happy birthday ,Zack! part un

I think as a blogger,and a Mom, it is correct of me to write somethings about the birthday boy.As it is his nineteenth birthday, what better time to tell it like it is.

19.his favorite hat.He went through a hat phase, all he wore was this baseball cap until it was smelly and faded. a well loved cap. I believe he wore hats exclusively for 3 or 4 years.

18.Swing! He definitely is an all or nothing kid.He's playing at a friend's house, here he is giving it his all.
17.psyched! this is his 3rd birthday, and he got a Batman helmet, he wore that for the rest of the day, plus his BFF Luke gave it to him , so he was all the more excited to receive it.

I believe he is saying " COOL!!"

16. naked and grinning - and flashing your mom, is a lot of fun. His expression delights me.

15. the right tool ,for the right job -during the hat phase, He also loved to dress up from carpenter, to Indiana Jones, to a mean Ninja Turtle.He also wore the knees out of all his pants.

happy birthday ,Zack! part deux

14|teenage mutant ninja turtles! how a ninja turtle, likes to enjoy his juice and curly straw. Hanging tough with the other turtles.

13|bang! guns in all form and shapes have become a favorite toy . This is before the "hat period", though interestingly enough he is wearing a necklace he made, when we went to visit friends in Santa Barbara. It was something he wore everyday, until the string broke.

12| loyal-what can I tell you about this, nothing beats a good friend, and a sandbox, and matching helmets.He has always been loyal to his friends.
11| a kind and gentle boy-he is an only child, but has always been kind, and gentle with kids littler than himself.
10| renewable resources-many activities, seem to go better, faster, quicker, when using your tongue plus it was so funny.Not only does he have unboundless energy, he displays a wicked sense of humor.
9.birthdays rawk!- before Ninja Turtles, there were soft purple bunnies with long ears, who knew how to "karate chop".I believe Sesame Street, could be to blame (not!) for that, but I distinctly remember it.
8. sass- At 2 years old, it was never terrible, it was the age of questions, and the famous catch phrase "in a minute" existed, to haunt me. As I said it often to him evidently, when began replying to me the same way, it made me do a double take, but it was funny, in a karmic payback kind of way.
7|play-lots of play. The name of this play center escapes me, but we went a few times. It made me wish for knee pads and gloves, but I joined in climbing the tubes, sliding the slides having alot of fun.My kid is cool, he lets me play, and doesn't make me feel like I can't.
6| halloween rawks! at the grammie and grandpa's house, getting the Halloween dole.
dressed as a ninja turtle, he had a cool shield and sword. By now the mask was off.
5|make believe- imagination is healthy and strong, and it thrills me that my kid, has great Halloweens.He wore this costume , often and delighted in scaring others with it.
4| discerning tastes-Zack was a kid that ate like a bird. But when he liked something watch out. He loved the lemon slice cookies, and enjoyed a beater now and then.This may be around Christmas, as I was making those lemon slice cookies, even then.
3. my aim is true- this is the house we live in now, this was my first time seeing it.
Zack and Tom stopped in this house days before , while I slept after the night shift. They came home beaming with excitement.I believe that may be Indiana Jones right there. Notice the gun, holster, and hat on a hat.
2| music-he's always liked music, and I thank him for bringing me in 21st century. I have seen his musical tastes range from Korn and Limp Bizket, to now the Roots and Talib Kweli, and frankly I'm thankful for his latter tastes.

1| pride-I have always been and always will be proud of my son, from his wicked sense of humor, to his fashion sense, and the computer skills, that helps his parents often, when they forget how.He is calm , and level headed, and has been the best movie going partner for years.
Happy Birthday Zack , and to many, many more.

happy easter

I hope yours is full of laughter, good food, family and friends,
and a peep or two.

spring bulb show

You can tell it's March, the Spring Bulb show is at Smith College.

sweet tooth

birthday cupcake madness.


old fashioned peppermint candies


mocha toffee crunch ice cream cake, made by little ol' me



heart of gold, sugary teeth destroyers

artist statement , take two.

This whole artist statement thing, had me feeling self conscious. Then life got in the way.I've been too busy over the last couple days to fret about it. And that was due Friday.I kind of forgot about it.
I was lending my convalescing friend some much needed internet time,I have a connection, she does not.She surfed and answered email, while I ate breakfast.Later when she went home and I was about to turn into bed,I realized, aak! I can't sleep yet, I have to email off my statement,that I haven't written, yet!!
I had this little gem tucked in the back corner Of Word, and I'm so happy I found it. I neatened it up, finished my sentences, punctuated too.



Often I feel with printmaking, as if I am being let in on some wonderful secret, like a prize or a treasure, and how can you adequately describe that.
When I create a piece, it’s usually rooted in something personal, something related to me; it’s also fixed on whatever technique I am using at that point in time.
I find myself looking at everyday things, being in awe of their beauty, and immediately, thinking of how can I recreate this image through printmaking? How can I recreate that feeling again?
So often it is my love of a particular method that fuels the images I make.
From there it’s a forward process, in creating the block, to printing it.
With my relief prints, it’s often about the carving, what kind of curved line can I create.
I draw my images directly on the block or transfer them from photocopies of drawings I’ve made.
It’s just a matter of carving away the block, and sometimes adding cuts, not in the original drawing as I go along. This occurs depending on how fluid I can make them; the more effortless it is the more I spontaneously add to my original idea. It definitely is this immediacy that forms the image, and attracts me to the relief process as whole.