Theresa Mae Funk (If she wants to)

George Clinton and the Parliament of Funk played Johnson, Vermont in the late 90's, and I was one of the fortunate folks who got a ticket to the show before it sold out.  The show was phenomenal.

Clinton's style of blending Jazz, Rock, Pop, Classical and hints of Gospel into his productions resulted in the development of his unique style of music that is affectionately called "Pfunk".  Dr. Clinton's creative determination elevated Funk music and secured its recognition and acceptance as a true genre of music. It was a remarkable sound to absorb. Truly funkadelic.

Throughout my life, I've endured a lot of teasing about my name.  More often than not, it has all been in good fun, and I don't take offense to it.  Most of my friends call me T Funk, and some like to sing the refrain "We want the Funk" when the mood strikes them.   It's true; my name is Theresa Mae Funk and I will if I want to.

~T.

Gumby and Pokey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where The Funk Were You?

The time I intended to set aside daily for creative writing has been compromised by my own busy-ness and the business of others that I have deemed deserving of my attention.

Uprooting 21 years of an established life in one corner of a country and transplanting it thousands of miles away in an entirely different climate and culture requires attention to details that can, if you let them, consume most of the 24 hours in a given day.  This has not been conducive to me getting my Funk on, but I've been making a few active adjustments. 

Writing something that will hold your attention for the few minutes of time that you have and may be willing to give me is a challenge that gets compounded by the time constraints that I have allowed to interrupt and restrict my creative endeavors. 

The numerous attempts to post and publish bits of my experiences and observations that I hope you will find interesting, entertaining, and meaningful to you have been thwarted by other tasks that I have allowed to take precedence over my desire to write.   My advice on the matter is to not let this happen to you!    To do so is a serious infraction of one of the founding principles and mission of The Funk House Art Garden:  To cultivate and inspire art with determination.  

I'm thankful that I have reclaimed my right to a creative space that is safe, forgiving, and designed to inspire.   If you have a desire to create something, don't talk yourself out of doing it.  Acknowledge it, honor it, and see where it leads you.

~T.

The Swedish Bohemian's Funk House Art Garden

The Funk House Art Garden is a Bohemian social club that I founded three years ago while living in Middlebury, Vermont at the address formerly known as 190 South Pleasant Street. My former residence, the Joshua Henshaw House, was built in the early 1800's.
Mr. Henshaw was a director of the Vermont State Bank in 1814 when the bank was robbed of some $28,000 in what was determined to be an inside job. The next morning, Henshaw left town for Canada and never returned. A duplicated key to the bank was found concealed in the attic of the house. Later in the century, the house became a Congregational parsonage, and in 2009, the first Funk House Art Garden seeds were planted.

I lived in two different apartments in this building, and with the exception of a few rowdy neighbors from time to time, genuinely enjoyed creating art and a garden here:

The Funk House Art Garden (a,k,a.Funk Haus Art Garten in Germany and the country formerly known as Bohemia)  is currently growing in Sacramento County, California and at the moment, thriving:

Membership to the Art Garden's Social Club is by invitation only, but kind-hearted guests with good intentions are always welcome to visit.