Recovering from Olympic Fever/ Saturday Art

Sorry I've been away from my blog for a couple of weeks here... I've been suffering from Olympic fever, and have been rabidly following Johnny Weir's great performances (oh, the politics of judged sports! He was robbed....)
Anywho, now that I'm back, it is time for a contest!! The details will be later in this post :-)

Also, starting with this, I'm only going to be posting one art piece. On a rare occasion I may put up more than one, but I've got to be a bit more measured in posting the art, or I might run out!


This piece is an interesting one for several reasons. First, it is a collaborative piece. Naoshi (an artist from Japan) did her work first, and then Martin Ontiveros (a Portland Artist) finished with his painting of the monster. Second, while Martin's part is painted, all the rest of the piece-- the cake-head girl, the background-- is done in colored sand. YEP! Colored sand. It is an old Japanese technique called Suna-e, and if you go to Naoshi's website, she has drawn out a tutorial on how it is done. It makes it seem easy, but really, all those perfect little lines...hard!!!
I love that the piece, being made of sand, is so sparkly that you kind of want to eat it. And I am amazed that Martin could paint his monster so perfectly over the sand, and somehow keep it sparkly too.
Each time I look at the poor cake-headed girl being tickled under the chin by that colorful monster, It seems like the middle of a children's book to me. Kind of like the spot where Red Riding Hood realizes that the wolf is in grandma's clothes.
It is a dangerous scene, where she just might be eaten!

So now, on to the contest!
CONTEST RULES:

1. contest begins now and ends 8AM Pacific, next Saturday.

2. to enter, you have to add a comment on this post.
3. adding a comment on this post= 1 entry
4. being or becoming one of my followers= 2 more entries
5. mentioning and posting a link to this contest on your blog= 3 more entries
6.getting someone else to comment that they followed your link here= 4 more entries for you, 2 more for them

After the contest is closed, I will use the Randomizer thingy online, pick a winner, and post it by 9AM!

Good Luck to all!

Random Cool Things Thursday

Ummm, this has nothing whatsoever to do with writing, but I simply must make sure everyone knows about this. It is very important....
OK, it's not important at all, but it IS awesome. Check out the total kewl-ness one of our Olympic men's figure skaters doing an exhibition routine to Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'.

Here's Johnny Weir!


Seriously, I LOVE Johnny Weir, and not just for that routine to Lady Gaga... He currently has a series running on the Sundance channel that I can't stop watching. He is obviously talented, but the guy is hilarious, ultra snarky, smart, and I can actually identify with some of his perfectionist tendencies. Now I am dying for the Olympics to start because I really want him to win!!

Some things you learn on the Sundance show:
He started skating just before the age of 12, after watching Oksana Baiul win the gold medal, and originally did so on roller skates in his basement, then on used ice-skates in the iced-over cornfield behind his house.
At 12 his mom was told that he had a real talent, and she was convinced to get him a real coach and lessons.
At 16(!) he won the Junior Nationals.
At 19 he won Nationals, after falling and having to withdraw the year before.
He has bursitis in the ball of his 'landing' foot, where his big toe connects, which pretty much makes it feel like he has a rock in his shoe every time he lands one of those jumps... yikes!
He doesn't quite get all the fuss over his skating style, which is far more lyrical and ballet-inspired than the typical, angular, athletic mens' routines. For some reason Russia and Asia get that style, but America is stuck on the idea of winning over football-watchers.

I know, I know, it seems strange for me to gush so much, but after you watch the sundance channel thing, you'll love him too.

UPDATE: One more reason I love him-- this was in his Q&A section on his webpage:
Q: Johnny, your skin is gorgeous. Not a single pore! What products do you use?

A: I am very consistent with my regimen. I use organic washes by Ren and creams from both Ren and Cle de Peau. Thank you very much. I get so into a routine with my products that when one has a packaging change or the company stops making it, I have a month long depression. I am currently in the throws of a deodorant disaster. They stopped making the only one that I liked that worked for me and now I walk around unsure if I smell like a flower or just smell period.

Hilarious. I so want to be his best friend.