Veterans' Day

Thinking of all the men and women who have fought for the ideals of this country. Feeling sad about all the people in uniform out there now.
Wishing for an end to the violence that begets violence and ruins so many lives.
Wishing for the safe return home of those brave soldiers.
Wishing for a renewed focus on taking care of our own - those experiencing PTSD, missing limbs, sick, maimed - rather than supporting the war machines, weapons manufacturers, wartime profiteers, and others looking to capitalize on the suffering of our people and others less fortunate around the world.



This is my great grandfather, taken in France in 1918 or 1919.

There's Nothing Like a Little Light Plumbing in the Evening...

Funny the things that get a person to write. For instance, this evening as I was fishing about with a clothes hanger in our disgusting basement utility sink, searching for the ancient drain - or more specifically, whatever nasty bit of muck was keeping laundry water from draining through said drain - as I was doing this, I was inspired to jot down some recent happenings here. I really can't say where that connection formed, but here I am (C went for the drain cleaner).

I have been living the glamorous Arts Festival life for the past two weeks - early mornings, cold fingers, running noses, lots of coffee and disgruntled artists... and then the ones that are so happy to be there, the ones that actually enjoy what they do and have beautiful work that they are inspired to share with the world!


And then there are the customers; they grumble about the weather and make the same jokes over and over and over and over and over (you get the picture?) and they ask the same questions and complain mainly the same complaints (there is always someone who comes out with a new way to complain, that can be counted upon) but then they go through the show and they have a glass of wine and taste the chocolate and fruit crepes, they walk through the tents and talk to the artists, and maybe have a nibble of chocolate or taste the maple candy, and when they come out they are exclaiming what a fabulous day it was, how they should plan their Vermont holiday around this festival next year and maybe the year after that, they take me aside to compliment the management on the gorgeous bathrooms, and, my personal favorite, they comment to no one in particular - perhaps even just to themselves - how very much fun they had. And they don't want to leave (the wives, that is. The husbands, weighed down with purchases, have no problem getting themselves through the exit).


So, over all, its not a bad way to spend a few weeks. Tomorrow we head out to another, our last of the fall season and what looks like it might be the chilliest yet. I can't say I am particularly looking forward to spending the weekend in a cold and most likely wet fairgrounds in central New Jersey, but at the same time I really do enjoy knowing that what we do makes possible what a lot of other people do, and what they love to do, and gives so many other people the opportunity to become inspired by this handcrafted creativity in such a real way.


And those are my evening plumbing thoughts. I will be back for another installment when the sink clogs up or the toilet overflows... or hopefully not.

Lilacs from Maggie

My friend Maggie is the proprietess of One of A Kind B'n'B here in Burlington - the place to stay for charm, elegance, magnificent lake views, and, at the moment, lilacs. Heavenly lilacs, with an aroma that wafts in the breeze... If, like Maggie's lucky guests, you sit in the metal chairs in her garden and gaze out over Lake Champlain at sunset, the smell of lilacs will surround you, adding that one extra layer of magic to the evening.


Maggie gave me some lilacs to bring home, she tucked them into my bike handles and told me to smash the ends with a hammer.


The view from my front porch is not quite to par with the garden lakeview, but now I do have the lilacs scent surrounding me and, with the candles lit and the gentle evening light, the magic is here as well...

Happy Birthday to the Bard

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them". - (Twelfth Night Act II, Scene V)



(happy baptism day, one day late, to precise - though how precise is really a complete mystery!)

oh, and this is pretty neat: build your own Globe Theatre out of paper!

A Fool for April

Presidential Paper Dolls

I love Dover. Maybe I have mentioned this before? They have such a terrific selection of paper dolls, and they publish the dolls of Tom Tierney, who is one of my early favorite artists. Yes, I have written about him before, I guess I'm really a fan!

This time, I bring it up because i just saw the Obama Family commemorative dolls. Very neat. The faces are a tad off, which disappoints me a little, but I think they are recognizable. I'm wondering if I should order a set and start a for-real paper doll collection?

Countdown to Santa

My life got a way with me over the last few weeks, and many of the projects I planned are just not going to happen. I'm trying to not be too upset about it, go with the flow and all that. I had thought it would be fun to reprise the bloggy advent calendar from last year (and actually finish the last day this time!) but that doesn't seem to be happening, so instead I will share this fun site I found this morning...

Possibly this is intended for children, but at Christmastime I think the child in each of us comes out at least a little.

Warm wishes from Vermont!

Watching People Paint

I love so much to see other people paint. Don't know what it is really... just the magic of seeing the brush cross the page or the canvas and the image appear. It's maybe the closest thing to understanding how someone else's mind works, and that fascinates me to no end.

This link was found via eb:

Art by Andrea Dorfman

This one is an ad for Macintosh:

Picasso painting

There is a really amazing film of Picasso painting - The Mystery of Picasso - where the camera is focused on the back of a blank canvas and Picasso sits on the other side and paints. Magically the picture appears on the screen as he works. If you share my fascination with seeing into an artist's mind, I highly recommend finding this movie.

F for Fake is another amazing movie where you can see a master painted at work. This one is actually one of my favorites for many reasons - Orson Welles is basically just an incredible man - but seeing Elmyr de Hory in action is right at the top. I love his description of how to copy a Matisse he has to make his hand less sure, slow himself down. Lots to think about there.

I am going to spend this dark, chilly Sunday making some things. I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you might be!

Fall Festivals

I started writing this a few days ago, when I got home from the first fall Arts Festival. And then I probably fell asleep, since that is pretty much all I was good for the last few evenings. I am currently back in Stowe, getting set up for our second festival! The good times never end! But here is a bit about the first one...


We are right in the middle of the Fall Arts Festivals. The first was this past weekend, the Hildene Fall Arts Festival in Manchester, Vt. - the same place where the Southern Vermont festival was held in August.


I got a rough start on Thursday - setup day -, becoming ridiculously lost on my way to pick up cheese for the new Vermont Cheese, Beer, and Sausage Tent. After 45 minutes of back and forth and all around (in my defense, the construction worker I asked for directions sent in the completely wrong direction), I found the cheese and then had a lovely 2 hour drive to the festival grounds. Turns out the cheese selection was Bonne Bouche and Chevre. Stinky! It was a gorgeous trip, however, through the flaming red and gold Green Mountains.


By the time I got there, the rain and wind had also arrived and the temperature was cold cold cold! This general nastiness continued through Friday, but a surprising number of people braved the weather and came to the show. The die-hard Art Festival Patrons! We applaud you!



Saturday the wind was still around and the cold hadn't given up either, but we had loads of people! I worked the front gate, and man was it busy! When I finally took a break, I could hardly walk through the tents because there were so many people. It makes me so very happy that so many will come to an Arts Festival. And they come from a long ways away too - 2 or 3 hours often!



Sunday was quieter, but still busy. We ran out of show programs in the afternoon and some customers were annoyed, but what could we do? We printed several thousand copies! I guess that's just a sign of a successful show!



I headed out Sunday evening pretty much as soon as the gates closed. A benefit of being festival administration is I don't have to hang around for the cleanup. Instead I get to go to work in the office early the next morning, to get ready for the next show!


This festival certainly tired me out, but I also feel more on top of things than at the summer shows. I know how we work now - I have some experience - and when I answer questions they can actually be helpful answers instead of only pointing out someone else to ask.



The closing moments of the festival were graced with a fabulous rainbow that truly and honestly ended right in our parking lot. I was too tired to go collect the pot of gold.

A beautiful bride (and the groom wasn't bad either!)

(this is the wedding of the famous knitted dress!

Shmap!

Sounds like some sort of science fiction laser gun - schmap! schmap! aha! But actually its a pretty neat travel/information guide online at schmap.com and they are using one of my photos for the Union Oyster House in Boston! Its somewhere down there, in that cluster of dots there. They used a lot of other photos too, but its fun to see my picture in an official atmosphere! And these look like really cool maps. Lots of info. Check it out!

Local Art

Paper Doll postcards are now for sale at a local Vermont-made boutique - Candles and Creations, in South Burlington. I am a huge fan of ego-boosts, and dropping the cards off at the shop was so great. I love it when people love my work. Who doesn't?


If you are around the Burlington area, do drop in at this lovely shop. The owners, Casey and Heather, are two very talented women living my dream of owning their own art shop and having their studios right in the store. They have been scouting Etsy and other art + craft areas for local people with new and neat things for sale, and the shop is a terrific collection of area talent. Candles, jewelry, paintings, bags, cards, games, wood pieces, and so much more. And now my little cards! Thank you so much, ladies!

On the subject of local art, this weekend was Burlington's South End Art Hop. I only made it to a couple locations (Cirque du Soleil in Boston took precedence this weekend, can you blame me?), but I did stop in at the Flynndog and saw the exhibit of Bread and Puppet flags and sculptures. Standing surrounded by these huge pieces that are used for such real and honest purposes was truly powerful. I have such an immense respect for the work that the Bread and Puppet people have done for such a long, long time.

Ms. Nellie Ashford, Painter

I met Nellie Ashford at the New Taste of Stowe Arts Festival. She is a very special exhibitor, coming all the way from Charlotte, NC under often very difficult circumstances. Nellie is a self-titled Folk Artist, her paintings are mainly of families, children, dancers - they are all lively and vibrant and loving. Nellie told me that as a Folk Artist, she can do what she wants, break the rules! Her pieces are combinations of painted imagery and collaged fabrics.

Nellie gave me this piece after the second festival. I am so very honored to have it.

Festivals #2 and #3

Festival #2 was the Southern Vermont Arts Festival, held right outside Manchester, VT, and the Hildene's Meadow - a beautiful field on the Lincoln Family estate (Abe's son lived there). I didn't get a chance to visit the house, now a museum, but have heard it is wonderful.


The festival was terrific. An awful lot of work (I was thoroughly exhausted at the end of the day, mainly just from talking to so many people!). But really a lot of fun as well. There are so many amazing exhibitors, and their work is just incredible.



Festival #3 was a last minute super-surprise! A brand new music festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center found itself with no art exhibitor coordinators just days before the show. Step up Craftproducers! We were able to organize a really great mix of artists for the show, and we got to go enjoy the festival! Gillian Welsh, Steve Earl, the Swell Season, Levon Helm, and, get this, Bob Dylan. It was pretty awesome. I didn't get photos of the exhibitors, but here's one of the stage!

Another Day, Another Festival

I am getting ready to drive South, down to Manchester, Vermont for the Southern Vermont Art and Craft Festival this weekend. Tomorrow is setup day, the festival opens Friday. See you there?!


Sometimes little things make me feel quite clever, and I would like to share this one with you. Several weeks ago I had a hankering for waffles. I think those berries brought it on. In a handy moment, I made an extra large batch and stuck the extras in the freezer. Now I can just pop a few in the toaster and violà! Breakfast in a flash!


I do realize that other people thought of this way ahead of me. But my own waffles are so much tastier, and quite probably healthier. So I do feel clever.

New Taste of Stowe - Part II

I made it to the field about 10am on Thursday, in time for the exhibitor check in. It was really great to finally meet in person and put faces to all those names I have been seeing over the past several months at this job. Not so great were the heavy rainclouds that hung persistently about and periodically dropped buckets of rain on our heads and on the festival field and all the gravel (subsequently mud) roads throughout. It was a fairly dismal day, made exciting by events but with an ever-present fear that this might just be the weekend's forecast.




Imagine our feelings of relief when 6am the following morning brought bright blue skys and mountains glistening from the overnight thunderstorm. Friday was a gorgeous day. We finished the set up and the public began to arrive as soon as the gates were open. It was not a mad crowd, that would have been an unusual - although certainly acceptable - turn of events for a Friday morning. But it was satisfactory. This was our first festival of the season, but some of the exhibitors reported that at other festivals, attendance has been down by some 20-50%. We had significantly better results than those, but the current economic situation was apparent. Interesting how that works.


I spent most of Friday touring the tents, meeting and chatting with exhibitors. There are some really wonderful people who attend this show - I am looking forward to seeing several of them again in Manchester, VT next weekend!



Saturday, I had to make a trip to Syracuse, New York to visit another festival - it was a big weekend!

New Taste of Stowe Arts Festival!

This weekend all the work of the last seven months starts to pay off - our first Art Festival of the Season! If you are local, please do come by, there are some really amazing artists and artisans selling their work, and the food is going to be simply incredible. The show is in Stowe, Vermont, a top-quality resort town for those unfamiliar with the area, and several of said resorts will be attending the show, offering spa treatments and gourmet menu samples. If you are in the area, you can visit craftproducers.com for details.

We are so hoping for these crazy thunderstorms to pass on by!

Inherited

I did not actually know the old man across the street. To be perfectly honest, the only times I ever saw him were late at night when he was being rolled into a waiting ambulance. My part of town is full of these shadowy people, living in the myriad apartments that pack the old houses and hold a surprising number of inhabitants.

Early this Spring, the ambulance came again, and soon thereafter, the apartment across the street was emptied, and the old man's possessions were left on the front porch, a cardboard sign offering them free to whomever stopped by. I didn't go over right away, it felt strange. As if I were trespassing into his life.

About a week later, a friend and I decided to have a look. Another older gentleman, the owner of the building, was there as well. A friendly man, he remembers my parents from when they visited and asked about them. He told us that the old man form downstairs was dying, that he would not return home, and that now the decades worth of possessions that filled his generously sized apartment were his landlord's responsibility. He walked us through the apartment, an old house with beautiful dark woodwork and worn green carpet.

On the front porch, in a pile of old clothes and sheets, I came upon a treasure. Someone's handwork, unfinished. How did it come to be in this old man's possession? I somehow doubt it was his work. Was he once married? Was it a project inherited from some other relation?



I don't know what I will do with this, but it seemed too good, too intriguing, to pass by.

For your Health!

Thought I'd share a few laughs -

Dr. Steve Brule - the rest of the show can disappear for all I care, but John C. Reilly is my hero. For your health!

While we are on that subject, check out this new trailer. Putting these two guys together? Awesome idea.

Also looking forward to this and this (maybe not so funny, this one), and of course this one here.

ok, so maybe not so many laughs here - but if you follow the link to the Dr. Steve Brule, consider clicking on a few more. He is hilarious.

Other linky goodness:

eb just doesn't stop! I am continually amazed, inspired, and insanely jealous of her genius with colors, collage, and freedom of expression.

Avalanche Looms.

Stacy Frank. I love a good etching, and when the subject is apples, I am captivated!

And a photo, just because I am so in love with Spring right now!


Happy mid-week, friends!

For your Visiting Pleasure

TouchStone Writers is a new site recently built for Leslie Freeman, a writer/poet/educator here in Burlington. The site has a very simple and clean design, relying mainly on a flower motif I first used for a poster Leslie commissioned last year. I am quite pleased with the result - I hope it serves her well!