A Rainy Day Project

"Save a boyfriend for a rainy day --

and another, in case it doesn't rain."

-- Mae West

Medusa, mixed media on canvas (detail) 4-18-14

My mom was fond of the saying "save it for a rainy day."

It could mean any of a number of things, but it usually didn't really have anything to do with rain. It was simply her way of saying "Put it off, Kid. Procrastinate. There'll be plenty of dark, dreary days in life. Learn to have fun while the sun's shining."

Or it could mean "Think it over. Be certain. Don't blow through that birthday cash until you know for sure what you want to spend it on."

Or it could mean, "I don't want to hear you complaining that there's nothing to do. Save it for a rainy day, so next time you're bitching about how bored you are you'll have options."

For me, artistically speaking, a rainy day project is usually something that requires multi-day patience, like glue or paint that needs drying time. It's usually something that can't be rushed, that I can leave and come back to and leave and come back to in between other projects -- that I can only do so much of before it has to rest. It could be a collage, or a painting, or a sculpture, or a  paper mache mask, or, in today's case, a mixed-media piece.

Medusa, mixed media on canvas 4-18-14

I've been poking and picking at this mixed media Medusa for several weeks. It was a way to use up a whole bunch of random, leftover art and craft supplies, like paper flowers, little plastic snakes and skulls, glitter, felt letters, a paper butterfly, acrylic paint, spray paint, a mesh citrus bag, some stickers.

I have to say, I find all of these bits and pieces much more compelling now that they're freed from their drawer and assembled together. And I actually did have some rainy days to work on her. And some windy days. And some snowy days. And some windy/rainy/snowy days.

Anyway, it's been a while since I've made a Medusa.

It was good to see her face again.

A Double Feature

"People who LIKE movies have a favorite.

People who LOVE movies couldn't possibly choose."

--Nicole Yatsonsky

Looks Can Kill 3 movie poster with Lego Medusa and Lego clown, 1-18-14

"A good movie can take you out of your dull funk

and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theater ..."

-- Pauline Kael, For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies

Give them pleasure. 

The same pleasure they have 

when they wake up from a nightmare."

-- Alfred Hitchcock

If one movie is a good thing, two movies is one day is an even better thing.

And two movies wrapped around dinner at Chipotle is like a double-wrapped good thing burrito.

New fangled movie theaters don't do old fashioned double features anymore. So we had to create our own from the multiple offerings at our local cineplex.

We found two movies spaced just far enough apart to allow for a quick dinner in between films.

It felt super indulgent and extravagant, because it was. We didn't have to choose which movie we wanted to see. We just saw them both.

I was excited about it all week. It was our way of celebrating the end of Leo's final exams, and the perfect start to a long weekend. 

It was also the perfect excuse to create this pretend movie poster for a movie that doesn't exist, but which I hope someone will make some day so that I can go see it. 

Twice. 

Cuz I bet it's really good.