One of the producers and investors of Chris’s latest finished big project is good at sending us interesting things. . . two inch  thick war surgery manuals, fascinating documentaries and lately this amazing Kathe Kollwitz exhibition catalog.  What a face. What an amazing draftsman! Thank you Terry, I like this much better than the surgery textbook.

A little bit late for this, but mainly posting this for Teresa, curator of Art & Light (where we had the show) who was gone the weekend of the show on a much deserved cruise. . . and for all the people who couldn’t come so they know what they missed : )

I now have over a pound of amazing butter left over, wrapped away in the fridge that and is contributing heartily to the delay of my winter fat loss. I think it is a bit funny the jam labels itself “home made style”, come on people, I couldn’t make everything from scratch.

A very funny music video a friend sent me, and I am sending it now to you. Clever!

One of the latest deliveries to our door step. Walton Ford’s Pancha Tantra, a huge volume, a tome!

I first found him, interestingly enough, in the pages of Vogue, I think in the Index section. . . I read as much on online as I could find and watched the Art 21 “Humor” episode from the second season. . .crazy how he is so matter of fact about his art amidst all the abstract mumbo jumbo usually explained on those segments.

His art is exquisite, consistent and gruesome. Based mainly on writings and whim.

Amazing to me, how has he accomplished so much?! How are they so precise and consistent!? How is he the darling of high culture but yet comes across so normal. . .

I got this last Saturday for nearly nothing at an antique store that was going out of business. Hot pink! South American the tag presumed. Its quite large actually, about the size of throw for a couch, though it is rather scratchy. I love the patterns and I love the lines of girls, there are only girls on the weaving which is fascinating to me. Perhaps it was woven for a friend. Or a daughter. I found a long dark hair woven into the fiber, I wonder whose it was?

Annalsia’s farm square, I wish I had gotten a shot from afar. I am in love with that white bull, Chris likes those spotted cows, and everyone seemed partial to the pigs.  Her honey butter for the New Year’s bread was quite a hit too. . . I think they were just getting the bread as a means for consuming the honey butter. . .

So tired and my throat hurts! it was nice to see lots of nice people. . . I didn’t get many pictures, too distracted. It all came together nicely. I had more up but alas, the photos didn’t happen to come out very well. Many reflections  upon seeing my latest work after the hours of drawing. I feel as though I need to write them down so I have directions to refer to for the future. . . I know it will involve owls, and moths and hawks and largeness and frames.

I think today I’ll post these photos of a commission I had done for a friend, because they finally have them now, and to remind me that this was part of the work I did the past few months when I look at the walls of my art show and wonder why it seems there should be more to show for my hours of sketching and glazing. I was so happy to see them in the home they belonged to, for the wall that was ready for them and the lovely people they would live with.

Tonight is the opening of my show. I have a large roll of the best butter from Happy Cow creamery and some jars of jam from NC that really is the same price as you could get in a store. I hope I have enough bread! I am a very social person, but I do get nervous at shows, art is so personal and its hanging there for everyone to see.

Today Annalisa and I made this lovely bread for our show opening tomorrow. It is a Swiss New Year’s bread that my mother and grandmother (and so on back down the line) always make around Christmas and sometimes Easter. It was quite time consuming but well worth the effort. It tastes divine and the act of weaving four strands of dough is actually very satisfying. Come tomorrow if you are in town, the bread will be there too, along with butter and jam. . .

Oh yes, I must mention that I decided not to attempt complete hand kneading the 14 cup-of-flour-dough and did it in three shifts in my kitchen aide. Needless to say, it was still a bit much. While I had my back turned the mixer had worked its way to the edge and proceeded to dive off the counter and inflict a large dent in the linoleum. Sure glad a certain toddler wasn’t wandering around the kitchen at the time! Sorry landlady dear, it was the mixer, really it was. . .

Tuesday, spent the day tying up lose ends for my show. . .

The snow fell all day long, but mysteriously did not accumulate hardly at all. The view from ancient wavy glass in our studio windows. Below, the view of my desk, a stack ready to be sprayed with fixative one last time.  I like how they look all together like that.

Those trees in the snow remind me of this dry point print that I posted about a while ago. . . guess what!? Lee actually sent me one and it is about to get framed for my wall as we speak! I can’t wait.

Here is another reason I haven’t been on the internet here on my blog home or anywhere else for that matter. . .I love how this one turned out! But, I discovered that in taking it home to work on the drawing step I skipped the part where I trace the window of the frame onto the panel so I know the margins. . . turns out the awesome ornate frame I painted powdery white to match the background actually hides half and inch all the way around the painting. That’s exactly what I would expect from my spastic brain.  . . but anyways that means I am going to do another large one  in the same sort of subject manner. Maybe two. Hopefully done by the White Whale  Spring show.

The Curiouser and Curiouser show opened at Gallery Nucleus over the weekend. I wish I could have been there. And oh my! I am in the same show as the likes of Sterling Hundley and Chris Appelhans!!!!! Crazy! The Gallery’s photo of my painting is much better. . . and also check out my friend Cory’s pieces in the show, the Cat , my favorite .

Took this photo in Annalisa’s kitchen, I like her kitchen. Its very cozy and there is always tea and now there are fabulous orange chairs around her table. She is my art show partner this weekend, her paintings of quite domestic animals and mine of wild ones. All of hers are square fit together in nice rows. The animals are thick oil paint on wood and then she burns in linear drawings of the animals surroundings around the painted part. I wish I had photos of the cows and the sheep to post, they are my favorites. Oh yes! I think these chickens are from the Carl Sandburg trip her and I took a few months back one rainy day. I promise I will get more photos of her fabulous work to post once they are all hanging together.

More images coming soon.  If you missed it, the cover art is here.

This is why I haven’t been around the internet very much.

Some of what you see are finished, others are nearly there, I’m not going to mention which ones are in progress just to keep you guessing. . .

The hawk, I love, he will be in a huge ornate frame, powdery white.

The curly tongue moths! I want to do more!

I know what colors I like now. . .

Can’t wait to see my show partner’s last few pieces. The show gets hung next week. Yay!

I won’t say too much about this for now, except:

I’ve listened to Scott Tuma’s music more than anything else in the past 5 years. Just ask Annie.

Creating the artwork for his upcoming release Dandelion is a total dream job.

The record will be released on 12″ vinyl on Digitalis.

A special limited art edition of 30 copies will include original artwork.

I can’t wait to show you the rest. I’ll keep you all posted!

Sunny today, my son manages to start playing in the sludgy green pond of the sand box. Regrets for both parties involved.

Amazing bistro chinese for lunch leftover from a nice date last night. A date where we acquired a set of moleskines to hopefully create serious sketchbooks as creative as these. . .

Got a sneak peak of this folk art inspired show at Art & Light (with artworks from the likes of Chris Jones and Kent Ambler), if you are in the area go this weekend and get your socks knocked off.

And since there is a large rock in this photo, check out The Vamoose’s post of geological wonders. Recalls the Christmas present I got when I was maybe ten? a lump of plaster with strange minerals to hack out and identify. Also recalls the only gen. science lab me and my partner finished first instead of last and got an awesome grade. When I have a big house and a big garden, I am totally going to have big rocks and big minerals, everywhere.

Frida Kahlo image from new favorite blog, Feasting on Art! About the painting, its bursting with life, I feel as though the squash is about to explode and plaster the moth with seeds. In a good way. And about the blog, haven’t made any of the food, but I must. The blueberry lemon curd pavlova insists I make it and the art is in such good taste. Dude, and I didn’t even intend that pun.

This grass is dead and pretty. So are these paintings by Jolie Holland on But Does It Float. The bone ones mostly, I can almost hear them clattering against the cardboard sides of the box. You’ll only know what I mean if you look at them.

A cake for a dear friend, she and I are having that show together, the one that all those works in progress are aiming for. I like how pretty she is blowing out those candles, at the time I thought I missed the shot, but here it be. I like also the hovering green flame reflections. . . appropriate that they are hearts considering today. . . side note, the elephant photo is an explanation of the other little faces you see helping her blow out those candles. They’ve been hanging around all day with a certain someone, insisting on cameo appearances.

Some valentine notes of course, we will celebrate next week I think. Today is for Chris to battle an old cold and me to ward off the beginnings of one. That is a symbol enough of the love day I suppose, despite the fact he works so much we are close enough to share each others’ germs. I look forward to when we can share more time and not just ailments. . . soon. For now, this is a good post to revisit for a heart shape, and also this lovely blog has the best hearts I have seen yet.

Sitting in bed after pizza, waiting for the winter olympics ceremony to begin. I love knowing the grass outside is covered with new snow (it doesn’t happen very often here). Spent the first part of the day at the studio. . . snatched a few photos of Christopher’s experimenting in charcoal. The Great Horned is glazed in shades of gray, waiting for opaqueness around it. Its little Saw-whet brother is almost ready too, you’ll see them soon, I’m sure.

Whimsy spotted on my favorite Fine Little Day, Nina Lindgren.

The brilliant naturalist and artist, Maria Sibylla Merian did them first. Not used to drawing from old botanical figures, so dependent on photos for those shadow subtleties I love. . . the creatures that are coming out are a little bit more whimsical. . . perhaps a bit Baskinish. . . which I don’t mind. . . now if only I can attack the color in a good way.