January 22, 2010 Journal Page

Had a great time at Zinnia yesterday. Thanks Everybody! Make sure you check out there Valentine's Day set-up!

New Journal for January and February!!!

Here's the cover of my new journal. It's collaged with various images and stickers. The Hambly transparency on the front is held on with glue dots. The stitching is one of my favorites (easier then it looks).

Teaching today at Zinnia in South Pasadena. Looking forward to it!

Some favorite bits from December and January's Journal

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Ooh, Papier Valise has new goodies. I LOVE their shop (and their blog).

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A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk-LOVE this blog. I LOVE what she makes too (my purse is from her shop). Check out her post on LABELS and FREE labels here.

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Molly Wizenberg at Skylight Books in Los Angeles on March 30th. Can't wait!!!! I LOVED her book, A Handmade Life. Her blog here.

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Odds and Ends Box. I have my own version of this, but the box is cute. I know others who use empty cigar boxes.

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Office Desk/Art Area inspiration.

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Teaching at Zinnia in So Pasadena tomorrow. Can't wait! The class is a go and there's still room.

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Another article on Howard Zinn.

January 21, 2010 journal page

More Howard Zinn from You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train-

"It is this change in consciousness that encourages me. Granted, racial hatred and sex discrimination are still with us, war and violence still poison our culture, we have a large underclass of poor, desperate people, and there is a hard core of the population content with the way things are, afraid of change.

But if we see only that, we have lost historical perspective, and then it is as if we were born yesterday and we know only the depressing stories in this morning's newspapers, this evening's television reports.

Consider the remarkable transformation, in just a few decades, in people's consciousness of racism, in the bold presence of women demanding their rightful place, in a growing public awareness that gays are not curiosities but sensate human beings, in the long-term growing skepticism about military intervention despite brief surges of military madness.

It is that long-term change that I think we must see if we are not to lose hope. Pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; it reproduces itself by crippling our willingness to act.

There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often in this century we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.

The bad things that happen are repetitions of bad things that have always happened — war, racism, maltreatment of women, religious and nationalist fanaticism, starvation. The good things that happen are unexpected.

Unexpected, and yet explainable by certain truths that spring at us from time to time, but which we tend to forget:

Political power, however formidable, is more fragile than we think. (Note how nervous are those who hold it.)

Ordinary people can be intimidated for a time, can be fooled for a time, but they have a down-deep common sense, and sooner or later they find a way to challenge the power that oppresses them.

People are not naturally violent or cruel or greedy, although they can be made so. Human beings everywhere want the same things: They are moved by the sight of abandoned children, homeless families, the casualties of war; they long for peace, for friendship and affection across lines of race and nationality.

Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society.

We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human
history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places— and there are so many— where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

- Howard Zinn

Thank you, Howard Zinn

Damnit. We lost another one. Howard Zinn died today in Santa Monica. My heart is extremely heavy right now. I feel like I've lost a family member. He was a great, great man whom I respected and highly revered. Thank you, Howard for everything you've done and for all of us whom you taught (both in person, through your books and lectures and through your actions). We've lost a great man.

“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”

Howard Zinn

January 20, 2010 journal page

20 January 2010 journal page

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Teaching my "Bloom" class this Saturday at Zinnia. The class is a go and I hope to see YOU there! Please phone the store to sign up 626 441 2181. Sample is in the store. Photos here.

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Do you know about Amazon's "Vine Program"? Hmm...think twice before you choose a book based on an Amazon "customer" review. They might not be consumers, but folks who are getting paid in books. Another review of the program here.

19 January 2010 journal page

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Studio LOVE!

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Ahhhhhh, two new Paumes books are out! I picked up Appartements de Garcons this weekend at Kinokuniya. I didn't see Paris Family Style. Yes, I also bought more pens at Kino Buy It All along with some stamps and other goodies. Those of you in So Ca, if you haven't been into the Downtown Los Angeles store in awhile, it's worth a trip in.

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David and I watched the film, The Four Poster, the other night. Well worth going out of your way to see not only for the acting, but for the added bonus of John Hubley animation sprinkled throughout the film. The animation is superb and makes the film standout. I wish the print we had seen was of better quality, but I'm just happy to have been able to see it!

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People have asked about my new online class, A Life Made By Hand. Registration is not closed. You can sign up for it at any point. NONE of the prompts are labeled to be done on a specific date, in fact NONE of the prompts are dated at all! It's a work at your own pace class with over 181 prompts! No painting. Collage and art journaling. Yes, you can do the prompts on painted pages, if you like. Yes, you can use your paints if you'd like. Questions? email me. If you would like to sign up, please go here. I just uploaded January's collage sheet to the site yesterday. I love making the collage sheets as an added bonus to the class. I love seeing what people do with the images!

18 January page

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One of my new favorite blogs, Joy The Baker!

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David, Tristan and I watched A Thousand Clowns the other night. It's the second time I've seen it and I love it. Definitely one worth going out of your way to see! From the film-

"I just want him to stay with me until I can be sure he won't turn into Norman Nothing. I want to be sure he'll know when he's chickening out on himself. I want him to get to know exactly the special thing he is or else he won't notice it when it starts to go. I want him to stay awake and know who the phonies are, I want him to know how to holler and put up an argument, I want a little guts to show before I can let him go. I want to be sure he sees all the wild possibilities. I want him to know it's worth all the trouble just to give the world a little goosing when you get the chance. And I want him to know the subtle, sneaky, important reason why he was born a human being and not a chair."

January 14 journal page

Interview with Barron Storey here.

Review of a new edition of Barron's long out of print Marat/Sade Journals (if you don't have it, you need it).

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I finished my December/January journal last night. I'll have the last of the pages up here over the next week or so. I'll show you the new journal soon. I can't wait to start working in it!!

January 14th journal page

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If you've been holding off on signing up for my classes at Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale, AZ February 5th through the 7th, don't hold off much longer! Sunday's class is almost full and the others are very close to being full!! So if you're interested, do it now!

You can contact Debbie to sign up by calling Frenzy Stamper at 480 946 0007

Class info here.

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New Book Alert- Where Women Create: Book of Inspiration

Winter Musings

Still reading Upside Down, a primer by Eduardo Galeano. Books like this take me longer than fiction. Questions to ask. Things to think about. Discussions to be had. Powerful words.

We've been watching the first season of The Wire. Damn good show (except it gets kinda wonky at the end...does everybody become stupid or something?). Weird to sit down and watch a television show when you don't even have television.

Journal Love here!!!

January 13 journal page

My new favorite blog, Pronoun Trouble. I'm very partial to the author. Well written. Well researched. It flows and moves like a film. Honest. Totally totally the author-100%. Listening to the interview posted on it now.

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I am thinking of writing a love letter to the two new colors of Sakura's Glaze pens...the red deserves it's own special lust letter. Yes, it's that worthy. I can't stop using it since it came in the mail yesterday. Sakura's new red glaze pen spells L O V E. Put them on your want list now. Scoop them up in droves so that they MAKE MORE NEW COLORS. I frigging love their pens.

11 January journal page

As I write this (Monday afternoon), it's pouring out (yay!). Our power keeps flickering off and on (no!). A day to listen to the rain pour down on the streets of L.A. A day to stay home and make stuff. One of those rare rain days (it's forecast to be a rain week) in La La Land.

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Heads up! Teaching this Sunday at the Art Bar. Email them and ask about the film that they are screening, "Who Does She Think She Is?" after my class. I'll be there. Will you?

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One of my students from Colorado is looking for a roommate for the weekend of my classes at Frenzy Stamper, Scottsdale AZ in February-

"I have reserved a room with 2 Queen beds up the street from Frenzy Stamper and need a roomie for Fri and Sat night the 5th and 6th of Feb! The cost per night is $40. to you. We can add more people if you aren't fussy about your own bed, or a rollaway. (and the cost would go down) Anyone else going to Scottsdale? Lori also wants to organize a dinner or breakfast meeting with the locals on Saturday?...I think you are local if you are anywhere in AZ or NM ..."

Another Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr

For the past couple of years I've tried to create a journal page to honor Martin Luther King, Jr
utilizing the words of one of my favorite King speeches, Beyond Vietnam.

Past pages here and here.

11 January 2010

More fun with the Hambly transparencies I ordered.

Teaching at Stampin' From The Heart today. Looking forward to it.

10 January 2010 journal page

I just finished printing out the handout for my pen class. It's 18 pages long. It seems to keep growing. Eeeps. Looking forward to debuting the class tomorrow at Stampin' From The Heart!

Love the artwork of Jacqueline Kari Bos.

Rain? Here? I can't wait. We're already getting WINTER STORM WATCH 2010 WARNINGS about it.

January 10 journal page

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It's confirmed! Sakura has two new colors of the Glaze pen debuting at CHA this month. Can we say, "Yay!!"

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I used my Polaroid Pogo printer above on the journal page on the right side-
The photos of my hands in a heart shape.
The photo of David and I kissing in the mirror.
The photo of the straw wrappers pointing in the shape of an arrow and a heart.

It's not the best quality, but it's quite fun! Remember my tip, do some research and check out the various colors because there are price differences on all of them.

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Heads up, I'm trekking to Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale teaching the 5th through the 7th of February.

I will also be teaching a new workshop (two day, and boy, do I have a lot in store for you guys!) at a new location called Lisa LaRosa's Inspirational Retreat in Agoura Hills, February 20th and 21st.

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Shocked to find out that Pearl Paint is closing several locations.

Haiti

I posted this on my facebook page earlier today-

This is what bothers me most about what happened in Haiti.

No one gave a shit about them before.

No one gave a shit about them when President Aristide was ousted in a U.S. backed Coup.

Now millions of dollars will flood into that country and it will go right into the pockets of the multi national corporations that are already drooling at the mouth over their new opportunities to "fix" Haiti none of which will likely benefit the people who live there that so desperately need the help right now.

Make damn well sure you take a good look at the financial records and history of ANY organization that you donate money to and you know how that money is spent (how much of it goes directly to help victims vs. how much of it goes to line the pockets of certain individuals).

Some things from friends-

Karen Michel and her husband, Carlo Thertus have formed the Haiti Relief Organization. Carlo is from Haiti.

Peace journal page

New yummy masking tape over at-

Washimatta

and

Ginko Papers-new Airmail tape and Eiffel Tower tape

I have ordered, uh, a few times from both vendors. I just ordered a ton for my upcoming tape classes in AZ and CA! Both vendors ship fast and are excellent to work with!

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Still reading-
Upside Down by Eduarado Galeano

Films watched this week-
Claire's Knee (from the Six Moral Tales Box Set) -Can I get on a plane now and fly to Annecy? Please?
Check out the shots from the film here.