Focus, Michelle.

But it's snowing!

Outside my windows...

On the weather vane...

Oh yeah, like my stamps!

Have I mentioned how much I love this rug?

Curse you, USPS! But...but I love the weather vane stamps...

In the studio...

I'm all over the place, but it's a good thing right now. Having a number of things to work on, I am always in the mood to work on something. I haven't taken a ton of photos in the studio yet, but here is a little sampling...

Arranging bits of paper on the floor. Taking inventory.

A drying rack full of super subtle printing. Working on reward
prints for my Kickstarter backers, as well as interiors for books.
 Dry faster, ink.

I spent hours today printing this image, which I drew last year.

Many little books are at various points of creation.
See how nice that top cover looks?

...It was totally a clever smudge-disguise. Clever, Michelle.

Complicated.

More than anything, I am excited about these inexplicable, complicated little structures. They are made of Pergamenata, (and a few are real vellum) and are stitched together with upholstery thread. Currently they range in size from 6" to 1". I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm having flash-backs of my high school foreign language festival construction model days...also the crazy week in grad school where I decided to make a scale model of my thesis show. (that project fizzled out, unfortunately..)

I have also been drawing a lot, but haven't taken any pictures yet. More soon!

Thanks for checking in!

Telescope.

I just took a telescope outside and watched the full moon come up over the ridge directly outside our residence. "Amazing" seems a bland, inadequate description.

It was way better than this.

Last night was pretty good too.

Facing the other way, our cozy huge house. Last night.

I haven't written anything on the 'ol blog in a week, but I can report that I have lived up to my goal of writing in my journal every single day. Things are going well, and I am hard at work in the studio. More about all this in another post. Now you should probably get outside and take a look at the moon.

Squeak.

When I fired up my sewing machine on Thursday there was a squeak. I opened her up and oiled what I knew to oil, cleaned out all the loose bits and fluff, and tried again. More squeak. Rhythmic, abrasive squeak. It got worse, to the point where I couldn't stand to keep sewing.

So I took it apart.

Naked.

I bought this machine in West Virginia my last year of grad school, so 2007. It is a "Singer Prelude" and I think it was $80 from Target. Not a fine machine, but it certainly is a work horse. I have worked like mad with it, sewing mostly paper. In West Virginia, California, North Carolina, and Wyoming.

We get around.

So anyway, I boldly started unscrewing things, with no manual or plan...

Delighted to report that this all ends well. I found the squeak, oiled the squeak, and put everything back together. She is purring like a kitten.

Not at all how I thought I'd get started in the studio here. I've been sewing on some book covers, and yesterday I did a bit of printing, which I regret. It caused more frustration than anything else, and I am going to delay using the press for a while longer, until I am a little clearer in my head. And I am still awaiting some large sheets of paper.

I've been drawing, but more than anything filling sheets of paper with patterns. I think I'm just forcing myself to slow down and not force things...does that make sense?

What else can I share?

Snow on ice on river.

The animal tracks are my favorite. More snow, please.

How 'bout you send me mail?

Michelle Moode
c/o Jentel Artist Residency
132 Lower Piney Rd.
Banner, WY 82832

Here I am!

Somewhere between Denver and Sheridan. Plane could seat 19.
 There were 8 of us on it. 4 of  us en route to Jentel.

A very quick HELLO!

I arrived on Tuesday evening, and have been settling in nicely with my fellow residents. There are six of us: four visual artists and two writers. 

The first evening here was overwhelming, and a lot to take in after a long day of travel. But I'm starting to feel at home. It's cold but not too cold, and pretty damn beautiful.

Out in the 1000 acres.

Still waiting on some paper and supplies, but itching to get going in the studio. 

Where will I ever find inspiration?

View of the Residence. 

View of the Studios.

Thanks for taking a peek! Stay tuned!

Leaving.

Tonight I'm staying in Charlotte at my friend Heather's house, and in the morning I head to Wyoming for my month-long residency at Jentel. I'm very excited to get there... but the prepping, packing, planning, and driving to Charlotte in heavy rain has been a bit stressful. 

I already miss Alfred. And my cuckoo clock.

I cut a ton of book-board this week at Penland.
Not all of it for the coming month.

Paper and book cloth I had stashed away, including 15 sheets
of nideggen paper that I had forgotten about. Score! 

Inventive packing: clothes wrapped in paper, wrapped in clothes... 

More packing things inside other things... (and new boots!)

New red puffy down thing....and 50% off!

Sewing machine being snuggly packed amongst clothes...
fare-thee-well,  old friend!

 So excited to get started.

Let's go!

No, really.

This is what "packing for Wyoming" looks like. Really, Michelle? How many shades of yellow thread does a girl need in a month?

Don't worry; I'm enjoying obsessively paring down from what is pictured. My way-bigger-than-lap-sized cat is doing his best to snooze on my lap.

In other news, today I ordered some leather and bookcloth. I am still taking inventory of what paper I have, and later this week I'm going to spend some time cutting bookboard at Penland.

Also laundry to do, warm clothes to pack, more dark chocolate truffles to make, and my new cuckoo clock to enjoy.

Oh, did I mention I got a cuckoo clock, like I have been planning for the past five years? I love it. How did I make it through the days before I got my sweet lil' cuckoo clock?

A few from Californialand.

At an antique store in Orange.
If this miniature light display wasn't $250, I may have bought it.

I meant to take this picture many times when I lived there.

Somewhere blurry.

Somewhere else blurry.

New Years Day. Movies in Cerritos.

Somewhere else.

Somewhere festive.

Damn beautiful california oak.

Plenty of this.

Farmers market tangerines smuggled home in my suitcase.

Backyard and farmers market goodness.