Thursday, October 28, 2010

Booo-tiques and such

Our Halloween came early and eerily with scratchings and groanings in the darkest hours of the night. DH and I both heard all manner of strange sounds coming from a high corner of the bedroom and immediately guessed we had squirelly co-inhabitants in our attic. so the local pest control was duly contacted and a handsome young prince was sent out to do battle with whatever furry monsters were lurking above our heads. he climbed into our attic and found.......NADA......NOthing....NoONE and no signs of any mortal creature. Hmmm.

So DH led the befuddled prince outdoors to show him some other beasties that were nesting under the eves of the winged kind. All of sudden they both charged into the house begging me to join them to view a wonder of sorts..they had found our noisy beastie. I wish I could have gotten a photo of him, but he was pretty much tucked under the edge of the roof peering out at us weird Halloweenies with his great big owlie eyes. Yep, we have the most gorgeous gold and cream colored Owl living up under our roof edge, right over the bedroom window. I was so excited that I immediately gave him permission to stay with us and eat any verminous characters that might threaten our castle. so between some late season spider webs draped delicately around the roof edge and our new guardian, we are all ready for any tricks that might appear on Sunday evening!
So what do these images have to do with Halloween..um..nothing...They do, however have a great deal to do with the Unique Boutique I am participating in just three weeks away. ARGH !!!!! I decided after being accepted to sell almost exclusively prints and reproductions of my favorite works..keeping the originals for a future and as yet unscheduled exhibition. I used the folks at moo.com for postcards, greeting cards and mini business cards. They do a great job and are really fast and affordable. They use recycled paper and the results are just wonderful. The art prints I had done are all on the highest quality paper and high quality inks. I love the way they came out and have mated some of them and then mounted a few on art boards so they are ready to hang.
All of this ordering, mounting, packaging and planning has kept me insanely busy. I feel like I am whizzing through the days with scarcely a bit of time to visit with our new feathered boarder. That said, there have been some lovely Autumn-y moments of deep appreciation for the softer fall colors on the trees this year and a few moonlight wanderings with my faithful studio dog, Demi. I get the sense of year running down... a year that has been a bit if a roller coaster ride emotionally. Losses and gains seem to balance in the long run. the pleasure of playing with glitter charmed little girls is a definite salve to the grief of losing a parent. Not a replacement by far, but a smile to the promise of future wonders. One business is slowly replacing another, this place becomes more of a home. Change is constant , balance is there if you look for it. In yoga, one can only hold the delicate balance of tree pose if one concentrates completely on focusing attention on a single point. The trick is choosing a focal point with benevolence and wisdom
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Friday, October 8, 2010

The Butterfly Project

I have a special favor to ask. I know many of my artist friends read this blog and even those who are not artists can help on this one. The Holocaust Museum of Houston is sponsoring a very special project. One I intend to join in and I am asking you to join me, too.

The museum is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust and remembering the six million Jews murdered as well as honoring the survivors. Using the lessons of the Holocaust, they teach the dangers of hatred, Prejudice and apathy. Their banner line reads "STOP HATE. START NOW"
The Butterfly Project is dedicated specifically to the 1,500,000 innocent children who perished as a result of the Holocaust by collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. In Spring of 2013, these butterflies will become part of a breathtaking exhibition to serve as a memorial for these children. The project is based on a poem:
I Never Saw Another Butterfly

The last, the very last

So rich,brightly, dazzlingly yellow
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
Against a white stone.

Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly 'way up high.
It went away I'm sure
because it wished to kiss the world good-bye

For seven weeks I've lives here
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelion call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live here in the ghetto.

Written by Pavel Friedman on June 4, 1942
Born in Prague January 7, 1921
Deported to Terezin Concentration Camp April 26, 1942
Died in Auschwitz September 29, 1944

Join me in creating a butterfly...you can go to the website for the Houston Holocaust Museum and get more details but all you need to do is create a butterfly about 8 X 10 inches and send it off to the museum. They have a submission form you can print out.

It won't take much time or effort, but the gift would be great. I am told it is a great mitzvah.......
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