Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption

Plastic Pop Bottles, 2007

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Detail : Pop Bottles

Plastic Bags, 2007
Depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds.


Detail: Plastic Bags

Cigarettes, 2007
Depicts 65,000 cigarettes, equal to the number of American teenagers under age eighteen who become addicted to cigarettes every month.



Detail: Cigarettes

Cell Phones, 2007

Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day.

Detail: Cell Phones

This photographic series by Chris Jordon is fascinating to me, and I thought I would share it. Please view other works in this series (as well as his series on the aftermath of Katrina, a signed edition I received on my birthday) on his website

chris jordan photography

What I fround Digging Around in the Back Yard

Fig Trees! One on the side of the house, one in the back yard. Both so full of baby fig fruits we'll have tons of them by mid-summer. I looked up recipes today for fig jam, fig cake, and fig muffins to try and use some of them. I have always loved gardening and foods you go just go outside and pick to eat. I have fond memories of picking nice warm figs off the tree in my Aunt's House in Galveston and biting into the swishy fruit. YUM! If anybody out there has good ideas for using them up, please email me.
Dreamed of an idea for an art show last night, and started seriously thinking about it today. Even started looking on EBAY for one of the special materials. It has been very rainy in Houston, and just the perfect weather for dreaming and planning today. So things are percolating here, and I wanted to share my delight in the simple fig :)

And Speaking of "Art"...(LOL)

Who needs a trouser dropping mechanical Santa Claus when you could have this? One of the benefits of being around Wade (and there are many) is that he does have the best toys around. This is the brand new Pole Dancer Doll that will be available on store shelves by Christmas. You actually plug her into your MP3 Player and she dances to your very own music with flashing lights around her stage. Now, to really make her authentic they should have included teeny tiny twenty dollar bills to really get her going. Now this is ART baby! (LOL) I include this especially for a few special readers, you know who you are :) Enjoy

Damien Hirst's "For the Love of God"

In Britain, artist Damien Hirst's personal and professional reputation is well-established. The most famous and infamous of the Young British Artists (YBAs), he is best known for his Natural History series - dead animals, such as a shark, a sheep or a cow, preserved in formaldehyde.
Hirst enthusiasts say his work is bold and ground-breaking, that it sets the standard for contemporary art in the early part of the 21st century. But his numerous detractors, including respected figures in the art world as well as the tabloid press, argue that there is little more to Hirst's work than hype. He has been accused of being derivative and being an artistic con-artist.
Whatever the critics say, there is no doubt that his work has had a huge impact on the art scene, particularly in England, and has brought contemporary art into the full glare of media attention. Damien Hirst continues to explore his fascination with death, medicine, belief and faith with his new piece entitled "For the Love of God," a diamond-encrusted human skull worth £50m - said to be the most expensive piece of contemporary art currently available. The 18th Century skull is entirely covered in 8,601 jewels, while new teeth were made for the artwork at a cost of £14m. The centrepiece of the 41-year-old's creation is a pear-shaped pink diamond, set in the skull's forehead. The skull, which was bought from a shop in Islington, north London, is thought to belong to a 35-year-old European who lived between 1720 and 1810.

Well, I'll give him credit where it is due. It is very thought provoking and fascinating work on a lot of levels, even if i find it personally in somewhat dubious taste. It is rather "tabloid" art in my opinion, but who could fault Hirst with that in our increasingly "tabloid" society? I have no doubt someone will step up to the plate and buy this, and I guess that old pinback button we all wore in art school is indeed true..."Art is anything you can get away with."

Puddles is right!

Well, after days of heated angst and anticipation (with electricians crawling all over and much drilling, etc) I am pleased to announce the opening of ...>>ta-dah<<>new air conditioner!!! Today not only did I purchase it, I also installed it (with Wade's help). Yipppeeeee!! I know it isn't a big red thing that makes lots of noise like Bammy's toy, but I don't think I could be more thrilled with anything, even a Cartier diamond. There is a point in heat exhaustion that it is too much trouble to even think, much less type, so I predict more blogging will ensue. But today I am just doing a happy "new airconditioner"dance. cha-cha-cha...
P.S. Thanks Judy, for everything :)