Well, it took a few days, but I’m finally unpacked, recuperated, and my dining room table is (mostly) cleared off. Cain Park was a great show, and it was wonderful to meet so many lovely people!  As far as shows go (or anything for that manner), I have to say this was by far the nicest group of people I have ever met in a single sitting.  The show was a dream; short of being “discovered” and handed a million dollars, it was the most pleasant experience you could imagine.  There were dozens of volunteers offering to help, ample amenities, and the most perfect weather.  How could you go wrong?
My daughter was a wonderful help, and put on a cute little dress and her best personality and charmed anyone who dared come within 20 feet of her.  I called her my “door greeter”.  She called herself my “groundhog”.  (umm, “gofer”.  close enough.)  The most charming moment was when we were offered lunch during set up.  Seats were scarce, and artists shared tables and chatted with their new colleagues.  A gentleman asked if he might join our group if we’d have him, joking that he was sweaty from the heat.  She quickly replied something that I’m sure she meant to sound like “why certainly, we’d love to have you” but ended up coming out as “of course! We don’t mind that you’re so gross.”  As the Mastercard ad says, Priceless.

The great thing about doing shows is all the face to face interaction — chatting with people about what you do, getting lots of new ideas and inspiration, and my favorite: seeing people go from a brisk pace to slow motion, slack-jawed stop as their eyes catch something they like.

(The other best part of the show was Saturday night when my friend brought over rum and we made mojitos with the wild mint in my backyard, but that’s another story.  One that involves a certain metal artist who almost never drinks wipe out on the couch after half a glass of rum-flavored sugar mint water.  But we’ll save that for another day.)

Well,  I’d best get back to work… have lots of new things to share over the next few days, so stay tuned!

with love and wussy drinks………………………………Copper

So my good friend Kathy the Smashing informed me yesterday that the other day I promised that tomorrow I would share pictures and cool stuff with ya’ll.? I tried to remind her that today wasn’t tomorrow yet even if tomorrow was actually yesterday, but that didn’t fly.? (I had me pretty convinced, but at 11:45 p.m. that is a fairly easy gig.)? So being a person of my word, here you have it!

First, the chop-job.? (My friend coined the term “Spontaneous Home Haircut”, which I rather like).? I let my hair get rather long in the past six months, but after going through a gallon and a half of conditioner and snaking the tub drain no less than once I decided it was time for a change.? Now you know you’ve got a winner on your hands when you start at 10:30 p.m. high on Nyquil with help from an overzealous 15 year old.? (Just remember I’m not stupid, I’m adventurous.)? You are convinced it is destined for greatness when the first audible sound from her mouth after “I know, I know, I kneooow, mom” is “…oops.”? (Yes, really.)? But I can honestly say that I have never laughed so hard and had as much fun as I did that night — and my hair actually looks pretty darn good, if I do say so myself? (which I don’t have to, because she has been proudly declaring it so daily.)

Reactions from my students were overwhelmingly positive, except for the one lovely child who blurted out “Your husband let you DO that?!?!?”? I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’m not married, and quietly reminded myself that this is the same child who tried convincing me she was a vampire not long ago, and that she would probably grow up to be a healthy, happy cat lady some day.

Second, and much cooler thing, I am oh-so-proud to unveil photos on metal!!? The copper one is of my daughter from her younger, cuter, more stubborn but less flaky years:

The print quality is gorgeous, and I’m happy to announce that a custom version will soon be in my shop :}

The zinc plate is a a picture she took of herself — she’s becoming quite the photographer, and is loving the Photoshop Elements that I gave her for Christmas!? I hope to post more of her work, as it’s really quite good, and so great to see her fall in love with something artistic.? The print on zinc didn’t come out quite as nice as I had hoped (too much spottiness in the darks, but with a little tweaking the process has great potential.? The bluish tint to the zinc is lovely:

Let me know what you think!

…………………………………………………with love and locks, C.

ever have one of those weeks?? Where the roller coaster goes from zero to 60 to zero to backward to upside down and then gets stuck there? and you have to wait for five hours to get rescued?? and by “rescued”, I mean wait by the phone all afternoon to find out from the guy in the know if it’s bad news or really bad news?? Me TOO.

The week actually started off great — I got my copy of Studios in the mail, which was very exciting :}? (I’m on p. 118, cause, you know, you might look)? I took it in to show a colleague and one of my students got wind, and suddenly there were “high fives” all around? :}? (+5 because students are not known for thinking teachers are professionals.? Or actual people, most of the time.? They tend to believe we either sleep at school, or live in a box.)

Then… the blizzard hit.

Then… I found out I received a rather nice commission that I can’t really tell you about yet, but is quite exciting : }

Then… 12 more inches of snow and 2 more hours of shoveling.

Thursday was the ENDURE exhibit, a lovely event hosted by e4b, a beautiful office design showroom.? Had a chance to talk with some wonderful people, 90% of whose names have unfortunately escaped me.? (And by “escaped me” I mean I really really tried to learn them, but it is a skill I do not possess.? And by “90%” I mean give or take 10%.)

Then Friday hit.? Message on my cell that my daughter, who should be at school, is in the Emergency room.? Doing nothing even remotely educational.? In fact quite the opposite, as they were turning her little brain to mush by giving her loopy drugs that made her completely incoherent.? Meningitis was tossed around as a possible culprit, after she spiked a massive fever.? They confirmed bronchitis & influenza, but her dad opted out of the invasive meningitis test, which involves puncturing a hole in her spine (gahhhh).? Instead we’re on round-the-clock surveillance and high doses of meds to keep her fever in check til we go back in next week.? I’m not sure I’m qualified to monitor any kind of medical condition, but here I am.? Thoughts, suggestions, and bad jokes welcome.

This is gonna be a convoluted post; I’ll warn you ahead of time.? It will be kind of like one of those TV shows where the story line is so full of “intrigue” that it doesn’t really have a plot, and you can’t figure out who the characters are supposed to be so you just sit there and half watch with a confused look on your face.? (Okay, that would probably be more me than you.? Which is why I never watch TV.? You probably would have no problem understanding things and would just pray I didn’t ask stupid questions during the good parts.? But I digress.)? I’ll provide plenty of footnotes so you (er, I) can keep track.*

Long story short:**

Today was Christmas.***? My dad (who knows best), got his soon-to-be-out-of-work-teacher (me) just what she needed most: a Student.? BOY was I surprised.? I would have been fine with a sweater or bath products, but hey.****? Said Student and I had a great time reminiscing about the Good Old Days***** when he and Juvenile Delinquent sat together in my class.******? Turns out Student lives right behind my dad, and has been coming over regularly for guitar lessons.*******? We deemed him a Nice Boy, and sentenced him to play my daughter at air hockey (who before today had never lost to anyone in the state of Ohio, and has been quite unbearable about it).

…and a lovely time was had by all : ) ………………………….. C.
………………………………………………………………………………..

* cause I kinda want to see how many asterisks I can use in a single post : )? (no worries; it’s just a phase)
** Don’t you LOVE it when people say “Long story short…” and then proceed to give you a long story??? Me TOO.
*** Today was New Years.? But since everybody had the dreaded Pink Eye during Christmas, we decided to postpone Christmas to the next available holiday.
**** He also got me a HD gift card, and a free “phone-a-dad” request for help on a home improvement project.? (you know me soo well… : ) )
***** which weren’t old at all, and neither is he
****** JD was simultaneously one of two students in my teaching career that came verrry close to punching my lights out, and also one of an elite handful who has repeatedly come back to tell me how great I was.? enjoy the irony.? I know I have.
******* …and free food
******** Student – 1; Daughter – 3.? It’s a start.

Happiness is…

…a bowl full of freshly baked Christmas butter cookies left on your desk Monday morning by your colleague.? (who clearly has more weekend free time than you do, and my what lovely good use she put it to! : }? If you had free time, I’m sure you’d be doing the same.)

Now if I was a good blogger, I’d post pictures of said cookies to share with you all.? But I’m not.? And I’m not saying that since it’s Thursday and said butter cookies were delivered on Monday that there is the possibility of a chance that I ate them all and am now seriously craving more.? Nor am I saying that anyone needs to leave me offerings of butter cookies to gain my good graces [DARK CHOCOLATE IS GOOD TOO].? And I’m certainly not suggesting that I would ever resort to subliminal blog messages [OR CELERY STICKS]? to get more. ? [JUST KIDDING; COOKIES. GOT IT?]

Good.

Join us for?a sneak preview of our annual Holiday Collection,
this Saturday, November 14, 2009, from 3-7pm
at River Gallery, 19046 Old Detroit Road, Rocky River, Ohio.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Friday 11am-6pm
Saturday 11-5pm
Closed Sunday & Monday

The Old Detroit Road Shopping district is a charming neighborhood and the?best place to find the perfect gift for the holiday season.? Mitchell Sotka Antiques, Amy’s Shoes, Paper Trails, Devout Home and Solari
are some of the great shops that offer unique items for gift giving.

Tartine and Salmon Dave’s are steps away from the gallery and are wonderful restaurants.

Hope to see you there!

October is not only “Sweater Month”, “Perfect Cup of Tea” time,?and “For God’s Sake Turn on the Heat Already” month, it is also the start of Migraine Season.? For those of you who are no stranger to this phenomenon, I bid you condolences.? For those who are wondering what I’m talking about, consider this a Public Service Announcement.? Your friend, colleague, or random stranger could be suffering from a migraine right now — here’s how you can tell, and what you should do about it.

Headache or Migraine, How to Tell:

1. Ask the person to describe the pain.? If they say “My head hurts”, they have a headache.? If they say “It feels like someone is plunging an ice pick into my eye socket and slowly turning it counter-clockwise”, then it is a Migraine.? In fact, the more graphically they can describe the pain, the worse off they are.

2. If the person carries on like Gollum about how “the light hurts them”, it’s a Migraine.

3. If they are standing in a dark room and they still complain about the light, and you ask why and they explain that it’s the light in their imagination, oh yeah, it’s a doozy.

What you should, and should not, do:

1. DO NOT, under any circumstances, decide that this would be a good night to watch TV or listen to the radio.? They may just summon up the strength to kill you.

2. DO NOT utter the words “oh, I have a headache too” in an attempt to be sympathetic.? They will kill you, but only because that’s what they think you want.

3. DO NOT expect them to cook/ clean/ find things for you for at least 24 hours.

4. DO offer them a hot bath, cup of tea, warm compress and/ or drug of their choice.? DON’T expect them to coherently appreciate this.? Anything other than outright shrieking should be construed as positive — keep on doing what your doing.

5. DO offer to give them a massage.? (hey, it might not help, but it can’t hurt, right?)

…..yours with love and tylenol, C.

Just because you’re so awesome, you get your own blog post complete with birthday candles :}

Check out her amazing jewelry folks; upcycled from wine bottles from local restaurants…

Things you may not know about Urban:

1. Her favorite word is “funky”.?? Followed by “so awesome”.

2. Her favorite birthday gift so far is a glass grinder that her “he’s not my boyfriend” boyfriend gave her.

3. She started working with glass fragments after experiencing a string of robberies that left her with nothing but pieces.? She decided to make art out of the pieces.

4. She decided at 55 to become a professional photographer, and now she is.

5. Her dream job would involve traveling the world with a camera and blogging about her journeys.

6. She’s a lousy cook.? (I’m not saying that’s where I get it from…)

7. She has 40 years’ experience as a textile artist.? Jewelry is a new obsession.

8. She can convince anyone else of their talents!? But not herself.

9. She is an avid recycler.? And by “recycle” I don’t mean “puts it in a blue bag next to the trash”, I mean finds a way to use it to decorate her house.

Urban, have a wonderful birthday!!? Here’s to many more!

Okay, so it’s October.? You knew it was coming (October, that is) and you knew that eventually, say hypothetically sometime in October, it would get Cold.? “Cold” as in “cute little faux sweater” doesn’t cut it anymore.? “Cold” as in wearing clothes under clothes brings your body temp. back up near usable.? “Cold” as in you bribe small animals to come sit on your lap just so can soak up their body hea– I mean, so you can lovingly pet them, because you’re just nice like that.

No, really.

It’s not because you’re such a cheap bastard that you wait to turn that thermostat dial until you absolutely cannot take it any more because you know it means going from a $20 bill to a $100 bill, just for the sake of being able to feel your toes.? No, it’s because you’re froooogle.? And creative.

So here’s what ya gotta do.? Ya gotta make some muffins.? Or a casserole.? (A what?? A casserole.? You know.? Throw veggies & noodles in a dish and bake it.? Call it tetrizzini* or something.? No, not the microwave.? That door. on your stove.? No, that’s your broiler.? nevermind.)

Now my theory is that by baking your dinner, you essentially kill two birds with one stone.? You get to eat, and you get to live.? Thawed-style.? No one says you actually have to eat the dinner.? You just have to bake it in the oven.? (No one says you have to close oven door, either.)

Believe it or not, I used to bake all the time.? Mostly before my daughter was born.**? Haven’t had much time or energy since, what with work and kid and work and homework and work and housework and momtaxi and oh yeah, sleep.? (Sometimes.)? But I do still enjoy it.? Even if I have to resort to muffins-in-a-box instead of light, fluffy powdery flour and spices and fruit muffins.***

The only little teeny problem is that I really am a cheap bastard, and instead of buying the box-o’-muffins, I bought the “bag-a-muffin”, for a savings of approx. 82%.? But instead of making oh, say a dozen muffins or some other normal number, it apparently makes…? five.

really.

So instead of having a warm fuzzy comfort food moment in front of my stove, I dirtied a spatula and a bowl so I could have ten minutes worth of heat and five crappy “banana” muffins.

But you, you my friend, are smarter than that.? You know that in order to stay warm, all you have to do is show up at my door right now and not only will I have resigned to turning on my heat full-blast in protest, but you will also get a free complimentary muffin**** to go with your lap kitty and blanket.

with love and warmth and kitties…

C.

* no, I don’t know how to spell it.? But neither do you : P

** anyone else catch the irony that I was the perfect June Cleaver up to the point of when I actually had a kid?? Me either.? Til just now.

*** those were the days… when you measured cinnamon by how many dozen times you patted the bottom of the shaker jar.

**** limit five

If your daughter’s marching band is playing for the Big Football Game, and the game is an hour and a half long, and she practiced for roughly 56 hours this week (but who’s counting), and the weather is rain-mixed-with-hail-with-a-90% chance-of-crappy, how long will her “Thriller/Eye of the Tiger/Rock & Roll Part 2″ medley be?

a) 8 minutes

b) 8 minutes, but feels like 30 if the temperature of the bleachers is -20 degrees (Einstein’s “Band Medley” Theory of Relativity)

c) what medley?? I stayed home and took a bubble bath : P *

* lest you think I am a horrible mom, the game was called due to crappy weather (did I call it or what?)? The kids decided to stay and play in the mud anyway; the parents went home and had a glass of wine/ bubble bath/ movie and waited for their young to fully wear themselves out.? By the next day, after everyone had showered and slept in, all was right with the world.