Cold Case Files

I've been doing heavy thinking about solitude lately.  Probably because I am at an age when friends have left or are leaving the planet and there isn't much one can do about it but wave them on.  And share memories with others who also loved them.  These days it's difficult to make new friends to fill the gaps because having that shared history is part of the whole reason for missing them.  I hear that assisted living arrangements work well because you THINK you have friends as soon as somebody nods to you in a corridor.  A nodding acquaintance here and there is all some need in those last years.  My dad ate 3 meals a day with three old gentlemen at his assisted living after my mom died.  He didn't know their names or anything about them but they all argued on top of each other through each meal and they had as much companionship as they needed.

I have always been a hermit, at my happiest and most creative when left alone with open ended deadlines (and lots of materials to play with).  Nothing makes me more content than to look at my watch and think it's time to eat some lunch and find it's 5 PM.  The days fly by and it's so gratifying.  On spreads of time like that I sleep like a granite rock, run through morning chores- grab some shoes, brush teeth, take dog to pee, and fly back to the studio with a head list of things to try, things to do, things to un-do.  And vacuum.

CANTICLE 6

by May SartonAlone one is never lonely: the spirit adventures, wakingIn a quiet garden, in a cool house, abiding single there;The spirit adventures in sleep, the sweet thirst-slakingWhen only the moon’s reflection touches the wild hair.There is no place more intimate than the spirit alone:It finds a lovely certainty in the evening and the morning.It is only where two have come together bone against boneThat those alonenesses take place, when, without warningThe sky opens over their heads to an infinite hole in space;It is only turning at night to a lover that one learnsHe is set apart like a star forever and that sleeping face(For whom the heart has cried, for whom the frail hand burns)Is swung out in the night alone, so luminous and still,The waking spirit attends, the loving spirit gazesWithout communion, without touch, and comes to know at lastOut of a silence only and never when the body blazesThat love is present, that always burns alone, however steadfast.

Taxidermied Hula Squirrel.  Bet that broke the mood.

AND, taking the mood along to the Arty Party, today we have some African beaded animals.  And I want them all.

Beads have long been a reliable accessory in African fashion, adding colour and texture to the continent’s already vibrant palette. But what you might not know is that beads weren’t always used merely for decoration. It’s said that in ancient times beads were once used as currency for the exchange of goods and services, and even as a kind of ID card, as wearing them often indicated which family or tribe a person belonged to.  The art of beading in Africa goes back as far as 75,000 years, and now a new co-operative of women from the Khayelitsha township in South Africa are breathing new life into the craft. Their striking handmade and beaded sculptures have struck a cord not just with their local community, but with the international art world as well — recently forming a sell-out exhibition at none other than Sotheby’s Auction House.  The first known examples of decorative beads were found just off the South African coast in 2004. Unlike the robust materials that beads are made from today such as glass or plastic, this find revealed that much of Africa’s ancient beading was done with ostrich egg shells — a material that must have called for a remarkably delicate touch. It wasn’t until the 14th century when glass became a much more popular material for beads that their use as an international currency became more widespread, giving a great boost to the African economy during the 1500s.

Today we went investigate the new 'Warehouse District' where some developers have rehabbed a bunch of old warehouses into cool spaces to be used for just about anything.  There was a tall ceiling industrial room painted white as we entered called the living room.  It was furnished with big plants and grouping of giant green sofas and easy chairs  with tables around the perimeter for working or chatting or reading your laptop.  Adjacent is maybe 6 or so areas in a sort of food court to pick up food-  sort of like a gathering of food trucks where you can buy coffee and pastry, Korean fried chicken and kimchi sandwiches, pizza, ice cream, taco plates, Vietnamese pho, or rice bowls.  There is also a plain ole bar and several comfy eating areas.  There is also a small gift shop area but most of the items had 'fuck' on them in gold.  It is definitely aimed at millennial (which I missed being but don't miss being...)Limited supplies of things, but some really nice African mud cloth pillows I wanted until I saw they were $100.  Meanwhile I have yards of the stuff at home so might make a few more.  The brewery attached to this (by a walkway that has the newly landscaped original train tracks from the old railroad) in the next building will open on Wednesday.  Fun spot, I know our seasonal visitors will enjoy.

And for something distinctly different, just down the street is the new Restoration Hardware store with a restaurant on the 4th floor that looks all over the downtown area.  A gorgeous sparkly 2 story windowed spot with white linen couches and twinkly lights everywhere.  I hauled TR through it just because it's so darn pretty, hoping for a little lunch up there, but he wasn't thrilled, wanted to go quickly.  Out of his element.  Oh well. He's just not a retail kinda guy.  Gets mad when he has to buy two shoelaces when he only needs one.  This whole field trip took a total of 3 hours including travel..