Molly Goatwax

still noodling

with a box of broken car window glass, contact cement and the dinosaur of imaging programs. A rather unpleasant combination and best to open the door for air.

A sophmoric use for a coathook

Flattened beer can, gel transfer, acrylic paint, paper and hardware on poplar.

navel gazing

As I noodle around with the pictures of my artwork in the imaging software, I again find myself pondering the whole grant/show/jury submission process-particularly the fees. As a younger artist the fees, coupled with the costs of reproducing 35mm slides, postage and so forth really kept my submissions to a minimum. That, and the rejections. Talk about adding insult to injury! I've always wondered what other profession makes you pay for the privilege of being considered for inclusion. Do singers fork over a twenty for an audition? Do writers send a reading fee with their manuscripts? What if you needed to write a check at every job interview and include one with every resume submission? It would make you fairly selective, wouldn't it? Now that I'm more, ahem, mature, I can afford the 25 dollars the city wants for looking at my pictures, but I think I'll need one of those how-to books for the intellectually challenged to figure out the software constraints. At least I've got a week to figure it out.

Hope Springs Eternal

I missed the first day of drop-off for the 1448 show, as did Janet. We elected to have a studio visit and drink a few beers. It was very constructive, so yesterday I dropped off a dishdrainer of small framed work in the pouring rain. As a consequence, I was freed up today for the next project. If my photographs are up to snuff and calibrated to the required proportions, I will enter them in the big city competition. Not that I expect to overcome my record of rejection, mind you. It's just that it's good for the practice.

foliage

An Enumeration of Blessings

I know this is late for the holiday, but it doesn't matter and for that I'm grateful. For Thanksgiving, I cooked a good big dinner that everyone liked and I didn't further injure myself cooking it. A blessing. The peach praline pie was divine, the dressing, a gustatory wonder. Yesterday our child was welcomed into the neighbors' home to eat their leftovers, they had turkey, we did not. I'm glad I drove Mick the bartender and his bowl of au gratin over to Patterson Park for his special dinner and got back over to this side of town a whole day before the older SAAB died in traffic and had to be towed off. It's probably not coming home. It was a good car. Now if Hubby would please change the tire on the new one? That would be a blessing.

Cactus Club

The 11 year old saw me sliding another couple of four inch pots onto the kitchen window sill. I showed her a small button from Miss Joolie on my lapel. "I'm in the Secret Succulent Society", I hissed...actually, I have been breaking up clumps of them and potting them individually. Some of them I've found other good homes for. I'm sure if Miss Joolie didn't live so far away, we'd exchange new specimens all the time. It would be nice to find some local enthusiasts. I'll trade a blue torch for a ghost plant!

The studio window.

mission accomplished

This past Sunday, during the football match, I nipped into the notorious Mount Royal Tavern to sample the game nosh. With chile searing my ears, I listened to a few bad plays on the T.V. and then spotted a friend who rarely gets out. We chatted for a bit before I asked her all casual like if she had wondered about stray tomatos stuck in her periodical rack. OH MY GOD THAT WAS YOU! she bellowed and waved her arms, WE ATE THE FIRST THREE BUT GOT TOO PARANOID TO EAT THE LAST! I told her it was a good thing that I stopped when I did, because I would hate to get in trouble for something as foolish as nicking tomatos, but I must say that it is quite gratifying to hear how very perplexed it made her.

What about us?

CNN is headlining the annual Congressional Quarterly study ranking the most dangerous cities in America. Who are these so-called experts? How can they have overlooked Baltimore? I take exception to these findings! We've always been #1!

Glean and Harvest

Yesterday, done with the flat and Dr. Creamcheese having blessed it with a jumpstart, I took the flivver to the thrift store. I got ten frames with glass and a pair of purple pants for 7 dollars. Although after this afternoon's odd upset for our football team I may not wear the jeans, I have to get cracking with the frames for a show for next week.

  It would be nice to turn this pile of prints to some profit.