dukebecky

taking a break.

2011-07-30T11:36:00.005-04:00

dukebecky is going on hiatus for a little while. no big news. there's nothing wrong...not to worry. i'm just going to try shifting priorities and see what comes up. you can still follow what i'm up to in a more minimal format at my new, simpler blog: THISISWHATI'MLOOKINGAT.

photographings photographs.

2011-07-19T12:25:00.001-04:00

i've been holding onto these magazine pages for awhile now. i love the layered patterns. the other day i photographed the photographs...perhaps part of some new paintings?

possibly finished.

2011-07-18T12:24:00.001-04:00

starts of things.

2011-07-17T12:23:00.000-04:00

traveling studio.

2011-07-16T12:22:00.003-04:00

when the weather is as good as it has been these last few days i move the studio to the dining room with windows, sun, and breezes all around.

margaret kilgallen.

2011-07-12T09:09:00.003-04:00

as i head down to the studio this morning i am thinking about another show i will not see while i'm in SF this weekend...this wonderful collection of margaret kilgallen's work at ratio 3. luckily the online images are quite amazing and i will be spending a lot of time looking at them. i was especially excited to see the two images i have included here which seem different to me than a lot of what we see of her work...a little less narrative, a bit more about materials. love.

the OMB.

2011-07-11T11:51:00.003-04:00

watching this video fills my heart with great joy and nostalgia for my days in iowa. how wonderful to hear john dilg's voice and to see him gesture at his painting the way he always did when he talked so thoughtfully about our work. he was and is a great influence on me. those talks happened in what will to me forever be the OMB (old music building)...the building is subject of this video. i had a studio there for two years. i learned to take myself seriously as an artist in that building. some of the most important friendships in my life blossomed in that building. i love it that john's paintings will live there and that "our" names will be on display embedded in one of them. thank you john.

chez not moi: gropius house.

2011-07-08T12:10:00.001-04:00

last week, in honor of my birthday, we went to visit the gropius house. this has been on my boston to-do list for a long time. run by historic new england, this house was designed by walter gropius (founder of the bauhaus) in 1938 when he came to this country to teach at harvard university, and occupied by his family until mrs. gropius' death in 1979. the inside of the house has been left as it was when the family lived there...books on shelves, dishes on the dining table, and coats in the closet. this allows you to see exactly how they used the space, what they liked, and who their friends were...marcel breuer furniture everywhere, a little albers print here, a small moore sculpture there...you know. to go inside you must take a tour and no photographs are allowed (the ones i'm using below are from the website). i was impressed by the tour. we learned a lot about the bauhaus, the time period, and about the life these "radical" designers lived in the woods of massachusetts...mostly quiet, admiring of nature, and keeping things simple. imagine how this house must have looked to people in 1938. they say it was called the sugar cube on the hill. every detail has been considered from the curve of the banister to the circumference of light given off by the dining room fixture. the house is modest in size, practical in its layout, and truly frames the nature surrounding it, just as gropius intended. a wonderfully inspiring visit. get out there if you can.

inca cola.

2011-07-08T10:55:00.001-04:00

have you heard of inca cola? i hadn't either, but apparently K is a big fan. it's from peru, it's a scary shade of yellow, and it smells like bubble gum.

dairy joy.

2011-07-07T11:20:00.000-04:00

last week i discovered dairy joy in weston, mass. if you have not been there, put it on your to-do list right away. as we drove by all i needed to see was the corner of this sign before i was yelling to pull over. it's an old-fashioned ice cream spot in the middle of nowhere route 117 with great treats, picnic tables, and this wonderful hand painted sign. i will be back soon.

Pip Culbert.

2011-07-07T11:03:00.004-04:00

It seems I can't stop coming across wonderful shows I won't be able to see while we're in San Francisco at the start of our upcoming California coastal road trip (as an artist I should know better than to plan to stay in any art city on Sunday and Monday when most art is closed). Most recently, I came across these images of work by Pip Culbert, a London based artist, who is having a show at Fouladi Projects. Everything but the seams of found items are cut away. What remains is hung on the wall with pins. Love.

new toy: bias tape maker.

2011-07-03T09:47:00.003-04:00

last weekend i picked up a new toy i've been wanting for awhile now...a bias tape maker. yesterday i put it to work for the first time and figured out how to do mitered corners...sort of, don't do this for the first time with flannel, yikes, that was a bad choice. with all the icy drinks around here lately we needed some new coasters so i made a few and will make a few more.

photographs as paintings.

2011-07-02T09:42:00.001-04:00

as i walked around the canterbury shaker village last weekend i couldn't help but make paintings in my head. here they are...

canterbury shaker village.

2011-07-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

on the final leg of the new hampshire getaway my mom and i went on last weekend we visited canterbury shaker village. if you're ever near canterbury, nh, do not miss this. i have always been interested in shaker design for its simplicity and use of beautiful materials, but now i am even more intrigued by this small group of people and by their approach to making.

the site is beautiful and so quiet. the buildings are well maintained and we got to see people building oval boxes, brooms, and printing letterpress, all activities that would have been normal parts of life in the village. i was surprised to learn of the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of these people who often made their living by selling high quality, beautiful products to the "outside world" (like me, yes, i made some purchases in the gift shop). most surprising of all, was that this village was occupied by shakers until 20 years ago. equal rights for men and women, a love of the handmade, and dancing in church? doesn't sound too bad to me.

yummy hand-dyed wool.

2011-07-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

yes, i bought a stack of the blues and a piece of mustard. have a few ideas in mind for them.

keepsake quilting pilgrimage.

2011-07-01T09:45:00.001-04:00

over the weekend my mom and i ventured north to new hampshire and stopped by keepsake quilting. i remember this catalog showing up in our home back when i was younger and have always been curious about the store. it was a pilgrimage of sorts, especially for my mom. we were not alone in our venture. women from all over the country were stocking up. the amount of fabric in stock is impressive. i saw the best (and brought some home of course) and the worst...prints i just couldn't believe existed. i was especially intrigued by the bolts of patterns found in nature...for making quilted landscapes, of course. they made me think of paint by number paintings. i was especially drawn to this shelf of sky-water prints. weird and wonderful.

granny circle.

2011-06-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

much has been written by both jenna and i about last week's ocean side crochet lessons. here's my first attempt at a granny circle. it will make a good hot pad for our table i think.

dans le jardin: hydrangea.

2011-06-30T09:49:00.000-04:00

chez moi: open shelving.

2011-06-30T09:02:00.001-04:00

i've been thinking of taking the doors off our kitchen cabinets for awhile now and a couple of weeks ago i finally started with our dishes and glasses (the food cabinets are a bigger, scarier project). i like the look of open shelving and i think it makes the room seem bigger. plus i love arranging our stuff and seeing all the things i've collected on a daily basis. who would want to hide dishes and glasses? it doesn't make any sense to me.

perfect beach day #2.

2011-06-30T07:00:00.001-04:00

perfect weather. perfect beach (crane beach in ipswich). perfect beach cocktails crafted by amy.

anniversary quilt.

2011-06-29T09:00:00.001-04:00

it's hard to believe it's been over a year since we got married...time flies. you might remember all the making that went into that little event. well, my mom took all the fabric we used and made us this beautiful quilt for our anniversary. it's just gorgeous and i've already spent several hours cuddling under it on chilly nights. she even printed our invitation on fabric and stitched it to the back. it will be a family heirloom for sure.

sign of summer: jam jar bouquet.

2011-06-25T09:01:00.001-04:00

the tiny little thyme plant i put in the garden last year has spread so far we could never use it all in the kitchen so i have been using it for tiny fragrant bouquets.

life on the deck: the little prince.

2011-06-24T09:10:00.002-04:00

franklin also appreciates the deck.

my paintings in the boston drawing project.

2011-06-23T12:00:00.002-04:00

during our visit to carroll and sons a couple of weeks ago, ann and i look at my paintings in the boston drawing project (above) and my framed painting (below) that lives on top of the flat files.

life on the deck: beer prep.

2011-06-23T09:08:00.002-04:00

a great sign of summer is spending as much time as possible on our wonderful little deck. it adds another room to the house and changes my whole outlook. this bottle opener attached to the railing also helps for obvious reasons.

sign of summer: sun tea.

2011-06-22T11:30:00.002-04:00

concentrated chamomile brewed on the windowsill.

sign of summer: crochet lessons at the beach.

2011-06-22T10:27:00.002-04:00

yesterday was the first day of summer and i spent it at the beach....learning to crochet from jenna. it's not that i'm short on hobbies, it's just that i've been wanting to make things like this and this for so long now.

life on the deck: pink moon.

2011-06-22T10:15:00.005-04:00

It's a pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon.

mary lum at carroll and sons.

2011-06-22T08:57:00.001-04:00

got to see mary's wonderful show at carroll and sons a couple of weeks ago. you might remember when i worked with mary on one of her wall paintings back in 2009. this new show is wonderful. i love it because because the work is so varied, paintings on paper, paintings on wood panel, video, collage, installation, but it 's all so mary and it all works together. her paintings just get better and better. it's only up till july 2 so get yourself on down to the south end and have a look.

chez moi: new curtains.

2011-06-21T16:00:00.002-04:00

in the summer i like to change as many things as i can in the house so it feels lighter...especially after this year's long new england winter. so...one thing i did a couple of weeks ago was to make some new curtains for our hallway windows from my grandmother's tablecloth. last year i inherited a lot of wonderful linens, but many of them were stained, the wrong size, or just didn't fit our lifestyle (i.e. need to be kept clean, ironed, and stored carefully). for this project i cut out the stains in the middle and pieced the whole thing back together with french seams, using the orginal hems around the outside. those heavy hems are perfect for the romantic blowing in the wind type of curtains i am so fond of.

chez moi: the throne.

2011-06-21T09:09:00.004-04:00

blogging has been a little slow these past few weeks as i finished the school year with more work than ever. now...i am done, really. and i plan to spend the next few weeks right here on my throne on the front porch, knitting, reading, and napping. this chair, which we call the throne, is wicker, purchased at ikea when we first moved in. it's not made for a three-season porch and i finally dealt with that by painting it with kilz and turquoise enamel this spring.

new yarn love.

2011-06-05T11:19:00.001-04:00

madeleine tosh fingering weight for the featherweight cardigan from knitbot.

blue sky alpaca organic cotton for the effortless cardigan also from knitbot.

gorgeous, soft yarns recently purchased at purl soho.

seen in nyc: more ways to spend $.

2011-06-04T15:25:00.000-04:00

i have bicycles on the brain lately. more on that to come. in the meantime...this cracked me up.

chez not moi: my "little" brother.

2011-06-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

my brother lives in a wonderful apartment in cobble hill, brooklyn. it gets great light and is the perfect size for him. over the years, he's carefully curated a collection of second hand furniture, family photos and objects, and about twelve years worth of my artwork. he has a knack and a passion for arranging things in thoughtful and beautiful ways...a trait we share if i do say so myself...and which i credit to our mom...our original decorating influence. the result is a comfy, uncluttered space that feels masculine, yet welcoming, refined and homey.

seen in nyc: louise bourgeois

2011-06-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

i have worshiped at the altar of louise bourgeois for a long, long time. i remember a time in my artistic life when it seemed like she was one of the only artists i could relate to. i realize i am not alone. i admired her not only because of how she used materials and how she made art about her life, but also because she was a spunky, older woman, who produced a lot of work and i wanted to be able to imagine myself doing that too. it seemed she would make art forever until she died last year at the age of 98.

when i found out about a show of her two-dimensional fabric works made in the last decade of her life happening in london last winter it hurt a little to think i wouldn't see it. i stalked the website looking at the images. i waited for the book to be published in the us. and then...my friend rachel emailed me to say, "get down here to nyc and see this louise bourgeois fabric works show right away"...so i did. thank you rachel.

i could have spent all day in there. the show was hung beautifully. each piece is painstakingly hand sewn and made mostly from old clothes, sheets, and fabric bourgeois collected. it has made me think a lot about the work i'm doing and where it's headed and how i might approach it differently this summer. maybe there's been a little too much production and not enough mucking around. thank you louise. i plan to muck.

seen in nyc: the high line.

2011-06-03T15:22:00.005-04:00

one green chair.

smoke trees.

seen in nyc: jess fuller.

2011-06-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

second stop...to see my friend jess fuller's paintings at zieher smith gallery. she's making these huge minimal fabric and paint paintings that are just wonderful. their presence in the gallery in this show is really impressive. the space is just perfect for them. congrats jess.

seen in nyc: floor at pastis.

2011-06-02T15:20:00.001-04:00

floor at pastis.

Violet.

2011-06-02T15:17:00.000-04:00

Since we moved into our house I have slowly become a houseplant person. I never really cared about houseplants before. They don't really do anything. This little violet that I picked up across the river at Russo's is my favorite. It does a lot. Look at these blooms, doubles, colorful, wonderful.

seen in nyc: john dilg

2011-06-01T16:30:00.001-04:00

i made the recent trip to nyc to see three shows of great importance to me personally. first stop...see john dilg's paintings at luise ross gallery. john was one of my teachers at the university of iowa and he was a great influence on me, both as an artist and as an educator. love, love, love these paintings/

leah's lovely cardigan...complete.

2011-06-01T15:02:00.004-04:00

i finished leah's lovely cardigan just in time to wear it for what seemed like the last cold day of the year...no this blog post is not that overdue...it was a cold spring. i've never knitted something on such skinny needles (3's!) and was nervous i would never finish it, but it was a long, cold winter...and it went faster than i anticipated. the pattern is from last minute knitted gifts, by joelle hoverson and i used alchemy's fingering weight yarn called juniper, in jade. this yarn is gorgeous and it's a wool so soft even i can wear it. the buttons are vintage and were purchased at gather here in cambridge. when i knit this again, and i will, i will adjust the pattern to avoid kitchener stitch under the arms at the end. i can't say enough how much I hate kitchener stitch. i did learn my lesson about switching off between skeins when you're using a variegated color like this one. i ended up with a stripe across the chest. it's a great pattern and a wearable sweater.

tova top.

2011-06-01T14:57:00.003-04:00

i recently ordered the tova top pattern from wiksten and it finally arrived, packaged beautifully, in this glassine envelope. i love it that jenny gordy, the designer behind wiksten, is selling patterns for her clothes. it's in the queue.

our very own giving tree.

2011-05-16T14:07:00.007-04:00

we are lucky to have a large lilac bush in our yard that has been blooming like crazy over the past couple of weeks. inheriting plants like this when you buy a house is a wonderful thing. in anticipation of the ten days of rain and cold temperatures predicted i cut almost all the blooms off the bush last weekend. some i handed off to neighbors and some ended up in jars around the house. they are a hopeful sign on these 45 degree mornings in may here in new england.

Pastiera.

2011-04-26T08:40:00.001-04:00

My pastiera, an Italian Easter pie. Click HERE for the recipe I used.

why flowers?

2011-04-11T20:48:00.002-04:00

in trying to get a student of mine to consider the question i have so often pondered over the years, "why flowers?", i am reminded of some of my old heroines...especially florine stettheimer.

temporary home for my paintings...in lowell.

2011-04-05T20:33:00.002-04:00

my paintings are currently on view at brush gallery in lowell, mass, as part of the massachusetts artists 2011 exhibit, juried by jen mergel, of the mfa. they'll be living up there in lowell till april 30. lowell is the home of the industrial revolution, the new england quilt museum, and the american textile museum, as well as the lowell spinners...a fitting place for my work to live for a few weeks.

vintage buttons.

2011-04-04T16:46:00.004-04:00

bought at gather here for a never ending knitting project i hope to finish and post in the next week or two.

gather here.

2011-03-31T08:56:00.002-04:00

last weekend i finally made it over to gather here in cambridge. i have been moaning about the lack of good fabric, knitting, crafty spots in boston ever since i moved here 5 years ago...but, no more. virginia johnson, the owner, has gotten it exactly right with this new shop, lounge, and crafter's home away from home. the selection of fabric and yarn is fabulous...liberty, alexander henry, kona. the extras are fun and useful...vintage buttons, wool felt, notions. the decor is inventive and beautiful...old card catalog, vintage rulers, doctor's office glass jars. the vibe is welcoming and relaxed. there are experts on hand to help you but no one is grilling you about your projects. there's a kitchen in the corner to prepare coffee and treats, some couches in the back to knit on, and a row of sewing stations for classes. most importantly (people outside of boston will laugh at this), there's easy parking across the street and there's space to move around in the shop. i had a long talk with virgina about our crafty pasts and will be heading back soon for some knitting and lounging and some sewing classes. check it out!

more daiso purchases: two tone color notebook.

2011-03-27T14:58:00.000-04:00

ideas for a new painting here maybe?

more daiso purchases: tiny notepads.

2011-03-27T14:45:00.000-04:00

i love notepads, notebooks, paper products of any kind, especially when they're not american...always have. i have drawers full of notebooks. some i use. some i don't. i fell for these for lots of different reasons...the shape, the paper, what it says on the cover. love. love. love. all fit in the palm of your hand.

my daiso purchases: paper balloons.

2011-03-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

and now i will subject you to seeing most of my purchases from daiso, the japanese dollar store i found in seattle last week. pictured here: paper balloons...that's what the package said. they came folded flat. you blow them up from a hole in the top. amazingly wonderful in my studio window.

very old carrie painting.

2011-03-25T14:41:00.001-04:00

nice to visit with this very old carrie painting (and kim) while in seattle.

goodbye seattle.

2011-03-20T00:58:00.002-04:00

seattle has been good to me. three days out of five with sunny skies. a view of the snow covered mountains. flowers blooming everywhere. super friendly people and lots of great little shopping and eating finds. look for some posts about what went on at the conference i attended over at teachingasart.

exploring seattle: one more seward park shot.

2011-03-20T00:48:00.000-04:00

exploring seattle: seward park textures.

2011-03-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

exploring seattle: daiso

2011-03-19T12:06:00.002-04:00

without a doubt the highlight of my seattle shopping experience was daiso, a japanese dollar store, hidden beneath a mall downtown. it was a little like a cheap, crowded muji....which is right up my alley. i bought many, many things and when i become less embarassed about how many little notebooks i bought i'll photograph them and share here.

a quote from mark dion.

2011-03-18T16:33:00.004-04:00

during his talk at the naea convetion this morning, mark dion said (among other things i'll soon be blogging on teachingasart):

"i've never seen a painting that was more interesting in the museum than it was in the studio."

exploring seattle: seward park.

2011-03-18T16:23:00.003-04:00

i don't know how well you can see in these pictures that these trees look flocked with fuzzy green moss...like something from a fairytale. beautiful and glowing. this is seward park. 300 acres of forest in the city of seattle. great light, clean air, lots of wildlife...a welcome nature break.

spotted: years of posters.

2011-03-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

exploring seattle: ballard.

2011-03-17T18:15:00.001-04:00

so many great little shops here in seattle. this one, called the field house, was made for my brother (hi jim). another old timey set up...a mix of clothes and stuff for home, mostly for boys. thanks for the recommendation not martha.

exploring seattle: pho

2011-03-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

i have written before about my intense love for pho. it is one of my very favorite meals so...i was very excited to happen upon this wonderful shop in the fremont neighborhood the other day in the midst of a rainstorm. i have since discovered pho shops on every other block here in seattle...wonderful.

exploring seattle: fremont

2011-03-17T07:30:00.000-04:00

came across this shop called bitters co. in the fremont neigborhood and fell in love...with the shop and with fremont. it's hard to believe it's been there since the early 90's since it seems to fit so well into the old timey general store thing that seems to be sweeping the nation. they have a carefully curated selection of home goods and beautiful jewelry, plus rolls of interesting fabrics by the yard and a friendly salesperson who gave us some tips for our day of exploring.

spotted: is this a donald baechler painting?

2011-03-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

a great "accidental" painting that reminded me of donald baechler in the ballard neighborhood.

somewhere (here in seattle) it is spring.

2011-03-16T17:00:00.000-04:00

daffodils at pike place market.

spotted: macarons

2011-03-16T15:00:00.000-04:00

these macarons have been very trendy for the past couple of years. i don't love to eat them but i do love to look at them and photograph them, so...here.

first coffee in seattle.

2011-03-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

how can a trip that begins with this buttery goodness be anything but wonderful? we found this "very french bakery" called le panier by the pike place market. it was a wonderful way to get started.

spring break in seattle.

2011-03-16T12:10:00.001-04:00

i'm in seattle for the week. i'll be presenting at the national art education association conference on saturday, but in the meantime i'll be exploring the city, and sharing what i find.

painting sees the light of day.

2011-03-12T19:23:00.000-05:00

one of my small paintings on paper, included in the boston drawing project, out of the drawer and on the shelf at carroll and sons gallery in the south end.

spotted: kindness, sort of.

2011-03-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

saw this in an atm vestibule in boston recently. maybe i'm over-thinking it, but isn't the person who wrote nice people do exist on the wall with ballpoint pen...well, not very nice for defacing the wall?

visitors may lift cloth.

2011-03-10T18:52:00.001-05:00

this winter i've been working (slowly) on crossing some things off my "you've lived in boston for 5 years and you still haven't done this?" list. so, recently i made a trip to the isabella stewart gardner museum. i'd heard so much about it and was dying to sit in the gardens i heard were so beautiful and, i imagined, warm. the isabella stewart gardner museum is one of the oddest art museums i've ever been to. you must check your coat when you enter. there's no photography allowed...so i only snuck a few shots. you can peek into the gardens but you can't enter them or walk through. the security is so tight you can't breathe without someone watching (yes i know about the major thefts, but come on). my favorite weirdness was what you see in my sneaky photo above...many, many artifacts in glass cases covered with these cloths labeled "visitors may lift the cloth". don't you think that's strange? we lifted a few and went to lunch. wonderfully weird. overly stuffy. i say skip it.

floating away...

2011-03-10T08:43:00.002-05:00

for about a thousand different reasons UP is one of my favorite movies of all time...so when i saw these photos and video about a (sort of) real house that the folks at national geographic made to fly with balloons i just about died. how wonderful is this photo and how much do i want to be in that house?

spotted: signs of spring.

2011-03-09T18:27:00.003-05:00

forsythia seen blooming in boston very recently...a hopeful nod from mother nature.

sheila hicks.

2011-03-05T06:33:00.002-05:00

i finally got up to see the sheila hicks retrospective at the addison gallery in andover last week one day before it closed. thank goodness because it was amazing. i really loved the smaller woven pieces rather than the large-scale, bright, loopy sculpture i keep seeing in articles about the show. the small woven pieces have wonderful color combinations, strange combinations of materials, and are just wonky enough to keep you in front of them for awhile. now i am thinking (more) about warp and weft.

dans la cuisine.

2011-03-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

last weekend i finally made a loaf of that famous no knead bread. maybe it was bittman's semi-retirement that inspired me, or the fact that the 5 minute bread i was making way back when just wasn't working for us anymore, or the new stainless steel knob i ordered for the dutch oven, but i'm hooked. it was amazing, just like everyone has been saying, and there will be more.

cutest specimen.

2011-03-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

western european hedgehogs at the harvard museum of natural history.

organized nature.

2011-03-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

organized snails at the harvard museum of natural history.

curved hummingbird wall.

small birds with big blue cards.

ducks and geese with decorator color bacakgrounds.

the museum of natural history.

2011-03-01T21:21:00.000-05:00

i promised more pics of the harvard museum of natural history and here they are. they do not do it justice...the odd color choices for the backgrounds...the amount of stuff crammed in. it is not to be believed. i have loved natural history museums for as long as i can remember...i grew up going to the museum of natural history in nyc, visited the university museum weekly when i lived in iowa city, read countless books about the idea of the natural history, including mr. wilson's cabinet of wonder by lawrence wechsler and the artifical kingdom by celeste olalquiga, but this place...i'm pretty sure this is my favorite...ever. i've never been to one that still remains so true to the original idea. more to come.

glass flower with dots.

2011-02-21T21:25:00.003-05:00

one of the many photos that will become a painting...soon.

the glass flowers.

2011-02-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

last weekend i visited the harvard museum of natural history. it was incredible and i will now subject you to several posts about its wonderfulness. what you see above is a small selection of the glass flowers. yes, the glass flowers. no picture can do this space justice...a large space filled with these wood and glass cases and inside...4000 models of flowers, seeds, pollen, buds, all made from glass. i took many photos and want to go back with my sketchbook. if you haven't been to this museum you need to plan a visit right away.

breakfast light...

2011-02-21T21:18:00.005-05:00

i am always inspired to take pictures in our dining room. it's the room with the most light and that feels especially great in the morning...in winter. i have already written plenty about what this winter is doing to me...the morning light really helps...so i try to capture it; to hold on.

good to know the beach is still there...

2011-02-21T21:16:00.002-05:00

...in this, the longest of winters. i can picture myself there in summer so clearly lately.

fancy home for staples.

2011-02-17T17:06:00.000-05:00

i never thought staples would be as big a part of my studio life as they are now. i'm constantly stapling work to the stretcher, then taking it off, re-working it, and stapling it back on.

flying geese.

2011-02-16T17:03:00.001-05:00

finished the painting on the right last weekend. it's an enlarged version of a smaller painting i made last spring....something new i'm trying: re-making work.

new-ish books.

2011-02-16T17:02:00.000-05:00

currently keeping me company on the studio table.

hanging sketches.

2011-02-15T17:04:00.002-05:00

often...i start working on a piece and after awhile i can't figure out how to resolve it. unlike when i used to make painted paintings i can't just prop the work up in a corner and stare at it for a few days as i mull it over. so i've started clipping these bits together with skirt hangers and hanging them on the pipes that run through my studio. i'm hoping i might be able to create some new combinations from this new way of pondering.

sketches.

2011-02-14T17:04:00.000-05:00

the process of making these fabric paintings is about two thirds planning and one third happy accidents. i am constantly surprised...by the material and by what the combinations of fabrics do and what they don't do. as i work my way through the paintings i make "sketches" like these on my work table.

influenced by klee

2011-02-13T17:05:00.003-05:00

finally finished this painting...told you i've been thinking alot about that klee painting. this might be the start of a series. i'm thinking a lot about the color relationships and about the structure of the painting as a whole...quite literally how to put the pieces together in a way that creates some depth.

the old hood.

2011-02-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

came across this great drawing of my old neighborhood in brooklyn made by melissa sherrer. she's having a show at proof in march...looking forward to seeing more of her work.

waiting for embroidery.

2011-02-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

have been wanting to do this for awhile now...one simple shape waiting for hand-stitching. thoughts?

boro.

2011-02-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

have you seen these before? i've been studying them for awhile now...they're from japan. they're referred to as boro, or rags, and are mended textiles. they've become very collectible outside of japan in recent years. i just love the random-ness of the shapes and the wonderful spectrum of colors...the history in each one. the best abstract "paintings" i've seen in a long time.

check out this blog which is now a daily read for me to see more japanese folk textiles.

klee

2011-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

have been thinking about this painting by paul klee. it's called fire in the evening. love that.

good weekend.

2011-02-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

in the end things worked out. i made the painting on the left from the outsides of this painting from last week. the painting on the right is from a couple of weeks ago.

bad weekend.

2011-02-08T16:58:00.003-05:00

someone out there will say, "that's the best painting you've ever made...leave it." really what this is...is the middle of this painting from last week sewn into something new and then cut out. it was not a good saturday in the studio. it was one of those days...have you had one? nothing worked. the harder i tried the worse it got. eventually, it got better.

...in translation.

2011-02-04T07:08:00.000-05:00

on the left...a new fabric painting. on the right...a new gouache on wood painting.
both inspired by a small painting on paper made at the end of last summer. working with a plan, from a sketch...would be so practical. i admire artists who do it. i don't know why working in that way has always been such a struggle for me, but it has. i am trying to use my small paintings on paper as plans for the fabric paintings. i don't know if it's going to work for me or not. it seems like something gets lost in the translation. the second or third version seems lifeless to me...but i continue to pursue it and see what happens. and it's led to me making paintings again...gouache and flashe on absorbent ground on wood so they're as close to the works on paper as possible. more to come.

bye bye tiger. hello rabbit. happy new year!

2011-02-03T13:31:00.004-05:00

today is the start of chinese new year. i pulled our decorations out this morning and hope to eat some noodles very soon. i found this great picture symbolizing the end of the year of the tiger and the beginning of the year of the rabbit on a blog i am regularly stalking now called the big picture, from the boston globe. have you seen it? i love getting my news visually.

sheila pepe...shoelace drawings.

2011-02-03T06:46:00.002-05:00

i'm really loving these sheila pepe shoelace drawings currently on view at carroll and sons gallery. they're up front. you see them before her big installation of crochet and knitting (which i also love). they're wonderfully small, clunky, and sweet. go check them out.

studio book.

2011-02-02T06:39:00.000-05:00

when i went to see the mark bradford talk at the ICA a few months ago i was inspired by many of the things he said. one thing i stole from him and that has had a major impact on my studio practice was his idea of a studio book...not a sketchbook exactly...it's more of a diary. he said that if other people saw it or read it that it probably wouldn't make much sense to them..that it was filled with lists and writing about things he's thinking about. i've started my own studio book and it's been really helpful to me. i find it especially effective because i'm not able to be in the studio all day everyday. i've been using it almost like a log. sometimes i write in it. sometimes i draw the paintings. sometimes i make lists or jot down quotes. it connects this day in the studio to the last even if there has been several days in between.

studio dogs.

2011-02-01T07:09:00.000-05:00

duke has finally taught his brother franklin to be a fairly good studio dog.

chez moi.

2011-01-30T19:57:00.002-05:00

way back in november my friend andy gave us this family of carved stumps as a wedding gift. they are hand-carved and painted wood and came in the box you see above, complete with vintage paint by number inside the lid. each stump was carefully wrapped and placed inside. after the christmas decorations went away i finally unpacked the stumps and installed them on the landing. we are now using the box to hold any letters, cards, and other paper ephemera that comes our way. thank you andy.

jam jar.

2011-01-27T19:23:00.000-05:00

what's a girl to do when she loves the look of sweetness but not the taste? did i buy this wine for its looks? yes. the gingham. the font. i couldn't resist. one sip and down the drain it went. lesson learned...again.