Cleaning out

I want to have only my copper work in my etsy shop, so I've marked down my remaining silver necklaces. If you're interested...

Sunday=Laundry

Of all the conveniences our apartment lacks, I miss having our own washer and dryer the most.

Daily photo: 2/3/08

Apples

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much the organic/local foods movement has in common with the new movements in crafts and I was excited to see that very subject touched upon by this interesting post on Craft Research.

Of course, I like to think that since the New York Times Magazine's article about crafts and web 2.0 came out in December, Megan and I scooped them by publishing our piece in Metalsmith in October! Ha! That'll be the day...

Daily Photo: 2/2/08

Feb. 1

Okay, so maybe yesterday's post was a little premature. This is sort of quaint and picturesque. You'll have to excuse the screen it's shot through--I wasn't goin' out there (too cold!).

Winter in the Midwest

There's precious little charm to be had in slushy, goopey ice/snow, but that is often what you get for winter in the lower Midwest. And it feels like home to me.

Daily photo: 1/31/08

Life is stressful.

And I won't say that evenings like these make it all melt away--because that would be a lie, but they help.

Daily photo: 1/30/08

More vibrating grooming tools

Toothbrush, or some kind of fancy sports car? You tell me.

Who among us is really so lazy that they can't move the floss between their teeth? It's called "the hummingbird."

Rainy Day-Photo Journal

It's 54 degrees (F) right now (9 a.m.)--but the temperature will be dropping all day. I guess it really is January, even in Southern Illinois.

Blank Canvas(es)

6 new oval bowls--waiting to be patterned!

Morning Routine

My daily breakfast: a bowl of oatmeal and glass of milk. I made the mug several years ago, and the spoon. The bowl I got at Uncommon Objects in Austin, TX--maybe the coolest antique store I've ever been to, though when it comes to volume, nothing beats The Heart of Ohio Antique Center near Springfield, OH.

Home again, home again...

Back to good 'ol Illinois. 1/27/08

Out with the girls in St. Louis

Celebrating my birthday in STL at the Royale.
1/26/08

A lazy birthday on the couch

From 1/25/08.

My New Year

It is the eve of my 27th birthday and for me, this always seems like the time to make resolutions about the coming year. So, I am resolving to keep a photo journal for one year starting today. I will take one photo per day of something I did and post it here--that's the theory, anyway.

This morning I worked at the Co-op and set out samples, a job I particularly enjoy. These are the yogurt samples. They were Brown Cow apricot mango.

I get it now.

I guess, up to this point in my life, I had only eaten low-fat or fat-free yogurt. Consequently, I always wondered why yogurt was supposed to be such a treat, one that some people felt was 'indulgent.'
Well, now I work at a fancy grocery store--one that has lots of samples--and I've discovered that the secret is the fat! With fat, yogurt is delicious! I can't get enough of it. Gimmee that rich, creamy, smooth and indulgent yogurt, please. Now, I understand.

Art Guilt

If I learned one thing in my 7 1/2 years of academic art training, it was to feel guilty about any moment of any day that I did not devote to the creation or conception of a "real" work of art.

While I have been making things since I left grad school and moved to Southern Illinois this past summer, I have not actually worked on much of what I would call my "art," until now.

So here it is. Proof that I have at least marginally continued the train of art-making I began in grad school. The white part is a vibrating tool intended for exfoliating one's face and I have loosely attached onto it the butt-ends of bright green toothbrushes. I have plans for more of these "rattles" since the new wave in grooming tools seems to be vibration--even in shaving razors...An idea which actually kind of horrifies me.

A looong winter's break.

I've been a terrible blogger for the past several weeks--but I have at least been busy. I knit both the smaller striped stockings for our cats this year and added the 'C' and 'N' to our stockings, which I knit a couple years ago. Other than that, there's been lots of driving--to Texas and back (over 2000 miles in 9 days) and lots of extra Holiday hours at the Neighborhood Grocery Co-op where I now work part-time.

While I had a good time, I'm glad the holidays have passed and I'm ready to get back to my normal routine.

Here's hoping the New Year brings lots of good new things for everyone!!

I'm it.

Margaux Lange tagged me yesterday, so here are 5 random facts about me:

1. At some point, every bowl I've made, which must be over 100 by now, has been worn on my head like a hat.

2. I like to make funny faces...alot...really, alot.

3. When I'm depressed or really struggling with disappointment, I read the Taoism chapter in Huston Smith's World Religions book. And this is why:

"The natural phenomenon that the Taoists saw as bearing the closest resemblance to Tao was water. They were struck by the way it would support objects and carry them effortlessly on
its tide. The Chinese characters for swimmer, deciphered, mean literally 'one who knows the
nature of water.' Similarly, one who understands the basic life force knows that it will sustain
one if one stops thrashing and flailing and trusts oneself to its support."

4. I didn't name either of my cats--I got them both as kittens but they're previous 'mothers' had given them such good names that I kept them. They're Junebug and Izzy. (Junebug's the darker one)

5. I'm afraid of falling down stairs. It's not a debilitating fear yet, but it does seem to get stronger as I get older.

I tag:
Arthur Hash
Kristen Kieffer
Haylie Bird Waring
Gooseflesh
Barbara Smith

the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

New Double Bowl

Yaw Gallery just had a call for entries for a curated show they're doing at SOFA New York this sping. It's called "Not Just Any Bowl." I just finished this piece to submit. I'm not holding my breath or anything, but it would be so awesome to have a piece at SOFA...

Press!

I'm a little behind the 8-ball on posting about this, but, if you haven't already, you should check out the current issue of Metalsmith Magazine.

In it, I co-wrote an article with my grad school pal Megan on the importance of the internet and blogging in getting exposure in the new world of craft.