40th Street Cut

I hope that more people will come out and check out this show at the Oakland Art Gallery. It is fabulous. A conceptual diorama of a neighborhood in Oakland called the 40th street cut. It explores the history of Oakland's street car system and the modern geography of the creek that runs through the neighborhood. Many elements are worked into the installation, sound, kinetic sculpture, wood-work, painting, photography and book-arts all tell a story of a landscape that has been drastically changed over the years. It runs through March 20th and features the artwork of Dylan Bolles, Keith Evans, Dianne Jones, Michael Meyers and Rich Spelker.

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I have been behind the computer screen far to much lately. I am in dire need of a play day to gather inspiration and figure out my next adventure. I am planning to do that tomorrow. The camera, the baby, the husband and I, rain or shine.

Piper has been moving around like crazy lately, crawling and exploring, conquering the barriers and tasting everything she can get her happy little paws on. While it is exciting, it is also taking its toll. It has become harder and harder to get my work done, and leaves me feeling much like most of the moms that I hear about... tired. Sander and I are working on figuring out a solution, so that I can feel like the productive lady that I desire to be. I'll be back in the game by Spring, when the rain stops and the clouds part.

But, really... Who can complain:

I have spent the last couple of days a the Oakland Art Gallery clearing out loads of stuff that has been crammed up in the loft space for god knows how long. I have filled two humongous rolling trash bins with old invitations, catalogs and exhibition cards. Adding up the amount of printed paper materials that were heaved from the loft down into the recycling bin would be impossible, but I can easily say that it was at least $10,000 worth of paper and ink poured down the drain. It is really a shame, considering that we could really use that money now. While I am all for beautiful printed materiel, I am also very thankful for email, and digital files. Hopefully, the days of wasted paper can be over soon. Until then, I urge everyone to print on recycled paper and with sustainable inks.

While I tirelessly worked today on getting my new website up, Piper worked and worked (and worked for hours on end) as well. She, however, was not working on a website, she was working on sitting up. You'd think that she would try to crawl first, but that seemed to be less important today. She would wiggle her way back onto her knees and then try to swing her legs around to the front. Most of the time this would result in falling on her head, but finally at the very end of the day she did it! And she stayed up long enough for me to get my camera from upstairs and take a million pictures! Here are two of the million.

P.S. Sander wanted me to inform you all that it is not poop on her sweatshirt, it is dried up avocado.

This is for you! Thank you for visiting my new blog. I will post updates to projects that I am working on as they arise. I will likely also share pictures of my family. For those of you who wish that I communicated more, here is your chance to follow along. Love, Nicole