postcard from berlin

when we
were
in berlin
i had the rare
afternoon
with a friend
to visit
the museums
on
museum island.



i was
particularly
inspired
in
the bode-museum
and
the alte nationalgalerie.









i fell
in love
with
a small piece
by
carl spitzweg.





i could
have stared
at it
for hours.



xo

last bits of october

i have found
myself
in a strange place.

anxious.
unsettled.

watching
hurricane sandy
and soon
the elections
from afar...

preparing
to move away
for 3 months...

everything
is a bit
up in the air,
so to speak.




i find
peace
in organizing...
arranging
my bits a pieces
into collections.
neatly placing things
in boxes
to store
for the winter
that
i will miss
in switzerland.

i came across
this image
the other day
in a magazine...




i love this
idea of organizing
objects that
vee finds on our walks.
feathers,
leaves...
and soon,
shells
and driftwood.



xo

dissection

when i walk
around town
with wee grub

we often stop
to examine
plants
and
tree leaves.
i tell her
what i know,
if anything,
about the plant.
usually it
is bug-related.
i pick a leaf
or flower
and put it
in her hand
to examine.
she holds it
tightly
and often
i find
the flower
or leaf
shredded
still in her grasp
an hour later.


the other day
when i came
in from
our walk
and pulled
her out
of the carrier
a whole
series
of parts
tumbled out
onto the bed.




it reminded
me of the plant
dissections
i would have
my students do
in
introduction to biology
class.

. . . . .

to some respect
that is what
i do when i draw.
i carefully
dissect
the object piece
by piece
and try
to reassemble it
on the page
part by part.

sometimes
somewhat
successfully,
sometimes
not.




week 4:
22 juillet: pin cushion
23 juillet: sewing scissors
24 juillet: tea bag
25 juillet: tiny ceramic pitcher
26 juillet: skein of yarn
27 juillet: large crochet hook
28 juillet: trumpet flower
(all in colored pencil, some with wash)

this week
i was happy
with the
drawings of
the
skein of yarn
and
my sewing scissors.




have a lovely
week.

xo

oven love

i don't like
to cook.
i admit it.

this is often
a surprise to people
because
i love to eat
and
i am very picky
about
what
and
where
i eat
(i have been
known to send back
a grilled cheese
at a bar).



i blame it on
my upbringing.
you see,
my sister suzanne,
who is seven years older,
is a great cook
and loves
to cook.
my sister
is the oldest
and
i am
the youngest
of 5.
my mother
claims
that she once
enjoyed cooking.
i figure that
by the time
i came around
my mother
was damn tired
of cooking.
for her it was
a chore.
so that's how
i learned it.



also,
my father
and mother
have
the exact opposite
taste in cooking
(among other things).
to illustrate this
is to describe
their breakfast.
my father
will poach an egg
in oil
(it makes me
sick to watch)
and will fry
some meat from
last night's dinner
to go with it.
my mother
would be happy
with
some yogurt,
fruit,
maybe a croissant
or piece of toast,
and the
obligatory
cup of tea.
if she ate
an egg, it would be
soft boiled
and she gently chip
the top off the egg
with her knife
and dip
slivers of toast
into it.



so my dad
did not care
for her cooking
and
would rarely
have positive
things
to say
about it.

growing up
under
this
food drama
taught me
at a young age
to
always
appreciate
the cook
and to
never
ever
offer a cook
advice
unless asked.

i was fortunate
enough
to partner
with someone
who loves to cook.
i mean
he really enjoys it.
when he wants
to relax
he cooks.
this is a mystery
to me.
he tells me
that
i facilitate
his love of cooking
because
i wait
patiently
(we learned early
we needed to have
bread & cheese available
to avoid
altercations),
i am always
appreciative,
and
well,
i love to eat.

but oddly,
i actually
enjoy baking.
i realize
it's because
i have a tense
relationship
with the stove
and
i love the oven.
i like mixing everything up
and
then putting
it in the oven.
i love dough.
and,
if i do say so myself,
i have a feel for dough.
i know when it's
too wet,
or too dry
and what to do.
i attribute it
to my years taking
ceramics.
i also like
the science
of baking.
it appeals to me.
i love ratios.
i love
the smell of
yeast.
but i have been
shy of the kitchen
since
we have such
a love-hate
relationship
(i love
what comes out of it
but
i hate being in it).
also,
for most
of our relationship,
grub has ruled
the kitchen.
and i was
happy
to rule
the rest
of the house.

but now
i am eyeing
the kitchen
and new recipes
have
tempted me
to find
my way
back into
the kitchen.



i
envision
more
bread,
pizza,
and
pies
on the horizon.
oh,
and cookies!
because
everyone knows
tea
is best
with
a good cookie.
xo

collection

i have
shown you
the
second
and
third
series
that
i did for
the forgotten works
challenge.

you may
have noticed
i skipped
the first set.



this was
because...
well,
i was
really
unhappy with it.



ever notice
that the
concepts
or ideas
you think
are the
easiest
always
turn out
to be
the most
difficult?



deceptively
easy,
i think
it's called.

when i
was thinking
of ideas
for
these pieces
i always
came back
to the idea
of
the
collection.



i was drawn
to
beautiful
collections
by
camilla
and
irina.

i love collections.
i love arranging them.
but mostly
i am fascinated
by what
makes
a collection
of objects?
what unifies them?
why are we drawn
to arrangements
of objects
that are
different
or
the same?



no matter
how much
i arranged
and
rearranged
papers
i was
not happy
with
the
collections.

so i was left
with 10 pieces
that
didn't
get anywhere.
this
depressed me.
i thought
i had
an eye
for collections.

i think
it's
important
to understand
the process...
the evolution
of an idea...
even if
it ends up
not
working.
at least
for now.

thoughts?

. . . . .

the weekend
forecast
is
for rain.



i am off
to reno,
nevada
tomorrow
for
this.

hope
you have
a
good one.
xo

h i v e

this is
the final
series
of 10
for
the forgotten works
challenge.



{hive: lupine}

it began
with an obsession
that
my brother
(who is
always a
source of
inspiration to me)
has for
the honeycomb
pattern.
he used
this pattern
to
decorate
the last
package
he mailed
to me
(containing
more
braille paper).


{hive: buckwheat}

i have been
teaching
a class called
Pollinators in Crisis
this semester,
so i have
bees on the brain.
we have been
discussing
the plants
dependent
on bees for
pollination
and what
this means
for what we eat.
normally
i don't see things
from the plant
perspective...


{hive: caraway}

but
these
past months
my
admiration
for the plant
and its
delicate
relationship
with its
pollinator
has grown...


{hive: flax}

all these
plants
depend
on
bees
for
pollination.



{hive: mustard}

i was inspired
to include
the plant
as simple
line drawings
because
i loved
the way
it looked
on
this little
notebook



made for me
by
lisa solomon.
an artist
who i greatly
admire.

if you have
a chance,
pick up
fruitless fall
and learn
more
about our
pollinator crisis.
another great
article
in the New Yorker.

i will upload
the other 5
from
the
h i v e
series
here
tomorrow.

wishing you
a productive
week!

xo

m e n d

i am participating
in
the forgotten works
challenge
art show
in seattle.
30 pieces in 30 days.

i did it
because
it's been
one of my goals
to make
a cohesive
body of work
and
to exhibit.



i have
long since
been
fascinated
with
the word
m e n d.
most of us
connect
the word
with the
physical
aspect
of mending...
socks,
clothes,
fences...

yet
the physical
has manifested
itself
in the
abstract,
for instance
we use
the idea of
mending fences
to mean
to improve
or strengthen
(as a relationship)
by negotiation or conciliation






further, it
implies
making whole or sound
something broken, torn, or injured






i drawn to
the fact that
when you mend
something
it leaves
a scar.
rarely
can you mend
something
seamlessly.
there is always
a crack, seam,
or some
memory
of the
damage
visible.





i'd love
to hear
your thoughts.

more to
come...
but for now,
after such
and exciting week
i am wishing you
a peaceful
weekend.

xo

rocks vs shells

some girls
grew up
with barbie.
my mother
wouldn't
let me
have barbie
(not sure i even
wanted a barbie)
because she was
anatomically correct
(if you can
call her that).
so i had
strawberry shortcake.
i loved
their outfits
and
that they
all came with pets.
i played with them
for hours in
an old dollhouse.
mostly
my dolls
threw
a lot of parties
and invited
the
herself the elf dolls
to come over
(herself the elf
sadly lived
in
a minimalist house
made out
wooden blocks).

i always thought
growing up
with
strawberry shortcake
had an effect
on me.
this may have
been
the genesis
of
my obsession
with colors,
striped tights,
and wearing
mary janes
(instead of
barbie high heels).
strange to think
how toys
potentially
can influence
a young child
so much...

growing up
by the beach
i was never
into shells
(unless they
still had
the animal inside).
my sister
collected shells
and
i combed the beach
for the perfect rock.



i have always
been
obsessed
with rocks.
particullarly
rocks with lines.
maybe
due to
an early
exposure
to
andy goldsworthy.



shari
is doing
a photo zine
on rocks...
can't wait to see it.
i wonder if
the participants
are all
strawberry shortcake
types...

. . . . .

next time...
a few polaroids
from
my tour
of
the heath factory
with lisa.



have a great week!
xo

cut the tether

{favorite birdies}

every
now and then
i make a purse
that i am
quite pleased with...
this is rare
because
i am pretty
obsessive compulsive
about things.

i am
quite fond
of this little
number


and this
is my
favorite
underbug
purse/clutch
thus far...


they are
off
in a batch
to
last waltz.



still working on
the
bugheart
architecto
purse...
but orders
have priority.

the other night
i declared
"no more purses"...
i feel
like i have
tied myself
to a tether.
we shall see.
lately i have
wanted
to crochet.
so damn
inspired
by
this
(link via camilla).
amazing.

also
the next wave
to come is
felt hexapods.
yes, that's
my next project.

but first,
i have to get
this
one
last purse
perfected.

also
i have been
neglecting
a thank you
to
the sweet
alyssa
who sent me
horace:



to help
me study
for my exam.
so so sweet.
thank you
so much alyssa!

you too
can have your
own horace
here.


{cool details}

tomorrow,
i think
i will go to
value village.
it's been
too long.

have a lovely
end of week!

xo