Barks, Birthdays and Birds

Mad Arf was a huge success. Attendance was great and we raised a lot of money for Stray Rescue. Blair was on the cover of the Saturday LifeStyle section of the Post Dispatch with a nice article inside about the event. It seemed to be a very positive experience for everyone involved.

Saturday was my birthday and as usual, it was a cold blustery day. I took lots of naps and read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point while Lindsey worked on setting up my new computer. We went to dinner at The Chocolate Bar with Tim, Heather, Ron, and Tracy. Dinner, not just dessert, was excellent. I had a marvelous time and really do have the greatest friends. Tim crafted a stamp dispenser/postage meter out of Altoids tins that was engineering genius. I love it. And from Tracy, I got an autographed photo of Bernie Koppell of Loveboat fame.

Finally, I have two quick bird stories. On the night of my birthday, I dreamt I was in a huge white room (white floors/white walls) and all these white birds were flying over the top of the wall to enter the other part of the building. The fluttering of their wings was very loud. I was barefoot in a white gown and picking through an extremely large pile of nice, brown, masculine, vintge dress shoes on the other side of the wall and kept stopping my shoe search to peek around to see the birds. Not so fascinating. But today, when I returned home from work, I noticed a plethora of white downy feathers littering my porch. Then I saw a tan pidgeon hiding under the pink chair in the corner of my porch. He had fire engine red feet and an I.D. bracelet with numbers. It looked like a well kept bird but was acting kind of punchy. I threw a boot on the porch to scare it away at it just fluttered up a bit. So I got another boot and tried again. Off he flew. I don't know why I was so creeped out and scared. Ultimately, I think birds and shoes mean good things (forward moving). But if I have one more bird/shoe incident this week...well we'll just have to see. It seems like there is a painting or a poem in there somewhere.

Highlights / Lowlights

Highlights of the last week:

1. Five of my Holga shots from Las Vegas were selected for the upcoming River Styx anniversary issue. I'm really excited about it. While this literary journal allows showcases excellent writers, apparently the anniversary issue has some real big shots in it. So the exposure will be nice. I knew good things would come from that Vegas show.
2. Hamiet Bluiett concert at Washington University on Saturday. WOW!
3. Nina working on getting neon show from Las Vegas here in St. Louis. Progress was made, but I'm not at liberty to discuss. Just let me say...this will be fan-flippin-tastic.
4. I'm pretty happy with my dog pieces for the Mad Arf show that opens on Friday. They are pretty illustrative. Didn't really know I had it in me. I'm going to try working with gouache.

Lowlights:

1. I think I'm going to have to start looking for a real full time job. Several factors are pushing me in this direction. The last two years (of freelance and gallery work) have been extremely gratifying, but my bank account is an echo chamber of despair.

I have other personal highs/lows, but I'm trying to keep this blog about artsy stuff. Stay tuned.

Viva Las Tater

Late on Sunday and I just returned from the CULT OF POTATO World Tour Premiere Party at the Contemporary Arts Collective (CAC) in Las Vegas. Our exhibit opened with a Martini Mixer on Thursday for the board members and friends and then on Friday over 2000 people visited our exhibit as part of the Vegas First Friday. They close down a street, all the area galleries and stores stay open late and it is one great event. So many different types of people came through...rave kids, families with strollers, old people, the mayor, TV crews from A&E and some tatoo reality show, etc. It was super impressive. The gallery is housed in the Art Factory building that has a bunch of studios and galleries...an amazing vibe. I had two potato quilt pieces and then did a slight performance piece, dressed in my potato culinary coat handing out potatoes from a big tin pan. I loved interacting with all the people. It really was one the funnest and happiest nights of my life. (See some photos.) And I got to share it with two of my oldest, dearest, and most inspirational friends, Rebecca and Nina. Other highlights, in no particular order, included:

1. Laura and Tommy: CAC board members and incredible hosts for the entire stay, taking us to fun places (Little Buddha at the Palms for dinner, the feather store) and showing us their fantastic house and tricked out bicycles. These two are the most stylish and full of love couple I know. Laura Love turned 35 on Friday night too. They will be here for the St. Louis Potato event in July.
2. A slew of folks from the CAC and the Arts Factory, including Marty Walsh--a fantastic painter who helped us hang and light the show and has a heart and smile as big and bright as the moon. Plus, she paints kitchen appliances and wears red cowboy boots. Paco, former curator of the Liberace Museum and current curator of the Neon Boneyard. I was mesmermized by his knowledge of Las Vegas history, and the art scene in the town. And he was so gracious, treating us to a private tour of the boneyard. (I took tons of pictures including some with my Holga.) Just a tremenously warm guy. Nina and I are going to work on bringing a neon show to St. Louis. Diane and Charles, also of the CAC...again just wonderfully supportive folks who did so much to make us feel at home. I can't say enough good things about this place and the folks involved.
3. Bright lights from the observation deck of the Stratosphere.
4. Walking down Main Street in my new lime green feather boa (courtesy of Rebecca Stees).
5. Every second in the red Dodge Neon with Tom, Nina, and Rebecca. I don't remember laughing so much in my life.
6. Flipping bitches all over town.
7. Watching Laura and Rebecca dance to DJ Shoe's mix of Benny and the Jets at Little Buddha.
8. The artist brunch on Sunday. I got choked up and cried, which wasn't exactly a highlight, but I was just so darned freaking grateful and happy.
9. Learning all kinds of new stuff about the potato from Jeffrey Allen Price.

I am so excited about the St. Louis Potato show. I have the best friends in the world.