A little springlike weather, a little ice storm that hasn't (so far) quite turned out to be the end of civilization predicted by the Prophets of Doom weathermen, and a little creativity. Here's a partial sampling of the new necklaces I'll be offering next Friday, Feb. 5, in Studio Six on Paseo (NW 30th and Paseo, Oklahoma City).
Between moments of jewelry-making, I had a burst of cleaning frenzy, spending the better part of an afternoon clearing off and sorting out my desk. While it at first appeared to be a perfectly inviting creative space, it turned out to be a purrfectly inviting feline space.....

Just making the most of it

No reason to go on about the tragedies in the world. Everyone else is, and talk doesn't change things. We do what we can, where we can, and in the meantime make the most of what we're given.
For instance, a show of clever, artistic furniture stuff including a wall of flowers, held in place by heavy duty magnets. Isn't Klint Schor inventive? Yes. Yes he is. And a glass marble mosaic countertop, along the lines of something that's been in my head for years.


Now, I'm not a grrl with an infinite sum of moneys at my disposal, but that doesn't mean I can't find a near-constant array of amusements at my fingertips. If it's not a festive art opening, perhaps it's Ingrid's early on a Saturday afternoon, for the live band playing a fun, fine array of tunes to dance to. Not saying I can dance, because I can't, much. But I sure like pretending I can. For the price of a cup of coffee and a few delicious cookies, you can have one smile-inducing great date. Oh, and a few bucks into the band's tip jar when it comes around.





Art, Ingrid's, art, music, beautiful mild sunny afternoons, and maybe a little indulgent mail order shopping as well. (I'm only human...) Thanks to a tip on the Fedora Lounge, I learned of these stellar Diesel shoes offered on Amazon, for a fraction of their $100 plus price tag. I couldn't resist, and placed my order. Though tracking info told me they'd been en route for a few days, they didn't arrive Saturday, so a disappointed me reckoned I'd have to wait till Tuesday. Not so. Despite it being a holiday - no mail, no school, no bank, etc. - FedEx troopered on and delivered my shoes! Hooray. They happily arrived to coincide with the complimentary tickets Tony and I had been offered for an Oklahoma City Jazz Band concert. What timing. I put those gorgeous, two-toned babies on and headed up to the top of the Chase Tower, aka The Petroleum Club, for a swanky, evening with friends, a stellar skyline view of the city in all its sprawling glory, and some amazing jumping jive. You can have all the dvds, cds, music files, youtube videos you want, but nothing compares to the complex beauty of real live, played by humans music.
Yes, I adore live performance.
It was an educational night as well. I learned that the director/conductor/band leader fellow, from my angle of viewing his profile, sometimes looks like a mature Frank Sinatra, and sometimes looks like Mr. Roper from "Three's Company".
I also learned that even though you rinse and rinse and rinse a plastic juice bottle before you add a little cheap red wine with which to top up your $5 glass from the bar, it can still impart a curious Mango Naked flavor to the beverage.

Welcome to 2010. (That's "twenty-ten" in my head, not "two-thousand and ten", which seems and sounds like an unnecessary mouthful.)
There was the Christmas Eve blizzard, causing great inconvenience to many, many people. Fortunately for us, we had no big plans, plenty of food in store, and were happy to hide away in the 'hood for a few days. Fortunately, too, the Red Cup is only a mile or so away; a not-too-stressful stroll brings us the daily dose of coffee and socializing. And the cemetery along the way is an added bonus.


New Year's Eve was as usual for us. Sara and I had our annual gig of face painting downtown for Opening Night. Tony dropped us off (along with the other painters, Tina and Chandler), and returned to collect us at 11 pm, which goes a long way toward easing the potential hassle of finding and paying for a place to park. It was strange to arrive at our designated area, only to see a posse of clowns had invaded and taken over. They begrudgingly made room for us, in the back, and then proceeded to somewhat monopolize the crowd all evening. Now, we were being paid to do a job and help entertain the crowds, so a little wasteful thumb twiddling didn't sit well. Eventually some people found their way to our tables, including this charming couple who requested the kissy fish. Aren't they cute as they lock lips at midnight, under the rising ball?


And now the rush of festivities and parties has ebbed, and the real world beckons. Super duper brutal arctic air is supposedly headed our way (I heard something about 2 degrees F - yipes!). If tomorrow's last bit of warmth (38 degrees) can thaw that frozen hay bale in the front yard, I'll be parceling it out over the more delicate plants like lavender and pineapple sage, in hopes of preventing their total demise. The front path rosemary has been dying off over the past months, and looks completely finished now. :( Still, it's dead dry branches will smell lovely in the chimenea. My other, biggest, oldest rosemary is somewhat sheltered against the west side of the house. Let's hope that exposure, along with the matting of sycamore leaves tangled in the lower branches will help protect it.

While it's bitterly cold outdoors, I'll be working my little fingers off with the newest collection of text pendants. This batch incorporates more of the Jugenstil-esque wire designs, making them a bit more ornamental and versatile. See a small sampling here, and the entire collection at Studio Six on Paseo next month, when I'll be the featured guest artist for First Friday's Gallery Walk.
cheers gang, happy new year, and keep warm!