“These Loins Bear Fruit (Melon Balls, Dried Apricots, Frozen Grapes)”

Launching into the holidaze with this

playful Thanksgiving centerpiece

— it’s *literally* HIGH STEAKS stuff —

12 in. x 12 in. vintage & contemporary imagery collage on mounted spray-painted canvas in snow-speckled sage green/soft gray hombre background + metallic washi tape side trim in tarnished gold, sealed w/ glossy Mod Podge

#surrealart #oddcollage #modpodge #thanksgiving2023 #holidazed #vintageglamour #fooddisplay #sagegreen #melonorange #gravyporn

“Organ Chain”

8 in. x 10 in. vintage imagery collage on mounted canvas with titanium white latex paint, Mod Podge, and metallic washi tape side trim in tarnished gold -- a companion piece to "Medallions", below, (and as seen in final slide, pasted to the back of this work's canvas)

12 in. x 12 in. vintage imagery collage on black canvas with enamel latex paint, Mod Podge, washi tape side trim in patterned bronze & black (late-May 2021)

"Without even asking the price, Keith Richards slipped the ring straight onto his finger." 

- Connoisseur Magazine

#surrealart #oddcollage #modpodge #channelingversace #outrageousfashion #organdonorlove #unusualcharms #goodasgold #keithrichardswasmymuse

“Little Fires Everywhere” (*with apologies to Celeste Ng)

A VERITABLE ERUPTION OF PLAYGROUND PANDEMONIUM!

14 in. x 11 in. mixed media collage, primarily sourced from a recently unearthed preschool textbook entitled ABC Social Studies Series: “Our Neighborhood” (1961) by Professors Dorothy M. Fraser & Harry E. Hoy, with hombre spray paint over mounted black canvas and acrylic black latex paint for smoke detailing, then sealed with glossy Mod Podge + patterned pink washi tape sides

Enjoy this wild rumpus 

of precocious pyros and displaced spirits 

as we approach Halloween...

#healthyamountsofchaos #surrealart #mixedmediacollage #modpodge #sheermadness #anarchywithinreason #butseriouslystayesafe

“Lady Marmalade: Temptress From Tampa”

SHE'S GOT SOLAR FLAIR!

Third in a series (see last two slides for the others, property of my dear friend Emma Carbo, from March of 2022 titled "High on the Hog" and "The Gammon Gamine:  Fallen in Pollen, the Rasher Will Catch Her")

12 in. x 9 in. surreal colllage/sequin art on an upside down page from 1965's "Science For The Here and Now: Third Edition" with sparkle washi tape edging, yellow acrylic paint highlights + spray dotting, and L’Oreal True Match Glotion luminescent makeup skin highlighter in “Fair Glow” (shade no. 901), plus the requisite Mod Podge sealant glue

"We are very, very far from the sun.

We can see the roundness of the sun."

- Page 124 -

"Hot Mess Bequest"

 - CALLING ON THE FLOWER CHILDREN! -

18 in. x 9 in. mixed media collage (with turquoise washi tape border) of vintage textbook imagery, primarily sourced from 1965's "Science For The Here and Now: Third Edition"

Side note:  The piece photographs terribly — much just doesn’t “read” or the glossy Mod Podge reflects off all the bumps (especially where I fused an extension onto the canvas).  As far as relevance goes, the following press release (seen in final slide) regarding climate change as evidenced by drastic global warming was issued today: 

“This summer was the hottest ever measured in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the European climate service Copernicus.”

- Associated Press, September 26, 2023

Today's Final Jeopardy Category: Words Ending in "-ina"

The latest installment of a TV guilty pleasure resurfaces the author's deranged inner child 

Amongst the purported “crown jewels” of HBO’s streaming platform, recently revamped as simply "Max," has been the hotly-anticipated Sex and the City reboot …And Just Like That. The limited series, currently winding down its second and potentially final season, was quickly recognized by both critics and dyed-in-the-wool (or rather, cashmere) fans for its out-of-touch writing, and deflated in ratings with a rather clumsy “thud” by the end of its first set of 45-minute installments in winter 2022. Where the original dramedy was recognized for its fresh and contemporary, somewhat edgy sexploits amongst urban females, its follow-up is the very definition of hackneyed and obnoxiously elitist. Worse, it awkwardly if not maddeningly makes a desperate reach for relevance by tapping into issues of transgender identity, which smells as strongly like an inauthentic ploy as the official Sex in the City perfume and body deodorants still available from Walmart and Amazon.

As my new favorite “hate watch” I couldn’t help but feel obligated to share a plot point in this week’s edition that stood out for its sorely and sadly disordered mindset. My gripe is with an abhorrent paperlight B —or rather, C— storyline, quickly and superficially resolved by episode’s end, involving Kristin Davis’ Charlotte, who I otherwise consider the sole likable lead (especially after Mr. Big’s untimely demise). As it plays out, the bubbly fifty-something Upper East Sider has decided her new career path lies in returning to the NYC gallery scene in some capacity that honestly escapes me (being not entirely important). Accompanying this comes the resolution o lose the bump so visible in her newest Prada LBD work "uniform” by subsiding on bone broth and layering an onion’s worth of shapewear skins underneath the garment's unforgiving form-fitting silhouette. The bold pink accent accentuating her curvy middle becomes the bane of her otherwise charmed existence. 

"I don't need to lose the belt, I need to lose the belly," she tells Harry, the ever-patient and supportive, somewhat bemused husband. Then later, perhaps more distressingly, to her other right hand man, gay BFF Anthony: “I'm going to be a gallerina again. Think about it: ballerina, gallerina. Anything that ends in '-ina' is teeny-tiny.”

This rather quirky —albeit irrational— conclusion immediately registered with me, my often-on-alert Anorexia-concerned brain flagging the remark as perhaps a long-ago buried ED thought from my formative years. After all: “Lor-ina” might fall under this vocabulary rule. 

Yes, to be above all else "teeny-tiny." And never amounting to anything much more than this sad, rather one-dimensional end goal and nearly lifelong obsession.

Think about it? Believe me, I have.

A still from Season 2, Episode 8 ("A Hundred Years Ago"): Attempting to hide her “problem area," Charlotte covers up in a bold floral Oscar de la Renta coat, with the belted dress of concern peeking out beneath.

"Materials on Hand"

- Modern decor that would otherwise
be languishing within a landfill
or floating garbage barge -

In a sort of salute to tonight’s premiere of Bravo's Project Runway — because, hey, any “reality TV” rewarding creativity, inclusivity, AND cattiness is worth an audience — I offer my own attempt at the requisite "Unconventional Materials Challenge" by way of Abstract Expressionism or, more accurately, Trash Art.

The presented 40 in. x 16 in. work is comprised of spray paint, acrylic tube paint, shattered headlight/taillight covers from auto crashes collected along Main Street (Route One) tissue paper, faded terrycloth wash towel, sequins, glitter, tiny triangles cut from sparkle holiday wreath bow (faded from red to yellow), torn satin, strand of purple foil wrapping paper, remnants of Amazon.com fabric gift satchel, netted produce pouches (shallots, clementine oranges, red dwarf potatoes), cellophane covering from Valentine’s Day chocolate box, red plastic hazardous waste bag, deconstructed powder pink adult diaper, hot glue, Mod Podge adhesive sealant, decades-old congealed turpentine, sparkle silver washi tape fused to side frames with cardboard reinforcement on back side, sprayed a dusty lavender, due to this being initially two separate canvases connected end-to-end.

Taking My Turn, Easing Onto The Off-Ramp

-- As posted online earlier this afternoon to social media, 

recorded here for posterity --

With the start of a new month I am finally feeling emboldened enough to follow through with the long held intention of exiting this increasingly divisive site.  I’ve been operating on the platform for 15 years, 10 on Instagram and also Blogger.  The aforementioned platforms I will continue with in order to at the very least share art & opinions, as both are generally less trafficked with one-sided, needless attention traps (albeit owned by the same mega corporations responsible for what I politically and morally object to here).  Should you need, I can be found easily on either under my usual name.  Even more importantly will be the simultaneous deletion of my (rarely accessed) Twitter account, more a gesture of objection to E. Musk and his mismanagement than the portal itself.  Be well — it’s nothing personal, really.  Just something I’ve aged out of as the site has evolved/de-evolved into something of a different beast.

Needless to say, that deceased wren encountered on our property with eyes gouged and gut decayed (see previous post) has been taken as nothing if not *a sign* to keep my distance from Twitter. Shooting down my Facebook is (somewhat) less politically driven, as evidenced by remaining on Meta’s sister site Instagram, but it seems apt to “kill two birds with one stone,” nevertheless.

^ Final three "Tweets"

(representing author's present concerns)

#exitinggracefully