THIS IS MINE

This post is in response to a few questions received and the, ah, times we live. And the art we produce. And the visual statements made. The communication inadvertently, or not so inadvertently, created.

I'll start in flashback mode. (You know, one of my frustrations in life is in not being the author of a Tale of Two Cities. I totally disagree with the folks that say the best has been written and therefore... I know I can't set the scene the way Dickens did, or rant like Faulkner or Baldwin, or hallucinate like Joyce... But that won't shut me up. No way man. As a pugnatious 2 yr old kept telling me once, "no way man no way man..." in a high pitched and determined voice.)

Getting back to the flashback... years ago... how many won't be specified... I took a light metals course at a prominent art school. During this course I watched fascinated as a fellow student cut the feet off of a cheap rubber duck and cast them and call the product "her"earrings. It never seemed to occurr to the artist that in fact a sculptor had made those ducky feet she was now appropiating and calling her own, unique, art. Actually, I'm not sure she cared enough to think about it. Because, what she did, is not unusual at all. Its seems totally acceptable. My crossed eyes and silent retching is the oddball reponse.

I can think of 2 theories about this. One is that there is a whole lot going on, some good, some not so good. Linking in with my second theory: the flashing billboard syndrome. People (not me, but those that don't have bad backs and fat rears) can run fast. But. Traveling at the speeds we do today...(and how quaint those words will be 50yrs from now... another billboard flashing by)... what effect does that have on our ability to absorb and perceive depth in images and information given. How does the speed of travel effect our critical facilities? Are our perceptions tunneling to flashing billboards?

I think I'll leave that rant there, coasting the car to a stop in a weed choked driveway. Who said "I yam who I yam." Some cartoon character? Getting back to charms and THIS IS MINE. I make my own stuff. Butt. (referring to my running abilities again.) Butt. (oh dear oh dear). I am within a tradition that I respect and enjoy. Charms are "a cross between a power amulet and a security blanket." A quote out of a book on charms, titled "Charms," oddly enough. I make hearts because I like to make them, and they remind me of a lot of silly and very human stuff. Bees? I haven't made one yet but I will. I will make one because I used to catch honey bees in my hands and let them go. People may, or may not, buy bee charms. But if they do they will do so because of how it looks, what they think of when they see a bee charm, or because bees charms are considered lucky.

I'm sure my making charms is all E.D.'s fault. '"Hope" is the thing with feathers-' Without her I'd be casting rubber ducky feet.

A couple of wonderful and original shops to check out at etsy.com... BiscuitOfDoom and Evod.