OFF THE BEATEN PATH pt 1

I had hoped to write the post about the studio show I did this weekend in one day, but I am afraid that I am so tired + have to attend to some day-to-day things that I have neglected. This is just the quick post to say YAY! 1 down, 2 more to go!
I had an amazing weekend with really great ladies who are so wonderful + inspiring + a wealth of information as they have been involved in crafts a lot longer than me. I met interesting people, met this wonderful lady again + may get some work out of a couple conversations I had (including teaching a block print workshop which I have been wanting to do for awhile!). Claudia, whose studio we showed in, had homemade chocolate chip cookies to offer her guests, but I am afraid we nibbled on them all weekend long + I don't want to see another one for a long time!
More later, I am off to my first ever Jiu Jitsu class with my boy. If I don't land in the hospital I will write a longer post about the weekend soon!
Thank you to everyone who offered support + encouragement while I was preparing for this show, I am so glad I decided to join blogland (world?)
~Shona

When I came home on Saturday I received my lovely envelope filled with wonderful postcards from the Day of The Dead Postcard swap coordinated by Emily @ Edge Gallery. Lucky me received a postcard from Shelby @ Greenwheel Designs, whom I need to contact about a swap. A BIG thank you to Emily, I'll bet this was a lot more work than she anticipated!

AND THE WEEKEND BEGINS

I have taken Friday off from work to help my friend setup her studio for the tour, which starts on Saturday. I vacillate between thinking my stock amount is enough to not enough (wow, that's wishful thinking). What I mean is... was there anything else I could have made? Perhaps another new card design? Maybe some coptic stitch books? Why didn't I print a new folklore piece this year? I did not have that one-month-to-go-before-the-show creative spurt that I usually get, probably because I was more overwhelmed this year than I have been before any other show. Please excuse me, this is all just my last minute neurosis starting up.
I am looking forward to sleeping in a little, drinking coffee out of a cup + not from a travel mug while in traffic. Happy Friday to me.

I will return with lots of photos + wish you a wonderful weekend!

PERHAPS IT'S ALL THOSE SWEDISH BLOGS I'VE BEEN READING...

...because I was thrilled to find these Clarks clogs at The Goodwill today. So thrilled, in fact, that I have not taken them off since I found them. The plan is to alternate between these boots + my new clogs to add balance to the life of my feet.

AND the prep work continues...

I SPOKE TOO SOON

Yesterday I was so exited because I felt prepared for this weekend's studio show, but a little purple deer was tugging at me. I was having difficulty with the color for the deer + finally decided on light purple. Even as I was printing something did not feel right + I discovered that I actually retained something from my freshman year color theory course . The purple, blue + tan were all the same hue resulting in color vibration between the deer + the card stock, + as my painting teacher would say, there was no place for the eye to rest. Tonight I did a blue/silver over print resulting in a dark shimmery violet + I feel that the card has finally come together. Since we are having dry fall weather I am REALLY hoping they will dry in time to package before Friday.

Cheers to everyone!
~Shona

"THE SHOW"

I had to print the deer while the trees were still wet
in the interest of allowing for drying time

I have to step back for a minute + answer Kristin's question from yesterday's comments, "so what is this show?" For the third year I am going to be a guest artist in a studio tour called Off The Beaten Path. My friend Claudia is a paper maker, a fiber artist + has an amazing studio tucked against the mountains east of Nashville. Other guests in her studio will be 3 artist friends in addition to many astonishingly gifted artists in area studios. In late November I will be a guest artist in a jeweler's studio in the tour around my town. And lastly, over Thanksgiving weekend I will have work in the Annual Holiday Festival at the Appalachian Center for Craft, a truly amazing + magical place perched in the clouds, overlooking a river.

On this note, I want to wish Bronwen, Erin + Trudi my warmest wishes. I have been watching all of them prepare for upcoming shows + know that their hard work will be greatly rewarded because they are all so talented! Cheers to each of you (I am raising the glass of wine I am drinking in a toast).

I am beaming today because I don’t feel so rushed with only 3 days to go, I think I am actually prepared (?!*?!*??!). I am also beaming because I got my first gen-u-ine wholesale card order from a groovy shop in Nashville called Curious Heart. I have previously sold on consignment but had to put a stop to all that because it gets messy + my cards aren't priced high enough that it is worth my time + effort. It can be freightening when you realize that you have a business. I am creative minded, not business or marketing savvy + probably need to take a business for artists extension course. My meeting with the owner of Curious Heart ended with her offering to put me in touch with a good rep. I hope to work up to that level, but first I have to rework some things in my life + reclaim some of my time. Oy Vey!
More books to put finishing touches on!
Take care ~Shona

HAPPY

There are many things to be happy about around here. My sickness only lasted a day so I was not out of commission too long. I must give credit the RNs I work with who gave me the OTC medicine advice which nipped the illness before it got too bad. Thank you for the good health wishes.

Recently I did a trade with a fellow block printer, Kristin @ Moontea Artwork. I have to apologize to Kristin because I was not able to completely capture how wonderful her work is with my camera + scanner, you truly have to see it in person to appreciate the details + texture. She has an Etsy shop in case you would like to see for yourself. I was also reacquainted with Shelby @ Greenwheel Design, another block printer. I found her Etsy shop + blog awhile ago + was put back in touch with her through Kristin. Isn't this a magical community we have created?

Moontea Artwork cards, gift tags + a beautiful print called My Favorite Shoes.

Mary Janes are my favorite shoes!
Thank you so much, I am so glad you hearted me on Etsy!

The first show is in less than a week so I have been preparing displays + packaging cards + prints. I use vintage 40's white glaze California pottery for a lot of my table + shelf displays. For the cards I'll use my 48 slot spinning rack.

I was afraid that I would not have time to print a new card, but decided to MAKE time. Last night I worked through some composition issues + carved out the 2 blocks for a winter theme card I have been toying with with for a couple of years, all while watching (listening to) The Big Bounce (the original 1969 version). I know that many of us "watch" movies while we work, but actually end up only listening because our heads are usually down. When I visited Yee-Haw Industries the co-founder, Kevin Bradley, was working on some amazing large scale prints using out-of-context quotes from The Rockford Files. He said that he did a lot of his carving while watching the show + since he did not actually watch the show, but rather listened, he realized that some of the lines were so outrageously funny that he felt he needed to do something with them.
Today (Sunday) I printed the tree half of the new winter cards + will print the deer in a couple days. OH! as for the holiday cards, I went with the same text I had used in previous years, Happy Holidays. It was a decision based on composition + after doing proof prints of Joyoux Noel + God Jul, Happy Holidays just seemed to work best. In my research I found out that Merry Christmas in Gaelic is Nollaig Shona Dhuit, this should not surprise me since my name is Gaelic, but it's still kinda cool.
My boy is beyond happy because his hometown baseball team not only made it to The World Series, but beat Detroit in the first game. Even if they don't win the championship, at least they won't be swept like everyone predicted.

Have a wonderful day filled with yummy soup!
~Shona

KNOCKED DOWN IN MY PRIME

As many of you know, offices are like pitre dishes + when a couple people get sick it keeps on cycling through. Needless to say, Theraflu is my new best friend.
I have been working + working hard, mostly trying to finish up the books.

This is my idea of deconstructing clothing. I bought this micro-mini 60's dress at my friend's vintage shop (can you believe that she had 2 of these dresses?).
(T) Someone handmade this dress but when I saw the satin fabric I had to buy it to tear apart for book covers.
(M) Making the book cloth
(B) The finished book. I am so happy that there is more of this fabric because I have fallen in love with it.

Back to my sick bed to continue watching the Project Runway marathon.
gute Nacht
~Shona

INTERIOR MONOLOG

(L) I found one of the Happy Holidays cards mentioned in yesterday's post. This has been one of my staple card designs for the past couple years.
(R) Today I printed the silver blocks on 140 cards. I decided to go with white paper + red envelopes this year instead of matchng cream cards + envelopes. Ooh, mixin' it up.

I was on a bit of a roll last night, working until 2 am covering books. I absolutely love nights like that. While printing I decided not to listen to my iPod on shuffle mode (gasp!), put on The Clash + the proceeding thought process went something like this...Man, I love The Clash...I never bought any of the last Joe Strummer albums, I still need to do that...Mystery Train was such a great movie...I really want to see American Hardcore...I bet it won't be in any theaters around here + I'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD...I should watch Hype! again, that was good...Live Forever was also good...+ it pretty much continued to go downhill from there.

The Sparkle Monkey cards are stacked + ready for the arrival of my packaging order from Clear Bags.
Back to covering books + later on black bean + vegetable soup for dinner.
Enjoy the last bit of the weekend, ~Shona

PROGRESSING NICELY

12 book blocks in various stages of binding. I am going to continue working on books today + print the first part of my holiday cards tomorrow. The past 2 years they have read "Happy (star dingbat) Holidays" but this year I am thinking that I will change the text, perhaps "Happy (star dingbat) Joy" or maybe Merry Christmas in a language other than English. Fortunately all the cards from the past 2 years sold, unfortunately I have not kept any examples, so I cannot give you a visual reference. More photos tomorrow.
Good eating! ~Shona
P.S. While working I watched Liberty Heights, a greatly under appreciated Barry Levinson movie + another rental recommendation.

Some nearly complete books I'm working on today

(still wishing I had more of the vintage 70's circle fabric)

A GIRL CAN DREAM pt. 2

Previously I had written about some buildings in my neighborhood that would make wonderful studio space, but then there are some living (upstairs)/ studio + showroom (downstairs) buildings that I also have my eye on. Here are 2 that I dream about.

This building is in the newly fashionable Germantown neighborhood in Nashville. It was recently sold by an architect who appeared to have an office on the bottom level + residence on the top. I am not a window peeper, but when you do not have curtains it is hard not to notice these things (the new owners have curtains). There is a wonderful side courtyard area with many shade trees.

This building is 4 blocks from my house, just off the town square, + was recently occupied by a group of doctors. I was speaking with a ceramic artist who also had her eye on this building for a home/ studio/ showroom. After some inquires at the city codes office she found out that there would be zoning problems involved in turning the second level into a residence (obviously she had more than just a dream). Next to it is an empty lot that would make a wonderful garden.

Now it's time for me to get back to work.
Happy Friday the 13th to you.

A LITTLE MORE INFREQUENT

Fall is most definitely here, I don’t know how vibrant the colors will be this year, but the leaves have started to change.







(L) A brass scooner + stars over the door to the toy museum

(R) The Nashville Toy Museum recently closed, probably because people like me always intended on going, but never did.

I am really feeling the crunch of impending deadlines. The first of the three shows is in 2 weeks + there are also preparations for some exiting possibilities on the horizon (details as they unfold). I think that either I will post less or write less + show more pictures, we shall see what each day brings.

Last night I printed a zillion sparkle monkeys

In lieu of tidying up my work space, I tidied up my side bar links.

Have a wonderful evening,
~Shona

MY DEAR, TALENTED FRIEND

An amazing block print my dear friend Anna did in college.

To truly understand her talent you would have to listen to her explain
how she carved the missing letters when there was not a complete
alphabet in some of the type sets.

In a previous post I mentioned my dear friend Anna, who has just returned to Tennessee after living in Japan for 2 years. She called me late last night + is having an increasingly hard time with reverse culture shock + my heart is breaking for her. I would love for her to come + visit, but had to let her know that it will have to wait until after Thanksgiving so I could actually spend some time with her. She is truly a great ovservationalist + an amazingly talented person whom I met in the book arts/ letterpress program in college. I wish she would resettle closer to me, but it looks like she will move back to Knoxville (a 3 hour drive from here).

Don't I feel like a heel? I will go back to yesterday's post + say that I am a bit of a tidy fanatic (I think this post explains part of the reason why). I am not a scrubbing everything down germ-a-phobe, but it is really unsettling to me when things are not in their place. My favorite line from Absolutely Fabulous (+ I quote it often) is when Edie redesigns her kitchen + while waving her arms, declares "I want clean surfaces."

And lastly... I would like to say damn you Sofia Coppola for making me dig out my New Order CDs + for forcing me to like them again. I will say that at least I still had the CDs + did not have to purchase them again (don't you hate that?). Speaking of New Order, I highly recommend 24 Hour Party People. This movie was completely mis-marketed in the US + I had no desire to see it, but did, loved it (of course I did, it was about the music I listened to in high school) + have since bought the DVD.

Enjoy! ~Shona

DAY OF THE DEAD SPARKLE MONKEY

Today I printed the Day of The Dead postcards for the swap + the border for my Sparkle Monkey card, so I started calling today "Day of The Dead Sparkle Monkey." It reminded me of "dead duck day" from Nick Hornby's book About A Boy.I could have also called today "everything is going to be printed in metallic purple ink day" because that was the color I used to print both pieces- completely premeditated, I [sometimes] know how to plan. Later I will continue to stitch books, not very interesting to photograph. I have also decided to add a couple pieces of fabric from yesterday's purge to my Etsy shop.




At some point I looked at my desk + though that it looked like a wreck, but my boy said. "it just means you're working." This is what the place actually looks like when I have not tidied up for pictures.

Have you ever seen the documentary Grey Gardens? If not, I highly recommend you do, it will stay with you forever. It is available on Criterion DVD + well worth searching for (hey, Netflix has it). I have been thinking about Little Edie's costumes + dances lately, but my favorite part is when she is feeding the raccoons in the attic, just tossing around the cat food box so matter-of-factly. If nothing else, you will come away having added the word "Staunch" to your vocabulary + re-thinking ways to wear broaches.

On tap for cooking tonight: another big pot of matzo ball soup with hard-to-find egg + onion matzo crackers .
I wish you an evening of good eating,
~Shona

YOU'RE FABULOUS!

I have things drying all over the place so I am taking a little work break.

Today's progress:
Printed a lot of You're Fabulous note cards, monochromatic hot pink ink on Paper Source's blossom pink cover stock. We are going to have to re-think the drying rack my boy made because I am printing larger quantities + keep running out of room.
I went through my fabric box + did some purging. I have this habit of picking up ANY vintage fabric even if I won't use it because there is always someone I know who will (I do the thing same with buttons). I think I secretly wish I could sew + make my own clothes.

I made more book cloth with some of the fabric I kept.
(I really wish I had more of the circular vintage 70's fabric)

A new Greek restaurant opened around the corner from us (JOY!). We tried it last night + were beyond pleased, I told the chef that if it were not inappropriate I would have actually licked my plate. During dinner we drank 2 glasses of tea each (I had rose + my boy had mint) + what I failed to realize was how much caffeine was in the tea, needless to say I was UP most of the night, but was very productive. I watched a great little movie called Me Without You + packaged up some trades, Etsy sales + started the fabric box purge project.

2 things to note:
I had intended on taking the things I packaged last night to the post office on Monday, but it is a Federal holiday + they will be closed. They'll be sent on Tuesday.

As of yesterday no one had left $5.41 in my box at work + no one has come forth about my missing lunch. One of the executive assistants has agreed to take the case + already has a suspect (the same person I had suspected, but who shall remain nameless, even though you don't know my co-workers). I appreciate your sympathy, empathy + for letting me know my lunch sounded good.

Have a wonderful fall/ spring evening,
~Shona

A SERIES OF SEGWAYS

WARNING** I start this post by breaking one of my self imposed blogging rules: no complaining about work.

I sent this e-mail to my entire office today.

This is directed to the individual who took [snaffled!] my lunch.

You owe me $5.41 for the sandwich I had to buy because my lunch was not in the refrigerator.
You can leave this money in an envelope in my mailroom box and therefore remain anonymous if you do not want to come forward and admit what you did. I would like to thank you for leaving the 3 pieces of fresh Provence bread, but will say that if you actually did eat my lunch it would have been much better had you toasted the bread until it was really crispy, poured the sautéed white bean, garlic, kale, tomato, olive oil, lemon, and fresh basil (from Barbara’s garden) mixture on top. The thinly sliced pieces of mozzarella cheese were intended for a little extra flavor, to be melted over the entire dish.
That is how I had intended on eating it.
Shona (Tennessee Department)

What proceeded this e-mail was a series of words strung together that shocked the more timid ladies in the office. That's fine, they still look at me cock-eyed + call me a Yankee (ladies, California had no involvement in The War).
What followed were a series of responses either stating that my lunch sounded gross + who would want to steal it (those are the people I did not suspect anyway) or that if this is what I bring for lunch, a line might start forming of people who want to steal my lunch (suspects!).

Then there was the Psych nurse who questioned if I had brought my lunch, or perhaps I was hallucinating.

The kicker of the whole thing was the culprit washed + dried my container + put it in the cabinet.

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Speaking of work (segway #1) my previous job was in a Psychologist's office + one day the medical records lady was doing her yearly purge of old, closed records + she left a stack of the cardboard covers by the back door with the intention of tossing them. I, of course, saved them from the landfill + have loved using them because they come in really handy for print packing, book covers + today I am going to cut some down to postcard size in preparation for printing my Day of The Dead cards for the swap.

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Speaking of free stuff (segway #2) I would like to take this time to pay tribute to one of my favorite free finds, the plastic casino cup. I had stacks of these when I was in college + taking painting courses, but unfortunately this is the only one that remains. Great features of this type of cup: it is tall enough to hold painting brushes, it is wide enough that it won't tip + casinos don't mind if you carry out a stack of them. This cup reminds me of the days when a group of us would decide at 11:00 on a Saturday night that driving to Vegas was a good idea. "Vegas baby!"

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As the older folks 'round here say, "it's fixin' ta storm." What this means is I'll bind some more books today. Later my boy + I will watch our 2 favorite TV shows + perhaps eat sandwiches, or maybe more cereal, who knows, we shal see.
Guard your lunches everyone!
~Shona

A GIRL CAN DREAM

(l) the old neighborhood grocery store (r) the old flower shop

I do love all the the studio space I have, but still dream of one day having a small building to house LALA dex press. These two buildings are around the corner from my house + I have always envisioned either as a great studio space, the type of studio that I could open up to visitors + workshops, like my friend Claudia's paper making studio (where The Book Babes meet). The old grocery store was recently bought by a mosaic tile artist for that very purpose. Unfortunately the old flower shop is used as a storage space by a man who lives in another town. I was talking to another local artist about the flower shop + he had the same idea, I am sure we are not the only ones.

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I don't usually browse through people's Flicker albums, but recently I discovered a blog called Smosch (I think I found it through Camilla Engman, but you may have already discovered it) + I am really enjoying her Flicker album called cloudberryterrier. The photos are so beautifully crisp + have a light, fresh feeling + her illustrations + softies are just plain FUN!

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Printing went well tonight, 3 days after the thunderstorms + I printed my company name on 150 cards. Phew, now I'm tired. Normally I cook a nice dinner every night (I am a huge fan of very easy 1 pot cooking recipes) but tonight it's cereal for dinner!

Cheers!
~Shona

OH SWEET JACK LORD'S HAIR!

MY DEALER FLEW IN FROM RENO + DELIVERED THE GOODS!
(actually, it was a woman I used to work with)

There are a few food items that I classify as "heroin" because I have no self control when I am around them. A-#1 on the list is Trader Joe's Cocoa Almonds. Before Trader Joe's started expanding (when are you guys opening a store in Nashville???) they were rated the #1 thing people missed when they left California. I have my own list of things that I miss about my home state (+ the city of Los Angeles!) + easy access to these little bites of sheer unbelievable yumminess is tops! Oh, yah, there is also my family, the coastline, A Votre Sante, The Lighthouse, Ice Blended Mochas from Coffee Bean, great museums, movies that don't play here, Vin Scully's voice (phrases like 'line drive" + "Farmer John hot dogs"), the view of the city from the observatory, plus many many other things.

Other foods I classify as "heroin"

1. Feta
2. Avocados
3. Vietnamese egg pancakes (shrimp only, no pork, thank you)
4. Those cheese + fig crackers I made the other night
   

I must show amazing self restraint + only take 1 at a time to make them last. Plus if I were to eat them all I would be too full to work on all those cards + books I need to make for the shows.

Good evening to all,
~Shona

GOOD DAYS + BAD PRINTS

Much work was done in the 'ol studio this weekend with 100's of cards cut (Sissy, I've started on your cards), several books stitched + the weekend is not yet over. I printed my company name on half the cards yesterday + intended to do the rest today, but an early morning thunderstorm has put too much moisture in the air so I cannot print today. If I were doing block printing this would not be an issue, but with 10 +14 pt. fonts it is a huge issue. The ink won't properly stick to the lead type resulting in prints that look like this:

This is what they should look like
(this is the newer text with different fonts)

Today I have been enjoying this new little toy, I had previously used one of those tape adapters with my 1988 boom box, obviously the quality does not even compare. AND because I have been playing with this new toy I have furiously been adding, deleting + updating the pod (my mini is a first generation with a 1000 song capacity) which always involves going through + trying to remember which songs I am sick of + skip over on shuffle mode so I can delete them. Have I ever mentioned that I am an Apple dork? (in addition to being a Monty Python dork).

Because I have so much work to do my boy is going to cook a nice surprise dinner tonight (surprise in that he has not told me what he is making). He has borrowed The Moosewood Cookbook from a friend + slyly asked if we have certain items in the house before he went to the grocery. OH! + as for the gift mentioned yesterday, it will have to wait because parts of it are in a storage unit that our friend has to go through. I am thinking he might give it to me for Christmas.

And lastly: my boy + I would like to thank Gracia @ High Up in The Trees for introducing us to the word snaffle (definition in this context: get hold of or seize quickly + easily). She used it in her comment on yesterday's post, in reference to the chairs (which have cleaned up very nicely), + we have decided to introduce it into our vocabulary.

Cheers!
~Shona

LATER:

• (L) Ingredients carefully measured + lined up. I actually found them like this, my boy is very meticulous.
• (R) The presentation was so impressive (the garnish was not part of the recipe).

I was absolutely moved to tears by my dinner + mostly because my boy took so much time + care in preparing it. We ate Turkish Spinach (Kale) + Lentil Soup (pg. 70) he had to replace the spinach with another green + wisely chose kale. The soup was so amazingly good + food sex noises were made by both!