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Survival of the Ditziest: Absent-Minded Artist does Bizarre Bazaar


When I absent-mindedly dropped trash in our kitchen’s utensil drawer, I knew I’d taken the up-cycling-artist thing, a bit too far.

As my partner Sara said, I’d been playing with tin cans too long.

Maybe you’ve done something similar—cleaned up after breakfast, accidently returning cereal to the frig and milk to the kitchen cupboard.

I’d endured the absent-minded -professor jokes when I taught writing at our state’s flagship university.  Now that I’m not teaching, the absent-mindedness endures.

So, although both Sara and I are depleted as only desperate and aging Baby Boomers can be, this weekend’s launch of Idiom Art at Third Street Stuff‘s Bizarre Bazaar was a huge, if exhausting, success.  (We hope you’ll visit and “like” our Facebook page and check out our Etsy shop, as well.)

And since I’m too tired for words, I’ll let the pictures tell the rest.  Below are new photos of art—both mine and Sara’s—and then images of the bazaar itself.

First up—Sara’s creations—tables I saved from the trash and Sara painted and decoupaged with flowers  she photographed this summer; tin can’s she’s recycled and covered with photoshopped  images of bourbon bottles; and switch-plates she’s covered with the same image.

Next— 2 chairs I painted.  These were hand-carved by Haitian craftsmen just after the 2010 earthquake.  They were sold on the street in Port-au-Prince, where they retained a raw wood surface.  I’ve simply painted and decoupaged them.

Below are my mixed-media shadow box creations.

And, finally, photos of the Bizarre Bazaar event itself.

Though you may not compete in the ditzy Olympics, what’s the most absent-minded thing you’ve done recently?  Do you use recycled items in creative ways?  How was your weekend? 

Note:  I should be back reading blogs again early this week.  About time, right?  Thanks for your patience.  I’ve missed you!

80 thoughts on “Survival of the Ditziest: Absent-Minded Artist does Bizarre Bazaar”

  2. I just love all the colors, so bright, happy & cheerful. That chair sitting in the sun couldn’t have been empty for long!

    Most absent-minded thing I’ve done of late? Yesterday I made the coffee for this morning but forgot to put a filter in .. gak! What a mess … thankfully I didn’t lose all of my coffee grounds but … geez.

    Missed you, too
    MJ

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    • I suspect you and I are kindred spirits in the absent-minded department–just one more thing we have in common. We sold stuff, but not as much as I’d like. Think we are going to set up an Etsy site this week. Hugs to you, dear Lisa!

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  4. Oh Kathy it all looks SO fabulous! I wish we had been able to be there. I don’t know which absent minded thing I did last. Probably call somebody the wrong name. I am ALWAYS doing that. So much so that one lady at work I ONLY call her by her wrong name now. I get too confused trying to use her right name. 🙂

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    • Oh, Colleen, we wish you and David could have been there, as well. That would have been fun. However, we were SO exhausted afterward, we both collapsed in bed. NO bike ride would have been possible. ALAS!

      And–oh, the name thing–I can NEVER remember names. It’s sad. Hugs to you both!

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  6. Well, there’s no wonder why the milk and cereal went to the wrong places! You’ve been in serious right-brain auto pilot! It often takes me days to reconcile back to ‘normal.’
    I really liked the switch plates, but the chairs are my favorite, especially the one with the eye!

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  10. I think you ladies did good! Way to go! Taken it to the streets! Colorful and creative, recycled and reused…

    Not I don’t use recycled items in my art work, unless you consider nature as recycled! I do look for old frames, and my thought is to use them at some point!

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  13. You know who needs to commission you? Ramseys. They always have the coolest chairs, and they need some of yours. The most absent minded thing. Recently.

    Ok, if I combine those two, here’s what I get.

    We went to the last minor league ballgame of the season a couple of weeks ago. (The Biscuits run longer than the Legends. I think the season is longer the closer you get to the majors or the further away. I forget which. I digress). I took Sam to the bathroom, deposited him in his stall, went to the bathroom myself, came out, washed my hands, and LEFT.

    I was halfway down the concourse before that niggling feeling “seems like I didn’t walk in there alone” blew up into full fledged “HOLY SHIT I JUST DITCHED MY FIVE YEAR OLD IN A PUBLIC TOILET” panic.

    He was fine. Some other mother was helping him wash his hands when I got back. She said she assumed I was in another stall. I said that had been true until just a few minutes before and we both laughed. Sam seems untraumatized.

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    • Hey, that’s a great idea, Jessie! They do have great chairs–plus, we love to eat there. Love the burgers–and Missy’s pies they serve!

      Sorry, but I had to laugh at your bathroom story. I would be so, so incredibly capable of that. Thank God I never had kids!

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  14. This is awesome – congratulations to both of you on your success at the art show!!! 🙂

    I have too many instances of me being ditzy to list them all…. one of the latest – I left the house for work the other day without brushing my teeth!! But in my own defense, I was being repeatedly kicked out of the bathroom by my children while they were getting ready for school. One bathroom for 4 people doesn’t work very well…..

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    • Bless your heart, Holly! It’s hard to have lots of people sharing one bathroom. So many folks have no idea. I’m delighted you like our stuff. It was lots and lots of fun. Exhausting, yes–but a hell of good time, too. Happy Monday!

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  15. Wonderful display! Jim loves the light switch covers. His dad has a bar and we may ask Sara if she can create some with Canadian Club bottles. Wouldn’t that make a fabulously unique Christmas gift?…….When I was pregnant with Jimmy I lost our checkbook. My hormone addled brain could not remember what I did with it. Jim was angry with me, calling every establishment I had visited hoping someone turned it in. After many tears from me and angry shouts from him, Jim decided it was time for some Jim Beam. He opened the freezer to get some ice and found the checkbook cooling on top of the frozen pizza I bought that afternoon. Gives new meaning to freezing an account, huh?

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    • Oh, Sista, you need to do a blog post about that story! It’s just too, too good. How hilarious. Call the post “Frozen Assets, ” or something like that.

      Love your idea. I suggest you send Sara a FB message describing what you would like. I bet she could do it. Brilliant idea, my friend. But, yeah, I think of Jim when I look at those light switches. Hugs to you, my dear!

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  18. Ohhhhh! I love all of your stuff!
    I’m extremely ditzy as of late. I’m blaming it it on premenopause! I’m constantly forgetting my phone places and I”m really lucky that people have been nice enough to not steal it! 🙂 My weekend was lovely, hope yours was, too. Your booth looked really nice. 🙂

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  19. Looks like the bazaar was a success. I like how you arranged your booth, and your sign was really cool. Glad to hear that your little creations are making their way out into the world.

    BTW – Sara’s light switch covers are awesome!

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    • I have to admit, the sign idea was Sara’s. A damn good one, I agree. It was cool that it shared our name but didn’t block the ability of folks to see in from the rear. I’ll tell Sara you like her switch covers. Thanks, Jackie!

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  24. I just read a blog post where the writer accidentally returned Comet cleanser to the refrigerator. This was after a mad cleaning spree he partook while drunk. I’m tellin’ ya…the blogosphere is incredibly entertaining!

    Great art, as always, Kathy! You CAN do no wrong.

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  25. Your booth looked great! Thanks for sharing the images of your designs. You guys are two spewing fountains of creativity. When I see a cat food can, I see just a cat food can. Correction: I actually think of you now when I see a cat food can, but until I knew you, I only saw a cat food can. You’ve given me empty cat food can vision.

    One of my most recent troublesome brain freezes was when I was running so late I raced out of my apartment without little other than my lunch, cell phone and keys. No satchel, no wallet, no notebook, no reading material. It was a miracle that I remembered to get dressed.

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  26. Unbelievable amount of work — and anything BUT ditzy. Creative, elegant and SO colorful! It makes me happy just looking at your work — I have no idea how you manage to blog on top of all this artistic outpouring!!

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    • Oh, thank you, Betty. You’re a sweetie. I suppose the bottom line was I wasn’t able to blog. But I was feeling kind of guilty about it. I’m kind of relieved to hear other folks might not have pulled it all off. Thank God. Now I don’t have to feel like I’m falling down on the job.

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  27. Fabulous work! You know I love the way you recycle Kathy 😉 So, so thrilled at your stupendous success! ❤
    Can't remember the last absent-minded thing I did, would you believe? And as for my weekend….the less said about it the better!

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  28. Wow! You two have been very busy! Your work is wonderful. As for absentmindedness, I’m pretty sure I do at least one absentminded thing each day, but I’m too absentminded to remember specific examples. 😀

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  29. Some beautiful work, Kathy! I don’t know how you have any time to keep posting blogs! I especially like the chairs from Haiti. Simple, yet colorful. Absent-minded? Yes, far too frequently these days. The other day I was multi-tasking and trying to work on bookkeeping work at the same time when suddenly my whole mind went blank. Usually you can remember what you’re trying to do within a minute or so, right? Not so this time. It took a whole five minutes to lose the absent-minded gap. Kinda scary. And how many times do I go down the basement and try to figure out why the heck I’m there. What are our “older” years going to look like? Yikes!

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  31. Wow. You BOTH have been really busy. I bet your booth was a hopping place to be – a lot of brightness and happy feelings in both of your creations. I stopped by both the Facebook page and Etsy. I wish you great success.

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  32. Kathryn…..This post of yours brought me great joy! And believe me, those words don’t propel from these lips everyday! ha ha! Truly. You and Sara are on my “must meet soon” bucket list! You are both creatively amazing! (I choke as I now recall the time I sent you corrections….ugh. Please forgive…lol). Sara’s table is beautiful….just beautiful. And your chairs! As I looked at the pics I thought of Alice in Wonderland…..I also kept thinking how I’d someday love to have a sunroom in a small beautiful little house…with artwork from you and your partner in crime. My eyes would smile in their presence! How could they not? You both create such delightful magical pieces and I fully intend on a visit someday (I promise not to drop in unannounced from MI!), I just have to save room in my car for all the things I’ll have purchased!!! Thank you for this gift of sharing….to both of you. Blessings xoxo Julia

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    • Oh, Julia, I’m gonna have to be sure Sara sees this comment, as a sun porch was exactly where she pictured that table And in light of the “Hatter” comment I just left for you on my last post, I suppose the “Alice in Wonderland” connection is all too apt! How funny is that? Thanks, my friend. SO, SO happy you like our work! We want to meet you TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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  33. This artwork is amazing! I hope the Bazaar was a tremendous success for both of you, and that the garbage-in-the-utensils-drawer episodes have since subsided. 🙂 Hope you and Sara are doing well, Kathy!

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    • How funny, Dana. No, there’s been no trash added to the utensil drawer. Though, I suppose it could happen again. Yikes. The bazaaar was a reasonable success–not fabulous, but good enough. I suppose I should get some pointers from you on that sort of thing. Great to hear from you.

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