i think this is my all time fav polaroid from my trip. it might be my all time fav polaroid i've taken in quite some time. we were on a walk and this was a liquor store. the boys ran in to get something to drink [maybe it was pocari sweat?] and some cigarettes and i just looked up and got excited. and then the picture came OUT. ah.
of course you don't really know it's japan - but who cares.
the runner up fav polaroid is this one. more fake flowers. there were fake flowers hanging everywhere it seemed!
this is where you "purify" yourself before entering the meiji temple/shrine. i want those long handled wooden "spoons"...
a vintage bench.
and just because i happen to think my 2 fav polaroids go together....
i actually still have more japan polaroids - so maybe i'll have a post roid week fest next week since i scanned them all :D.
posting everyday is hard. not really my speed these days. have a good friday !!
the last of the polaroids this week here . bye polaroid week... i'll miss you.
Labels: away from home, polaroids
so... the other thing i really like is finding beauty in mundane and "normal" objects. things that you might just overlook - or things that seem utilitarian. sometimes it's in piles of papers, or stacks of jars that i see a moment of real "everyday" beauty. [this of course relates to the enmasse thing]
wooden buckets. the bird motif in the crest is so cool. simple, but pretty. these were in asakusa...
we walked through a more working class neighborhood with our friends who lived on the outskirts of tokyo. there was a machine shop/repair place with these tins. each one brimming with nails or scraps or some other thing. stacked and stacked and stacked.
there really are a lot of coi fish in japan. :O sometimes i get a bit freaked out when they all converge on some food. too many wiggly things mouths agape... but they also are really pretty. i liked hunting for the rare white one ....
happy thurs. long live the polaroid. more here
wooden buckets. the bird motif in the crest is so cool. simple, but pretty. these were in asakusa...
we walked through a more working class neighborhood with our friends who lived on the outskirts of tokyo. there was a machine shop/repair place with these tins. each one brimming with nails or scraps or some other thing. stacked and stacked and stacked.
there really are a lot of coi fish in japan. :O sometimes i get a bit freaked out when they all converge on some food. too many wiggly things mouths agape... but they also are really pretty. i liked hunting for the rare white one ....
happy thurs. long live the polaroid. more here
Labels: away from home, polaroids
so if you don't know this about me by now: i like things in a row. or en masse. i like how a collective grouping of something is different than a single item. there is power in singularity and in a collection. something meaningless like a single drinking straw becomes a whole other when massed together [i can not say enough how much of an art crush i have on tara donovan]
around the corner from hotel in japan was a housewares store. aren't the brooms cute?
crates of kirin waiting to be emptied and filled outside of a restaurant.
there's a mall by the water in tokyo that has a "vintage" floor. it's like 1950's-70's japan in there. there's one area that has old video games, etc. that's where these shots came from.
more polas this week here
around the corner from hotel in japan was a housewares store. aren't the brooms cute?
crates of kirin waiting to be emptied and filled outside of a restaurant.
there's a mall by the water in tokyo that has a "vintage" floor. it's like 1950's-70's japan in there. there's one area that has old video games, etc. that's where these shots came from.
more polas this week here
Labels: away from home, polaroids
today it's all about the diptych. still in japan...
there were cherry blossoms in every park we visited. it was pretty amazing. lovely to see something so delicate interacting with the landscape.
this time we stayed in a "japanese" style room - so we couldn't wear shoes in the room and we had a traditional bath. every night a woman came in and set up our futon beds for the night.... and there were traditional paper/wood room dividers.
on the left is the bowling alley in asakusa. on the right are streamers of paper cranes.... i just like how the colors match.
have a good tuesday! remember - more polaroids here
there were cherry blossoms in every park we visited. it was pretty amazing. lovely to see something so delicate interacting with the landscape.
this time we stayed in a "japanese" style room - so we couldn't wear shoes in the room and we had a traditional bath. every night a woman came in and set up our futon beds for the night.... and there were traditional paper/wood room dividers.
on the left is the bowling alley in asakusa. on the right are streamers of paper cranes.... i just like how the colors match.
have a good tuesday! remember - more polaroids here
Labels: away from home, polaroids
it's polaroid week folks. and i'm participating. yay.
![taco [octopus] stand](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3501585171_c33d1e554a.jpg)
these were taken in asakusa last spring. one of my greatest pleasures while traveling is to take polaroids. they are instantly nostalgic. the colors - the framing. it's really like capturing a little moment in time that then lives on in a little square. of course they feel very different than digital shots but it think they vary even from regular film. there is just nothing like watching an image emerge before your eyes...
asakusa has a big old temple that many people go to visit - and the surrounding area has a ton of tourist stalls and shops that sell "traditional" wares. the first shot is of a stall yet to open. the second is of the fake cherry blossoms that were hanging on almost every lampost [it was cherry blossom season]. there was also a festival at the temple when we visited. the 3 shot is of a "taco" stand. in this case taco is octopus. i'm not a huge fan, but my husband ate them. 3 little baby octopi on a stick. our companion was grossed out by it. heh heh.
you can see more polaroids by clicking here
these were taken in asakusa last spring. one of my greatest pleasures while traveling is to take polaroids. they are instantly nostalgic. the colors - the framing. it's really like capturing a little moment in time that then lives on in a little square. of course they feel very different than digital shots but it think they vary even from regular film. there is just nothing like watching an image emerge before your eyes...
asakusa has a big old temple that many people go to visit - and the surrounding area has a ton of tourist stalls and shops that sell "traditional" wares. the first shot is of a stall yet to open. the second is of the fake cherry blossoms that were hanging on almost every lampost [it was cherry blossom season]. there was also a festival at the temple when we visited. the 3 shot is of a "taco" stand. in this case taco is octopus. i'm not a huge fan, but my husband ate them. 3 little baby octopi on a stick. our companion was grossed out by it. heh heh.
you can see more polaroids by clicking here
Labels: away from home, play along, polaroids
OK - the last of the maine pics
maria would rather be a rat than a cockroach. she also does this adorable thing where she waves at birds and cats, etc and says hi... or i see you....
she also makes a mean lunch
her studio is also lovely
good-bye maine.... thank you for a good visit... and for all the memories all pics here
{there was an amazing marine store there - just look at this rope!}
this week it's framing, packing, shipping central at the studio. i dream of having a little shipping center - table - brown paper roll on the wall - boxes and bubble and labels and string all lined up, organized, and ready to go.... is that strange? maybe someday i will have my own little shipping area.
i also ran downstairs to jot down 5 words. last night just as i was falling asleep i had an epiphany. i think i know what i want to do next in the studio. time to research ... i love this part - when and idea just starts to take shape.... it feels exciting.
hope your mid-week is going well....
p/s i've really been enjoying everyone's thoughts on making and the disconnect.... thank you for sharing
maria would rather be a rat than a cockroach. she also does this adorable thing where she waves at birds and cats, etc and says hi... or i see you....
she also makes a mean lunch
her studio is also lovely
good-bye maine.... thank you for a good visit... and for all the memories all pics here
{there was an amazing marine store there - just look at this rope!}
this week it's framing, packing, shipping central at the studio. i dream of having a little shipping center - table - brown paper roll on the wall - boxes and bubble and labels and string all lined up, organized, and ready to go.... is that strange? maybe someday i will have my own little shipping area.
i also ran downstairs to jot down 5 words. last night just as i was falling asleep i had an epiphany. i think i know what i want to do next in the studio. time to research ... i love this part - when and idea just starts to take shape.... it feels exciting.
hope your mid-week is going well....
p/s i've really been enjoying everyone's thoughts on making and the disconnect.... thank you for sharing
Labels: away from home
i gave myself permission to take today off. i had breakfast with a friend and gave her a dreamweaver lesson and then proceeded to simply do nothing else today. i didn't have enough energy for the studio and so i didn't go! how luxurious!
i thought i'd share a few pictures from maine
one of the BEST things about the trip was all the good food, the amazing sites and hanging out with wonderful people. we all know maria is amazing [pictures with her to follow].... but there's a whole creative contingent ALL in portland. dinner with jennifer , meg , betsy maria and lisa c. was one of the highlights of the trip. so was meeting and seeing karen gelardi's studio. just so so good. what a community! i felt like wherever we went we met genuinely nice sincere folks. on the street, in stores, at the beaches [which were so beautiful]....
a few favs:
most of the maine pics here . still have some shots of maria and her house/studio left to share.
have a great friday!
Labels: away from home
gofun shirayuki
hi there. i'm home. it's been a few days of catch up city. vacations are great. they create a sense of wonder - i look at things in new ways. i dream about possibilities of moving [even if i don't ever intend to move], i notice differences in weather, landscape, people, smells, foods. i'm going to spend the next week showing some pictures and some fun moments of the trip. lisa c made a great traveling companion. we took turns in comfy beds and generally agreed on everything. so nice!
cadmium orange
i'm not sure if this happens to all artists - but once i put up a show i have this disconnection happen. i'm still attached to the work - i can remember the moments of when i did certain things - or the frustration of tying a bunch of french knots - but somehow i can view the work as separate from me. this is helpful in trying to determine what is successful and not successful and often once a show is up i gain a new insight to the work - but ultimately it's still a little strange. i'm curious what other artists/makers think - does this happen to them?
you can see all of our pairings here
malachite
so - the opening was really fun - although there was a torrential storm that caused havoc for some folks trying to make it.... i got to meet so many kind and creative people lisa de john and her fantastic husband, abby and her super sweet husband , kind leah from boston, elizabeth the brains behind squam [the camp we all want to go to!], megan bogonovich the ceramicist who makes ultra intricate work, fun and funny sarah whose family lives in rochester, the wonderful artist jen , and super smart and sweet betsy . i feel so lucky and honored to meet such folks - all talented. and this was just the beginning of meeting interesting people. and i have to thank all the artstream crew again....
tyrian purple
so each of our pieces involved researching each color. most of mine have several components that weave together... both lisa and i posted little info plaques next to our works to explain our thought processes. if you want to read my explanations of each piece you can visit them all on flickr
alizarin crimson
more on the trip this week.
hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Labels: art, away from home
lisa congdon and i are in new hampshire. we hung our show yesterday after some fun deliberation - and with the help of susan and adam and rainer of art stream . everyone should have an adam to help them hang. makes life so much easier! [you can check out lisa c's flickr stream for more photos of install and pieces. she's a better flickr-er than i am!
tonight is the opening. apparently there will be some exciting appearances by some east coast folk... it should be fun. our work will also be available online in artstream's shop tonight [july 18th] at 5pm eastern time. one of my favorite things about susan is that she encourages financing of pieces. i love it when galleries try to make work accessible to people.
lisa and i had to get some exacto knives and so we went to ben franklin crafts . the neatest [in terms of organized] craft store we've ever seen.
i also went out for a minute to get some liquid refreshment [it's HOT] and spied this:
and this
earlier in the day we saw a bunch of gymnastics girls running by the gallery. there's a gym right down the way....
think good thoughts for us tonight. and for my husband. who is home alone dealing with some very unfun pet stuff right now....
we are off to maine tomorrow
Labels: art, away from home
before i talk about the show i want to thank stephanie levy - whose work i have long admired - for asking me to part of her series artists who blog. you can read my interview here
AND... the winner of the blogaversary give-a-way is SOSSER - perhaps your "pick me pick me" prayer worked? please email me as your profile is blocked and i can't find you.... :) so i can mail you your prize!
my trip to LA was so good. catch ups with family and friends [we spied nancy reagan], meeting a special baby, shopping with grandma, and the show. oh the show.
this is one of those shows where things just really clicked. i was excited to be a part of this show from the get go, but then seeing all the work together made my heart cartwheel. above is my new tank configuration. round and smaller.... reminiscent of the toxin doily drawings of mine also on view. the best part? ONE PIECE. yes. i succumbed and glued the sucker once i figured out placement in my studio. as much as i love a good installation, sometimes there just isn't enough time.
my work alongside Freddy Chandra's and Jil Weinstock's is simply put a good fit. we are all interested in repetition. we are all so interested in color [the show actually matched - which could be a detriment, but in this case it worked. i loved how green, blue, yellow, bounced around the room in all of our works]. ultimately we are all involved in negative space. but what i didn't realize until i was standing in the exhibition was how we all are invested in material - not only the media that we use to make our own work, but the actual materiality as well. physicality. how we start to touch with our eyes... or want to touch from looking. i firmly believe that artists need to make conscious decisions about their materials for each choice can add another layer to the work. this show proves that point. what happens when you embed drawings into resin that looks like candy, when shirts and doilies are made of rubber, when felt is used to represent a tank or thread is sewn onto paper to give a drawing a new dimensionality? what happens is that the familiar is not. that our perceptions are altered. that what is known to be hard becomes soft and visa versa.
anyway, the show is up through august 16th at walter maciel gallery . THANK YOU to everyone who came out! and to she that couldn't but sent flowers because she was working on a great project.
this week my studio is a factory as i frame and wrap the work for an upcoming show with lisa congdon at art stream studios . it has to go out monday at the latest.... happy tuesday!
AND... the winner of the blogaversary give-a-way is SOSSER - perhaps your "pick me pick me" prayer worked? please email me as your profile is blocked and i can't find you.... :) so i can mail you your prize!
my trip to LA was so good. catch ups with family and friends [we spied nancy reagan], meeting a special baby, shopping with grandma, and the show. oh the show.
this is one of those shows where things just really clicked. i was excited to be a part of this show from the get go, but then seeing all the work together made my heart cartwheel. above is my new tank configuration. round and smaller.... reminiscent of the toxin doily drawings of mine also on view. the best part? ONE PIECE. yes. i succumbed and glued the sucker once i figured out placement in my studio. as much as i love a good installation, sometimes there just isn't enough time.
my work alongside Freddy Chandra's and Jil Weinstock's is simply put a good fit. we are all interested in repetition. we are all so interested in color [the show actually matched - which could be a detriment, but in this case it worked. i loved how green, blue, yellow, bounced around the room in all of our works]. ultimately we are all involved in negative space. but what i didn't realize until i was standing in the exhibition was how we all are invested in material - not only the media that we use to make our own work, but the actual materiality as well. physicality. how we start to touch with our eyes... or want to touch from looking. i firmly believe that artists need to make conscious decisions about their materials for each choice can add another layer to the work. this show proves that point. what happens when you embed drawings into resin that looks like candy, when shirts and doilies are made of rubber, when felt is used to represent a tank or thread is sewn onto paper to give a drawing a new dimensionality? what happens is that the familiar is not. that our perceptions are altered. that what is known to be hard becomes soft and visa versa.
anyway, the show is up through august 16th at walter maciel gallery . THANK YOU to everyone who came out! and to she that couldn't but sent flowers because she was working on a great project.
this week my studio is a factory as i frame and wrap the work for an upcoming show with lisa congdon at art stream studios . it has to go out monday at the latest.... happy tuesday!
Labels: art, artists, away from home, blogland
*update* i forgot to mention it ain't fittin' is on display through the 30th at the atlantic center for the arts in new smyrna beach, florida. renee also has a piece in the show! *end of update*
i have another couple of rounds of images from my trip. but before i get to those... i :: am :: glad :: to :: know i am not alone.
i was just writing to liz [who is working on the incredible crane project ] about how taking pictures has changed my point of view. i never would have thought in a million years that i would be this interested in photography. but i am. i never would have guessed at how profoundly looking through view finders would change what i notice in the world, or my field of vision. but... well there you have it.
if you are interested there's an attempt at a post by me over on ship . i am still feeling like words are not with me [they aren't against me either - they just aren't clammering around and putting themselves into pretty little packages].
it's funny to see these all lined up... the tone is so similar.... happy weekend friends!
i have another couple of rounds of images from my trip. but before i get to those... i :: am :: glad :: to :: know i am not alone.
i was just writing to liz [who is working on the incredible crane project ] about how taking pictures has changed my point of view. i never would have thought in a million years that i would be this interested in photography. but i am. i never would have guessed at how profoundly looking through view finders would change what i notice in the world, or my field of vision. but... well there you have it.
if you are interested there's an attempt at a post by me over on ship . i am still feeling like words are not with me [they aren't against me either - they just aren't clammering around and putting themselves into pretty little packages].
it's funny to see these all lined up... the tone is so similar.... happy weekend friends!
Labels: away from home, blogland, polaroids
while in new mexico we went to madrid . it was a ghost town - abandoned when the mine ran out and the train stopped coming. it's been re-populated and is quite cute now... but remains of ghosts and lives past remain. i am naturally attracted to rust and the beauty in decay.
i really liked it there. i also fell in love with a shop. rock paper gallery. they don't have a website - but you can get a feel for the shop via some photos here . just precious items. both vintage and reproduction. i could have spent hours in there. i did buy some wooden bobbins which i love.... if i didn't have to get on a plane with one carry on bag i probably would have bought much more.
i still am feeling a bit quiet. the virginia tech tragedy has my head spinning. i've noticed as i walk around the campuses i work how really easy it is to gain access. and how very confining my classrooms really are. i don't want to be afraid. my heart goes out to those who have suffered and lost. it all seems so senseless.
more pictures from madrid.... i hope you have a pleasant thursday.
Labels: away from home
