A Winter Knitting Solstice

I had planned for a knitting party on the solstice, and there I would share with my friends the lovely tradition of lighting the pudding. Unfortunately, all the wonderful snow prevented everyone but one from coming! Although it was not a total bust. There were enough people snowed in at the house to make it a jolly time. We ate, we drank wassail, I showed a few people how to knit and crochet and to end the night there was a huge snowball fight. I don't think I've ever been in a snowball fight that I enjoyed before! If only that day could be longer, I love it so.

pudding and boughs

This holiday season is inspiring me to try new things, such as traditional christmas pudding. I found a lovely recipe here which requires steaming the pudding for 8 hours! and then to hang it for a week or more! those brits! What were they thinking? Anyhow, it should be a fun experiment. And it was a good day to have a pot boiling all day on the stove for this weekend it snowed! What a lovely winter treat.
I've also been feeling the spirit of winter in my desire to cover the entire front room with tree boughs and clippings. The snowy day was perfect for an idealic stoll through the park with a pair of clippers. Now all sorts of firs and greens and hollies are cheering the hearthstone.
Tis the season for tea and knitting! I love it!

Thanksgiving/Art sandwich

This past turkey day brought me back home, and also to a couple of very good art shows. Who knew? I sandwiched my visit with art at the beginning and end, with turkey in the middle.
The night I flew down I was able to drag my sister along with me to the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum to see a gallery opening featuring one of my former professors. Good work Michael B Miller! It was good to see some old familiar faces, and the artwork was intriguing too. I'm still not sure how I feel about the artist who characterized old people in ink pen sketches.
more about it here.
Also, my last full day in California I was able to spend at the Getty Museum! Right now they are showing some of the Lumbourg brother's illuminated manuscripts, notably the Belles Heures du Duc de Bury.
There is no greater joy for a lover of book arts than to see these fantastic illustrations up close and personal. I got a book on their work that actually has full scale prints of each page but the loss of detail in its reproduction is painfully noticeable.
There is nothing like viewing the real thing.

almost a year ago... part II

the second installment of the story begun below.

There was music, games, laughter, hors d'oeuvres (and pleanty of spirits flowing, though i did not have a drop). There was the sunset over the harbor and the starry city lights which replaced it.
I got to meet a lot of good people, like the owners of an art gallery close to where i live, and my friend Pete's sister (we bonded over knitting), and these wonderful women from Puerto Rico. However, I was not prepared to meet some of the more important people attending the festivities that evening. As I spent some time at a Texas Hold'em table (and it took some time before I knew what I was doing) I got to know some of my fellow players and observed how they seemed to communicate in insults. I was very uncomfortable for a while, expecting tension to build, but then I realized that they would laugh and throw insults back and forth like some fun game! I just didn't get it.
Also, since my artwork was up for display and one of the gifts to be given to the first prize winner, throughout the evening I was constantly approached and asked things relating to the fact that I'm an artist, and then followed up with advice. Such things as, "Have you heard of So-and-So? You should really look him up." "Do you have a website? You really need a website." "Why are you in Seattle? San Francisco is where it's at." "Have you seen Such-and-Such's work? I would think you'd have heard of it."
And then, a moment I wish I had back, next to me at the table was a youngish man, playing very aggressively and unsportsmanlike. He had a sugar momma who kept coming around to give him more chips so he could keep upping the anty and forcing the rest of us out of money to play with. Durring a break as he was counting up his stash he was bragging that he was in it to win the first place prize- until he actually looked at the prize list. Then he announced that actually, he'd be happy to accept the second place because, "the first place only has all this art-shit!"
I must have sat there for a full minute debating whether or not to say something to embarrass him. I knew he deserved it, but I couldn't bring myself to say something- I think I was in a state of shock. So I left the table.
It was just about wrap up time when the awards were given out. I was eager to see who my artwork would go to. Luckily, the annoying and greedy man who didn't appreciate art didn't even place. Also, one of the nice Puerto Rican women won first prize! I was very happy, not only for her, but now I can claim I'm international! And then- since there was interest in the audience for my work, it was agreed upon by all parties that my work be auctioned off to raise more money, in exchange for this I promised to make another to send to the winner.
And so my two little assemblages went for $570! I couldn't believe it. I also couldn't believe that it went to the sugar momma of that one asshole! I'm not sure she even wanted it cause the auctioneer was picking on her until she bid and then no one else would outbid her despite her efforts to inspire them.
Before leaving this rich young lady comes up to me to chat and thank me for my work. She asked me if I had a website, and that I really should have a website. I wanted to explain how I was just getting my feet on the ground and that I was working on getting one soon, but somehow it didn't come out that way. Maybe I was tired, maybe scared, maybe fed up with all the insults and posturing but it came out as, "I've been out of a home for some time,"
I wish I could describe the look on her. A mixture of disgust, delight, and surprise were fighting with her desire to keep a strait face. The conversation quickly fizzled out.
So that is what I don't like about being an artist- seeing my art go to a home where it will not be appreciated, or worse, likely thrown in the trash.
Fortunately there was a happy ending. I wound up driving the organizers of the charity back to their hotel. They were wonderful folk, and I'm glad I could help them raise money for their cause.
Check it out here:
http://www.thepositiveproject.org/

almost a year ago... part I

I've decided I need to copy this post from the last blog to the current one. It is a story I cherish, and I find it relative to the subject of Live Art Live. Enjoy.

For everything that you love there will always be something about that thing that you just can't stand. And now I've found out what I dislike about being an artist! Let me explain:
Last week I was contacted by my dear friend Pete. He let me know that he would be in town for a day or two for a conference with a bunch of other software companies. Not only that, but he had somehow last-minute organized a fund-raiser for an aids benefit that would involve a swanky poker game at the Space Needle with all these fancy executives. Not only was I invited to have a good time, but I was also asked if I might have some artwork to donate to the cause.
Well, at first I was flabbergasted at the thought of only having a week in which to make something (because I had nothing on hand) but who could pass up an opportunity like that? So I spent all my free time the rest of that week preparing an idea that I've been wanting to make for a long time. That being: a real life still life in the style of the old Dutch and Flemish masters of the 1700's. I wanted to create a Vanitas painting with real fruits and flowers that would eventually wilt and decay within their frame, therefore actually becoming the decadence that the old oils only represented. It was an incredibly fun and stimulating project. I love being challenged with time lines! It really gets me going. So you must be wondering, what the hell am I complaining about?
Well, nothing so far. I was delighted to be seeing my friend again. I was honored to be asked to give a piece of my art for a good cause, and I'll be honest, I was looking forward to a night of schmoozing and boozing with high society. (Not sure what qualifies these days as 'high society' but seeing as there was a society of people gambling high in the Space Needle- that is what I'm calling it.)
All seemed to be going well. But just to give you a taste of what the night would bring, when I arrived in the parking lot of the Seattle Center, I walked to the kiosk to buy my parking pass and when I got back to the car I'd already been ticketed!
FORESHADOWING!
DUN DUN DUN!
you'll have to wait for the next installment of this story to know what happens, cause I love cliffhangers!

A New Year

It has been such a busy couple of weeks, what with all harvesting and preparing, voting and waiting for what the new year will bring.
I've been finishing up some old projects, such as the knitted gloves I'd started a year ago. That will free up the needles I'll need for my next project: a sweater.
I'm not preparing any ordinary sweater- mind you. What I plan on doing is really creating a canvas to display scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry. More on this later.

I have such respect for old apple trees. The one in the backyard has once again proven its fecundity by giving all the household more than we could want. I spent a whole day devoted to juicing that once forbidden fruit and ended up with about three gallons which is now turning to cider in the carboy. I was also able to can quite a few jars of apple butter and the housemates made more than a few pies. I think we were able to get through about half the crop.

The tomatoes did not fare so well, on the other hand. It was a cold summer, and started late and ended early. I was able to get a few good ones before fall set in, but i just uprooted all the plants and ended up with Two GIANT bowl-fulls of hard green tomatoes. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do with these, I'd love to know. I'll be looking up recipes soon.

Last weekend I visited Pratt Fine Arts Center for the first time since moving to Seattle. I went because they were hosting a glassblowing demonstration by an Italian master named Davide Salvadore. It had to be the best demo I've ever seen. Davide was uncharacteristically jubilant. I've never seen a glassblower so happy when blowing a very difficult and important piece. It was inspiring. The picture here is like the piece I saw him make. You can learn more about him here.

Looking forward to making my own soon- still waiting to sign the contract for the commission.
Still waiting on some letters of recommendation to return so I can finish the application to grad school. Looking forward to seeing what happens with a new President in the White House, and waiting for him to take office.
Waiting
Waiting
and looking forward...

CRUSH!

Ah- the ancient art of "making" (drinking) wine. What could better then helping to crush grapes with your feet while you enjoy the fruits of the winemaker's labor? (Winemaker shown above) If anyone happens to live or drive through the east-bay of SF I recommend stopping into the tasting room of Periscope Cellars.
You may not be asked to help because Crush only happens once a year, but you will be asked to help enjoy their delicious varietals and blends. Here are a few more pics of the event:

Backyard Treasures

Sometimes you just have to get out of the house and explore something new.
When I'm in this kind of mood I become very impressionable to suggestion, and that's why I listen to NPR. I love public radio! How else can you find out about these backyard treasures?
About a month ago they did a little blurb on the amazing Japanese gardens located in South Seattle called Kubota. I was thinking about visiting that part when I heard from the same radio program about another fascinating event. There is a composer who is doing site-specific mini-operas about water. He chooses the sites around some form of water for this element is the only instrument to accompany the singer. (A percussionist manipulates the water with various other tools to create rhythm) As you can see by the pictures, a couple of the sites where they performed was located at the Kubota Gardens.
It was such a lovely afternoon! First there was chilled melon soup and a plate of ham and baguette at my favorite French bistro in town. Then through the summer heat and sticky bus seats, my love and I made it to the cool and refreshing gardens for this unusual outdoor concert.
The arias floated through the manicured trees as gracefully as the fish swimming in the streams. It was all expertly done, and has gotten me thinking towards site-specificity again.....

If you want to learn more about the gardens or the "Bottled" operas, then check these out:
http://www.kubota.org/
http://hearbyron.com/

beautify your life.

Some call it feathering the nest, so here are some of my feathers! I used the technique I learned from my previous job for stained glass applique and applied it to the windows of Smooth Like Honey- my new car. If art is the visual manifestation of our unique humanness, then by golly let it shine with every human endeavor! Even if that endeavor is car ownership.
Isn't she a beaute!
And here is a little something for your pleasure if you have an interest in watching me do my job.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EdWRqF9y_T8

What is this thing?

This thing is a model of what I am going to create for the new Snoqualmie Town Hall. This will be for the commission I described in the last post. It's purpose is to be a public piece of art that personifies in some way the wonderful town of Snoqualmie. You might wonder how floating plates of glass suspended by a mobile has anything to do with any town's personality, but just imagine what a room will be like once you put spotlights on it. The picture of the actual size plate gives a good example. The room will be bathed in a watery light, representing the waterfall for which the town is known.
It is a simple, yet beautiful concept that I have been waiting to do for quite some time. I am very excited that this will be going into a public space for all to see, and very eager to get started! I'll keep you updated to it's progress of course. Until further notice, wish me good luck.

IT'S OFFICIAL!

For those of you who have not already heard, last winter I submitted a proposal for a public art piece to be displayed in the new Snoqualmie Town Hall. A few months ago I gave a presentation about the piece to the town's arts committee and it was well received. I have been waiting for a response ever since.
This last Monday there was a city council meeting that I was invited to and part of the evening's agenda was to discuss my proposal and subsequent budget. After long last, the committee all agreed "Yea" for approval and that makes me now officially a professional and PAID! working artist.
Hooray!

In other news, this past weekend I attended the Glass Art Society's 2008 conference in Portland, Or. It was an amazing and inspirational blast! I met up with many friends I haven't seen for years and saw so much wonder. I have attached a few pics from the event. The artist demonstrating is Richard Marquis and team. There are a few other faces I captured in the crowd that might be familiar to some. Can you spot them?

http://picasaweb.google.com/gusgusgirl/Gas2008

Inspiration

From time to time you can expect to see a random sampling of inspirational internet inquiries. These are just some note-worthing things that I've been looking into recently and think valuable enough to pass on.
enjoy!
A friend told me about this one:
http://www.gregorybarsamian.com

Welcome!

Hullo all! And welcome to my new journal of daily living in art! The intent of this blog is not only to serve as a bi-weekly update on all the different art projects that are keeping me busy, happy and alive, but it can also be considered a springboard for inspiration. We all need a little encouragement some times, and if I can spark a good idea into a reader then I've done a good job. My purpose is to live in beauty, to create it wherever and whenever I can and to encourage it in others. To live a life in beauty is to be alive in art!