Hi. I'm a painter, a writer and a mother of three teenage sons, one with a severe disability. This is a journal: riotously disorganized, full of art, food, children and everyday domestic events. Unless you are a friend or family member you may not be interested, but you are welcome to look. Artists who are parents may find some common ground here, as well as parents of children with special needs. For art only, see my site: nancybeamiller.blogspot.com
Sunday, August 31
AT THE SPECTACLE OF
water running down,
hurling itself wildly down-
heads and hearts lift up
**********************************
Apologies for the gap in posts. It was an enormous effort to get my paintings off to New York and down to Philadelphia in time for their respective show deadlines (see post below or go to my news blog for more details) followed instantaneously by a long (10 hour) drive north to New Hampshire, visiting with family and reveling in all the craggy glory of that landscape. Then home again, to pack Henry's trunk and other necessaries for boarding school, where we delivered him today. I might as well mention that we also had house guests, simultaneous with much of this. As soon as we got home from taking Henry to school, Paul went off to play soccer and I fell down on the couch in a stupor. We all handle the feeling of depleted exhaustion differently I guess!
Tuesday, August 19
WHAT ON EARTH
am I doing to these paintings? I am placing them in the sun to speed up the drying process a little. Not really the greatest technique in the world but needs must when the devil drives. Or in other words...I have two imminent show deadlines and simply no time to waste sitting about watching paint dry! How do I get myself into these deadline crunches I have no idea but thank goodness for sunny weather!
The two deadlines are for a small one-person show in Philadelphia:
New Work
September 3 to September 28, 2008
Artists' House Gallery
57 North Second Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 923-8440
http://www.artistshouse.com
and a group show in New York City:
Mainly Maine
September 3rd thru 27th, 2008
Sherry French Gallery
601 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001-1101
212-647-8867
http://www.sherryfrenchgallery.com
Saturday, August 16
Holey Cosmos!
What IS the true nature of good and evil? And while we are at it, has there ever been such a summer for garden pests? I garden organically, in fact, so passively and organically that after planting I pretty much leave the plants to fend for themselves with very minimum involvement from me. I guess I have just been lucky in the past...but this summer has more than made up for it. Squash bugs, Tomato Hornworms, Cucumber Mosaic Virus...you name it, it has made my little garden its home away from home. Even my parsley seems to be in the middle of devastation from caterpillars that look like the type that develop into Monarch Butterflies...staying my vengeful hand. And cycling back to the original question here!
Tuesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 6
COLLECTION
I collect pull tabs...lots of them. I keep an empty glass jar on my counter and when it is full up, I screw on the lid, put it away and bring out another. Even when I am traveling, I squirrel away the tabs I use or find, usually a little surreptitiously as people tend to poke fun at me for doing this. If I only had a dollar for everyone who told me, with a mixture of pity and humor on their faces, that "It's a myth you can donate these to charity!"
Which leads me to an interesting concept: a myth about a myth. Because, actually, it is NOT a myth! My local middle school sponsors a drive to collect the pull tabs each spring, and then donates them to Ronald MacDonald house. (Of course, I collect all year round so I am well-prepared for the drive!) Stung by the condescending tone of the Myth Criers, I've researched the subject as thoroughly as I can, and unless several key school, local and national charity officials are all caught up in some some mass delusion: they really do collect these, they really do make money from them, and they really do use the money to help fund this excellent charitable institution! Click here for more information.
Here's a photo of my most recent collection, bolstered by a zip-loc bag of tabs collected by a sweet friend of mine who, when I explained why I was rather shamefacedly sneaking the tab off her old diet coke can, immediately started collecting them for me herself!
Monday, August 4
MORE TRAVELS
but this time not so far afield. We went to visit friends who are renting a house at Cape May Point. They invite us every year and we always enjoy the visit. This year we were particularly lucky in perfect weather and also in the perfect viewing conditions at the Cape May nature preserve, which some years is so thickly grown with reeds and cattails that it makes walking the paths like walking through a maze. This year we got vistas! It was a lovely day. That little black blob is a red-winged blackbird sitting in the topmost branch of a tree.
I'm reminded of how every year a painter acquaintance of mine barters for a week's "rental" of a friend's vacation home (nobody I know unfortunately!) The vacation-home-owning folks always request a painting of the vacation house or its environs, which are all apparently stunningly beautiful. My acquaintance is happy to magic up the required painting between bouts of relaxing and family fun. What a sweet deal for all involved...although I suppose how sweet depends on how nice the vacation house is and how art-loving its owners are. Anyway, if anyone is interested in attempting a similar barter, you know how to contact me! ;-)
Friday, August 1
PIG FACE
She looks up at me
pink nose quivering: is this
food or foe? (or both?)
*******************************
I was visiting my old college friend Liz C. on her farm last week. She and her husband had just taken delivery of a pair of Gloucester Old Spotted pigs! I have to say, it was pretty exciting. Equally exciting, to me at least, is that my friend decided to start her own blog. Please welcome Pigs Gourds and Wikis!
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