Kate McKinnon

I want to name it something fabulous and ridiculous like “The Sparkling Worm of Delight”, but that might be a bad move. Do you think that name might cost me when it came to class signups? Ha!

I’m working on a few samples right now, I’ll put up new pictures soon. Another piece that is just FASCINATING ME is my shiny gold 2×2 right angle tube, riding on a thin, snaky peyote tube of matte yellowish green 15s which by the way has thin bronze metal rings sliding on it.  Holy moly. It’s cool.

If my editor, Tricia, reads my blog, she should really drive to Tucson and kick my ass. I’m supposed to be working on the new metal clay pieces right now, not the mixed media. Someone should really be supervising me, but I’m afraid I’ve been left to my own devices.

Posing in front of Jefferson, a slave owner, brilliant. What a beautiful, strong, fabulous woman. I love her for choosing to be photographed standing tall.

Photo treasures from Daily Kos- top, Arizona globe mallow by Sheddhead, a lovely shot of California rocks and trees by lineatus, below, a hummer from desert guy.

I’ve been feeling really introspective this winter- taking a deep look at the paths my life has taken, thinking about the time I have left. I was talking to Evan last night, who at  the age of 11 is intricate and clear, still pure from the source, but  in his own way oddly worldly. We were talking about when I fell in love, at the age of 8, with a 17 year old boy. 

I was trying to explain to him how I felt that it wasn’t just that boy, it was also me reaching across time for his father. You see, when I was 8, Bill was 17. He was tall, and skinny, with dark hair, just like Alan Meinhausen, the object of my passionate desire. I was trying to tell Evan that time isn’t linear- that the past, present and future are constructs of the human mind. We began talking about the implications of those constructs not being real- what does it mean if time isn’t what we think it is? I’ve never been as tethered to the time filter as most people are, and I’ve never taken matter that seriously either. It seems to me entirely natural that matter and energy are the same, that intent can be reality, that all time and all possibilities are accessible to us at all times. I failed to explain it properly to his precise mind, but it led to some interesting discussion.

Evan asked me, when we were talking, if my little kid Kate would look at my life now and feel that there was anything missing. It was an easy question to answer, and that made me happy. Deeply happy.

I’m almost caught up on shipping. A little bit each day, making headway. I’m really pleased with how the instructions for this piece came out- 13 pages of full color, step by step shots, suitable for even a complete beginner to learn both Right Angle Weave and Square Stitch. It’s been a big hit with the Beady People. 

Get yours here!

Next up: my knockout Flattened Ndebele Tube idea, with a hat tip to my Detroit student Laura P., who went above and beyond with the project at the Guild class, and made one with DOUBLE sequins. If a single one of my pictures had come out, I’d show you. Double sequins… man. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The Governor of California, enjoying a blunt.

The discussion about legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana has gone unavoidably mainstream, as it can’t escape our societal notice that our prisons are crammed with non-violent drug offenders, we are missing out on zillions, cajillions, of dollars in tax revenue, and it’s silly to have destructive drugs like cigarettes and alcohol available on every corner, while grass is a crime. Arizona has a three strikes law that will jail you as a FELON if you get caught three times smoking a joint. Not to mention that we have a lot of dirt-poor states with gorgeous growing conditions. 

Prohibition, which was equally boneheaded, was ended in our last great Depression, as a practical response to both the government’s need for cash and their inability to handle the cost of prosecution and punishment of offenders. We now have an equally viable opportunity to do the same with marijuana. I have to tell you- of the thousands of adult people I know fairly well, the percentage who enjoy marijuana in moderation is well over half. These people are productive, responsible, and not a threat to society. Talk about “gateway drugs” is equally misplaced- one of my friends put it well when he said that “gateway drugs are all about gateway people.” Some people are just substance abusers, and they are going to ramp up everything they drink, smoke, and pop. You can’t stop those people- they will always exist and will always abuse whatever they can get.

Most people have the common sense not to smoke and drink and drug themselves into oblivion. Right now anyone who wants to use marijuana creeps and sneaks and risks their jobs, their houses, custody of their children, and for what?

Get real, America, end Prohibition again, and tax the holy hell out of one of our finest national crops.

It’s better than Day 1, or Day 2, but honestly that’s the most I can say so far. It looks like another day in bed. Hey, at least I CAN stay in bed- my job ports anywhere. The kids are home for Rodeo Vacation, of all Arizona things, and we are all piled up together.

I’ve watched about ten thousand episodes of Law and Order in the last five days. Can’t wait for Jeff Goldblum’s appearance this season. Jeff makes everything better. Speaking of the concept of Jeff, my friend Jeff Lieber, a prince among men, a professional fool, a funny, sweet, sensitive person, a fierce campaigner for us all, refuses to come out for a Cubs Spring Training game because he’s working on a new series. Jeff was one of the original creators of Lost, but in true Hollywood fashion, things got a little wack and, well, although you see his name on the screen, he didn’t get to write the actual series. Give ‘em hell this time Jeff. I’ll go to a Cubs game for you. 

It’s beautiful outside, kind of cold this early morning, but we’re headed for another warm sunny day in the 80s. The cats are loving it- cold nights for snuggling and hot days for stalking birds (they never catch any) and chasing lizards. Our kitten is so charming to sleep with, she likes to be held just like your favorite teddy bear, snuggled right in your arms. It’s kind of like sleeping with a baby, though, you never really pass out deeply because you don’t want to accidentally roll over on them. What’s particularly sad is when they are at the end of the bed, and you don’t know it, and you stretch out your feet and launch them into the air. That’s not good for anyone.

The grapefruit and oranges on the trees outside are ripe now. I just had a Minneola Tangelo, which was cold, from the night, and so sweet and juicy that it flooded my mouth with liquid sunshine. What kind of flu germ could hang on in the face of that?

Amacker Bullwinkle (yes that IS her name and we all wish it was our name) sent me the best get well E-card I’ve ever had, from Rubber Chicken Cards. It’s the Ellen and Winsor. Winsor is her cat, who has the best teeth and tongue ever. I love his questions- as a cat he is unclear on the difference between soup and tea, Monopoly and Risk.  

Amacker is not only extremely hard to kill, which is one of the qualities I most admire, but she is a fan of one of my favorite things on earth, ziplines. I rode my first one at my great-grandmother’s house in Snowflake, Arizona (which my great grandfather, Mr. Flake, founded, with Mr. Snow, for real). It ran from the top of the hill behind her house to the bottom of the garden, and I there was nothing better than being 5 years old at our family reuinion, for my grandma’s birthday, and riding that thing down the hill about ten million times. It’s a pulley-cable kind of thing, you hang on to the handle, and zip! Down you go.

My great grandfather, William Flake, also very hard to kill, was one of the founders of Snowflake, Arizona, and a pioneering Mormon. William served time in the Yuma jail for polygamy, and wore his prison uniform proudly in the annual parade in the years after his release. We have a copy of an issue of Arizona Highways, showing him dressed in his stripes.

People are all high-tech with the ziplines now, harnesses, helmets… good times. We just hung onto Great-Grandma’s with our small hands, and flew down the hill, where we could smell her pies baking through the back kitchen door. Her house is now an official museum of early life in the West, as complete as the family could make it. We are planning a trip up there to see it this summer.

I had never noticed until I saw this shot in Wesley Fleming’s gallery how closely barnacles resemble Tribbles. You?

While trolling through the amazing work and website of Wesley Fleming (thanks A) I came across the odd and excellent work of Jessica Joslin. She is a biomechanical sculptor who builds creatures out of tiny bones, skulls, brass bits, pieces and parts, and she’s amazing. I’ve GOT to get this book. Jessica’s website is a little bit frustrating- it’s done in Flash, and you can only see the work in bits and parts, but wow. 

I wish I weren’t sick. My head feels like a watermelon, my gut is all crampy, my sinuses they explode. Oh well. I’m doing what I can, drinking gallons of water and taking my Sudafed.

Enough about me. Except to say that my lovely flu means that I am falling further behind, and although I do an hour of shipping every day, I’m not caught up yet. Not even close. I think that by Monday, I’ll be back on top of everything, and hopefully in the pink of health as well.

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On a more pleasant note, if you are hankering after a Sarah Moran bead, don’t forget that there is a Superstars sale tonight at 8 pm! I am always amazed by how unusual her beads are in person; there really isn’t anything like them and I’ve never seen a photo do them justice.