Tops In Blue - Extraordinary Performance

Tops in Entertainment on Labor Day!

My friend Chris and I went to the California State Fair last night to look at the fine art exhibit and to watch a concert by the Air Forces' amazing entertainers, Tops in Blue. They are active service members who auditioned and got accepted into what the Force calls their Expeditionary Entertainers. They put on shows for service members and their families, Coalition partners and audiences around the globe.

This has been going on for 56 years and it is the first time I have ever heard of them or seen them. Amazing.

This high impact, high energy event kept me smiling and my toes tapping. The discipline and training of their rehearsals show in every hand movement, dance numbers and vocalization. I was astounded at the talent and precision of very person on and off the stage. They also liked to come into the audience to flirt with and engage everyone watching the show. And the spectators loved every minute of it.

Yes I did.

Normally I am put off a bit by too much choreography: too much hands, arms and feet. But, these entertainers were consistent throughout the show. Their vigor and enthusiasm was engaging and so it worked in this venue. This group never let up for a moment. Always in sync.... Always. If you'd like to hear a bit more about them click here. There is also a great documentary to watch here.

There are a lot of YouTube, Tops In Blue, videos available on line. Most of them are pretty fuzzy and have poor sound quality. But, I spent a bit of time on this today to share with you. I lucked out and found a bit from the 2009 tour. Click here for clear video and good sound. We got to see this number last night.

Enjoy!

Now, back to making jewelry for the Art Tour.

Jewel Carnival again! Inspiration: design to completion

Welcome to the August edition
of Jewelry Blog Carnival.

We are a group of jewelry artists working in various mediums who have chosen different topics to write on as a group.This event takes place about the same time each month. Why not visit the other artists listed below the following blog.

August: Inspiration from the design
to the finished work.

"Where do I begin?

Hmmm? Isn't that what a lot of us makers think just before we start? Or, are a lot of you so visual that you can just jump right in and flow from A to Z in your work without a left-brained moment? Does it just flow through you as a river:bending and unresisting yet becoming a force that moves rather than is moved? Or are you sketching and erasing and putting tracing paper down over old designs and using the base design to create new, with more and more tracing paper and more designs. And, of course never throwing any of the rough copies away? Then listing the pieces and parts, ordering what you don't have, finding what you do have and having it all in front of you as a, say, one-of-a-kind production set up.

Do you do that?

Oh, and what is it that inspires you or me in the first place? A sunset, a first dawn flash of light on a mountain just before sunrise, the core of a freshly sawn tree stump, the movement of water during a storm or the incredible light in your mates eyes? The world is our inspiration for our art. It can be beautiful or beastly. From Monet's sweet impressionistic landscapes to Goya's tormented black and whites of war torn bodies. Or maybe a fellow artist taught you a technique that brought out a new passion in your soul to create.... even if only for this moment in time or for many moments if this new fervor becomes your permanent 'voice in art'.

This artist uses ALL of the above. Simply put I am inspired by a vision: be it internal or external. I then sketch it out and begin the process of being a maker of art. I forgive myself if it doesn't turn out exactly as the drawing because art is a moment in time. The time of SKETCHING is gone forever but the PROCESS of being artful is ever changing. When I sing in a musical on stage... my moment changes. The basic story of the song is the same (sketch) but the emotional impact of an evening performance is ethereal to my space and time (process). The art of production in my work below is ever changing..... each earring in a set doesn't match exactly. This is what I am doing now... what could it be tomorrow? I'll just have to wait and see.

Art like love is always in motion and ever changing... and isn't that grand?

August 2009: Batik earring series: Polymer, sterling, niobium, alcohol inks
Gold Country Artists Gallery, Placerville, CA.

Please visit these incredible artist listed below. Click on their names and go see what inspires them from beginning to end.

Tonya Davidson
Angela Baudel-Crispin
Lora Hart
Tamra Gentry
Elaine Luther