holy cow - it's been a few months since i've checked in.  this summer has been a delight and simply put, gorgeous.  it's been a flow of long, lazy, hot days that are somehow also extremely productive.  i feel like this is the perfect pace for me - working twice a week and enough time to be properly domestic and handle all tasks that come before me.

yoga has made a subtle and profound re-entry into my life - this time around not the physically rigourous ashtanga yoga but an exploration of gentler and more spiritual  paths, hatha and kundalini.  it's a whole new ball game - the classes still leave my body transformed in some way but without the dripping sweat and falling over from exhaustion.  the focus for me is to find calm and peace knowing that i'm massaging my organs, lengthening my muscles and soothing worries.

i keep saying that i am now truly becoming that crazy hippie that i always aspired to be:  all gray hair, window-sill herb gardens and yoga stylee!  it's pretty liberating to finally accept it and let it happen.

the past few months have been a great time to be with trae - lots of hang time, eating shawarma in the sun for lunch, strolling around the neighbourhood, swimming, playing The Beatles Rock Band and and street badminton, making art. 

this summer he discovered fencing, epee specifically at an Ottawa U summer camp.  such an elegant sport - a 'civilized' aggressive activity, one can't deny the grace required.  oh, and the fencing outfits are unbelievably stylish...cream-coloured jackets (some with moto-style collars), the mysterious, insect-like mask and one cool glove.  it's no joke, it's seriously awesome.

gotten in some good girl time, too:  vancouver to visit mamoo with pichie and a river-side picnic with boozee and jenzel.  yay!

great news recently:  i've landed a solo art show at Wurm Gallery/Invisible Cinema in late October!  my first solo show ever and i'm thrilled to bits.  the owners are the gorgeous pair Jodie and Nick (of Buried Inside fame, for all you hardcore metal fans) and have asked that the BF perform at the vernissage as Remi Royale (his cheesy, lascivious lounge singer alter-ego).   so i'm a busy beaver trying to create new works for that great space.

so far so gooooooood.

just a wee note to sing the praises of my dear friend and soul bro, pedro isztin, photographer and seeker.

the work is textured, sensuous and laden with emotion.  here is a man who has been a driving force in my own creative process, showing me how to channel my energies by doing so himself.  a great gift that pedro has given me is that an artist must honour her gift - water it, feed it, let it thrive. and he's been known to make a mean paella...  www.isztinfoto.com

what an exhausting day - slept quite late, worked last night and had  several post-work drinks with the ladies.  it was one of those saturday night chirps where we deconstructed and analyzed it all.  the power of women!  the way we can support and soothe and listen, what a blessing!  

early afternoon came pretty quickly after a snooze and trae and i were off to the chinatown remixed 2010 artists' tour.  since most of the artists were unable to see all the of the 30 or so venues the day of the vernissage, the festival organizers put together this time for the artists to walk the tour together, led by centretown icon, china doll and her dog, mango. 

 we did it in about 3hrs and it was an awesome opportunity to have most of the artists on hand to say a little bit about their work and showcase the venues.  trae was such a trooper, he stayed with it the whole time propped up with snacks and soda pops and dog petting.

it was pretty inspiring to see the work and hear the intent and the process behind it.  we even came out of it with 2 pieces of art for our own collection - lino cuts by guillermo trejo.  amazing, simple, graphic!  

i met so many warm and engaged artists in my community, made me feel like i was somehow settling into this relatively new role of mine, that of someone who makes stuff.

(i love this piece of a sleeping man, like a grandpa who's fallen to sleep in the easy chair after dinner)

 

this was trae's selection, 'dientes de oro' by guillermo trejo.  gold teeth!

then tonight after trae hit the hay, i read the latest Interview magazine cover to cover (Madonna being on the front).  i read a great interview by tobey maguire of the artist KAWS.  the guy started as a skater and graffiti artist and has now broken into the rarified art world scene.  what i loved about the interview was his take on art vs. product, that there is no distinction, that 'mass produced' objects are no less valuable to the collector than original masterpieces.  and so, to him creating t-shirts, figurine toys or canvases is all the same creative process.  and likewise, there is no less inventiveness, creative juice, inspiration or hardwork going into the making of a humble collectible product than into the sculpting or painting or drawing of a one-off.

very thought-provoking indeed.

treasures:

i went shopping today.  felt the need to treat myself since i skinned my knees this week in a hyper-embarrassing softball accident.  never thought i would say those words, but there it is.  softball is proving to be a rough lover (and into humiliation apparently).  so today i wandered around, dropped off some library books and hit the new  Murale store here in Ottawa.  

never been much of a beauty product hoarder, but i've been coveting my very own bottle of Chanel Allure for at least a decade.  the day has come!  the shea butter is for a somewhat debilitating and prolonged bout of eczema on my fingers and the verbena soap was selected strictly to get over a hundred bucks to score a bit of a discount (and because it smells soooo fresh).

tonight, i'm heading to La Petite Mort Gallery for a friend-of-a-friend's vernissage and then over to the SAW Gallery for the Winchester Warm  CD launch.  should be pretty pretty good.

 it's a lovely day in Canada's capital, but i think the heat wave is getting to people (myself included?).  folks were honking and shaking fists all over downtown today.  time to chill, people - life's not that bad.

 (winchester warm: matt godin & jon pearce)

okay, here goes.  time to put out the feelers, to utilize the tactile organs.