Seam Seaman Seamen

Even a true artist does not always produce art.

                                                       Carroll O’Connor

Harriete Estel Berman has a interesting series about copy-cat work at her blog link.  She always has great articles about the business of art and this is no exception.  She is a jewelry artist, working in found and recycled household metal, but her points go across all media. It's an important read, especially for artists new to producing and  exhibiting.

Time for a critter patrol, seems I love my critters-  they keep appearing at unexpected times.

Here's a felted jellyfish!  Cool, huh?

 And a turtle divorce between Bibi and Poldi, here;

The world's oldest animal marriage looks set to have turtley ended after an incredible 115 years when the two Giant Turtles at an Austrian zoo refused to share their cage anymore.Zoo management have called in animal experts to try and give the pair counselling - feeding them romantic good mood food and trying to get them to join in joint games - but so far without effect.Zoo boss Helga Happ said: "We get the feeling they can't stand the sight of each other anymore."

Haven't been exactly roaring through the unfinished quilt, it seems that life (and pedicures) keep intercepting me from accomplishing much!  It's been very nice outside for the most part, mid 80's in the afternoon so I've been giving the doggies extra walks to keep them occupied.  I feel sorry for them with nothing to do all day and try hard not to keep giving them food-as-amusement.  Pepper, the snot, got away from me the other day-  we are on a short cul-de-sac and we usually let them run their legs off late at night or early in the morning in spite of the leash law.  There is nobody on this street and I am right behind them with my poop bag, BUT there are problems with this plan in the summer because the Bufo toads are out in force and they are highly poisonous to furry friends.

Carl Haaisen has a running character (Skink, an ex-governor, which is the name for one of the hundreds of little lizards here) in his hysterical books about the crazies loose in Florida. Skink dries them out and smokes them for a high.  I will not be trying this in spite of my love of these books.  But back to the escape of the Dark Dog:  So off he goes running like the wind-  he is the fastest dog I have ever seen- and the Great White is right behind him but she's a short distance runner and gets distracted by some leaf in the street and has to sniff.  Pepper gets completely out of sight and being dark, gets easily lost in shadows.  I start calling him but he doesn't appear.  I start offering cookies, then dinner, then EGGS.  He usually comes a runnin' for eggs, but not this time.  I tell Molly to 'find the doggie' and off she goes as fast as she can but does a big circle and returned to me with that look on her face that says, "Well he's gone, lets go home and eat!'  She would like to pack for him and drive him to the Greyhound station.

For his first few weeks with us, he wouldn't leave my side, was so afraid *I* would get lost that he was glued to my leg, and would jump to attention if I so much as sighed.  But as he's gained confidence and independence I realize that he is a wanderer and now cannot let him run any more.  So now when we go out at these really nice times I have him on the leash and Molly runs along side free.  I wish it could be the other way around because he loves to run, but I don't know what kind of trouble he will get in if he gets over on the next road where people are not watching for Dark Dogs lurking in the bushes as they drive by at 50 mph and he wants to play 'Chase-That-Pickup'!

I eventually got him to come back by getting noisily into the car and slamming lots of doors and starting the engine.  He loves nothing more than a car ride throwing himself from one window to the other to see both sides at once.  Yeah, I have to drive with the windows UP because he wants his whole top half hanging out and I cannot watch him AND drive at the same time so he is crashing from side to side in the back seat and crying to open the windows.  If I have the window down 3" he somehow gets his head out but then can't get it back in and panics and when I can look at what the commotion is, he is hanging there in the window by his jaw, in BIG trouble.  This has happened too many times so it's just windows-up from now on.  We haven't been able to take him to the beach yet for a run either-  I know he would be gone forever when he sees that long stretch ahead of him and takes off.  Molly sticks right with us for the most part, or at least stays within ear shot and returns when we call.  Pepper needs some work!

These will break your big black heart, cute cute cute:





Did I mention I was accepted into 'Material Visions' at the Ayers Lofts Gallery in Lowell?  The show will be up in August so it looks like I'll schedule my August trip back so I can go see the show and some old friends who come through.  I always have fun at the Lowell shows, wish I had entered some others but this year the Brush show had a theme I wasn't interested in, and I don't know what the hell the Whistler is doing.  I long ago abandoned the big show in the ice rink/big round building.  I don't like the way things are hung and it's overwhelmingly not interesting, so eh!

Off I must go before my internet gets turned off again today.  They've been doing some work around here ALL day EVERY day so posting is a problem, as is reading 50 emails after 9 PM when my eyes stop working.  Meanwhile when it's on I don't notice any difference.  It's playing havoc with my DrawSomething pals!  More procrastination.  Damn, I am SO good at this!  Wonder how I could monetize procrastination...