Yesterday, I was grumpy. Today, I'm bashful.

When Sheri asked me to do a home tour at cafemom a little while ago, I was tickled pink. How fun! I get to talk about my house? I spend a ridiculous amount of time devoting myself to putting those candles and pictures in just the right spot, and collecting mason jars and tablecloths like they're going out of style, and moving the furniture around so often that I confuse the cat...and now someone wants to ask me questions about it?! Where do I sign?

Well, it's posted today, and all of a sudden I'm bashful and self conscious. So please, go check it out, here. But be kind.

And, if you have ever actually been in my house, and are wondering where all the dirty socks and wineglasses and laundry baskets and bookbags are, just pipe down. Or I'm coming over to your house, and I'm bringing my camera.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

Saturday

I am so excited/nervous about meeting Jen at the opening tonight; I've been happy all day, and things look so beautiful to me everywhere. Tim and Anna planted the flowers this morning along Kaldenberg(we'll probably get a ticket for it!), while I went cheese/flower/wine shopping.

She's like a celebrity to me, which would probably mortify her, and the minute I see her she will not be like that anymore, but rather like the coolest friend I've known for years.
I'm a geek.
I'm a blog geek. That may be the worst kind.

This day is so perfect and warm and like a gift for all of us for hanging in there through the crappy winter. Mostly I keep thinking how glad I am that Jen & her family are having good weather in New York.
I want the whole state to lay out a soft,green welcome mat for her.
I'm a geek.

I'm going to go now, because Jen will probably read this sometime, and be scared.

I hope you are all enjoying this gift of a day, too!

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

This is not a Claritin ad.

Blogger was completely uncooperative for me today, and so, left blogless, I wasted some time playing around with Picnik. (Thanks, Beth! Just what I needed. Another black hole of time.)

This morning, Tim and I made a run to the nursery, to pick up some plants. We're planning on doing some guerrilla gardening along Kaldenberg Place, to spruce up the block in anticipation of the opening reception for Jen's show on Saturday.

I was hesitant to go with Tim, but I'm loathe to turn down a kid-free outing with my husband, even if it is just to buy some impatiens.

At some point in the greenhouse, though, it became clear that I may have had ulterior motives. I've got this picture taking thing real bad. I'm starting to view life as one big photo-op. At least the store cat was willing to go along.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

Saturday dispatch from the Gallery.

Are you the kind of person, upon leaving the farmer's market and rummaging around the basket for the bag holding a full quart of giardiniera, and finding that the helpful vendor had tied up the container in yet another bag, and twisted on one of those little twisty things, who would rip the bag right open from the side to get to the stuff as soon as possible, or who would take the time to untwist the twisty thing, thus insuring that you could safely re-twist the leftovers, assuming there were any, back into the extra plastic bag, so it wouldn't spill all over the basket in the car?

Just wondering.

::

This is a funny thing for me, to sit idle (more or less), in the gallery, for hours every once in a Saturday while. When I came in, Tim had set the computer up for me, with Pandora going. He's mentioned it before, that he's been listening to it here, but truth be told, I hadn't really focused on what he was telling me about it.

I typed in Bon Iver (yes, I'm still on that), and for the last three hours I've been listening to some of the best music I could hope to hear. Jose Gonzalez, The Shins, Iron and Wine, M. Ward, Wilco...it's kind of like having a cute boy you have a crush on making you a mixed tape.

::

I've been occupying myself by taking pictures (none of which I can post yet, as I don't have the proper cord down here at the gallery), picking at all my farmer's market loot, which I have with me because I came straight here from the market this morning, and watching YouTube clips,which literally had me in tears of laughter. (Thanks, Alexis!)

::

My stepdaughters and their friend came in and yanked me out of my Flickr-induced stupor, and were kind enough to run up the street for a cup of tea. So I'm wide awake now and watching the clock, ready to step out of the hush and still of the gallery, into the glare of finally sunlight, and start my day over again, in real life.

Hope you shed a few tears of laughter today, too.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

eyebuzz interviews::Jennifer Judd-McGee

Jennifer Judd-McGee is a Portland, Maine artist whom I have admired from afar for quite some time now. We are proud to have her show opening today in the gallery, and pleased to present here a question and answer session with Jen, complemented by her own photographs. You can find more images of Jen's work here, and here, and read about her work, process, and a bit of her life, here.

tt::When did you first start drawing and creating, and when did you first consider yourself an artist?

jj-m::I've been making things since I was a kid. I took a lot of art classes in college, but then ended up pursuing a career in women's healthcare. I started making things again in about 2006, and it suddenly seemed I couldn't stop. I've been making art full time since 2007. I still have a hard time calling myself an artist.

tt::Where do you go, what do you do, to find inspiration for your work?
jj-m::I love living along the coast of Maine, and find lots of inspiration in nature. I love to sit outside with a sketchbook, or gather a bunch of bits and bobs while out on a walk with my kids and then come home and draw them. I am really attracted to patterns I see in nature, like moss, striped rocks, bark, pebbles, mussel shells, tree buds and branches, etc. I am interested in taking little patterns and recreating them in my palette and style. I'm also really drawn to vintage stitch and embroidery books and mid-century modern design.

tt::Do you have a favorite spot in your house? Portland? The world?

jj-m::My favorite spot in my house is my dining room, because it is light and sunny and I find it a nice space to spread out and work. Around Portland I like to go to the beach at Kettle Cove, dig my toes into the sand and hang out with my sketchbook and pens while my kids play in the tide pools. My favorite place in the world is anywhere on or in Mount Desert Island/Acadia National Park, where I grew up. So much of how I see the world has been shaped by the natural beauty there. It's a really special place.

tt::Has trying to develop your artwork into a means of earning a living changed either your work or your process?
jj-m::Since I started pursuing art as a career in 2007, I've been extremely lucky in terms of not having to seek out a lot of opportunities - they've largely come to me and I feel very grateful to the Internet and the online art/design community for the connections I've made and the opportunities that have come my way. I've been feeling super busy over the past year, which is a great problem to have but I find myself really wishing for a stretch of down time to 'refill the well' or even go back to school for an MFA one day. My process these days mostly involves trying to juggle lots of different projects I'm working on while not checking out as parent.

tt::Is there anything you miss about your “old life” with a job outside of your home?
jj-m::I miss the daily dose of being around co-workers + friends I respected and thought really highly of. Working at home alone can sometimes feel pretty isolating. I also miss the 9-5 schedule and the ability to walk away from work at the end of the day. It's hard to walk away when it's in your house.

tt::How do you maintain a balance between the demands and desires of being a mom (and a wife) and being an artist?
jj-m::This is the $64,000 question. I honestly don't feel like I'm balancing anything very well right now. My kids are at a great age and I love to be around them when they're not at school - and I hate having to say "sorry, I'm busy." We do listen to a lot of audio books together at the dining room table - I do my work and they draw or do homework. It's one of my favorite ways to be together.

tt::Does having an “audience” via your blog affect your work or how you think about your work?

jj-m::I am a really shy person and it still feels weird to me that I even have a blog, even after 2 1/2 years of writing it. I try not to think about the audience too much when I write my blog or put my recent art out there on the blog. My goal for the blog has always been to share a hodgepodge of lots of things..stuff I make, what I'm inspired by (music, art, links, whatever,) stuff around the house, and kid related goings-on...but to try and maintain my family's privacy at the same time. In this sense I am just writing it for me and not for whoever the audience is out there in the world. I don't know if it works for everyone, but it works for me. I am really attracted to blogs that keep it real and show slices of everyday living.

tt::Do you do any other sort of art or crafting or writing, etc…? Did you start out just drawing, and move to mixed media, or the opposite; or did you start out painting and evolve into other forms of expression?
jj-m::I've dabbled in all kinds of things. I used to like to write, but not so much anymore. Mixed media and drawing have always sort of gone hand in hand for me. I taught myself how to do rug hooking with hand-dyed wool strips a few years ago, and I found that really enjoyable. I'd like to get back into it. I love printmaking too, and while I still do it a little bit here and there in the forms of gocco and linoleum block printing, I'd love to really dive into some other methods.

tt::Would you describe the general path you take to start on and complete a piece?
jj-m::If it's a drawing, I usually do a bunch of sketches ahead of time and then just sit down and dive in once I feel ready. For my mixed media work I go in phases: collecting materials + sorting them into color families, drawing lots of little bits to be cut up, painting backgrounds (sometimes) or painting smaller bits I'll cut up, and making bits of gocco or silkscreen prints that I'll cut up and reuse. Once I've got all of the parts, I tend to work on several pieces at once and it's a big giant mess until I'm done playing around with each piece (which often takes a longer time than I'd like it to.) I have recently been reassured that the holy mess I make seems to be common among mixed media artists - seeing other people's studio spaces (and messes) is one of my favorite things to find on Flickr or various design blogs.

tt::What would you like to do next? In a year from now, what do you imagine yourself working on?
jj-m::I'd like to dive into encaustic painting once I get some better ventilation in my work space. Also, I've been drawing repeating patterns for years but am alarmingly illiterate with Photoshop or Illustrator. I'd love to learn those programs and start making patterns that could be reproduced on textiles or paper goods.

A sincere thank you to Jen for her words + pictures.

Jen will be in Tarrytown for the opening reception on Saturday, April 25, from 6-8pm. We'd love to see you there!

The show opens today and will run through May 8.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

Thursday, quietly.

I've been feeling very quiet here for a couple of days. Been looking all around blogland, though, and am really awed by the creativeness, talent, and - this is a strange troika, perhaps - honesty, that I find there.

I really do want to be honest, and those who know me well are probably tired of me spewing my honesty out onto the carpet of our conversations, like a baby after too much breast milk. But the truth of it is, the blogworld allows us to only present a snapshot of our lives, and chosen ones, at that.

It is all the truth, but it is perhaps not the whole picture. I've shown you the flowers and the stove and the smiling children. The cat, but not the litterbox. (Actually, our cat goes outside, twelve months of the year, but you get my point.)

I've a really good picture of our laundry, but I've held back.

Anyway, I think what this here has given me, is a way to isolate the things in my world that make me pause and wonder, think about, and most of all, appreciate.

When I was little, I remember telling my dad about some obscure useless thing which escapes me now, but which elicited the most glowing compliment I have ever had in my life. He said: "You are just like me: you notice everything."

To this day I think that is all I yearn to do: notice everything.

I'll be back, and most likely not so quietly.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

ps: that there in the picture is Callie running home, as quickly as she ran out. Pure bliss.

Monday morning :: some pictures,

and a few links to pictures. More and more it is becoming all about the photo, for me.

I'm so wishing I had the skill, knowledge and equipment to go along with my burgeoning obsession.

In the meantime, there are so many beautiful pictures out there that inspire me to try.

Look here, and here and here. And then look here, for the new issue, today.

And look here, tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

The Tuesday before the Tuesday

I am so touched by the enthusiasm that we are getting from people about our upcoming show. I wish I could come up with the right caliber thank you to Jen for the pieces she's created for us.

And now Molly is joining us by sending her Obama finger puppet to watch over the show. Her encouraging words about what we're doing are spurring me on.

If you've kept up with us a bit, you might know that in the past we've had some... slow openings. But I feel like we're on the crest of a wave with this, and that people do care, and will come.

In any event, we are excited, and...well, you'll come, won't you? And maybe, bring a date or something.

Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading.

tt

Tuesday :: completely random words + pictures

I don't know the chicken very well, but the angel we got to take home, cook an omelet for her, and put her to bed.




In lieu of anything much to say, here are two photos from our walk at Stone Barns on Sunday. There are lots more, I was crazy with the camera...I'll save them for other days short on words and pictures.

In the meantime, I want to direct your attention to a new project which two stellar bloggers have begun this new year. Words and pictures.

And thus, a pattern develops today, after all.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

Blogroll, please

As promised here, to all of you, and over a glass of wine, to Kathleen: some blogs that I love to read, look at, and think about. That I don't start or end my day without checking in with. That inspire me to keep on doing this, despite a nagging feeling that I might have some other things that should come first.

Swallowfield
Moments of Perfect Clarity
Diary of a Mad, Mad Housewife
SouleMama
A Foothill Home Companion
Mommycoddle
Sprink
The Glass Doorknob
All Buttoned Up
Tiny Happy
Wikstenmade
The Scent of Water
The Spirit of the River
A Friend to Knit With
House on Hill Road
KnotSewCrafty
Commonplace
and, this just in...
MamasAlwaysWrite


Disclaimer #1: One of the reasons I don't have a standing blogroll is that I really like my privacy, reading wise, and I fear that listing these will expose some sort of blogging ADD affliction, split-personality, or, at least, leave you scratching your head wondering what the common thread is. There is none. Some I love for the writing, some for the photography, the design, the art, the peek into someone else's domestic world...whatever.

Disclaimer #2: This is an incomplete compilation of places I go. But it's a starting point. Usually I take all of these fine blogger's suggestions, anyway, and go all sorts of great places from their sites. I suggest you do the same. (For instance, Kathleen, Moments of Perfect Clarity has all of those South African blogs I was telling you about, especially Heather Moore's.)

I hope you find something among these that pleases and inspires you. Thanks for reading.
tt

Friday Happiness

Thank you to Julie, for reading, for commenting...for making me feel like someone is listening.

To everyone else:
May I direct your attention here, not to toot my own horn, but because if you're not reading this, you're missing out.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

A few random things...

that I am loving right now:

1. Driving around and seeing how everyone has decorated their houses. So far there is one I am loving most, with paper lanterns like these, and white lights illuminating the wrap-around porch on their Victorian. I'd never think to put the lanterns outside, but it works. (I'll try to take a good picture the next time I'm out after dark.)

2. Getting holiday cards from friends and family whom I don't hear from often, the rest of the year. Especially from those so far away (Slovenia, Denmark...Minnesota).

3. Holiday drinks: eggnog with fresh-grated nutmeg. warm cider with cinnamon sticks. peppermint tea. hot chocolate with whipped cream and a candy-cane stirrer. sparkling cider, so the kids can toast, too. and this big, dark, red wine: almost black, and perfect with all those winter comfort foods we're eating now.

4. The questions that are coming from Anna, as she grows curiouser and curiouser. "What makes the water work?" "Is there something holding the house up?" and, some indiscreet but sensible questions over boy/girl anatomy that I won't go into here.

5. Naptime.

6. Getting ideas, inspiration, and encouragement from reading blogs written by smart, creative people who let us have a glimpse into their very real lives. I've spent a good deal of my adult life leafing through shelter magazines and catalogs which leave me feeling that my house, my clothes, my life, are just not cutting it. It is so fortifying to read about and see how real people make their homes, raise their kids, and cope with the same issues that most of us are faced with on a daily basis. {I don't have a blogroll on the sideboard, for a couple of reasons, but I think I will do a post soon, with links to some that I love and read consistently.}

7. Getting comments on my own blog, from all over the world- Denmark, Scotland, New Zealand. It's so nice to know that someone (anyone?!) is out there, listening. I'd love to hear from you, too.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

tt