5 January 2011: In the Land of the Water People

5JAN2011, originally uploaded by blueathena7.

In the Land of the Water People
Richard Greeves, sculptor
Sculpture, bronze, 62 x 34 x 27 in.
1977 Prix de West Purchase Award.

I like reflections and I am constantly aware of trying to figure out how to take a picture of a reflection without being in it and making the image as sharp as possible to appear as if it is not a reflection. Is it possible? Surely, but I've yet to accomplish it. I like this photo, though. The sky was nearly a royal blue, the kind you love because it makes water appear blue and pure. The sculpture was reflecting nicely in the garden pool, so I had to snap-snap-snap until I thought I captured it. I never was satisfied with the pictures that included both sculpture and its reflection. This one, flipped, will have to do.

Athena's Arthouse

People may or may not know that I opened my own little shop on Etsy.com, Athena's Arthouse.  I have been crafting designs inspired by my surroundings, long drives through the countryside, memories, and ideas from novels and poetry.  I am using fabric cut from old t-shirts, jeans, pants, skirts, dresses, blouses, sheets, pillowcases, etc... Anything that can't seem to serve it's intended purpose and can be recycled into a new piece of art.  Some clothing I have bought from places like Goodwill or thrift shops when I noticed most of the fabric was fine except for an unsightly stain somewhere, which is why it hadn't been bought yet.  No problem, I can cut that away and use the rest of the shirt or skirt for several fiber art pieces.  I also am recycling wooden plaques that once proudly displayed brass plate awards.  I have over a hundred of these things and I am working to create each one into proud display of one of my fabric collages.

I'm new to this Etsy shop selling and to sewing in general. I am hopeful that people will like my little artworks.  Here's a link to the store:

Stories, Tales, Secrets...

I made three mixed CDs for a friend and named them "Stories", "Tales", and "Secrets."  Here's the list of songs and artists I chose to share.  Many of these singer-songwriters I have met and heard in person, some because they live and work in Oklahoma City, while others have traveled here for a gig at a venue or a house concert.  I also wanted to share the recent artistic creations I have been working on, so I gave each CD a cover, and I'll have that same image accompany the playlists below...

"Song I Gave to the Sparrow"

Stories
1. "For the Morning" - Camille Harp
2. "Babylon" - Justin Witte One Man Band
3. "We Are the Same" - Samantha Crain
4. "Salem" - Penny Hill
5. "Everybody Knows" - Kelly B. Band
6. "Cheyanna" - Mike Beck & The Bohemian Saints
7. "Land & Sea" - Rebecca Loebe
8. "Little Birdie" - Michael Huff
9. "The Dam Song" - Samantha Crain
10. "Goodbye Blues" - Easton Stagger Phillips
11. "Don't Hurt My Heart" - Mike Beck & The Bohemian Saints
12. "South" - Camille Harp
13. "California" - Rebecca Loebe
14. "Untitled #3" - Ali Harter
15. "Rising Sun" - Samantha Crain
16. "Be Kind to You" - Forest Sun
17. "All the Pretty Girls Leave Town" - Tim Easton
18. "It's Okay to Be Alone" - Elam Blackman
19. "Keep on Going" - Michael Huff
20. "The Weeping Willow" - Devon Sproule

"Nest"

Tales
1. "This Too Shall Pass" - Danny Schmidt
2. "Dancer" - Jared Tyler
3. "Blackwing Butterfly" - Noelle Hampton
4. "Soul Parade" - Jesse DeNatale
5. "Better Nobody" - Kelly B. Band
6. "Siren" - Rebecca Loebe
7. "Song for John" - Penny Hill
8. "She Run Away" - Mike Beck & the Bohemian Saints
9. "I Would" - Ali Harter
10. "Fortune Teller" - Michael Huff
11. "Scissor Tales" - Samantha Crain
12. "Your Chances Are High" - Camille Harp
13. "Angel on the Floor" - Elam Blackman
14. "Lonely Spires" - Rachel Ries
15. "Working My Angels Overtime" - Justin Witte One Man Band
16. "Life of a Buckaroo" - Mike Beck & the Bohemian Saints
17. "The Wind" - Penny Hill
18. "Band of Angels" - Kelly B. Band
19. "Too Far Off" - Michael Huff
20. "Collapsible Plans (Sugar)" - Tom Freund

"Black Crow"

Secrets 
1. "The River" - Samantha Crain
2. "Flowering Spade" - Sean Hayes
3. "When I Go" - Brett Dennen
4. "Spaces In Between" - Shane Alexander
5. "Happy Ending" - Matt the Electrician
6. "Blues Man" - Michael Huff
7. "Forms of the Truth" - Beth Waters
8. "Strangers" - Kris Delmhorst
9. "Ragdoll" - Gavin Glass & the Holy Shakers
10. "Tribute to Taj Mahal: Cakewalk Into Town" - Justin Witte One Man Band
11. "Santa Fe" - Samantha Crain
12. "Houston" - The Bittersweets
13. "Southern Smile" - Four Year Bender
14. "Meridian" - Rebecca Loebe
15. "Other Hearts" - Michael Huff
16. "Reflecting Light" - Sam Phillips*

I included "Reflecting Light" just because I was completely absorbed in the song while working on these and I thought it appropriate to close with it.

baby photo album covers

A few of my co-workers commissioned me to create something creative for these clam-shell binders that we filled with archival photo sheet protectors.  We turned them into photo albums where the new mothers can print and store photos of their newborns. 

The first was having a baby boy, but I didn't know what colors she was using in decorating the baby's room, but the baby boy blue still worked out just fine.  This was my first try, but I think it looks pretty good.  I used two old shirts (the two striped pieces) and three swatches of new fabric in the design.  It needed some more interest so I added the ribbon and buttons.  I used HeatnBond Ultrahold fabric adhesive to adhere the fabrics to each other.  Then I used a low-temp glue gun to wrap the fabric around a matte board I pre-cut to place on the binder's cover.  I did not want to puncture the binder itself because that would weaken the cover and open holes for pests and dust. It was dull looking with just the fabric, so I decided to stitch down some ribbon and buttons for interest.  I probably could have done this prior to gluing it to the board, but I also think that stitching through the board secures the buttons and thread more.   I then glued the finished cover to the front of the clam-shell binder, and voila!  Baby Boy Blue Cover for a photo album.

The second one was for a co-worker having her first baby girl.  The new momma-to-be is all about pink and bling, so I knew that it needed to have a little more glitz than the Baby Boy Blue.  I used to have a pretty pink button-down shirt that had some clear sequins stitched in the front, so I cut two swatches of this fabric, including the gem snap-buttons.  I used this for the top and bottom sections of the design.  The middle swatch of fabric comes from a pink knit shirt I found in Goodwill years ago.  I dug around in my beads and found a few that seemed to match and add some bling to the overall feel of the cover.  The beads on the ribbon in the middle section can slide up and down a little on the iridescent ribbon.  The beads and ribbon at the bottom half hide a rough edge in the pink plaid, and it was stitched down in-between each bead section.  I am not a big fan of pink, but this one turned out quite well, I think!  Hello, Baby Girl Pink Cover.

movies of my heart

Last night I posted a link to a music video by The Swell Season on facebook, which promptly turned into a discussion of movies a friend would probably like to see.  I realized that there are some similarities of emotion in some of my favorite films, a kind of drama that is honest and real, based on real complications and problems, not silly scenarios.   So here's a list of some of my favorite films, and maybe some of the songs that continually make me fall in love with the musician or movie or story or life!  I'll try to list them in order I have discovered them, if I can remember!

Sidenote: I have links to Wikipedia articles, IMDB pages, and Amazon or iTunes soundtracks solely for informational purposes. Wikipedia is by far not the end-all, be-all authority on accurate information, but it is a quick and easy enough starting place. Reference the external links and citations at the end of their articles.

Orlando
Orlando is based on the book of the same name by Virginia Woolf.  I had already read the book, the only one I have yet read by Woolf.  I liked the odd story of a person over centuries of time. It is a kind of fantasy, but Woolf was likely trying to show there's a history to each person who connects them centuries back and that there are also people we meet whom we instantly know we know.  A kind of intuition, kindred spirit, connection unexplained between two people that should just be trusted, be it that they are lovers or lifelong friends of like-mindedness and curiosities. I know I watched this sometime when I was in community college, 1995-1997, and likewise read the book only months before.  I am sure it was summer. Here I have a link to the trailer for the film:



More info: Wikipedia article for novel. Wikipedia article for film.  IMDB for film info and trailers.

The Secret of Roan Inish
I think I stumbled across this movie while I was at the University of Mississippi, probably in 1997 or 1998. I quickly bought the soundtrack for it and played it whenever I had essays to write for my Irish Literature class.  I recall sitting at a picnic table in The Grove listening to it while writing those first essays.  I played that CD all the time!  The story is both sad and mythical.

"[The plot] is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies—seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents near the island of Roan Inish, where the selkies are rumored to reside. It is an old family legend that her younger brother was swept away in his infancy and raised by a selkie. Part of the film takes place in Donegal."

The soundtrack's song "Fiona's Lullaby" had such an impact on me that I wrote a poem incorporating the Gaelic lullaby and its English translation into it.  This video  plays "Fiona's Lullaby" first and the lyrics, in Gaelic and English, are located to the right "more info" section.  "Piper's Lullaby" is second and instrumental.



More info: Wikipedia article for film. IMDB for film info and trailers. Info for soundtrack. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon or iTunes.

Love Song for Bobby Long
I could go on forever about this movie.  One, I love New Orleans and it is the central landscape and culture of the film.  Two, the dialogue interests me because there's plenty of literary references to Moliere, Dickens, Twain, Auden, etc.  That tugs at my literature heart.  There's a character whom you both love and are confused by because of his mistakes and how he has complicated his life by them.  You want to smack him while at the same time just sit on the porch enjoying a glass of whiskey or bourbon and talk about literature, society, the city.

This movie also includes the Carson McCullers novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, a paperback book that Purselane reads while waiting to get on the train but upon finishing it, changes her mind and stays in New Orleans.  I finally read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter last summer, and it was a very good read.

Also, the movie's screenplay is based on the Ronald Everett Capps novel Off Magazine Street.  I should read it someday.

The soundtrack features several songs written and performed by Grayson Capps, plus a few old traditional songs like "Barbara Allen" being performed by John Travolta while sitting outside with friends for a cookout.  By the way, there are many versions of "The Ballad of Barbara Allen."   A Myspace music profile was created by someone to feature several songs most loved from the film; Give it a listen.  Or enjoy this video of Grayson Capps still performing his song "A Love Song for Bobby Long":



More info: Wikipedia article for film. IMDB for film info and trailers. Info for soundtrack. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon .

Frida
Let me count the ways in which I love Frida.  Colorful, passionate, artistic, humorous, humbling, honest, full of conflict, history, and music.  The acting demonstrates both the strength of the actors and actresses, and definitely the strength of those they portray.  The human relationships, her strong will, her trust, his conflict with himself and with desiring to meet the common ground they share, but also failing. Her forgiveness and resilience. The story moves forward at a pace one can feel comfortable with, and it covers some historical moments and movements in Mexico. It demonstrates the cultural differences in the art worlds between Mexico City and New York City. The motivations that drive artists, expression and statement standing in the face of politicos and funders.  Finding the honest venue for one's art.

I know I watched it while I was living in Hattiesburg, MS, working at a used bookstore, and attending my last graduate level classes in Library & Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi.  So this was probably September 2003. I also know that when I finished watching it I hit play again. Yes, I watched it twice in one evening I loved it so much.

Love the soundtrack, but one of the songs that always made me grin was Salma Hayek singing "La Bruja" in this bar scene.  The translation of the lyrics are probably not that accurate, or just don't translate culturally very well into English.



More info: Wikipedia article for film. Wikipedia article for the artist Frida Kahlo. IMDB for film info and trailers. Wikipedia info for soundtrack. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon.

The Hours
I know I was working at a central Mississippi private school in 2002 when I saw The Hours one weekend.  And I saw it three times in the movie theatre that weekend because I loved it so much.  I've never done that before with any other movie. I already knew I loved something about Virginia Woolf, though I had only read one of her books and some of her letters.  The idea of showing the author writing the book, another woman's life being impacted by the book, and then later a woman being the epitome of the character, I loved it.  This is how literature spreads itself across people's lives. The score was somber, and it didn't leave a desire to listen to it without the film, but it definitely tugs at your emotions while watching the film whether you notice it or not.

This scene is one of the strongest ones depicting the struggles Virginia faced, continually, as herself and as a writer. And she asks so much patience from her husband, Leonard, and he makes sacrifices often to keep some kind of happiness and peace for her and their marriage. And one of my favorite quotes comes from this scene: "You cannot find peace by avoiding life, Leonard."



Once
I've only seen the film once, and I was in Kentucky at the time.  I had only moved to Berea about 4 or 5 months earlier and was settling into my first house and first real 8-5 job. I moved to a small town where I knew no one but those whom I worked with and the students on campus.  Thankfully everyone I met were warm people and creative individuals.  It wasn't long before I met some great writerly people I still love and know.  But when I first moved there I watched a lot of movies and read a lot.  I tried working on my writing and never felt good enough at it.  I listened to local bands and never really got to know them.  I was reserved.  And this film Once kinda touched me one evening and probably helped push me forward to meeting and getting to know people more. Plus it has a fantastic soundtrack.  Follow The Swell Season, very talented musicians.

This video has incorporated clips from the film to the song "Falling Slowly" by The Swell Season.



More info: Wikipedia article for film and soundtrack. Wikipedia article for The Swell Season. IMDB for film info and trailers. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon.

Crazy Heart
This last one was a recent recommendation from a friend who knows my taste in music and film and likes much of the same himself. So when he mentioned he liked this movie and the theme song, "The Weary Kind" written by Ryan Bingham, I followed through and gave it a watch and listen. Immediately I fell into it. The film has a strong plot and dialogue that pulled on the same strings that let me love Love Song for Bobby Long so much.  The theme song pulls the film together, and some familiar personalities I know might relate to the lyrics in a small way.  I tend to be drawn to movies that have a central character who copes with alcohol problems and usually comes out on top, even there's some sacrifices or mistakes along the way.  This is that movie, and Jeff Bridges is an exceptional actor.

I listened to "The Weary Kind" and loved it, and then decided to find other songs by Ryan Bingham.  I have one of his earlier albums now, Dead Horses, on which I love "Southside of Heaven" and "Don't Wait For Me" especially. (These links are to YouTube videos for the songs or to the musician's website.)

Since the film just came out in 2009 and may still be in theatres, I can only find the trailer for showing, but it is a good one nonetheless.



More info: Wikipedia article for film and soundtrack. Wikipedia article for Ryan Bingham. IMDB for film info and trailers. Listen to or purchase soundtrack on Amazon.