Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Cupcake Incident


It happened one year ago, today. I know that, because Facebook now has this cool thing where they post your status a year ago, in a little link on the side of the page. I've been meaning to blog about it, so this seems like a really good time.

I belong to several art groups on Facebook, Ning and other networking sites. In one group, Willowing and Friends, there was an art challenge. It was simple. Make a piece of art in any medium using the prompt "cupcakes". At the time, I was actively art journaling and used this prompt to try out a lot of techniques I'd been picking up from various artist videos on Youtube. The image above is what I came up with for the challenge.

So on this very day, one year ago, I posted that pic on Facebook and made a few comments about how much I would really like a cupcake, etc. Later on, around 2-ish, at work, I was having a discussion with two associates (one being my daughter, Natalie) about Synchronicity and the power of thought to create reality. It was a brief discussion and when it concluded, we all went back to our offices to get some work done. (I need to interject, here, that I was an administrator in the sales office of the condominium complex I was living in, at that time.) Anyway, a very few moments later...in walks a woman I had never seen before...with a plate full of...you guessed it...CUPCAKES.

Natalie heard my exclamation and came out to see what was happening. The woman's name was Jessica and she had purchased a condo in the building. She explained that she had made cupcakes for a gathering in her home and that her guests had not shown up...and so she thought we might like some cupcakes. (OMG...I know) But we're not done, yet...

After talking to Jessie for a bit and filling her in about our earlier conversation and my artwork, we thanked her for her (very delicious) cupcakes and she went back to her apartment. Meanwhile....my boyfriend, Michael, was at the store to pick up some wine. As he was looking around in this HUGE Wine/Liquor place for anything interesting, he glanced down to a lower shelf and saw a label he had never seen before. Can you guess? Yup! Cupcake! Not too long after Jessica had dropped off the cupcakes, Michael came in with the bottle of wine. (wow...right?) Still...not done.

Right after work, Michael and I were having dinner at a restaurant, when I got a text from my friend Jimmy, who had seen my post on facebook. He mentioned how disappointed he had been, earlier (um...around the same time Michael had come in with the wine), because he had stopped by this little bakery in NYC and they had been out of his favorite cupcake.

Jump to that evening, after Michael and I had come back to the apartment. I called Natalie and we decided to get the remaining cupcakes in the office and bring them up and have a toast with the Cupcake wine. At this point it was myself, Michael, Natalie and her friend Ricky. As we poured the wine, we realized there was one cupcake and one glass of wine left...so we decided to call Jimmy, who also lived in the building. Of course, he came and there we were, The Cupcake Connection. As we sipped and talked, Ricky divulged that he had to make a choice, at some sort of event during the day, involving food, between two desserts. It occured to him that he had chosen the cupcake, as he had not had one in a very long time. "What time was that?" someone asked. "Around 2:30 or 3:00" he replied. At that point we compared our notes a little more closely and realized that all of these events happened around the same time, that day! It was also revealed that Jimmy's favorite cupcake was chocolate, which of course was the flavor of the cupcakes Jessie made.

There you have it. The cupcake incident. Just to update, Jessie has become a good friend...and still occasionally brings us cupcakes.

It is a wild, weird, wonderful world...

Synchronicity Rocks!

Bettina Makley





Friday, August 19, 2011

Background Experiments

This is a digital collage of some images from my 9x12 mixed media journal. If you click on it, you will see it much larger.

Just trying to keep the creativity flowing. I recently moved from an apartment in the city, to a house in the burbs and it's going to take a while to get completely organized. In the mean time, I have appropriated the second kitchen (yeah, we have two...lol) as temporary studio space. There isn't much room, right now, to unpack all my boxes, but at least I can get to many of the basics, for art journaling.

This, from a recent Facebook note, explains my feelings about visual journaling:

"My journal is where I heal, where I grow, where I recreate myself, from the inside out. I scream into my journal. I cry into my journal. I laugh into my journal. I dance, celebrate life, mourn loss, gather skills, both personal and artistic, get angry...and quietly detox my mind and defuse the anxiety that can so often build up in my Soul. Creating is a need...like food or breath, at least, for me.

When I am creating, there is a flush of energy that is almost intoxicating. Sometimes that "flush" is like a wave that hits out of nowhere and I do my best to catch it and ride it to whatever distant shore it is taking me, and though I may be surprised by the destination, I am NEVER disappointed...and I await the next wave with joyful anticipation. "

The collage, above, is an example of a creative wave. I have no idea where those pages are going, but I am really enjoying the ride, in what little time I have to create, these days. I'm scraping, painting, heating, tearing, cutting, drawing, splashing, spraying and writing, and there are new ideas emerging. More importantly, I am healing from months of stressing out over the move.

Baby stepping, back to my creative life. :)

*slinging paint with a great, big sigh of relief*

Bettina

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