Need good ideas for holiday gifts (or just because?)?  Well, have I got two great things for you–an e-Book to delight and inspire and beautiful items to use, enjoy art AND fundraise for cancer research all at the same time!

Virginia Spiegel had an idea: to raise funds for cancer research, one fabric postcard at a time, through a project she called FiberArt for A Cause (FFAC). That little idea grew and grew and grew, and to date she (with a lot of support from a lot of artists, happy customers and supporters, and a lot of hard work) has raised over $135,000! Yes, that is ONE HUNDRED, thirty five THOUSAND dollars donated directly to the American Cancer Society. The tulip photo above is one of Virginia’s (all photos used here with permission) that is featured in both her e-book and at her Cafe Press store to continue her fundraising efforts…read on for more info!

Next, Virginia has had several on-line auctions of art, and I was proud to donate a piece in honor of my dad, half-brother, and friend Linda. You can read more about The Wall here and here. And you can see the gallery from the 2007 auction here.

Now, Virginia has two more projects to help raise funds to fight cancer! First, she has compiled some of her newsletters into an e-book “Art Nature Creativity Life.” To read a sample chapter, click here. I am not normally a fan of e-books…I’m sort of old fashioned and like things on paper (it is that tactile thing that draws me to cloth, too!). But this book is glorious, and features not only her art quilts but also her photography–I’m so glad she posted a chapter online because now I believe! Here is one photo from a chapter of the e-Book, showing a bit of Virginia’s art journal:

Every year Virginia and her sister go camping and canoeing in the Boundary Waters, and it is a chance for me to escape with them. The book has received rave reviews all around, and it would make a perfect Christmas gift for the person in your life who has everything, has been touched by cancer, or could use a momentary escape to beauty and art (and who doesn’t need that?)!

Her latest endeavor is another treat: FFAC gift items from CafePress, here. I’ve already ordered my Boundary Waters shirt and am starting my Christmas shopping list.

There are shirts, mugs, mousepads and totes in three different designs. All the profits from each item ($5) are donated directly to the American Cancer Society. Thanks to Virginia for her dedication to this cause, and for making it possible for all of us to share in her art and joy in the beauty of nature.

My blog (a WordPress sort) has a “moderation” feature that is pretty cool: first time posts (as in from someone not previously approved) come to me for moderation, plus it also has a pretty good spam catcher. This time, a bit of spam got through to me for approval (not!). It’s a riot… especially if you have worked in a stressful office situation. Now, mind you, I am NOT advocating this for real… but how about Silly string instead of the real thing:

Here is most of the message (minus the URL), with a return e-mail address in Russia:

Want to start your private office arms race right now?

I just got my own USB rocket launcher 🙂 Awsome thing.

Plug into your computer and you got a remote controlled office missile launcher with 360 degrees horizontal and 45 degree vertival rotation with a range of more than 6 meters – which gives you a coverage of 113 square meters round your workplace.
You can get the gadget here:

End message.

I’m willing to bet the url was for some porn site, so didn’t click on it, but I still thought this was pretty hilarious…plug into your USB port on the computer and bombs away… maybe the USB rocket launcher could send Howlers, those screaming letters from Harry Potter…..

Hmmm…. think I’m punchy and maybe need some more sleep?

I am one (of a bazillion) of the folks who receive a bi-weekly e-mail from artist Robert Genn. Some of the letters are gems, and I really liked this one, so asked and received permission to share it here. I guess I liked it because what he suggests is similar to how I approach things. Here’s the letter:

Personal coach

September 28, 2007

Dear Sarah,

My friend Ralph, who doesn’t mind me talking about this, is way
out of shape. His personal coach, Alberto, is a ladder-chested
ex-lightweight boxer with blinding white teeth and lots of
hair. Alberto comes over to Ralph’s twice a week. Sometimes
they work out on Ralph’s expensive equipment. At other times
Alberto drives him in his beemer to an upscale gym. Personally,
I’d say Ralph’s still the same. Maybe not. Maybe he’s bigger.

“Tennis players got ’em, why not you?” Ralph says. He’d like me
to book Alberto, but Alberto’s booked solid, just one of many
solidly-booked Albertos around here.

It’s no surprise when people ask me to be their personal coach.
It happened again only yesterday. The lady was talking art, not
abs. Come to think of it, a lot of us buffs are in demand. So I
was thinking of all the inefficiency and disappointment that
must ride on Ralph and Alberto’s contract. And while I sort of
like the idea of tailored guidance, I rather wanted to offer a
more general workout. A sort of “Jenny Craig Success Course of
the Arts.” Mine’s free. Here it is:

Find a sanctuary where you can comfortably work.
Dedicate at least two hours a day to your art.
Have more than enough equipment and supplies.
Set short- and long-term goals and keep track of progress.
Think of your work as exercise, not championship play.
Explore series development and exhaust personal themes.
Work alone with the benefit of books and perhaps tapes.
Replace passive consumption with creative production.
Use your own intuition and master your technology.
Feel the joy of personal, self-generated sweat.
Fall in love with your own working processes.
Be forever on the lookout for the advent of style.
Try to be your own person and claim your rights.
Don’t bother setting yourself up for rejection.
Don’t swing too wildly and damage the well-being of others.
Don’t jump into the ring until you’re feeling fit.

If you can stick with this regimen for a couple of months, I
can pretty well guarantee your progress. If not, then at least
the exercise will let you know the job’s not for you. We all
have the potential to be slim, barrel-chested, rich, satisfied
or evolved.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: “……Yes, please go ahead and forward this letter to a friend.

If you think a friend or fellow artist may find value in this
material, please feel free to forward it. This does not mean
that they will automatically be subscribed to the Twice-Weekly
Letter. They have to do it voluntarily and can find out about
it by going to http://www.painterskeys.com

And now, for something completely different:

If you have ever wondered what it would like to be a 4-th generation Maine Lobsterman, check out Ryan Post’s website and podcasts at :

www.MaineBuggin.com

and click on the links for Episodes 1 and 2 (Just below the photo of the cameraman in a red t-shirt) which are documentary-style videos of what it is like to be a lobsterman here in the far north-eastern corner of the US.  Ryan hopes to show what life is like as a lobsterman year-round, not just hauling up the traps when they are full.  You’ll probably need not-dial-up (as in something faster) internet to view the videos.

Paul (Hubby) and Eli (number 2 son) have come to know Ryan through their Isshinriyu karate with Sensei Pete Bishop. Ryan is one of the regulars in the dojo (currently the basement of the Offshore Restaurant, on Route 1 in Rockport….or is it Rockland that far down? No…think it is still Rockport). The denizens of the dojo are all really good guys, and amazingly accepting of this pint-sized kid working out with them (everyone there is an adult, and three black-belt and several ranking belts, yet they accept Eli, age 9 1/2, as one of their own).

Joshua’s girlfriend is from an old lobstering family, too, and it is wicked hard work. It is lucrative when you can get it, but income is sporadic, and of course no one is out hauling traps in mid-winter, so you need an off season job. She isn’t a jock, yet she is so strong that she can sometimes beat Joshua (who is on the wrestling team!) at arm wrestling, thanks to working on the boat (she’s the one who brought us the king’s ransom of four lobsters this summer, which I wrote about in my blogpost Lobster Homicide).

And yes, Maine really is that beautiful! And the colors on the buoys: each lobsterman is assigned a physical location in which he/she can set their traps, and each lobsterman has a particular color of buoy so they can tell which traps are whose. Enjoy!

If you liked gods in Alabama or Between, Georgia you’re in for a treat, especially if you are an art quilter. Joshilyn Jackson, author, mom and quilter, has written a new novel about an art quilter, inspired by the irrepressible Pamela Allen. Joshilyn has blogged about the new book, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, here. And you can read Joshilyn’s blog, Faster than Kudzu, here. And to see Pamelala’s creative mind at work, click here and here.  After reading Joshilyn’s intro to the book in the blogpost, I think I’m gonna be booked for late September… READING time!

In the meantime, I am reading and LOVING Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story.  I am normally not a fan of horror, though I quilt like fantasy and some (non-techy) sci fi.  This book isn’t really a horror story, though it does have its scary  moments… perhaps all the more scary because they are so close to possibly being real.   It is a novel about an intense  love story between Lisey Landon, widow of a famous and successful novelist, and her late husband.  Personally, I thought King’s On Writing:  A Memoir of the Craft was a 200+ page love-letter to his wife; it is about writing, but it is also about a deep and enduring love between him and his wife, author and poet Tabitha King.  Lisey’s Story is dedicated to her, and is an even longer love-letter about a love that extends beyond every day life.  So now I need to get back to doing (and finish!) the paperwork for various teaching gigs next year so I can escape to the back porch while the nice weather lasts and keep reading Lisey’s Story!