by Susan Lobb Porter | Life |
There was a strange man in my shower last night. I noticed him because of the hat, one of those newspaper boy’s caps from the 1930s. There was also a sweater vest involved.
Sweater vest? OMG…Rick Santorum? What was HE doing in my shower???
Before I could figure it out, Rick morphed into a monkey. A chimpanzee to be exact. Stuff happens when you squint… in life… and in the shower.
I’d seen the monkey before but it was the first time for the guy in the vest. A political figure at that. Go figure.
Usually I shower with Homer Simpson. He’s there a lot. Lurking in the glass block, depending on the time of day, the shadows. And there was a period of time when Jerry Garcia was a regular. It was the hair. And the beard. He was on the floor right by the door. My husband swore it was Jesus. We argued about this for days. Jesus! Jerry! When he began began talking up e-bay I figured I had no choice. Clean the shower or lose a couple of tiles.
So I emptied a bottle of Mildew! Soap! Scum! remover and washed our lord and savior down the drain. Pffffft…Just. Like. That. No thunderbolts. No smites. No heavenly retribution. Guess it wasn’t Jesus after all.
And now the politicians are showing up. Okay, so only one. But they’ll multiply, seemingly overnight.
And that’s reason enough to scrub down the shower.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Beloved Beasties, Dogs, Life |
Two dogs by my side
dozing on this winter night
no long post tonight.
***
Hairy beasts snuggle
up against the macBook pro
no writing in sight.
***
Fluffy little poofs
of fur hide dogs with big hearts
can’t tell head from butt.
***
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Stopped at a store on the way home from work tonight. Found a book on a sale table. A book of quotes. Pithy, profound things other people said once upon a time, the repeating of which make you sound pithy and profound.
Just what I needed! Because original thoughts are so over rated. I’ll never have to have another one again. Imagine that!
Well, needless to say, I scooped that puppy up before it could grow bookish legs and run away. We were meant to be together.
We spent the better part of the evening getting acquainted. I read words of encouragement. Of inspiration. Birthday greetings. Holiday offerings. Whatever you need for any occasion.
And it sparked my creativity. Yesterday I showed a journal page. The one with the typo. And the scary eyed muse.
An then I showed the unfinished fold over.
Said I’d show it again when finished. Didn’t have a clue when that would be because I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. Until tonight when I found this pithy profundity by e.e.cummings: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
Well that was it! Just use the quote and a photo of moi. A baby photo. I could do an image transfer. Then again it was late, I’d been working all day and my back was behaving badly. I decided to do a collage instead.
First thing I did was decide on the photo. Like this deer in the headlights stare. Someone was probably dangling something bright and shiny off camera.
I scanned the original black and white and altered the color to what I thought would work better with the paper. Then I cut. Glued. Painted. Should not have painted the quote, should’ve used a pen or marker. Oh well, it’s a journal. And it’s mine. Who cares, really…
Here’s what it looks like now.
Oh, and I fixed the typo on the inside page.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
The last thing in the world I’m interested in is art journaling. Or so I thought. AJ, for those of you who might not know, is the art of making elaborate journals consisting of, well…art. And whatever pithy thoughts might accompany that art. People go to great lengths with these little books but my feeling was if I put that much work into something I didn’t want to tuck it away somewhere. Because in my mind, journals are private things.
And art is public.
Then I heard about this year long on-line class, Life Book. You can read about it here if you’re interested. Fifty-two weeks of art journaling with lessons by fifteen different mixed media artists. Artists I wouldn’t mind taking a class with. Because I’m ALWAYS open to learning new things.
So I signed up. Along with something like 600 850 other people from around the world. I put my own spin on lesson 1, turned it into an acknowledgement of da muse. I didn’t know that’s what I was doing until I came home tonight and did it.
Totally different than what i usually do. And it was FUN. I enjoyed myself. And God help me, I made one of those silly faces with big eyes. I SWORE I WOULDN’T DO THAT. EVER! But I did. And it was FUN.
So here’s this week’s Life Book page. Ha–I just notices I left out the ‘e’ in stories. Oh well…
It has a fold over that I haven’t done yet. I’ll show you that another day.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
Comfy chair. Comfy sweats. Dog crowding out the laptop. Sitting here watching mindless TV. American Pickers. Pawn Stars. And playing on-line Solitaire.
Being a picker looks like fun. Traveling back roads, checking out barns and attics and sagging front porches. Climbing over piles of crap to find the perfect treasure. But knowing me I wouldn’t be looking for resale value, I’d be looking for mixed media parts. Things I could paint on, turn into art.
Doll parts. Metal things. Wooden stuff. Old photographs.
Sigh…look around your own house, Susan.
It’s my last night of vacation. Tomorrow it’s back to work. Laundry’s done. Lunch packed. Got to get back into the early to bed early to rise mentality. Not that I’ve ever been early to bed but it’s something to aim for.
I’m looking forward to seeing my students again. Looking forward to making art with them. Can’t wait to put some music on and dance around the classroom. We’re big on world music in my class. Afro. Latin. Cuban. And classic rock ‘n roll. Little Richard.
And come Friday I’m back in the studio. YAY!!!
But now I’m off to bed.
