May You Laugh Until You Cry

I can count on one hand the number of times in the past few years that I've found something so funny that I laughed until I cried.  There is a Native American teaching that says that laughing and crying are the best ways to cleanse the soul.  To me, it sounds like good medicine for clearing out the old muck and getting energy moving.

But finding something cry worthy (from a laugh stand point I mean) is not that simple or easy.  It's almost as infrequent as a blue moon! (Sorry, had to get that in there since there is a blue moon today--two full moons in one month--not rare, but certainly uncommon, according to Wikipedia!)

Yes, there is funny stuff on the telly, there is medium funny stuff in magazines, there are cartoons that get a har har or a guffaw.  But finding something that makes me laugh uncontrollably until a giggle becomes a tee-hee-hee and then goes beyond the tee-hee-hee stage to just all out roar...that is a truly challenging task.

The other night I was again watching a TEDTalks show.  It featured Roger Ebert on it.  You know, the movie critic that used to do the two thumbs up or down show with his buddy.  Well, Mr. Ebert has suffered a terrible recurrence of cancer that caused him to lose his throat and jaw.  He is rendered unable to talk.  Instead he synthesized his talk on a PC.  The technical part of this was quite fascinating in and of itself.  Watch for yourself....

Roger Ebert video downloaded from Utube from TedTalks.com

Okay.  None of that is the funny part.  In fact, it is heart-wrenching.    I especially was moved by his lovely wife and her clear expression of love and devotion for him.

I have to thank Mr. Ebert because during his talk he mentioned a blog called the Smart Ass Cripple.  I know how cringe-worthy that title is.  He mentioned it because he said it makes him laugh and I thought that anything that could make a man who lost half his face and his ability to speak laugh must be worth a peek.  And after exploring the blog a little, I've come to the conclusion that the man who writes it is quite clearly very level headed and...maybe a wee bit brilliant!

Truth be told, I really needed a good laugh.  I point you now in the direction of Cruz Roja as a case in point.  I decided to read it aloud to my significant other and as I read, I laughed harder and harder--the imagery was so vivid in the scenes he portrayed.  Before long I could not read aloud any more because my giggles had turned to tee-hee-hees and the tee-hee-hees had turned to a roar.  The tears came unbidden and poured down my face.  I couldn't stop laughing.  It was truly uncontrollable.  And it felt soooo good.  Indescribable.

I have to admit...it is sort of becoming my guilty pleasure.  I treated myself the other night to read some past blogs and didn't have to go far before the tears started flowing as a result of Cripple Sports I'd Pay to Watch.  The writer is himself crippled/handicapped or at least confined to a wheelchair so to me his moniker, "expressing pain through sarcasm since 2010" seems a completely accurate description of what to expect from the blog. 

Not only does this blog bring laughter, but also, in my opinion, education and awareness of the experience of being handicapped. Perhaps it will even bring about some form of social change.  I am not a cruel person. I am actually too tender hearted most times.  I empathize over the situations but I cannot help myself that the descriptions elicit laughs galore.

I'm going back for another does of the Smart Ass Cripple now.  I've had a rough day and I need some endorphins.  And a different perspective.  Tomorrow, I'll be like a clean slate and my creative energy will have returned with a vengeance so I can work on my eBook, create some jewelry, and maybe even feel strong enough to continue working on that pesky website.  I've got my hanky ready (yes, I still carry a lovely vintage hanky) and I'm set to tee-hee-hee.  I'm goin' in.  Hope you'll join me.  Have a Happy Smart Ass Day whether you're able bodied or not.  I hope you laugh until you cry!

A Fine Line to Genius

Yesterday I mentioned that I had finally discovered TEDtalks.  I was watching the series on Artistry and Illusion.  I was struck by Shea Hembrey and his talk “How I Became 100 Artists.”  In this 16 minute talk/teaser, despite 3 minutes of talk about being a “hick," (his word, not mine), I wondered if I was one of those fortunate people who was experiencing-- through witnessing the talk--genius.  And as they say, there is a fine line between genius and crazy.

The focus of the talk was his Biennial S E E K.  Instead of actually curating the show, finding the talented artists for the show and organizing the show, he decided it was “easier” to make up the artists and make the artwork himself.

Now, here’s where crazy comes into play.  He developed back stories and biographies for each of the artists.  In that back story, he identified what the focus of that artist’s work defined.  As he talked, it got a little strange as he actually seemed to speak of them as if they truly existed, but then, we call a corporation an entity of itself, so…why not?  There were moments when I wondered if, in fact, he isn’t completely bonkers with 100 or more distinct personalities.  But then there was the admiring part of me that said….

His work and energy somehow reminds me of other artists that I personally consider genius—Andy Warhol immediately came to mind, and Dale Chihuly, and a few others who have within their lifetime, transcended the art worlds’ condescension to become great—while alive.  I wondered if, in fact, I was being exposed to genius.  I admit to a little professional jealousy that I hadn’t thought of it first.  What an astounding way to get your name on the map. 

The gimmicky part aside, I wasn’t entirely sure if he wasn’t just poking fun at the art world and artists.  Some (if not all—I have not seen the entirety of the collection) of his work genuinely is thought provoking, beautiful, inspiring and in turns meets my undefined expectation for what constitutes art. 

I was astounded by the lengths he went  with each “character” to create a work true to that artist.  I especially loved the work of the fictional “Nell Remmel”—”Flipped Earth”—where he dug out a rectangle in the earth and put mirrors in the dirt (22’ long) reflecting the sky.  The images are breathtaking.  And Zen-like.  And I want one in my yard (except for the "upkeep” part).

When I finished watching the talk, I looked up Hembrey.  I found Seek.  You cannot see the entirety of the collection.  I am not sure whether it was ever shown anywhere other than the talk.  But, for a cool $1000 a pop, (just $10 per artist), you can purchase a limited edition (1000 copies) book with all of the artist’s bios and artwork included.  I can’t help but believe that there are people who are/have bought this book.  Curiosity is driving me crazy.  If I had a disposable $1000, I’d own one (and see if I could get him—and all the artists to sign it!)

So, crazy? Commercially parodying artists/art world? Genius? I don’t know.  What I did find is that he has other artworks listed on his website.  And there is a part of me that asks for each one, “are those real?” or did he “fake” those too. 

Besides the intensely creative solution he took to creating art and making a stir in the art world (and I’m sure that there are those who pooh-pooh him and this effort), what I love is that here is an artist who has made quality artworks in many mediums. What I saw were mostly pieces I could imagine seeing in a gallery. This flies in the face of what I hear time and time again that artists should “focus on one medium.”  Yet what I find is that the real genius’ in art history did not focus on a single medium.


I applaud Mr. Hembrey.  I would definitely go to see his biennial and “meet the artists” (now there is a trick I’d like to see him pull off) and I continue to be disturbed and provoked.  So all in all, a very successful biennial.

Frankly, I’m excited to see what next year’s biennial will hold from Mr. Hembrey since this was an effort he presented in 2011, my late discovery of it notwithstanding.

All photos in this days blog are © Shea Hembrey. Used for educational purposes.

Discovering Ted

To stir up creativity, I suggest “show searching.”

I must be living in a cave.  Since I have been chained to my desk for weeks going on months now, trying to work on the “business” end of my art (auctions, selling, photos and text, proposals, lining up classes, etc.)  I’ve not really been doing a lot of the art creation that I prefer.

I admit, last night I was too exhausted after caring for a friend’s puppy for the past five days, to do anything that really required brain cells.  Instead, I was preparing photographs for bohemianartcafe.etsy.com and for my upcoming

Glass Act Auction 

on August 20 at 11 a.m.  

(P.S. You’re invited.  RSVP and I will continue to add new and more items for the auction.)

Raspberry suncatcher, will be auctioned at
Glass Act Auction
11 a.m. August 20 

I was sort of bored with the usual TV stuff, having recently finished watching my DVDs of Castle and The Mentalist.  I admit, I haven’t really been watching all that much live TV or checking out UTube lately.  I know the Olympics were on, but honestly, there’s only so much activity a body can watch without becoming exhausted by osmosis. 

Okay, so…maybe it’s been more than a few months that I’ve been chained to the cave I call my office, since last night for the first time I discovered TED talks.

I know many people have been checking this Technology/Entertainment/Design Conference for a while.  Years.  Well, for me, last night it was a revelation.  I was using my Roku and searching through Netflix by just searching a r t.  And up popped Ted Talks about art.


So, tonight, when I continue to work on preparations for Glass Act Auction, I’ll  tune in again and see what inspires me.  If you haven’t discovered Ted Talks, now is a good time.