Living La Doo Vida

A few weeks ago The New York Times ran an op-ed from a woman who, like so many others, was lamenting over something to do with the change in Burning Man and its new ticket/lottery policy. The thing that stuck out for me was that she needed to go to this event to be a person that she could not be the other 362 days of the year. She needed permission to be the type of person who could engage with other people for no other reason than they were sharing an experience. She chose to participate by riding her bike around The Playa and handing out Chinese fish kites. I wondered: why can’t she do this all this time?? 

Doo-Nanny, dubbed by some to be the “Burning Man of the south,” allows folks the same freedom (come, see, share, create, be, doo). And for some, again, this once of year gathering is the only time they can really explore another side of themselves. But there are others who live the Doo-life 365 days of the year and I wondered what lessons they might share with the rest of us on how to incorporate more creativity into our everyday lives.

First up: the Laster Family (Mr. Charles M., his wife Grace Kelly, and their daughter Ruby Elvis Rose). “We doo- live this everyday. . .”

 

 5 Tips for Living the Doo-Life:

1. creative-financing/ FAITH- the doo -dream, work hard at everything, expect nothing . gifts come to you .... not money . but shared moments . some spare bucks thrown in... ,

birds find seeds . so do we. jesus by c.m.l.

2. doing -the doo - is kinda like the hillbilly way of the doo it yourself repair kit for life. ...barn raising ... people pitch in . lead by example.

3.creative-resources- well, this is a curse and a blessing . live off the waste . and turn back the clock at the same time. we find our materials in junk piles , yard sales and gifts from people who see us drive an art car ...and think. they might need this , and we doo.

 

4. Live and Drive Art. - the "Inner Galactic Shack-o-LLacc " opens doors helps you meet folks . that doo. like wise thinkers , freaks who seek understanding of what this is. we draw in all types with the art car . this is our daily driver ... and you can put alot of stuff on the top.

5, the Krewes-community- it’s the people who you meet by being you . it’s LOVE . understanding . a gathering of souls who all share. It’s" the Hillbilly burning man" with slight adjustments. southern hospitality... music, rain...eats . art and movies . but all LO-fI - RUSTIC , charm . real. ....we built our shack out of junk I found in the woods of wonder.

And on raising a creative child:

Ruby Elvis Rose is a natural. I think living the doo lifestyle has taught her how to find purpose in all things. she is always inventing . and she sees us surrounded by like minded doo folk. and just does. anything....etc. also, ... she wants to get rid of all he roads and paper money.

she out arts us.... she has written several books already and illustrated them. she spent her own money from doo-ing portraits on art supplies yesterday. and took us to Disney World Last Year .

#####

CM and Grace Kelly Laster, and their five year old daughter Ruby Elvis Rose are a family of artists from Kentucky. They travel the country in their third artcar, the Inner Galactic Shack-a-llac, participating in parades, and showing and selling their art in museums and galleries nationally and internationally. Their work is in the permanent collections of the American Visionary Art Museum, The House of Blues, The Bill Clinton Presidential Library, and the Library of Congress Folk Life Center . Currently they each have an Abraham Lincoln art piece At the Historical Society of Washington D.C.in traveling exhibit, Portraying Lincoln. Their art work reflects a variety of themes, particularly visions, dreams, music icons, historical figures , the rural south and the natural world. (source)

The Lasters are currently on the road . ARTSCAPE in Baltimore and Dynamic Arts Gallerie @French Broad River, Fest . shacks, movies music and art. So, be on the lookout and spread LOVE. 

(all photos courtesy of The Lasters)

Kentucky gets lucky in NYC

Well it seems to be a Kentucky themed week around good old NYC. First off, former beauty queen and KY native Miss Diane has taken over for Charlie Gibson on ABC World News Tonight.
Secondly, I ran across these amazing looking caramel wrapped marshmallows on the Williams- Sonoma website. They remind me of similar goodie that I've only seen at See's Candy in Los Angeles. "Dubbed 'Modjeskas,' these soft caramel confections were named in honor of a beautiful Polish actress by a fervent admirer. They're produced by a family-owned candy company in Kentucky using the recipe that Great-Grandfather Bauer developed in 1889. The handmade marshmallows, enrobed with luscious caramel, still elicit rapturous." Santa, if you're watching...
And last but not least, The Bell House in BKLYN is kicking off 2010 with THE KENTUCKY COLONEL'S WINTER FOLLIES & EARLY BIRD DERBY DAY PARTY :

"Come join us for a Kentucky Derby themed masterpiece starring The Girls from Wasabassco Burlesque & The Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. and Chris McDaniel with his thrilling display of bullwhip & rope tricks. It's a Hee Haw inspired night celebrating everything southern and horsey. With another 119 days until The Kentucky Derby, we just couldn't wait to get the party started. This is a good time to make sure your hats and seersucker suits still fit. Things to get you in the spirit: Benedictine Sandwich appetizers, Mint Juleps (1 free for the first 100 peeps), Hat Contest, Race Track Game."

January 2 @ 9PM. Get your $10 tix here.

SCREEN: D.W. Griffith @ MOMA (10/14 - 16)

MOMA will be screenings a few shorts from film pioneer (and Kentuckyian) D.W. Griffith 10/14 - 10/16:

Between the summers of 1908 and 1913, mediocre actor and failed writer David Wark Griffith (1874–1948) transformed the medium of film more drastically than any other filmmaker in the history of cinema. During his time at Biograph, Griffith transcended the primitive visual grammar of his predecessors, distilling a mature expressiveness capable of wielding great emotional power over his audiences. Aided by the cinematographic wizardry of G. W. “Billy” Bitzer, Griffith developed the technical facility to translate the vivid workings of his imagination into motion pictures. This small selection of shorts (mostly in newly restored prints preserved by the Museum), drawn from the approximately four hundred that he made at Biograph, offers a mere glimpse of his prodigious accomplishments during this period. All films silent. (source)

The Country Doctor

1909. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Frank Powell, Florence Lawrence, Kate Bruce, Mary Pickford. 15 min.

A Corner in Wheat

1909. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Frank Powell, Linda Arvidson, Henry B. Walthall, Mack Sennett. 15 min.

The Honor of His Family

1910. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Henry B. Walthall, Verner Charges, Kate Bruce, Linda Arvidson. 16 min.

The Lonedale Operator

1911. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Blanche Sweet, George O. Nicholls, Francis J. Grandon, Wilfred Lucas. 16 min.

The Painted Lady

1912. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Blanche Sweet, Madge Kirby, Charles Hill Mailes, Harry Carey, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish. 15 min.

The Battle at Elderbush Gulch

1913. USA. Directed by D. W. Griffith. With Mae Marsh, Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Henry B. Walthall. 32 min.

BOOK: All The Living by C.E. Morgan

From Publishers Weekly
Morgan's enchanting debut follows the travails of a young woman who moves to Kentucky with her bereaved lover in 1984. Aloma, herself an orphan from a young age, leaves her job at the mission school where she was raised to help her taciturn boyfriend, Orren, with his family farm after his family is killed in a car accident. Once at the farm, he retreats into himself and working the land, leaving Aloma to wrestle with her desire to pursue her dream of being a concert pianist. As her relationship with Orren becomes more collision than cohabitation, Aloma finds in a local preacher a deep friendship that complicates her feelings for Orren, who drags his feet on marrying her. Young Aloma's growing understanding of love and devotion in the midst of deep despair is delicately and persuasively rendered through the lens of belief—be it in religion, relationships or music. Morgan's prose holds the rhythm of the local dialect beautifully, evoking the land, the farming lifestyle and Aloma's awakening with stirring clarity. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Morgan's enchanting debut follows the travails of a young woman who moves to Kentucky with her bereaved lover in 1984. Aloma, herself an orphan from a young age, leaves her job at the mission school where she was raised to help her taciturn boyfriend, Orren, with his family farm after his family is killed in a car accident. Once at the farm, he retreats into himself and working the land, leaving Aloma to wrestle with her desire to pursue her dream of being a concert pianist. As her relationship with Orren becomes “more collision than cohabitation,” Aloma finds in a local preacher a deep friendship that complicates her feelings for Orren, who drags his feet on marrying her. Young Aloma's growing understanding of love and devotion in the midst of deep despair is delicately and persuasively rendered through the lens of belief—be it in religion, relationships or music. Morgan's prose holds the rhythm of the local dialect beautifully, evoking the land, the farming lifestyle and Aloma's awakening with stirring clarity.”—Publishers Weekly

“As I read the opening pages of All The Living I was suddenly no longer in my study but gazing out at the leafy tobacco plants of a small Kentucky farm where a young couple are struggling to make their living, and their lives. In seemingly effortless prose, C.E. Morgan captures both the complexity and the simplicity of Orren's relentlessly hard work and Aloma's dangerous drift towards another man. A wonderful debut.” —Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street.

JOB OP: Kentucky Derby Chief Party Officer

Churchill Downs is hiring for the best "job" in America:

2009 KENTUCKY DERBY CHIEF PARTY OFFICER

It’s time for "Stymie,” your 2008 Chief Party Officer to hand off his crown to the new 2009 Kentucky Derby CPO and he wants YOU to apply for the job!

HURRY! DEADLINE TO ENTER IS FEBRUARY 28th, TO GET YOUR VIDEOS IN!

Enter now for your chance to become the 2009 Kentucky Derby CPO. Here's what you need to do:

1. Click on the link and complete the CPO contest entry form.
2. Once your entry form has been submitted, you will be sent to our official Chief Party Officer Facebook page.
3. On Facebook, click “Become a Fan,” at the top of the page, then upload your two-minute video explaining why you think you have what it takes to become the 2009 Kentucky Derby CPO!

SCENE: 3 Looks At Appalachia

Photo credit: Robert & Shiiko Alexander

Like so many before her, Diane Sawyer travels to her home state of Kentucky tonight to report on the extreme poverty that continues to exist in the eastern part of the state. The special airs tonight (2/13) on ABC's 20/20 @ 10PM.

From ABC: "Isolated pockets in Central Appalachia have three times the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest life span in the nation, toothlessness, cancer and chronic depression. It's been 41 years since Robert Kennedy called on the rest of America to reach out and help the people of Appalachia. For nearly two years, ABC News cameras followed four Appalachian children, each one facing unimaginable obstacles."

Early previews about this upcoming story on the ABC site drew over 150 responses, many of which were in protest by "educated and non-toothless" eastern Kentuckyians defending their part of the state. This sentiment is also shared by a very cool (thoughtful and exhaustive) blog called Hillbilly Savants whose mission statement reads:

"This blog is about our Appalachia - the real one, not the Hollywood-stereotype nor the third-world nation-esque stereotype being sold by do-gooders, or even the neo-Romantic sylvan stereotype that Rousseau would probably buy into. It should be interesting."

For more views of the Appalachian region (beyond Kentucky) be sure to check out the winners of the 6th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) on view at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC from March 6 - June 6, 2009.

The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) is a program of Appalachian's Outdoor Programs in partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. The AMPC has grown to become a prominent regional competition attracting the work of amateur and professional photographers from up and down the East Coast allowing them the opportunity to celebrate the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.

The AMPC is sponsored by Virtual Blue Ridge, the premier Blue Ridge Parkway resource with generous support from Bistro Roca and Antlers Bar of Blowing Rock, NC and Peabody's Beer and Wine Merchants of Boone, NC.

AMPC does more than highlight the great talent of the amateur and professional photographers whose images are selected. A large portion of the proceeds subsidize the cost of Appalachian students participating in Outdoor Programs Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions (SOLE). SOLE trips are educational journeys of discovery that take Appalachian students around the world. Previous SOLE trips have taken students to New Zealand, Alaska, Fiji and Wales and award academic credit to participating students.

For more information about the 2009 competition and its partners and sponsors, visit www.op.appstate.edu.

SCENE/ART: UPCOMING SOUTHERN ARTS FESTIVALS

Coles Corner Image

The South nabs half the spots on American Style Magazine’s readers’ poll of the top arts festivals in the county (Feb 09 issue, out now):

Kentucky Crafted: The Market Louisville, Ky.

Kentucky Crafted: The Market is something of a hybrid show. The first two days are only open to the trade. Once the weekend hits, the show opens to the public, who turn out en masse to purchase work made exclusively by Kentucky artisans. “It’s well-stocked with a variety of talented artists,” explains attendee Jennifer Escobar of Berea, Ky. “The entertainment is high quality, the city is lovely, and the food is excellent!” Kentucky Crafted: The Market reopens to the public Feb. 21-22 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. For details, visit www.artscouncil.ky.gov.

Bayou City Art Festival Houston, Texas

“The weather is always great, the music is always great, and the art is always great!” says reader Danielle Foulkrod-Chema of Pearland, Texas. The Bayou City Art Festival, held biannually in Houston, seems to be blessed with good weather; many of its supporters specifically mentioned it as a highlight of the festival. Food, atmosphere and children’s activities also earned raves, but the art is what makes this festival a perennial reader favorite. The Bayou City Art Festival returns to Memorial Park March 27-29 and will surround City Hall Oct. 10-11. To learn more, visit www.bayoucityartfestival.com.

St. James Court Art Show Louisville, Ky.

With a backdrop of historic homes almost as picturesque as the art on display, the St. James Court Art Show is among the largest in the country, with 750 juried exhibitors. “The vendors and visitors come from all over the U.S., and you have such a mix of wonderful items to view and purchase,” enthuses local resident Donna Wallace. The festival has grown significantly since its 1957 inception as a clothesline exhibition, and is still produced by a group of five nonprofits. The show returns Oct. 2-4. To learn more, visit www.stjamescourtartshow.com.

Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College Midway, Ky.

Another festival earning accolades for its idyllic setting is the still-young Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival, held on the campus of Midway College in Midway, Ky., a 205-acre working farm. “Francisco’s Farm is an outstanding art festival drawing artists and craftspeople from several states,” says supporter Jane Vancee of Versailles, Ky. “It is held in a beautiful setting … as pretty as any place in England!” The fifth annual event takes place June 27-28 in the heart of Kentucky horse country with more than 150 artists working in all mediums. Visit www.franciscosfarm.org for information

Kentuck Festival of the Arts Northport, Ala.

“I make a pilgrimage to Kentuck every year because I am guaranteed to find amazing work, and ninety-five percent of the time I get to meet the artist who created it,” says Ashley Day of Brooklyn, N.Y. “The quality is consistently outstanding.” Few other shows in the top 10 received so many votes from out-of-towners, singling this fair out as a particularly special event. With more than 300 artists in a wooded park, the festival features a wide range of work, from contemporary craft to folk and outsider art. The festival returns Oct. 17-18. For more information, visit www.kentuck.org.

BOOK/SCENE: Yankee Go Home!

In the spirit of the harrowing Appalshop film, Stranger With a Camera, Edra Ziesk's new novel, Trespasser, "captures the struggle of one small community in Kentucky when it is visited by a photographer from New York."

Ziesk is joined by North Carolina author Kate Blackwell at McNally Jackson Booksellers in Soho tonight (1/27) @ 7PM. The reading is part of McNally Jackson's Indie Press Series which honors the work of small independent publishers. Ziesk and Blackwell are published by Southern Methodist University Press. Founded in 1937 in Dallas, it's the oldest UP in TX.

SOUNDS: My Morning Jacket @ MSG 12/31

If I wasn't going to be in Nashville for New Year's I'd be getting lucky with these Kentucky's. Time Out NY says: My Morning Jacket might not play sophisticated rock, but they’re easily one of the most vigorous and magical bands performing today. To mark the drama of this gig (New Year’s at MSG? Is there any greater honor for a band?), the Jacket asks that you show them some high style with black-tie attire. The dress-up thing might seem an odd match for a quasi jam band, but then again, when it comes to partying, My Morning Jacket always goes all the way.

When: Dec 31 9pm @ Madison Square Garden (tickets)

SCREEN/SOUNDS/SPORT: Southern-ish Events in NYC 11/14 – 11/18

Lots out southern-ish things to do, hear and see this weekend and spilling into next week:

NOVEMBER 14 – 20 @ Film Forum: My good friend Harrod has a dad who has been touted by the NY Times as “one of our most original filmmakers…A master of movies about the American idiom.” Many of his documentaries were shot in, around or about Southern stuff: the blues, a Texas sharecropper, Louisiana Cajuns, cultural roots, old time tales, an Appalachian fiddler, backwoods characters, good whisky, native folkways. Film Forum is running a retrospective of Les Blank films 11/14 – 20.

SATURDAY 11/15 @ 3:30PM: The South Carolina Alumni Club of NYC invites you to watch the Gamecocks peck the snout outta the Gators…or something like that. Anyway, they’ll all be watching the game at Cooper Door Tavern.

SATURDAY 11/15: Oxford, MS Americana band Blue Mountain has reunited and hits NYC for 2 shows today: 7PM @ Lakeside Lounge in the East Village and 11:45PM @ Hank’s Saloon in Bklyn.

SUNDAY 11/16 @ 12noon: Allen Toussaint: New Orleans Benefit Brunch @ Joe’s Pub. I don’t see this listed on the Joe’s Pub site but Time Out NY says it’s on & poppin’.

SUNDAY 11/16 @ 4:15PM: Join the Tennessee Titans Meetup group at Sidebar to watch the undefeated ballers try to hold onto the top spot. Rory & Dan say: “In case you forgot to check today's power ranking, Yes, We are still #1!”

MONDAY 11/17 @ 7:30PM: We don’t really count TX as part of the South but these bands are too cool to leave out. Centro-Matic + One Baptist General + South San Gabriel @ Mercury Lounge. Also, playing the following night (11/18) @ The Bell House in Bklyn.

MONDAY 11/17 @ 7:30PM: New Yorker Josh Joplin + Nashvillian Garrison Starr = Among The Oak & Ash. They play “Appalachian murder ballads” tonight @ Joe’s Pub.

TUESDAY 11/18: C-A-T-S!!!! CATS!!! CATS!!! CATS!!!
Darin Sergent, GM of Mercury Bar and UK Alum, is rallying the b-ball troops: “We have a HUGE basketball game against UNC (11/18) and a big season ahead of us Cat Fans so come on by Mercury Bar (493 3rd Ave, bet. 33rd & 34th St) for all the NCAA action going on with Billy ‘Clyde’ Gillespie and his team led by big man Patrick Patterson. We will be showing all games through the ESPN FullCourt Package throughout the season so you don’t have to miss a game here in the big city…being so far away from home!!!”

ART: The Mark Of Great Art exhibit opens in NYC 10/22

The Maker's Mark "Mark Of Great Art" exhibit opens in NYC tomorrow (10/22) @ the Astor Center (Gallery Room), 399 Lafayette Street (at East 4th Street) NYC 10003.

“For over 50 years, Maker’s Mark has handcrafted their product, with every bottle considered a work of art. Now we are sponsoring a different project, one that gives Kentucky artists international prominence,” said Rob Samuels, Director of Global Brand Development for Maker’s Mark and concept developer of this new program.

In March 2008, Maker's Mark put out a call to Kentucky-based artists. Over 120 applications were narrowed down to 51 participating artists by a jury of experts. Each of these artists visited the historic Maker's Mark distillery to gain inspiration for their piece(s). The total collection has now be broken up into eight mini-collections, with each going to a different city: Louisville, Lexington, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, London and Madrid, where they will remain indefinitely. The pieces will be placed in bars and restaurants throughout these cities. MM will host a one-night event in each city where people can view the collection in one place (each city will receive about 15 pieces). Click here to view the dates, locations, and times of upcoming events.

BOOK: Knitting & Nana...

I have warm childhood memories of little handknit yummies bestowed upon me by my, now 93 year old, grandmother. She used to knit us scarves and blankets and maybe some gloves but my alltime favorite was a white hat with blue - somewhere between royal and baby…maybe something in the neighborhood of UNC blue – anyway, a white hat with blue letters that spelled out my name – A N N E, and topped off with a magical matching pom pom.

A few years back, while traveling thru Appalachian Kentucky (Hatfield & McCoy country) I ran across a sweet little lady knitting wool caps in a store affiliated with the acclaimed documentary house Appalshop. The hipster knitting craze had taken over NYC at the time and both experiences melded into the bright idea of me asking my nana to teach me. However, I couldn’t seem to abide by the Mason-Dixon Knitting Rule Number 1: “Knitting is spoze to be fun.”

So, I gave up.

Luckily, for those who stuck with it, the bi-regional (NYC/Nashville) Mason Dixon knitting crew is back with their second book: Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines. Even if knitting’s not your thing, their story alone is pretty cool: KAY GARDINER and ANN SHAYNE met on an online knitting message board years ago, and their correspondence has grown into a community of more than 150,000 knitters, and 2 published books!

Their book tour comes to the NYC area this week:
NEW YORK, NY, Thursday, October 16
6:00pm, beloved Knitty City

NEW YORK, NY, Friday, October 17
TBA, sleek and fabulous Purl Soho

RHINEBECK, NY, Sunday, October 19
10:00am-4:00pm, the surreal experience that is the NY Sheep & Wool Festival

NEW YORK, NY, Tuesday, October 21
6:30pm, the beautifully bookish Brooklyn Public Library