Guerilla Art Update

Last month I posted a couple of pictures of a guerrilla artist (!?) in my neighborhood who put up a humorous road sign and airmail mailbox. The last time I drove by, I noticed that the sign appeared to have changed and grown so I had to stop and check it out. It certainly had grown! Where once there were 13 directionals, there were now 16, a town stats sign at the top, rocks at the base and a smiley face. There's not really any more room on it, but it would be funny if it just kept growing. I love the idea of a work of art changing and growing!

Even though I have a great appreciation of this anonymous project (probably because I'm an artist and I have a sense of humor) there are a couple of things I've been wondering about ...

I'm curious to know if it is posted on public or private property? If it is posted on private property that is one thing but if it is public property do they have permission? If not, why isn't it viewed in the same (negative) way as graffiti? Not that I want it to be, it is just that it recalls an experience I had with a public moss graffiti experiment I did in the spring and I am curious to know why one would be viewed as acceptable while another is not. For my moss graffiti project, I mixed moss and beer in a blender to make a kind of emulsion which you can then brush on to an object like a pot, rock, brick or whatever and the moss is supposed to grow on it. My idea was to brush this emulsion onto the barren concrete overpass tunnel and create life where there was none. When I was in the middle of doing it some passerby had called the police on me and they came to check it out. I told them what I was doing and explained that possibly it would grow into moss or the rain may end up just washing it away, it was up to nature. They said, "Well, we can't control nature" and they let me continue. The next day when I went to water and check on it someone had painted over it to cover it up. As if it were offensive. It was so annoying to me because if you looked at it up close, you could tell that it was not paint. It just looked like mud brushed on the concrete. The actual graffiti there was the paint covering it. I guess the real question here is what is acceptable as public art and why.

"After" Pics of Studio Renovation

As I promised, here are a couple of after shots of the studio renovations. There is still some things to do like organize and put away the art supplies on the floor to the right in the picture, bring my books, and organize my art files, but the dirty work (not including my artwork) is finished. It feels fresh and inspiring like a brand new space. I have a renewed desire to be there! (Which is good because I have about 50+ pieces that need to be resolved and finished.) Renovating is the best cure for the doldrums.

Kick-Ass Work Tables

I've never loved a table before now.
As I was renovating and reorganizing my studio I decided that it would be very beneficial to have some good work tables on casters so I could move them around easily and accommodate various working conditions. First I looked online to see if I could find any on craigslist or eBay but then I decided it would be better to just make two myself. That way I would have exactly what I wanted. First I drew out a quick design sketch and then figured out dimensions and materials. I then decided to add a flat file drawer to store my sketch pads and papers (which normally sit on the floor under a table). The bottom photo shows all the materials (for both tables). For each table I used: 6 2x4's for the frame, 1 4x8 sheet 3/4" top quality plywood for the table top, 2 4x8 sheets 1/2" plywood for the bottom shelf and drawer base, 3 1x4x6 top quality pine for the drawer frame, 4 3" heavy duty swivel and locking casters, 22" drawer tracks, a bunch of 2 1/2" and 1 1/2" screws and some wood glue. My tools: 2 saw horses, a circular saw, a miter saw, drill, t-square and level. After a lot of hard work, scrapes, bruises and splinters I now have two really kick-ass work tables!

Studio Renovation Pics

It figures that my camera batteries were dead at the time I started my studio renovations. It's a shame I don't have any "before" pictures of the studio. Oh well. Below I have posted some photos taken while painting.You can still see the old wall color and the carpet and how the painting alone is brightening the space. Later I'll post some photos of the finished renovation. Cha-cha-cha-changes!

My Babies

Here are some photos of my animal babies. Hunter- after his first visit to the groomer looking all fresh and dapper. Which actually only lasted for a few hours until he took off down his self made trail through the woods collecting burrs. He prefers to be dirty. We have a song about it- "Swamp Thing".

Rocco- wearing his new autumn punk skull sweater. I never thought I'd be one to dress my animals but Rocco is always cold (which he hates) and putting clothes on him helps.) In the winter he barely makes it off the porch to pee before he's at the door again. Unlike Hunter, he knows how to entertain himself indoors.

Sasha-hanging out, being the chill queen of  my laptop. You can't tell from the photo but she is actually a bug not a cat. Every day she jumps up on my vanity when I am getting ready and gets into whatever it is I'm trying to use whether it be my brush or blush. Every night in bed, as soon as one of us move, she thinks we might be awake enough for petting. Several times through out the night I wake up to her scratchy tongue raking across my skin. It's funny how each one has their own distinct personality and peculiarities.Got to love them all!

Speaking of Zucchini

Besides fishing zucchini out of Stump Pond, I am also growing them in my container garden. After waiting for what seems like an eternity, my zucchini plant has finally begun to fruit. I'm a little nervous about it's timing though because the mornings are beginning to frost. So far, so good, but will the frost end up taking them before I do? Same thing with the eggplant and peppers- they are just now really starting to fruit. Will they make it into my kitchen?!

The Big Zucchini

When you go kayaking there are certain things you expect to see and then there might be a few surprises like catching a deer in the woods or maybe finding a tire in the water. But when a friend and I went kayaking in Rhode Island down some small channels off of Stump Pond (that's what the locals call it anyway) we didn't expect to find what we found! As we were paddling around discovering our unfolding surroundings we noticed something floating in the water stuck under a branch. At first we thought it was some kind of water fruit- but what? Nothing we knew of. I decided to try to get a closer look......ah ha! A ZUCCHINI!  A BIG ZUCCHINI! Actually, it was the biggest zucchini I've ever seen. What the...? I scooped it up to show my friend since by this time she was far ahead of  me. Once I reached her she said, "A big zucchini!?" Yep, and there was nothing wrong with it. Not even one bruise. It appeared to have been cut off at the stem and we speculated how it ended up floating in the channel... The farmer decided it was too big (?) and threw it in the woods, where it landed in the water and went for a little trip until it got caught up under a branch and we found it. I imagined a short film about it. I ended up bringing it back to her house and showed it off during a small dinner party. We all had a good laugh.

What's For Dinner Tonight?

Otoro's Ultimate Baked Ziti
Well, it's September and with it comes the cooler weather. Whenever the cooler weather sets in and less time is spent outdoors grilling, my husband hand's the dinner torch over to me. We each have our cooking specialties. He's the grill man and saucier, and I'm the maker of "weird stuff" (ethnic/vegetarian) and the baker. I don't know why but it seems like the majority of what I cook well is baked or roasted. I make lasagna, pizza, bread, casseroles, quiche, cookies... too much to name. I love my oven in the fall and winter! It's the perfect time to warm up the kitchen and pull out those comfort food recipes. I found this recipe and thought it sounded much better (though more fattening) than the traditional baked ziti I usually make. So that's going to be what's for dinner tonight. I'll post a comment later about how it turned out.