Saturday, March 25, 2006

SOME ART, SOME WRITING, & SOME FEAR FOR THE PANTS OF THE FUTURE!


As promised by the title of this post:
SOME ART:
1) The above painting by Misty Mawn just arrived! Yay! I purchased it by phone from the gallery in Pennsylvania that hosted her recent show. I'm thrilled to have an original piece of hers and hope to have more in the future. As you see, it is just gorgeous. Currently it is living on an orange wall in my studio, and I think the painting is whispering to me that we need a bigger house so we can buy more original art!
2) Vampires! Jim just finished an assignment he was doing for White Wolf Publishing -- 5 vampire paintings -- and to celebrate we went to see Nightwatch, the vampire movie that is taking Russia by storm. I highly recommend it to lovers of the supernatural. Cool story, cool visuals, dark and spooky but not overly gorey. Right up my alley.

SOME WRITING:
You might have read about Sunday Scribblings on Meg's blog. Well, if you're a writer who might be interested in some short community writing exercises, we may have just the thing for you! I tend to get deeply involved in my big projects and forget to make time for fun exercises, but when I DO remember to have some writing fun, I think it really loosens my mind up, kind of lets some light and fresh air in, so that's why this appeals to me. Stay tuned -- we'll have more for you soon!

SOME FEAR FOR THE PANTS OF THE FUTURE:
There's a terrible horrible rumor circulating in the media. I've heard it twice now, insidious little whispers, like the voices of devils hiding under manhole covers and taunting me... The faint of heart should stop reading right here. I don't know if I can even make myself write it, it'll be like helping the evil rumor spread... But I must WARN YOU!
Here it is...
High-waisted pants are coming back in stylel
(picture me gibbering in fear, sobbing, shrieking "WHY? WHHHYYYYY????? WWWWHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY??????")
Okay, but really, I'm only sort of joking. This is the worst fashion rumor since "they" started predicting the comeback of the 80's. My lord! I am convinced if I had come up in a friendlier fashion decade I would have had more fun in highschool. As it is, I only barely remember those years and I think that may be because I spent most of them scurrying around with my eyes fixed on the ground, clutching my books to my chest and trying to avoid seeing my reflection in those horrible clothes. Okay, it is POSSIBLE I am exaggerating, but please, fellow women with legs of average length, commiserate with me over jeans shopping in 1987! If low-rider, extra-long bootcut jeans and platform shoes had been the thing in 1987... well, I would still have had Orange County 1980's hair horrors to contend with, but I would have had bad hair and long legs and that would have made all the difference.

Okay. Now think of the older sister in That 70s Show and those high-waisted jeans she wears. The fashion world is trying to take us there. Ah yes, if I were a willowy 6-foot model, I would have no fear in my heart. But I am not. Now, I don't read fashion magazines and I'm not talking about wearing them because all the cool girls are wearing them. I'm talking about the fear of not being able to find good pants in stores! It happened a few springs ago when flat shoes were "in". I couldn't give a twitch if they're "in" -- but I couldn't find high sandals for love or money. Someone was trying to make me act my actual height, and man, I resented that. High shoes are just about my one and only fashion rule -- Jim found me 5 1/2-inch heeled cowboy boots for Christmas!! -- and I think they have been largely responsible for rescuing my self-esteem from the 80's.

So, I'm warning you all: stock pile your low-rider pants now while you still can, then we can sit back and cackle like witches when the rest of the country is forced to wear high-waisted jeans!

25 comments:

Deb R said...

Congrats on getting a new painting! It looks great on your orange wall.

High waisted jeans? Noooo..NOOOOO!!
(going to hide under the covers now)

Anonymous said...

The painting is so wonderfully, wonkily beautiful - what an inspiring piece of art to have in your studio. I found myself turning my head, trying to get a better look around the corner in the photo!

meghan said...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! Did the fashion of pinning the bottom of your pants get to you in the very early 90s? High waisted, skinny legged, make your hips look massive as fashion?? HONESTLY. If a fashion is horrible the first time, why would anyone do it AGAIN?! You could live here where they've been wearing the neon 80s colours and white belts and flat white dress shoes for a year or so. UGH.

That painting is LOVELY. I am all about people buying original art. We can't though... one of the side effects of living with an artist. Well done to Jim and to you for watching a vampire movie - some parts of us are very very different!! xoxo

Jim Di Bartolo said...

Thanks for the link wife o' mine! :)

Now let's go raid the stores for low-rider jeans! I only recently bought a couple of pairs of the men's versions and now my older pants make me feel like I'm somebody's gran'pappy!

My worst fear is the return of the VERY high-waisted, puffy-lapped pants ala Mr. Darcy in "Pride & Prejudice" -- if I'm forced to wear THOSE some day (although I really like the shirts and coats!) I'll be tempted to kick my own ass whenever I see my reflection!

Jim

kelly rae said...

oh my, the painting is gorgeous. and i'm hoping for no high waisted jeans, ever!!

Claudia said...

What a lovely painting! Beautiful colours! Lovely expression!

As for the fashion trends - I heard yesterday that lehggings (tights) are coming back too!!! Oh horror! I will be stocking up on all my favourite jeans too. You get to that stage where fashion just isn´t as interesting as it used to be, especially if you have a figure that in absolutely no way resembles those of the fashion models.

liz elayne lamoreux said...

oh i am laughing out loud...i would just die if this was the case because i need those low waisted pants as they hit me at my waist. i guess i have a "short rise" for the size i wear because pants that hit at the waist come up to the bottom of my boobs. okay. too much information. sorry.
i can't wait for sunday scribbles! all these things to get my creative juices flowing...
and this original painting of Misty's is gorgeous. i love the way she is cradleing the bird in her arms.

Aithbhreac said...

Thanks for the heads up on this ghastly fashion rumor. I think no one can have celebrated the rise in popularity of low waisted pants more than I. It meant for short-waisted me an abundance of trousers that actually fit properly! The possible limited mortality of this style trend has been one of my greatest fears...

As for Sunday Scribblings - count me in! This is just the sort of thing I've been looking for. Especially with the Artist's Way (which a lot of us have been involved with online) wrapping up after this week. It would be great for keeping up the writing momentum.

harmonyinline said...

Woderful painting,the orange wall looks perfect for it.
Sunday Scribblings sounds good.

Patry Francis said...

Not just high waisted, but skinny legged...Love the painting though!

Shesawriter said...

I'm jealous of that painting. It's beautiful!

andrea said...

I love the painting. How big is it? One day when I actually have two cents to rub together and no children left to raise I'm collecting art, too!

Flared leg low riders are my favourite style and the most flattering for the extra long legged, too (moi -- and it's more pain than pleasure when shopping let me tell you!), so I refuse to wear tapered-leg high waisters again unless I'm tortured!

Anonymous said...

Oh now I love that painting and thanks for the writing tip, I left a message. :) Just right up my alley!

Those pants I believe are called Mom pants and I am so not wearing em'. Ick!

Anonymous said...

That painting IS gorgeous...love it. Where the h*ll do you find cowboy boots with 5-1/2 inch heels?! In PDX? And eeegads, high-waisted pants?! They never look good on ANYONE...and I've lived through several incarnations of them!

HoBess said...

Oh all I can think of is how long it took me to get out of my "momjeans" and now they want to bring them back right when I've become quite comfortable with that little bit of belly showing when I reach for something up top in the kitchen. I'm with you. Let's stockpile and then boycott ... show them the power of your dollar ... especially when you refuse to spend it!

hollibobolli said...

First of all - I love your painting.. LOVE IT. Second of all - they also said the shiny face is in style this year. To both that, and the high-waisted pant.. I say: NOT IN MY WORLD!!!

Jim Di Bartolo said...

To answer Andrea's question, the painting is 7 feet x 7 feet (or about 12x12 inches depending on how you measure it).

As to Marilyn wondering where I found 5 1/2 inch boots, I did NOT find them in Portland, I found them on the internet. I googled "platform boots" or some such and a gazillion webstores come up. One warning though, most of those stores have a lot of stripper-type gear but they also have some VERY hip and cool shoes! So the next time you see your loved one looking at potential porn, remember, they might just be shopping for shoes for you! :)

Jim

Letha Sandison said...

Love the painting, it looks great against that color!

I laughed so hard when I read this post! I needed a good laugh so thank you. I just wanna know who thinks high waisted pants are a good idea? First of all how many people look good in them and second, who would wear them??

I always enjoy reading your posts, thank you for another fun read!

M said...

Oh, thank you for the warning...that is not going to be pretty at all!! They'll be skin tight again soon too, I'm sure, my worst nightmare combined. We should start some sort of boycott. Love getting your comments on my blog by the way! And I love coming here to see what you are up to.
Would love to see some photos of your very high heeled shoes...I am a flat to small heel girl myself, bad ankles and fear of falling over ungracefully!

Laini Taylor said...

M -- I will certainly plan a tribute post to my shoes, with photos included! It's so funny - I certainly don't relate to all the quotes about women and their shoes, but in the past year or two since I've become a little less starving of an artist than previously, I have been enjoying shoes more than I'd have guessed!

Holly Loves Art said...

Puuuuleeeeze don't let us go down that road again - no more high wasted jeans! The thought of being strangled up to my ribs is going to send me into a panic! My tummy needs to breathe! I'm still mad that the major flared jeans have gone by the wayside - thank goodness I have a few faves that I'll never part with! Love reading your thoughts, Laini!

boho girl said...

very fun post.

needed some comic relief...thank you!!

high waisted pants...oy.

Kari said...

I LOVE Misty's work. You are a lucky, lucky girl. It's GORGEOUS!

Alex S said...

I'm going to find you a pair of red and green polka dotted high waisted pants and I'll leave them with the black bat sometime later today.

Powpourri said...

Misty is fabulous, I have several of her pieces! Now you have me a little scared. I really dont enjoy high waisted pants myself. Oh, the woes of fashion. Brandi