a new print and a note before going away

Okay, after spending a really long time searching and hoping for the return of my camera charger, I bought a new one. Perhaps, it was so happy in Hawaii that it stayed there, hidden away and enjoying a life of warmth closer to the ocean. I can now share with you, dear reader, a photograph of my latest print.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for 10 days. I'm going to have to be quiet for almost the whole time. It will be difficult. I won't even have a telephone nor the solace of writing my thoughts on a piece of paper. It will be strange and I will miss you. When I get back, I'll share the interview with Erin Debenport and you will too be amazed at her rare genius and charm. I can't wait...

The promise of an interview

Hello again,

Today, I am still under the spell of a long dormant friend crush. Dear reader, haven't you ever met someone, liked them instantly, felt amazed, comfortable and super curious to know more? I hope the answer is yes. It is an intoxicating sensation. It could even lead to a lifelong friendship.

You may wonder to whom I am referring. Or if, in this world that feels alternately tiny and overwhelming, you have crossed paths with this person. It is possible that you have. Maybe she taught you a class on linguistics in Chicago or maybe you are interested in the fading, native languages of this continent and you read an article about her work? Maybe you met her at a smarty-pants conference, a show or a rock star wedding? I really can't answer for you, but I am pondering which questions I should ask in an interview with the remarkable, (Dr.) Erin Debenport. I know, she may not be an international celebrity yet but she is sharp, funny and an excellent story teller. Erin's done a great deal of work with languages that would otherwise fall silent, lost to us forever. Plus, she has friends everywhere. I had not seen her for over a year and then this week I had the good luck of spending time with her two days in a row.

What questions would you ask such a wise and well rounded person? I am working on this...

yes to springtime + mysteries

Hello sun,

I have so much affection for the light and then it evades me. I struggle with what I can only accept. Nonetheless, today there is a softness to the air. The bright pink cherry blossoms on Commercial street are somehow still with us after what seems like weeks of foul weather.

I was searching for something in the basement the other day and I found this funny piece of paper. I received it in the mail over one year ago in a very strange package. It is still a mystery. The blacked out letters are very intriguing. I can't quite surmise who wrote it but it pops up from time to time. About an hour ago I was leafing through Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman and I remembered that this very piece of paper was residing in my pocket. It felt fitting and who knows, perhaps a mystery reader will have some insight that I lack. One can almost see some wording regarding an embarrassment of sorts in the blacked out region. Owing to those curious crossed out parts, I have perhaps now spent more time studying this fragment of paper than most serious works in museums.

Mostly I have been trying to focus on getting work done lately. I have been wrestling with sloths and their characteristics and then of course, pens and pencils. On the back of the focus sheet pictured above were pleas for help in a fit of distraction. Tomorrow I'll be printing and by Thursday I hope to have completed a leica print.

dear springtime and last week's obsessions

Hello again,

I didn't post anything for a month because I bought a plane ticket to visit a friend and became so excited for warmth, sunlight and salt water that I was dull.

Here are some sketchbook drawings from my holiday which is sadly now over.

how to get started...

hello again,

I took some pictures of the sky for you as we had an unobstructed visit from the sun today. I rode around on my bicycle, running errands and eating. When I stopped somewhere for lunch or for coffee, I ran into friends and we talked about the light. It opens you up, said one friend, it makes everything easier.

Then the sun set and I fell asleep. Now I can't seem to get started on anything. I'm sitting at the dining room table of my home for three weeks, listening to the hum of the refridgerator and wishing I felt like drawing sloths for a sloth belt on a map of the americas. It's so hard to get started and so slow going.

Today may be the first day of the false spring. This is my title for a span of days in February when the sky opens up and everything radiates in the light. Everything is easier. We forget to bring our raincoats. We smile at each other on the street and walk further to bask in the light.

another valentine

Seeing as I have had several days to slowly make something, I ended up making another better valentine for the invitational. This is all so silly, I have so many projects I need to work on and I have practically devoted two days to making a valentine for someone to buy at a charity auction.

Speaking of love, I did pick up Belle Hook's book All About Love, last night at Powells as well as Jane Jacob's; The Life and Death of Great American Cities. I am pretty sure I love both books already having read parts of library copies. I went to Powell's with my dear friend, Rashel Peddersen, to a reading by Nick Flynn. As I am not familiar with his work, it initially seemed like he would read two pages of a story, get us hooked and then nervously and abruptly stop and start another from a different section of the book. Actually, his chapters are really short and they just end and another begins. Oh... you might be wondering-what book? The book is called The Ticking is the Bomb, I eventually want to read all of it, his words were breaking my heart, the subject matter is not light but eventually I'll get my hands on a copy. If last night had not been his last reading of a three-week book tour, I would encourage you to go. It was a really good one.

watercolor noodling + the valentines invitational

Okay, not the best pictures, but pictures nonetheless.

It appears my valentine for the Reading Frenzy Valentines Invitational would encourage breaking this tenuous bond so apt to erupt in flames. Hmmm...