Let's Celebrate Together!

I had no idea that today is World Party Day. And Punchbowl -- the folks who host my blog widget -- have this to say about it:

"Today is World Party Day! World Party Day (or P-Day) is a synchronized global celebration that seeks to make the world a better place. The motto for this holiday is “Party is the opposite of War.” The idea behind it is that we can only create a better reality by taking positive action and celebrating life (instead of passively promoting peace).

"The first World Party Day (known as World Party I) took place on April 3, 1996. The novel Flight by Vanna Bonta inspired the event. The story ends with a countdown to a mass celebration where all of humanity is united. Readers took the idea and organized a real worldwide party!"

Cool. Who knew that World Party Day was a real thing? Not me....

And since I'm unfamiliar with Vanna Bonta's novel I think I'll have to give it some attention too. (Have you read it? And what did you think?)

Have fun today!

...delayne.
...

This Isn't the Post You're Looking For

This is me, Hulking Out.

Something is happening in my world right now that is catching fire a little and I'm not prepared for it. As a result, you may have followed a link to this blog hoping to read a post about tattoos. Please know that there IS one, but this isn't exactly it at the moment. 

Bottom line: I've been trying to make sense of a topic that explodes my head every time I think on it (if you're an artist, too, you might know what I mean....). And the more I let my thoughts vomit out and collect, the more I realize that sifting through the mess to make them coherent is gonna take some serious time....

What started my latest little meltdown was this: I shared a sketch online recently and received some positive comments, one of them being along the lines of, "This would make a great tattoo! Would you mind?" And I kind of fell apart inside....

It's not the first time I've been told that about a design of mine (it seriously happens almost daily). And it wasn't the request itself that put me into a tailspin (someone actually ASKED; how rare is that??). It's the sudden tsunami of feelings -- mostly negative -- that crash down on me now whenever I hear or read or write the word.

I get that the fad of tattooing has exploded spectacularly and that we can expect the fall-out to continue for eons; it's not going away or dying down anytime soon, probably not even in my lifetime. But I don't want my work to be dragged into it (oops -- too late!*), at least not until I can wrap my head around the idea. It just gives me the heebie-jeebies. Still not 100% sure why, exactly, which is why I'm exploring my thoughts from all sides.

The first thing I think to do when forced to face the equation of 'my work + tattoos' is to quit drawing completely and start sculpting instead. (Anyone who knows me knows that this is impossible.) Then I start thinking of erasing myself, my blog, my Facebook pages, my website -- everything -- from the Internet. (Turns out, that really IS impossible....) And then I think, "Dang it, I'll tear up my Fest contract just so I won't Hulk Out inside and get an ulcer everytime someone says the 'T' word to my face." THAT one seems almost do-able.

My rant for the moment, though, is how I manage to get sucked into it anyway, sometimes even without my knowledge or permission. And I tell you what: there's nothing like being completely surprised by the reveal of one of your designs inked permanently on someone's body. It'll do a number on your day, that's for sure. And guess what? You are partly responsible, so get used to it; better quickly figure out a way to give it a positive spin or you'll get to THIS point.

(*Deep cleansing breaths....*)

I said this wasn't the post. My real post is far bigger. Only right now it's so all-over-the-map that it'll take me some time to hone it and edit it and make it even vaguely almost marginally understandable.

But if THIS post gets you thinking at all or gets you interested in further thoughts or possibly a dialogue, stay tuned, 'k? Because there's more where this came from.

And -- I may even have hit upon a solution. And for that I can't be more grateful for the kindness of fans. (Thank YOU -- y'all know who you are -- for helping me see all facets of this issue.)

~delayne.

... 

*P.S.: There are tattoos of my work out there that were inked with my complete permission. As much as I still can't figure out why you'd want to mark yourselves with my work (you need no embellishments, sweeties; you're beautiful just as you are), I'm honored by the requests and still very much appreciate the monetary compensation. I wish all my tattoo-obsessed fans were like you.

Happy Pencil Day

Expecto Patronum!

In my sunny Minnesota neighborhood today all things were clothed in spring. Cars cruised by with their windows open and sub-woofers thumping. Motorcycles brapped their tailpipes in the distance, accelerating up on-ramps like frisky colts stretching their legs. Joggers jogged and bicyclists biked. And I walked and walked, inhaling the season and discovering treasure: I live within spitting distance of a handful of schools, and where there are schools there are pencils.

Last night's thunderstorm and today's warmish temps caused the remaining winter snow to recede remarkably, and my eye spied a whole handful of pencils on my walk. Some were broken, some were just stubs... but I knew that inside them all were things just begging to come out. Things that I was curious to discover.

So home with me they went.

When I took off my jacket and quickly checked emails, I learned that today is Pencil Day. Who knew?? And Punchbowl, the folks who provide my Blog Widget, had this to say about it:

On this day in 1858, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the first-ever patent for a modern pencil with an eraser attached to it. Hymen Lipman created the wooden pencil and received high praise for how easy it was to use for writing and drawing.

Did you know that a single wooden pencil can write 45,000 words or draw a line that is 35 miles long? A pencil can also write under water, upside down, or in zero gravity. Manufacturers painted the first pencils yellow because the color was associated with royalty and honor. People quickly began assuming that yellow pencils were the best type!

To celebrate Pencil Day, set aside your laptop and use a pencil and paper to write today!

OK!

But I didn't write with my pencil. I drew instead.

And as I drew I thought of the character of Harry Potter. I thought of Harry's personal 'Patronus' -- his protective spirit guardian -- and how it manifested as a glowing, ghostly stag from the tip of his wand when he pointed it and said the magick words. And I wondered what sort of wizard would have a pencil as a magick wand and what manner of Patronus would come from it.

And then I thought to myself, "Anyone with a pencil for a magick wand would have a Patronus limited only by the boundaries of their imagination."

And then I thought, "...Cool."
...

Thoughts of the Season

 

The older I get, the simpler things are. The simpler I am.

My stiff roots and branches are softening and pulling within like the juicy fronds of a reef creature, returning me again to the size of a seed. I can feel them retracting. Everything I am is no longer so dramatic or driven or complicated....

I'm liking this time in my life.

And as the season builds, I tuck in tighter. I brace myself. My religious friends push their agendas now; my non-religious friends defend theirs. Mother Earth quietly goes about Her business with or without me. I observe it all. It's so epic that I just let it wash over me. It's all I can do.... That, and hope that my foundation -- the one I've cobbled together for myself over the years from stuff I learned that either sang to me or killed me a little -- holds fast. It will. New thoughts and beliefs blown in on the tidal wave cling to it like barnacles, as always. That's ok; I love the seed shell I've created, all tumbled smoothe by time and tide into the simplest of forms made unbelievably fancy and strong by the sum of its parts.

Now is the time I seem to think deeply on things until my head hurts, then tuck them away in the little pickle jar of my heart to ferment. There's all sorts of stuff in that jar! It's created its own light, its own heat, there's so much going on in there. So much that the seed I'm shrinking into sometimes feels like a hot little pinhole, a cell-sized star nearing the bang of its birth; so much that I expect that what looks like simplification is about to become wildly complicated again.

Waves. Patterns. Circles. Spirals. Simple made complicated made simple again. Birth, life, death, rebirth. Wash, rinse, repeat. Wow.

(*Insert sound of head exploding a little.*)

Huh. Where did that come from, I wonder? Certainly not from Simple Girl here.... I must walk away from all this and go pick up a pencil!

And to YOU I say may the spirit of the season get inside your heart and crack it wide open. And may what emerges blind you with its holy radiance.

Have a blessed Easter, my friend.
...

Widget Sez

My blog widget -- that cool Let's Party! thingy courtesy of the folks at Punchbowl (scroll down, it's in the right-hand margin) -- tells us that today is "Make Up Your Own Holiday Day." It says:

If you’ve been following our daily Reasons to Celebrate, then you know how many interesting and unique holidays there are in the world. Today is your chance to make one up!

Establishing an official national holiday is not an easy process. For example, in the 1800s Sarah Josepha Hale decided that our nation should observe a national day of thanks. She wrote countless letters to politicians, governors, and even the president. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln agreed to Hale’s proposal, but Thanksgiving did not become an official national holiday until 1941!

To celebrate Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, come up with a creative, meaningful, or quirky idea for a holiday. Invite friends and family over tonight for its first annual celebration!

So in honor of today's blogsketch, I've decided to dub March 26th "Take a Snail to the Theatre Day." And this guy is all set to go. What should we see? Any suggestions? ("The Saltshaker Cometh?")

I think I'll buy him a beer afterward, too. I just won't let him drown in it. :)
...

Fairypost

Yep.

I couldn't say it better if I tried.

Thank you, Vincent. Your 'Starry Night' gets me every time....

love,
...delayne.






(And to YOU I ask: how would you fill in this quote? "I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as _____.")

Remember Me?

Chili peppers sometimes like the color pink and wear slippers. :)

I've yet to share a post in this crazy month of March and it's nearly over.

How can that be, I wonder?

Well, truthfully?, I think I understand. There've been bills to pay, movies to catch up on, appointments to keep, visits to make. I've been to California and back again, I've written letters and postcards, I've taken a bajillion photos....

There were planes and trains and automobiles in my March. Backpacks and strollers and car seats.

There were crowds of people poking pins in my Comfort Zone, and legions of thoughts filling up the rooms in my head.

I saw cherry trees in blossom, daffodils nodding along the roadside, snow on the mountains. I walked trails. I appreciated pines so tall and air so fresh and beer so exquisite that I thought I was on another planet. I collected leaves, acorns, pennies, maple keys. I studied millipedes and treebark and bear tracks and banana slugs....

And I loved on a grandbug so small and feisty that I'm thinking of calling her my little chili pepper. Seriously -- so dang small I could tuck her in my carry-on for the return trip home again! And believe me, it was tempting....

She dubbed me 'yaya,' can you believe it? (Finally -- an honest-to-goodness gramma name.) And I drew pictures of her and sent them to my Minnesota 'bugs. And ever since I've been dealing with the sad goodbyes and the difficult withdrawals and the Dark Looming of the Rabbit Hole....

After all the activity (granted, I didn't run any marathons, but my month's still been excessive by my standards) I was visited by a crazy Fibro flare-up that's had me up to my neck in hot soothing baths, soft clothes, and Aleve. And I've been taking quiet care of myself, care that involves stepping back from all forms of communication while I try to reunite my two halves and multiple personalities.

And now today I'm feeling almost sort of vaguely like myself again, if you can believe it. So I thought I'd drop a line to you just to let you know that I'm still here. And you're in my thoughts. And that if this is the only message I manage to send in this crazy month of March, I apologize. And I hope you can understand.

Deal?

Sweet.... :)

Happy Vernal Equinox, my friend. I've missed you. (*Hug*)

~delayne.
...