Oh, Mikhail

I'm really feeling the dance fever lately (Not the Saturday Night kind though). I'm starving for culture. I'd pay $700 dollars for a ticket to see Mikhail. Seriously. I'd have to think a little bit if it got any pricier than that. But yeah. He's delicious.

This last one is a bit... no very dramatic and dark. Nonetheless, I love it. *Note- The timing is off on the clip. Dang it. They dance a little too fast. That's okay. I'll just watch my movie at home and you'll at least get a glimpse of the magnitude of his power. He's such a dream boat.

Oh how I wish my gangly, semi-awkward body could express my inner whole in such a portrayal of divinity and grace as the master Mikhail.

My Boy, Bob

I watched the Bob Ross show when I was little. He was my hero. He made me believe in myself. He instilled the confidence in me that, in just under an hour, I could paint a masterpiece. I remember that first time I watched his show. My soul was filled with such hopes and dreams for my future career as a painter. I was so excited to get to work.

When push came to shove, I was thrust into the light of reality. Stick figures were my forte and that's where the forte would remain. Even though Bob gave me a false sense of my personal potential, I still love the guy. If I had cable t.v. and his show was still running, I'd watch it regularly. I sure miss seeing a happy tree now and again. Besides, I heard the guy had pet squirrels. Fascinating.

I came across this picture and had to share. Not only is it Bob, but it's Bob made out of Legos. Posting a Lego-Bob is a must. LOVE it:

Source: HERE

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Really wish I would have bought one of these when they were available. I waited too long. Dang it. Double dang it.

Here's the shop of the chick that sells them HERE.

Masterpiece Made

So remember this gem and how it was a total of $6.50 at Goodwill?

It was a beautiful landscape in and of itself. It definitely sparked my imagination (I'm being serious with no sarcasm). But there was a beckoning for more. I answered that call by adding a few touches. Transfers from another masterpiece. It cost me a total of $0.50 and the addition was rescued from D.I.

With a few clips and some detailed snipping, I extracted the specimen. I'll confess that I felt terrible cutting apart a book but there was no way around it. It had to be done. And now, here's the beyond unbelievable final product:

I wish you could see it in real life. It's pretty legit. Here are some close up details...

The white stream/streak in the above picture is the gleam from the lamp above (I know you were dying to know what the slight disturbance was).

Overall, the project made my dreams come true. I love it. It hangs above my bed. I love it. And it only cost $7.00. What a deal. What a deal.

Afterward: When I bought the painting, I knew I wanted to add something but I wasn't quite sure what. Full credit for the Wild idea must go to my genius mother. She's so smart.

Thrifty-Nifty

"Erica, why haven't you posted any sweet thrift store finds lately?"

I know the question has been on your mind. I've been very busy. But here, let me indulge your insatiable interest and inquiry...

This here is my regal lion statue. Location of purchase, Deseret Industries. She's good lookin, I know. If you look slightly to the left, you might spot my prized manual typewriter which is in perfect working condition. Where did I purchase it? Goodwill. It was $7.99 and not even half-off day.

I hate to reveal too much too soon but I can't resist. For awhile now an idea has been turning over in my head. I saw on some blog that a lady bought a vintage seascape featuring a ship sailing a stormy in the night. She added her own artwork to it, an enormous octopus cleaving to the whole of the ship as if fighting to drag it under. It was rad. I can't find her webpage anymore I sorely wish I would have bookmarked it. Anyway, I started keeping my eyes out for a cool opportunity. It came last week at Goodwill with the price tag of $12.99 (before the half off). Here's a peek at the upcoming masterpiece...

It really is a shame that you have to behold it's fine character from the view of a cellphone camera. Until the car and student loan are payed off, this will have to do just fine. For the final product, I'll borrow someones camera so you can get the full effect of the awe-inspiring piece. What am I going to add to it? Oh, I bet you want to know. It's a surprise. Knowing me though, I'd probably gather it has something to do with children's literature and if you did gather that much, you'd be right.

Steal of a Deal

Long time no post, I know. But I'm back. Maybe. While I haven't been posting, I've still been visiting the regular thrift stores... occasionally. Coolest find lately? SHRINKYDINKS!

You color an image on the plastic then bake it. It shrinks in the oven. What a way to spend time on Christmas break.

Here's my Where the Wild Things Are keychain. The top picture is what I traced onto the plastic. The mini ones are how they turned out after the bake:

Blurry close up:

I got the coloring/tracing pattern HERE. Free pattern. Wohoo!

Jackpot

Today at work I sat next to the art room helping students with math. The thought occurred to me that I should ask the art teacher if she had any crayon cast-offs, so I did. She was storing a jackpot (more like a box) and was more than anxious to get rid of them so I gladly lightened her heavy load (figuratively speaking). Oh the joyous hours soon to come. Think I'm crazy? You won't when you find yourself hoping to get some finished product from me. I'll let you know when I finish the box.

I Won!

A few days ago Michelle, author of Kids Haus, posted a new print (the one above) she's illustrated. She also announced that she would randomly draw a name from the pool of comments left by visitors and send a print to that lucky, random winner.

I can't even tell you how excited I was today when I went to write up a post and found a comment on my last one. Yes, I get excited about comments but I was floored with wonderment when I found that the last comment was from Michelle informing me I'd won her giveaway! Holy Smokes, I won! As I left the lucky comment the other day, I had hopes of winning tinged with expectation of disappointment. Shame on me for harboring such feelings. Visit Michelle at Kids Haus or at her Etsy shop HERE.

Also, this may sound egocentric but it was exciting to see my blog linked on her page. It's so easy to post all the time and feel like I'm just adding a journal entry, talking to myself and feelin fine. To see my blog posted on another page is like a pinch of reality that all this posting isn't just me and a computer screen. I love connecting with others. How exciting! Snaps for me.

Jackson Pollock

Ever heard of Jackson Pollock? Hopefully the answer to the question is "yes". There is a cool website that you can visit and waste, I mean, spend time making cool imitations of his works. I couldn't figure out how to save my creation as a picture to post so you'll just have to check it out yourself HERE.

Note: If you want to change colors during creation time, right click the mouse.

Tromp L'oeil

I love saying the phrase "tromp l'oeil" out loud. It rolls off the tongue funny. Even more than the sound of it, I love what it represents. The French term means "trick of the eye" and is used to describe art pieces that portray such a feat. HERE is a cool link to check out some of Julian Beever's "tromp l'oeils". The below two pictures are from his site:

Dungeon

Fountain

For some Edgar Mueller's works that are neat-o click HERE. Below is a youtube clip of him in action:

After seeing these masterpieces, I bet you want to do one too. Right? I'm including this tricky dragon so you too can participate:

This optical allusion/tromp l'oeil and it's explanation can be found HERE. There is a download posted on the site to allow you the pleasure of making your very own tromp l'oeil dragon! I'll also include the link right HERE. How bout that? Your very own tromp l'oeil to display in your very own home!

Crayons!

This morning I was supposed to be doing a load of homework, but I was way to busy for it. I had important thing on my schedule to do. I spent my time making these:

"What are they," you ask? "They're CRAYONS," I tell you! How fun is that! I took old kindergarten cast offs and chopped them up and stuck them in these IKEA ice cube molds:

I baked them for a while in the oven then froze them to speed the hardening process. I didn't use the classic colored crayons. I used the ones made for construction paper. That's why the color appears pastel. If I didn't know better I'd say the new product looks like erasers but I do know better.

This is one of my favs:

One downfall of the project is that the ice cube trays are ruined. I sprayed Pam on some of the molds and left the others free of spray before I filled them with crayon bits. None of the molds came clean. Oh well. Next time I want to try this ice cube tray that seems more practical for coloring usage:

I'm going to give you some links with legitimate directions to make your very own. I'll also update you when I make crayons again. I bet you can't wait to see the "regular" colored kinds, can you? Here are the links:

Recipes

Martha Stewart's recipe: HERE

Boutique NutMeg Designs: HERE

Make and Takes: HERE

Picture of really cool ones

Pinkpicketfence: HERE

To Do (Longterm List):

There are some important artists/concerts I need to see live before I die:

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Billy Joel

Neil Diamond

Nickel Creek

There are some important artists/concerts for which I'm going to have to die in order to see "live":

Michael Jackson

Louis Armstrong

Frank Sinatra

Gregory Hines

There are some important artists/concerts I hope I never see regardless of life status:

Air Supply

Michael Bolton

Kenny G

Dan Fogelberg

There are some authors I'd give an arm and a leg to as a few questions of/talk to:

Carson McCullers

Pearl S. Buck

John Steinbeck

There are some places I must live:

A few select locations back east

Nowhere cold or snowy

South America

There are some extended vacations I must take:

The Louvre and other scattered art museums (2 months)

Washington D.C. (1 month)

Peru/Machu Pichu (3 weeks)

Africa (1 month)

There are some graduate degrees I must obtain:

Children's Literature

Early American History

Physics

There are some languages to master:

Hebrew

Spanish

English

There's more stuff to say but it's 11:23 and I'm tired and my brain is shutting down. You know what? I'm going to head off to bed. But before I go, do you have anything you'd like to do? Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!

Graffiti and The Boogey Man

I went on an adventure to an abandoned warehouse over the weekend with a friend. All in all, it was a good thrill. It was a little creepy, especially when we scared a bird and it, in turn, alarmed us with its puny darting and fluttering. I wasn't really scared until we got to a stairwell. Then my heart started pounding. At the top, there was a man with a gun. Just kidding about the gunman part. It was dark and steep. To sum it up, I was too chicken to go up. In addition, there was a huge face that looked like a sly devil of a man. He flaunted his bold height from floor to ceiling. I'll admit I was creeped out about that too. The feelings that I experienced can best be described by earlier events from my childhood....

When I was little, and my family would go on vacation to visit my grandparent's house, it was inevitable that at one point during the stay I'd have to go down in the basement to get a can of something for my grandma. I was sure that there was some bad guy waiting in the basement pantry (for you Ericsons, the one directly facing the stairs 25 feet away, not the one at the end of it). He was there, covertly waiting to get me. In my mind I knew such thoughts of massacre were foolishness, but my knowing heart screamed RUNN!!! I knew that once I started bounding up the stairs, my chances for living were almost sure.

Every kid gets scared like that at one time or another right? I hope I'm not alone. The part of this story where I may be alone is that even when I was in junior high, the mad dash for my life was still happening. Sure, I might not have been sweating by the time I got to the top of the stairs, but I was still quick on the job. That's for sure.

So as I approached the stairs in the warehouse, a remembrance of these distant feelings emerged and I firmly refused to go up. As I walked past the spooky picture, I almost thought he'd turn his head and follow my every move. CREEPY!! I quickly moved forward for the rest of the tour.

In honor of my weekend experience, I'd like to share with you a little video. It's pretty long and I got bored after a while, but It's entertaining to watch for a minute or two. Yes, it is a movie of graffiti. Yes, the graffiti comes alive. Maybe I was a little justified in my fears of the evil graffiti-man on Friday night?

Here you go.

Recommendations for the Day

I'm going to give a little shout out for Bipolar Disorder to increase awareness in this world so ill-informed. For those ignorant and those informed, I highly recommend An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison. Click HERE. She is accomplished and considered an authority on the subject and well respected in the academic community. Jamison herself has Bipolar Disorder and as the title states, the book is a memoir of her experiences. This book is very appropriate for a casual, informative, entertaining read. I recommend it to many people often. By reading this book the reader will gain somewhat of an understanding of what the disorder truly is and is not. Read it!

The second book I'd like to recommend is also by the same author but is vastly different in style. During her time writing Touched with Fire, Jamison was a professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Touched with Fire includes researched genetic lines of many famous writers, artists, and composers with probable Cyclothymia, Major Depression, or Manic-Depressive Illness (Bipolar Disorder). She includes selections of writing and prose from her subjects of research. I enjoyed the deep connections I found, and to a certain degree, understood what the writers felt. It was a bit haunting to read with a perspective similar (in a way) to their own. I also found the genetics fascinating. I found a link for the book. Click HERE. It's a Google thing and you can read through a ton of it for free.

I hate websites that sport famous people (with no credible documentation), claiming the individuals have some extreme disorder. I hesitate to add such sensationalism to my own page, but as a general rule, stating big names grabs attention and I hope that this tactic might suck you, the hesitant reader, into further interest. The final deciding reason I let myself post the below names is that the research on the individuals is in depth and credible, not some sensationalized list from a subpar website. I left out the information included with the individuals' names (If a person was placed in an asylum or psychiatric hospital, committed suicide, or attempted suicide). You'll have to read the book to find out what happened to who. So without further ado, I give you some of the well-known names contained in the book:

Poets:

Robert Burns, Victor Hugo, T.S. Elliot, Randall Jerrell, Edgar Allan Poe, Ezra Pound, Theodore Roethke, Anne Sexton, Walt Whitman, and Alfred, Lord Tennison

Writers:

Hans Christian Anderson, James Barrie, Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kenneth Graham, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Leo Tolstoy, and Virginia Woolf

Composers:

Hector Berlioz, George Frideric Handel, Modest Mussorgsky, Sergey Rachmaninoff, Robert Schumann, Peter Tchaikovsky, and Irving Berlin

Artists:

Paul Gauguin, Hugo van der Goes, Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo Adolphe Monticelli, Edvard Munch, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Jackson Pollock

SO to sum it up, if you read one out of the two, read An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, the first suggested one. I give it 5 solid stars and two firm thumbs up. If you've heard the term or, heaven forbid, used the term "she/he is so bipolar", the speaker (hopefully not you) most likely had no idea what tripped out of his/her/hopefully not your mouth. As a forewarning, the book is a bit graphic at times, so if you don't want to read a PG-13, don't read it, but do. Cast off your ignorance! Read!

Scripture/Thought for the Day

As a counselor at a youth conference, I attended with the youth a musical performance. It was accompanied by a slideshow of The Reflections of Christ. As the music was performed, the pictures moved along in sync. I had seen the original Reflections of Christ works prior to the conference so the slideshow wasn’t anything new, but at one point during the performance I was struck by one of the images. The particular work depicted Christ standing above a kneeling blind man. I was instantly fixated on the grip that the blind man had on his Savior. This was not a grip of desperation, but a grip holding firmly with knowledge of whom it was he clung to and what it meant to hold on with firm faith. He knew who Jesus was, and not by physical sight either. Unexpectedly, tears formed on the rims of my eyelids. I knew that man. I knew that grip. I knew his need. I realize that art is subject to the viewer. As I saw in that representation a man who recognized the Savior and knew to cling to Him, not in desperation but in resolution with rock solid faith permeated by hope and desire, another viewer will experience alternate insights and feelings.

Sometimes life experiences occur that move, change, turn, deepen, lift, carry, sustain, and awaken our inside in ways that words fail to accurately express. Viewing that picture at that particular time stirred some of those deepened feelings. There was moving with in me, and I didn’t understand completely what I was feeling inside.

Time has a way of allowing us to process experiences and grow in understanding. Time pressed forward about a year and a half and I found myself taking my grandparents to visit the original Reflections of Christ exhibit that had again been put on display at the Mesa Art Center. The artist, Mark Mabry was present and handed out small picture cards of some of the selected works. Lo and behold, the blind-man-rock-solid-grip was one of them. On the back of the card, the scripture St. John 9: 2-3 was printed.

St. John 9:2-3

2. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

I was impressed to find this scripture on the back. My prior experience with the work was even more individualized and significant now as I considered some personal inspiration received…

Many times in recent past years I have felt utterly helpless, plagued by my physical conditions that have had nothing to do with my choosing. The Savior shared the reason for the blind man’s condition, “that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” During my early struggles with Bipolar Disorder, before I even knew that I had it or what was going on with my mind and body, I would plead in prayer with my Father to know if I had done something wrong. If I had, shat was it that I’d done? Was I still doing something wrong? What is/was it!!!? Through my process of pressing forward, I have learned the error of my thinking. Just like the blind man, I hadn’t committed any “sin” that would result with this disorder I possessed. Genetics, chromosome 16 specifically, is the genetic weak link I am physically made of.

As I continued to consider the phrase “that the works of God should be made manifest in him,” another insight struck me. I’d previously considered the “works made manifest” to mean that the blind man would receive his sight by the miracle of Jesus’ restoring his sight. Now, as I saw myself in that blind man, I could see that the implications were also applicable inwardly. The Savior did physically heal the man. It was miraculous; the people did manifest Christ’s works in that physical manner but the lasting, necessary, miraculous, and essential work of the Savior was not that He was to go about healing the sick. His work is a deeper concerning matters of the inner man.

Individually, that blind, non-name-mentioned man had some important lessons to learn in life, just as I do. I don’t think that those changing, turning, deepening, lifting, carrying, sustaining, and awakening experiences were solely accomplished by his miraculous healing. If his physical healing was and is the way that Jesus’ works were/are accomplished, there are precious few that may find themselves recipients of that physical work. Could it have been that “the works made manifest” were personal for that man. Yes his eyes were physically healed and works were performed in front of an inquisitive crowd, but was it that man’s physical blindness that allowed him to truly see the works of God in his life?

I realize that I don’t know this man’s background. This man very well could have just been some random recipient of priesthood power, but I walked away with the understanding that I am that blind man. I have had a plaguing, physical blindness in my life. That blind man as portrayed in the picture had seen works of God in his life. His sure grip and humble kneeling portrayed that. This was before he was even healed. Likewise, it has been during those difficult, plaguing times that I have come to know my Father in Heaven and Savior more deeply. During my blindness His works were made manifest in my life in oh-so-individualized and specific ways. While my physical condition isn’t completely healed (though it is well-cared for now) I have received healing in ways that I didn’t see that I needed. I received some sight (I definitely don’t see all, but some). I have Bipolar Disorder and as I’ve sought, I have seen the works of God made manifest in my life in miraculous, individual, personal ways.

So I leave the scripture with you again:

St. John 9:2-3

2. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Are you the blind man? Are the works of God made manifest in your life?

Here is a link for the Reflections of Christ Exhibit.

P.S. The blind man picture is number 10.