Balancing Act

Ah, vertigo . . . U2 recorded a song about it but to TRULY appreciate the video, it's helpful to watch it while you're actually experiencing the phenomenon yourself. Just be sure and hold on tight. Alfred Hitchcock made a movie about it and if you've ever seen it, you know just what kind of trouble it can lead to.

As if the freakishly bizarre dog-walking accident I experienced last month wasn't bad enough (The dogs are fine. I, on the other hand, almost lost a perfectly good finger.), I've spent the last week or so on the merry-go-round that never stops spinning. This isn't my first bout with vertigo so I know there won't be too much accomplished until it runs its course. I'm making lots of sketches and lots of lists but it still sucks that I can't do the things I'd really like to be doing or the things I actually NEED to be doing.

So, if you've been wondering if I've jumped ship and escaped to a tropical island with my personal pool boy Vladimir . . . no such luck. I applaud your creative imagination though and I believe I'll give some serious consideration to adding that to my list of things to do when I've regained some of this missing equilibrium.

All Over the Map

Thanks to the magic that is Flickr, I've traveled the world this week looking at some wonderful artwork from talented individuals that I may never have otherwise had the opportunity to experience.

Enno de Kroon is an artist from The Netherlands who paints on egg cartons and has totally blown me away with his whole concept of two-and-a-half dimensional art. When viewed at an angle, his paintings provide a totally different perspective than the frontal view that's shown here. This is how he describes his choice of canvas and the viewer's experience:

"As a painter I consider egg cartons as two-and-a-half dimensional objects which offer me remarkable possibilities for imagery. The waves of the egg cartons limit the viewer's perception; they also make him aware of his positioning towards the image. The intentional limitation in subjective perception gives room for imagination and recall: the process of occlusion. By a fusion of direct and indirect perception conventional imagery is overtaken. At first sight this leads to a physical and mental incompleteness, that forces an integration which can only take place within the inner experience, apart from time and space."

His Flickr profile is full of fascinating glimpses into the amazing work he calls Eggcubism and the process it entails. You'll be missing out if you don't make a stop here yourself.

A trip to Spain brought me this beautiful necklace by Natalia Garcia. It reminds me of some vintage inlaid mother of pearl beads I have in my stash which I can't bring myself to let go of. I love the look and the feel of this piece, which is also very reminiscent of capiz shell. For those of you who are attending the Euro Clay Carnival in England next month, you'll get to meet Natalia there as she is one of the instructors.

A quick jaunt off to Scotland and I was enjoying the cool fantasy sculptures by Marc and David Green. This one is Tricksy, riddle-maker and master of manipulation.

These artists have provided much-needed relief from what I will always remember as "the summer of the locusts" here in the U.S. The irritating sound they make is bad enough but I happen to have a bad-ass locust eater living in my house that takes every opportunity to chase them down and devour them when he goes into the backyard under the guise of relieving himself.

The poor slow-moving locusts don't stand a chance against the cunning and speed of Baxter, the Wonder Dog. However, they take their revenge a couple of times a day when we're treated to the unmistakable sound of a retching schnauzer who deposits half-eaten locusts in the floor. I'm sure you can guess who has the honor of cleaning that mess up. Flickr is the only thing keeping me sane at this point.

The Day After

Here's hoping that all of you had a wonderful holiday! I'm looking forward to taking down the tree this week and cleaning up all the mess that Christmas seems to leave behind. I've got lots of wonderful things to share with you in the next few days so be sure and visit again soon. Meanwhile, here's a couple of photos of Jackson (Santa) and Baxter (the elf) trying hard to stay off the "naughty list." Besides opening most of the presents under the tree well in advance of Christmas, they've been surprisingly well-behaved the last couple of weeks. Ever the optimist, I'm convinced they must be plotting bigger and better mischief and mayhem for the upcoming new year!

Croc-Eating Schnauzers and A Plea for Your Help

Let's talk about choices. The kind of choices that we often take for granted. Just a few short months ago, I was starting each day with a choice. It wasn't a difficult decision, really more like freedom of choice combined with a bit of guilty pleasure. I was choosing what color of Crocs I would wear throughout my day. Just to clarify, I'm fully aware that Crocs are unfashionable but, at this point in my life, my feet scream much louder than my inner fashionista and I've made a conscious decision to listen to them. It was a bit of an indulgence to purchase three pairs but, I really love these Mary Jane Crocs and they're just about all I wear. Then, the schnauzers moved in.These are the culprits: Jackson and Baxter. For the first couple of months, they were too small to go up and down the stairs on their own so life continued on in a fairly normal way. Then, they grew. I would realize they were no longer nipping at my heels and after a somewhat frantic search, I would find them upstairs in one of the bedrooms busily sorting through the trash can they had knocked over. So, I made a rule that the bedroom doors must be kept shut at all times during the day. As with all rules, certain people (you know who you are!) love to break them. I walked into the TV room last month to find one of my olive green Crocs sitting on the table and my husband wearing a guilty look. I was pretty sure that the guilty look wasn't because he had chewed through the strap of the shoe and, after a short interrogation, he admitted to having left the bedroom door open. Of course, I didn't take it well. The olive green Crocs were my favorite! But, I still had two pairs left and I was sure I would survive. Then yesterday, my survival was threatened once again.
Caught in the act! Notice the guilty expressions and their unsuccessful attempts to appear well-behaved even in this obviously staged photo. My second-favorite khaki Crocs chewed beyond repair! The choice that I enjoyed making each morning was snatched away in a matter of moments. My life is now reduced to one pair of size 8, burgundy Mary Janes. Or, as I'm beginning to realize, divided into the pre-schnauzer and post-schnauzer eras. There is hope, however. Luckily, the schnauzers left me with both a left and a right shoe still intact.

Something is wrong with this photo, beyond the obvious color difference. If I could just find a way to add some continuity between these shoes, perhaps I could get away with wearing them to take out the trash or to the mailbox at the end of the driveway.
Nope, not even lime green rhinestones, which normally can overcome ANY fashion crisis, can make these shoes more presentable. So this is where you, an innocent bystander reading this blog, can be of great help to me.

Last night I was laying in bed and mourning the loss of the Crocs and I started to think about all the wayward shoes out there. You've seen them. One lone shoe on the side of the road and no mate in sight. How does that happen? Does one shoe come to life and jump out of a moving car when the window is rolled down and no one is looking? Does someone stick their foot out the window, lose a shoe, and decide to leave it where it falls because they have lots of others at home? In more than 40 years, I have never abandoned a shoe by the side of the road so I can't fathom how this happens. It's one of the great mysteries of life which may never be solved. In any case, should you happen to pass by an abandoned Croc as you're driving down the highway, pull over, stop your car, get out, and have a look. Just remember to use caution and your emergency flashers when pulling off to the shoulder. I'd hate to discover that you were injured by a passing motorist while trying to help me out. Or, perhaps you have a friend whose home has been invaded by schnauzers and one of her Mary Jane Crocs, in khaki or olive, size 8, was also eaten. Maybe we can arrange some sort of Croc swap or a support group for schnauzer owners. All I ask is that you keep your eyes open for a mate for my single Crocs. I would be forever grateful for your help. And don't worry about the lone burgundy survivors, they will be locked in a steel box on a shelf in the top of my closet when they're not on my feet, which will be pretty much all the time since they are now my ONLY choice.