Postcards, Poetry, and Summertime Hues.

(Hydrangeas from the farmer's market.)

(Two signs of summer: Bare feet & stone fruit.)

(A feast of local produce. Dear, California.)

(Artichokes line the driveway.)

(Our little peach tree, almost ripe.)

(Happy Bench Monday.)

(Blurry roses and clouds drift by, daydreaming all the while.)

(The beginnings of a postcard project.)

Hello, friends. A quiet holiday weekend over here with much needed daydreaming. It was a bit chilly but signs of summer are all around the garden, the farmer's market, and the neighborhood yards. I officially declare: Summer has arrived to Oakland! It's difficult not to find all the rose blossoms completely intoxicating, the peaches completely indulgent, and the tomatoes completely awe-inspiring as they begin to ripen into deep shades of purple and red. Oh, summery hearts.

In the studio, I've started a new collection of poems. Yes, after finishing my first poetry manuscript just about a year ago (and quickly deeming it "too long and too messy" to try to publish) I haven't written many poems at all. Quite a change from the few years previous when I wrote more than 300 pages! My goodness. So, it's good to return to a little poetic practice. I'm writing a series of poems based on these paintings which I found through Artkrush--subscribe if you haven't already--and also interweaving some theories of interior design and the infamous (and ever-entertaining) etiquette guidelines of Emily Post. Very fun. And very much in the beginnings.

Lastly, I just started a postcard exchange project with a dear friend in New York. One postcard a day for the month of July. We did a similar exchange about 5 years ago and I'm sooo excited to be doing it again. It's such a treat to find handmade postcards in the mailbox for an entire month! I highly recommend it. My postcards are snidbits of a story about a little house, a big bird, and a medium-sized girl named, Clover... I'll let you know as it progresses! xoxo, k.

Gaining Light (and Levity) by the Seashore.

We took to the coast on Sunday afternoon, navigating the miles of beautiful twisty roads all the way to the beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore, just a few hundred feet below one of my favorite places on earth-- Pierce Point Ranch. With temperatures in the 90s this weekend--and after I finished making The Red Sweater book and my mister finished directing a video installation/ dance performance in a San Francisco theater festival-- we decided it was time for a little R&R.

So we turned away from our beloved studio, our bursting garden, and our over-ambitious to-do lists and instead packed up a picnic complete with a favorite striped blanket and two floppy sun hats. After a few hours of beach-combing, blanket-lounging, and magazine-browsing, we were energized enough for a round of cartwheels on the sand and a tiny bit of rock climbing complete with tanned shoulders and barely-there burns across our noses. The result was a little bit of levity. Thank goodness!

And so (exhale) a little bit of levity and sunlight were gained this weekend out by the seashore-- it simply reset me. Perhaps it was the baby seal that tumbled up onto the sand and then promptly scampered back out to the water again. Or maybe it was the wildflowers along the back roads, still holding on to their vibrant colors while the rest of the California hills have turned to summer's soft burned browns and yellows. Or better yet, maybe it was just the mermaids calling us to the ocean's edge.

A New Handmade Book & Upcoming Exhibition

("The Red Sweater", front cover.)

(Front pages, opened.)

Hello friends and happy Monday to you! I've just finished making a brand new book. This project has been filling my studio hours with editing, scanning, binding, Photoshop battles, and a bit of sewing too. "The Red Sweater" is based on a series of TTV photographs I took last summer. When my dear friend, Marcie aka Zora Jane, invited me to join the One Stone Collective and create something for the inaugural "Compass" show, I knew this photo series was about to find its new home. The exhibition opens on Saturday and I've just finished my book, phew!

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There are all sorts of things combined into this one book: TTV photos, longitude & latitude locations, Gocco prints of taxidermy deer heads, a favorite red sweater, decorative flowery paper, salvaged wood, grommets, pretty brown ribbon, and an altered poem too.

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The poem is a twist on the famous William Carlos Williams poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow". This poem annoys and intrigues me to no end! My own version reads: So much depends upon a red wool sweater stitched by one woman beside the yellow porch. My own tip-of-the-hat to the current art/ craft movement, perhaps perhaps. So... there you have it: A brand new one-of-a-kind handmade book, this time infused with photographs, poem, scans, and prints.

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The other part of this book is the amazing collective behind it. The One Stone Collective is centered around two members being on long-term residencies at The Grail in the Hudson River Valley. As part of that residency, they've created and organized a women's art collective, renovated sheds into galleries, prepped fields and added stages for performances, and curated an exhibition based on the theme "Compass". The exhibition opens this Saturday and runs through August.

(Binding detail.)

Take a peek over at the One Stone Collective blog for more information about the other artists, The Grail, and a link to a delightful batch of photos over on Facebook. And if you are anywhere near Cornwall-on-Hudson on this Saturday, June 27 then please take a peek at the opening day festivities. Happy week to you, dear friends, and happy artmaking.

(Back pages, opened.)

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Almost Summertime: Bench Monday & Bougainvillea

1: up close, blossoms and blooms and whispers.

2: hello, bougainvillea...my finger in the photo is a lucky mistake.

3: blues and browns and looking down at what's weathered.

4: spilling, tipping, tumbling in pink and sunlight.

5: i picked this one for you, it's true!

6: my favorite view of our building, looking up.

7: oh, so summertime...

8. a little bit of quiet.

Hello, lovely friends. I have been in the studio all day today working on a book for an exhibition in the Hudson River Valley in just two weeks. (Eek!) Nothing like a deadline to keep me motivated to persevere to the finish line. (I hate to admit how incredibly good deadlines are for my studio practice. Eh hem, very very good!) I will show you tidbits and photos and details soon... I'm almost, almost finished.

Right now, I just wanted to take a few minutes away from my oh-so-very messy studio to tell you Happy Bench Monday! Yes, if you haven't already heard about it or posted your own fantastic "HBM" photos, you might want to go have a peek. There are dozens and dozens, even hundreds upon hundreds of delightful bench photos over on Flickr. I've been trying to figure out why the bench photos are all the rage and then I think I got it: Because it's super fun! So today's little post is a tip of the hat to HBM and also to bougainvillea and all things almost summertime-- the bougainvillea is finally draping and spilling across our livingroom window with intoxicating shades of pink. That means it's summertime.

I still have some woodland photos from our trip to NY that I'd like to share with you soon, not to mention a few other pretty random things that have me swooning over summer. Soon, so soon! For now, back to the studio to finish printing and binding that book. Happy (bench) Monday!

Brooklyn, Be Mine: Photos from a June Wedding & the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair

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Hello, friends. We have returned from our short & sweet trip to New York. Brooklyn is still bustling, humid, and amazingly beautiful--just as I remember. I've decided that a June wedding in a big sprawling Brooklyn park might just be at the top of my romance meter. A long white dress dusting the green grass, a beaming groom in a light pink shirt, a hundred or so guests cheering and tearing up and drinking and dancing and generally making merry. Yes, I think that ranks at the top of the happy romance meter. Sigh.

While our trip to Brooklyn was primarily for the wedding of our dear friends, we also managed to connect with just a few other beloveds, take a trip to The New Museum for an inspired tour of The Generational: Younger than Jesus show (So much stimulation, inspiration, and general exciting angst. Go see it for certain!) and we also took a tour of the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair. My goodness! Just as I remember my years in New York: Saturated with people to see, events to attend, restaurants to visit, streets and watersides and parks to wander, and definitely artists & crafters & designers at every turn. Brooklyn, be mine!

I only spent a few hours wandering the craft fair on Saturday afternoon before dashing off to the wedding. But I did manage to find a few favorites, even on a quick tour of the masses. There were so many amazing artists and crafters that it was hard to chose just a few for a longer visit, small purchase, or short conversation. Afterwards, when I was thinking back on why some booths were just a tad more inviting, I realized that in the midst of such immense talent, professional products, and adorable crafters and makers, I was actually looking for something specific.

Yes, I think I was looking for the crafter's booth that was certainly adorable and immaculately designed, but also reflected an eco-friendly value. A nod to the environment, to reusing, recycling, or working with sustainable or biodegradable materials in the midst of amazing handmade consumerism. And so... I just adored the vintage necktie creations of Lilian Asterfield by Nicole Deponte; the wood, concrete, and silver jewelry by Tam Aura; the clever eco-political screenprints by Black Sheep Heap; the letterpress creations with soy ink and recycled cardstock by Sycamore Street Press; and the handcrafted green designs by Jewelweeds.

Oh, dear Brooklyn, you are just as exhilarating as I remember. Of course, you are! xoxo, k.

Well, hello there Brooklyn, it's nice to see you again.

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My dear friends, by the time you're reading this post I will be roughly 3,000 miles East visiting friends and family in NY. A quick trip to western NY, near the Finger Lakes Region, to visit with my family and spend just a few days lounging on a dock, meandering with my 9-year-old niece through the woods with our cameras, and most likely sitting at my mom's kitchen table over many cups of tea. Sigh.

I will also be heading to Manhattan to visit with my newly-in-laws for a lengthy dinner before ultimately making it to Brooklyn for a dear friend's wedding. Phew! I'm simultaneously tired and energized just thinking about the upcoming week's activity. Nonetheless, off we go: Across the friendly skies to visit with our dear ones on the other coast. I wanted to leave you with just a few Polaroids to keep you company until I'm back online. Happy week to you! Can you believe it's almost officially summer? My goodness, it's moving so quick.

A Studio Visit and that Little Ball of Felt

(The latest issue of REFUELED launched earlier this week and this photograph is included. I'm honored to join Chris Brown and Cheryl Shulke for the third issue of this *gorgeous* publication. Go take a peek...)

Now then... snuggle in with a cup of tea, this post is a long one.

Friends, I've had a good week. I was notified on Tuesday that I was a finalist for a local art show, "Bay Area Currents 2009". The show is being hosted by two Oakland galleries and a San Francisco curator. I submitted a batch of photos a few weeks ago and got the phone call on this Tuesday. I couldn't believe it-- I'm a finalist! This doesn't mean I've made it into the final exhibition but this does mean that I was one of the 26 artists to receive a studio visit from the curator. My goodness, I was so nervous I wasn't sure what to do with myself.

So, the studio visit was this morning!

Bright and early at 9am before I went to work. The studio was clean, the photographs were neatly laid out in stacks on my work table, I had a few handmade objects placed around the walls of the room, some work in-progress resting on my desk next to my computer. The studio was all dressed up and ready for her big date! So I sat at the kitchen table, drinking my tea, eating my yogurt, taking deep breaths, glancing up at my sweetie who was lovingly trying to distract me from my nervousness with other conversation. Gosh, it felt like I sat there for several hours but it was only really about 20 minutes.

And then the curator came.

And then we went into my studio.

And then he quietly observed the work. And then we talked about the work. And then we talked more about the work. And then he made some great suggestions about the size of the photographs, the way they were framed, and the conflict of analog vs. digital. And then I talked about urban environmentalism, experimental nature photography, the size of the photographs, the way they were framed, and the conflict of analog vs. digital. And we laughed a little. And we agreed a little. And we disagreed a little. And it was all very lovely, in fact. My goodness, what a relief!

And so... now I wait again.

I wait to see if I'm selected as one of the final 7 artists to be shown in the exhibition. I wait to see if they want to include my photos, if they want more of them, less of them, bigger prints, different frames, or if they want to work with someone else. But you know what? It felt so amazing that I realized the benefits were not just about getting in the show or not getting in the show. (Of course, it would be nice!) But the benefits are about putting the work out there. Giving it a chance. And *amazingly* being selected for this round of 26.

And it was also about finding that little ball of confidence that rolls around in the back of my belly-- that little pretty felt ball that pushes up against my lungs from time to time, nudging from the center. It's quiet. It's careful. It's cautious sometimes too. But it's nice to notice it when it comes. (Hello little ball, I see you there.) And ultimately, I feel grateful for the opportunity to create the work.

To consider the world through the work.

To grapple with the thoughts and feelings and sensibilities in the work.

And to have the excitement to continue making new work.

Again, I come back to my friend's two little words: Be Brave! Maybe that little felt ball is also courage. And maybe we are sometimes led from the very bottom of our lungs, from the nudging up against our soft organs, from the feeling that reminds us we are full of possibility, opportunity, bravery, and courageous acts that tug us into the future.

Just maybe.