Saturday, A Very Good Day

We got a lot done today. Finally got the wall of plates 'right' with lots of bright pink checkerboard pattern along the edges in tandem with Aggie's little strips of metal cans. Suddenly, I knew I had it. It's been days, but it happened this morning.Nathan arrived to see why the big can lights aren't working and then he went off to Home Depot to buy fluorescent lights for the tracks. There simply is not enough light and he has a job ahead of him. On Monday, he may have to buy all new light bulbs for everything and reinstall.
Mark and Moises brought ever more of that green corrugated metal from behind my studio and filled the space between the metal walls and rebar on the back wall near the Bayou, Bay, Beach table and it is remarkable how good it looks. Pulls the whole back of the space together.
Early this morning I finally, at long last, drilled holes in the sheets of Plexi and got them nailed to the collage frames and then carted them to the space. We've not hung them yet because we got busy on the table top for that Bayou, Bay, Beach tableau. We are adding more 'plastic' besides plastic bottles amongst the oyster shells. Whole thing will be brocade, fishing nets and plastic. I actually need some more silver scalloped shells. I thought I had enough, but I could use more. Amazing.
Irina brought us sandwiches from Whole Foods which was a lovely thing to do. Late in the afternoon, I finished two more columns for the Clorox chandelier so that's done now and level. Also like the table top, such as it is, for the bale of compressed cans and so Moises and I put all the oil drilling pipe lights on the table 'just to see.'
This evening I looked through all of my fabrics wishing I had a very formal white linen table runner with cut work to spread over the center of this 'found' sign that is the table top. Instead I have a collection of great fabrics, including some old red velvet draperies I bought in Galveston years ago with Irina which sheds, but may be the very thing for this crazy table. Hope it works.Ended the day at El Rey with Cuban tacos. Time to shower and get into bed. Haven't even taken the NYT out of its blue plastic wrapper in two days. Simply working.

Eight Days From Now

A week from tomorrow, dusk will come and then night and the Second Seating chandeliers will hover over our heads spreading magic and there'll be a bevy of twinkling LED throwies on the walls too. The Second Seating chandeliers are quite simply spelling binding at night. We were there working until nearly 10:00 p.m. and it's soul satisfying just to be near these magic sources of light.
What a day! Mark and Alex and I were busy until early afternoon bringing things into the space. Alex brought the last of the oyster shells. I wish we'd weighed them all or counted the tubs of shells he hosed and trucked down to the space. Mark and I are continually engaged in conversations about that banquet table which is really one big series of tableaus. He's very good at them and you already know, tableaus are my favorite thing. As we worked away at it all today, the table that appeared so crowded at my Harrisburg studio is not so crowded in this new space. There's stuff left, but not particularly wonderful stuff. And we need more. No, I will not go to Value Village or The Guild Shop one more time. I may dig into stuff I packed away a year ago for this occasion. We'll see. The thing is, everything on that particular table is salvaged from a thrift shop, a garage sale, a closet, Hurricane Ike, an oil refinery and the street. And it's beautiful. Perhaps the lesson here is that you can make a celebration out of anything if you're into tableaus and lights.This afternoon, Moises arrived and he and Mark and I worked on in the space until well after 9:00. Moises finished painting the shelves for the Wall of Plates that I'd been working on most of the day. We'll tack on some of Aggie's wonderful metal 'rick-rack' of sorts and get those plates up along with Jose Solis' vertical wall piece. It will really take shape tomorrow. We took a break to eat take-out from Kim Som on Irma's patio and I for one, really wished for very cold beer.
Got home near 10:00 and wrote a draft of a letter for all the underwriters with a special invite to the opening. Modelle will help me get those out tomorrow. I'm having that beer as I write and off load some wonderful photos of Second Seating.The chandeliers are magic at night. We need to have lots of private parties there in October. How I love installation spaces.

The Work Is Rolling In

Did I ever doubt that the eight artists participating in Second Seating would produce wonderful work? No, never. Did I ever wonder when I'd see work finished and ready for installation? Sometimes. But this weekend, I've been overwhelmed seeing their stuff and suddenly I am wondering how all of it will fit into the space. Will we have to edit, pare down so what finally makes the cut really works with everything else and creates the atmosphere that is Second Seating? An interesting question and a lovely dilemma.
Here's what I've been looking at in the last few days in addition to my own foray today into affixing photo decals to my stack of plates that need embellishment. I've put this decal stuff off for months because I had a bad start, but today I am into it and it seems to be working.
And here are some of the good things I've been seeing from other Second Seating artists.
Just look at Jesse Sifuentes' new batiks. This one is 8 1/2 ft x 9 ft. I think it will go along the back wall of the space with good lighting on it. He's got a lot more pressing to do to get the wax off. I don't envy him the hours in the steamy outdoors attending to this. The pattern is the same one he'll use on a METRO transit stop along Harrisburg. Jesse is one of the artists selected for the public art component of METRO's mass transit corridors.
Jesse has more batiks to press wax from - all with coffee production motifs. Look at this next one sideways because it's a vertical piece on a horizontal clothes line at the moment. He's even got a Model T Ford in the right foreground because the coffee plant on Harrisburg was a Ford car plant long ago. It's been a coffee plant for over 50 years. Used to belong to Kraft Foods Maxwell House but Maximus Coffee Group, LP bought the place several years ago and is still roasting coffee beans and produces most of the decaf imbibed by the entire country.
Here's Victor Rodriguez' biggest parrot pinata with almost 15 ft of wing span. Gorgeous bird and it will lead a flock into the space from the back entrance.
And Jose sent some photos - so happy to see them. He's used a bunch of those blue Riesling wine bottles Irma and I took him last January. Love those bottles and I think I'm going to love this piece and I see a light bulb in the middle of it.
Here's a wall piece. A sort of wonderfully strange totem. I love it.

Oyster Valentines

Remember all those oysters shells I collected throughout July for Second Seating's 'Bayou, Bay, Beach' dinner table? Yes, those oyster shells, the hundreds that are being cleaned and bleached by natural means out behind my garage. I keep going out to the oyster pile with a colander to look for the prettiest, the best shells. I bring a dozen or two back into my kitchen, scrub them in the sink with warm soapy water and set them all over the counter to dry.
A couple of days ago, I wrote words on a dozen shells. Just to see. I really liked the shells with their golden words. In fact, I wondered what it would be like to be served a platter of fresh oysters, discovering words in gold as one oyster after another filled my mouth with their briney sea taste.
Have raw oysters ever been served that way? Could one do this for a dinner party?
Tonight, I wrote with gold paint on all the dozens of oyster shells on my kitchen counter. Simple words. Mostly 'yes' and 'love' and a few 'perhaps' and 'kisses.'
The repetition of writing the word 'yes' was a positive thing. It ended up being a yes to life itself.
Yes, yes, yes. And a little love while we're at it.

Epiphany: Text In All the Right Places

So, yesterday was a cruel day when I felt I'd never assemble another collage, ever. Got a decent night's sleep and this morning I decided to try out the three markers I bought to draw on china and glass. Draw, then bake in a 300 degree oven and they are ready to hang on someone's wall. Yesterday I bought 50 cent yellow dinner and salad plates at Value Village and I decided to plunge in and write cryptic little messages around each plate rim. That worked, so I added a decorative border around the edge of each plate and that worked too. Then I brought in some vintage plates from the studio that are covered with flowers. Began to write among the flowers and I liked the way they looked. My floor is now covered with plates that dry for 24 hours and then spend those 30 minutes in a low oven. You can't eat off these plates and platters, but they will look great on someone's wall.
It was when I was writing on one of the last plates that I had an epiphany. I've been planning on adding text to each table. Hang tags like the ones I made for Marfa seemed the best idea and I still intend to make hang tags. However, I also decided to write on absolutely every dish, vase, goblet, copper gelatin mold and candlestick on that banquet table. Just a few words, a fragment on each. I know it will pull the table together and may pull the whole show together if done well.
One has to be in the right frame of mind to write small convoluted messages and this morning everything was working. And more 'happened' than just the writing on plates. It's the bigger idea of adding text to every single object's surface that made for a breakthrough moment. Ever onward.

The 'Houston Factor' and Second Seating

The Houston Chronicle published Ed Wulfe's op-ed piece yesterday and it sure takes me back to the days when Ed was on the Greater East End District board of directors. "Make (the) most of the Houston factor" is vintage Wulfe, an optimist, salesman and visionary like few others. I used to call him when a hard vote was coming before the district board and urge his attendance because his spirit could move the room in what I considered the 'right direction.'

Ed always said you never gave up until you'd asked at least seven times and I've found that a sure fire way to get things done. In fact, that's why I am writing about Ed's op-ed. It explains why 'Second Seating' is working so well. This art installation is definitely a Houston kind of show. 'Second Seating' is enterprising, based on commerce and industry. Houston's a business town, built with oil, yes, but built by developers who had visions of what it could be.


'Second Seating' is a lot like Houston. The idea was a vision that appeared shortly after I left my job as president of the Greater East End District. I knew a lot about East End businesses and the people who ran them. It seemed a natural thing to turn their products into art, thereby promoting the East End community I've grown to love.

It also seemed natural to ask for their help. I've spent a year asking for it all: money, in-kind services, advice, product and collaborations. Never doubting that in most cases, their answer would be yes. And the answer has been yes, far more times than I've heard the word no. And when I do hear a no, I simply wait awhile and think of another way to ask. And ask again. That's following Ed's 'seven times' idea.

'Second Seating' is working. I raised almost enough money to do just about anything I need to do for the exhibition. I've engaged half a dozen other artists who are skilled in painting, ceramics, assemblage. 'Second Seating' has partnerships with Houston Community College Eastside and with Ripley House-Neighborhood Centers, Inc. I found a studio space up on Harrisburg in which to work. I got a grant from The Idea Fund, a program of Diverse Works funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation.

And I found reasons that inspired well over a dozen East End companies to partner with me to make 'Second Seating' a reality. Who could ask for more? Is it hard work? You bet. But, it's also like playing a wonderful game, racking up points, securing a position, relying on others, fostering appreciation, giving lots of thanks to all the players. There are so many that are making it happen.

Here's what Ed wrote and I agree with every word. It works for me.

"Positive energy and passion go a long way — the Houston Factor. So, what’s your mindset? Are you working on expanding your network? We live in a friendly and open city. Now, more than ever, you should be reaching out and growing your relationships and contacts in your field and in our civic and cultural community.
Houstonians know how to work harder and understand that you must be aggressive and make things happen. They know they need to add value. That’s the Houston Factor. They understand the need to get out there and concentrate on what you’re doing and on your business, whether you are an employee or employer.
Houstonians believe in themselves, their business, and their city. They are leaders and innovators who are eager to learn more and grow as a person. Now is when you must become better informed and better equipped. Build your skills. Volunteer and help others. Be a team player. Be both responsive and responsible. That’s the Houston Factor. Besides your business and job, are you marketing yourself? Most people don’t look at themselves as a brand. And they don’t consider how to market that brand. We all should be doing that and, at the same time, marketing the Houston Factor."

Ed Wulfe askes, "Are you envisioning what’s next? Visioning is a big part of the Houston Factor. Where do you want to be when this ends? Because it will end and we’ll be back in new ways for exciting times. Houstonians are always ready to seize the moment. We have the Houston Factor on our side. Are you capitalizing on it?"

Yes. That's my answer.

More Inspires

Last night I backed up several thousand digital photos on a secondary hard drive and then spent an hour today deleting many of the same images from my laptop. Oh, and I can't simply delete images in large nameless groups. It took me almost an hour to move three thousand to the trash because I pondered over each one, even knowing that they were all backed up, still accessible.

I told Mary today that when I'm an old lady with signs of early dementia, I'll be easy to amuse. Just give me a screen and lots of images to consider. There is nothing I like to do more.


Here are some images I loved today and which may end up in 'Second Seating'. They include a hand painted china tea cup and saucer (scroll back upwards) and some really nice carnations we saw at Fred Meyer.


Please take a good look at all the images in this post and tell me next year when the installation is done whether or not you recognize any of them projected on those ceiling scrims. From whence comes my inspiration today.

There was the fruit garnish on my breakfast plate this morning along with a warm bread pudding made with chard, sausage chunks and cheese.

I have really good breakfasts in Portland because both Mary and Queta see breakfast as their favorite meal so they have found, and continue to find, wonderful little places that serve terrific breakfasts - and lattes too.
The day after Thanksgiving, Dave and Queta mixed up leftover cornbread stuffing, a little cranberry sauce, mashed potatos all together with green chiles in a cast iron skillet. They baked the whole thing in the oven after they dropped four eggs on the top. It was divine.

The image below is simply a pleasant photograph of the crackers we ate with an assortment of goat cheeses and Tillamook cheese curd. The dish has been in our family for several generations and Mary took ownership of it when Mom and Dad moved from Houston to Seattle for good.

Mary and I ate Thai for lunch today. We didn't leave much on our plates, did we?

What Inspires?

Well, very simply, quite a lot inspires. Each day, every moment there seems to be a surfeit of receptors inside of me that gather colors and shapes and objects - images, images coming from all directions - and continuously juxtapose them side by side, layer after layer. It's quite a show.

Add ideas for 'Second Seating' that zing in from god knows where - I filled six notebook pages with them on my trip to Portland a day ago. And they are good ideas too, many of which I'll incorporate into the whole. Maybe I was inspired because I was upgraded to first class and was served an omelet, decent coffee, yogurt and fresh fruit on real plates and bowls? As the plane landed, I agreed with the man who sat beside me (and who looked like Kevin Bacon, maybe), that the trip was good and as he added, uneventful. But was it really NOT uneventful for me. Instead, I sat in that first class seat brimming with ideas and possibilities, covering pages and pages of my old fashioned school notebook.


Two afternoons ago, I was inspired when I looked out my dining room windows and saw my screen porch and studio awash in that golden low late afternoon autumn sunlight. What a glorious place to work, listen to urban sounds and to contemplate.

Actually, I had a wonderful week, each day moved the production of this new exhibition forward. I found a second large studio space in the East End where I can put all the tables and accoutrements for this show and be able to develop each in relationship to all the rest. What a gift. A huge thank you to the person who made this space available. Having it feels like a green light to go. Next week, I'll have another friend with a truck and trailer help me move all the stuff I've collected thus far into the space. I can hardly wait to have it all in one place - and out where I can see it all - because it will really help move the design process forward. And I'll probably have a horrible sinking spell because it may look as if it makes no sense and I'll just have to keep adding until it does make sense.

I continue to take 'food photos' that I'll project on those billowing scrims. Have no idea what order they'll all take. Mary says I should put a series on You Tube or flickr and I think we'll try to do that this Thanksgiving weekend. Here is some of the food that's made its way to a table where I've eaten.

We ate sushi in the neighborhood just after I arrived, kind of an afternoon lunch of yellow tail and albacore tuna, unagi or eel and Sunny Special #1 Salmon. I think my favorite was the eel. Am remembering the eel at the Stockholm Restaurant next to the Abbey Hotel in New York where we always stayed as we travelled to and from Aruba. The restaurant had a Swedish smorgasbord and there was hardly a fish on the table that I didn't try. I was a very adventurous child when it came to eating and look where it's taking me now.

This morning we three at a late breakfast at the The Little Red Bike Cafe. I am not remembering the name of the egg sandwiches that we enjoyed, but they were good. Loved the patterns on the lattes.


We decided to visit Portland's new Museum of Contemporary Craft which has a show titled "Manuf®actured: The Conspicuous Transformation of Everyday Objects" that is very similar to the exhibition at the new Museum of Arts and Design on Columbus Circle in New York. Artists are using everyday packaging and recycled materials in fascinating ways. After the museum visit, we went to The Meadow on Mississippi Street for black Turkish salt. How about those blocks of quarried pink salt in their window? The afternoon light just lit them up.


Later, we landed at Flutter, recommended by Caroline, where we pondered well edited vintage satiny clothes, toys, books, feathered glass bird ornaments and chandeliers. Flutter was fairly wonderful. The owner really has a nice touch and edits well.

Earlier, we'd stopped at a tea shop where I ordered powdered green tea and was served what looked like a soup bowl of wheat grass. I have the feeling it was so loaded with goodness that I'll be alert and awake until well after Thanksgiving dinner, a full day and a half from now.


And what, you ask, has all of this activity today to do with developing 'Second Seating'? Everything. Because everything I see these days seems to relate to this emerging series of dining tables. I see 'Second Seating' everywhere. The 'seeing' inspires and when combined with this ever flowing river of ideas, the making 'Second Seating' is propelled forward. Someday other folks will 'see' what's in my head and on my mind.
Take a look at these images again. Perhaps they'll appear in some form or fashion on a strange and wonderful dinner table or as a scrap in a collage or as part of a fantasy chandelier. I even bought a LED light bulb today at Sunland, a more-than-amazing store on Mississippi Street, that changes colors from moment to moment. How would a dozen of such lights behave when paired with a bevy of tin cans encrusted with marbles?

What a week. Inspiration is good.