N is for Nice Note!

A major reason that K is going to the school he is going to is because of the beautiful & kind secretary at the front office. A school can be judged on test scores, design/maintenance of the campus and principal, but perhaps the best measurements of a school are the library, students & teachers, and perhaps most importantly the people who greet you at the front desk.

Linda is fantastic. Incredible. She knows the students' names, all of them! And to some degree their schedules. There are almost 1000 kids there! I am in awe. She is so with-it and encouraging and patient with me and my foibles.

StMaKaJuNa know that signing endless papers is/was not my favorite chore. I couldn't figure out why I needed to write notes that could say anything and that was good enough. Finally I decided to write/draw anything and have some fun.

And as with so many things that I once hated, I have learned to embrace, though not love (how cheep!) and then personalize, some might even say perfect. Lunch making, laundry (NOT perfected), seasonal decorating are some examples.

When it comes to NOTE WRITING for K to give to Linda I feel that I have reached a new level of mastery. Linda might say perfection, but she is an appreciative and generous audience. She loves my notes and has saved them for the last several years. When possible I pre-glitter them, use bright colors and illuminate her name. They are never dull.

The above note is one of my favorites. I was caught in the car, late, without paper, colors, glitter. Just some dim wit and a spiral note book with a few scant drawings in it. This is what I came up with. It made her smile. AND! K got away with being late, again.

When we contemplated, discussed switching schools to W, where J, N & M are going I paused and said, "What about Linda?!"

K's eyes twinkled. He decided to stay one more year. This has been a good decision. His grades are great, he has made new friends and (!) he is playing Daddy Warbucks in Annie! [cue the music: "I think I'm gonna like it here!" Woot! Woot!]

Be

regular

&

orderly

in your life

so that you may be

violent

&

original

in your work.

Gustav Flaubert

D is for Do & Done.

Just discovered a paper, a to-do list, it is delightful because so much of it is Done.

Done! Organize tables labels on H health binder

Done! Music room

Done! Guest room - blocks & costumes, toys

Done! Stella's curtains

Done! 72 hour kits [C did this, huge task. Completed a few days past 9/11]

Done! Medical 2009 binder

Ongoing: Shred papers in Garage.

Ongoing: Papers in studio

Ongoing: Wall paper projects

Ongoing: Fabric scraps away

?plants!

Also found new list:

Make 2009 To Do list and post it some place visible.

H journal

kid's 2009 Journal/scrapbook/photos

Calendar: 2 months ahead, minimum

Done! Mail letters to Julie T, Eve & Sherrie at Let them Hear

I am adding:

Make a GOAL POSTER, hang it in the Studio. (Drew it in my sketchbook. Will copy it and hang it up.)

A is for Art.

Looking up some of my favorite California Funk Artists. My inspiration.

Roy DeForest
Manual [isn't that the greatest name ever?] Neri
David Gilhooly
Robert Arneson
William T Wiley

http://www.williamtwiley.com/index2.htm

h art idea ... from sidebar

From an email to Julie T:
I know I'm a dork but it is cool that you are on line and I am too. I am contemplating painting. I'm in my studio pulling out things to contemplate on/about. Random (small) canvases. There is a story there, did I already write that to you? Have been thinking of Shelley [Turley] and Lee Bennion. Saw my old paintings at the office... kinda liked them! Making money, we need a bit, might make me focus my skills into a form, a sell-able form. But (!) creating art to sell is tricky. Landscapes or drapery? Cow? Figures? or my children? Always add a touch of red? Funky or classic. Ya know? Dang, where's the devil when you need to sell your soul?

Puppetree

Love this photo. C made the face. This is from Round Two. Round One is the painted face at the top. The hair is an entire ball of yarn.
Things/projects move slowly around here, eventually they get done.
Yesterday and today somehow I was able to make a mess with vintage wallpaper. Mmmm. It isn't quite there yet,the It-factor hasn't been reached.

N's baptism was yesterday. It was wonderful. Powerful spirit. Sweet sweet child.

At one point M came up to me and said, "I have something for you." She handed me a folded bill, of money. Hmmm...? I opened it and it was a $50.00 bill! Pretty cool find for a 4 year old. I gave it to the Bishop. It was lovely to hold for a moment though.

S is for Spelling Plate.

I'm not a grate speller. So I thought I'd help my kids spell by having them eat their words, spelling words. For example: GHTLNWA
I'm sure this will help them on their ACT tests.

P is for Poetry.

Thinking about putting this on a plate. The plastic Mak-A-Plate kind, with hopes that the children will learn a thing or two at the table. But, does it mean, "I look at you, and I sigh," with glee or with gloom? There are times when I look at my kids, and C too, and sigh both ways. ;) Tell me what you think. (That is a call-out to you MVL.) I was reminded of this poem while listening & reading The Writer's Almanac.

A Drinking Song
by William Butler Yeats

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.


.

This is the inside "peek-a-boo" art for a sketchbook I am filling with wacky ideas for a puppet show, to be posted on YouTube, about Rona and the spin classes/devotees. The cover has nothing to go with the content.

The puppet show idea is a summer project that I hope to work on in earnest soon. Maybe I'll let the children in on it, or maybe I'll just let them keep playing on the Wii and getting practically stoned on Guitar Hero.

P is for very Plastic surgery.

S's kindergarten pumpkin.

M and her mentor. (How sweet!)

S's high school pumpkins.

Happy hob-goblins in the entry. Where did the candy corn go?!

A little busy these days... cleaning up and out, putting up Halloween decor. S remembers when I didn't decorate at all. Too much fuss. Les enfants want and need the seasons and their markers. A good excuse for glitter, as if one needs a reason.

B is for BOX. Ah-Ha.

Earlier today I turned to C and declared that the word "only" is an idea killer. Meaning, whenever I hear "only" I automatically do one of two things:
1) Turn off. Then I sigh and think, "Oh, o.k. I guess that is the only way to do that..."
2) Turn on. Then I think, "Oh yeah?! I'll show you!" and proceed to dig in and find a way around the Only way.

The point? If someone says they want to "think outside the box" and then they follow that with "Only..." you know they are full of BS. (A certain government agency (USDB) comes to mind.)

C will post more about this on his funky and fun new blog for Dialect Inc. Brandthropology.

Trophies -- ideas for clay

Check out Manchester United's Trophy Room -- their images are guarded by the Scotland Yard and a few grim fellows in big red hats and a few copyrights to boot! ---> can't upload the images.

Wikipedia provided the following:

Trophy types

A trophy is simply an object (compared to a flat plaque or ribbon) designed to be used as an award, usually mounted or manufactured for display. It can take the shape of loving cups, bowls, or mugs (all usually engraved); statues of people, animals, architecture, or anything else; displays of words or numbers; or anything else left to the imagination of the trophy designer. They are most commonly based on a platform of sturdy cardboard resembling wood, except for the most expensive of trophies. For example, the Academy Awards Oscar is a trophy with a stylized human; the Hugo Award for science fiction is a space ship trophy; and the Wimbledon award is a large loving cup.

A loving-cup trophy is a common variety of trophy; it is a cup shape, usually on a pedestal, with two or more handles, and is often made from silver or silver plate.

Human trophies were sometimes used in ancient warfare. After battles, some armies practiced penis removal of defeated warriors to wear these as trophies or in order to count the dead. Usually though only the foreskins were taken.

Hunting trophies are reminders of successes from hunting animals, such as an animal's head mounted to be hung on a wall.

From that I learned about human trophies (OHMYGOSH) and that I want to make C a LOVING CUP. He will probably receive this long after his birthday. Research is very fun. Also, as per my professor's (Viola Frey) instruction, I am planning on making 3 of the object. Develop the idea.