Nor'easter

We awoke to snow--about 5 inches--and no power. Lots of downed trees, including one that landed on our neighbor's deck. But the sun is shining and the snow is melting.

The plane is on time so we will be departing according to plan late today.

Trip Ahead

We are leaving soon for Florence, Venice and a cruise leaving from Venice and sailing to Bari, Italy; Greece (Olympia); Ephesus and Istanbul, Turkey; Dubrovnik, Croatia and back to Venice.

My plan is to post from my destinations, but it is dependent on internet access.  If access is limited, I will catch up when I return.

Stay tuned.

Shoe Story

You may have gathered that I am going on a trip.  The post on Oct. 20 had me practicing my Italian, apologizing for not speaking it well.  Florence and Venice and then a cruise to Turkey leaving from Venice.

After much consideration, here are the contenders for shoe space in my luggage.  From the left:

Agate Beach, Oregon

Tennyson.  This staple of the shoe inventory, known as tennies, sneakers, trainer, etc, is a must because she's a tried and true friend.  Many miles of happy feet.  Her claim to fame (or perhaps that of her fore-runner) is that she played on grass tennis courts at the Newport, RI Tennis Hall of Fame.   Such a star, and yet, so humble.  She also recently hiked in Sedona, AZ.

Merrill.  Comfy, black, and good for many, many steps.  She was put through her paces last year in Oregon as we walked the beaches along the coast.  It was a stormy few days and many of beaches were inundated and difficult to traverse.  No matter - she rose to the occasion.  Also she was right at home in the museums and galleries of Portland. OR.

Daisy.  This diamond encrusted flip flop is a study in contrasts.  She is equally at home at the pool and the opera.  In fact, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera of New York.  Because of her small size, she is able to fit snuggly into the small spaces of my carry on bag.

Etta.  This colorful embroidered shoe hails from Turkey and has wanted to revisit her homeland.  Since we will be headed there, she was a natural for inclusion. She isn't as well traveled as her companions, but she showed her true comfort as the go-to-gal for contra dancing.

Azul San Miguel d'Allende.  She just arrived from Mexico and is delighted to be included on this trip.  She is touted to be very comfortable and preliminary assessments are quite hopeful.  Her story involves a friend steering me to a local shop which had a different style of the San Miguel shoe.  Her cousin is a sandal, but I needed a closed toe shoe for November travel.  An on-line search found a supplier in Mexico who gathers 15 orders to the U.S. ships them to Florida where they are rerouted to the address here.  Not speedy, a bit cumbersome, but it works.

Packing--Shoes

Shoes are so important when packing for travel.  How many pairs?  What types?  What will we be doing and what particular shoe will be needed for that activity.  Walking, of course.  Sneakers, tennies, trainers--by whatever name-- will mark us as American tourists.  Of course, that is what we are, but we would like to not be quite so obvious.  My choice then, are my Merrills.  Still not an Italian walking shoe, but they are comfortable and I know my feet will be happy after many, many steps.

That's how I gauge a shoe.  How many steps before my feet complain?  How loudly will they complain--just a whimper, or a full-on scream.  My husband likes to take me on little adventures, which invariably involve lots of extra steps.  I will often announce the relative number of steps my shoes have before they become uncomfortable--not that it has a great influence on the route.  A small one, perhaps.

Mi dispiace non parlo bene italiano.

   Mi dispiace, non parlo bene italiano.
I have been repeating that phrase over and over so it trips convincingly off my tongue.
   Mi dispiace, non parlo bene italiano. 
I'm sorry, I don't speak Italian well.
   Mi dispiace, non parlo bene italiano.
Are you convinced yet?
   Mi dispiace, non parlo bene italiano.
We are traveling to Italy in less than two weeks and my italian is practically non- existent, never mind just not good.
   Mi dispiace, non parlo bene italiano.
We had dinner with friends who visited Italy recently and they had me repeat the phrase a few times, claiming that with these simple words we would be fine.
   Mi dispiace, non parlo bene italiano.

Postcards

As promised in yesterday's post, more on the postcards.


You saw the video.  Here is a still photo of the hot iron still smoldering on the cement.  I printed the photo and cut it up into 4 x 1.5 inch segments and then, glued these to the rusted paper.  The result is a combination of the photo of the event that created the objects used to mark the postcards with rust.  A bit convoluted, but it all ties together.

After the performance...

Yesterday's video worked!  One more step in the technology learning curve.

After the performance, which involved pouring hot iron on paper covered, wet cement, and after the iron had cooled, I collected a few of the pieces.   They are below.  Lots of biomorphic shapes with long tendrils.  One of them reminds me of a gecko.

  I then used them to create rust marks on paper by soaking the paper in water with the iron pieces on top.  The resulting marks and shapes reflect the iron pieces, but have their own character.  I have used rust in my recent art work so this is an extension of that inquiry.

There is one more step in the process.  You will have to stay tuned for the result.  I will post it tomorrow.



Below are four 4 x 6 inch postcards to be.

I have been sending (and receiving) artist postcards for the last three years to (and from) my critique group.  We are 5 artists who have been meeting for 15 years. The group has been active that long, but  some members joined after the group first formed.

Ring of Fire--Performance

More hot iron

This is the ladle just after pouring hot iron into the molds.

Iron Pour at Haystack

For the last few years one of the highlights of the MassArt Alumni Retreat has been an iron pour.  Josh Dow and Lauren Holmgren of the Green Foundry in Eliot, Maine and Laurie Carmen organized the effort.  All are MassArt Alums and members of the Iron Guild.  The Iron Guild does performances in New England and New York.  We were treated to a performance on Saturday Night.

Josh instructing the troops

My husband, Doug, filling his ladle with hot iron

Pouring iron into molds

We prepared a sand mold using found objects or by scratching into the sand.  Into the mold, molten iron would be poured creating an iron tile with a low relief image on it.  Many hands helped stoke the fire and ladle the hot iron into the molds.





The iron pour is a favorite with everyone--how can you not like fire and molten metal.  It is a finely timed and choreographed event.  Sparks fly, iron flows reminding us of our primal and elemental beginnings.

More Haystack

The weather held for the cyanotype workshop.  The process uses sunlight to expose the prints.  The first step is to coat the paper with an emulsion, dry it and then put it outside in the sun.  The areas exposed to UV light (sunlight) turn blue, those not exposed will be the color of the paper or fabric substrate.  The attached image is a photogram.  I used actual objects to block the light.  Photographic negatives can be used, too.  I often print one of my digital images onto transparency film and use it as my negative.

Haystack Day One

I taught two workshops, the first, a monoprinting process using gelatin as the plate. The second was cyanotype, a 19th century photo technique. For both, we used objects found on the Haystack campus to create imagery. The attached photo is of a gelatin monoprint I did a couple of years ago.

Haystack--Arrival

GeoTagged, [N42.34900, E71.08510]

You may have noticed that I didn't post while at Haystack--the internet connection was intermittent and slow. That is actually a good thing, given that it is a retreat.

We arrived a week ago to perfect weather. I sat outside and greeted everyone and gave them cabin assignments. The first night is faculty introductions. I showed slides of my work and then hurried off to prepare for the workshop I was to teach the next day. This image is from outside the dining hall looking toward the water.