My New Endeavor Is.....!

Customizing bike frames! Here are some photos of the frame I customized for the Sopo Bicycle Frame Show/Auction which has been up at Radial Cafe since April 1st. The show will hang until April 26, at which time a closing reception is in order (during which yours truly will be providing a bit of musical entertainment as well!).

It's funny because my existing bike's frame is practically a twin to the one I chose to make over. They're brother & sister! Alright, have a look see:

Recap: Richmond, Virginia.

So last week I traveled to Richmond, VA to take part in the Southern Graphics Council conference-the largest gathering of printmakers in the country. This was my third SGC and since the funds were low, I stayed with some old friends of mine who moved down from Chicago about a year ago to start their own mobile printshop. Being on the outskirts of the downtown gave me a better picture of the city and allowed me to soak in more of the Richmond flavor, thanks to their generous bike tours and eatery recommendations. (thanks Andrea and Kevin!). It was a damn good trip. Here are some pictures to prove it:

Crossing the state line looks like this out the window...

Soaking in the sunshine in the backyard.
Richmond is very bike friendly which made me a happy girl.
The houses are unique. Richmond-ites also apparently love the color red.
The trees were a'bloom everywhere.
We rode around until we found a hill and a good view of the river.
Then we found a bamboo patch! It seems the wind had carried bamboo seeds up from the Japanese gardens down the hill.
Bamboo is beautiful. Especially up close.
Then Travis tried to climb the bamboo.
Then we found the bridge that takes you over the railroad tracks. The light was amazing there.
Found it! The James River.
I love being outside, especially when I can stand on a rock in the middle of a stream.
My affection for all things dirt continues.
I fell in love with this bag caught in branches underwater.It was vaguely reminiscent of a jellyfish.
I love this photograph.
We walked further upstream to Texas Beach, and as we rounded the bend we stumbled upon a man made fort!
And the remnants of a late night fire...
The river had sculpted beautiful circles into the rocks along its shores.
Then we biked back to the house and I took photos of the light in their apartment while everyone else slept. I'm calling these my 'faux, impromptu' still lives.



And then the night life/conference began:



















In a nutshell...
-girls at the SCAD rendezvous/reunion in Richmond
-the best pizza ever with Andrea & Kevin (our splendid hosts)
-my opening at Artspace Gallery
-Gallery 5's Repressed III opening (Travis and Kevin's work included)
-drinks at Bamboo Cafe with old and new friends. very awesome.
-Open portfolio at Landmark Theatre.
-Last night in Richmond: drinking at an English pub with a marvelous patio where I got to see my SCAD printshop partners in crime, Miss Lee and Miss Jenkins.

Now that was exhausting. Thanks Richmond for being a wonderful city to visit.

April Fools...?

I've always despised April Fools Day...well, except for the April Fools I spent in the US Virgin Islands with my family during which my siblings and I had the bright idea to make the Tang with salty ocean water. Now THAT was good stuff. But seriously, being a gullible person makes April 1st the worst day of the year. And this year it was a horrible day filled with bad feelings to begin with, so ironically I found myself embracing the wretched 'holiday' and wishing that it was all just a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

However, I've always been one to look on the bright side of things...so I resisted the impulse to write all about it and called my dad instead. (Alright, all together now: AWWWWW.)

Thankfully things are now picking up on the positive end. And before I forget-this weekend was actually really great too...Richmond, VA is a beautiful town with tons of interesting nooks & crannies to be explored. I promise to post photos of the places I did explore asap.

For those who don't know, I'm taking 2 classes this quarter at my workplace (SCAD-Atlanta) on top of my regular 9-6 workload. So far it's been great...not sure how I can get actual artwork produced and completed yet, but I've already learned a lot about letterpress and have started working on a photo lithograph in an attempt to conquer that process as well. Here are a couple shots of my in progress mylar drawing:
Yep, I was working at my desk.

Close-up.

I'll be exposing several plates and using different layers of drawing/photographs/color to do this one...wish me luck!

Speaking of being incredibly busy, I should sleep while I can. More photo updates soon!