It's Fall!

It’s feels like it has been so long since I have well . . . “blogged”. Fall is a busy time for Chicago artists. I’ve been showing at the Peter Jones Gallery this month and next weekend will be the Ravenswood Art Walk and closing party. Plus there was Around the Coyote and this weekend I will be stepping out to see the Pilsen Art Studio Walk. My God that neighborhood has changed! Speaking of changes, I mourned the passing of Marshall Fields. Macy’s red carpeted floors are just not the same. Insert moment of silence here. But I managed to hold back the tears enough to enjoy a few things these past few weeks.

A few highlights of the past month:
1. Seeing the LoveHammers at the Oyster Fest. Talk about high energy. I have been smitten with Marty’s talent since last year’s Rockstar: INXS. I just happened to be channel surfing and caught his amazing performance of Mr. Brightside, still one of the best TV performances I have ever seen. I could care less about oysters but seeing the band play made me break out my LH’s CDs again. Rock on! I happened to catch Marty talking to the fans after the show and he was so kind. There was this little girl with bows in her hair and she was carrying an “I Heart the LoveHammers” sign and he was so kind to her. He bent down and told her she looked so pretty. It warmed my heart. I was in line behind her and just walked away because how could I top that! Plus there were so many other adorable kids waiting to get some time with Marty that I figured it would be best to get out of the way and let them have their due.

2. Edwene Gaines Prosperity workshop. I attended this event last Sunday. She blew my mind. Think Ghandi meets Erma Bombeck with a bit of Mae West and that’s Edwene Gaines. She used to be a broke single mom and know she travels the world, buys things without looking at the price tag, has an amazing estate and most importantly does whatever she wants. I’m practicing her four steps. I’ve always been into Visualization. I’m visualizing attending one of her fabulous retreats next year. Let’s see what happens!

3. David Wolfe at Dulcena. I’m not a raw vegan but I do eat a primarily raw diet. David Wolfe is such a dynamic speaker. He’s one of the smartest people I have ever met. His talk was fascinating and full of tidbits about the latest raw foods, Uri Gellar, zeolites, Steve Jobs, etc.etc. A lot of raw food speakers convey sloppy science but he is the real deal. I got to talk with him as well. I asked him—what is more important being “raw” or being vegan? He said being raw is more important than being vegan as long as you do plenty of parasite cleansing. I always thought it was the opposite. I tend to lose strength with an entirely vegan diet. I’m open to it but would prefer to go at my own pace. Perhaps there is just something I haven’t learned yet. But his talk has inspired me to keep up with all the superfoods. Personally I don’t want to be labeled a raw foodist, I prefer Superfoodist. Dulcena is a great space too. The Director loves my work and I may be apart of future shows there.

4. My artwork. Still working on ideas/sketches for the Cool Globes project. I have also been doing a little faux finishing on the side. I’m having a ball. More to post later. I’ve decided 2007 is going to be my year to blow up.

5. TV. Of course, you knew it wouldn’t be a blog post without mention of Project Runway!! At first I really wasn’t into it but as always with every “Make it Work” cry from Tim Gunn I just get more and more involved. My favorites: Laura, Uli and Michael. Kane is a sweetheart and so funny. I love Laura’s red hair and red lips and glam style. Uli is so creative and I love the prints. I’m surprised Vincent got as far as he did. I’m sure he’s a sweetheart but crazy, men like that always dig me cause I’m artsy! I like Jeffrey’s style and his outfit for himself was incredibly sexy. That tattoo dickey must have hurt. I don’t know what to think of him, he makes moms cry yet cried himself when Robert got kicked off.

I miss Santino. I still laugh every time I think about his impersonation of Tim singing NIN’s “Closer”. Designers – your garment brings me closer to God. Hee! I hope I don’t get sucked into watching Top Chef again. I’m glad they have a new host. Bravo, I am just so your Whore. Speaking of food-tv I have been getting into Anthony Bourdain’s show on the Travel Channel. I know he hates raw foodists, vegetarians and hippies—since I’m somewhat in those categories I don’t think he would want to be my friend but he’s a lot of fun to watch. I remember once at a party a group of gals and I was discussing what would we do if we could be a dude for one day. We mentioned things like the benefit of having a higher metabolism, taking part in reckless affairs without going off on emotional tangents and lifting really heavy weights. I think it would be really cool to be someone like Anthony Bourdain for one day. He’s the thinnest tv chef, I doubt he works out, probably has the genetics of a cockroach.

6. I had a mini-numerology session with Philip Clark at the Healthy Living Festival. I attended Philip’s meditation class a few years ago at the Ruby Room and he was just great! Very sweet and grounded man, reminds me so much of Bill Cosby. I love when I can meet spiritual people that have it really together. It’s very validating for me as I never want to be the crazy woman in the all-purple outfit if you know what I mean. He told me that those born with the first initial “P” are “thinkers”. We tend to spend a lot of time in our heads and others have a difficult time trying to get to know us. I know that’s an area in my life that needs considerable work. He also said that I am multi-talented but that doesn’t mean do everything all at once—sometimes I may write (which he mentioned was a strong talent) or paint but not at the same time. He told me I was meant to standout (Hello – insert childhood trauma here, wasn’t that all about standing out?). He said that I have more experience in a male body than a female body (no wonder I hate my period so much) and that the no. 11 (for my birth month of November) symbolizes sensitivity and that being born this time around in a female body gives me the opportunity to feel that. I’m creative but thankfully have been born with some discipline (emphasis on the word—some). Next year is apparently going to be more about family. I asked if he could determine dietary issues through numerology and for me he recommended getting a little more “support” from animal proteins. I don’t have to eat it every day but a few times a week would really be beneficial. He seemed to think that writing was my strongest gift. I want to clear away some time to do that as well.

Other things:

My Pilates class at Women’s Workout has come to a close which is a disappointment because my instructor, Dana, was awesome. But she has better opportunities and I wish her luck. As fate would have it, I became aware of another program called T-Tapp so I’m trying that out. It has some awesome testimonials. My goal isn’t weight loss but I would love to have nice abs, a real butt and maintain my figure (as I gain years, I don’t want to gain pounds.) without a gym membership. If T-tapp works I may just do that plus some of the yoga classes I love but then again I don’t know if I could handle being away from weights. I still heart the Iron.

I’m a red head again. It’s a lovely shade of dark copper brown with pomegranate highlights or so the swatch book said. I was auburn a few years ago, then went back to my natural dark brown, then had a bad henna experience and turned Elvis black, then back again to a softer brown, over the summer I had highlights and now I’m red. I love fall so going red right now is perfect. I was afraid with my short curls I would end up with Grandma hair but I’ve been growing it out to a looser curled bob and it’s a nice change plus I’m all about standing out!