You might think it would be easy to write a post introducing you to my dearest friend, Jim Brown. – You would be wrong.
Where would I start? With the weekend I met him on his first trip to Kansas City to do the Brookside Art Fair? Where that same weekend we invited him to a party at our house, he showed up with a box of chicken wings and didn’t leave for a week? Continue reading
Pete Dulin and Roy Inman
Kyle, my husband, is perfectly willing to share a taste off his dinner plate. However, if he is nearing the end of his meal, you have missed your opportunity, because he has thoughtfully considered the closing strategy and decided upon his last bite, the one he will savor longer than the others, the one worth lingering over.
Food writer and editor, Pete Dulin, has given the same thoughtful consideration to his new cookbook, Last Bite. Continue reading
Cathy Broski
Like back to those skinny knit ties and asymmetrical hairstyles that were fashionable so long ago. You know, the ones that have been unpopular for so long that they come around to popular again. Like fake ids and the mornings of bumping into each other in the hall at our boyfriends’ shared house (both of which are now our husbands). All the way back to when Cathy and I took a big road atlas, a borrowed listing of art festivals, and began marking the cities with festivals where we had family or a free place to stay. Continue reading
You know what you call a gay farmer?
David Wayne Reed and I got to know each other while working together in Artist Inc (by working I mean laughing my ass off). And let me tell you he is a talented, brilliant, handsome, and funny guy. And not just any funny. Tears rolling down my cheeks kinda funny. Take well timed sips of my beverage kinda funny. Be mindful of who I sit across from, lest I be wearing their drink too kinda funny. Yep, I mean funny, funny. Continue reading
For those of you that have come to follow my work in the last few years, you might not be familiar with my copper and aluminum work that was the precursor to the “Big Sky” series that has become my hallmark. (learn how the series of works fit together) I still have some spectacular copper and aluminum pieces in the studio that I am no longer showing. They need to find good homes where they can be enjoyed! Continue reading
Gregory
I love to see artists homes and how they curate them. Most of the time you can walk around their house and see their shared history with a lot of other artists. Mine is no exception. Each piece we have in our home has special meaning; I can tell you many stories about the artist and the circumstances of how the piece came to live with us. And because our entire collection is created by people we know, it is like living and waking up with our friends everyday. Continue reading
Tommy & Justin
Kyle again, and this time I’m here to introduce you to lots of great people by way of two – Tommy Donoho and Justin Penney. These two are the founders and, dare I say, brains, behind Money Wolf Music. This little label is doing really innovative stuff, one of which is fostering cross pollination and collaboration between their artists. They are the label that released Fantoche, the latest album by my group Alacartoona (which makes a most excellent stocking stuffer) (a really, really great one) (seriously). Continue reading
Chris and daughter Ella
I am a sucker for the blending of old and new. Take for example our home, an 1880’s building that we have renovated with a combination of the old architecture and a very modern aesthetic. Or my artwork that fuses photographic history with digital technologies. So it should come as no surprise that some of my favorite works follow this pattern, and are traditional crafts that the artist combines with a very contemporary look.
There are many glass artists whose work fits this bill, but today I would like you to meet one of my favorites, Chris McCarthy.
While doing art festivals all around the country I see lots of familiar faces from my past. So when I saw Stephanie Brown – that I shared the lunch table with my freshman year in high-school (and don’t believe I had seen since) – I wasn’t surprised. But finding out that she was at the show to assist her husband, Chris, in his glass booth was a shock! A blending of another sort: my old life that seems so far away, with the new one we are living now.
If you are in or near St. Louis check out Chris’ open studio this weekend Dec 1-2, where he’ll have glass blowing demonstrations from 11-3 and also a guest artist, Sharon Spillar. If St. Louis is little far to travel for a studio visit this weekend, you can visit his website instead.
Added bonus: Check out another good friend of ours, and very fine contemporary craftsman, Justin Teilhet.
Justin's porcelain
Combining porcelain ceramics with a beautifully simple, modern feel, his work is unrivaled and exquisite! (Fun Fact: Justin introduced us to the first ipod, convincing us it would “revolutionize the way you listen to music in the van.” Right you were Justin, right you were.)
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