UmberDove and the Return to the Interwebs

It's been a week of small details, quick footsteps, huge talks, grey drives, and overload of scrumptious fare and the future shaping itself into view.

I feel like there are plenty of points that I should cover, so in no particular order, here's what on my mind:

* * *

I love house guests.  I love the people I know, the ones who drive hours and hours to stay in your humble abode, the ones who love deeply on your beasties, the ones who are quite content to entertain themselves with journaling OR squander whole days eating, drinking, antiquing and trying on vintage coats.  If this sounds like you, then you should come over soon.  I've got crisp white sheets on the guest bed and a new jadeite mug for you to sip from.

* * *

I started Radiation Therapy last Monday, the start of a [near] daily affair between me and a giant laser beam for six weeks.  He (the laser) gets to see my lady-goods (with his super X-Ray vision), and I get to fall back asleep on a metal table and let the final "cancerous cell clean-up" do it's business.  On that note, things are looking good, real good.  There was a tiny scare, which lead to an even tinier biopsy, which challenged me greatly in light of my determination to Dwell in my own skin, but in the end, ALL came back negative.  Which, really, is positive.  

* * *

I've spent a great deal of time last week finishing up small projects and tying up loose ends.  I'm striving for that clean slate feeling, where Time looks shiny and bright before you, uncluttered with the to-dos of yesterday.  I have too many thought of "new" in my head, and I'm determined to wrap up that which came first.  Reading back, this seems like the most mysterious blurb ever, but I know exactly what I'm talking about, and I suppose this paragraph is more a commitment to myself than anything else.

* * *

One last thing:

Sancho would like you to throw for him.

Endlessly.

He's available for kissing parties.

Also Endlessly.

A Day in the Life of The Dove

[A photographic account of a single day in my life, images largely unedited, dust left right where it sits, moments of the day straightforward and simple]


~ Monday January 10th, 2011 ~

6:42 am

7:42 am

8:08 am

8:58 am

9:57 am

10:28 am

11:13 am

11:55 am

1:10 pm

1:26 pm

2:12 pm

2:29 pm

3:01 pm

3:25 pm

4:51 pm

5:14 pm

5:57 pm

7:38 pm

8:58 pm

11:28 pm

Why Yes, I do love you Leather

In the exact opposite spirit of how I generally function 'round these parts, I can not wait another second before sharing this with you.  I'm quite literally too excited to sit still enough to tell you all about this piece, my first foray into the world of leather tooling and the first step in a body of work I've been dreaming about for no less than a year.

But for this moment, I MUST just play show.

Tell will come later.

This cuff, a Totem Cameo Cuff with one of my favorite Californicus creatures, and I salut you!

Cheers to a New Year, Cheers to New Beginnings!
Fondly,
Umber and the Jackrabbit

Studio Peekery Sneakery

One.
My studio smells like Jesus, a leathery, cedary, balsamish Jesus.  It's spirituality by virtue of air quality.

Two.

I may or may not have purchased a jasmine today and whisked it into the house while BC was distracted with the puppy-face.  But honestly, if more plants indoors equals better feng shui, then is there really any reason to put a cap on the number of green growing things in a studio space?  I think not...

Three.

If you know where I torn this image from then 1) you probably also have fabulous taste and 2) know that when I die I hope my bedroom in heaven looks exactly like this one.

Four.
I've been swinging a hammer.
There's a new medium to explore and it's name is leather, supple, malleable, lusciously paintable leather. This piece, the very first in what I hope to be a long line, is not quite done but I'm so beside myself with excitement that I had to show you.  It's the type of obsessive excitement where other todo's drop off the face of the earth in favor of following the muse.  It's the type [disclaimer: OTHER ARTISTS.  DO NOT THROW ME UNDER THE BUS.  I KNOW YOU DO THIS TOO] of excitement where you squirm in your chair because you need to pee but just...  need...  to...  work for ten more seconds.  Which inevitable turns into 20 minutes. 

I'll show you as soon as it's done, which will be sooner than later as I can barely tear myself away.  It's a doozy this one.

That said, I'm popping on a mixed CD and hustling back to work.  Hope your evening is filled with pomegranate liquor and vegan cornbread, as mine surely is!
Sayonara minxes and minxettes!

The First Blog Post of 2011

whooooooooooooooooooooooosh!

Hello New Year!

(and goodbye 2010.  it's been... long.  too long to sum up between these two parenthesizes.)

But I can say this: I've missed you.  I feel a bit out of the loop, having spent the better part of the last two weeks completely offline and surrounded by people I love dearly and puppies who form a holy terror when they transform into the singular entity PuppyHerdBullMan (in a china shop).  The beautiful chaos of family made their way South on Sunday and for the first time in two weeks, BC and I slept alone in our house.

My family, I love you.

My Christmas, since I know you'd ask if we were sharing a perilously delicious Salted Dark Chocolate Cookie from Brio together (don't even ask.  I'm trying to NOT beg them for the recipe at the risk of outgrowing every single pair of pants I own), was simultaneously quiet and full of activity.  New Year's Eve passed in a flurry of boxes, packing tape and grilled cheese sandwiches as I helped my sister embark on the next adventure in her life which is tragically moving her six hours away from me.  

All of this to say, I think the new year actually started today.  Today I kept a date with myself for granola and a long session in the sketchbook.  Today marked the first day back in the studio in weeks.  Today I belted out Layla with Eric Clapton and swung a hammer (oooh yes... new work indeed!).  Today I felt full with energy and jaunty with hope for all that lies ahead.  Yesterday a friend said "Something about early January is the calendar equivalent of a fresh sketchbook" and I couldn't agree more.

I'm tumbling over and over my new motto for 2011, and it has a lot to do with intentionality.

I got plans baby, big ones, new ones.

So let's do this.