praying mantis

A walk in my favorite place in New Haven, Edgerton Park, always brings messages from the more subtle worlds, answers to pressing questions, and a peacefulness as still as its mirror fountain. Last week there I met a small brown praying mantis. Maybe only the third I've ever run into in my life. I filmed him (or her) with my iPhone (below). The quick turn of its head when I get too close cracks me up.

Some animal encounters feel more meaningful then others. When they do, I try to figure out their qualities that I might benefit from by developing in myself by reading scientific entries as well as spiritual ones. I found this on a shaman practitioner's site: "

I considered the attributes of the Praying Mantis – devotion, stillness, patience and Divine Timing. A Mantis waits motionless for its prey to draw near and then strikes with impeccable speed and accuracy. Mantis knows what Mantis wants and is willing to wait for just the right time before making a move."

She has a lot more to say about praying mantises, but this part was most relevant to the reason I was at the park that day. The mystical marriage is an alchemical reference:

Another expression of the Mystical Marriage is the integration of the spiritual and mundane life or the inner and outer worlds. We all have busy schedules and for many spiritual goals and ideals are put right at the bottom of the to-do list. When things get busy it is easy to skip our yoga or meditation class and forget that we promised ourselves to give up smoking, forgive the ex or find a job that really utilizes our talents. When our daily life reflects our spiritual values, when we act and speak from our inner truth and our habits and behaviour reflect this, then we have really integrated our spiritual and mundane worlds. Some sensitive souls find the mundane world extremely difficult to live in and tend to retreat into their own private world of dreams, thoughts and visions. Whilst this can develop a deep and rich inner life, there comes a time when that richness must find an outer expression, must be allowed to bloom and add colour to one’s daily living or it will create only fantasy. The ability to realize your dreams, that is to turn them into something real, workable or solid is a good indication that your inner and outer worlds are in balance. Finding your true calling in life, where your daily work uses your talents and abilities to the fullest and where your personal beliefs, ideals and values are put into practice and reflected in those around you, shows that your spirtual and mundane lives have become one.

Thanks, little mantis, and Misha Hoo. I'll take your advice. Starting right here.

we got wheels

I've had only a vague memory of something I saw on TV as a kid that made a deep impression and stuck with me. Typing a few words into google: "tv show airplane bomber tire draw 80s landing" brought it right up. Amazing Stories, episode "The Mission". 1985. 26 years ago. And in 2 seconds it's on my screen on youtube. This is a miracle. Really. We take this for granted now, but this instantly accessible collective memory we've grown in such a short time is mind blowing.

A WWII bomber crew has lost their landing gear in battle. They are running out of fuel, and the gunner is stuck in the basket underneath the plane, sure to be scraped to a pulp upon landing. He's an artist, and he begins furiously drawing. They are about to shoot him him to spare him a hideous death, but he begs the captain (Kevin Costner!) to try engaging the landing gear once more and out comes 2 giant yellow cartoon wheels, big, patched and puffy. They land, Kevin Costner touches one of the wheels which blubs and sparkles. The gunner is in a trance in the basket. Understanding the tender magic at work, the captain commands silence as they gently pull out the gunner still in a trance. Safely away, they slap him awake and the wheels disappear, the plane crashes to the ground. Of course I love this. It's high 80s fantasy, when outright joy and optimism were displayed without apology. And because an artist is able to manifest his imagination through drawing (not unlike my other favorite 80s masterpiece, Xanadu.)

But, I also love it because it's not so much fantasy. Things like that happen every day. We're surrounded by the impossible happening, we just don't notice because it's so commonplace. The impossible happens when someone has such immense fortitude in their desire and belief for it. It doesn't happen when we think it can't, or when we have too many small desires dividing our attention. The gunner had only one big thought in his mind: wheels. Impending death made no room for anything but that. His imagination was completely filled by wheels.

My natural tendency to look at everything everywhere all the time (like, oh, say googling 1980s tv shows) can have its benefits, but it's a drawback when it goes unchecked. This year I'm actively working on focus, and finding a balance between being a rain storm and being a fountain at the right times, and deciding which thing I want to be a fountain for. This is an art that will take a lifetime to never perfect. But I'm keeping this clip handy to remind me.

mer-made

I just added a new job description (or life description?) to the Antinomia sub header above: mermaid. I've been mermaiding so regularly, it deserves a place there. Tonight in Torrington I broke out a 3rd bag of "Big Value 400 Pack" toy plastic gold coins, which means I've given away almost 1,000 to about 1,000 kids since New Year's Eve.

Being a silent mermaid statue provides plenty of time for observation and reflection, and I'm learning a lot. People put lovely and interesting things in my box- the money is nice but even nicer are thoughtful offerings like painted shells, mermaid earrings and hershey kisses. Inevitably something strange I never could have expected happens with every outing. Tonight I found myself at the center of a performance by what seemed like 100 dancers at a street festival. Did they choreograph knowing I'd be there? Was it a glitch in performance booking they had to work around? I don't know, but the view of a sea of joyous kids rotating around me like the Kaaba is a vision I won't forget. And burned into my heart is Stevie, a little girl who kept returning to Luna's Sea, the last time dressed as a mermaid with a doll she'd named Luna in hand. I've had some of the best and deepest conversations of my life with Stevie, with just a few spoken words exchanged.

Below: now that I've made a dressing room out of an alley, and a make-up table out of a garbage can, does that officially make me a street performer? (I hope so.) Below below: it was such a beautiful day, I made an outdoor studio on my porch to work on tail maintenance.

summer north

A seasonal trip home to Vermont, which included the now mandatory porch lunch with my mum at Harlow's farm, because they have a good gluten free selection, including incredible chocolate chip cookies. I love it there so much! I found an intriguing manure wagon with puppet potential on the way, did some weeding in mum's lovely garden (which is full of queenly cleomes now), watched an old movie with uncommon dialogue, caught a big beetle, paid my respects to Lady Chair between the trees (almost gone now), and paid a visit to a pretty little mermaid statue on the way home.

two birds with one drum

If you have enough dilemmas, sometimes they'll solve each other. This giant marching bass drum has been an obstacle: too big to store anywhere, too awesome to give up. The living room was also lacking a coffee table. Voila! Bass drum coffee table. The glass from a porch table fit just right as a top, and everyone is enjoying laying around the new fixture, which can be picked up anytime for spontaneous marching band incidents.

clean house

The second floor was taken over as a three-room work-room for the last half year, first with Luna, then assorted art shows, and most recently, (which made even walking through nearly impossible): giant puppet building. This is the first week since February I've had a break from projects to be able to put it back in order. I've missed the giraffe, the zebra, and the beautiful refinished floor, which survived the abuse. My two most kick ass sewing machines have even found a place they can be constantly admired. For some reason I can't yet take down the list of puppet tasks for Luna still on the living room door. I think I need to keep at least one toe dipped in the pool of chaos. Too much order makes me uneasy.

blue shadow

Blue bottles on the windowsill behind the shade.

beluga mariachi

My first go-go partner and fellow puppeteer of aquatic persuasions, Kim Mikenis, got married to her sweetheart Kevin last Friday at the Mystic Aquarium. Someone caught the mariachi band serenading the beluga whale, this video is quite marvelous:

queen of pain

The giant puppet I've been working on all week was set loose on Torrington, CT last Thursday. She was so troublesome! I thought I had the construction well planned in my mind, but the execution was mistake, correction, mistake, correction, with every step. (I'll post a how-to of the process, including the how-not-to parts.)

I wore her for a painful 2 hours at the street fair, while Jen McClure, my co-puppet builder, wore the Angler fish she made for Luna's Sea, which breathed bubbles. This was a whole new experience, trying to connect with people while being completely hidden in a puppet with limited articulation. These giant puppets are really meant to be quick-big-splash parade puppets, not one-on-one interaction puppets. But I was determined, and sacrificed my back to kneel down and bend forward so kids could high-five me. That was successful for the most part, other then for my back!

But she more satisfied my desire to make ornate tents, and my inclination continues to be that some smaller puppet happening goes on within her, as if her skirt is a proscenium. There's lots more to be worked out with that.

One amusing coincidence: I spotted my book, Magic Hoofbeats, in a rack through my skirts. It was the stall of two lovely Barefoot Books ambassadors, Melanie Cote and Marsha Miles, who took these first two pictures.

giant step

Even though I couldn't teach giant chicken puppet building at Common Ground camp this year because of Luna, I still ended up making giant puppets, this time for the weekly Torrington street fair. I try to get out, but the giant puppets keep pulling me back in. Here's me in an 11 foot sea-spirit-in-progress stepping out into the world for the first time yesterday. My tiny feet are comedic. More to come on her, she's been a demanding lady.

glow

The front and full interior of the Peaceable Kingdom glow in the dark birthday card. They're placing this on an existing background and adding glow ink. I can't wait to see this.

all-night fairies

Some fairies for the Peaceable Kingdom glow birthday card. These came out bright and cheerful even despite the sleepless 40 hour painting marathon after a flash flood wiped out my original. Ouf.

ladders

Playing around with the Hipstamatic while at work, my three rolling ladders: Sly, Slim, and Hurley. I am very fond of them.

movie making

I've been spending way a lot of time making promo videos for Luna's Sea. The show has its own YouTube channel now, Giant Pink Octopus. (I like to pretend I pawn all this work off onto my puppet cast, I feel somehow less overwhelmed!) Here is a new one, much better then the first. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm enjoying figuring these out.

We aren't selling as many tickets as expected, but the reaction from our audience is far beyond what I'd dared hope for. The kids have been completely engaged for all 40 minutes, which I wasn't sure was possible for such a broad age range. I'm getting emails from parents saying their children keep talking about Luna. I'm busting butt to keep this show alive, because I know it's got the wings to fly.

glow

Just after a 2 month crash course in UV effects with fluorescent materials and blackight for Luna's Sea, I was asked by Peaceable Kingdom to make a glow in the dark card. That is so awesome! It's a fairy birthday party of course. I never get tired of the fairies. Rough sketches.

Two-Woman Solo Art Show

A year after that Scion street art showing in front of Koffee on Audubon, I have a show up inside proper. All of the I AM ink on wood paintings are there (thank you Koffee for being cool with breasts!) and some children's book paintings. It's a first time coming together of my two art personalities, Linda and Polly. I titled it Two-Woman Solo Art Show. One of my first hang outs in New Haven, I love this place, so happy to have my work there. It feels like coming full circle somehow.

my kingdom for one horse

I had a weekend full of the most marvelous horses. First, exquisite, massive, glorious horse puppets of the Handspring Puppet Company in Warhorse at Lincoln Center. I've never seen puppets or a show like that. I can't come close to describing it, so you should just go watch the trailer.

Then helping out with my friend's remarkable horse at a historical camping event for three days. My hands and nose were full of horse. It had been a long time. It's hard to get a horse off of you if you dare to let it set in long enough.

Time’s tailor has never made a robe for anyone
without then slashing it to pieces.
See how the million fools of this world
pay heaps of gold for pain.
How can you go on gazing at the body’s dust?
Search out the horseman of the Soul

and see the horseman at the center of this dust storm!

Articulate Hand NYC

The show about hands created and performed by the remarkable Andrew Dawson is coming to the NYC World Science Festival on June 3rd. The stories of people with hand disabilities are performed to their recorded interviews. I shudder to hear my silly voice, but the performance he does with it is marvelous. Tomorrow I'll finally get to see it in person and be on the talk back panel which also includes the guy who does hand transplants!

I met Andrew when I was his driver during last year's International Festival of Arts & Ideas. He was one of the nicest artists I've ever chauffeured in my 5 years there, and his unusual one man performances are stunning. Everyone should go see this tomorrow at Galapogos Art Space in Dumbo. Find tickets through www.worldsciencefestival.com.