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My next-door neighbor’s artichokes just can’t help but be gorgeous—in every season of the year. With no effort, nature can make a filigree that I could never hope to match in a million years.
I love the hush that takes over the house, after the turkey goes in the oven and the table is set (and the sketches sketched!), but before the guests start arriving. It’s that little breath of time that reminds me to pause and remember that every raised glass, every hug, every laugh around the table makes the world just a tiny bit better. I’m thankful for that today—and for you, for joining me here as you do.
Whether today finds you snowbound or sweltering, at work or at home—happy Thanksgiving.
I woke up this morning to a pile of all my favorite things—the best birthday haul any artist could ask for. Today is still a studio day, but those tickets say I’ll be having a grand time at the Pantages tonight!
I’m leaving for a fall vacation in a few days, so my to-do list has things like passports and battery chargers on it. But the things I took care of first? Refilling my watercolor set, and knitting up some mittens for the trip.
Because, you know, priorities.
It’s the time of year where our kitchen is a lot hotter—and the days much longer—than anything summer might throw at us naturally.
The Tailor and I have been up late with the dilly beans,
out at dawn at the Blueberry Park,
and across the mountains to get peaches right off the tree.
And then everything has got to get washed and sliced—
—and packed into jars—as quickly as possible. It’s the best way we know how to make the fleeting summer last.
I just got back from a return trip to Victoria—this time with the Tailor in tow.
We were only there for a couple of days, but long enough for me to see the Gardens—and sketch them—
—in their summer colors.
This was the Tailor’s first trip to Victoria, so I got to relive some favorite experiences with him.
Others, on the other hand, were new to both of us—
—and some were complete surprises.
Best of all, I think we had a chance to see the city in its best light.
We’ve had just about the most perfect spring here this year—with weather so unseasonably sunny, for weeks on end, that it simply would be criminal not to get outside for every second one can. On days like this, work can wait awhile—and the camera moves to the front burner. When the sun is shining here, a perfect moment is never hard to find.
Wayzgoose worked like a well-oiled machine this year—and that’s the way we like it.
(Even if we were just a little extra tired afterward.)
We were finally able to have the event in the parking lot next door, which allowed way more people to gather ’round the steamroller—and gave the artists more elbow room for spreading ink and chatting it up.
Steamroller prints by Ric Matthies (left) and Charles Wright Academy students (right)
The usual suspects were up to all kindsa good on Sunday—
Our print (left), Beautiful Angle (center), Maggie Roberts (right)
—and it was fun for Jessica and me to come back after a year off.
Photo by Victoria Bjorklund
This year, we added something a little different to the mix—just like we did in 2011 in San Francisco. After Jessica inked up the block…
Photo by Victoria Bjorklund
…and the steamroller packed its punch…
Photo by Victoria Bjorklund
…I set up shop across the parking lot, adding a few hand-colored touches to the piece.
Here’s the finished product—and for those of you who don’t happen to live in T-town, I’ll need to provide a little back-story. You probably recognize the reference to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, but there’s a second tribute to pop artist Andy Warhol, as well. And I’m not just talking about Venus herself—to whom Warhol did pay homage in 1984.
You see, over thirty years ago now, Warhol was one of several artists to propose a permanent public artwork to adorn the roof of the Tacoma Dome. Not only was his proposal rejected at the time, but the whole project resulted in an enormous backlash of public opinion, insurance nightmares and political in-fighting—which literally derailed the city’s entire public art program for nearly two decades afterward. Fast-forward to today: not only is our public art program back in the saddle and going strong, but now there’s a growing movement to put Warhol’s flower on the Dome after all—which, in fact, would be the world’s largest Warhol original.
Whom do we have to thank for both the…uh…Renaissance of our public art program, and the push to bring Warhol back? Our wonderful City Arts Administrator, Amy McBride (click to see her talk about the Warhol story)—who, incidentally, drove the steamroller that printed our Venus linocut on Sunday.
How’s that for coming full-circle, huh?
Many thanks to everyone who stopped by on Sunday, and to Amy and the Tacoma Arts Commission for continuing to make art happen—both for Wayzgoose and for Tacoma.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day, and my hands so badly needed a break from carving, that I took a day off and headed upstate to bask in the tulip fields.
And then, when I got home, there was a postcard waiting for me from my friend Jen—from her own tulip tour in the Netherlands.
I’m taking that as a sign that playing hooky yesterday was the right idea.
Today contains some of the few precious hours in the entire year that are just for us—when we can just be. We love the whirlwind of lights, colors, food, friends, music and surprises that comes with the holidays, but it’s the day we set aside for nothing but time that we look forward to all year.
May today be a gift to you as well—whether you spend it with family, friends, wide open spaces, or in your own lovely company.
Merry Christmas.