You Can Catch More Eyes with Vinegar than Honey

In 1948, Swiss engineer, Georges de Mistral was hiking in the woods with his dog and they got covered in burrs. Instead of seeing them as annoying... he observed them in a new perspective. De Mistral teamed up with a textile company and patented what is known today as Velcro in 1955.

Recently, wine sludge has turned to an innovative fabric with that same kind of innovative perspective.

My thoughts on this new wine fabric.... it's very form fitting... so what if you have a real body? Is this going to force us to work out more? Or is there a way to fit it on a mold that isn't so form-fitting, yet flatters the wearer?

What annoying occurance can you turn into an innovation??? Annoyances are only annoying if we can't see the creative side to them!

Nata De Coco - HardWired Behind the Scenes

Revisiting a Dormant Career

Grandkitty shows better than I could tell anyone what has happened to my singing career. It’s been dormant for about 8 years.  For one, how many full-time live singing careers are available today to replace the one I had? But also…you turn a certain age and many past passions return that beg for as much dedication as your career had. Also, at this age, I would love to create “behind the scenes,” as in produce.

  Recently, I was invited to judge a local talent competition. I love to support artists of all kinds from performing ones to artists who require stillness to express their talents.

What a trip to see the talent hiding in this area! I even had to unrust the pipes and sing one song to prove I earned the judge’s chair. It sure was different singing after 8 years. All the art I’ve worked on and emotional evolution in the past 8 years gave me a way different perspective on how I went about singing this time.  Surprisingly, I hadn’t an ounce of nervousness and I was able to try new things I haven’t had the guts to try 8 years ago. To be in front of many people performing felt as natural as a kitty taking a nap….though, I hope it was more interesting than that.

I guess my point in this entry is to say…that even when we don’t get to work on our art….our lives evolve and that evolution seeps its way into our art…so it still evolves. So, just because it’s been a while since you’ve worked on a certain venue of art….don’t write it off as over. That’s how connected our emotional growth is with our art growth.

His Similes. His Metaphors. Les Metaphors du Micheal Kors

“The Metaphors of Micheal Kors.” Catchy rap title. Anyone up for putting together a mashup video rap of Korsisms? http://korsisms.tumblr.com/

I’m not alone in noticing there is something missing in this season of Project Runway. It’s the comedic snarky metaphors of Michael Kors. Some of his comments during his critiques of the designers' work were so shockingly rude that you had to laugh. He conjured up such surreal metaphors to describe the designs that you couldn’t get that vision out of your head once he put it there! Somewhere between Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, and Steven Wright lies the unforgettable metaphoric talents of Michael Kors. 

Every artist owns their stories of how painful it is to bare our soul and put our hard work out there only to get it destroyed by someone who judges it harshly.  I saw a video of  PR contestants voicing how much it hurts to receive harsh comments. It takes so much courage, energy, hard work, focus and insane deadline stress to swim in the PR fishbowl. I can’t imagine a contestant would walk out of that experience the same level as they walked into it. 

Comedic and design talents aside, Michael Kors has a huge heart...http://fashionista.com/2012/12/fit-dropout-michael-kors-to-gift-the-school-1-million/

...and he is no stranger to being judged harshly....
 
He's paid his dues. He's paying it forward. And he walked away from Project Runway leaving us laughing with him....
 

We miss you, Michael Kors. Come visit Project Runway soon.