Ireland

Aaron and I rarely get to travel for a full week together, and in this case it was two. It's one of the negatives of owning your own business, not getting to leave for extended amounts of time. Since we took the two weeks off together we decided that a trip to Ireland was in order. It is sorta on the way to Sweden where I was invited to speak at the Mid Nordic Multi-Cultural Convention in Östersund. Neither of us had been to Ireland and so staying in the village of Ballyvaughan seemed like a good pit stop. Our good friends Colin and Makeal have been living there for the past 6 months. It's a tiny beautiful coastal village of 300 in County Clare that also happens to be the home of the Burren College of Art where Colin is teaching for the year.



Our week was spent taking fantastic walks, drinking numerous new whiskeys and lots of beers, cooking, eating and playing cards. We took a few great day trips to nearby towns/cities and had the best time with our hosts and our new friend and fantastic photographer Robert Ellis. Since it has somehow taken me 3 full weeks to get these photos up, I'm going to leave you with very little descriptions so I actually post this today. If you are curious to where something is or details please let me know & I'll be happy to explain further.

Bottom line, Ireland is amazing. Especially when you are there with such lovely company and the sun shines for 5 days straight.


Ballyvaughan


crewed up eating lunch [*Makeal, that's for you]


































Robert come to America and visit us!


















I was in love with the tiny markers for the walking paths that would otherwise seem like you were trespassing through someones pasture or a haunted enchanted forest.








The Natural History Museum in Dublin is a must see + it's free.









Full photo set here.

Now let's see if I can get the Sweden photos up before my visiting artist trip to Florence, AL with Alabama Chanin in a few weeks!

Sleeping Inside Our Bodies

February, you existed? I hardly noticed.

A mini length month filled with Sign Painter book edits, writing the foreward for a book to be published by Smithsonian Books (August 2012), making work for Sleeping Inside Our Bodies group exhibit and oh yeah..... we leave for Ireland tomorrow followed by a week in Sweden where I'm lecturing & giving a workshop. Exhale.

I'm not going to lie. I love it. I've always worked best with tight deadlines. I also struggle daily to pace myself.




Upper & lower parts of my work I installed today at UW Union Art Gallery

I was really excited and nervous when University of Wisconsin Union Art Gallery curator Andrea Avery invited me to be a part of this Sleeping Inside Our Bodies exhibit. It's been a very long time since I have shown any of my own work and to be in the same show as Swoon, Della Wells, Mequitta Ahuja, Lesley Dill, Dana Hoey and Peregrine Honig is really an honor. I wasn't sure what direction I was going to go in but it ended up coming together as a 3 part installation. If you are in the Milwaukee area between March 2-30 please go check it out.

Some quick insider details about my work for this show:

The hanging assemblage piece was reconstructed from an old deconstructed macrame piece salvaged from a thrift store, Lake Michigan drift wood and found objects and textiles from near and far.

The table top element includes a vintage crochet tablecloth that has been adorned with mohair free form stitching, double sided cards with 2 photographs are piled in the center--- one side shows a painting of a pregnant woman from an island temple and the other a painting of a multi- headed serpent from a temple in Bangkok.

The crochet runner was commissioned by a master craftswomen I've worked with a number of times. The quote "WHAT HAS STARTED AS MAKE BELIEVE IS NOW VERY REAL" is from one of my favorite children's books everyone should read The Phantom Tollbooth.

You can make up what it all means.

I can't wait to share Ireland photos with you next week. I have to go pack.

He's Mine!

From me to you from the archives for Valentines day.


Milwaukee, WI Neighbors Gallery (RIP) February 2007


Los Angeles, CA July 2008


Pittsburgh, PA April 2007