A little art

It’s raining again in Houston, and while I know lots of people–especially those who drive in it–are sick of it, I can’t help but enjoy it because it drops the temperature a little and nourishes my yard. And in spite of the fact that it caused one of my gutters to swing loose and scare me and the dogs, it’s also great reading weather–if only I had SOMETHING NEW to read. So I’m rereading books, and never mind which ones, because I can’t take the snark.

Between books, I grabbed a Barbie from the naked model box and dressed her in one of the Barbie Basics little black dresses. Then I posed her in front of one of Lindsey’s unfinished paintings that I like and am not even sure if it should BE unfinished because it’s so cool. Although I’m not presenting it right-side-up here.

And speaking of art, last week’s challenge on Bravo’s Work of Art was for the artists to create a piece that was shocking and memorable and spoke to issues that are important to them personally. The bodily fluids! The nudity!

If you’ve read my novels, you know that “shocking” is not really my thing. But here’s what I created to submit to the Work of Art blog.

(view large on black)


Materials: Acrylic, ink, blood, bloody tissues, magazine collage, book excerpts, product packaging, and used lancets and glucose test strips on canvas.

Statement: Diabetes may not seem shocking in art, but it’s shocking to the person who has it. Words and pictures on the canvas present the challenges of dealing with this chronic illness including fears of blindness and amputation, unfounded guilt about the illness, and the wearying necessity of being aware of the content of everything eaten every day and daily testing of blood glucose.

30 Days of Creativity: Days 29 and 30


I went by Edwards Cinema at Greenway Plaza in Houston just before midnight on Tuesday. I wanted to see how many people were waiting to get into the six theaters that were showing Eclipse for the first time. I talked to some of the people standing in line and they were really excited. It was a more diverse audience than I was expecting–plenty of guys, and they didn’t look like they were forced to see the movie. There were also some tired parents. Mostly, there were people of all ages who looked happy to be there. Whether you hate the movies and books or love them, it’s fun to see people excited and having a good time.

ETA 2022: I created a little video for all of this, but the site who hosted it deleted it. Oh, well.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my contributions to 30 Days of Creativity. I’ve had fun participating.

30 Days of Creativity: Day 28

Here’s something I was working on a while back but I don’t think I ever shared. Lynne met a man in Virginia who makes boxes out of scrap wood, and she brought me this one (those are two drawers that pull out). I decided to feature it in a little department store tableau, using miniature perfumes that were a gift from James. I wanted Barbie to have a Grace Kelly vibe. This is one of the dresses I made for my most recent Project Runway final collection. The backdrop is part of the painting “Gold” from my True Colors collection.

For 30 Days of Creativity.

Button Sunday

Today’s button post is dedicated to Marika, who had a crappy day on Friday. Even though I usually run with the vampires in spirit, I know Marika is all about the wolf–and in three days she can see more of the pack.

Also, Marika, here’s a photo I meant to post for you a couple of weeks ago: a place you can go in your mind the next time you need a little escape from reality.