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Open Thread: If You Need ‘Inspiration’ to Stay in Your Bunker…

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There Are Bugs - Amber Share

I used some twitter pics of these ‘Subpar Parks’ posters in a respite thread on Saturday, and commentors were kind enough to find artist Amber Share and her website. Much of her stock, you will not be shocked to learn, is on back order. But I’m getting a Sequoia Park print as soon as one’s available, to remind me that sometimes Outdoors is overrated!

From Bored Panda. “I Illustrated National Parks In America Based On Their Worst Review And I Hope They Will Make You Laugh (16 Pics)”:

I’m an illustrator and I have always had a personal goal to draw all 62 US National Parks, but I wanted to find a unique twist for the project. When I found that there are one-star reviews for every single park, the idea for Subpar Parks was born. For each park, I hand-letter a line from the one-star reviews alongside my illustration of each park as my way of putting a fun and beautiful twist on the negativity.

I had been wanting to draw all of the national parks, but wanted to find a way to add a bit of a twist to make it different from the other park illustrations already out there. I stumbled upon the one star reviews online, and the idea just came to me! I came to illustration by way of hand lettering, so finding words I could incorporate into the park illustrations really helped the project come together…

When it comes to my favorite park to draw and it’s review so far I think it was Arches, which is why I did that one first! I don’t really know that I have a least favorite – they’ve all been so fun and different to draw so far and has really made me appreciate the diversity of geography in the US! Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring was definitely the most difficult, because it was so hard to capture (which makes that review even funnier!).

Sometimes I find the perfect review really quickly, and other times I have to dig through several different review sites before I find the right one. It all depends on the park. I try to avoid any reviews about the park management or upkeep, and stick solely to reviews that have to do with the actual nature, because I think the audacity of criticizing earth is what keeps the project light…

Looks Nothing Like the License Plate - Amber Share

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What We Preserve – Ourselves

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You guys need a break. It’s far too easy to keep obsessing about what’s going on. Frankly, there’s not much you can do besides educate yourself, get others to know what’s happening and text your Senators via ResistBot to remind them there’s a little thing called rule of law and it doesn’t give a damn about whether there’s a republican or a democrat breaking it. Here’s a nice, soothing open thread for you. Enjoy these pictures of random things I’ve photographed. Show off your talents with some nice calm photos.

Oh, before I go. Obligatory cat pic. Plus a verse. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all. As in, this is a long haul thing, don’t wear yourself out. So sayeth the Lord.

Himesama et Templeton
Sir, personal space, please.

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Congrats to Commenter R-Jud

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Long, long time commenter R-Jud is at the Austin Film Festival, and she won a big award:

She won the writing award for the Fiction Podcast Script and got to sit in a room with David Benioff and Dan Weiss of Game of Thrones, Ron Bass who wrote Rain Man among many other things, Craig Mazin, former roommate of Ted Cruz and writer of Chernobyl.

Huzzah! If you would like to read a sample, go HERE.

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Repost / Update: Helping Out Jacy

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This is just one example of jacy’s amazing artwork.

Re-upping an abbreviated version of TaMara’s original bleg, because we’re *so* close…

Friend and fellow jackal jacy, as many of you know, has battled cancer and other health issues. She’s run into a bit of a problem and has set out a plan to get herself back on her feet.

Once she has it organized, she’ll be doing an art sale, which John or Betty will front page under our Artists In Our Midst series. She can do custom pet pictures…I’ve seen some of her samples and they are beautiful -, plus she has some beautiful things ready to go.

Link to her Etsy page

And finally, she has set up a GoFundMe, to help her get caught up.

Since having chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, I’ve had cognitive difficulties. It’s been very hard, because I run my own business and care for my children and my elderly mother alone. Over the past year there was an increase in my problems with fatigue, memory, and organization. An undiagnosed thyroid condition made things worse. I’ve been working hard with doctors and therapists to adjust to the problems with my brain and have developed strategies to make up for those deficits and I have new medication regimens. But while I was getting increasingly sicker I couldn’t take care of everything — including medical expenses and fighting for custody of my youngest child — and I got behind on bills.

Most of all, I think she can use some kind words of support.

 

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: It’s A Gift

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Okay, it’s a box. But all boxes belong to cats, by divine right.

Betty had a wonderful thread earlier this week asking for gift ideas and highlighting the artists among us, but Sunday morning tends to be a quiet time for those of us who’re still contemplating our options.

There are a bunch of Balloon Juice jackals who have books to sell, among them Dorothy A. Winsor, who taught me something I didn’t know:

…If you read something and enjoy it, you give the author a big gift by reviewing the book on Amazon and/or Goodreads. The review can be very short (I enjoyed this book). It doesn’t have to 5 star. The issue is that Amazon uses the sheer number of reviews as part of its algorithm for which books to promote. Also some sites ( Book Bub, frex) require that a book have a certain number of reviews before you can promote on there.

So… Who’s got works to promote (yours or others?)

What other great gift ideas should we know about? (Out-of-the-ordinary good causes to support, for instance… )

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Gift Ideas and Jackal Maker Showcase Open Thread

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First, check out this fabulous Red-Shouldered Hawk who visited earlier this week and was kind enough to hang around for a photo-op:

I think it’s a juvenile. It was engaging in obnoxious youngling behavior like flying at similarly-sized wading birds and generally disrupting its fellow fauna. Plus, I think I spotted a helicopter-parenting adult nearby.

Anyhoo, holiday gifts: Since I put out a call for gift ideas the other day (and thank you for the many great suggestions), I’ve had a couple of requests to put up a thread where people can discuss gift ideas and where jackals who create nifty things can HAWK their wares. (Get it? No need to jostle; I’ll show myself out, thank you.)

So, have at it. Also, open thread!

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Artists In Our Midst

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Big Bunny Linocut by linocutboy on Etsy

As promised, herewith your Artists In Our Midst thread.

If you are any kind of creator – artist, writer, blogger, photographer, musician, inventor, designer, sex toy entrepreneur, gardener, whatever – professional or otherwise, and you want to give yourself or your stuff a plug, please do so.

If you’re not and you know someone who is, get in a plug for them, or ask one of our talented creators to make you something you never thought you wanted, but which would bring a bit of joy into your life.

Don’t forget our Balloon Jobs thread. There are all sorts of clever people who might be perfect for your business, and all sorts of job opportunities and suggestions on offer.

My plug is for the Etsy shop of linocutboy, whose work is just lovely, and includes the magnificent big bunny above.

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Writing Productivity Class and Meet Ups (NY & NJ) Comin’ Atcha!

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Hey Everyone – I’m going to bigfoot myself to announce that I’m teaching an online writing-productivity class starting 10/31. It’s great for any writer (creative, academic, business, etc.) trying to boost his or her output, overcome procrastination and perfectionism, and/or finish a project. (Actually for anyone with those goals, in any crazed-turquoise-bowl-6afield, but the examples and discussions will all be writing-focused.) The classes are four weeks long, and the format is bloggish, so you can be located anywhere. Normally $50, but the host, SavvyAuthors, is offering a discount of $5 just for Juicers—so $45. Click here to register. (Note: the class dates are wrong on that link but rest assured you will be registering for my class.)

More info below the fold. Another perk, btw, is that we typically get many romance writers in the class, and they are interesting people who tend to occupy the sweet spot at the intersection of “kind and supportive” and “publication focused.” (Oh, and in case you’re interested, here’s a piece I did a few years back on romance fiction and social justice.)

In other news, JT and I are hitting the road again and I’d love to meet up with any Juicers in either New York City (Nov 21 – 23) or Montclair, NJ (Nov 25-26). (Pre- and post-Thanksgiving.) Please email me at [email protected]. (Also email me if questions about the class.)

Illustration: gorgeous Kintsugi pottery by Lakeside Pottery Studio in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Per Wikipedia: “Kintsugi (“golden joinery”), also known as Kintsukuroi (“golden repair”), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum… As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.” Hillary’s note: in other words, Kinsugi exemplifies the virtues of nonperfectionism, one of the main topics we’ll discuss in class. (Image reproduced with kind permission of Morty Bachar and Patty Storms.)

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Shameless self promotion thread

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the_pottery_vendor-large

I can’t see that we’ve done an Artists in our Midst thread, or a job thread, for quite a while. Then again, I may just be too drunk to find them.

Anyway, lets combine the two and have a free thread for Juicers – artists, Etsyists, writers, job seekers, freelancers, businesses seeking workers, community groups seeking assistance, whatever, lurkers more than welcome – to give themselves a plug.

[Image – Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) The Pottery Vendor]

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Late Night Graphic Artists Open Thread

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First, artist and commentor Larime could use a little help:

My wife, Sylv Taylor, is bed-bound with Lupus and her laptop is the only link she has to the outside world. That laptop is also what she uses to create art, including coloring comics. It’s dying – it shut off 10 times in 3 hours today – and when it’s dead she’ll be utterly isolated and unable to create.

PLEASE consider helping in getting her a new laptop. If you can’t pledge, PLEASE share this on your journals and tell your friends. If her laptop dies and I can’t replace it, she’s going to have nothing to do and no one but me to talk to, all day, every day. This laptop is literally her life and her world.

The Indiegogo campaign is here. Thank you!

***********

Second, a documentary we can look forward to:


(Via Sharan Shetty at Slate)

In theatres November 15.

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Artists In Our Midst Open Thread

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First things first- just furminated the boss, and let me tell you what- Steve loves being furminated so much that he is actually hard to brush because he keeps head-butting the brush and doing circles instead of holding still (which was never an issue with Tunch- holding still was a lifelong goal that he marvelously achieved). But he just loves it. Furminated him, then brushed him with a regular brush, and it is amazing how quickly his coat is getting better. Even the bald areas, where I had to delicately cut out mats so he would stop being Boss Marley with dreadlocks everywhere, is growing back and feels silky and soft to the touch.

Back to the thrust of the post, it’s been forever since we have one of these, and I know how many creative people we have commenting and lurking, so let’s do one tonight. If you are an artist/crafter/musician/carpenter/whatever, and you have some wares to share with the rest of us (of if your spouse or friends or basically anything cool you want to share), throw it in the comments so we can decide if maybe you have something that would make our days a little brighter and happier.

Some of my most prized possessions are things you all have made, whether it be my GD portrait, the picture of the beautiful sunflower fields I bought, etc.

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Open Thread and Artists in our midst

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I’ve got nothin’ right now, so I will simply share this lovely picture by a late 19th-early 20th century painter called Bertram Hiles, who lost both his arms in a tramcar accident as a child, and who painted with his mouth.

There is more at Callum James and at Design. Decoration. Craft.

So what the hell, lets make this an open thread and an impromptu “Artists in our midst” thread.

Feel free to link to photos, painting, craft, music, writing (including gratuitous blog whoring) or indeed anything that you or your friends have made that you want to show off.

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Artists In Our Midst

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Been a while since we had one of these, so I thought it would be a good opportunity for all of you creative types out there to share your wares. I’ve bought several pieces of art from the readership, the latest being this rendition of the animal family.

That was done by Larime Taylor, who paints better with his mouth than most of us can with our hands. Also, Larime passes the word that he is looking for one of you who commissioned some work, but he can no longer get in touch with you.

Hopefully in a couple weeks I can send that picture back and have him airbrush out the asshole in the lower right. I’m going to hell.

At any rate, throw some links to art done by you and yours.

BTW- I would love it if the person who sent me these WONDERFUL pictures that I then had professionally framed and hang prominently in my living room would take a bow and share her awesome work with everyone.

I just love them. They are the first thing anyone sees when they walk into my house. And wait a couple months, and I will show you the pansy pot that Laura W. made, complete with my pansies grown from seed in my basement.

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Artists in Our Midst: Holiday Shopping Edition

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There are any number of gifted artists and crafters among the Balloon Juice readership. If you are one of them, this is the place to add a comment linking to your paintings, needlearts, sculpture, photography, music, cooking, house-building, graphic novel/comix, etc. website or contacts. If your highest art form is shopping, here’s your chance to browse for gifts without having to put your shoes on… and you can buy stuff for other people, too!

Pictures here by commentor Tim, who gets pride of place because he demanded it. From his website:

Legendary pop entertainment icons such as Madonna, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cher, James Dean, and Marilyn Monroe, re-imagined in bright acrylic paint, enriched with pastels, charcoal, pencil, and pigmented glazes.
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I often surround my finished paintings with solid, industrial-inspired frames which I design and embellish with steel spikes, nails, chains, ceramic spheres and hand painted metallic highlights in silver, copper, bronze, gold and pewter over rich black-lacquered wood.
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My celebrity art has been evolving ever since I began making it just three years ago after leaving a 20- year career in public relations and advertising. In the beginning the portraits were exaggerated, cartoon-inspired caricatures of a sort. Then they took on a more realistic aspect but maintained an illustration/graphic novel feel, at which point I began to refer to them as “Portraicatures.” I felt they were something between a representational portrait and a caricature…

So, readers… What’s in your studio?

Added: If FYWP is skrwing your link, send it to me at [email protected] (or click on the link near the top of the right-hand column). The farce is strong tonight…

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Artists in Our Midst

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Been a long while since we have had one of these, so I figured tonight is as good a night as any. The point of these threads is that a lot of you are pretty talented people or married to talented people, but you never talk about it, so here is a thread for you to link to your artwork, music, photography, etc., and share it. I’ll start with reader Larime, who is a disabled artist who paints with his mouth. Here is one of his works that you might recognize:

His website is here, and with California screwing up his assisted care and the economic crisis, I bet he wouldn’t mind an influx of traffic and customers.

So go check out Larime’s work, and link your own or someone in your family’s below.

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