Blue Moon Atelier Journal

Got back from Hoggfest a couple of hours ago. Grahams and I went around 11-ish to help set up for the silent auction, which was still in progress when we left. There's been a nice steady stream of folks, and I met some of the locals I've know by blog, but not in person. David Hoggard's a really sweet guy (and a fantastic hugger). Jinni was there, looking really well, I was pleased to see. She's really an inspiration. Barbara Hall, who interrupted her holiday to help out at the fundraiser was a jewel - great at organizing the acquisition of needed tables and sorting through the last-minute donations for the auction. I also met a really neat lady, Anne Slaughter, who kept me company off and on whilst I manned the auction tables. Roch Smith, Jr. was another online acquaintance I was glad to meet in person. I also briefly met Billy Jones and promised to drag my sorry arse to a Meetup one of these months, and I got to meet Jay Ovittore as well! Ed Cone marked my hand in the feed-line - a brush with blogging greatness if ever there was one! I also met Patrick Eakes, and a nice gentleman named Rick who was acting as Assistant Cook (or, assistant to the cook - "The Office" reference there...). I think I recognized Stewart Pittman, and David Wharton, but didn't actually get to officially meet them. YES! Weekly's Brian Clarey was there with his lovely family.

I hope the silent auction is picking up...it was just starting to bubble along a bit when I left at four, but there were a lot of terrific items for bid, so there's no reason why folks shouldn't be bidding - it's for a good cause afterall! Last I looked, the Hoggard's son, Jesse, was winning the bidding on the Limited Edition (one of 200 made worldwide) Jaegermiester (which I've probably spelt wrong) Skateboard. Rumour is he won some sort of prize during the Kentucky Derby and now has some expendable income. :)

I should have bought a raffle ticket, really - there's a Stratocaster in the offing...although what I'd do with it is a mystery as I don't play. Still, what a nice piece of schwag that would be!

Update: I got a sunburn, too! (but, not too bad)

Yes! Weekly

I finally finished my Iris painting for the HoggFest fundraiser, after being out of commission last week (when I'd originally hoped to finish it). Here 'tis:

I also managed to get all of the originals matted and framed. Shout outs to James McPartlin and Victoria Griffin for sending along some originals and prints and to April VanSickle and Ellen Million (in advance) for artly goods for the fundraiser. Here are shots of the framed art:

I'm off now - getting sleepy and there's something in my eye!! Probably just an eyelash, given how annoying it is....

The Big Link, parte the eleventh:

http://funkyloonalivingoutloud.blogspot.com/

I've been out of commission for the past 5 days. Monday, at lunch, I was bending over to place a glass of orange juice on the coffee table - bending at the hips, no less, not the back - when it happened. Lower back went into spasm. I finally was able to get out of bed today long enough to venture out to the chiropractor, who told me to come back Monday. "You remember what happened last time?" he said, which translated into "I'm not touching you with a 10 foot pole til the spasms are long gone." "Last time", he adjusted me because my back went out and that's when you're supposed to go see your friendly neighbourhood chiropractor (except for regular maintainence adjustments) - the trouble is, my back went into the worst spasms I'd ever experienced. I was stuck, lying in an out-of-the-way room in the office, in excruciating pain from about 8 in the morning to nearly 1 in the afternoon. As a last resort, we called my family doctor (who, at the time, was practicing in an office about 2 blocks away) who came to the rescue with a dose of valium and a muscle relaxer. They loaded me onto an office chair with wheels (still in pain, but loopy from the valium), pushed me out to the car, folded me into the passenger seat, and the chiropractor followed us home. Then, he and Grahams collected the chair (on wheels) from my studio, rolled it out to the car, loaded me into it, wheeled me into the bedroom and tipped me out onto the bed, where I stayed for the next 9 days.

This time, it was the same issue, but I think my many months of healthier eating and frequent visits to the gym have made things a little easier to deal with. Yes, I've been in bed for the past 4 1/2 days, but not in as excruciating pain as before. So, if you've been missing me, here I am. I'll be going back to bed in a bit - I've been ordered to rest my back over the weekend in the hopes that all spasms and inflamation will have gone by Monday, so the chiropractor doesn't have a panic attack when I come through the door!

The Big Link, parte the tenth:

http://jovittore.blogspot.com/

The Big Link, parte the ninth:

http://www.greensboroistalking.com/

An email I forwarded to 3 friends, at the request of Mr Lenny Henry:

As you know...I don't send a lot of these sorts of things around. Only when I think it really counts. I'm sending you this because we're friends. One of the things that makes us friends, I believe, is a commonality of ideas. I think we want world peace, and an end to suffering. I also think we feel a bit helpless at times, because it's just such a huge undertaking, and we are, after all, just one voice. But, it's the cumulative effect of us "just one" voices that can help to make an impact on the people with the means to actually do something. President Bush, Tony Blair, and the leaders of the most powerful nations in the world CAN do something, if only they will. Well, they have to know that we, those who put them in power (and maybe those who voted for the other guy, but respect the current incumbent's leadership) want them to do something. This is an easy way to tell them, and it doesn't require any of your money - just a few minutes of your time and a willingness to send a message. You can donate or buy a white wristband if you care to (I did), but it's not necessary. The main point is to be able to show those in power that we are watching. We know they can do something, and we want them to know that we won't forget that they have previously pledged to help. So, do me a favour and pop over to the website and just add your one voice to all the others. WE can make a difference.

I wanted to post it here, too. The URL is www.makepovertyhistory.org (if your javascript's enabled, you should see a link across the top left corner of this page, as well). There's a link there to the international affiliate sites, but the US site is www.one.org. Here's the email from Lenny:

I'm such a slacker when it comes to journaling. So, just so you know I'm alive and well, I'm posting this - about how much of a slacker I am.

Actually, there's not a lot going on at the moment, and nothing much worth reporting.

So there.

;)

The Big Link, Parte the Eighth:

http://inkslinger336.blogspot.com/

Well, I haven't ruined it yet! Here's an updated progress shot of the watercolour I'm doing for the Jinni Hoggard fundraiser:

The border's not really that uneven - that's from the camera distortion, and the angle of the camera vs. position of the painting and all that technical mumbo-jumbo.

Also, as promised in a previous post, here are some photos of the Irises upon which the painting is based, from my front garden:

The Iris Border:

Pink Cloud:

Hot Cocoa:

And whilst I'm in a photo-posting mood, here are a few more random shots (most from the garden):
The first rose of spring:
Unopened:

Opened: