Cloverdew Creative

Tonight is the night I’ve been waiting months for. It’s the night that the women of my church get up on stage and talk about vaginas. This may sound strange, but it’s part of an international movement started by Eve Ensler over 10 years ago. We are taking part in the VDay Movement and performing the Vagina Monologues.

Eve Ensler interviewed 200 women of all ages and backgrounds about vaginas, and by extension about their views on sex, relationships and violence against women. Her work has turned from an off-Broadway production into an international movement reaching many countries all over the world. The VDay non-profit has raised over $50 million dollars for women’s anti-violence groups through the benefits of the Vagina Monologues.

Our production, which I will be narrating this evening, benefits BARN, a local organization which benefits homeless women and their dependent children. The women performing in this production range in age from sixteen to seventy-eight and vary in size, shape, background, and voice. Each one brings a gift to this world through her performance and I am incredibly proud to be a part of this production and in a church community that supports women speaking out against violence, raising money for a charity that directly affects our local community, and encourages women to say the word VAGINA.

VAGINA IS NOT A DIRTY WORD.

I’ll type it again: VAGINA IS NOT A DIRTY WORD. It doesn’t get as much attention as “penis” and there are all too many negative connotations associated with words for the female anatomy, but vagina is not a dirty word. It may not be the prettiest word, but it is a clinical word, part of the female anatomy. It’s not going anywhere, so you’re just going to have to get used to it.

(And, if you’re in the Northern Virginia area, come out and see our production of the Vagina Monologues.)

Saturday March 13, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Bull Run Unitarian Universalists
9350 Main St.  Manassas, VA 20110

♥ The New Year started on the night of a Blue Moon. That has to be a good omen, right?! I’m excited.

♥ Who loves Edward Gorey? I know you all do… so head over to the Blah, Blah Blahg and get yourself the Edward Gorey font!

♥ If I had a million dollars, one of the things I’d buy would be this amazing Ellen Von Unwerth photography book. Is anyone else drooling as much as I am?

♥ I’m totally obsessed with Marc Jacobs’ new perfume Lola. It’s sweet, it’s spicy. Everything a feisty femme like myself could want in a perfume. Not to mention the bottle’s gorgeous, too. Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.

♥ Iranian men cross-dress for women’s rights. As Alex DeBranco says, “Hey American guys — won’t you dress in drag to support women’s rights, too? ‘Cause every girl’s crazy for a sharp-dressed man.”

♥ My friend from college, Zia, just started blogging a new creative venture. He’s a very talented musician and a very intelligent guy. His first post is called Why You Should Create Something in the Next 24 Hours. And why shouldn’t you? Stop making excuses and DO IT.

♥ Are you driven by passion? How does that work for you at work? Lauren Fernandez writes about the benefits of using your passion to fuel your career. Great discussion in the comments, too!

♥ No matter how bad it seems, believe in yourself and you will come through.

♥ Can’t wait for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland to come out in March? Me, either. Well, while you’re waiting, why not check out the Alice in Waterland collection at Elena Kalis Photography (Thanks, Kate, for the link!)

♥ Check out this luscious ruffled coat that Franki found. It’s by Lia Lintern and I can’t wait to see what new things come up in upcoming season collections.

♥ What better way to recycle cardboard tissue paper rolls than by building a forest with them? Yuken Teruya made this Corner Forest. And I happen to think it’s absolutely the bomb. Check out the amazing shadows created with the cut-outs and relief. Love love love! (via Lushlee)

♥ If you have not already become obsessed with Florence + the Machine, you’re missing something. I’d give my left arm, or maybe my left lung to see her in concert.

from weheartit

♥ If you’re like me, you’re probably looking for a great bed to hide away in with a book while the weather outside is frightful. Take a gander at this nook bed complete with reading lamps and fluffy down pillow and comforter. I’d love to have one of those!

♥ DC is getting a taste of European simplicity with a new crêperie at the entry to Gallery Place. They are serving up both sweet and savory dishes and are in a prime spot for walk-in traffic. I’m making it a point to check out Crêpes on the Walk before it gets so popular there are lines around the corner.

♥ Interested in archaeology? This Tinysaur would make the perfect addition to your desk space. I think he’s adorable. But I’d have to find him a more adorable and clever name than Rex.

♥ These pretty prints and paper goods from Little Galaxy make me want to sit and write letters all afternoon. If you could write a letter to anyone, who would you write? What would it say? Would you write a story? These works of art are full of fanciful imagination. Inspiring!

♥ No matter if you are an aspiring photographer or professional artist, this adorable FujiFilm Instax Camera will win your heart. While not quite like the ancient Polaroid cameras, this one is lightweight, fashion-forward, and prints clear credit-card sized photos in just a few minutes with a click of a button. Great for photos of family and friends to hang in your office, cubicle, or workspace; perfect for documentation on shoes for storage boxes (or anything else you want to put away for a season or two); ingenious for all those times you want to take photos which can’t be deleted just as easily as taken…

♥ Take a few moments to check out the Freckled Cup, an artist collective that showcases the beauty of people, light, warmth, color, lack of color, skin, touch, mountains, exploration, and most things in between.

♥ Want to leave a little something sweet for Santa? Why not try making these adorable Candy Cane Christmas Tree Cupcakes instead of cookies this year?

♥ Find out from Copyblogger Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants.

♥ Lover of literature? Why not read Pride and Prejudice told through emoticons? Gave me a laugh and made my day.

♥ If you don’t have a foot fetish now, you might have one once you see these sexy little peds. These hot little numbers peek out of the toe of your shoe, lending a little lingerie to to those dainty little toes.

♥ I love music, particularly when sung by feisty females. This folk-rock duo call themselves Garfunkel and Oates and are just as quirky and strange a combination as they might appear. Making cuss words sound cute and addressing themes like one night stands and singing songs titled “Pregnant Women Are Smug” and “This Party Took A Turn For The Douche”, these California cuties are on my permanent listening rotation.

♥ Try these dreamy photos for a little inspiration: rumor has it they’re from 1962, the same week Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection was shown.

♥ Ever wish for a simpler time? Learn How To Sew A Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew.

And, with that, my friends, I’m off to Florida to visit with my parents and brother for Christmas. I’m not taking my beloved MacBook, so it may be a while until my next post. I hope in the meantime, these links will keep you satisfied and sated. More next week after I return from my trip.

I bring to you, with love, a new feature on my blog entitled Love A La Carte. In this post, I will bring lovely links, graphics, quotes, and other baubles which inspire the creativity and love in all of us.

♥ Beautifully haunting images of abandoned structures at Opacity

♥ Some fresh and Mint-y designs and baubles

♥ Absolute luxury with lace leggings via TRZ (the Zoe Report)

♥ For all you cupcakeistas, check out August Street’s giveaway: Cupcakes and Muffins: Collectors Edition (book)

♥ Parasol Magazine’s latest issue with work by artists, crafters, designers, and photographers

♥ Cute and quirky look at the dating scene from Change.org, asking: Could Carrie Bradshaw Have Survived the 1930s Dating Scene?

♥ Inspiration for November from {bits of beauty}: {a month of creativity}

♥ T.ruffles (candy for your soul)

art credit: Anhata Katkin

This week is Fat Talk Free Week. Sponsored by the Delta Delta Delta sorority, the week has an official website (http://endfattalk.org)and a Twitter hashtag (#ftfw), as well as their own Twitter account. Fat Talk Free Week strives to make women all over the globe concentrate on a healthy ideal rather than the thin ideal. The Tri Deltas and their allies hope that, by educating and involving others, women can control their own fat talk and help others to do so, as well. What they want is not complacency or a glorification of overweight women, but for all women to feel that they can be beautiful and healthy without pushing themselves to the point of eating disorders or excessive exercise.

I found out about this fantastic initiative yesterday through a friend who posted the following video on her blog.

After watching this, I was struck by an article that was shared with me via Twitter this morning. It was entitled Yes, Thin’s In, But Why Is That A Surprise? At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the article. I love fashion and, as a child, often thought of what it might be like to pursue a career as a fashion designer later in life. I’ve always loved textiles and colors, patterns and artwork of all types, so when Robin Ghivan stated that “Fashion is a test of willpower and determination. It is a measure of good fortune. It is a purveyor of status. It is a badge of honor…” I cringed. While I understand that without a certain extent of elitism, fashion wouldn’t be nearly as interesting or as competitive an industry, but, don’t personal style and wealth also play into the equation. No matter what size they make high fashion garments in, the average and everyday woman still won’t look exactly like everyone else. There are curvy and larger women (not necessarily the same, by the way) who look fantastic in bright colors, layers, with dainty or feminine details.

As Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, from TLC’s What Not To Wear, would say, every woman should dress for her size and shape, not let her fashion sense dictate her size. Instead of focusing on being thin to fit into that perfect pair of designer jeans, that one tiny piece of sexy lingerie, larger and smaller women alike should enjoy the freedom to choose how much to spend on her own personal style. Shouldn’t we celebrate personal style at any size?

Today, April 28, 2009 marks the day that that a woman’s salary (on average) catches up with that of a man’s from 2008. She would have to work an extra four months to be paid the same amount as a man in the same position earned in the previous year (source).

The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R.12 and S.182) was introduced January 2009 by then-Senator Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rosa DeLauro to strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The bill expands damages under the Equal Pay Act and amends its very broad fourth affirmative defense. In addition, the Paycheck Fairness Act calls for a study of data collected by the EEOC and proposes voluntary guidelines to show employers how to evaluate jobs with the goal of eliminating unfair disparities. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on January 9, 2009. (source)

Instead of writing my own blog post about why everyone should support legislation on this issue, I decided to round up a great bunch of links to others sites and blogs where they’ve addressed this issue already. Alright, here we go:

• How the Paycheck Fairness Act Will Strengthen the Equal Pay Act (pdf from the National Women’s Law Center)
• National Committee on Pay Equity (site)
• Let’s Get Even: Numbers Worse for Minority Women (blog)
• Take Action! Email Your Senator with This Easy Form! (form courtesy of National Association of Working Women)
• The Women’s Museum: Facts on Equal Pay Day (blog)
• Why Pay Equity is Even More Important in a Struggling Economy (pdf from AAUW)
• Find Out What the Pay Gap is for Women in Your State! (table)
• Weight Discrimination Could Also Contribute to Glass Ceiling Effect (study findings)
• Women’s Weight Compounds Wage Gap Issue (blog)
• Add Your Blog to National Women’s Law Center Blog Roundup for Fair Pay Day (form)
• Follow the Discussion on Twitter (twitstream)

I’m breaking the Glass Ceiling:

I’m blogging about it, tweeting about it, and emailing both my senators and my representative today: Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator Ben Cardin, Representative Chris Van Hollen. I’m working on other actions to take on this today and throughout the year.

What are YOU going to do to break the Glass Ceiling? Tell me your strategy. Ally with me on this issue by linking to my blog here (I’ll add you to my blogroll), following me on twitter (I’ll follow you back), or leave other suggestions in the comments! Feel free to add links to your own blog or other great sites in the comments, as well, and I’ll add them to my list in this post.