Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., Sewing | Tags: cards, fabric, parenting, play dates, scraps, snow, winter
I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to maintain sanity during this absurd winter.
That’s our walk to school. This image was taken several weeks ago. It’s worse now, but I have given up taking pictures. I need my arms now to keep balance when traversing the treacherous wasteland, formerly known as “the sidewalk.” What’s even more ridiculous, is that Boston hasn’t broken the record yet for snowfall. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? I don’t remember signing on for the Antarctic here…or was that in the fine print somewhere? Where’s my lawyer? Am I not entitled to a team of sled dogs by now?
This is a snow pile near our house. The town has started dumping snow in this lot at the nearby reservoir. Notice the house that is barely visible in the background. Yes, that mound of snow is probably 25′ tall. And yes, I am letting my child climb on it as I repeatedly yell, “BE CAREFUL!!!“. This is my way of trying to avoid being both a helicopter parent and a negligent moron. It turns out that I am both.
My son recently had a play date that, in typical fashion, spiraled into mayhem. The mayhem is my fault, which is also typical. Instead of refusing to allow my child and his friend to play with his chemistry set, I actually said “okay.” I tried, in vain, to contain the insanity:
This is my son and I admiring his handiwork. I managed to have the wherewithal to deny them more food coloring. Next time, I’m just going to let them watch TV.
I realize that I made a similar error in judgment a few weeks ago when I agreed to buy my son a “fossil excavation” kit. You may recall (if you have no life and have read this blog for way too long…) that in an earlier post I vowed NEVER to purchase one of these kits again. And yet, I somehow thought that this time it would be okay/less messy/better. Well…surprise! I was wrong…yet again:
Yes…this is our dining room table. Yes…there are chunks of rocky plaster being smashed on the table by my son with his hammer and chisel. Yet again, I vow NEVER to buy one of these things EVER EVER EVER AGAIN. I think that when my son develops severe asthma as a result of this “educational toy”, I am to blame. TV is starting to sound like a “no brainer” to me, both literally and figuratively.
So, I haven’t seen any art lately, as I would imagine that most museums and galleries have given up due to this ridiculous winter. I know that’s not true, but I also know that I do not have an AWD car, so I am not attempting to haul myself anywhere. In spite of my general malaise and apathy, I made some cards that I listed on Etsy:
They’re cute, right? I’ve sewn tiny scraps of fabric onto them. This is about all that I have the energy to do at the moment. When the snow melts, sometime in June, I may venture further afield and bring you back images of real art to look at. Until then, I’m just sewing tiny scraps of fabric onto cardboard. (small hands)
It’s kind of hard for me to discuss anything other than the snow. We have ridiculous gobs of snow.
That’s our deck furniture.
This is part of my son’s school playground.
See that narrow path? These pretty much everywhere. People are scurrying around in these gullies like mice in a lab maze. VERY CLAUSTROPHOBIC.
It’s starting to feel like this:
At least the snow isn’t sticky…and green. Did I mention that it is around 0 degrees right now too? I think that it’s only fair that we either suffer with snow, or suffer with cold…not both. I shake my fist in irrational outrage!
(…from inside the house, of course…)I know. Those of you that live where the weather is reasonable are scratching your heads about why we put up with it. Why do we? 10 reasons why we persist in living in Massachusetts:
10. The funny accent
9. Fall leaves
8. The Patriots (this year, at least…)
7. The extreme sport of driving…anywhere…
6. We like to be surrounded by smaht MIT and Harvard people
5. Our wardrobes consist of chunky wool sweaters AND flip flops (not typically worn at the same time, mind you…)
4. The sarcasm
3. The Berkshires
2. The Cape
And lastly…
1. Bitching and moaning about the weather
Yes, we’re a surly lot here in New England. Don’t bother visiting until…July? October? Just don’t come now. Only insane people visit from January – March. The padded wagon should just pick them up directly at the airport.
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., textile forms | Tags: art, artist, groundhog, quilt, seasonal affected disorder, snow, winter
If this post seems grumpy, it’s just S.A.D. Those of us in the Northeast embrace this seasonal grumpiness by complaining about the temperature, the snow, the temperature of the snow, shoveling, lack of parking, lack of daylight, lack of warmth, and the general fatigue and malaise induced by constantly having to spend half an hour putting on layers of clothes to go outside, and another half an hour taking them off when we come inside. There’s also hat head and/or static electricity.
Can we ship some of our snow to drought-ridden California? I’d be more than happy to stuff some into a Tyvek envelope and send it over.
This is what our deck furniture looked like during the blizzard on Wednesday. Hmm. I guess the cursed groundhog saw his shadow the day before. Evil creature! Vile vermin! (Maybe a groundhog can’t be vermin? Too big???) Speaking of groundhogs…LOOK WHAT MY SON MADE THIS WEEK AT SCHOOL:
I might have to keep this FOREVER. I assumed that this was a popsicle. I was told that this was not the case, and that this is obviously a groundhog.
Oh. That clears everything up. I think that the background paper should have been white, not green, just for the sake of accuracy. (Actually, I should think that at the current temperature outside, all groundhogs are kind of like popsicles, right?) Please excuse my blurry image, but THERE ISN’T ENOUGH LIGHT in the dead of winter to take an indoor photo.
Tonight, I am going to the opening reception of a group show that I’m in. It’s being held at the Motherbrook Arts Center in Dedham. I’m looking forward to seeing the work of the other artists!
I may have to gear up my team of sled dogs to get over there. I wonder if I can go through EZ Pass lane on the Mass Pike with sled dogs? Stopping to pick up a ticket will really slow me down.
Can I at least go in the carpool lane? No?
Besides complaining about the snow and doing rainbow loom nonsense with my son, ad infinitum…I also finished up that little quilt that I was working on:
Kind of cute, right? The back:
Now that I look at it again…those scallop shapes are starting to look like groundhogs to me.
Hmm. Maybe I need some fresh air? I may have to put myself in a Tyvek envelope to be mailed to California…it’s warm there, right? I’ll say “hi” to the California raisins for you…
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, drawing, winter
So, I feel that the pace at which I complete drawings has slowed down considerably. Why is that? Winter lethargy? Domestic distractions? Raiding the refrigerator like a racoon every thirty minutes? What???
I think that I’m actually starting to notice the neglected house…the stacks of papers…the projects “in process”…and the general clutter. I would love to wake up tomorrow morning as a neat person, but it’s not likely to happen. Neatness takes time. I prefer to spend my time making a mess, rather than cleaning it up. I’m clearly setting an awful example for my son. When he was little, he considered it entertaining to dump out the contents of his toy bins onto the floor. That was not a good omen for future neatness.
He built this little house the other day. I’m actually more concerned about his interest in construction/building, than his messy habits. What if he wants to become an architect???? I have to shield him from such reckless thoughts…which I must insist upon, as a recovering architect myself.
I got the photographs of my drawings back. They look good! Here, see if you can guess which was the professional photograph:
Is it this one?
or, is it this un-photoshop-ed one?
It is for this same reason that I now take my son to get his hair cut by a professional. I know. It isn’t really a fair comparison, as I did nothing to help my shoddy photo. Still…no amount of product could fix my remedial haircutting…so, I still say that it’s worth it to go to an expert.
In a similar vein to last week, I am highlighting an artist whose work I love. Her name is Kate Petley. Please check out her website. I LOOOOOVE her colors and swooping marks. Her is one of her paintings:
I mean, really….isn’t it GORGEOUS???? (I always worry that the artist will be upset that I have her work on my blog. But, as I credit her for the work, and provide a link to her website…I hope that this is good blog etiquette…) Look at those colors! Look at that composition! Look at how that green paint bleeds up into the white area! Look at that little gray square in the lower left! Sigh. Such brilliance. Maybe I can afford a mug with that on it?
Besides finally completing a drawing this week, I also updated my website! Check it out here, please! See? Big changes, if you were familiar with how it was before. Yes, after looking at my website, you may want to suggest that I look into Zoloft. Really, I’m fine.
So, here is my latest drawing:
See? I’m fiiiiine. Perhaps I have S.A.D.? Look at that dim light! It is finally winter around here:
Perhaps my son has S.A.D. too???
Should I be concerned? Where are the rainbows and flying horses??? Where are the puppies and smiley faces?????? What’s up with that CAGE???????
Maybe we need to get the “family-size” zoloft? Really, it isn’t “The Shining” over here. I’m thrilled that it’s snowing.
(and snowing…and snowing…and snowing…)
Heeeere’s MOMMY!!!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., painting, printmaking | Tags: art, india ink, Ink, lithography, painting, pinecone, printmaking, pronto plate, Visual Arts, winter
Today, an odd thing occurred…I was driving along the highway, and, for a brief minute or two, there was sunshine. But this didn’t look like winter sunshine. It looked like spring/summer sunshine. I actually had a momentary feeling of it being summer. HOW BIZARRE. I’m sure that you know what I mean…there is just a feeling associated with each season. It was so strange to have that feeling of summer for a minute or two, in spite of the fact that it’s February and we’re up to our armpits in snow. It was like a deja vu: “Oh…this is so familiar, yet weird…” I know. Just keep my eyes on the road and pay attention! But still…it was SO nice! I wish that it didn’t disappear…
Well, I’m still experimenting. I’m starting to feel that I need to work on something “bigger”. Everything that I do has just been little sketches. Perhaps I need to try to tackle something…MORE. Who knows what that means. Can one get loopy from the smell of ink? gum arabic? banana bread? (I made some yesterday).
Here are some of my latest sketches. I’m trying to think of things to potentially make a solar plate from. The black and white ink sketches are some thoughts. The color image is my first pronto print at home! Yay! It sort of worked! It’s one of those procedures that is a bit temperamental. The first few prints went well…then for some reason, things started to not work well. The ink wouldn’t stick to the plate, so that later prints are more faint. Sigh. Well, not bad for my first at-home attempt.
Did anyone else see that sunshine today? It was hovering over route 95 in Waltham…
slightly wonky 
