Oscar Night

The 82nd Academy Awards will be broadcast tonight, will you be watching?

I will probably watch the opening as I love Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin and I expect they will be very entertaining together (they certainly were in the Meryl Streep movie, "It's Complicated", which isn't nominated for anything tonight).

But after that, I might tune out as I haven't seen very many of the nominated films. Oops, I was just reviewing the list of nominees and realizing I have barely seen any of the films on the list, only Star Trek (nominated for Visual Effects, Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing) and Up (Music, Animated Feature Film, Writing (Original Screenplay) and, somewhat surprisingly to me, as cute and good as it was, Best Picture. Why do they need 10 choices for Best Picture anyway, what's that all about?).

Which makes me wonder, what exactly have I been doing with my time??

http://www.oscars.org/index.html

A Saturday Stroll

It's not quite spring out there today but it's a sunny 8 degrees C so we'll take it!

I took myself off to the scrapbooking store this morning as they were having a second hand stamp sale today. Major bargains to be had! I picked up several issues of Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Somerset Studio for 50 cents or a dollar each (which represents a total score, as they normally retail for $10-$16 each), a book about making mosaics and one on collaging ($1 and $4 each, another score), some used stipple brushes and a few stamps, including a collection of calligraphy alphabet letters and words.

Then I went for a bit of a stroll and here's what I saw:

1. people sitting outside reading the paper (although why the bench beside the garbage boxes was their location of choice is beyond me); 2. pretty fake daisies in buckets; 3. an empty coffee cup and an abandoned shirt. Since it wasn't even go without your coat weather (although I did see one crazy guy in shirt sleeves and a misguided teenage girl in short shorts whose mother probably didn't see her leave the house this morning), I'm not sure how to explain the mystery of the shirt that was left behind; 4. collections of spring flowers outside little market stores, begging to be taken home; 5. death of a snowman 6. vintage wheels out on tour (complete with fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror, I kid you not!); 7. a very cool carved totem pole surrounding a red door at the library; 8. the most colourful collection of trucks and storage containers I have ever seen; and 9. Max showing my new magazines who is boss.

Many thanks to Mary Ann Moss for pointing me to the Big Huge Labs website to make this mosaic (http://bighugelabs.com/) after I admired the lovely mosaic on her blog earlier this week: http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/2010/03/hello-monday.html.

Coca-Cola Art

I was excited to find this link to these Coca-Cola ads on someone's blog today (sadly, I can't remember exactly who pointed me here so this thank you is less specific than it should be).

http://http//www.beautifullife.info/advertisment/history-of-coca-cola-in-ads/

Oh sure, the polar bears are cute but I've always loved the vintage Coke artwork, there is just something about the it that appeals to me. My favourite of this grouping is the "Thirst knows no season" version - I love the way they have done the different pictures in the window to show the tree in different seasons.

I am amused by the text of some of the ones from the early 20th century. On this one from 1909, the heading is "From the Realm of Fancy to Reality" and the consumer is advised that Coke "relieves the fatigue that comes from over-play, over-work and over-thinking." Wow, sounds like they could use a few bottles on Survivor to help them outwit, outplay and outlast the competition!

Then there's this one from 1910 that states the drink will "relieve your fatigue, cool you off comfortably, calm your jangled nerves and quench the thirst." Believe it or not, this was their claim even after they stopped using cocaine in the formula, which happened in 1904, according to this article in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-cola.

The one that perplexes me the most is this one called, "The Housewife" from 1918. Somehow, I just can't imagine any normal housewife looking like that. Perhaps if she was starring in an MGM musical. And why does the dog want the drink? Since when do dogs drink Coke?? It's a mystery.

Speaking of vintage, here's the first Coke ad I remember:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOEU87SBTU

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling a bit thirsty all of a sudden...

A New Day

I'm feeling much better today. It's true that things do look brighter after a good night's sleep and the comfort of a good friend (thank you, ladies, for your comments and support). It also makes a huge difference to get things off your chest, to say it out loud. When you do, it's as if whatever was bothering you was a blockage of some sort, keeping you from moving forward and from seeing things clearly. Once you speak it, it loses its power and suddenly, you're free from that impediment. It's as if the tree that had fallen across the path has been lifted away and the path is clear. Things start moving again. I feel incredibly creative today. I came right home from work and had to sit down and put an art journal page together before I could do anything else. Then I worked on my Bag of Bead project, brought that a little closer to completion. It's a new day.

The art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.

(Henry Ellis)

Life's Ups and Downs

I'm having one of those days. Actually, a series of days over the past couple of weeks that, to me, seem to resemble this piece of quilting that is on display at the Royal Ontario Museum:

Apparently, this is what is known in quilting circles as a Baby Block design and it is described as being "sewn in silks pieced from dress and ribbon fabrics. Dark velvet is uniformly used for one face of the tumbling block pattern, creating a powerful optical depth. Such patchwork quilts offer interesting records of the textiles of the period - in this case the type of dress fabrics worn in a small Ontario town in the middle of the 19th century. It was probably part of the trousseau of Laura Abigail Fuller, who married Justice Thomas Moore Benson of Port Hope in 1874."

It's the block pattern that really resonates with me right now. It seems as if things are happening in my life that are one step forward, one step back, one step up, another step down. Kind of like that "push me, pull you" of Dr. Dolittle's. Learning of an unexpected windfall, only to have to spend an equal or greater amount of money on an unforeseen circumstance. Looking forward to an upcoming trip, only to hear that a friend won't be able to come after all and missing her presence already. Being happy that a friend has found someone to share his life with but wondering if it will ever happen for me. Missing a former love so much sometimes I can almost feel the scar in my heart tearing open again and yet knowing that what I really miss is the ideal of that relationship, not the reality. Wanting to move forward into the future and being afraid to let go of the past. Knowing I have absolutely everything I need for today and yet worrying it won't be enough for tomorrow. Feeling an overwhelming urge to create something and yet being afraid to make anything.

I don't usually blog about things this close to my heart but I have to thank Stephanie Lee (http://stephanielee.typepad.com/stephanie_lee_studios/) for her oh-so-honest post today on this very topic that inspired me to put these words out there. Sometimes, you just need to say something out loud for others to hear to make it feel a little better. As Stephanie says, sometimes you just need to get it out of your system. Not every day is like this for me, thankfully most days aren't. But some days are and sometimes you just have to let yourself live in the shadow for a little while before it's time to move back into the sunlight.

A Beaded Basket

I've been busy working on my Bag of Beads project for the Toronto Bead Society as the big reveal approaches on March 10th. Now that the Olympics are over, it's not as easy to sit in front of the TV for several hours but with the deadline approaching fast, I am motivated to finish.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share these photos of an amazing beaded basket they have on display at the Royal Ontario Museum. It was made in England in - are you ready for this? - 1656!! I've made the photos a little larger in the hope that you can see the detail, as this truly is a work of art.

I have to quote the description for you, as it is quite fascinating: "New coloured glass beads from Venice and Amsterdam were highly prized in the 17th century and gave status to the elite. The beads are composed to imitate a silver basket form that held a baby's linen at the christening. Scholars believe that these beaded baskets were made by professionals or sold as kits.



This lavish ceremonial beaded basket commemorates the successful union of a couple marked by the birth of their child. The inscription around the base reads WHERE VERTUE* IS THE CAUSE OF LOVE NOTHING BUT DEATH CAN IT REMOVE. ANNE ROUNDELL ANNO 1656. The husband and wife, in fashionable dress, are depicted diagonally opposite each other. They are surrounded by luscious fruits and flowers that carry secular and religious meanings."



This bottom picture shows the detail of the husband and wife sections and the border which wraps around the bottom of the basket, which I love. It's hard to see clearly but in the top photo, the section with the wife is in the top right hand corner of the basket.



Incredible, isn't it? (and no, what I'm making for the Bag of Beads project won't hold a candle to this!!)

*note that this is not a typo on my part, it is how the word "virtue" is spelled on the basket.

Oh, Canada!

What a weekend it was for us Canadians! It was a tremendous finale to a glorious two weeks of competition and achievement at the 2010 Olympics. A record breaking collection of gold medals, a nail biting finish to the hockey game, a fabulous Closing Ceremonies filled with humour, music, giant beavers and floating moose - who could ask for anything more? Not to mention a display of homegrown talent such as Alannis, Avril, Michael B. and Michael J., Neil, Catherine and of course, Bill Shatner. Luckily, he didn't sing but he did speak of his beloved homeland Canada as the final frontier. Too funny. But the piece de resistance was the opening sequence, with the mime raising up that final arm of the cauldron, the one that malfunctioned two weeks ago in the Opening Ceremonies. Hilarious.

I was so excited and proud, I decided I would wear red and white to work today and that I needed a necklace to go with it. So while I was watching the festivities, I put this concoction together with some ceramic beads I had made last year at the Bead and Button show and some red and white rings I had been meaning to do something with.

It has been a wonderful two weeks. I could not have been prouder to be a Canadian during this time and I know that feeling is shared by many of my fellow citizens today. Not just because we won the big hockey game (although for some, that's the only thing that really matters), but because it was a chance to see our country shine in a way that we don't often experience. To come in third in total number of medals, to break the record for total number of gold medals earned in the winter Games, to have our female athletes earn more than half of the total medals - we're not really used to achieving this sort of accolade on the world stage.

The theme of the Games was "with glowing hearts" and we certainly felt that glow from coast to coast the entire time and never stronger than yesterday. The CN Tower here in Toronto was lit up with gold light last night and it was a fitting image. People partied in the streets here in Toronto, exchanging hugs and high fives and honking horns, most of them wearing Team Canada jerseys and red mittens. Hard to believe the real festivities were taking place over 2,000 miles/3,500 km away. Because we all felt a part of it, a part of a community, bound together by our pride and sense of accomplishment. It's a good feeling.