and trapped, in any sense. I did feel better after posting yesterday so it must have been cathartic for me. But I normally only go for constructive whining. :-)

Now, on to the fun stuff. I'm feeling much better today. I had a fantastic therapy session this morning including some work with the boot off. I'm so excited for Monday with the hope that the doctor will tell me I don't need it anymore. Than again I'm just happy to be able to walk comfortably without crutches. I have dinner with an old friend who I haven't seen in a while. I have a nice lunch planned with a coworker. It's going to be a great day.

Even better are the two new pieces of book art that I happened to find on Epic Win. If you are not checking out Epic Win, you need to. It has to be one of the most enjoyable daily websites out there. I'm constantly inspired by the type of art that people create. Or the situations that are captured in photo. Much of it is geek based but all of it is incredible. The only issue I have is that the website doesn't list the source. I've seen a number of artists whose work I follow (Peter Calleson, Terry Border....) without any citing of source. That part bothers me quite a bit. I know after reading the comments on each piece that it bothers other people as well. Normally someone will mention in the comments who the artist is.

For example this incredible Alice piece below is done by Su Blackwell.

But on the same note I have no idea where this fantastic door is. One of the commentors mentioned that it might be the Bodleian Library at Oxford, library of my dreams. /drool

Most of the posts have nothing to do with books. I'm in love with this dragon made entirely out of plastic forks and spoons. Apparently it took the artist (toge-NYC) 80 hours of work to create this amazing piece. I WANT this.

Cleansing Post

The previous post was a bit sad and a bit disgusting. So here is a painting attempt I made this afternoon to cleanse your mind. Maybe. It's not a great painting but I'm having fun. It's my Balloon Boy. I love the blue of the sky but otherwise I'm not in love with the image. But it is much happier than my poor sick bird.

Photo

I have a full topic that I will post tonight but I had to share this picture. I took this while heading up to see some friends in Minneapolis sometime last year. It was raining and Jeff and I stopped briefly at the Diamond Jo Casino on the Minnesota/Iowa border. As we were getting out of the car we noticed this and had to take a picture.


Apparently there is gold at the end of the rainbow, or at least clay chips and slot machines.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Since I started drawing again, I've felt a bit like a small child. I've been doing mostly free-hand drawing but today I spent my lunch hour having fun with Microsoft Paint. I started by drawing the cartoon tire and when I attached it to the bus, I knew I had to make it a tribute to one of my favorite children's books, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. I've read enough interviews with Mo to know that he won't mind that I copied his character. It was a ton of fun and really simple. Which is exactly why it looks like a four year old did it!

Learning to Fail

I'm 32 years old and I just finally figured out that failing at something is not the end of the world. I don't know why it took me so long but the revelation is a bit intoxicating. For the first time in my life I'm allowing myself the freedom to try and fail. And then try and fail again. And again.

For the last year or so I've been trying to learn to draw. I desperately want to illustrate my own children's books. But the pattern went something like this. Try a drawing, find that it was not good, crumple it up, toss it away, and give up for the day. Not conducive to learning. Instead it just made me feel that I'd never learn. For some reason, these past two weeks, I have gotten it into my head that whatever I produce is a learning process. Bad drawings happen. And now I'm having a ton of fun drawing. There is no pressure to be good. No worry about messing up. I carry an eraser with me at all times now. And for the first time I'm producing drawings that I think are okay. Not great, not perfect but okay. I just had to give myself permission to fail. 

Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is courage that matters--Winston Churchill

Fun Photos that I Find

Hopefully this will be a regular thing. I love photos and particularly fun photos. And since I've been reading about farm animals I found these great pig pictures.

This is Pinto from Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago. I've been to the zoo many times but never been to the Children's Zoo section. Well this pig has taken to painting. He does it independently, never with prodding. Pigs are very intelligent so the keepers try to find ways to keep them entertained. This one uses his hooves and his snout and other found objects to create his art.

Here is one of his paintings. I guess they are often sold on ebay. I might have to look into those. It's quite a bit better than some of the finger painting I can do. :-)

Both photos from the Associated Press.