HOW TO PLAY CATCH WITH A THREE-YEAR OLD. Equipment needed: 1 light weight medium-size beach ball, fairy wings and a fireman's helmet. HOW TO SEARCH FOR A JOB: Having the attitude of a three-year old that wears fairy wings and a fireman's helmet to play catch with her Grammy!

PIECED TOGETHER: THE ART OF COLLAGE

Three of my pieces All That is Left, What We Do Know and Borderlines are in the following exhibit at WomanKraft Gallery, September and October:

PIECED TOGETHER: THE ART OF COLLAGE

WomanKraft Gallery
388 S. Stone

Tucson, AZ 85701

You can call WomanKraft at 520-629-9976 for more information.

Exhibit runs September 6th through October 25th.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 1-5pm.



There will be two opening receptions:

Saturday, September 6th

and

Saturday, October 4th, 7-10 P.M.

I wanted to drop in and say I am still here. Going through a lot of changes. I don't know how well my coffee mug shows up in the picture, but it has an image of a leaf and says "grow".

That sums it up. After nearly 30 years in the same place, I have moved. I am experiencing new things. I am growing.

......stay tuned.

I am back from my first visit to Portland, OR. The second day there the temperature was in the 40's with showers. So we did what any Portlander would do - headed outdoors! (The photo is of me at the Portland Zoo ducking inside from the rain.) The rest of the visit the weather improved with each day and we actually got to enjoy a few days of sunshine. We walked down by the river, went to the Portland Market and walked around the NW 23rd/Nob Hill area enjoying the shops, the outdoor cafes, the Victorian houses and greenery. Of course, another day was mostly spent at Powell's Books and I didn't notice the weather! I also had a chance to briefly stop into 23rd Avenue Books. I love Portland and would like to go back, maybe for my birthday in November and the Wordstock event.

It was 72 degrees the morning after I returned to my home in Tucson, Arizona and all the usual suspects were in my yard: a roadrunner running by with his breakfast, a snake by the mail box, quail, bunnies and lizards darting about the cactus. Ahhhh, it is good to be back! I guess I am just a desert rat at heart.

My Funny Valentine

I gave myself the best Valentine present this year! An AlphaSmart Neo.

It is a portable word processor. It weighs in at just 2 pounds. The battery life is 700 hours. Yes, I repeat, 700 hours with just three AA batteries. Wheeeeeee.

It is a rugged, take it anywhere writing tool. It is going to be soooooooooooo much easier transporting it instead of my laptop through airports or anywhere else for that matter. I am thrilled I no longer have to crawl on my hands and knees in search of an outlet at the airport. Someone on a Flickr group suggests that Snoopy uses the Neo to write on top of his dog house!

You just turn it on and start typing. You do not have to wait for it to boot up. When you are done, you just shut it off. It will save everything you typed. When you turn it back on, it will open up exactly where you left off! It has 8 files and you can type hundreds of words. There is also a spell check, a thesaurus, a word count and a calculator. I love the feel/touch of the full-size keyboard. If you are one that does Julie Cameron morning pages or Natalie Goldberg-type spontaneous writing, this is a perfect tool.

Due to the small screen (which you can get up to six lines, depending on the size type you select), it is best for writing first drafts and notes. You can plug it in to your PC or Mac and transfer your writing to edit your final document. If you want, you can edit on it, but I think most prefer to transfer to their computer. If you do plan to use for note taking, you don't have to worry about whether you are able to read your own writing afterwards. There are other versions such as the Dana, but I prefer the simplicity of the Neo. It does not replace a pc, there is no internet or e-mail. Which also means, no distractions.

Thanks to Bonnie in Ft. Collins, CO, that sold it to me. I was actually lucky enough to find it on Craigslist. If you are unable to find one used, you can purchase it from the manufacturer, AlphaSmart.

Anyone in my critique group reading this blog entry, I plan to volunteer to take notes at the next meeting I am able attend!

Borderlines is on exhibit from Dec 1, 2007 through January 20th, 2008 as part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition: Between Fences. There are several events planned around the exhibition, you can find out more here.

Here I am giving a lecture/demo for the Pima Arts Council. I brought samples of my work from the very beginning to current, including works-in-progress. I did demos on photo transfer, stencils, masking, faux batik and faux marbling. All are non toxic and supplies can be purchased from the grocery or hardware stores if not already found in your household. I want to thank Zophia Kurowski for taking the photographs. Please contact me if you are interested in having me give a lecture/demo to your group or organization. Travel expenses included in fee.