‘Twas a packed weekend of sun and friends and running, etc. I headed to my hometown and enjoyed some sunshine while I dug around the yard searching for treasures with a metal detector (major nerd alert). Once upon a time I wanted to be an archeologist.
I headed back to Lawrence Saturday eve for some celebratory race preparations with food, friends, and a backyard fire.
Sunday morning started at 5am with a short road trip to Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Company – the starting point of the 44 mile Brew to Brew relay race. I was on a team of 10 with a couple extra folks tagging along to drive and be part of the fun.
I ran the 7th leg (about 5 miles on highway and gravel roads) and got to cross Stranger Creek in a boat. Sweeeet! I spotted this halo around the sun while waiting for one of our teammates to finish her run. So beautiful.
We finished the race at Free State Brewery in Lawrence (hence the race name, Brew to Brew). It was a load of fun. Now, back to work.
I started this conglomeration of painted block letters back in 1999 and never finished it.. More evidence that I like doing tedious artwork perhaps. When I was in high school, I did a similar mural on my bedroom wall. It consisted of tiny block letters drawn together in the same way and painted with different colors of glow in the dark paint. It looked REALLY REALLY COOL with a black light on it. I was trying to fill the whole wall but went off to college before I did and then my mom sold the house.. Bummer.
Lesson of the day: Don’t leave your ukulele sitting next to your work desk. It’s impossible not to pick up and it’s been in my hands more often than not today. I’ve been teaching myself finger style (rather than just chord strumming like what seems to be the most common method for ukulele playing). It’ll be a long row to hoe to get to where I want to be, but so far so good and lots of fun.
Other goings-on: I’m working on the cover art for art & literary journal The Lantern this week (I’ll probably not post pics until it comes out in March), and next week I’ll be starting on the cover art for new CD & LP from Maria The Mexican out of Kansas City.
I’m also prepping for the impending ‘monster snowstorm’ due to hit this evening. I suppose if I actually had to leave my house, I might not be as excited about it as I am. I have extra appreciation for getting to work from home at times like these. I even hit the grocery store this morning to stock up on oranges and chocolates (survival foods). And I’ve got a big pot of made from scratch (I should say ‘made from scraps’) lentil, carrot & squash soup ready to be dove into. Let it snow. Til next time..
I’m throwing a dinner party tonight for my mom’s birthday (which is tomorrow) and I just finished putting the final touches on the ‘birthday cake’ — an apple almond cheesecake. I’ve made a lot of cheesecakes in my day (..bakery life) and I’m willing to bet it all that this is the tastiest one yet (recipe from Bon Apetit). I want to dive in it. And we all know (or at least I do) how much I love concentric circles – even in the form of apple slices.
I’ve been having a non-stop printing/ matting/ bagging party.. I was down to zero stock of prints and cards after the holidays, so I’ve been building it back up for my first show of the year, which is tomorrow, in Lawrence. I’m also shipping out a package of goods to Collector Art Shop in Berkeley, CA, today. Lots of new prints and cards making their debut. Strangely, I’m shipping out 5 different packages to California today… All my latest online orders came from there. Who knows?
I’ll also be restocking Bella Luz in Wichita, Essential Goods in Lawrence, and Dundee Gallery in Omaha next week, so look for new stuff in those places as well. And I’m happy to say that I’ll be putting my prints & cards at the Pheonix Gallery here in Lawrence next week as well. I had a meeting about it there yesterday. It’s a great space.. and it’s right across the street from Love Garden — my favorite record store, so I had to pay them a visit after my meeting. And now, as I work on getting ready for tomorrow, I’m spinning a Ted Lucas re-issue. Also picked up a couple David Bromberg records and a new record by Angel Olsen as recommended. Til next time..
I’ve got a couple paper cuttings in progress. The tree design was commissioned for a tattoo based on the design “Book Tree” by artist Robert Whitmore, frequently used on bookplates starting in the 1930’s and still popular today. The bird is just a design that popped into my head and I felt like doing it.. It’s a sunbird. So.. there you go.
I’ll be hitting up the Final Friday festivities in downtown Lawrence this evening to consume some art (and food). I don’t have any originals up anywhere but I do have prints and greeting cards at both 1109 Gallery (1109 Mass.) and Essential Goods (17 E. 7th) and they are both open tonight for Final Fridays. See you out there perhaps.
Last progress photo before the final… almost finished… Here I am cutting colored tissue paper to size and gluing it to the back of the paper cutting so that the color shows through.
