dancing in my wooden shoes

i think the last several entries have disappeared.  maybe they will be there when i look again.  nope, still gone.  sigh.  altho i did notice that aol-servers were down earlier so maybe the snafu lies with them. (aha!  it looks like they're back...for now)

anyway, I wanted to let you know that Judi HeartSong's October Artsy Essay will be judged by a guest-panel of students in Theresa William's creative writing class.  The topic was a chosen suggestion one of her students made.  So, let's really show some spirit!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Artsy Essay, it is a contest that is open to everyone as long as your blog is public and can be accessed freely.  Your entry should be written in English, cuz most of the panel is conversant in English and not another language.  And we are, ya know, in America and so is Judi and English is still the official language.  Again, anyone outside the US can enter as well, just observe the rules.

You may supplement your essay with sketches, paint-programs, camera pix, and use poetry, prose, etc.  It's pretty free-reign with artistic license, except for the English rule stated above.  Be creative and do what you want.  Hell, if you submit non-English, it still gets linked to and all, you just won't win the prize.  All efforts are appreciated and you needn't be a professional anything, something, or nothing.

Speaking of winning prizes, Judi, tell the fine folks what they could win!  Why sure, Debra, ahem, "The prize will be a piece of art from my studio and will vary from month to month. Paintings on paper or canvas, multi-media pieces, handmade artist books, and other studio pieces are possible prizes and will be awarded as long as the winner is willing to provide their mailing address, which will be held in strictest confidence. For the time being, I am able to assume the shipping costs for continental US winners, international winners may be asked to help with their shipping costs should the need arise.

Each winner will be sent an email with a jpeg of theArtsy Essay logo icon to use or display in any way they wish. Winners will need to upload the icon into their FTP or photo storage space, no hot linking allowed in order to save my bandwidth, please. "

So, the contest runs til the end of the month.  That's why it is October's Artsy Essay and not The Ongoing Artsy Essay or September's Arty Essay (altho those submissions' links can be found at Judi's journal) or November's Naughty Artsy Essay (Ya better be bad, ya better be bold, ya better watch out and do what you're told...Mistress Debra's coming to towwwwwn).

Your contest entry must link back to her entry.  If you are unsure how to do this, ask the linking gods that be.  Or me.  I'll give you the instructions in the most nontechnical language possible (here's an excerpt:  ...m'k?  then go to that little pic with the world on it and then press the cntrl key and the letter "v", for victory! and...); it's not cuz you're stupid, it's cuz i'm too damn lazy to learn the techno-speak like "above your text box, there are a list of icons, one of which is for hyper-linking", cuz really, if ya knew those terms, chances are you'd already know how to do the damn cross-linking necessary.  Am I right?  yeah, i thought you'd see it my way.  She's very emphatic about Mister Linky Widget proper protocol, so make sure you do it right!  Besides, ya don't want to piss off the panel; pissy panel means no prize for you!

All that having been said (it's the fine-print, but Hey! there really is no purchase required), let me tell ya about this month's topic.  The theme is:

Describe Your Ideal Day
The sky is the limit..... your ideal day does not need to fit your current budget or circumstances. Dream a little dream and share with us just what your ideal day would be, start to finish.

(see judi's entry for more details; no animals were harmed in the making of this entry or this afternoon's banana blend; side-effects may include:  the excessive flow of creative juices, leaps of logic, jumps of joy, and an overall sense of euphoria)