Karen J. Imas
Bio
I am a performing artist and teacher (courses are writing, literature, practical life, sculpture, and photography) living in Houston, Texas since 2009. My artist expertise focuses on choreography, physical theatre, writing, and puppetry.
Stories (3)
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A Frizzy Sage
Imagine open arms and wistful, whimsical long hair sending an invitation into your heart. This image is my mother. Wild like the mystical sirens of the sea, or what most people refer to as a mermaid. One's upbringing washes up as a flurry of experiences living in the past. Whether I am reading a book or doodling on sketchbook paper, my mama is responsible for the ways in which I see reading, art, artists, cultural understanding, and acceptance others. A professional artist with children is not a combination most women put on their life wish list. My mother, however, took this combination with an immense integrity and joy. My siblings and I played lookouts on the roadside of the Shenandoah mountains, whilst my mother hunted for the perfect fallen tree trunk. I remember feeling like the protector of my mother's soon-to-be-discovered treasure. After our getaway trunk heist, we were congratulated with a raspberry licorice treat from the health food store. Unlike some artists who had to teach themselves the artistic process, my mother gave us frequent lessons on this tedious, eye-opening journey of the artist with her found and magical materials.
By Karen J. Imas6 years ago in Families
Unpolished Toes
"Oooooooohhh, girl, getting a mani-pedi is a necessity." Is it, though? I mean, really, people. We, women, are brainwashed into thinking spending over thirty five dollars once a month keeps us looking 'sexy'. Here is the truth. Are you ready for some real talk? Are you? I am about to get very real here. Beauty comes from our inner spirit. The crevices of our inner selves we like to bury, buff over, deep cleanse away, and glisten with a new, hot shade of fuschia or ruby red or Morticia green. And yes, these words sound like a self help chapter from Brene Brown's new book, but take a moment and think about feet. Human Beings are lucky because we look different than other species, and we look different from each other. The reasons most people want a manicure and a pedicure fall into these categories: maintenance, a self-care treat, and pleasing others. I understand wanting to maintain a level of cleanliness with your hands and feet and treating yourself once every few months. My beef and lack of understanding is with friends and loved ones, even colleagues, who get their nails done as a bonding experience. What an expensive outing! Hear me out for a second. How often do we really look at our feet? I don't about y'all, but I look at my feet twice a day, if at all. Once in the shower when I am washing my toesies, and at night before getting into my house shoes. My footsies are clean and isn't it true the goal of personal hygiene is to wash and moisturize your body? I think treating yourself to a bath is as much of a treat, if not more, than paying a total of forty+ dollars for gleaming toenails and smooth feet. For one thing, my bath once or twice a month (quick showering saves on your water bill) is way less expensive than a pedicure, and I get the same satisfaction. We need to be grateful for feet because not every person has the luxury of moving on their feet or even having feet. I think the hidden reason people like pedicures is to maintain an external image of beauty for others to admire in them. The problem here is the 'admire in them' part of this philosophy. Being natural means without the artificial layers of makeup, and isn't nail polish makeup for our feet and hands? Before I moved to Texas, I had no idea what these little buggers called Chiggers were in the insect kingdom. Let me tell you, Chiggers are nasty little insects that crawl into your skin, pop out and can crawl back into your skin again. Did you know nail polish kills Chiggers? Oh, yessirrreee. Those little f*&$ers die by suffocation after you dab a few layers of nail polish over your chiggerbitten skin. The next time you look at nail polish, think about how a tiny bottle of artificial beauty saves our skin. Enjoy your next mani-pedi, people.
By Karen J. Imas6 years ago in Blush
