back to work

I actually think I'm finally all better. I didn't quite realize how sick I was. Looking back at the weekend in Virginia, I see it. Cold showers to bring the fever down, unable to walk a short distance without my legs giving out. Sleeping, sleeping, thirsty. Yikes. It's taken another week to come up from under the fog, but here I am. People who make all or most of their income on the art show circuit fear illness, not because you feel lousy, but because you might not be able to work. It's not like my old government job with paid sick days that allowed you the luxury of burrowing under the covers and whining when you got sick.There's no whining in the festival business. You get out there and tough it out. Remember that the next time an artist at a show seems grumpy to you. He might be unwell. Of course, he might also be a jerk.

So, anyway, happy to be feeling better, I worked on some mirrors. But first I took Jake to the dog park.



He made friends, I breathed in the sweet air of Spring and watched the first hardy boaters make their way down the river. Felt good.

I think the mirrors are cast paper. That's what I call them, anyway. Paper is cast to a form, so not sure what else they could be. Over the years I have come to love the properties of paper and paper pulp, experimenting to see what I can make the material do. I'm going to post on how they are made next. Now, as usual, the nitty gritty details will be missing because, although I tend to be a bit of a Pollyanna most of the time, I have yet to hitch a ride on the proverbial turnip truck and therefore cannot be said to have just fallen off said truck yesterday. I haven't seen anyone else do these. Having something unusual is really important in this business. I'm not about to divulge any secrets. But people are curious about them, so I'm going to allow a peek.

The journals are my babies, but you have to be so precise when you are making them. The mirrors and bowls are just fun. No rules, no measurements, nothing has to fit. It is what it is. I need something like that or risk having the book-making become drudgery. And I like playing with paint and glaze and micro powders and generally making a mess.

OK, off to scrape said paints, glazes, et al from my person. Then I'll post the tutorial.