 
work emails, saddle soap (apparently bad for leather, need to find suitable replacement), wash scooter, ULTA, lunch with Michelle (cancelled), call Joy S. (emailed), Doc Martens?, bruise wheel?, finish Deana’s painting, email Western Builders with invoice, fill out early ballot, chiropractic appointment (rescheduled), finish exterior paint repair, talk to Ida about someone else heading up the community garden…I think that’s it. Maybe.
So, Steph gave me a hear time because I hadn’t updated in awhile. Meanwhile, her blog hasn’t gotten any action in over a month. Not that I’m saying…okay, I’m saying it. Pot…kettle.
I have been doing my best to survive the summer. In case anyone was wondering, it’s still really hot here. Somedays, it’s a bit humid. Not Tennessee humid, but humid. Supposedly, the monsoons are around. Somewhere. I think it rained once.
I realized the other day that I live in a pretty diverse area. Within a mile of my home is a Jewish Community Center, a Seventh Day Adventist Church, a Korean Church (Presbyterian I believe), a Jehovah’s Witness building (not sure what they call those), a Lutheran church, an Episcopalian church, and the Mosque is nearly ready to open. They said it would be ready in time for Ramadan. I am really excited because I can see the dome in the view from my bedroom, and they are going to paint it gold.
It’s about time somebody around here decorated something. Thanks local Muslim congregation! Perhaps it’s the artist in me, but I love love love religious buildings. We need more creative spiritual beautiful inspirational spaces to be in.
In other news, I am working on two projects for hire. One is a wooden dragon set from China. Another patient at the chiropractor’s overheard me talking about art, and said he had bought the set for over his door, but it was unfinished wood. So…it rode home on my vespa on day to be painted. Not sure if I want to paint the two dragons identically (I like mirror images) or just have them “go”.
The other project is a large painting to go over someone’s couch. She gave me a swatch of fabric with colors that she likes, and a picture of another painting she liked and asked me to use it as a jumping off point. So we shall see what comes to pass.
I’m also giving a temporary home to my friend Alyssa’s shiba inu dog. His name is Kishu, and he lives downstairs. Peter bossed Kishu around when he first arrived, but the other two cats have been chased upstairs.
I am also planning on going to the scooter rally in Flagstaff next month. Yay for scooter rallys. Rallies? I have no idea what people do at these things, but I plan on going with a group of other scooter enthusiasts. And hopefully some of my friends. And hopefully, I won’t be a big dork with my helmet and jacket. Safety first though, right?
Below is a picture of just how awesome trampoline are because of how they make us feel. Hooray for trampolines! And hooray for MacIntyre’s and Schroeders!
Why do so many “green” products come in plastic packaging?
Light bulbs have for years been in cardboard and yet the new cfl bulbs are in that hard-to-open plastic?!
Argh. I struggle everyday with disciplining myself. I want so badly to go into the studio every day and create amazing works of art of which I am so proud. But everytime I complete one, I am mostly dissatisfied with the result. It isn’t what I intended. I want to draw and paint like someone else, but whenever I start drawing I draw what I draw. It feels derivitive and illustrative.
Worse yet, I feel compelled to sell out and create what everyone else is creating right now–art inspired by fifties throwback ideals. Little drawings of birds, children, owls, and men with horn rimmed glasses. Stencils seem to be pretty hot right now too. What is out there right now, what is selling, is a mix of craft and high art and interior design.
The light is always best in my studio in the mornings, but I distract myself doing the chores around the house until the light goes bad, then tell myself I can’t possibly work in the dark or under that terrible yellow bulb. Then I go outside to run errands and water the yard and answer email. (I certainly haven’t spent much time blogging.)
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Here is a picture of Stephanie in Austin looking snarky.
I have a lot of thoughts running through my mind from the past week in Austin. I am still processing through them. I need to reread my notes and explore what I wrote during the week. The speakers were fascinating: the pastor and writer Eugene Peterson, the musician and writer Jeremy Begbie, the poet Luci Shaw, the writer and ex-nun Barbara Nicolosi among others–I actually was able to get Peterson and Begbie to sign my books.
I met so many interesting people, I went to interesting places…I got to know Stephanie better…
I was surprised to have my ideas and notions regarding church challenged, especially since that isn’t really what anyone was talking about–I’ll say it was like smurfs never really talking about the fact that they are smurfs. (Credit to the pastor of Mosaic in Austin.)
And to change the subject, here is one of my latest portraits. This man’s name is Craig, and he tells stories that always make me wonder:
Tonight Stephanie and I leave for a week for Austin, Texas. I am thrilled to go to a place that I’ve wanted to visit for years. The art culture, the food, the music…the river…Iwould wag my tail if I had one.
Tuesday through Thursday we will attend an arts symposium. The questions of the conference will center around the role of an artist within the context of faith–in what way is art a gift, a calling, an obedience? What are the dangers of artistic activity? I myself see an artist as a prophet of sorts–one who challenges a sleeping populace.
I am looking for answers, more questions, inspiration, and challenges.
The rest of the trip will be spent in a combination of exploring Austin and hanging out with Stephanie’s best friend Melanie who is also kind enough to put us up for a week.
David and I shared our sixth anniversary yesterday. On Saturday we ate dinner at the Citrus Cafe which is a little French restaurant just down the road from us. Everything was delicious, and my amuse-bouche definitely amused my bouche. The last one was a homemade tarragon ice cream.
I can’t believe how quickly six years goes by…it seems as though we just married yet we’ve known each other for so long. I’m so happy to be married to David. He is intelligent, funny, hard-working, and he makes a mean tuna casserole. I am not kidding.
I have many thoughts in my head swirling around about the way we interact with our environments, the restorative properties of healthy communities for relationships, and the symbolism and meaning of Easter. I am having a difficult time choosing the words I want to use to describe my feelings and ideas so I will simply post some pictures of my Easter day instead.
I cannot wait to see this documentary. I first heard about it from Brenda, and I watched the trailer on a foodie’s blog. Supposedly, it will play on a PBS channel next month, but I am terrible at finding that sort of information. It is playing next Tuesday night in Sedona. Road trip?