musings about art and the President

 I am an artist. I believe art is important to our lives. I believe you think art is important to your lives as well. The arts play many roles in our lives and encompass visual arts, music, theater, and writings. There are many reasons why the Arts exist in a society. Cultural significance, Intellectual and educational value, social and community significance, economical contributions, and to enrich the human experience. 

How does The Arts enrich the human experience? It is expression as communication. It communicates thoughts and ideas in ways that others can understand, for example of dreams of what the world might be, like, "Star Trek" or the horrors of a failed future, "The Handmaid's tale"   

It is for aesthetic enjoyment. We sing along, we watch movies, we read books, we decorate our homes, and we treasure handmade artisan items. We celebrate handmade Quilts and photographs of Yellowstone as well as the Murals in Philly. 

  It is also for social and Political commentary. So many protest songs, political cartoons, "El Guernica" by Picasso as well as standup comics and books such as "Demon Copperhead" all have something to say about an important subject that shows a variety of thoughts on politics or culture.  

 It preserves Historic and Cultural milestones. Everything from PowWows to "Hamilton" to every Ken Burn's movie preserves a historical or cultural milestone. 

  Finally, it is divine interpretation. Sometimes you'll hear a songwriter say that the tune just "came to them"? There's a kind of magic that occurs as an artist brings into being something that did not exist before. It's almost like divine whispers can be caught at just the right moment. The Sistine Chapel ceiling and Mozart.  

 I could go on about the subject for a very long time and I admit that I am biased and invested in the arts and I hope you are too, but I want to turn to my second thought for this writing. 

I want you to take a moment to think about all the ways The Arts are in your life. The books you read, the music you listen to, the pictures you have of your favorite places or people or things, the clothes you wear, the houses you live in, and the movies you watch, oh, and let's throw in the ability to eat any food made by any Chef in the world. 

 Then, I want you to dream for a moment. Imagine that you are a very wealthy person and very powerful as well. Imagine that you could, just by asking, have any living artist paint you a picture. Imagine you could listen to any singer, see any play. You could meet with any author and have a fabulous dinner made by your favorite chef. (expand on this thought according to your interests). 

 There is something very wrong with a person who has the money and power described to not enjoy music.  To not have paintings, unless it is of themselves. To not enjoy Movies unless they are in it or plays. Who would rather eat fast food and a buffet than the best of delicious foods? I am suspect of anyone who cannot enjoy reading, music, humor, good food, and that refuses to understand, on a deeper level, the human condition.  

Not only do they not appreciate it for themselves, but they take steps so you also can't enjoy these things. They don't think it's important, so you can't find it important either. A person like this shows no empathy. No sympathy. Does not see the value of the human condition or sacrifice. 

Babies enjoy most of these things. There are Tic Tocs full of dancing babies, singing toddlers, scribbling children. These are the things that bring Joy. This is what brings meaning to a life. We all may not enjoy the same books, music, plays and Movies, but the vast majority of us enjoy some version of it. What does it say about a person who does not? Cannot? Who can live a lifetime without the enjoyment of the Arts?

Quilt Market- salt lake city
The local company, Ackfeld Wire is going to market and they are using two of my quilts to show off their products at market. I am excited to be part of their display and I'm looking forward to making some more quilts so I can use their products.

Politics for a moment-
So many people have been circulating a statement around that goes somewhat like this: Obama didn't get Osama Bin Laden, the soldiers did. Ok, well, technically that's true. POTUS did not fire the weapon that killed Bin Laden, he just ordered the mission to be done. If we were to extend the same logic we could say that Bush did not send the military into Iraq and Afghanistan- the military just decided to go there and fight- because they just wanted to.
I'm all for supporting the military, don't get me wrong, but there are some people who are so adamant about bashing Obama as a President that they cannot give him credit for any action he takes whatsoever. They would rather believe that the military are acting on their own than accept he had anything to do with this. I call that just petty.
I am so tired of the birthers making an issue about his Birth certificate. He's a natural born citizen- born from his mother, who was a US citizen. Even if he was born overseas somewhere, the fact that his mother was a US citizen, makes him one. If Donald Trump wants to continue to make an issue about it, he should remember that several of his children have foreign born mothers (since he keeps trading his wives in for a later model)
I never thought we should have sent the military into Afghanistan but now that the "reason" is over, let the military action be over as well. Why should the US be fighting a war in a country that, ultimately, our enemy was not found? Someone needs to read a history book and get the heck out of there.
I know those who have family members who served , or are serving in the military in Afghanistan need to have pride in their soldiers and they need to have a reason for all the anxiety and hardship they have endured for this cause. I get it.

Lola got a haircut-
Lola is the first dog I've ever owned that needed to be groomed, so this is a learning curve for us. In some ways, we treat her as a pampered pooch- she cuddles next to us and we are having fun dressing her up. But, otherwise, we want her to be a dog, so that means a nice romp around the yard and neighborhood (on a leash). That means that she gets dirty. She doesn't mind the baths, but she's been pretty squirmy when it comes to trims, so we took her to the pros for a full on haircut. This is a 4 blade and maybe we might want a bit longer hair for the next time. I also asked to leave her top alone so we could pull it back, but they trimmed it instead and then put bows in her ears. Those lasted a couple hours before she lost one and Delaney removed the other. She was adorable while it lasted!

Waiting for Superman-

I finally saw the movie on DVD this evening and was very disappointed that they neglected to discuss rural schools completely. I don't know what to make of that. People are so fixated on inner-city problems they can't see beyond the city limits to see the thousands of poor rural kids with really no opportunities.
I do not mean to dismiss the challenges of inner city schools. I know that the schools in certain neighborhoods have a concentration of misery that rural schools do not have. But cities have benefits and opportunities that rural locations just do not have.
On trip to Chicago, we were able to visit the zoo and the Art institute without paying admission. Had we been there longer, we could have taken advantage of other "free days" from other museums and centers ( not to mention all the free concerts and cultural events held around the city and not even touching the free events at the universities.)
I don't understand why parents in the inner city do not take advantage of the educational opportunities around them, even if their schools do not. It's appalling to me that the city that has the most free educational opportunities have the worst education system and that no one seems to take it upon themselves to educate their own children, using the Smithsonian museums.
But no one seems to be talking about the rural situation. Yes, a rural school has children with a bit wider diversity of economic opportunities and perhaps parents with a wider diversity of expectations. But not that wide. The rural poor are stuck in the same economic cycle the inner city is. The rural poor deal with the same drug issues, and crime issues... most of the misery of childhood is not linked with location as much as economic situations and, in this way, there's no difference between rural poor and inner city poor.
Rural means that there is no museum around the corner, certainly no world class museum, no cultural opportunities, no free concerts and cultural events, nothing but nature and somehow, people think that's ok.
Rural schools are struggling to provide and education with very little money, and second hand exposure to the world at large. If a rural school is failing, there's no alternatives, no choice to get a better education somewhere else. If the school my kids attend was failing, I have no other school to send them to, public or private. It doesn't exist here. One school system in the entire area and this is not unusual in rural areas. Where's our choice?

Maura in her Prom dress 2011

Maura and Zach Pietz at our home before Prom

Maura and Zach at the Branson Landing Fountains

Maura and Zach- they look like they are enjoying each other

Prom 2011- Tonight is the night and they were very excited. They spent time getting photos taken at our house, then Zach's Dad's then went to the hospital where his Mom was working and took pictures there before meeting me at the Landing for more photos.
So, once again, the statistics: Maura spent about 100 hours making the dress. It took almost 4,000 pop-tabs and she got donations from 12 different states. We did make the flowers from pop-tabs as well. Zach declined to wear the tie, thinking it was just too much glitz.
Don't they look great together?
When I left them, they were meeting up with another couple and were planning to have dinner before heading to the Hilton for the prom. I hope they have a great time!

Prom dress 2011 made from poptabs

Finishing the finally touches on the dress

Prom Dress-2011

The big day is Saturday, April 16, 2011 and the project is in it's final stretch. We are working on the accessories now. For those who are following the saga, here's the statistics:
It took around 100 hours to weave the ribbon through the pop-tabs and a week to sew the dress. There are almost 4,000 tabs in the dress and almost 100 yards of ribbon.
People generously donated to the project. So many people were so captured by this dress, they were excited to contribute in any way. We had donations from 12 states. Some donated small baggies of pop-tabs and some donated huge bags of them. We received many more than we could actually use in the dress but, conveniently, Maura's school is collecting them for Charity, so they all will be put to a good cause.
Maura's date is very excited about her project. He's an artist and is currently doing a piece about trash and found objects- so this is in his wheelhouse. Obviously, we'll be taking more pictures on the day of prom, but I felt I needed to celebrate the completed dress.
Thanks to everyone who donated pop-tabs and gave your enthusiastic support.

Lola - day 3 with us (above)
Lola and Delaney in Wolves attire (below)

Lola-
I don't know how this really came about. Honest. We had tried having a dog (after our long time buddy, Babe, passed away) and Rufus just didn't work out. He was a beagle mix and chewed everything all the time. In the end, we decided he was not a good fit for our family and found him another good home. We thought we just should stick with the cats and fish and pass on having another dog. A friend of Delaney's needed to give away her Yorkie and we seriously started thinking about having a dog again. Before we decided, they had found a home for it.
But then, Delaney and I went to the animal shelter thrift shop one day. I saw on their board a Bichon and I thought it might be possible to find a better dog for us at the shelter and took a quick drive out there.
They didn't have the Bichon, but they did have some new puppies that had just come in. We looked at them, came home, talked to Steve about them and then went out the next day to see them again. We were told all of them were boys. We chose the cream colored one. I picked him up on Friday and he was such a sweetie! He loved being held and cuddled and, as I was rubbing his belly I made the discovery that he was a she! By the time I discovered that, the shelter was closed for the day and, really, I didn't mind it was a girl, in fact, I preferred it. But I was concered about the paperwork being accurate. Delaney was concerned about finding a new name since Zeus wouldn't fit. It really didn't take long for her to pick Lola and it seems to fit her.
Lola is very needy- she has to be near you at all times. She's coming along with potty training and getting used to leash walking. We discovered that she doesn't seem to mind being dressed up and so I decided I should make her a t-shirt to support Delaney during track season. So, she has her own Wolves t-shirt in the right colors. It was easy to put together, so we might end up with a whole wardrobe of outfits for this little girl.