enpen:  Are words images in shorthand?

Bethany Hays:  No, words aren't images in shorthand.  Some words aren't meant to describe visual experiences at all.  I use images rather than words because I can explore complicated ideas and leave room for the ideas in the work to evolve.  Images for me feel more dynamic, while words are more specific and particular.  Even when I do decide to use text in a painting, I try to make the text interact in a dynamic way as an image would--with multiple or illusive meanings.

Which statement rings more true to you:  Reality is mostly fantasy.  Fantasy is mostly reality.  Why?

Fantasy is mostly reality.  Even though I'm aware of the many philosophical approaches to life that entertain the illusion of the material world, and I find these ideas fascinating, I still move through the world as if it is 'real,' maybe a bit magical, but still 'real.'  Yet in my paintings, I lose track of where the real stops and the fantasy starts.  They all spring from experiences in the 'real' world, but I often become so lost in them that it jolts me awake when someone reminds me that they are fantastical.

If you were stuck on an island for eternity with an infinite amount of food and water, would you rather have a book, painting, sculpture or photograph with you and what would it be?

I would rather have a book because when I was done reading it I could use its pages to draw/paint on. So, it better be a big one with a lot of paper.  Maybe the Websters' unabridged dictionary.  Is there a bigger one?

If you could be a kid again, would you:  a) prefer to start over with a clean slate, expunging all in favor of innocent experience?  b) prefer to start over knowing everything you've learned thus far?  Why?

I'd want to start with a clean slate because there is something magical about the way children see the world that is slowly clouded by the worldly knowledge that we accumulate with growth.  Children are better able to immerse themselves in play and fantasy because they don't have worldly responsibilities pulling at them.  If we're lucky, as adults, we're able to hold onto some of that.

* Bethany Hays' art will be on display during the Olympia Arts Walk XXXIV at both the Black Front Gallery (106 4th Ave E.) and Hot Toddy (410 Capitol Way S).

By JULIA SILVERMAN,
Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 25, 3:27 AM ET

SALEM, Ore. - If Gov. Ted Kulongoski seems a little sluggish this week, he's got an excuse: he couldn't afford coffee.

In fact, the Democratic governor couldn't afford much of anything during a trip to a Salem-area grocery store on Tuesday, where he had exactly $21 to buy a week's worth of food — the same amount that the state's average food stamp recipient spends weekly on groceries.

Kulongoski is taking the weeklong challenge to raise awareness about the difficulty of feeding a family on a food stamp budget.

READ MORE

Jack Schitt is the son of Awe Schitt and Oh Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married Oh Schitt, the owner of kneedeep Schitt Inn. Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt and they produced six children.

Holy Schitt, their first, passed on shortly after childbirth. Next came twin sons, Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt; two daughters, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt; and another son Bill Schitt. Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout. Dip Schitt married Lotta Schitt and they have a son named Chicken Schitt. Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt married the Happens brothers. The Schitt-Happens children are Dawg Schitt, Byrd Schitt and Horace Shitt.

Now you can proudly proclaim , “I know the true story of Jack Schitt!”

NAMI Celebrates National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day on May 8, 2007

April 26, 2007

NAMI is a founding partner of the National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day), which has been established to promote positive youth development, resilience, recovery, and the transformation of mental health services delivery for children and youth with serious mental health needs and their families.

NAMI is joining our founding national partners in organizing a Capitol Hill briefing in honor of Awareness Day. The national partners include Mental Health America, the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health (FFCMH), the National Association of Social Workers, and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

This year’s focus is effective school based mental health programs. We are delighted to be joined by additional partners, including the American Counseling Association (ACA), the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA).

We urge you to contact your U.S. House Representatives and Senators and ask them to attend this briefing for National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day.  Go to NAMI's Legislative Action Center to contact your Representative today!

Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Time: 9 to 11 am
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G-50

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is held during the first full week of May each year. For more information about Awareness Day and activities you may wish to consider in your communities, please visit the National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day web site.

"What on Earth could be the best news yet?" you ask?  Well let me tell you all!  Although the past 48 hours have brought you much news about Bread and Roses, here on OlyBlog and in the Olympian, I have something much more pertinent and exciting.

This Weekend is the BEST TIME EVER to visit the Bread and Roses Advocacy Center (BRAC) headquarters!

To Coincide with ArtsWalk, BRAC is hosting an open-house and art gallery featuring the works of some of Olympia's finest unhoused artists! 

"How convenient! I'm so curious about what goes on there!" you say.  "How delightful!" I hear you tell your friends.  "What an amazing opportunity to get informed about the work BRAC does by visiting the space, meeting staff and advocates, and asking questions!" one exlaims. 

Even better, there will be coffee, pasrties, live music and community, all in one handy package! 

You may be asking yourselves, "How can BRAC do this?  How can they offer this once-in-a-lifetime event?"

The answer my friends, is because we'd love to have you over.  Love to talk with the town and invite questions, comments, input, suggestions.  Because it will be fun.  Because in this crazy world, the only way to communicate is by facing each other. 

Now, the details.

Friday from 4-8ish and Saturday from 12-8ish, we will be open to everyone.  There will be some donated art for sale, but most importantly we'd like to make contact with you!  Do you have ideas for our work?  Want to host a movie night?  Let's talk!  We're located at 1009 4th Avenue East, which is in the old Oly Yoga Center, between Quince and Eastside on 4th.  Please take some time out of your ArtsWalk Weekend to visit. 

Also, Sunday from 10am to 4pm, we're inviting volunteers with greenthumbs (or not) to help us dig around in our garden, weed and plant.  We want to be a beautified part of the community, but we need your help!