Walls, inspiration and naked girls.

I'll be honest: it's been a while since I have felt so inspired, so alive with creativity. I experience inpiration in the little things in life...it is always there for me. But it has been a while since I have experienced goosebump-y, jumping-up-and-down, oh-my-gosh-I-can't-breathe inspiration. This has been a whirlwind week of sketching, envisioning and imagining...then painting, creating, gluing, stitching, nailing and building to bring these ideas to life.

Next on my wacky life agenda (as many of you know) is to be a partner in the Anam Cara Collective in Asheville, a consignment art shoppe (much like Veggie Art Girl!) paired with a performance space for intimate shows and performances. The marriage of the two concepts feels so natural to me, that I knew it was going to be a smashing success the minute that my partner Erinn starting talking about it over beer at the local pub a year (or two?) ago.
Now, everything is becoming an exciting reality. We've been transforming this olllld building on Haywood Ave. into a beautiful venue for our first show performance on Feb. 5th (Nikki Talley!), which is going to be followed by two weekends of Naked Girls Reading. Our art shoppe is going to open a couple of days prior. People have really been working together to help make this happen. Local press has been creating a buzz! It is all overwhelmingly amazingly inspiring and humbling to me.

And now (drumroll please!)...I will share with you some of our cool construction. First off: we needed to divide the space a bit for sound, seating and all that. So we built a wall.

In trying to stay green (and save some moola!) we decided to use old doors and shutters. I brought some with me (in Janis!) from NH and we created this beautiful wall! (Dad, you should be proud- everything you taught me about framing out a wall, I used- it's all 24 on center! AND amazingly square and level!)
The best part? The wall is hinged to the wall so we can fold it flat to open up the space. I have to say that I have taken a lot of inspiration for this wall project from Melissa McCarthy at The Studio- whose wall on wheels I have been admiring for some time. :o) (And all of the funky architechtural pieces are taken from old shelving I dumpster dove for!) There are pieces and parts from all over the place, making this installation so rich in texture, but history. I love this wall!

And I love what I am doing here. I can't wait to share more pics of our progress, shop and shows. Awesome things are happening! Cheers to art! :o)

Estelle, new hair & tattoos

Freelance graphic design has been flowing in and I have spent a lot of time working on logos, blogs, posters, and lots of interesting stuff...mostly at 2:00 a.m., when these sudden bursts of creativity have been hitting me. Luckily, I have a cheering squad: Estelle the cat (ohhhh-kaaaay...her real name is Gabby, but I call her Estelle). She's my buddy at that hour, when I am editing photos, listening to bad 80's music and telling myself that I need to get some sleep before the sun comes up.

In other (and completely unrelated news), my hair is now cut all funky and striped like a candy cane. :o)

In other other, super unrelated news, my brother and sister just got in this morning for a visit. They are staying for a week and we are going to have a fabulous time. Today alone was pretty stellar. There is talk of us all going to get some tattoos on Wednesday...more pics to follow. :o)

The most beautiful horoscope.

I never believe those things. They are generic and can predict the future about as accurately as a misspelled fortune in a cookie. That being said, I am guilty of stuffing a great fortune into my wallet for future inspiration when one comes along after a tasty Chinese dish, and I've re-read this one (found in Asheville's Mountain Express) a bunch of times already:

CANCER
"When I grow up," writes Ramona McNabb, "I want to be a river." In the coming year, that would be a worthy aspiration for you, Cancerian. You'd generate a flood of benefits, some unexpected, by cultivating your ability to be perfectly yourself as you flow ever onward in rhythm with the sky and the earth, unimpeded by the fluctuations of light and darkness, and in love with the ceaseless movement of your own strong currents.

Wow. I still don't fully believe in astrology, but that it just gorgeous.

In somewhat related news, I am designing a series of t-shirts, which will be for sale this summer. I have some funky yet simple color schemes picked out, and they are going to be printed on cotton t's, just in time for summer. I have a few fun sayings and doodles...here is one that I was thinking of working with. There is also a funky owl design, and I'm working on a dancin' in the rain (my fave sayin') design...


Whattayathink? Please comment, or nod yay or nay. :o)