Atlas Sits Down (on her sofa)

This week I feel like I'm living in my new home. After months of being Atlas carrying every little bit of my stuff on my back, I can say we have a functioning kitchen, a nice room to wake up in and I know where my shoes are. The move was monumental. Like having a baby or throwing a wedding. I can now make more art.
I'm so grateful I was able to take every object I own from it's place on a shelf, hold it, consider it's value and decide if it's a keeper or something I send back out into the universe. It was lonely but also celebratory. I had so many friends help with the process and remind me of my Alyn-ness. 
Because the unpacked boxes in the house (I can't yet think about the toolshed) are really countable on two hands, I hung out here with one year old Wallace yesterday. Introducing tiny ones to things that are bumpy or  fluffy or  smooth or  shiny or  smell good and watching the reaction has always been one of the joys in my life. I've been reminded what it is that I love about things, especially beautiful ones. Someone made them. They thought about a need and used their imagination to dream up and produce an object for me to fall in love with. 
Thank you makers of beautiful things. Pretty nice I don't have to own to love.

“I love
all things,
not because they are passionate or sweet-smelling
but because,
I don’t know,
because
this ocean is yours,
and mine:
these buttons
and wheels
and little
forgotten
treasures,
fans upon
whose feathers
love has scattered
its blossoms,
glasses, knives and
scissors –
all bear
the trace
of someone’s fingers
on their handle or surface,
the trace of a distant hand
lost
in the depths of forgetfulness.”

From Neruda's "Ode to Common Things"

My favorite tiny vase. 
Card from Chrissy seems to  be the colors 
I want around me right now.

Rough Linen bed set crumples beautifully.

Almost parted with the manicurist
vanity and chair. So happy I didn't.

Fresh paint from Sunday.
 Finally back to painting. 

Baby Water World Print Give Away and Sale

Beebee Eau Monde No.1

It seems like it's time for those little babies to start arriving. The daffodil buds are teasing us, the first little peepers are starting to peep in the ponds and friends are becoming mamas and papas. My friend Hannah just announced the arrival of her little Tristan Skye. To celebrate Tristan and all the new beanies, I'm offering some of my Beebee Eau Monde watercolors as prints. Two paintings to choose from, in two sizes. Printed on acid free, mould-made Hahnemuhle German Etching paper, the prints come in 8" x 8" for $75. and 15"x15" for $125. Perfect gift for your new favorite wee one. Plan on a two week delivery time with your choice of shipping separate.
AND to make the arrival of green buds even sweeter, I'll give away an 8"x8" print to the person who brings me the most new blog followers by April 1. 

Beebee Eau Monde No.2

A Wee Dance For My Scottish Friend

We are about 2 weeks away from our big move out of the church and I thought I'd take a break to share some special news. 
I'm not sure how Scottish clothing designer Lois and I "virtually" met online. I think she found my paper hats and wrote a nice note about them on her blog, 13Threads.  I hired her to make me the loveliest whisper of a dress I wore at Brin and Alex's wedding. I'm the daughter of a seamstress and was taught the inside of a garment must look as good as the outside. Her craftsmanship is impeccable.
Her blog always surprises me with some quick little "Altoid" of style, that take me off in a new thoughtful direction. 
She's just been interviewed for Uppercase magazine about her blog and chose me to interview for the next issue. Ink on paper! Pretty exciting! If you don't know 13Threads or Uppercase take a break and check them both out. My next purchase from Lois? I've got a little crush on her exquisite turbans.

Interview with David Howard

Karen Carpenter as Pope Joan in Top Girls

For the last few years I've focused on my painting, and acting has had to take a back seat. I miss it. The particular type of community, trust and intimacy that is part of working on a theater production, I've never experienced anywhere else. A characters personality, relationship to others on stage, and their history can usually be seen in what they wear. Costumer, David Howard, is a master of stitching together a fabricated version of a characters soul. Energy off the charts, quick but incredibly thorough, diligent with homework, always a pro, David is genuinely kind from the beginning to end of a show. He manages being a professor of costume at URI, a resident designer at the Gamm Theater, and is often the glue that keeps us all together back stage and onstage. Here are David's answers to my usual interview questions and some samples of his wonderful work. To learn more about David's work and the upcoming production of Anne Boleyn, you can go the Gamm Theater site here.  

 What inspires you lately? Lately, I am caught up between Tudor history and modern looks. Two very different shows have my mind pulling in very different ways: it is strange. So, Hans Holbein and Alexander McQueen. Super Heroes and Daniel Mytens. I find myself inspired by a number of fabrics I already have and need to see the light of day, as they have been yelling at me to be used.

What was your first memory? One of my first memories was being fed eggs and crackers by my mother (1 year old, perhaps) and projectile vomiting. Never been able to touch eggs since.

Can you describe the best thing you saw on your last walk? The best thing on my last walk…I haven't had a good walk in a while, unless you count the walk I took around the Armory when I couldn't find an open door.

What are the five things that would make a perfect day of work?1) That you have enough material, and if not, Lorraine Fabrics still has more on the bolt. 

2) The serger doesn't break down

3) That I remember to clean as I go

4) It is awesome if something changes in my mind just enough to make the garment better…and it ends up working

5) I have enough time to eat something yummy

Can you describe the best pair of shoes you have ever owned? I own a lot of pairs of shoes. Sadly I only have 2 or three pairs that fit me, since most are purchased for productions. I did find (and still have) a great pair of grey sued and black leather two toned spectator wingtips that I got in Cleveland for $15. I used to wear them once and a while, but there have been many productions where they have found their way out of retirement.

What are you doing this weekend? This weekend: Well, we are starting up our first week of shows for ANNE BOLEYN at the GAMM, rehearsals and building clothes for METAMORPHOSES at URI, and classes began on wednesday, so it is a pretty packed work weekend. I did get around to cleaning my studio and packing up some of the extras from ANNE. I will try to take advantage of some sales this long weekend (gosh I hate shopping). Get my syllabi in order. I am going to try to get my laundry put away. Still some beading to do on ANNE. Researching LED lights for META.  

 All photos are of Gamm Theater productions, shot by Peter Goldberg 

Church Collections Sale Sneak Peek No.3

Church Collections Sneak Peek No.3
Victorian Painted flowers in sizes small, medium and large.

Church Collections Sale  
Sneak Peek Item No. 2  
Vases a la Pique Assiette from my broken dish art phase

YES! The Church Collections Sale

Sneak Peek Item No. 1
A rubber poodle as old as I am. Stands 22 inches high.
Comes with red velvet bows.

I've wanted a store since I was a little girl. Maybe that's why I've always been such a thrift store junkie. For the last week, my daughter Hillary and I have been transforming the sanctuary into a retail space to prepare for the big sale on Saturday and Sunday February 9 + 10. Each object holds a memory and sorting through them has been exhausting. But I've realized that I don't have to own everything that inspires me. The river of things will always be flowing by. So here's a few pics of my store so far. Should I get one of those cute bells for the door?

Sunny stained glass windows are a great place
for some glass stoppers to show off.

One of my Garden Stains paintings
tucked between FireKing dishes.

Paul surprised me with a great display for hats and jewelry.
Last week it was just a Christmas tree.

Studio Practice

Paul and I share a space in a factory mill in Fall River.
We are so lucky our floor mates are more family than friends.

For the last few months, my daily to-do list has been a little overwhelming, with the selling of the church and looking for a new place. During the week, when I'm Ms. Virgo Listmaker it all seems to work. The battle with anxiety, sadness and self doubt seems to hit me the hardest when I stop. And most particularly on Sundays, in my painting studio. I've been able for the most part to keep the place pretty sacred. I've promised to keep the space free of the computer, only make calls to and from the studio and checking emails (yes and occasionally Facebook) only on my lunch break. Stopping and emptying myself to paint today seemed especially challenging and it took me a few hours to figure out why. Art + Commerce. We're preparing for an art and antiques sale at the church the weekend of Feb 9-10, and I'm sorting through old drawings, paintings and lots of collectables, trying to put a value, a real price tag on it all. I've always said it's almost impossible to sell your art at the same time you're making it. Two totally different parts of your brain that seems to fight with each other. Recognizing it today made me fall in love with my studio, my process and work in a new way. A few postings back I wrote about the illustrator Tove Jansson and her wonderful children's books. This quote is such a good reminder for me to keep certain "creeps" out of my studio. -
"It's the right evening for a tune, Snufkin thought. A new tune, one part expectation, two parts sadness, and the rest, just the delight of walking alone and liking it. As he settles in to compose, he is disturbed by a small creature, a "creep", which rustles out of the undergrowth, declares its admiration for the famous Snufkin, asks him a lot of questions and demands attention and comfort. Meanwhile, the tune, which until then was forming itself out of the noises of the forest and brook and the slow revelations of the season, disappears. Snufkin has to wait for it to come back".
-exerpt from "The Spring Tune" part of the Moomin series
The photos are my early valentine to the place and tools I have a crush on. 

I've finally learned to love cleaning my brushes.
And I buy more expensive ones less often.

Sometimes the rags are just as beautiful as the paintings.

I work with natural light but a few paper lanterns make
the place cozy the last hour of the day in the winter.

A doctor friend gave me a pile of white surgical gowns
that make great painting smocks.
A little eccentric looking, but they cover everything nicely.

Oil bars, gigantic crayons, really.

Lots of enamelware and cigar boxes 

My favorite Swedish teacups my friend Pat gave me and a pic
of my pal Bruce, patron Saint of Art Elves.

I have also learned to embrace "setting the table for the muse"
Getting all those white empty surfaces
ready gives  me a little flip flop of excitement. 

Mad for Plaid

Just an itty bit is sometimes nice.
Found on Anthropologie

Just a bit, or a lot, of red plaid always gets me through the winter. A favorite memory, still clear for me, is my grandmother in her wool plaid Pendleton jacket raking in her fall garden.  Below are some of my recent favorite plaid finds, an ad I did in the 1980 something, a little sewing project I just completed and of course Ms. Viv the Queen of plaid. Has anyone seen a nice pair of red plaid clogs that need me?

Found on Etsy. Pia Barile has lots of lovely wrist warmers,
unfortunately these gems have sold.

Coat with a lot of fun detail from Omiru that can be purchased at Urban Outfitters

I have a few of these I store paper treasures in. Found on Etsy here.

A Pinterest find which is unfortunately untraceable

From a MAC Cosmetics ad

Love this. Origin unknown.

An ad I did for Gant in the mid '80s,
before Photoshop, using some very very old school methods.

 

 

This little collar was last weekend's easy sewing project. I am in love with the simple Japanese sewing books you can find more and more of. I got this pattern from Shape Shape by Natsuno Hiraiwa.

A heavenly symphony by Vivienne Westwood, an artist who knows how to work her plaid.
Here's a wonderful film interview of this revolutionist.

So so fun

I'd love to do this. Please someone in NY do it for me! Brilliant Ann Hamilton