Social Networking

While looking up the site Zude for a project, I found this artist that I really admire. His name was Zude and he was a Chinese artist active in the 16th or early 17th century. I wonder if there is a connection to the name or a coincidence? A lot of the social networking sites look to the past for inspiration for community. Has our society turned the corner on relationships? As we grow closer online do we grow further apart physically? What does it mean to have a site like Twitter become so popular? Does anyone in my network need to know that I am on a conference call? finishing wire frames? eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Is IM enough? IM at least gives one the feeling that they are not alone because people on their list sign in and make their presence felt from afar in digital space.

Here is information about the picture shown:

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk; 61 3/4 x 37 7/8 in. (156.8 x 96.2 cm)
This image of an elegant elderly lady shows how the Chinese portrait painter conveyed a sense of status through the figure's accouterments. The lady's wealth is suggested by her jewelry—gold and pearl earrings and an ornate headdress fashioned out of gold and kingfisher feathers—and the sumptuous blue brocade cloth draped over the back of her chair. Her family status is further underscored by the official belt inset with elaborately worked plaques and a large rank badge with Manchurian cranes—the insignia of a civil official of the highest rank. Since women were not eligible to hold government office, these marks of rank were probably inherited from her father.

Grace, Eventually

I am currently reading essays by Anne Lamott (Grace, Eventually). I came across a story of her and her struggles with addiction. Alcoholism and Bulimia. I guess I capitalized those words because of the power they hold over people. I am very involved with how Food has a hold over me. So below are some pieces of her essay as this is her territory, not mine:


"Until a few weeks ago I had been scootching along pretty well for a while in size-ten pants having lost a little weight, feeling I'd nailed the food and weight and body image business when all of a sudden my foot met air, and I was unmoored. Within minutes, I was on the edge of full on food binge, assault eating. I couldn't even remotely find my way back to the path that I'd relied on in the past fifteen years, the path of feeding myself when I am really hungry, trusting my own appetite and staying at the same weight without too much painful obsession. I was starving, and nuts. I prayed for God to help me find my way out, and what I heard was, "call a friend." But something edgier was speaking more loudly, and I pricked up my ears at the sound, even though an old man at a church once told me never to give the devil a ride. Because if he likes the ride, pretty soon he'll want to drive. It felt as if someone determined and famished had taken the wheel. ...I was so lost. I couldn't follow the bread crumbs back to the path of mental health, because I'd eaten them all. ..."

I have been on a "diet" with the assistance of pills for a little over one week. They are helping suppress the sugary crazy void-inspiring cravings. I have even returned two handbags that I recently bought (those that know me will understand this is huge). I am not sure that I will ever come to terms with my body image. I fear that it may not happen. But the alternative is would be to spiral so far down the path of disassociation of who I am that I may never come up for air. I have not had cravings like I did before the (sugar?) pills but there are times that I am so frustrated at having to be so in control and so ReSPonsiBLE for my food intake that I want to scream into the void.

Who knows? The positive? I have begun to make art again. There is always going to be a void and I have to choose its filling. Sometimes I may want it to be filled with cheesecake but for now it is watercolors.

-b

Redneck Stonehenge

Gotta love this story from Associate Press



HOOPER, Utah - A farmer has erected a fence in his backyard made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his farm. "This is just a fun way for me to say, 'Hey boys, I'm still here,'" said Rhett Davis. "This is my redneck Stonehenge."

Davis came up with the idea after neighbors who recently moved into homes next to his hayfield complained about his farm.

"The people who bought the homes say, 'Well, we love looking into your yard and seeing the horses and the cattle, but we don't like the flies, and we don't like the mosquitoes,' and when I cut my field to bale it, they say, 'We don't like the dust in the air,' " Davis said.

Davis said he offered to pay half the cost of a fence between his property and the others and to build it. He said his neighbors declined the offer, saying it would block their view.

Read Full Article

Library Find

This weekend I went to the Ft Lauderdale downtown (7 story) library and stumbled across a really beautiful find. Inrō Boxes. I love our library and it was great just to wander the shelves in search of inspiration to my pattern sketches/paintings.

Here is a description via the wiki: An Inrō was a case for holding small objects. Because traditional Japanese garb lacked pockets, objects were often carried by hanging them from the sash (obi). Inrō were suited for carrying anything small. Consisting of a stack of tiny, nested boxes, inro were most commonly used to carry identity seals and medicines. Inrō were made of a variety of materials, including wood, ivory, bone, and lacquer. Lacquer was also used to decorate inro made of other materials. Inrō evolved over time from strictly utilitarian articles into objects of high art and immense craftsmanship.

The book I saw is: Japanese Inro by Julia Hutt Here is a (grainy) shot I took from the book itself...



I fell in love with these objects. They are stunning. I am now imagining the items I would carry in mine...


Now from high art to low art but I have to say pretty cool: an Inrō Ipod case:





Quick Zwitter:
Out like a light... it's nighty night time.



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Sleep tight!