Happy 2nd Birthday to Cordelia!

we had a busy weekend celebrating Cordelia's 2nd birthday. family came to help celebrate. the weather was fantastic so we could hang out and eat outside... i can't complain about the beautiful early spring we have been enjoying this year. i feel like we've gotten to see the sun so much more than usual and it makes a huge difference to my state of mind! :)

flowers blooming everywhere...

Claire and Cordelia by Lake Monona

here's the birthday girl on her birthday!

and her cake - vanilla cake with caramel frosting. i'm eating a leftover slice even as i type this. :)

Escape to Chicago

at the beginning of March, i was in Chicago for a few days - the first time i'd gone away by myself in, like, 3 years! at first, i felt out of sorts because my body felt so LIGHT. when you're so used to lugging several other bodies around with you, you forget what it feels like to just carry your own body around. :) the main purpose of my visit was to attend the AWP conference. i picked up some really great books from the bookfair (i'll post more about the books - they deserve a separate post) and reconnected with friends from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (where i got my MFA in writing).

today, i wanted to talk a little about the art i saw in Chicago. i LOVED the new modern wing at The Art Institute, but i was really taken by the art i saw at the MCA. there were many, but i unfortunately didn't have time to write down the names of all the artists.

this is a photo of a photo by Laura Letinsky.

and here is a video from the MCA website about Laura Letinsky and her process:

   

Laura Letinsky's work fascinates me because she is taking pictures of existing pictures, playing with our ideas of what a photo should be. also, i've been working with lots of existing images, usually digging through our recycle bin - hopefully i can show you some of my projects here soon.

Beautiful prints

i was so excited to get some beautiful prints in the mail today!

these prints are from the lovely Flora Douville who is unfortunately closing up her shop. if you'd like to get some of her prints, she has a storewide sale going on until 7th May - you can find her etsy shop here. 

Hello, it's been ages!

it has been much too long... and i have really missed being here, but the time away has been good for me to consider what i'm doing with this space.  the time has been busy, busy, busy, and hard, hard, hard, but my girls are getting bigger, i am finding some room how to find myself again and wondering, who is this stranger? so, i hope you will join me once more as i ponder these questions and share some of my thoughts and photos.

we are enjoying this summer-like spring!! it feels so good to run barefoot in the grass!

Happy birthday, Claire! (and thank you)

my sunshine girl is 4 today!!! we are looking forward to celebrating! her party is next weekend, rather late, but thankfully she is young enough not to be bothered by this. here's a shot of my dear girl.

have a great Sunday, everyone, and thank you, thank you, thank you, to all my friends who attended the Adornment show - i felt your love and support and they mean so much to me! thank you!

The Adornment Show is tonight!!

i'm running around today with butterflies in my stomach, but it's all good. i'm looking forward to seeing many of you at the show tonight. i'll try to take some photos, but i'm guessing if anyone takes them, it'll be Phil. ok, off to put Cordelia down for a nap - hopefully it'll be a good one so she won't be cranky and fussy tonight. :)

This Week

i've been so busy, i haven't taken any film photos lately. i think it will have to wait until after this friday. so, i was running around at the end of last week, picking up my paintings from the frame shop and picking up my prints from the print shop. this week, i'll have to get the paintings hung, prints packaged, and try to keep our daily life going. Claire's 4th birthday is at the end of the week - i have been neglecting birthday celebrations. that too will have to wait until after friday!

but it's going to be fabulously warm this week and that makes me happy! what a treat we've been having with this great fall weather. if the snow holds until december, we may even get to see my parents here for Thanksgiving - since they aren't used to driving in the snow from having lived in Kenya for so long, they don't leave the house much in the winter. :)

happy monday, everyone! i'll leave you with this photo from a couple of weeks ago.