Kate & Eden

Just look at these two beauties! I love these firelight pics of mamma and daughter... love these girls.

Memorial Campin'

This memorial day it was decided that conveniant camping was the way to go... What is this thing called conveniant camping you say???? Well, it is also know as backyard camping (and lucky for me and Joshers it was in our backyard!).
Sometimes with kiddos and all the gear that you realize you need, you just gotta cut yourself some slack and do what's going to be the easiest and most fun way to camp, ya know.
So that's what we did.
Campfires, tents, mallows, kids running wild, and nature walks all came together at once in that way that simple, great things do....which somehow just doesn't seem to happen enough... Thank you, three day weekend!

New works!

Here are some new works for those of you guys who couldn't make it to Clothesline. I should have posted some of these guys much much earlier, since a lot of them were done just before the show... but, anyhooo.... here they are!!!
I hope you guys like these new square canvases as much as I like making them. I think they are going over pretty well since a lot of them found happy homes this weekend... The first two birds pieces and the penguin have found new abodes in our little Chatty town... However the airplane, zebra and polka dot birds are still looking for theirs...
If ya want one just let me know!!! Some of the 4x6 corky collages with the antennas are still available too... but you just gotta ask if you're looking at one in particular....

For those techy art appreciators... the square canvas works are done with a process called beeswax collage, where no adhesives are used... all the components of the piece (whether drawn or a series of various textured papers) are dipped in beeswax and and adhered to the canvas with heat.
A very cool process... very eco-friendly, virtually weather resistant (although I wouldn't hang outside - the sun is a big bleacher), kid resistant, drop resistant and does not melt unless it hits almost 200degress!! so cool!!! These pieces are also portable since they are only 4" x 4" and 2" deep. I am such a fan of this new thing, if you can't tell... I guess that's what happens when you spend 10 years of your life dipping every collage in polyurethane!!!!!!!!!!! he he

Clothesline Success!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few snippets from the Women's Clothesline show that took place this past weekender at Laura's house. For those of you who didn't make it... it really was a pleasure to be there...and to participate. For me, being with other women artists whom I respect in such a lovely stress free environment was a treat... truly. Those of you cats who have been to Laura's home, you know a thing or two about the peace & comfort that envelopes you when you are there. At one point I thought that my feet might just have grown little roots that connected them to Laura's blue garden chairs. The experience of this show was colored with good conversation, great food and so much visual stimulation. Lovely.... just lovely, i say.
This weekend just reinforced over and over again that this is the kind of environment in which art was meant to be viewed. I just think that people need to see art living with people...they need to be in a comfortable place... a place where conversation isn't stifled and they can meet artists and be themselves.
Perhaps the gallery scene is just not always the right fit for every artist...or every viewer, for that matter. I know that the older I become the more weary I become of going through those motions. And perhaps I should take note b/c my sales this weekend were grrreat! Thank you everyone for coming out and supporting us!

Spidey

So, this weekender Ty, Jess and I went to check out the new Spidey flick. What a treat for me... I just love big release actiony movies, don't you...

Anyways.... I must say as far as great Marvel comic flicks go, this Spidey was by far my fav. I love the good verses evil story... especially when the character battles it in himself. Rockin!

For those of you who have not yet seen it.... Stop reading here... I am about to say a thing or two about the END - I hate it when people spoil the end, don't you??? At least I warned you, right?
Anywaysies.... I would love to know if any of you out there wish that Spidey would just stay bad.... or perhaps that Mary Jane would be so pissed about Harry that she turned all dark and devilish and kicked nice little Spidey's butt.... Some how I just think it would be sooooo fun to smash up the whole good guy Spidey image and piss off everyone by making such a dark and unsettling slap in tha face ending.

Who knows what this secret desire says about me... hmmmm. Tell me what you cats think!

Celebrating the PhD Chicky style

So our good friend Andy now has Dr. in front of his name! Yes, yes, a PhD has been earned through much dedication and hard work and we are all so proud of him!
In fact, we thought that such an achievement must be celebrated... and celebrated well. So, the Green house was once again the site of much laughter, beer drinking, grilling and camping. So much fun!!!!

This time was so lovely... full of my favorite things... good food, convos by the fire, naked babies running through the field, and remembering how blessed we are to have these good friends.

Check out the good times...
and one more thing... the ring around the rosie pic was not even staged! They just started doing that... super cute, though, right?

Sorry no real pics of the grown ups...unless you count Poppa Joel as a grown up... he he! I guess that is a symptom of mommiedom.

Down Home Days

So you cats are about to get a glimpse into a small town USA phenomena called Down Home Days !!!! This is a little celebration that has been going on in this one horse town for as long as I can remember. It used to be a relatively small event with one stage hosting cloggers, southern rock bands and beauty pageant contestants fighting for the grand title of Little Miss Chickamauga. However the most popular site of the event was a parking lot with one lonely junker car, I remember it being an El Camino, where you could pay one dollar to bash it to bits with a sledge hammer....

But now.... it has grown into quite the thing to do... the whole Chicky population seems to come out to enjoy an assortment of activities that include going down big inflatable slides, riding mechanical bulls, getting their hair teased and spray painted into wild shapes, eating BBQ and fried oreos and taking in a wide assortment of music or perhaps even purchase a handmade doll or quilt.

I know it all seems funny, but I love living in a town where you can see kids riding down the street on 4 wheelers, vendors dancing together outside their videalia onion tents and people carrying anything from dogs, kids or snakes in their arms... it is so unexpected... so unpretentous... it just is what it is and there is no where else like this town I know.

Filming Time

Well, things have been so nutters around here that I haven't had a chance yet to give you cats a heads up about all the action taking place in and around little Chicky mauga... my good good friend, John is shooting his short film right here in town this week!!!

I probably shouldn't say too much about the film itself... I know how much Joshers hates it when I give any sort of description or explanation about his films (and lets face it... I am a wordy girl... and most of the time I end up just coming right out and tellin ya what the whole thing is about anyway - such a bad flaw for an artist to have... I should give the audience a little bit more credit and allow them to make up their own minds, righto..... blah)

Any freagin way... It has been nice to be back watching such a collaborative creative process unfold before my eyes... I love film and am ever impressed with the artistic give and take that happens on set.
It is just such a different kind of creativity than what I find prevading in the fine art community... which let's face it, is totally centered on the idolatry of the individual... you know... so introspective... such an emphasis on the names at the bottom of the canvas and the artist and his or her process rather than the actual work... sorry... don't mean to sound snooty... I just think the fine art community could learn a few things from our colleagues over in the films, ya know...

All that blathering to say... watching my husband and an old friend working together on such a creative level is really so cool. I'm so happy that my sweet husband is back on that scene again... and I know he is pretty excited about it too (he is the key grip guy on set...)!!
It is a lot of hard work and we all have been doing very unglamorous tasks to make this thing come together, but it's been a lot of fun too... I find myself doing anything from set dressing to running out to get live worms and signs... I love this weird behind the scenes stuff... Such a fun job!

I'll post some more pics of the shoots lata... have fun kids!

Play Play and more Play

So little Laughfer has reached a place in her little life where she just does not want to be in the house... Period! It is all about playtime and go go go and on to the new! No more exploring the same ol' toys again and again... nope... we are done with that.... So needless to say, I have been a litttle monkey girl entertainer and chaffeur for a 15 month old. Heh...

Here are some snippets of our past few days... at the indoor boo boo proof play ground and SWIMMING... yes, as of 2 days ago we are swimming! Lavender was fearless, guys... Fearless... she just hopped right in that baby pool and splashed and stomped and rolled around to her little hearts content... she was Very proud of herself... and it was too cute!