I have been enormously frustrated by my inability to make my movable picture work. Even though I went on to other pages, I saw this as one of the first, and I was having a very hard time going around it. So late last night, incapable of doing anything else, I started  Googling again. I searched on popup books, paper sculpture and finally "paper engineering." Amidst all those entries about making paper in large production plants, I found this one. Voila! I have that book. Or I had it. I was pretty sure I hadn’t given it up, but it wasn’t with my other paper manipulation books. So I searched further and found it.

This book has clear, complete, beautiful directions for making what I want, unlike the first book I was trying to use. Book #1, published by my former employer, obviously lifted the templates and part of the directions from book #2, omitting the most crucial parts. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. Anyhow, I’m ready to try again.

I have been enormously frustrated by my inability to make my movable picture work. Even though I went on to other pages, I saw this as one of the first, and I was having a very hard time going around it. So late last night, incapable of doing anything else, I started  Googling again. I searched on popup books, paper sculpture and finally "paper engineering." Amidst all those entries about making paper in large production plants, I found this one. Voila! I have that book. Or I had it. I was pretty sure I hadn’t given it up, but it wasn’t with my other paper manipulation books. So I searched further and found it.

This book has clear, complete, beautiful directions for making what I want, unlike the first book I was trying to use. Book #1, published by my former employer, obviously lifted the templates and part of the directions from book #2, omitting the most crucial parts. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. Anyhow, I’m ready to try again.

The new round of Osher classes has begun and I have classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and all day Wednesday. I’m still working on my book, and for the last few weeks, I’ve been writing a story. It feels good to be doing something creative again. I feel like it’s been years since I’ve been so involved. (and it has) The story is coming along better than the book. I have this vision of something filled with things to look at, but I haven’t gotten there yet. This morning I made a small drawing using Conte crayons. I sprayed the drawing and let it dry, but the stuff still came off on my fingers. So I sprayed again. Maybe I have to change my drawing methods.

I’ve been working on my backyard book ever since I finished the workshop nine days ago. I’m very absorbed, but I’m not making much visible progress. I’ve been writing down my thoughts about the backyard and I’ve organized all of my pictures. I’m almost finished putting the signatures together. But I’m stuck on the first page. I decided it should be movable–a picture of the backyard with a blind that opens and closes. I’ve seen these things many times: you pull a tab and the picture changes. I’ve spent at least three, maybe four days on it, and I’m still not happy. I collect pup-up books and books about making pop-up books, so I went looking for instructions. I found some, but they are not for exactly what I want to do and are not very clear in the trickiest part. Now I think I will proceed with the rest of the book and come back to the venetian blind effect later. But it’s very difficult to let it go.

Darcy and I went on a turkey hunt at Chatham College. Last year there was one wild turkey, now there are eight. Robin and Charna kept telling me about them. Steve and Charna found them on their front lawn last week. I decided I had to see for myself. We walked down toward the pond. As we approached, a man sitting on the other side of the pond called out, "The turkeys are here."
We were able to get within about 25 feet of them. I didn’t want to try to get closer because of Darcy. She seemed a little bewildered by them, and remained more interested in squirrels than turkeys. While we were watching the birds suddenly ran to the bushes for cover. The man said it was a hawk, then decided it was a great blue heron. I never saw the bird. After it flew away the turkeys came back and resumed their pecking.
I took a lot of pictures but most of them were blurry: the Darcy effect. I have to hold her leash and she doesn’t stay still. After about twenty minutes she started growling at the turkeys so we left.

The drawing class I was supposed to be taking on Saturday mornings was canceled. I wasn’t terribly disappointed. When I looked at the materials list I realized this would have been classical drawing; I wasn’t sure I really wanted to do it. Instead, I signed up for a weekend workshop with Sandy Webster. It was the best.

It started on Friday evening at 6:30. By the time I got home I was so excited I couldn’t fall asleep. I returned eagerly on Saturday morning. Sandy was the perfect teacher for me. She is open to everything, makes use of whatever is at hand and is unfailingly creative. I didn’t take full advantage of the workshop; I wasn’t really prepared. But I came away with lots of ideas and the inspiration to work on them.

My first book will be about my backyard. I’ve been photographing it all year. When I finish it I’ll put pictures here. I created a workshop album, on the left. As you can see, we created a huge mess, but we cleaned it up when we finished and you wouldn’t even know we had been there.

My friend, Winifred Godfrey, from Chicago, has a show at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It’s a group of wonderful paintings called, Mayan Procession. Along with the paintings are beautiful textiles from Guatemala, from the collection of William Goldman, another Chicagoan. I went to Winnie’s lecture last Saturday, and had brunch with her on Sunday. Meeting with old friends is a great pleasure.

I went to the zoo last week; the people were more interesting than the animals. There were also many more of them. These people, in the green shirts, were
on a busman’s holiday. They were volunteers from the zoo in Cleveland, on a day trip to Pittsburgh.

There were many Amish people that day.
I was particularly impressed with the fathers caring for their sons.

I took the tram from the entrance to the aquarium.

As I got off the train I noticed this group of red hat ladies.
This amazing commercial venture is based on a poem by Jenny Joseph, Warning. When I first read the poem, possibly thirty years ago, I thought it was a declaration of independence at a time when women were mostly constrained.
Every time I encounter some of these women I am appalled that they used the poem to form another constraining group.

Driving alone from Chicago to Pittsburgh is tedious, at best. The first four hours weren’t too bad. About 2 pm I got off the highway and went to Toledo to see the new glass museum. After a pleasant interlude, and lunch, I got back on the road. By four o’clock I was getting worried about falling asleep. The next rest area was a half hour away, so I sang to myself. I’m glad no one was around to hear me. Grande Starbucks got me the rest of the way to Pittsburgh.

The automobile is a love-hate thing in my life. I enjoyed driving with Eli, and it was certainly convenient for transporting all of his stuff. But parking it on the near north side of Chicago was another pain. It was possible to find a parking space about 4 pm. But the area is posted; you have to have a resident’s permit or a temporary permit which has to be renewed every day. Now I have to clean out all of those little blue pieces of paper.

Back in August, when I was very bored and volunteered for a great many things, I became part of a story-telling study. I don’t really know what they are studying, but the deal is that I go to five different public venues on five weekends, then report back and tell a story after each visit. I have been to the Carnegie Museum of Art, Phipps Conservatory, the Mattress Factory, and Frick Art and Historical Center. I still have to report back on my visit to the Frick, and I have one more visit to make. It’s been fun. I don’t think my story about the Carnegie was very good, but the Phipps and the Mattress Factory were fun. The show at the Frick is more than I ever wanted to know about Pre-raphaelite art. I hope, when I am finished they will tell me what they are looking for.


Self portrait with red dots, at the Mattress Factory.