Lisa's Musings

happy happy mother's day

2008-05-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

there's no standard mom job description. sure there's snot and baths and dinner and laundry.... there's also all that intangible stuff - the looks, the stickers on your lunch bags, the staying with you until you fall asleep. every mom i know admits that sometimes its a thankless, completely overwhelming responsibility. but they all wouldn't trade it for the world. well i wouldn't trade my mom or my grandmother in for anything. thank you for everything you've done for me. every hug, every encouragement, every prejudiced praise... even though i can't be with you tomorrow know that i am thinking of you and love you very very much.

to • all• moms• in • blogland• who • share • with• us• and• inspire • us • thank• you

to the • new and• expecting moms... a special congratulations

and of course a big hug to all the pet moms .... i'm sorry i couldn't list every single mom out there - but give yourselves bit pats on the back!

hope everyone gets breakfasts in bed, lots of hugs, and special treats galore! i'll be back next week with some robot photos

twinkle toes

2008-05-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

i thought wearing silver shoes today would help.

i am obsessing over these yellow shoes . honestly i need more shoes like i need a hole in my head. maybe i need a hole in my head [or a whole new head]. perhaps what would come out of said hole would make me smarter, faster, better....

i'm also really into imperfect articles a store that has limited edition T's and stuffs by cool artists. I particularly want andrea loefke's shirt. have you seen her work? . she's amazing.

gotta run [at least i'll look better doing it in my silver shoes]
happy wed.

carbon tetrachloride + cosmic wheel

2008-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

i'm super pleased to announce that jessica of the shiny squirrel has the above pairing as a print available on her website.

aurora and i thought it would be fun to do another print after the tiny showcase one.

the scoop:
these are SIGNED and numbered and in an edition of 50 - with 6AP's. the images are 6"x6" and the paper is 8"x8" [for easy framing]. you get both for $58.

find the print here .

if you are shopping for mother's day how bout a piece by alyson fox or the alice jacket , or this piece by lisa congdon

happy monday to everyone!

happy may day

2008-05-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

holy cow it's may?? 5 months into 2008?

yesterday i made my students meet at the asian art museum in SF. we went through the special exhibitions together.

the zhan wang show was really fun. i like that the museum is trying to infuse new life and contemporary art into their program. mr. wang created a mock up of the city of san francisco using shiny silver dinnerware [made in china of course]. it's clever and charming and of course perfectly shiny. he also recreated rocks out of stainless steel - a version of scholars rocks. i'm not sure the showing of those is so resolved. i don't really like the real rock with the steel rock side by side en masse on shelves and the ground as they were displayed. i conceptually get why you want them both in proximity, but something wasn't working for me.... i liked the ones outside of the exhibition best. the real was on one side of the entrance and the fake was on the other. they were close enough so you could discern the steel was a copy - but far enough away to actually see them both. the idea of a steel - not gold, not silver - light instead of heavy and perfectly shaped rock is intriguing. i thought stephanie might like them.

we also went through the ukiyo-e or floating world exhibition. time and time again i am absorbed by the overlay of pattern in traditional japanese art. the odd perspectives and the combining of textures feels very familiar to my own way of working. i also really really love the way gold clouds hover and cover scenes below. [note to self - bring back the clouds].

i then separated from my class and walked through the rest of the permanent collections. i always feel a bit strange wandering through rooms of artifacts from other cultures. 100's of buddhas away from their proper homes displayed in perfectly red, brown, teal rooms on little pedestals and tricky plexi double sided displays. the objects are still beautiful, but they are so far removed from their original purpose. it also makes me kind of sad....

but i did fall in love with this very small yellow cup. the heart fluttering kind of love. i went home and sketched it.....

oh how i want it !

anyway - i left the museum and found a farmer's market right by the BART station i needed to get home. so i purchased the above ranunculus. i couldn't resist. they were so charming. so i share them with you to wish you all a happy may day. i also got fava beans and strawberries. i was also thinking about how lovely it was to come upon a market. and how nice it is to notice how flowers can have delicate two tone edges.... [note to self: plant ranunculus someday]

tonight i am running a workshop at the san jose museum of art . we will make felt robots inspired by the amazing hillary of wee wonderfuls and the uber talented wendy . wish me luck!

tomorrow or saturday i will announce some news - good news for those of you that missed out on the tiny showcase print and wanted one.....

optical illusions

2008-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

above is the piece i'm donating to southern exposure's auction - Optic Illusion - this year. their auctions are always really fun events to attend. happening tomorrow night from 6-10pm. i won't be there this year but it's a great great chance to scoop up work by great artists. more info here .

also jan / poppytalk posted a little q/a about my studio on design sponge the other day. it's here . thanks for asking me jan. it's been really fun to read and see all the studios on the guest blog .

have a great weekend. gardening is in my future.

mundane perceptions

2008-04-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

this is a photo from my trip. which seems like it was 3 years ago not 3 weeks ago. i spend a lot of time just looking for/at things - 1/2 the time i'm not even sure what it is i'm looking for until i spot it. i know i'm not alone in this endeavor. in fact alicia and heather have started a whole blog on noticing . and they are looking for participants next week .

i've been thinking a lot lately about what we notice. what seeps in through all the various filters and barriers that exist. how we process the bombardment of thoughts, images, sounds in our daily lives. what is it that makes us stop for 1/2 a second. or makes us smile.

yesterday i participated in cca's first year final reviews. and here's what stopped me... the idea of PUNCTUATION in art. what constitutes an exclamation point, a period, a question mark - and how do you insert and utilize those to the benefit of you work?

also the idea of intervention and art. or just the idea of intervention in general. like my photo. someone painted those water/gas/electricity mains in rainbow colors. i'm not sure if it's a coding system, or just because, or.... but it intervenes in how i normally look at industrial necessities.

anyway - i also have a question to pose - if any of you are up for answering. it's high time i re-vamp the portfolio section of my website . and i have a lot of work to add to it. right now i just put newer pieces up as i make them - thinking more about making them look nice on the page as a group of 8. but i'm starting to think it might be wise to have categories - at least in the recent work.... something like : tank installations : doily installations : domestic scenes : doily drawings : etc. any opinions?

another point of view

2008-04-18T09:27:00.001-07:00

wow you guys are so great. thanks for all the balance sympathy! [but duh you guys are just as crazy busy as i am]

sometimes i feel like i need to tackle a material - something familiar in a new way.

ali and i are working on a trade. i saw an image of hers on her blog and had to have it. she's going to get some tanks and i told her she could hang them as "flowers"....

tonight we are going to see dengue fever . i couldn't be more excited. it's been so long since i've seen a live show....

ok - off to work in the studio. i have a LONG list of things that have to get done in there today.....

happy weekend!

finding balance [at least i'm working on it]

2008-04-14T23:20:00.001-07:00

i often feel like if i stop for one minute i'll shut down and i won't be able to start back up. and then like a house of cards everything would tumble and i'll live up to the flaky artist stereotype that drives me crazy. but luckily i have a husband who misses me - and who tells me that my priorities are sometimes screwy.

we had the most amazing weather this weekend. what we usually have in fall. sun, warmth, slight breeze.... not too hot, not too cold - bust out the summer shoes weather. and D insisted we picnic.

so i gave up the laptop [after doing my traffic school course] and i stopped grading and we listened to baseball and i lay in the grass with the dogs and cats.

i don't know why i feel like i have to be forced or given permission to take a break, but.... it's OK to not get to every blog, or every friend's photo on flickr, or write a 2 page response to a 2 page paper.... i don't feel slighted when people disappear for awhile and weave back in. it's all part of life. i'm a slow learner in this area, but i'm trying i really am.

just because tonka wanted to say hi to everyone....

and this is the 22 foot tall bot i was talking about a few posts back michael salter is a very cool artist. i'm really glad i got to meet him and see his work.

can you ever have enough robots [or bunnies]?

2008-04-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

so... i can't believe this show is opening on friday. is that possible? if you are in the bay area and would like to come to the opening from 7-9pm, let me know - i have a few guest spots available on my list....

this is one of the many positions i've been in trying to get my site specific drawing done .... once again i'm struck by this whole process. still formulating, but here's a wee list

today i noticed/thought::

* my elbows hurt from propping myself up on them to paint
* it's easier for me to paint sideways right then sideways left
* when i show up on friday will the piece no longer seem mine?
* primary colors are good
* one, two, three, four, five, six
* pacman, space invaders, pixels
* repetition really is under-rated
* i really could spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week painting. it would be a privilege
* my wall drawing is across from a mother-f*^ck*n ed ruscha drawing !!! i never in my whole life would have thought that possible
* i really don't like being away from home for 14 hours
* i hate LED billboards
* who decided to call a dongle a dongle? [computer thing that hooks your laptop up to a projector]

and oh! if you weren't already bombarded with my spring newsletter... the san jose museum shot a little video of me.... i haven't really watched it because watching myself gives me the willies, but.... you can watch me seem uncomfortable in my studio.... they shot video of several people in the show - including one of my favorite artists [and former teacher] gail wight . her video is here

there's more info on the show and a link to podcasts of the videos on the san jose museum website

and... i wanted to share this little bunny i made for wendy's new baby.

i could also spend all day making little softies i think.....

happy hump day.

hello again

2008-04-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

hi. long time no type. it was getting to the point that if i didn't just post about something, anything, i might not ever post at all.

i came home to a long list of tasks to accomplish... 2 new classes to start [drawing 1 and digital imaging 2] a new segment in the painting class, a host of emails to follow up on, an artist talk to give.... blah blah blah.

my trip was fantastic. i love being transported. it also now feels very far away already....

i have still not had a chance to really catch up w/ everyone although i do know that wendy had her baby [post by "the boy" on the whole thing {get ready to be teary eyed} here ]

i know i missed gwen's trip here... and that she wore green.

above is a photo from the robot install that i started yesterday at the san jose museum of art . there's a 22 foot styrofoam robot already installed. it's amazing... i'm trying to think/document the process of doing this piece. if i can wrap my head around it i might do a bit of writing on that for my friend timothy . that's what i listened to yesterday.... there were so many people buzzing around setting up stuff that i had to block them all out to get my work done.

at one point i took a break and one of the installers said to me... i saw you lying down earlier and i thought - she's taking a nap?? then i realized you were painting while lying down. heh. i found that really funny. can i just say HOW NICE everyone is there? my god. it's like being an art princess. they thank you for everything - they are enthusiastic - they get you a ladder and a chair before you can turn around... they laid a beautiful cardboard tarp for me. a girl could get used to this....

looking forward to seeing what else has been going on. tomorrow i go back to paint on my wall....

thank you guys so much for all the tank and vacation love.... i can't even begin to explain how i appreciate it!!!

1467 tanks on the wall

2008-03-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

1467 tanks.... you take one down pass it around 1466 tanks on the wall

hello hello!
well - not that you were holding your breath - but here it is ! all the tanks in their glory glory.

wanna see some more views?

straight on [don't you love the reflection in the floor?]

detail... so you can see the shadows [and that they really are felt!]

and my favorite view:

standing at both ends you can really see the curve of the wall.... heh heh. this installation's special unplanned bonus. all installations have to have a unplanned bonus... right?

here's a nice shot of marin camille hood's work

embroidered lovelies of not so pretty things. [i don't have to explain why i like these right? and marin and i are both alums of the same grad school!] all the imagery comes from a field book on how to dress your deer. you can see the technique [if you aren't squeemish] here .

i think the absolute best part of this installation was all the help i had. giant thanks to the crew at the gallery :: sophie, daniela [who used a drill and the top step of a ladder for the first time!], laura, sabrina and matt. could not have been done with out you guys. and i'm not used to relying on other folks. it's also been really great to see students come in and react to the work. it's a different audience... and i really like it. also a giant thanks to faith who curated the show and made it all happen.

the show is up through April 16th the SFSU student gallery if you are inclined to take a peek.

i've been up since 5 this morning. why you ask? because tomorrow i go on a holiday. spring break is here and i am literally out of here. but crits, grades, syllabi, packing and cleaning had to be done by tonight.... i'm really looking forward to some time away. a minute to collect my thoughts so that the second i return i can start to work in the studio. 2 big projects in the works.

i won't be posting here - or reading anything online while i'm away - so i will miss you!!! see you in april! [already??]

abigail adams + grace munakata

2008-03-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

happy monday. how is everyone?

i'm going to shoot pics of my SFSU show on wed, so i'll talk a little bit about it then....

in the meantime.... did anyone catch the john adams mini-series last night on HBO? how cool is abigail adams? laura linney just shines. i'm not usually that into histo-dramas, but since my husband is from boston he really wanted to see this. i think when you grow up in boston with the access to the real sites you go on lots of field trips as a kid and "see" history first hand. i'm totally hooked, though. and abigail - she's a powerhouse. smart, witty, strong. i think i want to read the letters between her and john now....

on saturday i went to the opening of my friend and colleague grace munakata at braunstein/quay gallery [more info here . i'm not quite sure how she managed to get so much work done - her academic demands are fierce.

it was really inspiring to walk through this show. grace is a nisei [2nd generation japanese] and her mother was really interested in sewing. she's also a huge animal lover [just got a new tibetan terrier pup], and an avid gardener. all of this is evident in the work. you don't need to know her to decipher this information.... and i love that. it's hard to pinpoint exactly - but you just can feel that the work is honest and comes from a place of exploration and personal intent.

i think what ultimately made the work really compelling for me was that they were architectural in nature. i'm sure it's hard to decipher from the flat images, but most of the larger pieces were like giant collages. panels individually made that eventually found their home together. the idea of "building" your painting - literally - is one that's interesting. with all collage there is a push and pull - the meandering of the eye - a reaction of color, form, shape and style and things sit next to one another. if one small panel were to change the overall meaning of the work could shift drastically. like putting a puzzle together i was deeply humbled by grace's editing and compositional skills.

finally - there was a pure joy to the paint handling. i have seen grace when she works mostly abstractly - with hints of flora and fauna buried or peeking out. but in these the gesture of her hand is so evident. the textural quality of the materials hits you in the face - and i literally smiled at the cats, the dressmaking patterns, the feet.... grace shows you that she can be as "realistic" as she wants to be, but then allows the materials to do their magic. the rhythm, and the tactile nature of a painted contour are things that i will never tire of. and there are moments of rest - flat areas of color that allow me as a viewer to breathe and enter this very personal world.

made me want to paint - and if that's not a indication of success, i don't know what is.

hope you had a great weekend. see you wed!

Intersections opens Thursday

2008-03-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

hi all.
i was away from my computer all day today - so it was a THRILL to find out the tiny showcase print sold out... thank you thank you to all of you that purchased, mentioned, supported, etc. !!! what a thrill!

so... all my green and yellow tanks are up and in a row [imperfect rows - but that's how i like them].

come on down and say hi and see them for yourself on thursday - from 5-8 pm at the Cesar Chavez Student Center Art Gallery..... more info here . it's a bit tricky to find - so be sure and take a gander at their map if you don't know where you are headed....

you should also check out the evan b. harris show at rare device that opens the same night.

hope to see you [please say hi!]

a tiny showcase [yay!]

2008-03-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

hi friends. hope this monday finds you well.

aurora and i are SO excited to announce this..... the above couplet will be available as a print from tiny showcase tomorrow night at 7pm eastern time. we've chosen the alliance for climate protection as our charity. i've so admired what tiny showcase does for so long.... it feels like a huge honor to join their roster of prints !!

last night while cooking

i noticed that the artichokes were the same color as the tank installation.... which hopefully gets finished today!

day one

2008-03-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

tired. crosseyed. curved walls are much harder than straight flat ones. have help. thank god. teach early tomorrow. more soon....

the daily grind + seth koen

2008-03-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

hi there. i didn't mean for it to be a week since i last posted, but ... so it goes.

first up i'd like to thank erin from design for mankind for including me in her dailies project . a day in my life can be seen here. reminded me of when i did a similar thing for self-portrait tuesday

last week i went to go see my friend seth koen's show at gregory lind gallery . seth was a year ahead of me in graduate school so i've been fortunate enough to see his work progress for quite some time [we're in a critique group together as well].

i think what i love most about seth's work is the purity of it. he takes simple simple shapes - like circles and ovals - and makes me really pay attention to them. every small choice - in color, in material, in size, in placement - becomes oh so much more important.

the last few years seth has been crocheting. creating these soft sculptures that hint at masculinity [or the lack/deflation of]. the colors would remind me of sports teams, or tube socks. his work also often spoke to relationships... how things [people] might be tied together, who carries more weight... how we can be pulled taught, rest together, tied over distance, etc.

for this show seth decided to hand carve these really delicate maple sculptures. they are so thin. so fragile - and they cast amazing shadows [of course i was drawn to this]. they speak to the same ideas, but it's a perfect example of where your material choice matters most. hard rather than soft i begin to think about how the shapes and pieces relate in a new way.

but for me the most successful pieces were the ones that incorporated both the crochet and the wood. there is something so impossible, so wrong, so odd, so childlike about the combination that just grabbed me. i felt like the two components really worked.

my favorite piece from the show.

you can see the entire exhibition here

it feels to me like seth is on that precipice. i think all artists like their latest body of work the best. it's like an instinctual gut reaction. for me it's rare when something "sticks" for an extended period of time. often times i find myself with one foot in an old body of work and one foot in a new body of work. trying to make that cross over between areas seems terrifying and new and exciting. seth is there - but his transition is graceful - and integrated. i'm really excited to see where he goes next.

have a good monday!

being sick + tether ball

2008-02-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

um - first i just want to thank you for all the kindness regarding my last post. thanks for being so enthusiastic about my endeavors. it really means a lot to me.

my tanks came back from the japanese museum show . and of course the museum stacked them perfectly by color. it's just one of those things that would happen in japan - and why i feel such an affinity - it's like a little bit of order in some chaos. structure within something that doesn't really warrant it - i opened the crate and there was just this little bit of ordinary beauty to make my day [and make carrying the heavy crate worth it]

i have been sicker than i've been in a long time - so if you have been wondering why i haven't been around the internets - that is why. thank god for my amazing husband who took the greatest care of me. i am so so lucky. he doesn't allow me to take care of him in the same way so i'll have to find another way to repay him....

last night as i tried to fall asleep without dry hacking out my lung i kept thinking of tether ball . i'm not sure why this is, but i kept trying to make it into a metaphor for life. random yes. did you play as a kid? it's not like it's the most interesting game, and yet i remember playing it for entire recesses. and then i had this desire to pull out a pair of scissors while the ball was spinning around and just cut it free. a yellow ball catapulting in some direction. [sigh. what in the world does this say about my mental state?]

hope your weeks are off to a good start. i'll be around soon.....

ssp

2008-02-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

or shameless self promotion.

i'm actually quite excited an honored to announce this news.... i've been included in a new book anthology called Illustration Play. what is most exciting is that it includes a bunch of artists i've really admired for a long time. to be in their company is an honor i never thought i'd have a chance to talk about!

we each have a multiple page spread [i think 10 pages total?] and a little questionnaire in the back with all our our handwritings.

victionary press did such a nice job. i love that they made little stickers from all of our works and stuck them all over the front and back cover. they have more shots of the inside on their site .

amazon link to the book : Illustration Play

timothy buckwalter asked me to submit a 500 word essay on a moment that made me want to be a painter for a KQED piece he was putting together. my thoughts on david park [pictured above] and john zurrier - the person that introduced me to him are here . what's great is that john's response to the same question is right below mine.....

finally.... the multi-talented patricia asked me if i would participate in her collection of interviews blog craft synergy . my interview is here . if you haven't checked out craft synergy you can get lost in all the interviews she's conducted. wow. thanks for asking me to participate patricia!

ordinary | art

2008-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

this is the key for my next tank install at SF State. i have a whole folder full of the keys that i've made - some realized, some not.... i really like this kind of busywork. something obsessive that i know has a beginning and an end and that i can sort of meander around while making... you have to pay enough attention so that you don't put the wrong color dot in the wrong space, but there's a method to the madness. it's a nice balance.

so remember the book by michael kimmelman i mentioned? the Accidental Masterpiece. well, i really want to share this passage [this is particularly for shari and maria ]. the set up is that he's talking about a found photo.

It is a fair guess that this man, this woman, and their photographer would be surprised to learn, if they are still alive, that their momento made it to the Met, sharing wall space with Rembrandts and Monets. Whenever the picture was snapped, wherever that was, the man and woman peering into the sun, the photographer maybe fumbling with the shutter before asking them to say "Cheese!" -- none of them were presumably motivated by the desire to create timeless beauty... But the art in the photograph of those strangers and the car is there, plain as day. It is in the reflection of the woman's body on the card door. By some act of divine comic grace, the reflection happens to match up precisely with the head of the man so that he looks like the woman's ghostly, dwarflike double, a funny-surreal coincidence that, by adding a layer of unanticipated meaning to the picture, suddenly elevates it from ordinary snapshot to art.

Sometimes art works that way. It appears unexpectedly. It doesn't arrive through the front door. It senaks in the back, the more startling for being the result of dumb luck. This picture would be less likable, I suspect, if we learned that a professional had planned it, because the amateur's fluke reminds us of a basic fact in life, which is always heartening: the art is out there waiting to be captured, the only question being whether we are prepared to recognize it

um. yeah. need i say more? i almost feel like this is the essence of why we hunt for small moments of beauty. why we look around, take pictures, blog.... it's the line. the line between ordinary and art that i seek. i want to see where it blurs, where it crosses over, where it leans more heavily in one direction. this is why i feel like it's justifiable to call one's art practice research. because research is :: the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

and because this matches my argyle and shash is holding a textile pattern week.... my laptop bag from brooklyn industries

have a good wednesday

art to behold

2008-02-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

hi there.

the beholder has just re-launched their website! in addition to some paint chip pieces, i've put up all the inedible cupcake series from the i want sugar show. my plan is to update the beholder with work now and again that is for sale. i'll try to remember to announce here if something new is going up.... here is my info page.

my pal timothy buckwalter curated their first online show - and was nice enough to include me. i love his theme. hint [if you like echo and the bunneymen - click quick]

jen has some work on there too - as do a host of great artists... it's fun to get lost in that site....

one great link. i'm not even sure how i found this - but i'm LOVING wil freeborn/ghostschool. his drawings in his moleskine are so wonderful.

hope your week is off to a good start!

robots and the art of life [and visa versa]

2008-02-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

in case you were wondering if i still was an artist... i am trying to be. my drawings for a proposed wall piece for a show all about robots at the san jose museum of art were approved by the curator! yay. the show will open in april and run all summer. [gotta love museums for their schedules]

here's a close up of part of it.... i have to figure out if i want to use colored pencil or gouache on the wall....

i also just arranged to do another tank installation in march at cesar chavez art gallery at San Francisco State. i've got to get a bigger template ready. the wall there is 9 feet by 24 feet and curved... i'm thinking maybe this vinyl that will just stick to the wall

i also want to mention this book : the art of life and visa versa by michael kimmelman , one of the main art critics of the new york times . [you have to click out of bloglines to see the book cover/link below....]

i bought it at SFMOMA when i ran through the olifer eliasson exhibit again. [i swear he's the lovechild of robert smithson and james turrell].

i am LOVING this book. there are moments of divine poetry where kimmelman really describes what it's like to be in the presence of art you love. when something moves from "ordinary" to "art". the introduction alone was inspiring. i've only read two essays, but can't wait to read the rest.

hope you all had a nice week thus far....

on artists - katherine sherwood and aurora robson

2008-02-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

hello there. it is raining here. cold cold cold [i wish it would just snow]. i dressed in 3 shades of gray to compliment the weather....

above is a catalogue i designed for my former teacher [now mentor and friend] katherine sherwood . her work continually blows me away. it was the first time i worked on something that was over 60 pages. it was for her show at the national academy of sciences. you can read more here

you should also read this interview with with aurora robson [my couplets show partner]. she's been working on a GIANT sculpture and you can get a sneak peek in the article. it takes my breath away.... she's using recycled plastic bottles. talk about transformation.

hope you are all having a good weekend. i'm about to enjoy a cooked at the table meal by my husband. sigh.

on collecting.... and...

2008-01-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

it's been a long time since i posted a corner ... remember when amanda started the group? [aside: have you been looking at her daily photo project?]

this was a reject shot from the ones i sent over to jan at poppytalk who asked me to talk a bit about my collections . she's put together a great collection of collections. see them all .

above is what i'm calling my "japanese primers" [finally framed them]. i found them at a flea market in tokyo for 500 yen [$5]. the colors are totally intense and the pictures are really funny. if i tried REALLY hard i might be able to make out what the text on the right is - at least some of it. :)

my brain has been on overdrive lately. i think it's partially because i'm not getting everything done that i want to get done [this 1/2 sickness stuff is for the birds. i think i'm ok, and then i try to do stuff and nope. i'm exhausted]. i think it's also because i haven't had a good studio day yet this year. a whole day of me making. this makes me antsy. i also have several things in their beginning stages - nothing is at a point where i feel like it's on course. i'm still researching and thinking and feeling that something could shift... this is both good and bad.

btw andrea asked when the show with lisa will be at art stream ... we are working on the dates for sure - but july/august.... thanks for your interest [andrea has a piece in their next show! yay!]

i met my painting I students today. i'm excited to be teaching painting again. it's been awhile. i'm hoping that now that my teaching schedule is "set" i can get into the groove of everything else. is anyone else feeling a bit unsettled so far in 08? [and when did january fly by?]

winter white

2008-01-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

for shari's winter white week. it's been so lovely seeing white pop here and there in blogland

delicate ceramics by the lovely and talented diana fayt . she gave me them along with her amazing calendar a little bit ago. they have tiny impressions in them. the ceramic is paper thin. epitomize delicate. you can still get a calendar for yourself!

diana also has a great new blog . have you seen it?

i'm fighting a cold. i don't want it to win.

my studio visits went well. now i just have to plot and plan. {i'll give you some sneak peeks soon}

lisa and i have a theme for our show at airstream studios . we just need to research. i also got a piece of lisa's art. i'll photo it soon. but i feel very lucky. i didn't get any photos, but i have a serious crush on wilfredo . he's also the best dressed pup i've ever met.

tomorrow is the first crit for my creative process class. i better bring ricola.

have you seen these sophisticated wall stickers by harmonie-interieure ?

have a good thursday!

on cooking

2008-01-20T21:38:00.001-08:00

the other day i was in a bookstore and i snatched up the above Donna Hay - Instant Cook cookbook. the images are divine, the recipes easy but seem flavorful. here's more images from the book

i like to cook "big meals", but often falter on the day to day cooking. i am hoping that this book will help me out a bit.

but really, i am so lucky. my husband loves to cook. he cooks all weekend long. breakfasts and dinners. it's so wonderful. i feel totally spoiled - he marches out of the kitchen and hands me giant plates of food. he's always trying new recipes and recreating old favorites.... here's what he made for breakfast yesterday!

build your own breakfast burrito....

so... in a very few minutes i'll be picking up lisa and wilfredo. we are meeting to talk about our show this summer together [so excited about this !!] lisa just turned 40 and i have her present for her :)

tonka would like to thank all you [lovely ladies is what he's calling you] for all the well wishes. he's doing much better and isn't giving me the i'm in an e-collar death stare....

and i have 2 studio visits this week. yikes. lots going on..... more on all of this shortly....

happy monday