Forest Jam

This past weekend, my friends and I attended Forest Jam at Branch Brook Campground in Campton, NH- an annual festival to help raise environmental awareness, through eco-friendly vendors and exhibits; $2 from every ticket was donated to the Northern Wilderness Trust for the protection of NH forests. It was a pretty sweet event--small and intimate, but had the vibe of a larger festival, with some amazing bands and fire dancing (weeee!) over the course of two beautiful, star-filled evenings. Check it out for next year--http://www.forestjam.com/--the tickets are cheap, it was a lot of fun and the money goes to a great cause! :) Tenny getting some henna:My shoulder piece:

Check out my new office!

In the old mill building where my art studio resides, there is a corner office that I have been fixing up to use as my own. Last week I finished tiling the floor and painted the walls. I just need to hang some funky art on the walls, finish sewing my polka-dotted curtains and get a desk. Luckily my favorite day of the year is coming up on Sept. 6th: Plymouth town-wide yard sales! I’m on the hunt for some retro finds to decorate my new space.

Carrot porn?

I didn't know if this was appropriate or not, but then I realized that I didn't really care. These were grown in Groton, NH, by my farmer friends, Rox and Johnny. Enjoy. :)

Fly like an eagle...

doot-doot-doo-doot....

Every once in a while, a freelance project comes along that I am unsure of. Then I start to paint and I not only realize it is fun to switch it up a little, but much to my surprise I can make an antler look like an eagle. Go figure.

Time keeps on slippin', slippin'...into the future....

Happy Birthday, Little B!

It was my buddy Breckin's 5th birthday on Saturday and I made the cake as his birthday present. He wanted a speedracer cake, and when this is what he was presented with, he exclaimed, "but you can't see the race car driver's heads!" (He was later convinced that the cake was cool because there were real cars on it and it was chocolate...so he gobbled it up!) The pavement frosting kind of stained your mouth, but the cake was still yummy! :)

Last batch o' Asheville pics

Interactive street mural project. (I added in the red swirly vines)

The first band we saw: The Lions of Jah. Fabulous! Human street statue: put a dollar in his bucket and he dispenses candy. Yay! It's a street fest!
How can you not take a picture of that on a warm summer night? Mmmm.
This was our feast at Tupalo Honey, an organic cafe downtown. Everything was so fresh, so green and grown locally!
Larry took every chance he could to order grits. (I wasn't a believer before, but I'm coming around). Featured next to the cheddar covered grits is one huge (and delicious) sweet potato pancake with granola. This place had peach infused butter--amazing!

Onto our next food adventure: the quest for delicious sushi. Oh yes, we found it. This maki is rolled in mango with a tangy sauce. (The food here was nothing less than amazing, but the experience at this restaurant was a memorable one, thanks to our new drunken buddy, Court, from Florida. He kept making air fists and shouting, "it's good to be alive!")Random table art made by yours truly.

Our search for more sushi continued. Hey, what's this? A Number 9 Roll? Okay! (I took it as a sign from the universe, since #9 is my favorite beer and all, though it may have been a stretch. Still, it didn't dissapoint.)Close-up of the #9 roll...yum!This was quite inspiring. My friend Roy hooked me up with a tour of local artist Ben Betsalel's art studio in the River Arts District. Ahhh...what a beautiful and creative space!Definitely, definitely the best vacation...ever. :) I can't wait to go back!

Asheville, part deux.

More pics from my vacation:

I danced with some of the locals...I was the lucky one chosen from the crowd to assist this (very handsome) magician for the old "ball and cup" trick. My job: hold his balls. :)
This was one of the places we stayed: Bed of Roses B&B. It was a reasonably priced, beautiful stay, complete with a jacuzzi, yummy breakfasts and fancy robes. "Hey Larry...sit on that couch and pretend that you are smoking a pipe."

The community's response to an anti-gay protest: a silver Sharpie and some scrap cardboard. (Note the dude in the back holding the sign that reads "homorepressed" to the left of the bible-reading guy with the megaphone).
"Hey, Larry, do you think I should buy these rad glasses?"
"They make you look like a bug."
Pure coincidence: Larry was standing to the right of the Thirsty Monk sign.
(No, he's not really a monk)
This was probably the best musical find: Ménage.
They were a powerhouse trio of women who rocked the stage!
Get on THIS bus? Okay! This was our ride to the Wailers show; the inside was decked out in red velvet, cool ceiling murals and guitar player! I love this place!

What I did on my summer vacation...

I just got back from the most amazing vacation...ever. Asheville, NC. It's wacky, it's creative, it's musical and alive! I was there for the Bele Chere music festival (where I am going to be a vendor next year, selling my art!), and had the time of my life. I took so many pictures, so I'll have to do this in pieces. Ahhh...it was so amazing!This was the Sky Lounge, overlooking the city

I was able to meet up with my old friend, Roy while in town

New Asheville buddies: Caroline and Hamish

The weather was gorgeous: sunny and 85-90 degrees with a beautiful, light breeze

Color, color everywhere!

Swirly streets! :)

Late night adventure to a restaurant (best fried homemade mozzarella!), where I spotted a wall of Jonas Gerard originals.

The city is famous for its beautiful, well-preserved architechture

This just made me smile. The whole vacation made me smile. A lot. :)

lame birthday

Twenty nine. Yippie. It wasn't a great birthday this year. Not even a good one. Luckily, my birthday was the cream in an Oreo of fun...stale, dried up cream that tasted like chalk, but the cookie part was okay and luckily the events that fell before and after were pretty awesome (pics to follow of pirate party awesomeness and my journey to Asheville). I personally think that Monday birthdays should be outlawed. But here were the two highlights of the day:
The cake (tastefully decorated by Amy B.) is derived from an old inside joke involving a Chinese restaurant owner and a plate of ham fried rice...my friends weren't actually telling me to "get out" on my cake...or were they? And aren't the flowers beautiful? Thanks, Cindy.