Elizabeth Kramer's review and video of the artist breakfast group and it's current exhibit. Nice coverage    that presents artists are serious people  -  how refreshing!

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130317/SCENE05/303170024/Artists-new-show-reflects-a-community-who-have-been-meeting-weekly-for-breakfast-for-years-18-years?nclick_check=1

I take a certain amount of pride in being the den mother of this group as it has touched so may lives in such a positive fashion. Besides, it's been great fun meeting on Thursday mornings. As jacque Parsley pointed out on FB, this is actually the 4th time the group has had an exhibition since our initial show at the Louisville Visual Art Association in 2004, "Breakfastworks". It's interesting to me how a simple idea has self-institutionalized after so many years. After all, we're not getting older......  we're getting better!

After a ridiculous silence I think it's time to resume this. Since my last posting I have acquired 2 bionic knees, shredded both quadriceps, endured 4 major surgeries in 5 weeks, spent 3 months and 11 days in 2 hospitalizations and 2 rehab facilities. As I write this most of the pain and necessary rehab evils are far behind me. Two days ago I went downstairs in my home for the first time since late March. I've been driving for about 7 weeks and still do physical therapy 3 times a week to strengthen my thighs. My studio and art library are packed, boxed and sealed for a future move. I have sold, consigned and given away plenty and still have too much "stuff" as the great and wise George Carlin said. I approach 2013 knowing 2012 was my own personal "annus horribilis" and whatever comes next will be a cast improvement  -  new home, new artwork, and finally after more than 5 years, a new canine friend. Life is most definitely improving!! Happy Healthy New Year to ALL!!!!

Nothing much to say after the disastrous early February 2 point landing that kept me out of commission for the rest of that month. On April 7, the other shoe dropped. Standing at the stove in front of a newly prepared pan of succotash I reached for a serving spoon and felt/heard something snap in that right knee. Definitely NOT good. After 30 minutes of ice limited the swelling to something the size of a lemon I determined the reinjury could wait until the morning. ER revealed no bone breaks but said torn meniscus and stated that "some sort of intervention would undoubtedly be necessary". I casually remarked that he must have noticed the arthritis in my knee and he muttered "Yep, that's there too." Ya gotta just love understatement. Upshot after 5 weeks of ice, narcotics and rest is a scheduled double knee replacement June 8. Well color me bionic once again!  Are we having fun yet?

Spring has sprung

The birds have been serenading me each morning for the past 3 weeks. They obviously know something old Puxatawney Phil doesn't. I've had a miniature daffodil blooming in my wildflower garden for the past week and this morning I saw the earliest blooming cherry trees decked out in Spring pink 3 weeks earlier than usual.  I just wish Daylight Savings Time began this Saturday rather than at the end of the month.

Having recovered fairly well from my big fall I'm ready to resume work in the studio. My arm was still too sore when I tried drawing 10 days ago but since then I have mastered grocery shopping, driving and lots of slice and dice work in the kitchen. Time to celebrate the changing light by another studio attempt. Ain't life grand!!

oops.....

Nobody would ever make the mistake of labeling me a "domestic diva". I always have more interesting things to do than make certain the house is primped and ready for an Architectural Digest photo shoot. However, operating on the theory that no good deed ever goes unrewarded I decided last Friday afternoon that it was way past time to mop my kitchen floor. Way past time. The mop, the Lysol cleaner and I sloshed through this mundane chore in 15 minutes. Nearly 2 hours later I went back into the kitchen to get some things from the fridge since someone was coming to have dinner with me that night. I carefully placed the items on the counter, turned around and promptly fell onto the floor, not having seen there was still a wet area right in front of the stove. Down I went into a perfect 2 point landing on my right knee and right elbow before hitting my head on the stove and twisting my left ankle. This was not fun. Nothing broken, nothing cut, no concussion but I had one hell of a time getting up from the slippery floor since falling had merely spread with wetness around a larger area. Leverage, the center of gravity, pain and generalized awkwardness all conspired for a less than graceful effort to stand up again. Once back on my feet I immediately grabbed an ice pack and headed for my bed to elevate and ice the knee which was already swelling like a slowly inflating balloon. So here I sit nearly 4 days later sore as can be, badly bruised and contused bur slowly feeling less discomfort. Did I say no good deed goes unrewarded? Wrong!! Make that no good deed goes unpunished!!

thank goodness for collectors

I am fortunate enough to have several people who have actively collected my work for a number of years. As an artist it's amazingly gratifying to learn the art I create repeatedly connects with certain viewers. Obviously it's even better when these people care enough about the work to want to live with it on a daily basis. Thus I was delighted to hear from an old dear friend yesterday who owns 7-8 of my drawings and probably 3-4 pieces of clay. This man is a fairly high level executive with a major corporation. He was telling me that despite amassing an enormous corporate collection over the last 40 years the company eliminated their curator position 3 years ago and downsized the collection by about 20%. As an employee her was able to buy several pieces he'd admired for years for very little money. I told him how pleased I was that he managed to get such bargains. But I also told him I thought those artists would cringe upon learning their meagre sales prices on the secondary market. Fortunately for me he also let me know he wanted to purchase a print of something he had seen here during a studio visit 8 months ago. Happy news indeed. Now I need to rethink the whole idea of limited edition digital prints of my drawings.....

progress comes inch by inch

My dad used to say that the hardest force to overcome in nature was inertia. After far too many years out of the classroom I finally have the opportunity to teach 2 series of workshops at the Speed Art Museum. Aside from being an Artist in Residence these sorts of classes are my favorites. They are informal, fairly brief and completely recreational for the participants. The most important thing however is finally connecting with the museum's Education Department. I hope to sell them on my Art Play for Seniors idea. It would work much better with them serving as host for a series of 4-6 once a month sessions than for me to travel from one senior center to another dragging materials with me everywhere, do all the set up and clean up, manage the promotion and money plus pay for all supplies out of my fees. Baby steps. I think this is a concept whose time has finally arrived. Working at the Speed and hopefully impressing them by my versatility as an artist/teacher seems like the perfect nudge to overcome this particular inertia.