oh february

you know it's february when the ornamental plums bloom. so delicate and barely fragrant  - small pink petals under foot - diaphanous snow. the only kind of snow we get around these parts.

if you have been wondering where i've been, i've been wrapped up in a sick fog. and then a fog of catching up after being sick.

so let's chat about books again for a second shall we? this is my latest stack. everything sings - with an intro by my radio crush ira glass [host of this american life]. another book on mapping. i really like this. it's local mapping in essence. who calls the cops in a neighborhood and who doesn't and how would you depict that visually?? this is wood's depiction of HIS hood - boylan heights, raleigh, north carolina.

then eva zeisel's book on design  - master of the modernist [with feminine sensibilities] utilitarian ceramic [i'm lucky enough to have some of her crate and barrel dinnerware] - this is her tell-all of process book. what she thinks about and is concerned with when making. her logic applies to much more than just vase/bowl/plate making.

and finally extra/ordinary [must love titles that are visual puns]. since my work is often considered part of the "contemporary craft" movement i am continually interested in what other artists are viewed via that filter. this is an EXCELLENT collection of them - with some really strong thoughts on what it means to be using crafty/feminine materials in a contemporary art context. plus

any book that has a pink tank on it is fine by me.

the other day i logged onto etsy and for some reason clicked on activity in your circle [i rarely do this]. heather smith jones had favorited this amazing typeography/letter bracelet.  i couldn't resist. so i bought it [sorry heather if you were seriously eying it...] but as a bracelet it got caught on everything... so i turned it into a necklace.

this is one of those things that you want to wear all the time. i would wear it everyday but then i know i'll tire of it. so... i'm not. but it's hard to resist - esp when the little likes it too. mama it's the alphabet ! let's sing the alphabet song. there's a C for cookie ! a Z for zucchini !

i had the pleasure of visiting kathryn clark's studio the other day.  i thought i'd share it on poppytalk - so instead of a make believe collection post i did an in the studio post... kathryn has a great blog too.  if you are a bay area artist i'm considering doing more studio posts - if you want me to visit - or know someone who has a great studio, let me know !

next post i promise some studio updates. i'm going to have to start framing soon. mark your calendars. my solo show opens in Los Angeles at Walter Maciel Gallery April 14th. i'll be there [all square].