Royce Must be Nasty

It’s predicted to reach 18° here today!

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I rejected all my work to date on the defiant dress (#10). I took it apart and this morning I am going, full of optimism, to Opus to get some new materials with which to attempt a better armature. I’m not a bit discouraged. This is how it goes. Many of my dresses grow out of plan B.

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Everyone who sees my dresses says I should “show” them. Well that ain’t gunna happen. They’re not good enough; they are, however, awesome play properties.  

I’ve imagined a poignant play about a person so broken by life that she locks herself in her home and builds dresses. I know that person. But I don’t want to write that play. I’ve imagined a play about a little girl, thought to be incapable, who build dresses in her private attic that, when discovered, lead her to a very happy ending.  But I don’t want to write children’s theatre either.

So I’m left with my story about Charlotte that has me feeling like a failed junk food baker because my script isn’t funny enough. I don’t need readers at this point. I need humour. And I may know how to do it.

Currently I have Charlotte battling Hamish, the director of the gallery, whom we only see in scene two. In scene one she’s with Royce. He’s barely present but he’s an ally and he needs to be a jerk.

Right now I have a script that I might generously describe as “not a waste of time.”  That’s not good enough. I’ve hard work ahead on it.  But first a plan B for my defiant dress.

Butt Connectors

I picked up Wendy in my little red Fiat and we went to Vandusen for lunch — we were two of four assembled Wholesters. (The rest bailed; it was pouring.) Wendy and I went to high school together; Dianne and Tim are long-time friends.

It was nice we were a small group. We could talk and get to know each other. Whereas I have known them all for a long time, the others are new to each other. After lunch Tim left and the rest of us walked through the park in the rain. There was no one else in sight; it was really lovely with everything bursting into Spring.

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In the afternoon I bought some butt connectors. Are you thinking double-ended dildos like I did or am I too gay? I have no idea what butt connectors are but I think an electrician might.

I went to the hardware store looking for something to help me build my wire armatures. I have trouble joining the wires and I thought I might find something hollow into which I could slip and crimp wire ends. And I did: The aforesaid butt connectors.

They work perfectly! The defiant dress armature is going to be much easier to complete. I keep learning. Each new involves a new challenge.

I'm never without saucisson sec. Can't help it.

I could die! It's the perfect size.

I'm Not a Pretty Sight

I made the film above of myself speaking this morning for an acquaintance living in Czechoslovakia. She called me on Skype and was freaked out. She wants the film so her buddy (whom I also met and liked very much) can see me too.

Just so you know: I am able to speak normally! It just takes the right circumstances.

Here at home when a true friend comes to visit, I speak awkwardly at first but once we are settled I soon speak perfectly. It’s possible for me to speak very well with trusted friends outside my home too, but in general speech is very difficult in the outside world.

The myoclonic movements you see in the film are the reason people get the impression I have cerebral palsy. Those movements exhaust and embarrass me and they are the reason my back muscles are giving me severe pain.

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On the project front: The glue gun is hot and the wire is cut; I’m ready to start assembling the armature for dress number ten — the defiant dress. With this one I’m trying something new of course: This time it’s using paper pulp as a surface.

This is the dress that gives the show its title: The defiant dress. It involves a complex armature like the cardinal and the marble dresses and will feature words like the apron.

I love the idea of this dress for several reasons. For one thing, I’ve been making art with words and letters all my life. (That’s not really surprising considering that I’m a compulsive writer.) But the concept appeals to me as well: words and phrases on both sides that describe the owner. But on one side they are her thoughts about herself whereas on the other, they are things said about her by others.

I won’t get much done today, though, as we Wholesters are having lunch at Vandusen Garden. We’d planned on a walkabout but it’s pouring so we may do something else. Tonight Robin comes over and we’re going for dinner.

Next week is predicted to be sunny and with temperatures around 20°!