Clinkscales Arts

Tuesday night, November 4, 2008, is a night I’ll never forget.  I had been holding back the tears of joy until 10pm when polls closed in California and CNN called the election.  An election of hope and of change and of the promise of work to be done.  I was overrun by emotion and so very proud to be living during this time in history when we stood together and chose the best man for our future.

Thank you Mr. President-Elect Barack Obama for taking on the mess that is our country and helping us to see that the path won’t be easy, but the progress is in our hands.

I know I’ve been very quiet lately, but I’ve been sick and can’t seem to shake it.  My cough is getting a tad bit better each day, so maybe by Christmas it will be gone. Bleh.

I *almost* bought my most favorite painting on Etsy today.  It was “The Girl from Oklahoma” by Lauren Pope of Lavatican.  I’ve lusted after this painting for two years, drooled over it, but could never afford it.  Today I saw that Lauren had marked the price down and decided to buy it.  I emailed her to ask her to hold it until I got paid in a few days.  Before she could respond to me, some evil witch swooped in and snatched it.

My heart will be forever broken.

I was pleased to get a Google Alert that my Spring Greens Necklace had been featured on The Art Zoo!  Check out their blog for some amazing work.  Thanks, Art Zoo!

I’ve been following this political race for a while now.  I watched all of the Democratic National Convention and quite a bit of the Republican National Convention.  My television automatically goes to CNN when I turn it on.  I’ve watched Larry King Live and Bill O’Reilly.  I wanted to learn about both sides and make an educated decision this November.

I remember seeing an interview with Barack and Michelle Obama when he became Senator of Illinois and I thought to myself, “This guy is sharp, I like him.”  Lo and behold, here he is, running for president.  I’ve listened to his speeches and those of John McCain as well.

I don’t believe that John McCain is as bad as Dubba (whom I detest with all my heart and soul, and yes, I AM from Texas), but I do not agree with McCain’s policies and especially his choice of Sarah Pallin on the VP nominee.  Her policies terrify me.  If you’d like to join me as a Woman Against Sarah Pallin, you can sign this petition and visit this blog and let your voice be heard.

Watching Barack Obama speak gives me hope.  I see that we’ve got a long way to go and I know the road will be a rough one, but I feel like he’s the man to lead this country out of the crap that we’ve sunk into over the last 8 years.  This is my favorite quote from the speech he gave on August 28th when he accepted the Democratic nomination for President:

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that’s the essence of America’s promise.

I believe he is the man to lead us into the future - a future of choice, a future of acceptance of our differences,  a future where the American education system is one to be proud of, not laughed at, a future where we regain the respect of our fellow countries that has been lost in the previous eight years, and a future where our manufacturing and customer service jobs don’t go to India and China and Mexico.

I already have my Obama car magnet and I’ve made a donation, but today I followed a link from Hillary Lang’s Wee Wonderfuls site to a fund raising page for Obama/Biden set up by Julie of Julieree.  If you click on the link of her name, you can read a heart-felt post about why she backs Barack Obama in his bid for the Presidency. Julie is rallying crafters to stand behind Obama and let our voices be heard.  I have donated to Julie’s fund raising efforts via her page on BarackObama.com  If you believe that he is the man to lead our future, please consider donating to his campaign. She has also invited crafters to add Crafters for Obama button to their blogs and link to her fund raising page.

I welcome comments, but request that if your views opose mine, you will write with respect to all sides.  Thank you.

While wasting time on Etsy yesterday, I found myself with a treasury.  I named it “I have nothing planned!” because I really didn’t.  I went through my favorites and picked out some gorgeous pink items, then did a search for my EBW team members to see what they had been creating in pink.  I think it turned out well.  If you’d like to see it in person, it’s live until Monday, September 22.  But…stay away from that painting by Lavatican - I want it!  (I can’t afford it, but it’s mine nonetheless.)

These earrings were inspired by my recent trip to the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth to see The Impressionists Exhibit.  Seeing all of the paintings from the late 1800’s made me want to get in on the action.  My Old Paris Chic earrings could have easily been worn by one of the ladies of At the Moulin Rouge as Toulouse-Lautrec illustrates below.  I got to see this painting, by the way!  It’s was marvelous.  I couldn’t stop staring at the green lady on the right.  Her eyes were completely mesmerizing.  If you love the Impressionists, do not miss this exhibit.  My niece and I went through it three times (in one visit).

Old Paris Chic earrings are listed in my shop.

I have a love of stones and glass and when I find a piece of glass that looks like a magnificent stone, I’m inspired!  I purchased several of these borosilicate glass cabochons from the Etsy seller vadrian about a year ago.  I immediately began creating a bezel for this piece but never finished it…until now.  I had originally planned for this to have a herringbone beaded chain and be suspended from a peyote tab, but once I found the faceted crystal beads, I knew I had a great combination.  A beaded toggle finishes it off.  Fit for a Queen is listed in my shop.

One of my fellow EBW members and extremely talented beadweaver, Kerrie Slade, is using her beading to help support breast cancer research.  She designed the following lapel pin and the pattern is being sold on Beading Daily.  All proceeds from the purchase of the pattern from now until September 30th will be donated to help fight cancer.  Please help support cancer research by purchasing the pattern for $3.  If you do purchase the pattern, please respect Kerrie’s copyright.  She will allow you to make as many as you choose, but they can only be sold for charity, not for personal gain.

Beading Daily is also hosting a contest - The Power of Beading Contest - and you can win one of Kerrie’s fabulous pins.  Here’s a direct quote from the Beading Daily Blog:

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Enter the Power of Beading Contest

Do you have a dramatic ”got to be beading” story of your own?  Or maybe beading helped bring hope and healing to a smaller, more ordinary moment?  I clearly remember a day last summer when I accidentally tore a hole in a favorite skirt.  I was so upset!  And yet, after a little time beading, my anger just faded away.  It was not a dramatic, life-changing moment, but the small act of beading helped me overcome the challenge of keeping life in perspective that day.

How has beading helped you through a challenging time?  Tell us and you could win one of Kerrie Slade’s handcrafted ribbon pins.

There will be two first place winners.  Each winner will receive a handcrafted ribbon pin created and donated by talented designer Kerrie Slade. Kerrie has shared her creations in several issues of Beadwork, most recently the Olive Dangles and Periwinkle Choker projects in the August/September issue on sale now.

The pink ribbon has a 9K gold pin with a heart made of 24K gold cylinder beads. The teal ribbon has a sterling silver pin with a heart made of galvanized silver cylinder beads. Entries will be judged by Kerrie Slade.  Names will be removed from the entries prior to judging.

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So, do some beading for charity, have some fun and help support a cause that has touched so many lives.  Thanks!

That’s right, folks, Renoir and I have a date on Thursday!  I’m lucky enough to live within driving distance of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.  (I used to live within *walking* distance of the museum and never went!  Bad, bad, Susan…)  It seems that the Art Institute of Chicago is getting a bit of a face lift and they have loaned 92 of their “most celebrated works” to the Kimbell for an exhibit never before seen in Texas - The Impressionists.  One of Renoir’s most famous work, Two Sisters, is in the exhibit.

I’m from Texas and my family is still there.  I was planning a trip home this weekend and my daddy suggested I see this exhibit while I’m there.  So I am!  I can not wait.  I’m so excited to see the work of Renoir and Degas and Manet and Monet, but I think the one I’m most excited to see is Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte.  It’s huge - 83 1/2″ x 108 3/4″ (that’s 212.2 cm x 276.2 cm for y’all on the other side of the pond).  I want to just stand in front of it’s glory and soak it in.  I know that impressionism is meant to be viewed from a distance so that your eyes can mix all of those wonderful brush strokes into beautiful-ness, but I love to get close and look at each individual stroke.  I’m one of those “how did they do THAT?” kinda people.

If you get a chance, check out the site that The Kimbell has set up for The Impressionists Exhibit.  It shows every work in the collection.  I’ll report back next week and let you know how it was.  Go ahead, you can be jealous now.