Fits & Starts

Greetings! Spring is here, at least on the calendar. The reality is that it feels like spring only in fits & starts, as the temperatures fluctuate and we cast our eyes on the forecast, waiting for the steady upswing in temperatures. There are some days pushing 80 degrees, with the ones in between sometimes in the upper 30s or 40s. And, with so little snow (the big secret from this tiny southeast corner of South Dakota is out!) this year, we are desperately in need of moisture. I'm anxious to get moving outdoors, working in the garden beds and shedding the winter weight gain. Soon....

In the meantime, life in the studio has also come in fits and starts. As I've probably mentioned, my husband, Johntimothy, and I have a show together here at the university that will open in just a few weeks. We've based the exhibition on the notion of a daily practice and have both been making new works each day. His is based in printmaking and the process of taking a plate through an amazing array of changes, so there are over 100 prints based on the same two plates. I have been making daily drawings in the same format, so whatever time I can muster in the studio is dedicated to making sure I get my drawing finished. The pieces are all based on a 4" square or a 4" circle diameter format on 10x10" paper. Mine will be shown in a grid, like a calendar and his will be shown in a linear format, reflecting the sometimes subtle changes in his engraved plates, day after day. We are also collaborating on some works that will be in the exhibition, so that process is becoming more intense, the closer we move to the installation. All this is to explain my absence....well, my presence here in the blog world only in fits and starts. My library job takes up a lot of my energy and I find that I want to spend more time reading than ever before....as we all know,  there are not enough hours in the day, that is, if you value sleep as much as I do. If anyone unlocks the secret of being able to do it all, please pass it on!

Once the exhibition goes up, I will have extra pieces that I will share here and in my Etsy shop for sale. But for now, everything is still under wraps! However, as I look around the studio, I see so many pieces....a lifetime of work, much of it from the recent past, staring me in the face. I've just listed the framed piece below in my Etsy shop, Missouri Bend Studio. This is no. 6 from the Nocturne series, made a couple of years ago. The piece has been in a few exhibitions, but here it is, needing to find a loving home. The work is fabulously framed by Mary Selvig in Sioux Falls....when it was shown at the Bemis Center in Omaha, I swear as many people commented on the framing as they did on the drawing itself. I've listed it with the shipping included (the trusted folks at FedEx do a fine job of packing and shipping) within in the US. If you are interested and overseas, please let me know and I will get an exact shipping cost to a particular location and adjust the price accordingly.

Well, hope you are enjoying a lovely spring where you are....or autumn, as the case may be. Here, we are just seeing signs of leaves on the trees....flowers, not yet. Soon.....

Nocturne no.6