My old friend's great project with her old friend is at my favorite museum in Upstate New York (and alma mater), tomorrow! With more warning I could have shouted louder but for some reason I looked and so, I highly encourage my dad and my sister in law's sister and all Uticans (or anybody close) to check it out tomorrow...But if you can't be there (like me, I hafta work), check out the website and keep track of Renee and Tiffany's tough girl projects....

have fun,
Rachael

We took a daytrip down to the people's republic of Ithaca to deliver my Art Bar paintings and enjoy the Ithaca area Art Trail. It's a damn good idea to have artists studios open in a geographic area and that it is happening in good old far-flung, pretty and pretty rural, upstate New York is a treat.

We didn't get to too many of these, but we did stop in at Alex's Cold Springs Pottery to see the bowls, mugs, plates and whatnots he throws (while standing up). His 8 year old daughter glazes the work and his wife is part of the bizness too but I forgot to ask if she throws pots, glazes, fires, brews glazes, markets, or does whatever else has to be done with a family run production pottery. I am on a bit of a tear lately when I see the stuff at the Pottery Barns (which I've been told was full of artist made pottery in the good old days before it got branded by the ex-art historians like this success story) but know that potter's have to shlep their stuff around. A handmade mixing bowl costs the same as a mixing bowl at Target, but which do you buy when you have to give a gift? It's easier and easier to find working artists work (not just at the art and craft fairs but at the shops and at open studio things like Art Trail) so please, I implore you as I think of how skinny the ceramics teachers I have are, buy art from artists. Fill your home with good pots.

With new fire, I will head back to the potter's wheel this week but that's if I can put the paper dolls down. Busy week ahead so I promise to make my best efforts to blogitize but...

Ah, yes, and the Bellrays were in town last night. Sounded good, felt like rock-n-roll church. I miss me some Woggles.

Take care troublemakers,
Rachael

So nice to hear that folks like my paperdolls because I'm mad busy making the dang things. They are the perfect project for my short attention span this week and it's great that I've been able to disperse them as I have this week (to a friend about to have major oral surgery, to a coworker who needed a bit of revolution as in Larissa's beloved revolutionary sweetheart below, and as a thank you to an amazing framer/potter/friend).

As I write this, I have my scraps, my scissors, my brads right next to me. Sure, sure I'll post more pictures soon but it's enough just to make stuff this week.
Take care troublemakers,
Rachael

I spent the day in my studio shifting my weight between painting darker, deeper, more autumnal, more cider-y, more Crandall park-ish, Neil Young's voice-ish colors and forms (shapes like stones, leaves and buried things) and playing around with my scraps.
They're getting scraptastic. These bits of color and little left behind parts are now acquiring personality and human-ish shapes. Below are two of my paper dolls since Katie asked.The first one hid in his cone and is smaller and more sketchbook centered. He grew out of my book.
And then this is the Stumbler. Poor thing drank too much I think, but won't be going home alone.
Wasn't thinking about Julia's peeps or Feininger's kids' toys when I started (I was just amazed by little brads and since I used to hang around a bunch of puppet people I knew what a brad can do.) Now I can't stop. Here come all the little people. OK, I'm off the computer to go eat my body weight in apples and cheese.
take care,
Rachael

Fantastic show tonight about play with Jessica Stockholder and Ellen Gallagher and Arturo Herrera and Oliver Herring reaffirming the instinct to play even as the world falls apart around us. Or maybe because. It's a humane effort to find joy, to learn, to give, to play and a humane effort to empathize and help when an earthquake comes or a tsunami or a hurricane. Um. What are we doing to this planet? Can we stop already?
Take care of yourself, goodnight,
Rachael