Millions of People Happy...

I can see for miles.

2012-01-30T23:14:00.000-05:00

Right now I am interested in:

1. The Who Sell Out
2. Twin Peaks (no, never seen it 'til now!)
3. Microscope Research (open to suggestions. I'm in the market for a microscope.)
4. Kale

Winter Mope Advisory.

2012-01-29T18:20:00.000-05:00

Just because.

This morning I warned my roommate of a "winter mope advisory." I have felt out-of-sorts today, a long sunny sunday at the end of January. I had too much sugar yesterday, and pizza two too many times this past week. I don't feel too creative right now, which makes me very down on myself.

But the day went on. We went for a walk up at Penland, which is so so so splendidly quiet this time of year. Everything there is crunchy and dry and pale, but the sky today was clear and vivid blue.

And there were snowdrops, and a few crocuses.

Snowdrop, 1.29.12

I understand that this has been a very mild winter thus far. This past week it was in the 50s during the day, which is bananas. Honestly I would rather have snow now than March. Come on, winter. Try harder.

I've been working on studio organization and getting rid of things I can't look at anymore.

Didn't I do that before I moved? Yes. But there is always more to move around and sort and let go.

Shaped etching plates...

I'm also getting ready to do some PRINTING in the next few weeks, as I will be a winter-renter in the Printmaking studio at Penland. I have some big etching plates, some little shaped etching plates, some pronto plates, and NOTHING BUT TIME.

If I can muster up some motivation, I think some good things may happen. Soon.

Didn't I go to California? Didn't I get a new camera? Oh yes. I am a bit overwhelmed by the 600+ photos I took on my first excursion with my camera. My brother and I did a lot, and had a fantastically full adventure. More about it in future blog bits. For now, just ...

My brother and the moon.

Happy Now Year.

2012-01-06T00:20:00.000-05:00

Last year, somewhere in rain. Old news.

I'm heading to California soon for a very quick, very full visit. I'm taking my big brother and my new camera. Our trip out west includes a road-trip, (San Jose to Los Angeles), and I have been planning the hell outta this adventure. Okay, not planning...researching.

All about our adventures (with NEW-CAMERA PHOTOS!) in a week or so!

Little books from a very big year.

2011-12-31T16:29:00.000-05:00

World-y interior.

Covers.

More covers.

Custom-made rubber stamp. Delightful.

Scrap-y little books started happening.

Some of the blank books I made this year.

Little things from a very big year.

2011-12-31T14:13:00.000-05:00

A lot happened this past year, most of it resulting from my choices.

And that's nice.

I'm looking forward to 2012. I have plans, and things to look forward to...and nothing so dramatic as a cross-country move.

I made a conscious choice in the spring to step away from blogging and internet business, because I was occupied with packing/moving concerns, making books for two big handmade events, and the stress/anxiety/teeth grinding of that time.

But until my little camera quit on me, I was taking pictures. Here is a sampling of some little things I have seen this year, and evidence of some little adventures...

Crane on Los Feliz Blvd.

Some good looking chairs in Downey, California.

Santa Anita, Arcadia, California.

Pickwick Bowling Alley, Burbank, California.

Crab Cooker, Balboa, California.

Hollywoodland, California.

The road to Visalia, chaperoning some teenagers.

California Grand Bethel, JDI, Visalia, California.

Sequoia on a whim with my girls.

Beautiful breakfast with Yvonne, at the Village Bakery.

Colorful carrots at the Hollywood farmers market.

And a fancy cake I made.

I said goodbye to my goofy students at CSUN.
(and we all wore ties.)

I said goodbye to a wonderful ol' couch, now re-covered at
my grandma and aunt's house. Glad we didn't have to move it.

I said goodbye to a beautiful apartment in Los Feliz.
This was the little brass peephole in the front door.

Next....books of 2011.

Stash.

2011-12-28T23:39:00.000-05:00

A long time ago I bought this lovely little ipod case on Etsy from mariforssell. It is very well made and adorable, and I have spent a while this evening browsing around her Etsy store. (Ordering a camera led to thinking about camera bags, although I think her small DSLR bag would be rather roomy for my forthcoming Sony NEX-C3...)

Ooh, little camera bag....

And, oh... this print....

Plaid, houndstooth, herringbone, vintage wool, snaps, and nice craftsmanship. You should absolutely check her work out.

THIS is temporary seasonal unemployment.

2011-12-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

The Penland Gallery closes for the winter months, and it felt like as soon as I really settled into my new job, this winter hiatus began. It is not a bad thing: I am visiting friends and family and getting away from the wintery mountains for a while...(although I do look forward to some snow when I get home...the novelty of real winter has not worn off for this California girl)(It probably will soon enough.)

(On a side note: yes, I will be returning to the gallery in the spring, and yes, I still like my job.)

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I visited Kentucky, and Susie and I partied like a couple of sick little girls.

Books and Fevers.

Shortly thereafter, I packed up my cold-medicine and flew to Texas. It hurt my ears a lot. Don't fly when you're sick, if you can avoid it.

I'll be here a while longer, and then head further west with my big brother and my NEW CAMERA.

New CAMERA!? So why isn't this blog post full of pictures? Because I don't have it yet....I just submitted my order online, after talking and thinking about it for months and months.

I have been unhappy without a camera. And I haven't been blogging, or documenting anything, or posting work on Etsy, and I mostly blame this on the lack of a camera.

Some recent things:

Replaced a watch battery that has been dead for a couple of years.
Ordered film for my Polaroid land-camera. Three cheers for tangible photographs!
Covered my parents' kitchen table with scraps of paper, spools of thread, and tiny books. I call this area of the house the "exploritorium," and they are supportive.
Seasoned a cast iron dutch oven for my parents.
Reconstituted some of my sourdough-starter for my parents.
Shared the secrets of making sourdough bread with my parents. Their minds have been blown.
Bought an $8 olive-green smith-corona typewriter on the first full day I was here, and carried it home on foot. In the rain.
Participated in late-night Christmas eve "reindeer games" with my big brother. Much stifled hysterical laughter.
Made "black sticky gingerbread" from a very pretty site my boss told me about.
Won at Scrabble...a few times.
Watched an embarrassing number of episodes of Law and Order...

Somewhere far away, he is watching water drip from the
faucet and wondering if he's able to jump on the ceiling fan...

And since my blog is presently this boring, I'll go ahead and add that I miss this guy. Thank you (a million times) to my roomie for keeping him out of trouble while I'm away.....

2011-11-17T10:17:00.000-05:00

Alfred. The Kitten.

The negotiations.

The ongoing debate.

The resolution.

The duck flannel sheets.

The science experiments.

The haircut.

The dinosaur!

Adjusting.

2011-10-01T19:51:00.000-04:00

I've been here about two and a half months. It feels like much longer. But no, I'm still not "settled" or organized. Besides adjusting to the "cross-country-move/new job/roommate/roommate's cat" situation, I am also working on adjusting to glasses:

Henry is not impressed.

I've never worn glasses, besides a weak pair of reading glasses when working on metalsmithing or bookbinding. My left eye is weak, and has been for a while...astigmatism, which I can barely explain. It has been bugging me for a couple of years, (eye-strain, headaches, frowning.) I believe the right lens of my new glasses is crystal clear, and it's not a super strong prescription.

Boring, Michelle.

So anyway....glasses. Weird.

It was quite chilly today, and it is most definately fall here in the mountains of North Carolina. Sweater weather. Socks and hat around the house.

I had a piece at Asheville Bookworks' "Bookopolis" last weekend, and my piece was also juried into the "Capital Works" show by Eileen Wallace. There is an online catalog of the work juried into the Capital Works exhibition here. My photos are pretty weak. As a partial excuse, it was before I got my glasses...

I really don't know how to take photos of books or objects. One night I experimented with a borrowed camera, borrowed tripod, in a pretty decent photo-taking room. Again, before I got the glasses. I don't love the dark background, but it is probably the best backdrop I have ever used...

Anyway. I have been drawing a lot. Simplifying. Trying to think. Or maybe not think; just work. I don't quite know what I want to do right now, art-wise.

And that's okay. 'Cause I'm working on it.

The best reasons to go shoe shopping.

2011-08-31T12:09:00.000-04:00

This is where I work now: the Gallery at the Penland School of Crafts. (fyi, this photo was taken from a helicopter. The mountains here aren't that steep!)

I just started last week, and I like my job so far: I'm in a beautiful historic building full of handmade objects all day, I like the people I work with, and it is just a little isolated from the main campus of the school. I'm learning new things and using some of my non-teaching skills, which is great.

Three days a week, which still allows plenty of time for studio-set-up-ing, which is still barely happening.

Try harder, Michelle.

I bought boots in Asheville the other day...as a pre-birthday present to myself. They were not the comfy/stylish gallery-working shoes that I set out to buy, but several people in the store told me they were cute......I just didn't want to disappoint them....

But look!
See? It is almost sort of starting to think about being fall.

Same as it ever was.

2011-08-25T11:39:00.000-04:00

During Penland's 26th Annual Benefit Auction, I had this quote from Ecclesiastes written out on taped-together manila envelopes and posted on the wall of the Pines Dining Hall:

"All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

This was my tenth auction, and the ninth time I volunteered to manage the dining hall during this elaborate event.

"Manage the dining hall" can be translated into "Try to keep things running as smoothly and Penlandy as possible as auction preparations throw everything into chaos."

&

"through enthusiasm, silliness, sarcasm, and music, somehow persuade 10+ people to join me (in enthusiasm, silliness, sarcasm, and music) in volunteering to wash dishes 'TIL IT HURTS."

And this was a good year. and man, did it hurt.

Washing "dishes" may be translated into "classy-looking-but-annoyingly-large-and-heavy square dinner plates, dessert plates, also dessert bowls (because the auction is all about excessive desserts), wine glasses, water glasses, highball glasses, silverware, coffee cups, saucers, creamers, laughter-inducing plates full of butter, kitchen-prep stuff (for both auction-events and volunteer meals), trays, carafes, serving pieces, catering pieces, and, and, and......."

We finished Friday night around 11:30, a lot later than previous years, (because of more patrons, bigger dishes, and an under-the-tent dessert) but it ended well that night because of the splendidly-timed surprise appearance of veterans Kathy Steinsberger and Wes Stitt.

Then Saturday we washed it all again, and it was glorious.

Please follow the link at top and read about what a record-breaking event this was. More funds funded, more attendees...yeah! I can also report that this bigger-than-ever event was put on with fewer volunteers than previous years. And here most of them are...

I had a great team this year, almost half of whom were stout-hearted veterans of "Team Awesome," "the Dream Team" and the "All-star Dishwashers of 2006". I also had three hard-core 5th session students who volunteered not only to work at the auction, but to keep doing close to what they had been doing for the 2 1/2 weeks prior to the event. Of course, on several occasions I had to clarify that "this isn't quite work study"....meaning we work a hell of a lot harder than a typical work-study shift, but I also say things like, "you guys take a break when you need to...."

It is confusing. I'm confusing.

One of my favorite times during auction weekend is when my crew is done washing all the rental stuff on Saturday. Other crews are counting and sorting things and packing art, but the Pines crew is almost done, and there is this golden time before the volunteers eat dinner, (because yes, we clean up after that too!) My camera having failed me, here are a couple of Heather Miller's pictures from this in-between time....out on the grass in front of the auction tent, which is one of my favorite places on campus...

...And a final picture borrowed from Devin McKim...This was thursday night volunteer-down-time under the tent. The tent is weird and wonderful. We love it and hate it. That's how I feel about the auction too.

"Next Year" are bad words during and immediately after the Auction.

Lastly, please check out the lovely little slide show by Robin Dreyer!

Learning.

2011-08-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

I've been in Spruce Pine, North Carolina just over a month, and everything is going well.

I am suspicious of how well things are going. But that's just my distrustful nature.

I haven't been blogging because I have no idea where to begin. There are things I want to share from the month before I left Los Angeles. Heck, I never really reported on Unique LA or Austin Renegade, huh?

Or my super-cool former students and the conclusion to my time at CSUN.

Or my spontaneous adventure to Visalia and Sequoia with a van full of teenagers.

Right now I am at the sweet little Spruce Pine Library. the calico library-cat, Valentine, is curled up on my red backpack, purring quite loudly. Yeah, yeah: cute. But my heart belongs to my roommate, (the one who is not human) Henry, who doesn't pay rent, sleeps all day, stays up late, and doesn't clean up his messes.

Actually, Henry is one of the most mellow, easy-going cats I have ever known.

I have spent the past month unpacking, organizing, arranging, rearranging, cleaning, moving, and looking. I'm bored with it and wish it could be an automatic adjustment into feeling "at home."

I have also been digging in the yard which has been wonderful, satisfying work. I arrived a bit late in summer to get a garden going, but about a week ago I did start some pumpkins. They were growing quite happily until yesterday I discovered that some spiteful cutworms had put an end to them. Boo. So that's enough about gardening for the moment...

My "studio" is still the area of the house where I haven't unpacked everything, and I don't know where things belong....so I haven't been working. But soon. Oh, and I have a little table-top etching press staying with me now, as the fourth roommate. She's still settling in too. I'd post a picture, but my camera seems to be broken.

This past weekend was Penland's Annual Benefit Auction, the tenth that I have been involved in. And that deserves its own post.

From There to Here.

2011-07-27T11:16:00.001-04:00

The GPS sabotaged my father and I every chance she got. We ended up on a LONG tiny road that delayed our leaving California by several hours.

Vive la France!

One of several nerve-wracking stops on our way across Texas. For the first leg of our trip we were towing my car behind the truck. The Uhaul folks initially attached my car to the tow-dolly wrong, so it kept coming loose, shifting out-of-whack, and causing much anxiety. (It took us a few days to figure out how to make it right.)

But O, such prettiness~

And the moon rolled along the horizon next to us...

2011-07-26T12:13:00.000-04:00

Who Cares!?

2011-06-12T14:37:00.000-04:00

Oh, I am so behind on sharing news and pictures on the ol' blog.

But I am moving in a month, and I won't spend my last month in Los Angeles sitting quietly at my computer, looking to the past.

June is all about putting things in boxes, taking other things to Goodwill, having some work done on my teeth, (I went to elementary school with my current dentist. Isn't that great?) and untangling all sorts of loose ends.

Thanks, Austin.

2011-05-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

Had a wonderful trip to Texas. It was too short, but I got to go swimming twice, met good people, ran around town with my brother, and even got to see my ma and pa.

I ate a surprising number of delicious tacos...

...while my big brother did complicated calculations for me.....

Lots of adventuring through antique stores...

Lots of photo-taking and hand-painted-sign admiration....

And one night my brother took my parents and me to an old Texas/German Biergarten in the middle of nowhere. It was awesome!

Details and pics from the fair in my next post. Stay tuned....

AUSTIN RENEGADE

2011-05-20T14:24:00.000-04:00

I am getting ready for this weekend, exploring austin and obsessing over:

antiques, marbles, skinny satin ribbon, fentimans soda, tacos, more tacos, austin birds, brown craft paper, books, boxes, boxes-of-books, lumber, thread, ice cream, doctor who, bruxism, alaskan klee kais, toy stores, why my fingernails seem to be growing super fast, visiting my parents (and the hotel jacuzzi where they're staying) tonight, and where I'm going to get coffee tomorrow morning.

It's all good. Let's all move to Austin.

Phew.

2011-05-08T23:01:00.000-04:00

Just wrapped up a great weekend at Unique LA, and now turning my full attention to Renegade: Austin, happening in a FORTNIGHT.

I have much to tell, but for tonight, I'll just point you to this sweet little feature about me ("me! me! me!") on Renegade's blog.

Stay tuned for more absurd, impossibly complicated things.

Orange Cats Choose Samsonite.

2011-04-07T14:07:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to see these pictures together...

This is my future housemate, Henry, this past weekend in Spruce Pine.

This is Maranda's friend Hobbes, last summer in Murray.

Thanks for humoring me for a sec.

Ten pictures of where I'm moving.

2011-04-07T13:53:00.000-04:00

This is what I do. Often.

2011-03-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

A friend was having trouble folding paper without getting weird little creases. Words failing, (as they often do) I offered this as a suggestion.

It is a mirror image. It is so weird watching your hands do what they so often are doing.

what?

Gullywasher.

2011-03-20T18:48:00.000-04:00

Snails in rain, courtesy aliette via Etsy.

It has been raining like mad all day today, and I even heard thunder last night, which is a rarity in Los Angeles. (Although my upstairs neighbors might have been dropping bowling balls on the floor again, like they do sometimes in my dreams...)

I blame the rain for my sleeping in later than planned, and it also kept me from going farmers market-ing. Ah boo. But I did take a walk today...

A walk in the rain? Yes, a lot of a walk in a LOT of rain. Maybe it is corny, or eccentric, or sort of masochistic, but I love walking in the rain. In Los Angeles months and months pass with only the slightest changes of temperature, so something different, (whether a singing-in-the-rain kind of rainstorm, a sudden drop down to a chilly 58 degrees, or even a sudden heatwave when all I can stand to eat is frozen grapes and sparkling water...) um, it is something different, so something worth noting and experiencing.

I can't wait to live where there is real weather!

So I put on my ol' $8 goodwill trenchcoat, some boots that I swear used to be waterproof, and took my black-and-white polkadot umbrella down the road, over the fast-moving LA river, to the Village Bakery. I bought sourdough bread, coffee, and a cookie for later. It was a wonderful adventure 'til the wind picked up and started threatening my umbrella, and my boots became soggy inside. I swear, they were fine in the West Virginia snow, but couldn't cope with LA rain.

Lame.

Jody Alexander

2011-03-20T18:20:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up to a tree-cleaning Los Angeles rainstorm, and a link from my friend and mentor, Bonnie Stahlecker, which I'll gladly pass along to you.

Jody Alexander, based in Santa Cruz, over here in California. Books. Bookish objects. Bookish spaces. That's what most interests me about her work.

Yum.

Even better good news.

2011-03-16T11:08:00.000-04:00

I found out on Monday that I will be doing a month-long residency at Jentel in the fall! Okay...let's say winter. Mid-November to mid-December. Chilly.

I am so excited. I have heard wonderful things about Jentel from my pals Maranda and Shane. I think I've only been to Wyoming once or twice: passing through the state with my family, a teenager in the back seat reading science fiction novels.

I'm so glad. Daydreaming about plans, picture-books, and adventures.

It is better.

(The picture above was taken from the Jentel website.)

Try Harder, Michelle.

2011-03-16T10:35:00.000-04:00

May 7th and 8th I'll have a table at the Unique LA Spring Show. Yay! I had a booth at the 2009 Holiday Show, at the end of one of the worst sinusy-headcolds ever. I will not be sick for this one.

For those keeping count: yes, this is a mere two weeks before Renegade in Austin.

I need to get up earlier and stay up later and make more books.

Stand back, world.

Well.

2011-03-11T16:03:00.000-05:00

Well. Here we are well into March. Well, well, well.

I have been working hard: teaching, making books, printing, drawing, and going through everything I own. My home has been in a crazy sort of disarray lately. I keep the windows covered quite often, so no one will see in and think a crazy, reclusive, card-board-box collecting book binder lives there.....

ehem.

I will be relocating in a few months. Good. Exciting. Scary. I have a little fit of anxiety every weekend. Although I have a lot on my mind, and a lot of variables contributing to bizarre dreams, I'm actually coping really well. Rather than dealing with my anxiety and nervous energy by eating, or sleeping too much, or just freaking out in every direction, I am channeling my energy into obsessive, efficient book binding. I'm very excited about the Renegade Craft Fair in Austin.

I've also been taking many long walks around Los Feliz and Atwater.

For now, here are a few more things I have been considering:

Considering.

2011-02-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

I'LL TELL THE WORLD.

2011-02-14T21:22:00.000-05:00

A while back I found this vintage Valentine via RomanceWriter on Etsy. (I was searching for globes.) I like how sweet and slightly aggressive it is.

I haven't had a proper Valentine for some time, but all you really need in mid-february is grocery-store tulips, a nasty sinusy headcold, a humidifier, aerosmith videos on youtube, "third rock from the sun" on netflix, and a few days of aggressive bookbinding.

The little orangey/red book is a prototype of my new favorite binding (well, not totally new to me, but new favorite. what?) Single-needle-link-stitch with a concertina and hard covers. Sewn with a curved needle. Mmm.

Proper mail is essential for a good mid-February too.

Handmade Valentine from dear Vikki Cruz, and bits and pieces and veryfine penmanship from Beth Schaible.

Texas things.

2011-02-10T14:44:00.001-05:00

I am very pleased to share that I'll be participating in the 2nd Annual Renegade Craft Fair in Austin, Texas on May 21 & 22. I love Austin. My big brother lives there, (not sure I have ever mentioned that) and the brief times I've stayed with him in Austin have always been delightful: mini-golf, beer-drinking, ice-cream, picture-taking, antiquing, movie-watching. All at the same time.

So, this is exciting, and has set a good deadline for me in the foreseeable future. Focus. Yes. As handmade books begin to pile up, (and they are!) it's good to have an idea of where they are going...

This will be the first time I'll be traveling to do an event like this, and I'm a little spooked about logistics...fortunately it is an indoor venue, so I need not bother about a canopy. I'm sure I will work it all out. Anyone out there ever travel to do craft shows?

Speaking of Texas and bookbinding, my ol' Penland pal Loring Taoka has commissioned me to make a little all-white book to be used as a comment book for his MFA Thesis show at the University of North Texas. It will almost be like I'm there for his show. Aw...

Excuse me...

2011-02-09T10:35:00.000-05:00

Getting sick is not part of my plan for this semester.

Three weeks in, and all is going well...except there is some flu-bug spreading like mad amongst the grad students and faculty, and based on attendance this week, the undergrads too.

I have gotten a little paranoid about germs. I have been feeling cruddy, and uncommonly headachy, but not sick yet. I am taking all necessary precautions...

...including this declaration on my blog that I will not get sick.

I plan on posting some new work in my Etsy shop tonight after teaching. Weird/bad feeling aside, I had a very productive weekend in the studio.

February.

2011-02-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday on a walk around Los Feliz, I spotted this little yellow crocus. Finding a crocus in February in Los Angeles, (while wearing flip-flops...) isn't quite the thrill of finding crocuses in the lawn of Oakhurst in Murray, Kentucky on March First, or up around the Evansdale Library in Morgantown, West Virginia in falling snow, but...

...but it's still good! One of my favorite flowers. Tiny, simple in structure, humble and under-foot.

They multiply like crazy and have the spunk to bloom in snow. Yeah.

I've had a good start to the Spring semester at CSUN. I've been printing a lot outside of class. This print started as a demo, but has taken on a colorful life of its own. Still in progress, but...

There will be a whole lot of printing in the coming months...

I've been going through old photos on my old laptop, and uploading some on my flickr account. Take a look, but be aware that the recent uploads jump around in time and space...

Where Everything is Everything.

2011-01-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

This vintage illustration available from TheFancyLamb via Etsy.

I really liked my horoscope this week from Free Will Astrology:

"You are usually conscientious about attending to the details. It's one of your specialties to take care of little necessities. You often know what to do in order to fix mistakes and messes caused by the imprecision of other people. For now, though, I encourage you to take a break from all that. In my opinion, you need to regenerate and replenish yourself, and a good way to accomplish that is to let your mind go blissfully blank. At least consider it, please. Give yourself permission to space out about the intricacies. Steep yourself in the primordial ooze where everything is everything."

I have had an anxious, exciting few days...in a boring sort of way. I started teaching, and am looking forward to a good, exhausting semester. I'll have early early mornings, (which feels great when I get used to it, and a sunrise improves the commute...) and I'm teaching three printmaking classes, back-to-back-to-back. The good news is they are of a good, better, reasonable size, and I have a lot of excited returning students. hoopla!

So, that's that. On my first day of the semester, after meeting all my students and talking a mile a minute for hours, I went out to my car feeling satisfied with my 'performance'....and my car battery was dead. very dead. I got a jump start from the University police, and headed straight over to pep boys, holding my breath the whole way. Got a new battery and an oil change, which took an astoundingly long time. So much for beating traffic.

Then I headed home, starving and sleepy. And of course there was an accident on the 5 freeway. Of course!

Finally made it home, ate dinner and went to sleep. Early. Ah....

My smoke alarm went off at 4:30 am. LOUDLY. I woke up, fell out of bed and waved my pillow at it, like you would if an alarm went off while cooking. But wait, I was sleeping, not cooking. And there was no smoke. Then it stopped.... Then it went off again. I heard my upstairs neighbors get up out of bed. I have very tall ceilings, so I had to move a damn dresser to stand on, to take the thing down. which made it go off again. And I took the battery out. And it went off again...

Egads. So it just needed a new battery, but is not the kind that 'chirps' subtly for a few days before. No, it just threw a damn tantrum.

I finally did go back to sleep, uneasily, on the couch. I dreamed my neighbors came down and yelled at me, then the ceiling broke open and flooded my studio. What? And bad dreams about Doctor Who monsters. et cetera.

I made an Etsy treasury the other day. Take a look:

In addition to teaching, I am working on a big new crop of books, printing a lot, and working on opportunity-hunting. hunting-and-gathering. Last night I was struck with an impulse to make some simple valentines out of scraps. Some of them may end up on Etsy in the next few days. And why not.

Honestly?

2011-01-20T15:34:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned how I'm reorganizing the universe. I recently came upon these huge pieces of matboard, under the couch, under the dust, and under a box of paper and old art. They are from my undergrad days, circa 2002. Cut up, covered in tea stains and cryptic notes, sketches and manifesto snippets. I am getting rid of them, but only after documenting the bits that are why I held on to them for so long.

2011-01-19T22:45:00.000-05:00

I walked down the sidewalk today kicking a pine-cone, arguably one of life's most satisfying pursuits. I believe it was fun for the pine-cone as well.

I've been busy and productive since returning to Los Angeles: visiting with family and a few friends, continuing organizing the universe, letting things go, watching Doctor Who while making books, (or making books while watching Doctor Who...) drawing pictures, taking note of deadlines, then forgetting about deadlines, enjoying consciously as well as sleeping soundly thorough 1960s Disney science shows like this, writing many letters (on the computer and in my head), working on a website, and planning plans.

Or at least daydreaming daydreams.

I suppose things are good in Los Angeles. I start teaching again at CSUN very soon.

I have been posting some things in my Etsy shop this evening, including some more little books. Please take a look!

Thank you for reading!

The New.

2010-12-31T01:47:00.000-05:00

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.

2010-12-30T00:32:00.000-05:00

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.

2010-12-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

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.

2010-12-15T15:36:00.000-05:00

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.

2010-12-15T14:54:00.000-05:00

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.

2010-12-04T09:13:00.001-05:00

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.

2010-12-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

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.

Time. and Space.

2010-11-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

I realized today that I have two weeks left in this semester. Also that tomorrow is December. Whoa. The future is now.

I am excited about the any-day-now birth of my best friend's little girl. I can't wait to be crazy aunt michelle to this little person, and wish I wasn't quite so far away from Murray, Kentucky.

My best friend on this side of the country is moving back to the other side of the country, and although I am super excited for him, I'm a little mopey about it too. Boo.

Sunday was great! Thanks to the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, all the good people I talked with and shared my work with, friends and well wishers, and Wes, who helped carry a table and took these photos.

More on the Facebook page.

Thanks for your time!

Here Along the Way.

2010-11-23T18:29:00.001-05:00

You know Maranda? One of my favorite people to laugh and cry with?

or at?

Here she is tree-climbing with kittens...

Well, Maranda is currently in Wyoming, living the life at Jentel and she is blogging about her experience: Here along the way.

I envy her snowy, thoughtful days of printing, bookbinding, baking, and blogging. God, I hate her. (I'm mostly kidding, Maranda. It's better.)

Eagle Rockin'.

2010-11-23T18:21:00.001-05:00

This Sunday! Come say hi!

This? Good.

2010-11-15T19:56:00.001-05:00

I think this project is worth mentioning on the ol' blog. Kyle Durrie of Power and Light Press is raising funds for Moveable Type: cross-country adventures in printing. Check it out.

What really delights me about this project? The scale model. Obviously.

I have a cold. I am not happy about it.

Elsewhere.

2010-11-11T15:59:00.000-05:00

Elsewhere, in Greensboro, North Carolina, is a "living museum set within a former thrift store." I am fascinated by this place. I stumbled upon it years ago (on the internet I mean) when I was in grad school. Re-stumbled upon it while opportunity-hunting earlier this week. As many of you strangers know, I have a personal and academic interest in both logical and illogical collecting, arranging, accumulation and...let me say it quietly......hoarding.

hmm.

I hope to visit this place sometime. Anyone ever been there?

A big etching plate with droplets.

2010-11-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

And yeah, That's how I hold my writing/drawing tools.

November!

2010-11-01T15:08:00.000-04:00

I was "Ambiguity" for Halloween, which meant I wore many many shades of grey. Sure, it was a last-minute costume, but I thought it was quite clever and understated.

I've been printing a lot. Still.

I spent some time on friday going through my art and sewing supplies, and plan on giving some stuff away to my students (if they want any of it). Will I be using oil paint or ceramics tools anytime soon? Not bloody likely.

I'm having a fit of restlessness, and organizing/letting go of stuff helps.

Today & Ink.

2010-10-28T23:13:00.000-04:00

So, this is almost done. More printing awaits, and a wee bit of sewing. Machine sewing. They are 15" x 20", two plates, (neither plate is near the paper size. huh?) and I'm working on 30 of them. The best thing about this whole "varied edition" thing is that I am changing the colors....(slightly) every 5 or 6 prints.

Better pictures when I am DONE!

Today I didn't get any time to print at CSUN, but I had a good day teaching. My advanced/grad class is very psyched to do some papermaking science experiments next week. So am I.

three-legged screaming thing, part two.

2010-10-27T18:43:00.000-04:00

Long morning and afternoon printing. Good. Tired now. Covered in ink. Intaglio muscles sore. More printing (and teaching) tomorrow. I'll take some pictures of the actual prints too. (I can't help myself...I am more interested in documenting my tarletons and piles of ink.)

Unintentional muppet-y colors. Well, maybe a little intentional. And picture me in pink gloves and pink corduroy pants.

Really.

What am I printing? I'm down to the wire working on my edition for the Varied Edition Portfolio for the Dirty Printmakers of America's "States of the State" project. (Whew, I'm not even sure I followed that....) I'm very excited about my prints, and even more excited to be in a VARIED edition portfolio.

Hoopla!

three-legged screaming thing.

2010-10-27T09:02:00.000-04:00

I woke up at 4:30 this morning. I don't know why that happens, but I'm running with it. Running up to Northridge to do some printing, and probably some grading, too. I have a million students this semester, so the work has piled up.

And by the way, where did October go? I have had a lot on my plate the past couple of weeks, and I have stayed sane by regular doses of the Muppet Show.

And THIS is one of my favorite bits, for a lot of reasons that I can not get into this early in the morning, before coffee. Why do you think I like it so much?

Let's all enjoy some pictures of Pumpkins!

2010-10-26T17:52:00.000-04:00

This one came home with me.

"Not life as we know it, Jim."

The first pictures are from the Pomona Pumpkin Festival, the latter ones are from my aunt and uncle's pumpkin patch in Corona.

Etching plates.

2010-10-26T17:44:00.000-04:00

I have been printing some big etching plates this week. I love the way my in-progress plates look....See if you don't agree!

And.

2010-10-08T15:49:00.001-04:00

In other, non map-of-nowhere news, yesterday I began experimenting with screen-printing on bookcloth....

Furthermore.

2010-10-06T20:38:00.000-04:00

Yeah, okay, I just liked the way my previous post looked. It amused and delighted me. My blog.

I have posted a few new-to-the-world pieces in my store. More to follow.

Recently. Also.

2010-10-06T19:58:00.000-04:00

Never. Constantly.

This has black and pink and grey-and-pink stitching all over it. I love the subtlety of the bit of machine stitching with a grey top thread and pink bottom thread...apparently so did my scanner, as it decided I needed this funny little detail....

Recently.

2010-10-06T14:40:00.000-04:00

Tulips and Smoke.

This grey ink is my new best friend.

Art and Pants.

2010-10-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

I had this spooky encounter while browsing at Banana Republic on Saturday.

Someone from Banana Republic is spying on me. They know my penchant for pink corduroy pants, and beyond that, they've been taking note of what colored pencils (ink, thread...) I use daily...

But really the joke's on them, because I wasn't actually in a buying, or even a trying-on mood. Just a hungry-for-thai-food mood. And $80? Sorry, Banana-Republic-Designer-stalker, but I'm watching my spending.

A lot.

2010-10-02T16:40:00.001-04:00

I have a lot going on.

No news to share, but a lot going on.

The Fair!

2010-09-30T01:50:00.000-04:00

Saturday was the 2nd Annual LA Printers Fair at the International Printing Museum in Carson, California. I was very glad to return as a vendor for this very well-organized event. I had another splendid day in the heat and the wind, showing and selling my work, making some contacts, and seeing some old friends.

I am making piles of books these days. I love it. I just want to spend my days making books, watching the muppet show, and eating chocolate-covered pretzels.

Want to see some more pictures?

Tell me.

2010-09-26T20:10:00.000-04:00

If you were to buy a handmade journal/sketchbook, (from me) which color would you select? I'm ordering supplies, and I need help narrowing my choices!

Today!

2010-09-25T09:44:00.000-04:00

See you there!

"Millions of Michelle Happy."

2010-09-13T14:24:00.000-04:00

September 12 was my 30th birthday, and in spite of my cold and my sore back, I had a lovely, relaxing Sunday with good friends, Becky, Bradley, and Wes. We had breakfast and discussed Proust at Figaro in Los Feliz...

...went on a splendid Sunday afternoon drive through canyons, (pretending we were somewhere besides Los Angeles,) then spent some time in the windy September-ness at Point Dume.

Then there was pizza from Mamma's, and then amazing from-scratch Becky Sroka four-layer-lemon-cake...

A good day. Now to tend to some secret belgian binding. (shhh....)

Let me tell you about September in Los Angeles.

2010-09-09T23:26:00.000-04:00

After being back in LA as a grown-up for 3 years, I think I finally get it.

For a few days I ask myself, "did it cool off dramatically, or am I catching a cold?"

Then it warms up, and I ask myself, "did it warm up again, or do I have a fever?"

This repeats several times, and wears me down until I DO catch a cold.

It has been very cool and pretty the past few days, but I have not totally enjoyed it, (see above) add to this general fatigue of start-of-the-semester, and working hard to finish piles of books.

Speaking of bookbinding, I have discovered, (and I think I discovered this last year too, but have learned my lesson. again.) that 29/30 seems to be the age when sitting on the floor for hours, tearing/folding paper does not work so well. Don't get me wrong: I am damn flexible for any age, and won't stop working on the floor sometimes....but my GOD! has my back been killing me this week! This morning I got up at about 5am, just thinking, "I will be so much more comfortable standing." After work I was flat on my back on my yoga matt for a good long while, in my skinny hallway.......cause, you know, there's paper all over the floor in the living room.

But you know, rather than making it all about age, (Michelle,) I can also say that 29/30 is a perfect age to consider needing a BIG good-working-height table...right? I mean, I own my own tear-bar now. I'm moving up in the world.

Here are a couple of things to look at: no more complaints, I swear!

One of my students brought me (and the class) early-birthday-cupcakes today.
She works in a cupcake store.
(Yes, you read that right.)
More exciting than the cupcakes? The arrival of some new metal RULERS and yardsticks for CSUN Printmaking! And they are flush-to-edge, which is my favorite kind.

I love rulers.

So, speaking of new and birthdays and stuff, um, I bought a new computer! Long overdue, AND Apple had a back-to-school free ipod w/ a new laptop promotion. For students. AND educators.

Everybody wins.

Here, enjoy this obligatory narcissistic "I-have-a-new-laptop-with-a-camera" picture. As those of you who know me really well can attest, (Jenni, Maranda, you with me?) Few things in life delight me more than making faces at myself.

So this new toy is trouble.

But, hey! LOOK AT THAT PILE OF BOOKS BEHIND ME!

(and I moved them there for the photo...I don't actually store finished things so haphazardly. And anyway, they're not all finished.)

I promise I'll tell you about my summer. I promise.

Quiet.

2010-08-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

This blog has been neglected, not abandoned.

I've been all over the country. Making books, making friends with animals, counting meteorites, and counting friends on the east side of the country.

I'll resume regular blogging and online business as soon as I determine how I will manage teaching printmaking to 35 people in a room designed for maybe 15...

I just need to jump in a lake more often.

2010-08-19T17:42:00.000-04:00

These things.

2010-07-06T17:36:00.001-04:00

I've been going places, looking carefully, making things, and taking care.

So, what are you doing this summer?

2010-06-02T22:39:00.000-04:00

"It could be like secret santa for book nerds." -Beth Schaible

My friend Beth, who made the book above, (which you may purchase from her Etsy Store) made a brilliant suggestion in response to my Summer of Books post.

I am certain Beth and I are not the only ones planning on binding books this summer...

Stay tuned for details!

On Saturday.

2010-06-02T03:26:00.000-04:00

Photo by Vikki Cruz.

Summer of Books.

2010-06-01T17:54:00.001-04:00

Here's the first batch of books for this summer. The top three were my demo books from Saturday.

So, while in preparation mode for last Saturday's workshop at Surface, I decided that my goal for the next few months, (one of em') is to make a book for each day of my summer. I don't intend on making one every single day, because there will be some travel (and laziness!) in the mix...but when I am in work-mode, I can finish several in a day.

And I'm not promising they'll all be pretty, 'cause I intend on teaching myself some bindings I do not know. This project will be good, satisfying practice/progress, and will help me build up an inventory of blank books in case I participate at any events like Unique LA in the Winter.

And...now that I've announced this plan to all you strangers out there who read my blog, I better get to work, huh?

Also, (speaking of books) I'm not sure I've mentioned that I am returning to Penland this summer to make books for a couple of weeks. Thank God, right?

Snailoftheday, Papernstitch, toomanykittens.

2010-05-26T15:57:00.000-04:00

Say, I was feathered, (wait, I mean featured) as the Papernstitch shop-of-the-day today. Nice! I am an "Artist to Watch," seemingly.

Watch me.

Next on the agenda is a trek across town to Hiromi Paper in Santa Monica, to get some supplies for the killer-diller bookbinding workshop I'm teaching Saturday in Bakersfield. Odds are I'll indulge in fancy paper for myself too!

I worked at Sante D'Or this morning, and there are now 12 kittens hanging around in the back room there. And of course they're cute, and funny...but they also sort of weird me out. I am more comfortable with the grown cats. There are also two little dogs and a remarkable lot of bunnies. Come adopt someone. Or at least come give 'em some love.

Last week a nice couple came in with a hat full of newborn barely-open-eyed kittens they had found abandoned in Griffith Park. Fortunately they were able to take them home and foster them. Makes your heart hurt, right?

Update on Snails and Art.

2010-05-25T12:50:00.000-04:00

So, there's finally work to look at in my Etsy shop, and I have my work on good ol' Papernstitch this month as well.

This coming Saturday I will be teaching a little bookbinding workshop in Bakersfield at Surface Gallery. I love my Bakersfield people, so I'm looking forward to running up there for a minute.

Here's a painting by my pal Vikki.

Snippets.

2010-05-24T17:36:00.000-04:00

Years ago...

2010-05-22T03:04:00.000-04:00

I was living in Morgantown, West Virgina and thinking grad-school thoughts. It all seemed very big and important at the time, and I was pretty selfish, in a grad-schooly kind of way.

And I had a pretty bad, likely self-inflicted haircut.

And a lotta space to make art. And a lotta stuff.

My God, I had a lot of stuff.

This was Fall 2006...my friend Jenni had come to visit. I remember she teared up when she saw what kind of work I was working on, which still makes me glad.

like Pollyanna.

I have a better haircut now, less room to make art, but also, (gladly) less "stuff."

And I am a lot less selfish. At least I hope I am.

I have no point to make. Just found these photos, and started thinking about the Mo'town days. Thinking about the past.

I am very fond of snails.

2010-05-19T09:37:00.000-04:00

Wednesday Morning, 6am in Los Angeles.
I recorded a two-minute video of this snail commuting across the sidewalk (with cars speeding by in the background) but I am having difficulty uploading it. But you probably have other things to do with the two minutes it would take you to watch it...

I woke up at 2:30 am, and was unable to go back to sleep. Serves me right for trying to go to bed early.

I've been drawing all morning, and noting how I breathe differently when I draw. It is nice. I like the drawing-breathing.

I have overhauled my studio, and am quite organized at the moment, and have a plan. Well, a few plans.

I also have a stack of pieces I intend to share on this blog and on Etsy...quite soon.

Yesterday I planted some seeds, including "moonlight" nasturtiums and "flying saucer" morning glorys. (glories, maybe?) I have an outer space-y garden.

My plan for the morning is to walk over the 5, over the River to Atwater Village. I'm going to have breakfast at the Village Bakery (I have only tried their scones, and their scones were acceptably yummy.) Then I will work a shift at Sante D'Or Animal Rescue, with my lady Sabrina and the gang.

In conclusion: snails, drawings, breathing, outer-space flowers, cats, bunnies, scones, and coffee.

I have no particular complaints today.

Hello.

2010-05-11T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm working on grades and wrapping up the semester at CSUN and LMU, which means soon, dear friends, I will be returning to regular blogging, regular art-making, and reopening the ol' etsy shop. This has been a tough semester with all-together too much driving, and I am itching to resume my Michelleish pursuits.

Here's some good stuff:

For all your awesome eccentric Los Feliz cat needs: go here.
For all your time travel needs: go here.
For all your inspiring-early-Sesame-Street-educational-stop-motion-shorts needs: go here.
or here.

A Sleeping Ferriswheel.

2010-04-16T15:33:00.000-04:00

Okay.

This semester is nearing the end. And it has been a tough one. Very tough.

I have been drawing and sewing a lot more this past month, and these works-in-progress are happily moving around in my studio. (I don't mean on their own...that would be creepy.) My Etsy sabbatical will continue a while longer; not because of laziness or busy-ness or lack of work...I just need to make work for myself for a while, without sharing it with the universe immediately. Does this make sense to anyone?

Also thinking about summertime, far-away-friends, adopting a cat, race-horses, sugar-lift, LOST, getting my hair cut, organizing my closets, and saving money.

20th Century Props.

2010-04-04T00:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I visited 20th Century Props in North Hollywood, which is going out of business. It was an adventurous two hours.

You should totally go visit.

I haven't told you about...

2010-04-01T18:25:00.000-04:00

...the book that I made for the Art House's most recent Sketchbook Project. This book is on tour at the moment, but eventually will be a part of the Brooklyn Art Library in New York. (So you'll be able to go visit it, and I believe my Wisdom Teeth book is still kickin' around there as well. If not, I have no idea where it is.)

Here are some more crumby photos:

The theme given to me was "Danger, Danger."

Many many holes drilled through the pages...

All the sketchbook pages tied closed...

And in the center, a small sculptural book with points.

There's plenty more I could say about this piece, but I'd rather hear what you think.
My little book, (along with many, many others) will be at Art and Shelter Gallery in Los Angeles, April 10 and 11.

misc.

2010-03-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

here:

March First.

2010-03-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

There's been a flurry of activity in my Etsy shop, as I had a piece featured in an article in the Storque the other day. Hooray! I've been too occupied with teaching (and driving) to post new work in my shop lately, so unfortunately a whole lot of people have been looking at my almost-empty shop...ah, well.

Thank you all for checking me out, and for the encouraging words.

Today is one of my furlough days, so I'm catching up on life stuff like laundry, dish-washing, mail, and rest. This was quite a busy weekend, so I timed my furlough day right.

I am happy it is March First. Its one of my favorite days in the whole year.

Sigh.

Valerie.

2010-03-01T01:13:00.000-05:00

A friend and I went to see a very weird, very beautiful movie on Saturday evening, at one of my new favorite places, the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax.

It was a Czech film from 1970, called "Valerie and her Week of Wonders." And it is just beautiful.

Here is the trailer.

Ann Flowers, I want you to see this movie.

the lovers, the dreamers and you.

2010-02-14T01:31:00.000-05:00

This is a mediocre picture of a perfect rainbow. The only way I could have got the full arch in frame was if I had stood in the middle of a very busy street...but still, it was a lovely lovely time.

How Not to Move a Litho Stone.

2010-02-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

I'm attempting to teach Lithography to my advanced/grad students this semester at CSUN. All is going well so far, except for this unplanned demonstration. "See, class? It really hurts!"

Not a tear, though.

Spring 2010.

2010-02-07T18:46:00.000-05:00

I have already been teaching for a couple of weeks, and they have been somewhat brutal weeks. That's why I haven't been blogging. (Or making art, or doing much laundry, or or or...) This semester is going to be a tough one.

I got an email a few days before classes started, asking me if I could teach Printmaking at Loyola Marymount University this semester. Of course I said yes, although the drive from Los Feliz to Westchester is not too fun. But so far my students are great, and it will be a welcome boost to my bank account.

Also I have unexpectedly reconnected with an old acquaintance from Frogman's who is a TA at LMU this semester. He's been cleaning out some cabinets in the studio there, and found this non-dairy creamer from the 1970s. Ew.....

I also love that the plastic container is a major selling point...

Two days a week at LMU, and two days at Cal State Northridge. At CSUN I have the most Printmaking students I have ever had, which is GREAT, and this is the first semester where there are more levels offered, which is making eveyone's life better!

So things are going well, but I am still adjusting to my schedule. I get up around 6am to go to LMU, and this past week I had one morning where...I swear to God...I put on two different shoes. No, not like black and brown:

Fortunately I did have time to stop at a shoe store before class.

The Winter Crazy.

2010-02-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

I'm going to post a few catch-up posts today. This has been a catch-up sort of a weekend.

Over my winter break, I tended to a couple of crazy Michelle projects.

One: I spent a few whole days unstretching my crumby undergrad oil paintings and cutting the canvases into 4" squares. Some of these paintings were rather large, and all of them were astoundingly crumby. They had cluttered up my life for too long, and I am grown-up enough to know that I am past any interest in reworking them, or showing them to anyone, or ever ever ever hanging them on a wall.

What will I do with the squares?

I don't know.

I like how they look all stacked up. I'd love to hear your suggestions!

So, this enterprise was about orderly destruction, and potential reinvention. This second crazy project was all about crazy organization. (while listening to all three seasons of Arrested Development...) This was what I did as soon as I was done teaching for the fall semester, and I think I needed to stay home and be alone and arrange things. It was great. But crazy. I know...crazy.

Anyway, way back in gradschool, I started making the paper-spirals...It was a big (but little) component of my Thesis at WVU. (the little spirals are pictured on the banner of my Etsy store, as well.) In my moves since then, these things have been tucked away in various boxes, bags and suitcases. And I have continued making them...so I finally took the time to wrangle them into a single container, and rather than simply dumping them into the box, I obsessively arranged them one at a time. And took a million photos in the process. (50 or 60, actually)

Another thing I do thoroughly well.

2010-01-14T01:06:00.000-05:00

I pruned thirty-three very-old rose bushes this winter. My mom planted some of these 30 years ago. (at my Dad's moms' house)

Just wanted to remind everyone (including myself) that I'm not lazy.

I'm trying....

2010-01-04T19:44:00.000-05:00

...to finish this damn afghan I started in 2005! I am not putting it away until it is done. Glad to report that I have finished making all the squares. Now I just have the tedious task of connecting them. Its okay though: I excel at tedious tasks.

Twenty-ten!

2010-01-04T19:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

My mom and I went out to the Huntington Library a few days ago. It was a bit crowded for my taste, (I'm guessing all the folks who come out for the rose bowl/parade have to do something else before they leave town) but I'm planning on going back soon; the camellias are on the verge of blooming like crazy all over the gardens. I'm also thinking of planting a couple of camellias in my own garden.

We also found a beautiful (although sad and sorta creepy) pomegranate tree that had lost its leaves for the season, but still had some dry, bird-eaten pomegranates on it. Lovely!

We overheard an excited little boy who summed up the experience of the Huntington Gardens well: "I never know nature could be so fun!!"

I'm trying....

2009-12-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

to improve my egg-poaching skills. One of my weird winter projects...

Hollywood Winter Birds.

2009-12-29T20:34:00.000-05:00

that's all.

Gold Star Intro Class 09.

2009-12-18T01:09:00.000-05:00

I have already alluded to the fact that this semester at CSUN I had the best class I have ever had. (yes, I have only been teaching for about four years, and only two-and-a-half post grad school, but they were still the best.)

On the morning of our final meeting/clean up, I was so delighted by the work I found on the drying rack that I had a fit of generosity. I brought in treats and bought everyone gold stars before our meeting.

Before the cleanup we took care of some shop reorganization I had been thinking about doing for a year, (it included moving cabinets, litho stones and tables!) and it worked out that the space we cleared was the exact size of a couch that needed a home.

Everybody wins!

They even humored me by posing for a group picture around the new couch.

Earlier this semester my students helped me install a show of prints made in the past three semesters. They also helped me print flyers, which coincided nicely with their silkscreen demos.

Erynn is graduating! I have worked with Erynn for three semesters, and this semester she was one of my awesome TAs. Now she is applying to MFA programs, and she packed up her plates, left her apron for future printmakers, and wandered off. (I'll see Erynn again, at Doily-fest '09, when I'm going to teach her how to crochet in a circle...)

The best day of the semester was when I arrived at work to find these notes "from" the inks, (which were donated to the shop, and needed some attention...)

Another MA candidate spearheaded the start of the CSUN Printmaking Society this semester. Robert jumped through many, many hoops to get this officially sanctioned by the University. Our first "function" as an officially-sanctioned-organization was our participation in the Art Department Holiday Sale, which of course came when I was at my absolute sickest. But while I was at home with my humidifier and chicken noodle soup, a couple of my intro students were not only selling their prints, but also making, um, signs to advertise the sale. When I got back the following Monday, I was delighted and amused by their signs...(as both my former print professors may attest, I LOVE big home-made signs. I was particularly fond of making WVU Printmaking Bowling Tournament signs...) Oh, they also put the "AWESOME STUFF" sign over my office door.

Awesome Stuff.

But even better than the handmade signs was the day that I noticed that these guys were all wearing matching shirts. It's a good sign when people sharing workspace start to think alike...

But seriously, I had the good fortune of witnessing some great teamwork this semester, and my spring 2010 intro class has a lot to live up to.

yay!

"I just want to hang out in here."

2009-12-17T19:11:00.000-05:00

This is what one patron of Unique LA shared with me, and it confirmed that I was doing something right in my set-up for the event.

As I've mentioned, Unique LA came just at the end of my nasty cold, and prior to the event I felt very pessimistic about how it would go. This was not only because I was coughing like crazy and feeling entirely drained of energy, but also because I had to leave a sad pile of unfinished books at home. I just didn't have as much work ready as I had hoped, and many of my plans had to be put aside. (from maybe-piles to probably-not piles...)

I also handled most of the event alone, which was not impossible...but sort of a bummer. (thanks again to Erynn for helping on Saturday!) Having to stay in the neighborhood of my own stuff, I took zero photos of the non-Michelle parts of the event. Unfortunate, but this thing was ENORMOUS, and very crowded (which is good-don't get me wrong!) so when I did venture away from good ol' booth 4015, I felt lost and overwhelmed, and a lot less healthy. So I agreed with the anonymous patron mentioned above: I was happy to remain in my own pretty space.

Wow, I just reread this, and it sounds so negative! Unique LA was GREAT, and I had a successful, profitable weekend...I just know it could have been better, and maybe if I do it again it will be!

I sold a lot of work, and I had a few really good conversations.

I like to think I made thousands of people happy, or at least several hundred.

I sold almost all of the books pictured below, plus more, and found it encouraging that the ones which were MY favorites were indeed the first to sell. (and contrariwise, the ones I'm if-y about are still cluttering up my home...)

I delighted (and was delighted BY!) people who appreciate stacks of paper and tiny, subtle things.

I fell in love with strangers who love books.

I saw a few familiar faces amongst the thousands of unfamiliar ones, and was glad when people told me "I know your work from Etsy," or "I bought a book from you at the LA Printer's Fair."

Another comment I overheard and wrote down was, "See? That's where I got my art circles!"

According to the Unique Blog, over 6000 shoppers came on Saturday alone...and here you can see a few of them...behind the books...

The funniest thing someone said, (and I'm paraphrasing) was, "You make me feel like the most uncreative person!" I apologised.

I also liked it when one woman said, (nicely, supportive, in a positive way...) "I hope your Mom knows you're selling trash." This was in reference to the hanging stacks of paper, which are mostly made of my own scraps and pieces of old work and ephemera. I'll add that I believe my mom is delighted that I am selling "trash." I think my dad is too. They are big fans of "the bundles" (which is what I used to call these before I decided they were not bundles at all. Plus I like "the Stacks" as a library reference...) About three years ago when I was visiting my parents in Texas, I decorated their whole dining room with these hanging pieces at Christmastime.

My favorite comment was some gentleman who told me, "I like the way you see the world." Thank you: so do I. He and I also talked about my interest in making non-blank books, or "artist books" (a term I don't love) or "picture books" (a term I do love.)

In the works.

Awesome Stuff.

2009-12-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back a couple of my intro students put this sign above my "office" when I was out sick. My head was pretty fuzzy when I first found it, but now with a clear head I have decided it is delightful, and I choose to believe it is evidence that some of my students like me. Or like printmaking. Or hopefully maybe both.

The awesome paper towels were spotted at the market when my brother was visiting. I really doubt they are as awesome as they proclaim, which makes me wonder if I'm as awesome as my students proclaim in cardboard and spray paint.

The AWESOME welcome-rug was spotted in Bakersfield on my last book-binding adventure up there.

Today I am eating tangerines in my chemical-closet/supply-room/office, and tying up end-of-the-semester loose ends. Almost all my grades are entered, everything is almost perfectly clean, and things are quieting down at CSUN. I am looking forward to the coming month. Looking forward to looking ahead (that makes sense) and resting, and making stuff, and not thinking too much, and having quiet michelle-time, and seeing family, and and and.

Exhale.

2009-12-08T21:31:00.000-05:00

Oh my... was I ever sick! Sick and busy. Narcissistic as it may be, I had to document what my days were like there for a while...bundled up like this, feeling dreadful, but binding the hell outta some books. My apartment is trashed at present...like a busy, sick, artist lives there. yuck.

Things are better now! Better! Better! BETTER! I'm better, for starters. Still a bit of a cough, but I'm not depending on cold medicine to get me through days or nights. ah. Well, maybe still the nights.

This is the end of the semester at CSUN. Today I got most of my grading done...I wasn't drinking coffee while I was sick, so today it hit me pretty hard. I also made a rather long list of things my students are going to CLEAN on Thursday! I plan on bragging about my awesome intro class in a separate post. later. tomorrow.

UNIQUE was great. I really was doubtful about how it would go, what with my illness and fatigue and all...but it was good, and I'm glad I did it. More about it in another post.

And what else? Rainbows. It rained on Monday and the LA winter that I love so much seems to have arrived. There is snow on the mountain-tops, and it is clear enough to see the mountains. People are putting up Christmas lights. LA is beautiful this time of year.

Unique LA.

2009-12-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

Unique LA is this weekend! Saturday and Sunday, 11-6 at the California Market Center in downtown.

Unique is the largest independent design show on the West Coast, with over 300 designers and artists. Admission is $10.00, with partial proceeds going to a local non-profit. Entry gets you an exclusive-to-the-show limited edition tote bag, a free drink ticket, unlimited re-entry for both days, and access to free workshops.

I hear there's a photobooth, too...

Come say hi to me at booth #4015.

Sick. And "Plenty" at Happy.

2009-12-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

I had a productive, yet restful thanksgiving break. But out of nowhere on Sunday a horrible monster took up residence in my sinuses, and I have been miserable the past couple of days. If I'm not making any sense in this post, its because of this beast pounding on the inside of my brain.

But the sinus monster isn't going to stop time. The end of the semester is in sight, and I have to pull myself together.

Anyway, check out the small works show "Plenty" at the cute little boutique "Happy." Here is a recent feature on apartment therapy. If you're able, come out on Friday and hang out in my neighborhood!

Timeline.

2009-11-19T16:08:00.001-05:00

Crazy busy days.

2009-11-19T14:42:00.000-05:00

My brother is visiting from Austin. We went to a childhood friend's wedding on Saturday night at the LA Cathedral. Like many good weddings, it ended with the centerpieces coming apart on the floor. I didn't drink much at all at the wedding, but it was a late night and a very very early morning.

Patchwork was Sunday in Santa Ana. And exhausting. Liz and I made some money...see?

Monday my brother and I spent some time running around town, and I started getting ready for this weekend.

Tuesday I taught. And critiqued.

Wednesday I made a turkey. My brother and I went to our Grandma and Aunt's for an early Thanksgiving. I cooked a really good dinner all by my little bony self, and it was thoroughly exhausting. I slept really well last night, but this morning came early again.

Today is teaching and more prep work for this weekend. What's this weekend?

I'm teaching another two-day bookbinding workshop at Surface Gallery in Bakersfield. Not ready, but looking forward to it.

I'm also getting work ready to take to Henry Road and a group show at Happy.

There are other things I am doing and thinking about and photographing. And the weather is getting pretty. And I'm looking forward to california wintertime.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

2009-11-11T17:57:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned Patchwork? In Santa Ana? This Sunday?

You should check it out! Tell your friends to check it out! Support independent artists and designers!

My friend Liz Sherwyn and I will be sharing a booth. It'll be the fancy looking one.

I have lots to do.....and the slightest hint of a cold.