Jenny Doh

BOLD ATTEMPT

I totally agree. Regardless of what you're working on ... in my opinion, there's no reason to just go halfway or go just slightly into something. Going forward boldly and confidently is part of the formula for success ...

It's like when a poker player has a great hand and knocks out other players who might have moderately OK hands by making a bold and confident move by going ALL IN. Success through strength and audacity.

GAMEBOY • BOYHOOD

Just like my early promise to forbid toy guns in the house as explained to you here, I had made a similar promise about video games. It was easy to enforce the "no video games in the house" rule with Monica. She had no interest. But with Andrew ... OMG ... it was like he was born with a video game-playing gene. So in 2004 for his 6th birthday, after much consulting with my friends and Gerardo, I gave in and bought him his very own Gameboy. When he opened it at his birthday party in our front yard, his ear-to-ear smile didn't leave his face until he fell asleep that night. The only other time he smiled non-stop with such glee was when I finally gave in and got him a toy gun.

Over the years, our family has evolved. We now own a Wii. And though we all have been known to play with Wii, there's something very different in terms of the level of intensity that Andrew has toward Wii and all other video games, compared to Monica. And though it may sound provocative, I will say from experience that no matter how equally we try to treat boys and girls, they are simply wired differently. 

Which makes me ask once more, how much is nature? How much is nurture?

LUCKY CARDS ATOP A VINTAGE QUILT

I love to play poker ...

Cause even with the best of cards, it's a game about reading people. And I love reading people ...

And this day after Thanksgiving, here I am with some of my very best friends ... as we read one another and hope for the best of hands ... like the Ace and 2 in the pocket ... to lock in the low hand while playing Omaha ...

Such great times.

Good friends, good food and drinks, and good cards atop a vintage quilt.

EDITOR'S LETTER • SOM0708 • ALL IN

Dear Readers,

Given my love of big cities, I've always believed that when I eventually get to France, my breath will be taken away by Paris — a city that my artist friend Pam Garrison describes as "steeped in history and yet so 'forward' and so very cosmopolitan." Getting to Paris is definitely on my "to do" list so that I can witness firsthand the sights, sounds, and dreamy color palettes that have been described to me by Pam and others whose hearts have been captured by this incredible city.

My publisher Kellene Giloff and I have been discussing the idea of traveling together to France ... and though she too would like to visit Paris, she is much more intrigued with the idea of visiting southern France, including the regions that make up Provence. Artist Kimberly Kwan observes that in the more rural areas of France, "you really do need to slow down and acclimatize to the pace of the village ..." Whether it's America or Europe, "the south" enamors and beckons many ... with promises of romantic fields and windy roads, deliciously deliapidated historical buildings, and a simple lifestyle rooted in rural authenticity.

But of course the reality of all places — whether urban or rural — have its own set of troubles. In A Streetcar Named Desire, playwright Tennessee Williams presents Blanche DuBois — a classic Southern belle character with French heritage made famous by actress Vivien Leigh in the 1951 film version of the play. We learn that "the south" has dealt Blanche a string of tough life hands that have done a number on her. So much so that she has difficulty discerning between reality and fantasy.

Blanche is juxtaposed to Stanley Kowalsky (played by actor Marlon Brando) — a working class Polish immigrant who is a rough-and-tumble, poker-playing, in-your-face force to be reckoned with ... a force that has no patience for the ways of belles like Blanche.

The struggles between Stanley and Blanche symbolize the struggles between the old and new — with an unfiltered look at the flaws and strengths inherent in both. The urban and rural, if you will. And though tragedy unfolds most dramatically for Blanche, we realize that no one is ever fully in control of the type of hand that life dispenses ... no matter our geographical or historical origins. The only hope really is how we choose to play the hands we're dealt.

This Provence issue of Somerset Studio presents art that runs the gamut — from classic to contemporary, basic to experimental, romantic to edgy. Rachel Emilie Jackson offers an incredible book with cards (page 20) that captures the intrigue of Provence. Linda Trenholm follows suit with an accordion book that is drenched with traditional imagery reminiscent of southern France (page 68). When you flip to the Mélange section, you will find works created at a much different pace — like Joy Logan's spray painted boards that honor New York City (page 50), vibrant art journal pages by Elizabeth Bunsen (page 56), and imaginative projects made with MOO cards (page 64) by Lelainia N. Lloyd and friends.

Toward the end of his play, Tennessee Williams sends the most powerful message of all: That even in the face of struggle and occasional tragedy, life always goes on. And no matter how we've played the last hand, we'd better get ready because cards will get reshuffled and new hands constantly dealt. And the faster we are able to learn, recover, overcome and evolve, the better we'll get at playing the hands that come next.

All in,

Jenny Doh

Editor-in-Chief & Director of Publishing

[This letter was published in the July/August 2008 issue of Somerset Studio.]

AUDACIOUSLY ALL IN — IN THE DARK

Last week during the premier of Project Runway 5, contestant Daniel designed a fabulous dress out of a singular item: blue plastic cups.

To which Michael Kors aptly stated that Daniel's level of creativity is something you either have or don't have.

But I think it's more than creativity. It's courage. It's confidence. Quite frankly, it's AUDACITY. It's being SO sure of yourself and the cards you've been dealt that you take a leap of faith and go for what's unexpected and potentially ground-breaking.

It reminds me of going all in — in the dark — in the game of poker. A message you send to players that you don't need to see the last down-card dealt. That without looking (or buying any other element in a grocery store challenge than a stack of blue plastic cups), your hand has become actualized ... a message that you've already got the last ace locked in. It's a bet that does involve risk ... but when successfully played out ... is nothing short of breathtaking.

Knitting Las Vegas

Poker is one of my favorite games to play. Because it's about so much more than the cards. Of course having good cards helps you play but even when you have a bad hand, as long as you can read the players, you have a chance to win. Reading people is what poker is about. Which is why I love the game.

We just came back tonight from a great game with our dear friends Manuel and Genet.

Genet's the greatest hostess because in the middle of it all, she'll pull out scrumptious snacks to enjoy.

Given my love of poker you might not be surprised that I recently went on a trip to Vegas with my friends Cynthia Shaffer and Juanita. (P.S. Cynthia is the very talented photo stylist for Stampington & Company and my very dear friend ever since our MOPS days. Juanita is another dear friend with whom I went to UC Irvine. Her kids and my kids are great friends.) Cynthia and I flew in before Juanita got there. But the thing that Cynthia shares in common with me is our love of yarn. (P.S. Juanita is NOT a knitter.) So when we first got there, what did we do? Play poker? No. We took a bus to find the nearest yarn shop. And we found the greatest yarn shop named Wooly Wonders owned by a very lovely Joyce. Cynthia and I spent an entire day knitting in Vegas!

(Notice the stash of yarn under my chair that I NEEDED to get to add to my current stash of yarn.) When Juanita joined us, she had been wondering what she might have missed, given that she flew in to Vegas AFTER me and Cynthia. When she found out that we had been knitting the whole time, she asked incredulously: You're KNITTING in Vegas?! What a trooper she was because even though we were at dinner ... Cynthia and I had yarn with us (under the table).

On the plane, on the dance floor, in the airport, yarn was omnipresent.

So I guess if you were to bet on whether I prefer cards over yarn, you'd be reading me right if you bet on the yarn.