Zen Abstract or Pure Hell?

so, i got an abstract painting of mine, entitled "Zen Window," into a juried show! at the reception, i spot an older woman intently examining my work and bio, and whispering to her husband. wow! a possible sale?

so i sidle up behind them and mumble, "love it or hate it?"

'I don't understand it," she says, angrily, in a German accent.

"well, it's an abstract," i say, taken aback, "it's emotion, a feeling."

another woman walks by and says, "you painted this? it's beautiful!"

at this, critic woman actually rolls her eyes and makes a prune mouth! obviously she has never been near ZEN in her long life. yet me, silly me, still trying to be kind, explain that many artists move beyond the figural into abstract.

"I know," she spits out, "I'm an artist, I paint abstracts, and I never get into these shows." ah ha, so that's it. and, people pleaser that i am, ask gently if she ever comes to the museum gatherings where people share their work. "I did once. I didn't get anything out of it." oh well, nice to meet you, Ingrid," I say, and beat a hasty yet long past due retreat...

now why, flighty person that i am, could i have not been drawn, like a moth to a flame, to the woman who loved my work, rather than a moth drawn to...well...poo? another artistic mystery!

(and now, oops, i uploaded the wrong painting. and i don't know how to undo it. but at least it isn't abstract!)

Laughing Gas or Peyote?

The Gentle Art of Dental Arts

so i finally tried laughing gas. at the long dreaded dentist. started to time travel, like near death, and maybe hallucinate a little, so my brain just said "think of it as a peyote ceremony." huh? never had that either.

the dentist behind my head seemed anti-social. so i looked on YELP when i got home to read his reviews. one said, "this man either hates his job or all mankind." ayeee!

figures, after the months of dread i'd get "mr. charm" assigned to me by insurance. but laughing gas helps, inspite of a hangover later.

"see you in two weeks for the other side," he said and walked out.

i have two weeks to find a new dentist, or else...what? medical marijuana? peyote?

I Try Sci-Fi?

I'm trying a new genre. Check out my sci-fi story, "Invasion Of Love," in progress on my sister blog, if you care to. I welcome your comments and critiques. Thanks for reading and responding. All of you keep me going!
http://howoprahsavedmylife.blogspot.com

Springtime at the San Diego Zoo

There is a new baby hippo at the zoo. Haven't been up to see him as we've had high wind and unseasonable cold in paradise. A half-dozen empty semi-trucks blew over on the freeways yesterday, and a few huge eucalyptus trees tore from the ground.

Can't complain though, as the rest of the USA is covered in snow drifts and ice, and it did get into the eighties in San Diego last week. The ornamental pear and Linden trees are already blooming in Balboa Park. The flowers of the Linden smell like English breakfast tea with lemon and honey. Heavenly.

Last time we went to the San Diego Zoo we saw a keeper talk on meerkats, and got to pet one! I never imagined years ago while watching "Meerkat Manor," that I would one day pet an actual meerkat. Her fur felt more like a Jack Russell Terrier's than a cats - smooth and stiff, rather than soft.

Another recent animal escape. While walking through Balboa Park, I spotted baby bunnies actually playing with baby squirrels. Leapfrogging over each other! Wish I would have had my video camera to prove it. As well as to document, a few moments later, an entire small bush of blooming spring flowers trembling violently then suddenly disappearing into the earth - sucked down by a ground squirrel into his home.

Perhaps he was entertaining guests later?

Brief Hiatus from Synchronicity

Hi Synchronicity fans. Please visit my sister blog, HowOprahSavedMyLife. And please follow me there too, if you haven't already.

Love, Angelstar.

http://howoprahsavedmylife.blogspot.com/

Budget Travel San Diego - Cheap Eats

Cheap Eats in San Diego?

Last night we met friends for dinner at O'Hungry's, a locals hangout in Old Town San Diego, home of the $5 dinner. Comfort food of the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, veggies, and homemade roll variety. They also have a soup and salad bar under $8. Sweet. (http://www.ohungrys.com/)

The house band, called Union Street, containing fellow Irish-persons Mike and Laura, became new friends. Mike mentioned he played for two years with Carly of American Idol fame, at The Field, our favorite Gaslamp District bar. (The entire bar, lock, stock and barstool, came over from Ireland to be reassembled in San Diego. Very cool.)

The Field sports the best Guinness pour in town, and happy-hour half-price garlic fries, sausage rolls, fish & chips, etc. Free appetizers on Friday evenings, too. (http://thefield.com/)

Also, San Diego's weather forecast call for 7o's and sunny all week. So come on "over the pond" and join us for a pint!

Happy Bird-day To Me!

January 6th, Epiphany

for my birthday i went to the purebred pigeon show. it was splendid! i adore birds. even pigeons. they are beautiful. when i first married my husband he called them sky rats and it hurt my feelings. (he's from NY.)

later in the day we saw this sunset in Del Mar. i felt like the sky, and God, were smiling on my birthday.

we also saw whales very far away, migrating and blowing spray. O happy day...

what is your favorite birthday memory?

Tweetbook and Twitface

so i sent the poem in the previous post to a lot of friends and other people by email. got a lot of nice responses.
one said "you should publish this, seriously." well, i have. on my blog. see?

the cousin (of the friend who is championing my novel) who is nice enough to give me publishing advice by phone, and just got a job a Harper's (OMG) said,"and this is why you should be promoting yourself and get on facebook and twitter." nice compliment!

but ugh. i do NOT want to go on tweetbook and twitface. argh. more machines/instruments of torture/things that utterly defeat me, exasperate me, prove i should have been born in an earlier century!

and how much self-promotion is too much? and, if you wish to publish, does nothing remain private? i am scared enough by blogging! have i already said too much?

Naughty Or Nice?

The holidays are here all right
anxiety is running high
money through our hands flows out
trinkets, baubles make us pout

We've been bad as usual
our tempers are abominable
Santa is upset and sore
he might not come here anymore

Children gritch in Gucci beds
parents envision divorce in their heads
expectations are unreasonable
and no one feels quite seasonal

Maybe if we just get quiet
we will yet avoid the riot
light some candles, play a hymn
joy may still be found within

Keep it simple, keep it real
and maybe soon we'll feel the thrill
of snow on rooftops, fires in hearth
songs and silence, peace on earth


star st.claire, san diego, 2010

Escondido Bomb House

so now san diego is in the news again because of the bomb house in Escondido. and the grand solution the authorities have come up with is to burn the house to the ground.

Merry Christmas, unfortunate neighbors, here is your toxic smoke and fireworks. weeeheee!

don't get me wrong, i LOVE san diego. it is, almost, paradise. but i think we are sending tourists a bad message.

between your "junk" being groped at Lindbergh airport, the chance a bomb-maker could move in next door, and the apparent leanings of the county officials toward pyromania, someone could get hurt.

so, fellow writers, doesn't it seem more and more evident that true life is stranger than fiction?