timing

Show time.

I've decided to use our "guest quarters" as my air conditioned studio this summer. THIS IS A FIRST. The Virginia Beach show will require a different head space and presentation than the show at Randolph Macon - or any other show I've had for that matter. I can make art anywhere but the minutae of presenting it, framing it, etc is another matter.

Other considerations: White walls. Framing system and best of all: God next door. Really. "100 Artists Look at God" will be in the adjacent gallery. I'm thrilled! The show was curated by John Baldessari so I am confident it will be a great counter to what I am doing. The image above is representative of ths work that will be in a solo show slotted for August/September at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia in Virginia Beach.

Money, no I mean Honey

My fingers usually tell more truth than my tounge is willing to tell. Money versus Honey...hmmm...there may be something to this. I was thinking Harry may have put too much Honey in my coffee, but if it was money I guess there couldn't be too much... it would just be undrinkable. I need to water my garden before it gets too warm.

We need rain. I need studio time. We need a grant, a commission, a patron...but if my muse would visit me today I would forgo all of the other.

There is an Expansion Joint tonite. Right on the James....food, music and friends....a reward for a productive day? I hope so.

southern odyssey

I need to grapple with my art today but examining the past 10 days seems easier with the working in the 90 degree heat. One week ago I was with my parents headed to the Greenwood-Leflore Hospital to see my grandmother. She had been there for 8 weeks recovering from complications from Diviticulitis. It was great spending time with her and listening to her tell the tales of Oliver Farms and its cast of characters.

When I left for Richmond at 6am on Friday morning she was on the mend, I had a 12 week old kitten with me and was driving a '96 Buick LeSabre with no AC. I will always feel in touch with that part of my ancestry when I get into that car...it is still has a slight patina of red clay, for one. It will likely take a power washer to remove it!

One reason this is weighing heavily on me now is that my sister called yesterday. She rarely calls and is difficult to reach herself. She was wailing into the phone for 10 minutes upset because I didn't come to the coast to see her. My grandmother is 85... I think she merits priority status but Elise is the baby of the family and, well, its always about her! I would have loved to have seen her. I would have
loved if she had come north to see us. She is incapable of those type of committments and doesn't have regular access to the resources that most Americans take for granted... a home, a car, a telephone. She has chosen to blame others for her misfortunes and mistakes. It breaks my heart. Bad things happen to good people everyday...to me, my brother and everyone I know. One must choose to endure and move on...there really aren't any other practical options....blaming others just prolongs the misery and the lesson is never learned.

Of course Olivers are very hard-headed... we usually have to learn a lesson at least three times before it sticks...and with some of us, that can be easily doubled or tripled! How does this affect my art?
Perhaps it gives it a certain tenacity and stubborness...

Rain

Miro is asleep at my feet. I can't think of anything more appropriate
to do on a day like this...but studio time is what I need.

I have a problem to solve and I am not inspired to solve it. There is
almost 2500 running feet of wall space at the Butler Gallery and I
can't show any of my large canvases because of their friggin hanging
system. It is a dilemna I hoped I would never have to address again.
The last time I had to deal with one of these hanging systems was over ten years ago. The fact is that the presentation of this work will likely be compromised... and that's a fact.

My optimism is wanning at this point which isn't good. My advice to my students is that one can't win if one doesn't play so I try to have faith that something good can come out of this show if I put the work out there. According to my insurer when the work lives in my studio, it is worth only the cost of the materials.

Sigh.

The rain continues. Miro is snoring. I wonder if she dreams in Siamese?

Kay and Richard

Some folks I've known since I was a young but all grown up were here for the past several days. An artist and a writer, like Harry and myself, they are quite a pair. They brought their 12 year old son Charlie and what a great kid he is! He is an amazing young man with a heart of gold. We were very impressed with his poise, curisoity and good sense. (maybe he'll rub off on the rest of us!)

They all left today for NYC...it was hard to watch them go without me. I could use a trip to Chelsea or the Met for inspiration...but there are other things I need to be doing. Its also hard to find inspiration when trying to be navigator...I always managed in Scotland but there were other issues at hand (good scotch, for one!)

Richard called a few minutes ago. They've been on the road for over 5 hours and are now creeping past Baltimore....I must admit I am glad I missed the traffic! I am not a sitter. It is not what I do best. Traffic is certainly something to be avoided at this point in my life.

I just hope they make it into and out of the city ok. If so, I'll see them on Friday or Saturday. In the meantime my friend Sally has an opening tonite of a show she curated. I would like to be there but it is too complicated without tranportation or time. Plant 0 is too much of a hike for my bike at this time of nite so my time is best spent in the studio if I can't be there. (here I go...)