ALL THE THINGS

Things are heating up at AWHQ (Argyle Whale headquarters... I can't pretend to be cool enough to acronym myself like everyone will know what I'm talking about).

I recently noticed that aside from going to craft fairs, I don't have much of a local presence for my art. That is just dumb. I should be neighborly and participate in the scene of my surrounding area instead of solely selling and sharing online.

The situation is being remedied. Argyle Whale IRL (that means in real life... people know that one right?) is coming to a gallery or shop near you if you are near me.

Galleries:

Washington Street Art Center- Somerville, MA (ok, this one is over because I had this post in draft mode too long)

Gallery Della Piana- Hamilton Wenham, MA for the animal themed show called The Beauty of the Beast

The Gallery at Porter Mill- Beverly, MA (This one is a pending maybe because it is up to the juror if I get in the show)

Pop up shops:

Concord Handmade- Concord, NH

GOLDMINE- Northampton, MA

Regular shops:

Magpie- Somerville, MA

ARCworks- Peabody, MA

Of course I'm doing a few craft fairs too. I kept the list a little slim because it is my first year as a Bazaar Bizarre organizer and I didn't want to have too many commitments.

Montserrat College of Art Holiday Sale- Beverly, MA on December 2nd

Bazaar Bizarre- Boston, MA on December 4th

Mass Market- Boston, MA on December 11th

I'm also running a handful of workshops at the ARCworks in Peabody!

The photo above is some sketching I'm doing for a secret project with Meagan.

This seems like a lot going on but next year I hope to be doing twice as much. Maybe three times as much. Must hustle.

worry central

I was going to show off a new print and post cute pictures of the bunnies today but I had a bad experience last night and I can only focus on negative thoughts. I am full of dread and even when I am doing something pleasant (like sharing a coffee with Julie this morning) part of my brain is still obsessing and being morbid.

A little after midnight I was sound asleep and woke up because I heard a woman wailing and screaming. She sounded desperate and was saying, "help! Somebody help me!" over and over again. I ran out to hear what direction her screaming was coming from but couldn't really tell. I heard a couple footsteps, three syllables of a low voice, another cry and then the most terrifying sudden silence.

It was quiet by the time the police arrived. They parked in their cruiser on the street and listened for THREE WHOLE MINUTES and drove away and told me to call if I heard anything else.

I stayed up listening as hard as I could and but nothing else happened. Well, actually a skunk walked down the street, a can collector rattled around for awhile, I caught a glimpse of a bat under a streetlight and a cat rubbed it's chin on the bumper of a truck for eight minutes.

I can't get anything done today.

I found a hamster.

This is kind of old news but I wanted to share my found poster with you because I hung it up at my bakery workplace and people seemed to like it so much that I figured it could be worth a blog mention.

Here is the story of the hamster:

I have an elderly neighbor who knows about my fondness for little pets and he knocked on my door awhile ago and told me that he'd found a guinea pig hanging out in our apartment building's trash can shelter. I got pretty excited because I have always wanted a guinea pig and though I wouldn't go out and get one (since we're already fairly overrun with little creatures). If a guinea pig came to me, I figured I could keep it and love it forever.

I gathered my critter-catching accessories (carrier, gloves, a banana and some reading material for the stakeout) and waited for the guinea pig to appear. After a little while, I spotted a tiny face peering out at me and realized that the trash-shelter dweller was actually a hamster (an exceptionally cute hamster with calico spots). To my dismay, an hour or two of my most enticing cooing and banana brandishing left me hamsterless and I opted to put out a have-a-heart trap and wait until morning.

When I woke up, I was greeted by my neighbor at my door with the trapped hamster! Hooray! I made a little nest area in a rubbermaid bin and started making these posters to put up around town. I am very skeptical that the hamster was actually lost and not just abandoned but I figured I would give it a try.

After only a short while a nice new home was found for the hamster! Win!

If you particularly enjoy the art of the found poster. I highly recommend this book.

I did domething!

Now I can blog! Whew!

I went to a birthday party. Outside. With people! This is noteworthy because I have hermit-like tendencies and it takes a little bravery for me to go out and meet new people. This party was exceptional in that most of the guests had never met and were primarily internet friends meeting up in all our fleshy goodness for the first time. I was equal parts nervous and excited about the premise of this party since I always want to meet my internet friends but I also have flare-ups of insecurity that make me wonder if I'll live up to the way I present myself online.

Theresa (aka Simple Moth) was the hostess/ birthday girl and the party was held in her extraordinarily pretty sun-filled apartment with the help of her beardly beau Sam. Theresa invited her friend Aimee (who impressed me with her thrifting prowess), my old friend Ashley (aka Fern Animals), Lauren (aka Vegan Yum Yum) and a boy named David (who I don't think has any extra identities).

We all took a field trip to Todd Farms for some good flea market-ing and returned to Theresa's place for a midwestern-themed picnic vegan lunch. Lauren made the most delicious "fried chicken" from seitan and the side dishes were .... pastel. There was even a cherry pie! You know who had two pieces.

I really enjoyed everyone's company and the whole experience was much less awkward than I thought it could be. Since everyone knew each other primarily through Flickr, I think this was the most heavily photo-documented party I've ever been to! The cherry pie photo was taken by Theresa.

super-epic mega disappointment

Hey, remember that really huge and much needed opportunity that I was all kinds of excited about? Well, my dream of having a studio/retail space at Artist's Row in downtown Salem is 98% smushed. I applied and was not awarded a unit.

I can't say I'm not bitter. I'm totally upset that I did not get the spot. I was told that the reason I didn't get it was because I was applying by myself and the panel deemed the responsibility of having the space too much for one person. There were four units up for grabs and all four units went to the same four groups that had them last year. That is hard to swallow. I know I could have done an excellent job running the space and I'm frustrated that I was even given hope to apply if they disfavored solo operations and gave preference to returning artists.

I've been moping around for a couple of days since I got the news. I'm trying hard to figure out a new plan but I just keep mourning the loss of this perfect opportunity. The way I'm feeling is akin to being rejected from your first choice college and not having a second choice.

I have butterflies and big big plans!

I can hardly contain myself. The good solid advice of "Don't get your hopes up too much" has been ignored and my whole heart is excited about the possibility that I will have a studio and retail space in downtown Salem! Like, in a couple months! Maybe!

I went on a site visit today to check out prospective spaces in the cluster of little buildings known as "Artist's Row" and I have to admit that setting foot in the studios had an intoxicating effect on my already weak rational side. I know that there are other artists applying for this program and that there are only four spots available but I WANT THIS SO MUCH that I am ignoring reasonable doubt in favor of twirly dancing.

The photos above are of my favorite unit out of the available four. It's currently storing all kinds of stuff and needs a major facelift but if it becomes mine, I'll make it a real stunner!

Magic coffee

Justin and I took a short walk this morning for our first visit to a brand new business that opened in Salem. We were amazed that such a special place is now practically in our backyard! This new cafe is actually the second (fancier) location of our previous favorite cafe, Jaho. This second Jaho now roasts their own coffee beans and brews them in the most spectacular and elegant glass vessel devices I've ever seen. The look is much like a laboratory with a steampunk aesthetic. It's just. so. cool. The slick coffeemaker is not only dazzling but makes THE BEST COFFEE I'VE EVER TASTED! Seriously.

I feel very lucky right now and am having a hard time resisting the urge to go over budget there.

The photo above is of the owner/mad coffee scientist and the photo is credited to CSSpixel.

Cinema Cafe Wrapup

I expect that this will be the last time I mention the Cinema Cafe renovation project that has been a major recipient of my creative energy since April. I've been talking about it for months with nothing to show so I'm pleased to have pictures from the grand opening.

I have finally left my position of being the designer/manager. I quit awhile ago but lurked around until now. This renovation project was really a dream job but the whole experience turned out to be a roller coaster with major disappointments that required me to have obscene amounts of optimism and endurance. I have taken a deep breath and swallowed a fairly large lump of indignant negativity and I can finally truly be happy for the success of the cafe. Even though I will not be a part of the cafe, I still want it to be a great and successful place. I love the people and everyone has worked very very hard to try and make it work.

It was refreshing to see the realization of months and months of work. I'm proud of the job I did and will return as a customer. I will have to try really hard not to rearrange things every time I go in though.

I made a big set of images on Flickr of the cafe before and after so head there to see what I've done. I apologize for the grainy images!

Double milestone spectacular!

This week I reached the 600 hearts milestone on Etsy and I also hope to celebrate my 100th sale within a few days! I'm at 99 right now and I'm just itching to do my one-hundred sales dance so I have discounted a few of my items and am offering extra surprise goodies to my one-hundredth customer. Holla!

P.S. I just applied to Boston's Bizarre Bazaar craft market and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be accepted. It's not too late to apply If you have not already; it really is super!

The above image is of a caterpillar friend I met in Maine. I thought (s)he looked particularly jubilant in this shot. Look here if you'd like to see more of my photos of this fine green thing.

I promised a Cinema Cafe update...

..but I never said it would be pretty!

The cafe renovation I'm working on is going "slower than molasses running uphill in January"(Mom quote). Things are shaping up a little bit but everything takes three times longer than expected and I'm getting sick of waiting for plumbing, electric and carpentry stuff. I want to decorate!

Still, I'm happy to report that I've picked out a good amount of art for the cafe walls. I'm hoping to get film-themed prints from Elloh, lakeillustration and almostfamous. I also had a nice time this afternoon taste testing fancy chocolates and granola mixes we hope to sell. I gave myself a stomach ache from working so hard!

I hope to be able to have a grand opening in a month but we'll see.

New toy!

I bought a Lomo camera off a friend yesterday and gave it to Justin as an early Christmas present. We both had the day off today so we spent the morning exploring Salem with our new camera in the fresh snow slush. The format of the Lomo is pretty neat but we haven't gotten the knack of knowing exactly what we're capturing with it yet. It has four lenses in a row and exposes one negative with four shots in rapid succession. The result reminds me of film stills.

I had such a good time today going on a photo seek with Justin. It was like the "good ol' days" when we used to go out exploring with our cameras regularly in High School. We lived in Connecticut at the time and there was nothing else to do besides sneak around abandoned houses and cow pastures looking for elegant compositions. Back then, we took ourselves way too seriously and only shot black and white photos with our ancient Nikons. We considered digital photography some cheap artistic abomination. Today, we realized how long it has been since we actually shot on real film. We must be getting lazy in our old age because we used to develop and print all our negatives a few years ago and now we're complaining about how big of a pain it is to drop the film at the one hour photo place. We've been completely spoiled by the instant gratification of digital photography.

I'm hoping that we go on many more excursions with our new Lomo. The mystery of not knowing what we caught on film and the excitement of waiting for our images to get developed will be what makes us choose to use the Lomo over our digital camera somedays.

Featured Maker: A & J King Artisan Bakers in Salem

Much of my day is spent in this fine establishment working for Andy and Jackie. They are damn good at what they do as you can see. Andy makes most of the breads with help from John and Jereme and Jackie does the pastries with Sarah. I do the selling and displays with Joanne, Mary, Anna, Kayla and Mariel (who is also chief barista). I am embarassed to admit that I often linger around after I'm out of work and even come in on my days off because I like working there so much and have become good friends with everyone.

I have to gush. Andy and Jackie are really the hardest working people I've ever met. They are both talented and care a great deal about what they do. They go out of their way to find ingredients that measure up to their values of buying locally and sustainably and don't take crappy shortcuts in their processes. Everything at the bakery is insanely delicious and aesthetically pleasing too. I am in love with the fougasse which is a ciabatta dough pounded flat, cut to resemble a sand dollar and sprinkled with salt and seeds. Jackie's seasonal tarts are also unbelievable and it's apple season now which is my favorite variety!

They are better at explaining artisan baking and their values than I am so take a look at their new blog!

The last photo is a set of paintings I made for Andy and Jackie on the bakery's one year anniversary. It is of a baguette nosewhal (a narwhal with a baguette nose) and an epilope (a jackalope with epi for antlers). You can see the epi and baguette from the bakery in the photo right above the one of the paintings. I've made a few things inspired by working at the bakery.