Home is where...

...the hhh, uhhhhh, art is? To my horror tonight I came home to discover my hubby had turned into one of those hemorrhoidal chump a-holes who simulexcretes bad harmonica and the guitar, for no reason, and it makes your stomach chunder that coffee shop latte.









Ew, even my camera couldn't take it. A little ointment and we were onto Jimmy's railway arts:









The perfect preparations for our Valentinian artistry. Happy Valentine's Eve!

Acousticness is Kinda-Sorta Close to Godliness. Right?

May the chord be with thee, tonight my hun-bun and the rest of The Mallett Brothers Band play at The Chocolate Church in Brunswick, Maine. I'm choosing to drop all stories about the van (do vans ever, ever live happy lives?) but extending many thanks to Uncle Mark for his jimmysitting services.

Hallelujah

People places and things I love but don't keep tabs on:

Leonard Cohen
kd lang
Religious lyrics not written by conservative republicans
Songs from Shrek soundtracks
Barefoot performances

This is a shortlist, and I don't know if I kneeded a knittingbreak or what but life has stopped since I stumbled upon this clip yesterday:



Djesus!

Double Masterpiece

I love coming home to find photos I didn't take. Today Hubby apparently took a photo of Jimmy's artwork from their day.



Magnifique!

Little Hands

...know what they want! For some reason my desktop lost its ability to internet (sob!) so we're down to the laptop, and I'm starting to get the feeling that Jimmy doesn't like the internet much at all. On the laptop I'm in a different chair and closer to his play area and he's started to grab my head to tear my eyes away from the screen and into his face. He slyly picks off keys, sometimes I can't get them back on (goodbye, Caps Lock and Number Three) and when he's really done with the laptop, he's figured out that he can close it shut and wave it buh-bye.

Tonight I put those useful little hands in fingerpaint.












I know that fingerpainting is supposed to be messy, but I forgot just how much!

Wow. Cute. Easy-ish. Wow.

I'm just posting this so I don't forget about it. Outrageously cute idea even for those of us who aren't that crafty (though, it might be a lot easier if I actually owned a sewing machine.)








felt cafe: wee easy stuffed animals project, fabric crayons

Thanks for the idea, Liz!

First Friday, Plus One Month, And Five Days

My hometown is artsy. I blame smotherhood for having to miss out on the abundance of Portland arts but I did manage a mini-trek out for August 2009's First Friday Art Walk primarily for the opportunity to check out the work of two old and dear friends!

Our first stop was the Whitney Art Works for Rebecca Fitzpatrick's exhibit of her latest work Thread. I hope she'll forgive me, I took these with my old camera which is 100 percent the reason I have yet to make this post until now...













Becky likes old publications, and hands. The chain below is quintessential Becky, it's meticulously made out of months of fingy-work and very old print. It is my belief that too few people on this planet know what Becky can do with some glue, some time, and an empty PBR can. In the weeks following the opening this rope grabbed my eye from the sidewalk on two harried, unexpected walk-bys and neither time it failed to give me big smiles. Old times are good times...and this is one long thread of well-engineered paper rope!





After a few of these looks...



...we were back on the street, headed toward Sanctuary Art Gallery where even older friend (try First Grade Catholic School) Michelle Souliere was showing some luscious black velvet paintings alongside the work of other local black velvetists. (Again...apologies for the camerawork.)













We all enjoyed some delightful summer evening chit-chat, I have deep thanks for Becky, Michelle, and so many others for their contributions to our community. I am so excited for the privilege to raise my little guy in a town with so many artistic and cultural offerings, we hope First Friday at The Children's Museum isn't far in our future.

Please click any photo for more detail.