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A Perfect Red

I picked this book up when I was in San Francisco and just finished it. It is surprisingly a page turner. The history of a color? I have to say I was hooked by the cover. That incredible turban from "Portrait of a Man" by Jan van Eyck. It's gorgeous redness just leaps off the page. The book tells the story of the treasured and legendary red dye known as cochineal, which comes from a small insect that lives on the nopal cactus, primarily in Oaxaca Mexico. Before you nod off thinking this is some "how to" tome about red dye, consider that red was the color of kings, nobility and the papacy. It symbolized and bestowed power and was prized for centuries above all others. Countries fought over it, pirates got involved, spies were hired and died and in search of it and several obsessive souls were literally driven mad by it. It's all told here in an entertaining and lively voice.

Cochineal first appeared on my personal radar screen when I was in Oaxaca last November. I am not a painter, but I use paint and like most artists, I am passionate about color. When we visited both the wonderful weavers of Teotitlan del Valle and the carvers of San Martin Tilcajete, we learned of their passion for natural dyes and the colors they create from them. One of them is cochineal.

Yarns from the weaver we visited at Teotitlan del Valle. Sumptuous colors, all from natural dyes.

A collection of the weaver's natural dyes. There is a little basket of cochineal on the left, the one that looks like purple grains.

The weaver grinding color.

The carver showing us some of his fantastic dye colors.

Gorgeous, gorgeous colors!

When I watch the film, The Girl With The Pearl Earring (if you haven't seen it get thee to a video store. Today.), I always pause it and rewind to the scene where Vermeer is teaching young Grete to mix his colors. The alchemical table that holds his treasured colors is magic to me. Take a look here, if you are interested. O.K. it's kind of a dorky homemade pairing of a great movie with a song out of context, but you get to see the color mixing table.

Just as becoming more conscious of where our food comes from is a good thing, so too our colors. We open the tubes and viscous, lovely color pours out. But where does it come from? Where in nature does is appear? How is it transformed into the paint and dyes and watercolors we all love so much? It's food for thought. And if this post piques your interest at all, add A Perfect Red to your bedside book stack.

Thank You Teachers

I just finished up two cards for my son's 4th grade teachers. They are both delightful and remarkable people. His lead teacher, Mandy, is wonderfully grounded and patient. Yelena, the intern teacher, has amazing energy and has done some really interesting projects this year which have included taking the kids rock climbing and learning about fair trade chocolate. When we were in San Francisco's amazing chocolate shop, Cocobella, my son asked if the chocolate was fair trade. The "kids" running the shop had no idea and asked my son what fair trade was. He gave them an amazingly detailed answer. Thank you Yelena!

So for all the amazing teachers out there I wish I could make a card for each of you. Your energy, love and enthusiasm is greatly needed by today's children. I thank you open heartedly for all you do.

The kids will all sign these cards with little stories or favorite things from the year.

Here's a little detail of one of the wonderful bugs from the artist's paper I used to collage the front of the cards.

School's almost out and I, for one, am ready to ditch the homework and run free!

Turn down the radio, I can't see

It was time. The birds do it, the bees do it. Not that! I mean spring cleaning. Yes the cleaning fairy bit me in the ass this week and I had to attack my studio work table. It's like when you are driving and you turn down the radio, so you can see better. Know what I mean? The dead roses, while charming in the cold vast wasteland of winter, seemed dusty and brittle and old.

So everything came off the table and a good cleansing was had. Wow! New roses (on sale $20 for 24 stems!) and now I can see again. I threw open the windows and blared Phil Roy. It was very cathartic.

And lo and behold a little inspiration drifted by, and since I had space to work, I whipped out this little beauty. A mail art thank you card to a dear friend, for a sweet gift.

May the force be with you. Peace out.

My Man and the Moon - Book of Memories

My husband and I both turned 50 last year. We joined the club. And for those of you approaching this mid-century milestone, it's not so bad. Really. We have half of our lives left, if we are lucky. That's my point of view. Not that half of it is over, but we half left. When I'm awake at 3:00 a.m. it's one of the things I think about. How to make a difference this next leg of the journey.

Getting a gift for my husband is always a challenge so I decided to make him a book of memories filled with handwritten letters from people who have been special to him over the years. I wrote and called many old friends and family and asked them to write a memory or a story or just a birthday wish. My caveat was that it had to be handwritten. We are losing so much of our connection to each other and to our histories by not writing letters or other kinds of correspondence by hand anymore. All but one person complied and he was in New Zealand, so I accepted an email from him. His brother was certain he couldn't think of a thing to write. He called me twice for coaching. He wrote 5 precious pages. That's the gift, really. The memories and sentiments committed to the page by the hand of the sender. Gives me goose bumps.

For those of you around 50 years old (or older), you'll most likely remember when the tiny Apollo 11 space craft landed on the moon in 1969. It fired our childhood imaginations and for a generation of young boys (mostly), it was a thrilling recognition that so much was possible. So the cover features a big 'ol full moon, my husband's muse for all these years.

I made the book with pages that fold out so envelopes with letters could be hidden and tucked into the flaps.

You turn the page and another story pocket appears. My husband was a paramedic in his younger days and his buddies had many funny stories of their rescues and antics.

More friends with stories.

His mother had saved his grade school pictures which I made into an age progression grid. Like my brother, he wore the geek identifying black glasses.

I really liked this quote by Arthur C. Clark about the space program and it's impact on our generation.

Some of our dear babysitters have moved on to have families and children of their own. On the right, a friend with a birthday cake full of wishes.

The kids got in on it too. And there is a pocket for my letter, which, of course, hasn't been written yet. Too much to say.

I think he was very surprised and touched by all the people that took the time to write and remember him.

Think about sending a handwritten letter to someone you love. Just thinking about the delight at the mailbox is worth the time it takes to write.

Field Trip

Last week I had an afternoon to head down to Denver for an "artist's date". Even though the new Hamilton building (part of the Denver Art Museum), designed by Daniel Libeskind, has gotten a tremendous amount of international attention and acclaim, I find it annoying. The outside is amazing, as you can see from the above NY Times photo. I just couldn't capture it with my camera so decided to conveniently (thank you world wide web) use someone else's. The interior is cold and gloomy. The galleries are all at such odd angles, it's hard to view the art that is there. And where is all the art? One of the reasons for the new building was to be able to have more space for the both the permanent collection and traveling exhibits. Where's the art? That's all I can think about every time I enter this building. Off my soap box now, thank you very much.

I do love this giant monolithic sculpture that graces the entrance to the new building with the lovely Michael Graves public library in the background. Don't know the name of this sculpture or what it's made of. I just know I like it's majesty and gentle stoney curves. What else is there really that one needs to know about a piece of art? It speaks to you or it doesn't. I'm reminded of a part of the Mary Oliver poem, "Wild Geese",

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred milles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.

So often I feel this pressure going to an art museum that I have to know something and be smart about the art I'm seeing. When really all I want to do is just look and be inspired or not. Love what it loves.

Myself and I vectored first to the "old" Denver Art Museum to see the Gee's Bend quilts. They have come to town along with a play of the same name that Stephanie and Lisa and I saw a couple of weeks ago. The one act (4 actor) play was amazing. The quilt makers came alive for us and the set, while small, included a small "creek" with real water.

This is the 2nd second major exhibition of the quilts and they are in Denver until July 6. I have loved these since I first read about them in the 90's. But this was my first up close viewing.

What I loved about them was how organic they are. Certainly they've been designed and thought out, some more than others, but there is this immediacy about them that speaks to me. Not over planned. They were made from what we in 2008 would call "recycled" materials. But really these quilters just used whatever was at hand. Out of necessity. They aren't perfectly square and perfectly executed. And to me that's what makes them so wonderful. Beautiful and imperfect.

I especially loved the older ones from the 40's, 50's and 60's. All the tiny stitching and the wear and tear. They are literally the fabric of someone's life. They sheltered dreams and love making and snuggling and tears. Very touching and real. The art of life. If they come your way, make time for them. I think you'll find them very inspiring. Read more about the quilts of Gee's Bend here.

The second stop on my Denver field trip was the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art. My other Front Range compadres have covered this on their blogs, but I wanted to add my 2 cents. See Lisa Hoffman's much more thorough debriefing of DMOCA here. I loved this outstanding sculptural piece that graces this very contemporary building. Unlike the Hamilton building, I found this contemporary building inviting and interesting. A good home and holding container for a variety of contemporary art.

But I have to say my favorite part of the building was, of course, the cafe. I stopped for a cup of tea and had a chance to read the loose binder describing the building and it's contents. They also have a cool iPod tour, which I saw someone else with, but did not try. Next time.

I liked the inside and outside of the cafe. A quiet space perched on top of the building.

For the time being, you have a spectacular view of lower downtown Denver. Soon tall buildings will block the view, but on the day of my excursion I was able to enjoy my Earl Grey with an unobstructed view.

Where have you been lately?

Ok, Ok Mary Ann Moss gets 1st prize for best field trip EVER! Go here to have a look.

New Music in the Studio

I've been in a music rut lately. Maybe it's the turn of the season or I'm just outgrowing my Chill genre phase, but these 3 new CD's are getting my groove on. I've never liked Sheryl Crow, too pop for my taste. But I have to say this new one is just political enough and deep enough to hold my attention. Love the upbeat message and melodies in "Out of Our Heads." "God Bless This Mess" is a plea and a mantra we should all be chanting every single day.

Do you Weepie? I love this duo. Think Juno soundtrack, only better. Mellow vibe, lilting melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Just right.

Remember "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys?" God, I loved that album. Almost wore it out. So cool. Well Steve Winwood (no longer "Stevie") is back and doing his own thing. Great guitar playing and mature in a good way. Like Joni Mitchell. Walking thier paths and evolving as artists, and sharing the journey with us.

Get your groove on. What are you listening to?

So Long Old Friend, Hello Gorgeous!

As you may already know, in February the Polaroid company announced it was closing it's factories and that Polaroid film was going the way of the dial telephone. Good bye old friend. Many a 70's memory we had together. Drunken moments memorialized. Uncle Dougie's hula skirt incident. Art projects galore.

But here is the BIG news - the next gen instant printer for our digital age, will make it's debut this fall. Just in time for the holidays and before the next journaling retreat! Imagine the possibilities! The picture above shows this neat and tiny (the size of credit card) printer that can hook-up wirelessly to your phone (Bluetooth), or with a cable to your digital camera. It opens like a compact to reveal a computer chip, a 2-inch long thermal printhead and a new kind paper embedded with microscopic layers of dye crystals that create a multitude of colors when heated. Cool, huh?

It comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery that will last for about 15 shots (recharge time?) and the paper (2" X 3") won't be quite as expensive as the old Polaroid film - about 33 to 40 cents a sheet as opposed to a dollar for the old film. The prints will be borderless with a semigloss finish - and the BEST PART FOR JOURNALERS - they come with an adhesive backing that can be peeled off for instant stick! Whoa! This is so cool, I can hardly stand it. I read the expected retail price will be about $150. They know they are competing with on-line viewing of digital images and want to entice people away from virtual reality back to old school, everyday 3-D reality. Which is fine by me. I love this reality and the feel of the moment before caught in a photo, in my hot little hands. Or stuck to a journal page. Instant gratification. The old fashioned way.

Letting Go. Again.

My 15 year old daughter started driving about a month ago. Well, actually it was 3 weeks ago when she first went out around our neighborhood with her dad. On a recent weekend she did two 8 hour days of Master Drive – more later – and she is now basically street ready. The only problem is, I’m not. It is hard to describe the feelings I am having of seeing my child driving my car. I don’t know if it’s because my father died in a car accident when I was seven (ya think!), or if I’m really as controlling as my youngest brother accuses me of being, but this is difficult for me. I realize it’s just another letting go. And there have been many letting go moments along this path with my daughter. Preschool. The first time at the swimming pool when she was 4 and I gave her a dollar to walk all the way across the pool grounds to get an ice cream – all-by-herself. Kindergarten. Grade school trips to the mountains with her class. Without me. An eighth grade trip to France. Without me. This is just another kind of letting go. No one told me that teenage parenting was going to be so hard in this way. The first time she sat in the driver’s seat, behind the wheel of my car, we had a seismic power shift. She had just completed 16 hours (2 days) of the Master Drive driving range course. She could brake and turn (at the same time), slalom the cones without hitting even one and maneuver in and out of parking spots. She was on the skid pad that simulated sheet ice and can keep control of the car and steer it to safety. I am more than impressed. I just sat there looking at her and she was like one of those shiny hologram images that switch from eagle to lion - toddler/beautiful 15 year old, toddler/responsible young woman, toddler/full grown woman. It was just the most amazing moment for me. We have moved into a new universe. And while I don’t know a lot about what lies ahead, I do know one thing. She’ll be driving my car (physically, not metaphorically). And I’m just going to have to be chill about it and let go. One more time.

If any of you live in California or Colorado and have teens about to drive, I highly and wholeheartedly recommend the Master Driver program. Find out more here.