Fashion Phantom

We arrived early for Robyn's art show opening on Friday evening. Hardly anyone was there. My niece, consumed in a creative whirl, hurried to put last minute things in place. My brother and his wife arrived after a few minutes; returning from a ribbon quest.

She had made postcard-sized prints of six of her paintings, and sold them for $1 each, $5 for an entire pack, tied in a red ribbon. Fifteen per cent of proceeds from sale of these will go to Sheena's Place, a centre for people with eating disorders.

Half the walls of the boutique, including part of the front and an entire small back room, are devoted to her art. All this work created since the spring criticizes the objectification of women through fashion. Ironic, considering the venue. The paintings consist of five large canvasses, a number of smaller ones, and three haunting portraits on the bottoms of skateboards. The latter and some other work can be viewed at http://myspace.com/rybonart

"She has worked hard to put this together," I said to my brother.

"It's all black and white," he said. That was all.

I heard that someone told Robyn she shouldn't try to say so much, so soon. I say, that's her choice. My family in general does not relate to art as a statement (it's just supposed to be pretty), but Brenna and I were engaged, and I told Robyn so.

By 9 p.m. the boutique was packed with family and friends, and two paintings had sold. A very successful evening for her.

My nephew Darcy and his girlfriend arrived and we had a few minutes to visit. Under the name Waffle, he writes lyrics and sings lead vocal for a band. They have done three concerts, and all proceeds went to the local humane society. He is finishing his last year of a business degree, but I hear he has little interest in pursuing that field further. My family never dreamt both brother and sister would take directions like these. I for one am proud of them.

Fashion Phantom is showing at M-ONE-11, 561 Queen St. West, Toronto, until November 12.

501 Nights

Barbara Campbell is the Australian Scheherazade of 1001 Nights Cast. On Friday night she will reach the halfway mark in her epic journey, and what a remarkable voyage it has been so far! To mark the occasion she extends a special invitation to new writers. She adds sobering observations on affairs in the Middle East, which inspired the project.

( Barbara's message )

NaNoe'en

On the way home from OOTS, I stopped at Business Depot to pick up a new 400-page spiral-bound notebook. This year I intend to tackle National Novel Writing Month in handwriting. At an average 190 words per page, I need to fill about two-thirds of it. It's an exercise in lubricating the creative engine. And I'll keep the bottle of glycosamine tablets close at hand.

Don't worry, you'll still be able to read my novel—if you want to. I plan to transcribe everything by keyboard at intervals and post it in my friends-only fiction journal, blind_king. If you're interested, add it, and I'll add you back.

I'm still uncertain about what the novel will be, but leaning toward a plot discussed during ghostsandrobots' visit, concerned mainly with a supernatural setting and characters. I suppose it could fall within the mythic fiction genre. Unlike 2003 and 2004, this year I have not written any back story or character development. I'm going into tomorrow blind.
[Poll #857732]

In other news, the element on the water heater is gone. The plumber will present my landlord with prices on a new one tomorrow. Meanwhile, I haven't had hot water for a shower since last night, and doubt the problem will be resolved before Thursday. Sounds like a good excuse to seclude myself and write all day tomorrow, except I can't.