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.

the lucky leap.

I don't have a remote for my camera, so I did this by timer, this was my first attempt, and my only successful one the others I was preparing to jump or had just landed.
I was a little on the fence of posting it, but I said to myself "f*ck it,I'm gonna be brave and just do it. regardless of the bulges or my hot sexy Sorels(haha) and oh by the way it was 19 degrees out too!

I also love, Wilma in the background, thinking (again) what is that silly human doing, now?!?!

I figure I have 4years to either buy a remote, or perfect my timer jumping.
Cheers to a great leap year!

stalling techniques

in an attempt to stall writing an artist statement, I will post distracting winter pictures instead.

artist statement

I've been able to call my self an artist, specifically a printmaker for the last 5 years.Today, my show opened at the gallery, at Zea Mays Printmaking.I'm showing alongside two other artists, who are also members of Zea Mays.
I'm supposed to write a small artist statement, about what my art is saying, or why I create it as such, the thought of this makes me queasy. I'm nervous that I won't be able to come up with any good words to describe what makes me tick, as an artist.

I remember printing at the studio for the first time, feeling like a novice, but not in a bad way. They had knowledge and experience behind their printmaking, and they were generous to share it.I absorbed it like a little sponge.Beside finding my style,I also got over my big bad self and realized, I am artist, and it's okay to utter the "a" word.In the past I had always , known I was artistic, but I am nurse, who took an occasional art class.Now, I am a printmaker, and a nurse.

So back to the initial statement, about the queasiness I get about writing about myself as an artist.How to describe, what inspires me to make an image. Nature inspires me, it's the repetitive patterns that occur out of necessity, not just because they look good.I find that awe inspiring for me. It's not just me that is  inspired this way, storytellers, are inspired by nature too. And that's the second part of it. I have been told by people, my prints remind them of folk art. I keep an eye out for everything , how people present images, how a kernel of that must works it's way into my visual memories. I draw a fish, it's part realistic, part fantastic, part Dr. Seuss. It's my version of a fish, and somewhere in that, is a memory of a feeling, that I present, how it makes me feel, which i hope make you feel something too.

Not sure if this can be considered an artist statement, but I consider it a first draft.
I think I will sleep on it, and consider this again tomorrow.

pulling the print

pulling the print |28, originally uploaded by ms.Tea.

I have a show coming up , toward the end of February with 2 other artist, so I'm thankful the ideas have been flowing.

wintery

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

Martin Luther King,Jr.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."


I have a Dream

the text of the speech

the Family of Driver

I don't claim to be the best driver (though I am) But these are a few things that cause me to grind my teeth during the daylight hours,while driving, and frankly my dentist would like me to stop.

1. the Non Directional user- you know this person, they can't make that long reach to turn on their directionals.But they can stop suddenly in traffic, and wait and hold up a line of cars behind them, but they can't(can NOT) turn on that directional. How they can ever turn their steering wheel enough, to actually make that turn, is surprising, but they do, albeit slowly.

2.the Tailgater aka the Headlight Blaster- this person is a wimp, most likely makes passive aggressive snarky remarks, but is too weak willed to pass you, or shut off their high beams, or fog lights. The follow behind you closely, like somehow that will help them save gas, or maybe it gives them time to talk on their cell phone,with out having to look at the road. They also feel they are doing a public service, by lighting up the back of your head, and the inside of your car, to enable you to see better.

3.the Wimpy pull out driver- this person has no patience. They are the person, who has either pulled out across your lane of traffic, waiting to get in the other lane going the opposite direction, and they don't care that they are blocking your way.They are sick of waiting, that's it, they've had enough, they're going whether you are coming or not. They have also been know to pull the nose end of their car out in traffic, so you and the other 50 cars behind you, have to deliberately drive around. Evidently they have never been hit, while performing this maneuver, because if they were, they'd find out quickly, that Insurance companies call this "failure to stop", and it'll make them responsible for the damages incurred on their car and yours.

4.the Premature pull out driver- is a close cousin to the wimpy one in #3.They have been known to pull out suddenly in front of you, when your the only car on the road, and then drive extremely slow in front of you. I believe these people can't see, perhaps they are sightless, like underground moles, or maybe it when the invisibility shield on my car decides to work, nonetheless they pull out and you actually have to brake for them to complete this maneuver, that they are so talented at.

5. the Snow driver- this person has many of the above ailments, but they all occur when it snows. The snow can turn the average driver into an impulsive idiot. This person can't drive in the snow, their car isn't prepared for it, and they have no snow driving skills. They either drive too slow, or much too fast. They must pull out in front of you suddenly, because braking in the snow and ice is something they have no concept, and they're a little misinformed about the laws of momentum and inertia. They also usually don't clear of their cars of snow, or their windshields, except on the driver side so they can see, damn it. They are usually heading to a supermarket, or to Dunkin' Donuts, and that's important and worth risking your life for.

6. the Red light yeller- this person, drives too slow in the snow often, or too slow period.They get highly offended, when the street, turns from single lane to double, and you have the nerve to drive in the other lane, no longer following them, or you drive faster then them,when you pull in the other lane. They tend to come out in snowy weather, driving 15 m.p.h.At the stop light they will exert the energy, to open their window, to yell at your closed window, but won't put that energy into pressing on the gas pedal, or using their directionals.

I'm sure there are other species in this family of drivers, but this is the variety, that I curse silently under my breath, and through my gritted teeth.

Fifty things about my husband

Yesterday was my husband's 50th birthday. I would have loved to have this posted then, but life gets in the way. Besides I was baking him a cake, a birthday fruit cake. Hey what can I say he likes fruit cake.So with out further ado Fifty things about my man.

50.He likes fruitcake, really likes it. Bemoans the fact, he can't find it anymore, like he used to be able to.

49. He is very much my partner in this marriage, it's very 50-50 with him.We split the parenting equally, as much as we split everything else.You know the else: laundry, cleaning the bathroom, we have two so we each take one. He does the cooking more and more, now that I am in the studio twice a week.

48.He makes the best chili, and the best hamburgers too.

47.He makes me laugh everyday.

46. He can fix anything,which I wouldn't trade for anything.

45. He does his Christmas shopping ,at the last minute,every year like it's a brand new holiday he has never heard of before, and didn't realize he need a gift for.

44.Comes home for lunch everyday, he loves to be able to squirrel away in front of the computer, read the latest headlines, and his favorite blogs and gets slightly annoyed when I happen to want to talk to him at that time.

43.Is the king of finding the best deals on Craiglist, he's bought two sailboats,two flat files for me, and our newest member of our family Mr. Bowflex.

42.Is a Capricorn, and procrastinates worse then I ever do.

41.Washes the dishes, granted it's the stuff we can't put in the dishwasher, but he does it.

40.Is a Republican, and loves me even though I am a Democrat, and same for me. He's one of these more liberal people caring Republicans, we both believe in same sex marriage, etc.

39. He sings but horribly off key, which makes it all the more charming.

38. He's a great short order cook, and loves to do a large percentage of the cooking when we go camping. We have a mega huge cook stove, and he makes the best homefries on it.

37.Empties the dishwasher, but doesn't like to close the door completely after, so that clean light stay on, which makes me think, there are still clean dishes in it when there are not.

36.He is patient with my need to complicate things.

35.He drives like an old man, which to that he will tell you I drive with a lead foot.

34.He bought me my first digital camera.

33.He is able to buy groceries , and have it actually be the things on the list.

32.Laughs hysterically at evil, but funny grossness of South Park.

31.He watches The Simpsons faithfully.

30.He eats the same thing for lunch everyday, well he has two choices, either ham and cheese or hot dogs, fried to brown crispiness.

29.Is very supportive, of me, our son, and the weird decisions we sometimes make, or the weird things we do.

28.He is an expert cat holder.You know you need to give the family cat medicine, but they are too wily to just take it, hidden in hamburger like the dog. So you need a cat holder, maybe wrassler would be a better term, so the ill feline can get her medicine.Without destroying any of the fingers of the med giver.

27. He thinks capri pants are the biggest joke on women everywhere, unless you have legs that are skinny and long, he thinks they make your legs look fat and short, and after listening to his reasoning, you know ladies it does.

26.His favorite movies are Casablanca, The African Queen, and Barbarosa.

25.His favorite shows on the food network, are Good Eats, ans the Ace of Cakes, he has a not so secret crush on Mary Alice, the receptionist of Charm City Cakes.

24.Bakes a mean Cornbread, no wimpy pan he uses a cast iron skillet.

23.Has been a good mentor to other oil Burner technicians where he works, explains things simply but completely. I've seen him talk to one of my friend's husband when they had furnace problems, so well that they were warm and snugly on bitterly cold night, last January.

22. He is a good sailor, and spends his free time reading about all things sailing.

21.He is very loyal.

20. He is also very stubborn, but will change his ways when he's shown the error of them.

19. He is trying to quit smoking.

18.He loves to putter around, whether it's cutting up the fallen trees, in our woods,or doing finishing work around the house, he can spend his whole day doing that.

17.He never nags about things.... never.

16.He is a reluctant traveler, he really is a homebody. But with much gentle nudging on my part,he is taking a family trip to Amsterdam this summer.I think it's because we are staying on a houseboat, but shh don't tell him I know that.

15.He is the best reader of kids books ever, I have fond memories of him reading to our son, especially from Dr.Suess, and Roald Dahl.

14.He taught me how to play cribbage, when we were first dating.And admittedly I was quite a sore loser, until I figured out the game. How he didn't burst out laughing at me as i pout through my beginner loses, is a testament to his teaching abilities, or his ability to love me when I'm being a brat.

13.He doesn't drink milk, he has it on his cereal but he won't drink it, it goes down the sink drain.

12.He brushes his teeth after supper, every night, except maybe when we're camping.

11.He gives his opinion when asked, but doesn't get upset if you don't take it.

10.He was in awe of our son from the day he saw him on the ultrasound screen, and has always been one of his strongest supporters.

9.Is a smart aleck, you know the kind you laugh with even though they are giving you a ration.

8.Has a good poker face, and will let me know after I've had to steer the sailboat, into our slip, how nervous he was, but how proud he is of me for not crashing the boat.

7.He loves hosting the family get togethers as much as I do. We love it, but sometimes we wonder why, after they've gone home, when we are by ourselves,giggling at some of the things that were said and done by them.

6.He is one of the nicest men,I've ever met.

5.He walks the dog, as much as he'll tell you our dog Wilma is a dope, he secretly loves her, and spoils her with dog biscuits.

4.He often does the opposite of what I ask, but I do too, so it makes us perfectly matched.

3.He can read a map, though he may not necessarily follow the directions he can read from it.

2.He loves his families (mine and his)even if he likes his peace and quiet.

1.He's my BFF, he gets me, laughs at my jokes, and listens to my disappointments, that I can only share with a BFF.He knew before I did that we would be together,and I thank my lucky stars that he had the patience to let me come to my senses, and find that out too.

funny

Where my studio is located, where I continue my self education of printmaking.
Is also the studio of Hilary B. Price , who has a funny website Rhymes with Orange and a new equally funny book called Pithy,Seedy,Pulpy,Juicy.
We were reading it at the studio, laughing out loud. She has a way of capturing the humor of everyday which is hilarious. I suggest you run,not walk and buy this book.*
You will be laughing at the register as you buy it, because you know you will be thumbing through it. And if you do mail order, your box will be mysteriously not damaged but retaped because the UPS or the Fedex driver will have opened the box to read it and laugh hysterically too. I'm telling you it's that funny.

*this may also be a presumptive review of the book as, I read half of it,and was blinded by the tears I had from laughing, so I'm buying one today, when I go back to the studio.

happy birthday

yes it's my birthday. I am officially 45 years old. I wouldn't trade it for anything, I like getting older, I'm more comfortable in my own skin at this age, finally.

I notice as I get older, I am looking more like my Nana, I have her cheeks, her teeth. I'm sure i will turn completely grey like she did. But I'm taller than her, and I don't smoke, and I wash my cast iron skillet, after each use, unlike her, who left it "seasoned", as a kid it gave me the heebies, when she would offer to cook me eggs in that pan. She loved me fiercely and laughed at my jokes, and spoiled me just like a good Nana should. She also taught me how to shop for fresh produce, one of her jobs as a single mom was working at a produce stand,I know what to look for when I buy strawberries, and melons, and especially cherries. I remember picking out the fruit she would buy, and her being happy with my decisions. I felt pretty smart, accomplished, as a young girl learning that.

Thank you Nana.xxoo

After the holidaze

It's over,Christmas is over, I have two large trash bags full of just wrapping paper!It was amazing and exhausting,do I find it depressing? No!
I'm a little baffled by the post holiday Christmas blues, but that's said more out have never experiencing it, then incredulous outrage at the thought.

Our family gatherings were split and separate this year, His family on Christmas Eve, mine the day after Christmas, and Christmas we spent at his sister's, lots of fun, lots of good food,and a nice pinot noir.

I served a spinach lasagna, and italian meatballs, and garlic bread, plus a table full of things to munch on; nuts, cheeses,chocolate graham bunnies. On Christmas Eve we tracked Santa via NORAD ,yes that's right, Virginia... NORAD! Who knew that the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also kept track of Santa. If you've ever believed in St.Nick, or have kids that believe in him,this is a lot of fun, especially if you have a partner to view it with, like say my 4 year old nephew, who was so happy and excited, and dropped the greeting" Feliz Navidad", often.
I received some really nice presents, a blooming Christmas cactus was one of them, and one of those easy to use corkscrews, no more pieces of cork to spit out.

On Christmas day we opened our presents, My husband still thinks I wear post earrings, which i haven't in a decade, luckily no feelings were hurt. I find with work , and having to wear a mask that posts get caught, or torn out, and french wires, may be removed just as easy, but no one looses an earlobe over it.
I received a great iPod docking receiver, my son and I both own iPods, and we can put either one in it, it'll be nice for up in my home studio. To crank those playlists.We also had our annual cinnamon rolls. Don't be too impressed , they are the Pillsbury kind, that come with the little can of frosting, but they're a fun Christmas memory.Then in the afternoon, we went to his Sister's house, she had some good food, and snacks to nibble one, the pinot noir was flowing. It was another relaxed day, plus we had turkey.

On the 26th, my family came with lots of presents in hand,see above photo, my mother is a force to be reckoned with, and she buys everything you want and then some. My sister too, and myself we have learned well from my mother. It was kind of cool to see the amount of gifts, but oy! all that paper. We also got to meet Zoey the littlest puppy, too cute and fun, and my dog Wilma didn't mind her much, though when she got too close to her when she was eating, she gave her a growling little smile, that put the puppy in it's place. Of course there were also dog gifts as well as people gifts, Wilma received a squeaky raccoon, and Zoey received a squeaky pheasant, which was as big as her, but she attacked and gnawed at it happily.We had ( in the house that night, but it was a lot of fun.

And yesterday, finally it was over.
The tree is still up, and will stay up until New Year's Eve, I'll take it down on New Years Day, it's a safe activity, if you've had some fun, maybe too much fun on New Year's Eve.
All in all it was a very nice holiday.

happy holidaze

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas.