New Year, New Things

So I've neglected this space since the new year, but not intentionally; I just have a an issue with posting 'nothing' just for the sake of posting.  I'm not sure how many people want to read a blog that's basically an overgrown facebook status update log, but all the same I do enjoy sharing.  

Last week a friend of mine took me to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the Jean-Paul Gaultier exhibit.  I was shocked, titillated, amused, and intrigued throughout, and if the museum nazi had not issued an immediate and stern rebuke, I'd have taken pictures and posted them here.  

You might know Gaultier as the designer of Madonna's famous "Vogue"-era costumes if nothing else, but he's worked with countless people, designed many gowns as well as ready-to-wear lines, and even costumes for movies such as The Fifth Element.  Some of the items he's designed are so outrageous that they're completely out of the realm of the practical, but until I made the mental leap that his couture (unique, high-fashion) pieces are much more pieces of art then they are functional clothing, I couldn't fully appreciate his work.  He's successful, he pushes boundaries, he challenges the norms, he values the organic and allows it to influence the high art that he creates.  In short, he's everything I'd like to be as an artist, regardless of what form my 'art' ends up taking.  Maybe I should study fashion.

The sketch shown above is one of Gaultier's working drawings when he was first creating Madonna's tour wear.  I love these kinds of pictures because they truly show the vibe and character of what he's trying to create.  Once the clothing becomes real, he and Madonna own it jointly, each one's personality combining to create a unique 'look' that is neither fully Gaultier or Madonna.  But at this stage, it's a portal into Jean-Paul's mind.  

If by chance you get a chance to see this exhibit, either here in Dallas or elsewhere, I can't recommend it highly enough.

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Finding Diamonds, Inside and Out

Unlike the January 2011 version of myself, I'm now a Buddhist.  It seems odd for me to say this because I'm really so far away from realizing any and all of the possibilities that are within each of us.  We are all wellsprings of compassion, patience, generosity, and concentration, but the world around us challenges them all..  I'm not sure, other than a special person in my life introducing me to it, exactly why I chose this path for myself, but from the very beginning, I've felt a calmness and a quiet whenever I've thought about my own spirituality.  The rest of my life, including the thoughts in my mind tend to be very loud.  They clamor for attention, they shout impulsive feelings, and they distort the truth to serve nefarious motives.  But these teachings help to quiet them, if only because I've pushed them away temporarily, and hopefully I'll find ways to quiet them for good as time goes by.

I don't go to the temple that often, but yesterday a friend and I went to one near Fort Worth, pictured below.

It's a beautiful structure, and there are a few others in their complex that are beautiful as well.  We stayed for   chanting, meditation, plus a dhamma talk and fellowship, before emerging back into the loud world around us.  It's my hope to eventually find a place inside myself where the quiet will rule at all times.  

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Since many are interested, I'm now 17 weeks pregnant.  My baby is the size of a white onion, or thereabouts.  This reminds me: why are fetus size milestones always compared with foods?  Isn't that a bit messed up?  Every week, my pregnancy app tells me how big my baby is ("this week your baby is the size of a pear", "....an avocado",  "...a grape".   Somehow I never want to eat those foods directly after reading that!