five by five

When Seth Apter's first book came out, he invited all the contributors to make a 5x5" piece of artwork based on one of the questions we had answered in the interview section of the book. I made mine and sent it in.  Now many of those pieces will be in an exhibition at The Empty Spaces Project in Putnam Connecticut during the month of December. So I'll be in my first show on the east coast!

Happy Thanksgiving

Vintage holiday postcard from my grandmother's collection.

Small World!

My good friend and writing coach extraordinaire Judy Reeves  recently taught a workshop in La Mansanilla, a tiny fishing village on the Pacific coast about 90 minutes south of Puerta Vallarte.
Margot and I spent a couple of weeks there in 2005 and had a wonderful time - fresh caught shrimp, Mexican beer and lots of relaxation. Judy posted the above picture on faceBook and I realized we'd been there for breakfast.

In fact I'd done a quick sketch of it while waiting for

 our food to arrive. Pequeño mundo.

Life on the Coast

Morro Rock from the beach in Baywood Park.

Favourite Toy Friday

Writing about my red and yellow buckboard 

in the last post, made me think of this.

My dream toy when I was 10.  The Marx Civil War set. 

 It was a bit expensive, so I didn't have one. 

 But the little boy next door did - 

 and I occasionally got to play with his,

Ten years ago, my older daughter found one on eBay 

and surprised me for my birthday!  Every now and then I order 

some extra pieces to add to it, a dead horse, an ambulance wagon.

I was so amazed by the gift.. Even almost 50 years later,
 the magic held.  I love setting it up and playing with it.
 One of the best presents ever - 

and definitely one of the biggest surprises. 

Past Recaptured!

 I was playing around on eBay the other day and just for fun I entered some clues into the search box to see if I could bring up one of my favourite toys from over 55 years ago.

And there it was!  My good ole red buckboard with yellow wheels. Exactly the same.
Just like I remember it. We had some great times, playing with my miniature farm set and all my cowboys. Pretty cool when you can recapture such a happy part of your childhood for less than $10.00 and free shipping!

Still Hunting and Gathering

Still going through my stash to find
 goodies for the latest project.

I've got it all sitting on the studio table, marinating away!

Had a four day hospital stay that slowed me down a bit, 

but feeling better and ready to get going on this new artwork.

Welcome Bronwyn!

My daughter Bronwyn is arriving this morning all the way from Missouri. We'll be having a family Thanksgiving a week early, and this year she'll be making the dinner - not just eating it as in this 1982 shot above.

From the Bookshelf

When I was in fifth grade back in the early '60's, my best friend Linda gave me a book for my birthday.  I was a voracious reader then - just as I am now - and books were just about the best gift I could receive.  The book she gave me was Trixie Belden and the Gatehouse Mystery. I absolutely loved it. I was able to amass many others in the long running series over the next few years and I read them often. I don't know if it's being retired or being sick or whatever, but recently I had an urge to read them all again.  The first, Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion, was written in 1948 and the books have a charming vintage feel. I've owned the first six (in the old original Whitman cello versions)  throughout my life, so I started my Trixie Marathon with those.  Then I was able to find the later paperback versions in lots on eBay for not much per book.  There are 39 all together and I now have the first 32.  I am really having a blast revisiting these.  Talk about literary escapism.  Hey - it keeps me off the streets and it's lots cheaper than drugs!!

Armistice Day

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Life on the Coast

It's been quite hot inland the last few days, so we've had fog.  

Uncharacteristic for November but very atmospheric!

Guy Fawkes Day

Gunpowder, treason, and plot!

If you're not an anglophile - here's the whole story!

Feels so Good!

After almost a month of feeling like crap,

it's been so wonderful to get back into
the studio the last few days!

A little organizing, cleaning up and beginning a new project -

so much better than being under the weather!

Dia del Muertos

Busy weekend -sugar skulls, calaveras, altars, 

and remembering all those who have gone before