bitterfig

On Sunday I was working in the office but I took an hour off and met my sister and her family at the Renegade Craft Fair being held at the Pulaski Park field house.  I found a gift for my mother.  There was a vendor who made journal/sketchbooks out of old hardcover books.  One of them was made out of a 1951 Whitman Publishing company copy of Margaret Sidney’s The Five Little Peppers which was the exact same edition mum used to read us a chapter of every night for a bedtime story (she also read us Little Women and the Little House books this way.  I have my issues with mum but I do appreciate some of the things she did.)  She’ll either love it or think it’s horrible to cut up a book and make it into a journal. 

 

Last year I didn’t really give gifts as I was scarcely making my living expenses but I’m doing somewhat better now and am trying to get everyone something though I do wish I had more time and energy to make things.  In addition to the journal I also got my mother a pair of Bratz Lil’ Angelz holiday ornaments that she admired in Target when she was visiting.  They’re really cute with big heads and huge eyes.  I like dolls that are very exaggerated and cartoony and aren’t intend to look real.

 

I got my father a copy of the film To End All Wars, a film set in a prisoner of war camp during WWII.  I’d watched it a couple of months ago because I’m semi-obsessed with one of the actors who appears in it (Mark Strong) but I think he’ll find it interesting both for the historical element and it’s exploration of morality and spiritual issues.  It’s really an extremely powerful film, particularly in today’s climate where we’re being told that torture is acceptable and really being encouraged to view “the enemy” as less than human.  To End All Wars contains scenes involving a sort of primitive water-boarding and you realize it’s a horrible act of violence, not an “intensive interrogation” method.  Also, though the film is told from the perspective of Allied POW’s there’s a Japanese character, a translator, who is shown to be a kindred spirit to the narrator.  At its heart it really shows how honor codes trap men, Japanese and Western a like and how following the teachings of Christ is very much contrary to the ideas of good vs evil and us vs them that fuel wars. 

 

I’m also hoping to make some Christmas gifts.  A few days ago I bought some flour and salt (since I don’t actually have flour or salt in my apartment, the closest I get is textured vegetable protein and soy sauce) and am going to try and make bread dough ornaments.  I’ve haven’t gotten to it yet because 1) I had to work on stories that were due of 12/12 and 12/15 for 

fem_exchangeand yuri_challengeand 2) Winter weather makes my skin very dry and I get fissures in my fingers and I imagine kneading a dough made with a cup of salt would get very painful.  However I 've finished the stories and my hands seem to be healed so maybe tomorrow night....

 

After my bike ride this morning I stopped at No Friction, a little coffee shop near California and Armitage that I’ve been meaning to go in for a while.  I don’t go to coffee shops and cafes very often because of my various money and food issues but sometimes it’s nice to be in a public place and just have a drink and read.  The last time I did this, a couple of weeks ago, I went to the Starbucks at California and Logan because it was a gorgeous day and they have a really lovely outdoor seating/garden area but overall I  prefer to support independently owned places as much as possible cuz I’d hate to see them go away. 

 

No Friction seemed really pleasant, cool and quite, lots of texture, some interesting art on display.  They had a community book shelf where you can bring books you don’t want, which I ought to do.  I have a few things I’ve read and didn’t care for or am never going to read or have multiple copies of that I may as well pass along. 

 

While I was drinking my iced-tea, I looked through a copy of The Chicago Tribune someone had left on the table.  In the “At Play” section there was a big article on the Chicago Craft Mafia and the whole DIY crafts scene.  My sister, Vienna, who made strange and amazing stuffed animals called Poog-goos, was fairly active in Chicago’s DIY craft scene a couple of years ago and I was marginally involved.  We participated in shows like Renegade Craft Fair, the DIY Truck show and Dept-Ment and she sold her stuffed Poog-goos in a couple of shops including the nifty but now defunct Monkey Business at Chicago and Damen and at Quimby’s on North Avenue.  I think she got discouraged because it took so much effort for her to make Poog-goos and they sold slowly.  Also even though the focus on DIY is supposed to be that things are handmade and unique but the Poog-goos individuality actually seemed to work against them and crafters who made things with a more assembly line feel to them were much more popular.  Also of course when she’d started out she had one child was very young and portable.  Having two active, mobile children made it a lot harder to make Poog-goos or do shows.  As for me between my job, depression and my increased focus on writing I went from being fairly prolific at knocking out dozens of nifty little figurines and paintings to being lucky if I can do a few drawings a month.   

 

So for the time being, both Vienna and I limit our participation in the DIY scene to occasionally attending the shows.  According to the article, there are quite a few coming up (all of these are in Chicago, IL)—

 

Renegade Craft Fair
Wicker Park
Noon to 10 p.m.
September 15-16
renegadecraft.com

 

DIY Trunk Show
Pulaski Park Auditorium
1419 W Blackhawk St.
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
November 17
diytruckshow.com

 

Chicago Craft Mafia Racket
Uncommon Ground
3800 N Clark St.
6-9 pm
September 26
chicagocraftmafia.com

 

I’m gonna try and go to all of these.  Maybe I’ll be inspired. 

 

I’m not someone who puts much stock in astrology but as I was continuing to read the paper I glanced at my horoscope--

 

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Today is a 7. There's a thin line between garbage, recyclables and priceless antique treasures. Sometimes they're all piled in together. Take extra care sorting.

 

I thought that was surprisingly apt in light of my thoughts regarding the my artwork as well as the community book shelf and also because my downstairs neighbors are moving out today and I’m planning on scoping the alley after they’re gone to see if they abandoned anything I can use.