FAF: Mel Odom, Mushrooms, Sheds and Snails

I first discovered Mel Odom as a young teen, maybe even pre-teen, it's hard to say. That was a while back. I do know I was familiar with his work from an early age via assorted book covers, though it wasn't until I was a little older.... sixteen or so... that I found a book of his work, and fell in love a little bit. Maybe even a few times. Not sure what it was I liked about his style (sarcasm)

In other news, we started on the shed, so we can start on the deconstruction of the original shack/reconstruction of the future kitchen/bathing room. Gotta have a space to put all the stuff in the shack while the kitchen is getting built... I have zero desire to have it all crowded up in the living room for the next 3-5 months. So, yeah.... new shed!

We got the floor base up over the weekend... had a slight rain delay... then got the actual floor done tuesday. Hopefully the rain lets up a bit, and we can get some walls up this coming weekend, maybe even a roof?

I'm not holding my breath on that last part, since one thing  we've had PLENTY of this spring/summer is rain and moisture. Enough that we have some rather cool fungi popping up in the houseplants. (don't worry, even though it's a houseplant, it's outside for the season... not so keen on random fungi indoors, however cool they are)

The snails in the goldfish pond are happy as well. I saw some Snail Sex going on last week (which is pretty cool if you've ever seen it), then the other day I discovered an egg sack on the side of a plant that sits half-submerged in the pond. 

We're about to have a bajillion baby Golden Apple snails... assuming the goldfish don't eat them. I kinda hope they eat some of them, though because while I think they're rather lovely...

They also get rather large. And I don't have room for a bajillion of them.

Garden Goodness and The Hum and the Shiver

One of the benefits of actually being home this spring/summer? Getting to be here for the growing season... flowers aplenty, and veggies out the wazoo. Zucchini, anyone? Weeds?

 

 

Speaking of gardens in the woods, a book I read recently (and enjoyed) was The Hum and the Shiver. Ignore the cheestastic tag "In this valley, songs kill," it's not about a bunch of killer fiddlers... it's not about much, really. Well, it is, but there's not a whole lot that happens, not a lot of action. And it works.

 

 

 

What it's about is a broken (in the literal and metaphorical senses) young woman returning from war in Iraq to her home in rural Tennessee, and how she adjusts to being labeled a "hero," and seeking to find her place in life again... with mixed success. She also happens to be a Tufa, a race that may or may not be exactly human.

One of the things which I enjoyed about this book that made me giggle a little, was that it could kind of be summed up as being about a group of "faeries,"  fond of drink and sex and internal bickering, misunderstood by the other locals, who live just outside of Cookeville... just off highway 70... near Cripple creek.

If you don't know, I live in a rural community... of self-described faeries... in central Tennessee... just outside of Cookeville... off of highway 70 (some of us, anyways)... near Cripple Creek. It make me wonder if the author (who is from Memphis) heard about "the faeries" in the area (or perhaps visited) and just kind of ran with the idea.

Regardless, the book is enjoyable, pick it up!

The Hum and the Shiver

 

On The Road Again

Someone should write a song about that.

Oh, wait....

But yup, it's been nice to be home for a while, but it's time to head back out. We leave for Phoenix on the 18th, and will be there for the next two or three months. Just in time for summer. WOOOT! (that's sarcasm)

I'm hoping that while we're there, we at least get to see a haboob. Given that this photo was taken on this exact day last year, it seems like there's a good chance of seeing one!

I mean, seriously, how cool/intense do these look?

I'm dreading the trip some, I have to say. Mainly because we're flying out there, since the new company cars are being delivered there. 1) I hate flying. It's the same kind of thing with why I refuse to be a passenger in a car, amplified 20x. I just have issues with people other than myself being in control of my life. Logical at all? Nope. Still there anyways? Yup.  2) Since we're flying, it means I have to seriously downsize what I take with me... including cooking instruments and studio stuff. My usual Modus Operandi is to just take anything I might possibly even think I may want. Sewing machines, paint and easels, collage stuff.... you name it, I bring it. Not this time, though. Going to have to focus on specific things and plan ahead! Ack!!

Speaking of art, two nifty-keen things I received this week:

The first is a book of self-portraits from a swap hosted by the lovely Jen worden, featuring a portrait of a devilish Amy on the cover...

The other thing is a little Poe-inspired tin shrine from an exchange hosted by Lisa Vollrath, and created by Katie Cahill.

One thing which I'll be hauling half-way across the country with me is this thrift-store painting. I'm hosting a swap inspired a recent(ish) show where a bunch of different artists took a bunh of paintings, and added monsters, robots, etc into them. Seems like a fun idea, and lord knows there's plenty of base material out there!

I haven't decided yet what's going in there. Kind of torn between some Cthullu-esque creature, or giant robots. Or things in the water. Or... or.... or...

Anyhooo,  how about some random garden(ish) photos?

These guys wanted a little privacy, but they didn't get any. That's what happens when you have sex on my porch. Expect voyeurs.

Teeny-tiny mushrooms, sprouting up at the base of a rosemary bush... they were glowing in the early morning light, and by noon they had melted to little piles of moosh. (given how hot it's been here this year, I frequently feel like melting into a little pool of moosh by noon myself)

I'd been anxiously awaiting the opening of Snow White and the Huntsman. I LOVE some Charlize Theron, and I love some darker fairy tale stuff.

Sadly, it was pretty disappointing. Visually, it was beautifully done, Theron rocked it out as the evil queen, Raevenna, especially when she took it completely over the top. Kristen Stewart, however, seemed hell-bent on sucking any sort of fun out of it. I'd never seen her before, but I now get why people were booing her even before they saw the movie.

Apparently she just came out of the closet as a pot-smoker, and while I have no issue with that whatsoever, perhaps she needs to put the pipe down before going to work. Or only take on roles in zombie movies...as a zombie.

I wouldn't say it's a horrible movie... far from it, actually... but it was a let-down. Watch it, but don't expect a whole lot. Perhaps that was my problem... I'd gotten myself all psyched-up for it beforehand.

This, however, makes me LOL... literally.

All righty, hope everyone has an excellent weekend!

All Together Now

Okay, so Amy wants us to toot our own horns on these posts, but I have to tell the truth. I have no horn to toot. See, when I was about 8 or 9, I joined band class. I'm not sure why, even, besides maybe to get out of P.E. I didn't have any particular interest in music... at that point, I hadn't even bought my first cassette. (I was 12 when that happened, and it was Janet Jackson's Control, followed by Petshop Boys' Please, which probably should have been a tip-off to my parents about my orientation)

Anyways, so I decided I was going to play the clarinet. I quickly discovered that there were some things almost as bad as being forced to play football in the south Texas sun. Namely, trying to produce something akin to music from a clarinet. After months of never moving from the shameful Last Chair, and irritating every cat within hearing-range, I "accidentally" dropped my horn case in the middle of the road on the way home from school, and never looked back.

So yeah, no horns here.

That's okay, though, I discovered my talents lay in other areas.

Oh, I should introduce myself, I suppose, since I don't know a lot of the folks coming to this lil' partay. I'm Judah, and I tend to make goofy faces when taking pictures, as evidenced below. I can't help it, it just happens.

I live on 67 acres in the backwoods of Tennessee (as in it's 45 minutes to the nearest city) with my partner of 15 years, Charlie, and our dog Ajakx Einstein. (A.K.A. "World's Smartest Dog") We're in the process of building our home entirely by hand, which is both rewarding and sometimes frustrating.

All righty, intros are done, so on with the (non)horn-tooting!

I like animals a lot. Like, a LOT a lot. Our home is full of them, most of them rescues of one sort or another. There's Coco the conure, Larry the lizard, the aforementioned Ajakx, the cats Una and Decimal Decimator, and numerous fish. Those are just the regulars. I also work with several no-kill shelters, so the number of dogs can range from 1 to 10 (or more). It feels really swell to take in an abused, neglected, dog that's scared of people or angry, and work with them until they turn into big, slobbery, love-givers.

I LOVELOVELOVE comic books. They make me happy. I've read them since I was a little kid, and I think they help me maintain some of my kid-ness. Which anyone who knows me can tell you, I've maintained a lot of. I like that about myself.

My favorite book is Uncanny X-Men, and my two favorite characters are Rogue and Storm, pictured above. (and no, Rogue isn't a big meanie, she'd been possessed, obviously... duh) As a kid, I SOOOO desperately wanted either a white stripe or a white mohawk. As an adult, I frequently have a white mohawk.

Anyways, I "blame" comics for my love of art. They're what made me first pick up a pencil and start drawing.

I spend a lot of my time in the gardens that surround our home. If I'm not reading or making art, I'm in the garden, oftentimes taking pictures of the stuff there. Like my outdoor reading spot.

Or the bugs that reside in the garden, of which there are plenty.

I make art of all sorts. I'm a little A.D.D. in that regard, which I think is both a good thing and a not-so-good thing, but mostly a good thing. "Art dolls" are a particular love, and one I return to time and again.

I also paint. I used to paint a lot, but took a break for many years, mainly because I travel for work, and have just started getting back into it the last couple of years.

I play in the ever-popular "found object" mixed media realms as well. It gives me a reason to pick up rusty things off the ground and pile them up in drawers.

I sew... though my skills in that area are minimal and mostly self-taught. Some day I'll learn the finer details, but probably not any time soon!

Right now, I'm working on a series of mixed media (in the most literal sense... they consist of collage, sewn elements, wood, metal, paint, ink and other stuff) pieces called "But is it Art" playing with that tired old argument about "art vs pornography." See, I'm also sex-positive. I hate that our culture has created such shame and disgust around the most natural of acts. Much like breathing, eating, shitting, and dying, it's the one thing that everyone does. Or most everyone. I think. I hope.

I like that one of my "missions" in life is to get people to stop feeling guilty about their bodies. Whatever their shape or size, whatever you do or don't do with it, it's an amazing, beautiful thing... celebrate it!

These are still WIPs... eventually they'll be sewn onto fabric or canvas and altered even further.

I like that I encourage others to make art, and not to judge themselves or belittle themselves. We're ALL artists. Each and every single one of us. It doesn't matter if "all" you can draw is a stick figure... you're still an artist!

All righty, that's all for now... off to meet some of the other folks in this lil' partay!
Everyone enjoy the start of their weekend! That's an order from Ms Jackson.

Oh! And the giveaways! Just leave a comment, and on monday I'll do a drawing for the winners of a shrine, and a little 4x4 painting! (see previous post for an example of the shrine... it won't be that exact one, but one made just for you... you can even send me a theme if you want! Or leave it up to me, your choice!)


Oh #2! If you just happened to stop by here and *aren't* one of the party-goers, stop by Amy's blog to check out the fun she's put together!
http://butterscape.blogspot.com/

Uh Oh, Four Oh

It's true. As of midnight last night, I've officially become an adult. Or something.

Funny, I don't feel that different. I mean, my knees started popping last year, my hip aching the year before, so....

Anyways, this is what I looked like last week, during the middle of our annual gathering, which is quite similar to what I look like today. Actually, it's exactly what I look like today.

Having a pretty quiet birthday, as Charlie just finished up a 30-hour flight from Mumbai yesterday, and he's a little pooped out, shall we say.  Apparently I'm not the only one who isn't as young as they used to be. There's going to be a mid-week movie/dinner date, but that's about it as far as celebrations go.

But who needs celebrations when you get a personal shout-out from Loretta Jenkins herself? Seriously, you should watch it. Even without the shout-out, it's worth seeing. Seriously.

Or when you get nifty gifts in the mail from the one and only Jen Worden... the photo doesn't do it justice, I have to say.

In other news, been working on the new bug paintings, as well as the "But is it Art" series... They're up there, above. Obviously. Apparently, in my dotage, I keep forgetting to insert photos *before* typing.



Well hmn...

I'd thought I was going to do a big ol' birthday post, but my energy is waning rapidly. That could be the effects of the vast quantities of peach cobbler consumed earlier wearing off finally. Or setting in. Depends how you look at it, I suppose.

Anyhoo, it's been good, it's been real... here's to 40!

Oh, but look! First Passionflower bloom of the year!

I need to get some more color into this part of the garden. While it's lush and full, it all kind of blends into a giant green blob.

Okay, now I'm done.

It's Spring!

Okay, so it's not spring...even though it sure does feel like it, given that it's been in the 50's-60's here. That'll be changing on friday, when we'll dip down into the teens and lower, but for now, I'm not complaining, since it let me get some bulbs in the ground.

http://www.dutchbulbs.com was (is?) having a "buy one get two free" sale, so I ended up with about 200 bulbs, all of wich were staring at me, saying "put me in the ground, damnit!"


There were some mixed daylilies.


And a bunch of muscari....some of my favorites.


Daffodils for the field in front of the house. There's a bunch of the regular ones there already, so it'll be nice to have some variety.



And some twice-blooming, double-pink Replete daffodils.


And some double asiatic lilies.

Now it needs to be spring. For realz.

In other news, after our NYE onslaught of guests, I managed to get my studio space cleaned up, and **GASP** even painted a bit the other night! Fixing to head in there and finish up a few pieces, and get a few more prepped for the future, since we'll be home until March (yay!) and I'll actually have time to work on stuff before we head to Phoenix.