Word Candy? There IS Such a Thing!

I'm usually talking about eye candy all the time, oohing and ahhing over the latest creations of my artsy friends. Still can't get over the beautiful eye candy below in the Valentine heart box of supplies swap. With 50 or so people swapping heart boxes, one has to remember all the actual candy 'candy' that had to be consumed to empty those boxes. Tough work, but someone had to do it!

So today, in another calorie-free repaste, I can share with you some awesome Word Candy: a new blog launches today at http://www.znepoetry.com/. I am thrilled to say I am connected to this wonderful project, not only by being a member of ZNE, but by being a member of the ZNE Art and Poetry sub-group and by my usual 'pick-me, pick-me!' volunteerism which now has me helping to moderate the blog.

Each week I'll be uploading a finished group poem from the ZNE Verses project, a line-at-a-time effort open to more than 600 ZNE members on our network. ZNE actually has about 1,200 members worldwide, but not everyone is active on the private network we have on Ning. Most poems will also have one or more pieces of artwork with them, as well as some will have soundtracks selected by members. It's just a beautiful collaboration!

On top of this, the blog serves as the showcase for the individual poetry efforts of the sub-group as well as any ZNE member. So, it truly is word candy! Our next group project, a Renga, will be posted shortly. The talented artist and poet Jodi Barone http://wildvines.blogspot.com/ heads up this project. We are guided by the fearless leader of ZNE, Chelise Hery http://chelise.typepad.com/, a multi-blogger, artist and poet in her own right/write.

Here's our first ZNE Verse of 2008, but you'll have to head on over to http://www.znepoetry.com/ to see the finished artwork and music. Please do.

She Dreams in Color

I

So scared of the words with the sharpest edges,
construed meaning that has me standing on proverbial ledges.
Seeking the way across the endless abyss of dreams,
language fails me, a misspoken word derails me, so, instead I'll turn to the images from which my psyche streams.
In my mirror, the words swirl about my face causing an ethereal tattoo, ever changing yet remaining the same.
I close my eyes to it and again wonder if I am to blame.
To all that has been said, I will answer in blood red and cry in cerulean blue.

I dream of a spirit who dances in the air around me, she whisperswho is blaming who?
Thoughts still linger like salt on an open wound,
knowing I must finish the colors of my life, only to sleep and fall back into the abyss of dreams and wonder again, who is blaming who?

Shadows appear in the midst of light,
and then I look, and look again, and seethe clear bright light of truth shine out from me.
I am left to interpret words unspoken under a January moon.
My soul seeks the light, that I may emerge strong and new,
singing songs of life, a new celestial tune.

The necessary brush strokes now completed, I sing beneath a ghostly moon.The stars above sing with me, many and yet few.Again the sleep will come, and I will paint my life anew.

II

She dreams at night in color and paints in black and white,
shelter for the vivid thoughts her brush is compelled to write.
She lives her real life in her dreams.
The myriad of colors in her soul long to find the light;
A rainbow of colors guides the night.
Rich reds, deep purples, shades of green and aureolin blue dance in sharp contrast
to what her soul knows to be true.
In her hands, colors are woven together in patterns rich with hope:red splashes of passion, of longing and dreams.
Yet she wakes and finds her world is still black and white.
She asks, “Gatekeeper, gatekeeper, guardian of my dreams, pleaselet me pass further into the life that bubbles in the tree's vibrant greens.Why must I sleep?All of life is a dream?”
In time she will complete the canvas of her life.But for now, she dreams in color and wakes to black and white.


III

Digging through the rubble of the past,swept into a still pile in a far corner of my mind,
I see the light where I was once blind.
Trying to dust away the cobwebs of what once was,
I find the remnants of forgotten momentsshining under the grime, worth saving;
their lives have touched mine.
Gathering these precious memories, I smileas they sink into the cool depths of my soul:healing the hurts they find there,bringing peace and the promise of joy to come,dancing in the slowly rising sun.
Continuing the housekeeping of my spirit,I know contentment will come,the ebb and flow of my very essenceto evolve, never ending.


By ZNE Members in order: Gina Smith, Chelise Hery, Cathy Minerva, Niki Ginder, Jodi Barone, Heidi Eberle, June Sanders, Allison Berringer, Marion Barnett, Laurie Blau-Marshall, Donna Cook, Kathryn Virello.

A Really Meaningful Compliment!

Ms. Laurie http://loudlife-laurieblaumarshall.blogspot.com/, of the very same Loud Life fame who sent me the fun art/name generator below, and whose blog and work and comments definitely make my day, sent my this cheery award.

Why is it so special? Because most nights I sit here uploading and typing as fast as my fingers will fly, and when I get done, I always have that momentary (or longer) dorky, insecure feeling. And heck, I don't even post anything very personal at all. But, I always feel a little bit like a weirdo, writing along as if someone were listening. Well, Laurie is! And I thank her! And actually, I am blessed to know I have several blog friends who visit here regularly and leave the nicest comments here and/or on my Blythe blog http://bly-me.blogspot.com/. Laurie, not a Blythe-r herself, even sent me a link to a darling dress on etsy. So thoughtful! Blog friends truly are the best. The posts above and below are just more evidence of this.

Speaking of blogs and post, on Tuesday 1-15-08, the ZNE Artists and Poets blog goes public at http://www.ZNEPoetry.com (more on that later). I've become involved in this as not only a ZNE member, but as a blog/poet member and also the coordinator of an internal ZNE project for group poetry, ZNE Verses, whose finished works will be posted on the new blog. We've already created a beautiful monster, so mark your calendar to stop by and see.

Art and Poetry, Poetry and Art

...And so often the twain shall meet. Being a moderator for the ZNE Verses forum, I decided I should join the ZNE group Artists and Poets. Artist Jodi Barone runs a separate blog for this group http://artistsandpoets.blogspot.com/, one of her two blogs.

I didn't know I would find already-blog-friend Laurie Marshall of Loud Life fame http://loudlife-laurieblaumarshall.blogspot.com/ with some cool poetry and a fabulous journal. I am also enjoying other ZNE friends' creative work and inspirational art- published there to jumpstart poetry.

What I also did not expect was to find myself featured there on the home page so soon, with one of my first works, shown there to evoke well, something, in someone(s). You can see it here http://artistsandpoets.blogspot.com/2007/12/gina-smith.html.

Jodi asked me what it meant, and first I told her the usual: it means whatever anyone sees, blah, blah, blah. But then I decided to figure out why I had made it as I did. Certainly, Teesha Moore's style inspired me http://www.teeshamoore.com/ and also Karyn Gartel http://altereddiva.blogspot.com/.

I also said I find that those who are too too outspoken and judgmental and presumptuous usually have to eat crow later, and to that I say, "would you like fries with that?" In other words, dig in.

Finally, I told her I might just eat all five cupcakes in one sitting and in numerical order if I want, and all of my family, friends, colleagues, customers, etc., whom I find have treated me differently since gaining a little weight can just eat crow. Or they can eat cupcakes with me. So enough of that. That is exactly why I hate explaining (or even thinking about) what my art means.

On the poetry subject, joining the group made me dig out my earliest poems, from about age 16, when I wrote a bunch. I was lucky enough to get one published by Indiana University in a book of mostly adult poetry, called Indiana Writes, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Several other poems, including this one, were also published in the local newspaper, at that time called the Anderson Herald.

Genius

You sat there figuring the square
root of a multi-digit number.
There was a calculator in its case,
but only a worn down pencil and
a stack of paper was good enough
for you.

Your face mirrored your mind
working, and I was in awe of
your anger as another wadded up
sheet of paper was sent flying
to the trash can. If it wasn’t
math, it had to be history or
science, and of course weekends
were reserved for English.

I always said, “How brilliant.”
Or “That’s wonderful.” Then I
Hopped to the pencil sharpener
So you wouldn’t be without a
Sharp point. Other times I went
Off in search of more paper
For you.

That was a year ago and you’re
still the great genius you
were born to be and me-
well, you made me wonder why I
wasn’t an algebra book or
a grammar lesson or even a
pencil sharpener that you could
turn and turn until your pencil
was resharpened.

Gina Smith

Time for some New Eye Candy. Yum!

I promised I would blog about the DH's famous chili, created after years of experimentation. It is so nice to have someone else cook!

Paul's No Longer a Secret Chili

1 lb. lean ground chuck, cooked with onion and drained

1/2 of a medium yellow onion, minced

Into a greased crock pot, add the above along with:

1 16 oz. can stewed tomatoes, seasoned for chili

1 16 oz. can tomato sauce

1 16 oz. can Brooks mild chili beans

1 16 oz. can water

1/2 pkt. chili seasoning (any)

Cook on low three hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

I also offer up on a different eye candy front one brunette Blythe who needs a name. She did manage to get out of her night shirt, robe, bunny slippers and rollers and into this outfit which includes a tiny knitted cardigan and matching hairclip from Feltland on etsy.com. Beautiful miniature work. Names in the hopper are Ainsley, Afton, Greta, Grace, Maggie/Maggy, Lisle. She is Lilly London's sister, as if that helps any!

Also: inspiration, found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12448123@N07/favorites/. I love looking at all the various photos on Flickr. In fact, there's a group for Flickrclickritis, and I am afraid I have it. But I am not alone, and it's a pretty clean vice. In fact, according to http://www.flickr.com/ home page, there were 3,396 photos uploaded in the minute it took me to type this sentence. That is incredible. Whatever you like, you'll find it there.

You can also find a little ego stroking within the amateur photographer community. In fact, I've had two photos invited to exclusive groups, one for all pink, all the time. Actually the group is Top 20 Pink, and for one brief moment, one of my photos was allegedly among the top 20 of the millions of pink photos there. The other award was for my front door holiday wreath, which was invited to Fabulous Holiday Trees, Wreaths and Garlands.

Meanwhile, on another e-front, I was invited to serve as a moderator for ZNE or VariaZioNE, http://zneiscrafty.ning.com/ where I will be manning the ZNE Verses- group poetry efforts pulled together and set to music and art. I can't wait! My other duty will be to somehow tie in the monthly ZNE Book Club assignments to the ZNE verses. We start in January with The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery by Karen Michel. Book club membership fees benefit Bernie Berlin's A Place to Bark (see badge and updated ticker at right). A good cause.

Lastly, I did not know it was Cyber Monday (until about 8 p.m.), but I did my fair share, having visited Lands End and ebay today. It was definitely Mail Mania Monday with great swaps arriving from Miss Mary Isabella of the snowman swap and super Magic and Mayhem ATC's from Faerie Zine http://thefaeriezine.blogspot.com/ members Julie Baxley, Catriona Allen-Bryce, Nichole Pennington and Brendalea as well as founder Lisa Kettell http://www.moonfairesworld.com/. Thank you girls! Lucky me!

Another Wonderful Surprise!

When multiple artists come together something good always happens. Of course there is the ZNE benefit auction for Hope Sees A Star going on right now that I blogged about below. There is also a fun little process on our ZNE network home page where these same artists can network to create ZNE Verses or group poetry. As a writer and editor (before I really found art), of course I like to play along.

So imagine my surprise when I check in tonight to find not only a finished work that includes me, entitled "A Blue Wind Blew In," but it is set to one of my pieces of art entitled "Zetti Preschool" and also set to beautiful music by Shawn Colvin called "I Never Saw Blue Like That Before." It just takes my breath away to realize I am part of such a talented group. You can view the home page from the link on the right, or here's a peek, right here in my 95th post. Do come back for my 100th post party!

Here's the poem:

A Blue Wind Blew In Coloring the World it Landed On

With sapphire dust and moonbeam charm.

It hung in the air with sparkle and shine and waited...

And all the dreamers and fairies and angels came out to play.

All of them joyful, all of them grinning, even the queen was elated.

"Play on!" trumpeted the Queen's Jester.

"Yes, do" said her handmaid.

"Whoosh, whooosh," said the wind.

So the dreamers, and the fairies and the angels all danced

-on gossamer wings, perhaps to chance -

a glimpse of blue never seen before.....

And the queen had diamonds in her crown, sparkling so clear and beautiful

And in that blue wind, a periwinkle breeze, carried with it such tender grief,

so poignant and rueful.

Days and weeks and years went by.

Those angels and fairies and gossamer wings fluttering in the sky -

Night falls and the Queen's heart can not contain the joy of the coming dawn -

A place where A Blue Wind Blew In Coloring the World it Landed On.

This poem was written by:

Chelise Stroud Hery, Treva Fox-Christy, Gina Smith, Heidi Eberle. Artwork taken from Gina Smith's ZNE Network Photo Album