Wow! I can't believe it's a new year already. This past month flew by, and was full of visits with family and friends.

I've uploaded a few new pieces, and below are photos of some other projects I've been working on:

We don't have a headboard for our bed. I have been wanting to make one out of a length of stockade fencing, but it's unavailable at our local housing supply until the spring. In the meantime, I really wanted to do something to pull the room together a little bit, and I think I've found a great solution. I got some light blue contact paper at a hardware store here in Astoria, and found a chocolate brown, faux suede drawer liner at The Container Store. I altered flocked wall paper patterns to create a wall design:

I've got a few plans up my sleeve for 2007, including a line of note cards and some other design projects. Happy New Year!

It's a gorgeous day - the sun is out, the sky is blue, it's a perfect warm, fall day. This is always my favorite season. There is something about the cool air, the golden light, the color of the changing leaves and the smells of autumn that is totally invigorating. It's the best time for me to get back in the studio and start preparing projects to get me through the long winter months ahead.

I had a craving for the original Cheese Bread from Klein's Market in Bel Air, MD, so I made my own this weekend. I made challah and just kneaded some grated cheddar into the dough, and it is amazing - we've almost eaten both loaves.

Additionally, this is the first time I have participated in Illustration Friday! You can find my entry here. I think it's a great way to do something creative at least once a week, and it's a good way to build my illustration skills.

On a sad note, our family dog Sophie Jo passed away last week. She was 15, and had a great life. She will be dearly missed.

Friday night is the opening for "R os for Random" at Agni Gallery. I'm looking forward to the show, and looking forward to seeing a ton of people I haven't connected with since I came back from Woodstock. As far as the studio goes, I'm working on a series of drawings and prepping panels for more wrestling paintings. Of course, there are several residency and application deadlines coming up! Time to get back to work.

I'm looking forward to the fall - it's always been my favorite season. I love the smell of dead leaves and autumn sunlight, pumpkin patches and roasted root vegetables. I'm also really enjoying Neko Case's recent album, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. So good. It's putting me in an autumn mood and making me long for snuggly sweaters and field parties and that bonfire smell stuck in your hair.

My husband was concerned that my last blog entry might have given the impression that I wasn't happy to be back home with him. NOT TRUE! I was delighted to be reunited with my spouse. I had no one to pick up after me!

I came back from Woodstock on July 24th, and hit the ground running. It's been a whirlwind, and I finally got a chance this weekend to take images of the work I did at Byrdcliffe and upload them onto the website. Use the thumbnails in the left hand column to view the new pieces.

I've also uploaded some photos from the trip - just a few. The residency was amazing, and I encourage any artist or writer to apply. There were ten of us - five artists and five writers - and it was a great group of people. We were each responsible for our own time, and were able to structure it any way we liked. I created work that I'd had in mind for a long time. I was able to really mine one idea, and explore new techniques. The silk screen process became integral to these new pieces, and I'm very pleased with them.

What was also great about the residency was the opportunity to meet so many creative, wonderful people of various background and at various stages in their careers. It was exciting to work around other people who were creating all day long. There was an unspoken respect and understanding among the group that made the month productive and enjoyable. We made several roadtrips through Ulster County, which was really beautiful. It was a delight to be surrounded by trees and green and nature. Coming back to NYC and a full time job has been a challenge.

I've been awarded a residency at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. I leave on June 27th, and return home on July 23. A whole month of studio time. I'm so excited I can barely stand it. I don't think it's totally sunk in that this is really happening, despite yesterday being my last day of work. Perhaps I need another few hours for it to hit me.

I still have loads of preparation to take care of; packing, finshing designs, burning screens, etc. If yo would like to send me some mail while I'm in Woodstock, email me for the address.

See you in July!

It's been a busy week. Tuesday night Will and I went to see Danko Jones at CBGBs. As always, they were amazing. We ended up talking to Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson after the show. They share Will's love of metal. It was great to catch up with friends we haven't seen in a while. Wednesday night I went to Galapagos to support the Third Wave Foundation. Anne-Margaret Redding and Olivia Greer performed. Anne-Margaret is an amazing yoga teacher, and it was great to see her perform.

I've been cultivating some perennials for the past few months. I have been planting everything in pots because we're renting, and there really isn't anyplace for me to plant things in the front yard. The benefit is that then the plants are mobile. Check out You Grow Girl!

Who knew the past two months would get so busy? I'm featured in ArtWorld Digest: Unambiguous, a curated, printed exhibition along with 99 other artists. My friend Dave Cohen started the publication, and it looks amazing. Thanks, Dave! He's been able to get really great distribution, too, including Atomic Books in Baltimore, The New Museum Bookstore in Manhattan, NYC, and PS1 Moma in Queens, NYC.

I've been accepted to two residency programs this summer, Vermont Studio Center and Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. I'll be attending Byrdcliffe this summer for a month, and I'm really looking forward to it. If you want to write me while I'm in Woodstock, email me and I'll send you the info! I'll be postponing the VSC residency till later this year.

Will and I took a week off back in April to help may parent's around the homestead and made a trip to Atomic Books and Reptilian Records while we were there. I also went to the first Farmer's Market of the season with my mom, who has her very own Egg Man who delivered eggs to her home during the Farmer's Market's off-season. I wish there were Egg Men in New York...

Additionally, I finished my light box (I'll upload pictures pronto) and began burning screens at home! While I still have some kinks to work out, it went amazingly well and I started a new painting with the screened images. Woohoo!

I haven't been actively updating this page as much as I had hoped. At any rate, last weekend I went to the Whitney Biennial. I thoroughly enjoyed the work of Marilyn Minter, who also has several billboards on display in Chelsea, and Troy Brauntuch. I also went gallery-hopping with Open Ground and loved Ken Weaver's show, Royally Fucked. What the reproduced images don't convey is the rich redness of the images. I highly recommend checking out the show.

I've been constructing a light box so that I can burn silk screens at home. I'll post images later this week, but it was fairly easy to make. I'm pleased with it.

The opening at A.I.R. was great. Over 300 artists were involved, and it was packed. Fellow Exhibitionists Dianne Bowen, Nikki Johnson, Fay Ku, Soos Packard, Christa Toole and Brynna Tucker were also in the show. There is a lot of great work in the show. The following artists have really nice pieces in the show: Priscilla Bowden, Enid Crow, Leila Daw, Sharon Dowell, Kira Green, Elizabeth Hirsch, Hye Kyung Kim, Barri Lester, Karen Mainenti, Candy Nartonis, Annelise E. Ream, and Donna Ruff. The online auction can be found here.

Last night I went to see Pearls and Brass, but left early because our friends, CURSED, were crashing at our apartment. As always it was a pleasure to see them.

Next Friday is the opening at Moore College. "Tying the Knot" is in the show, and Will and I will be there. If you're in the area, stop by!

Happy New Year! The BUST Craftacular was fabulous, and I was able to purchase most of my Christmas presents there. I hope it becomes an annual event. For the second year, I purchased beautiful hand dyed yarn from Diana Rupp, founder of Make Workshop. Her yarns are beautiful, and her classes look fantastic.

I have been making some great vegetarian and vegan dishes this past fall and winter. I've found a great seitan recipe at The Post Punk Kitchen, as well as lots of other yummy recipes. VegWeb is another great source. I've been enjoying lost of roasted butternut squash, roasted red and golden beets, sauteed kale, braised brussel sprouts, and last night I made gingerbread cookies. This is a really simple pasta dish I've been making. It's compiled from a few different recipes:

Roasted Butternut Squash
1 butternut squash
1 box Spelt pasta - rotini or spaghetti
2 shallots
2 leeks
2 cloves garlic
1 tbl chopped fresh thyme
1 tbl chopped fresh sage
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
goat cheese or ricotta
1/2 c. walnuts
olive oil

Cut the Squash in half longwise. Place on tinfoil in a rimmed baking dish - drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip squash over and cook for 30-40 minutes more, until flesh is tender and easily pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let it cool till it's easy to handle. Scoop flesh out and discard the skin. Slice one or two leeks into 1/4 inch rounds, using the white and light green parts only. Chop up 2 garlic cloves. I also sliced up two shallots for some flavor. Saute leeks, shallots and garlic in a mixture of butter and olive oil. When they are beginning to get translucent, add rosemary, thyme, and sage. Stir to combine. Add Squash and cook a bit longer while you boil the pasta. Salt pumpkin mixture to taste. Roast walnuts in oven until fragrant. Serve pumpkin mixture on top of pasta with a dollop of goat cheese or fresh ricotta, fresh chopped parsley, roasted walnuts and some fresh parmesan if you got it.

Who knew there was a cupcake blog? For my wedding, I made 200 vegan cupcakes and served them on antique tier trays. At the end of the night, the tier trays went home with guests as gifts. They were quite a sight, and delicious too.

I finally decided that a blog might be an interesting way to post activities, ideas, plans and events. Earlier this week, I found out about Booze and Yarn. I've yet to attend an official "stitch'n'bitch" outside of informal hanging out and creating with friends, and I'm definitely interested in attending. Apparently, there are a number of Stitch'n'Bitch groups in nyc.

I love BUST magazine. While looking up information about BUST's Holiday Craftacular on December 17, I found this gem: www.drsketchy.com. Who doesn't want to draw "most beautiful burlesque dancers, the most bizarre circus freaks, and the most rippling hunks of man?"

Getting back on track, BUST's Holiday Craftacular is next Saturday, December 17th, 2005, from 12 noon to 12 midnite at The Warsaw, 261 Driggs Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. You should go,\. Support local artists and get your christmas shopping done at the same time.

Once I become a yoga master and am ready to move onto another 'sport,' I think Roller Derby will be my next obsession.