I’m Published on St. Somewhere

I am very pleased to share that one of my poems has been published in the premiere issue of a new online literary journal, St. Somewhere. St. Somewhere is the baby of Randy Baker, an American who grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. The new journal will focus on writers and writings from the Caribbean and the Southern Coastal United States as described here:
In terms of Southern Literature in the U.S., we wish to pay special attention to the coastal regions of the South and the distinct sub-cultures associated with the area. From the Carolina Low Country, down and around to the Louisiana bayous, there are histories and cultures that, while having commonalities with the upper and mid-South, also stand uniquely apart in many ways. Furthermore, it would seem that there are often overlooked similarities and connections between this sub-region of the United States and the Caribbean region. The pairing of these areas in a literary setting has the potential to compare and contrast their respective cultures from a unique angle.

I think Randy has a great idea with this journal. So many of us who live in New Orleans (Who Dat!) love life here precisely because it’s a city that’s a melting-pot of cultures rarely found anywhere else. I wish him good luck with St. Somewhere and hope everyone reading this will visit.

Randy also blogs about the writing life at Digital Calabash.

Detail of St. Katharine Drexel Church, Louisiana Ave.

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“I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and a sword in my hands.”
~~~Zora Neale Hurston

Mellow

007, originally uploaded by Traveling Mermaid.

“The further time takes you away from a situation, the less important it becomes until, finally, it’s nonexistent.”

This is the thought that came into my head just before I was completely awake this morning. It’s a sign and a prophecy. And already so true in so many ways.

Who Dat Nation

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My lucky Saints necklace

Wherein I Bitch About Social Sites & Stuff

So New Years Day has passed and, once again, I didn’t make resolutions for the upcoming year. I stopped resolving years ago when I realized I never kept them anyway and all they were good for was making one feel somewhat guilty for a while, which is way too long in my book.

But lately, mainly while waiting to go to sleep at night, I’ve been thinking about all kinds of stuff. It’s amazing what churns around in the brain around midnight in that twilight time between wakefulness and sleep. I’ve been thinking about how much of my time is being eaten up by the internet in the form of Twitter, FaceBook, Google groups, Yahoo groups and never-ending social sites of various shapes and sizes. I’m feeling all grouped out. But that’s totally just like me….I get all excited over something new (say, FaceBook) and go at it with all the zeal of a lemming following the line to the ledge. Then, after a while, I grow a bit bored and posting and reading copious links and updates begins to dwindle. I’m in the dwindling phase now, I think, which is why I’m keeping this article in my Delicious. How many of your friends actually clicks your links anyway? I know I seldom do – it’s easier to just “like” the link if the title and blurb sound good. And that’s bad. I think half the time half the people don’t even know what they’re “liking”. I think too, and this is JMHO, that FaceBook surreptitiously steals our creativity. Think about it: did you used to blog? Now do you just post links on FB instead of posting your very own original thought on your now-dusty blog?

And don’t even get me started on the games…..oh, the games. I tried a few that only led to frustration because I didn’t take the time to read how to play the game because I’d rather read about something else. Now, thanks to a certain friend who “neighbored” me, I have a Cafe World stalker that’s oozing all over my Request List like an invading Martian Brain Bake.

Then there are the groups – I mean some of them are so below minutia they’re not even remotely funny and who are these people who have time to think this stuff up? Of course, “Rush Limbaugh is a fat, drug addled gasbag ! Boycott his advertisers” and “People throwing a party for Ray Nagin’s last day in office.” are actually community services that just happen to fall into the funny minutia category.

As for Twitter, it is fun for keeping up with friends but, in the grand scheme of things, do I really need to know every little thought that goes through their head and do they need to know mine? Ummm…..yeah, well….. maybe so. The bad thing about Twitter is that you can read through hours of tweets and glean nothing useful but leave the site to get a cup of coffee and you’ll miss the one tweet that would have changed your world. *sigh*

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing, too, and I’ve decided that this year I do not resolve to write more poetry, submit to ezines or to read in front of a group. The moment I begin pushing myself into doing these things is the moment it stops being fun and becomes work. I like the serendipity of being published (like here) when I don’t expect it to happen and I like that I don’t really care when I get a rejection (like from here). I like when, out of the blue, I’m contacted and asked if a zine may publish my poetry like this brand-spanking new site has done. This is fun and this is how I want it to be.

So these are some of the things I’ve been thinking about lately. Check back later for installment #2: link love to people who know what they’re talking about…. something I haven’t done in a long time. (Thanks to Fac….oh, nevermind)

I Miss You, Teddy

Teddy Pendergrass’ sweet, smooth voice of Rythmn & Blues was silenced last Thursday, January 14 after a prolonged battle with colon cancer. Teddy’s was a safe and familiar voice coming from my TG&Y stereo in my early teen years when he was lead singer for Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes. Although, he left the group in 1976 and became wildly successful on his own for many years, I will always remember him fondly and best singing with the soulful harmonies of the Blue Notes.

Here is a live version of I Miss You from 1975.

Frost, Unfamiliar

Every few years Mother Nature reminds us, we who live in this land unfamiliar with the deaths of winter, not to become complacent in the temperate world we inhabit. We, who are used to our banana trees and ferns flourishing in January as well as June, rarely expect to wake up to a garden in a less than lush state. But, nature is and will ever be impervious to the expectations of mere humans. Our desires are accommodated only by chance if they fit into the whole, grand scheme of this spinning planet with it’s moon-driven tides.

For the last few nights the stars have glittered like distant ice bergs in the clear, cold expanse of sky. I wonder: do they fall to earth while we sleep, transforming into the early morning sparkle of frost in our gardens?

Sword Fern after frost

Banana Trees after frost

Contemplation

Audubon Park, New Orleans, originally uploaded by Traveling Mermaid.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is./I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down/into the grass…/how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields….What will you do with your one wild and precious life?
~~~Mary Oliver , The Summer Day

009

009, originally uploaded by Traveling Mermaid.

“You know what I think? I think that we’re all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.”
–Norman Bates

Tammy Vitale

(Cross-posted from NOLAFemmes.)

I first interviewed Tammy a little over 2 years ago on my personal blog after following her art via her blog, Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together, for I-don’t-remember-how-long. It seems I’ve been reading her beautiful writings and feasting my eyes on her extraordinary art forever. Tammy is nearly always the top search engine generated subject on Casa de Charlotte and that first interview consistently gets hits, day after day. Just goes to show how sought-after her art is!

I decided it was time to introduce Tammy and her art to the readers of NOLAFemmes. I picked up where I left off on the previous interview, anxious to hear what she’s been up to since then. (As if I didn’t know already!)

Since our last conversation you’ve added beadwork to your treasure trove of talents. Is this your first foray into this medium and what attracted you to it?

Well, not exactly. In the early 90s I tried jewelry making but could never find strong string – I have no idea what other supplies they had then but I was self taught and didn’t manage to find what I needed so I left it alone. Then I met my friend Tricia (now owner of mdbeadboutique.com) and for a while we traded work back and forth as a mutual admiration society. Then she took me to a wholesale bead show and I was hooked. When you buy that many beads you need an excuse to keep on buying so you start selling. I am attracted to glittery things so of course beads catch my eye! Plus in the economy downturn, I still had no problem selling jewelry. So I got really hooked and went into lampworking and beadworking (which is my favorite now). And it’s all so much more portable than clay!

How is beadwork similar and different from sculpting for you?

Making jewelry is 3D, especially in its fancier applications (wire working and the really 3D beadworking) – you can build depth into the finished product. Like sculpture you build it a part at a time and often it takes off in its own direction (okay, almost all the time). Better than sculpture (since I stick pretty much with clay and found objects) I love all the possibilities of beads – the colors, the matt vs glitter, faceted vs smooth – there are just so many lovely choices.I’d like to say it’s less expensive but it’s easily 10x more expensive than clay sculpture so that’s not an excuse. I can wear it out – it starts conversations, creates new clients, and while pieces are waiting to be sold I have this entire gallery of color and style to pick out the perfect piece for the day – talk about abundance! i LOVE that about making jewelry.

I see you’re also teaching now. How has that affected your artwork?

I teach very talented folks – whether or not they’ve ever touched clay. They all approach their pieces bringing their own experiences to bear so I get new ideas and tons of inspiration for my own work. I don’t think you can share creative energy without new things being born, and I have always seen teaching as a two way street. As we work together to bring their conceptual ideas into realization, problems I’ve never thought of appear and are solved, ways of handling the clay, texture, color – all continually teach me to see anew through the new eyes of my students (who are always also my teachers).

Wyld Women Dancing Totem

How do you fit your art, both the creative and business sides, and your home life and responsibilities into a 24 hour day?

That’s an awesome question because for the last 8 years I haven’t. I’ve done pieces well, and other pieces poorly or not at all and was completely discouraged about how it would ever work out. Then I started working with my coach and suddenly it became apparent I wasn’t thinking big enough! So I am working on finding people to do those parts that can be farmed out or done better by someone else who will love doing them so I can do the things I do best: design and create. I’ve also begun putting together a combination of my former profession as a community-based organizer and my art into a program I call “AmpUP: Live/play/work outloud” that teaches others who are looking for “what’s next” or who find themselves yearning for something they can’t quite name how to think bigger. I’ve decided that will save the world! As soon as I get my website functioning half way smooth, I will have new programs under my “workshop” tab – I have a free handout with an overview of the art business that will go up within the next week or so. No wonder I felt overwhelmed! But it’s a good outline and is also a good argument for thinking bigger and starting to hire other people (this is done on a very part-time basis and works really well). Soon afterward I will be offering eseminars/webinars (depending on which I learn first). It’s all very exciting and I get up in the morning and go to bed at night thinking about how to bring this to fruition (I”m really really close!).

If you find yourself losing interest in a project do you feel guilty and push yourself to finish or set it aside saying, “ah it’s just not meant to be”? Do you have any tips you can share regarding motivation and/or discipline in completing projects?

I’m a firm believer in everything having its own time. If a project doesn’t want to be finished I have to look at why I’m resisting – is it intuitive that it’s the wrong direction and needs to be rethought? If yes, then stop and sit with it a while and wait to hear what wants to become. Is it because there are new scarey pieces to it that I’d just as soon not have to deal with? If yes, then persist on through, in small timed chunks if necessary, but keep going because this is a stretch out of the old comfortable cocoon and birthing is always a bit scarey but necessary. I think the answer of finish or no is in the why of the resistance.

One Woman's Life ~ Acrylic on canvas

Journaling or drawing pictures or collaging are all ways to bring forth answers as well as sitting quietly, or making a nighttime request before sleep to see what dreams bring. You know fear of success can be just as strong as fear of failure – stronger sometimes. Who are you now if you are this person capable of greatness? What does that do to your self image and what will you then need to do? (and who among us isn’t, in the end, absolutely capable of greatness – isn’t that why we’re here in the first place?!)

Part of what I love about your blog is the “Wylde Woman’s Wisdom” at the end of each post. Is spirituality integral to your creative process?

Linda's Angel

Yes. I have to believe that I have a part in something that is larger than me, that what I do counts in the larger scheme of things. We all tell ourselves stories and mine is that we came for a reason, and our heart’s desires are the guides to that. It would be so much easier if I could just get a regular job and collect a regular pay check, but the older I get, the less and less that becomes an option. It’s playing so much smaller than I am capable of, and fulfilling my possibilities (which increase with every success and even every “failure” that doesn’t stop me) really jazzes me up. I am not bored with my life. Ever.

Where can we purchase your art?

From me directly, locally at the several shows I do a year, from any of the shops I have, from any shops you can talk in to representing me (and oh I would love a shop in New Orleans! or, if not there then at least around Ocean Springs Mississippi!). Unfortunately one of the drawbacks of my new website is that I don’t have my gallery of work up yet (I’m hiring someone next week, but she can’t work on it if my webiste photo uploader isn’t working). That is looming large right now and within the next 6 months I will have an excellent gallery showing all I have to offer. In the meantime, scrolling back through my blogs gives a good idea of what I have to offer, and I’m always happy to send along photos if someone can sort of describe something of mine
they’ve seen somewhere.

FOLLOW TAMMY ON FACEBOOK.

My 2009 In Photos

It was a helluva year!

New Orleans 2009

1. Snow in NoLA 12/11/08, 2. KdV 2009 002, 3. KdV 2009 005, 4. Mirliton Fest 2009 004, 5. Guitar Lightnin Lee, 6. Mirliton Fest 2009 048, 7. Mirliton Fest 2009 036, 8. 001, 9. St.Joseph Street, 10. NOLA Brewing Co., 11. Mirliton Fest 2009 004, 12. 004, 13. 1 014 Super Sunday in New Orleans 2009, 14. 1 020 Super Sunday in New Orleans 2009, 15. 1 045 Super Sunday in New Orleans 2009, 16. 1 064 Super Sunday in New Orleans 2009, 17. Red Dress Run, 18. Red Dress Run, 19. Red Dress Run 006, 20. Sunday afternoon in da quahtah, 21. Hot 8, 22. Hot 8, 23. Jazz Fest 020, 24. Jazz Fest 010, 25. Jazz Fest 001, 26. French Quarter Fest 2009, 27. RnB & MLB 035, 28. Bucktown Allstars, 29. Mystic Krewe of Barkus 2009 013, 30. Mystic Krewe of Barkus 2009 009, 31. Zulu float house in French Quarter, 32. Mardi Gras Day 2009, 33. Bywater Tour 013, 34. Bywater Tour 010, 35. Sandbar on the Mississippi, 36. The city from the river

Tiger X3

This is what I do sometimes when I’m too tired to think, read or talk.

From this photo:

Tiger who needs a home.

I made these:

Y’all Have a Cool Yule!

Christmas Brilliance

Christmas day is in three days and I’m wondering where the time has gone. While the hours sometimes have seemed to drag lately the days are disappearing as quickly as fireworks bursting in the dark sky. You know how it is….you can never get a good enough look at the brilliance of the lights and so are left with only vague dots of color floating before your eyes. The colors of my days have seemed dark for quite a while but I’m still surprised with bursts of iridescent sparkle that remind me of how beautiful life can be.

Tonight I want to say thank you to some of the people who’ve given me the brilliance of their friendship and care.

First to my dear friend, Chris. You are always there for me whether I am bubbly and happy or in that dark place where light cannot penetrate. You are the only person I feel completely comfortable whining to, knowing I will never be judged. Plus, it’s good to have a friend who looks so formidable when we’re out ratting the streets.

Trish, my sista. We clicked from day one. Our secrets are ours and we’ll take them to our graves. I love you.

Amy. What can I say about someone who has a heart as big as Lake Ponchartrain? You always, always respond when I leave silly, ambiguous statuses on FaceBook, needing just a little love sent my way over the air waves. (Is it air waves? Whatever.) It’s like you can read my mind. Thank you.

Jeff L., you always make me laugh. Even if I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! Plus, your photo’s rock big time. Sending lots of “Brownies and beer” to you!

Lisa P. – Thank you for being there for me on one of the worst nights of my life. I will *never* forget. And thank you for letting me be a part of your love for the second line. Some of my best times this year was with you!

And to my NOLAFemmes sisters: Amy (again!), Nikki, Holly, Nola Notes and Morwen: I thank you all for everything you’ve done for the blog. I picked you all for a reason – because you’re strong, caring wonderful women. Thank you.

To everyone who has touched my life this year: May you have a wonderful holiday filled with good food, good friends, family, love and the precious brilliance of life.

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Merry Soulful Christmas

Got my baby, my precious love
Happiness, good God, I got plenty of
Would you believe I got peace of mind
And I’ll be groovin’ at Christmas time

PhotoHunt 191: Undesirable

I took this photo during a second line here in New Orleans. It looked to me at the time like Dad was scolding son for some sort of undesirable behavior. Regardless, this is one of my favorite photos.

See more “undesirable” photos at PhotoHunt.

Wordless Wednesday

PSA

For anyone who might be interested, five of my short poems are being featured this week on The Electronic Poetry Network of Shreve Memorial Library in Shreveport, LA. As described:

The Electronic Poetry Network (EPN), founded in 1997 and edited by Carlos Colon, uses the work of poets from around the world. In addition to being featured on this web site, the poetry is displayed all day or all weekend long on an electronic message board located on the first floor of the Main (Downtown) Branch of our library. If you wish to have your poems considered for the EPN, please send 5-10 short poems (no longer than about 50 words each) to ccolon@shreve-lib.org. The poems do not need to be haiku. They just need to be short and suitable for the general public. Previously published poems are acceptable.

One poem per day for the week is posted. You can read them here.