ART!!!!

What a day!  Before I get to it, though, I put a link on the picture of Elaine Stritch on yesterday's post that will get you to the fabulous video.  Click on her photo and you should get there.

NOTE: here are my comments for the two people whose profiles don't have their emails. I hate that I can't get in touch with you individually. For any of you who leave comments but no forwarding address, please hit the contact me link at the top of my sidebar and shoot me an email so I can put you in my book and contact you.

Janet - thanks for the recommendation for Shoot Me!  I knew there was a subsequent one and I'll look for it.

Kara - glad you enjoyed JoJo Moyes -- I'm keeping my eye open for her newest book.

OK - back to today.  It was a two-hour drive up the NY Thruway and worth every minute to see the exhibit of Amy Sillman's work: One Lump or Two.  Click on this link to see more of  her work on Google images.

 She is prolific, talented, and has a most wonderful sense of humor. Here is the exhibit we saw today (no photos allowed) but you can get a glimpse of the exhibit and hear Amy talk about her work.   

http://wgbhnews.org/post/art-world-favorite-amy-sillmans-first-ever-retrospective-ica

I was so inspired that I high-tailed it over to Jerry's art supplies tonight to buy gouache, brushes, and paper.  I've been wanting to play with painting and after I pick up a couple of graphite pencils tomorrow, I am taking my larger suitcase and throwing in art supplies, fabric, and who knows what else, along with my clothes.  

Bedtime -- before I get my second wind and it is too late to fall asleep!

guilty pleasures

Every so often, you just need to treat yourself nicely.

Last week I was very sad for a couple of days after Elaine Stritch died.  I have never forgotten her performance in Stephen Sondheim's "Company," which I saw in 1970 and have adored her ever since.  The NY Times article and video this morning reminded me that I had never seen her one-woman Broadway show done when she was 77,  and I put it on my "look for it on-line" list.

Guilty Pleasure #1: spending the afternoon watching a show

This afternoon, after coming home from a condolence call to a dear friend whose husband died last weekend, I needed a lift.  Changed into my hot weather clothes, sat down at the computer, and spent 2-½ hours watching Elaine Stritch at Liberty.  I never do that.  Never. I am not a tv watcher, as anybody who knows me, knows.  But I couldn't tear myself away from the small screen.  You don't have to see it all in one sitting, as I did, but do not miss it.  Funny, poignant, revealing, and honest to the core. Pure joy.

Guilty Pleasure #2: iced coffee with heavy cream

It has been hot and over-the-top humid here this week, so I have been going out for my walk at 7:30 or 8:00 at night.  Last night, not bad.  Tonight, I was toast by the time I got home after ½ hour.  Now there is thunder and lightning, but no rain.  Remember the days when we did not have air conditioning? I knew my leftover coffee from this morning was there for a reason! I normally drink it black, but had some heavy cream leftover from making ice cream last week:-). Heaven.

Guilty Pleasure #3: ice cream and a book

Another glass of iced coffee, this time with some vanilla ice cream and some just-made whipped cream. And I will leave the computer for a book as soon as I finish posting this.  I've been reading Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series.  I read the first couple of books some years ago and am now catching up on the rest.  I have put this confection in the freezer until later.

Guilty Pleasure #4: new Birkenstocks in a color I couldn't resist

Greeted with some snideness by one of my offspring, who was shocked to see some of her child's friends' moms wearing Birks - but cool, kind of dressy ones. Sigh...guess I will have to look for some dressy Birks. An oxymoron??

Guilty Pleasure #5:  playing hooky for an art day with a friend.
Tomorrow (although it may be tomorrow by the time you read this) driving up to Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson for an exhibit and then a visit to Hudson, NY.  I will report back tomorrow night.

Guilty Pleasure #6: leaving the work under the needle and walking away
You will notice I have not mentioned anything about my work. Nevertheless, I have been slogging away at stitching my latest piece, which is taking me longer than usual.

Ok, off to read for a while as I promised myself, while the caffeine from the iced coffee wears off. Enough guilty pleasures for one day! But really, I don't feel the least bit guilty.
Why should I?  Life is too short.

ten days later...

Last Sunday, a trip to the Lower East Side.  The subways were hot and crowded and by the time we got there it was time for lunch.  Katz's delicatessen had such a long line (and bouncers outside to make sure nobody cut the line) that we decided to skip it and go to a hipster sandwich shop.  It was fine and we didn't have to wait. Sandwiches were yum!

 Afterwards we wandered  over to Orchard St.,where the Tenement Museum is --but the tours were all full except the one where you walked up to the fifth floor.  No thanks.  

Nonetheless, the visitor center/gift shop had a fascinating film and we rested our feet while we watched it.  I had been there when it first opened, eons ago and plan to go back one day with a reservation for one of the (lower floor) tours.  It is an amazing place.

The Lower East Side morphs into what used to be Little Italy and is now mostly Chinatown. It is now so little that it takes up two blocks. But these are lively blocks, closed to traffic on Sundays.

The stores and bars were open and there was lots of noise coming from the bars where they were watching the World Cup.   This place is not your typical tourist restaurant.

And I wasn't quite sure whether the 2 referred to the price or the size.

At least I have accomplished a few things in the past ten days. which is remarkable considering that much of my time has been spent deleting 2700 emails on my iPhone and iPad, most of them promising me all kinds of wonderful things.  Here is a small sample of irresistibles.

• You can get an online doctorate!
• Look ten years younger: better than a facelift and better than botox. (sign me up)
• Restore your vision to 20/20!! (not possible)
• Get help with your ED (now that would be an accomplishment)
• Confirm your appointment for your window installation (huh?)
• Get a nursing degree
• Get discount funeral insurance
• Drop your blood sugar level (right. I already have low blood sugar)
• Reverse diabetic decay (see above)
• Facebook has offered you a position but we have not heard from you. (bummer)
• Google wants to hire you (see above)
• Refinance your mortgage (I don't have one)
• Get your Walmart loyalty gift (snort! There is no Walmart within 50 miles of me and even if there were...)
• Your coverage is expiring (coverage for what?)
• Eat THIS, never diet again! (It'll probably kill me)
• Free Burger King Promo - expires today!! (as IF)

I have also  finished the piece I was working on and actually started to stitch it today.  Hooray for me! If I do nothing else tomorrow, I might complete the job.

And finally, I spent time in the kitchen. Made the most fabulous lemon ice cream and a pot of stuffed grape leaves with rice, chickpeas, tomatoes & mint, which I had been craving. (don't ask me why).

They cook in no time in the pressure cooker and you serve them cold. Lebanese recipe. Divine!  I used to make them all the time in my first life.  Tomorrow I will bake Kate's Brownies (Katherine Hepburn's recipe) to take to a family lunch on Saturday.  Beyond that, I don't cook on weekends. I did steam a couple of dozen clams for tomorrow's dinner, but other than that - I'm done.

Monday creative blog tour

When Deborah Boschert invited me to participate in the creative process blog tour, I thought "why not??"   So, here are a few glimpses into how I work.  

What am I working on?

I have an exhibition coming up in a NJ gallery in October so I'm trying to finish a few pieces for the occasion.  On my studio wall is a work that has had many permutations over the past - what? year?  (more on that one later)

At home, in my sewing room, two pieces I am stitching. They are pieces I printed long ago and forgot about till I unearthed them while I was cleaning the studio and decided they needed to be (more or less) whole cloth pieces. Here are a couple of detail shots.
Almost done.

This one is still waiting till I have the luxury of time to sit down and stitch it.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Ah, this is the question we all need to answer about our own work -- and it takes some thought. I hope it is free of the influence of other artists: with one exception, in 1994 or 1995, when I took a class with David Walker, I have never taken another quilt class. This was deliberate because I really wanted to develop my own style.
Have I done so?  What, indeed, makes my work recognizable as mine and how does it differ from many others?   I think I'll ask you to answer that one.

Why do I write/create what I do?

Because I can't not.  You might as well ask me to stop breathing.

How does your writing/creative process work?

In my book, Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts, I talk a little bit about what I call
Ad Hoc Design/Slow Design.  That's a tidy way of saying "throw it at the wall and see what sticks/move it around and edit till the composition works."  Photos might give you a better idea of the piece on my studio wall that I referred to in the first part of this post.

Here are some of the photos taken over the past year while I put pieces up/took them down/put them up again/rearranged them/and edited like crazy.

There you have it.  This is on my wall at the moment and I can't predict the final result.  It's always a surprise and for me, that is the best part.  The joy is in the process.

Questions about my creative process?

Comments?  Let me hear from you -- or do I have to have another giveaway? LOL

P.S. I've tagged  Gerrie Congdon for next Monday's post so keep this link to see her post

on creative process. gericondesigns.com/weblog.

weekend in Boston

We're here for the long weekend, spending most of the time at a conference full of interesting (and not-so interesting) lectures.  But there is also plenty of time for walking and dining.  The first night in Boston, how could we not have seafood?  Something I rarely have that are widely available in New England: fried oysters!!  I had some in Maine but they were disappointing.  These, however, were ambrosia.

Last night we dined on Newbury Street, Boston's equivalent of Manhattan's SoHo -- every upscale boutique you can name and then some, plus dozens of restaurants.  A fun place to walk.

All very pretty, but I preferred these as we got to the end of our exploratory walk.

Happy Fourth of July, everybody.  Here it is starting to rain, so the fireworks were last night instead of tonight.  Hope you are having sunny weather whehever you are.