Thoughts on Belle & Sebastian: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Listen to Belle & Sebastian's version of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

1. This is the first time I've ever actually wanted to listen to O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
2. Not even Belle & Sebastian could make it into something I enjoy listening to.
3. Until the female singer started - who knew this song could be so creepy!
4. I'm a sucker for a melodica.

The Only 3 Appropriate Subjects for a Painting, per Jack Donaghy

1. The horse
2. Ships with sails
3. Men holding up swords while staring off into the distance

Guestlist: Interviews

People I Have Interviewed for an Upcoming Article, by Richard Alley

1. Mike
2. Mike
3. Michael
4. Mike

Found in my Purse

1. a spoon
2. unused labels from my show
3. expired coupon

Orange Things on the Table Beside Me

1. Plastic cup half full of water
2. Tiny sewing scissors
3. Big bowl previously full of popcorn

Proof That I Have a Pen Habit

Purse Crisis

Equal to the calamity of the current NFL officials crisis is the ongoing Purse Crisis of 2012. The following list shows why it is near impossible to find the perfect purse, as these are our only options:

• Option 1: Really awesome purses that cost anywhere from $200 to $600 and up. Way way up. Even if you can do that, do you want to do that?
• Option 2: Cheap purses. These are, well, cheap.
• Option 3: Affordable handmade purses. Etsy is lousy with these. Sometimes they are great, but they run the risk of looking handmade.
• Option 4: Vintage. Vintage can be affordable! It can also smell like a used purse. Vintage isn't always practical for the everyday purse, as ladies of the past did not have key fobs, cell phones, etc.

What's a girl to do? Will I ever remain happy with a purse purchase? Will Green Bay not get into the playoffs because of the replacement refs?

(Purse crisis consultation provided by Memphisotan)

My Favorite Things To Do While Visiting My Grandparents, All Of Which I Did Over Labor Day Weekend

1. went to Publix
2. cooked with Mom
3. napped
4. read
5. watched the wildlife in the backyard (deer, hummingbirds, butterflies)
6. talked to, ate with, watched TV with, and played games with family
7. sketched
8. ate chocolate cake
9. used the Rotato

Office Nicknames

(some of which I just made up, but mostly long-established names thought up by my co-worker)

1. The Sigher
2. The Nail-Clipper
3. Fake Kid-Cough, a.k.a. Creepy Gollum Laugh
4. Scaryface Grumpypants (actually a really nice guy)
5. Loudermilk
6. Skinner (as in Principal Skinner)
7. Side Show Bob
8. The Whistler a.k.a. The One-Man Band
9. Beeker
10. Curse Mumbler (I made that one up for myself)

Southern Specialties That I Don't Have to Know How to Make Because They Are So Readily Available

1. Biscuits (the secret to happiness is access to good biscuits)
2. Pimiento cheese
3. Greens
4. Black-eyed peas/field peas/crowder peas, etc.
5. Fried chicken
6. Fried green tomatoes
7. Fried okra (basically anything fried)
8. Catfish! Fried or otherwise
9. Delicious Memphis barbecue pulled pork sandwiches with slaw
10. Banana pudding

Southern Foods I Make Anyway

1. Deviled eggs
2. Pecan pie
3. Cornbread

Why Studying Art in School Is Not a Bad Idea for the Artistically Inclined

I recently heard an artistically talented young man say that a high school teacher suggested that he not attend college because he already knows how to draw. I had an immediate negative reaction, but it took me a few days to figure out exactly why. I think I've summed it up below.

Also want to point out I didn't go to an "art school," rather I majored in art at University of Memphis (which was awesome).

1. Art majors learn an actual skill (such as how to paint).
2. Majoring in art/going to art school is about putting in the time and making the work. Do you already have talent and skills? Great. Will you use them to make work every day? Probably not.
3. Art classes teach you how to talk about art. And you have to be able to talk about your art.
4. If you want a career in something art/design related you have to know how to write, which is a skill you don't always learn in high school.
5. Regardless of the type of art you are interested in, critical thinking is necessary, and can be developed in college, when you are slightly more mature and your brain has had a chance to finish developing (guys!).
6. When you major in art/go to art school you meet other like-minded people and you have those connections for the rest of your life.

Colors of Highlighters Currently Sitting on My Desk from Recent Use

• green
• blue
• pink
• yellow
• orange

bonus! pens:

• light blue
• green

Things You May Notice After Returning from a Sketching Symposium in Santo Domingo

1. You might think going from 90% humidity in Santo Domingo to 55% humidity in Memphis will feel good. You will be wrong.
2. You might realize that you are comfortable trying to communicate in Spanish right when it's time to leave. 
3. The day after you get back you might go to your regular lunch place and sprawl out your sketching materials and draw with your sketchbook on top of the table instead of in your lap.
4. You will probably also be confused as to why no one else there is sketching.
5. You might feel strange and sad to not be with anywhere from five to 130 other sketchers at all times.
6. You might feel strange and good to not be covered in sunscreen and sweat at all times.
7. You will probably check Facebook, Flickr and blogs all day long for proof that you were there, and that everyone else is as sad as you are that it is over.

Things I Can Hear in My Backyard Right Now

• train
• frogs
• cicadas?
• squirrels
• birds
• car horn/door lock
• cars on Central and Barksdale
• my air conditioner
• a dog or two
• a bat?
• crickets

Things Chloe Likes Most

That's the order in which 6-year-old Chloe Chockleyblog listed what she likes most. It reflects current thinking.

• Gymnastics
• Singing
• Eating chocolate

Purchased by the Guy in Front of Me at Kroger

orange juice
beef jerky
Irish Spring soap
bag of ice

Exploring Memory

While working on a new series of paintings during this week's Studio Night, I needed a little inspirational help. I don't know where you go for inspirational help, but I go to facebook. I asked all my friends there for recommendations of art, novels, and music about memory, and here are the recommendations I received:


Art
Richter's black and white paintings of family
Clyde Connell's post and gate series of sculptures
Salvador Dali - Persistence of Memory

Novels/Books

Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami - Kafka on the Shore

Joan Didion - The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion - Blue Nights

Joan Didion - Where I Was From

Joan Didion - Play It As It Lays

Vladimir Nabakov - Speak, Memory

Roland Barthes - Camera Lucida

Virginia Woolf - Moments of Being

W.G. Sebold - Austerlitz

Anne West - Mapping - An Explorative Guide to Making, Thinking & Writing

Richard Cytowic - The Man Who Tasted Shapes

Proust - Remembrance of Things Past

Donald Westlake - Memory

Dave Eggers - What Is The What

Sites of Memory (essays)

anything by James Joyce

Music

Beatles - "I Forgot to Remember To Forget"

Beatles - "In My Life"

John Mayer - "83"

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (album)

Simple Minds - "Don't You Forget About Me"

PM Dawn - "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"

311 - "Freeze Time"

Barbara Streisand - "The Way We Were"

Bonus! Movie

Memento

Feel free to comment with more recommendations...

Guestlist: We Love School

My friend Liz had a pictorial realization about loving her kids' school, and is sharing it with us here in her own words:

A couple days ago, I spent the morning with several other parents at my kids’ school, helping the Elementary II and Middle School switch rooms. The kids did a huge amount of work. I kept seeing things that made me feel so grateful to be part of that community. It started with spotting one of my all-time favorite books lying on top of a pile of science texts. Seeing Dr. Williams’s poems on the biology and chemistry books made me happy. While I scuttled to get my phone, somebody moved it to join the language arts books. But still. No one's tying him down.

1. WCW is in the room.

2. There's knitting lying around on the floor. It's no big deal.

3. There's beauty everywhere.

4. Boys mess with pretty stuff, too.

5. Instead of drab texts, they use books
a person actually wants to look at.

6. They walk the walk.

7. Kids understand the logic of their environment so
completely that they were able to set the room up
pretty much independently.

8. Crayon colors are stored with their complements,
so you can really see them.

9. There's no uniform.

10. They provide necessary instruction.

Actors Who Deserve Oscars for Performances on TV Shows

I think the Academy should make an exception to its silly rule about only awarding Oscars for movie performances in the case of these four actors:

1. Andre Braugher, Homicide
   Have you seen Homicide? Andre Braugher's character is so intense he has a stroke!
2. John Noble, Fringe
   I would watch John Noble read from the phone book.
3. David Tennant, Doctor Who
   Just thinking about David Tennant as The Doctor makes me cry.
4. Martin Freeman, Sherlock
   Specifically the last scene of the last episode of season two. You would have to be a robot to not be moved by that deliciously sad scene.

Guestlist: Found List Repository

My friends Jim & Elisa found a notebook full of lists, with no way to return it to the nameless owner. Here is just a sampling:

• Video tape it!

• Seaweed snacks.

• Syrup

• Boswelia

• Vitality Boost

• Lunchable

• D Batteries

• 9 Volt

• Staples -- Flash Drives

• Library!

• Staples Return

• Radio Shack - Lantern

• Julie and her divorce.

• Shawn and her bloodletting

• My ice cream

• Melatonin

• Toothpaste

• Call groomers

• Big bandaids

• **Carrots!

• Target -- Giant Bow

Borrowed List: 10 Reasons to Slow Down

From the blog Unclutterer

1. Think things through. This doesn't have to take a lot of time, but can be very helpful. By slowing down long enough to assess what's happening around you, you're more equipped to better understand many a situation, rather than just seeing what's on the surface.
2. Make fewer mistakes. When you take your time, you're less likely to trip yourself up. That's because you've thought about most (if not all) of the important details.
3. Make better decisions. When you spend more time thinking about the pros and cons of which direction to go, you're likely to come to more well-rounded and fleshed out conclusions. You may also see your intended path more clearly.
4. Become a better listener. Taking the time to really listen to what someone tells you means that you'll have better conversations. Instead of immediately crafting a rebuttal to what someone says before they finish speaking, you'll really hear them and get a better idea of what they're trying to communicate.
5. Become calmer. I find that when I'm not rushing around, I tend to be less agitated and less prone to getting frustrated. I also think more rationally.
6. Be more productive. One of the benefits of thinking more rationally is that you are more successful at prioritizing and working on the things that need your attention first (you know, instead of playing Angry Birds).
7. Be more efficient. This might seem counterintuitive, but by slowing down, you can actually get more done. It's because you'll spend less energy trying to cram everything into your day and you'll work more effectively at getting the important things completed.
8. Be happier. Who's not happy when they cross stuff off their to do list?
9. Be more focused. Have you ever realized that when your mind is racing, you're sometimes paralyzed and unable to actually make a decision or take action? When you take a few minutes to gather your thoughts, you're better able to focus on the task at hand.
10. Be more open to doing nothing. Or, doing something fun. Any something other than working. This means I can get back to sitting still, and enjoying it.

Reasons Why I Am Happy to Be Back Home

1. missed my sweetie
2. love Memphis water!
3. tired of breathing in all of that recirculated air in the hotel/convention center
4. ran out of aunts to visit in the Chicago area

What Is Going on at the Airport Right Now

• That guy isn't paying an additional $2.75 for an earlier flight. He's just not doing it.
• Lady with chest tattoo is wondering why so-and-so can't take a bath at her own house?
• Earphones guy wants to make sure we all enjoy his very festive music.
• The gate attendant across the way doesn't know why the departure time keeps changing when the pilots are telling her they can't leave yet.
• Cough cough
• She don't never want to see her no more.
• Trail mix man to my right says "Oh my gosh" about something gate attendant says, hoping to engage me in conversation.

Eleven Studio Mascots

1. The newest: Farting Domo

 2. A plastic hotdog

 3. A Barbie

 4., 5., 6., 7. These guys

 8. Partick Thistle Football Club rubber ducky

 9. An old man I don't know - I call him Harry

10. and 11. Romantic weddings 2001 Barbie and a piñata that looks like me

Things I Got from My Dad

My dad passed away on April 13. Here are some things I inherited from him:

• my artistic ability
• my eyebrows
• my vanity
• an appreciation for old movies
• a preoccupation with correct grammar
• an inability to eat chili without Fritos
• a dislike of formality

Three Things to Know When Making a Painting

1. When to keep going
2. When not to abandon it
3. When to stop

How Much My iPod Loves Me

It just played these five songs in a row:

• Real Real Gone - Van Morrison
• and, in a way - wayback machine 
• Mishto - Gogol Bordello
• Rhythm & Soul - Spoon
• Sukie in the Graveyard - Belle & Sebastian

Old Found List on Facebook

Remember when we used to make lists on Facebook and then tag people and then they'd make lists? Aahh, the good old days. Here's one I just found from January of 2009, and I thought it was cute, and still fits:


USING ONLY ONE WORD! (It's not as easy as you might think!) Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Be sure to tag the person you received it from!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? home
3. Your hair? bedhead
4. Your mother? longdistance
5. Your father? step
6. Your favorite thing? bookclub
7. Your dream last night? confusing
8. Your favorite drink? coffee
9. Your dream/goal? painting
10. What room you are in? studio
11. Your hobby? reading
12. Your fear? a lot
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
14. Where were you last night? openings
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. Wish list item? nothing
18. Where you grew up? Memphis
19. Last thing you did? dishes
20. What are you wearing? sweatshirt
21. Your TV? Lost
22. Your pets? none
23. Friends? awesome
24. Your life? good
25. Your mood? relaxed
26. Missing some one? always
27. Car? Jeep
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes

Movies Quoted on a 6-Day Girls' Trip

• Raising Arizona ("Say, that reminds me...")
• Forrest Gump
• Goodfellas
• To Have and Have Not
• Moonstruck 
• Love Actually ("That is a lot of _____, David.")
• When Harry Met Sally ("I've been looking for a red suede pump...")
• Top Gun
• The Hangover
• Austin Powers (all of them)
• So I Married an Axe Murderer
• It's a Wonderful Life
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Airplane ("and don't call me Shirley.")
• Miller's Crossing
• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
• Caddyshack ("So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.")
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding ("It's okay, I make lamb.")
• Spinal Tap
• Waterboy
• Anchorman
• American Pie ("One time? At bandcamp?")
• What About Bob
• Sixteen Candles
• Grease
• Fools Rush In
• Back to the Future
• Pretty in Pink
• Trading Places
• Elf
• Pulp Fiction
• Full Metal Jacket
• Blazing Saddles
• The Godfather
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Say Anything
• The Jerk ("I don't need anything else. I need this!")
• The Princess Bride
• Rainman
• French Kiss
• Return of the King
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Steel Magnolias
• Cool Hand Luke ("Any man caught playin' grab-ass spends a night in the box.")

Don't worry, we had real conversations too. A little.

A Quote About Lists

"You do not seem to come in the old lists that I learned when I was young. But that was a long, long time ago, and they may have made new lists."
-Treebeard
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Words I Have Saved in My New Phone's User Dictionary

• grown-ass
• HAAAAAAAAA
• Hm
• non-fat
• ok
• Sheesh
• u
• Woohoo

List I Saw in Two Different Places at Flicker Street Studio

Coast to coast
Extra low
Stir something up

Things on the Bookshelf Next to My Front Door

1. books
2. four pairs of glasses and three cases
3. four bottles of sunscreen
4. a bag of geodes
5. bike repair equipment
6. a stopwatch
7. two packs of gum
8. Toasti Toes, self-activating foot warmer (one pair)
9. a bowl of Werther's
10. Rain-X
11. the dust jacket from the de Kooning biography I borrowed from Greely Myatt four years ago
12. artwork to be framed
13. artwork not in need of framing
14. a chess board
15. photo albums
16. yearbooks
17. diplomas
18. a 2009 road atlas 
19. a Kindle Fire
20. one pipe in an ashtray with a Zippo
21. three candles
22. zip ties
23. a bowl full of keys and pens
24. a lamp
25. T's work badge
26. my keys

My Year in Art, by the Numbers

After a relatively quiet 2010, art-making-wise, and actually a slow start to 2011 (thanks, gallbladder!) I got on a roll and I did not stop. In 2011 I painted/drew/sketched/created/wrote/taught/organized/took/exhibited the following:

• oil on canvas paintings, exhibited: 8
• oil on canvas paintings, edited out of my show Go Change: 4
• new and reworked acrylic/oil on panel: 4
• tiny outfit paintings: 19
• stories I wrote: 6
• stories I illustrated to create a 12-foot-long drawing with narrative: 1
• tiny paintings I made to go with paintings for Go Change: 6
• commissioned paintings (tiny): 2
• tiny paintings, other: 6
• shows I was in: 6
• classes and workshops I taught: 3
• sketch groups I organized: 12
• sketch groups I led: 10
• classes I took: 1
• projects I did that don't fit into these other categories: 3
• sketches I made: a bazillion

CBS Sunday Morning Never Disappoints

The description for tomorrow's show:

• The power of charisma
• Judge Judy Scheinlin
• artist Maurizio Cattelan
• college football uniforms

Number of Supplies It Took Me to Write That Thing for Work

• one mechanical pencil
• five pens of different colors
• two highlighters: one yellow and one orange
• five legal pads, using only the top page of each one so I could spread them out and see them all at once

Books I Read in 2011

1. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (loved)
2. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King (liked)
3. At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson (bookclub; really liked)
4. This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper (I don't remember anything about this book)
5. At Mrs. Lippincote's, by Elizabeth Taylor (LOVED, favorite Elizabeth Taylor book so far)
6. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, by Douglas A. Blackmon (bookclub; good, heartbreaking)
7. The Ladies Auxiliary, by Tova Mirvis (bookclub; I wanted to like this more than I actually did)
8. The Simplest Pattern, by Richard Alley (LOVED)
9. Oreo, by Fran Ross (bookclub; liked)
10. Tishomingo Blues, by Elmore Leonard (really liked)
11. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte (bookclub; loved it the most)
12. The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain (liked)
13. The Great Night, by Chris Adrian (bookclub; didn't do it for me)
14. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (liked, but ugh)
15. Camille Pissarro: Letters to His Son Lucien, by Camille Pissarro (loved)
16. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2), by Suzanne Collins (liked, but ugh)
17. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3), by Suzanne Collins (hooked, liked, but geez)
18. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, by Stieg Larsson (loved loved)
19. Are You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman, by Nuala O'Faolain (really liked it, as it broke my heart)
20. French Milk, by Lucy Knisley (liked okay)
21. Carnet de Voyage, by Craig Thompson (liked)
22. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (bookclub; liked but heartbreaking)
23. Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut (liked much more than I remembered!)
24. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte (GEEZ, but liked it)
25. American on Purpose, by Craig Ferguson (good stuff!)

Things I've Already Done in 2012

1. Made what my husband called "the best french toast of his life"
2. Bribed my husband with more french toast to get the trash taken out early
3. Napped
4. Finished a book
5. Got 100 likes on my artwork facebook page. Well, I got one like and added it to the other 99.

Happy New Year!!!