Shoes or Daily Death Defying Devices?

I am not a shoe person. Of course my feet are not the industry size standard of beauty so in a way I can thank or blame them for my indifference to this apparently totally feminine obsession. The women who wear them well I admire and envy. I can even understand some of the aesthetic value of these marvels but I do not get the need to place myself in danger with every move I make.

Yesterday I saw a women nearly kill herself 3 times while walking across a fairly flat intersection. Her shoes were 100% to blame. They were lovely; a concoction of red and gold on a huge wedge that took her normal 5 foot 3 self up to a towering five foot six or seven. She had style but she did not have grace. She was walking and talking with a friend and nearly fell after the first two steps. Made a misstep by the 5th movement and crashed into the curb because she didn't lift her foot high enough when she reached the other side of the intersection with her final step. She then proceeded to "stomp" Frankenstein's monster style the rest of the way down the sidewalk in order to maintain her balance. It was not a pretty sight.

Why do we do this? Most shoes are NOT made by women for women. In the original onset of the high heel both men and women wore them, why is it we are still out in the stratosphere while men are securely planted on terra firma? Why do we feel the need to risk an injury just to "pull an outfit together"? Who are we really wearing these shoes for? 

I hate that we as a whole are such slaves to an industry who on a regular basis refer to the models as "hangers" for their clothes.  Our feet deserve more respect than we currently give them. Our self worth does as well. I don't know about  you but I am tired of the stiletto, no heel, stripper look shoe as the standard. Creative footwear, more power to you but for those of us who like to keep our feet on the ground please return to designing something more environmentally sound in sizes so everyone can keep their pretty feet safe on the ground.

Novel November

I am exhausted. I applaud authors their ability to live their lives and write consistently. I need to find one to mentor me as I have not quite mastered this skill. The month of October has come and gone without a word from me. It is now Novel November and once again I have missed my moment to write from beginning to end. It is only day 3 and technically I could catch up but I know what events are on the horizon and fear that this will prevent me from writing anything at all. I might try for a March Madness Moment instead. There are 31 days in March and it should be a more calm time of year. I could even be an April fool as this is a fool hardy experience. All I know is I need to start back to the basics and write again. Let's see if I can do it.

Shameless Self Promtion!

I have been quiet on the internet because I have been creating art offline. I am fortunate enough to be able to announce that  My piece, “Amaze Face” will be on the move this year as a part of  The Whole 9‘s upcoming 4th annual Peace Project entitled Peace, Love and Understanding.

This exhibition will be unveiled on World Peace Day, September 21st at Affair of the Arts in Culver City, CA, and will then makes stops throughout the United States. Confirmed appearances include:

September 21st & 22nd – Affair of the Arts, Culver City, CA

October 5th – Art Zone 461, San Francisco, CA

October 12th – 29 Pieces, Dallas, TX

Thursday, November 7th — Evening Reception, Landmark Arts Building, Chelsea, NY

Saturday, November 9th — Open House, Landmark Arts Building, Chelsea, NY

November 23rd – The Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA

In these turbulent times, it’s nice to know people are working for peace. Come join me and the many other artists for a wonderful event.

Going from ME to WE

Okay, this relationship thing is interesting. I mean you meet someone. You build a friendship. You learn each other's quirks. You try to make all the idiosyncrasies work. It's a process. It is amazing how at some unknown point during the courtship you start saying we and us as opposed to I and me. How did I go from me to we?

I am not even sure when it started. All I know is that all of a sudden (maybe not as suddenly as I believe) I am referring to my place as home for the two of us, we check the calendar to see where we can fit in new events and when invited to places I am now saying we might have plans let me check. When did this happen? I mean we've barely crossed over the one year mark and yet I am certain this "we" thing happened well before that.

Part of me greatly enjoys the fact that I have a significant other who I need to consult to make sure we have nothing on the agenda, however my fiercely independent side is not on board with the program. She is beside herself with annoyance at constantly having to pull out the calendar to see if something else is there. She misses just saying yes to something and doing whatever, whenever she pleased.

I think it is a fear of losing oneself in another. I have nothing to fear as I do enough on my own to not  let that happen but the "what if" creeps in now and again to throw it's nonsense into the mix. "What if I am doing too many of his things", "What if I don't get to see my friends enough or anymore", "What if I am making him do too many of my events", "What if we are just humoring each other and none of this seemingly great compromise is real". The "What If" monster lurks around  hoping to cause a ripple in the delicate balance of the new formed we. Fighting it is a hard task but it can be done.

I have learned the fine art of compromise. I have always been able to stand firm and say NO if I mean No but I now say it in a way that doesn't feel as if I am laying down the law as opposed to just expressing disinterest. I have learned that no matter how my independent side argues against too much us, she is sad when the other half of we isn't about. I still greatly enjoy my me but I am now growing comfortable with we.

Plans and Procrastination III

Well, I was wrong. July was NOT my triumphant return to reality. When the world seems to crash around on all sides sometimes you stand tall and sometimes you hide. Still in other moments you runaway to live to fight another day. I chose a bit of all 3. The possibility of being creative was there but quite ephemeral. I felt urges and yet ignored them or followed them til they disappeared into the shadows at the edge of my reality.

Writers often talk about the perfection environment for writing. There has to be time, energy, creativity and security for this magical thing called writing to occur. July did not bring all of those elements into alignment. Today is the first day I have felt the celestial elements combine and align and I am glad for their return.

Hopefully this creativity castle will stay fixed in the heavens for more than a moment. It is rather exhausting to dig deep within your self and put thought to paper but that is the intent of this blog. I have several subjects to bring forth so in order to catch up with my writing I might post more than one in a week and possibly even in a day.

To all the writers who earn their living in this medium, I applaud your tenacity. This is an effortless process when the words are in stock but the droughts are ever so tedious and time consuming. I am amazed at your ability to bring forth life from such dry ground. Here's to my next round of life.

Plans and Procrastination II

In the original article I wrote that I had "plans from here til July". I definitely did not lie. I am exhausted but in a mostly good way. I have not been idle but I have lacked the needed time and frame of mind to continue with this portion of my blogosphere. I have managed to maintain my artistic endeavors and to write  a poem a day (most weeks) but writing the longer essay style has been at the fringes of my list.

Learning to combine two calendars has been an interesting feat. Compromise is a great tool. I am positive that is why so many individuals continue to have difficulty at this task. It's even more difficult when you have grown accustomed to doing everything your own way.These people lack the will, desire or ability to compromise. Yes, you are with someone to be with that person but you are always going to be with yourself. You must learn to be on your own again and secure in your partner.

"Procrastination has worked it's magic and plans for the future have returned to their proper place." Reality is often complicated and, when dealing with unwanted issues, quite difficult to bear. Time to face up to reality once again. Procrastination has now come to an end.

The Cracks of the Clothing World

Okay fashion industry, it is well past time for you to get it together. I am in a land where I am too big to be small and too small to be big. According to a woman who designed a costume for me, I am all bust. I have a waist I have curves, I can shop in any store from the waist down but because "the girls" are well developed, dresses and shirts are my enemy. I also have the unfortunate luck of having a size 10 and a half wide shoe size. I literally fall between the cracks of the clothing world. Whether it is too small, too big or not small/big enough, one thing is for certain; I am not alone.

I have been on shoe shopping excursions to find many other delightful divas unable to find footwear that's the right look or size. Why does the industry believe that a big foot equals bad taste? Why do the fashion gurus think that basic black or obnoxious prints are the only styles worthy of covering  those above a size 10? Why have we continually allowed them to dictate the styles of our life? I am not a Barbie Doll, Wanna be rock star, bland soccer mom, stripper nor Hollywood wife and I would like the fashion options and footwear that state that.

While I am at it, what's up with the "pros-ti-tot" attire? Everywhere I look I see the sexualization  of our youth. NO one needs a pair of skinny jeans. I should not be seeing kinders in pleather knee high boots and elementary girls in short shorts that make Daisy Dukes look like respectable church attire. I am tired of seeing your thong. I hate knowing what boxers you are wearing. Our boys need to pull up their pants. It's been 30 years now buy a belt!