Two DC Must Sees

Sarah is coming up for Shannon and Will's engagement party in September. I told her that she had to go see two exhibits or I could no longer be her friend. Then I changed my mind and told her that I would not check her blog six times a day even though they generally only update it once a week. I was just trying to emphasize how amazing and moving these exhibits are. And of course, we are so lucky that they are both free while on tour here in DC.



The first is Martin Puryear, a DC native and master woodworker on exhibit at the National Gallery of Art through September 28th. I have been to the exhibit twice now. Each time I go, I immediately want to run home and pull out this sheet of doll house wood plank flooring and start making something on a very small scale. Really these are just wood veneer stickers, but if I could somehow replicate the coolness of his work as my own souvenior and the feeling I get when I see it, it would be worth the futile effort. Lucky for us, he and his work has been featured on the PBS Series Art 21, so there is lots of great information online. Plus, check out the MOMA online exhibit, specifically where the exhibit was not free.



My favorite piece is Desire, seen above. It is simply massive and incorporates his use of weaving in the stable base. I am amazed at how the piece is held together. I am guessing that he staples the wood into the forms while it is soft and later removes the staples from the piece. I simply don't know. I will have to watch the Art 21 video to learn more.

Plus, I love the fact that the artist is a local. I secretly believe that the security guards were acting a little more protective. And I was excited to see a group of construction workers walking around the exhibit when Eris and Robert were here. Did they give up their lunch break to check out their old friend's work? I like to romanticize that I am observing these little scenarios first hand.



The second must see exhibit is Jim Henson's Fantastic World at the International Gallery through October 5th. Lucky for those not in DC, this exhibit is on tour.

For me, I see everything through the lens of my grad work, which was an exploration of an artist's evolution. This exhibit once again proved that a lot of artists start out doing the same kind of things - lots of different creative activities, almost always including some type of graphic design work. There are several small seeds planted with one or two really taking off. And then the evolution begins. The work continues to grow and the focus continues to narrow, until you reach a huge body of work at the end of a crazy journey that took you there. Hind sight is always 20/20. Right? But no one could ever plan a path like this.



I have tried to get Henry to go with me to this exhibit on several occasions. I was so happy when Jason said he wanted to go and we had a little date one Saturday morning. My mom always likes to tell the story that I watched Sesame Street twice a day everyday of my childhood. Henry's dad loves to point out the TV, which he had converted into a china cabinet. Sesame Street, and the help of his big brother Tony, taught him English. To say that Jim Henson has not had an impact on your life if you are in my age group is just dead wrong. And to this day, his work lives with expanded meaning like the non-profit Sesame Workshop, which helps spread forward-thinking ideas to kids all around the world. We lost a great man when he died suddenly in 1990. And to think it was just all about pursuing a vivid imagination and never putting down a little puppet who looked like Kermit.

good to know I am not alone

This is Elise. She is one of the assistant managers at Paper Source. Plus she is the workshop coordinator. I am sure that I have driven her crazy on many occasions with my frantic concern over an upcoming workshop.

Yesterday we were discussing our blogs. I started reading her blog sometime earlier this summer after I saw a link in the bottom of her email. (I have yet to add my blog link to my email, but really must make that a priority for this week.) Anyway, when I went to Penland, I sort of lost track of her blog. So last night I decided to catch up.



First of all, I must say that is pretty exciting reading Elise's entries. We share so much in common, except she has the job I wish that I had ten years ago. Not that I didn't learn tons from working in a traditional office. Let me correct that - several traditional offices. But the lack of creativity and constant contact with paper sent me home spending hours every night coming up with products I would hope would one day be in stores across America. There were the fortunehearts, die-cut bras, note card sets, onesies, and on and on. I was making my own little brand in my back room. I hoarded tons of paper, cartons, bags and labels. I still have origami paper from my first big purchase in 1998. Yes 1998. Ten years ago!!! No, I believe it was actually 1997. So that's even worse. ELEVEN years ago. There have been dramatic improvements in paper options and colors over the last decade. Believe me.

I first found Paper Source on the internet. I just remember thinking, "This changes everything." I might could define my life BPS and APS. I love their paper that much. All of the colors and scalloped edges made my white flat cards look, well, white and flat. Just plain. The options were a little overwhelming.

It was February 2005. I was working at a conference in DC and had to make invitations for Sarah's shower in my hotel room. (I actually posted this on my original blog, which is now defunct.) I trekked off to the store to buy the goods. While checking out, I remember thinking I can work here. I knew that we would moving to DC in August, but it was a big secret. I had no idea at the time that my boss would talk me out of quitting three months later and let me work from home four hours away.

After we moved to DC, I started working as Paper Source as a way to meet new people. I was working at home for NECTAC (UNC) and I needed to get out in the world. Plus who doesn't love Paper Source if you love paper as much as I do. Paper Source is my first experience in retail. I am coming up on my third anniversary of part-time work there and I must say that I love it.

But after so many years behind a desk, including my college summer jobs, I really resisted the idea of not needing to be behind my computer every day all of the time. It honestly took me at least a full year after leaving UNC not to feel the lull towards the laptop. Thanks to my iPhone and a mental shift, I can now go maybe three, four or five days without picking up the laptop. That's a good thing because it slowly sucks my time away from me.

Paper Source is great, not only because of the employee discount, but because I enjoy my time there. I help people come up with a product, pick out the materials and send them on their way. I don't have to do any of the printing and/or labor. It is great! I am so happy just being an idea person.

I also get to organize and see lots of pretty things. The whole time I'm working, I think of things that I can make out of everything in the store. It is like being paid to take an extended shopping trip in one massive store filled with things I love. My wheels are always turning as I put away packs of converted paper or rearrange glitter based on the Paper Source color palette. Sounds lame, but it's incredibly soothing.

Then there are the great people, all of whom I love. Including Elise... not that I love her more than others. But I do enJOY her blog. Plus, I don't know of anyone else's blog. So please come forward if you are reading this and think, "Hey! What about me?" Good to know if I ever begin to miss Elise, I can watch these videos to keep me company.

And as Elise, expresses in this video, the recent PS Clearance was just like Christmas. This is literally the first sale I have ever seen in the last three years. I honestly think that they keep me on staff because I spend my entire earnings for the evening at least every other shift. On Sunday night, Elise ran up to me and said, "We are $88 short of our goal. Anything you want to buy?" I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Don't worry, Henry. I didn't personally meet the goal, but someone with a Xyron machine did. (Don't even get me started on the Xyrons... I owned three before I even found PS.) Unfortunately I can't share the items that I bought because I went the Christmas gift route. (No more hoarding paper for me. Watch out, Elise.) I am way ahead of schedule this year. Thanks, Paper Source.

role models

I am always amazed when I meet couples who have marked milestone anniversaries. Yesterday Victor and Sallie Tupitza celebrated their 62 years of wedded bliss. When I saw their wedding picture, I was surprised how much they still look like they did so many years ago, except I believe that Sallie has gotten even skinnier. I am not certain that is exactly fair. But she is so wonderful that I will forgive her.

We met Victor and Sallie when we first began attending Calvary three years ago after arriving in DC. Since I was working at home, I knew that I needed to aggressively seek out ways to meet people. The church was about two blocks away, almost the same walk from my parents' house to Friendship. When the service included Spanish in the service, we decided to come back.

Sallie was one of the many amazing people everyone kept telling me about. Amy picked up pretty immediately that I was an artist and so is Sallie. We needed to meet. She arranged for us to put together some display on the altar. Sallie and I instantly hit it off. I asked Sallie to bring some of her work to share. I was amazed by her beautiful illustrations that she had drawn over the years. I loved her whimsical style full of curls and lines dancing around the page. I still hope to put together an exhibit of her work for everyone to see. That is a must for the next calendar year. Plus I love Sallie's choice of modern and playful accessories. There aren't that many women in their eighties whom you look at and think, I want those earrings!

Victor is quite amazing, too. I was in a meeting with him a couple of weeks ago with a summer intern about how to become a better minister. I was overwhelmed with how thoughtful and smart he is. Victor must have been an amazing minister. What could I possibly contribute after he shared his comments? Although he would never make you feel inferior in any way. When we left the meeting, I pushed the button for the elevator, which services the massive building all on its own. He looked at me and said, "Well, I usually take the stairs, but we have already pushed the button and might as well use the electricity." A man after my own heart.

Each time I see Victor and Sallie, I am always lifted by their light-hearted spirit. They are full of joy and laughter. They are encouraging, insightful, creative, and incredibly young at heart. They are the perfect role model for us. Congratulations, Victor and Sallie.

Flaked out

I didn't really, but I wanted to make a grain reference, since this week is all about grain. I believe that this week's story relates to someone hiding a silver cup in a bag of grain, making it look like Joseph's brothers were trying to steal. So I made a giant bag and we are going to tuck a silver cup inside. I never really gave Paul a description of this week's project for the bulletin. By Thursday I was still perplexed about what I was actually going to do.

Rumor has it, there is a little visitor in the sanctuary and I did not want to leave anything that might attract his attention. I love this autumn tracing paper and thought it would look so great with the rice showing through. We are in Chinatown, after all.

I recall an exhibit I saw at The Weatherspoon Gallery. It featured a sea of rice and beautiful envelopes made out of red wax. That was way before my blogging and digital photography days, so I have no idea who it was other than the memory of the beauty in the abundance of rice.

Well, what am I going to do with 10, 20 or 30 pounds of rice? I made this giant origami bag that I would dare say can handle that kind of weight. I did roll down the top to reduce the amount of rice needed to fill the bag. As additional filler, I also gathered all of our Chinese take out plastic containers and a bag full of clear air pocket pillows from Paper Source. I can't bear to throw them away and recycle them at Trader Joe's. Last week Lucy challenged me to use them for my parting of the Red Sea project. She even said she would come to see it. Wow! Maybe I should hold her to that.

Anyway, I checked the times on Da Hsin Wholesale. They open at 10am Sunday morning. Perfect. Now just as long as I can gather the rice up and deliver it to the food bank before attracting any unwanted attention.

Another door opens

This summer I have really started to rely heavily on our local farmers market. No, it's not the one pictured above. But you may have seen it in our final issue of MerriMail. Our neighborhood farmers market is held each Thursday from 3-7 pm on 8th Street between D & E. I think that the key to success was adding a reminder in my phone each week, which rings at 4:45 pm.

Yesterday I bought little balls of fresh mozerella, yogurt with a touch of honey, a red onion, button mushrooms and a bag full of peaches and friends that Henry picked out. I really wanted some corn and zuchinni, but we decided not to buy any, unlike last week. I also bought three loaves of bread. One was a ciabatta and the others were a two for one sort of deal.

I wasn't sure what kind of bread it was, so I asked after I said yes. He was loading the loaves up in a paper bag as he mentioned the word rye. I hate rye bread. I almost said as long as it's not rye. But this was some sort of Swiss mix and he started to cut off a sample for me. Henry just said let's go before I could even start to chew the bread. I needed to really concentrate in the hubbub of the street to make sure I didn't notice the rye flavor. But Henry acted like the baker was a car salesman trying to add on that glassy wax protective coating to my ticket. I gave him the "you better calm down" look and continued to chew the bread. The guy was right. I did not taste the rye. And I didn't taste it this morning after eating the delicious ham and cheese sandwich Henry made for breakfast. This is the exact moment i was trying to protect myself from, when I knew I would be really sleepy and not want to be jarred awake by a strong rye flavor.

This week I signed up for a class I am taking this fall at The Corcoran. It's called The Sculptural Book and I can't wait to start. I really wish that we had already started because I want to make a pop-up burning bush for church in two weeks. I'm not sure how that will happen. Anyway, my class is on Thursday afternoons. I also like to group my hours at Paper Source with any trip to Georgetown. Long story short, I am not going to be able to shop at the farmers market this fall. I told Shannon and Will my world is crumbling (with a touch of sarcasm, of course).

After yesterday's trip, I told Henry that he was responsible for going this fall. The dairy is way better because the cheese tastes so fresh and not like a rubber ball, which I frequently find from grocery store purchases - just before it goes bad. Needless to say the food is the green choice with minimal travel miles. And I believe that it is actually cheaper. The prices are pretty similar to the grocery store with recent inflation, except rounded down and no tax added.

The only difference is you have to pay I'm cash through out the shopping experience. This can be hard to keep track of, but not nearly as jarring as seeing your final bill at the grocery store with the addition of those items you strolled by and casually tossed in your cart. I have yet to spend more than $60 at the farmers market, but easily spend $160 every time I go to the grocery store.

This morning on my walk I came across the USDA farmers market, which is held each Friday morning at 10 am located at, where else but the USDA on Independence and 12th. It starts a little later than my walk, but I can hang out the garden blogging, like I am now. I strolled through this morning as people were setting up. I'm not certain that they are the same vendors, but we can make do. The produce was beautiful and I noticed some banana bread. Yum! Now I can follow up with whatever Henry misses on Thursday evening.

coffee and karaoke

This morning we were going about our normal routine. Henry showers while I fix coffee and breakfast and straighten up by making the bed. Today's coffee was the last batch of Krankie's coffee, which I love. I took one swallow and thought, "Maybe I should skip my walk and sit home and drink all of this coffee." Now I am ready to dive into the bag of beans from Dewey's to determine which brand we should serve for Shannon and Will's brunch.

Then I was completely sidetracked by this story featuring Sean Tevis, a Kansas politician who quickly raised $26,000 with a cartoon. I have no plans to run for local office. Well, I can't now that I am a DC poll worker. Later on my walk, I considered adding a PayPal button on the right hand column to give people a chance to donate money just because I am so entertaining and do good things. Hmmm... I don't think that will work.

No, I was actually sidetracked by the smooth vocal chords of Rick Astley. According to the story, the success of Sean Tevis' web site seems to be linked to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." (But I can't find the link!) The song took me straight back to the 7th grade. Plus it gave Henry the opportunity to sing a little. He is always primed to sing early in the morning. The debate - to use Henry's actual voice or mimic Astley's baritone. The latter, of course! Plus this song has an easy set of background vocals for me. I successfully sang a few bars to accompany Henry. His eyes lit up once I made it to the second round of vocals. Then a third. But I stopped short when I forgot the words following the chorus. Oh well... I guess I need to study up for our next night of karaoke.

Enjoy! (Plus a little trivia thanks to Pop-Up Video)

Week 3: Coat of Many Colors

This week was one of the few stories I really remember. It was about
Joseph and his coat of many colors. Let's just say it doesn't sound
like his dad practiced the philosophy of even portions. Henry likes to
point out that I am a little too into that practice myself.

I knew pretty immediately what I wanted to do for this project once I
saw the beautiful Lokta paper at Paper Source. Earlier this year I had
used my credit at Edward McKay's to buy an origami handbook. I didn't
know why I wanted it but it was only five dollars. That hot pink slip
of credit was burning my pocket. Good thing because it has definitely
come in handy.

While browsing through the book and creating an enlarged version of
the kimono for church, I recalled that I loved making little origami
animals as a child. How great is that!