Please allow me to thank those that have been so supportive and constructive with their opinions and advice. Lauren S., Vanessa V., Karen T., Sharon H., Jaci L., Frank M., Keith S., Mike P., Phil L., Rick H., Amy N., Peter N., George S., Trina A., Terri Z., Jim R., Kristen S., Amy S., Amy J., Hannah M thanks a million!

Don’t worry about me, after I polish off this bottle of 2006 La Crema Pinot in a sloshy, sloppy pity party celebration , I’m starting a new blog on Tuesday, please come visit at lisamertins.com. More wackiness, chicken scoops and art stuff (hopefully, no more dead pets!).

P.S. The shoes were a metaphor…tee hee!!!

“I’m a mother of three, no longer a young woman. The raciest I get is wearing fishnet stockings hidden under a pair of boots. Not too long ago I would have looked at sexy shoes and scoffed at their impracticality. I wouldn’t go near fur and alligator printed leather would have been too outlandish for my taste.

In a recent funk, I was having a latte at the mall and stopped mid-sip. I couldn’t take my eyes off the shoes a woman coming toward me had on. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or how she was lightly holding the man’s hand she was with. Whatever made her posture erect and her butt stick out made for an arresting sight. I was smitten, lusting over her impractical pumps and like a woman obsessed, I lost my head. I had to have those shoes! No way could I ask her where she got them, I took a chance and searched all the stores in the mall until I finally saw them on a pedestal in a shoe store. Those heavens opened and angels sang.

(more…)

This past weekend, I was in NorCal celebrating my birthday with my bf. We art hopped all over wine country, our first stop was the studio of Laura Hoffman. I was captivated by the paintings in the window. Luminous, transparent, dreamy, I knew instantly it was encaustic, a technique I had just read about last week. The image above is from ancient Egypt.

Encaustic is mix of beeswax and varnish as a medium for paint. Yet, there were things suspended, enrobed and partially hidden in Laura’s work. This is the elusive result I’ve looked for most all of my career as an artist.

The ability to look down through the wax and paint layers creates mystique and meaning for me. A new assignment will be the perfect chance to try it out. Check this spot in the coming week (or two?). I’ll give updates on my progress.

First challenge, the hunt for Damar resin chunks. Our local art store, Sterling Art in Irvine doesn’t have them. Dang! To be continued…

Any ladies out there remember the Candies “Disco Slide?” Though I was a lousy dancer (think “the Elaine”), I ran with a crowd of girls that hit the South OC clubs like McCormick’s Landing and Deja Vu long before they should have. I got caught up in it once or twice (wink). Candies were The Shoe of the moment so I saved up from my Del Taco on Dyer gig to buy a pair.

Cherry red was the color and I imagined the fun I’d have in them. But that heel was enormous! I was used to black and white saddle oxfords in those days. And walking around in those Candies was torture. I didn’t wear them long and passed them on to a friend. I’d ditched them for a pair of Sperry Top Siders and an overly long sailing season.

Both pair of shoes I haven’t seen in a million years. The Candies might be found in a thrift store somewhere, probably very worse for wear. And the Top Siders got misplaced. The last I heard they were hiding in the closet of a Cassis of Kent Sloop on their way to Trinidad.

My bff Lauren recently inherited a pair of fabulous shoes her grandmother had cherished. They are adorable, classic and Lauren always admired them. Some shoes can move a woman in that way. They fit perfectly, go anywhere and look smashing. And when their owner is gone, they’re worthy of handing down to the next generation.

Like a good friend that never lets you down, this pair is like that for me. I’ve experienced high times in these shoes and every time I wear them, delightful memories rush me. The lines are classic, the heel, high enough to be elegant and that bow on the toe is the perfect touch. These shoes ooze class and character. I’ll pass them along with the hope that whoever gets them next will feel as lucky as I did to have them in my life.

I’m dedicating this post to my dear friend and former co-worker George Turney, born on this day in 1959. A good friend and a wonderful man. I miss you George!

What’s this poor guy to do? It’s raining tarts! Thank goodness he has a sturdy umbrella. Doesn’t that sun look like a creep? He probably had something to do with the falling tart.

Will it rain in Orange County this weekend? I’ll be getting out my own ‘brella. Meanwhile, I’m thanking my lucky stars this spam subject line fell into my filter not so long ago…

Every year around Halloween, I usually have a related assignment and I find myself elbow deep in squishy paper mache. Ultimately, I kick myself for not starting my own projects sooner because the medium is one of my favorites.
Today, Hannah and Kristen helped me start the bases for skulls, pumpkins and the head for the santos I’m making. You can see a few of them hanging from the re-bar santos base (Hannah left, Kristen right).

A couple of years ago, I tried to make a candy holder like the old ones seen around this time on Ebay. It didn’t turn out so hot, I’ll try again this year.

Celluclay is the best instant paper mache in my opinion. A thin base layer is the key to success and letting that base dry for two days gives the project a good start. I’ll decorate them with found objects like the great wheels I found at Muff’s Antiques in the Orange Circle.

My son Ethan’s going to do something too, he says he’ll surprise me. I’ll post the results in a couple of weeks.

Any woman, young or old is going to be attracted to a well crafted, beautifully appointed shoe like this pair I saw a while back in San Francisco. You know how it is when everything seems really dreamy when it’s set in a perfect place like San Francisco?

I tried them on and walked around the city, watching the clouds speed overhead. A delicious dinner at Boulevard and my favorite glass of wine and I felt like these shoes could really show me a splendid time. Oh, la la! They were fetching and sexy, but the wind came up and everything got kind of chilly.

Mostly though, there was something about the way they seemed almost too slick and perfect. Like they’d been around those blocks so many times on so many other women. That’s why I named them “The Professionals.”

When I wore the same pair in the North Bay town of Santa Rosa later, that’s when I really noticed it’s flaws. Those sky high heels translated into a 10 minute pump (if a girl was lucky) which annoyed the hell out of me for such an expensive pair. That’s the kind of high-priced shoe that could cause a fight or ruin a relationship, a pair I’d get tired of quick. In the end, they didn’t really appeal to me. As much as I love a good time in a beautiful city, I realized I sort of transfered my love of the city on to those shoes. In the end, I never wore them again.

This week’s spam subject line “Levi old pedestal” matches Illustration Friday’s topic this week “the blues.” So watch me do it twice - post that is - my favorite blues, Levis. Oh I love my Levis! I could be happy in nothing but Levis for all the rest of my days. Levis and a pair of Coach peek-a-toe pumps.