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THERE COMES A TIME IN A PROJECT WHERE YOU STOP DREAMING AND START DOING. I AM NOT ONE TO HOLD BACK WHEN IT COMES TO THE CREATIVE URGE TO WORK, AND TODAY I BEGAN A PROCESS THAT IS BOTH NEW AND FABULOUS TO ME. I PICKED UP THE FIRST BEAUTIFUL POSTER FOR THE UPCOMING WORDS AND MUSIC SHOW I WILL BE DOING WITH VIRTUOSO TOM AYRES AND THE MYSTIC BAND. HE HAS WRITTEN TWO SUITES OF MUSIC FOR THE BIG SUR TRILOGY, AND NOW WE PERFORM THE SCHEMES WE HAVE PLANNED FOR MONTHS.

HE IS OFF ON HIS OWN PATH, PLAYING SESSIONS AND GIGS WHILE I FIGURE OUT WHERE WE WILL BE AND HOW WE WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS FEAT. WE MEET SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE, THE PLACE WHERE ALL THE GOOD STUFF HAPPENS.

SO I WANDER AND SIT AND DANCE IN THE DREARY SUMMERTIME OF PEBBLE BEACH, FASCINATED WITH THIS PLETHORA OF MUSIC. WHERE DID IT COME FROM? NOW WE MUST MATCH IT UP TO THE WORDS, AND TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A JOURNEY.

COME WITH ME…

XX:JW

TO SAY THAT SHARING YOUR LIFE IS EASY OR FUN WOULD BE SHEER FOLLY AT TIMES. WHEN YOU CHOOSE THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST OR WRITER, THERE IS A SUBCONSICOUS DECISION: TRUTH OR NOT? WE ALL KNOW THOSE PENS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO FOOL US, OR PLAY WITH OUR MINDS. A LINE OF COMEDY IS ALWAYS WELCOME, OR A TOUCHING TALE.

WHEN I BEGAN THE WEBSONGS POEMS FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, I HAD NO IDEA WHO WOULD READ THEM, I WAS JUST HAPPY TO BE IN THIS NEW DEAL, COMMUNICATING ON THE INTERNET! WOW, HOW COOL WAS THAT? MAGIC, FUN, SCARY, PERFECT!

SURE, A LOT HAS CHANGED, BUT IN THE LONG RUN, LEAVING A VOICE IN THE CLOUD WITH YOUR FINGERPRINT MAY HAVE CONSEQUENCES YOU CAN NOT IMAGINE. MAYBE IN A THOUSAND YEARS, SOMEONE WILL BE SORTING THROUGH THE ARCHIVES… NOW THAT IS A THEORY, ISN’T IT? WE WILL BE SO TERRIBLY ANTIQUATED BY THEN, BUT ACTUALLY, THAT’S PROBABLY TRUE RIGHT NOW. HOT OFF THE PRESS, NEXT DAY, NEW STUFF!

PLEASE ENJOY THE STORY OF MILBANK STREET, MY FATHER’S PASSION AND DREAM. YOU CAN CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND LIVE IN MY TINY LITTLE SHOES FOR A BIT… SO WATCH OUT, WE WILL MEET AGAIN!

To check out my new Websongs poem click here!

XX:JW

NORMALLY I AM NOT MOVED MUCH ONE WAY OR ANOTHER BY THE CELEBRITY CHAOS THAT SLAMS IN AND OUT, IT’S MY FAULT FOR BEING A POP/NEWS JUNKIE. HOWEVER, WHEN JAMES GANDOLFINI BIT THE DUST IN ITALY, I WAS REALLY SAD. HE COULDN’T BE GONE, COULD HE? I JUST WATCHED MY NORMAL SLICE OF THE SOPRANOS RERUNS LAST NIGHT! I WAS GETTING SO USED TO HIM.

OK, I ADMIT IT: I’M A BAD-BOY GIRL, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN ATTRACTED TO THOSE SHAMELESS LOVERS AND GRITTY GUYS WHO DON’T BOTHER TO NOTICE ME. I KNOW I’M NOT ALONE IN THIS, BUT IT TAKES SOMETHING LIKE THIS GIANT OF A MAN LEAVING THE PLANET TO GET ME TO TALK ABOUT IT.

THEY SAY HE WOULD HAVE HATED ALL THE ATTENTION, SPLASHED OVER THE WORLD’S MEDIA, BUT REALLY, MOST OF US JUST LOVED HIM TO DEATH! IT’S THE VULNERABILITY, THE PRETENDING TO BE BAD, THE GUY WHOSE MOTHER RUINED HIM. ON AND ON.

THE BEST PART IS THAT HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO SICILY, WHICH IS TRULY MY FAVORITE DESTINATION. I KNOW THE DIVINE BLUE WATERS WILL ACCEPT HIS SOUL, AND NURTURE HIM!

SO IN HONOR OF MR. G, I SET UP A SPECIAL “OFFICE LOUNGE” IN MY GARDENS, WHILE I GET READY FOR A BIG PARTY TO COME IN SEPTEMBER! I CAN JUST SEE HIM SITTING IN THIS GIANT CHAIR UP ON THE KNOLL, SMOKING A CIGAR AND LOOKING OUT AT THE DEER AND THE GOLFERS.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS TODAY, IF YOU ARE STILL BREATHING:)

XX;JW

P.S. HERE IS A SHOT OF ME AT THE OUTSIDE LANDS FEST, WHERE THE BADDEST OF BOYS RESIDE!

MOTHER NATURE PULLED OUT THE STOPS TODAY FOR ALL THE DADS TO CELEBRATE! THEY WERE ON BIKES WITH THEIR KIDS, ON THE BEACH DIGGING HOLES FOR SAND CASTLES, AND GENERALLY HANGING OUT. THE ABSENT ONES WERE UNDOUBTEDLY IN THE BACK YARD FLIPPING BURGERS OR WATCHING GOLF, BUT YOU CAN BE SURE EVERYONE WHO HAS ONE TOOK NOTE.

FOR MY PART, THE MEDIA TOUR I HAVE BEEN ON FOR SIX WEEKS FEATURED MANY HOURS OF CHAT WITH FOLKS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WHO WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE DICK WINSLOW’S DAUGHTER! I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD BE HARD TO REMEMBER, SINCE HE WAS BIGGER THAN LIFE FROM THE MOMENT I ARRIVED ON THE SCENE. I CAN’T RECALL MY DAD EVER REALLY SITTING STILL UNLESS HE WAS SLEEPING, WHICH HE DID IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. IT WAS THE ART OF A CHILD ACTOR, HONED FROM HOURS ON THE SET WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF WAITING.

I HAVE ADDED A PHOTO OF HIM AS A YOUNG MUSICIAN, WHICH WAS THE LIFE FOR WHICH HE WAS KNOWN, IN ADDITION TO THE MOVIES. HIS ONE MAN BAND BECAME LEGEND AT PLACES LIKE DISNEYLAND AND KNOTTS BERRY FARM, AS WELL AS MANY FILMS. HE JUST LOVED TO BE “ON”…

SO HERE’S TO YOU, DAD, WE ORDERED A SPECIAL DAY FOR YOU, AND YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN SITTING OUT BY THE POOL WITH YOUR REFLECTOR, LIKE PAULIE IN THE SOPRANOS, TANNING THE HANDSOME FACE THAT NEVER SEEMED TO GET OLD. I KNOW YOU ARE SMILING UP THERE, YOU’RE ON!!

HAVE A WONDERFUL FATHER’S DAY!

XX:JW

To check out my new Websongs poem click here!

To say that this has been an interesting and exciting time in the history of FRESH ART and J.W. Winslow would be an understatement! We are in the midst of a MEDIA TOUR, which means live appearances and radio/TV shows to boot. It has been quite a stretch rising at 4AM for shows in the hinterlands of the Right Coast, the charming Midwest, the sexy south and parts in between.

So each month I publish a poem that reflects this life, which began many years ago with SENSUAL INDIGO, my first book. I wanted my friends and followers to understand the SET UP, which is a bit of a tale in itself. For those of you who are not yet on our HIT list, I have provided a copy of the WEBSONGS message at the top. I am finding that there are a lot of BIBLIOPHILES out there, those of you who love real books… the touch, the feel, the weight. This is a happy thing, because my MYSTIC ADVENTURES IN BIG SUR are hand assembled in Monterey, with all green sources: recycled paper, soy ink, special groovy glue:) ESCAPE AND ENJOY!

XX:JW

Maybe this should be called the SECRET GARDEN, or better yet, the WILD GARDENER! Never intended to lay a hand on the effusive mess of amazing shoots that have grown into HUGE looming plants, but something called me out there. Getting ready for the first road show of my book tour, lots to do, but that was not my game.

When the sun comes out on the Monterey Peninsula, and better yet, in the FOG ZONE of Pebble Beach, you gotta get your body in the rays. Maybe my bones were screaming for more Vitamin D, although we had just returned from a very fast walk on the Wild Road. Too many tourists for June 1, but it’s their world too:)

One look at the chairs and lounge thrown over under the apple tree, during the trimming of the gigantic BIRD TREE redwood, and I was hooked. Where should I put this lovely relaxing furniture that nobody every uses? What about a secret little nook, and another in the kitchen garden? Off to the races. No gloves, no time to change, just jumped in and now my hands smell like this fabulous native geranium which threatens to take over the house.

It’s the perfect antidote to WORKING TOO MUCH!

xx:jw

I have been on the Media Train now since the first week in May, doing many interviews and appearances. Last week, my host was Dr. Carole Lieberman, a Psychiatrist who has an internet radio talk show called Dr. Carole’s couch! I guess you might say I was the patient last Tuesday, but as you will discover by opening the link below, we had quite a cool time. She is from the land of LA, City of Angels, for those of you not familiar, and has probably heard it ALL.

Her subject was OVEREXPOSED: ARE WE OBSESSED WITH FAMOUS PEOPLE? Listen to our wild hour of discussion about my Dad, his famous friends, and my tender opinions:)

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/69224/overexposed-are-famous-people-self-obsessed-or-are-we-obsessed-with-them

Hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend, the roads of Pebble Beach are packed with visitors, and Carmel not far behind. What’s it like in your town?

xx:jw

It was time to drive down the coast and take new books and trilogies to my vendors: NEPENTHE AND LOCAL COLOR! They have carried each new book, and now the TRILOGY is among the goods. It was a splendid day, whitewater and teal blue water, with a short wait at the road repair. They say it will be finished by Labor Day, but those guys have done an amazing job. The guardrail looks like it could hold a TRAIN.

So as a coincidence, here is a photo of a lovely woman named Jeanne Irwin, who is a fan and friend from way back. She is enchanted with Big Sur and worked with the fabled Margaret Owings many years ago. She also made the most beautiful box for me with a woman with flowers in her hair! Imagine that. In this photo, she has created a hat that won the big prize for a GALA in San Diego!

So enjoy her creations and your continued adventures in Big Sur!

xx:jw

Could there be a more cool day than Sunday with total sunshine and a clean house? This is my favorite little secret, a silent 24 of private work and thoughts, while doing all the mundane projects of life. Who knew that clean laundry and a spotless house would represent the whipped up mind? Of course, there are always those who prefer to break my silence, but most of my REAL friends know where I am today, don’t you?

I hope you hide out when possible and clean your house too. Maybe virtually and maybe for real, but let the SUNSHINE in! Gotta recharge, I’ve got this amazing show to plan with Tom Ayres. He will bring his best game, ya think?

xx:jw

There is a secret going on in my garden, suddenly everything is just blooming and popping and thriving! Wow, I even moved this big old stone CAT from under the bushes to the prominent corner bed! He has a name finally, and it is Cecil, named for my favorite flower, the Cecile Brunner. Pink roses abound, so it must be spring?

I’m really not hysterical, just happy today… getting lots of work done and feeling like things are actually WORKING like they should. Enjoy it while you can, and take a peek at a new video here and now!

xx:jw