Michelle's Seattle Picture Show.

In Seattle I decided that I prefer the term "picture show" to "slide talk," or "artist lecture."

"Slide talk" doesn't work because I wasn't showing slides, and a "talk" sounds so confrontational....like I'm giving people "a good talking-to"...

...and "artist lecture" suggests, (in my mind) a stuffy three-part research-y song-and-dance about some white-haired gentleman who made paintings in France long before I was born.

So I started referring to my presentation at the Kirkland Art Center as a "picture show." My inarticulate rambling was held together by about 150 pictures, and I'm guessing less than half of them were images of my work. We traveled through time and space. I talked about Muppets, pepper-grinders, Googie architecture, wisdom teeth, the Winchester Mystery House, my grandmother's kitchen floor, typewriters, spinning yarn, star trek, gardening in outer space, um...bookbinding......it was fun. I think they liked it. I was proud of myself.

Here are some pictures from Seattle:


This is Myra Kaha, the Educational Director at the Kirkland Art Center. We were in line for some sorely needed coffee. I know Myra from our grad school days in West Virginia. She made things out of clay, and was one of my favorite people to complain to.


We went up in the space needle. Myra was afraid, which amused me.


Here is evidence of how amazingly organized I was for the two-day book workshop I taught at the Kirkland Art Center. It went well, although I overestimated how much we could do in the time we had.


Myra and I went to an opening at Pottery Northwest, and I made a new friend, Tammie Rubin. Tammie is in the green shirt, her art is dangling overhead, and Myra is in the brown shirt with her back to us.


Here are my feet at rest, in the very comfortable garden spot at Pottery Northwest.


It stayed light really late.


Here's one of my favorite moments of the trip: after the workshop ended, but before my picture show. I am enjoying a PBR and teriyaki beef, and moving images around on my computer.

That night when I was finally done with everything, Myra and I went out to her very best friend's house, and we had a pleasant evening in a real Seattle backyard. Its strange how many connections I share with my new friend, Kristin Swenson-Lintault. Besides knowing Myra, she has also been participating in Art House projects, AND weirdest of all, she went to Murray State back in the day.

The art world is NOT so big.

So Seattle was great fun.

...and I'm on the run again. Getting ready to head to Penland, and then Atlanta. I have closed my etsy shop for now, but I will be back in business in September.