Just trying to keep the inspiration going and going around in circles....its nice to share what I have been working on lately. This is one of the new costumes I'm working on...I'm trying to infuse as much copper highlights as possible, but not to over due it so I look like a Liza Minnelli look alike an new years eve. Alot of needlework went into this one...but the black base was an old black sequined dress that came from Ginger Blue member, Megan Blackford.




That dress really has stretched over a couple of costumes. Most of the hard work was all the sewing of the copper sequins and buttons. I'm just hoping it will come across on stage!

And always most of the time goes into just staring at the piece....its so silly, but one really just needs to stare at things for quite some time to make it all happen. Staring and staring and staring. sad really. Its probably why I needed a stronger prescription of glasses.
But its fun to share...and I know I always appreciate it so much when I gain inspiration from others...and trust me, I have done my share of blowing up pictures of Rachel Brices boobs just to see what the hell shes got on that bra. ( its an illness I know, sorry Rachel.)
so thats my goal here......just spreading out the ju ju:)
Ok if you can spread it around as well, its kinda nice.

(home office)

well sometimes inspirations just come knocking on the door....sometimes you gotta look for them...this time was the latter for me...

I'm always looking for inspiration whether its in art, music, dance, yoga, books. Yesterday was in art. I was just digging around and looking at Old costumes
from the 30's and checking out costume sketches...when I came across some beautiful drawings.

On further inspection and a tad of research, I discovered the fabulous world of Erte. Now I must have been living under a rock...why havn't I discovered this earlier is a mystery.(the joys of having a busy family) Its funny to discover things and truly understand them at a later date in life. Really there was recognition in the art right away...but I had no understanding of the artist. It was lovely to discover something new, and to gain inspiration from. Erte, was creating his works up until the end of his life. And many of his later creations and sculptures are very valuable. His work is mostly known for creating covers for Harper's magazine in the 30's. Each picture a feast to behold for anyone who enjoys fantasy and beautiful costume creations from this era.
If you get a chance look him up, Erte is a fascinating character and talented artist with a beautiful vision of the female form. Most of his work is in the smithsonian and the New York Museum...just another artist to put on the to do list of checking out in life:)

no this not a happy post.

This is a pissed off post, and believe me one that I have had huge discussions with those closest to me. Arguments if you will.

In July of this year, the french government started to clear all Roma camps within France within three months of the July 29th statements from the french prime minister. Camps have been cleared, the people have been deported. Even french nationals have been deported. The reason being?? well who knows the reason seems to change everyday. One day its to stop child prostitution, the next is because these people are illegally living on french soil, it does change every day. Where the hell they have been shipped, who knows...BBC has gotten to that part yet.

Now I can spew and spew about this for quite some time. I do feel quite strongly about a whole group of people who continue to be kicked out every country they enter. A people that no country will claim. A people that are constantly called thieves, and every other bad term for human beings you can think of. But in the end people know them as gypsies, and this whole group of people have to live with this term , for better or for worse. Some people think...hell ya...kick em out....they will just rob us blind in the streets if we let them. Well aren't we all grand.

I dunno about you....but I'm pretty sure that in my family I have some immigrant blood in me. Part whatever and a little dash of this and that. Regardless if your family was on that side of the war or on the other side...alot of our families struggled for the chance to live in North America. And when they got here they struggled even more to create and transplant their lives here. Someone gave our ancestors a chance...regardless of background and religion. This journey still happens today. And no, dammit, its not the perfect story in either Canada or the US. Many bumps and setbacks have happened withing history and even todays age.

What makes me upset about this situation is the general feeling that this needs to be swept under the carpet. The EU has gotten together in Europe, and the EU had alot to say to the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. and needless to say Mr Sorkozy has gotten his feathers a wee bit ruffled. WHAT???? the rest of the EU doesn't like what we are doing??? huh?? They dare compare us to Nazi Germany....sighhhhhh....Now the issue has been swept under the carpet for a onslaught of name calling and political insults. meanwhile...people are still being deported.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11345165

Now this issue is not just uniquely a french one. I believe this has been happening to the Roma people, pretty much everywhere they go. It just so happens that France is a large European country and what they do there will get reported on BBC.

anyways if you do, take a chance to read about it.Educate yourselves....I believe the Roma people are in every country in the EU. It would be a shame to see other countries follow suit. The trouble is no country will claim them as there own...no passports no papers...if they do get  papers, doesn't mean your able to work legally in any of these countries. France shipping people outta the country is a band aid solution. band aids fall off....its an issue that doesn't get alot of press time, cause god knows we will be attacked by the middle east at any second. but hey I digress.

The reason why this is pressing....and what BBC has not gotten too....is that this is now happening in Italy. Just in the last couple of days in Rome, Milan and Naples.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/world/europe/04roma.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=gypsys%20in%20rome&st=cse

its a slippery slope folks.

No Human Being is Illegal.


check out this vid by one of my favorite groups Gogol Bordello...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKoQgODwveE

National Romani Anti-Discrimination Organization
http://nrado.com/

Soooo...what did you do this summer???

remember that question from when you were a kid? Fall would always bring on school, new shoes, frosty mornings...and most of all the question I always hated most. Somehow I just thought it was a boring question to ask. Now granted when you were a kid, you could draw out your answer with a lovely picture of the beach and a happy face sunshine. But as a teenager, it was a tougher question. Lemme see at sixteen what did I do that summer....right, slept in everyday, worked at my kushy city job,partied, partied, the beach, hung out with boys.... do I have to write an essay about that crap? Now come Mr( insert english teachers name here) do you really wanna know this info? I swear it was a way for the school to see if students did any illegal activities over the summer...or just to weed out the hosers. So....what does one do in this dilemma...well I would lie. Maybe not lie all out lie...but really stretch the truth a wee bit...just a wee bit. Now come on, don't look at me that way, 1000 word essay!!!!????? Don't tell me you didn't lie either. Especially when we all know 16 year olds need about 18 hours of sleep per day, what else is there to talk about when school rolls around.


So as I age....aka getting older. :::gasp:::: I find that summers are shorter and shorter...and the small time where the air is warm enough to wear shorts and tanks until 12 midnight, where the sun cracks at 4:30 am and doesn't set until 10 pm, where you can sit and listen to crickets at night, BBQ, BBQ, BBQ, beautiful beaches and hours of surfing. Alas summer is way to short, for this summertime addict. And for me, there is always a pang of sadness when the colors change on the trees, and the air gets nippy at night. I always yearn for those summer nights.
 

so what did I do???? well I'm currently living in Germany...I travelled of course! First up was having my girls of Ginger Blue join me in Europe. They stayed with me for a couple of days...did some crazy hiking up in the Alps...then headed over to Nimes, France to dance at Tribal Umrah. This is a young festival hosted by the lovely Djyenne of France. I have had the opportunity to meet Djyenne at Tribal Fest 2 years running. So it really was wonderful to see her on home turf, with all the incredible talented ladies of france dancing to what we all love best, Tribal Fusion. Its a great idea, Tribal Umrah is a tribal fusion only festival, so the whole basis for this festival is to feature and promote the tribal fusion culture. And what a festival! Good job Djyenne!! I look forward to Barcelona, next year! Always the greatest thing about festivals is meeting new people, making friends and taking some really great workshops!




Next up.....my parents came to see me in Germany!! that was really great to see them and really nice for my kids to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa. With my folks here we planned to get in some sights with them. First stop...Venice, Italy. Now at this point, the weather was crazy crazy warm. So all I gotta say..thank goodness we had air conditioning in the car. Or things would be a little crazy. Venice is about 6 hours from my house...and having a full load of poeple plus 2 kids is always an entertaining road trip! But we made it. Venice was beautiful as always, but crowded!! crazy crowded with people. I knew it would be crowded but it didn't really prepare me for the people! But we found some nice cafe's to hang out in and every shaded place in Venice did not go unexplored. Shopping with my mom was fun...but drove the hubby crazy::::rolls eyes::: The only mishap was the entire trip was I fell in the canal. Yes you heard right...the canal. Yeeeesssss...thhhhheeeee canal. Umm yeah. my $2 Old navy flip flops failed me, and I slipped right in. you can stop laughing now. yep anytime. So yeahhhhhh, had to buy a new dress, and yes I still have my flip flops, I dove back in to get them, dammit. stop laughing anytime now. Maybe I should contact Old navy for this brilliant advertising idea....mmmmmmm.

All water under the bridge har har. Next stop was Vienna, Austria. Again, many blessings to the air conditioner gods, and another 6 hour drive to Vienna. Everything always seems so close, until you gotta do it with other folks in a vehicle together and a glitchy navi. Well obviously we all survived. We had a great weekend in Vienna. Its really a beautiful city, with such beautiful architecture ,and history. Apparently its rated the best city in the world to live in....bumping Vancouver outta its first place spot. Having visited..I can see why. Really its hard to describe so here are some pics...

Really there are loads more....I'll show ya the next time I see ya:) So sadly it was time to say goodbye to my folks, as they headed to Paris and Amsterdam to continue their trip. But our family vacation was just about to begin!! So again, more packing...more driving...more air conditioning...and yeah!!!! The west coast of France! Now, if you havn't been here, and your into surfing you gotta check this area out. Its kinda like the sand dune parts of the Oregan coast.




Really wild and beautiful and miles upon miles of white sand beaches. My kinda place:) Except here's the glitch. My husband booked us into a Naturist Campsite for a whole month. What does that mean well naturist is european talk for Nudist. yep a nudist campground...for 1 month.a whole month. So needless to say, one must get over any body issues they currently have. and suck it up. because going naked are the rules. Ohhh husband. So fyi. If you suffer from any body issues or lack of self confidance...one realizes very quickly that really you gotta get over things in a naturist campground. Everyone is naked all the time and everywhere you look. The bathrooms are cooed..the showers are cooed...the pool is cooed...naked restaurants...naked bars....naked beaches...naked naked naked. Really I had to leave my sunglasses on my face 100% of the time for the first 2 weeks. really. Anything that you have fabricated in your brain about your body, you need to know it does not exist. And quite frankly seeing a campground with over 5000 people in it full of naked people in every size and shape, you come to realize, heyyyyyy...things are not sooooo bad about your body. Now, please can someone tell me how to ride my bike without burning my ass off. That was not in the info brochure. And no, I don't have any pictures of the campground. Don't ask. But I did get some cool shots at the beach. At sunset...sooooo no naked pics...sorry.
A month of sunning and surfing. gives one a very good tan. My vitamin d quotas are very high. But now time  to head home, ( But first  a small  trip over to the Bordeaux region for some wine tasting!) Yeah we were close(just North west of this area) and had been drinking the fabulous Bordeaux wines all month...now to actually check out were they are!. Really truly every thing you ever thought of Bordeaux in your brain is true. Really truly just beautiful...and hopefully I get a chance to go back!!




Well there you have it.....summer vacation. Fairly epic, really.Toren lost his first tooth, my folks visited Europe for the first time, Good friends, broken car drama, Italy, France, Austria, camping, surfing wine more wine...whew!! I believe I have even surpased my 1000 word essay limit. My grade 11 english teacher would be proud. I think me and Tones worked it out that we have driven over 10 000 km this summer. Thats alot of driving...but we had a fun! I would feel sorry for the dog if I were you. she was the one trapped beside 2 kids for most of the summer....poor Kaia.

Holy moly!!
time sure does fly when you having fun. I just realized I havn't written a blog since June. Well really quite frankly what the hells the point in having a blog then...mmmmmm???? HA! Really blogs are just for putting down ones thoughts. Online diary writing. But have you seen some of these blogs out there??? Theres ads, flash thingeys, more ads, more bells and whistles. And theres people who write blogs about  peoples blogs...like some sort of judging panel....annnnnnnnnnnndddddd people who are all wrapped up in all that crap...get free shit sent to them from people wanting them to mention or trash their product...because any advertising is good advertising.

theres even blogs to tell you how to blog to get more famous and to teach you how to network and get more people linked to you blog to create more activity and to be able to get more free shit.

well, damn. what the hell have I been doing with my life??

well honestly....clearly I'm naive about the whole damn thing. And clearly I have missed the whole damn point of blogs.


It seems like everyone can get on every avenue of the mass media engine and get there 2 cents and 15 minutes of fame, quicker and faster then ever before. The purity of the written word be damned....only write if you get paid I guess. Sad really. I used to write alot. Way way way outta practice. writing is like a muscle. Its needs exercise, just like any other artistic form. Drawing, dancing, writing...take time and patience and exercise. This is one of my small goals in southern Germany. Annnnndddd hopefully its not always just my vacation pics!! Ha..you'll still get those of course.....to all 15 followers:) Here's to writing more...and taking the time to do it...and.....not getting paid or bought off to enjoy it:) now where is my damn pen?