Crazy humans

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo

Frank sent me this video yesterday and I was like, wow, yeah, look at those crazy guys. But I think my dull reaction is because I've been knocked flat with a nasty cold all week. I've had a passionate interest in nothing other than tea and my tissue box. But I must be getting better, because I woke up this morning and thought WAIT A MINUTE. WERE THOSE GUYS...well, just watch the video. You'll see what I mean. (And yes, this is real. No joke. Real.)

Also, I forgot to mention, the reading of my new play went great. I lucked out and got a great cast, thanks in no small part to Sonya's slick handiwork (thank you, S!). The very next day, the wonderful actress who read the lead for me, Birgit Huppuch, won an Obie. How cool is that? Congrats, Birgit!

A really cool pile of trash

Aw, man. I wish I had been in L.A. when this show was up so I could have seen it. Now that's some creative sewing.

A day in the park

I've been busy. Busy, I tell you!



I finished a first draft of my new play a little while ago and then dove into a bunch of sewing projects while I bided my time until its first reading, which is bang! coming up this week. Hooray! Hearing talented actors read aloud, for the first time, something I've been working on for the past few years is a trippy, giddy, frightening, and all sorts of other hard-to-describe feelings, thing. YIKES, in other words. My writing has always been the most important thing in the world to me, so big and onerous that no sewing machine, fabric, nor innumerable colored pencils could quash my passion for it. (Passion being a word defined as 1. the state or capacity of being acted on by external agents or forces, 2. an outbreak of anger, and 3. suffering as well as 4. ardor and 5. enthusiasm, don'tcha know.)



So it was with great relief that I could distract myself from my upcoming reading with a drawing project given to me by none other than a dude with the initials DPE IV. The assignment was to draw something, anything, for an assigned date, in my case May 2, on May 2. It's for an arty datebook that will be published without a year distinction, so anyone can use it, anytime. So I drew this scene on May 2 and sent it off last night. I meant to also work in a pogo-sticking dog but ran out of time. And I was horrified to realize I left a tail off one of the cats, until P told me the running cat is obviously a tailless Manx cat, many of whom have particularly round heads. Well, of course.

Some bad-ass hats

I woke up from a nap this weekend to a message on my cell phone: "Hi, Jocelyn? You won! Your hat won the contest. Please call—." I thought I was still dreaming and was all like, "Dreams are so fun sometimes." But then I remembered I did actually make some hats and enter them in a contest. Last week, the ever-creative and industrious Nina invited me, Emily, and Laura over to make some chapeaus for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The combination of a good cause combined with a use for my mountains of scrap fabric inspired me to knock out three of them before I even got to Nina's. O.K., enough talk. On to the images!

This is the one that won. It's a reversible head topper with long ties, made using this ingenious free pattern (thank you, Judy Danz!). It's really easy to make, and it's cozy and cool and inspires people to vote for it and give unsuspecting sewers prize money. Here's one side, with the other side's ties facing up; the other side of the ties match the flowered fabric, of cawse.



The extremely cute Emily finished her hat before everyone else and graciously became the model of the evening. Which was a great thing, because a couple of them hats didn't fit on my big head, don'tcha know.



Here it is in reverse.





I also made a plaid hat with a bow in the back for those who enjoy a more androgynous look.





I can't really explain the purple polka-dotted one. There must be someone out there who would enjoy it. Right? It's soft and won't fly off your head in a windstorm thanks to those burgundy ties.



Emily gives this hat more distinction than it might deserve, I think. Damn, you're good, Emily.



Then, while I was at Nina's, I sewed some ribbon with hearts and silver rick rack, etc., onto a black hat...it turned out O.K.



While Emily, Laura and Nina made their own jaw-dropping head toppers. Here's Emily in her own design.



Now that's more like it. Beeyootiful.



Nina's and Laura's were no less impressive, but I shall stop foisting pictures at you now. Nina, post yours and Laura's on your awesome blog! The organization that hosted the contest is called NYCreates, and the hats all went to the super cool Heavenly Hats foundation. If you sew and have a yen for it, make a hat! It's way faster and more satisfying than many other wacko sewing projects, in my humble opinion.

The kid likes to draw

Here are two of Hazy's drawings from her recent visit. The first is of a dragon named Scaly and Deby, a cat (I lovvve that cat). The other, of bears swimming at the beach, shows a frightened woman (in yellow) who drops her bags and screams when she sees...



BEARS!!! BEARS AT THE BEACH!!!



I don't know, lady, those bears don't look so scary to me. Why don't you relax, maybe the bear in the water will lend you his goggles and you'll make a new friend or two. Dang.

Huh?

Check out this fabric. It's a Japanese import, "Rakugaki Sketchbook," designed by Megumi Sakakibara...but look, it's like a page from a sketchbook, seriously, just like, a bunch of partially drawn rabbits and trees and...whoa.

Also, I'm a little dizzy from the Pulitzer announcements this year. Usually I just yawn and roll my eyes. But this time, one of my favorite writers grabbed the award for fiction. Whutt? Elizabeth Strout is a great writer, and I'm proud to say I've shown up at several of her readings to stare googly-eyed at her and tell her what a genius she is in person (fortunately she has not yet met my eye with a weary "are you stalking me?" gaze), always a kind of awkward and yet totally satisfying thing to do. If you haven't read her *award-winning* novel Olive Kitteridge, or Amy and Isabelle, or even the essay she wrote in The Friend Who Got Away, a great collection of essays about the oh-so-interesting subject of women's friendships that have gone awry, then hotfoot it to the bookstore or the library or start clicketty-clacking on your computer to find her stuff online, O.K.? O.K.

Lynn Nottage, an awesome playwright and my fellow MTC fellow, also won, for her play Ruined that's up at MTC right now. Congratu-hallelujah-lations, Lynn! And can I just point out that the finalists for both drama and fiction were all women? This contributes to my dizziness, O.K.? Reading the list was like a weird optical illusion or something. Since when are women so thoroughly represented, unless it's like, Pulitzer Prizes for Women year, or something? I'm just sayin.

Cake head

My sister Brook made a birthday cake for me back in 2001.



See, it really is a cake.



I'd given her a drawing of her wedding party as a present, and she used the caricature I'd drawn of myself in it as her inspiration.



This year, Brook told me she's going to paint a portrait of my cat Beatrix. Yes, Brook, the creator of such astounding canine portraits as this and this, is now stepping into feline territory.



I'm very excited.

A wolf loves pork!

No, this is not about my brother and his love of all things that oink. (Although, come to think of it, Wolf did have a black t-shirt when he was a very young laddie that said "OINK" in big capital letters on the back.) This is an amazing stop motion video that my brother Max sent me this morning. Thanks, Max! Enjoy...that is, if you haven't seen it yet. Apparently it's getting a lot of play on the web. Understandably!



And you don't have to watch this with volume to appreciate it, but the music is pretty funny.

Awww mannn

Henry, Hazy and their momma Brook were in town this past week, and I'll have more to show about their awesome visit soon, but for now...can you tell these guys know how to have fun?



It totally sucks that they live so far away.



The cats might not miss them too much (look at those grouchy feline expressions!) but I do!

My little problem

Whenever I have a jones for my particular vice, it's like this: suddenly I have to see/buy/feel some fabric and only then will I feel better. Before I run wildly out onto the streets and either down to P&S or up to Mood or B&J fabrics, I click over to Reprodepot Fabrics (I am a confessed fabric addict. Sadly there is no Fabrics Anonymous...yet). I could almost say they're responsible for my addiction but then I wouldn't be taking full responsibility blah blah blah yak yak yak. (No I am not ready to face this issue! Just step off! Damn!)

One of the first fabrics that transfixed me was something from this line, which I now have several yards of and no idea what to do with.



Cats and dogs and little penguins promising a special show with a Nice & Beautiful hat! Or look at this one. Wouldn't you like to visit this farm, with ducks, swans, sheep, bears, pigs, and a monkey all there to welcome you?

I'm also a fan of Heather Ross, an illustrator and fabric designer. I love the idea that if you saw this from far away you'd think it was a random pattern, until you got closer and realized they're actually swimming pools with people diving into them...



And no, fabric hasn't completely infantilized me. I don't always need cute little pictures of things. I also start drooling and walk like a zombie toward things like this:



So moderne! But I guess there are pictures of things in that one, too. Whatever. Please do not judge me. Just give me some cash money so I can go buy some more fabric.

The shrug bug

I had to make one last shrug for Hazy while she's still a little shrug lovin' girlie girl, but who knows if she'll wear it or not? The older she gets, the stronger and more specific her fashionista decision-making process becomes. So I made this one out of terry cloth, figuring at the very least, maybe she'll rock it at the lake this summer. Here it is about to boxed up and sent away with Hazy's birthday presents.



And here's a detail of the cute elephant ribbon. Patterns always say to face it out, but I think it's nicer to face it up, so the wearer can see it better.



And here's the kid on her birthday. Yay, it fits! (For now.)

Cat lady art

You might remember this post, wherein an awe-inspiring soapdish was encountered at a cocktail party. Well, P secretly did some research and went out and found the woman who made that crazy soapdish and bought a piece of her nutty crockery for me for a recent special occasion that has been mentioned much too much already. (Yes, P is a prince among men, and I am reminded of that fact daily. I should probably send his parents a bouquet of their favorite exotic lillies or somesuch every week just for putting him on this planet. Hmmm, that's an idea.) Should I put colored pencils in it (see background) or sip yummy coffee and tea from it? For now, I can't do anything but stare at it in wonderment.





That's one absorbing cat lady objet d'art, if you ask me.

Lucky lady

I had the great fortune, first of all, to grow up with the children's book Who Needs Donuts? a book that was miraculously republished. Stop what you're doing right now and buy a copy, it's brilliant and you won't regret it. I've been reading it over and over ever since I learned how to read (a helluva long time ago, my people!) and I still find things to crack up and marvel over in it. It's THAT amazing.

When it was ever so sadly and absurdly out of print back in the 90s, I was feeling guilty for sneaking off with the one copy we had as kids, and decided to track down a copy for my brother for his birthday. This hopeless and ultimately desperate search led me finally to the Village Voice, where the author of Donuts, Mark Alan Stamaty, was still doing his brilliant weekly cartoon Washingtoon. I left a note for him begging for one of his copies, thinking he must have a huge personal stash and perhaps he might feel sorry for me and sell me a copy. One day soon after I was sitting around at home and the phone rang — it was the dude himself, and we had a great conversation, but he told me to fuhgeddaboudit, he only had one box and no, he wouldn't part with any of the remaining copies, and yes, he got calls like this frequently from Donuts fanatics like me, but hey, that's life!

Soon after that, I received a copy of his new book of Washingtoon cartoons and an amazing personalized doodle in the mail (which I framed and have loved ever since). He was an exceptionally nice guy, in other words.

Then, this past summer, I went to a wedding where I met the awesome illustrator Nina Frenkel, whose mentor was none other than MARK ALAN STAMATY. "Do you want to go out to dinner with him? I'll set it up!" she asked me. "Well Hells Bells YES," was my answer.

So this past Monday night I had the incredible experience of being able to break bread with one of my favorite writer/illustrators in the whole world. I know! That's why I felt lucky this week. I knew I was pushing my crazy psycho fan luck by bringing a bunch of books for him to sign, but I couldn't help it. But check it out: Mark (I call him "Mark" now, ha ha), sat back and doodled away after dinner while Nina and I yapped over coffee. And when I mean doodled...will you look at the output from this doodler extraordinaire?

Here's my copy of the republished 2001 Who Needs Donuts? Check out the train on the nose and the fishbowl in his muscle and the bearded sun and...I'm in heaven.



Here's the original Who Needs Donuts? from the 70s. A horse having coffee and a donut!



And here's my brother Wolf's book: he finally has his own copy. (I bought him one for his birthday a few years ago, so that's my inscription you see partially in the bottom corner.)



Here's the front cover of another awesome strip of Mark's called MacDoodle St.



And now here's the inside cover.



That bow-tied rhino makes me so happy. Thank you, Mark! Thank you, Nina!

Street life

Sonya told me about a local art show and this is my favorite piece by this particular artist. This guy apparently dresses up shelter cats and places them in scenarios, but this one is just so...damn! I've walked by this type of scene at some point in my neighborhood, you know?

First grade

Before I finish up my birthday inspired navel-gazing, I just want to explain why I've put this childhood pic up as my blog pic. I'm surprised myself, obviously this isn't a good representation of myself currently! But it's one of my favorite pics simply because I was clearly at the TOP OF MY GAME. I mean, look at that kid. TOP OF HER GAME. It would make more sense if you saw some lower-in-the-valleys class pics from years after that but ha, ha, you'll never see those. It's better if you can just stay here, gazing upon this amazing summit. O.K. I am officially now emerging from navel to rejoin human race. Hurrah! Onto other far more interesting subjects than just thy self.

Party on

A huge thank you to everyone who braved planes, trains, and automobiles to make it up to Inwood to my crazy dance party Saturday night! That was lots of silly fun and my only regret is that I didn't open Trey's present the minute he handed it to me so we could've rocked the animal masks on the dance floor sooner. Dagblastit! Whasamatta wif me? Though I must say Caroline, jumping around in the tiger mask in her striped sweater dress later in the evening, did make up for something, I think.

The tunes were crankin, P's grapefruit bourbon mint punch was yummy and actually was getting stronger with every new batch, and there were a lot of empty bottles of wine when all was said and done, you winos. Damn!

To all the people who couldn't make it due to the many viruses plaguing our fair city: you were sorely missed. Get well soon! To those who got lost on the MTA: that's messed up. To those who chickened out of going so far uptown: lame. But I understand. I will still contemplate maintaining our friendship. And to those in far off lands unable to get on those planes, those trains...I missed you BAD! I'll talk to you SOON! Moreover, I remembered: it's fun throwing parties. I might give you another excuse to come to New York for a fun party again, soon, maybe...especially since Erica keeps reminding me that I don't wear dresses that accentuate my waist and crazy flourescent tights often enough. Speaking of...THANKS AGAIN, ERICA, FOR THE USE OF YOUR STUPENDOUS APARTMENT, NOT TO MENTION YOUR LAST-MINUTE SMOKY EYESHADOW TALENT!

Everyone can draw

It's silly, because sure, not everyone likes to draw, but for whatever reason I never believe it when someone says they can't draw. P is a perfect example of this. He's said many things that all boil down to "I can't draw," and yet when I asked him a few years ago if he had any ideas about what my new email address should be, the best way he explained his suggestion was when he sat down and drew this:



Then there was the time I was working on a drawing for the Pet Beauty Contest and P had a "better" idea. "It should be like this," he said, and started drawing alongside me.



I didn't change my drawing, but I will always appreciate the awesomeness of the above sketch!

I also like the little sketch he did to show me an image he thought of when I mentioned Palm Springs (when I visited last year):



And my sister Brook gasped when she saw this one pinned to my bulletin board. "Oh my god, who is that?" she asked me. "Who do you think?" I said.



"That's you when you're really mad!" Brook said. Well, exactly. Brook looked at Paul with a real artist's admiration — he'd really captured something remarkably accurate!

O.K., obviously P and I spend a lot of time together and I have a lot of drawing stuff lying around. Maybe that's why someone who purports to be not the drawing type would suddenly get all sketchy. But my point is, I think it's usually total baloney when someone says they can't draw. I just don't believe them!

Mambo the Great

I've been meaning to post about this brilliance for quite a while now. Ahhh, what a relief to finally get around to it. Here's another remarkable portrait painted by my sister Brook. When my friend Trey saw this portrait of Bismarck he got the great idea to commission my sister to paint a portrait of his dog Mambo as a surprise gift for his beloved wife Siobhan for Xmas. Cue the orchestra, please...

Wow. Look at this beautiful canine. Mambo is rocking a pashmina in front of the Himalayas, and considering his naturally mellow disposition, and from what I can tell, his central role in the Sager-Walshe family dynasty, this portrait captures his essence more than appropriately. Sigh. Well done, once again, sis. Thanks, Trey, for having such DOPE taste in ART!

For the love of Legos

You might have seen this already in the NY Times today, but in case you didn't, check it out now. Enjoy!

Groundhog it, why don'tcha

And a Happy Groundhog's Day to you all. I have no idea what happened this morning with the whole groundhog ritual. I just wish the groundhog in the picture above could talk. What would he say? I probably don't want to know. It'd be something like, "Sucka! You gots an economy, and I don't! Ha ha!" and then he'd disappear, I'm sure.