I’m waiting for my photo editing app to restart, so I’m writing without pictures. I’m a visual person and pictures help me write. Ironically, I don’t need pictures to read because my brain makes them while I read. Probably explains a lot about how I make art. I’m in that complicated stage where I’ve been working on the same quilt for MONTHS and I’m almost done and the next one needs to just pop up so I can keep working without going insane. Drawing needs to happen. Drawing is hard. Not really, but having the mindspace for it at the end of a workday is hard. And right now, finding mindspace for anything is hard. Between an idiotic government, school crap, and grading, I’m just not there. But there’s a seed, a hint of an idea for the next piece, which will be constructed differently, so hopefully I can fan that seed into a fire. Wait, that’s not how it works. Or is it?

I spent the weekend in San Francisco with the girlchild, which meant plenty of art and good food and walking. My knees are reminding me of that part. My shoulders/back are kind whack from carrying an over-the-shoulder purse instead of a backpack. Easier in some ways, more complicated in others. I finished one book and started another. I stitched nothing and drew nothing (short flights…it’s hardly worth pulling things out of your bag, because then you’re descending). I graded a little, just enough to keep one nostril above the flood.

The night before I left, I was sewing binding. Sunday night, when I got back, I was sewing binding. Last night, I finally finished binding and got one sleeve and a bit done.

Tonight I finish.

OK, so the trip. Started with my taking pictures of Craig Calderwood murals in the baggage claim area…

There’s some fun airport art out there.

Then the next morning, walking to meet the girlchild for breakfast (my alarm didn’t go off)…

I took a bunch of pictures of murals…maybe some I took last time.

I stayed in the same place. It was quiet last time.

It was pretty quiet this time. Girlchild had a ceramics class in the morning and I was going to tag along and get a day pass and just make a thing while she advanced wheeled.

She made two things…my camera had clay on it by then.

Hence blurriness. But one marbled with two colors. While I made a coil pot.

So that was 2.5 hours, and then I thought class was done, but I looked over and they were all throwing a second pot, so I made something crazy.

Hopefully that neck will hold up. And the wings. We’ll see. I left them both for her to fire and glaze. Like a good mom. We were there a good 90 minutes later than we thought, so our second plan for the day (third?) was out due to closing times, so we met up with a high school friend of mine and a bunch of her family who all know the girlchild.

This was the walk back to change clothes though…

All one mural…

I didn’t even get it all…

Then we walked to the girlchild’s apartment for HER to change…

Lots of walking. It was the Chinese New Year parade, so traffic (even buses) was insane, but we grabbed takeout, walked up a huge hill, and ate in a park.

It was nice to see everyone, though I’d just seen my friend on Sunday (long story).

The next morning, I saw a rainbow across the Mission…

Mostly because it kept raining.

Then we went to the ICA (which is free) for some art.

Some beautiful work about mold and decay by Kathleen Ryan.

Fascinating how real it looks.

Another weirdness in the museum…

Maryam Yousif’s Riverbend pieces…

Ceramic and wood.

Rodney MacMillian’s Untitled (Orange Hills)…

Reminds me of screenprints I made in the 80s…spill and dribble the ink.

Shinique Smith’s Dusk…

There was definitely a lot of fabric going on at ICA…

Anthony Akinbola’s Neopolitan, made of durags.

Fun stuff. Tried to ignore politics, but it’s impossible.

So much stupid.

Oh yeah, I am. I’ll be sitting the SAQA booth on Saturday from 12-2 if you want to stop by. Taking a class, sitting in some lectures, checking out the art. Not sure how all the travel of the season ended up in consecutive weekends (gonna kick my butt), but whatever.

Nice kitty. My kitty bit someone because I wasn’t here to feed her. Hmmm. OK. School. Apparently I gotta go there and do things. Then ceramics. Then grading, the neverending grading. Ugh.