New Home

Homecoming has finally arrived, and our newest abode soon to be changed. I'm off to clean and get some "before"pics.

Lace in Chicago and outside the window...

I'll be making an interactive work (on a small scale) at Womanmade Gallery in Chicago in June- I just got the notification this morning.

I've been running some trials on my patio (to the pleasure of some very fat squirrels) and have been learning a few bird names in the process. I plan on making a bird garden next year, and just focus this year on composting and a small container salsa garden.

Dropping off

picked up "Ephemeral Folk Figures: Scarecrows, Harvest Figures, and Snowmen by Avon Neal and Ann Parker on whim at the library... leitmotif at the beginning of the text

"What does that mean-'Ephemeral'?"
"It means, 'which is in danger of speedy disappearance.'"
(from one of my all-time favorite books)
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint Exupery

So, I'm off to return some books, drop off piles of recycling and vote.

Tale of Genji is finally completed. The ending was quite gripping- glad I muddled through some of the rougher patches to say I read the whole book. I wonder how much is lost in translation---regardless I got the unabridged illustrated version and several passages lead to some wonderful visuals. Glad we went to Gion Corner in Kyoto to get a small taste of the dances and music.

Sprung

Went on an 8K run this morning. It felt wonderful although I still haven't gotten rid of the crink in my neck that's been there since yesterday. My body is beginning to protest about 10 hours later. We saw several birds and blooms in Forest Park... I am getting used to the earlier spring of Missouri.

Starting my first French tapes in anticipation of traveling next summer...

Perpetual State of Deterioration (and Restoration)...

Quote of the day (from home inspection): "Buildings are in a perpetual state of deterioration." Aren't we all?Here's an image of the Shawn Stuckey-designed For A Limited Time Only catalog getting some green, and purple while doing its magic in the compost bin...



B found an interesting proposal for the "Olive Boulevard Transportation Development District" with goals to

• Improve traffic flow along Olive Boulevard and New Ballas Road
• Increase access to area businesses
• Improve pedestrian linkages to retail, service and employment destinations along Olive Boulevard and New Ballas Road
• Improve aesthetics within the district, creating a more attractive and inviting commercial center.

I look forward to becoming an advocate for these initiatives.

Loving Flashback:

DeKalb, IL was working on a similar plan to revitalize South Fourth Street and downtown DeKalb. I already was privy to seeing quite a bit of rejuvenation of downtown DeKalb in my seven years there thanks to the combined efforts of business owners like Megan Morrison (owner of Megan Morrison and much adored and missed Moxie) and Re:New DeKalb. Working adjacent to Jennifer Groce, RNDK's Executive Director was an education in itself (a hard-working, super-smart, savvy businesswoman with perspective and a great sense of humor). Here's an image from the Re:New website of the new skating rink I haven't seen since our move to MO.



Being able to invest in the local community there was one of best parts of working as director at the Nehring Gallery (website designed by Holly Nicholson and Nicole Szostak), and at the NIU Art Museum. This "very walkable" town, according to walkability.com, is sorely missed. Although I am happy to have moved to one of the most literate cities in America.


Now on to some fun research about energy efficient dryers, washers, refrigerators, drapery...water usage.... etc. Any recommendations are welcome.

A Visual Conversation and Personal Conversion

Here are two dears altering the "For the Birds" at The Art Center Highland Park- and a statement in response to seeing invited viewer engagement, instead of just accidental.
Photo courtesy of "fabu" photographer Kimberly Strom.

I'm loving the overlap of my renewed interest in giving over authority of the work to the audience and the close etymological ties between conversation and conversion...
con·ver·sion n.

2. A change in which one adopts a new religion, faith, or belief.

3. Something that is changed from one use, function, or purpose to another.

4. Law

a. The unlawful appropriation of another's property.

b. The changing of real property to personal property or vice versa.

5. The exchange of one type of security or currency for another.

8. Psychiatry A psychological defense mechanism by which repressed ideas, conflicts, or impulses are manifested by various bodily symptoms, such as paralysis or sensory deficits, that have no physical cause.

(From thefreedictionart.com)

From a new statement about the work:

Gallery visitors are invited to alter the birdseed drawings and to take a handful of birdseed as they leave the gallery space and disperse it outside.

Gallery visitors activate the work by walking across it, altering the configuration, and dispersing the seed by the handful. The interactive drawing becomes a visual conversation. The responsibility for removing the work during the run of the show falls into the hands of those who enter the space. Once outdoors, the seeds feed wildlife, insects and are carried by wind and rain. The visual and literal disintegration of the works is not a statement of futility, but a reference to the acceptance of the porous architecture of our own bodies and the beauty in use and entropy. The alteration of the work speaks of the risk and thrill of engaging with others.

Great Endings

I just finished A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler by Jason Roberts. Highly recommended. I usually am a fan of classic novels, and then become greatly disappointed by their endings (i.e. William Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage ending with a "bit of a Disney" clean closure.) Robert's non-fictional account of James Holman (1786-1857) is beautifully written, setting the scene of the times in a vibrant, engaging way.

I finished the book this week--- and I am enamored with his last few paragraphs. They are the conclusion of the book and don't encompass the vast travels of Holman-- If you want to get to the last paragraph yourself SPOILER ALERT: The first line is a quote from Holman himself and the last paragraph is an eloquent ending to conclude the story of Holman's life.

(Upon his world-wide travels, the sensation of place)..." entered into my heart, and I could have wept, not that I did not see, but that I could not portray all I felt." -James Holman

"Time, if not space renders all of us travelers. Cling as we might, we are ultimately compelled to let go of the familiar, to forge affinities with the new, and to sense the approach of the more unfamiliar still. We feel our way. If we are as fortunate as the Blind Traveler, we are given the grace to listen, with equal attention, to the intelligence of winds and the solemnity of silence. To remain, joyfully, awake to the path itself." - Jason Roberts A Sense of the World

I have read and reread the above passage many times. It is clear exposition on the nature of the transitory and travel. Bravo, Mr. Jason Roberts. The Blind Traveler was incredibly adroit with his language- as are you. I think the fitting of author to author was perfect in this case.


Good Ending #2. Composting the catalog designed by Shawn Stuckey from the For a Limited Time Only exhibition at The Art Center Highland Park . Here it is in with some onions peels, before I chucked it into the bin.