Witchmobile

Monday, March 1, 2010

Carthedral's 10th Anniversary!

It's hard to believe it has been 10 years since Carthedral first took to the roads back in 2000!

I started the creation of Carthedral in October of 1999 but it wasn't road worthy until early 2000. Carthedral's first trip was to the wine country in Northern California where we were invited to the Di Rosa preserve along with several other art cars.

So much has happened over the last decade it seems like lifetimes have passed. And they have. One of the art car artist friends at the Di Rosa that first time out has since passed, as have others in the art car community... as well as my beloved canine companion Bella.

R.I.P. comrades.

Carthedral took me all the way to Seattle to the north, Houston to the east, and many places in between. She drove to the Nevada desert for the burning man festival at least six times over the span of a decade. I lost a wheel going down the freeway at 60 mph and lived to tell the tale. I was pulled over by the police only twice. I was called a satanist, a goth, a witch, Rob Zombie, and a sicko among other things. I've been spit at, bowed to, applauded, and booed. I met a couple celebrities, I've been asked for my autograph and gotten rock star parking... Most of the time, however, parking was a problem. hehe.

I've lived in the boonies, inside Carthedral, in San Francisco, on a boat, in the suburbs, a cottage, a warehouse, a condo, an apartment, and a loft.

I've been depressed, deeply hurt, ecstatic, and in love!

Over the last decade I've fallen in and out of love a couple times. I finally fell in love again and got married, and happily so! 2010 will be our 5th anniversary. David and I were married on 5.5.05 We adopted three awesome little doggies.

In 2006 Carthedral was retired to the Art Car World museum in Douglas, Arizona.

However, last year I started a new art car: The Witchmobile!!! a smaller, more humble art car but nonetheless freaky and fun!

I plan to visit Carthedral this year some time. Maybe in May. Seems appropriate as that will be the month we went to the Di Rosa ten years ago on our Maiden voyage.

I'm very grateful for all the support I've had over the years from friends and family...who never thought I was insane...at least...if they did they kept it to themselves! I was always encouraged to manifest my crazy dreams, as absurd as they were...like building a Cathedral on a hearse.

Thank you. :o)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Familiar Spirits

Rebecca and Bonnie

I live very closely with three tiny beings that I lovingly refer to as my 'little poopers'. However, they are so much, much more to me. More than mere pets or companions, these noble creatures have the very important duty of keeping me sane, grounded, and focused on the work at hand. They give my day rhythm, structure, and they remind me that the most wonderful things in life are normally right next to us.

They teach me to trust my instincts, and they allow me to love whole-heartedly without fear, and they reciprocate with their own brand of loyalty and unconditional love. These spirits are so much a part of my life and my world that I can't rightly continue anything creative, even a blog, without acknowledging their contribution to my health and wholeness. They are extensions and reflections of me...and sometimes they reveal way too much! Luckily not everyone can understand what they say...whew!

Bonnie

I was out with the Witchmobile recently, and I had Bonnie and Ginger with me as well (Herkimer normally stays at home, he prefers it that way so it's his duty to hold down the fort). An old woman approached me and immediately started telling me that she knew WHY the Bubonic Plague had swept through Europe, killing so many people hundreds of years ago. She said it was because of all the cats that were slaughtered during the burning times... it caused the rat population to grow disproportionately and the rats were able to spread the disease rampantly through the land. She told me this with a grin on her face, like she believed the Witches and imps somehow got their revenge from the spirit realm, like some kind of immediate cosmic karma. She enjoyed telling me the news, and I thanked her for sharing. While I like the idea of reaping what you sow, I'm sure it was more than just one thing that caused the Plague to spread... the point of this story is I sure seem to attract some interesting folks! (I wouldn't have it any other way) especially when the Witchmobile, Bonnie, and Ginger are close...

Ginger in the Witchmobile

Although...I did have a magical experience recently with someone else's familar...

I was walking back to my car when a black cat caught my eye. She was sitting in the doorway to a candle shop. She caught my gaze with her yellow eyes and when Ms Kitty was sure she had a lock on me, she turned in to the shop...so naturally I followed. She continued to the back of the store where she stopped and sat next to her person. The cat literally brought me to the shop owner! A Witch! Of course. I smiled. The woman immediately began to tell me about a horrible experience she just had, like she had been waiting for me to arrive at last... So I listened. As she purged, my task became clear. I kept the shop grounded as best I could while the seriously agitated Witch's rant nearly tore the building out from the foundation. I might be exaggerating, but I'm sure she intended to hurl the shop and all it's contents to another dimension where rude customers and bad neighbors do not exist. After the air was clear, I could tell my job was done. I said farewell to the woman, I nodded to the cat, and left the shop. wow.
Good Kitty.

Herkimer at home

Saturday, October 31, 2009

David and Ginger!

Relaxing in the back of the Witchmobile. Look at those legs...now you know why we had to remove the front seat. At 6'5", he's all leg.

Witchmobile in magazines!

Back in August, David and I took the Witchmobile to an event called Concours d'Lemons and consequently we got some press...(Thank you to Joanne Quinn and Hunter Mann for the heads up!)

New York Times!

You can see us in the November issues of Grassroots Motorsports and another magazine called Classic and Sports Car. Weird, huh?! Weird because I'm not really a car enthusiast at all...I'm just a compulsive decorator...! But, I guess if you hang out at a car show (even a kooky one) you may end up in a car magazine, eh? I noticed they quoted me referring to David as 'my friend' in Classic and Sports Car...and yeah, we're friends...but he's more than a friend--we're pretty serious about each other, in fact...we got married a few years back! You don't tear out the front seat of your car for just anyone...