I'm late! I'm late! - but look what I (sort of) found! Plus, Haiku Challenge #4!

(recently listed)

By the time you read this post it will be 2 days late (or more, if you read if after tomorrow of course). I sat down at the computer on Monday evening to write my Haiku Monday blogpost; but before I came here I thought I should try to catch up on some of my discussion boards, groups, etc. That was moving along fairly swiftly until I got to my EtsyRain Meetup.com discussion board. Anandi, one of the more active members had posted about a new craft sales site. (She called it "cheating" on Etsy.) The site is called 1000 Markets and it's really cool!

There are no listing fees and all payments are made through the Amazon payment system. After a sale you are charged 5.5% + 50 cents and Amazon doesn't charge you at all. When it's all added up, it's cheaper, definitely, than eBay + PayPal, and although I haven't done the math myself, one of my fellow EtsyRain-ers says it is also cheaper that Etsy+ PayPal. (That may be a record number of commas for one sentence - I knew I was going wrong there but I just couldn't stop myself!)

(recently listed)

There is a catch. It is "lightly juried." In other words, you have to apply. They are quite specific about photo quality (which terrifies me, I'm not at all confident in that arena), the quality of your banner and avatar, and even the way you word your profile and store policies. None of that is a bad thing, just nervous-making.


One of the things that Anandi said that made it attractive to me is that she felt like it was a site for an older market - older meaning not 22 years old - and that that made it a site that welcomes a more varied "look." I took that to mean that Etsy has a very specific "look" that attracts a very specific market and that this place might have a wider customer base. I don't know about you, but that's very appealing to me. Interestingly, they also have blogs in each store. Your latest post shows up on your store's homepage. I try not to spread myself too thin, blog-wise, I seldom use the Ning.com blogs. However, I know that a lot of customers are interested in the artistic process and it occurred to me that this store blog would be a fantastic venue for that sort of thing. It would also be great for little how-tos, or pics of whatever it is that you sell in use in real life (like the Ikea showrooms!).

Anyway, I decided to mosey over and see for myself. Big mistake. I finally tore myself away at 2:30am! I opened an account, but haven't applied for a store yet. I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row before I apply. I want to make a new banner and avatar, and write up my profile and policy. I did test of all those things - and then I explored other people's stores and promptly decided to scrap what I already done. I think this could a great venue!


On to Haiku!

Via email, Liisa Mannery sent the above pic to go along with her Haiku submissions using the "Change" topic. She was concerned that she had used a previous week's topic, but I say, "Don't stress!" Haiku, and any poetry, is a gift to the reader - I'm thrilled to get it whenever you want to send it!

Here are Liisa's poems, beginning with the bread:

Flabby, pale mass - you
grow in warmth and solitude.
Ah, fresh homemade bread.

and

Change has many names,
Birth and death are two of them.
Life goes on between.

and

Fall rocks my senses,
Blazing a trail for winter.
Spring will come too soon.

Sweet SueAnn offered this one:

The song fills my soul
wonderful thoughts fill my head
You move me sweet friend.

From Kayce, these fabulous poems:

A simple comment
from their imagination
fills my week with fun

and

I watch him in awe
a man of ease married me
He makes me my best

and my subject matter - humanity:

A look, eyebrows raised,
a secret smile you keep close,
what goes on in there?

and

The past and its scars,
the way a person survives,
shows on each one's face.

And so that brings us to Haiku Challenge #4 which I am going to extend - due to my lateness in posting - through next week. So #5 will be posted Monday, December 8th.

And! our theme for this time, Haiku Challenge #4, is Winter! Go count some syllables!



p.s. If ever you have an idea for a challenge topic, please tell me! Especially if you can make them more original than mine!

Eek! I forgot to post this on Wednesday!

Sigh...My memory is like a sieve.......
This moves me every time I read it. It applies to so much in life.

(Belatedly for) A Day of Sharing Words

Statement of Purpose

I do the work because I want to.
I do the work because I like to.
I do the work because I know how.
I do the work to explore myself.
I the work to engage others with thought, word, and deed.
I do the work because I have something to say.
I do the work because I have seen something beautiful.
I do the work because I have seen something ugly.
I do the work to be the kind of person I want to be.
I do the work to earn money.
I do the work to stay when I must go.

- Cautrell

A Short Blog Post? Can This Be True???

I checked out Joseph Cornell, Navigating the Imagination from the library last month. It's the companion catalogue to the exhibition. It weighs nearly 6 pounds! It is so chock-full of information that it's sort of hard to read. It was definitely a labor of love by the exhibit's curator. Unfortunately, due to the denseness of the text, I have not finished reading it - by a long shot - and I just realized it was due Monday. I was really trying to go cover to cover, but now I'm conflicted. Should I take another day, skim through the pictures and return it tomorrow? Or should I just return it today and put myself back on the waiting list? Sigh...I should probably return it today because people are waiting for it. Then I can at least go through the pictures at my leisure next time, right? I just hesitate to let go of it because I waited so long for it to begin with!

My DH found this site, Oobject, on one of his vintage bike sites. It is fabulous! It's just chock full of photos of amazing things, organized by (sometimes wacky and imaginative) categories. Like, for example, Bubble Cars. And they usually have little tidbits of information to share in each category, like, Founding Fathers' Invention Myths. It's a fun little site.

Speaking of my DH, look at the grocery list he gave me the other day:

Pretty cute, huh? Yes, that says "Elephant (to ride)." He and Rexy were making that list together and that was her contribution.

OMG - if you don't already read Yarn Harlot's blog, you'll have to go visit this entry about her caffeine nightmare! She is sooooooooooo hilarious! You don't have to be a knitter to appreciate her. I love her writing and I don't think my once-yearly scarf knitting experience qualifies me as a bona fide "knitter."

Lastly, guess what??? I sold four paintings on Tuesday! And, as soon as I figure out the shipping cost to Canada, another one will sell today or tomorrow! Yippee! Plus, 2 necklaces, 3 pairs of earrings, and 5 cards! Hurray! I know I should be able to just find satisfaction in the process of creating things, but I have to say the validation of selling something is pretty sweet. Don't you think?

Challenge! Haiku Monday #2

First things first. The topic for Haiku Monday #2 is ...............Change! I thought the topic would go well with current events. See this post for details.

Now on to last week's results...

So I arrived here at Sunday night/waaaaaay early Monday morning and realized that I had not written a Haiku! Nothing like a little Haiku action at 2a.m. on a Sunday, right? So I wrote this solemn little thing:

Dark, mysterious,
my companion, my refuge;
I welcome the night.

Hmmm...a little dramatic, maybe.

Then I decided to write a Haiku to go with the painting I painted today:

My coolness has fled.
I’m silly, sloppy, and loud.
Happy in myself.

(FYI it's 10 x 4 x 1.5 with painted sides - background and dots carry over - I'll be posting this on Etsy when I get a chance)

So! A HUGE thank you to the participants. It's been so fun for me - and you, too, I hope! Several people also posted art to go with their Haikus on their blogs. Please check them out! A link is provided for each person.

From Teresa at Attic Rat:

Too much candy gone
Gooey chocolate fingers
My butt will expand


From Pam Carriker at The Bag Lady's Art:


Angels from above
Whisper words of gratitude
silently to me


From Colette at Dreaming Stone:


Gratitude for love
silent and unbounded gift
Coming from above


From Glenda Bailey at Two Cool Texans:


Reaching reaching up
knowing the answers are there
keep on reaching up


From Kayce at On a Whimm:


Passion in a child
A Paleontologist
Feels it in his bones


( a very sweet pic of her son's well-loved dinosaur book was her inspiration)


And 2 from Gina Smith at Lilly's of Londonish:


Love your Etsy art!
Wish I had money to blow;
Then I'd get me some.


(Thank you, Gina!)


and her second entry:


That Haiku was lame,
Not as witty as I thought.
My muse ran away.

Thanks again to you all. It was so delightful to check my email and find Haiku! Thanks, too, for posting about it in your blogs.

Lastly, this beauty, below, is a drawing that my brilliant child did (I have no humility when it comes to my child, I admit. My DH and I think she's the best thing going.). Can you tell what it is? Its first letter is right there, too. It's a turkey! I think it's fabulous. She did that while sitting at the dining room table trying to draw a picture for every letter of the alphabet. How fab is that? Note its little wing. She told me that she liked my bird picture, above, but "It's just missing one thing." "What is that?" "Mommy! A wing!" Then she laughed like I was being deliberately silly. (Guess I'm slow...)

A last Haiku for today:

New Haiku fever
can't stop counting syllables;
a poet is born.

CHALLENGE!!! Haiku Monday #1

What do you think?

Let's start something!

If you're a longtime reader then you know that I love Haiku. Well, I decided to start a Haiku Monday challenge. Last year (I think...) I had a little Haiku challenge and got lots of great responses. Many people had never written a Haiku before - some still didn't, you know who you are, Jan! (Miss 30 syllables instead of 17, love you for that!) - and were delighted to discover how easy it was. That's the great thing about Haiku, it's totally accesible.

Traditionally, Haiku is about Nature (yes, with a capital "N"). We're not going to be all serious here, though. Your Haiku can be about anything - even nature!

Spring! I dance for thee.

My skirt! With so many holes.

Panties! A good thing.

(both picture and Haiku are from the blog Threadbared)

Here are some guidelines:


If you google Haiku you will find much discussion about the rules and whether you should use them. I say let's just start with the basics and if you break them a little...well, we call that artistic license in this house!


The pattern we'll be using for Haiku is the following:

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables


If you would like some examples, check out this site full of Haikus about lint - yes, as in dryer. My favorite might be the one that ends in "Lint, you complete me."


This is one I did for last year's Altered Art themed Haiku challenge:


Altered art passion.
New beauty made from old things.
It makes my heart sing.


Here's my thought about art and Haiku; while art is totally (completely!) optional, wouldn't it be nice to make a little 'zine full of art and Haikus? The details for that have to be worked out still. Liisa is a 'zine veteran, so I will pick her brain about that part and work out the details at a later date.


In any case, art or no art, all submissions from the week will be posted here the following Monday with a link to your blog (if you have one). In other words, I will post the topic sometime on Monday; accept submissions in the form of a comment or an email all week; create a blog post the following monday announcing the next topic and publishing the previous week's submissions.

(artwork and Haiku courtesy of the kind and generous Margaret Etzler)

So, to begin the process. This week's Haiku/art theme is:

GRATITUDE

There is so much to be grateful for in our lives, be as mundane or as esoteric as you like. Want to write a Haiku about the squeaky toy that keeps your pesky dog busy while you paint - go for it! Want to write a Haiku about the kind nurses in your mom's post-op ward - excellent! The way the sun shines on the leaves on your morning walk - well, you get the idea. Whatever you want to write about that expresses the topic "gratitude" for you is welcome. I look forward to seeing what you write!

Depression Cooking Ep: 3 - Poorman's Meal

Ok, I'm a little video happy, I admit. But, after browbeating you about voting, I thought I would share this charming video I found on http://twodancingcrows.blogspot.com/

Real blogposts are coming, I promise!