The Human Canvas - If You're Gonna Have a Jellyfish on Your Floor

You know how when you're in Boston, 
one of the things you talk about is how you're probably 
gonna get snowed in, and not be able to leave the airport 
as scheduled? You know? I don't think this is unusual. 
I was sketching. Also not unusual.  Probably with an 
ordinary blue Bic ballpoint. But I also had 
a buncha sharpies with me... 

So we also talked about The Human Canvas.

I remember remarking 
that while I'd done a couple jelly fish before, 
this would be the first time that 
I went forward confidently.

Relatively simple after all.

A cup...

Some tendrils... 

or whatever they are...

Then some black. 

To define, and to make things "pop." 

Just a bit.

I was trying to figure out if I was done. 
I couldn't figure out what wasn't right though. 
It was done neatly, I think. 

Hmmmmm. Maybe a little TOO neat.

It was pointed out that some of the tendrils... 
or whatever they are... SHOULD cross over in 
front of some of the others.

Done. 
More cluttered... 
but much better than the earlier, 
very organized placement of the tendrils... 
or whatever they are.

Then it was just 
a matter of looking at different backdrops. 
The red was nice, but I REALLY liked the look of 
the wood planks, and greatly appreciate her 
contorting her arm to get it kinda flat 
on the floor for me.

So, 
If you ever have 
a jellyfish on your floor, 
it's much better for it to be on your arm, 
on the floor. 
Right?

The Human Canvas - Sammy! Cabo Wabo!

Sammy!

Cabo Wabo!

I was THIS close!

Sort of!

Let's hear from Shareen,

An anxious volunteer to join the canvas corps.

When we first met, we spoke of The Commodores.

And that led to many conversations about all things music.

Or the occasional bridge.

I generally narrate these things.

But what follows are Shareen's words.

If you pick up on all the Van Halen and/or Sammy

references, you rock. And there IS only one way...

To rock. 

"Right Now, 

I'm going to tell you about my experience 

as a human canvas."

"The minute I mentioned 

an upcoming Sammy Hagar tribute, 

you suggested replicating Sammy's Cabo Wabo tattoo 

on my arm. This was probably months ahead of time. 

When the day came, we were able to 

Finish What Ya Started."

"I actually felt like 

I was receiving a tattoo 

once I saw the setup- an outline of 

how the drawing would be done 

and the toolbox."

"I have always been a fan of Sammy, 

even though he's not exactly the obvious choice for 

someone my age. Just the same, I grew up with Sammy's 

music and have traveled to see him play everywhere, 

including at the Cabo Wabo Cantina, which you 

replicated on my arm."

"Receiving such a true to life piece of body art made me feel more connected to him!"

"Need I remind you 

that upon meeting him south of the border, 

he grabbed my arm to greet me and that very 

spot now had a piece of him on it again, in a way. 

Talk about a fangirl moment."

"I was really careful 

not to have my arm, wrapped in seran wrap, 

touch anything. If I did this again in the future, 

I would opt out of sleeping with the seran wrap 

on because the next morning the black ink had 

smudged into the colorful Cabo picture."

"Luckily, 
you touched it up for me 
and I was good to go by the time 
I needed to head out to the desert."

"Walking into the Rock Yard 

that night to see the Sammy Hagar tribute band, 

you could say I felt On Top of the World." 

"I have seen countless tribute bands 

and have been to the Rock Yard many times. 

It's one of my favorite venues because I get to 

rock out in the blazing hot desert heat, a true 

testament to Summer Nights, and at a stage 

suspended over water. 

"You can get really close 

to the action - like neck-craningly close. 

And if that wasn't a word before, 

I just made it one." 

"Despite it not being my 

first experience, it was a unique experience, 

highlighted by the art on my arm. The band, 

called Three Lock Box, noticed the art pretty soon 

after they began the show. The lead singer, expertly 

sporting Sammy's blonde curls, asked to take a 

picture with me after the show."

"Usually it's the other way around."

"Now we had the 

Best of Both Worlds because 

he had the assurance that his tribute 

band had a true fan following and I had 

the satisfaction of being noticed 

by almost-Sammy."

"What was cool was 

Sin City Sammy, as he's known, 

put up our picture on his Instagram page. 

I guess he thought the art and I were Good Enough to 

be featured. I had always been known as the classic 

rock girl, but as of late, stopped rockin' like I used to. 

This experience allowed me to relive some of 

those old times and it was truly 

a fun time for all."

"The art lasted awhile, 

but a couple of days after, 

I was forced to use acetone to scrub it off 

because it had lost its form and was moving 

into more of an abstract expression." 

"However, I did receive 

a lot of positive feedback when 

I posted the picture of the artwork and 

the picture of Sin City Sammy and me. I was 

given nothing but compliments from friends 

and family, the band, and even their roadie 

who noticed me after the show 

somewhere in the casino!"

"Thank you for making this Humans Being into a canvas. 

The pleasure was Mine All Mine."

~Shareen~ 

Editor's note:
Shareen, Thank YOU.

Looking forward to the next one(s)!