Pretty in Peace: Behind The Scenes

A few weeks ago Amy of Ponder & Stitch shop and blog invited us behind the scenes of her studio and product shoot. Morbidly curious voyeur that I am, I was thoroughly intrigued. In my excitement, I too agreed to share. So, if you dare...

Pretty in Peace

NEW! for Fall "Tari"available in 3 colors chocolate, sage and cream.

The Whisper Choker is back

Anandi is headed to a new home at Menagerie Boutique

And the not so pretty:

My favorite spot amidst some of my favorite books,

...and a dozen errant items.

1. Fabric covered compact mirror by April Cornell 2. October's Real Simple 3. Netflix movie I've had since May...okay, April 4 & 5. Billie Holiday and John Legend CDs 6. Random cat toy 7. Faux moss covered rocks 8. Earrings from Jibby & Juna 9. Necklace from Marcus Berkner 10. Cuff from Ponder & Stitch 11. Unfinished papier mache pods on coiled stems project 12. Shears

Peace and creative chaos (hush Joe!)

The Buzz: Artist, Sherry Goodloe

Altered notebook by artist, Sherry Goodloe

I found this piece this morning whilst e-window shopping on Etsy, and I've been "buzzing" about it ever since! Coffee stain, denim and lace never looked so good. Sherry's amazing collage and altered art works can be found in her cleverly titled shop, Got Art. You can follow her creative journey, see new pieces as they progress and enjoy her uber-soulful music selection on her blog.

Pieced together in peace

NEW! The Girl on the Third Floor

The Girl on the Third Floor: LAUGH Collection Fall 2009

Sips tepid coffee, grimaces, nukes it and returns. There. So, have I previously mentioned that I design and create jewelry for people that don't exist? Kinda, sorta.

I design jewelry, you get that part. I don't actually wear jewelry. Why? Well because, I'm kind of a Plain Jane or Unadorned Claire, as I would prefer. In order to create the pieces I sell, I first create the person to whom I'm selling, admittedly this is my favorite part. The piece above is titled, The Girl on the Third Floor. It was designed for the girl on...nevermind.

I don't know her name, I only see her in passing. Today she's in the lobby sifting through copious amounts of mail, pieces dropping from her slender fingers. Her stockings-yes, bright patterned ones, gather about her ankles and her feet are disproportionately large. My guess-she's in her 20's. She's rather tall, I bet she was- and likely still is, the tallest of her peers. She sports slumped shoulders: the number one occupational hazard of statuesque teens. I imagine, she's delightfully charming and funny-everything about her intrigues others.

She listens to Ben Folds, this song is her favorite. As she listens, she pauses from her book, places it face down in her lap-(What's she reading? Eh, an abridged classic on paperback, you pick.) to sing the chorus. She does so loudly, bobbing her head and engaging her shoulders and feet in a chair dance. The cats look on quizzically and she smiles at them. Yes, cats-she most certainly has cats, and doodles, lots of them on her right hand and forearm (she's left-handed)...oh, and she wears my jewelry designs, often. Winks.

Peace and imaginary friends

Moms of Hue: Revolution

Don’t you know we’re talking about a revolution and,

it sounds like a whisper

-Tracy Chapman

One of our house rules and, one I think a fine rule to follow in all of your interactions, is, “Don’t talk about it, be about it”. If you see/feel something isn’t right, make it right. From the simplest to the most complex, make an impact. But how, you may ask? Many of our current problems have lengthy, painful histories; how can any one of us bring about the kind of revolutionary change we’d like to see for ourselves and moreover our children? By “being about it”. [Read the complete post here]

Peace and change

The Buzz: Everything is Illuminated 2005

En route to Trachimbrod: image credits [here]

Ahh, where do I begin with this one? In truth, the film snob in me considered abandoning ship, but this line preyed upon my inner-pubescent and made me chortle mercilessly. I'm so glad that I did, Everything is Illuminated is my latest "Buzz" film pick.

Alex: Many girls want to be carnal with me because I'm such a premium dancer.

Everything is Illuminated is a film about purpose and pain, about history and legacy. Jonathan Sarfan Foer (Elijah Wood), a Jewish American, is on an Eastern European junket in search of Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis during WWII.

His tour is supervised by a local agency owned and operated by a Ukrainian family. Accompanying him are an erratic dog, the crotchety old man for whom the dog serves as "officious seeing eye bitch" and his grandson and translator, Alex (Evgeny Aleksandrovitch Nikolaev Simonov). Alex's "Negro digging, premium penis-possessing and, dancing" talent, coupled with his precocious use of the English language (as demonstrated in the quote above) provide the comedic backdrop that helps keep you afloat as the trip comes to a sinking close, and the painful history of Foer's family and troubling fate of Alex's comes to fruition.

Everything is Illuminated delivers exactly what the title suggests, it sheds light on both sides of the great divide. This film is rich with humor and depth, exceptional cinematography and an incredible soundtrack. It is available for immediate viewing on Netflix.

Peace and illumination

A (Not Exactly) Random Thought Thursday

Race Relations: Image credit [here]

So, is it just me or has there been in an influx of racial discord since, oh I don't know on or about Election Day?! If I'm to be completely honest, I've become a bit paranoid, as I know others (who choose to be less honest about their positions) are as well.

Recently, I've become more conscious of my word choice or rather my choice of silence. I find myself leaving what would have once been a healthy debate feeling like my position was somehow negated or downplayed because of my appearance. Hmm, let me give an example. A debate about the Serena Williams episode ended in the other party stating. "the next thing you know Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will be crying racism", this was in response to my comparison of John McEnroe's history of on-court histrionics. I thought comparing two athletes was analogously sound-unfortunately, my sexism argument was negated by the fact that McEnroe is white and Williams is black.

Then there was the Kanye West episode...and the N-word laden rants that ensued. Okay, Kanye is an honorary member of the Celebrities Behaving Badly club, but is it not safe to affirm that non-black celebrities are equally as capable of assholery? (As to the tweets declaring a difference between Blacks and niggers...crackers are served with cheese-context is everything.)

And of course Joe Wilson, am I an Uncle Tom if I believe race aside (if only for a moment) the overall climate in political office at this time could have a little something to do with his outburst? You do remember this debacle, yes? This of course, isn't to say that it wasn't racially motivated-only to say that I-based on what was said, have no factual evidence that it was racially motivated. Am I naive?


I am not by any means denying the troubling construct of race in this country, nor the existence of systemic racism and bigotry, I'm just saying...or am I asking, "Everything is not about race, is it ?"

Peace

Blip is Bleepin' Fantastic!

"Hello party people, it's Tameka on your Blip.fm dial!"

I am so excited, I just found this magical site through a friend's tweet, and I am in heaven. I've wanted to share some of my favorite musical selections with my blog readers for the longest time only, I dreaded adding a music player. And now, I've found the solution! Woot!

I'm off to add some new tunes, I hope you'll stop in for a listen, even if you only have time for one song...or you can stay and build a station of your very own, it's super easy and FREE!

Peace and music

Keys

Custom Quad-strand fabric cuff with skeleton key, made just for me by:

Amy of Ponder & Stitch

I last wrote of the symbolism of keys in May. I spoke of belonging and of fitting in, of ambling along in search of answers. Fast forward some months and I'm looking at keys-literally and figuratively, as a means of opening and closing doors. I'm entering uncharted territory in my art and heart and locking out patterns of behavior, fear and subsequently, people.


Of course there's the ambivalence; vacillating between the saying, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." And, the fear that this may be the feels right but is oh so wrong move. The frustration of wondering what might have been had I opened/closed some doors a long time ago and, other run of the mill thoughts of impending doom.

So, yeah I've got a custodian-esque amount of keys clipped on my proverbial hip. One of them has got to open/close something soon.

Peace and the promise of a better tomorrow

Meh...

For the record, I agree Serena's behavior was inappropriate. However, when she is on the court, she is an athlete, not Emily Post. Shit happens. When men lose it-with seeming regularity, no one cries chivalry is dead, no one blames the possibility that they may have testiculitis, priapism or erectile dysfunction. It's just boys being boys, yes? So why all of the PMS references and extraneous hoopla?

Peace and a smidge of equal treatment, mmk?

A Bad Hand

In a People House: Non-Violent PC War game cards available [here].

I've been dealt a bad hand, again. Yes, it's "Game Night" (or week, month, year-one never knows) and with my family that game is always "War".

Right now, the hardest part is not playing; starving the intrinsic strategist, shelving the ego and abandoning the old teachings for the new. What I'm about to say makes me none proud in theory but, in practice it is a testament to how far I've come. It is the reason I'll forever remain on the receiving end of the bad hand. "Not only can I play this game, but after years of careful observation, I'm certain I can win it-even with the worst hand, and this is why I don't- why I won't play the game". Cards down. There's nothing to win, I'm already rich. And you, have you tired of the game?

He who is contented is rich-Lao Tzu

Peace and more peace

Random Thought Thursday

Home

In a People House: framed original art (top rt) by Etsy's Dilka Bear

Harriet Beecher Stowe once said, “Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserved; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom; its dressing room, from which we go forth to more careful and guarded intercourse, leaving behind...cast-off and everyday clothing.”

In a People House: chair Goodyear, AZ Goodwill refurb by: me

It's been a long week here at home, the home office, home school. The toll of a long and unforgiving desert summer is beginning to weigh upon me; temperatures are high and tolerance is low, my days are long, my patience short, my head hung low, my shoulders high, my thoughts loose and my words terse. I'm fatigued. This summer air feels stale and uninspiring. I'm ready to move on and leave it behind, for now.

In a People House: ceramic honeybee paperweight by Hjalmarson Pottery, Phoenix, AZ

I'm looking forward to a fresh breeze, an early dusk; a reprieve, a few stolen hours for my love and me to be free- it has been some time. And you, what are you looking forward to? What will you leave behind?

Peace and autumn

Secunderabad Love Spell...

Secunderabad Love Spell: mixed media collage T.Allen-Mercado 2009

Dear, I fear we're facing a problem, you love me no longer I know, and maybe there is nothing that I can do to make you do. -The Cranberries

So, a week or so later and here we are, a matchbox cover (bird) a vintage comic strip page (gentleman suitor, vehicle, tree branches and earth), a business card (Indian deity atop hood) an altered vintage photo (she's been colorized), some scrapbook papers, glitter and digital confetti.

I received these items from an artist friend in India along with a few others-I took on the challenge to create something, anything from the ephemera. I knew at once, I'd use the photo of the woman-I'm a vintage photo freak, and the rest of the piece just came together around her. I only wish the gold and saffron glitter I used had shown more brightly in this photo.

I think the spell will work-she looks seemingly sated at a glance, wouldn't you say?

Peace and love