Treasures for the Senses

I woke up feeling particularly wealthy this morning.

Not in the monetary sense, (I tend to fall in the starving artist category), but more so in the details-of-life sense. So, I thought I would share the wealth today and this will probably turn out to be a long entry! I am opening my mental treasure chests. These are my personal treasures, but maybe they will spark a query about your own.

A Treasure of Words: Words are the simplest treasure. They are exquisite on their own, little sparkling gems without a setting, or strung into opulent aural necklaces. Here is a gem for each letter of the alphabet and a list of my favorite master-jewelers.

astonish * beetle * coriander * denizen * ellipse * frisky * gossamer * harlequin * incarnadine * jinx * kimono * legendary * macabre * nimble * oubliette * pepper * quince * rascal * sphinx * tempest * ultramarine * vertigo * whisper * xylocopa * yonder * zombie

Dorothy Dunnett * Angela Carter * Edgar Allen Poe * Neil Gaiman
William Shakespeare * Dylan Thomas * Charles Dickens * Mary Shelley

A Treasure of Creatures: I am an avid fan of shows like Nature and Planet Earth because they allow me to revel in the varieties of species. Technology is now so advanced, we can view the nocturnal habits of creatures we once thought were pure myth like the Hawk Moth. Here is my top ten list of bugs and beasties, (click on each entry to find out more about them:

1 - Bower Birds
2 - The Black and White Colobus Monkey
3 - The Flamboyant Cuttlefish
4 - Coleoptera: Lampyridae
5 - The Polar Bear
6 - The Emperor Tamarin
7 - The Golden Orb-Weaving Spider
8 - The Giraffe
9 - The Snowy Owl
10 - The Pygmy Marmoset Tarsier

A Treasure of Music: There are pieces of music that make my molecules hum. If only you could be a fly on the wall to see me dancing in my living room! You'd get a good laugh. I am so happy these soundtracks were put out into the world! They cover all kinds of emotional ground: triumph, wonder, desperation, madness, comfort, loss. The ones I've listed may not be the most well known by that particular composer, but they are the ones that I employ as the soundtracks for my own story.

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - John Williams
2. Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman
3. The Last Starfighter, (main title) - Craig Safan
4. Twin Peaks - Angelo Badalamenti
5. Sommersby - Danny Elfman
6. Glory - James Horner
7. Requiem For a Dream - Clint Mansell
8. Batman - Danny Elfman
9. The Mission - Ennio Morricone
10. Amadeus - Mozart and others

Not so Manic...

Hello all -

I hope you had as great a weekend as I had. The sun really does wonders for my whole outlook on life. It's a good thing I don't live in Siberia or Seattle or a cave somewhere... no offence to Siberians or Seattleans or hermits.

I am sitting here at my little wooden desk next to the window and the breeze is so nice! I was out and about over the weekend and here are a few pictures I took:

:

Those are the spires of Grace Episcopal Church in Manhattan. It's not the biggest cathedral, but it's one of the prettiest. Lots of buds still waiting to flower.


And - I went yarn shopping. Yes, I hate to admit it, but yarn shopping is one of my vices. Nope - don't drink. Nope - don't smoke. Nope - don't do drugs. But, boy, I can spend a ton of money on yarn! I had to learn how to knit so I'd have something to do with all of that stuff! My favorite 2 yarn shops in the world are: Purl Soho in Manhattan and The Quarter Stitch in New Orleans. Purl Soho has a great blog called The Purl Bee with lots of good tutorials if you want to learn how to knit or crochet. The Quarter Stitch is slightly behind when it comes to online presence, but their storefront is the best! I'll dig up a photo and post it soon.

Here are the yarns I bought. And below is one of the projects I'd like to use them for... who doesn't need a pair of harlequin knee-highs? Yummy.

Woah - way past my bedtime! I have a ton of drafting to do tomorrow and Leese is a whipcracker, so I'm off. Have a great Tuesday!

Meet Olivia Grace

I finally have some pictures of the newest member of my family: Olivia Grace! The first picture is my uncle Casey with his tiny daughter. I wonder if she's going to be as tall as he is! Look at those teensy fingers against his giant ones! She has a ways to go.

Here is Olivia with 1) Grandma, 2) her mother, Cathy, and 3) her big brother Ben.

Great job, Cathy! Hmmm... now I have a baby to knit for! Yay!

A Sun Infusion

We finally got a bit of sun in the city today.

*dancing a jig, dancing a jig*

It made me so happy, I decided to come home and create some abstract color pieces in Adobe Illustrator. I just allowed myself to play with colors, patterns, and overlays... I had no specific vision in mind.

Here are the results:

The ringmaster returns...

Thank you, everyone, for participating in my previous post.

The Parlour Room will remain open for several days, so, if you haven't introduced yourself yet, please do so! I did find out that some people have the email feature confused with the comment feature. Also - please know that you don't have to leave an email address or url to leave a comment. Just your name will do. Or an alias if you are paranoid about little "looking glass spyders" tracking you down!

To our lurker: thanks for saying you are out there! I love mysterious messages from mysterious people. And - somehow, I don't think you are the only one.

I received a request for more pictures and saw that Julie said something about that on Joe's blog as well, so I will honor that request.

One other thing:
If you look to the left you will see a feature called "Sarah's Amorphic Library". This is a collection of entries on other blogs that might interest you. Adventures in chicken knitting, for instance, and regular posts from Neil Gaiman's journal, among others.

Stay tuned for a few more Stardust stills and a few other tidbits.

Parlour Room

OK - so this is a special kind of post.

This is the "Parlour Room" of posts.

Most of you visit on a regular basis. Thank you! That's exactly what keeps me writing. (I was never much of a journal writer mainly because I always thought: what's the point in writing something no one is ever going to read?)

The great thing about blogs is that it gives the reader a chance to respond. See the tiny little link below this, (and every), post that reads "comment"? That is the interactive element on this page! That little button gives you a voice! How exciting!

OK - so most of you know this. Please be patient while I bring the rest of the class up to date. (My mom, for instance, may have a ton of trouble figuring this out... sorry, mom, but you know it's true! )

Bloggers love comments. Comments validate our existence. Comments make this whole exercise feel more like a conversation than a dissertation. Comments also let you know who else is reading...

Let me tell you that one of the driving forces for me to be here is to build a community of people who love life, art, and unique expressions of existence. Thanks for being here! Please spread the word... and - since this is the "Parlour Room" post, please introduce yourself! BTW - anytime you see Parlour Room, that will be an opportunity to make your presence known. Shall we see how crowded it will get in here by the end of the year?

And now, your host will take her seat and give you the stage.

*much clapping and whistling from the audience*

Infuriated by Lost? Get your answers here.

After my first aid class yesterday, I received a number of phone calls from various people. We chatted. I filled them in on my Saturday whereabouts. Then they would ask the inevitable question... "Sarah, you are a designer. Why on earth would you want to take a first aid class?"

Here are my answers listed in chronological order. If you get the heebie-jeebies easily, I would skip this post.

In 2001, I worked at a scenery shop in Manhattan. My boss had a sudden seizure. He flipped out of his rolling office chair and cracked his head on the concrete floor. His eyes were rolled back into his head. There was blood seeping out of an abrasion somewhere on his skull. No one in the shop knew what to do.

In 2003, I was riding a bus on my way to work one morning. As we pulled into the bus stop, everyone on the bus jumped up and started screaming. I was the last to get off the bus. I saw an obviously mentally ill man flailing his arm in the air. His arm was flopping in an unnatural manner. Blood was spurting from the place where his bone was jutting through the skin. (He had been riding on the bus with his arm out the window. When we rounded the corner, his arm was crunched between the bus and a parked truck.) Everyone who had been on the bus was standing in a circle around him, but no one was making a move to help him. And, I admit, it was an intimidating situation.

In January of this year, I was riding the subway when a man tried to hop on the train before the doors closed and didn't make it. The doors closed on his shoulders and he fell forward onto his face. Apparently, something had broken in his back and he couldn't move. It took 15 minutes for the paramedics to arrive.

In March of this year, I was walking down the street when a teenager walked up to me and asked where the nearest emergency room was. He was holding a bloody napkin over a cut on his arm. I asked him what happened and he said he had been attacked by another group of kids. Then he showed me the stab wound in his back.

In all of these situations, I immediately jumped in to help. It's not something I think about. When I see someone who needs help, my first thought is how to help them. Unfortunately, my second thought is: "Crap... what if I just wind up making the situation worse?"

Up until now, I've been lucky. I did exactly the right thing for my boss. I could have done more for the guy on the bus and the kid with the stab wounds if I knew then what I know now. And, lucky for the man on the train, there was a doctor in the subway car.

Like I said, when your living in a city packed with 8 million people, you are bound to run into a few injuries here or there. So, if you are a designer, (or a lawyer/writer/producer/ad exec/house cleaner/etc...) with a penchant for responding to emergency situations, I highly recommend studying up on your first aid skills. You could very well save someone's finger/leg/memory/range of motion/life.

Here is the link for class listings at The American Red Cross of Greater NY. And a link for Red Cross websites anywhere else in the country.

Early Bird Gets the Splint

Hey everybody.

I don't think a single one of you is up yet. Well... maybe a few of you are peeking though puffy eyelids at 7:30 on a Saturday morning.

I am up! I've had my Joe and I'm ready to go...

My friend Julie and I are off to a Standard First Aid class today. Why? you ask...

Well, it's a long story. And a gross one. But, I'll tell you about it later. Don't worry, I'm not concerned about your knee-jerk disgust reflexes. I just don't have time right now. Suffice it to say, I have Samaritan tendencies, but don't know a darn thing about first aid. And, when you're walking around in city packed with 8 million people you are bound to run into a few injuries here or there.

Yikes! Time flies when I'm here and it's almost 7:45... so I'm off! Have a great Saturday and I'll see you on the other side of the CPR dummy.

Over and Out

Papaya!

Here is another flower in my Garden of Bizarre Delights. I love PaPaYa's artwork. Here is a link to Anahata Katkin's blog so you can get to know the mind behind the makings. Whenever I need a good visual infusion, I go there or to Papaya's online store to gorge myself on the color. What a feast!

I miss you
Originally uploaded by Anahata Katkin.

Wednesday and a Star...

I love Wednesday nights...

Well, for the next 3 months I will. I am taking an incredible seminar at Landmark Education called the Living Passionately seminar. (Those who know me know that I already live life pretty passionately - but hey if you're addicted to chocolate, what is there to do but eat more chocolate?)

This is what I am aiming for during the course of the seminar:

1) Getting my own studio.

2) Generating a new, (and very different), future with my husband.

3) Setting myself up so I can move into my dream apartment with joy and ease.

4) Playing for the sake of playing... games that I make up.

Hmmm - I am sure there will be more to come, but that's a good start.

I am so grateful that Landmark Education is on the planet. The Landmark Forum was the greatest ride I have ever taken. I wish I could do it all over again just to experience those first time mind-blowing realizations. If you register - let me know. I love hearing the stories of Forum graduates!

OK - so on to other news: Stardust is coming out this fall. Just in time for my birthday! I have been a fan of Neil Gaiman since highschool (early 90's) and this is one of my favorite Gaiman stories. Here is a picture of Claire Danes as The Star.

Isn't she gorgeous? There are more yummy photos that you can see here.

The design is so delicious - I can hardly wait... OK- off to bed. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite!

The Garden of Bizarre Delights

Super (Mario) Cake
Originally uploaded by alt text.

So, I am starting a segment entitled above. It is to be a smattering of strange and whimsical curiosities. Click on the related label periodically to find what other objects I may place in the Garden...

Here is the first.
*sigh*

Makes me a little nostalgic.

By the way - it's a wedding cake incase you didn't notice Mario and the Princess perched on the top. I wish I could see the rest of the wedding decorations!

Itty Bitty Monday post...

Just peeking in to say hi...

Oh! And I have an announcement to make. I have a new 1st cousin! Her name is Olivia Grace and she was born today to my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Casey. If they send me a picture, I'll post it up for all to see. Everyone says she's beautiful!

That's one of the only drawbacks about living so far from your family... never being there for those moments. Maybe Casey will get a webcam and I'll be able to see them that way! (Hint hint, Casey... and congratulations. I hope she inherits your hug and Cathy's smile.)

On other fronts, another cousin is in town this week who happens to be the managing director of the Richmond Ballet. He always brings a few comp passes for me and my friends... lucky, lucky us! He is also partly responsible for:

1) Taking me to my first live Rocky Horror Picture Show extravaganza,
2) Almost killing me several times during bumper cars at the beach,
3) Getting me an audition at NC School of the Arts... whereby starting my illustrious arts career.

And he put up with me during my loony teenager years. Ask him about my wardrobe sometimes...he loves to tell that story.

OK - off to bed. Sleep tight, peeps. (Not you... all those other peeps I didn't eat for Easter. Lucky little ducks... er... chicks.)

Here is part of one project I am working on...

As you can see, I was a little gloomy this week because we had a great Spring teaser and then the winter weather returned! Sad for me! So, I was in a Poe mood. Those of you who are fans of The Labyrinth will know about oubliettes. For those of you who haven't seen The Labyrinth, you should. Here are 3 good reasons:

1 - classic Henson puppetry.

2 - The Bog of Eternal Stench

3 - David Bowie in tights with killer glam-rock hair.

OK, now that I have Bowie in my head, I guess I'll head off to bed.

*squeezes*