Weekend Away

I've had another great weekend away from home and it's not even over yet! Thursday night I went to visit Kristin & Wil and then on Friday I drove to Massachusetts to see Abbey and Phil. The big trip was to see Phil's MFA thesis exhibition at UMass Amherst. Let me just say that the work was incredible! From the work above you can see just a bit of the complexity of his installation piece {about 30' x 8'}. Phil works in layers using drawing, paint, prints, and collage. Although this exhibition is now closed, some of the work will be shown at the UR Art and Music Library Gallery in November/December 2007.

When we weren't looking at art or fueling our thrifting addiction, we were watching this video with Will Ferrell {at least five times!}. Check it out, it's hilarious!

Last week Jake and I hosted artist Penelope Stewart while she installed work for Absence, Excess, Loss {which is a fantastic exhibition and I hope to post photos from it soon}. This piece is similar to the one she just installed. It consists of 2,000 wax door knobs. Seeing this piece in person is very striking and the smell of beeswax really adds to the experience for me. After talking to Penelope during the week I know that she'll soon be working on making 2,000 more door knobs.

The image below is from the House Project, a 1994 response to Woman House. Penelope responded to the kitchen and covered it entirely with sewn organza pieces.

I got a book of drawings for Christmas by Anthony Goicolea and thought I should share a few. I love the vibrancy of his work, even when the pieces have a muted palette. His figures and narrative are so haunting that the images linger with me for quite some time after I look at them.

Cut + Paste

I just found cut+paste and I love it. Kind of like Etsy, but a bit more managable. I wish I had this laptop bag!

Naming

Well, I think I'm close to opening up my own print shop {letterpressed and screen-printed invites and stationery}. But, I need to come up with a name for the press. I really like ps press, but that website is already taken. I've also been tossing around printed specialties, but that seems a little uptight. I'm looking for something that is versatile enough to function as a high end letterpress shop and a funky space to collaborate with other artists and printers. All of your thoughts and ideas are appreciated {maybe even someday with royalty money!}.

Weekend Away

I just got back from a wedding weekend in the Boston area. We drove out with Amber and Dennis on Thursday and then went into Boston on Friday to spend the day roaming streets looking for good deals and seeing the sites. We had dinner at a vegan Chinese restaurant that my sister recommended, the Grasshopper, which was delicious! The landscaping on the tiny apartment lawns made me wish for a better weather. I can't wait to start buying plants for my garden!



Seth and Kelly's were married on Saturday in a small church in West Newbury, MA. As it turns out this is the same church that one of my students goes to {the same student that I spilled paint on}! The wedding and reception were flawless and the locations seemed perfect.

I love this wrap dress that I got from Target. It was great for the balmy weather.

Glass brooch by Anya Kivarkis. Wouldn't you love to pin this on your sweater?

Foot-candy

Check out these beautiful rugs from Reuber-Henning. Marni sent me the link to these and I love them! My feet would be so happy to have one in the living room.

Good-bye mini eggs

Hope you all had a nice weekend. We went over to Amber's for what turned out to be a white-trash Easter pot-luck. I made a killer Tater-Tot Casserole that was truly delicious. We also had corn on the cob {frozen}, dinner rolls, smoked ham {for the carnivores}, canned peas, garlic bread {more carbs}, and angel food cake. Afterwards, we ate candy, knitted, and watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Mini-egg season is officially over now, but hopefully we can still get a few bags on sale.

I went to school today to help a student with her screen-prints and spilled an entire can of screen filler on her! I was mortified, but she was such a good sport about it. Luckily, they were her "art" jeans and she was wearing leggings under them and a t-shirt under her sweater. Right now they're in my washer {the least I could do} and all of the filler came out!

My mom found a box of my old jewelry this weekend and I pulled these awesome earrings out! They used to be one of my favorite pairs. The parrots even have hand-painted chest hair. What could be better?

I came downstairs this morning to find Cassie digging through a bag of potting soil in the back room. I had accidentally left if out after re-potting a few kitchen plants yesterday. I keep forgetting that she's still a puppy.

Mid-wife help

Please check out Abbey's recent post. She and her baby-to-be need some help convincing the powers that be that they should continue their midwifery care at the local hospital.

Alanis vs. Fergie

Jake just showed me this video. I think Alanis would win in a celebrity death match. More angst.

A new bag?

I just found The Purse Project on Whip Up and it sounds like a fantastic idea. I like having a goal to work toward and keep me motivated to try new things. The idea is to make a new bag each month using specific group theme. This month the theme is to make a purse using a tea towel {Abbey, are you reading this?} All bags must be completed by May 31 and will be posted on the Purse Project site on June 1.

From Flat to Phat

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from a really great printmaking show in KC, From Flat to Phat. The idea was to take printmaking to a new level and make prints and multiples in a different context that the flat papers we usually print on. This was one of my favorite shows from the conference.


Temporary tattoos to make the body a walking print.

A sort of photocopy catalogue of found objects. I liked this piece because it lacked the preciousness of a hand-pulled print and really utilized the idea of printmaking as a democratic means of distribution.

Your art is better than mine...use the cell phone to call and argue the point with the artist.
Eighty-two dozen boob cookies. Really pushed the idea of the multiple and encouraged viewer participation and interaction with motherhood and lactation. {This piece was spread out on a table for the opening, but was being packed up when we finally get back to photograph it...we snuck in on the day of de-installation.}

Political war piece, complete with tanks screen-printed on felt and obsessive tallying.

Stuffed, screen-printed Jesus dolls. Take a card from the tool belt, mark off your sin(s), and nail the doll onto the wall.

Beautiful printed boxes. I love the incorporation of the seed pods. Andrew really wanted to take one, but his proper mid-west upbringing curtailed that impulse.

Little birds

Very sad to hear that one of my favorite bloggers will be retiring from her crafting blog. Little Birds Handmade will no longer be posting, but she will continue her daily photo blog, 3191. You might want to check out her Etsy shop, which I also love.