all my new york people

ridiculously honored to be a part of the impossible project show outside the lines, which opens tonight in new york. you know I'd be there if I could. if I wasn't already getting on a plane early tomorrow morning and flying halfway across the world, I would so be there. I would so be standing in that beautiful impossible project space on broadway tonight, feeling all jittery and nervous and excited. instead, I'll be packing. I'll be folding and tucking and packing but I'll be celebrating a little too.

but all my new york people, you can go! the opening reception is tonight from 6-9pm at the impossible project space NYC, 425 broadway, 5th floor. featured in the show: beautiful work by adam goldberg, john reuter, brandon long, dustin yager, chloe aftel, sol allen, max wanger, benjamin shuster, parker fitzgerald, rommel pecson, toby hancock, ritchard ton, leah reich and of course, yours truly. read more about it on the impossible project blog and if you go, please report back. I'll be living vicariously and shall require details.

I have big news

I'm headed to gjilan, kosovo with a group of artists from my church this friday. we'll be working with high school art students there as well as holding workshops for the greater art community.

I suppose I've sort of been sitting on this news for a while. wanting to write about it, unsure how or where to start. but now it's here and I'm all out of time. I am in full blown preparation mode and navigating batty pre-travel chaos. if I had the time, I'd tell you all about the country of kosovo. I'd tell you how newly independent and young they are, how 70 percent of the population is under the age of 30. I'd tell you how they're still recovering from a devastating war, how they struggle with a poor infrastructure and economy, a whopping unemployment rate of 40-50 percent. I'd also tell you how hopeful they are. the most hopeful of all the balkans, even in the face of serious struggle.

I'm not going because I believe I can fix any of these problems. or because I believe I can fix anyone. I'm going because I believe art is a powerful way to connect with people. I believe it transcends language and a mess of barriers. I believe it gives voice to the voiceless. most importantly, I believe in how profoundly it reflects the image of God, the ultimate creator, thus connecting us to him in deep, meaningful ways.

the truth is that I'm humbled by this whole thing. I'm going as a teacher but I'm pretty sure I'll come out on the other side the learner.

brand new

the new toothless smile, it is killing me.

BIG POLAROID FUN

instant magic workshop last saturday at teahouse studios in berkeley! yay! big polaroid fun, people. big times one hundred. many many many many many many many thanks to the folks who helped make this workshop possible, who helped make it so stinkin fun-- the teahouse folks (mati, stef and tiffany), the impossible project folks (seriously anne, you are the best), my friend leslie (leslie the magnificent, who went above and beyond) and of course, all the lovely people who came out to play around with old polaroid cameras (and rad new impossible project film). thank you, thank you, thank you. can I please say it again? THANK YOU.

and if you wanted to come but couldn't, well, you were missed. I'll catch you on the flip flop. on another day, in another city. and hopefully soon. stay tuned.

seventeen

about a month before our anniversary is when we start in with all the talking. the let's-get-dressed-up-and-go-someplace-really-nice-for-dinner talking. the let's-really-do-this-thing-up-right talking. we go back and forth on the where and the when and we get all excited because surely it will happen this year. surely, one of us will pull it together. and then I think maybe he waits for me to plan it and okay, I sort of I wait for him to plan it and the whole time, we're talking about how epic it will be. both of us thinking the night will somehow magically pull itself together. and then it's the week of our anniversary and we are still just talking. we realize we do not have a plan. we do not have reservations, we do not have a babysitter. most importantly, we do not have a cute anniversary dress. this is also when we realize something else. we are big talkers.

and so this is how we ended up at the coast last weekend for our 17th wedding anniversary. squirrelly kids and giant beach towels and tubes of sunscreen and a whole mess of plastic sand toys in tow. not exactly what we had in mind but this would not be the first time. not that the beach is even remotely any sort of punishment but you know. hello, sweaty sunburnt skin. hello, grouchy over-tired children. hello, sand in unwelcome places. again, not exactly what we'd originally had in mind. but real. and strangely perfect.

so, mexican for dinner, saltwater taffy for dessert. kids playing in the sand while the sun set on the pacific ocean. and us. at the end of the day, us. and if that's how the anniversaries go down from here on out, I'll take it.

I've been thinking about this

"a photograph is a secret about a secret. the more it tells you the less you know." diane arbus