Artists and Writers (of all kinds)

Been a bit discombulated lately. Nothing horrible, just having focus problems. Like...I've got 3 wips and can't decide which one to work on. Mainly because nothing is really kicking my ass and demanding attention in terms of "ooh! write me! no, no, write me!" The only things demanding attention (and an ass-whuppin') are the spiders. It's that time of year. You know, the time when all the damn creepy crawlies decide that it would be much more comfy to spend the winter someplace warm and cozy. Like my house. My husband insists the critters are just trying to encourage and inspire my writing a la Charlotte's Web. Yeah, he's Mr. Bright Side. I wouldn't mind, but the little bastards ALWAYS seem to find me and bite me. Usually when I'm asleep. So it's spider smacking season again. Like I said, nothing truly horrible. Just really flippin' annoying. So I'm not gonna talk about that whiney spiders-are-invading-my-home-and-the-writing-is-sucktastic crap.

Nope. Instead, I'm thinking about artists and writers. Mostly I'm thinking how grateful I am for their existence. These are the people who create art, books, poems, and performances that (not to get all Mushy-Marsha Marshmallow here) open my mind and feed my soul. Mr. Bright Side wrote a great post about why the comedy writer and the poet should be friends. I thought he made some pretty good points, although he took a while to get there (sorry, dude). And then there are folks like this cranky, lefty desert-dwelling artist who write well and take the most incredible images from nature. I double-dawg dare you to look at his photos and tell me your heart doesn't expand just a little. Um, except for maybe the photo of the guy at the political rally holding a poster that says "Bush the Lying Turd." Hey, I said he was a cranky lefty. But keep scrolling and you'll see what I mean.

Then there are artists like Juanita Hull (her paintings are cool, but her sculptures are what I adore) and her husband, metal artist Royce Carlson - his welded steel gates are amazing. I'm also a fan of Granny J's. She takes beautiful photos of art and nature & other cool stuff in Prescott - I really like her style. In the performance arena, I've made no secret of my love for Tucson-based fire artists Flam Chen, or for the stilt-astic theatrics of The Carpetbag Brigade (miss you guys & wish you'd come back to Prescott for a visit soon!).

I'm not even touching on folks like Arizona Classical Theater, the good folks at The Raven Cafe who bring in so many cool bands and musicians, or the tons of local musicians. And I guess that's the theme here. These are all people who do the life thing AND the art thing. And best of all, I've gotten to experience ALL of these artists, poets, performers, and writers in my little mountain town. Most of them still live here. I don't have anything really deep and/or meaningful to say here...just extending my gratitude and an invitation to those of you who want a break from the yuck/doldrums that everyday life can sometimes bring. Check these cool people out, and then take a minute to see who's lurking in your community. You might be surprised. Okay, okay, if you live in NYC or LA (what's up with the whole initial thing, anyway?) it might not be such a big deal. But today, in my corner of northern AZ, I'm happy to know I'm breathing the same air as some truly amazing folks.