Hello, my friend Friday!

  
You know, people never cease to amaze me with their kindness.  A lovely blog post featuring an interview with yours truly came my way yesterday, and it was enough to make me feel warm all over, despite our first real blast of Minnesota winter.  You can see/read it here.
Thanks, Nestle and Soar!


I've been very busy this week -- actually on task for a change! -- and it has felt good.  Some day I'm probably going to stop my procrastinating ways and be ready for a show in advance . . .

but please don't hold your breath.  Just know that when the calendar turns over to February, the wail you hear will be from my studio.  Because everything that should have been done in November is still sitting around tapping its foot and waiting for my attention.  Oh well -- I've never missed a deadline yet.  (Keep telling yourself that, Susan!)


One of the things screaming for my attention is getting my profile uploaded to the new TAFA website, which launched this week.

Rachel Biel has created something amazing in TAFA, and we owe her a debt of gratitude.  I hope you'll all stop by and visit, and keep coming back (because new profiles from slowpokes such as myself will keep appearing every day.) Thanks, Rachel!

So, as many of you know,   it sorta sucks being an artist in today's economy.  Yes, there may be more poetic ways to express that, but we'll call it what it is -- sucky.  I had just figured out the whole game when suddenly the game changed, and I (being somewhat more averse to change than most) was reluctant to do anything to adapt.  That was okay for awhile, because my art was not my livelihood, so I had the luxury of just going along my merry way.  HOWEVER...






Now it's becoming clear that we have not hit just a small pothole in our industry, but a completely different road altogether --

and it doesn't look like we'll be returning to our previous path anytime soon.  So I'm looking to incorporate a little something new for Baltimore.

I've tried a few alternatives along the way (the collages, for instance) but with the ACC shows the jurying parameters are so strict that I'm very limited in how much I can deviate from my usual work.

So I have been formulating a plan,
 

and today I will give you a hint:

Voila!

She's so sweet, I'd almost like to eat her up . . . but she's not the finished product!  You'll have to stay tuned for that.  Or better yet, come to Baltimore yourself!  I promise that even if my work disappoints, you'll have hundreds of exceptional artists that will make you ooooh and aaaah and wonder why you waited so long to see this show...

 
For now, sending you 

warm wishes for a 

wonderful weekend!  

(full of alliteration, obviously... 

but also whatever makes a weekend just perfect for YOU.)