Divinity Rising: All Part of the Show -

If you missed it, you missed a great show! It was so much fun! The performances were stellar, the body paint was awesome and the art was something to behold! Here are some photos! These images/videos are not really safe for work and/or young eyes due to bodypainted models in thongs/pasties and some adult language.

See the rest of the intro videos from the event by clicking Here.

If you missed this one, Mark your calendars for July 30, the next big event!!

I hope you are all staying cool out in this hot weather!  Here’s some tips for cutting costs and staying cool

Love, Light, and Blessings to send you through your dreams <3

Or at least, let’s go to Youtube and see some new stuff…. It’s video week!  The parade video/picture slide is finally  finished! HURRAY!

The rough cut of  “Calling All the Magical People” is the soundtrack We rushed to have this version done by the parade, but I went back and redid some vocals, etc afterwards.  I’m hoping the mastered version will be available for purchase within the week. I just couldn’t put off sharing this any longer.

IF you can’t see the video above, you can view it by clicking HERE

I’m going to try to break up my newsletters from now on  so they’re not so daunting  and come a little more frequently. By the time I get around to writing to you, I have so much to share, I fear I will fry your brains. In light of this problem, I have discovered an interesting solution! The “publish scheduling” option of wordpress!

In my next newsletter, I’ll have something fun for Derby for you. Do you have any off the wall photos or videos from Derby? Annual Derby Festivities ? I am compiling a parody youtube slideshow/video and could use your help…I am compiling a parody video/slide show that shows the other side of Derby – the drunken mayhem, the mud wrestling, chaos, traffic, and some of the fireworks, crowds…weird.. can you send your off the wall derby photos/videos?

Send them to ddcsubmit@gmail.com along with your written permission to use them. I will not be making any money off of this video. I will be posting it on Youtube for my Derby blog on my website. I will list your name in the info on youtube.

Thanks!

Annnd, enough of the past: Looking to the future:

May 29, 2011 at Saint’s Skybar in Louisville: I”m presenting a fantasy of poetry, pop culture, visual art and body paint! I can’t wait for you to see the five head to toe body paint designs I dreamt up (applied by international fashion designer Genna Yussman) and the two models wearing my poetry in calligraphy by Jen Grove.  In anticipation, we recently did a photo shoot for upcoming fashion magazine Black and Grey by Bil Brown. I’ll be performing with guests Truth B Told, Raanan Hershberg, Jessica Neamon, Mamakitty Southwood and Tony Smith. Pop music, high energy performance poetry, projected abstract videos, a juried art show and more. This is going to be one of the most exciting and sexy events this summer! Don’t miss it! Tickets and more are available now at Brown Paper Ticket, the awesome sustainable and environmentally friendly ticket service. Click Here .   This event will probably sell out and has limited seating, so get your VIP reserved seating areas today for just a couple dollars more per person! Ten percent of proceeds go to Breaking New Grounds, a local non-profit focused on creating jobs with sustainable urban agriculture.

As I move in some new directions and “break new grounds”, I have once again been reminded that people seem to think that I just push forward with ease as I follow my joy and create my heaven on earth. They comment on how easy it comes for me and remark that I am fearless. These are absolute untruths. I work very hard to make things happen. I sacrifice a lot of simple pleasures, stability and other things that most people want in order to achieve the things that I do. I deal with people who wish to attack me because I stand out.  I have to combat (with the help of friends sometimes) doubt, fear, insecurities like everyone.  I have to remind myself of the following: “There will always be opportunities to worry, to fear, to doubt, to hand over my power – but I will not give it. I am responsible for my experience and I plan to enjoy it. ”

I give you all permission to use my mantra if you feel it will help you in facing the difficulties that come our way day to day, tempting us to fear, to doubt, to give in and not claim our birthright, our heaven on earth.  As a whole, we are all only as strong as our weakest brethren.

Love, Light, and blessings to send you through your dreams <3

Sometimes, it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. That’s exactly what I’m doing in many areas of my life, but I also recently had to make a tough decision to let go of my baby of the past three years: Sub Rosa, the Gypsie Courtyard. Weekly production, booking, hosting was becoming too much for me, and I found myself unable to really pursue my own art forms and be such a supporter of everyone else at the same time. I am capable of and wanted to host higher quality shows, but found it hard while I was locked into the weekly duties of taking care of Sub Rosa. It’s been coming for a while. I have been struggling to keep it going because I know it means something to the people who were involved and came regularly and it meant something to me. You all mean so much to me. I wanted to keep it alive for you all, but had to know when to let go and follow where my heart was leading. Thank you for the amazing and overwhelming response of support I have gotten so far. I have met so many amazing talents over the last three years and believe in each of you so much. You’ve all touched me, blessed me and filled me up with wonder and good stuff. You all have such exciting journeys ahead of you if you just believe in the whispers from your heart that guide you. I will continue to produce events on a less regular schedule with a main focus on developing my performance art and hope to work with many of you in those events. I will be posting calls to artists, performers, models, etc for different productions. This is the first one: My next show is Poetry, Pop, and Paint and the information for the call can be found here on facebook : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188781017831980

In other news, the debut of  my song Broken went so well! Thanks to my partner, Jada Parks for her photography and inspiration and to Nick Peay for the perfect music! Artography was such an awesome and fun event produced by Kenn Parks, and I was very happy with the response! I wish I had set up a webcam as suggested by my friend Tim to stream people’s responses to the web. Some people were creeped out to the point of being unable to look in my direction. One woman leaned in to tell me that I was very brave. Others let me know how much they enjoyed it, and I met some really awesome artists, creatives. Kenn did a great job at creating an event for people to mingle, appreciate art, and I foresee some awesome collaborations coming out of it. I enjoyed it immensely and can’t wait to do more living exhibits in the future. Here are some awesome photos by Tim Valentino of VU (pronounced View) Photography and Joe Mays and a phone video by Tim Druck. Enjoy! I am still working on the parade video footage and photos to share with you. Hope to have them done by the next newsletter.

On another note, I’ve found myself in a place where people that used to scare me with bullying or by holding their approval/love over my head no longer scare me. I’ ve found them raise their heads and try to surface  with the type of behavior that would have used to make me give in or try to defend myself or try to make everything “ok” . I’ve found it quite liberating to realize that I’ve come to a place where I don’t really care what they think.  I’ve found that the more I tried to shine, the more of a target I became. Somewhere in my journey, I overcame a need to prove myself to haters, people who wanted to hold me back and decided to let my actions speak for me. I am human like everyone else on a path of learning, trying to figure out who I am, go for my heart’s desires and learn how to best be me. Part of that process includes falling, making mistakes. We all do. If we didn’t, none of us would learn to walk..we’d still be crawling around on the ground.  Some of us aren’t happy with just learning to walk. We want to fly. The further you are from the ground, the harder you may find yourself falling.  It’s far too easy to weigh ourselves down with our own judgment and criticism.   The last thing we need is a bully or someone we trust/care about to continually grab on to our legs and try to pull us back down. The truth is it has never really been them holding us down that keeps us from flying…it’s our failure to push off of them and leave them behind. It sucks that they are lonely where they are, but maybe if you continue to rise, they will see that they can, too.   My favorite quote this year has been “Do not speak about your greatest gifts…Leave the talking to others.”  I’m trying to make that my mantra.  You’re either for me or against me and if you’re against me, the past is your home and I’m not looking down / back as I rise. The people I now find myself surrounded by and consider friends that have shown  me real love/support, inspire me to continue to rise, and actually care about my well being/happiness and I theirs  are more precious to me than gold, and the others are..well, people….people I once knew.   It’s hard to say goodbye and walk away from the habit/desire of giving others your power and letting them make you feel bad about yourself or scare you into giving up on flying, but definitely a hurdle worth leaping over.  So, raise a glass with me and toast to the liberation of saying good bye to the fears of yesterday!!

Sometimes…I feel broken. I know I’m not alone. The thing about being broken is that it makes you want to go around trying to fix everyone else’s broken..It’s hard not to for me.It’s also hard not to hate /lash out at similar cracks we see in others.  Maybe it is  my own cracks, fissures, remaining pains and hurts that make me want to hug everyone else and try to help when I see it in them.  It’s hard to remember to focus on my own cracks and hurts and to simply allow what I see in others to reflect something back to me. With that in mind, I did a photo shoot with local photographer/artist Jada parks. I’ve attached a few sneak preview photos. The photos will be part of a live art exhibit march 25, 26 called Artography. The photos will be put into collages that will be on display, and I will be there live in the middle of the display as a broken doll surrounded by my broken dolls as I sing. A lot of people think the photos are creepy. They are. There is nothing scarier than the fact that we  have cracks within us. We  have weakness. The people around us  have cracks and weaknesses. To me: it is scary that some of the cracks can not be fixed. However, we can live brilliantly whether we are cracked or not!!

Coming up before that, though, is the St. Patrick’s Day parade!!! I am super excited! The float is coming along nicely, and Ethridge Enterprises, LLC signed on as our executive producer, which takes care of the supplies! Fashion Designer Genna Yussman is providing some costumes for the Vixens. Cool World Productions will be catching everything on video, thanks to the Great Escape comic books and records and Bearno’s in the Highlands. We’ll be having our after party about 6:30 at Bearnos and shooting some footage there as well.

There are several ways you can be involved and on video if you want! One, come out to the parade in costume as magical people and hold up the sign “Yes, DR, magical people are here!”  as our float goes by…We’ll be turning our cameras outward looking for our magical brethren.

Two, Come out to the after party at Bearno’s in the Highlands, starting around 6:30 – then stick around for some of the wildest karaoke in town.

Three, you can advertise your business in the video or in the program we will be handing out. Deadline March 4.

The parade and after party are family friendly. Hope to see you there! Read more information about the parade by clicking here

Special thanks to Genna Yussman for the use of some of her fabulous costumes, Pagan Community Ministries, Framer’s Supply, Black Water Divers, Hataritaville, and the Va Va Vixens!!

This is my love letter to you. I know it’s not much, but I don’t have much else to give you. My words are the couriers of my soul, and my soul is really all I have to give.  I don’t have riches or jewels purchased from high gloss window displays. A lot of my clothes are tattered, and my existence currently a little scattered as I hop around from place to place trying to be there for you as you’ve been there for me. It may not seem like much…I mean a soul is invisible after all…but I hope it will do. It is the one gift I can give and never run out of…andso I will continue to share it as long as you will let me.

I’ve attached some ECards you can share with others below (Just right click and save as to save them to your computer), and here are some other ways I’ll be sharing soon:
February 18,19 are the final performances of Va Va Valentine at Art Sanctuary and Alley Theater

March 11 – Divinity Rose will be releasing a new dance version of Calling All the Magical People at the Rudyard Kipling during an event there…get a sneak peek of the parade performance. Stay tuned for details.

March 12: Divinity Rose will be calling all the magical people in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade!

Last year around 30,000 came out to enjoy the awesome parade that had over 120 floats/units.  This year Divinity Rose will be joined by a crew of magical people like the beautiful Va Va Vixens as she performs a new dance version of “Calling All the Magical People” and brings the enchanted forest to the streets of Bardstown Rd, blurring the… line where dreams and reality meet.   Divinity Rose calls all creatures of the imagination to step through the mists and gather on the streets of Bardstown Road to make some noise to remind others that we are here and that IMAGINATION is alive and well and ready to thrive in a world that needs creative help.  Bring the whole family and throw down like only the Fae and creatures of the subconscious know how!  We invite you to come in costume! Faerie, Unicorn, troll, goblins, angels, etc, UNITE! Come to the parade and join with other magical people as we rally together to make some noise, make our presence known, and open the floodgates of BELIEF that we can live out loud and make dreams into reality. Also, join us after wards for our magical after party – location TBD.  If you want to be in the parade and walk with the magical people, let us know!  It’s time for inhabitants of different worlds to meet and mingle once more.

March 25, 26: ARTOGRAPHY – an awesome art show that pairs photographers with artists for exhibit, live music and more – I will be part of a live performance art installation – Come and see! Location TBA

April 1 or 2 – Stay tuned for a very special event involving Poetry, pop and paint

In between all this, Don’t forget you can join us on Mondays at Zazoo’s Bar and Grill in St. Matthews

Hello all my beautiful inklings, magical people and godlings! Just when I thought I wouldn’t have a big show until January, I was asked to co-produce and perform in a show on December 11 at the Rudyard Kipling in Louisville, Kentucky.

Prepare your minds! On that fateful night, Cirque Airotic aerial burlesque troop and I bring you BLACKJACK!

I’ll be dealing up 21 delicious acts that make everyone a winner including singers, dancers, comedy, magic and more Can you beat the dealer at her own game?

Tickets are only $12. That’s a lot of entertainment for less than $20! The imagery on this one is going to be beautiful, and two of the aerialists will dangle amongst the audience!

Va Va Vintage is finally done.The after party was the most fun I’ve had at karaoke in years. It was pretty much entire bar sing along night. Thirty of us sang Bad Romance, Love Shack, Bohemian Rhapsody…all the sappy party songs..but it was a whole bar of friends and strangers at one with each other. It was one of those rare moments of bliss, where everything else disappears. It makes me a little sad as I hear Boyz II Men singing “hard to say good bye” in my head. It was an awesome cast and show. That’s one of the signs I was slated for show business, though. When I was a child, my favorite thing was going to summer camp and being family with everyone for a couple weeks and then moving on. I made some amazing friendships through the production, and deepened some old ones. I also had to answer a bazillion times that Mike Nusser is not my husband, even though we dance together very well.

Speaking of Mike Nusser. He’s one of my favorite beloveds and we often sing together at my weekly variety show Sub Rosa: The Gypsie Courtyard. We decided to release a recording of us singing his song Suicide last Monday with Larry Doyle on harmonica. I was sick, and the recording is live, so it’s a little rough….but that’s real, and sometimes that’s the best part of Sub Rosa: how raw it is. There’s even a fun little bit of banter at the beginning of it. I think Mike was a little jealous that I was in deep conversation with national poet and beloved Truth B. Told, who was also there and I have video to prove it.

The Free track from Nusser and I is available to listen to at my Reverb Nation page. It is free to download and take a piece of Sub Rosa with you if you are a member of my email newsletter! (If you’re receiving this in your email from ReverbNation) If you aren’t, don’t worry. You can go to my page and sign up or you can go to www.divinityrose.com and sign up! (If you’re receiving this email from ReverbNation, there should be a link at the bottom of this email to download it!)

And don’t forget, I have a contest going right now where you can win $50, one of my new T-shirts and a copy of Diaries of a Godling: The Promise (my graphic novel). All you have to do is help me gather magical people for the end times! We want no one left behind!! You can join my street team at my ReverbNation and click on the mission on the right hand side of the page for instructions on how to use the widgets to gather people and be tracked for the prizes.

January 8, 2011, Divinity Rose as a Doomsday Lover. Even in the end times, the show must go on! This hilarious and sexy burlesque is set in post apocalyptic times and stars zombies, showgirls, a reporter and YOU! It is highly interactive and you want to get your tickets before they sell out! You can buy a ticket or you can buy a whole table so you and your survival crew can sit right up front amidst the action. It also features entertainment from some of Louisville’s favorite performers such as Jaime Duvall, Mike Nusser, Jorena Faulkner, Cyndi Snow, and a zombie fashion show by Rachel French of Venomiss designs. Tickets can be bought ahead of time at http://www.art-sanctuary.com

So much news! I know! I am on a busy journey, and I am so grateful that each of you are on the rise with me!! The path our hearts lead us on send us ever upward, closer and closer to the bright star that guides us! Hearing from you keeps me alive and going even when the times get tough! Write to me and let me know how your dreams are progressing!

Love, Light and Blessings to send you through your dreams!

xoxoxo
Love,
Divinity Rose

With just a few days until the opening of Va Va Vintage, I came down with a nasty respiratory infection. I am so grateful to everyone who shared all the home remedies, tips and tricks and health advice.

One of the most interesting was to put vapor rub on your feet and cover it with socks.  It turns out that our feet are the most porous parts of our body. Another friend said that if you rub garlic on your feet, you will taste garlic by morning. I will definitely be spraying disinfectant in my shoes from now on. Just think of all the nastiness our bodies absorb through our feet!

Thinking about that made me think about how our consciousness/souls are always recording. I think our minds are actually the most porous part of our boies. Our senses are constantly recording and everything we take in from the stimuli around us become a part of what we are. That means we have to be careful about what we surround ourselves with! Are we in a toxic or healing environment?

I have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the environment while preparing for the VA VA Vixens show. The entire cast is so wonderful, and living in the country has really been great for me in downtime.

I am excited about the opening of VA VA Vintage on Saturday! I am so in love with my “Jessica Rabbitesque” dress!  We did the tech rehearsal and run-through last night and it was awesome! Some of the acts are so amazing! I’m so honored to be a part of it all. I can’t wait for you to all see it. I hope you get your tickets before they sell out…

Pick up a copy of the Courier Journal tomorrow, and the spread in the LEO.

Opening night is Saturday! Don’t miss it!

Well, fall is here. I love fall but it also usually sets a push into motion to start clearing out a bunch of stuff that won’t fit the next cycle of  life and rushing through a lot of change  to make way for new stuff before the new year starts.

I know a lot of you are feeling some major shifts in your life right now, too, and I hope you’ll remember that earthquakes always expose our weaknesses so we can move on towards our dreams in a way that is stronger.  The key is to stay focused and be willing to see what areas are being shown to us. If we are willing to see them, we can move on and not deal with the same major cracks again. The nasty little demons we carry with us are what hold us back from being the awesome shining lights we naturally are.  The quickest way to get a demon off your back is to be willing to see it’s there.

I suppose the biggest news I need to address in this newsletter is that I’ve just finished moving . I moved to an awesome little ranch about an hour and a half outside of Louisville.  I’ve had a ton of emails asking where and why, so I’ll answer here.  It’s a small town  between E-town and Leitchfield.  I’m going to be retreating so that I can develop my solo show over the winter and be ready with a show I can tour with by mid-summer.  I’m really excited at the show and team of people that are coming together to make this happen.  I’ll be spending a fair amount of time in Nashville each month as well to do some recording in preparation for that and some small appearances. I also hope to be able to lay out some plans for some evolutions for Sub Rosa. Louisville Sub Rosa is now at Zazoo’s every Monday, starting at a new and earlier 7 p.m. We made this change to accommodate all the people who wished they could come but couldn’t justify staying out so late on a weeknight.

Yes, I will still be hosting Sub Rosa in Louisville on Mondays as long as there is support and a desire for it, although I may occasionally have a guest host. It continues to be important for us to all have a place to connect to each other and support each other, so as long as we are able to connect at Sub Rosa, I will come to town for it or do what I can to  make sure it stays alive.

I also still have monthly shows at Howl at the Moon on Fourth St. Live! They are such an awesome group to work with and really know how to throw a party. They are worthy visiting on a weekend!   This month is November 17 (Wednesday). Get ready for Turkey Bowling with the Vixens in addition to the “You can’t do that on piano” contest.   I hope to see you all there. I have had so much fun with all of you at these shows! I’ve been amazed at the couple hundred that come out to enjoy the buffet, cheap drinks, and pretty girlies.  Let me know if you need tickets to get in for free.

After November, we will be moving our night at Howl at the Moon and “You can’t do that on piano” to the second Wednesday of each month. That means Dec 8, Jan 12, and Feb 9

Speaking of Howl at the Moon, I had an awesome birthday Monster Ball there on the 20th! I absolutely loved giving everyone a bit of tail my Medusa costume by Christiane Nicoulin and hair by my beautiful and only stylist Lee Ann Cooper ( of Younique Salon)…My tail was about four feet long with a rattle at the end, and the cat chased it when I got home and walked through the door!  We had a great turn out with a couple hundred people, and there were some really awesome giveaways!

For more giveaways, play the caption contests on the Sub Rosa FaceBook page

Since I’ve been too busy to post in the last couple weeks, I’ve got more to share with you:

I’m ecstatic I got to be a part of the Halloween parade with the Va Va Vixens, and I am really looking forward to our burlesque show next month. I’ve  finished the script and can’t help but giggle at the naughty humor. I’ve been busy with rehearsals with the other vocalists, I’ll be singing with.   My costume for the show is a very bright and sparkly “Jessica Rabbit” dress. I can’t wait for you all to see it! I am having so much fun with this show!!!

The Shows are running November 13, 20,21, 26,27. You can buy tickets at the Alley Theater  website.  Also, check out this article with some history on burlesque and vaudeville and the Va Va Vixens.

Also, Don Smith over at Investcomics.com interviewed me and wrote a review of Diaries of a Godling. Check it out here!

I also got to do a special guest appearance and performance at a Beetlegeuse themed show.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks

I have more photos and video to share with you, but it will have to wait until I am home and near my external hard drive.  Until then,

Love, Light and Blessings to send you through your dream

xoxo

Divinity Rose

Hello, my beautiful little inklings and godlings!

I have to say that I am really honored to be a part of some of these shows as of late. Sub Rosa continues to grow, and I’ve seen some great new talents coming out. I am starting to pull away from Sub Rosa a little, though, so I can focus on my own performing arts and artistic development. I’ve really been focused lately on taking myself to a new level.  Some of you may know me as “Dreamer with an Ink Fetish”..other as “The showgirl of soul”.  Some of you may have been part of the amazing group that helped the first run of self published  “Diaries of a Godling: The Promise” to sell out, and I am grateful for that. If you haven’t learned by now, I am a girl who is in love with stories. I want to tell stories, live stories and find the places where all stories meet. I want to birth the age of the Living Stories – not so much the age where we begin to live out stories, but rather the age where we realize that is what we are already doing. I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Where have you been? Where are you headed? What is your story??

I have also decreased the number of shows that I do with Sub Rosa so that I can take on some other opportunities. Our shows are currently taking place mostly at Zazoos every Monday and some Friday/Saturdays.

This Friday, Im  hosting a DVD release party for Darshwood the Conjoror!! Performances by Va Va Vixens, Ohlm and Darshwood himself. Check out this article on Darshwood and the party, then head on down to celebrate with us. There is no cost for entry.

Then, on Saturday October 2nd, I’ll be making an appearance and performing a little custom number written just for this event  at Starbase Q during the Beetlegeuce theme show/party.

Part of this new direction includes my new monthly show at Howl at the Moon on 4th St. Live in Louisville, Ky.  I am still glowing a little from the first show there.  It went so well! Over 110 magical people came out to help try to stump the pianists and celebrate with me.  My next show there is October 20, and I’d be happy to give you some tickets to attend for free. It will be a Monster ball! That’s right! It’s themed for Monster movies, so come and show off the monster within.

Speaking of monsters, I just heard Lady Gaga will be coming to Louisville in March 2011. Be on the lookout for an article soon about whether or not her visit might affect how Louisville accepts its homosexual citizens.

I wanted to share some photos with you of the first event:

Aside from Howl at the Moon, I’ve been busy writing the storyline for the upcoming Va Va Vintage Burlesque show. I can’t wait  to emcee it and perform two of my original songs! These shows always sell out, so make sure you get your tickets soon!

In the meantime, please forgive me if these updates are a little more sparse than usual… Divinity is Rising…and it’s keeping me so busy, but I promise to write to you every chance I get. I do hope you’ll rise with me.   It might help if you  go ahead and add or like my Facebook page. I get to leave little love notes there more often in addition to contests with prizes, photos and more.

The last week has been ripe with reminders. When we are ready for a change or to play on  a new level, the universe sometimes responds a little quicker than we are ready for!  Things are yanked right from under our feet and if we allow ourselves to get too spooked or freaked out while mid-air, we don’t even realize there is a much softer mattress waiting for us to land on!

I don’t really have a full newsletter ready, but I did want to pop in and share the awesome news! I have been asked to emcee and perform at VA VA VINTAGE in November. The Va Va Vixens are Louisville’s very own Burlesque troop and run one of the hottest shows in town. Dance numbers, swings, aerial silks, contortionists and more! I will open the show, perform throughout it, and close it with the curtain call – all with my own original material and songs! These shows always sell out, so don’t miss it!

You can find more information and order tickets at http://www.alleytheater.org