From Thank You Notes to Funerary Dildos

This is a 21-gram funerary dildo in the woman's hand.
This image comes from a Metro News UK article.

I have had a very unusual week.  For one thing, I've had a difficult time writing a review of a local exhibition; for another, I got to hang out with my kid for the better part of a week; and finally, I discovered I am on You Tube. 

My standard joke is that I don't do normal very well.  If there is a gaggle of women in line at the cinema you can bet your cotton socks that I will not be going to see the same film as them.  Yes, I enjoy Helen Mirren and Withering Heights but my usual fare is more likely to be Mad Max (last week).  This week it was Kung Fury, which is a hilarious, animated send up of testosterone fuelled action movies.  Meanwhile, I will be surrounded in my daily life with big muscle-guys who cry in chick flicks.  I guess there is something called mainstream but I have given up trying to define normal.

It is a good sign that people still write thank you notes.  Hopefully, that means we are still trying to be civilized and to reach above the mandatory in life.  My favourite this past week was a simple e-message from an artist that said, "thank you for kicking me in the ass when I needed it.  And thank you for holding my hand when I needed it too."  'Nuff said. 

This is a jack series by Michael Trimpol, he is always developing new glass products.

My child is a window onto another world for me.  I get stretched in unexpected ways.  Recently that has meant that a treat to a restaurant we had been waiting to share was followed up by an unofficial tour of downtown rooftops.  Turns out my kid is an urban explorer and climber who has no fear of abandoned buildings.  They were a little disappointed when I wasn't up to jumping from rooftop to rooftop the way they do.  However, we do try and share as much as possible.  Multiply the pleasure, so to speak.

A dear friend of mine is a glassblower in Vermont– Michael Trimpol.  The new addition to his product line is the funerary urn.  I was telling my sixteen year old about that and that lead to a very unexpected twist.  The kid starts telling me about funerary dildos and coffins that are Bluetooth enabled.  No joke.  These are both new products from the Nordic countries.  It seems that the Europeans have found yet new ways of how to stay close to loved ones beyond the grave.

Trimpol's urns are based on his vases, like the one above.

Going beyond the mandatory seems to be the secret to success.  I try my best to help artists and open doors for them when possible.  But whatever I do only matters when they add on to my efforts.  A kick-ass catalogue is only good if it gets distributed.  A dynamite tour dies as soon as its finished.  Alexandra McCurdy, a recent inductee to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, gave me a pleasant surprise (or at least I assume it was her who was behind the video).  This past week I discovered two videos of us touring her retrospective exhibit on You Tube.  An on-line encyclopedia, Studio Ceramics Canada, has already picked it up.