m e l i f e r a ' s m u s i n g s

King's Pharmacy

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:05:00 +0000

If you know me, then you know how much I despise Duane Reade for destroying small businesses (read an article I wrote posted in WG Arts + News, here).

Yesterday Anevay took it upon herself to start a King's Pharmacy art project, and eventually pulled in one of our roommates to act as art assistant.

Anevay wants to make a 'quilt' of her paintings, the paper having been purchased, of course, from King's Pharmacy. Free advertizing!

My art site

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:48:00 +0000

I recently started adding posts to a blog specifically for my art. Check it out, here.

Elgar Cello Concerto 1st Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I listened to Yo Yo Ma's rendition tonight, and loved it- he plays it beautifully... But there's just no SOUL. Jacqueline Du Pre's rendition, however, is transcendent and perfect. Seeing Daniel Barenboim conducting brings tears to my eyes, particularly as he gave Ms. Du Pre got the shaft in so many ways. But MY GOD, her playing!! Electric.

Brooklyn Gastronomique 101

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:57:00 +0000

The fabulous Courtney Webster and incomparable Lady Melissa Banigan, along with acclaimed cinematographer Anevay Darlington, help Brooklyn wake up right with a Parisian menu of slow-cooked eggs.

So ridiculous. Please ignore the fact that I sound like an insane bird (truly, this is not how I usually sound), and note the Larousse Gastronomique, please.

Man or Astroman?

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Read my brief write-up about Man or Astroman? in Lost at E minor, here.

96 Tears and Tighten Up

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:52:00 +0000

One of Carlos' favorite songs, '96 tears' which my kiddo plays over and over on her ipod (although she likes the ? and the Mysterions version). Enjoy.

And one more:

Dejection: An Ode

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:47:00 +0000

It's been a year since my friend Carlos died. A long year, gone by in a heartbeat. This evening I visited with friends to look at photos of Carlos and share countless amusing anecdotes. Carlos' gardening was mentioned, and it wouldn't have been right not to discuss his creative and wonderful sense of style. The funny stories were laughed over- tales from Carlos' drinking days and his way with the ladies. But the stories pertaining to Carlos' big heart were the ones that made my own heart ache. He touched all of us in so many ways, and gave himself wholeheartedly. I thought about how he babysat my daughter (although I never quite knew the shape my kid would be returned besides absolutely covered in grime), offered me ridiculous jobs when I needed money, and even, on three separate occasions when I was absolutely down on my luck, tried to get me to either live with him or in an apartment next door. Selfishly, I miss my friend because it's really tough 'going it alone'. I'm a single mama- sometimes, if only for a moment, it's nice to feel taken care of. It's a rare feeling, but one that Carlos imparted with regularity.

I try my best to be little miss happy f-in' sunshine, but tonight, I feel an unusual sort of quiet, weighted sadness. Walking home after leaving my friends, I thought of a few lines from a Coleridge poem:

A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear,
A stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief,
Which finds no natural outlet, no relief,
In word, or sigh, or tear -

(After the jump, the entire poem. It's lovely, absolutely, although utterly melancholic.)

I still love my friend very much. Thanks, Carlos, for having been there.

Dejection: An Ode
-Coleridge

Late, late yestreen I saw the new moon,
With the old moon in her arms;
And I fear, I fear, my master dear!
We shall have a deadly storm.

Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence.

I

Well! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made
The grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence,
This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence
Unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade
Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes,
Or the dull sobbing draft, that moans and rakes
Upon the strings of this Aeolian lute,
Which better far were mute.
For lo! the New-moon winter-bright!
And overspread with phantom light,
(With swimming phantom light o'erspread
But rimmed and circled by a silver thread)
I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling
The coming-on of rain and squally blast.
And oh! that even now the gust were swelling,
And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast!
Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed,
And sent my soul abroad,
Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give,
Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live!

II

A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear,
A stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief,
Which finds no natural outlet, no relief,
In word, or sigh, or tear -
O Lady! in this wan and heartless mood,
To other thoughts by yonder throstle wooed,
All this long eve, so balmy and serene,
Have I been gazing on the western sky,
And its peculiar tint of yellow green:
And still I gaze -and with how blank an eye!
And those thin clouds above, in flakes and bars,
That give away their motion to the stars;
Those stars, that glide behind them or between,
Now sparkling, now bedimmed, but always seen:
Yon crescent Moon, as fixed as if it grew
In its own cloudless, starless lake of blue;
I see them all so excellently fair,
I see, not feel, how beautiful they are!

III

My genial spirits fail;
And what can these avail
To lift the smothering weight from off my breast?
It were a vain endeavour,
Though I should gaze forever
On that green light that lingers in the west:
I may not hope from outward forms to win
The passion and the life, whose fountains are within.

IV

O Lady! we receive but what we give,
And in our life alone does Nature live:
Ours is her wedding-garment, ours her shroud!
And would we aught behold, of higher worth,
Than that inanimate cold world allowed
To the poor loveless ever-anxious crowd,
Ah! from the soul itself must issue forth
A light, a glory, a fair luminous cloud
Enveloping the Earth -
And from the soul itself must there be sent
A sweet and potent voice, of its own birth,
Of all sweet sounds the life and element!

V

O pure of heart! thou need'st not ask of me
What this strong music in the soul may be!
What, and wherein it doth exist,
This light, this glory, this fair luminous mist,
This beautiful and beauty-making power.
Joy, virtuous Lady! Joy that ne'er was given,
Save to the pure, and in their purest hour,
Life, and Life's effluence, cloud at once and shower,
Joy, Lady! is the spirit and the power,
Which wedding Nature to us gives in dower,
A new Earth and new Heaven,
Undreamt of by the sensual and the proud -
Joy is the sweet voice, Joy the luminous cloud -
We in ourselves rejoice!
And thence flows all that charms or ear or sight,
All melodies the echoes of that voice,
All colours a suffusion from that light.

VI

There was a time when, though my path was rough,
This joy within me dallied with distress,
And all misfortunes were but as the stuff
Whence Fancy made me dreams of happiness:
For hope grew round me, like the twining vine,
And fruits, and foliage, not my own, seemed mine.
But now afflictions bow me down to earth:
Nor care I that they rob me of my mirth;
But oh! each visitation
Suspends what Nature gave me at my birth,
My shaping spirit of Imagination.
For not to think of what I needs must feel,
But to be still and patient, all I can;
And haply by abstruse research to steal
From my own nature all the natural man -
This was my sole resource, my only plan:
Till that which suits a part infects the whole,
And now is almost grown the habit of my soul.

VII

Hence, viper thoughts, that coil around my mind,
Reality's dark dream!
I turn from you, and listen to the wind,
Which long has raved unnoticed. What a scream
Of agony by torture lengthened out
That lute sent forth! Thou Wind, that rav'st without,
Bare crag, or mountain-tairn, or blasted tree,
Or pine-grove whither woodman never clomb,
Or lonely house, long held the witches' home,
Methinks were fitter instruments for thee,
Mad Lutanist! who in this month of showers,
Of dark-brown gardens, and of peeping flowers,
Mak'st Devils' yule, with worse than wintry song,
The blossoms, buds, and timorous leaves among.
Thou actor, perfect in all tragic sounds!
Thou mighty poet, e'en to frenzy bold!
What tell'st thou now about?
'Tis of the rushing of an host in rout,
With groans, of trampled men, with smarting wounds -
At once they groan with pain, and shudder with the cold!
But hush! there is a pause of deepest silence!
And all that noise, as of a rushing crowd,
With groans, and tremulous shudderings -all is over -
It tells another tale, with sounds less deep and loud!
A tale of less affright,
And tempered with delight,
As Otway's self had framed the tender lay -
'Tis of a little child
Upon a lonesome wild,
Not far from home, but she hath lost her way:
And now moans low in bitter grief and fear,
And now screams loud, and hopes to make her mother hear.

VIII

'Tis midnight, but small thoughts have I of sleep:
Full seldom may my friend such vigils keep!
Visit her, gentle Sleep! with wings of healing,
And may this storm be but a mountain-birth,
May all the stars hang bright above her dwelling,
Silent as though they watched the sleeping Earth!
With light heart may she rise,
Gay fancy, cheerful eyes,
Joy lift her spirit, joy attune her voice;
To her may all things live, from pole to pole,
Their life the eddying of her living soul!
O simple spirit, guided from above,
Dear Lady! friend devoutest of my choice,
Thus mayst thou ever, evermore rejoice.

My work in a group show at Bows and Arrows!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:48:00 +0000

Hey All, it's been awhile...

Life has been a little hectic since taking a fulltime job back in March. Not much time to write (but I'm making a great effort to find those 25th and 26th hours per day!), and sadly, absolutely no time for art-making. Therefore, I'm thrilled (to say the very least!) that the dynamic-duo behind Texas-based Bows and Arrows has bought (outright!!) five pieces for their upcoming show, 'A Needle Pulling Thread'.

Bows and Arrows writes:

A simple needle and thread give these carefully selected artists a common ground in which to create their works. The artists work on a variety of mediums including fabric, wood and paper. While using sculptural, as well as figurative and abstract elements, the artists build a whirlwind of visual characters. These works, viewed together for the first time, encourage a dialogue on the notions of where “craft” might fit in contemporary art. Our world is encompassed by the basic technology of sewing, from clothes to furniture, from a jet plane seat to ancient beadwork. The long history of this medium invites one to rethink and challenge its foundations and A Needle Pulling Thread influences the new folk aesthetic by encompassing what sewing is and what it can be.

Anyone want to take me to Texas for the weekend to see the show??!! Below, a detail of one of my pieces... Also, I have four pieces left from the solo show I had last summer at Spacecraft. Don't YOU want one of my embroidered canvases on YOUR wall??

Sold some art, worked like a dog, and in bed by 10:00 on a Friday night = Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:15:00 +0000

Hello there, strangers. It's been a month since I last posted. 'Cause guess what? Working like a madwoman in a full-time job, writing like a demon, embroidering, and being a mama is a little time-consuming. But things are good. Read on...

One of the cutest and most wonderful of gallery/shops ever just bought FIVE of my art pieces! Out of Dallas, Texas, Bows and Arrows shows amazing art, and sells beautiful flower arrangements and really cool crafts. And soon, my dears, they'll be showing my work! Here's a peek at the pieces they've purchased:

How cool is THAT?? The pieces are from a show I had up at Spacecraft this past summer. Interestingly enough, it was just over a year ago today that I started embroidering on canvas and showed my first work, in a show at Brooklyn Collective (which was where, incidentally, the owners of Bows and Arrows bought their first of my pieces, entitled 'Growing Pains'):

The job is going well- a ton of work and a kabillion hours at the school- but I think I'm making a difference. Every time I start to feel overwhelmed I just close my eyes for a moment and remember that for three wretched years I used to work in finance... It is so gratifying to be working with people I can actually relate with, and for reasons I find important (I guess making money for rich people wasn't my cup of tea).

Anyway, all of this has made me EXHAUSTED. Knowing that my internal clock will wake me up at 4:30 to write, I am going to soon go to sleep, where I will probably dream of strange decapitations/bird heads, selling my novel, seeing kids grow, and, in the morning, will wake to my sweet girl's smiling face.

Sometimes, it's pretty amazing to be here on this earth, breathing, making things, being human.

To end, and because it's spring, I'm going to show you a few pretty arrangements from Bows and Arrows (because if none of you knew already, I LOVE flowers. They made me happy- they are sublime- magical- beautiful- strange. They make me want to weep (in a bittersweet sort of way). They make me want to go to weddings. (A little extra parenthetical, within parentheses, aside- I LOVE weddings almost as much as I love flowers... but you probably knew that, right?) They make me want to run through fields and roll down grassy hills). Enjoy! And happy spring!

Happily employed

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:33:00 +0000

I've been working on a few orders, and am gearing up for an event next week at Madewell (I've been once again retained to embroider). Perhaps you might be interested in receiving a pretty little package in the mail? Sort of like the one below? Stop at my little Etsy store to take a peek...

Or, if you're as hard up for cash as I am these days, maybe you'd rather win some of my work? You have two days left to enter my 'Write for a Rat' contest. The winner will collect one of my canvases from a show I had last summer. Click here for details!

Life is good. Very good. Raising my kid, embroidering, writing, laughing, and, as usual, MAKING IT WORK!!

My staycation

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:43:00 +0000

I'm poor... really, really poor. As in, man-oh-man, it really sucks how poor I am. That said, I had a great time this past week with my daughter during her mid-winter recess. On Friday, we went to visit our friend, Dan, who works at the Natural History Museum. We walked through the amazing Silk Road exhibition, and I made sure to get my 'passport' stamped at each 'passport station'. As I told Dan, he exhibit is as close as I'll get to traveling for a long, long, long time.

This 'staycation' thing is getting old... Many of my friends are currently traveling/seeing the world. I have the travel bug, too, but I keep finding new bills in my mail box!

Anyone out there want to pay a struggling artist/writer to write a travel guide? I'd be more than happy to accept your all-expenses paid offer to go just about anywhere.

So... When do I leave?

New items!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:54:00 +0000

Hey All,

Just want to let you know that with Anevay off school this week, I've been busy making and adding items to my shop. Loads of great gifts, from blank notecards to wedding gifts!

Thanks,

-Melissa

Yep, so darn cute, next you might find me embroidering g-damned fairies and rainbows. Sigh.

Also, check out what Anevay made yesterday, below! We had a great day/evening, and it was fun to see how happy she was with her finished shirt:

Would Muhammad Ali approve?

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:58:00 +0000

Today Anevay and I spent the entire day working on a school project. The assignment? To come up with a game that incorporated either math or language sciences. We devised a spelling 'knock-out' game, using, of course, none other than Muhammad Ali to help guide us.

The nearly complete game-board. Anevay is going to add some flourishes tomorrow.

Still working away, at 5PM. My kid's putting in a longer workday than many of the 'creatives' who live in my neighborhood.

This makes me laugh.

There are three levels of words- these are some examples of level one. Some of the level three words are brutal!

Proud of herself... I'm proud of her, too.

As for tomorrow, I'm going to scramble to get some of MY work done!

Happy Belated Year of the Tiger!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:43:00 +0000

This past Sunday, Anevay and I trekked with our roommates across the river to Chinatown to celebrate the New Year! For those of you who have never experienced New Year's in NYC, just imagine a rich combination of firecrackers, streamers, kabillions of (drunk) people, amazing food, drums, and dancing dragons, and you'll have an idea of what it's like.

Free Palestine, Help the First Nation, Save the Animals, and the WWF

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:59:00 +0000

Yesterday, some kind Midwesterner placed an order for one of my Banksy-inspired Free Palestine shirts. In the past, I've donated $5 from the proceeds of every shirt to the Palestine Crescent Society (a branch of the Red Cross), but last night, preoccupied with other things, I went to the First Nations Development Institute website and made a donation. It was only after completing the donation I realized my mistake. Not that the First Nation Institute isn't great (it's in place to assist in strengthening American Indian economies, a matter dear to my heart), but if my buyer had wanted a Native American shirt, he would have bought one.

Anyway, I went to the Palestine Crescent Society site, but was unable to place an order. So I went to a folder on my computer where I keep information on great non-profit organizations to see where else I might donate. I opened the World Wildlife Fund site- something about seeing images of all those endangered animals tugs at my heartstrings. Very quickly, I forgot myself again, and inadvertently made a $5 donation. Again, once the transaction was completed, I realized my error.

I did, however, laugh when I saw how much my support was appreciated by the 'WWF', which, on a side note, made me remember pictures my dad once gave me of the time he went to see Andre the Giant:

I wonder if there has ever been an acronym war between the World Wrestling Federation and the World Wildlife Fund? Anyway, the shirt below has nothing to do with wrestling...

FINALLY, I made my way to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, where I made yet another $5 donation.

Now, $5 isn't a lot, although this past year I've learned quite a bit about how to stretch a dollar. If my kind Midwestern buyer is reading, please know that you have inadvertently donated to not one, but three very worthy and unrelated causes!

My flutter-brain-ness is really helping to save the world. Sigh.

Write for a Rat Contest!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:37:00 +0000

Have a great rat story you want to share? Want to win one of my canvases? Click here for details.

Best Onion Headlines Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:21:00 +0000

RIP Alexander McQueen

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:18:00 +0000

It would appear cheesemongers also loved fashion luminary Alexander McQueen... This sign was hanging today at the Bedford Cheese Shop.

Alexa Chung, Madewell, et Moi

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:16:00 +0000

Many of you may know that throughout 2009, I embroidered clothing at events for the J. Crew offshoot, Madewell. Well, looks like I'll be starting up again in March, with one of the brand's Denim After Dark events.

This morning, while leafing through my one few vices, amNew York, I saw that there is at least one fellow Williamsburger interested in Madewell...

Alexa Chung, whose MTV show was canceled last month, will be the first celebrity to design a line for the label. High-waisted skinny jeans will be amongst the pieces in her line.

Inneresting if it weren't totally boring. Yet despite the ridiculousness of the new wave hipsters (gag), I happen to like Madewell jeans. How about you? Will YOU be brave enough to wear jeans that are not only tight (jeans + totally tight = teans?), but leave nothing to the imagination by rocketing above your navel?

I say be bold, fashion soldiers. Surround your jiggly wonderful bellies in yet another STIRRING rendition of the skinny jean.

Snow day

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:52:00 +0000

NYC declared a snow day for public schools due to the 'huge' snowstorm (I'm from Wisconsin, so the few inches that have accumulated thus far seem ridiculous). My kid is delighted, and so am I. It feels like a weekend, and Brooklyn, usually so grimy, looks clean- dare I say, PRISTINE.

I'm writing up a storm (haha), and later this afternoon, plan to get out there to run around a bit by the East River. I'm envisioning a massive snowball fight. Anyone want to join us??

Happy Snow Day!

SOLD!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:26:00 +0000

My friend Tom has been in town for a few days before leaving on a many-month stint working in the jungles of Colombia. It's been great to see him- an added bonus is that this past weekend he brought a friend by who not only loved my work (much of which is littered around my loft), but asked if it is for sale! Obviously, I answered in the affirmative, and she picked up the above piece, called 'The Hand That Feeds', one of my favorites from my solo show this past summer at Spacecraft.

If you like what you see, check out my Etsy site for pricing/images/more info about some of my other work! And if you happen to be a friend or even a friend of a friend interested in a particular piece, shoot me an email and we'll work out a special deal.

Victorian Photocollage Exhibition at the Met

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:19:00 +0000

Check out something I wrote for Lost at E Minor about the uber-awesome Victorian Photocollage exhibition at the Met. The above pic from the exhibit reminds me of some of my own work (see picture below). Make sure to check out my Etsy store for pricing/more info about my art!

SO not even close to becoming a starving artist

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:57:00 +0000

Hey all, Williamsburg Greenpoint News + Arts just posted on their online publication a story I wrote for my new blog, Brooklyn Reject. In the story, called 'Brooklyn Reject: SO not even close to becoming a starving artist', I write about unemployment, underemployment, hunger in NY, and provide a couple of snarky comments about folks pocketing large bonuses. Check it out, here, and leave a comment to me know what you think!

Endless Endless Endless

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:02:00 +0000

Hey folks, check out a little something I wrote up about the band, Endless Endless Endless, on Lost at E Minor, as well as news on an upcoming gig.

Brooklyn Reject

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Banigan) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Well, folks, I just couldn't keep it to one blog...

Check out Brooklyn Reject, a blog that will record my New Year's resolution of writing, receiving rejection letters, and ultimately, of getting published. My first post discusses my game-plan.

In my second post, I mark the special event of becoming a true reject.

If you like what you see, or at least can empathize with a reject like myself, spread the word and share Brooklyn Reject with your friends!