hmmm...i just said about four words in front of the biddeford city council. that's all i managed before i blanked out. i'm not built for public speaking. didn't say half the things i meant to...gil wanted to go but he's teaching tonight. alas. oh well. down with merc.

lovinganvil.etsy.com -- check out the greetings from biddeford cards.....

wow. it's chilly this morning. or at least that's what the thermometer says...i actually did pretty well getting out of bed this morning. i mean, it didn't feel particularly cold. all the insulating gil has done to this 1880 home is making a difference. altho, he says he's always impressed by how well it's built and that it has a lot of insulation, already. so cool. or warm. whatever.

but REALLY what i sat down to write is gil sold a painting at milling around again! we've very happy. it's a beautiful painting. i'll post a photo later. he's starting to work on a series about el paso, tx. i love it already.

so it was a good weekend and feels like it's going to be a good day, knock on wood. i couldn't sleep much last night...just lots of ideas whirling around...so i am a little extra sleepy...but good.
oxo

soooooooo....really. what do you make of this. i heated up a tortilla on the stove...and can you not see the skull image burned in? i mean, it's not la virgen de guadalupe...but still! ok. so we coated it in a glossy fixative and will preserve it for pilgrimages...or at minimum, later artistic use.

today, i taught a class at the portland studio. kind of INTENSE. teaching is hard. all the information in your head you have to get organized enough to impart it to other people. i don't know how i feel about the whole thing. right now, gil's teaching his biddeford art class. it would be cool to get the barn ready and just bring our teaching gig in house. weird how administrative it can quickly get going thru an institution. once again, probably old hat to everyone but us.

we have two art openings this saturday, which is very cool...they are related. both biddeford mill scenes. a couple pieces at the union house show and then a two day show with a slew of artists at the northdam mill. very cool. gil will have a solo show at union house in november and i'll have a solo show in february..around valentines day. i'm not going to jewelry for the union house, tho. which feels liberating...as much as i love jewelry. it's hard to remember that my first experience in art interest was drawing and painting. seems like another life ago.

also, we're set to be in brooklyn at the bust magazine craftacular this december. the 7th or 9th. i'm a bit confused right now. but i'll figure it out and i'm sure write lots about the prep in the time to come.
oxo

oh good lord. check out www.themusehotel.com and click on reservations and then on specials and packages. i was checking the site, planning a trip for us to go up for the bust sale at the start of december. imagine my surprise. all we can think of is the stock photo shoot we participated in a BUNCH of years ago in pdx. or maybe staying at a kimpton hotel in the past. but WOWIE ZOWIE, that was a weird shock.

two years ago today, abraham peck killed my sweet mom. so if you find yourself sitting in one of his lectures, maybe you should ask him about it.

holy moly, i've got to say my 36th year is starting remarkably well. had an AMAZING day, got lots of sincere bday wishes from people that are very important to me...including some folks i didn't expect to hear from...kristen and jeff, who bought our home in pdx remembered. tammy and russell brought over a rockin chocolate cake. (and a bottle of good tequila). sweetness from jan, as always. my pa, my sister -- linda, camille, my motherinlaw. finally made contact with tsunami tattoo and i'm psyched about that.
we had an amazing dinner at the jewel of india. biddeford is really trippy...some incredible cuisine just tucked away here.

but mostly, what i sat down to say is that it's taken me 36 years...or 29 at least, to figure out how to make a slinky spring down a whole flight of stairs and TODAY I DID IT TWICE. this is totally an accomplishment for me. no snags, no double springs. but i figured it out. you have to kind of propel it down the first step and it carries the momentum. it totally rocked.

oxo

stripey did it!!! she's a butterfly!

we came downstairs yesterday morning and there she was, all black and golden and flexing her wings. amazing. with big ol antennae waving around.
so we took her outside to the garden and set her on a sunflower leaf and watched her for a while.










gil checked on her a few times during the day and finally reported that she had flown the coop. we are all SO proud. and amazed. what a cool experience. holy moly.