This will be the last blog post on blogger.com. It's time for a fresh new start.
I figure it is much easier for me to start a new blog than getting a make over. Of course i would love a make over so if anyone wants to nominate me to be on that show WHAT NOT TO WEAR i would appreciate it. Though- let's be clear from the beginning, i do not want a short haircut or twenty pairs of high heels. But if you can make me look like Gwen Stefani i will do anything they say. And i promise they can take my ugly crocs now that my fractured foot is almost healed. However the code to get into my storage unit is written on the side of one....
Thanks to my husband Norm, keeper of the web and official photographer of Planet Calamari, our site has been updated with a Wordpress blog. Much easier for a right brain squid to navigate. And it helps with the whole googleness of the site. (OK.. i don't speak web but that is what my husband keeps trying to tell me!)
For the few who have been following these posts i give you an 8 tentacles up salute!
This Friday August 31, 2012 the moon will be in Pisces and according to many astrologer it will be a sensitive, reflective Full Moon, thanks to the heavy water energy.
I did not have the qi to write a blog about the full moon. We are still in surreal mode here after our dear Zevo's passing. So i took the liberty of posting a few links below with information on what a Blue Moon is.
This past month i have been working on a few new lines of art to wear. There at least thirty new pieces to be photographed and listed on the Planet Calamari Etsy Shop. We have decided to wait until after the Blue Moon to take on this project.
To celebrate this Full Blue Moon and the start of a new beginning, Zevo's new life as a spirit-poose and the end of a long hot summer, The Planet Calamari Etsy Shop is having a Once in a Blue Moon Sale. Take 20% off all art to wear...even the marked down pieces by using the code BLUEMOON when checking out.
May this Labor Day weekend of the Blue Moon bring you and your loved ones peace, magic and a new beginning.
jeanie marie
What is a Blue Moon?
There are in fact two definitions for a blue moon. According to the
more recent definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a
calendar month. For a blue moon to occur, the first of the full moons
must appear at or near the beginning of the month so that the second
will fall within the same month (the average span between two moons is
29.5 days). The full Moon on Aug. 31, 2012, will be this type of blue
moon; it will be the second full moon in one month.
The Other Kind of Blue Moon
The older definition, which is recorded in early issues of the Maine Farmer's Almanac, states that the blue moon is the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. Why would one want to identify the third full moon in a season of four full moons? The answer is complex, and has to do with the Christian ecclesiastical calendar.
Some years have an extra full moon—13 instead of 12. Since the
identity of the moons was important in the ecclesiastical calendar (the
Paschal Moon, for example, used to be crucial for determining the date
of Easter), a
year with a 13th moon skewed the calendar, since there were names for
only 12 moons. By identifying the extra, 13th moon as a blue moon, the
ecclesiastical calendar was able to stay on track.
For more background information on the controversy over the two definitions of blue moon, see the Sky and Telescope article, "What's a Blue Moon?"
In it they explain how the two different definitions of a blue moon
came about—including their own role in introducing the second, modern
definition"
"Blue moons exist due to our calendar months being imperfectly synched
to the lunar months. It takes 29.5 days for the moon to orbit Earth,
during which sky watchers observe all of its phases. All calendar
months, aside from February, have 30 or 31 days, resulting in the
occasional two full moons within a single month.
While blue moons
are rare, they can be predicted to take place every three years or so,
with the next one scheduled to take place in July 2015."
"Blue moon" appears to have been a colloquial expression long before it developed its calendrical senses. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first reference to a blue moon comes from a proverb recorded in 1528:
If they say the moon is blue,
We must believe that it is true.
Saying the moon was blue was equivalent to saying the moon was made
of green (or cream) cheese; it indicated an obvious absurdity. In the
19th century, the phrase until a blue moon developed, meaning "never." The phrase, once in a blue moon
today has come to mean "every now and then" or "rarely"—whether it
gained that meaning through association with the lunar event remains
uncertain.
It is with deep sorrow that i must announce the passing of our dearly beloved Zevo hussein Calamari. Born 19.5 years ago in Escondido, California under the bed of my friend Edie who passed ten days later battling cancer. My life was never the same. Almost 20 years of unconditional love, entertainment, inspiration and snarkiness. Thank you dear Zevo for allowing us to be your pet humans.
Zevo shall remain the CEO of Planet Calamari and i am sure she will send messages from the afterlife. She was larger than life and her spirit lives on.
The Recycled Prayer Art to Wear series all started with a tangled capiz
shell curtain on its way to the kill shelter also known as the dumpster. I purchased it at a reduced price thus rescuing it.
A week later i adopted several books
my parents bought in Italy and a box of holy cards that were destine to
go to the Goodwill or worse... their recycle bin aka the garbage can. That very same week i took
an auspicious trip to the National Cathedral in Washington DC alone. I
believe it was the combination of meditating on stain glass windows for
two hours, lighting candles for miracles, fracturing my foot and then losing our electric
power during a thunder storm for 3 days that this idea was born.
My mother tells me i was born with a tiny red dot on the my right arm and hand. She believes this is because she ate cherry Popsicles while pregnant with me. She was told by the doctor that it would go away and not to worry. Neither happened. Of course this is the same doctor who believed that antibiotics would cure sneezing. The spot grew as i did and was a full blown vibrant red birthmark in no time at all. My mother continues to worry about everything under the sun to this day- though i am quite certain she forgot about the birthmark and only remembers it when i visit wearing short sleeved attire.
As a kid in Catholic School i was subjected to the paranoia of mean nuns anytime they noticed my birthmark. Each one would grab my arm and in that nails down a parochial school chalkboard scream, that only nuns can do... "Dear Lord, were you burned?" To their dismay i was not maimed in a fire. Combine this with the curse of being left handed. Some would make the sign of the cross or mutter a prayer. The only explanation could be that this was indeed the mark of the devil. Pray for her dear Baby Jesus. Save her from the gates of hell and the communists. Lord hear our prayer.
Since it was too late (or probably too costly to have the cherry stain removed, my mother somehow switched me from a south paw to become right handed. This only bafffled the nuns more... and myself. I still vividly remember first grade teacher Sister Maryenella (sp?) pulling my short pixie hair while at the blackboard attempting to print a b. Instead i made a d. I am shocked my neck did not snap that day!
Sometimes i still don't know right from left, since i confused the word R-I-G-H-T with the word W-R-I-T-E during the process. I was writing with my left hand only to be switched to write with the right hand. You can see how that would mess up a 5 year old.
Tortured by classmates, mostly wretched boys and nasty pale girls with long blonde hair, i wore long sleeve white blouses under my plaid uniform through my entire 12 years of parochial school. Mortified that anyone would see it i did my best to hide the entire arm whenever possible. Sweaters, coats, gloves and several bangle bracelets and accessories during the summer.
From http://www.outofstress.com/is-there-special-meaning-to-birthmarks/
"The scientific perspective is that birthmarks are the result of a skin abnormality linked to the formation of blood vessels. In folklore there are three theories appear across cultures and time.
Birthmarks signify are an omen which may denote a characteristic or life path.
Birthmarks are leftover from a past life/ re-incarnation
Birthmarks are the result of events that happened to the mother
while carrying her child or actions she took during her pregnancy. Italian and Spanish folklore states that birthmarks result from
un-satisfied wishes of the mother during pregnancy, such as wishing for
certain foods."
The Italians believe that witches, known as Stregas have a birthmark on their arm, have all-black eyes, while practicing the healing arts with herb, potions and other magic rituals. Perhaps it is no wonder i decided to go into traditional Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture.
During my time in acupuncture college i had a delightful Chinese professor, Dr J Min Fan take my arm and say, "Oh Jeanie.. this is good fortune!" From that day on i embraced the wine stain. It was no longer hideous or a burden. I used it as a temperature gauge. It turned colors during the seasons.
I noticed how it would turn bright red when i was angry or had a raging fever. Blue or Purple if i was cold. Just a reminder that we are all unique. Some of us just stand out more than others. Embrace diversity.
Today begins the 3 week period of the planet Mercury going retrograde. If you are not familiar with the term then i won't even try to explain the gory details. My simple explanation is - its going backwards causing chaos in communication and electrical devices. Always a handy thing to blame when you phone or computer dies. Here is a great website that gives more detail on how and why it happens with the effect it has on our lives. http://www.alphalifetrends.com/mercuryretrograde.html
August 7-8, 2012 1:40 am EDT (Aug 8) 10:40 pm PDT (Aug 7)
01:26 Leo
November 6, 2012 6:04 pm EST 3:04 pm PST
04:17 Sagittarius
November 26, 2012 5:48 pm EST 2:48 pm PST
18:11 Scorpio
For an inspirational view of how to survive Mercury Retrograde visit astrologer Lynn Haye's blog. She always has an interesting point of view and shares so much information. I love reading her posts.
This Mercury retrograde i plan to just go with the flow.. stop trying to fight it and allow the Universe to direct the movie. I have a new line of pendants and door hangers with sacred images that will be featured soon on the Planet Calamari Etsy Shop. That is assuming this old ibook will survive Mercury dancing backwards these next few weeks!
For all of us who are enamored with Frida Kahlo i have decided to proclaim a holiday season known as the Festival of Fridamas. It begins on July 6, the anniversary of Frida Kahlo's birth and ends on July 13 the day Frida Kahlo passed away.
The idea came to me during Zappadan. (No i did not make up this Frank Zappa holiday. December 4 marks the anniversary of Frank Zappa‘s death, and the beginning of the Festival of Zappadan. Zappadan ends on Frank Zappa’s birthday, December 21st.)
The very first time i saw a painting of Frida i immediately thought, "Why doesn't she wax her eyebrows or at least pluck that unibrow!" It was not until a few years later after living in San Diego so close to the Mexican border that i began to appreciate her work, Mexican art and culture. The colors, the magic and the passion is addicting. It is so tempting to run off to Mexico, grow a unibrow, drink tequila and paint all day. However the truth is Frida's life may have been colorful but it was also tragic. In constant pain due to an accident when she was young along with other illnesses, married to a fat artist who cheated on her with her sister and a host of other wild dramas. I think i am happy to bask in her art, paint on a unibrow and red lipstick on Halloween and have a few margaritas in her honor.
For more details about the life and art of Frida visit these sites:
During these few days of remembering the life, art and her infamous unibrow i invite everyone to celebrate Frida each day. Even if it is a small jester such as:
Join the Planet Calamari Facebook page to be invited to the FridaMas Festivaland to post pictures and comments of how you are celebrating this holiday season..
"On
the day after her death, mourners gathered at the crematorium to witness
the cremation of Mexico's greatest and most shocking painter. Soon to
be an international icon, Frida Kahlo knew how to give her fans one last
unforgettable goodbye. As the cries of her admirers filled the room,
the sudden blast of heat from the open incinerator doors caused her body
to bolt upright. Her hair, now on fire from the flames, blazed around
her head like a halo. Frida's lips seemed to break into a seductive grin
just as the doors closed. Her last diary entry read: "I hope the end is joyful - and I hope never to return - Frida.".
"Lizard...will you dream with me? Travel across the stars? Beyond the place of time and space, The lives visions from afar." Jamie Sands from the Medicine Cards book
These pieces of art to wear were inspired by the Medicine Card teachings and Native American totems. The lizard symbolizes the dream world. Lizard medicine is the shadow side or reality where your dreams are reviewed before you decide to manifest them physically.
For more info on the Medicine Cards and the book click on the link below. http://www.medicinecards.com/
These one of a kind earrings were created by hand painted glow in the
dark green lizards with blue enamel paint. Using non-tarnish bronze
colored silver plated wire the lizards were wire wrapped with glass
beads in hues of fuchsia pink, lavender and sea green. Dream TIme Lizard Earrings Planet Calamari Etsy Shop
This bracelet was created by crocheting bronze silver plated non-tarnish
wire strands while weaving glass beads in various hues of iridescent
purple, lavender, sea green and fuchsia pink. The strands were then
plaited and weaved together. A hand painted glow in the dark lizard is
attached to the top of the bracelet with more bronze wire adorned with
glass beads. The colors of the beads combined with the bronze wire give
this wrist sculpture a mystical look as if it was worn in the days of
the mayans or hopi cultures. Dream Time Lizard Totem OOAK Wrist Cuff Planet Calamari Etsy Shop
What would Captain Nemo's Mistress wear to the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ball? I am sure it would be a lovely midnight black gown with purple and sea blue sequins, lace gloves with a gorgeous updo.
I
have always been intrigued with undersea creatures, especially
cephalopods. It is no surprise that my favorites are the squid and
octopus. They are able to change color faster than a chameleon and can
also change texture and body shape. If those camouflage techniques don't
work, they can still "disappear" in a cloud of ink, Magic in the deep
blue sea.
This one of a kind octopus neck sculpture was created
by crocheting non-tarnish bronze copper wire into strands then plaiting
them. I used an assortment of recycled, and vintage glass beads in hues
of violet, purple, aurora borealis, sea green and blue weaved into the
strands. A brass victorian octopus charm is securely wired onto a
recycled brilliant blue capiz shell. The shell measures about 2 inches
in diameter. This necklace has an old world Steampunk victorian feel.
This
one of a kind neck piece is lightweight and measures about 19 inches.
It closes with a bronze lobster claw clasp. The wire can be gently
scrunched smaller or into a slightly different shape to compliment your
neck.
Thank you Nora Ephron for the laughter and the tears. A heroine when it comes to writing Chick Flicks. Like a good friend she was always there when you needed comforting. I spent so many lonely nights and holidays watching her movies. Pour a glass of wine and watch your favorite Nora Ephron movie in honor of this brilliant woman.
Here are a few classic scenes that i could watch over and over.
When Harry Met Sally Restaurant Scene
You've Got Mail Ending
Sleepless In Seattle Affair to Remember VS The Dirty Dozen
"First celebrated in 1999, Pet Sitters International's Take Your Dog To Work Day® (TYDTWDay®)
was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to
encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and
breed rescue clubs. This annual event asks pet lovers to celebrate the
humane-canine bond and promote pet adoption by encouraging their
employers to support TYDTWDay. Employers are encouraged to open their workplace to employees' four-legged friends on this one special day." http://www.takeyourdog.com/About/
This feminine bracelet and pair of earrings was created by crocheting strands of delicate pink
non-tarnish wire along with weaved glass lavender beads and
semiprecious amethyst chips.
The gem stone Amethyst is used for
healing on all levels, body, mind, and spirit. It is said to raise
vibrational frequency and protects against negative energies. This stone
carries a history of warding off drunkenness and helping provide a
clean, sober mind. Placing the stone under your pillow or right on top
of your head is supposed to bring about peaceful dreams and relieve
pounding headaches. In Ancient Egypt, the stone was used to guard one
from feelings of their own guilt. Violet Purple is the highest
vibrational color of the spectrum. The color of royalty, magic and even
worn by the Pope!
Amethyst is the birthstone of Aquarius (Water
Bearer): Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) Amethyst is also the anniversary gemstone
for the 4th and 6th year of marriage.
Once upon a time there was a capiz sea shell curtain all tangled up
living at World Market. Not sure what to do with it, employees walked by
it for several months pretending to ignore it. One night i had a vivid
dream with images of all the possibilities of things to create with
these poor battered shells. So pressured by the guilt that these shells
would end up in a stinky dumpster, i bought the curtain. I could almost
hear the sea shells screaming thank you.
For sea shell geeks,
Placuna placenta, also known as capiz or windowpane oyster, is a bivalve
marine mollusk in the family of Placunidae.
Oysters and their
pearls were once held sacred by the Celts. The Cauldron of Regeneration
is said to have been lined with pearls, and when Morgana Goddess of
the Sea appeared in the guise of the moon, she was called the ‘Pearl of
the Sea’.
This one of a kind piece was created by crocheting strands of bronze
non-tarnish silver plated wire. Weaved into the strands were capiz
shells in lovely sea hues of blue, chartreuse peridot greens and glass
beads of sea mint green and lavender.
The neck sculpture is
about 21 inches long and closes with a bronze lobster clasp. It can be
gently "scrunched" to be made smaller or a different shape as the wire
is very easy to manipulate. The green sea shells are 2.25 across and
the teal blue shells are 2 inches across.
This necklace makes a
statement and is not for a shy woman. Its bold and beautiful. Wear with
confidence. A lovely accessory for an elegant evening, sea cruise or
beach vacation. I have several pairs of earrings created from the capiz
shells that could be worn with this necklace.
