word. music. art.

Poet Laureate, W. S. Merwin, might be speaking at Joslyn Art Museum at the end of April. Plans aren't finalized yet. I hope this happens.

In light of this recent news, I decided that the poem to memorize for April should, of course, be a piece by Mr. Merwin. So here it is:

"Air"

by W. S. Merwin

Naturally it is night.

Under the overturned lute with its

One string I am going my way

Which has a strange sound.

This way the dust, that way the dust.

I listen to both sides

But I keep right on.

I remember the leaves sitting in judgement

And then winter.

I remember the rain with its bundle of roads.

The rain taking all its roads.

Nowhere.

Young as I am, old as I am.

I forget tomorrow, the blind man.

I forget the life among the buried windows.

The eyes in the curtains.

The wall

Growing through the immortelles.

I forget the silence

The owner of the smile.

This must be what I wanted to be doing, 

Walking at night between the two deserts, 

Singing

_______

I discovered this through an old, dear friend of mine, Rosalie Miller:

http://www.benoitmaubrey.com/

Benoit Maubrey and his Berlin-based Audio Gruppe build electro-acoustic clothing and suits. These are clothes equipped with loudspeakers, amplifiers, and 257 K samplers that enable them to react directly with their environment by recording live sounds, voices, or instruments in their proximity, and amplifying them as a mobile and multi-acoustic performance. They also wear radio receivers, contact microphones, light sensors and electronic looping devices in order to produce, mix, and multiply their own sounds and compose these as an environmental concert. The performers use rechargeable batteries and/or solar cells, which ensures them complete mobility both indoors and outdoors.

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And, finally, 5 of a thousand:

_______

Make a move, make a sound.

Yes to subtlety.

I recently began appreciating Sundays. 

For 30 years and 8 months, this particular day has been my least favorite day of the week.

However, my dear friend Julia has been hosting Sunday brunch at her house and it's been such a treat! Thank you, Julia!!

disco sunday afternoon walk

The wonderful, talented people that I've had the pleasure of meeting, over delicious food and mimosas, have endured my "it's a new recipe..." efforts, and I think it's finally paying off.

This past Sunday I made a batch of scones that were pretty good.

The best I've made so far.

And if they didn't taste good, well, they looked good.    

ginger, chocolate, & walnut scones

A minor success.. a day in the life.

It's worth it.

__________

The dog downstairs howled all day.

I realized that it's payback for my smoke alarm that went off for 20 minutes at 5 minute intervals yesterday morning. Sorry neighbors. Hooray scones.

An apartment where the windows stay open on their own.
Baking without setting off the fire alarm.
One of these days.

__________

Tie a string around your finger.

Quote of the day: "I went to sleep to start over."  -Natalie

It's cold today.
It's better tomorrow.

Cheers to good starts.

onward

"I think that life would suddenly seem wonderful to us if we were threatened to die as you say. Just think of how many projects, travels, love affairs, studies, it -our life- hides from us, made invisible by our laziness which, certain of a future, delays them incessantly."
                                                                                                                -Proust

___________

The Joslyn Museum is free on Saturday mornings from 10-12. I often use that time to wander around the galleries and watch people look at art. Sometimes, I watch these same people watch each other. I like when that happens.

In between, I sit down with little kids and help them piece together tangrams, or I draw with them, or ask them questions. I introduce myself and shake their hand and wonder about the big ideas and big adventures that are housed inside these teensy people.

it's so simple. it's so complicated.

We talk about the shapes that make up their tangram puzzles, and when we get to the parallelogram we say that word together and laugh because it's a mouthful.
But all that matters is that it's something new, and they tried, and they had fun trying, so they'll probably try again... whatever it is.

We should all laugh, shrug it off, and try again.
Don't you agree?

___________

This forever-on-hold-book-project that I keep mulling over is finally ready to go. I made a call to my friend Jenni Brant, who is the director at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (a great place with a great residency for you art people out there) and asked if a letterpress was available to use: "Why, yes it is!"

So I'll be visiting Nebraska City in the coming weeks to freshen up on my letterpress skills -or lack thereof. 

___________

And while a thousand things have happened in the past 3.5 weeks, 

I'll just share the latest 16 mm highlight:

The Owl

...and the Pussycat

cave

I can be painfully stubborn. 

I've learned to be better. learning.

We're all learning to be better.

I guess part of being better is noticing when you fail yourself. And remembering. 

And remembering to remember. 

I try.

and notes help

because it's easy to forget

but sometimes words just don't cut it

and sometimes a little goes a long way

Who knows?

So at 5:36 pm on this lovely, chilly Tuesday afternoon, as this incredible caffeine-free headache sets in, I can't decide what to do..  cave in or stubborn on.

cave @ 6:17 pm

7:23: headache free

Here's to giving in!
Hope it's been good for you..

plans change

..but nevermind the details.

Just know that things started going downhill from here: 

After i finished sewing the front cover of this book 

my brow may have furrowed for a split second.

"does that look...  nah."

nah..

And then I stitched up the back cover:

wait a minute..

And then I put the two together.

WHAT?

And then I chucked the damn thing across the room.     not really

There's no fixing this, I do believe it's a make believe heart. 

It wasn't supposed to be what it looks like. 

But I think it just is now.

Maybe I was secretly fighting  the voice of my dear friend Michelle in the back of my mind, "Maranda has no feelings. She's of the rock heart people."

_______

My sidekick Trish, who's back in Kentucky, is an epic email writer. I'm talking novel length here. Sometimes they're funny and sometimes they're sad but usually they're funny/sad... which is even better. 

Do you people have a friend like that?

So, Dish, this one has your name on it. Guess it's time to get started on that real book now..

_______

And a big thank you to my dear friend Shanee for the surprise mail I received this week! Several years ago she up and moved to Alaska one day and never looked back.. 

preserves wait, in the box it arrived in, for a special occasion

maybe stylized snow people?

It's time for a singer-sewing-break.
Happy Weekend!

one might think that tornado season came early

 To Des Moines on Friday.

organized chaos. believe it.

I'm not sure Proust is changing my life, but I finished the book anyway

Next up: The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, by Aimee Bender

_________

Currently based out of Brooklyn, Art House Coop provides short, fun, creative opportunities for anyone interested in making and sharing. My friend Katey (current writer-in-residence at Fishtrap in Wallowa County, Oregon) and I recently signed up for the Fiction Project and we will be working collaboratively with text and image. Maybe this is my segue into the segue for those artist books I've been wanting to do.
The 'on-permanent-hold' project.

I can't imagine how that's happened.
That status should change.

_________

In the meantime, I met Katey at the Jentel Residency in Banner, Wyoming where her dietary restrictions inspired in me a continuing love for spelt flour baking. In addition, she and I did a small print project together. You can get a close up of my E.T. fingers (thanks for the complex, Trish) and learn more about our project here.

_________

The attic is still holding strong. And the cold draft?

secured.

_________

There are so many options for your February First Friday. What's it gonna be?