The Copeland Block was quiet this morning, and it smelled like cleaning products. I didn’t stay long.
The most exciting thing I saw was this fine specimen of a Rubber Snow Lizard in the parking lot:
If this is your Snow Lizard: thanks, you made my day! If you know a child who is missing this creature: now you can tell him or her where to look.
This year I spent a lot of time working on a photo restoration project for my mother: more than 300 photographs taken by her grandmother around the tun of the century. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that my scanner and I were not up to completing the task alone. I hired Matt Doyle to finish the scanning and do some basic cleanup, and I was delighted with the results. You can see the whole set of photos at flickr if you’re interested. This one is my favorite:
I made a Basket Case specifically for the purpose of smashing it flat and using it to make prints. That was a lot of fun:
I had a hideous gardening accident, and spent a few months playing with wool while my finger healed:
Kam Ming, a chinese restaurant, opened in the Copeland Block this summer. Because of my soy allergy, I can’t provide a comprehensive review of their offerings. I can, however, vouch for their steamed mixed vegetables. Not every chinese restaurant provides that as an option. It pleases me very much that they do.
I had a piece in this year’s juried summer exhibition at AVA.
And last but not least, I got a spot on the orange wall at the Tip Top:
I’ll be taking a break from work for most of January and February. Maybe I’ll see you at my next Open Studio, in March. Let me know if you’d like your name entered into the drawing to win this poster, which is currently hanging on the orange wall:
Recently I’ve started working on the Litter Little Mermaid again. I had stopped this spring after a hideous gardening accident, but my finger has healed up nicely and the scar isn’t hyper-sensitive anymore.
A lot of people who see this work ask me excitedly if I’ve seen “that piece with all the bottle caps” at the Hood Museum. The Hood has an El Anatsui piece in their collection, but I saw the entire Gawu exhibit there several years ago and it made an impression on me.
I had not anticipated how difficult it would be to work with the bottle caps as I approached the narrow end of the tail. I am making heavy (and often two-fisted) use of pliers. I’m always glad when I finish a piece, but I think this one will require a party. With cake. Seriously.
This morning Lia called my attention to this article in the New York Times about White River Junction.
Check out the slideshow!
We were busy in the weeks leading up to December’s Tip Top Open Studios.
Apparently there had been some squabbling about who would be hanging her work (and how long it would stay) on the orange wall across from the restaurant, near the main entrance of the building. Someone came up with the idea of dividing the wall into sections where each interested artist could hang something. I helped Kathy F. paint the wall to mark off the sections.
I hadn’t been interested in hanging my actual work downstairs, but somehow I ended up with a space on the wall anyway. So I made a 16×20 poster of this photograph:
I won’t be having an open studio again until March 5, 2010. By then, I’ll have made a new poster and will be collecting names for a drawing to win the poster I’ve got hanging now. Send me a message if you’d like to get into the drawing early.
The website got hacked.
I am working on restoring it.
For now, maybe you would like to read about some scumbags getting their comeuppance.