me-n-paris hilton
so. i've strated sleeping with an eye mask on at night. it started slowly... i had trouble one night simply keeping my eyes closed because my brain was too active. it worked so well, i put it on a few nights later. and then again, and again and well, now it's every night. like if i don't have it, i'm not sure i'd sleep. the corny part is this eye mask came from my delta airlines freebie travel kit that i scored when i went to paris in march. jiri loves to lift one eye up to see if i'm awake in the mornings. i'm usually not.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 @ 10:06 AM proof that i'm a nerd | comments > 0
why i can't finish a book, i'll never know
in the middle of:
the corrections by johnathan franzen
the elegant universe by brian greene
hamlet's mill by giorgio de santillana
a fine balance by rohinton mistry
and of course in the pike are:
the red tent by anita diamant
bhagavad gita
calgon take me away!
Monday, August 30, 2004 @ 08:23 PM proof that i'm a nerd | comments > 3
True Story
This morning I jumped on my horse
And went out for a ride,
And some wild outlaws chased me
And then they shot me in the side.
So I crawled into a wildcat's cave
To find a place to hide,
But some pirates found me sleeping there,
And soon they had me tied
To a pole and built a fire
Under me - I almost cried
Till a mermaid came and cut me loose
And begged to be my bride,
So I said I'd come back on Wednesday
But I must admit I lied.
Then I ran into a jungle swamp
But I forgot my guide
And I stepped into some quicksand,
And no matter how I tried
I couldn't get out, until I met Clyde,
Who pulled me to some cannibals
Who planned to have me fried.
But an eagle came and swooped me up
And through the air we flied,
But he dropped me in a boiling lake
A thousand miles wide.
And you'll never guess what I did then -
I DIED.
Shel Silverstein
Sunday, August 29, 2004 @ 08:06 PM | comments > 0
it's good to be missed
i like it when i meet artists who have really pretty lame day-jobs and it's no secret. like they know they're only doing the day job for the money to buy materials for what they'd really like to do. it makes me happy to see what i can do for such folks. even if it's a little tiny piece in a much larger puzzle.
and now, it's off to monica's for my going away party from my day job.... even though i left over a month ago!
Saturday, August 28, 2004 @ 05:38 PM | comments > 0
huh
it's a good thing i made it home ok. confessions.... talk-abouts.... oh dear. the things i say. what a good night, though. seriously. the kids were about to make me bananas today and my rescue-er mary came in and swooped me up from soccer mommy boredom.... ptl. she gave me the free drink coupons, but unfortunantely or not it was the bud-light guy's night of generosity and so my little free drink coupons meant NOTHING. it's all good. i don't drink bud-light.
gory confessions, did i mention that? it's always a bite in the butt when i do it, but maybe not this time..... cross my fingers. the minc thing was ok. i mean, huh? but i'm glad i went and made an appearance, not that anybody noticed, but it's good to still go.... neighbors and all.
yeah, just re-read and NONE of this makes sense. whew! my spelling is atrocious. even better.... hi yvonne!
Friday, August 27, 2004 @ 12:06 AM proof that i'm a nerd | comments > 2
idea that won't go away
sometimes it swirls around and around and around and i can't let go of it, no matter how many times i say, "you know sarah jane, i just don't have time for this right now..." but there it is. another huge project taking up precious brain-space until i get the nerve to do it.
Thursday, August 26, 2004 @ 10:43 AM | comments > 1
photo overload
just added a ton of new pics. strange boys in the photoblog area under 'unsolicited band photography' as well as IR Gallery grand opening pics that i took. sweet.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004 @ 10:32 PM | comments > 0
t-rash
i'm starting a compost pile as of today, my gosh. i was just prepping all the vegetables for stir-fry and looked in the trash can and the majority of what i saw was vegetable parts. bits i can't cook for us to eat. then in my head flashed that old recycling commericial that showed people throwing things into a trash can on the street and then the tag line says, "when you throw something away, where does it go?"
yeah, where does it go? maybe i've been reading too much adbusters lately or dancing on the edge of my re-occurring fantasy of turning the tv into a fish tank. i get so grossed out when i start thinking about how much we throw out. we buy the majority of our food in a raw form and cook from scratch. we do all this stuff and then throw away all these organic leftovers. ack.
the funny part is, the indoor part of the compost, 'the holding tank', is a cookie tin. pahahahaha. paul's gonna get a big surprise when he opens it thinking there's chocolate inside. tee hee.
Monday, August 23, 2004 @ 05:04 PM | comments > 1
weekend update
both receptions went fantastic at the opening of IR Gallery. the place was packed and and the happy bullets rocked! thank you to everyone who came and bought art and celebrated with us. pictures coming soon.
Sunday, August 22, 2004 @ 01:29 PM | comments > 0
IR Gallery
please join us for the grand opening tonight and tomorrow night.
7-10 both nights.
830 exposition avenue, suite 103.
www.irgallery.net
Friday, August 20, 2004 @ 08:55 AM gallery events | comments > 0
yowza!
twice in one month. sweet.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 @ 09:27 PM press | comments > 0
9517. or was it 9715? no, 9157.
so i went! clint and i. clint has no hair and that is the beauty of going with him.
the waiting area: it's like a gym, complete with one of those gym lights that come on and then come on again... you know the type. there are sports team windsocks hanging from the ceiling and a selection of local sports teams stuff in two separate boutique areas. items such as liscense plate holders, pencils, featuring local teams like SMU, UT, the STARS, A&M etc... there are huge photographs of people cheering and waving their team's flag along with the big sponge-hand-thingie. an enormous HD-TV-something-or-other rests in the far right corner of the waiting area. incidentally, that's the 'love' area of the bagua according to feng shui. (more about the tv in a moment.) in the far left corner, the checkout-dugout is in the form of a batting cage complete with a chain link fence enclosure. the dominate color in the waiting area is blue with yellow and red accents. accents, you say? like what? like little signs everywhere that say things like, "point winning play system" (or something) then there's a diagram of some generic looking football plays and the haircutting experience is broken down for you, complete with a 'huddle' which i suppose is the equivalent of a consultation.
on tv: i think it might have been ESPN, but i can't be sure because i don't have cable. i watched and watched and watched and honestly, i have absolutely no earthly idea what the program i was watching was about. football was involved. so were these slow-mo moves of guys in uniform walking down into the stadium with dramatic music swelling behind every footstep, high fives, the coach with the clip board, a random-number-28-guy jumping into the air to catch a football with a beads of sweat spewing off him. the team colors might have been red and yellow, but i can't be sure. the same tire commercial with the token hot chick came on at every break, as did the wal-mart ad peddling game-boy football. at the very end of the show, the music climaxed and a voice said, "his leadership transcended football" and a still shot of a grey haired man appeared. i'm sure somebody, somewhere had goose pimples, but i just sat there feeling like an alien.
the 'cutting area': different floors. tile, this time, instead of a wooden gym floor. the lights have the little cages on them. the stylist stores her equipment in little gym lockers. clippers and clipper acroutrements abound. there is indeed an itsy-bitsy-smaller-than-a-25cents-for-ten-minutes-in-the-airport-tv for each and every patron getting a haircut. at the far end of the cutting area, there's an enormous sign that says "showers", where one gets a shampoo.
the stylists: surprisingly normal. they wear red and white jersey-esque tops with shorts and tennis shoes. clint's stylist was nice, although it did take her nearly an hour to cut off his almost non-existent hair. when the hair cut was over, instead of sweeping the hair off the floor, the stylist vacuumed it up with a vacuum cleaner that is built into the lockers. i was immediately intrigued. where's this hair going? so i excused myself and went to the restroom and lo and behold, a machine called 'suck-maid' or 'service-maid' or something like that was waiting for me. (either way, that's a pretty bad product name) a large container was at the bottom of several large tubes with a warning sign that said, 'do not open'. i wanted to, but i didn't because i was wearing a white shirt today.
the clientele: pretty normal 'guys'. khaki's, shorts, team shirts. some came in and seemed to know the drill. they'd sign in and nonchalantly pick up sports illustrated. some wandered in and had to be told to sign in. i periodically looked out the window to make sure no one i knew was out there. i was a tad embarrased, to be quite honest, and would have potentially been mortified if i'd been spotted.
in summary: someone put a lot of thought into this place. no detail was overlooked. everyone was courteous, including the other folks in the waiting area. the franchise seems to be geared toward little kids. that was the feel of the place. only grown men though, walked in the door and it seemed a little over the top and a rather decadent way to feel like a 'winner'. at the end of my friend clint's haircut, his stylist asked him to generate four numbers he'd remember. that way when he came back, she could replicate his haircut exactly.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 @ 09:05 PM proof that i'm a nerd | comments > 0
un-schooling
we're officially 'counter-culture'. oh dear. it's true. the first day of DISD's school is today and where is my age appropriate daughter? why, in the other room. i absolutely refuse to send her. we visited our local school and were horrified at the propaganda hanging in the cafeteria, the dank hallways, and the MEAN kids. and this is supposed to be a good(?!) school.
i remember back to my own schooling at this age. it was easy, i was bored and ultimately i was shipped off a couple days a week into another, more challenging class because i was so disruptive. i only wanted to go to shake it up, rattle a few bones, including my teacher's. poor mrs. roderick. eva is so much like me, except without quite so much drama in her life. she's so smart and can already do some things kids 2-3 years older than her can do. i can't fathom putting her into a class where she's purposely slowed down and taught to take a test. ack.
we've actually been subscribing to the un-schooling philosophy of john holt. child-led learning. so you wanna know about hawaii this week? ok. so we go the the library and online and check out everything we can about hawaii.... let her discover what volcanoes and hula dancing are... or whatever. possibly a little direction from mama and some scant workbooks, but mostly let her do it. this may not work, and i'm open to it not working. but for now, it IS working. it's been working.
she's such a cool little kid. she's got the best little punk rock hair cut and doesn't eat meat. we pray everytime we see a homeless person. she has no idea what mcdonalds is or what a soda tastes like. she has no clue about 'brand name clothes'. so i should send her to school to have them teach her the contrary? uh, no.
Monday, August 16, 2004 @ 09:23 AM my family | comments > 1
uninspired
i'm terribly uninspired today.
Sunday, August 15, 2004 @ 04:31 PM | comments > 0
being lucky
people who are lucky are really just gutsy.
lucky people aren't afraid to jump.
people who are lucky sieze opportunities.
people who are lucky are blank slates.
lucky people simutaneously take nothing and everything with them.
luck is simply being open to sernedipity.
it's friday the 13th, so good luck kai! i'm thinking about ya.
Friday, August 13, 2004 @ 03:09 PM | comments > 0
daydreaming
so in the car on the way home from errands, gallery stuffs and too many conversations, i had wilco cranked and the stream of consciousness began. i was thinking about how glad i am that the gallery colors are red and white and if i would regret that later. kindof like the time when i was 9 years old and i had this whole fantasy about opening the closet door in my room and instead of my pathetic assortment of clothes and stashed goodies, there'd be this amazing purple bathroom, with steps. (because steps in a bathroom are so decadent.) there'd be lavender curtains and a luscious lavender toilet seat cover and the matching rugs.... there'd be white towels with lavender accents.... a two-tone dark purple and lavender patterned shower curtain with a clear liner and beautiful purple ruffles on the top. i always pictured myself on christmas morning rolling around on the pale lavendar carpet after having just been surprized by all my friends and family with the purple bathroom. everyone had read my mind and known how much i loved the bathroom right out of the sears catalog. this was the same bedroom i shared with my sister and i also had an entire alchemy lab on the tip-top shelf of my bookcases. i had to stand on my bed to reach. the shelf had a lip on it to hide what all i had 'cooking' up there. i mixed makeup with powder with cologne with my sister's sea-breeze. all in search of the perfect scent. the great thing about the new bathroom would have been the incredible storage space i would get and access to a sink, right there! perfect! alas. gallery colors. huh, what? yeah, i'm glad about the red. it's my current favorite color.
and now for something completely different, amazing art by eva:
Thursday, August 12, 2004 @ 03:22 PM | comments > 0
shelly innocence
now this is a brilliant website. funny and well thought-out. i wish something like this were going on here. right here in big D. now that would be really funny.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 @ 08:46 AM finds | comments > 4
anticipation
i don't get too over-the-top stoked about portrait shoots, usually. i mean, i always have a good time and love to interact with people. it's fun. but really excited? like disney land excited? no. but today i am!
pregnancy pictures are by far my favorite. by far. (i've been around pregnant women too long.) today i get to shoot one of my favorite couples in the world. and they're pregnant. i've known the husband since, um, i don't know how long at this point. since i was in college, i guess, and i would house sit for him while he traveled off to india or someplace for a month at a time. i learned the fine art of connecting people from him, but never really realized that until recently.
the wife. my heavens, she's amazing. i wish i could make a garden grow like she does. i had to miss their wedding because i was in another wedding. but i was the one who made sense of their wedding pictures and organized them and made them presentable. it felt like i was there. this is the couple, for anyone who knows the story, that hooked me up with "the ticket". THE FIRST CLASS TICKET.
These are people who put good things into the world: good smiles. good times. good parties. good conversation. They have always supported me and filled their home with my art and helped me meet people and have offered their time and serivices. i am honored and excited to shoot their pregnancy.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 @ 09:52 AM | comments > 0
the list grows daily
it grows daily. and when i go to write it all down, the more pages it takes up. so much so, that when paul excitedly said at the breakfast table today, "hey! i know what you should do!" my heart went all a-flutter and i excitedly said "what?!" "no, not you, eva...."
humphgh, and i thought he would solve all my problems for me. like there was a fairy he was gonna' tell me i could hire to come in, sweep up, and take care of it all.
all this means is that today i'm inspired to do little more than mundane tasks like sweep, mop, mow, dust, clean things. i used to chide myself and figure i was only doing these tasks to procrastinate. and sometimes it's true, i am procrastinating, but this is bigger. much bigger. i need to mow in the middle of the day in august so i'll sweat. and think. and sweat some more. till it's purged and i can shower and then proceed in a clean, orderly fashion. with a semi-clear head. list in hand.
Sunday, August 08, 2004 @ 12:26 PM | comments > 0
good times
great turnout last night in plano. i'm blown away every time that many people show up in my support. my dad even drove in from bum-boo cleburne. it's so great. the other thing that's really cool about people who come to my shows, they're mostly my age. and they're 'patrons'. now it's true, there are several folks who have bought work from me that are in the senior set, and honestly, there's something really cool about that (and them). it's only because the majority of the people who own my work are my age. people exactly like me that aren't rolling in the dough, see something they really like and speaks to them somehow.... they come up with the money and hang it in their home. it's the ultimate flattery. ultimate.
in other news, we saw the strange boys last night at the doublewide and oh my goodness, THEY WRAWKED! it doesn't help that i have a top-secret crush on ryan, the precious little 17-year-old lead singer. i shot tons of pictures. they'll be posted sometime soon. incredible. great stage presence. we will be back to see them.
Saturday, August 07, 2004 @ 09:45 AM | comments > 1
tonight. plano.
a. gallery, 1023 east 15th street in plano.
7-9 pm
art-rageous hogs by kay askew and
paris tabletops by me.
here's the article in the observer.
Friday, August 06, 2004 @ 10:36 AM press | comments > 0
alternatives needed
warmly, regards, cheers, best, warm regards, best regards, warmest best-est most cheeriest regards ever. ack.
Thursday, August 05, 2004 @ 06:28 PM | comments > 0
let's have a hug-o-war
it's funny to be in the middle of something. like an argument. it's interesting to be the one who sees both sides and not get wrapped up in one side or the other and make a judgement (out-loud, anyway). it's hard to not BE the communicator and just say, "oh hell, she this and he that and then this... get it? that's how they see it."
it's enlightening (is it?) to be the one to simply encourage communication and not DO the communicating. i refuse to take sides. won't do it. it's between them and, honestly, i see it both ways. that's what's so fascinating. large chunks of information are missing on both sides. just facts. details. nothing more. those facts and details though, have spawned numerous assumptions and emotional uproar.
it seems to me, no fresh, new, healthy communication can happen until all that's been said and not said, gets said. all the misunderstandings get understood. everything that's there for either party involved must be laid out like a hand of cards. only then can a new game begin.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004 @ 08:35 PM | comments > 0
required reading
thank you dan hughes for this.
damn. i read the whole thing twice. fantastic.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004 @ 05:08 PM finds | comments > 0
shameless promotion
this friday. a. gallery in plano. 1023 e. 15th street. 7-9 pm.
me: paris tabletops. series shot in march '04 on a solo trip to fabulous paris.
kay askew: harley's. series shot on a rainy sunday afternoon.
just finished typing up the wall cards and statement. whew.
i'm busy. sheesh.
Monday, August 02, 2004 @ 10:02 PM gallery events | comments > 0
who needs titles
today was one of those, holy-$#@*-i'm-in-the-thick-of-it kind of days. several things. i ended my church boycott today after 2 looong months. it was nice to be back. second, i met with three other photographers to figure out the exact photographs we'll be using for a collaborative show in september. (more details on that later.) next, off to re-shoot a couple images for the project in question. then, a major toddler tantrum to deal with. 50,000 emails. some phone calls. more emails. and swimming. lots and lots of swimming.
the only thing is, i'm left looping through my day. re-playing conversations and actions. trying not to make someone else wrong because we disagree. allowing myself to let another person to be ful-filled instead of just being jealous and petty. wishing i'd had sunscreen on. i know it's human nature and all to do it, but it's hard to shut it off sometimes. that incessant re-play chatter.
it's august now. so many things are in progress at this moment and time is my most precious dimension right now. time with the kids. with my galleries. with my joys. my panic. everything. wallowing in self-pity, whininess, and my lack of cool camera equipment does me no good whatsoever.
it's all a good struggle. the kind i want to be having in life. would i rather be stressing about how many accounts i have cooking over-seas for some one else? hell no. i'd rather be right here in dallas. motivating folks to invest in local artists and their art. being generous. i trust the universe that it will all work out.
