Molly Goatwax

Sleeps with scissors handy

It makes Hubby uncomfortable that I keep an antique guillotine paper cutter on the floor at the foot of my bed. He told me this again a few days ago. But then, there are sharp objects all over the room; die cutters, wood knives, awls, scissors, wire snips, razor blades, Swiss army tools and so on, ad infinitum. (Not to mention the cute little rotary saws!) I suppose that might make a fellow downright squeamish, but I've lived in places where none of those things were allowed in my possession. 'Scuse me, I have to go buy a utility knife for cutting a mat...

The line through perdition to redemption

Today was concurrently the last day to pay off delinquent city property taxes before the real estate levied gets put up for auction and also the last day to register to bid in the tax sale auction on these same houses. Thus, the lines in the Abel Wohlman Municipal Building were packed with two distinct types; earnest, threadbare delinquents and polished, bejeweled vultures. These individuals try to avoid eye contact even as they stand in the same long lines and try to read each others' paperwork. Although the vultures bid on and win these properties, and the delinquents have another two years to redeem them before actual ownership is lost, today was the last day redemption costs include only the delinquent taxes. After your house or business is "sold", you have to pay all kinds of fees to get it back. At the end of the second line I stood through, I got sent back to the very beginning for having my cashier's check three dollars over. I had visions of my car being towed as I neared the end of the last line, but some Goddess must have fed the meter as she walked ahead of the parking enforcement officer. There were forty two minutes on it even though I blew my two hours by ten.

Follow up on the news

Well now that the cops involved have given themselves "Buffalo Round Up 2005" awards, I notice that none of the media coverage happened to mention how small these bison were. I mean, look at the pictures. As for the exasperated 75 year old owner who declared they were being raised for meat and are now on their way to the slaughterhouse, he had been chasing them all morning...and I doubt very much they will wind up in the jerky vat right now. In that part of the county, many odd, hybrid, miniature, antique and rare forms of livestock are raised for show. Nubian goats, bison d'anjou, llama, ostrich and so on. I have no doubt, however, that the bison in question were plenty ornery. After all, it is Spring.

Sun Photo by Amy Davis

Local news

Buffalo? Loose in Baltimore? I suppose that's no odder than a lot of things that go on around here. I was surprised to spot a pair of large orange foxes on my front yard recently. Speaking of critters, Todd n Heather are hatching their triplets today! Er....yesterday! Congratulations and best of wishes, you scamps! Someone hand that lady a well earned cold one ...

Living History

An elderly man hobbled into Molly's the other day and told me he had been served his very first drink there some 60-odd years ago. He also identified the child in the photograph, which came from the debris in a neighboring house and hangs in the bar-her name was Nancy, and she died young...and oh, had I seen his uncle? He wanted to know, had his 95 year old uncle stopped in?

More on torturing the kids

When the older daughter was young, Hubby and I would threaten to punish her misbehavior by sending her to a mythical Mime Camp; children dressed in whiteface and black, no speaking allowed. Campers would pretend to swim and hike all day, breaking only for juggling lessons and unicycle riding. By the time we actually found a real mime camp, she had grown out of the threat's effect. Now the younger daughter has reached the stage where we threaten to take her to Cheese World, a place we imagine has slides into giant vats of melted Cheddar and a tram ride through the holes of an epic block of Swiss...of course she doesn't believe us. Wait until I show her this!

Stockholm Syndrome*

The gorillas in Safari Park near Tel Aviv keep kosher for passover. They do so not because they are being observant, but because their keepers cannot handle leavened foods during the holiday. At least no one's handing them cigarettes.

*link

Lost in translation

I have been toying with a soup of words today; "visions", "apparitions", "observations", "regards", all plural, as I am trying to label a group of images related only by my manufacture...landscapes, portraits, a goat, the Lamb, Barbara Cartland on fire, a woman in a gun shop pointing a gun at her baby and laughing, beer bottle openers. Elvis regretting his tayloring. Here come some verbs; "respecting", "confound", "flummox", just throwing them around, now. How about "amusement" or "influence"? This is almost as fruitless as writing an artist's statement. Mother advises me to use plain English. She also wants some ice cream. How about finding some shoe polish and wiping up nicked frames?

Wrestling hardware

Screw eyes...wire...key plates...airplane glue and india ink. I have to hang a show at the notorious Mount Royal Tavern on the first of May. I don't have fliers so there is no mailing. I haven't even named the show. Let's see, there's already been Senselessly Obstinate Paintings by Molly Goatwax, Pizza Vision, Highly Important Works by Molly Goatwax, New Works and so on. Detritus of an unsettled mind? I don't want to call it a retrospective, being mostly new work-since the last show. Which has been, um, 4 years? Well, collecting these new works in a triage area, it looks like it will be a bang up show.

Step Up Clinic

As sometimes a step backwards can move you further towards your goals, so too may descending a staircase be seen as a step up.