Tales from Studio Mailbox

My Hands are Tied

My friend Jacqueline has a lovely blog.  She has been a wonderful contact for me here since my move to Germany, welcoming me into her European Altered Book group.  It has been a lot of fun connecting with her as well as other mail artists and working in one another's books.  I finally drummed up the courage to give my art groups a link to my blog.  (Gulp).  And sure enough, these wonderfully supportive people came and peeked at what I've been up to.  Some even left encouraging comments. 

Usually, a reader shouldn't really care which blogging site an artist uses to create their blog.  To each their own.  Live and let live.  But in my case, Blogger knows I'm in Germany and when I go to any Blogger-hosted blog, all the "Blogger" stuff around the edges is no longer in English.

That's right.  Blogger thinks I'm German.

It's not that I can't read German.  It's that I have to stop and think in order to communicate in German.  I am not even close to fluent.  It is extremely hard WORK.  Blogger makes the whole thing not fun for me.  And if I have to register in German at blogger, then I'm going to start getting blogger emails, also in German.  I just want to stop the insanity!!!

Several people have had suggestions.  It's something about our service provider being in Germany and the websites are finding it out.  This is a typical case of somebody somewhere making a big gross assumption.  Just because I'm here doesn't mean I want to be auto-defaulted to the German version of every website I visit!  If I wanted to go to the German sites, wouldn't I be entering the domain names followed by ".de" instead of ".com?"  Why is some cyber big-brother taking the liberty of redirecting me???

It would be different if it was consistent.  For instance, it doesn't happen when I'm looking at people's Etsy shops, but it does happen if I go to Lulu.  It happens at Blogger but it doesn't happen to me here at Typepad.  (Thus, my reason for hosting my blog here.  In English.  Like I like it).

Somehow, just this week, the Germans found me at Yahoo too. The link in my favorites, which has brought me to my Yahoo homepage for about 9 years has suddenly decided to speak German to me.  And I can't change it back. 

There's no reason to ramble on and on about this.  I'm just simply sad, because the whole point of blogging is to network and interconnect with one another.  So why would these services build their sites with these functions that actually prevent this from happening?

So, for my friends out there who blog with blogger, I'm so sorry I cannot comment on your lovely postings yet.  Everyday I am getting better and learning more.  It's just another hill I'll have to climb when I muster the energy.  For now, please know I admire and support your creations too!!!

If anybody's interested, I took this photo outside of Wuerzburg's Museum am Dom.  You often see tourists lined up along the steps next to the mummy posing in strange leaning positions for a photo. 

Thoughts on Rauschenberg

I'm sad about the recent death of Robert Rauschenberg and reading a little about him has made me do some thinking about the way artists source their materials.

So often here in Germany I am frustrated by either what I perceive as my lack of available art supplies, my inability to find those supplies, or my inability to find substitutes for the things I want.  

I do a lot of on-line shopping in the US and the UK just so I can "get stuff."

Rauschenberg, on the other hand, scavenged all the time for the stuff he used.  He was a pioneer of what we now refer to as the "found object." 

It doesn't appear to me he was desperately shopping on-line and arranging for things to be sent to friends in other countries in order to save on shipping charges.  I don't think he was buying bulk amounts of crap at going out-of-business sales or pillaging the aisles at his local craft store.

Rauschenberg would go for a walk, pick up trash (or as fancy-pants folks would say, "discarded items"), and then he made art out of it.

That's it.

This realization has made me be a little more at peace with the fact that I don't have a Michael's, a Hobby Lobby, a Hobbycraft, a Jo-Ann's Fabrics, or any of those other mega-craft behemoth places. 

Maybe it's time to focus more on the process, the work and the outcome.  Hmmm?  Maybe it's time to simply walk around with your feet and then go back to wherever it is you create and make something with your hands.

Pretzel Sighting 1b

I decided to return to the source of the original golden pretzel, and at least mention where it was from.  Returning to the scene, I realized I have overlooked a VIP (Very Important Pretzel)!!  Touching it with my very own hand, I experienced my first pretzel-shaped doorknob!!!  How can one enter the building and not notice this thing?  Thank goodness I had returned, and can tell you that if you'd like to experience these things for yourself, you will have to visit the Altstadt Baeckerei Spenkuch, Greinberg 2, Ochsenfurt.

Pretzel Sighting #1

Isn't this a beautiful sight?  If you've never have the luxury of enjoying a German pretzel, you need to know that they're like a real type of bread here... (not the dried crunchy alternative to chips or crisps sold in bags).   They're found fresh from bakeries, street vendors, and even gas stations.  They're doughy on the inside and crusty on the outside with huge hunks of coarse salt salt sprinkled over them.  Yummmmy. (Or as the Germans say, "Lecker!!")  So in worship of this special contribution to the bread-cereal group, I will be posting sightings now and then.  I hope you enjoy them! 

Advice on scaling photos

Please somebody tell me how to scale photos using the tool in Typepad??  I am unable to constrain the proportions of the image.  I have tried to scale the photos while holding down the shift key, control key and alt key.  So what gives? 

For the most part, I prep my photos before inserting them into my blog posts, but until I write a draft I'm not sure how I want to format the particular post, therefore I leave room to scale the pictures.  And since some of my earlier photos really looked low-res and crappy, I've been leaving them bigger and tucking them in.

But it sure as hell ain't easy when you can't adjust the height and width equally at the same time.  WHAT IS THE SECRET??

The first person to post the answer wins some German mailart from Studio Mailbox!

For those of you not knowing what the hell I'm talking about, here's a visual of the same disgusting abandoned pitcher in my backyard, re-sized differently and the results thereof.

 

Latest Finds

How cool is this handmade set of number stamps I found the other weekend?  Even the wooden case they rest in has an edge which allows the wet stamps to dry out instead of sitting directly in the bottom of the box.

The stamps were at the same table as this old shoe repair kit.  Your house is apparently not a home without one.  The truth of the matter is that I loved the handmade brushes and the wooden handled carving tool along with the wooden needle holder.  I could get into collecting old tools. 

   

Happy Mothers Day, or maybe not.

The craziest thing happened over the weekend here in Germany.

Men and children were desperately last-minute shopping on Saturday (stores are closed Sundays), in preparation to spoil the women in their homes in celebration of German mother's day known here as "Muttertag."

The only problem is that mother's day here is next Sunday, May 11.

So how did the panic happen?  Funny you ask.

It turns out nearly EVERY calendar in the country of Germany was printed incorrectly this year, listing mother's day a week earlier than it should be.

OOPS.

Oh well, anyone can make a simple mistake.  But an entire country?  Amazing. 

Random Creative Prompt

I've decided that Studio Mailbox should offer a little something now and then to it's blog readers.

Therefore, I will be offering irregular strange and random creative prompts.  They will be intended for the most desperate creatives who've pretty much hit rock bottom.  Of course everyone is welcome to use them and go wherever the prompt takes them.

Remember "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey on SNL? 

Yeah?  Inspiring stuff.

Anyhoo.  Here's the first and perhaps the only prompt I'll be listing:

What if Bert were German?

Let me know if anybody runs with this please.  I just can't quit laughing ever since I found this doll...!  I hope he at least makes you smile.

Celebrating Austria

Austria is a beautiful country full of beautiful people. I've enjoyed every visit I've had there, especially the spotless B&Bs with their crisp linens and fluffy-puffy pillows and comforters.  So I want to post a little something to celebrate this country that is unfortunately in shock and horror at this time.

Franzbranntwein Gel is a natural pain relieving cream made with menthol and the homeopathic remedy arnica.  It's like a more "natural" version of BENGAY.  Holzhacker brand comes in the coolest packaging, with a very Alpine-looking man displaying a bottle.  It reminds me a little bit of the old traveling salesmen and their wagons full of elixirs.  Except this one really does relieve pain and leave your skin with a pleasant tingling.  I highly recommend it.

I'll be making ATCs out of my packaging, stay tuned for the results.