here comes the sun

a few days ago we put garbo to sleep. cancer had invaded her insides - and garbo being garbo she didn't really show it. until the very end she was the most loving, giving and fantastically loyal dog i've ever known. she kissed my tears as i was hugging her and thanking her and wishing her onto a better place.

this. this is the hardest part about owning pets. knowing that their time with you is limited. and really our time with garbo was actually longer than with almost any other pet we had [almost]. we had what 16 years together? i was looking back and found this post about how she came into our lives.

garbo - my baby. while other pets had pieces of my heart, she really belonged to me. and i to her. i can't even count how many days she spent with me in the studio. how many times she wiggled her whole body in glee when she saw me. how many times she squeezed herself into funny positions to sleep next to me in bed or on the couch. [and how lucky to have her put her head in my lap the other night. as if she knew. she hadn't done that in so so long].

and while she mellowed [considerably] as she aged, she was still such a lover. i think she was our official greeter [although lately she sometimes slept through someone's arrival]. she was also completely and totally trusting of us - and so utterly adaptable as long as we were there. she sat calmly once while my husband stapled her toe together [with a medical stapler - he knows what he's doing] - no anesthesia - no whimpering. she adjusted with each new animal that arrived and left. she lost an eye to a painful and awful disease and didn't once seem even slightly bothered by that. every cat we've ever owned has ended up loving her. rubbing into her and snuggling with her.

and when we brought the little home it was if she knew. she knew she had to be second fiddle to this little human and that was OK with her. she didn't resent it. she didn't act out. she simply loved and trusted the little as much as us. the photos i have of the little leaning up against her and hugging her are something i will always treasure.

and the simple yet incredibly poignant way the little is dealing with this makes me both deeply sad and deeply grateful. mama - where is garbo? [she's gone] she died? [yes she did] her body stopped working? [yes it did] where did she go? [i don't know where people and animals go when they die, but i really hope it's a good place] is she playing with other doggies? [i really really hope so] we miss her. [yes. yes. we do]

oh yes. oh yes. we do.

if you own velvet underground's loaded record, play who loves the sun . we always always said that was her song. and right now the lyrics feel particularly right.

goodbye my sweet. i know we'll get another dog. but there will NEVER ever be another you.

chase the tear

note on the give-a-way: suzy won the rainbow necklace and louise secured the doily sticker. thanks again to everyone who so kindly left comments and words that warmed my heart.



my super smart and talented artist friend timothy buckwalter has curated a show that opens on saturday at NIAD [aside: i once taught a workshop at NIAD's sister location creative growth which was really an amazing experience]

the show opens on saturday from 2-5pm
551 23rd Street in Richmond
i'll be there from about 3:30 on.

a new configuration of doily trees are in the show. 3 shelves. i don't even know how they put them together. it will be a surprise for me too !

if you are local and want to see a really cool smattering of art then come by. and say hello.

more stuff to look at:
video promo


from the press release:
Shattering the conventions that have until now segregated artists with disabilities from their mainstream contemporaries, Chase The Tear blends more than 50 works culled from artists and galleries across the country with those from the National Institute of Art and Disabilities studio program. Organized by artist Timothy Buckwalter, Chase The Tear is on view June 20 through August 19, 2011 at NIAD’s gallery, 551 23rd Street in Richmond. Opening reception is Saturday, June 25 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. For more information please telephone (510) 620-0326 or visit www.niadart.org.

Chase The Tear is the final installment in a three-part exhibition series, Life of The World To Come, that presents a preview of a future where work from disabled artists is viewed in the same light as pieces and projects from artists who may not have a diagnosis extreme enough to qualify them as “other.” In reality, however, the show is not breaking new ground so much as making visible what is already underway. Artists with disabilities – from Willem De Kooning to Chuck Close – are already a part of the contemporary art world. But Close and De Kooning were already established before becoming disabled. The next logical step in the opening up of the contemporary art world would be the inclusion of artists with disabilities based on the quality of their work, but without the requirement of a prior pedigree.

Composed of paintings, sculptures and works on paper, Chase The Tear is a reflection on Beth Gibbons' alluring croon and fractured lyrical impressionism heard in Portishead’s song of the same name. The exhibition features work from Val Britton, Cederick Brooks, Jeremy Burleson, Kristi Dean, Luis Estrada, Sam Gant, Brent Hallard, James Ham, Heather Hamann, Willie Harris, Shana Harper, Scott Hewicker, Chris Johanson, Jeffrey Cortland Jones, Michael Macfeat, Ann Meade, Philip King, Rosita Pardo, Tony Pedemonte, Dean Smith, Rochelle Peterson, Wendell Singleton, Lisa Solomon, Micke Tong, Rebecca Whipple and Douglas Witmer.

procrastinatory

Of or pertaining to procrastination; dilatory.

the other day i just wasn't feeling it in the studio. staring at two 46"x46" pieces of duralar on my wall. one blank. one started. no idea what to do next.

so i shot polaroids. a whole pack. because sometimes when i'm feeling stuck - or blue - or confused if i try and do something creative, but more fun and spontaneous i can crack that secret code. or sometimes not. but polaroids always make me feel better.





for some reason lately i've been turning the camera on myself a lot. i've been trying to figure out what that is since i tend to DETEST photos of myself. here's what i've come up with::

1. i'm getting older and want to document what i look like before i don't look like "myself"
2. once you have a child you realize that you sort of become - well - irrelevant. and i don't mean this in a negative way - just in that i no longer see myself as myself first. it's almost like i become this reflection - or a reflector.
3. when i'm knee deep in mental "stuff" the documentor in me thinks it's good to record this. or maybe it's the fact that if i take pictures of me -or try to honestly record something i'll be able to remove myself from the situation a bit. perhaps this is in the hopes of thinking more clearly - or maybe i'm hoping i'll see something in the photo in me that i need to recognize and amplify. [is this getting too philosophical?]



can i just say that you guys who have commented on my 7 year blog-aversary post are the nicest people ever. i want to send everyone something. THANK YOU for taking a moment to tell me why you come here. i'm all farklempt .

there's still time to enter the GiVeAwAy. i'll choose a winner monday night....

not too shabby [7 years and a give-a-way]

so i got shabby apple's da vinci dress the other day and i could see it becoming a go to dress. it's super soft and i love the pocket front and the cutie pie sleeves. i think i've decided that gray is my replacement for black. i can't wear black since it shows every single pet hair [and tonka's drool - oh and yogurt. sticky little yogurt hands show up really well on black]. plus i love how almost every color goes with gray - and it looks more contemporary to me than colors + black. [watch 5 years from now i'll be singing black's praises, but until then i'm all about gray]. my slippers, by the way, came from seamingly possible

shabby apple in general has some really cute dresses. i especially like their vintage inspired ones... i'm kind of in love with this navy anchor's away dress - but it's totally impractical for me. also adorable is madison ave - but again - the mom in me just knows i'd never wear this now - maybe that's not the point, but.... i wish i had known about their site when i was pregnant because the mama apple stuff is pretty nice [and it would have been fun to wear a cute maternity dress!]. oh well. they have a facebook page where they announce sales/deals, etc. i was really happy, too, to know that they have a program where they share profits with Unitus - to help women worldwide. i like companies that are socially responsible [in any way that they can be]. if you are going to spend some money, why not also support good causes, right?

 

so yeah. i'm officially obsessed. shrinky dinks have stolen my  heart. the little looks at my necklaces and says "mama - you made that? little paintings?". [of course my heart melts as she touches them and says that]. i made a bunch of necklaces that are on their way to various people. i feel like i can justify this new addiction if i'm making gifts at least.

««««««««««««««««

do you know what i realized? i've been blogging for SEVEN YEARS. isn't that crazy? i mean that is a serious chunk of my life, no? i could get all teary eyed and talk about how and what has changed and and and and and....

but i won't. instead let's just say YAY. and say here's to the next 7 [if i can keep it up. if you've been with me since the beginning you know that i don't post like i used to]. and on that note let's give a couple of things away.

ONE



a rainbow pendant for you. because really how many do i need? i'm kind of thinking i need several more, but this one is for you [or you or you].

TWO



a doily decal. sorry - not the whole tree ring pictured above, but a decal. i probably even have a couple of them that you could choose from - different colors, different doilies...

leave a comment. tell me which one you want. if you've never commented before point me to your blog. if you are an old time pal - HELLO. if you only comment now and again - HELLO! tell me a joke. tell me why you come here. ask me a question you want me to answer.... just leave a comment.

i hope these are even things you might want. i want to give them away as a small token of thanks. thanks for being here. thanks for being part of my online community and life. thank you. i have this blog to thank for many of the good things that are in my life. and many many many good friends.

i'll pick winners [randomly of course] next monday the 20th.

would it be wrong

if i said that all i want to do right now is make necklaces??



i'm half joking. but mostly serious. i've been playing around with making them [using shrinky dinks]. the peace sign one was for a friend's birthday. she's a former new yorker fashionista living in marin county who doesn't NEED anything. and she's very busy working with organizations working towards peace. so she got a peace one.



and then i made myself some rainbow ones out of scraps.

if there was a way for me to make a living doing this i might seriously contemplate dropping everything else. [or if i could land that job naming colors - or color trendcasting].

do you remember shinky dinks? i forgot how absolutely fun they were. i'm using them for a project [this is a top secret project that i'll reveal probably latter this summer?], and am having the best time. it's like a little bit of magic goodness. draw, punch hole, put in oven, ooh and ahh as they shrink. [although you do have to keep an eye on them while they shrink and curl up so the ends don't end up stuck together].



maybe i'm trying to surround myself with rainbow goodness [above my daiso haul]. it feels like there is a funk front that just won't clear offshore. i just can't seem to shake it. maybe it's the endless wintery rainstorms we keep having [you would not think it's JUNE round these parts]. maybe it's the fact the little has reverted to earlier wake ups this last week and a half. i'm hoping it's a phase and she goes back to her former ways. [i'm seriously NO GOOD at 6am. and 5:30. G R O A N].



in sort of amazing press news... i'm in the italian flash art magazine. i can't believe that show will come down in 6 days.

oh ! if you are local i'm teaching a printmaking with out a press class at San Franciso City College Continuing Education... out at Fort Mason - it will start June 11th - 5 weeks.... more info here .

bye. i'm going to go dream about my shrinky dink necklace empire !