1 January 2011: African Violets

1JAN2011, originally uploaded by blueathena7.

I have "tried" to unintentionally kill this little plant and thought I had until yesterday I saw that a little purple bloom had returned. It made my day. I didn't want the African violets to die, but to share their dark purple flowers all year long.

This is the first photo of my attempt to complete a 365 Project, a photo a day with my new Canon EOS Rebel XS. Enjoy!

Samantha

It seems that as each new year strolls by I become more and more interested and absorbed by the musical culture around me. I have gone from listening to country and classic rock on the radio, Dolly Parton eight-track tapes, Michael Jackson vinyl records, U2 cassette tapes, and endless CDs of artists like REM, Gillian Welch, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan... Now I listen more locally to musicians who perform live concerts at bars and in homes, more intimate instances of songwriting joy and performance sincerity. I love the house concert concept and this is now where I learn first about new songwriters from singers I know and appreciate already.

Here are two videos I recorded and edited of Samantha Crain at a house concert. She is accompanied by Daniel Foulks who is an exceptional fiddler and a pleasure to listen to how he complimented Samantha's well-loved songs. The second video includes clips from the 2010 winter solstice lunar eclipse and Christmas lit-trees along Western Avenue in Oklahoma City. Enjoy!





Samantha Crain with Daniel Foulks performs "Devils in Boston" and "Songs in the Night" at a Blue Moon House Concert on December 17, 2010, in Oklahoma City. Video recorded and edited by Laura Anne Heller of Blue Athena Productions.
Visit Blue Moon House Concerts on the web:
http://bluemoonhouseconcerts.moonfruit.com
Visit Samantha Crain on the web:
http://www.samanthacrain.com

Lauren Z

I'm not a big fan of slam poetry -- It's just not my style -- but I can appreciate the work of someone who stirs sincere emotion and speaks about real issues and real people. Lauren Zuniga is one of these phenomenal slam poets I love to listen to at live performances. Recently she performed at a house concert two poems which I recorded and have posted here by way of YouTube. Enjoy. Become her fan. Let her rock your world.





Lauren Zuniga performs her poems "To the Oklahoma Progressives Plotting Mass Exodus" and "Things to Do in an Ice Storm" on December 17, 2010, at a Blue Moon House Concert. Video recorded and edited by Laura Anne Heller of Blue Athena Productions.
Visit Blue Moon House Concerts on the web:
http://bluemoonhouseconcerts.moonfruit.com
Visit Lauren Zuniga on the web:
http://www.laurenzuniga.com

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:

five

Really?  Five years?  Have I really paced back-and-forth down this road for five years? I broke the path but found my way back easily and quickly. I thought I diverted myself for eternity, but I knew I would kick this gray gravel again. I nurture the irises and tulips along the way, pluck a daisy or black-eyed-susan. I watch the sun beam through leaves and think of you.  The change of seasons do not alter the world enough to hide this path I've walked.  You'll appear somewhere along the way, I'm sure, or at least that's what I've always told myself at the great southern red oak halfway down this road I've traveled. Will I remember if ever the wind and rain pelt the bark until my little carved letter whittles away?

Five years.  Is this a surprise or an acknowledgment?

Blue Moon House Concerts videos

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.