Our Quickies-For-Valentine's Day

Maybe it was the truly great women who signed up for Bean Up The Nose Art's "Quickie Class: Matchbox Valentines" last Saturday evening . . . one of whom said at the end of class, "We've been giving a back seat to our creative needs. And they need to climb up into the front seat now!"

Maybe it was the art journal page Bean Up The Nose Art made the morning before, envisioning holding the class space and the folks in it with fun and love.

Maybe it was the terrific class venue: Sunny Day Salvage, in Fairfax, CA (which we've talked about here before).

Maybe it was the bubbly we provided :)

Whatever the reason, whatever combination of them, we are most grateful for getting to "teach" one of our most fun, rip-roaring classes so far.

By "teach," we mean that the eight women who were "students" needed only about 30 seconds worth of explanation of how to turn matchboxes:

into Valentines. Then, the rip-roaring began. Because those gals were off and running. Rummaging through the materials provided. Sharing scissors, glue, pinking sheers, Dresden foil bits . . . and lots of jokes and laughter about . . . well, what girls say about Valentine's-type topics. Folding, glueing, cutting.

This is not an exaggeration: what I did after the first 30 seconds of "instruction" was help find more glue. Pour some more champagne. Pass around the chocolates.

And in the 90 minutes we had together, these women created matchbox Valentines much more cool and innovative than the sample I'd pulled together. For example.

This one ended up including a PUZZLE on the inside!

Another artist composed and folded a two-sided story book into hers.

Three-dimensionality ruled.

And voila! Folks went on to design and make their own bounty of Valentine's cards, too.

What an absolute treat to spend that Saturday evening time with women who jumped in with such gusto, who were creative and confident and content in their makings-of-love. It was a gift to me to be in the company of folks who already believed they could make art. Who understood already that, as one woman said of the students she teaches to sing when they think they can't, "They're not failing. They're just confused." Who already knew that when we doubt ourselves as artists, we just need to get ourselves unconfused and unstuck. What joy to spend that time with eight folks already grounded in this understanding, who confidently went forward and made SO MUCH COOL STUFF! And who were funny, and kind to each other, and supportive -- of the folks they already knew, and of the new friends they made that night. too.

It was one of those times when I giggle inside with glee, in delight at what is going on around me, and thinking I also get paid for it :) Thank you, "students." YOU RULE!!!!

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And now, a plug for our next Valentine's Day Quickie!!!

Hoping that if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, you will stop on by the new studio space and

Yep! Come on over to 2 Florence Ave. in San Anselmo, CA. From 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. this coming Saturday afternoon, February 4.

Bean Up The Nose Art is teaming up with two other great local artists to provide a one-stop shopping spot for Valentine's Day goodies: cards, mugs, jewelry, and other gifty-goods!

We're joined by Willow Older of Cheeky Kiwi Creations.

And the fabulous Suskia, who makes great steampunk-and-more jewelry. (My bad: this photo does not do it justice.)

And awesome felt creations.

And, of course, we've got cards for you:)

Hoping to see folks here this Saturday afternoon. Cool indoor studio space. Bubbly and treats while you shop. What's not to like?

Thanks for playing :)

I think it's a DIY world, after all.

Today, Bean Up The Nose Art tackles . . . wait for it . . . REALITY.

Yes.

The Whole Enchilada. The Entire Shebang. And we also propose why we should all go out and make our owned darned versions of it.

Ready?

Come on!!!

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Bean Up The Nose Art got its name from the time I ran up to my mom and assured her, "I DON'T HAVE A BEAN UP MY NOSE!"

(Button = gift of my fabulous Twitter friends @sally_K and @fun_master.)

All of my issues with "reality" are apparent right there.

1. We don't truly know what is going on in any situation until we live it ourselves. ("Hey! Let's see what happens if I put this up my nose!")

2. Humans always spin situations based on their own agendas. ("Wait! I know! I'll just tell her it's not there!")

3. Confidence in your view will not necessarily win the day, and untruths will come to light. ("She didn't believe me?!?!?")

4. You never really know for sure how things are going to turn out. (For instance, I do not know the end of the story. My mom has passed away, and my dad cannot remember the outcome. For all I know, the bean is still up there. And lo these many years later, it has became a kick-ass business name. Who knew?)

In short, my healthy dose of curiosity about -- and potential skepticism over -- the rules, authority, and how things worked was apparently something I was born with.

And it just got more pronounced.

When we learned division in grammar school, I asked what happened if you divided by zero. I was told, literally, "You cannot do it. It is impossible."

Fast-forward to more advanced math classes a few years later . . . where, lo and behold, you COULD -- and SHOULD -- divide by zero! Because that was how you got to imaginary numbers, which was part of the assignment.

WHAT?!?!?!?

In fourth grade, you couldn't divide by zero. Because it was IMPOSSIBLE. But in seventh grade, you HAD TO?!?!?!

I was outraged.

Here's how that translated in my particular let's-stick-a-bean-up-our-nose brain: in that instant, what I internalized was that "reality" and rules and whatever else gets portrayed as "the truth" by folks in authority is really just one version of things. (A darker perspective: it's an outright lie, perpetuated by any number of motives . . . including being too tired to explain to a fourth grader that one actually could some day learn to divide by zero, but it just was not going to happen today.)

Nowadays, my attitude toward folks pedaling any version of the "the truth," is to smile to myself on the inside and say, "Okay. It's your version. If it helps us, let's go with it."

To me, all religion, and all science, is -- at its best -- a set of the best conjectures and best faiths based on the best information folks have got on hand at the time. Things change. Perspectives change. Information changes. No one really, really, really knows what happens when we die. Or who's running things. Or how the universe started. No one does, for sure. None of it can be absolutely proved, or disproved. All faith and all science is simply a matter of a set of beliefs.

And all of this is to say that I am increasingly frustrated and sad about humans' predilections to get their panties in a bunch about what "the truth" is, and how the rest of the world should believe it, too.

When no one can prove for certain what is true and what isn't in these matters, why can't we just admit that, and be kinder to each other about it all?

And, in fact, why can't we view it as a glorious opportunity to create our own versions of how we want our worlds to be? Because if "the truth" and "reality" are really only versions of how things are, why can't we make up new and better ones?

I for one would make up a world where the more soft and flabby skin you develop on your neck as a mid-life woman, the more powerful and attractive you become. That would be a start. And then we would tackle world hunger, war, illiteracy, slavery, racism, and poverty.

Hoping you will join me in your own do-it-yourself reality-making. To the extent we can. Whatver that is. Because who the heck really knows? But since no one can really prove to us that we can't, WHY THE HECK NOT TRY?!?!

Thanks for playing. Keep us posted on your results :)

Featured Fabulousness: Meryl Rose Phillips

We here at Bean Up The Nose Art would like to introduce you to one of our favorite creations: fabulous daughter (and artist, and oh so many other things) Meryl Phillips.

(This photo via wonderful Heather Kenney.)

We cannot take all the credit. Other people were involved. And this chick came into the world already packing her own amazing brand of can-do spirit.

She was, after all, the kid who explained to me as a six-year-old how to get over sadness:

"Two anger and and four happiness molecules come into my forehead. And then, I'm not sad any more."

And how she got over her fear of dogs:

"I said to myself, 'Meryl, you're going to be around dogs your whole life -- now, just get over it.' And then I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and did a 'poof' with my fingers, to make it stick."

And she's just become even more savvy and wonderful with age. These days, 26 years old.

Meryl's a 2009 studio art major graduate (minor in film) from Mills College.

She won awards. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa. I'm telling you this because a) I am her mom and I am proud of her and b) she pulled out of UC Davis as a sophomore when she was bombing out. And figured out what to do next, each step along the way. And went back to college with a better fit. And kicked ass. WE LIKE THAT WAY OF DOING THINGS.

Art from Mills time. Senior installation, examining neighborhoods of Oakland.

She did not want to take the required sculpting class. Voila.

She started Mills to study film and videography. She made butt-kicking documentaries there. But she didn't want to take the required drawing class, because she didn't think she could draw. She found out you could learn.

In the years since graduation, Meryl has strung together a stunning range of jobs and activities. Even more than us, Meryl is truly The Boss Of Herself.

She designs and draws by hand these shoes . . . which landed her in juried craft fairs, and now a designer spot at Bucket Feet.

For the past three years, she and her boyfriend Chris have been renovating their house in Oakland, which Meryl chronicles every step of the way on her blog, Picardy Project. There, her kick-ass nature abounds, replete with cussing and honesty and humor. The other day she let drop in a conversation that companies post her all the time, asking to advertise on her site. She ignores them, because she thinks it would cramp her style.

She is way more fearless than we are.

And she wields a mean skill saw.

But that's not all.

Nope.

When Meryl was three-years-old (and still sucking her thumb), we took her to her first baseball game. A night game at the Oakland Coliseum, before it became the Al Davis Travesty. As we came out to our seats on the third deck, with the green green green field spread out before us in the lights, Meryl stopped and stood stock still. She pulled her thumb out of her mouth, to exclaim in awe, "This is a VERY BEAUTIFUL PLACE!"

And from then on, she was an As fan.

And since 2008 when she got an internship there, she's been working every season behind the camera, behind the desk, behind the scenes as a slo-mo and still store/PDR operator. What does that mean? Well . . . she knows who wins every Dot Race and Under The Cap game. And the answer to all the Player Trivia questions. And who's going to be up on Diamond Vision. And sometimes, you see her out in the crowd, filming. Or down on the field. She's also a part of the film and video team for the Raiders, has worked for the Warriors, and Earthquakes.

She's also an organizer, personal assistant, bookkeeper, girl Friday to anyone lucky enough to book a slice of her time. Like we get to, every once in a while. Because she also trains really hard as an athlete, and is an incredibly fast distance runner.

And when she's got a cold and needs some down time? When she's feeling "unproductive?" She'll design and whip out a Kindle case from scratch in an afternoon . . . .

Here's a big, fat, wonderful Bean Up The Nose Art cheer for fellow artist, uber hip and crafty and oh-so-energetic go-getter . . . and fabulous daughter . . . Meryl Rose Phillips. As she said just yesterday when helping out Bean Up The Nose Art in our new digs, "Life needs more exclamation points." Meryl Rosie, here's a big helping for you!!!!!!! We are actually in awe of you, and think the Universe must be a pretty darned wonderful place if we were lucky enough to be a part of your making. YOU RULE!!!!!