what goes around

a mobile of course!

hello. we made it through last week. one long day and night at the hospital [hours felt like days] but overall we were none worse for the wear. thanks for all the emails/notes of concern and well wishes. they really meant a lot!

i've been meaning to show the mobile i made for CC. she's definitely seeing in 3D and color - so i wanted to hang something above her crib. i thought origami would be fun. i've made cranes since i was a little girl, but the wreath pattern came from a bloesem post here . in that post there's a link to many more origami sites and one of them had the butterfly pattern i also used [sorry i didn't keep track of which one]. the paper was actually a gift from the curator of the museum where i had my show 2 years ago.

the mobile is a success - she coos at it - heh heh

so onto life... i'm kind of at a loss. i'm not sure if i'm coming or going and there's so much and so little going on simultaneously. i keep thinking it's a miracle if i get 3 things done in a day [one of which is usually dishes]. my studio is slowly coming together. just a few more boxes to unpack before it will be functional. not perfect and organized the way i want it to be, but functional [which will do for now]. while i feel like i have a lot to say and potentially show here, i don't have a lot of computer time to type - or a lot of mental capacity to organize my thoughts... so it goes.

i know i didn't want this blog to become all about me as a parent - but i have found a couple of websites that i want to share with the other parents out there [these might be old news to you, but they've been great resources for me].

ask moxie this is a woman in ny with two kids who is funny and smart and writes from a down in the trenches perspective. her commenters are also funny and smart and i have laughed and cried and felt better as a parent from reading multiple posts on this site

because i want to give bloesem all the props i can... she also has this great kids site . so much eye candy and good ideas there.

of course the baby center is just a good all around quick i need to look something up site

and then there's berkeley parents network .super duper helpful if you are in the bay area - but even if you aren't - there's so much advice, good stories, helpful suggestions etc. the site is a maze... so much.

there are more, but this is where i'll stop for now.

be back soon. i have more polaroids and a couple of domestic life sketchbook pages to share....

seeing pink elephants

i think i actually might be seeing them. spin around my head with stars like in the cartoons.... hmmm....

we spent a big chunk of yesterday at doctor's appointments. my little has to have a minor surgical procedure done on monday. i say minor because it's nothing life threatening - but it's VERY serious to me and her dad. she has to be under general anesthesia and spend the night at the hospital [i get to stay with her of course]. i'm trying not to fret and keep calm as that will only help her. but man.... i think the worse part is that i have to stop feeding her 4 hours before we show up to the hospital. ugh. that is not a pretty thought.

anyway.... i may be MIA around here/blogland for a little bit. my folks are coming up to help and for that i am so grateful.



i did make a pink elephant, for reals though. for the little girl of the woman who runs this press . their studio is in the building at the end of my street and her little girl comes on tuesdays with her grandpa to feed my cats. it's so cute i can't stand it....

see you soon

polaroid week 2009 - fri [but maybe not the end]

i think this is my all time fav polaroid from my trip. it might be my all time fav polaroid i've taken in quite some time. we were on a walk and this was a liquor store. the boys ran in to get something to drink [maybe it was pocari sweat?] and some cigarettes and i just looked up and got excited. and then the picture came OUT. ah.

of course you don't really know it's japan - but who cares.



the runner up fav polaroid is this one. more fake flowers. there were fake flowers hanging everywhere it seemed!



this is where you "purify" yourself before entering the meiji temple/shrine. i want those long handled wooden "spoons"...



a vintage bench.

and just because i happen to think my 2 fav polaroids go together....


i actually still have more japan polaroids - so maybe i'll have a post roid week fest next week since i scanned them all :D.

posting everyday is hard. not really my speed these days. have a good friday !!
the last of the polaroids this week here . bye polaroid week... i'll miss you.

polaroid week 2009 - thurs

so... the other thing i really like is finding beauty in mundane and "normal" objects. things that you might just overlook - or things that seem utilitarian. sometimes it's in piles of papers, or stacks of jars that i see a moment of real "everyday" beauty. [this of course relates to the enmasse thing]



wooden buckets. the bird motif in the crest is so cool. simple, but pretty. these were in asakusa...



we walked through a more working class neighborhood with our friends who lived on the outskirts of tokyo. there was a machine shop/repair place with these tins. each one brimming with nails or scraps or some other thing. stacked and stacked and stacked.



there really are a lot of coi fish in japan. :O sometimes i get a bit freaked out when they all converge on some food. too many wiggly things mouths agape... but they also are really pretty. i liked hunting for the rare white one ....

happy thurs. long live the polaroid. more here

polaroid week 2009 - wed

so if you don't know this about me by now: i like things in a row. or en masse. i like how a collective grouping of something is different than a single item. there is power in singularity and in a collection. something meaningless like a single drinking straw becomes a whole other when massed together [i can not say enough how much of an art crush i have on tara donovan]



around the corner from hotel in japan was a housewares store. aren't the brooms cute?



crates of kirin waiting to be emptied and filled outside of a restaurant.



there's a mall by the water in tokyo that has a "vintage" floor. it's like 1950's-70's japan in there. there's one area that has old video games, etc. that's where these shots came from.

more polas this week here

polaroid week 2009 - tues

today it's all about the diptych. still in japan...



there were cherry blossoms in every park we visited. it was pretty amazing. lovely to see something so delicate interacting with the landscape.



this time we stayed in a "japanese" style room - so we couldn't wear shoes in the room and we had a traditional bath. every night a woman came in and set up our futon beds for the night.... and there were traditional paper/wood room dividers.



on the left is the bowling alley in asakusa. on the right are streamers of paper cranes.... i just like how the colors match.

have a good tuesday! remember - more polaroids here

polaroid week 2009

it's polaroid week folks. and i'm participating. yay.







these were taken in asakusa last spring. one of my greatest pleasures while traveling is to take polaroids. they are instantly nostalgic. the colors - the framing. it's really like capturing a little moment in time that then lives on in a little square. of course they feel very different than digital shots but it think they vary even from regular film. there is just nothing like watching an image emerge before your eyes...

asakusa has a big old temple that many people go to visit - and the surrounding area has a ton of tourist stalls and shops that sell "traditional" wares. the first shot is of a stall yet to open. the second is of the fake cherry blossoms that were hanging on almost every lampost [it was cherry blossom season]. there was also a festival at the temple when we visited. the 3 shot is of a "taco" stand. in this case taco is octopus. i'm not a huge fan, but my husband ate them. 3 little baby octopi on a stick. our companion was grossed out by it. heh heh.

you can see more polaroids by clicking here