Moving...

my blog is moving! you might still find posts of a personal nature here, but my professional blog is moving to second surf.

thank you to those who have been kind enough to visit my blog and other web presence. you will find more links to my new webiness at the new blog.

Featured.....

Sweet Figments was kind enough to feature me on her blog today! She has a keen eye and has chosen a lovely array of cute paper embellishments (with me included!)to showcase on her blog. She has a nifty website and cool etsy shop that you should check out. Thanks Connie!

Bad Blogger, No Biscuit

so, i still just can't commit to blogging everyday. No matter how many times i write it down on my list of things to accomplish -i am a compulsive list maker- i just can't seem to find the words to write, although i have plenty to say i suppose....so i continue to meander and wander in my thoughts, plugging away and put in a post or two from time to time.

I make excuses for this because of my schedule. i constantly struggle with the balance between my art-making and my money-making careers. My day job is very consuming. I work 13-14 hour days which consume the better part of the usable day. This leaves me very little time to market myself in person. So, by default, i've resulted to the internet to try to sell my work...and the internet is great but i lack the sense of community that i've felt in the past. I see other people who connect and make this connection but for some reason, i need to feel it in person.

plus the time i have to spend is quite limiting to my creativity. i have so few short hours to create and this time is coupled with life's chores as well...laundry, food, bills, everyday chores...ugh.

patriotism, globalism, conservationism and my rantings....

...so i've been on this green rant lately. i've always been sort of a granola tree hugger and when this green bag kick hit.....you know the new fad that has plastic bags on the outs and encourages people to bring their own bags to the grocery stores-- I thought FINALLY, maybe because of the price of oil and the economy, people will realize that being green also equates to living more simply and that our throw-away disposable american lifestyle is about to change.

And being in retail grocery management, I appreciate all of the bonuses and drawbacks of the plastic bag. They are convenient, cheap, can be recycled at many locations, and can be reused in many ways...And I hear all facets of compliments and complaints at the store...

...put as many things as you can in one bag.
...separate this from that.
...try not to give me so many bags.
..i don't know why YOUR bags are so CHEAP and they always break.

and i think reuseable bags are great, don't get me wrong. i have my very own set. i decided to purchase a set recently and i love them. not only do they reduce the cost of bags for my company, thereby increasing my profits and my stock since it is employee owned...but my recent joy was stymied when i was stocking the green bag display one day out of a box that distinctly says... MADE IN CHINA. humpf.

Which sets me on another rant entirely. Why can't we, as a people, realize that not buying things that are made in america is detrimental, not only to our own economy, but also our own national security? This is my vision of patriotism.

Think about this.... We have been brainwashed by our own corporations into this idea that because we live in this free wonderful country, we are entitled to everyday low prices. That our need for cheap shit, that we don't really need, has eclipsed our own job security and our own safety? By buying things for the lowest price possible, we are giving our permission to corporate america to farm our once-great economy overseas.

Next time you stop by your local superstore, take a look at all those wonderful impulse items you buy...or if you aren't buying the impulse items and only buying necessities, think about this:

You are purchasing something that someone has been paid a substandard wage to produce, to market, and to sell to you. The wonderful plastic THING has not only wasted precious fossil fuels to produce and transport, but the worker in china has been paid 2 cents an hour so they can go home in their bare feet to feed gruel to their children, only to be shipped to you in your local supercenter where our own people are being paid barely minimum wage to sell it to you with a scowl on their face. And you are wondering what has happened to our great nation. to customer service. to value. but like sheep, we all return for more.

Who is getting rich? It certainly isn't the people buying the cheap plastic shit and it certainly isn't the people making it or selling it.

I challenge everyone (including myself) to think about value. Is value really the price that you pay at the checkout? Or is it something more....the fact that perhaps you have supported the entire chain. When you buy something made in america, you support those who make it. When you buy it at a company that is ethically sound, that pays its people a living wage, even if you might pay a little more, don't you think that it is an investment in our future as a nation? And generally, these places are more convenient to you, the service is better, and yes, you might pay more. But what is the definition of value?

.....back to the green bags.....i still think they are a great idea IF you use them. They hold more stuff. you don't have this glut of plastic that you need to find a way to reuse, recycle, or discard. But before you buy them, look in your closet and find all those canvas tote bags you've acquired along the way at various places. those will work. and if you don't have any, visit a thrift store or garage sale and score some for a quarter. and if you need to be trendy and have some that are fancy-like and new, there are lots of places that sell them or make them and they are made by your neighbors or fellow americans who are trying to make a living just like you, so pay a little more, and save a lot.

So- that being said, even though i have my own reusable bags (made in china, i might add with embarassment) go to etsy and find some cool folks selling cool bags.

made it....

.....to the treasury for the second time! yay!

check it out here:
www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=2435

and the barbaraanntubbs etsy shop is moving so everything is on sale here:
http://barbaraanntubbs.etsy.com

my new shop is here:
http://kitofparts.etsy.com

a tribute.....

Shocked but not surprised by the assasination of Benazir Bhutto, the first elected woman of a Muslim nation. Forever a believer in democracy and serving her people, she recently returned from exile to participate in lobbying for liberty through free elections in Pakistan. Although she pleaded for extra security in her return from exile, she was denied and yet still came back to serve her people in her vision for a truly democratic muslim nation. I'm not sure if that is possible, but I admire her courage and patriotism to do so.

Funny how a historically democratic nation such as the US has yet to have this same courage....to elect a woman in a supposedly equal society.....how about a mormon, an atheist, a homosexual, a black man? ....a woman?

and we're supposed to be socially advanced.....hmmmmm.

embrace: artist

many a young heart has been seduced by the word, artist. How many of us, when asked as a child, what we wanted to be when we grow up, answered this perfect, complex word but left it behind as innocence was changed to practicality when coupled with adult responsibilities such as rent, utilities and a car payment.

I've never grown out of it... When youthful abandon turned to adolescent ambivalence, artist became a term of rebellion and defiance. Now, as a nearly 30 something, the definition for me has changed. Artist is not a painter, or an actor or singer. It is the entire art of everyday life. What one does on a daily basis to create their own world. What comes to mind for me now is that being an artist opens an entire otherworld of possibilities....the art of living and of being a giver.

A giver of what?

....of joy, of sight, of themselves. Those who consider themselves artists let others view the often repressed emotions and feelings so seldom expressed by others.

so today...give to others, love yourself, and above all, create something of beauty, whatever you conceive that beauty to be....in this broken and often sad world.