Monthly Archives: January 2008

Book update

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I am almost finished laying out the book: 143 pages. I added some extra pictures and all of the pertinent emails and chats I had in Japan. I want to check out all of the pages; add a few more pictures in some of the blank spaces; add an afterword that I will also post on the website; then print out the whole thing. Then comes the fun part: binding. I bought a small plastic bag filled with tiny fabric scraps at the flea market in Kyoto. I plan to use some of those fabrics with handmade paper I bought at Itoya in Tokyo. I’ll post pictures when I’m finished.

I need help!

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I made a big mistake when I decided to call this blog fat old artist. My friends don’t like it because they say I’m not fat or old, but that’s not true. I am fat, obese by government standards; enough said. I am old, 73 years old, to be exact. Sometimes I wonder if I’m still an artist, but no one else seems to question it.

I think the name is a mistake because most of the searches that find the blog are for fat or old, and they are looking for horrid stuff; very few are for art or artist. I don’t think I write about fat or old very often. In fact, this post says more about those topics than I’ve ever said in two and a half years of blogging. So, I’m looking for a new name. I’ve been thinking about it for some time. I’m not happy with anything I’ve come up with. Any suggestions?

Good friends, good art. What more could I want?

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Got up early this morning, picked up my neighbor, Mary, and drove to Columbus, Ohio to meet with raja and friends at the art museum, have lunch, see a very special art show. Not the Monet, which you might think if you followed the art museum link, but the Aminah Robinson show, Along Water Street. I saw her work in a huge show at the Brooklyn Museum in 2006 and was very impressed. She combines, drawing, paint and fabric to tell wonderful stories. You can see some of her work here. I’ve been nagging raja to meet me at the show since I found out it would be at the museum. Columbus is halfway for each of us.

It was a lot of driving, but we had a good visit and I loved the show; well worth the trip. I found it a little hard to say goodbye, but maybe we’ll meet again soon, in Chicago. I’ll be going there next month.

Photos from New York

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View from a window at MOMA

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Bergdorf Goodman windows. I love all the reflections.

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Fifth Avenue street musician, getting wonderful sounds from old household objects.

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Joshua Nelson performing kosher gospel music.

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A member of the choir. There was no way I could do justice to her with a still photo.

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Looking west on Canal Street. Chinese Christmas.

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Origami Christmas tree at the Natural History Museum.

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Rockefeller Center, about 4 pm.

Back to the same old

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Yesterday was a gray, windy day. I needed to do some grocery shopping, but didn’t feel like going out. So today, with cold sunshine, was it: veggies, fruit, some whole grain English muffins, and broccoli pancakes. Renee brought some of those pancakes to the New Years party. Very good, not too caloric. I’m trying hard to eat healthy stuff, much as I’d like to limit my diet to ice cream and banana nut muffins.

Made a lot of phone calls, playing catch up, then lost patience, so tomorrow will be another phone day. Spent the rest of the day working on "the book." I’m determined to finish before the end of the month. I’ve got 88 pages and I’m up to November 3. Not too much forward progress, but I’ve added lots of additional material.

Back in Pittsburgh

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Great flight, NO DELAYS! I could hardly believe it. Even the trip to La Guardia was perfect: no traffic and a good driver. I hope everyone had such a great beginning to the new year.

Yesterday morning I had breakfast with a friend from my venture in higher education in New Jersey. We were the older women in the class, although she is considerably younger, and we’ve maintained a friendship in spite of my  moving and various other life changing events. Very satisfying visit.

Afterward I met Renee at the Neue Gallery to see their Klimt exhibit. There were a few landscapes I had never seen, which were lovely. The drawings were dimly lit and mostly very faint. They were too hard for me to see; I didn’t really appreciate the show.

In the evening we took a train to Great Neck, to another of Renee’s relatives, for a New Year’s party. Most of the probably fifty people knew each other. I found another woman who knew no one, and we had a nice conversation. I don’t like large gatherings. My tolerance for them hasn’t improved as I age. Fortunately we got on the 10:49 train and were back at the apartment just at the stroke of midnight. And one of the best things about New York is that you can be on an uncrowded subway totally unaware all those people waiting for the ball to drop.