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The Perks of Being an Artist

Category Archives: kindness

so many kinds of yes

11 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by emilypageart in culture, gratitude, health, kindness, mental health, tattooing, Uncategorized, writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

coping with depression, depression, ee cummings, ee cummings tattoo, poetry, reminder of the good in life, so many kinds of yes, stanza, sweet spring, tattoo, tattooing

I have a rule for myself: if I get an idea for a tattoo I want, I have to wait a year before I can get it. If I still want it a year later, then it’s not likely that I’ll regret the tattoo later in life. Well, it’s been more than a year since I got the idea for this tattoo, and 6 years since my last tattoo, so I decided it was time. Plus, I’ve never been tattooed by my tattoo mentor Julio, and I own a freakin’ tattoo shop. Julio had a little free time today, so I chained him to his tattoo chair and put him to work, even though today is his birthday (everyone say “Happy Birthday, Julio!!!!”).

My dad kept a magazine picture, of a little girl from a third world country carrying a jug of water on her head, in his music room to remind him that it could always be worse and that he really had it very good. It was one of the ways he dealt with his own depression. It helped him keep his life in perspective. To me, the picture just depressed me more, because not only did her situation not actually make my brain any more functional, but it frustrated me both that the world would allow her to have to live like that and that I couldn’t do anything about it. Reminding myself that I have an easy life just made me angrier that I still wasn’t able to be happy.

So instead, I’m choosing to just keep reminding myself to look for the good that’s all around me. Thank you Mr. Rogers. I have a stanza from an ee cummings poem printed out and taped onto the lightswitch in my art studio so that I see it coming and going. It’s a reminder that spring is always present in a million little ways if I just look hard enough. The color is there. The poem is called Sweet Spring, and the stanza I keep up is

(such a sky and such a sun

i never knew and neither did you

and everybody never breathed

quite so many kinds of yes)

I’m not spending much time in the art studio these days, because I’m busy learning a new way to make a living as an artist and spending all my time at the tattoo studio. I’m working to shape my life into what I want it to be and grabbing every opportunity that comes my way. I’m making all that color mine. When I can. And when I can’t, maybe my tattoo will remind me that there are just

so many kinds of yes.jpg

 

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Our Weird

08 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by emilypageart in art, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Tags

Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, friendship, fun gifts for him, gifts, greeting cards, quirky gifts for her, thank you gift, weird, your weird matches my weird

The last few months have been crazy, and inspiring, and terrifying, and complicated, and hard, and wonderful as I transition from one business to another. And along the way, my friends (I count you among my friends, dear reader) have put up with my bitching, cheered me on, consoled me, and rejoiced with me. And you’ve embraced my weird and brought your own to meet it and it’s so comforting to have people whose weirds match my weird. It’s what has gotten me through such a time of turmoil.

In your honor, I’ve made a couple sketches and put them on some shirts and mugs and cards and other stuff. If you want to thank someone (spouse, friend, child, barista, whatever) for their quirk, these might be a good way to do it.

EPSON MFP image

weird men's shirt

T-shirts like the one above, and prints and tote bags and just about anything else can be found here and here.

EPSON MFP image

weird greeting card

Greeting cards like the one above, along with clothes, and bags, and mugs and stuff of this drawing available here and here.

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Beauty That Moves

31 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by emilypageart in art, culture, gratitude, kindness, painting, Uncategorized

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

ani difranco, art, artist, beauty that moves, Emily Page, Emily Page artist, evolve, true definition of beauty, watercolor painting

I have a friend who said to me recently that she’s never felt beautiful. Actually, I’ve had a couple of friends who have said that, and it makes me so incredibly sad. These women are, objectively, lovely. I’m an artist, so I get to pretend to be an expert on these things. And when you get the chance to know the women who have told me this, they become even more beautiful. It’s unbelievable that no one has told them just how lovely they are in a way that convinces them. We all have our doubts about our own beauty. The media preys on that insecurity, and even the most gorgeous among us will obsess over her “flaws.” It claims to know the true definition of beauty and insists that we agree, even if we don’t fit into the current beauty fads.

But even with that knowledge, it’s been seriously bothering me that my one friend, in particular, doesn’t know what a beauty she is. There’s a line in an Ani Difranco song, Evolve, that says,

“it took me too long to realize

that i don’t take good pictures

cuz i have the kind of beauty

that moves”

I think that’s true for so many of us. Ours is a beauty that moves. It is in our laugh, or in our look of love. It’s in the kindness and joy and sadness and vulnerability that shine from our eyes. This beauty is not static, or easy to catch and capture. It flies, it runs, it does somersaults. Our beauty does not sit and wait for a photographer to tell us how to pose.

My friend is actually a photographer herself. It’s her job to make other people see their inherent beauty. She brings out the best in her subjects. And it’s high time someone did that for her. So I took a photo from her Facebook page and created a painting of her as I see her. It’s still not as beautiful as she is, but I feel it captures at least a hint of this beauty of hers that refuses to sit still.

Audrey

“Beauty That Moves” 11″ x 14″ watercolor on paper

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Please Don’t Be The Reason a Unicorn Dies

08 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

book about caregiving, book awards, books about dementia, Emily Page, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, how unicorns die, rosie's book review

Hey, you! Guess what? My book was nominated for an award! Guess what else? In order to win the award, people have to vote for me. Of course. Sigh. So, here’s where I ask you to do me a solid (I’m Gen X, forgive me for that little turn of phrase) and go vote at Rosie’s Book Review, and then ask all your friends on social media to do that same, because if you don’t, somewhere a unicorn will get an intestinal parasite and rainbow-poop itself to death.

Book cover 1

Have someone you need to get a holiday gift for? Check out a summary and buy a print copy here. Or read reviews and buy an eBook here (you can also buy a print copy here, but I make virtually nothing on sales on Amazon, so it’d be great – and cheaper for you – to buy them copies through my website).

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Me, Too

17 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by emilypageart in culture, gratitude, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#metoo, me too, rape, rape culture, rape survivors, sexual assault, sexual assault survivor, sexual harrassment, silent victims, survivor, women

Watching the #MeToo thread on Facebook and Twitter the last couple days has been heartbreaking. The details of my own sexual harassment and assault aren’t really important. They’re very much like what so many other women and girls have experienced on a regular basis. My own experiences could have been so much worse, and they aren’t what’s heartbreaking here.

What I find really heartbreaking is how many women I know who’ve been assaulted and, many years later, are still too scared or ashamed to simply post two little words, “Me, too.” As bad as the massive trending thread looked, it’s actually worse. And even in the midst of the bravery of so many women standing up and demanding to be counted, our society still hasn’t given all of us enough of a feeling of safety for everyone to do so. It’s not a failing of the women for not feeling safe enough to post the truth, but of the rest of us who haven’t provided that safe place –  a place like, oh, you know, the world.

For all of those women and girls who are grieving silently, I want you to know that you are, in fact, heard. If you never feel okay telling anyone, that’s alright. But I hope you eventually find someone who you can trust to believe you, embrace you, and help you understand that you don’t need to be ashamed and you are not at fault – someone who will help you forgive yourself even though you are not the one who needs forgiveness. I hope you rise, my dear.

Me, too

Prints and other merchandise with this painting on it can be found here and here.

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Take Heart, Keep Singing

14 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by emilypageart in culture, gratitude, karma, kindness, music, singing, Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

charlottesville, how to face white supremacists, love wins, no place for hate, protest song, protesting, respond to racists, respond to white supremacists, stand up

“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
— Leonard Bernstein

As I watched my hometown get invaded by those sick, sick assholes, I was heartbroken. I still am. But I have several reasons to hope, and that’s the only way I can keep moving and not huddle under my blankets sobbing (anymore).

1) The reason violence errupted this weekend was that counterprotesters showed up. They showed up and said, “No, you don’t get to do this.” Would it have been better if violence hadn’t won the day? Yes. But was it important to stand up and say that that kind of hatred won’t be tolerated, and let minorities know that we have their backs and value them them as assets to our community; to let them know they’re not alone – that “they” are really “us.”

2) My friends are arguing about whether it would have been better to show up or to stay away completely so that the white supremacists didn’t get the attention they so desperately want. Let them shout into a void. They stayed away, thinking that if you don’t give them someone to scream at, eventually they’ll just disappear. Some showed up and marched peacefully and silently. Some thought showing up wasn’t enough and decided to fight violence with more violence. I’m torn about what the appropriate response is. I’m not sure there even is an appropriate response. But whatever their opinion on the best way to make the white supremacists go away, they still want to make them go away. That means there are a lot more of us on the side of love than hate.

2) At Jason Kessler’s press conference the next day, counterprotesters showed up and shouted him down and said, “No, you don’t get to do this.” Again, I’m not thrilled that someone ended up punching him, because that makes him look like a victim and I’m not okay with violence, but the people who showed up with pots and pans and cymbals to bang on to drown him out are heroes. They are beautiful, beautiful people standing up for our beautiful, beautiful city and country.

3) On Twitter, people have “outted” many of the white supremacists who attended, and at least one has been fired by a boss who said, “No, you don’t get to do this.” We should be sending equally clear messages to racist and hateful business owners by boycotting their businesses.  Luckily, it’s pretty easy to do since, again, I think there are more peaceful, accepting business owners than white supremacists.

4) I attended a vigil in Durham in support of Charlottesville yesterday, and when protesters showed up and started trying to shout over our speakers, we sang them down. We drowned them out with song.

People are speaking up. Yes, more need to, but it’s a start and this weekend was a wake-up call for a hell of a lot of people. However we choose to stand on the side of love, we need to stick together and remember that we are all, still, on the same side.

We need to keep singing. Sing until the hatemongers get the point that their hate isn’t welcome. Sing until our allies know they’re safe and loved. Sing to comfort those trying to heal from this weekend and the hundreds of years of strife in America that came before it. Sing a little extra love and joy into the world.

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Cville Shirts

13 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, culture, gratitude, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Tags

charlottesville, charlottesville logo, charlottesville love, charlottesville t-shirt, cville, cville t-shirt, cville tshirt, indie artist, no place for hate, t-shirt

You guuuuyyyyys! I asked my friend Meghan from Hogan Made to come up with a t-shirt for my hometown, Charlottesville, and she came through. She’s donating $10 from every shirt to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Show an independent artist some love, Charlottesville some love, and a great charitable organization some love: https://squareup.com/store/hoganmade/item/c-ville #noplaceforhate

original(1)original

 

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I Have a Fairy Godmother!!!!

11 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

artist posable figure, artist's figure, body chan, body-kun, cupcakes, fairy godmother, gifts for artists, posable plastic figure, posable wooden figure, things artists want

I know I haven’t posted in over a week. I swear, I’ll try to get back in the swing of things again soon, but my brain has been mush due to the stress about work stuff. I also swear that I’ll explain about that soon. But for right now, I’m just too excited because I found out that I have a fairy godmother!! A month ago, I saw this thing, a Body Chan, pop up in an ad on my  Facebook feed:

 

Posable figure

If you’re not familiar with the little wooden posable figures that they make for artists, this is what they usually look like.

Manikinb

It doesn’t even have a chin. And it has a stick up its ass. 

And they suck, because the range of realistic poses for them is severely limited. So I when I saw this thing, I got all want-y and posted on Facebook that I wished it was mine. And since I did, it keeps popping up all over the place because my computer is a pimp and is always trying to get me to buy its tempting shit. But I’ve resisted because, well, I don’t have so much of the monies. And also because I’m a little afraid of pimps. But it’s just been taunting me this whole time.

Today, it arrived in the mail. With no receipt. So I have no idea who sent it. I posted a pic of me with it and asked for the generous culprit to fess up so that I can thank them.

Posable figure in backage.jpg

I don’t look nearly as excited in this picture as I actually feel, but all the pics of me looking really excited also made me look really ugly. Hopefully, this adequately conveys at least mild appreciation and wonder, if not the complete and utter ecstasy that I’m actually feeling.

But it’s been 4 hours and no one has. This leads me to the only logical conclusion: I have a freakin’ fairy godmother, y’all!!! So now I’m thinking that I should start wishing for other stuff. Apparently wantiness works. Now that I have my new posable figure, who I have named Jackie (because the figure is called a Body Chan), she’s going to help me demonstrate to my fairy godmother all of my heart’s desires…you know, things like unicorns and calorie-free cheese. You never know. I might have multiple fairy godmothers with different powers like Sleeping Beauty.

I’m turning 40 on September 20th, and I’ve decided that what I really want to commemorate such a momentous birthday – no, what I really need – is 40 cupcakes.

Jackie with cupcakes

I recognize that these cupcakes, in proportion to Jackie, are regular-sized cakes, but I figure if a girl’s gonna dream, she should dream big.

Since I don’t want to be selfish, feel free to suggest things you want and I’ll wish for them for you.

Dearest fairy godmother, thank you for sending me my new best friend, Jackie. After her, you’re the bestest.

 

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They’ll Never Have To, But They’ll Never Get To

07 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in death, dementia, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Tags

Alzheimer's, caregiving, caring for someone with dementia, coping with dementia, death, dementia, frontotemporal dementia

Last night, I found out that someone from my hometown who had dementia died. I had posted about him about a year and a half ago. I never did meet him myself, but I had some contact with his wife and daughter recently as they were making decisions about placing him in a dementia care community. Today, as they were moving him into the facility they’d chosen, he had a heart attack and died. And I don’t know what to feel for them.

I’m devasted for his family. It’s so sudden and so shocking. After agonizing over the decision about how to move forward with his care, it’s all just been undone.

I’m relieved for his family. They won’t have to watch him continue to decline, to lose himself. They won’t spend a fortune on a dementia care facility and worry that the money might run out.

I’m devasted for his family. They don’t get anymore sweet moments with him. No more hugs or holding hands. They don’t have the privilege of caring for him and protecting him. They don’t get to tell him they love him.

I’m relieved for his family. They’ll never have to tell him they love him and have him look back at them blankly, not knowing who they are. They won’t have to fight for him to get the care he deserves, or deal with dirty diapers or disappearing hearing aids or choking incidents.

I’m devasted for his family – especially his daughter, who wasn’t there when it happened and so didn’t get to say goodbye.

I’m relieved for his family. His death was quick – no nights spent in recliners by his deathbed, waiting for his pain to finally end.

There’s no good way for this whole journey to go. There’s no easy path. Dementia sucks, plain and simple. So maybe send a little love out to the universe for his family – and all the other families coping with dementia – today, in the hopes that it will ease some tiny piece of their pain.

Dad and Em at Bodos 10-27-14 2

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Granted, They Should Be Thanked

05 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, culture, gratitude, kindness, painting, Uncategorized, writing

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art grant, book grant, Fractured Memories, funding your book, grant, United Arts Counvil of Raleigh and Wake County

You may remember that, last year, I applied for and received a grant to help me publish Fractured Memories. I realized that I never properly or publicly acknowledged who provided the grant, and I want to do that now. The United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County essentially sponsored the book with a generous grant. I’m preparing my final report for them now that the book is complete and out there for the world to see, and realized that I definitely spent way more than the grant awarded, but it was absolutely invaluable in two ways: 1) it allowed me to justify taking some time off from teaching classes because I knew that it was paying for me to hire my instructors to cover those shifts, and 2) it affirmed for me that the project was worth pursuing. We all need a little external affirmation now and then, and getting it from an “official” arts program gave me more confidence going into the writing and publishing process.

So a huge thank you goes out to the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County for helping achieve a dream and further my career as an artist in many senses of the word.

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