Thursday

Brought home another tub of oysters shells. That makes four tubs and more to come. I go each day now to pick up more. The shells are all off behind my studio (which was my garage) and I don't think the stench or the flies are bothering anyone. I'll pour a little Clorox water on them from time to time and let the sun and heat and bugs take care of things.
Catarina was over today to sew on the banquet chandelier. I hardly know how to describe it or photograph this piece. It is so bizarre and yet it seems to work. Here's a photo of it but really needs to be hanging against a simple background. Have no idea what kind of light bulbs I'll use with it.

I did get more light bulbs for the oil pipe drilling parts that I had made into lamps. I them them and not sure whether they'll be on the floor or on a table during the exhibition. They come in series of one, two or three all linked together with transparent wires. The idea was a good one.

Also baked some more dishes today. They'd been 'drying' on the kitchen counter for a day after being written or drawn on. Can't remember where I found those two painted red compotes, but I like them and drew with gold all over them. They looked gorgeous in the oven.
Have to get busy on the invitation postcard next. I am meeting with the folks at Diverse Works tomorrow and that's a good thing.

Wednesday After Four Hours of Sleep

So what's new? Another busy day that began with an extracurricular early morning meeting at 7:30 a.m. I had plenty of time to get there. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and never went back to sleep. I am more than tired tonight. But made the most of the day.
After the meeting, Catarina and I went to the management district offices and moved three tables back across the street to my Harrisburg studio in order to reassemble the 'banquet' table which is made with six 36 inch square tables. None of this is fun in the heat. The studio is as breathtakingly hot as the street, but we persevered and got the big drop cloth on over the tables. It's perfect. Touches the floor on all four sides. Then we overlayed the patch work cloth and it's all going to work. I just have to paint patterns on the drop cloth with house paint. That's next.
Catarina also counted all the filigreed Clorox bottles. There are 51 in the Harrisburg studio. Plus more at home that Carmella's made. Imagine that many bottles in one chandelier.

Had a late lunch at Irma's with a friend and then went back to the district to look at all the photos on their server. I'd taken so many over the years and a few days ago, I decided I'd like to use some in the collages I'm working on. I sat there and sorted through hundreds of images. I love doing it. My daughters are sure that should I become dementia-impaired in my very old age, they can give me a box of photographs or perhaps a lap top and I will be fully entertained sorting and arranging images. They think I may even use the same collection day after day. Perhaps. All these thoughts are certainly the result of mom's decline into dementia. The girls are looking at their grandmother and now are looking ahead and fearing the worst for their mom. OK, back to the photos for Second Seating. I found a real trove of images I'd taken and have a CD just chock full to print and use. Nice afternoon.



On the way home, I stopped at Value Village and bought a few more plates. That stack on the lower left cost we $5. 26. Not bad. I have all of these to write on. A batch I finished the other day is now in the oven baking at 300 degrees.
And there are more on the counter waiting to bake. We'll have that wall of plates at Second Seating for sure.
My today is over.

Nine Women

Partnerships, collaborations and sharing are the things that make a project work. I don't think there is anyone who creates anything without lots of help and encouragement and the skills and talents of others. So it is with Second Seating. There are dozens of people who've gone out of their way to move this project forward. The list grows longer every single day.
I think of all the women who sewed on the very large 10 x 14 foot patchwork banquet tablecloth.
It's made from fabrics salvaged from Hurricane Ike flood waters. First, there was the lady who owned these fabrics and stored them in her garage where they flooded last fall during the hurricane. She hauled these sodden, mildewed fabrics out to the driveway and I walked past one day and asked about the mounds of velvets and brocades. "Take as much as you want," she said. "I can't look at them any more."

After washing and drying load after load, and ruining my dryer in the process, I arranged the fabrics on a big drop cloth in the Harrisburg studio, mixing and matching until it all looked like 'something'. Then we must have used a 1000 pins to hold it together.
Irina sewed with Catarina for several afternoons and then suggested that we move our work from drop cloth on the floor to a big table which made sense. we could sit in chairs.

Next, we scheduled sewing bees. Virginia came and so did Evelyn Pat joined us. Hedy took a turn in the early spring too. Each of these women arrived at a warehouse studio and together we pushed needles strung with embroidery floss through layers of velvet, brocade, silk and linen. It wasn't always easy going. We needed thimbles, so Evelyn brought a thimble or two with her. We ate strawberries and cookies too.

Catarina has given more hours to this sewing project than we can count. She spent almost every afternoon of her spring break sewing. She spent every afternoon last week working to complete this patchwork. Catarina was joined by Evelyn one afternoon, Irina another. Roanne was with us the last hour of the last afternoon. There were three of us sewing when the piece was finally finished. Roanne, Catarina and I put those final stitches in place. Perhaps a toast was in order?
Nine women stitched away until there we had one giant banquet table cloth. Thank you all for every single stitch.

Monday

Every day so much gets accomplished and yet it's all just a drop in the bucket because there is so much to do. I"ll recount what went on today. Woke up late at 8:10. Unheard of. Had a breakfast meeting with Modelle at 9:00 at Irma's. Wanted to show her the exhibition space and all of its quirks so she can assist with the process of getting a 90 day occupancy permit from the city. The electrical contractor is to be there this week to take care of the list of requirements given in the inspectors' report. Hope everything gets done the first time around.
Breakfast, of course, was grand. Love the migas and I covered the whole plate with Irma's salsa. Wasn't hungry until nearly 3:00 p.m.
After a tour of the Second Seating space, we drove over to Corporate Outfitters where, months ago, I saw two French looking chairs that would have been perfect for Bayou, Bay, Beach, had I purchased them when I first found them.
Eli remembered them and my wish to buy them for the show. But gone they were, sold, and I could kick myself for not ever calling him, not getting myself there in a timely way. So now I need to rethink chairs for that table that will be surrounded by thousands of oyster shells and trash.

A good thing about this particular tableau? I am now collecting plastic tubs of oysters shells from a seafood restaurant. Bought three tubs and will rotate them as they are filled with shells. They asked me today just how many tubs I'd need. I did not say that at least 50 tubs would be grand. I couldn't even lift the first tub into the back of my car. Poured the shells all out by the side of the garage to be picked over by ants, flies, rats and whatever other small animals might like to clean them for a snack. Need to pour a little bleach over them too. Smell is awful. However, I am more than delighted to have found a willing source for shells and we have time enough for them to dry out before they're needed. And collecting these shells for Second Seating is a good idea? I tend to see an image in my mind and have no idea what it takes to make it real. If I were a painter, would it be easier?
After lamenting the missing chairs (I'd even photographed them months ago), Modelle and I went on to the Harrisburg studio to gather the white tablecloths that were rolled and strung with filigreed Clorox bottles. Moving that chandelier around and letting the ends of the tablecloths drift along a dirty floor or two messed them up. As I have no clothes dryer (and that is a story for Rockbridge Times), Modelle will wash them and then I'll reassemble the entire chandelier, perhaps right there at Irma's in the space itself? When we are installing the show. Not a bad idea.
Modelle and I were so hot, with sweat running down our cheeks, that we dashed across the street to the East End mangement district offices for cold water. Found Sherri Oldham reviewing all of the photos we'd taken over the years of district activities and projects. Martin has very neatly cataloged them all on our server. Just this weekend, I'd decided to ask if I could peruse these district photos, many of which I've taken. Decided that the collages for Second Seating needed more than food images. They need East End images and there is no sense in retaking what I've already photographed. So will get there perhaps on Tuesday afternoon and wander through those digital files.

At the right, for instance, is a photo of some of the folks who attended the celebration for the completion of Jesse Sifuentes' mural on the side of Rex Supply on Harrisburg. There were almost 100 people at that reception.
Came home and spent time with emails, called folks and made an appointment to talk more about the parrot chandelier. Then headed over to Jesse's to see the progress on the coffee mug buffet. And progress, there's been. He's leaving on a vacation shortly so it won't be complete until the end of July, but I can see how it's going to be when finished. It's a mural that continues on down the sides of the table and somehow it reminds me of folk art. It will be quite wonderful.
The top of the buffet opens up so one can store coffee urns and cups inside the piece. Each side of the buffet is covered with coffee mugs and Jesse is putting each cup in with great thought. Colors blend with the bits of mural that run from the buffet top down each leg. He's got stencils of an old Model T Ford along one edge as a reminder that that great coffee plant on Harrisburg was once a Ford Assembly plant back in the day.
Back at home, Catarina worked on the fabric covered chandelier attaching drop crystals first with pins and then with thread. Haven't gotten a good photo of that piece yet, but here is a detail.

So, is it a waste of time to catalog the day when I could have been out mixing and matching for another collage? This does give me time to think, though I am truly thinking about Second Seating about 90 % of my waking moments.
Also working on text for the show. Found snippets that I wrote last February for the Clorox table. How nice to find these words and they still work and will be just fine.
Melissa is emailing me oyster facts and figures so we are on our way to text for Bayou, Bay, Beach too. Adding to the an ever longer list of all the people who are contributing their time and talents to Second Seating. I am continually amazed that so many are willing to play a part in this expanding effort. Perhaps I should post some names?
This is twelve hours of Monday.

The Eyes Could 'See' This Evening

Well, a more successful evening in the studio than I had the last time I tried to make a collage. Last week I gave up and tore everything apart and locked the door on it all. Tonight, a few things came together. Nothing glued down yet, but two or three collages look like they'll turn into something. You just never know what's going to happen. Used that little painted plate and spoon again. This time I think I like what's happening with the images. This time it may all work.
The less than stellar lighting in my studio made it hard to photograph tonight's work and to avoid glare I shot from low sideways angles. But you get the idea. These may turn into something for Second Seating.

The "Before" Space

Right after this July 4 holiday, an electrical contractor will work in the Second Seating exhibition space, bringing it up to code so that a 90 day occupancy permit will be forthcoming from the city and the show will go on.
Here's a 'before' photo. During the month of July, Irma will clear out the space and fix the leaky roof and I'll have electrical work done and call in a cleaning crew to power wash the concrete floor and whatever else we deem necessary before a few lengths of Sheetrock will be installed here and there and painted terracotta, mustard and chartreuse. All of this before Labor Day, if we adhere to a schedule that allows for enough time in September to live with the dinner tables and chandeliers in the space, moving them a bit here and a bit over there until it's all just right.

Now off to celebrate July 4 and hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud. Not a bad idea to listen to those words at least once every year.

Patchwork Done, 1000 More Things To Do

I sat down with my lap top this morning and resolved to update the Second Seating inventory of 'things to be done' for each dinner table and chandelier. Found that my original list made less than a month ago did not even include every table or chandelier. Opps! I now have five pages of notes that itemize each task that must be completed before a table or chandelier is ready for installation. I am sure there are things I've forgotten, even though my mind is very focused. Also wrote an email to all the artist participants, giving dates when things should be wrapping up, dates for photographing their work, invitation mailing times, on and on. At least, we will all be in the same loop. Note that these five pages do not include tasks to get the space ready, to catch up with media, to raise more funds, to keep up with correspondence. More lists to make and begin to check off and delegate.
Rewarded myself with a trip to Brothers Tacos for their Thursday special which is my absolute favorite rendition of green chicken enchiladas with Mexican creama and crumbled white cheese, mixed with their green salsa and refried beans and rice. It is a lunch special to savor and remember.
This afternoon I met Catarina over at the district board room where we've been sewing every afternoon this week. Yesterday she began at 11:30 a.m. and about 4:00 in the afternoon, she fell sound asleep right on the table where we sewed.

Every day someone comes to join us. Irina was there yesterday and Evelyn the day before that. We cover so much more ground with two or three sewers.

This afternoon Roanne came by and she put in some of the last stitches on this gigantic piece of patchwork. It is done. Unbelievable. And about time. I first pinned it all together on the floor of the Harrisburg studio on a large paint drop cloth in February. I think. I'd have to reread this blog to know just when. Then Catarina spent her spring break sewing on it. We had several sewing bees in early spring. Virginia came and Pat and Evelyn all came to sew. Irina came several times. I can tell where she sewed. The stitches are so evenly spaced. I remember the big piece of patchwork that Pat sewed. It's fun to see the different styles and ways of doing things.I'll tell you, I like managing the project more than some of the actual work. Those collages I'm assembling? I have always liked assembling them better than gluing the pieces down. I am not a great gluer and truly mess up many times and must cover one thing with another.
I don't mind sewing. And there is plenty of sewing in Second Seating. However, once I've thought something through, like the tablecloth, I'm ready to plan the next thing. It's more fun for me to imagine things, to gather ideas and to work things through in my head, to make the calls that move the project forward .
Actually, Irina and I had a really nice time last weekend sewing ruffles and scrunched silk fabrics on to the metal circles of that new chandelier that now needs drop crystals. We had a good visit that I wouldn't have missed. Perhaps Catarina can sew the crystals on while I write more commentary and text? So it goes, from day to day.