Resolvulotions. Or something.

Okay. It's for real. I need to start utilizing this space more. Again. For real this time. I swear. Both for creative purposes, and for sanity.

So, yeah, first post of 2014!

We'll start with a Charlie update: In many regards he's progressing well. He's regained a lot of the usage of his leg and can get about fairly well as long as he has his cane. He's still quite slow, but he's coming along. Slowly. Like I totally win every race we have. With his arm, he's gotten a lot of flex back in his shoulder, though there's still very little in his elbow, and almost nothing in his hand. This is a normal progression, though, as usage returns in a pattern travelling downward (shoulder first, then elbow, then hand).

Language is still challenging him a LOT, and is the aspect he finds most frustrating. He does occasionally pop out with a full sentence (we'll say an average of one a week), and can come up with a lot of words on his own if given the time to do so. Cuss words come out quite quickly. Shocking, that. His reading, however, has improved dramatically, and this gives him hope. While he's still a long ways away from reading a book, he can work out many simple sentences with a minimum of assistance.

This is an aspect we work on for several hours a day... from the time we wake up when I ask him how he's doing, to having him say "I would like some coffee" to going over flashcards and various sentences repeatedly.

In a fit of complete and utter fucking insanity, I decided that the week before Christmas was the perfect time to hang drywall and repaint the living room. You know, just because sadomasochism is fun and all that. I'd kind of hoped to have it done by the time my parent's visit was over, but that didn't happen... tho it did give my father something to do while he was here so he didn't drive me (or my mother) crazy.  We finally finished it up about a week ago, and I got to paint it and hang up some art work! Love having a wall full of the work of friends!



One of the pluses of this project getting completed (except for the ceiling trim) is that I could move all the stuff back out of the studio room, where I'd stored it during the drywalling...  which means that after a several-week break, I can get back in the studio and get back to work. Here's a little sneak peek of a larger (about 4ft) piece I have in progress.

No more excuses, back to work beyotch.

As always, there are new(ish) items being added to the Charlie's Spot store, including a custom-built electric guitar by our friend Gwen using recycled barn wood from her barn, and some paintings by Jacqueline Myers-Cho. And, as always, feel free to spread the word about the shop and the reason for it!

Okay, Okay!

No, really... okay! I SWEAR I'm going to do better at keeping up with this blog thang. I know I said that a few months back, but this time I mean it. Really.

Quickie Catch Up:

1)  We've been home for many months now, which has been nice. It's supposedly coming to an end in mid-September, when Charlie will return to the road. I'll be leaving my job (anxiety-inducing... no paycheck!) and staying at home with a new job... finishing our home. We currently reside (primarily)in the 20x20 "existing living room" section, with an additional upstairs bedroom, and the Original Shack (which is where the future kitchen/bathing room will be)... which is primarily use as a tool room/storage right now.

It's going to be a LOT of work, but I'm looking forward to it. Moving into the modern century is kind of exciting. You know... indoor showers, a stove... a refrigerator. Thoe kinds of things are pretty nifty. We started construction on a 12x12 shed this weekend, so we have a space for all the stuff that's in the Original Shack to go when we tear it down (hopefully starting THAT in a week or two)

2) Since there won't be a paycheck coming in on a regular basis any more (did I mention anxiety-inducing?) I've been contemplating various ways of making some $ching$... which led to me breaking out the sewing machine for the first time in forever. Since our space is going to drastically decrease for the next 6 months-a year, I have to focus on *small*. There aren't any photos yet, as I've just starte, but I'm working on a series of abstracted felted dolls called Travellers, as well as some felted ornaments (just in time for the holidaze!) that I'll be putting up on Etsy, as well as at our local art/craft center (which, conveniently, a friend of ours just took over the management of).


3) Speaking of said arts center and the new management of, they're also looking for ongoing shows, so while I still have the space I've been working on a series of abstract paintings. Not to slam a style (or myself) but abstracts aren't really thing... or haven't been my thing, I should say... but I also need something that has a wider audience than Weird Alien Women, which probably wouldn't move well in Woodbury, Tennessee. But I have to admit to actually enjoying the process of them, in the end! I have to figure out how to get color-true photos of them, mind you. They don't "read" correctly for some reason.

 

4) We also have a new addition to the household... a foster who became a permanent resident. Meet Ripley, AKA "The Behemoth." She's going to be huge... already she's twice the size she was in this photo  --she's now 23lbs--  and it's just a few weeks later.

 

 

All righty, off to see what everyone has been up to in my absence!

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.

Fun Art Friday: The Art of Insects

Okay, technically, I guess this isn't an FAF proper. It's more like a "wow, those are fucking cool and I want to paint them" post.

An inspiration post, you could say. Because that's my next thing (for now)...Big Bug Paintings.

I mean, c'mon... how can you not find some inspiration in these? They're cool. They're pretty. Humans would be so much cooler if we came in ALL KINDS OF COLORS AND PATTERNS. Maybe if we had *more* color we'd be less obsessed *with* color.

But nope, we humans are stuck with varying shades of brown. (and yes, I consider caucasian/"white" to be a shade of brown. Just reallllly light brown) Of course, this loveliness below is "just" brown, and she manages to rock it. So maybe I need to add "and if we had multiple fold-out appendages" to my list of how humans could be cooler.

It's actually kind of funny. Not "Ha-ha funny," but funny. I'd already been planning on doing a bug series, but then I got a commission request for a large-ish (about 4ft) painting of a cockroach (working on it now) so it seems like a kick in the ass from the universe to get started on the series, as opposed to just planning it out for some unspecified future.

Of course, my artistic A.D.D. had me working on a vintage gay porn collage/painting combo yesterday. So who knows what the future holds. Some upcoming posts may not necessarily be SFW. Just so ya know.

• Random Other Things:
• This week our annual Beltaine gathering starts. Today, actually. Not sure I'll be attending that much of it this year. We're dog-sitting several dogs...5 left for a rescue in New England this morning, but there's still 4 at the house, which means I need to be home 2-3 times a day, minimum. Plus, there's going to be 600 or more crazy queers at the gathering for 9 days, and....well, that's just a lot of people for my hermit-self.
• Charlie leaves for India Sunday for 2-3 weeks for work stuff. I'm a little envious of the "paid for by someone else" trip to Inda, but not too much. Mumbai is crowded (see last part of earlier Random Thing) and for the most part he's going to be stuck in an office 8-10 hours a day. Thankfully, he's going right before my birthday, so I'm guessing I'll get some Cool Indian Stuff as presents.
• Speaking of birthdays....turning 40 on May 13th. How the hell did that happen? I sure don't feel 40. I'm currently alternating between feeling a little freaked out by it, and not freaked out by it at all. (and presents are welcomed, by the way... just let me know if you need my address)
• Leaving for Phoenix, Arizona in about a month, probably. Kind of looking forward to it, as it's an area I'm completely unfamiliar with, and I have a fondness for desert areas.
• Speaking of Arizona and insects, did you know that Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a potentially deadly disease, and is the most severe and most frequently reported rickettsial illness in the United States? And that it's spread by ticks? And that it's apparently increased by 530% this year? (yes, 530%) And guess where it's happening the most. Yup, Arizona. Woot, nature!

Done Gone Crazy

Two posts in two days? Absolute insanity. Of course, the fact that it's been rainy and gross of late....meaning no outdoors time....helps. This, while kind of pretty in it's own way, has been the scene here for too long now.

(Looking up the driveway towards home)


I shouldn't complain (but I'm going to, because I can) since it's been one of the mildest winters that I can recall, temperature-wise, but.....it's still been grey. And more grey. And more grey.

I'm ready for sunshine.

We keep getting teased by a day here or there that is absolutely gorgeous...and then it's back to black. Like an Amy Winehouse song, minus the drugs and drink. Okay, sometimes with those as well. Whatever gets you through, ya know? (don't judge me)

Anyhoooooo...yeah. Bad weather means more time spent indoors and online...and more time staying busy in the studio!

See? Another new painting from yesterday!


Things that help lighten my mid-winter bleghness? Care packages from overseas friends like http://dneese.blogspot.com/  full of kooky goodness. You know, care packages that contain things like vintage dolls from the early 1900's and cross-stitch patterns full of swear words and antique rectal dilators made of Bake-Lite!


Because, you know, no home is truly complete without a set of those. Trust me.

Other things that make the doldrums go away, or at least distract me from them, is our new outhouse. Or are future new outhouse, more accurately. We've got the ginormous hole dug for it....4ft down by 4ft by 4ft, through roots galore and rocks aplenty...we'll pour the concrete in a few days (once it stops raining) then it's time to start the construction.

We're going for wonky and askew.



And yes, we have an outhouse....and yes, it's by choice. I won't go into the long ramble about why, but I'll just say we're doing more than our part for the environment. When I'm 80, I'll move to the flush-toilet....and flush it multiple times just to make up for years lost not flushing!

All right, that's enough of the insanity. Time to either grab my book or grab my paint brushes.

Ciao!

Painting Prep!

Since we're home for a bit, I've been spending some time in the studio...on a whim, I said yes to doing the Watertown Valentine's Day Art Crawl, so I kind of have to! (this is also where the "oh crap, that's in two weeks" panic sets in)

Watertown is this teeny-tiny town (maybe 2,000 people) about half an hour from us that's surprisingly....ummm..."bohemian," shall we say. Lot's of artsy folks there. Every Vday, they shut down the downtown, fill all the shops with art, and a train of folks from Nashville pulls into town for a day of art and drinking.

Followed by an evening of even more drinking by the locals as they wander (stumble?) from shop to shop, party to party. I've only attended once, two years ago, but the after-party is definitely where it's at. Did I mention they're bohemian and kooky? And here I thought we homos had the market cornered on Fun Backwoods Weirdos! Nope!

Originally, I'd thought to do a series of pieces loosely inspired by those religious icon paintings of old...but they started shifting away from that fairly quickly, until there was very little resemblance to the original idea.





This one below (and possibly the one above) will probably get reworked....not that happy with it. It's also lil' bitty. I drink too much coffee (and beer) to work lil' bitty....which is amusing since I just bought 10 lil' bitty canvases today. uess I should practice up or something.





This one is on wood, and may get some additional 3D work done to it....thinking maybe a ring of old nails around the face or something.


And then I wanted to paint a fish...because, you know, I like fish. Goldfish and koi in particular. They make me happy. Like puppies, but scaly and wet.



Right now I'm working on some wooden abstract pieces which are...interesting. I'm not sure I'll ever "get" abstract art. I mean, I appreciate it visually...quite like it, in fact...but when it comes to doing it myself, it gives me fits. Maybe it's because I'm more drawn to the human figure/face? Maybe that complete blank slate weirds me out? I don't know.

And speaking of which, time to hit the studio again!