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my trip was amazing. highlights?
- nan goldin's 'heartbeat' at the centre pompidou made me cry.
- a full body scrub and massage at darphin is totally worth it... and does wonders for one's self-confidence.
- colette is the coolest freakin store in the whole entire world. (and right around the corner from my hotel.)
- dropping 80 euros on dinner doesn't taste better than dropping 20 euros on dinner. dropping 115 euros on shoes, however, is a no-brainer.
- not knowing (or caring) what time it is, is priceless.
it wasn't the trip i was expecting. and that's ok. it was what it was. and i didn't take too many pictures. (only like 150 shots total.) honestly, i was just having too much fun to bother. either way, i'm home. i'm inspired. and i'm rested.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 @ 09:01 PM
...
too. much. happening. right. now.
i'm conducting a small blog hiatus until i get back from paris.
Sunday, January 21, 2007 @ 10:35 PM
the belmont show
WOW. i put out a call for entries about 2 weeks ago for this belmont show called 'art with a view - la reunion in the oc'. not the greatest title ever, but one gets the idea.
it's fairly phenomenal how many entries i've received. and they're AMAZING. really. i'm astonished at the research and interest in an obscure utopian colony that settled in dallas 150 years ago. circle the date: wednesday, january 24. 7-10pm at the belmont hotel. we jury the entries on saturday, just a few days before the opening. good luck to all who have submitted. the exhibit will be up through mid-march.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 @ 12:20 AM La Reunion
last conversation
the phone startled us. it was midnight when it rang. the lady on the line was with hospice and said grandma's nailbeds were grey and she was starting to hold her breath. her blood pressure was dropping and her heart was beating irregularly.
"do i need to get on a plane right now? i'd like to be there when she passes."
"er no. it's icing in here and you simply can't put your life in danger."
"ok, you're right. can you put the phone to her ear so i can say some words to her?"
"yes ma'am. of course."
"grandma. it's sarah jane. i want you to know i love you so much and am really glad you're my grandma. i've learned so much from you and think you've had an amazing life. i love telling my kids about you. please know you're always with me and i love you very much. goodbye, grandma."
Saturday, January 13, 2007 @ 08:03 AM my family
a day in the life
i have kicked ass the last couple of days, despite having a grandmother on the verge of death, some family drama, and a petty betrayal waving around over my head! wow. i don't know how i have gotten so much done. it's fairly astonishing. yesterday i climbed out of a mountain of paperwork and managed to still show up on time for a magazine interview that will hit stands in march.
this morning i was up bright and early and attended the oak cliff chamber of commerce economic development meeting. the director of the city of dallas economic development dept, karl zavitkovsky, was on hand to give an over view of past, present, and future of dallas development. it was interesting and my first time at something like that. i could go on and on for days about what it was like, but i'll save that for another blog.... !
then later this morning, i met a bunch of smu frat boys who were 'rushing' or whatever it is that one does when wanting to join a greek organization. they have to do 'x' number of community service hours. nothing scandalous - AND I KNOW! - i wanted them to be busted for a big kegger/scandal too! not the case, alas. they were nice enough and thoroughly confused by me hanging out taking pictures. HAHAHA:
they cleared tires and trash from the city r.o.w. in front of the lrtx land. they're lucky i didn't make them carry frozen grapes in their underwear or eat raw onions or drop them off naked with only a quarter or drive around with them in the trunk and make them drink everclear or blindfold them and make them eat worms or.... i'm kidding!
my day only kept getting better when i was finally able to drop off some lith prints to a buyer who's been expecting them since, like, march 06 or something ridiculous. i'm totally due a flakey artist now. it's official. but the damn prints are in her office and now i don't have to avoid her anymore! happy day!
last, i was able to swing by the framer's for a christmas gift a friend gave me, a drawing by local artist, M:
thank you, you. it's lovely. i don't know where i'm going to put it.
so here's to '07 looking up for me once again, after a very rough and rocky start.
Thursday, January 11, 2007 @ 05:51 PM proof that i'm a nerd
buy some girl scout cookies.
eva is a brownie scout and i'm one of her troop leaders. buy cookies, dang it. here are the flavors. email me at sarah@sarahjanesemrad.com and i'll gladly fill your order on her little form. they're $3.50 per box and a portion of sales directly benefits our troop. YAY!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 @ 09:44 PM my family
photo shoot
i shot the melissas tonight as a study for a painting. wasn't what i would have 'shot' myself, but i'm pleased enough with the results.
Monday, January 08, 2007 @ 09:53 PM
don't know if it's done or not
Saturday, January 06, 2007 @ 04:10 PM proof that i'm a nerd
subdivided
last night we watched the documentary subdivided on kera by local utd professor dean terry. it was awesome to get to re-appreciate and love my own neighborhood, winnetka heights. all the homes in our area are 100 years old and each one has its own personality with creaky floors and tall, airy ceilings. our modest house has 5 doors and when the weather is nice, we open all the doors and pull the most glorious breeze through our home.
there's a neighbor of ours, that ironically enough i lived in rome with, that periodically gets permits from the city to shut down a block, just so all the kids can ride their bikes in the street. it's fantastic to be a part of a real community where we know almost all of our neighbors and wave to them when they walk to church. i can't imagine living anywhere else. a cheaply built cookie cutter mcmansion sounds lonely from the anecdotal evidence in the documentary.
Thursday, January 04, 2007 @ 10:09 AM
song lyrics... and on a blog. geeze.
ok, nothing worse than song lyrics on a blog, but this happy bullets song has been in my head since i read andrea's blurb about new year's eve. something about it is appropriate to start the new year off with. especially that last verse. daaaang.
A Proper Rifle Assembly
Begin with step one
Let's assemble your new gun
count the pieces til there's none
we'll use them all before we're done
Make sure the bolt is clean
attach it to the firing pin
lube the bore and check the springs
Is the hammer functioning
for your proper assembly?
Take care the chambers free
to avoid an injury
thread the breach plug
clear debris
it's as easy as 1-2-3
With the safety locked
affix the trigger to the stock
undo the ramrod, pull it off
and keep a close eye on the clock
don't let this thing go off half cocked
We all get hurt
and we all get up
and we all move on
yeah we all move on
Wednesday, January 03, 2007 @ 10:10 AM proof that i'm a nerd
top ten of '06 - this list is making me not so depressed already!
10. the kate nelson show at continental. i think this girl is awesome. and i love her. and think she's super ballsy. she did a cast of me in february, which was one of the most surreal experiences ever. i felt like one of those plasticized bodies at the science place. i think she totally has it going on and look forward to working with her more in the future and seeing what else she has in store for us all.
9. roy and laura's wedding. it was my favorite event to shoot all year. i think they make a lovely couple and were so authentic in their vow exchange. plus, it was straight-up fun with catering by kalachanjiis.
8. yaris works. it was a ton of work but such a great thing to put on the resume. it was fun coming up with all the ideas with andrea and then seeing if they would work or not. and not on our dime! the only drawback? er, it was august and in texas. that was just dumb. check out the tah-dahs video that we shot as a community at good records using a ton of disposable video cameras. youmans did the editing.
7. primer. getting my hands on a 10,000 sq foot warehouse and putting on a multi-media art event was effing awesome. the artists were tim stokes, kate nelson, john holt, nevada hill, and ron radwanski. the band? an experimental noise ensemble called zanzibar snails. i thought they were genius live, albeit a little loud. eric sachs projected old 16 mm footage behind the band and dj sober played between sets. budweiser ponied up the booze and a few hundred people filled the space out the the max. the best part? it was my birthday that night.
6. travels with the family. this summer we went to visit my mother in missouri and brought home a new kitten. and in september, we went to my favorite place in planet earth... my grandmother's ranch in south texas. eva and jiri are always my favorite subjects to shoot. they're gorgeous.
5. parties at my house. there's nothing more wonderful than having people over. from paul's surprize party, to the off-the-hook halloween party and everything in between. i must have been martha stewart in another lifetime.
4. full moon croquet. what started as a lark in aug 05, turned out to be a super fun monthly gathering of assorted characters. dec 06 marked the last one... oi, i'm nostalgic already. the set is off my porch and it already looks a little lonely now. hmm. perhaps full moon scrabble? or baci ball? anyone? anyone?
3. art con II. holy crap. i don't know how we pulled that thing off. i still haven't dealt with the pictures i took. it's way too overwhelming. but allison v. smith took some photos that were absolutely stellar. over 1000 people crammed into the longhorn ballroom and literally FREAKING OUT about buying art. so much so that the poor bands didn't get much attention. i've never seen anything like it. as event producer and art coordinator, i was a non-eating, non-sleeping mess until it was over. it never would have been pulled off though without the slew of hard working volunteers and artists and musicians. a bow to jason roberts, my partner in crime on that deal. here's to art con III next year, dude.
2. la reunion. yeah, one year ago i had no idea that this thing would be off the ground and gearing up for an amazing year of programming in 07. it's really exciting to be a part of it and wonderful to have such great community support. it hasn't been easy in some instances, but it has been unimaginably satisfying. it's great to be throwing myself into something i believe in. not only are we forming an artist residency, but it'll be as green and off-grid as possible once built. the land is beautiful and all the people involved have been amazing.
1. living in dallas. this is such a great place to be right now. as tempting as it would be to move and reinvent ourselves, it's way cooler be able to head out any night of the week and catch a great band featuring personal friends. or check out an awesome art exhibit. or eat for cheap at one of the many veggie places we frequent. i'm thankful for all the blessings of 2006 and for paul and the kids who put up with me unconditionally.
