Heart art by the ginormously talented Pam Carlson
It’s Launch Day! Come play with me at the new site, A Human Thing! I’ll be back here with a Zebra Sounds post on Thursday, and then every Thursday from here on out.
I’ll post at A Human Thing on Mondays. (Hint: If you subscribe to both blogs, you don’t have to remember my schedule. And I’ll love you forever. And an angel will get its wings.)
xo
Posted in j's lovely things, on my mind...
Tagged a human thing, j's love project, Judy Clement Wall, launch
It’s March. Time for me to try something new. Literally.
At least for March (and maybe longer) I’m going to, each week, try something new. It might be something I’ve never done before, a food I’ve never eaten, a place I’ve never been, but every week, it’ll be something (with pictures if at all possible). I’m excited. And I’m up for suggestions if you have some.
I wanted to say a few words about my February project, The Secret Alphabet. It was cool.
Okay, maybe a few more words than that. I really loved doing it. I loved how, at first, it felt like there were letters everywhere, and then I realized only certain letters were everywhere – O’s and A’s, for instance. But other letters, like G’s (and C’s and D’s) were nowhere to be found. (Was so disappointed the day I wanted to write Imagine.) But I liked having to be flexible. I liked how every outing took longer than the time I had allotted, but not once did I feel bad about that.
I loved how aware I became of the places I visited, how many things I noticed, and occasionally remembered to photograph, that were not letters.
And one of the things I loved most was how many of you told me you were out looking for letters. How cool is that? And so here’s what I’m thinking. If any of you want to send me your pics (anyone, but especially those who found a discernible C, D or G), I’ll assemble them all into an alphabet pic. Neato, right?
It’s an open invitation. If you haven’t gone looking for the secret alphabet yet, I highly recommend it. Venture out, turn your brain sideways, and take pictures of what you see.
That’s it for now. Next Monday, something new. I can’t wait to see what it’ll be.
Posted in j's lovely things, the view from here (Pictures!)
Tagged Judy Clement Wall, life, new, new things, photos, secret alphabet
I lied. The word today is one of the ones I said I wouldn’t do, but it’s been on my mind all week for a lot of reasons. And that’s okay… because, of course, it’s all you need.
—————————————————————————————————–
And now for something completely different… I have a couple of pieces published elsewhere I’d like to share (for anyone who doesn’t follow me on Twitter (hi, mom!)… The first is my latest Vagina Monologues update and the second is something totally different called “Invisible.”
Posted in j's lovely things, the view from here (Pictures!)
Tagged art, creativity, isca media, Judy Clement Wall, love, secret alphabet, words
This post comes after two really tough weeks for me, and then one nearly perfect, laid back weekend. It’s my advice to myself for the week ahead. Breathe. The rest will work itself out.
Posted in j's lovely things, the view from here (Pictures!)
Tagged art, creativity, Judy Clement Wall, pictures, secret alphabet, words
Thank you to my friend, Tana Butler, for coming up with the name of this post. (She didn’t know that’s what she was doing when she coined the phrase, but I love it, so I’m stealing it. I figure if I say thank you, it’s all good.)
So, I decided I wouldn’t write LOVE, PEACE, JOY or HOPE because that’s just what you’d expect me to write for a project like this. (I try not to be too predictable.) So today’s word… it’s a verb that frankly does not happen nearly enough. ;-)
————————————————————————–
And now for something compeltely different… I like the website, Unhappy Hipsters, as much for the weirdness of the idea as for its clever execution. It “pairs photographs of attractive people living in modern splendor with captions written from the perspective that its subjects are actually suffering from some sort of existential despair.” It‘s funny, if you’re a little warped like I am. ;-)
Posted in j's lovely things, the view from here (Pictures!)
Tagged art, creatitivty, Judy Clement Wall, pictures, secret alphabet, words
I’m really excited about my February Blog project. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Santa Cruz – a beautiful coastal town near me – and in one of the shops I saw these wonderful photographs…
I loved these! Not because of the words that were spelled, although there is nothing wrong with the words, but because they stirred my imagination. I am not a visual artist at all. I think in words. I read books and revel in the language, listen to music and lose myself in lyrics, watch movies and obsess over the dialogue. I love the idea of creating words out of the details of my world. As soon as I saw these, I thought, “I want to do that!”
So I did. I ventured out on Saturday, and I looked for letters in the branches of trees, in the angles of architecture, in the geometry of household things. My first word was easy to pick. It was the theme of 2009 for me; it is my command to myself for the future, my goal, my constant inner chant.
I had so much fun doing this, wandering aimlessly, soaking up the California sunshine, moving (uncharacteristically) slowly because that’s what the project demands. Like my Beckoning the Lovely project, this one will force allow me to do something creative and out of my normal routine every week, and – bonus – I’ll be stopping to take notice of where I am, right now.
So here we go. Every Monday in February. A new word. It’ll be fun.
Posted in j's lovely things, the view from here (Pictures!)
Tagged art, creatitivty, Judy Clement Wall, pictures, secret alphabet, words
Way back on August 1st, I posted a movie by Amy Krouse Rosenthal that I’d stumbled upon on YouTube. It was called The Beckoning of Lovely, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. The next day, August 2nd, I posted My Amazing, Wonderful, Big, Fat Fun Idea. I had decided to tackle Amy’s list of wonderful things by myself, in this blog. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but for the next twelve Mondays, I fearlessly beckoned the lovely like an intrepid blogging explorer. (And by “fearlessly,” I mean “nervously and with a vague sense of dread.”)
There were some things I expected to happen. For instance, I knew I’d have to step away from my keyboard. From colorful Sharpie artwork, to musical wine glasses and artfully arranged cherry tomatoes, the lovely took on many forms. Getting away from my preferred medium was good for me – like suddenly getting an office with a view. It reminds you there’s a whole big world out there.
Another great thing to come out of this? I rediscovered a more playful j. For a lot of reasons, things had become very serious for me over the last couple of years. I had lost touch with my playful side. But, more than any writing project ever had, Beckoning the Lovely taught me the value of letting go. My self-imposed, publicly declared Monday deadlines made it necessary for me to simply leap, often without a plan or any clear destination. I never knew exactly what I’d have when I was through “beckoning,” and there is something wonderfully liberating in that.
Those are the things I expected. Here’s what I didn’t expect:
And maybe the coolest thing of all is that Beckoning the Lovely made me want more – more creative silliness, more out-of-my-element adventures, more collaboration, more exploration, more daring… more fun.
I think you should try it: make something unexpected, do something out of character, try something that scares you. What can you beckon this week?
Oh, and starting in December, we need something new and fun for Mondays. Suggestions are welcome. I am on the look out for my “next big thing.”
So this is it. The last lovely thing on our “Beckoning the Lovely” list: Make a movie.
My original idea involved rhyming starry-eyed zombies in love; an amazing cast of characters; an elaborate sequined dance number; a colony of smart-assed, highly ticklish, margarita-drinking bats; one of those big industrial movie set fans; a fancy director’s chair for me; and introducing Lexi as Sheriff Boog. But you know how these things go. All it takes is one prima donna rescue dog demanding top billing and her own dressing room, and soon, egos are running amuck and you’ve got a mutiny on your hands.
So, plan B. Redo my bathroom.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking… watching me redo my bathroom is like watching paint dry (which is kind of how I spent my weekend). And I admit, it’s not zombies in love, but here’s the cool thing about it. I’ve been wanting to do this for a year. In fact, about a year ago, I bought prints from an artist at a festival, and I thought I’d just go for it. Redo my bathroom. But I’m not really a “redo my bathroom” kind of girl, so I didn’t because there never seemed to be enough time, or the weather was too beautiful to stay inside, or the weather was so awful, I thought a fire and a book were the best options.
So it seemed kind of perfect to do it for the Lovely Project. I figured I could capture the transformation on film, accomplish something I’ve really wanted to do, and then get to see the lovely every day forever after. Plus, I have to admit, I was drawn to the idea of racing the clock. I’m like that. The idea was that we would get up early Saturday morning, and be done with everything – new paint, new flooring, new molding, new art – by Sunday afternoon. Then it would be just a matter of uploading the footage, editing it all together, adding music, writing the post, and voila! Piece of cake, I thought, and I even threw in the laundry room and an accent wall just to keep the weekend lively.
I am typing this post, and it is after 1 in the morning. This was gorilla lovely, baby. I’m exhausted. The movie I made is longer than I intended. I need to get a more ruthless editor (but thank you, Chad). It’s a goofy, low-budget, low-tech cinematic debut, but look closely and I’m sure there are life lessons here, and Lexi pouting over the whole private dressing room thing, and maybe even a stray bat or two… they’re hard to get rid of once they start drinking.
There you go! I’ll be writing a bit more on the Beckoning of Lovely, because deciding to do this for the past 12 weeks was good for me in ways I didn’t expect. In the meantime, thanks for coming along with me. And feel free to suggest something new for Mondays on Zebra Sounds!
Posted in j's lovely things
Tagged Amy Krouse Rosenthal, bathrooms, Judy Clement Wall, lovely things, movie, paint, The beckoning of Lovely, WhoIsAmy
It’s Monday again, and I’m dishing up the lovely. Sort of.
This is the only one of my Beckoning The Lovely posts that I pre-planned. Knowing that I would have to make a splash before my 12-week project ended, I had the foresight to do it while the weather outside was still conducive to making splashes. But, of course, the making of this post resulted in a story. Two actually. One is all about how it feels to be the mom of boys who are in the process of taking flight, leaving the nest as children do. It’s a heartbreaking, heartwarming, well-worn tale, but with a few surprises that make it worth telling. And no doubt I will, some other time. Right now, I’m telling the tale of my splash. It goes like this…
On the boat with Chad and our dog, Lexi, I said, “Hey, it’s warm. We’re in bathing suits. There’s all kinds of water here. Let’s make a splash.” Lexi could not have been less interested. I was not holding food. Chad, got out the camera and showed me this cool feature that allows us to take twelve shots in super-quick succession with just one push of the button. “Okay!” I said. “You jump, and I’ll film your splash.”
“Are you sure?” Chad said. “It’s a little tricky to get the timing right. I could film your splash since I’ve done it before.”
Ignoring the logic of his suggestion, and adopting what I imagined to be an expression of total technical competence, I held onto the camera and suggested that he who makes the biggest splash should, in fact, do the jumping.
Here is my first attempt to catch Chad’s splash.
Okay, so clearly he was right. There was a trick to the timing. Through laughter, I assured him that I’d do better if he’d just please jump one more time for me. For Zebra Sounds. For all of you. (Picture me, quickly switching from my technically competent expression to my the-show-must-go-on, win-one-for-the-Gipper face.)
Here is my second attempt to catch Chad’s splash.
I have to say that I was extremely amused by the fact that I, at first, completely missed the splash, and then completely missed Chad. Through uncontrolled giggles, I assured him I could do this. It was not until he’d jumped maybe six times, that he took the camera and told me to jump.
Here is Chad’s capturing of me… making a splash.
Okay, so yes. He managed to get both me AND my splash on the first try. But, look at my form! If cannon ball splashing were an Olympic sport, I’d so be in medal contention!
So, there’s only one thing left on the list of lovely things. Make a movie. Your suggestions are welcome. Encouraged. Desperately requested. =)
—————————————————————————————————–
And now for something completely different… After finding this site yesterday, I giggled my way through the next 10 minutes or so. The Mandle Company sells “candles on testosterone.” With scents like dirt, meat and potatoes, tail gate and swimsuit model, what red-blooded American man could resist?
I am beckoning the lovely again on Zebra Sounds. We’re on #10 out of 12 on my list. (I know! Time flies!)
But first…
Previously on Zebra Sounds. (You should read that in the celebrity voice of your choice. In my head, it’s Peter O’Toole, because, seriously, how great would that be – getting introduced by Peter O’Toole? … Sorry. Wandered off there. Where was I? Oh yeah!)
Here’s the post that started it all, and to see the first nine lovely things, click here.
Okay, so this week’s lovely thing was “Make out.” It was the hardest of all so far, and as of Sunday morning, I did not know what I was going to do. I was talking to a friend. He was trying to talk about important work-related things, but I stopped him. “Listen,” I said, “I’m panicking. I only want to talk to you if you’re going to talk to me about making out.”
So he talked to me about making out. I have great friends. We decided that there are a few key ingredients to making out successfully and that those key ingredients could probably be applied to life generally. Here’s what we came up with:
Great list, right? So I mind mapped it. I sat down and started free associating the phrases, letting myself go, having fun – which felt amazingly good after a week of totally stressing out about this post. I thought about love and life and sex, and what makes it all work, and how it looks when it’s good…
When I was through, I drew my map on a 2 foot x 3 foot piece of cardboard. I got out my colored pens and about a 100 crayons and I listened to 70′s Motown music (which I still love), and I felt the shift that happens inside when you fall in love with what you’re doing – not the end result, but the process, the act of bringing your imagination to life.
Truthfully, I’m happy with the end result too. It’s fun. It’s colorful. It’s me.
Feel free to add your thoughts.
Up next: Make a splash!
My name is Judy Clement Wall. I write, and here in Zebra Sounds, I write about living creatively and reading books and hula-hooping in public and hiking on (and wandering off of) trails... especially north bound trails. Occasionally I share my unbridled enthusiasm for cheesecake. (But only occasionally. I promise.)
I write about the intersection of love and everything else at aHumanThing.net
Wild