See?

My Installation 'Forgetful Psychic' sneak peek. If you are around these mountains, please come see it in person on Friday from 7-9. Or 6-10. Or I can show you some other time.

You. Or me. I lost track.

This is my favorite part.

My installation has a suggestion box. 

You know. 'Cause why not?

Thanks for giving a damn!

So, then...

I moved out of the printmaking studio yesterday. Bummer. It was really good for me to be working in there these past few weeks. It felt healthy to get out of the house every day, and regular interaction with people is also good for me.

Really.

The gallery opens again soon, so that's good too.

Now I am determined to get my home-studio organized and comfortable to work in. I've lived here in Spruce Pine about seven months, and although I have been working on drawing and books in that time, it has felt hesitant and awkward. My original plan had been to use our sun porch as a studio....(because it has a door and I could keep the cats out) but as it cooled off, ladybugs started moving into that space to die, (or sleep?) and then it became apparent that that space was altogether too cold for year-round use.

So my roommate has been understanding and supportive of my working in the living room...where we have a huge table, and also a separate table where we eat. (we use our dining room as a living room/library. complicated.)

So I think with a few decisive organizational strategies, and some cleverness to keep the cats away from my waxed linen thread....I think it will all work out....

sigh.

So I didn't expect to go all impossible/impractical while working in the printshop, but I had so much fun cutting up prints and arranging them on this big 'ol wall. If only we lived in a world where every wall was easy to pin into.

late-night whim.

expansion.

rearrangement.

potential pink/red bits, over there...

...or not. (and better light.)

final expansion (for kicks) 

and contraction.

the end.

I have a list of things I'm going to try to get done today, so I better get out of my pajamas and get started. Thank you for checking in, and let me know what you think!

Impractical things are just more interesting.

Sad to say, I am almost out of time in the print studio. I'm going to miss going up to campus everyday... I think it's healthy to work away from your living space.  I am fortunate to have plenty of room to work at home, but I have struggled to really feel at home in my home-studio. What?

But try harder, Michelle.

Anyway, I have done a ton of printing, and the material I have accumulated will eventually take on other forms...books, certainly. And I have had so much fun revisiting my impractical tendency to pin little fragments to a big wall, and to each other. What will come of it? I don't know.

Check out my charming and talented studio mates for the past few weeks: Erica, Leslie, and Ele.

Rearrangement of bits.

Rearrangement and expansion. (The red bits have moved on.)

Pins! More Pins!

Something else, something scrappy.

Something else again, something.

Thank you for visiting!

Jody Alexander

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.

"I just want to hang out in here."

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.

Print Matter(s).

I forgot to write a post about the "Print Matter(s)" exhibition at Studio Channel Islands Art Center! It's a beautiful exhibition of California Printmakers, curated by my friend Jennifer D. Anderson. The exhibition will be up 'til August 9, and if you're around California, you should check it out!

My work for this show consisted of many many layered book-ish things, expertly arranged by Jennifer whilst I was frolicking on the Atlantic Seashore.

The pieces incorporate etching, lithography, monotype, drawing, typing, and a lot of sewing. They are attached to the walls with T-pins.