You Ain't a Beauty But Hey You're Alright

Note to the world: GO TO A MOVIE PREMIERE!

Last night I tagged along with my friends Ming and Melissa and their cool show business friends and attended the New York premiere of Gracie, an empowering, coming of age story about a girl who breaks the gender barrier and tries out for an all boy's soccer team. This is a movie I normally would have heard about, but completely ignored because it's targeted for younger audiences and well, to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, maybe I'm not that young anymore. However, like the song continues, I should have had a little faith, because there WAS magic in the night.

Some of you might remember Andrew Shue as I do--the dim character Billy from the epic Melrose Place. Andrew Shue has not been on my immediate consciousness since 1995, but I got a little thrill to see him approach the front of the theater. However, I was not prepared for the emotional back story of this film that he supplied--that the story is actually based on the actress Elisabeth Shue's real life experience of overcoming her beloved older brother's tragic death, by becoming the first female soccer player in an all boy's team--a team her brother Will had been the star of. It was understandable that when Andrew Shue began speaking of the film and uttered the word "Family" he had to stop himself from crying. He spoke of the inspiration of his older brother William and of the ten years it took to get this film made. He also spoke about how emotional it was for them to make it. Then, if that wasn't enough, he turned over the mic to the director, who turned out to be Elisabeth Shue's husband. He then talked about his "amazing, talented, strong, beautiful, pain in the ass wife" and said that he made the movie for her. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house and the film hadn't even STARTED YET. I can tell you that when the end credits were rolling, which displayed the Shue family photos, EVERYONE was sniffling.

I can tend to be pretty critical with movies. Another word might be HARSH or DISMISSIVE. This is a movie I might have had such tendencies toward, but the fact that I watched it through the lens of knowing all the love and emotion and history and effort it took, I was very moved by it. When I see movies I never get all that went into it and so I lose the journey in the art I am watching. I never think about what directors and producers were TRYING to do in a movie. It was a very different movie watching experience. I want everyone to try it.

Then afterwords, we all spilled out into the lobby, and I embarrasses one of the stars by calling out, "Hey, you were DREAMY!" He blushed and covered his face and RAN AWAY. Geez, I don't know why, it's not like I am almost TWENTY years older than him or anything. And we got to go the after party, which was at my favorite restaurant in New York, and I sat talking with really wonderful people, who also are best friends with people like Roseanne Cash and who share lawyers with Paul Simon. Just another typical night in New York, people. I couldn't believe they let me in.

I Wanted to Match My Wedding Invites

It seems only right. Yes, I will post an example of said finished project. It's going to be cool!

I am very excited, I have friends visiting tonight. What's even MORE exciting: they happen to know more HOT people than me in New York, so I get to go to a genuine movie premiere with them! I hope it's as People Magazine as I imagine these events to be! Maybe I'll show up on somebody's WORST DRESSED LIST. Hey, a girl's gotta dream.

Reasons to do a zine and give it away via the internet

Don't you just love REAL MAIL? Seriously--how often do you get juicy packages or illustrated letters or postcards or exciting things that AREN'T credit card offers and student loan bills? I think mail is MAGIC. Thanks to some exciting trades (my favorite currency), I have gotten some amazing stuff in the mail as of late. Incredible zines and some amazing PAPER. I got the above paper squares all the way from Oregon (Thank you LEX!). Graham picked them up, immediately counted them and said, "This is the exact amount we need for wedding invitations." Oh, REALLY?

Any of you creatives out there get married yet? I've realized that as a creative type I can be CONTROLLING and OPINIONATED and (ahem) a PERFECTIONIST when it comes to the aesthetics of a wedding--even a barn raising, funky wedding like the one we are planning. The invites have been causing me stress because they are the VISUAL aspect of our party, and HELLO? I am a VISUAL-ITE. I wanted to do something cool and arty, and cheap, but nothing seemed to work.

It turns out these squares of gorgeousness and creativeness were EXACTLY what we needed. My mom keeps asking me, "What's the theme of the wedding? There needs to be a THEME." This coming from a woman who had a wedding that consisted of passing a cup of wine around a circle of mostly dressed (but not all) on a golden hillside in California. My response has always been, "Um, random. How's random as a theme?" Other responses that come to mind are "chaos" or "creative" (another word for chaos, by the way). We are totally ripping off Ariel & Andreas' idea to have our guests drink from second hand mugs, to symbolize the funky tribe of individuals that make up OUR PEOPLE. As soon as Graham pointed out that the squares would be a good invite I realized that they go with the mugs! None two are the same! They are colorful! Flavorful! and they hint at the COLOR that will be infused throughout. I still don't know what our "theme" is--unless, maybe it's "FUNKY," but if you saw the guest list, you'd think that was appropriate. Funky is a word for it, and so is colorful.

If anybody wants to TRADE FOR A ZINE instead of paying money for it, let me know. I am totally DOWN with it.

Luke Breaks It Down in the Ladies Room at Disneyland

I had this up briefly yesterday, but took it down because I am still trying to figure out this NEW FANGLED thingee called VIDEO on the BLOG. I am in a REALLY BAD MOOD today (lord knows why) so I thought I'd post it again because although it is SIDEWAYS it still CRACKS ME UP. Ladies and gentlemen, for a brief spell, I give you my little brother Luke KICKN' OUT THE JAMS in the ladies' room.








Luke Breakn' Out from Summer Pierre on Vimeo

Things to do at work, other than work: the video

I took this video of Jose, as a practice to photographing his leap.






Jose's Practice Leap from Summer Pierre o

Keep Up the Good Work

Color me delighted and tired, folks. You are KICKING MY ASS with zine requests (and I mean that in a good way). After giving away literally HUNDREDS and sending them ALL OVER the world (Hi Singapore! Hi Italy! Hi Australia!), I am afraid the free offer has to come to an end. SO SAD, I know! But that doesn't mean you can't still get one, you just have to purchase the little ol' thing. I can't keep up otherwise!

You can get it here:

There's also a button on the sidebar.

I have a dream, people, and that is every creative person in the work place (including those who work from home and are stay at home parents) will rise up and say, ME TOO. I AM AN ARTIST and I am NOT GONNA BE INVISIBLE ANYMORE.

I have been moved at all your stories and the amazing work you have shared with me. There's A LOT OF US arty types working it out there. I've recognized myself in EVERY SINGLE scenerio that people wrote me about. I have been BORED and DEMORALIZED and ANGRY and BAFFLED at my jobs. I've also been GRATEFUL for health insurance, for a regular pay check and a place to go.

I think what I've struggled with is this GUILT that I can't somehow "make it" as a full-time artist. I've tried, actually--but there's a lot I didn't factor in: ME, for example. I need structure to get stuff done. I need deadlines and accountability, and most of all, I need people. The months that I've been a full-time artist, I got just about as much done creatively as I did with a full-time job. Freelance isn't for everyone. Right now at least, it isn't for me.

I would like to salute all of you out there who have been MAKING IT WORK as full-timers, temps, stay at home parents, you name it, you work it, while also doing your art, whatever medium(s) that may be. I am not going to devide us from the full-time artists out there--because, let's face it, we ARE full-time artists--we also happen to work another job. I just want to say, THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT EFFORT. Keep up the good work.

It Must be Spring

My friends are either on the move or thinking about it. As a result, I get to see them. On Friday, I had dinner near the Newark Airport, because my friend Eric was en route from Isreal to Montana, and had a lay over. Yesterday, I saw Nate, who is moving to Atlanta. I saw Judy on Sunday, who was visiting from California.

I am about to go have dinner with Mindy and Nils, who are moving from West Africa to Washington, DC. Last night my friend Jennifer was here to read from her novel. She came from Vermont. Next week my friends Ming and Melissa are in town from Montana. Oh, wait--this just in! My friend Rico will be here from California. Anybody esle coming I should know about?

Get Your Zine Here!

(UPDATE: FREE OFFER CLOSED)
Just a quick note to tell all you new-comers (or late-comers) that I am extending the FREE ZINE offer. Thanks to 52 Projects and the ever sublime Electrolicious you Artists in the office are coming through the roof. I can't tell you how much pleasure I am getting in sending this out to the world--and I mean, WORLD (Hi New Zealand! Hi Japan! Hi Scotland! Hi EGYPT!). So keep the requests coming! And please make sure to include your MAILING address.

A New Discovery

She Wore Red Velvet

Hey, kids! The zines are flying off my shelves! I'll be open for more FREE orders until Thursday. Also, a special note to people who are outside the U.S.--the offer stands for you too! Have postage and customs forms, will send! I'd also love to hear people's shout outs if they got one!

I made my great grandmother's recipe for red velvet cake this weekend--something I've only done one other time, about 13 years ago. The TWO bottles of red food coloring is enough to make anyone pause, but ever since I moved to New York, the recipe has been whispering to me. This weekend I said ENOUGH! It's time to revisit Anna Eliza Oliver's moist red delight.

It turns out that New York may have 24 dry cleaning service, but a large bottle of food coloring is a RARE find. It took me FOUR stores before I finally found the two bottles I needed. When I poured the cocoa and red paste (which resembled a potluck dish from Freddy Kruger), into the white, virgin batter, it occurred to me that I better NOT SPILL A DROP. This is a batter that is playing for keeps, people. If you spill it on something, you just might have it on that something FOREVER. It kind of makes you wonder what your insides look like after you eat a big piece.

I found out this morning that the red velvet cake came from the Waldorf Astoria, but somehow eked its way through the country, morphing in content in a grassroots sort of way. I walk by the Waldorf Astoria every day I go to work. Today, I am remembering how years ago I went to the farm where my grandfather was born in rural Indiana. My great grandmother Anna Eliza raised three children, ran a farm, was a quilter, and a cook of some legend. She never went to New York City, and yet she had this cake recipe, and it was known as HERS. Did she ever imagine who would come after her, anymore than I do? And yet, almost 100 years later, here I am in close proximity to the origins of this cake, but its the green pastures of the Midwest I feel more than anything.

I have to tell you, there are worse things in the world than spending an afternoon alone in a sunny kitchen, with a ruby red cake baking in the oven, making the place smell like a bakery. There are worse things than having cake for no good reason other than its Saturday and its springtime. There are FAR worse things than opening the refrigerator the following days and being greeted by such an ART PIECE, and bringing it into work with you as a treat for lunch. When Graham paused, his fork in mid air, and asked, "Is this red okay to eat?" I am reminded how my great grandmother lived into her 80's. "To your health." I say and we ate it up and ate some more.

I Wasn't Kidding

I am SO THRILLED about all the requests pouring in for The Artist In the Office. Now I know why Oprah gives things away--it feels AWESOME! There are still some left, so request away! Be sure to include your mailing address!

One of the things that has helped me immensely in coming into an office job is making my work life a series art projects. I will admit that this is a delicate balance. I do make sure to get my work done (it's part of the agreement I made when I came here), and as long as I take care of that, I allow small doses of creativity through my day. The key is SMALL. Don't do it so much that it becomes an issue, but do it enough that you feel the presence. The result is that I am happier to come to work, and I don't feel I am dividing my real life from my job life. Plus, once I started looking, there was SO MUCH MATERIAL!

I can be a technophobe, and was very reluctant to get a digital camera, but I can't believe how much it has created in my life. The beauty of its instant gratification, plus deletion capabilities, has led to me taking it almost everywhere I go. I do believe in (and ENCOURAGE) taking it to work and using it as a medium for creation. There are SO MANY things you can do that aren't disruptive or take much time. Even if it's a self-portrait every day at 9:33 am for a week--at the end of the week you have a series.

The above pictures are a series I want to do for the next year. I was so inspired by my photo series with Jose, I DIDN'T WANT TO STOP THERE. So I started to ask other co-workers, "Would you mind posing for a picture with a sign that says 'Hi my name is _______'?" After I read about the photographer Bill Waldman this week (at 52 Projects), who wants to do a portrait a day for the next year, I thought, I want to do the HI, MY NAME IS series with EVERYONE I KNOW. How cool would that be? It connects me with the world I live in, and it engages me artistically. All from a lunchtime lark I did with a co-worker!

So much of job life is like going to sleep--we lose days to activities that don't have much meaning to us. Suddenly 8 hours or 5 days or whatever time is gone and you can't account for it--and as a society we ACCEPT this. Don't ACCEPT this! I wasn't kidding! Take your artist to work! You will be a HAPPIER employee!

Living the Dream With a Day Job

The best thing I did while taking a break from reading was make a zine about something very close to my heart--being an artist with a day job. Almost a year ago, in a fit of frustration, I wrote a post about the very real (and often undiscussed) dynamic of being someone who is a creative (or an anything ELSE), but who continues to support themselves through a day job. I had wanted to do a zine about this, but of course, like so many things, I let the idea sit. It turns out, I think I needed another year to do "research" and to take note of a few things, because the night before my reading deprivation I suddenly couldn't sleep with the sudden rush of ideas about this little book. I saw exactly how to make it. So I did! In two days!

I consider this a little handbook to help us all feel a little bit better about the whole picture of our lives, not just the after five o'clock and on the weekends. Also, it's to acknowledge the time we spend MAKING IT WORK. The reality is, MOST of us have day jobs in addition to our "real work" or "real lives." Some people go to work and never think twice about it. Some people go to work at a place that they HATE, but can't think of anything different. I wanted to make something that honors the fact that most of us have two lives and that takes A LOT of energy. I also wanted to make something that could be an easy reminder that you are living your ONE life right now (not later)--why not enjoy it as much as you can--with a day job or not.

What you will find in here:

• Affirmation--with a swear word!
• Ways to bring your real self to work!
• Wise words from an unlikely source--my brother!
• Permission for time off!
• Resources!
• Ideas toward getting out of your job--or just changing your situation!
• A recipe!
• And so much more!
  

All illustrated and handwritten by me! I believe that this is something everyone should enjoy, so for a limited time I am giving them away FOR FREE. You want one? E-mail me your address at summer (at) summerpierre (dot) com. You gonna like it!

(UPDATE: The FREE part is EXPIRED, but you can PURCHASE the zine--here:)

Some of the things I did while on vacation

I went & saw this play:

In case you are wondering, it was AMAZING. If you are planning on going, I recommend bringing hankies and leaving your cell phone at home. There's nothing like a moving monologue by Vanessa Redgrave on the loss of a daughter being interrupted by a ringing cellphone.

I went to Vermont and played a show and saw these fantastic people (and many more that aren't pictured):
I lived in Vermont twelve years ago, and I can't tell you how happy I was to return to a state that not only has community clean-up days, but also has maple flavored soft serve ice cream! Oh, HEAVEN.

Other things that happened when I wasn't reading: I discovered that listening to 80's music on the subway TOTALLY ROCKS and makes me HAPPY. I travel A LOT lighter when I don't have magazines and/or books to lug everywhere. I enjoyed my commute a lot more.

I actually DID stuff. I wrote a TON on my novel. I made a 'zine (to be posted later today--I think you're gonna dig it), my journal flourished, and my song ideas came cleaner.

I *HIGHLY* recommend doing a fast of some sort of technology/media/reading. Most people who asked me about it immediately looked at me like I had THREE HEADS. Why in the heck would you do that? For one, every time I spent a day on the computer to check-in and read I felt either anxious, jealous, inspired (but didn't do anything about it), angry, and/or slimed. I was also feeling really bored and not at all connected to the REAL WORLD that is readily available.

I am also currently facilitating a small Artist Way group. A couple pf people were interested in the book, but felt they needed support, and having done the work years ago, and believe in it, I volunteered to coach and meet with them weekly. I was planning on taking an internet break, but then came along week 4 of The Artist Way, which you have to deprive yourself of reading. I am amazed by what this created for others in this group.

To those who are waiting for an e-mail from me--I am getting there! A whole week without e-mail was TOUGH, and now even tougher as I am making y way through!