Becca Golins is a polymer clay artist who does amazingly cute dragons, and other completely adorable critters, which she sells through her store front at Etsy and via eBay.  Her DragonsAndBeasties moniker is... I'd say deservedly popular.  A large number of people are copying her work and trying to imitate her success.  One of the fascinating aspects of following Becca's work is that she is clearly aware of these people, who range from guilelessly enthusiastic fans through to artistic grifters who are obviously ripping off her designs.  She manages not only not to be (publicly) angry about this, but also to graciously encourage her fans' artwork and to provide tutorials for working with polymer clay.  At auction her pieces command impressive prices, but Becca also tries to remain loyal to her less-well-heeled-but-devoted-fans by offering periodic sales of more modestly priced pieces... which sell out within minutes of being posted to her Etsy store.  It's easy to see why so many people are trying to replicate her formula.

Of course, there's no copyright on miniature sculptures of dragons.  Lots of artists have tried their hands at this particular figure.  For myself--one of the reasons I enjoy Becca's work so much is that it reminds me somewhat of my old friend Bard Bloom's ceramic dragons.  The green guy in this picture was a gift from  Bard back before I went off to graduate school in 1988.  I have held on to him all these years and continue to enjoy him, for many of the same reasons I enjoy Becca's work. 

It may not be clear from seeing just a single sculpture or two, but the work of both of these artists has a consistent, delightful, and utterly personal gestalt.  That's something that maybe allows for individual pieces of artwork to be copied, but it can't be replicated in "original" works by those copier artists.

So, yes, I have been making a dragon or two of my own these past couple of months.  There's no way I can duplicate what Becca does.  I can think of at least two qualities that she puts (so effortlessly) into her work that... mine don't include.  Nevertheless, it is Becca's awesome gentle Beasties that got me going with this.  Thank you, Becca Golins, for your inspiration.

On Writers You Want to Punch in the Face[book] (by Rebecca Makkai)

I have been thinking about this article since a friend shared it with me, a month or more back now.  It's a wonderful piece, in its own delightfully twisted way, and has provoked a fair amount of internet discussion. The article describes the imaginary-but-all-too-real "Todd Manly-Krauss," a writer who uses social media to write smugly and blithely and self-servingly about even the least of his achievements--with a nauseating undercurrent of tone-deaf gender insensitivity. 

Here's my standpoint--and it's a strongly visceral one.  My toes literally curl in revulsion when I read anything, in the real world, in the style of Todd Manly-Krauss (hereafter TMK!).  And not least--when I'm reading something I have written myself, or am even just reviewing an idea in my head, and my inner ear alarmedly senses that first beat of TMK intonation. 

The truth is not something that pleases me.  Because the truth is this: My fear of the TMK tone has stalled me out, and indeed inhibited my work, many, many more times than TMK writing has actually been a sin in which I've overindulged. 

And that's the element that has led me to loathe dear old (imaginary!) Todd Manly-Krauss so obsessively this past month. 

I'm not alone in my TMK fears.  One person commented on Rebecca Makkai's article: "It’s the authorial equivalent of the Christmas card letter that talks about the family’s perfect year."  Point taken. But this very real, fierce dislike of TMK--it feeds and spawns that wretched, powerful TMK fear.

And what, really, is so bad about getting a poorly written Christmas letter?  I'd rather get a sheaf of Christmas letters--some poorly written, some good--than not get any mail at Christmas.  I don't want my friends to turn the letter task into a process so lengthy, so weighted, so significant, that the letter would just absorb too much energy to actually complete, so--I never hear from them. 

The same goes, somewhat differently expressed, for the writers whose blogs I enjoy.  Don't get me wrong.  Most of the author's logs I enjoy have a high proportion of really great posts.  But they also have dopey ones too, ones I can recognize that the writers concerned are not expecting me to take too seriously.

TMK fear: it's just another hydra-head of the paralysis-perfectionist impulse.

Todd Manly-Krauss!  Oh how I hate him!

Okay. This is for anyone who love comics.

First:
read the week's worth of cartoon strips that starts here:
http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2014/06/02

Second:
take a look at Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis's Facebook post of June 6, 2014--and follow the link through to read to his blog post about the same topic.
https://www.facebook.com/PearlsComic

The old proverb:  "the shoe-maker's children run barefoot" doesn't always hold true.  Indeed, one of the delights of growing up in an artistic household is the fact that some of the furnishings and surroundings are unique, hand- made items that perform good service and enrich a home's comfort.

I had the good fortune to grow up in such a household.  Whether it was carved rhinoceri, miniature toy dogs, a dollhouse with a beautiful cupola, or numerous household items, my Dad kept his family well-supplied when his children were young, and continues this work to this day.

He originally constructed and carved this chair in 1963 for my oldest brother; it has since been used by all his children and grandchildren. 

The tray had needed refurbishing for a number of years; Dad recently completed this work over the summer and photographed the results.

Click here to see how beautifully the piece cleaned up.

Horse Pull, Light and Heavyweight Divisions
I manage to coordinate being in town, driving out of town, and getting to see this event, about once every seven years.

But--it's magnificent, and if I had a doppelgänger, this event would definitely be one of the places I'd send her.

If you've never been to a Horse Pull.... it's hard to describe, the primal electricity in the experience. 

The teams, the best ones, almost dance on their way to the sled, they're so eager.  Then, when they are putting the burst on and moving into the pull, they suddenly become--so small, so nimble, so lithe.  They almost no longer look like horses.  They move like snakes, or something feline. 

I first saw this kind of competition as a child, at the Chester Fair in Connecticut.  Those competitions took place after dark (cooler I suppose for the horses), with floodlights, and the horses visibly steaming and throwing out droplets of sweat and spray in that silver light.  Images from those nights are indelibly ingrained in my head, the noise and the light and the great heart of the animals.  I'm so grateful I get to connect back to that as an adult.

The Minnesota State Fair, which is a lot easier for me to get to, doesn't sponsor this kind of competition.

Other delights of the Washington County Fair include a potato dressing competition.  Here, in the "Age 12 & Up" category, a 12 year old took first place with this fetching Star-nosed Mole.

Overall the crafts and arts I have seen in recent years at the State and County Fairs tend to depress me.  I see a lot of crafts made straight up from kits, and the paintings tend all to be wooden representations of photos.  The Lego constructions are especially dreary--the last decade or so of Lego kits has really done a job on the American child's imagination, or so it feels. 

But potato dressing--there were some great entries.  Nice to see the creative mode in action, and so refreshed!