appreciation
hot dates, new (old) cars, day-old stirfry and spring rolls, yucky-wonderful rainy weather, a clean house, snooty-snoot gallerists in town know who nyddia and i are and comment that we have shows 'people actually want to come to', hot tea, halloween candy, beautiful children, compliements from photo clients, re-hire work, art sales, flannel sheets, patience at the DMV, wind chimes.
Monday, October 31, 2005 @ 12:53 PM
unschooling in the observer? say wha?
what an inspiring story about un-schooling.
i aspire to follow this train of thought with my own children, but i give in to too much pressure. but gosh, i'm sure inspired. and wow, what a lovely visual:
What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook.
--Henry David Thoreau
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 @ 11:11 PM my family
coelancanth
so last night, nerd-family, i mean the semrads watched NOVA, our favorite show. it was about the mysterious coelancanth fish, elusive and rare, a living fossil from the dinosaur age. true, it was fascinating, but whatever... rare fish don't really do it for me.
so today, we're doing school work and eva starts doodling in her writing book.... and she drew this beautiful coelancanth fish. so i ask her, 'so what makes this fish so amazing? do you know?' and she proceeds to tell me all about 'how the fish has six fins and uses them in a the same way we use our limbs... right hand goes forward while the right leg goes back and left hand goes forward while the left leg goes back.' and then she goes on about how the babies are in the mama, 'you know, just like mammals.'
i dunno. but i think she's pretty darn smart. maybe are all kids this way and my limited experience with kids in general doesn't allow me this knowledge.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 @ 03:25 PM my family
homeschooling
ok. so. yes, i homeschool the kids. our favorite subjects are math and science and art.... i mean of course! look who's teaching! and i even venture to say they're all really the same thing. (but i digress.) our least favorite subjects are reading, spelling, phonics and vocabulary, but vocabulary is prob the most favorite of that bunch, cause i love me some big words. i'm vocabularious. (inside joke.)
ok, so here's the thing: i have explained and re-explained over and over again how lucky we are to be born speaking english.... i mean look at it people: 'are' is pronounced 'r'. (?) explain that one to a highly rational 6 year old! and 'some' and 'sum' are two differnt things. (?) we play 'sight bingo' with our fancy-schmancy world view curriculum we use. and the words 'one' and 'here' and 'there' are on it. as far as i can tell, none of them make any sense, and yet we simply accept them as is..... i shrug and say, "just memorize it, baby"
ok, but i tell ya one thing: the kid can point out 'euphrates river', 'vietnam' , 'new hibrides islands', 'papua new guinea' , 'the congo' , 'japan' , 'bhutan' and 'scotland' on a globe faster than any 20 year old i know. take THAT DISD!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 @ 08:29 PM my family
bonsai kitties
This cannot be for real. kinda funny. but not real.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 @ 12:53 PM
undisclosed location
was thinking back to my urban exploration adventure last year. everytime we drive by, i say, "i can't believe i've been in there!" i think it too, whenever i wear the black chucks, like i am today. somehow, i squeezed in though a gap in a gate and after gingerly pushing through my backpack, which contained a flashlight, a hammer, a screwdriver, a tripod, and a Mamiya with 6 rolls of Tri-X Pan film. after climbing in through a second story window, i went through the building room by room, marveling at the gorgeous decay. i suppose i should have been afraid of spirits and such, especially in the morgue, but i just wasn't. after two hours of shooting long exposure pictures with a tripod and trigger, i snuck out the same way i got in and drove off in giddy pleasure.
Saturday, October 22, 2005 @ 04:47 PM proof that i'm a nerd
pigeon-stone project at continental presents greg stinson
10.22 from 7-10 PM. complimentary wine and beer.
3311 elm street
dallas, deep ellum (but not really)
greg stinson's show is BEE_YOU_TEE_FULL and i'm so glad to be showing it to the world.
www.pigeonstoneproject.com
Friday, October 21, 2005 @ 10:30 AM gallery events
wrawk
new hair. it's asymetrical and very bright. and took almost all day to get it! fascinating culture: hair dressers.
Thursday, October 20, 2005 @ 11:08 PM
fair pics
we took a spontaneous field trip to the state fair tonight. we ate nasty fair food and rode only a few rides because it's scarily expensive. the kids had a wonderful time and are in for a hard sleep tonight. i'm so glad we didn't let this year escape without a trip to the fair. it's too much fun to miss.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 09:24 PM my family
somehow still inspired
after shooting about 800-some-odd pictures yesterday between a family shoot, a pregnancy shoot and a wedding reception, i still managed to be inspired enough to shoot a few bands last night at the cavern, a club which incidentally has really turned it around. whoever is doing the booking there is doing a great job pulling in some killer acts. case in point: knife in the water on nov 5, although i don't see it listed, oddly enough. my only beef: the venue is a little too small to handle the kinds of crowds that could show up.
last night i got to see the octopus project. um, they totally blew my mind. the chick on the theramin was especially amazing:
no vocals. it's ipod meets guitar and they ran off together with a group of friends including drums, thermin and glockenschpiel:
and no trip out in public would be complete without a picture of me in the bathroom. andrea joked my next show would be a series of me in dallas club bathrooms. she might be onto something:
i have so many of these pictures now, it's scary.
Sunday, October 16, 2005 @ 01:12 PM
sarah jane update
haven't been in too much of a mood to chronicle much here lately. i've been sick and busy and up to my ears in home-schooling, which i love! and the kids are doing so well! i'll get inspired soon again and update more and more often here.
many exciting things are brewing including www.casketfactory.org and www.artconspiracy.org. also, i have plans for a trip to new orleans to help out a friend in less than two weeks. this fall is a killer line up at the continental and at all the venues for that matter. photo shoots keep lining themselves up for me like they do every fall, which is nice, but keeps me in front of the computer for long periods of time. i'm still alive and hanging in there. i hope no one gets this cold i just got over. i was flat on the couch for three days. yuck.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 @ 02:57 PM
rhoda
the kids and i went to our first funeral together last week. my best friend in the whole wide world's mom died last week from cancer. the saga is so long and drawn out, it warrants its own book, but nevertheless, it was a marvelous cermony and proof of her being there existed right here:
bye bye for now rhoda. we'll all miss you.
Monday, October 10, 2005 @ 02:34 PM
the art conspiracy
artists: be lookin' for the email. it's coming this week.
Sunday, October 09, 2005 @ 10:29 AM
pigeon-stone project presents : edward ruiz : counter culture
tonight. counter culture deep ellum. 2707 main street in deep ellum. 7-9PM.
reception for edward ruiz. super hip mod chicks painted on fabric and wood.
oooo-la-la. and wear a coat, it's down-right chilly outside. how exciting!
Thursday, October 06, 2005 @ 09:07 AM gallery events
Greg Stinson at the Continental
mmmmmm. hung greg stinson's show tonight at continental. as commerical as it looks, be forewarned, there's a naughty little subversive streak in it that's intoxicating. it knocks my breath and gives me chills. i like it. the reception isn't until 10/22, but don't be shy, swing by any saturday from 1-5 and check it out. it's truly stunning and inspiring work. LOVE IT.
