two kitties

New Heather Ross at Pink Chalk Fabrics

"No new projects. No new projects." I keep chanting this to myself as a reminder not to buy anything or start anything until I've completed a few of the projects on my work table. Trust me - they're all still works-in-progress.

But I might break that resolution, because Kathy at Pink Chalk Fabrics has the new Heather Ross prints in her online store. Finding Heather Ross fabric is hard to do - it sells out quickly! And I would love to have these fish swim across a new pillowcase or two.

The Creation of the World and Other Business

I've been working with The PlayGround Theatre this summer. Getting to know their productions has been a slowly unfolding love story.

This costume sketch caught my eye - a work of art by itself. It was for 'Eve' in PlayGround Theatre's production of Arthur Miller's The Creation of the World and Other Business. Contemporary artist Simon Pastukh did the set and costume design.

I'm so rarely impressed by work samples that it seemed worth mentioning. I actually printed it and placed it on the wall over my computer monitor.

All too often, artists tack on the documentation process as an afterthought, on a shoestring budget. Which is too bad, considering it's the only way that grant makers have the opportunity to see your work.

An Extremely Important [Un-Named] Grant Maker At The National Level told me he spends less than a minute looking at work samples. Consultants like me? I'll sit there for five minutes and give you a chance, but I've always been a sucker for artistic passions. And I can make a fire in the fireplace and watch said bad video with the two kitties.

Re-entry Plan for Tinley

Debra wrote on Sunday, and enclosed a copy of what she called the "ultimate street find." She had been walking along a Pittsburgh side street, and found an envelope on the pavement. It had been sent from the Airmen's Service Club in Roswell, New Mexico - and postmarked 1952.

I told her to send it in to Found Magazine. That's where I came up with this re-entry plan for Tinley - found on the streets of San Francisco and emailed to the site. Unlike most found objects, somehow, folks managed to find Tinley and get an update. She said she had never moved back into her parents house, and life is just fine.

Woman With A Cigarette: Fernando Botero

Colombian-born artist Fernando Botero is famous for his paintings and sculpture of, well....fat people. This is "Woman With A Cigarette". I'm about to go get a massage, which made me think of this one.

The photo was taken in Singapore, but the piece is now installed, along with eight other large-scale Botero bronze, at the Grand Wailea hotel in Hawaii.

Flathead Lake Cherries

Orchard manager Rod (left) said it's time to take the fruit. Just like that.  We hitched a ride down to the cherry processing facility on Finley Point. There, the bins are off-loaded, graded for size, and then washed in ice cold water.

Temperatures matter. The crew picks first thing in the morning because the fruit gets juicy and soft in the sun. The ice water wash cools them down and then they're stored in a reefer truck until they go to the  grocery store.

It happens fast. Our crew arrived at 5:00 this morning, and all of our 8000-odd pounds of fruit will be washed, sorted, and refrigerated before lunch.