I know. I haven't written, I haven't called. I've fallen off the face of the earth after filling your heads with all sorts of grandiose promises. And all I can say is, I know. I'm sorry. To all of you (if there ARE any of you) who still have The Fabulist on your RSS feeds or Twitter or whatever new-fangled internet following devices have been invented since last I wrote -- and I am certain that technology has taken vast leaps forward in that enormous span of time -- I thank you. And now, a brief rundown of What Is Up.
Sometimes, it's hard to admit that an era is over. That it was fun while it lasted -- in fact, it was VERY fun -- but everyone's heads and hearts are in different places and the thing just isn't sustainable anymore. Elaine and Olga and I, I think, didn't want to admit that to each other.
But I got to feeling nostalgic and visited the site again a few weeks ago, and I read some of the comments. It was Becca's comment on "Checking In" that really got me:
I really hope this comes back. if it doesn't, you should hand it off to someone! I'm sure anyone (including myself) would love to take over fabulist and bring it back with a vengeance!
Reading that -- reading that people, however many, still care -- made me think. It made me think a lot. And I realized, I want to do this. I want to come back and put some love into this site again. Olga and Elaine are focusing their energies on their own projects right now, but that doesn't mean I can't still bring it back myself, with a vengeance. And I'd like to try, if you'll have me, with my lovable overuse of italics and all. (Seriously, three italicized words in this tiny paragraph alone?! Oops, make that four.)
So that's the scoop! I'll be updating irregularly for the next week or two as I get familiar with this whole system again. But take my hand and we'll make it, I swear.
( Photo taken by me in the mural paradise that is Clarion Alley, San Francisco, in 2008.)
I peeped in on the Fabulist the other day, eyes shining with nostalgia, wiping the windows and blowing the dust off the furniture. And look! You guys are lovely! People are still leaving comments, and saying nice things. We have the nicest readers *ever* :D
Our hiatus is nearing an end, and soon we shall break free with song! and art! and as much brightness and light as we can grab by the armful. We'll gather back at this point, and tumble forth for a Brand New Adventure, and we can't wait for you guys to come with us. New site ahoy!
In the meantime, though, things are awfully quiet around here. It seems that the mailing list got broken (sorry Roger!), and it seems sensible that we should wave, and let you know where to find us (and where we'll post updates along the way).
We eachhaveTwitter accounts, which is where we hang out during the day and shoot the breeze. Do come and say hello! There's also a direct Fabulist Twitter all of its own, which we'll use as a de facto mailing list (mailing lists are so Web 1.0, dahlink). We love hearing from you, and if you've ideas or suggestions for the new site, do send them in. We're friendly folk, and we like to natter. Olga can also be found at her music website here.
Thanks for being awesome, and patient, and understanding that we needed to reshape things. We'd much rather take six months off, and reimagine what we're doing (and why we're doing it), then let things fizzle out ignominiously. Things that should fizzle include: rock shandy floats (when the ice cream hisses against glass), sparklers and the tail end of a rockets, pushing against the sky. Websites, we felt, most definitely should not.
So we got out our clay (and our mála) and we're building a better home for our art. It feels very, very good :)
This is to say: thank you. Thank you for being awesome, and for sending us emails and comments. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for sending us beautiful things. We'll be back soon :)
So we haven't posted for a while now. And I swear there's a reason for that. I'll get to that in a minute.
Walking around my neighborhood a couple of months ago, I saw the tree pictured here, with a little smiling paper face on it. It had nothing to do with its surroundings, which were decidedly not whimsical, but it seemed to look at me with such friendliness and reassurance. Just the fact of its being there, of knowing that someone went out of their way to design a face, pick the right tree on the right street, and climb up there and add a touch of joy to the world, filled me with a sense of wonder.
And I thought to myself, I'd love to share this on the Fabulist. I'd love to talk about how this made me feel, and ask everyone what everyday surprises fill them with wonder. I'd love to have an ongoing dialogue about wonder and everyday magic and creativity and surprises and little things that bring us joy.
But I felt restricted by the current mission of the site. And I talked to the other contributors, and realized they've been feeling similarly. We've all had a nagging, subconscious feeling that this site, in its current incarnation, isn't an accurate picture of what we're truly passionate about.
So we're going to design a site that is. And it might take a little bit, and we hope you'll be patient, because we think you'll like it. And we hope you'll have a part in it, too. And when it's ready, you'll be the first to know. Just sign up for the mailing list. And keep an eye out for friendly trees.
So the Great Valentine's Day Giveaway of 2009 is finished, and the prizes are snug in the post. A big congratulations to winners Sarianna, Karrisa, and Andrea, and a big thank you to all you wonderful poets who entered. Hopefully we can do more things like this in the future!
A very heartfelt thank you also goes out to sponsors My Favorite Mirror, Hoopla, and Untamed Menagerie. Along with making beautiful things, they are also extremely generous. My most happy of happy Valentine's wishes to all!
My image skills are laughable, to say the least, and a newborn baby could have done a much better job with the graphics here than I did. But I hope you'll all be patient with me, because I am all but helpless in the face of Photoshop.
Valentine's Day is just a little bit more than a week away, so in honor of the occasion, we're having a huge Valentine's Day giveaway! And it's all sponsored by the good people at Hoopla, My Favorite Mirror, and Untamed Menagerie.
So here's the stats: Write a short poem in the comments using one of the sponsors' names as part of the poem. It can be a haiku, a limerick, free verse, gibberish, absolutely anything. It doesn't have to rhyme. An example, in haiku form:
My comical life
An untamed menagerie
Of misconceptions.
I'll choose three winners randomly from all the comments. The first chosen will be the grand prize winner, who will win a Valentine's Day package containing a Melancholy Lashes necklace (shown above) as well as a Jet Blossom necklace, both from Untamed Menagerie, a set of My Punny Valentine cards and a Forever Bouquet from Hoopla, and two pocket mirrors from the My Funny Valentine collection over at My Favorite Mirror. The second place winner will win a Curiouser & Curiouser necklace (in black) from Untamed Menagerie, a set of Kit-A-Loons and the Male Pattern Baldness Mini-Poster (which is kind of amazing) from Hoopla, and two of the My Funny Valentine pocket mirrors from My Favorite Mirror. Third prize is one My Funny Valentine pocket mirror and an assortment of adorable, vintage-style Curious Cards from Hoopla.
So now, with any luck, your worries about what to give to your Valentine this year are over! Especially if your Valentine is you. Because I'd be keeping this stuff for myself if I won, personally.
I'll be ending the contest this Sunday so I can ship the prizes out by Monday! A special thank you again to the people at Hoopla, My Favorite Mirror, and Untamed Menagerie, because I think this will be loads of fun!
(PS--The specific pocket mirrors will be chosen by me, but I will do my best to work with each contest winner so that everyone is happy. I'm not a miracle worker, but I'll try!).
(UPDATE: Contest is now over--I'll be announcing the winners soon! Thanks to all who entered!)
I've selected a winner at random for our Sleeveface Giveaway, and that winner is Elliot! I've written and informed him of the immense responsibility he has elected to take on, and he seems to be willing and prepared, so I'll be shipping out his prize in the next few days.
A big thank you again to all who participated, and to the people at Sleeveface for making it all possible!
(The image is from a T-shirt, found here. Cute, eh?)
"Sleeveface" is defined on the Sleeveface site as "one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion." A straight-forward concept, yielding an array of surprisingresults. When you really love an album, I guess sometimes listening to it isn't enough. You want to be it. And take a picture of the outcome, of course.
So now there's a book collecting a ton of these entertaining photos, and I happen to have an extra copy to give away to you. Because if you think you're getting my copy, you're crazy. Just leave a comment telling me your thoughts on vinyl, whether you love it, you hate it, you never think about it, or you want to make all your clothes and shoes out of vinyl and live in a little vinyl house. I'll choose a winner at random and ship the book your way!
For everybody else, do not fret! You can do it the old-fashioned way and buy the book right here.
(Many thanks to the folks at Sleeveface for making this possible)!
The fabulous Fabulist New Year's resolution contest is officially over, and I have used an automatic randomizer to select a winner from all of the inspiring entries we had. So this limited edition screen print by Freddi C. goes to Ahmad Radheyyan courtesy of the folks at a Paper Tiger, and to the rest of you goes my most heartfelt wish that we all achieve new levels of fun, happiness, and creativity this new year.
A big thank you again to a Paper Tiger for making this possible, and getting us all thinking about being creative! They have two new and very cool prints by Tiffany Liu ("Skull Reflection Island") and Nathan Ota ("Touch of Class"--a tiny smidge of which can be seen in this post!), So click the link if you're curious just what, exactly, is coming out of that jack-in-the-box.
First of all, I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday.
Second of all, it's that time of year again--New Year's Resolution time. So I want to know everyone's resolutions this year, specifically as it pertains to music, painting, writing, ceramics, sculptural welding, and all that good stuff. How are you going to bring more art into your life this year? Are you finally going to write that sonata for the pan flute you've been talking about for years? Or take that Chinese calligraphy class? Or make a donation to your local mime troupe? I need to know, my friends!
Please leave your comment after the beep (complete with email address!), and one winner will be chosen at random (because who am I to judge?) to win this exclusive hand screened print by Freddi C. for a Paper Tiger. And you can hang it on your wall the whole year long, to remind you to create, create, create!
(A huge, HUGE thank you to a Paper Tiger for making this possible, and for inspiring us all with their continuing dedication to offer awesome, affordable art! We love you guys!)
Shelby Allen, a friend of mine, passed away suddenly last night of accidental alcohol poisoning. Her aunt Belinda asked me to post this video-- Shelby is in it towards the end. She was full of joy and love and she was too young.
This happened totally unexpectedly at a holiday party. Please, please be careful with your drinking this holiday season.
Hey Fabulistas! We have gone out into the world and we have brought you back a summery picnic basket of goodies! We're giving away TWO copies of the new Ed Harcourt album, and TWO copies of the new Ravens and Chimes album. So... (counts on fingers).. that's FOUR winners. We're upping your chances to get some free stuff to cool you off this fine week in July, or heat you up, whichever you prefer.
How do you win? Just leave a comment below with your favorite thing to do in summer. (Mine: Skipping in the downpour of a summer thunderstorm.) We'll pick four winners at random from the pile. Good luck!
Check out more from Ravens and Chimes here, and more from Ed Harcourt below.
Nine days ago we posted a contest, that went a little something like this:
We'd like to encourage you to take the challenge. Start a blog somewhere with your 1-minute song or 100-word story or 1 hour drawing or a photograph a day, and we'll post it up on the Fabulist.
But! Just because the contest is over, doesn't mean you should stop making art, no sir. I hardily and whole-heartedly encourage you to go forth in the world and continue with your weekly art babies. If not now, when? (This has been a message from the Fabulist Campaign For More Neat Art Stuff That We Like And Stuff.)
And now, without further ado, here's the total list of the Minute Minute participants:
Fabulist reader Uriel just wrote in to remind me that for you Livejournal users, we have a syndicated feed up. Add us as a friend and somewhere a fairy will get its wings.
washthis on 
