Lisa Alembik and I had our open studio in her fabulous studio at the Arts Exchange on Saturday night and I have to report that it was wonderful fun. She's making some really powerful self portraits about exhaustion and time and is unravelling the contents of owl pellets through drawing. Owls apparently swallow small animals whole and then spit up the parts they can't digest. Her way of working large (using charcoal, ink, graphite, oil, anything available to see and re-see and set down and go back over and into) and small (careful, small ink studies of owls and their parts from the resources of a science museum) means she's really investigating these pellets, these animals, and their connections to the way we live.

I'll post more pictures soon, above is all I have with me as I am still here in Atlanta. I'm headed back home tonight and excited about, scared by, and (probably) ready for what awaits.

It was a thrill on Saturday night to see so many old friends, connect up so many great people, and while I told the story again and again and again, everyone's kind words and good ideas are still helping. I'm be salvaging some scraps of lost work for collage no doubt, and using this as a chance to regroup my ideas. I'll have more of my notes from Atlanta about artists and places up here soon, but for now, I'll share my thoughts about heading back (in graphic form) and pass on a warm hug to all the great people (you troublemakers know who you are) who made my visit such a joy in light of the news from up north. I'm ready to help with clean-up and restart now.