Sigh

It's always when you're already busy that unexpected extra work lands on you.

Squidoo has been sold.  This is the on-line community where I've written a number of articles (including my Greatest-Hit "Theater Set Questions Answered," my Dear-Abby-ish answer to worried high school play designers everywhere). 

This means that I will have to reformat, rewrite, or abandon a lot of work.  Whatever I choose, the new owners, HubPages, can choose to drop any or all of it.

Sigh.

A polite sigh was not, mind you, my first reaction to this news. 

If this is having a rug pulled out from under me, it's a rug upon which I set a desk, a chair, bookcases (of course!) stuffed with books, assorted filing cabinets, a drafting board, a sofa, giant ornamental vases full of dried pampas grass, and maybe a stuffed grizzly bear. 

Grumpy as I feel... maybe the bear's not taxidermied just yet.

A collage from public domain sources, including Amedeo Simonetti's 

The Rug Merchant at Wikimedia Commons.  

In more cheerful news, among those books I'll have to virtually move (sigh? snarl?) is a recent read - Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, by  Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd, the author of House and his long-time editor and friend.  This is a book I'll need to return to the library... then buy my own copy of. 

Other books I've enjoyed lately?  I'm working my way through Greek Revival America by Roger G. Kennedy, a writer on architecture and related topics whom I've followed for years... since he first introduced me to my role-model, architect/pirate Barthelemy Lafon, in fact.  I enjoyed Lindsey Davis' Enemies at Home, the second novel in her new ancient-Roman-detective series.  Try her Silver Pigs as a starter.  I liked Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel Raising Steam.

I think I'll go read a nice calming book.

Green Theater on Squidoo

My blog post the other day on going green in the theater (HERE) gave me the idea to create a Squidoo page on the topic.  And it just won an award - pretty cool!

Check it out: HERE 

Title pic for the Squidoo page "Go Green Onstage"

Squidoo Up-Date

Good news on the squid-front: my page Easy Green Yard won a coveted Purple Star!

(That's kinda like getting the ol' kindergarten gold-star-on-your-chart... except, obviously, purple. A very welcome compliment.)

And talking of squidly subjects, I just found this good Squid page on sketchbooks and blogging: Sketchblogs.

Those of you who know me know that I hardly go anywhere without a sketchbook.  (I only buy purses it can fit into - take that! Fashion.)  Anyway, having a handy place to record not just sketches, but notes, research, measurements, or good quotes found while browsing in bookstores... What fun is it to be creative without a friendly sketchbook?

My sketch from the Stickley exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art  POST

Give a sketchbook a try.

As you can see above, the standard of drawing doesn't have to be very high for a sketch to remind you of what you saw (or thought of) and to record the important things.  Pretty sketches are just a nice by-product.

New Squidoo Page

As a followup to that last POST on collage jewelry, I just wanted to announce a new Squidoo page on (what a coincidence!) making collage jewelry.  HERE.

The "Eye" pendant, by me, copyrighted even if you could find all the weird bits to make it.

New(ish) on Squidoo

A Squidoo page I forgot to mention: The Creative Process

Check it out for some good books on creativity.  (Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit is really useful for any working creative type.  Earlier post HERE.)

And BTW here's a first Squidoo page by my buddy Joseph, for his greeting cards, HERE.

New on Squidoo II

I've been doing research on creativity for a while...  HERE's the Squidoo report on that!

The Creative Process - a Squidoo "lens"

New on Squidoo

I just pulled together some information on one of my favorite architects and one of the most influential... ever.  Andrea Palladio.

Haven't heard of him?  Check out The Architecture of Palladio

Palladio's The Villa Rotunda, Vicenza, Italy - public domain image.

Squidoo Up-Date

Just added a lot of new information to my Squidoo page Theater Set Questions Answered, so I thought I'd spread the word.  Don't forget to visit my other set pages: 3 Ways to Improve Your Theater Set and, 3 More Ways to... um, you guess.

A photo from the Frequency of Death build given TaDa! to public domain

Squidoo "Lenses"

These are websites hosted by Squidoo, a well-run place to create small websites about some enthusiasm you have... and maybe make a little money too.   I've had fun making mostly set design and theater pages.  (If you're interested in going on-line, I can recommend this Squid-y community.)

And two of my sites won awards!  Purple Stars.  You betcha cool.

Check out these winners:  Surviving Home Remodeling and Three Ways to Improve Your Theater Set

Favorite Shows

Standard advice to parents is that you should never have favorite children...

Designers have favorite shows.  Sometimes it's because the show was a hit (we like hits!); or the show was a wonderful experience; always when you think your design was especially good (some just turn out better than others); or because the  material was especially touching to you in some way.  One of my favorites - for all those reasons - is WaterTower Theater's production of Enchanted April.  I was happy with my design.  (Rain on-stage!  How cool is that?)  Making and watching the show was great.  Terrific cast!

But above all that, I love the original novel by Elizabeth von Arnim.  There's a terrific movie version too.  I can't figure out why it isn't better known!  So I recently made a Squidoo page about Enchanted April. Check it out here (includes a few pics of sets, mine and others').

Architectural Squidoo Pages

Two web articles (or Lenses) on architectural topics:
Surviving Remodeling and Decorative & Scenic Painting - Scumbling.  Check 'em out.

Coolo Links

Take a look at some Squidoo sites with links to favorites of mine or just interesting info:

Parsnip Pie - arts and design links

Three Ways to Improve Your Theater Set - um, what it says?

Alice Through the Proscenium - the site for The Book

Squidoo-ing

I've been experimenting with Squidoo (a hosting site I guess you'd call it?).  Anyway, I just had an article there ranked 100% which is kinda cool.  Since my Mom's 'fridge is too far away, I thought I'd tape it up here for y'all to see:

"3 Ways to Improve Your Theater Set"

Next Coke you get out of the 'fridge, take a look.

Anyone interested in trying out Squidoo?

Another Squid Page

The hosting site? collective? commune? e-department-storage? place called Squidoo is addictive: here's another page I'm putting together, an assortment of sites and blogs I find useful, called Parsnip Pie.  (Why?  I liked the picture.  Go see for yourself.)

Not this picture, silly, this is a Turnip.

Construction Dust

I've been building away over at my Squidoo sites.  Check 'em out.

Ta-Da! My Digital Empire Is Growing

Just opened up a new web home - a Squidoo (what a funny word) lens called 9 Ways to Improve Your Theater Set.  Check it out.  But don't forget my ol' tried 'n true Website, eh?