Feminist Friday: She's 13

I wanted to share a mixed media painting I finished a little bit ago entitled "She's 13". I created this piece for Oklahomans Against The Trafficking of Humans to help raise awareness of the growing problem of human trafficking and modern slavery. Sadly, the average age a girl is recruited into commercial sexual exploitation here in the U. S. is 12 to 13. At twelve and thirteen, I was still playing with Barbies, exploring the outdoors, and reading Laura Ingalls Wilder. What were you doing at that age?



I really enjoyed the process with this piece, and I'd like to do more mixed media paintings in the future. It took me quite a while to decide how to tackle such an awful subject, artistically, but in the end I decided to lean toward the symbolic. Here is how I described the piece:

"The trappings of a normal, happy pre-adolescent girl’s life lie torn and ruined under layers of darkness and filth. What should be a time of carefree innocence before the onslaught of normal teenage pressures and changes has instead become a nightmare of sexual exploitation and bondage. Thirteen pairs of young girls’ legs wearing women’s high heels symbolize child victims of sexual slavery being forced into adult situations far beyond their years. These girls have become disconnected body parts, bought and sold for the pleasure and profit of adults. A tarnished gold “Dearest Daughter” seal meant for a funeral spray reminds the viewer that each of these girls is someone’s daughter and serves as a metaphor for the death of their innocence and childhood. This piece aims to impress upon the viewer how very young 13 is."

Wanda Jackson and Daniel Romano

So, I saw Wanda Jackson before I fell off the blogging wagon for a month, and she was great; very warm, personal, and engaging onstage. She's got a lot of spunk, and she can still shake some fringe! My friends and I were four of about ten people in the entire audience under the age of 60, which made for a very quiet show, but we had a great time nonetheless. We may have gotten a little rowdy in the nosebleed section and annoyed the Centrum Silver set, but you just can't hear The Queen of Rockabilly sing "Fujiyama Mama" and sit still while tapping your toe! It just isn't done. Wanda still lives just down the road in Oklahoma City, and during the show she dedicated "Let's Have a Party" to her granddaughter who happened to be sitting just a few rows on front of us and had driven up from Tulsa to see her world famous grandma sing. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single photo because my camera battery died right before the show, so you'll just have to take my word for it: I was there, and it was fabulous.

Wanda's opening act and backing band for this leg of her tour was Daniel Romano and his band, The Trilliums, who I hadn't heard before. I am now a new and enthusiastic fan of these Canadian boys! They are some seriously stellar musicians. How did I not know about Daniel before? I mean, the man wears Nudie-esque rhinestone-encrusted Western suits and styles his album covers after the glory days of 1960's Nashville, not to mention his classic country and honky tonk songs, heavy on the steel guitar. If that doesn't butter my bread, I don't know what does! If you know what's good for you, you'll go to Daniel's Bandcamp page and listen to and buy his albums. Here are three of my favorites of his from The Tube of You:

Feminist Friday: Hard-Headed Woman

A hard-headed woman is a thorn in the side of a man. This hard-headed woman will be seeing the legendary Wanda Jackson TONIGHT! I'm shakin' all over just thinking about it!

P.S. How cute is that fiddle player?

Charcoalburger

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know that I love old signage. I spied this hand lettered beauty a while back during my travels. I'm guessing that it was double sided, judging by the fact that the panhandle is facing the wrong way. It's a shame that I missed out on Oklahoma's finest malts just because I had the misfortune to be born a couple decades too late!

My Oklahoma

Totem Pole Park

On Sunday we took one of our meandering family drives with no real plan in mind other than to get out and enjoy temperatures that were only in the 80s and make a stop at one of our favorite spots on earth, Totem Pole Park. I never get tired of visiting that place! A few years ago, I even got to help repaint a bit of the Fiddle House there. It was nice to see how the renovations had come along since then. I'm so happy that this treasure is being preserved. You can see more of the park through the years in my first post about it, which was one of my very first posts on this here blog.

We also spied a little Route 66 shop that we hadn't before, but it was closed, so I snapped a couple photos of the outside. The cinder block walls are covered in the autographs of Route 66 travelers from all over the world.

We took a whole bunch of photos that day. I am trying to get better about having my photo taken, but it's hard for me. I don't want these girls of mine to grow up and not have a single photo of their mama! Here's one that the Mister took. I call this my Downton Abbey Meets Reform School Girl outfit.

I updated the "About" page with some more photos of that day if you'd like to see more of the place or my goofy mug.

Shakin' All Over

We had our feathers ruffled here in Oklahoma late last night by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake. I first thought that the vibrations and low rumble were from a passing train, but as the shaking increased and my dishes and windows began to rattle, I knew it was the earth moving. My big girl was sleeping, but my wee one was practicing her new found sitting skills on the floor and looked up at me as if to ask, "Do you feel what I feel, Mama?" It seemed to last forever, though it was probably around a minute. Worse than the shaking was the eerie sound--a groaning, rumbling noise that, combined with the rattling of our belongings, sounded as if a powerful wind was blowing and shaking our home. Mr. Hall was playing a show with his band The Flash Bangs and never even knew it had happened due to the earth-shattering rock the band was spewing forth, presumably. It's bad enough that we have to deal with tornadoes here, now there are earthquakes, too! Here's a fellow Okie singing a little ditty about shakin'. It seemed appropriate.

Gearing Up

How's my Dollfaces? Tonight finds me cleaning and straightening my little art cave, trying to calm and center myself before the storm of the next several weeks. I am happy to announce that I've been accepted to both Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar and Alliday on the 10th and 17th of December, respectively. Along with the excitement of participating in these amazing, 100% handmade shows comes the sobering realization that holy bajeezus, I've got to produce enough inventory for two shows plus ye olde internete shoppe, on top of all the family and holiday related business and happy times that this time of year brings. I have so many ideas and plans for new offerings, new show displays, new things and projects I want to share with you, and such precious little time. I am trying to learn to not let myself be overwhelmed by the big picture, and to just focus on one task at a time until I reach my goal, or, as my mother would say, to "eat the elephant one bite at a time". I feel like I'm looking for some magic organizational tool or method that will help me feel less overwhelmed and keep me on track. My attempts at scheduling each hour of my day haven't worked, especially with two little girls. I'm good at making lists, and I do work better with one, but I still feel scattered sometimes. So much of the time I feel like I'm running on a treadmill, just barely staying on top of the day to day needs of my little business and my family, with no time to get ahead or reach the really big goals. I hope (and I think) I'm not alone here.



In other news, we celebrated our Sugar Pea's fifth birthday with funnel cakes (birthday girl's request), and I just shipped a big ol' box of Sweetheartville saint candles to a brand new store opening the first of November in Rogers, AR called Heirloom Food and Gifts! I cannot wait to shop there the next time we visit family in the Ozarks. Sweetheartville goods can now be found at retail stores in two different states, with more to come, hopefully. These are exciting times. So much work to be done! Do you have any tips for staying on track while juggling a business and a family? What sort of calendar, planner, or other organizational tools have helped you?

Sweetheartville at Dwelling Spaces

Hi, Dollfaces! I have some hugely exciting news to share with you. My prayer candles and Roadside Fun post card sets can now be found in the coolest gift shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dwelling Spaces!





I have been planning to expand my business through wholesale, and I'm so excited to have taken the first step. No matter how many etsy and craft fair sales I make, there is nothing that compares to the thrill of knowing that my art is for sale in a store, and a really cool one at that. I met the owner of Dwelling Spaces, Mary Beth, at Indie Emporium, and we instantly connected over our mutual love of 1950's era design and our shared hometown (which also happens to be a certain famous lady blogger's). I am so honored that she found my art worthy of inclusion in her shop, and I hope that it's the start of a great business relationship.

Art Crush: Samantha Lamb

I think my friend Samantha Lamb is pretty well known in the state of Oklahoma these days, and rightly so. Her fine art photographs are breathtaking. They seriously make my liver quiver. Just in case you haven't been introduced to this lovely lady and her art, I thought I'd share a little glimpse of her newest work which celebrates Indian Summer in all its warm, glowy beauty.



I had the supreme honor of being photographed by Sam a couple of years ago, and since I've come to know her, I can tell you that a sweeter, more creative and genuine soul does not exist in this world. She is twice as gorgeous in person as in her photographs, if you can believe it. Sam is currently working her fingers to the bone running a farm and communing with wild owls and donkeys and milk cows. She is Snow White come to life, I tell you.




Visit Sam's blog for more of her lovely work and life (and pies!), and grab her coupon code for a fall discount in her shop. Now I'm off to drink something warm and eat something spicy and pumpkiny, thanks to Sam's gorgeous photos. I hope that you're enjoying these first fall days, my favorite time of year.

Native Son

Hello, sweethearts! I've been working very hard to prepare for Indie Emporium, which will be here in less than two weeks. Besides readying my wares for the show, I've also finished a new collage. I've had this idea in my mind and my sketchbook for months now, and I guess our recent trip to the Will Rogers Museum gave me the kick in the pants I needed to make it reality. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out!



Our most famous and most beloved Okie is on an Oklahoma Flag Blue background surrounded by the emblems of our state--Indian blanket flowers, rose rocks, mistletoe, redbud branches, and scissortailed-flycatchers. The banner shows our state motto, "Labor Omnia Vincit", or "Labor conquers all things." I chose to use a slightly less well known photograph of Will. This is something that's not talked about nearly enough: young Will Rogers was a total hottie. But then, I kinda have a thing for Cherokee boys.

Look for an Okie Pride candle very soon, and maybe a print, too!

Museum Trip

We recently visited the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma. The witty rope slinger who never met a man he didn't like was born less than 20 miles from my home, and although I count him among my heroes, I'd never been to the museum in Claremore. I pretty much want to just move in there and live in this room, a recreation of his study in his California home.



After we'd had our fill of Will Rogers memorabilia, we headed just down the road to the J. M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum which houses the largest private gun collection in the world. There were guns, yes, but so much more. Here are some of the things that caught my eye.

Roadside Fun Postcards

I just added these fun postcard sets to the Sweetheartville shop! Get your kicks on Route 66.

The Queen of Rock

After countless starts and stops, Miss Wanda Jackson is finally finished and is awaiting her debut at the Oklahoma State Fair, along with dozens of other embroidered Okies.



Since "Funnel of Love" is just about my favorite Wanda Jackson song, and since Oklahoma is known for its funnel clouds, I thought a giant embroidered cyclone was appropriate.



My taller half even tried his hand at embroidery for the first time to render the majesty of Ryan, Oklahoma native Chuck Norris' kicking power in floss and felt.



Remember: There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.

66

Wanda In Progress

She's coming along...

Rural Decline

Some scenes from my little town..