My paintings will be up the month of November at the Birdhouse. Because they don't have regular hours, I'll post their events here so you'll know when they're open. You can attend their events and see my work. Hooray!

They will be open this Saturday from 11-3 for the Mama's Market. I'm unable to go then, but it sounds like a good time.

They'll also be open next Monday night, November 14, for the Walk-In Theater where they are screening Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps at 7pm.






















In other news, I'm heading to Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee, this evening for the East Tennessee Preservation Conference. Don't be jealous.

The Birdhouse
800 N 4th Avenue
Knoxville 37917

I watched Before Sunrise and Before Sunset this past week. The first time I saw them was not too long ago, but I've watched them several times since then.

I 'm not going to review them, but I highly recommend them- especially if you've traveled any... or fallen in love with someone, specifically while overseas...

but who would do something like that?

***

This song is at the end of Before Sunset, and that is how I learned who Nina Simone was.

Timidity Enters the Maze
acrylic, varnish, and glitter on canvas
28" x 22"
2008

In honor of the fact that I just mailed this painting off to Denver, CO, I thought I'd write about it today. It was made in 2008, close to when I graduated from college.

The idea for this painting had been in the works for quite some time.

Over the years leading up to the it, I became obsessed with this night time scene on a journal that someone gave me years before (it's the second image when you follow the link.) I loved it, but art school pushed me to make a different type of artwork, so it wasn't until after college that I gave it a try.

I was listening to a lot of Smashing Pumpkins back then, too. The image on the journal and their music put me in a similar mood- melancholy, pensive.

The maze in the image also made me think of the scene in The Sound of Music, when Maria dances with the Captain out in the garden. It's long been one of my most favorite cinematic scenes, and it is most directly tied to the composition of the painting.

So in 2008, all of these things came together at a time when I was very worried about where my life was heading- career-wise, in my friendships, relationships, mentally, spiritually. So I made this painting as a reminder to move forward into the unknown, in spite of my timidity.

***

If you like this painting, I have prints of it, and they are for sale here. Let me know if you'd like another size, and I can make it happen. Don't be timid.

Yesterday, I watched the entirety of Sense and Sensibility on my lunch break. This is among the perils of being pseudo-self-employed- unforeseen, but welcome distractions. (It's ok, though. I worked late to make up for it.)



Anyway, I love Jane Austen movies (I can't say books since I haven't read any. Disappointing, I know.) That time period is so intriguing to me, how men and women conversed, all the expectations different people had, the importance of marrying well.

It's funny to admit, but I think watching Jane Austen movies has made me ponder over the virtue of patience more than anything else has. I always think about how long and drawn out everything had to be when there were only horses and messengers and letters. On top of that, how Austen portrays her characters, so reserved in their interactions with one another, how they wait so long to share their feelings with one another because of outsiders' opinions. The dialogue is so fascinating.

***

Today, we are able to communicate with people anywhere, at any time, with the touch of a few buttons, and though I don't necessarily wish to go back to letter writing, comparing the two makes me curious about certain things.

Like, do we take enough time to process our thoughts before we send them out there to someone else?  Could our ability to communicate quickly make us take friendships/ relationships for granted? Because of the nature of technology, are we more prone to expect, even demand, quick responses? Is it too easy to keep certain relationships going, ones that are not worth it?

If Elinor was able, would she have texted Edward to ask him what was going on? If she did, would he have responded?

***

There is something deeply romantic and genuine about how the relationships slowly unfold in Austen's stories. I think that is so much a part of their allure.

***

On a different note:

It's one thing to be patient because we distance ourselves from others and don't have any expectations of anyone. It's another to be patient with people while being fully engaged, fully committed, fully a friend to them. I am working on the latter.

This past Monday was Labor Day, and after a weekend full of friends and fun, my introverted self was content to lie on my couch all day with the windows open to let the sound of the rain come through. I watched Motorcycle Diaries for the second time. The first time I watched it several years ago, I don't think I was paying attention.

I have a few friends, mostly male, that claim it's their favorite movie. I think I agree with them now. I'm emotional to begin with, but put a beautiful movie that conveys a profound and good message in front of me, and it's over. I'll think about it for days, or forever.



It makes sense that films on social justice would move me, especially when they take place in other countries. My heart has always yearned to be a part of helping those that need it most. I've traveled quite a bit and seen poverty in various places. It's life-changing, and somehow, I always end up back on my couch.

I shouldn't feel bad for having the life that I have, but every now and then, when I imagine myself older, I'm with people whose skin is darker than mine (this is not a hard task considering I'm one shade darker than albino), there's dirt on my feet and under my nails, lush and green foliage around me, beautiful mountains off in the distance, water dripping off of leaves after a rainstorm. I'm thinner, happier. I can't explain it, but it's there and the vision won't go away.

The scene is similar to places I've been before- Belize, South Africa, Mexico, and I wonder if I'm supposed to go back there or somewhere new. Would I be gone for long? Months? Years?

***

It's always bothered me when people say they want to help people in other countries when they do little to help those in need in their current location. It's easy to think, if you were pulled from your environment, you'd be nicer, more giving than you are. I sometimes believe that lie, that somewhere, out in the future and far away, there is a version of me that I can live with everyday. Not this version that gets annoyed, infuriated rather, when people drive too slowly in front of me or when my photos won't load more quickly on Facebook, these being the least of my misgivings.

Whenever I hear Hurricane by Bob Dylan, I see Matthew McConaughey walking in slow motion through a billiard hall. I can't help it, and I'm not complaining.

I recently watched When Harry Met Sally, for the hundredth time. Since then I keep thinking about the Wagon Wheel Coffee Table Scene. The way Harry says "Ira!" in turn makes me think of the way George Banks says "Me!" in the Superfluous Buns scene in Father of the Bride.

Below are each of the clips for you to enjoy. I've also included, at the bottom, one of my favorite movie scenes ever as an added bonus.

Today I went to see a man about a barn.















Well, it's not technically a barn anymore. The tornado that plowed through Greenback, Tennessee a couple of weeks ago blew it down. My photojournalist friend Adam was out there taking photos, met the man who owns it, and told him he would tell me to contact him, which I did. 

It took the man about a week to call me back, but once he did, things moved quickly. Two days later, today, I went out to see him.

I posted on Facebook that I needed a friend to go with me on a salvage adventure, you know, so someone could protect me from rape and murder, JIC. Tracy decided to come along with me.

So this morning with Old City Java coffee (and their Lox bagel adorned with pesto cream cheese which is one of the best things I've ever eaten) in our bellies, we made the 45 minute drive to Greenback. After passing all of the over-development* that is Alcoa Highway and Maryville, the drive actually became very pretty. We passed farmland, barns, silos, and old farmhouses.

We finally arrived and there I met Bob. I introduced him to Tracy, and Bob said, "Tracy, I've seen you on TV." Cue Tracy's laugh.

Immediately following, Bob's cell phone started blowing up. Popular man. In the meantime I took some photos.





























Beauties lying in the sun















Where is the Metrognome? Why, he's in Greenback.

Bob asked if I was going to post the photos on Facebook to find a buyer, to which I replied, "You really know what's going on, Bob. Do you have a Facebook page?" to which he replied, "No, but all my friends do."

He is right. I will post them on Facebook and some other places. I don't know that much about barn wood, but I know that people are crazy for it and that I've been waiting for this moment for a while.

On the way back, I stopped to take some photos of the sites. I want to know what this yellow flowering plant is. Do you know?





























*The one good thing about the over-development. What a sign.
















When we passed by this van in a field, I said, "That reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite," to which Tracy replied, "How much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains?"

I'd be willing to bet you could, Tracy.