see the pyramids...

...and the eiffel tower and the Forbidden City in China and the Grand Canyon and my very own house! whew! i've been traveling some today! this is so cool..."Google Earth." you can download a free version and pick a place and BAM! there you are. satellite shots zoom in till you feel like you're there, and you can skew the view so you get more of a topographic look. there are dots to click on where people have posted their photos from that spot, and some have a link to click to learn more about the spot. I highly recommend Niagara Falls! you'll want to reach for an umbrella! ***so while i was doing all this virtual travel, the Next Big Thing was rambling around in my head. i'm not sure what form it will take, and i've tried to give it wide enough mental berth to take form. so far, i think it may involve a wearable art piece. a few years ago on the way to Lake Placid, we stopped in this tiny town for lunch. there were some architecturally cool buildings and i went for a short walk down Main St to look at them. i came across an army/navy store that was a treasure trove....this was the real deal, not some yupped-up version with Columbia sweaters and a few camo items. on a rack crammed near the back was a riding coat liner from a Swiss Army (real Swiss Army - not just the brand name) cavalry coat. it's knee-length black quilted silk, and screaming for embellishment. there are rubberized leather patches around the buttons, and elastic around the wrists inside the cuffs. it's glorious in it's naked state, but i'm seeing it beaded up and embroidered somehow. and that's what's been the sticky part. i have too many ideas all vying for attention..PICK ME! so far there's been a hummingbird, a butterfly, an abstract design of my own, a beaded version of Gustav Klimt's serpent woman, Hygeia (which i'm leaning toward. it's part of his Medicine series, and that's so fitting). Then i thought of doing something a la Rise Freeman-Zachery...a stenciled narrative type of thing. but so far, nothing tipping the scales. it also has to end up as a recogizable image, so i'm thinking that although i love the Klimt image, it may not translate well. so on top of that, i have the coolest rusty sphere that's been calling me for a while now. i've put it out on my worktable, and there it sits all lonely and taunting. this is the sweet, delicious, painful groaning part of creating...the birth of the idea. waiting waiting for it to come forth. then deciding on the materials to use. that part can be equal in it's agony. it makes me wish that i was a painter, sometimes.... at least then i'd know i'd be reaching for paints after the idea came. just paints. sometimes the material drives the idea, but usually it's the other way around. my girlfriend asked me today what i want for my birthday, and i said "rusty metal." unfortunately, she'd just passed a rusty tailpipe and muffler in the road and said it was meant to be! (she was kidding) (i hope). my brother (i think it was him) once said i was the only person he knew that could be given a can of rusty nails and i'd like it better than something from Tiffany's! sorry...i've got a real thing for rusty metal. i've had 4 days off and i don't feel like i've gotten anything done art-wise. i think after the fairy wings i needed a break. so the East Coast Art Retreat is really coming together nicely. not too many details to share yet, but i think this may just work. Diva is still moping after her kitties went to their real home. i'd love to get her a kitty but i found out last night that my allergies still persist. maybe i'll just suck it up and take allergy medicine if i need it....her tail almost wagged right off. she was so gentle with them, and after they got a little comfortable, the games began! my stepsister has a kitty that's just terrified to live with her and her 2 pitbulls, 1 collie mix, and 4 other cats (in a trailer). it's declawed, and has no real defense other than to run and hide. it's just starving for affection and i feel like that would be the cat to give a loving home to. i don't want to take on more than i can be responsible for though...when we had all 3 dogs it was just overwhelming. i know cats are less work, but if it's afraid of dogs, and Nikki wants to be it's best friend, then it can only mean double duty in the petting dept... another thought to think. she was just so thrilled last night though. so i should be hemming my pants (duct tape) but don't feel like getting off the couch. lazy lazy lazy. nikki's snoring in the corner, jenny's on her computer, bill's on his computer, and here i sit on mine. ahhh...Norman Rockwell never imagined this! so, bye for now...i've got to get in the shower and see what develops with this Next Big Thing. that's where i do my best thinking. L