Gay Boyfriend

O.K. I know this has been floating around the internets for a while, but I thought, well, a perfect summertime song.

I should be posting something

Stolen from the It Girl.

The rules: You go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (day and month only). Then post three events, two births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday.

May 16

Three Events

1770 - 14-year old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste who later becomes king of France.
1929 - In Hollywood, California, the first Academy Awards are handed out.
1965 - Campbell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand.

Two Births

1919 - Liberace, American pianist (d. 1987)
1973 - Tori Spelling, American actress

One Holiday

Middlesex Day.

We're off to Philly once again. This time we have a more serious sense of purpose..... the house is in the contract phase. So we need to find a place to live. Yikes!!
As a way of coping I'm imaging that I'm in Mexico, or moving there.

Oh, yes I'm also winding a giant yarn ball.

So far it's bigger than Chet,

Happy Pride

an image from Philadelphia's recent Pride ParadeSee we'll make lots of new friends

so so much

Be warned this is a link heavy, photo heavy post.

To refresh everyone's memory I was on my way to a Cranbrook Academy of Art reunion, and celebration of Gerhardt Knodel, and Jane Lackey as they leave the academy, with the opening of HotHouse : Expanding the Field of Fiber at Cranbrook.

Some of the folks who were also there. (links are to the websites, not the HotHouse exhibit pages)

Geary Jones, David Johnson, Hiroshi Jashiki, Arturo Sandoval, Lucille Tenazas, Lian Verhoeven, and I think I see Emiko Nagano,
Sonya Clark, Nick Cave,
Sandra Brownlee
Katarina Westlien, who just happened to be walking past as I photographed some graffiti
and Joan Livingstone - elusive.
There were so many others, Laura Foster Nicholson, Lucy Slivinski, Lisa Lockhart, Libby Kowalski just to name a few who I know from my time at Cranbrook.

My work didn't make it into the Museum but it was lurking around the academy.

Check out the link to the exhibit, and if you want to ... that is if anyone is still reading this crazy post..... here's the link to my page of the exhibit. I'm not awarding prizes for your stamina, but I'm happy to have been read.

I'm No Angel

Things seem to be moving quickly here. Any ideas on where to live in Philadelphia? I think we'll rent something first and get a feel for neighborhoods before deciding on a buy.

Off to Philly

We're off today for the initial hunt for a new place to live. Not much to post so I'll leave you with these pretty pictures.

some reasons for my absence

I have been trying to get photos of my stuff together. They've got to be good enough for publication (can't talk about the whys and where's of that yet but it's good). So far that part has felt a little bit unsuccessful.

We are also in a major life move type of mode. Fran and I have decided to put our house on the market and move to Philadelphia. The last few weeks have been filled with the craziness of getting all of our stuff organized and getting the house to look good, all while driving around to the shops and keeping the inventory up. In other words, we have been very very busy, there hasn't been a lot of private time.

Some really great stuff has been going on though, people from my past have been getting in touch. hi Anne, hi Addison, hi Stephanie. All of the reconnecting has been fun and a little bit exhausting. (playing catch-up).

I've also decided that I'm going to the Reunion thing even though I am not in the alumni show. Yesterday in a phone conversation Addison reminded me that I was never a part of that group, or even understood by them. Her suggestion, keep doing what you do. "you're the Grandpa of graffiti knitting".

I like that title, the grandpa thing doesn't even bother me, even though I rather just be the inspiration or the father, but somehow Grandpa fits my current mood.

Ho ho ho and it reminds me of the fiber bombs and little events that I began staging in the 70's. So now I'm ready for the reunion and I'll be sure to have some of my materials with me. (the pink rubber knitting hasn't been in vain)

posting may be sparse and I owe tons of emails.... later....

'nuff said

johnk -- [noun]: A person of questionable sanity who starts their own cult 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I'm not sure where I got this.

I'm back and 50

Provincetown, what can I say about Provincetown. It's magic and always makes me feel better.

We got to town at about 3 pm on Tuesday afternoon. On the drive out we decided that we would grab a little to eat (at Clem and Ursie's) and then go right to Race Point Beach. The reason we wanted to get to Race Point was that we had heard that there were an amazing number (140) of right whales off of the point and we were hoping that maybe a one of them would be close enough to shore for us to see. Why is seeing the right whale so exciting? O.K. it's estimated that there are about 400 of the northern right whale. They are so rare The idea that about one third of the entire population was off of the Cape is mind boogling.

We get to the beach... we're looking and looking and hoping, fingers crossed, but we aren't seeing anything. Then we see a spout!!, and the whales back. There is one and we think it's probably a right whale, then we see more and MORE!!!! by the time we're done counting we guess that there were about 12-15 Right Whales just off shore. I can't tell you how excited I was, and how lucky and privileged I feel that I got to see that.

In the excitement I took no photos, To give you an idea of how close they were, look over my shoulder in this photo that Fran took about ten minutes before we started seeing the whales. Can you see the white wave looking thing very close to the horizon? Yep I do, I think that's the whale going under, we must have just missed seeing it. It's a 1/4 mile out, believe me, that is sooo close.

That was a great start to a great couple of days. More info on the Right Whales off of P'town at the Center for Coastal Studies site.

After all of that excitement we went back into town and checked into the hotel. It felt a little bit strange being in town and not seeing Thom and Mark. but, they're happy living in Mexico. We did miss them.

Any way, we check in and decide to take a walk on commercial street to go for coffee, and to see what's changed since January. So 1st to Joe's Coffee (I would link to the site, but they don't have one, [ahem ...hint to Scott]). From Joe's we walked to the length of Commercial St. and ended in the East End at PAAM. We wanted to go to the museum since we hadn't been in since the new renovations. Waa waa, it was closed and would also be closed on Wed. my birthday.

Now I'm going to have to jump ahead in the story. On Wednesday I really wanted to go to the museum in the evening so we walked up and I was planning on looking in the windows. But.... more magic was happening and there was an event at the museum and it was open. So we got to go in and see he show, and I guess I almost expected that would happen.

Ok. I'm sure you all are getting tired, and I'm feeling a little out of breathe, so I'll stop the tales here. It was all fun, I'm back and relaxed.

Not much knitting around here

We have been on the run. Flea markets, the shops, and just trying to maintain.

I've only knitting this pathetic little foam sample thing on the past 15 days, yikes.

Now I'm taking a few days off to go to Provincetown, it's the birthday celebration...... Next time you hear from me I'll be 50.

2 weeks later

We've been to Chicago and are back. The trip out there was long and the driving was difficult. We had snow to start out. It took 5 hours to drive what would normally be 2 1/2. That was it for the snow though, then the trip was rain. Fran drove and by the end he was wiped out.
Oddly, we got to Chicago earlier than we expected. That turned out to be a good thing and we unloaded the van the day before show set-up. Lucky for us, since the next day was chaotic , everyone trying to move in garden items and not much room to park. It was a mess....
The show was so so, it feels like it's been months, I've sort of forgotten about it......

The best thing about being in Chicago was getting to see my friend Lucy and visiting her studio (at midnight on a long show day but I'm not whining). Check out her work. I love it. Here is an example of another person who was overlooked for the Radical Lace... blah blah blah show.


Fast forward to us driving home... no problems and the weather was great. Remember that snow from the day we left?, well when we got home it was in the high 80's and everything was in bloomI've been back for a week, and we have been spending a lot of time running to the shops and getting the booths looking good. We really need to be making some money.

I've managed to work a little bit. I tried doing these woven things on a little frame loom. Good for the road trips. The idea is to add some growing plant material to this. I don't know, we'll see what happens. It's very in the percolating not articulated stage right now. So as a distraction I've been
Straightening up the studio. Chet's been there helping. (here he is pointing out a knitting machine and hinting that maybe 5 are just a little too many. I , of course, assure him that I need the extras for parts)
Chet is getting better. The thyroid supplements help with his appetite and attitude. He's still a Terrier - loves to growl.

And that concludes this little update..... I have a feeling that I've lost many readers and say thanks to everyone who has stuck around.

Why no posts?

I have been in the middle of an art meltdown, or freak out or ..... I don't know what to call it. It sort of began when I saw the Radical lace.... show, well really it began when people started contacting me and asking why I wasn't in the show. Yesterday I was asked twice. yikes, then there was the feeling of rejection ......

I'm still plugging away in the studio though.... today's wall, these are some giant knots made out of paper, hmmmm, we'll see where this goes. I also have the loom threaded and have been working on some double-cloth things incorporating newspaper.
O.K. I feel a little better just getting that out, thanks everyone for your tolerance.

What can I say about Philadelphia? The visit was very short but it was so great to see Melissa. The trip to the Fabric Workshop contributed a bit to the freak out though. I realized that I was an apprentice there in [ahem] 1980. It was great to see Melissa and I thought I would just pass on the good news - both she and Nina have been awarded Canada Council grants, that should make things a little easier for them in the studio work. oh , one last thing about Philly. There is good food in that city. We basically ate constantly for the 24 hours we were visiting.

The Chet update....
The Vet has been doing a series of blood tests. We are trying to get to the bottom of the seizures, anxiety, and aggression. Well, the tests show that he has hypothyroidism. He's on medication now to correct this imbalance and hopefully things will be improving.


We are also busy getting ready for the garden show in Chicago, it's a big deal and a ton of work. We'll be gone for a week and we're hoping to come home with some extra money.

I'm going to admit it.... part of my meltdown has to do with turning 50 in a month, I didn't think I was effected by that kind of thing, but it has me just evaluating and trying to figure out how to get to the place I want to be.

I'll try to get a post in before leaving for the trip but if that doesn't happen, updates will be in the last week of April.

The only photo from Philadelphia, taken by Fran.
Lamb cakes in the case at Termini's Bakery

Lots of driving

We have been on the road a lot lately.

And I leave for Philadelphia tomorrow, It's a short overnight trip. We'll be gallery hopping and visiting the Fabric Workshop and I hope the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Blogging on my return,

I'd better remember to bring the camera.

Finally Spring

Today is the first day the crocus are blooming. Most of the snow is melted and we have the windows open.

an update

1st a Chet update.

There hasn't been another seizure. The Vet did blood tests and then went away on vacation, so I haven't heard from him. He is suppose to be back tomorrow and call me.
So until then we're assuming that it is a form of epilepsy of unknown origin. Since there was only one seizure and it was fairly short it will probably be a OK with out any type of medication, we'll just have to watch him. The Vet did say that it would be unusual if this developed at his age, so if it is epilepsy the people who gave him up most likely knew about it, that's the vet's suspicion at the moment.

In the rest of my life.....

We're trying to get enough stuff together so we can sell it and make some money. Funny that the hard part is finding the objects that use to be fairly simple.

I have been doing little bits in the studio, but today , gosh..... I'm feeling deflated. or maybe defeated..... There is a fiber alumni show at Cranbrook. Everyone was asked to submit images etc... for a show at the museum and there's a book project connected with it. anyway - long story short, I wasn't picked for the show, they picked 60 out of the 200 who responded.
Now I'm really wondering if I should continuing trying to make stuff.

I'm not going to whine on about this, but it just feels sucky.

Oh, yea, there was a little knitting going on with some crazy novelty yarn from the dollar store.... not anything except a ??????

Chet Models

U.S. readers

Please go here

and send an electronic postcard to Congress demanding immediate action to solve the climate crisis.

A real post from me later today

Ups and Downs

Sunday we went to the Hamptons to spruce up the shop and move some new things in and Fran wanted to go to the beach to take some photos. We get there (the month in both locations has been slow) get the room in order and drive over to the beach. It's our fist time with Chet at beach and it's a warm beautiful day. We walk along, Fran has his Holga out and all of the plastic toys and is working on the new series. I look up and see - how strange is this - someone I know. Any one who has spent time with me will know that I run into people everywhere, In mexico, in the UK, going to a quiet little dinner, it just happens. So there is this someone, and he's with his dog and a friend with a dog and they come over and ask about Chet, Chet doesn't mind the little dog but the friend's dog is a young portuguese water spaniel and a little bit hyper, Chet growls, tries to snap, we say our good byes, I think that the spaniel was also a little bit of a problem so they knew to just walk away, that's good. In the meantime, a woman (uber rich looking blonde hampton's type) comes on to the beach with 3 dachhounds and they are wild, crazy runnning around trying to nip other dogs , Chet decides not to even look at them and they don't come too close just about 10 feet yapping and yapping. all in all a good day at the beach even though it was short (the time on the beach) and three and a half hours from our house. The good part no snow there.

Monday is a day of the studio and just doing work , here's one of the sewn knitted things and the $ store glove.Tuesday is a roller coaster kind of day. Fran is in a mood and you can't tell if you might just say the wrong thing and set him off on a tirade. This can be about anything. money . politics, antiques, who knows. By the end of the day he's calmer and things are ,well, just normal.

We're sitting aroung watching tv it's about 10:30 , Chet is laying on the couch with us near my feet. He crawls up to me, whimpers and then goes totally stiff. I freak out + jump up. He looks dead, his head is tilted and his legs are stretched straight out, I go to the phone and start looking up the emergency animal hospital number, and I start looking around for everything for a rush to the vet's. Some where in there I moved Chet to his bed. While I'm doing all that Chet wakes up, and sits with Fran looking scared. I come in and he attaches himself to my leg. This lasts about 15 minutes.

We have had experience with dogs and seizures, but this one was different not so convulsive more of just a stillness. We go to the Vet today at noon, They say not to worry unless a pattern of seizures develops,

man that was scary, I'll let you know how the appointment goes.

What am I doing?

I have started sewing, obsessively on the knitted images, and I'm leaving pockets unsewn - those I'm stuffing - sort of ragdoll -ish.
I'm not too happy with the work , it has me feeling insane but,
I've decided that I just have to push through even if the work looks like it totally sucks ass.I've managed to cut fingers on both of my hands. That is making it a bit difficult to work on the knitted newspaper, String keeps catching in the cuts and reopening them. So.... I got some weird knitted work gloves at the dollar store and have been trying to wear them while working.

Maybe I am now officially insane.