What Have I Been Doing?

I know, I know.

Judging from the number of you that have been commenting, there is a general consensus that I have fallen from the face of the planet or have gone into the Bermuda Triangle. This is nonsense. A seasoned traveler would not go to Bermuda in the middle of hurricane season.

My absence is easily explained. Every year, the Hilton Head Art League has a Members' Show and every year I promise myself that I will have something ready to submit. And every year, I miss the cut because the show is always scheduled for late August-early September, which as you all know is the peak travel time of the year and has me busy with travel, writing and other similar things. I decided: Not this year.

The main reason that I made that decision is because I have had just as many people in the Art League making pointed comments (oh, without sarcasm, of course!) about my annual resolve to be ready and my annual default. No more! So I have spent the earlier months of the summer producing art, more of which will be posted in the coming weeks.

Today, after overcoming my incompetence at posting a photo, I am pleased to present this year's entry to the show, Les Beaux Chapeaux, --Janet's Hat:

Les Beaux Chapeaux--Janet's Hat

Copyright © 2005, Scotti Briggs

Pastel, 23 x 30 inches

The story behind the painting is that Irene and I went on a three week painting holiday in the Burgundy region of France last summer. Irene, Janet and I are the Women's Walking Wounded Lunch Club, otherwise known as WWWIII. Janet, who is not an artist, refused to go, although she would have had a great time hanging out with us because, well, we always have a great time hanging out with each other. Irene and I spent a few days in Paris both before and after we went to Burgundy. Just around the corner from our hotel on Rue Boetie, there was a hat shop. Irene and I paused one day to look in the windows, of which there were three and that I have compressed into one. We each decided which hat would be "ours." Then, since Janet stubbornly refused to come with us and since we are great friends, we decided to pick one for her in absentia.
Want a clue? Irene's favorite color is red. So the little Darth Vader hat in the front is hers. One of my favorite colors is green. Janet's favorite color is purple. I told her that if she didn't like the one we picked, she should have come along to defend herself. This is what you get when you allow Irene and me to go out in public by ourselves.
And, oh, by the way... I did not make that hat up. It can be yours for only 120 Euros.

Postscript:  This painting was selected for the cover of Arts & Entertainment magazine, September 9, 2005 edition.

Hang in There!

I have heard from several of you, wondering what has happened. You began to think you should report me as "missing." Never fear. I am still alive and well in Hilton Head.

I have been occupied, or preoccupied, trying to prepare my entry for the Hilton Head Art League Annual Members' Show, which I will place right here, on the screen, as soon as I can figure out how to do it.

I was also trying to catch up my Caribbean Travel Journal/Sketchbook, which I will likewise post as soon as I figure out the system.

So, hang in there a while longer and you will see what I have been doing!

The History of MsAdventures

MsAdventures began in 1976 as a group letter intended to maintain contact with a very close-knit group of eleven college friends. Postage for a First Class letter was 13 cents; a 20 minute long distance call was about $15.

Over time, I discovered that the letters were being circulated in my friends’ offices. Copies were being made on the office copier and forwarded to unknown recipients. For all I know, someone, somewhere may be compiling an entire dossier.

I began to receive calls from the original eleven. A co-worker was moving, a sister wanted to receive a copy, a friend’s friend asked, did I mind sending it to them?

Telephone lines were deregulated, making long distance very affordable. I decided to discontinue MsAdventures. I received notes and letters; I received crank phone calls. The cranks were all my closest friends.

The world began to get plugged in and cell phones were in every pocket. I could email my letter to the mailing list in nano seconds. Postage is now 37 cents. There are 46 names on the list, most of whom I have never met. There are a few names for people that no one can recall. I decided to discontinue MsAdventures. I got protests from some of them.

Why? MsAdventures tells of the various pitfalls and pratfalls that I have experienced. They seem to come to me naturally. Receiving a letter that details the incredible, oddball, ludicrous, and oftentimes, hilarious experiences that have happened to someone else simply makes you feel better about the things that happen to you. No one has those experiences more often than me. Luckily, I have learned how to laugh. Hopefully, you will, too.