Spring into Art + Love

Dear K,

Love your little stone plant! Super alien and odd, but intriguing.

Lots going on here... equal parts relaxing and working. Spring is in the air, along with new flowers and we have a slightly cool breeze still. Is it spring there yet? These trees are everywhere in my neighborhood and I am obsessed with their pop of yellow. (I have no idea what they are... oh well, I can still enjoy them)

Been still doing some random crafty/silly projects.. which coupled with teaching and other art looming, feels like a nice release. See new fabric rocking chair and 1 hour collages below.

 Other news: I had an art opening last night and tonight for the Outside the Box show at Whitespace. 22 artists did outdoor installations - and it ended up being pretty amazing. The big hit of the show were these blow-ups below. The lighting and sheer scale of them were awesome.

The mirrored piece was done by a former student of mine! First time I've been included in a show with a student, felt pretty excited for her. Made me remember my first exhibit, where all my books and boxes fell off the wall ;) Remember?

 I made my slides that I did for HomePage into a video and added another layer of images onto them to project onto the above wall.

And.. last but not least. ... It's our 5 year anniversary today ;) After I set up my video for night 2 of Outside the Box, we'll be going out to a fancy dinner and enjoying a nice evening.

Here's to spring + love. I'm feeling sappy these days...

Hope you are great! Love playing scrabble with you!
xoxo, K.

nice green!

Hey K,

Hope your Spring Break was as productive and relaxing as you planned!  Great landscaping job---looks lovely!  Banana and lime tree?  I'm jealous!  C and I just watched "The Descendents" for our date night last night.  Good movie, of course, but I completely adored how lush and green it looked in Hawaii.  Tropical plants are absolutely the best.

I've been documenting this little funny plant of mine, not intended for the tropics, but the desert.

My folks left me this lithop last July as a surprise parting gift after they visited Chicago. Over the last 8 months it has seen a dramatic change. It's almost alien! The new stone, growing out of the middle, requires no water for the winter months, as is feeds off the mother stone. Eventually the outer parts will wilt away. The baby stone, is already split in preparation for its cycle. I think it will just keep going like this forever.

Weird, huh?  Look at some of the other types of lithops here:  http://lithops-stories.blogspot.com/

They sort of gross me out, but I'm totally fascinated.

Looking forward to seeing your new special room!  :)

Love you,
k

Spring Break projects

Dear K,

Hey you! No worries... we've both been more busy than usual. Love your photo archive of updates - complete with birthdays, two trips to the sun (lucky!) and food stuffs.

This week was our spring break - a much needed breather from a busy semester of teaching! My goals for the week were as follows:

 1. Landscaping the front side yard along the driveway. (This of course took WAY longer than expected) We planted 3 palms, 2 banana trees and a lime tree as well as some ground cover grassy stuff - A tropical paradise!

2. Work on a particular room ;)

 

 My famous first geese painting ;) And a framed collage of animal prints on my old wallpaper that I made today. (The artist is the same one I sent that cat print you have on your shelves)

3. Reading at least 1 book (on to number 2 currently)
4. See friends and family I have been neglecting
5. Hang out with Hubby, since we both have the week off!
6. Exercise everday
7. Spring cleaning of house 
8. Studio mini-projects
9. Beach time
10. Cook, bake, eat yummy things (including the famous Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich ;)

So far... all have been accomplished except for the beach (too rainy!) despite 4 full days of yardwork. Studio day is tomorrow - I'm hoping to apply to a few things and also start brainstorming my next project. Also hoping the weather gets a little better so I can at least get a good walk on the beach in!

Above is a photo from ArtPalm Beach in January that I exhibited in. It was exciting to have 2 lil pieces in a booth at an international art fair. YOU are next!! Congrats on your new soft opportunity!

So excited about your upcoming Traveling Truck show too! The website looks amazing - great research links! I learned alot about Chicago! Well.. back to work on Monday, I'm going to squeeze in as much relaxing as possible.

Lots of love, K.