for the Restofus

Sweepings from a fallen christmas tree.

Happy birthday and Festivus to my youngest brother!

A New Thing

I recently enjoyed another scouting visit to Nashville. While there I got to meet Megan Lightell and see her painting studio. She is a smart and prolific artist, an active steward of the land where she lives, and a great point of contact for things land and art related. Very glad to get to spend time with her. You can see more of her landscapes here: Megan Lightell

Following the studio visit, I joined my cousin Peter Hart for a great tour of Ambrose Printing and helpful discussion/Q+A on the production side of printing. The Ambrose shop was humming with work and ink smells. So many machines printing, cutting, folding, collating, stapling, chopping, etcetera-ing at incredible speed. It was great to see and helped me think better about teaching print design and why we print things. Also saw there huge and inspiring wrapped bales of shredded paper waste and am trying to think about they could be used in land forms. Or moved cheaply for that matter.

I was aided and abetted to and from Nashville by the steadfast P-U-P. It is nice to be home with your dog. Since last I wrote the mourning sleeves were returned to me. But lo there was a new thing. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Look Back

I take back the things I said about not mourning Knoxville. I am sad and anxious to be leaving.

I've loaned out my mourning sleeves to some friends (whose grief is more significant than mine) but I thought of them tonight and would like to fling my arms out this way. [Interestingly, the woman shown below modeling the sleeves lives in Nashville.] Surely there will be great things to be born in this new future and something(s) must die to make way for the new, but that does not make it pleasant or easy.

I feel better just looking at these images. Perhaps the power in costume (and the other pieces in this series, Costumes to Save Your Life) is not that they alleviate the feelings of mourning (or despair, or so on), but that they give the sentiments new voice and direction. A trajectory. I'll take it.