Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Taking Notes

The house hunt continues. The summer flow of listings has dwindled, and we have a new strategy. Jeff does the online hunt. I do the drive by. I've learned to do less hemming and hawing. It feels like dating in my 30s. No. No. No. No. No.


This would be the kind of house, although a lot smaller, that I'd feel uncertain about. "Does it have potential?" "Should I go on a second date?"


New windows, siding, and a simple balcony and porch: a major transformation.

From Design Sponge

Friday, September 25, 2009

Flying with a Big Chunk of Charcoal


Last night's beginning drawing class started with the inspiration of Jim Dine's charcoal wall drawings from this movie.

This class is my third attempt to find the right teacher to learn drawing. Bingo! I'm so happy I followed my sense that the right approach would make all the difference for me. He'd call his approach expressionistic; I'd call it drawing from the body--something I understand deeply.

I was both amused and surprised when he'd stop the class and say, "Woman in the green. Keep drawing and everyone watch her." And then say, "See how she's moving from her hips." Later he did it again, "See how she's moving with her whole shoulder."

Working with big charcoal, by the end of evening, we had all drawn the person sitting across from us multiple times. He'd have us stop and then erase it with a paper towel and start over. As we drew, he read from Robert Cohen's Acting One and told a few stories. There was a lot about good decisions and bad decisions. Good decisions, scare you. Good decisions....I don't remember, but all the words were just right taking me deeper into my process, emboldening me to step out farther and farther on the limb, and giving me permission to put aside my tentativeness. I drew with abandon and joy and at the same time processed the challenges I traversed this week in my marriage and understood what I needed to go forward for my second round of interviews on Monday for a job I'd like.

I fell in love with the person sitting across from me. How wonderful it is to just look at someone and see! No judgment. Absolute presence. I fell in love with her wrinkles, the circles under her eyes, and the curls at the corners of her eyes and lips. I ended up with a de Kooning-eque drawing, which both looked like a person and pleased me. I made her eyes much too large, but somehow it felt just right for my level of skill and what her face said to me. And besides, I'm not interested in drawing representational art.

I'd show you, but I showed my husband last night and it was a mistake. It's that little problem of expectations.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

House Hunting Vision

Here's what I've been doing lately: Looking at countless grim kitchens like this while we scour this valley trying to find a new house.

Bravo to Sabrina Holley-Williams whose remodel on a dime is featured on Design Sponge today.


This girl has vision: Three gallons of paint, a new counter top, and new sink. I'm guessing $2500 to transform this kitchen. Happiness.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Encaustic & Charcoal Minimalism


Amanda Kavanaugh, Lowe's parking lot


Amanda Kavanaugh, Loneyville

Charcoal and encaustic, oh my. My heart goes pitter patter.

Thanks Painted Fish Studios for sharing Amanda's work.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Has It Come to This?


Sometimes there are these moments in a marriage when something happens that is so funny/ironic that both people realize it can only be fully understood by the two people who have been living the day in day out of this third thing called marriage.

One of those moments happened yesterday.

I'm suffering from a bad case of age anxiety. I have it so bad that I had to rely on my husband to make every decision about what I wore yesterday to an interview.

This is the same husband who once fought the fight and now waits patiently before any significant social event for me to lay out everything he will wear. For routine social events, when I say, "you should wear X shoes instead," he changes his shoes without argument.

Yesterday we went through a combo of five or more outfits. He narrowed it down. He made the final decisions. He postponed his ride until I was out the door. These pants or these? This shoe or this? These earrings or these?

I went without the suit, without the outfit that the lovely, early 30s sales lady talked me into yesterday, and without any jacket at all. Quelle horror! A first interview without a jacket? I called V. for final word and she concurred with the new fashion head of household.

Turns out he was dead on. I felt immediately at ease when I met my potential future boss, and I made the cut for the second interview.