(June 16, 2010)
I guess it’s summertime. It’s HOT, things are even slower than usual in my career, and one nap a day suddenly doesn’t seem like enough. If that makes you want to go buy some Country Time Lemonade, sorry about that. But since you put it that way, yes, it does look like country time around here in my apartment. Yarn hay bales, acrylic afghan assemblages, crazy quilt diapers and an insane patchwork, sequined cape in the works that could only be described as -- if I may borrow an expression from Dolly Parton -- a country [boy]’s idea of glam.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is a whole lot going on over here, but not much action for me out in the world. If anyone out there wants to see these things for themselves, drop me a line & let’s set up a date! I might even serve you a beer from my very own fridge. MIGHT.
My show at BOOTS Contemporary Art Space in St. Louis http://bootscontemporaryartspace.org/blog/home/ was really great! It was a group show with 5 really talented artists and me. For my wall, I created a carnival-type display for a lot of my “Then and Now” crocheted assemblages with eyes. It was exciting for me to debut that work, but I have to say my favorite part was my performance on opening night. I had the help of FRAN and some other performers to create one of my dream grand entrances: down a huge staircase onto the stage. The outdoor fire escape and bench I used as a stage didn’t quite produce the Ziegfeld moment I’ve had in my head all these years, but it was pretty amazing just the same. A video of my entrance is posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yab4ABugnlo&playnext_from=TL&videos=QOPhIB0qaCA
I do have a couple little projects brewing and exhibition possibilities waiting to be confirmed, but it’s too early to tell what will really happen. Stay tuned!
Oh, and please come to see Jim & me pay tribute to CHELY WRIGHT at Joe’s Pub as part of Our Hit Parade Wednesday, June 30. I have been a fan of Chely’s for years, and she recently surprised me and the world by being the first person from mainstream country music to come out as gay. She is really a hero, and I can’t wait to show the world how I feel—in song!
I found a quote to leave you with from the Albert Goldman biography of Lenny Bruce I’m reading. It’s not the wisest observation ever, but I do see some truth in it as it relates to how I feel as an artist/entertainer.
“…the great difference between an actor and an entertainer [is that] an actor spends his life getting into the lives of his characters; an entertainer spends his life focusing attention on himself. An actor fears that he will not be able to sustain the feigned life of the person he portrays. An entertainer fears that his true identity will become submerged in the role he has created with his most successful material.”
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