Winter Villainess

The villains in all the classic Disney tales were always the to me the most fetching.  Sharp, aspirational archetypes of cold beauty.  Maleficent is by far my favorite. 

If I could without it being so far-fetched,I'd likely try to dress like her this winter.  

At bare minimum, that eyebrow arch! Whoo wee.

A painting I've just finished in an ongoing series.  This one could be my house if I was 

"Malificent the Good and Modern."

  Neon Victorian cottage against Dark and Stormy castle.

One of 2010's top ten new species!  The Tube-Nosed Bat.  My creature-sidekick to Maleficent's crow.

Just imagine this guy perched on top of a wand used for good and modern things.
Golden eyes house an abundance of magic, I'd wager.

In My Room

Whilst holiday shopping for my nieces and nephew, I came across the "In My Room" phenomenon.  And now, even in my thirties, I think I may just have to purchase a rainbow in my room.  Simply enchanting!

Rainbow in my room.
Moon in my room.
Solar system in my room!


"Uncle Milton" you have outdone yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Milton-Rainbow-My-Room/dp/B000TK8440

Jack the Cat

On my fear/awe-of-bear note, look at this little orange fella, Jack.
I am smitten with this image.

Just last week another cat treed a mountain lion, and today I watched with apprehension and glee as a cat bullied two alligators back into the water.  (Oh, I probably don't need to say I watched this on YouTube and not in person, though I am a short bikeride away from a lovely prarie where in one section the ancient ones do bask in the sun...but that is one of the few spots in this town/world cats do not roam.)

Cat vs. Gator

A day in the life of my Left Hand, no.2

Kyle   Bronx  wide needle   Mirabs

Top of my hand as parchment

I've been writing on my hand since my heart went the way of pen over pencil many years ago.

It's easier for me than a notebook.  I can't lose it, and I like seeing the things I'm thinking about/doing/want to do. Both friends and strangers often ask what it says, and just the other night as a friend inquired about it over a game of pool (which I won but only because he scratched.  but still - i got four in a row in one turn!) I decided then to take pictures maybe weekly or so of a day in the life of my left hand. 

Kind of a photo album meets journal of sorts.



Here's the first.

Berlin   Blue Shoes   Citi

Wedding caps

I've never been one to sit around and daydream about my wedding day but there are a couple things I've always known.

1.  I want to wear a wedding cap.

2.  I want to sing Johnny & June's "If I Were a Carpenter" with my groom.

     Hmm...


     Well, three actually. 

3.  For the reception, I'll change into a white poofy mini with cowboy boots.
    (Better for dancing.)

If I were to be a bride this year for Halloween, this tiara would be my wedding cap:

From Norman Mailer's Of Women and their Elegance.

Liz has always gone for extravagance in her headpieces.  She's got the face for it.

Sketch of turban Liz Taylor will wear at her 8th wedding.

... 
But I'm not going to be a bride this Halloween,
I'm crossing the gender line.
Christian Slater in Heathers.   

 BIG FUN


P.S.
This came up when I accidentally typed "wedding cat" into Google.

 

A girl from Holland

One of my favorite things about my online biz, (banterbanner.com), is the cool, sunny, sweet emails I get from people all over the world.  Today I got one from Hannah, who signed it, "A girl from Holland".
Great signature. 
Felt like it should be a short story already published resting on my dresser.

So it made me want to write my own.

In chronological order:

A girl from Florida.

A girl from  London.

A girl from New York City.

A girl from Brooklyn.

A girl from  Florida.

Yeah, I'm on a self-imposed sabbatical from NYC.  

It was a 'summer sojourn' pushed into a 'winter frolic'.
More to come soon.  For now, I'm off to work on a secret part of said biz above, due out 2011, water my friend's plants, and ride my bicycle out dancing in the cool breeze that is a Gainesville Autumn. :)

This week in i-pics...

Page from Autiobiography of DALE COOPER. 
And coincidentally, (Diane, there is no such thing) my birth month and year!

Popcorn star.

Said book, Evil's legs.

50s footballer.

Hotel. Motel. Holiday Inn.

Random Venice decor in the post office.

Random catalogue girl's hair color I must have.

Night view in watercolor.

Where I'm sitting right now.

Opposite corner.

Evil's torso, aqua stovetop.

All aglow.

The heavens are conspiring

Oh wow, the moon is OUT tonight.
I'm bowled over by the shining round beauty. 

 Rode my bike beneath it singing, stopping only for a glass of plum wine and a seaweed salad. Thought I might throw a smattering of full moon/equinox related/inspired things.


  xo.
  xO.
  oO.
  OOOOOOOut tOnight.
  

Photograph by me circa 2000, NE Gainesville, FL.  LOVED this sign.





















The full moon falling on the autumnal equinox is simply one of many astronomical coincidences occurring this month. On Monday, the planet Jupiter got the closest it's been to Earth since 1963, and Uranus passed right behind Jupiter on Sept. 17, MacRobert said.  "If you are into conspiracy theories, you may think, oh my gosh,
the heavens are conspiring -- something big is going to happen," he said.
- taken from this article.


Pattern for cloak I want to be wearing right now frolicking in nighttime streets:

"Fellowshop cloak pattern" -alleycatscratch.com

What I would look like in it:

Clipping of reproduction of Hosea pinned against painting.


















With my makeup like this:

Still from Thirty, a video by me in 2007.




















& last but not least, watch
How to choose clothes for a werewolf.

Abandoned ships, forbidden islands, derelict creeks

— this is a part of New York that few people see.

This week in i-pics...

Martin Gore singing "Somebody"

Love bugs on dash

The Snow Queen

Leaves in sidewalk

On my wall.  Bow tie!

NYC street in "The Freshman"

"Almost Heaven" farm in Ocala

Tri-Star horse



Diamond out of folded sheet



Maps

A friend sent me to the Hand Drawn Map Association.  Endearing and smart, abstract and detailed, fodder for both nostalgia and inquiry...

I just may be working on a few of my own in the days to come. 
In the meantime, I fell hard for some by John Hutchison.
Here are a few:


"US States where I have considered moving to as an adult"

"US states I have ridden my motorcycle"



"US state I like the least (Sorry Kansas)"

Contemplating a lightening of the locks.

Life post-Bear

Postcard from Eleanor, sent to me during life pre-bear.

A bear lent me a new life.  

Or at least, a more frenzied love of being alive than I generally tote around.  And, generally, I've always been pretty much enamored with it.  The mystery of it all!  The surprises!  The way things look!  Helping! Loving!  Losing! Winning! Feeling! Breathing!  My second wind, magic at 33...my life post-bear.

I was walking with my Aunt at twilight on a visit to Colorado last month.  Just off the mountain road there was a field that resembled Auronzo (the small Italian town nestled beneath the Alps where my mom and her sister come from)...its wildflowers; their scattered colors and hints of shape.  And then there was the Bear.  Crazy.  Beautiful.  Terrifying.  Shoulders so round.  Curves in general, no hard lines, an inquisitive look.  Massive and rooted.  Quite simply not to be believed.

Long walk uphill with heartbeats soaring.

Hands held and waiting.

The Bear let us pass.

Historically I'm a night owl; a bona fide art-making-idea-having insomniac.  But that night I was giddy.  Feverish with notes and thoughts.  I decided then to take even more risks than I normally do.  I decided then to do some things I never thought I'd do.  This blog is one of those things.

Thanks, Bear. I owe you one.

Daydream Delight