march 31

@ 12p | 2 cents...

We are in the process of moving hosts, so things may be a little wierd around here for a bit. Hopefully, our new home will treat us much better than our old one. Who knows, I may be able to set up comments soon.

march 26

@ 10a | 2 cents...

Above is the pastel that I finished last night. We went to Lowe's to buy framing hardware and after the electric drill is finished charging, I can get started.

I have two places lined up to show my artwork in the next few months. A local coffeehouse starting mid-April and my workplace in May. I am also mailing in an application to the Southeastern Pastel Society for membership in the next week or so.

march 25

@ 9a | 2 cents...

I finished the design for the new waterfalls page and I'm leaving it open to add more photos of other waterfalls as we visit them.

I also started a new pastel last night of a purple pansy. I'll add the finishing touches tonight, put hangers on the others I've already framed and I'll have 8 pastel paintings ready to go!

Wish me luck on my haircut this afternoon. :)

This or That Tuesday: arts edition

1. Poetry or prose? Poetry.
2. Funky modern art or the older, "classic" variety? Classic.
3. Sculptures or paintings? I paint and I can't sculpt to save my life, but I can appreciate it.
4. Theatre: exuberant musical or serious drama? Musical.
5. Ballet or modern dance? Neither, ugh.
6. Movies: major studio or indie? Either, but I love 'discovering' good indie films.
7. Authors: Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss? Dr. Seuss.
8. TV: PBS or A&E? PBS.
9. Music: Beethoven or Beatles? The Beatles.
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You are a contributing member of your favorite art museum, and visit on a regular basis. They announce a new, temporary special exhibit by an artist surrounded by controversy...this person's work and/or political views offend you. Do you stop supporting the museum, or just stay away during the time the exhibit is there? I would just stay away from the exhibit. Plenty of museums have pieces that I don't care for, but if I like the place enough to visit regularly, one exhibit isn't going to make me drop the place.

march 24

@ 12p | 2 cents...

Hi there. Yes, I am still alive and well. :) Our vacation went swimmingly and frankly, I wish we could have stayed much longer in the Sunshine State. But, I'm back at work now catching up on things that have piled up in my absence. The Florida photos are here and since we visited several waterfalls in north Georgia this past weekend, I've decided to create a waterfall map page with links to all of our waterfall photos. Look for that near the end of the week.

By the way, we found Minnehaha Falls this time.

march 12

@ 10a | 2 cents...

The above photo is the pastel I have been working on for the last two evenings. It's 10x14 inches and called "one times one". If you like what you see, visit more of my pastel paintings here. Tonight will be decidedly less exciting as I will be doing laundry and packing for our trip to Florida.

march 11

@ 10a | 2 cents...

The Wau Wau Sisters show on Friday was, in a word, interesting. I think Eric was ready to kill me for dragging him to this thing and keeping him out until almost 2am. I was expecting a little more of a variety show, but what we got was 35 minutes of singing, then a 30 minute DJ break, a four minute trapeze routine, another 40 DJ minute break, and lastly, a four minute dance routine. Eric (thankfully) liked the DJ part some, but I was pretty disappointed. Plus, the opening comedian was a white guy imitating Richard Pryor, and it wasn't funny.

My host has been playing a few games of "server-death with no explanation" lately, so we have been searching for a new place to park ourselves. I think we have decided on a new host, but the switch will have to wait until after our trip to Florida.

Good news! Remember the summer camp class I might be teaching this summer? Well, it's official. My two references gave me great reviews and the coordinators seemed impressed with my portfolio. And... they are going to pay me $35 an hour. :)

Since the weather was beautiful and warm this weekend, we decided to locate a few waterfalls in north Georgia. Although we only found one of the two we were looking for (photos here), the trip was fun. Once arriving at the Lake Rabun recreational area, we drove 20 miles of twisty mountain roads looking for two trailheads. We only saw one other person near Bad Branch Falls and he was coming as we were leaving (also driving a Saturn!) The other waterfall, Minnehaha Falls, was much more elusive. We never found the "marked trail" to lead us on a 5 minute walk to the falls. Better luck next time with better directions, I think. We rounded out the trip with a visit to Tallulah Gorge. It was rather empty because the aesthetic water releases don't start until mid-April, but uncrowded and beautiful. We spent some time chatting with one of the interpretive center guides about getting a permit to hike down to the gorge floor. We'll probably pick a weekday this spring and spend a few hours climbing steep hills and steps for some beautiful views.

I started working on another pastel last night from a photograph of two peach tulips taken at the Garfield Park Conservatory last March. It's a bit bigger and on lighter paper than the last few I've completed, but I enjoy expanding my creativity.

march 7

@ 1p | 2 cents...

I am currently taking a lunch break from starring in the third set of chemistry demo videos for an online class. It's not Hollywood, but it's nice to get out of the office for a few hours.

The chance of me teaching that summmer camp class is looking very good. I have to bring my portfolio by the CEP office on Monday and give them a specific supply list, but it's becoming likely I'll have a class of 11-14 year olds for a week this summer.

We plan on crashing the 40 Watt tonight to see the Wau Wau Sisters perform and if the weather improves, we'll be looking for a new place to hike this weekend.

The Friday Five

1. What was the last song you heard? "You're One" by Imperial Teen
2. What were the last two movies you saw? Undercover Brother and Big Night.
3. What were the last three things you purchased? Three 9x12 sketch pads from Michaels, black pastel, white charcoal, and white bristol board pads.
4. What four things do you need to do this weekend? Pilates video, complete another pastel, wash our duvet cover, and attend a friend's art show.
5. Who are the last five people you talked to? Rachel, Andy, George, David, Jamie.

march 3

@ 11a | 2 cents...

My parents stopped off for a night this weekend on their way back home to Chicago. We had a great dinner and brunch and after I took a nap, Eric and I went to the botanical gardens for an hour hike. Since we spent most of Saturday morning cleaning the house, I feel like the weekend just flew by.

We rented Italian for Beginners and got through about 10 minutes before we turned it off. We may try to watch it again before the Wednesday due date, but the movie looks like it was shot with a hand cam, poor sound, and shaky cinematography. Maybe the story is really good (and that's why Miramax released it), but we were not going to watch someone's home movie on Friday night. IMDB says, "The film adheres to the Dogme95 rules by abolishing props, lighting and costumes from the set. This film was not only a success with critics, it was also a mega-hit with audiences." I was not expecting such a poorly shot movie and I'm pretty sure I didn't read about the Dogme95 rules on the back of the DVD.

And when did they start putting cereal box toys on top of the bag of cereal in the box? Part of the delight in childhood was digging the toy out of the freshly-opened box of Cheerios! While grocery shopping, I happened to grab a box of CTC with a die cast NASCAR car inside. So, imagine my surprise when I open the box this morning and find the car in it's plastic wrapper sitting right on top... where's the fun in that?