The New.

Here's to a year of reinvention.

Love and luck to friends who have gone or are going places, deciding things, taking a leap, living in the moment, planning plans.

I'll see you there.

Anywhere.

And thank you strangers, friends, family, and well-wishers who read my blog. Thanks for your support and interest in my art and related nonsense.

The future is now. Happy start of 2011.

Anywhere: this is what's happening.

I'm visiting a brand new little redheaded person this week. I'm very fond of my little goddaughter. She's very neat.

Also neat is this funny girl, who I am rather more comfortable with then the newborn...


cold and rain.

and quiet.

and thinking.

and reading.

and the internet:

I've had a flickr account for some time, and it has been entirely neglected for two years. In an ongoing effort to pull myself together, I plan on getting back into the habit of posting pictures there. Check it out.

The past few days I have been picking over these blog posts, via Etsy.

Speaking of Etsy, lately I have had time to browse and explore, which has resulted in a lot of good discoveries. i made a treasury, which I haven't done in I-don't-know-how-long.



These happened, and more in progress...

big plans for little books.

My winter plans include making a whole bunch of soft-cover pocket-sized books. I was recently commissioned to make a couple, so Santa decided to let me open one of my Christmas presents early.


A Japanese Screw Punch of my very own. Yes!







Last night I taught my older brother to make a book. What fun! I've been cooking a lot, working in my parent's backyard, drawing, writing, and doing other good, quiet things.

Great moments with Mr. Stitt.

My pal Wes Stitt has moved back to that mountain, to a good job with a good man, and to adopt a black cat. I am envious and mopey, and could run away to North Carolina any minute. Okay...probably not, but I am planning a visit in the spring, and daydreams about moving to North Carolina persist.

Before he left, and before I helped him pack up his library, we went to Disneyland...


...for any number of reasons.


It was so fun. so ridiculous. so exhausting. so expensive.

perfect.

Not that we spent any part of the day waiting in lines...but I found plenty of time to take pictures for my own amusement. The tip-tops of things, disney railings and fixtures and details, and our tired feet standing in line.




We had silly-tired conversations. I think that may be my favorite part of a day at Disneyland: the unlikely, imaginative conversations it facilitates. I knew Wes would totally be into that.

To the end.

This is one of those "where has Michelle been?" posts.

I've mostly been in my office at CSUN, grading and photographing work. I can't think of any artist-teachers I know who love grading. I think we all reward ourselves with treats or breaks after going through a few pieces (papers, portfolios, whatever.) It's been particularly unfun this time, because I had an astoundingly large intro. to printmaking class. Thirty people. We don't have thirty of anything in the shop, (including chairs) so I've had a very tense few months. In addition to the giganto class, I had seven intermediate students, who bravely navigated the studio and made the most out of the tough situation. Thanks again to Michael, Jenny, Jeni, Shihori, Carlos, Gina, and Wai. Mostly for your patience.

I had a great advanced/grad group as well, and there was a lot of laughter and printing, and drawing-til-it-hurt, and coffee, and the best ever strange and wonderful tangents instigated by Daniel George.

smile. win it. find big.

I hope I can muster the energy to go out into the world tonight and do a little Christmas shopping. Also hope I can make it to Hiromi Paper tonight, to get some supplies. I have big plans to make many little books while traveling.

A student just told me, "you look exhausted!"

That's that.

the saturday 6am restlessness.

Opportunity-hunting online this fine December morn.

I did not sleep well last night.

Cups of tea.

Space-heater.

What does this image mean? It means I am starting a drawing-a-day project this winter. Mentioning it on my blog will keep me from abandoning the project when I start traveling. I am "nerding it up" by pre-stamping the paper with the dates. My rule for this project is that I will start a new piece each day, but I can work on them for more than one day. the size is a scanner-friendly 8 1/2" x 11". How long will I do this? I don't know. Forever. Or 'til I start teaching the Spring semester at CSUN. I don't know.

Find Big.

Michelle C. Moode's plans for today include...

Cleaning.
Studio-organizing.
List-making.
Walking.
Christmas tree-ing.
Opportunity-hunting.
Letter-writing.
Unlikely-adventure-day-dreaming.
Drawing.