Get Connected with your Ed-ness

How can one be fabulous in all facets of life?  Ed understands that you are not your job.  Your job merely gives you the resources you need to support your true self, your essence, your higher purpose, your fabulous Ed-ness.

I often forget that I am not my job.  I am an attorney and the job has great responsibilities.  The job does not stop when I come home in the evenings b/c friends, family and acquaintances are constantly asking me for legal advice and help and I am happy to be a resource.  But, where am I in that?  Am I a suit-wearing, document drafting, great legal advice giving, white collar, playing the game from the inside-out person or am I something else?  Something different?  

Being a lawyer is powerful.  It gives me access to skills and information that enable me to protect myself and others from potential negative situations.  It also enables me to do things like set up an LLC for my art business without having to rely on or pay anyone else.  It makes my life easier -- but, is it me?  Is it who I am?

I think that when I paint and bedazzle it is actually who I am.  It is a reflection of my spirit.  My paintings look like what is going on inside of me.  Color, joy, sparkling, energy, love, charisma, whimsy, youth, play, humor, light...

Perhaps my job is a reflection of my mind and/or of my intelligence.  Then again...I am pretty smart even when I'm not at work, so probably not.

Maybe my job is meaningless.  That is an interesting thought to explore since I worked so hard to become a lawyer -- it has never occurred to me that this job is meaningless in the way that it is not a reflection of my true self, my essence, my Ed-ness.  I must admit that I put way too much stock in it when I am there during my 9-6 day.  Lawyers are pretty great, but in reality it's not so Ally McBeal.  Being a lawyer has its perks, but I often feel like an artist wearing a lawyer costume.

When I give advice to my clients, I sometimes think "you have no idea that I paint sparkly chickens, and spend a lot of time with toys, do you?"  I actually love that about myself a lot -- that I have all of those facets of my mind and my personality available to me and functioning in ways that allow me to share these talents and support myself with them.  In that sense, I am very Ed.  He is quite complex, but all aspects of his self are amazing.  Nonetheless, Ed doesn't have a JOB.  He just be's.  He would be how he is no matter where he was or what he was doing.  That is a good cue to take from him and it brings me back to the beginning -- being fabulous in all aspects of life.

I can be my Ed-ness no matter where I work, what my title is, what letters I have after my name, or even if I don't work, or even if I paint all day long every day.  I just have to choose.  It is not always the easiest choice to make -- to be my 100% purest self.  Ed knows this all too well.  But, he makes it all the time, every day.  Ed rocks, and just like him I am 100% me, 100% fabulous.  The trick is not to forget that or let a job or a family member or a friend or a situation let me think otherwise.  Yep.

Ed's Debut

Last month Ed appeared at Art Share Los Angeles downtown in Night of A Thousand Chickens.  The art show was absolutely beautiful.  It was well-attended -- fabulous people came to see this fabulous chicken and a wonderful time was had by all.  Pics of the show and of the hanging of the show will be on chickmogul.com within the next week or so.  And although the pictures are wonderful, they cannot do that magical chicken-night justice, but they get a lot closer to the essence of Ed and his Toy friends and their fabulous debut than any words I can type... Yay!

Eat it?

Many months ago I decided that since I was painting chicken (Ed) that I would not eat chicken.  I am not a vegetarian.  It just occurred to me that I was creating a new being with new energy and he happens to be a chicken.  It didn't seem right to also destroy chicken or eat it as well.

Since I made this decision I have had several debates with people about it.  Some of them think it's great.  Some think it's quirky.  Some think it is an artistic statement.  Some think that it sucks because chicken tastes good.  It's really interesting especially because I have never asked people whether or not they think I should eat chicken -- I just say that I don't eat it because I paint Ed and then they offer their 2 cents on the matter.

The last person I told this to explained to me that the chickens (we buy at the market) were dead anyway and so I should consume them and let them contribute to me and nourish me.  I must say that this is one of the better reasons I've heard to continue eating chicken.  But, it still feels strange in my heart to be painting Ed all the time and then go and eat chicken.  It's like if Walt Disney ate duck (Donald).  Who knows, maybe he did?  It's like if Mel Blanks ate rabbit.  Who knows, maybe he did?...  Can you imagine them sitting there, drawing their characters, giving them voices, and leaning over and taking a bite of those animals?  It seems off to me.

Regardless of what others have done in the past, it still feels like the right decision to me.  It is one of respect -- respect for Ed, respect for my work, and respect for chickens.  My culinary life has not suffered because of the chicken omission and my heart feels good.  Having said that, I have no desire to create a cow character or a lobster character anytime soon...

Celebrity Chickens

We are really ramping up the effort to get the show on the road -- so to speak. Ed's art show is just around the corner on August 9th and we would love to have 500 people in attendance. In order to get that many chicken art lovers to come to the show, there has been a heavy campaign of mailings, emailings, and press releases. It really takes a village to raise a sparkly chicken.

While getting the word out, several people have mentioned various other famous chickens, chicken landmarks, chicken statues, chicken songs, chicken books, chicken, chicken chicken!!! So wonderful! So fabulous! Of course Ed and I -- and the sparkly toys -- invite all of the celebrity chickens to the show so that Ed is in the best company possible -- his superstar poultry peers.

This is so exciting!!!

The Reluctant Sparkly Artist...

I never thought I would be blogging -- that I would have a blog, be a part of the blog-o-sphere, be a Blogger ... But, here I am in the name of my art, in the name of Ed the chicken and the toy portraits that I paint, blogging for all to see. It goes to show that Art can inspire people to do many wonderful things.

When I first painted Ed about 5 years ago I knew that he was special. People immediately loved him. But, I didn't have a lot of time to work with this character that I created because I was busy finishing up law school and starting to practice law. Ed went on the back burner, so to speak.

As a form of meditation, I began painting again about nine months ago. (I have been drawing and painting and bedazzling things all my life). It was all for me -- just painting what I enjoy, what amuses me and makes me laugh. Sparkles make everything more wonderful, so I add them to my paintings. I started painting toy portraits and jeweling them as a joke, but they turned out so cute people wanted more.

Next thing I knew a lot of people were trying to find out where and how to get my paintings. This is something that I never envisioned or intended. But, here I am now, trying to share my art with as many people as possible because it makes people happy. What's better than that? (Rhetorical question).

I didn't plan for things to go this way. I would have been happy to paint and hang them all in my house for me to enjoy, but that is not in the cards. At this time, my art is on a train that is driving itself to who knows where and not stopping! It keeps saying "share me" Share Me!".

Now it's a whole other world and I'm going with the flow and putting all of the time and energy I can spare into setting up a company and structures that will facilitate getting my art out into the universe. People can use all of the positivity they can get right now.

So, here I am putting the word out and at the same time using my upcoming show as a fundraiser for Art Share Los Angeles. Sharing my work while helping others is the best thing I can think of -- and this, coming from me, who never intended for all of this -- website, show, company, products, patents, etc. -- to spring from my cute chicken and toy paintings. The chickens are now poised to take over the world!!! (To be continued...)