# 165 Art knows no limits...

"One should either wear a work of art or be a work of art."
--- Oscar Wilde

By now, you've all seen the 80s party pictures. And, I'm sure, are sufficiently impressed at the creativity of my friends. As you should be. The coolest thing about getting dressed up was that each person dressed exactly as their personality-- Katie was preppy, Pretty in Pink princess, Courtney was edgy flash-dance cool, Mindy was punky, spunky, relaxed and perfect. And I, well, I was crazy Punky Brewster-DIY, neon colored, crazy, nutty, out there. Also a bit eclectic. Eclectic is a nice word for spastic.

While I think that each of the girls looked fabulous and did a great job with their outfits, I'd like to point out that, with the exception of Mindy's Phi Mu sorority swap authentic leg warmers, no one went to as much realistic, and artistic effort as I did. A lot of people were seriously impressed with my outfit. I don't know any of those people, but obviously, they have dead-on taste.

Now, most artists don't like to share their secrets with the world-- their influences, their techniques, their inspirations. Lucky for you, this blog is all about openness and honestly and today I'm going to share with you how an artist, namely, myself, makes a masterpiece, namely, my shirt. That's right, my shirt. What's that? The sound of gasping out loud when you read that last sentence? Yes, it is hard to believe, but I did MAKE my shirt. I did not buy it like that. I know its hard to believe, but I wouldn't lie to you, would I?

Growing up as a child in the 80s, I loved to be creative and do all sorts of things. I get this from my mom. She made those paper machie earrings and ribbon hairbows and cross-stiched things and all. And one of the most fun things we did was puff paint t-shirts. We did this all the time. My favorite was a soft green colored one-- I wore it all the time with my white leggings and my buckle tying the shirt up on one side. I was super cute.

Also, in the 80s, I spent a lot of time at my friend Laura's house. We did a lot together and I would literally spend weeks at her house, if I could, only coming home to get clothes when necessary. I loved Laura. But mostly I loved her house. See, she had an OLDER brother. Not a younger sister and brother like I had. And her OLDER brother, Greg, was much cooler than either of my siblings, combined. And he didn't bother us. Which is way more than I can say for Betsy (and Nick, when he was born in 1990). So I spent tons of time at Laura's house over on Wansley and one thing I remember doing was puff painting t-shirts in her laundry room. We both had an extensive collection and we liked to paint shirts that looked similar, so that everyone would know we were BFFs. We were cool like that.

Flashforward to 2011 and I'm thinking about my 80s costume and I just knew it had to involved puff paint. Unfortunately I didn't have the time before I left for Corinth to get the shirt finished, so I brought all my supplies with me.

First, a huge, obnoxious yellow t-shirt-- all the better for cutting off the neck and tying in a knot on my hip. Someone, I think Katherine, had the genius idea of putting it over an old bulletin board so I could stand it up while I painted.

My awesome media.

A work-in-progress. Don't get me wrong, I adore my friends. But they don't really "get" me as an artist. There were a lot of snarky comments made from the peanut gallery while I was working on my masterpiece. And yes, I believe there was a LOT of jealously in the room.

My hostess, Courtney, was nice enough to bring me a plate of bacon and eggs and toast and some oj, so I wouldn't have to disrupt my creative juices. In the meantime, Katie and Mindy sat in the living room, heckling me and my art. Some people just don't "understand" art. Its sad for them, really.

Someone likened it to not bothering William Faulkner while he was in the middle of writing "Intruder in the Dust". That person may or may not have been me, but the sentiment is clear. Masterpeices like these don't just "happen" by accident. They are made.

The final product:

And in case you cannot read all that shirt, it says things like "I pity the fool" and "That's my name, don't wear it out..." and "Frankie Says Relax" and "Simply Irresistible". Also? We had a hard time spelling "Irresistible".