Those are some of the items for last year. There are also sections for previous years. Enjoy! 😀
People are amazingly creative. And weird. I started off just scrolling through to have a quick look, and ended up laughing, crying, and simply being amazed. Right now, as I type, there are terrible things happening to innocent people. A lot of those things are because humans, somewhere, have behaved badly. And, unfortunately, whenever you happen to be reading this, there is likely to be some terrible thing happening somewhere in the world. Some people may think that taking time out to be silly, or create beautiful and strange things, is time wasted. I don’t agree. Yes, just making something new and beautiful in the world is a good thing in itself. But seeing others doing that as well – reminding ourselves that there are good people – funny, thoughtful, weird, vulnerable, loving people with hearts that see brokenness and seek justice? That’s priceless.
Earlier this year I had the chance to contribute to a GISH-related online choir. I’m sad that I never sent my part in, but enjoyed watching the result. Sing along (and look for the rainbows)!
Just before lockdown I was able to get my bedside table(s) sorted out! 🙂 It’s different to what I originally had in my mind, but I’m happy with it. I’d bought and put together the trolley with the multicoloured draws from Officeworks, but hadn’t been able to find anything to put my lamp (and coffee) on. Finally found something and put it all together. Yay!
There’s still more to organise to get it just right, but I have a lot of my creative supplies in one place. It’s close enough to reach out to from the bed, so that’s easier for the bad days. I can set up quite comfortably and quickly. And now I’ve got a CD player as well. MP3s take up less space, but I like the idea of setting up my CDs, one after the other. Maybe even dancing, if I’m feeling up to it!
Here’s my new space…
Just enough room for my coffee – I’m still trying to fit everything together…
The days are getting warmer (even though it’s too early), but it’s still nice to snuggle in to bed to do my work. The flowers are growing before their time, so we’ll see what happens to them, but it means my lavender is finally blooming.
It’s that time of the year again – the annual week long GISHHunt. This is my fourth year, with a few minihunts as well over the last year or so. It’s a global scavenger type hunt, so I was put in a team with members all over the world. There were just over 200 items to choose from, so I got to do fun (and challenging) things. For some reason I have come down with some sort of cold every year during this week, and this year was no exception. Added to that was the covid lockdown in my area, which started a few hours before the Hunt started, and ended at exactly the same time as the Hunt. I didn’t leave the house at all, so had to make do with what I had (except for another jar of Vegemite to help recreate the Mona Lisa – that was picked up with the essential grocery shop mid-week). Nevertheless, I completed fourteen items! 😀
Item 52 – A tiny portrait of Marilyn Monroe on a “beauty mark” on someone’s cheek.
Item 112 – Steam Punk Rock.
Item 191 – It’s International Lost in Translation Karaoke night & you’re up next! Choose an English-language song and translate it into at least 3 different languages using Google Translate, then back to English (a language with some of the most arbitrary rules and inconsistencies on the planet). Then sing the resulting lyrics. (Example: English -> Russian -> Russian -> Gaelic -> Gaelic -> English. Got it? Good.) Please caption this video with the final English lyrics.
The languages I translated “Eye Of The Tiger” into – Scots Gaelic, Amharic, Catalan, Welsh, Latin –
Item 90 – Pop culture is taking over everything—even breakfast. Create a yogart (yogurt art) portrait of your favorite pop culture character on the top of a bowl of your yogurt, with colored yogurt and inclusions. Maintain edibility.. Post it on social media tagged #GISH, #Yogart, and the character, actor(s), or series
– Yes – the TARDIS (“sexy” 😆 ) is a character!
Item 147 – Your splendid coat of arms—and I’m not talking about heraldry.
Item 96 – Over 16,000 people have signed a petition to get Jeff Bezos to buy and eat the Mona Lisa. Down with this elitism: delicious art belongs to the masses! Create an exact, edible replica of the Mona Lisa, complete with frame. Feel free to eat it after you create it. Post your image on social media and tag @JeffBezos, @GISH and #ArtFeedsTheSpirit.
Item 19 – You’ve heard of Dad Jokes. Tell a Dadaist joke.
Item 40 – ). Resting B***** Face, The Musical! Write a song with happy uplifting lyrics, and perform the whole thing in a monotone, one chord/one-note fashion, with resting b*tch face the whole time
Item 197 – Baby kneads a new pair of shoes. Create baby sneakers out of bread.
Item 155 – Olympian Simone Biles proved she is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) at this year’s Olympics — not just through her athleticism, but by putting her own mental health first. She had the “twisties,” a phenomenon where a gymnast’s brain loses track of where they are. Metaphorically, we’ve all been there and had times where we feel a little lost. Create a personal compass to help reorient yourself, with the things you value most at true North.
Item 156 – Remember Thorgi, a corgi dog dressed up as the God of Thunder? Loki deserves the same honor. Show us a dog version of the God of Mischief. Lokita? Labradoki? You get the idea.
Item 5 – Flipping your perspective can help you overcome a challenge. Create an ambigram featuring two words that help you regain balance. The first word should be something you struggle with and the second word, one that brings you peace. Bonus points if you also get it tattooed (permanent or temporary tattoos will both be accepted due to covid).
(Courage/Anxiety)
So – there it is… There were many charity and volunteering items to choose from but I was unable to do those, for one reason or another… The items I do complete never look as good as they do in my head. I’m still pleased to have finished them. And next time, maybe you can join me! 😀
I’ve had a couple of low energy/fatiguey days lately, so I’ve mostly been in bed. Thankfully I’ve also been in the process of changing the area by my bed so I can easily reach books, pens/pencils/paper etc when I need them. There’s still more to do (I do a bit, then run out of steam) but I should have a useable workspace soon. It still feels a bit lazy, but I came to the conclusion that it was better to get some work done in bed rather than not getting anything done while waiting to feel better… It’s not like I haven’t done any writing or drawing while sitting up in bed before – it’s just been quite uncomfortable. I finally got myself a little lap table with a tilting top, and a new “bedside table” (a trolley with drawers from Officeworks).
Today has been another catch up day – because of events the last few months, I’m behind in some classes and seminars. I’m enjoying the content of the twosites I’m working on, and I am content with my new space and the new things I’m learning! 🙂
Couch Choir is doing another video – there’s still time to contribute your voice! I just finished uploading my “high ladies” part, and sent in a “low ladies” part earlier this afternoon…
Was I in fine voice, conquering all before me?
Well, in a word… no. Not at all.
My voice is unreliable these days, and I don’t think my vocals will be prominent in the final mix 😆 I always enjoy contributing, but I know I’m one amongst many. This time I decided to have more fun with it all. Behold – a glimpse of my duet with a friend (a surprisingly quiet friend!)
Because what’s the point of having a unicorn onesie and a toy unicorn if you can’t use them in a collaborative music video?
Life has been a bit out of kilter lately. My routine has changed and I haven’t fully settled into a new one yet. Most days, when I get home, I don’t have the energy to do much but sit and…blob. Drop in a heap on the couch or bed. I get things done in dribs and drabs, but it’s all a bit random at the moment.
One thing that’s easy is to wander around the internet, which is what I was doing when I found – Blob Opera! It’s a “machine learning experiment” (whatever that means) where you make four multicoloured blobs sing. There’s a little tutorial at the start, but I haven’t really worked out how to do itproperly. It’s very soothing, though!
I’m happy just to play with it, but some people have actually managed to get them to sing recognised songs, from Baroque
We’re definitely hurtling toward winter, but there are still days when I need the fan on. It’s time to set some things in place, though, as the light dwindles… I’ve bought some bulbs (iris and jonquils) to plant. They’ll need to go in soon, or at least I think so! I have no real experience with these sorts of flowers, except for buying them, years ago, with part of my pay packet on a Friday afternoon – they were cheap and bright and cheerful, and shone through the gloom of an English winter. I’ll harvest the sage, although it’s past it’s best. There’s quite a lot of it. I’ll freeze some in olive oil, but might also try preserving some in honey, for use in tea.
I’ve been watching seminars this week – some on a livestream from a conference associated withour church, some on a Facebook series on changing artistic mindset. I’ve already talked about the way the colder weather tends to ignite possibilities in my mind, and these various teachings have been inspiring, in different ways and for different disciplines. Perhaps there will be wonderfully innovative creations flowing onto paper or canvas, as I sip honey sage tea!
I’ve been singing some different songs this week. The first one I’ve sung repeatedly, along with the online gathering, in the last few days. The second one I heard for the first time last night, and the last one I was introduced to this evening…
We’re just over 24 hours into another sudden lockdown. It’s been quite nice to have everyone home during the week, although they’ve been to a series of online lectures in bedrooms instead of in person lectures, so I probably haven’t seen the family much more than in a normal day… One thing I’ve been trying to do lately is to take some time to go on an artist’sdate. Often that’s shopping for random beautiful things at the charity shops around the town, or having a coffee while writing or sketching. Or sometimes just thinking, and enjoying good coffee. This week that won’t be possible, but next week is not too far away! Last time I went to have a look at the gallery. I haven’t been there in a long while, but I always enjoy it. There’s often beauty, or works to make you think. Taking the time to really look at what’s displayed is an opportunity to look through someone else’s eyes, and catch a glimpse of their world. It’s good to be able to expand what can increasingly feel like a restricted life. This time around I had a look at a couple of solo exhibitions, and also a selection of contemporary works from the gallery’s collection – it’s on until the 18th April, so there’s still time to go and see for yourself! Here’s some of what I saw 🙂
Magic Muffin Mountain, by Hany Armanious Yes, it is as big as it looks!
Ceramics, by Dai Li There were five figures altogether – these are called “Eating Noodle” and “Slyboots” This one is “Bad Bird 2”
I’ve had days that feel like that…
I can’t remember the name of the splat on the wall, or the artist, but the marble in front is “Messiah Complex”, by Alex Seton Look at the anatomical detail in the interior and base of the skull!
This last one was from a separate, solo, exhibition upstairs – I nearly didn’t bother to go up there, but I’m glad I did. These were a series of depictions of fine, unravelling fabrics, painted with gouache on paper.
Another GISH minihunt – this one was the Wizards and Weirdos minihunt. It started on Sunday morning, 2am, here – I meant to have a sleep, then get up to have a look at the list and choose some items before going back to sleep again until morning. I ended up staying up… Seemed like there were lots of knights/dragons/unicorns/fairies type items this time around, but maybe that was just the ones I picked.The hunt was hosted this time by Felicia Day. I haven’t quite finished watching the replays of the Zoom calls, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far 🙂 When the hunt is on over a Sunday I still go to church in the morning, so that’s the first part of the day out… this one seemed shorter than others I’ve done – it finished 2pm today (Monday), so I probably had about 16 hours to finish my items, once you take out sleeping, eating and whatever else I had to do! I tend to speed up a bit towards the end, so I get more done, but it might not be so great.
Here are my offerings this time around –
10 – The Sword in the Scone. That’s not a typo.
53 – The world around us is filled with small moments of magic, if you remember to look for them. Be still somewhere and contemplate the world until you notice something magical — a particular blade of grass, the way ants seem to greet each other as they work, a shiny coin on a dirty city street…. You get the idea. Write a poem about what you observe and your relation to it that is titled “magic” but has no direct reference to magic — just references to what you experienced.
62 – The fae love art, and empowering people to be artistic is a kindness: Create a tiny free art studio in a public place that is just the right size for fairies to visit. Make sure there is a human-sized hand-sanitizing station! Leave art supplies and tiny notepad or postcard-sized works of art. Add a sign encouraging others to contribute tiny works of art, too. (If you are quarantined or homebound, you may create this in a corner of your own home instead!)
66 – THE KIDS MENU For Kids & Kids-At-Heart (I did this one for an earlier hunt but there was no way to submit it, so I decided to put it in here. No points for it, but I was happy to share it 🙂
22 – Email isn’t as secure as it should be, so I used a charm to hide a poem in your books. To retrieve it: Pick up the first 9 books that catch your attention and record the 9th word on the 9th page in each book along with the first and last words of each book. Use the 27 words to write the poem. (You may employ many additional “and”s “if”s “but”s, “a”s “or”s or “the”s as you like.)
84 – Need a clue? Your guild leader, Felicia Day, would tell you to consult her character, CodeX.
Solution – “In Felicia Day’s “The Guild”, the gang’s favorite restaurant was Cheesybeards, obviously named after you, its founder, and your magnificent cheesy beard and mustache. You must eat your beard after you take your picture.
I didn’t end up eating all of it – some fell on the floor. It’s surprisingly hard to keep cheese stuck to your skin…
31 – We know it sounds fantastical, but the GISH Seer provided you with this glimpse into the Year 2021 AD: Something called NASA made a “Perseverance Rover,” which arrived on a planet called “Mars” and sent back its first image. But YOUR team intercepted the REAL first image. Show us what NASA didn’t want us to see, in a photo Mars deniers will always claim was faked. (Photoshop allowed.)
😀
88 – I’m finishing writing my book of poetry & my publisher, Andrews McMeel, gave me a deadline of tomorrow for the title. I’m stuck, so I’m outsourcing it to you: Name my poetry book. Submit your suggestion in font (handwritten or digital) that’s emblematic of the tone or spirit that you think my book will convey.
The end of the hunt was looming by the time I got to this one – I got it finished and submitted five minutes before it all shut down.
55 – Unicorns have a hard time in this economy, so like a lot of us they’ve picked up a side hustle in the fantasy realm. Create a commercial advertisement for the latest unicorn ride-sharing app: U-ber.
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 