Holy moly. I love the Inkling. I read a lot of mixed reviews so I wasn’t sure if I should get it or not. Is it perfected? No. But it IS my new best friend. I know this isn’t pretty, but… I decided to hold the tip of the pen (the sensor) down with my finger and draw in the air. The range is quite small but it’s a lot of fun!

Here is a tiny sneak peak of what I’ve been up to in the studio recently. I’ve been combining drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography. To see where these things end up, come see my work in a group exhibition at CCBC in early March (more details to come).

Today I thought I heard my phone ringing from the next room. And then I realized that, no, the ringtone I thought I heard was the ringtone from my last phone so there was no way it could be my phone ringing. Anyway… that’s what started this nostalgia upchuck.

Remember when you only had to dial 7 numbers to call a friend? And when you had to dial a 1 before dialing long distance? And a large storage of 7-digit and 10-digit numbers took up a significant amount of space in your brain?

My area code as a kid was 912. At some point during the collision between dialing 1 became no longer necessary but dialing the area code was, and push button cordless telephones became the norm, we had a phone that the 1 button would get stuck and repeat. So I had the constant fear the I would accidentally dial 911.

Remember when it was terribly disappointing when you happened to have access only to a rotary phone and couldn’t call up dial-a-story at your local library? Oh, and that episode of You Can’t Do That on Television where they ask the viewer questions and give you multiple choice answers, leading you to believe that you can touch the screen to pick your answer and they, in turn, changed the outcome of the show according to the results? I “knew” it wasn’t real, but you’d better believe I was up there touching the screen. Oh, and now, with the internet… I just spent 2 minutes of research to find that that episode aired in 1984, is episode 5.11, titled Technology, and you can watch it in its entirety on youtube here. I was probably at home watching this on TV in fourth grade either after school or during a stay at home sick day alone (yes, it was normal for a 9-year old to be at home alone then).

And this would be me circa 1984. With my brother. In my uniform. In my mom’s classroom. The year I had my mom as a teacher. And now you know much more about me than you ever needed to. Egads.

OK, now back to work.

Here’s a look at what I did last weekend. I installed a piece (the far right window) for a space that is, essentially, a storefront window (without the store). The space is called The Temporary because it is indeed, temporary. The new MICA MFA in Curatorial Practice students will be curating exhibits here for the next year before it becomes a dining area (due to renovations). Thank you so much to Catherine Akins who curated this show and to Hyejung Jang who worked as Catherine’s assistant. They both are amazing, talented, and so much fun to work with. Please walk by and see the show! It’s right next to Joe Squared on North Avenue, the bottom level of the MICA studio building. I recommend viewing after sunset because the work all revolves around light.

Thanks, Catherine, for this photo!

Please stop by and see me at my studio tomorrow at AREA 405 (aka Oliver Street Studios) for part of the School 33 Open Studio Tour.
Saturday, October 22
1-6pm
405 E. Oliver St.
Baltimore, MD 21202

And come see Ben too! And others!

OK. Part II. I’m getting lazy on the writing end, so here are a bunch of photos.

At the beach! The first thing we did upon arriving (no arguments here!!!). I think the only shot I got of everyone, unfortunately.

Rest stop in a park after biking through Stanley Park. My universal “come here, doggy” gesture.

Are we in Vancouver or a tropical island paradise? (the beach in Stanley Park)

The daily view and sunset from John and Heather’s balcony. They have it rough, eh?

Awww… Brothers. (And my forced tourist shot in front of the olympic torch.)

Public art in Vancouver: pixel whale

We gave Kira an ostrich puppet which she named Chewy. (Kira is an AWESOME name-giver. She named a snail puppet that Ben gave her last year Ostranomus.) On our night of babysitting we made Chewy a costume (the red ear/hair headpiece) and a passport (around her neck).

Salmon spawning! I remember learning about spawning salmon at some point in school but I didn’t remember how morbid it is. They basically transform into disfigured monsters and proceed to swim through such treacherous upstream rivers that their bodies are beaten to bloody pulps and then they reach their destination and then they die. This has led me to believe that you should actually feel guilty if you DON’T eat salmon. By eating them, you are saving them from a horrible death. And they are delicious…

Ben and I just returned from a trip out west to Seattle and Vancouver. We went to visit Ben’s brother John and his family (his wife Heather and Kira, their daughter) in Vancouver, but with flights being much cheaper to Seattle decided to fly in there and spend a couple days exploring the city before taking the train north to Vancouver. Being the gluttons we are, of course my first post about the trip is food and drink. To thank for all of our wonderful finds are Design Sponge Seattle and Vancouver guides, word of mouth by both friends who have visited and people we met, and just random places that we walked past and couldn’t resist.

1. The Corson Building, Seattle
Wow. I don’t even know how to describe how wonderful this experience is. In every way. Truly magical. If you are going to Seattle, check out the link and make reservations. Just do it!

2. Salt Tasting Room, Vancouver
This restaurant is almost strictly charcuterie based. The best thing to do if you go here is pick some meats and cheeses you want, tell your server what you like and don’t like in general, and let them pair wines and condiments with everything. We had a wonderful server which seems particularly important at this restaurant. We relied on her artistry to pick perfect taste pairings/sensations of meat/cheese, condiment, and wine. Both beautiful and delicious.

3. The Harvest Vine, Seattle
We were lucky enough to have perfectly beautiful weather for our entire trip and this was one of our many outdoor dining experiences. This was another instance where wonderful service played an important role in our happiness. While on that topic, I would like to add that people in Seattle are so NICE! Whenever we asked questions or mentioned we were visiting from out of town, everyone was so happy and excited to recommend their favorite spots. Even the bus drivers are nice. Seriously. I cannot tell you how many times after speaking with a stranger that Ben and I just looked at each other with crinkled brow and open mouths with the expression “that person was so NICE. and HELPFUL.” on our faces. I liked it!

4. Le Pichet*,  Seattle
I forgot to take pictures here, ugh! But… I found this photo online of the dessert I had. Dark dark thick hot chocolate (that’s what they called it, though I found it to be on a completely different level and can’t bring myself to call it hot chocolate) with heavy whipped cream. Oooooh… Amazing food, cozy atmosphere, and great service.

5. Floata*, Vancouver
We had dim sum here (in Chinatown) with John, Kira, Heather, and her family. I love dim sum and couldn’t remember the last time I had it. There’s nothing quite like sharing small delicious foods (and often not knowing exactly what you’re eating) and spinning them around the table with a large group of people.

6. Sha Lin Noodle House*, Vancouver
John and Heather introduced us to one of their favorite neighborhood eateries. They like it not only because the food is wonderful but also because they make noodles in the back where you can watch. And oh so many different types of noodles! Cutting, pulling, dragging, chopped… and maybe more… those are the ones I remember. Yum!

7. Brouwer’s Cafe, Seattle
We stopped here for a beer as we were wondering around the Fremont neighborhood. And I’m so glad we did! They have a huge selection of beers on tap and their smoked nuts (which come out warm, fresh from the oven) are very tasty and go perfectly with a belgian style beer.

8. Street Donuts*, Seattle
Bowls of fresh hot mini donuts with your favorite toppings (we had ginger cardamom caramel) from a food truck. What’s not to like?! And they have an awesome logo.

9. Seattle Coffee Works, Seattle
We knew nothing about this coffee shop and because Seattle has sooo much good coffee, it was hard to decide where to go since we didn’t have time to try every coffee shop in town. But we saw signs as we were walking by describing coffee preparation in ways we had never heard and we wanted to try something new. So we did. We went to the slow bar (a small quiet section of the coffee shop set up for people who want to sit for a while and watch their own private barista perform) and had a vacuum pot. Ahhhh. (And I also like saying “oh, I just had a vacuum pot”.) As she was preparing it, our barista was explaining that the process creates a very “clean, pure” flavor and I was imagining these things would probably be too subtle for me to notice, but no! I could taste the “real flavors” in the coffee and it was velvety smooth. It’s kind of hard to explain…

10. Bastille Cafe*, Seattle
We had brunch here which was delicious. My favorite thing was the homemade scone with lemon curd (also homemade, of course). Because we went to Bastille on a Sunday, we caught the Ballard Farmers Market. I wanted to cry for all the things I saw and knew I couldn’t take home with me! Ben got all worked up about the giant morel mushrooms and then got really sad when he realized there was no practical way to get them home in a decent state. Either of these places is well worth the trek out to Ballard.

Whoa. This is a long post. If you are still here reading this you are quite a trooper. Or maybe you just like food and drink as much as I do?

*Sadly, I forgot to take photos at some places. Locations marked with a * are not photos I took, but are images I found online.

Wow. I am so far behind in blogging, I’m not really sure where to start. But here are some major events that have happened since the last time I blogged.

1. Kelley and I collaborated on a piece for Transmodern at campcamp. It was so much fun but I was so completely exhausted by the time it opened that documentation is sadly lacking. But here’s an image of our space, taken by Theresa Keil for What Weekly.  J.M. Giordano used our space as a set for a short film for the BMA (which is what you see here). You can see Kelley in the hairy, white-headed costume on the right and me in the white monster costume near the center. We also projected animations but this photo was taken before dark.

2. I went to Ben’s thesis show at UConn. This was my favorite photo from the show of Ben’s mom and aunt looking at his work, probably thinking something like: “Um, what the heck is this?”. You can see more of his work here.

3. Ben graduated. Yay Ben! Congrats to him, Siobhan, Lani, Jamie, and Rita! I will miss you guys.

4. In CT, I visited the puppetry museum, saw a show of Frank Ballard’s work, and lusted after another useless degree: an MFA in puppetry.

5. My mom had heart valve surgery here at Johns Hopkins. She’s doing wonderfully now and is back in GA. I was so happy she was able to be here so I could spend time with her while she recovered. She always likes to visit the cathedral and their gift shop when she comes to Baltimore. And since I was feeling particularly willing to keep her happy after her surgery, I took her there without even whining. I was pleased to discover this gem.

6. Ben moved in to my apartment. For three days in a row, immediately upon moving in, Ben spontaneously and enthusiastically made beautiful delicious dinners (here we have roasted turnips and onions, sesame ginger baked tofu, and salad). I briefly thought I had the good fortune of acquiring a gourmet housewife/chef. However, things have settled down and now he only cooks from time to time (but still more than I do). Ah, well, I knew it was too good to be true…

7. Tambourine (Ben’s cat) and Mito (my cat) hate each other. You wouldn’t think so from the way Mito is reaching out to hug Tambourine in this photo, but trust me, they do.

8. Ben’s thesis show in NYC went up immediately after his CT show. Here’s a photo from the opening.

9. I went to NYC this past weekend to help Ben take down the show. I rode the Staten Island Ferry for the first time (fun!) and saw some Friends with You balloons.

It’s been a busy few weeks with all the regular goings-ons and also getting prepared for the Transmodern Festival. Kelley and I are collaborating on a piece at campcamp. Be sure to stop by and see us on Friday and/or Saturday nights!

For a taste of what’s to come, here’s a little preview of one thing I worked on for the piece today. You’ll have to stop by to find out what it is!

I am loving this Katamari hack I found on kottke.org. Now I can play Katamari Damacy any time I want even though I don’t have a PlayStation. Here it is, destroying my fb page. Awesome!

I am loving the after effects too! Only downside: the maximum number of objects it will pick up is 9000.