1,210,900 pounds of art

I just read an interesting article about the relocation of this giant rock for an installation outside of the LACMA. I can sympathize with Michael Govan since I'm also having a hard time getting my show together in time for the January opening, but in the spirit of getting things done I'll stop posting things on line and get to work.

Art Springs in Arkansas

I just read this interesting article about the new walmart funded art museum that just opened up in Arkansas.

Senna

The nights of Netflix continue. We just finished watching this great documentary about the Brazilian formula one driver Ayrton Senna. The driving footage from inside the cars is incredible to watch and it definitely made race car driving seem like an exhausting physical sport. And as a bonus to all "the office" fans he's a dead ringer for Jim.

Mookie Blaylock

Cam and I just watched Cameron Crowe's documentary about Pearl Jam and loved it. The footage from the early nineties was pretty priceless and it certainly made me feel better about my worries that Hamilton's hair was getting too long (see below).

A Goodreads Flake


I have a goodreads account but I've come to accept that I just don't have the time to update multiple sites at the moment (much to the sadness of twitter readers everywhere it may be quite a while before I jump on that bandwagon).
So here is my latest reading update! I just read two books this week, which upon further consideration makes me think I must actually have more free time than I think I do. Anywho, today I finished up Half Broke Horses which I really enjoyed. Nothing beats a no nonsense female protagonist who knows how to get things done. I enjoyed this book so much that I promptly went out and bought a copy for my mother in law for a Christmas present. She is the epitome of a no nonsense, get things done kind of lady and she is a horse lover to boot so it was a perfect match!
The other book I finished up was Tina Fey's bio, Bossypants, which deserved to be read on the merits of the title alone. It was funny though not quite the laugh fest that I was expecting. I mainly came away thinking, "man she has such a completely jam packed hectic life" and also "I'll never write anything bad about her online because she may spend an entire chapter of a book verbally taking me down to size." Being a mother and having a successful career is tough or so I gathered since alas I have not had my retrospective at the MOMA yet.

motherboard

is the title of my upcoming show

and below is the material i'll be using for the installation. wish me luck because I'm definitely going to need it on this one!


winter wear

I love these coats by Christopher Raeburn. All his fabrics are re-purposed British military uniforms and parachutes.


Daytime Talk


I just read an article on Oprah in the Atlantic. The title was "What's so great about Oprah?" so I was expecting a bit of snark. Surprisingly though I came away feeling a little misty, even though I really never watched her show much growing up so don't have many personal tv connections with her (if there is such a thing). I didn't know about her impoverished childhood and I was so impressed by how far she has come and how much she has given back.

Interview

I really enjoyed listening to this interview with David Brooks of the NYTimes. I thought his assessment of Romney and Obama were right on and it was also interesting to hear his comments on what fiscal change needs to occur within US government.

American Masters


Last night Cameron and I watched Part 2 of the new Woody Allen documentary on PBS.org. It was such a great mix of interviews with Allen as well as friends and family and clips from his films. I definitely came away with an admiration for his constant dedication to his creative process and as a bonus I've never laughed so much watching a documentary.

Night of a Thousand Laughs


Mindy Kaling is my new internet obsession. I've been reading her articles and blogs quite a bit lately and tonight's new yorker article was a true gem. There is something so therapeutic about guffawing out loud to yourself while staring at a computer screen.

Foodie

This new simpson's episode is a classic and a must view for all top chef fans.


The time has come...


If the nations truckers are starting to get in shape I suppose the time has come for me to start exercising again as well.

MWP


I read a few profiles from the Mormon Women Project every Sunday while I'm getting ready for church. I love to start the week being inspired by these unique and talented women. Today I read a great interview with a woman who started a business selling artisnal crafts from various developing countries. I found a few items on the site that were really beautiful and even looked perfect for my little boys (wooden puzzles from India).

Bernhard Lang


Again the only art I seem to be looking at these days is photography since my main outlet to the art word is the internet. Phaidon sends me emails almost everyday which should be annoying but I so long to buy overpriced art books. Today I got a link to this great slide show of aerial images by Bernhard Lang.

Laughs with the BBC


Tonight I'm going to strong arm Cameron into watching some Bertie and Jeeves with me since I have a soft spot for everything PG Woodhouse. My mom read his books during my junior high and high school days and I'd often find them around the house and crack them open for a good laugh.

Speaking of a good British laugh I need to borrow my moms VHS series of Fawlty Towers again, just looking at this photo makes me smile, ah good ol' Manuel.

Judge Judy

Yesterday we had a great lesson in church about the mistakes we make in judging others and then I ran across this article which was another great reminder to look past appearances. As a side note I can't believe I now visit a website called HelloGiggles, bizarre!

Year of 4

As I no longer go to clubs or listen to top 40 radio anymore, Beyonce has been off my radar for a while (Full disclosure one of my programmed car radio stations uses John Tesh for their evening DJ, who provides a variety of hilariously obvious helpful tips to his listeners ). But this morning I found a link from Mindy Kaling's blog to this documentary of Beyonce's last album and by the end I was totally inspired to turn up the volume a bit in my current adult-contemporary life.

ajicao


I remember my first visit to Colombia when I was around 13 years old. My father had a beautiful modern home full of some great art, (I seem to remember a two story tall nude painting confronting me as I walked in the door) and surrounded by beautiful countryside. The only meal I remember from that trip was a delicious soup prepared by my father's lovely wife Marcela. I remember distinctly all the flavors of soup, the corn, potatoes, cilantro, avocado, which came together to create one wonderful meal. I tried to recreate this soup from a recipe online when I first got married and was met with quite poor results, so I was delighted to find this article in the NYTimes addressing the joy of a good bowl of ajicao.

Right to Life?


Well this is quite a departure from my last post but here goes. I just read an interesting blog post about the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki written by the son of our Stake President in Carpinteria.

A Good Laugh


In my defense I discovered this video as it was linked to from a NYTimes article, ah early MTV, enjoy!

Beatrice Wood



When I'm 90 I hope I too can live the life of Beatrice Wood, living in beautiful Ojai, CA, being an accomplished artist and sculpting all day with occasional breaks to work in the garden and of course owning one awesome jewelry collection.

Bathroom Decor



I would never have thought to put postcards in a bathroom but I love the look of it covering the walls and floors. Plus as someone who also has a closet sized bathroom it adds so much interest to a small space. Check out the rest of the casa here.

Patti's Photos


Here's a nice little article about Patti Smith and her upcoming show of photography. She is quite the renaissance woman.

cool casa



I love the playfulness of this apartment. The stumps of wood in the kids room and the sheep grazing on the carpet are my fav.

The City Museum



I just read an obit for the founder of the City Museum in St. Louis (who oddly enough died in a bulldozer accident). It's inspiring to see what an amazing space can be created through one person's vision. The museum describes itself as "an eclectic mixture of children’s playground, fun house, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects." Spokane is renown for it many odd items strewn around the city and parked on people's lawns, if I'm still around in 30 years perhaps I'll start collecting and build a space of my own.

Crafty









I love these looks from the Burberry Spring 2012 show last week. The skirts are positively wholesome.

Eva




"My interest is in finding my own way."
—Eva Hesse, 1970






Another show, another far away location. I would love to fly to Boston and check out this show of the studio work of Eva Hesse, one of my favorite artists. But to avoid feeling sorry for myself, I'll settle for going downstairs and reading about her instead.

Mormon Identities

Here's a great interview with the founder of the Mormon Women Project. Reading about these various women who are each leading exemplary lives in their own unique way was so inspiring to me. In the interview they describe a modern pioneer women as someone who asks themselves what is possible and then has the strength to follow through and magnify their potential.

My kind of hand made



I love this slideshow of images from the home of a carpenter living in Maine. The idea of having random pieces of driftwood in your house is a little hippie for my taste but this guy has changed my mind. His driftwood collages have a great minimalist quality to them and his floor lamp is to die for.

Where Children Sleep



Here's an interesting slideshow from James Mollison's new book of documentary photography.

Dress Up


Perhaps it's due to the fact that I now have three children and a lovely post-pregnancy body but I'm in love with this dress which reminds me of something an old Italian woman would wear. Don't ask me what I was thinking looking on netapoter.com since a t-shirt from Target constitutes a splurge at the moment, but should I win the lottery tomorrow this dress would be my uniform of choice. And as for accessories I'm not catholic but in my opinion this dress seems to need a nice little crucifix around the neck to complete the look.

What's your type?



While waiting around until I go into labor (serenity now!) I found this interesting little video about typeface designers on PBS's web series Off Book.

Playhouse



Discover where the children of oil executives and their playboy playmate turned blogger wives play. The structures described in the article are pretty amazing and also slightly disturbing at the same time. And as a bonus the article inspired me to start referring to my profession as an artist turned blogger since browsing the internet and posting the occasional thought seem to be about all the creative output I can muster at the moment.

Mormon in the City



I just read this article about Neylan McBaine's experience growing up and gaining a testimony in NYC. It reminded me of all the wonderful cultural experiences I had as a result of going to college near Boston and I am renewed in my determination to seek out as much as I can in Spokane to enrich my family. I am also filled with gratitude to my mother for taking me to museums, helping me take a trip to Europe as a junior high student when she had never been herself (the extreme generosity of this was shockingly only apparent to me in hindsight), and for encouraging me to dream big and helping me to go after those dreams (my Olympic bobsledding dreams notwithstanding).

Booked



And my amazon wish list of books continues to grow. It sure would be nice to fly to NYC and see the Alexander McQueen show at the Met for myself but alas 29$ on amazon for the exhibition catalogue will have to do.

The Night Out


Cameron and I had an early anniversary night out last week while my madre was in town. We saw the new Woody Allen movie and it was the perfect escapist entertainment. Every frazzled housewife and one time artist needs to imagine themselves in Paris in the 1920's now and then.

Magdelena's Weaving


I'm currently in the middle of reading Nicholas Weber's 'The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism' (which apparently doesn't have the most attractive cover as my ob-gyn queried, "why would you want to read that?" when she found me flipping through it in the waiting room.) Well here's my answer, It's a really fascinating look inside the Bauhaus and the European art scene between the wars. I just finished up the chapter on Paul Klee, the painter who taught the intro weaving courses at the Bauhaus. This chapter got me thinking about the use of thread and fabric in my own work and I took a little trip down memory lane looking at the work of Magdelena Abacanowicz online last night. I feel such a kinship to her work, the material and subject matter she explores and now I'm thinking I might like to begin doing a little weaving myself if I can track down a good teacher in Spokane.

A Nice Place



I'm back from the dead, well actually I'm currently feeling like death with the onset of some sort of cold/flu, but I'm back from extended vacations and ready to blog again! I've been reading about five books at the same time and just started wrapping them up which should restore a little order to my bedside table and provide some fodder for the ol'blog. Anywho I loved Michael Pollan's 'A Place of My Own: The architecture of daydreams'. The book takes you through the design and construction of his writing cottage in the woods and also offers a random history of architecture. I've been thinking a lot about homes lately, not surprising since I seem to get out less and less these days. My next show is in January and I'm thinking of something to do with the duality of public and private spaces in suburban homes (my stomping ground). I'm not sure if this will end up being something photographic or sculptural so we'll see. If you live close and would be willing to let me come photograph your favorite public and private spaces in your home let me know!

Coffee Table Dreams


I love this coffee table made from the base of a fountain. It reminds me of my year working at the garden design center in Carpinteria. The slab of glass really transforms it into something way cooler than most of the faux classical and baroque fountains we sold to the wealthy Montecito folk.

Leviathan



Another reason to envy Parisians. Anish Kapoor's latest sculpture in the grand palais looks breathtaking and the interior also reminds me a bit of an episode of the magic school bus where they shrink down and explore the circulatory system.

Mo Moma



I just discovered that one of my favorite museums, the SFMOMA, is set to double in size over the next few years. I have such fond memories of traveling up to the museum from Santa Barbara during the grad school years to see the Olafur Eliasson and Matthew Barney shows. I can still remember turning to see Cameron snoring beside me during hour two of Barney's drawing restraint film. The Mario Botta designed building is one of my favorite spaces to walk around in the city so hopefully the new addition will only enhance the space.

The Toilet in Church




I randomly decided to attend a lecture at the Provo library last night with my good pal Amb-lou. Jared Doxey, the head of architecture and engineering for the LDS church spoke on green building design in church architecture. I thought it was pretty fascinating to hear the exact reasoning behind the width of the wall studs and bathroom tiles which are used in church construction and how energy efficiency (along with financial feasibility) is considered in almost every aspect of the design. Plus it wouldn't be a good town hall open forum if we didn't get to hear plenty of random and off topic questions and exclamations from the audience (gotta love the guy who decided to interrupt a lecture to share a detailed description of the solar panels on his house.)

Digital Dose


Man in Window - New York City 1962

I just discovered Yale's art museum has all of their collection online. It's a bit of a crap shoot looking through this many images without having something specific in mind, but my favorite random finds so far are the photographs by Lee Friedlander.

Exhaustion

I'm in a bit of a haze at the moment having spent yesterday driving from Washington to Utah and having spent the last six hours keeping my children from beating each other and my mothers house to a pulp. Ah the joys of vacations! Anywho as I was trying to reason with a tired toddler (a loosing battle) and feeling the blood rushing to my face, I took a moment to visit lds.org for a little dose of calm. I came across this quote:

"Kindness is the essence of greatness. It is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes." - Joseph B. Wirthlin

I'll be praying for more kindness in the form of patience tonight! Wish me luck.

So true!

"A lock on the door, means the power to think for oneself."
-Virginia Woolf

When I read this quote I had to laugh as it pretty much sums up what it takes for me to give any thought to art making at the moment. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who for mothers day weekend acted as my human lock and kept the boys busy allowing me a few moments alone with my thoughts and sketchbook. To my great surprise when the noise of everyday life died down, I actually still had some thoughts left, so that was encouraging.

Pairings




Here's a look at some of the images in Todd Eberle's new book 'Empire of Space'. The pairing above is the bedroom aboard Air Force One and Eberle's grandparents guestroom in Houston. The presentation of images in this way looks like an intriguing format for a photography book and should it ever find it's way to the South Hill branch of the Spokane Public Library you can bet I'll snap it up (alas I won't be holding my breath).

Ole!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the first time I've ever honored it by the way, I'm making Marcela's great Nicaraguan Tres Leches. I'm not sure how Mexicans and Nicaraguans feel about one another's holidays but this dessert is so good as far as I'm concerned all of Central America can enjoy it together.
Cake:
1c. sugar
5 eggs yokes
5 egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla
1c. self rising flour
1/4c. milk
Topping: combine 1 can evap. milk and use this can for the rest of the milk measurements, 1 can condensed milk, 1 can whipping cream, 1 can whole milk (this does seem to be quattro leche, no?)
Whip egg whites, mix yokes, sugar, flour, vanilla and milk. Fold in whites and cook for 35mins at 350. Mix topping and pour on little by little until absorbed.

More Maya


I love this book. My copy had been sitting out in my garage (and sometimes studio) collecting dust until I loaned it out. It was returned yesterday and flipping through the pages was pure bliss. I love Maya Lin's writing and the way she is able to articulate so clearly and thoughtfully the ideas behind her work.

the nutty-dressers luncheon



I love the eccentric ladies who go their own way but do it with style. I've always wanted to be more of a daring dresser but reasoned that the wallet just wouldn't support such wacky expenditures. Recently though I've been picking up some necklaces inspired by Louise Nevelson (looking a little severe in the bottom photo admittedly) and so I'm taking my first steps towards drama. Who knows, in twenty years I may have some style.