Check in intermittently. Get caught up on the few confirmed facts up to that point.

Then TURN IT OFF, GET OFF THE INTERNET, and live your life.

Pray.

Talk to and hug someone you love.

Turning on the news and getting sucked into it on endless cycles is BAD for our minds, our hearts, and our sense of whom we belong to.

Simply because we live in a world where every breaking (and often false) detail is tweeted, posted, and shown does NOT mean we should live like that – NOR do we need to consider ourselves the personal news source to our friends, making sure to RT and post every single thing we see.

What good are you really doing for the situation or your life by sitting and spinning on the repetition of gory and possibly false details until this case comes to a close?

Nothing.  You are merely feeding your head and heart with devastation and anger, and no good comes of that.

No good.

What comes out of that?

Extremists.

*************

I had a few people tell me they “cannot turn it off”.

Yes. You. Can.

You choose not to, and that is fine.  But you can.

And if you feel like you cannot, you probably need to more than anyone.

That is why I must – the feelings of helplessness that ensue from watching.  For hours.

**************

Hugs, prayers, and love; and Boston, our hearts go out to you whom we’ve lost in the tragedy and those who are still fighting the front line to protect your community.

With love, with hugs, with prayers, and conversations over coffee,

In omnia paratus,

Ashley Sue

I log in to write another sporadic post, and I see I have a massive amount of hits in the last 24 hours.

Ermmm…. I guess Carrie Ann Inaba showed her boobs by accident?

Searches the brought the masses to my site:

• Carrie Ann Inaba tits
• Carrie Ann Inaba boobs
• Carrie Ann Inaba nsfw

How disappointed were all you folks when you instead found my feminist rant regarding Carrie Ann Inaba’s face?

In omnia paratus,

Ashley Sue

Be meek, be humble.  Be bold.

So I found myself over the last month questioning a few of my last posts.

Is the “Christian Question” a great way for a sharing of perspectives, or is my attempt at conversation all too close to controversy.

My last intention is to pose questions that would put people at odds with each other.

As Christians, we are called to love deeply.  We are called to forgive.  We are called to be peacemakers.

I realize my last three posts on faith are innocuous enough.  At least in my intentions.

Are the questions and perspectives polarizing, though?

I stand adamantly and passionately in favor of intercession prayer, as my last post revealed.  I took great offense to how polarizing the minister and church I referenced were.  I wrote that post, however, painfully aware of how my post might too be offensive.

I honestly do not see how my words there could be polarizing… but I suppose that minister may also believe his are not.

The “Christian Question” series I created may disappear – just as quickly as it appeared.

Simply put, these are simply questions I wrestle with daily.  I know I cannot be the only Christian to ask things like that… and “what are ghosts?” or whatnot.  My own spinning questions I reflect on are the only reason I started the series.

So… maybe I will not kill of the series so quickly after all.

Besides, we are called to speak boldly on behalf of the Gospel.  Granted, I have to make sure to remind myself that my questions are not speaking on behalf of the Gospel.  They are one of the ways I choose to look further into scripture.

Really, the entire concept of Christianity is polarizing.  It is bold.  Concrete truth and faith in “the unseen” is divisive.

Any thoughts out there?

With sincere love,

Ashley Sue

In fact, I even found a church that spent a lot of time knocking prayer.  Intercession prayer, in particular.  They favor meditation and go into great depths explaining how judgmental Christians and the Church are, and how this new outlook very much breaks the “ill” of the modern Church.  Irony, eh.

Still yet, as I read the minister’s blog and found a four part explanation against “traditional” prayer, where we pray for each other and talk with God for intervention, express our anxieties and fears, and praise Him in expressive, verbal love, I saw his own very limited view of (intercession) prayer.  And Christianity.

The blogger says that when we talk of God, or even to God, we are coming up inadequate in our limiting interpretation of who God is.

For that claim, I agree.  After all, that is why God is God, and I am not.

I understand that I experience Him on a much greater level than the way in which my words make Him separate from me.  Knowing that is enough for me.  That is Faith.

Faith is also understanding that I do not understand all of who He is, and I never will in this life.  My human capacity simply is unable.

This minister believes that intercession prayer is equal with Christians assuming the practice as their own spiritual email with a divine genie, wiring their wishes across the universe and hoping God sends a care package of fulfilled dreams back.

Therefore, for one to be a believer in intercession prayers, it is nearly inevitable to become disillusioned with prayer and God, feeling that someone so far away might not be so “good” if He allows prayers to go unanswered and unthinkable atrocities to occur.

“My own community is a band of Christian outcasts, misfits, and burnouts. To ask one another to pray, sometimes feels like asking a soldier with PTSD to take another tour.”

and

“If God is Father out there in heaven, he’s got a lot of answering to do for all the hell in this world.”

Now, I do not believe in a one size fits all view of Christianity, nor God.

I am a believer in the ability to feel different ideas out regarding God.

But equating asking a Christian to pray about something with asking someone who has lived and seen civilian death, famine, isolation, torture, possibly murder (including being the one to murder) and potentially a complete breakdown of all goodness in people?

My heart broke to read such a comparison!  What on earth have these Christians been through to make such statements?!

I believe arguing about things like christening and no christening, or do people have faces in heaven, or wine or grape juice are semantics in which Christians understandably have different theories (though should never get their undies in a jam about).

To limit intercession prayer to something so tiny as this understanding, though, is sad.  Tragic really.

Just like I understand that God is an experience that every one of my words and actions will fall short in explaining, I know that thinking of prayer this way is the same as me making wishes on pennies that I toss into fountains.

When I pray, I do not pray for God’s benefit.  He certainly needs no favors from me.

When I pray and praise Him, He knows (far better than I) how limited my understanding of Him will be all the days of my life here.

When I pray, and I do ask for intercession, I am praying as a favor to myself.

I am praying because I love Him.

I am praying because, while yes I would like a few certain outcomes and I share that with Him, I simply want to give Him the deserved acknowledgement and sacrifice from me that shows I accept I am reliant upon Him.

And no matter how much time I take to pray this way, I know I still am not sacrificing my time and love the way He deserves.  And to know that – I mean really know that – is not to feel like I am “not enough”, but it is liberating to know that He loves me – and you – so much that we are enough in His eyes.

To feel loved like that makes you want to be a better person.  To pray.  To commit.  To sacrifice.  For Him.  Not for semantics or dogma.

As a gift of my Spirit – the only possible gift I can give.

I pray for me.

I pray because I know that whatever prayers of intercession that I take to God, I know that I am taking them to the only One who could possibly do anything good with my desires.

I know that I am taking my truths to the only One who could possibly do anything good with me.

I know that I am taking my heart and revealing it to the only One who can strengthen me for whatever outcomes wait ahead.

I pray because I know that I am trying to be honest in a way I never have before, like I never have been before with anyone else, to show Him how devoted I am to Him, how thankful I am for Him, and how truly reliant I am…

… on Him.

Intercession prayers are not for the weak.  Neither are other types of prayers, but to downplay one practice of Christianity over another is sad.  Particularly when the “ill” to be found is not in the Church, nor in the prayer, but in each of us.

Humanity.

That is why I pray.  To overcome my humanness for a few moments.

*****************

And regarding doubting why God is not answering prayers?  Why tragedies happen?

Scripture will answer that far better than I ever can.  I am reading Job for the first time right now… and I am in love!

*****************

God, I ask you for an open heart and an open mind.  I beg of you to cleanse my heart and show me only truth.  I ask you to guide me with your divine Word and not with human wishes.  I pray for all of your Saints, to strengthen us with spiritual meat, and I pray for milk to the newborns, to nurture the beginning of a relationship with You.  I pray you use us each as rain to water your seeds, and to lift our faces high to the sunshine that only You give.

With sincere love and discerning heart,

~ me.

I have a thing for ethnic men.

I have a thing for dark skin.  Sometimes for long, lovely hair.  For lovely, dark eyes.  For beautiful souls and joyful, artful spirits peaking through the manly exteriors.   Think Troy Polamalu.  Or Larry Fitzgerald.*  Both of whom I have called “My Football Boyfriends” for the last several years.

Marc has joked many occasions that if I left him it would surely be for such a man.  Early this year, for instance, I told him my new favorite NFL player was Torrey Smith.  His reply?  “Of course, it is.”

Honestly, all of this is quite innocent.

The question is, at what point has the innocence shattered and a harmless “crush” become a sinful source of lust?  At what point, must we as Christians, decide to cut ourselves away from the “innocuous” music, movies, television, and media that pervade our society?

The Bible clearly states that we must take our thoughts captive to Christ.  This is no source of guilt – on the contrary, a believer knows the way no one else can that this is a human’s ultimate source of freedom.

Further, the Bible states that our hearts are the truth of who we are.  What comes out of our mouths and our brain is a clear reflection of the truth of self in our own hearts.  We must surrender everything in our heart to Christ to ask for forgiveness, purity, and true freedom.

Yet, we live in a society that says in order to keep a marriage hot and healthy, we are allowed to “harmlessly” flirt or fantasize, so long as we are only bringing our heart and bodies to our marriage.

Of course, this is the same society that says, “If you are unhappy, leave your marriage,” “You deserve to be happy at all costs,” and that complete sexualization of children is harmless and entertainment.

Last week, however, we all got to be hypnotized by Beyonce’s amazing Super Bowl performance.  I was not even interested in it, and BAM! I was mesmerized by her.  Through her whole performance, I remarked to my husband that she was unbelievably talented, hot, and that super hero comic characters are based on her body.  I also commented that she was still classy and not out flaunting her breasts the way other starlets do.  Marc immediately corrected me, saying her dance moves (“thrusts”) were of a strictly overt sexual nature and not classy or particularly of honorable intention.

Photo Credit: Terry Richardson, courtesy of http://www.vibe.com/article/beyonc%C3%A9-dishes-new-music-super-bowl-equality-and-more-gq

Last night I was listening to Bruno Mars… my latest fascination of people.  Something about his music moves me.  My heart flutters, my body cannot help but jump up and down, and my mind becomes captive.

Courtesy of BrunoMars.com

I asked myself if it were harmless, still, considering that he has a different effect on me than the average.  Moved by music is one thing, but feeling captive to another human’s power…

Further, consider the lyrics – No, REALLY, read these lyrics, I beg you:

Bruno Mars: “Locked Out of Paradise”

Never had much faith in love or miracles
Never wanna put my heart on the line.
But swimming in your world is something spiritual
I’m born again every time you spend the night

Cause your sex takes me to paradise
Yeah your sex takes me to paradise
And it shows, yeah, yeah, yeah
Cause you make feel like, I’ve been locked out of heaven
For too long, for too long
Yeah you make feel like, I’ve been locked out of heaven
For too long, for too long

You bring me to my knees
You make me testify
You can make a sinner change his ways
Open up your gates cause I can’t wait to see the light
And right there is where I wanna stay

Cause your sex takes me to paradise
Yeah your sex takes me to paradise
And it shows, yeah, yeah, yeah
Cause you make feel like, I’ve been locked out of heaven
For too long, for too long
Yeah you make feel like, I’ve been locked out of heaven
For too long, for too long

The spiritual wording and imagery is abundant, but the focus is all wrong.  Yet, listening to him and his beautiful voice and watching his contagious energy takes me captive… just like he sings about.

Is this lustful and something I just free myself of to give my heart to God more fully, or is enjoying such entertainment nothing but a mindless few minutes of innocent fun?

With love and in omnia paratus,

Ashley Sue

About “Christian Question”, a series by Ashley Sue:

Simple question, but I would love answers coming from a Christian perspective.  After all, I am fairly certain the secular view of historical monuments and many other issues that will arise, but Christians struggle with various feelings and understandings in modern day secularism.  Therefore, a Christian perspective and conversation is encouraged.

While Ashley Sue is a tremendous believer in the power of conversation, debate, spirited discussion, and respectful disagreements between every human being in her life, this is a series directed exclusively to Christians – people who are in The Word and seek the love, tolerance, understanding, and discernment of Christ in making the thoughtful decisions they face in their lives.

Please, leave your comments below.  Create a pseudonym if you fear putting your real name for any such reason.  Or send Ashley Sue an email with your thoughts as a last resort.  The purpose of this is to have conversation, and if you leave comments on her Facebook timeline, the conversation is fragmented and your Brothers and Sisters in Christ might really miss out on a valued insight you are offering.

Ashley Sue is also a believer in allowing all comments in blog posts, and has never evoked her authority to delete nor edit a comment.

“Christian Question” is a new series, however, and due to its nature, construe a new set of rules.

Any comments that become disrespectful, aim to tell another reader that s/he is inherently wrong in her/his view, come from a secular point of view and do not explain any Biblical perspective behind the philosophy, or condescend Christians, Christ, or Faith, may be removed and deleted.

Ashley Sue will never edit any comment by anyone else.

*  Talking to my sister, I realized I do not have a type after all.  I am enchanted by Chris Hemsworth (aka “Thor”), and I have forever had a flutter when it comes to Heath Miller.  Ultimately, Marc has been the apple of my eye since I was only 10 years old.  Therefore, my sister explained I do have a type – I like the men type.  *giggles*

As I did research to better understand the differences between the Pantheon and the Parthenon (I encounter far too many people who do not realize they are two separate buildings), I learned that both were built as temples to gods.

The Pantheon was to honor all of the roman gods – and was built about 100 years after Christ’s life and about 75 years after an imprisoned Paul wrote the book of Romans.  The Parthenon was built long, long before Christ to celebrate the Greek goddess Athena.

The Pantheon in Italy now serves as a Roman Catholic Church.  Both buildings have tremendous historical value.  Greece pays for the upkeep, renovation, and restoration of the Parthanon.

My mind immediately leapt to a micro level of this same situation.  Art museums, for instance, carry multitudes of relics that celebrate gods, paganism, and even ritualistic killings of the black magic.  For that matter, even our homes can carry many such relics.

My question is, what role do historic relics that celebrated pagan customs or other idols serve?  Should taxpayer money fund such projects?  Do having the buildings stand as historical “treasures” inadvertently (or blatantly even) support continued idolatry, or reminders of our history, past, and growth?  Does destroying these structures equal faithful devotion to God, or demonstrate our human tendency to judge and repeat history?

Please, leave your comments below.  Create a pseudonym if you fear putting your real name for any such reason.  Or send me an email with your thoughts as a last resort.  The purpose of this is to have conversation, and if you leave comments on my Facebook timelines, the conversation is fragmented and your Brothers and Sisters in Christ might really miss out on a valued insight you are offering.

With love and in omnia paratus,

Ashley Sue

About “Christian Question”, a series by Ashley Sue:

Simple question, but I would love answers coming from a Christian perspective.  After all, I am fairly certain the secular view of historical monuments and many other issues that will arise, but Christians struggle with various feelings and understandings in modern day secularism.  Therefore, a Christian perspective and conversation is encouraged. 

While Ashley Sue is a tremendous believer in the power of conversation, debate, spirited discussion, and respectful disagreements between every human being in her life, this is a series directed exclusively to Christians – people who are in The Word and seek the love, tolerance, understanding, and discernment of Christ in making the thoughtful decisions they face in their lives. 

Please, leave your comments below.  Create a pseudonym if you fear putting your real name for any such reason.  Or send Ashley Sue an email with your thoughts as a last resort.  The purpose of this is to have conversation, and if you leave comments on her Facebook timeline, the conversation is fragmented and your Brothers and Sisters in Christ might really miss out on a valued insight you are offering.

Ashley Sue is also a believer in allowing all comments in blog posts, and has never evoked her authority to delete nor edit a comment.

“Christian Question” is a new series, however, and due to its nature, construe a new set of rules.

Any comments that become disrespectful, aim to tell another reader that s/he is inherently wrong in her/his view, come from a secular point of view and do not explain any Biblical perspective behind the philosophy, or condescend Christians, Christ, or Faith, may be removed and deleted.

Ashley Sue will never edit any comment by anyone else.

I was floored.

Someone I know personally to be a great, funny, and caring guy just slammed Carrie Ann Inaba when her face popped on screen during a TV tabloid show.

Photo courtesy of Carrie Ann’s Twitter.

Granted, I have nothing vested in this chic.  For that matter, I just had to Google her to find her last name.  I do not watch that show, and if she is that lady who is famous for screaming when people dance, I do want to pay a lot of attention to her.  And if that screaming chic is someone else and I am mixing the two, well, it just further proves how little I care about the show or their celebrity.

All I could think though was how awful a comment that was.

Perhaps my dear friend thought he was being funny.  Perhaps he thought I would think his comment was charming.  Instead, all I could think was “how perfect is perfect enough for you men?”

“First of all, that was a really mean comment.  Second, while I also do not understand the love of the face mole, some people do find it charming, classic and sexy.  Like Marilyn, or Madonna.”

What I wanted to say was, “What is wrong with you?  If I had a mole above my lip, and I saved the money to have it surgically removed, I know you too well, and you would say I was being vain and wasting money instead of allowing my natural beauty to be enough!”

I instantly thought back to one of my sisters, who is unbelievably beautiful (I have heard it from people over and over in my life, not to mention notice it myself time and again).  Until a couple years ago, she had a mole above her lip.  She did decide to remove it, despite having been fine with it for almost all of her life.

I thought of my Daddy, who has a couple moles on his face.  Not on his nose or anything crazy, and honestly, I never look at him and think about the couple light brown moles.  I think he is beautiful, and I have been told time and again how incredibly handsome my Daddy is.  I had one guy in high school who visited my house once and met my Dad.  “What is wrong with your Dad’s face?  He’s crazy looking.  He’s got those moles all over his face.”*

Among a group of men who believe women are too concerned with being vain and having surgery, I constantly see the dichotomy of these same men commenting on how hot Britney Spears is (back in 2000, that is), how great perky, large boobs are, and apparently how Carrie Ann Inaba has enough money that she should have the sense to fix her nearly flawless face.**

Dang.  Where is our focus that thoughts and words like this are still OK in our society?  Where is our dignity when we hold certain women in a realm different than our own reality?

Where is our heart when we think saying things like this hold any bit of truth or humor?

In omnia paratus,

Ashley Sue

*  I still think to that, “Screw you, man.  My Dad’s beautiful, and you are not Brad Pitt.”

**  By “nearly flawless”, I am not referring to her mole, though he certainly was.  I just mean, who actually has a “flawless” face?

The last thing you will feel upon venturing through the North Carolina Museum of Art for the Munch exhibition is that you just looked at a comic strip.

Intense.  Honest.  Simple.

Something about each of Munch’s works gave me, I don’t know… something right in the center of me, right below my ribs and above my tummy… a flipping feeling.  They call to you to take the time to fall into the scene.

“The Girls on the Bridge”. Wood cut and lithograph.

Munch (pronounced “Mooo-nk” and not like “Crunch and Munch”) spent much of his life struggling (don’t we all?).  He was confused, he was emotionally tormented, and he used his images and printmaking to think it out.

His mother died while he was young, his young sister died from tuberculosis, and mental illness plagued his family.  He was tormented by the death around him, and terrified of going mad himself.

John Coffey, NCMA deputy director for art, described Munch’s work as “so damn honest”.  After all, “pretty’s overrated.”

While the array of works on display at NCMA are last described as “pretty”, they tap into something deeper than the superficial.  Think of that person you know – the person who is hardly a cover girl of Vogue, but she is intelligent, she makes you laugh constantly, she served in Iraq for the war, she has bow-hunted a deer, she makes stunning stained-glass, and she played piano at the annual Governor’s ball.  Oh, and she attended college on a swimming scholarship while starting a foundation for kids in inner city communities.

Munch has depth.  He has a story, and no matter what all you learn, you wonder what you don’t know yet.  You want to know who the people are in his pictures.  You want to know why they look like that.  You want to know what each of them meant to him, and how he met them.  Why he chose them.  You want to know why some prints are nearly monotone while others are marked with such vivid color.

“Melancholy III” detail. Wood cut with gouache. Why such vivid color choice? I love it.

“Anxiety” detail. Lithograph. Who are they? Why are they together? Why is no one smiling?

“Pretty’s overrated” because beauty is so much more than an initial glance.

Munch never got over watching his sister die, and she lived on in his work as the star of many pieces.  He even kept the chair in which she died in his studio.

“The Sick Child I”

As an adult, his work shows struggle with relationships with women.  His infinity toward women, love, and sex plays out in a constant tension in his prints.  Life and death, love and isolation.  Really, some of the works (not posted here) in the exhibition are scandalous.  Sexual.  Racy.  Provocative.

“Jealousy II”. Lithograph.

Even the wall colors chosen for the exhibition match the dwelling feel of Munch’s work.  Like when you are trying to go to sleep, and you keep coming in and out of full consciousness, and your heart is racing with lingering thoughts of the past.  Tell me I am not the only one to experience that?

I get a kick out of that tumultuous feeling, which might explain why I actually found several of his works as happy.  A warm, happy feeling of being not alone came over me with two of his works, which ironically, were supposed to capture his own feelings of isolation.

See?  Tension.  Battling emotions.  Drama.  Love.  Fear.

The human experience.

“Summer Night: The Voice”. Dry point and etching.

“The Human Beings, the Lonely Ones”

I learned that night I am truly an eternal optimist.  The works above both made me very happy.  Yet the title of the bottom one?  “The human beings: the lonely ones”.  Hmmm…  I am just happy they are lonely together (though, isn’t united loneliness even more lonely?  Oh, I love that I relate to his work).

The exhibition is different for us.  An artist with household fame, just like Rembrandt, Rockwell, and Monet, but with a largely undiscovered body of work like El Anatsui, 30 Americans, and even Rockwell (I love that Rockwell falls in both categories).

I may be late sharing how excited I am about the #MunchPrints exhibition, and the time has come to tell you that you have to get there.  Immediately.

In omnia paratus,
Ashley Sue

What: “Edvard Munch: Symbolism in Print” exhibition.
Where: N.C. Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh.
When: Through Feb. 10, 2013.
Cost: $5; free for children 6 and under.
Info: 919-715-5923 or ncartmuseum.org

Sunday March 18, the North Carolina Museum of Art will unveil a completely surprising exhibition.

North Carolina Museum of Art presents El Anatsui

African Contemporary Artist El Anatsui shares a varied collection of his work in a sparkling array of shimmer and grit.

Stay!  Do not leave!

I know the major patronage of our fine state-endowed institution is not a strong fanbase for contemporary art.

El Anatsui, however, has such a fascinating exploration of material use, story-telling, and sheer size, I honestly feel you will break my heart by not making every effort to visit this exhibition!

Let me start with my expectations.

Not being familiar with his work, I imagined a lot of, well, African art.  Wood.  Abstract.  Things that look like beasts.  Ignorant of me, perhaps.

Also, what I expected based on the piece currently owned by the NCMA and housed in the new West Building can be summed up with what I told Marc the night before the media preview:

“His work is a lot of sculptural pieces made out of trash found in Africa.  Probably trash dumped there by American companies.”

America-bashing and environmentalism are always easy assumptions for pseudo-granola-loving 30-somethings.  Besides, contemporary art always has some big political message anymore, right?

Instead, I was nearly instantly caught in a transformed world where “trash” turns into whimsy and gallery lights into sunbeams.

Stressed World

I felt like a child swept up in an imaginary land.

I had a similar experience when Marc and I went to see Where the Wild Things Are in the theater three years ago.

Giant sheets of color hung on the wall seem to sway from a breeze.  Metallic glints sparkle from the most unexpected places.  Even heavier pieces give me an immediate sense of happy and love.

Detail of Stressed World

People of driftwood seem to walk right out from the waves and stand with us to hear Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum for African Art Lisa Binder and NCMA Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art Linda Dougherty talk about their conversations with “El” and time installing the pieces.  Even as the women speak, I heard El’s personality, humor, and charm.  He won me over instantly.

Akua's Surviving Children (1996)

We found out El Anatsui is careful never to refer to any of his art as “recycled” material.  His work speaks of environment, but not environmentalism.  He focuses on using what he sees every day, what he and his friends use in their environment.

Metal scraps from bottle tops, meticulously cut and placed; ceramic; wood; driftwood; paintings; unexpected splashes of bold color like a surprise homage to the 1980s.  All of these items are from his environment, but far from him dwelling in a land of American debris.  The bottle tops, for instance, are largely accumulated from drinks he and friends shared during a certain period of his life.  Now, he gets most of them used from a local distillery.

Coins on Grandma's Cloth (1992)

If you have ever seen El Anatsui’s work elsewhere, or see it in the future, the exact same pieces are likely to look very different, as each piece has its own life and mobility.  Linked with copper wire or made of interlocking pieces of wood, most of his work not only can be changed every time it is installed, but nearly has no other choice.

El Anatsui uses what is in his immediate environment to tell stories of relationships, and even the pieces themselves are as fluid and dynamic as any relationship in your life.  Like a conversation that keeps unfolding with tangents, each piece made me feel like El was with us in the gallery, laughing and playing with each piece.

I was consistently mesmerized with how bottle caps – repurposed scraps of aluminum and tin – felt so rich, so vibrant, and so luxurious.  I was a princess in his world, and the palace was covered in treasures complete with a treasure trove of gold medallions.

Seriously, I never thought I would think words like “luxurious”, “vibrant”, and “magical” would describe how I felt about either contemporary art or African art… yet here I am doing just that.

I have never had an experience like this at any other museum.

I have never had an experience like this at any other exhibition.

Detail of Peak Project

If you think of museums as mausoleums, perhaps you, more than anyone else, need to visit the El Anatsui exhibition at North Carolina Museum of Art.

The show lasts March 18 through July 29, 2012.  Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, military, students and groups of 10 or more.  Children 12 years and younger are subject to lesser (or free) pricing, and college students with current I.D.s are free on Friday 5-9 pm.

Check out the North Carolina Museum of Art on Facebook and Twitter to learn more, find out what other exhibitions are happening, and to see a really rad time-lapse video of the installation of “Stressed World” for the Anatsui show!

~ Ashley Sue

PS.  To see a few more photos from El Anatsui to get you jazzed to visit yourself, you can view the album here.  Always remember, however… no photo or print can ever do justice to an actual work of art!

PPS.  I would like to give special thanks to

The North Carolina Museum of Art for everything you do for our great state!

Larry Wheeler for continuing to work with an exciting vision and create team

The entire NCMA team for making us New Media folks feel so welcomed, for inviting us at all, and for making our day so completely spectacular with interviews, behind the scenes looks at building the exhibition, and insight into the work of both the museum and the artists:

Chad Weinard, New Media Manager
Jennifer Warner, NCMA Marketing Manager
Natalie Braswell, NCMA Assistant Marketing Manager
Shannon Harris, Exhibition Designer
Lisa Binder, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum for African Art, New York
Linda Dougherty, NCMA Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art

And thank you to the other New Media friends touring El Anatsui yesterday.  Time with you and laughing over conversation and lunch at Iris is as relational as we could get.  I think El Anatsui would be proud at how his works worked:

Daniel Hamilton
Ashley Yandle
Kristin Tabor
(and in spirit) Ginny Skalski

Takari in Blue - my favorite piece... You just have to see it in person!

Neveryoumind, as much as I want to own “Takari in Blue”, I feel identically about “Tagomizer”.  Find it in the gallery and let me know what you think!

Detail of Takari in Blue

“Something that was touched, something that was consumed, and now tells another story.”

- A life’s work by an Artist, his life, his art, his environment, and now us.

1.  Know how to make lemonade.

A positive twist is important.  In every thing you do, a positive attitude is frankly the only attitude to have.

Dwelling on what is not working, as well as harping on how things have always been done before, is no way to get your organization in a leading position in the future.  Plus, people simply enjoy friendly over snide banter.

Practice smiling.  When you wash the dishes, water the plants, make that phone call, or reply to the nasty email you got from an unhappy customer, take a deep breath and smile.  Trust me, count your blessings and take a friendly, high-road approach.

Also, a positive spin always makes everyone happier.

OK, that is a lie.  Some people are insatiable.  Other than those who perpetually see the sad side of life, however, turning any situation into something sunny-side up helps everyone feel like they win.  Besides, staying positive pushes you to keep your own faith high, too.

Honey, my dear, will get you everywhere.*

2.  Feel good saying “yes,” say “yes” with excitement, and always think “why not?” before saying “no”.

Have you seen the movie Yes! Man?

Jim Carrey’s performance and his romance with the always charming Zooey Deschanel always inspires me to leap out and say “YES!” to life.  Oh, the adventures to be had!

Really.  I watch this movie something like once a month, and am seriously considering this replacing my New Years Day tradition of watching 200 Cigarettes (double-feature, anyone?).

We can become all too comfortable shooting ideas down, but largely, I believe we say “no” out of fear.  We can make excuses and miss out on a lot of opportunities and a lot of living.

Hmmm…. would you prefer to spend your time thinking of excuses out of things, or experiencing and learning lots of new things?

3.  Stay flexible.  It’s against human nature, but we all have to adapt constantly.

Enough said.

Situations arise.  Circumstances change.  Obstacles love popping up into our plans more than you love your Mama’s pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

The same is true in marketing.  Whether you are talking about the ever changing world of communication tools, the constantly evolving economic forecast, or the everyday dealings within an organization, being agile will get you far.  When things get tough, that agility will transition you and your client or organization smoothly into ideal future positioning.

4. Again, going back to the original article, be true to who you are… with risks!

Learn new things, get outside of that comfort zone.  Stepping into new, scary territory will grow you more, both as an individual and professionally, than perhaps anything else you can do in your career.

Pitch your bad idea (to trusted company, of course).  Keep track of concepts that seem insane.

Then, think “why not?”

And when people tell you it cannot be done, ask “why not?”

Then, when people tell you how it has always been done instead, ask “why?”

Some of these bad, insane ideas can become polished into the most amazing gems.  I promise.

Yes!

~ Ashley Sue

*”Honey” is not code for lying or brown-nosing.  Integrity is everything, dear, and if you lie, cheat, or steal, everyone will smell you out in future dealings, long before you have had the chance to try “winning” them over again.