Movie Time #6

This past weekend The Butler finally premiered here in The Netherlands.  When my mother-in-law suggested seeing it, I agreed, even though long dramas aren't really my type of movies.  And you know, I am so glad I went.  What a great movie!  Within 10 minutes I was ready to cry, and by the end I was sobbing.

Being an American from Florida (The South) I know first hand about racism, unfortunately it still exists.  (It's obviously changed over time, something the movie captures quite well.)  Of course we all know the stories of the slaves all the way to the Black Panthers, but to see it in one place, told from that family's point of view really tugged at my heart.  What they went through to get equal rights, and what they are still going through, is amazing.  It's almost hard to believe people can be so cruel, we're all human, we all bleed, and we all have feelings.  Luckily, I was born way after the civil rights movement, I can't imagine dealing with that first hand.  And I am so glad that Obama is president, it shows just how far Americans have come... and I can't comprehend how much it must mean to African-Americans.

It was strange experiencing this film in Europe, knowing that most of the people in the theater don't actually understand the race issue in America.  It was odd walking out of the theater in tears when no one around me was crying (at least that I noticed).  My mother-in-law said that if we were in America she would have expected applause in the theater at the end.  But when I spoke to my mother in Florida, she said their local newspaper actually gave it a poor review.  Wow, not sure what to think about that.  Did any of you see The Butler?  Were any of you as moved as I was? 

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Makes Me Laugh (#1)

There is a sushi restaurant around the corner from where I live.  In the window hangs this sign:

 

Every time I see it, I laugh.  It is such a subtle mistake in spelling/grammar, but such an easy one when it comes to translating from one language to another.

Sculptures

According to the dictionary, sculpture means the art of carving, modeling, welding, or otherwise producing figurative or abstract works of art in three dimensions.  I find even the definition is interesting.  I love sculptures; they're one of my favorite art forms.  Around our apartment we have a lot of different sculptures, ranging from wood African masks to metal & glass suns.  My husband probably doesn't care what I use to decorate the house, as long as I display his golf trophies (also a form of sculpting).  I thought for today's blog I would show you a few of my favorite pieces around my apartment.  I am not a high-end art collector by any means, I could actually careless about the price or creator, it's about the piece.

One of my favorite (and I think my husbands also) is the sun/moon vase we picked up in Key West around New Year's 2001/2002.  It was actually a gift for my mother, but truth be told she didn't really like it and accepted it to be polite.  (Occasionally we get a gift wrong, oops.)  She did her best to display it, it should have fit perfect in her colorful Floridian home, but it didn't.  It kept getting moved around, buried further and further away, until it was almost unnoticeable.  Then after being honest with each other the vase ended up here with us in the Netherlands.  It's bright, it's unique, there are different deigns on each side, and the sun & moon are something I have always seemed to fall back on for abstract decorations.

Another piece in our house is the Cambodian pipe that a close friend brought back to us after a trip to Asia.  this piece survived the 2004 tsunami in Phuket - as well did our friends.  The carvings in the wood are incredible, there are old with canes, turtles, dragons, flowers, you name it.  Every time you look at it you can find something new.  The pipe even works, at least it used to until we dropped it a few years back and had to super glue a piece.  Smoking super glue is obviously out of the question, now it just reigns over the entryway to our apartment.

The last piece I want to share with you is one of my own, circa 1998.  When I discovered pottery/ceramics class during high school a new world opened up for me.  I enlisted in every art class I could, from drawing to photography (I even dabbled in drafting/architecture).  I hadn't yet fully discovered my writing skills and these classes brought my colorful imagination to life.  Sure I pumped out the usual pottery projects, bowls and vases, but this one was and is my favorite.  At that time in my life Salvador Dali was a big influence, so I liked the melting effect of the piece.  It was like a puzzle, each piece helped to build the big picture.  If I had actually attended class as often as I should, I might have produced better pieces, but my teachers knew getting me to attend and stay awake was the biggest challenge of all.

One thing I enjoy so much about the city I live in is the art.  You can find sculptures everywhere you turn.  I am trying my best to stir my daughters interest in them also.  We often walk through a park known for its sculptures; it's nice to know people/s work can be admired while also enjoying nature.  The next time I visit the park I'll have to take pictures of my favorite sculptures and share them with you.  Maybe one day I'll retrieve my drawings from The States and share my crazy abstract sketches/drawings with you also.  Oddly enough I don't think I have it in me anymore to draw or sculpt, it was definitely a phase.  But I am happy enjoying other people's talents.  I think we're all given a talent, it just takes time to hone in on it.  Embrace your talent, why live life hating your job, when your hobby or talent could become your job!  (Says the woman too afraid to send her books to an agent/publisher!!!)