From panic to pears

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

When I first moved to Sacramento I panicked over everything, big and small. It’s getting better, so good that now I can even tolerate the inevitable computer glitches  (One took an hour of phone calls today) 

… I've been meditating 15 minutes each morning ... I like the pointlessness of just sitting ... 

I also drew and painted pears. 

Love,

k

3.5" x 5"

ink and watercolor

12" x 12"

pencil

Comfortable day

Written last night:

Dear Friends,
Today I caught up and relaxed. I made rice pudding because it is my comfort food, and now sweet potatoes roasting smell delicious. (Also comfort food.) It is dark out and I am going to close the living room shades. Up above, on the 14th floor (we skip 13) there is scraping and bumping and the drop and bounce of little hard things. I think someone is arranging furniture. It was a speedy day.
Love,
k

He does everything for fun

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

It was a busy Sunday and it’s already bedtime. But I wanted to show you this picture of the photographer Duane Michals (He’s second from left, approaching the desk.) at the Crocker Museum today. Decades ago, when I was beginning to study photography, Michals made groundbreaking work in series and portraits. He was my hero. Today he spoke around the corner from me. He lives in New York, but has a show here. He has a great sense of humor, and one of the best things he said is

"I do everything for fun” 

Here Michals is getting ready to sign books following his talk. That building beyond the window is where the Crocker family used to live. It is now part of the Crocker Museum, and the outdoor area between is where there are often concerts and other events. A guard told me that the first plan was to have the big window area be able to rise like a garage door, so there could be a roomy celebration area, but that proved too expensive.

Love,

k

Apples to apples

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Today I finished that book about habits (The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg); I read it because these past two years have made me realize how crucial routines are. Basically the book said we do things because they give us a reward. So to establish a routine we have to make sure we get a reward. Simple, huh? And he wrote a whole book about it.

I finished the apple collage this afternoon, except for a final coat of varnish and a frame. I like it, even though it’s not as smooth as the under-painting. Good art is supposed to look wonderful from a distance, and then be interesting when you get up close too. Collage is ready-made for that, since you only see the details of small pieces up close. I’m going to make a few more collages and also paint a simple apple, as Mary suggests. Thanks, Mary.

Love,

k

The collage, above

The underpainting, below

Step !: Collage workshop

Dear Friends,

At 7:15 this morning Zing! went to Tony’s, and I went to a collage workshop led by Elizabeth St. Hilaire. She lives in Orlando and I learned about her when I lived in Florida. Her collages are bright and happy. So I was surprised that she’s leading a workshop in northern California. 

We painted an apple ahead of class time. In the workshop we are going to paint paper, then tear it, then glue it onto a canvas-covered board to make a collage of that apple. Today I learned various ways to use print and stencil and paint. By 4 p.m. I was tired. I guess that means I’m learning something. Here is my first step: the painted apple.

Love,

k

Sacramento Deco

Dear Friends,

I  love this building in the 2500 block of J Street. It reminds me of the Art Deco buildings on Miami Beach. It is a boutique of new and “vintage” clothing named ShopCuffs. When I drew it on a Sunday it was closed, but soon I’m going there to shop.

Love,

k

Zing!sense

Dear Friends,

In Tallahassee Zing! had his own bed in the hall outside our room, but when we moved here he slept on the bed beside me. It was as if he knew I needed him. After about a year, when things had settled down, he began sleeping under the bed — still close. It seems that now he thinks I’m getting a little calmer. I usually get up at 6 with no alarm, but at 5:55 a.m. yesterday I heard Zing! padding into the bedroom — he must have been sleeping on his favorite living room pillow. He crept quietly into his place under my bed. It was as if he wanted me to think he’d been there all night long. When I got up five minutes later, he peeked out, did his morning stretch, and our day began. Zing! seems to have a sixth sense about when he can ease me into new routines.

Love,

k