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.
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.....
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?
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.
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
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?]
the famous bug was here last week. i was so happy to have her around. i feel kind of bad as i was buried under a big old pile of stuff i had to get done. but being ever so accommodating miss gwen went with the flow. i feel very very lucky to have such a friend - it's not every day that someone says - i just want to be with you. so whatever you need to do, we'll do. and it's not every day that i feel comfortable allowing someone into my space like that.
gwen is a pretty special gal.
we sewed :: we graded :: we had dueling laptops on my dining room table :: she knitted :: she sewed :: i sewed :: we chatted :: we ate :: we had tiki drinks :: we met up with lisa c and diana . she had the brilliant idea to use my tanks on some skirts....
you can see those and read gwen's take on our adventures over here
we didn't just work. we did play [otherwise we'd be dull girls].
i took her to the secret button store. i was only supposed to look as i have buttons from my last visit there i still haven't used, but alas. i succumbed to temptation. i think the blue ones will make a necklace and the bakelite orange ones will become pins....
we also went to heath . i think i'm the official bring everyone from out of town to heath wagon. the lady in the store even recognized me from the visit with amy!
above is a shot of their colorway chips and a wall of their plates. i can't say enough about how good their aesthetic is. so good that they carry miss sally's cards!
gwen - come back - anytime...
::::::::::::::::::::::
i'm kind of in a bah humbug kind of mood. no decorations this year. just can't fathom it. i have one more big stack of grading and a few more holiday cards/treats to get out. and the big push for my nashville show. almost almost almost. i've had no time for posting here, movies, flickr, reading [barely getting to blogs], real shopping, taking photos [i miss this so much], or.... but i'm letting it all go. there's only so much a single human can do, right?
i do feel like i can see the light at the end of the tunnel if i squint. yup. there it is.
ok - off i go to tackle my lists. type more soon.....
these are actually 3 of my favorites. it's hard to believe that i took over 30 polaroids... and that my mom is in japan right now! [lucky lady!]
how is your monday? i had to get up to start class at 8am. my husband just laughed at me. do they know you aren't a morning person? tis true. but i will be there, and i will start class at 8am! [we are going to have coffee and tea in class though. it's a seminar so it's OK]. and thankfully this is only once a week. granted i will teach until 8pm tonight, but... better one long day then classes spread out over many days. my new philosophy.
my studio mate left me a magazine clipping the other day. with this image of work from my town my home . a project by yoshikazu yamagata and mafuyu [whose website is just so great].
have you ever had one of those damn! i wish i thought of that moments. this did it for me. i think these are so amazing, in concept, in execution.... yeah.
i actually have a former student coming to help me tomorrow. [gasp! dare i say i have an intern?] this makes me giddy. really giddy. i feel very fortunate. mantra : do not take advantage - make sure he learns something.... repeat repeat repeat....
be sure to check out ship where we are talking about a pig in provence... and go and wish karen and bara a happy b-day [eireann's is in a few days]... i think there are other b-day folks around now too, but....
and jan's new venture poppytalk handmade . SO MANY good things. just too many....
Labels: inspiration, japan, polaroids, ramblings
There is something about this time of year…. The dates all seem to mean or commemorate something. A day in the woods where I exchanged vows with the one I love [in my 1950’s cocktail dress], the loss of beloved companions [I still miss you]… the date of my birth … and in the flurry of new classes beginning, classes seeming to gel and come into their own [oh I had forgotten how nice it is to teach a non-required course with seniors. The level of engagement and interest is just so much stronger]… my show approaches quickly. Too quickly. Will I ever learn to just be OK with what is made? To not need 10 things to edit down to 5 – to trust that it will come out in some small way like I had dreamed? [afraid the answer is no, but forward progress continues]
What is it in my nature that forces me into movement? Why do I loathe entropy? When will exhausted be exhausted enough? What exactly am I trying to prove? And who am I trying to prove it to?
With fall in the air, with the change of leaves and the pulling out of coats and tights and blankets I want a little comfort [of the macaroni and cheese variety]. What is this notion of time?
// time [noun]
1. a dimension that enables two identical events occurring at the same point in space to be distinguished, measured by the interval between the events. Symbol t
2. a limited period during which an action, process, or condition exists or takes place
3. a system for measuring intervals of time
4. the minute or hour as indicated by a clock
5. time conceived as a force capable of acting on people and objects
6. a moment or period at which something takes place
7. a moment or period chosen as appropriate for something to be done or to take place
//
How can you both be such a good friend and such a foe? There is never enough time. There is no way to bargain with you. You are generous to the good memories and forgiving of the bad. I can feel your nudge, your pull, your relentlessness. You don’t like entropy either.
This is when I thank leonard cohen, jimmy scott, nick cave, billie holiday for in those moments when you can belt it out with them at the top of your lungs you are free…. [and more importantly not alone]
I think for the rest of this week I will offer up the rest of my japan polaroids and let images speak more than my typing can [they are better at it than me anyway]
Labels: ramblings
wishing :: i was in japan again :: walking along a lake :: meandering through the birch trees :: eating sushi :: i had more time overall :: i had more studio time :: i could ease burdens :: i could garden :: i could do more ::
hoping :: my show will go off without a hitch :: that certain someones really are interested in my work :: that really someone is going to install an entire tank installation FOR me :: that i'm informing my students and pushing them to grow and think :: that the work for the countess and my show at sq. ft gallery in january will be what we dream it will :: that i can keep all the balls in the air a little longer :: that i keep saying no, or later, or i can't ::
thinking :: about family :: connections :: distance :: desire :: bargaining :: breathing :: cloning :: value [in terms of monetary worth, in terms of personal worth] :: about how vacations are better than real life ::
wanting :: for one minute to be responsible for no one but myself :: to simply sit in the sun with my dogs :: this bag in charcoal :: to spend some time with those i love :: a ride in a hot air balloon :: a long swim in a warm warm pool ::
thought it was time to show some japan polaroids. have a good day!
i am completely humbled. in awe of your incredible response to my last post. there are no words to properly describe my gratitude. your sympathy, empathy and personal stories were helpful in ways that are hard to express. your continued visits, emails, and check ins with me have meant more than i could possibly say. in moments of darkness it's heartening to feel that there are those that will shine a light... and who care... and more importantly understand.
to be honest i wasn't sure how to come back here. but i am trying to find some comfort in routine. even though lately that seems impossible. i want to be able to share, to continue to look and seek and find beauty. to revel in the community and see what everyone has been up to [so much! i have missed so much!]. plus i have a pact to uphold with someone .
i do want to share one set of thoughts i've had over the last few weeks - mostly because i've been thinking a lot about what we choose to reveal. and how there are so many things that could potentially be in the hearts and minds of those we encounter day to day and how you'd never know [or can only guess. over the last 2 weeks 3 random people who know me - not well - but see me often said they didn't recognize me. of course i didn't tell them why that might be]. unless... unless you just say. and so i say ::
guilt and grief are like siamese twins. conjoined and interdependant but with their individual devious minds. seeping into one another the lines become blurry. blurry with tears. heartache is aptly named - muscles scarcely used so noticeable [how we take heart beats for granted] - wrack your chest, constrict your throat, control spasms and waves. waiting for the day when there are only fond memories and when simple, normal tasks will ultimately again be SIMPLE and NORMAL.
i haven't taken any photos these last 2 weeks. i couldn't really "see". but yesterday i had to walk home from taking the car to the garage and i finally shot something. the results are what you see here.
i'm off to a wedding this afternoon. it's going to be on a ranch in napa. should be pretty.
and if you are in florida near miami and want to see some felt tanks to to the show i'm in at the art center . i guess at the opening 15 tanks got stollen [to the great embarassment of the curator. i tried to tell her not to worry!]. for some reason i thought that was so funny. esp. since they are only $2.50. you could have one legitimately for the price of a cup of coffee and yet.... bad art karma for the theives i think.
have a good weekend.
i'm going to go all over the place with this post....
ONE :: i really enjoyed all the responses to "collection". dawn shared some of her collections which was great. camilla has an art project that has to do with collections. it seems like many of us here in blogland have a penchant for them. i have a feeling this subject shall pop up again [aren't i supposed to show you all my rings?]
TWO :: above is one the last of my albuquerque pictures. [wow that seems like eons ago now]. the last day we were there we went to cliff's amusement park .
i have to say.... it kind of seemed like a west coast version of coney island . except for that it's the simulacra of it. [ok - if you haven't been subjected to baudrillard's simulacra theory - this will make no sense - but if you have....] does this make cliff's a double simulacra? of course you must first believe the suggestion that disneyland [all amusement parks] are simulacras - but i do subscribe to that notion. so then is cliff's a simulacra of a simulacra [can you say that 10 times fast?] is that like a DOUBLE NEGATIVE? i can't quite wrap my head around what that might mean, but it sounds all heady and philosophical no? for more coney island goodness you can see my photos from my visit there here . and you can see the lovely abee's drool worthy coney island materpieces here . then compare them to cliff's and see what you think.
THREE :: theoretical mishaps and meanderings seem to be all the rage with me the last few day. this is what happens to me when i don't get enough studio time. my mind goes on overdrive - i can't MAKE stuff so i THINK stuff. the entire gruelling commute this morning i was trying to be zen - to not get angry with the endless line of autos and the idiots that cut everyone off - and thus my mind started to race... i look for similarities in things - how things might relate to one another [oh that song has the word that shari and i are documenting this week!]. i make stupid geeky puns to myself that no one else would even smirk at. i wonder about the the farm bill and how we as a nation can continue to subgigate the poor to the worst possible food choices .
ok - enough talk? more pictures? i'm happy to oblidge.
![cliffs :: gal[axy]](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/473107181_e42dd2c7a4.jpg)
i think this one is one of my favorites from the trip.
ok. i gotta get back to work.... have a good thursday!
four 14-16 hour days in a row makes one very tired lisa. we are super duper close to the fake cupcake shop being up and running - good thing too because i don't think i'm up for any more installation [and i'm not taping cupcake sleeves to the wall like dear tara.]
on the wonderful side of this :: working in tandom with tara has been a joy. it's really fun to collaborate with a like mind. she's so cute - and she has a wicked sense of humor. little bits of sweet sarcasm ... she's like a nara character super cute and lovable with an edge. mostly i've enjoyed laughing with her... and high fiving at our silly cupcake stuff. everything is SO handmade and wonky. we are loving the wonky. becoming one with it.... do you see the "A" and the "R" above??? [i tried to channel margaret kilgallen as i painted the letters] or as tara would say... the "specialness" of it all.
on top of this i let in 33 students into my drawing class. i am SUCH a sucker for the sob story. sigh. luckily there is a graduating super talented senior that i have commandeered to be my unofficial TA. she shouldn't be taking drawing I - she only is because her units from a city college didn't transfer.... if it wasn't for her i think the students would really loose out on one on one instruction. but with her i can spend a couple of extra minutes with those that need it and make sure that i talk to everyone at least once. she's getting an art/education degree so hopefully this will be a good experience for her as well. by the end of the class wed. almost all of them were contour drawing with a bit of confidence and skill.... look out here come the pine cones!
and on top of that.... i am most likely going to have to move my studio. even knowing that this was inevitable [the building has been for sale for a spell] - this has hit me like a ton of bricks. i hate the idea of moving. i want to stay with my studio mates. sigh. there is a slight possibility that we might be able to move with-in our building - just to different spaces, but this depends on how the cards fall - and lord knows i'm not the wind and can't direct such hapless events. sigh again. what makes this even more nerve wracking is that upon opening the cupcake show i have to finish and wrap and send work to the levy gallery.... trying to fathom moving amongst teaching and show preparations and the desire to just make work makes my head ache. if there is a studio god i am lighting a candle to you. i'm trying to think that really there is a GOOD reason that i will have to pay more rent - potentially loose out on natural light {it's a gain of wall space??} - pack and move all the silly bits of paper and junk that i have collected as potential materials - all 507 million bits ....
tomorrow morning i will post my ship of fools contribution....
if you are oaktown bound tomorrow evening come on by MAMA BUZZ CAFE - 2318 Telegraph Ave - 7-10 pm. i might even be wearing an apron....
{cough}{cough}. you'll have to excuse my voice. my foot has been rammed so far down my throat that i think i've forgotten how to speak a bit. it seemed to have gotten really lodged when i looked to my right and said hello to mr. rock... and looked to my left and said hello to mr. hard place. or more precisely mumbled hello as they proceeded to help me contort my foot even deeper down my esophagus. in a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation why the hell not DO. i mean in the most simplistic terms.... you are either living or dying and since i'm not dead....
this morning i awoke before the sun was even up. the above image is from the inside of my foggy covered car window. i guess there is some beauty to be had at some ungodly hour. the pink light as the sun rose was pretty nice too.
today was the first day of drawing one. i had 24 on my roster and over 50 in the class. yes. 50+! i am trying to make it hard for them to get me to add them. they must email me, show up on monday and basically plead their case. holy cow. i couldn't even talk to all of them once if that was the class. there was a really loud fan going too - so i was standing there yelling at the top of my lungs "this is not an easy art class! i'd rather have you try something and fail than not try! why are we drawing upside down?!"
i came home and spent the whole afternoon framing. framing and more framing. thankfully i cut the mounting papers the other night. i could hear a voice in my head going - oh this is so tedious. and then the teacher voice in my head saying - would you like me to play the tiny violin for you? yes please! a very lilty mozart song would be nice. thank you. i'd like to feel sorry for myself for 10 more minutes. all the inedible cupcakes are being framed! tara and i start installing monday [well she's doing phase I of the floor painting on sunday]. show opens next friday at mama buzz . i hope we can pull this off - we have grand ideas w/ lots of paint involved....
matilda would like some sympathy. she got spayed on monday. she's not too keen on the elizabethan look, but has no choice in the matter. she no longer looks like a kitten, huh? but she's still little. maybe she'll stay little. she was trying to help me frame. maybe i can do a whole series of pieces that incorporate kitty paw prints.
this polaroid reminds me of anne . i think she's really busy and probably won't even see this, but....
so since i'm just all over the place might as well tell you that if you are in LA and want to see some art this weekend you should to go the los angeles art show . if you poke around there just might be some work of mine there.
{cough}{cough}
reading mav's post today really struck a chord with me. i commented to her that i felt as though i was precariously perched. as i typed it, i knew the phrase was going to lodge itself in my brain.... and demand attention.
besides illustrating my love for alliteration [part of why i am loving a taxonomy of barnacles so much] the phrase just fits in my vernacular. i am notoriously drawn to things that hover between good and bad, easy and hard, dangerous and lovely or enticing - the purgaorty - the hybrid - the double entendre.
so i sit and think about how the new year sort of presents all these possibilities. and i am so grateful for how full my plate is. but i'm also very scared. i just said yes to a 2 person show that opens at the end of February {more on this as it approaches}. this is a fantastic opportunity, but immediately i worry about if i will blow it. i have a few pieces that i can "re-use", but i want it to be a cohesive show and so i need to make new work. on top of the work for the cupcake show. on top of teaching a new class. on top of LIFE. i want to show a small version of the RAC doily installation, but i can't possibly go to install it - so i'm frantically trying to figure out how i can make an installtion that can be put up by another's hands [hands i trust completely, but nonetheless they aren't mine - and i couldn't possibly ask someone else to paint on the wall for me.... it not only wouldn't be fair, it would ruin the integrity of the piece]
and so i feel like i am perched - almost like on a tight rope wire. balanced. excited. heart beating. there could be a pile of down pillows for me to land on if i fall. there could be a pile of treats if i balance and make it across. or there could be broken limbs and the rope could go on forever and ever.... precariously perched
above is a sketch from my sketchbook. since i don't have the drawing a day anymore i treated myself to a new moleskin..... and have been having fun doing quick, simple studies of things that surround me.... here's another sketch:
our holiday wreath and tonka and chini sleeping together [not so secret anymore they are!]
but i do have a new project about documentation with my favorite documenter that starts next week. you didn't think i could live w/out a project did you?
i am actually sitting in the studio waiting for paint to dry. i am cleaning up - new white walls are needed if i am going to be frantically working in here. bye-bye wall work 1 mock up.... hello ????
i also want to share what the hubby found for me on ebay for christmas. it makes me SO happy!!
and inside:
sigh.....
and oh! in case you haven't already heard... the kim family auction hit a few bumps in the road and had to be removed from ebay. but it will be back... and soon.... so continue to check that site for updates.... and by golly did people bid. i was outpriced out of everything with-in 3 hours. i really hope people bid like that again. it was nothing short of amazing! i can't wait to send the little rhino off to a new home.....
how was yours? i hope full of everything you hoped for [and maybe a little extra of something you didn't know was coming!] above is my spectra re-cap of the holidays at my house.
i have been very very in my head this week - which has been actually a real treat. i am listening to ticks and tocks that i shoved aside weeks ago in an end of semester/ holiday daze/craze. i have been ruminating on where i am - from big to small - in my life, in the studio, in my house, in my relationships, on the street [looking lost]. it may be because it's the end of the year and there's this tug to wrap things up [literally ~ with big shiney bows - and figuratively ~ the new year brings new styles, new hopes, new dreams - and financially ~ the big tax envelopes begin to arrive]
i have been putting off the responsibilites of my syllabus [which is starting to switch gears from a gentle coo to an off-pitch whine. attend to me.... school starts on the 9th... you have only an outline for me..... hey hEy hEY HEY!!!] and instead am dilligently working in the studio. and thinking about the studio. and art. and as i do this i REALLY wish that my studio {besides my family} could be the number 1 focus in my life. i could paint something, tack it up, take it down, change a color, stare at something, turn it upsidedown and stare some more, cut something out, try a new paper, research wallpaper patterns and pictures of cupcakes.... for longer than i care to admit. [although here i am admitting it]
i am also on MY schedule... staying up late.... waking up 8:30-9am.... feels luxurious and wonderful. ENJOYING my coffee in the morning.... enjoying catching part of charlie rose..... speaking of which.... cate blanchet was on the other night.... and she's whip smart - uses the word astonishing as an adjective with flair - and totally captivated me. she spoke about film and stage with that twinkle in her eye.... and i love when someone is passionate and SERIOUS about their endeavors. at one point mr. rose said to her - something along the lines of - and how do you manage it all - you do so much. and i perked up - lifting my head from garbo's back and staring intently when she answered "i don'k know anyone who has managed it all.... something always atrophies".
atrophy :: a wasting away, a diminution in the size of a cell, tissue, organ or part. that word, that thought, has been the thing rolling around in my brain the last few days.... i feel many parts of my brain have atrophied.... but then again can that process also strengthen the opposite or other? meaning as i cease to care about what 8 times 6 equals does the part of my brain that jitters over color gain strength? sort of like the idea that there is only so much matter in the world and we just keep repositioning it.... and doesn't atrophy just sound smarter and more interesting than "dropping the ball", "being forgetful" - plus i like the idea that it's not atually totally lost.... just dimished in size....
so there you have it.... this is what i do when left to my own devices.... i think it's time to eat one more ginger cookie... the one sweet thing i made for the season... and there are a few left.... crunchy - until you dunk them in milk.... and then... they smush ever so gently..... and if i don't make it back before then.... HAPPY NEW YEAR! 07? 07? 07?? wow.
