Remarkable

Tomorrow I will be mailing 8 pieces of mail art! I know - unbelievable! It's been a looong time. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed making the works and the mail art community. Looking forward to more...

Wow...it's been a while.

I can't believe my last post was in April! It's been a little whacky lately with frantic schedules and lots of work. Most of which I've been too busy to post on any of my web sites but will try to soon. This is a peice I just finished that's a lot of fun...

I was invited to take part in an upcoming the Do Not Fold Bend Spindle or Mutilate exhibit at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Two computer punch cards were provided to each artist
with the only stipulation being that the final artwork had to fit in
the return envelope provided by the arts center. This envelope was
a standard reply envelope – a whopping 3.75 x 9 inches.

My piece, Eden, is a three dimensional construction
using digital photos and un-housed computer disks. The work measures
about 12 inches tall and varies in width. Unassembled it does fit into
the envelope and no fasteners are required to put it together. The required punch cards were used as leaves in one
of the potted plants from paradise.

This piece speaks was a great deal of fun to create
as it spoke to all my favorite muses, the digital age, the evolution
of creation, and the idea that something much larger than expected
can come out of a small container.

Reports of my demise...

April 11, 2006

Dear Granville Rescue Squad,

Last Sunday morning I was in my front yard taking extreme close-ups of dew drops on blades of grass for a new series of photographs I am working on called Meditations. In order to get a clear image of the miniscule droplets I have to lay with the camera on the ground and stay unbelievably still while capturing the image.

Apparently a passer-by saw me sprawled flat, seemingly lifeless, on the lawn and worried I might have fallen or been otherwise injured or even...worse? So they (whoever they are) anonymously called for an ambulance.

It wasn’t until the first EMT arrived that I even looked up (though by then I could hear the ambulance sirens approaching.) You were coming to help me. Thankfully I didn’t need your assistance! And I was a little embarrassed by having been the cause of a false alarm. I didn’t get that first EMT’s name but it was clear he arrived ready to do whatever necessary, had I needed the help. After I stood up and assured him I was fine (and he assure me that I didn’t need to be embarrassed – he was happy I was okay), he cancelled the call and left me to my work. I found myself thinking for some time about how fortunate we are to have a dedicated group of people so ready and willing to help close by. You are all terrific.

I have created this small print from one of the images I had taken that morning and would like you to have it in appreciation for your coming to my rescue when I thankfully didn’t need it! And no offense but, hope I never do.

Kind regards,
(Fat Red Ant)

Ant Farm(ing)

I was poking around my yard yesterday and snapped these shots of ants furiously working to relocate their herd of aphids after I lifted the rock under which they had built their farm. They're not great shots because these buggers were fast and I'm still getting used to the new macro lens - the focal plane is paper thin.

Still, since I'm they're name sake so to speak, it was fun to watch them do their thing.

The Big Art in Tiny Things

Here are my first pieces using the new 100mm macro lens I just got for the Rebel XT. I love it.



Click here to see what these are photographs of...

New Photomicroscopy

I've posted a couple new shots I took with the microscope. This one is of the eye/antenna portion of a Bright Pink Trimmed North American Real Moth. It's actually six images, stacked together and manually masked so that the different parts are in focus.

I am putting together a whole new body of work involving images of pond scum. And my new 1:1 Macro lens for my Rebel arrives Friday - look for new images of big small things!

Whew! Finished. (almost)

I realize it's been ages since I've updated this blog (or my mail art site) and here's ONE of the reasons why. (Another is x365! Still going strong and enjoying it!)

I've been busy putting together my contribution to a statewide arts program called Palettes of Vermont. The basic idea is the state provided 7,000 16x12 inch maple palettes that are to be painted or somehow decorated by artists and other ne'er -do-wells throughout the state.

I received one of the wooden palettes but instead of using the palette itself I created this video installation piece that uses full-motion video of traditonal Vermont scenery, events and images (shown on the tv in the cabinet) and simultaneously projects a kaleidoscoping pattern in the shape of a palette on the wall that is based on the source video.

It was a lot of fun to put together. And applause and gratitude goes to Josh Burlingame of East Poultney, Vermont for crafting such an exquisite cabinet when I asked, "Can you build me a box?"

More details and other still frames of the video can be found in this PDF.

I'm still fussing with the video - I keep finding ways to "improve" it. When it's complete, I will post the palette video online so you can enjoy it too!

And soon, now that this one (big) project is winding down, you will start to get mail from me again! Both types: electronic and US Post!

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

2/15/06 - Update!

The Squirrel: 0
The Ant - WON!

Finally - the little knawing beast has been captured and relocated! As he and I drove to the lake this evening I explained it was nothing personal, but he was not welcome back in our garage. I think he understood. He bolted the instant I opened the trap door and headed for his new home - wherever that might be as long as it's not my house!

For those of you following the "Squirrel in the Garage" Gold Medal Event, here are the latest standings:

Squirrel: 3
Humans: 0

The little bugger has thrice tripped the have-a-heart trap but somehow Houdinis his/her way out. We know it's still out there - we can hear it snickering.

If this keeps up we're going to have to call for back ups. Anyone have ane email address for Wile E Coyote?

Celebrate St. Hallmark's Day Properly

Now let me go on record that I like Valentines’ Day. I'm all for every opportunity to tell someone they're loved, but I'm sick of the lengths companies go to consumerize affection and attempt to guilt or frighten us into action. This year I am especially disgusted by a certain drugstore chain that suggests in their advertising that it’s not really the thought that counts. Ugh.

So I am sharing with you and the world a tradition my husband and I devised a few years ago that allows us to recognize February 14th without filling the tills of chain-store hawkers.

It’s easy and fun. We do it every year.

We go to a card store together and browse the card racks until we each find a card we would like to give the other. We exchange cards. Read them. Kiss, laugh, or both! Then put them back and leave.

There you have it. It's fun and gets us out of the house! You try it!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Woodchuck Festival Mail Art

2/12/06 - Finally - Here's some of the art!



Had a bunch of friends over last night for wine, cheese and collage. The purpose was to make mail art that will be mailed this weekend at our local Woodchuck Festival - yes, we Vermonters will find any excuse to go play in the snow. What's unique about this year's festival is that their having s a special postal cancellation for the event.

I took photos of some of the work that was created last night and will post them later. A couple of the women wanted to send them to mail artists so I had them close their eyes and select a card out of one of my bins of mail art. I'm not telling who the lucky recipents are...we'll have to wait and see!

Ps. - If you haven't tried Dan Waber's x365 project - you really should. I've been doing it a couple of weeks now and it's really a great way to recount your life. Check it out: 40x365

365 People

This idea came from the very clever Dan Waber - and it's a blast. Essentially you make a list of 365 people who have touched your life in some way - people you have met - and then each day for a year you write 40* words about them.

Making the list, as Dan notes on his site, is the hard part. Paring down your memories about or feelings toward a person into a handful of words is the next trick, but it's actually fun.

So try it yourself. And let me know if you decide to give it a shot.

You can read my start at 44x365.blogspot.com.

*Dan's chose 40 because the idea was to celebrate his 40th birthday. Some of us get to use a few more words. ;-)

Stools

I wrote Stools from a pile of notes scribbled on paper bags, receipts and napkins - scraps of conversations or situations that I collected or stole from places where people gather: coffee shops, bars, bowling alleys.

A few pieces were inspired by actual quotes or incidents, but mostly they're the imagined lives of the people seated in the stools beside me or across the counter. The language is simple with an unpredictable or non-existent meter because that's how I heard them, either when I first wrote them down or when I remembered them afterward.

Click here to read Stools

Particles of Microscopic Joy

My husband may not get my work (see earlier posts), but he surely "gets" me. For Christmas he blew me away by surprising me with a lab-quality microscope with a digital camera attachment. To see some of my early attempts at finding art in even tinier places than I ever have before, click here.

I have the best life!

Jingle Bells!

Let me say I've received some of the greatest mail art in the last few weeks that I will try to get posted after the holiday. There's a lot of it so it may have to go up in batches. I've only sent two things out in the recent past, a card to Latuff and a "Thank You" to my Postmistress for taking such good care of all the stuff I get - even the decorated Frisbees and paper plates.

Beyond that I've been busy dealing with family and life stuff. Most of my creative energy has gone into gifts and getting ready for the holidays. I love this time of year and I am married to Mr. Christmas - the man always manages to amaze me with surprises and thoughtfulness.

So happy Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanza...and remember, the gift is never in the box.