July 1st is a week away!


Here is another of the Marie Antoinette sketches. The heart shape works as a frame and device to develop the images in. I am thinking that the heart is used in 3 of the images having to do with her/her hair/ her person and a shield shape would be used for the other three. Gives a nice rhythm to the collection.

I've been messing around with the drawings in my sketchbook. Some of them I have scanned, brought into photoshop,amended, saved and brought into Illustrator. In Illustrator, I have used the demon tool, live trace, and then amended that image with cutting away and adding. Makes a pretty cool thing to happen. Refinements can happen live. The other thing is that I took the scan into Illustrator directly, and then totally redrw the image to good result too. Lots of editing at that level too. This line drawing thing is interesting as i can begin to apply some of the Memento Mori, Andy Warhol inspired coloration to this as see where it could go. I wonder if it would be okay (why shouldnt it) for me to take the 6 Marie Antoinette images and render them differently--some vector, some hand drawn, some a combo...and see what could evolve from this. It is a fluid working environment that could allow me to experiment with the imagery and the hand. I am feeling no confidence in both...so being able to mess with both imagery and rendering would be good. A protected playground...? This is where I need confidence so I can continue to do this outside of the world of academia.

Am printing 75 Chokers posters for July. Tweaking the colors rather hard to get more vibrancy than the original starting point. It has a granny smith apple background with some green and red hanging lanterns that need to pop. I think there might be three times through with the color on the Epson before we nail it. Speaking of Chokers, the Choker poster is coming back from the Society (had a very positive and happy exchange with Kate from the Society who was tremendously helpful and "can do").

Was googling my name to see where it popped up (which can always be curious)and found it on Zina Saunders page on Drawger. She mentioned the two people that shared her spread in Communications Arts. Her work is beautiful, luscious and very well crafted. I like her portraits and how she seems to capture the moment with the person she is depicting. Her use of unusual color, sometimes way too hot for the place she applies it...but it works is inspiring. Her writing is good, engrossing and also captures the beat, the moment of the picture.

It was so nice to be in such good company. The only troubling thing for me was the endless backslapping and praise that always happens with the Drawger posts. It is just so self feeding which as an illustrator I find amusing but insular and extremely clannish. As a graphic designer, I find repellent as it seems they all need each other, like self-help groups, to support their work. It does not communicate confidence or a level of professionalism. It seems so inside and so precious. I think I am just jealous of the folks on Drawger and how they are the "popular people" in our class of illustrators. I don't need to think. I am jealous. I really should be cool about this. Make a note: work on being cool. Oh, and did I say it? keep working and pushing it. This Communications Arts entry is the kick in the booty. Pretty select group.

Maybe my new eyes coming in this week. I wish this allergic, headachy lethargy would go away. Threatening more rain. its nice and cool. The grass is singing. It is perfect weather to grow.

bright morning


The Queem of the Barnyard is one of the sketches for Marie Antoinette. The six are Marie Antoinette, Let the Eat Cake, Queen of the Barnyard (Le Petit Hameau de la Reine), Holding the Rose, Last Chapter, Dancing Parties. The Queen of the Barnyard sketch represents the "pampered farm animals that she and her fellow "shepardesses" (MA referred to her attendants as Shepardesses when they were in the mock farm at Versailles). As an aside, I was googling Le Hameau and was dumbstruck with the sheer 1780's version of the Enchanted Kingdom at Disneyland. It truly is designed as a fab confab with all sorts of experiences all mooshed togethere in one structure.

Wiki says:
The petit hameau was small, a rustic but in essence ersatz farm (or ferme ornee) meant to evoke a peasant village in Normandy, built on the far side of a landscaped pond.[1] Created in 1783, to designs of the Queen's favoured architect, Richard Mique, the hamlet was complete with farmhouse, dairy, and mill. Here, it was said, the Queen and her attendants would dress as shepherdesses and milkmaids. Particularly docile, hand-picked cows would be cleaned. These cows would be milked by the ladies, with porcelain milk churns painted to imitate wood specially made by the royal porcelain manufactory at Sèvres. These churns and pails featured the Queen's monogram. The simple and rustic ambiance at the petit hameau has been evoked in paintings by Fragonard; however, inside the farmhouse, the rooms were far from simple, featuring the luxury and comfort to which Marie Antoinette and her ladies were accustomed. Yet, the rooms at the petit hameau allowed for more intimacy than the grand salons at Versailles, or at the Petit Trianon itself. Such model farms operating under principles espoused by the Physiocrats, were fashionable among the French aristocracy at the time, and one primary purpose of the hameau was to add to the ambiance of the Petit Trianon, giving the illusion that the Trianon itself was deep in the countryside rather than within the confines of Versailles.

Maybe we should set up some little fun spot like this in the backyard? Unfortunately, for us, it would not be an escape from anything...just plain more work!

Got the WordPress machine going yesterday--learning incrementally what it takes to put up a WordPress blog, the themes available for free or for pay (there are some spectacular "magazine" formats for $79. which would take hours to program and minutes to customize the colors, fonts, headers). Picked a simple layout and put up all the links (will edit as I put some silly ones up too) for the Hartford blog. Once we get rolling, it'll be great and hopefully, I can lean on some other students to add to the content veruse having this as another full time tssk for me. You can backup a blogger page (like this) and reflow it innto a free or paid theme (which the magazine format is ticking my fancy) which is going to happen for this site as it will allow me a bit more creative freedom, allow me to set up all sorts of pages for my projects and allow me a chance to backup and save the work as I go versus being dependant on Google Blogger which is a tremendous, simple resource that promotes blogging for all. After all, isn't that what this is all about? Blogging, writing, putting out content!

Got a preview copy of Communications Arts Illustration Annual (due out in July) with work from Scott Bakal (UH 2007), Greg Newbold (UH 2009), Mark Bender (SU 2006) and yours truly (UH 2009) in the ranks. Interesting group and selection. Check it out on the newsstands soon.

R. still in Portland. K and A and I will go to Smith Woods this morning and then off to complete the shopping/phone exchange that needs to happen prior to K going to Fredonia, me to Hartford and the day we get back, A goes to Cornell. So, box fans, phones, underwear. Done. Would love to get to Munson Rd Amish Farmer's Market and to the lake today. The celestial faucet has stopped for now. The grass is radiant. The nicotiana needs to dry out as do the geraniums. Monarda is tall (36") and ready to blow.

More later

IF: Hoard


One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.
Annie Dillard (b. 1945), U.S. author. The Writing Life, ch. 5 (1989).

I like what fellow Pittsburgher, Annie Dillard says about writing. I think it pertains to anything you do in life. So,in that spirit, here is a picture I am working on from my hoard of sketchbooks and drawings. Its a little thoughtful armadillo thinking about his place on this planet as the only surviving species in the Dasypodidae family. His name in Spanish means "little armored one" which aptly describes the tender being wrapped in this wonderful shell.

Taschen Warehouse Sales

The best and affordable art books, Taschen--is having a series of sales:

TASCHEN Warehouse SALE
Thousands of slightly damaged and display copies on sale at bargain basement prices, 50-75% off.

TASCHEN Cologne
June 19 - 21, 2008
Thursday to Saturday 10:00 am to 8:00 pm

TASCHEN Store Paris
June 19 - 21, 2008
Thursday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm,
Friday and Saturday 11:00 am to midnight

TASCHEN Store Beverly Hills
June 20 - 22, 2008
Friday, Saturday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

TASCHEN Store Hollywood
June 20 - 22, 2008
Friday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am to 7:00 pm

TASCHEN Store New York
June 20 - 22, 2008
Friday, Saturday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 to 7:00 pm

Winding up


Allergies and a nasty dry cough is keeping me down. I feel a tiny bit terrible...but not enough to send me to the land of horozontality...just bad enough to make the day to day hurt. Urg.

Last night's concert was good. Lots of singing and playing (2 hours worth) with lots of smaller groups, lots of solos, lots of kids--all of them bigger than the last year--amazing to see the change.We came home and discussed the concert and all the social dynamics of the eighth graders, boy/girl interaction and the whole pack think that goes with the eight grade girls. It is fascinating to get my head into the whole middle school thing that has been decades past. It is interesting to try to walk in the eighth grade shoes--without the erosion that goes with age, time and experience.

I am back on with Marie Antoinette. I started reworking some of the ideas I had, thinking about frames, shapes, layouts and the way they all play together along with the color, pattern and line I want to work in. I pushed the original picture of her peeking out from behind a fan into a heart shape(I love valentines and thought I would like to do a group of valentines at some point) and the shoe could be captured into a group of 3 ovals...so the shapes could be a driver to these images to add another aspect. I am tracing the original drawings (working 2"x3" or so) and continuing to trace the tracing...and think that refinement will happen but still be rough for the first presentation of the 6 Dream Project images.

Finished up the Grassroots poster for the Chokers. Just need dates and times --and it will be done. Finishing up the buffalo and started the grackle (see above) for another Texas picture. The grackle and a prickly pear cactus...with a beautiful prickly pear blossom. It is a slightly different layout than the usual. Got 6 new big frames in prep for the new big images for the Art Trail. Once again, I know October is months away...but it feels like it's right in front of us and need to put some new images up to seem like something has changed in the last year. I will need to get into this soon-- as it is something I am not going to want to deal with October 1.

More later>>

wheeeee!


Pushing on getting the little stuff done. Toivo, done and out. Carol Elizabeth, done and out. Hartford slide show, done and out. Chokers at Grassroots poster (2008) in process. Tweaking my buffalo picture. Adding a frilly funniness to make it seem more like a bandana/vintage tablecloth...that feels so much like that area and the styling there. Black/white/grey and yellow: reduced palette. I walked away from this image for a while...and it feels far more like its gelling. Plus, redid aspects of the eyes, and reduced the color further.

The image above is from Calico, the Wonder Horse written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton (of Saturday's post). This piece shows off her linoleum cutting--but what I love is the explosion shape that she captures the bucking horse in response to her studying comic books at the time. This device really works for me. This sort of energy is great...I wonder if current comic books have this sort of inspiration. Maybe a trip online? or down to Ithaca?

Am developing a table to capture the things and quotes for my color book. Look at this cuteness...I looooooove this-- this is a benchmark of fabulousity:

What Is Pink?
Christina Rossetti

What is pink? a rose is pink
By the fountain’s brink.
What is red? a poppy’s red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? the sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro’.
What is white? a swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? the grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? why, an orange,
Just an orange!

The Ispot contacted me as they are posting a story about the SILA winners and will post the submission/image. When I get a link, I will post for you.

Concert tonight. K has exams at noon. Cold and humid so the plants are happy and the grass seed, ecstatic.

brrrrrrrr.........


I apologize for not even a tiny note yesterday. The day just got in my way. Plowed through all the images from the Hartford illustration students and set it up into an introductory slide show complete with seques and music. This was long work...not hard work...but long. It was illuminating as I got a handle on the class and how skilled so many of the students are, who I would like to learn something from and who could learn from me. Then, it was the aspect of pacing and music...and the music I thought would be perfect turned out to be tedious...so I picked a Michael Jackson classic and even my picky son, exclaimed (exclaimed!) is was perfect. Now, I have done the progression from Powerpoint to Keynote and added the music. Now how to take to a portable medium and not lose the smooth seques. The Quicktime solution is rugged. Now wait. Can I open it into IDvd and add music? and burn to DVD? I think so... This might be donezomatic. Not so easy...but I have a little time.

Today is the redo, do of old projects. R. is in Portland at the Glass Arts Society Conference (GAS). K is noted for Kudos in the local paper recognizing her getting into NYSSSA...which is nice. A. is done with classes...bring on the tests. A. is anxious for the summer to begin. Cold here. Blankets back out. Wet. The beautiful spanish lavendar I bought is in ecstacy.

Am thinking a lot about the way Virginia Lee Burton uses shapes to build her compositions...by taking a similar shape for a body of work and then cutting into it for each illustration. Interesting...and not a formal "frame". Need to sketch a few ideas against that. Ordered a Robin Hood book by Burton and two books by Wanda Ga'g from the used folks out there. Should see those soon. I am feeling very wiggly piggly.

Spent the night at the lake...snuggling with our hot cats and the big cat (our dog)--tonight we are in Tburg and tomorrow as we have another concert and chorus event. More later

Virginia Lee Burton




I picked up a book at the local used bookstore yesterday. It was irresistible as it was a book with narrative on a woman illustrator known for her children's books which are timeless. After a few hours, I have put down the book--inspired by the work and life of Virginia Lee Burton, and challenged by what her illustrations can push my own work to be.

First the book:
Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art by Barbara Elleman

Amazon's Review sums it up from the School Library Journal:
The creator of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (1939) and The Little House (1942, both Houghton) played many roles during her too-brief life: dancer, artist, exacting designer and teacher, craftswoman, illustrator, shepherdess, wife, mother, and ebullient hostess. This appreciative biography portrays a gifted artist balancing a successful professional career with family responsibilities at a time when most women chose one over the other. Elleman examines Burton's early work and investigates the genesis of each of her seven picture books, from Choo Choo (1937) to the epic, carefully researched Life Story (1962, both Houghton). She shows how Burton's perfectionism shaped her art, which is characterized by organic movement, rooted in the rhythms of nature, and has "survival through change" as its constant theme. A generous selection of family photos and full-color art from Burton's published and unpublished work, laid out in a handsome, open page design, accompanies the text. Research notes, an index, and an extensive bibliography are appended. This welcome tribute to a beloved artist should be a first purchase.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

What I discovered was a story of a woman, happy in her life, happy in her family, surrounded by nature and children who merged her work in with her life and managed through her hard work to create lasting children's books, pursue teaching and establish a colony of decorative designers/ craftsmen with the Folly Cove Designers. Virginia Lee Burton was the writer / illustrator of the famed Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Choo Choo, The Little House, Calico the Wonder Horse to name a few.She immersed herself in the research often getting into steam shovels and pulling along her small sons Aris and Mike (the boy the Mike Mulligan book was written for). The boys and friends were more than companions. Virginia would read them her stories (often with cocoa and cookies as the draw) and see how they reacted--bored, alert, twitchy? and would amend her tales according to what the children would directly or indirectly tell her.

She was always challenging herself. The story of how Calico the Wonder Horse evolved is a fine example of that. Her son, Mike, was engaged in comic books and radio dramas and Virginia wanted him to come back to books. So, she developed the Calico book to be set in a graphic novel format, poking fun at the comics and radio (which she listened to and read to fully understand what the appeal was)--making her horse a girl etc. Some of the illustrations from Calico are such a kick in my pants as she is using these decorative shapes to imply energy, to set the subject apart from the frame.

For me, though I bow to the beauty of The Little House, her black and white work is singular. Her work on the Robin Hood illustrations>is the best example of how she pushes and pulls the black and white to bounce one off the other...and how she uses a standard frame shape and device to link her pictures together. She fully understands negative and positive and really unleashes it in this work as well as the obvious outflow into the work of the Folly Cove Designers.

Wikipedia describes the Folly Cove Designers as:

The Folly Cove Designers grew out of a design course taught by Virginia Lee Burton. She lived in Folly Cove, the most northerly part of Lanesville, Gloucester, Massachusetts. She was able to express the local consensus that the world was a beautiful place, and the elements of beauty surround us in nature.

Her block printing thesis grew out of the home industries/arts and crafts movements of the past. The artist/designer of products for home use is separated from the product by machine age technology (and now globalization). Fine art for home use is within our own power. To this end her design course taught an ability to see the design in nature, a set of good design rules (dark and light, sizing, repetition, reflection, etc.), and the craftsmanship of carving the linoleum, and then printing fabric for home use.

On completion of the course the graduate was permitted to submit a design to the jury(selected Designers rotated this responsibility starting in 1943) of the Folly Cove Designers. If it was accepted as displaying the design qualities as taught in the course, then they could carve the design in linoleum and print it for sale as a Folly Cove Design.

The design course started in 1938. In 1940 they had their first public exhibition-in the Demetrios studio. The following year they decided to go public, they called themselves the Folly Cove Designers. Every year they had an opening to present the new designs, and everyone enjoyed the coffee and nisu (Finnish coffee bread). They established a relationship to wholesale their work to the America House of New York which had been established in 1940 by the American Craftsman Cooperative Council. In 1944 they hired Dorothy Norton as an executive secretary to run the business end of the successful young enterprise. In 1945, Lord and Taylor bought non-exclusive rights to five designs which pushed the reputation of the group, and began some national publicity and diverse commissions for their work.

The Home Industries shop in Rockport, Massachusetts, owned by the Tolfords, sold the Designer's work to the public starting in 1943. It wasn't until 1948 that the Designers opened "The Barn" in Folly Cove as their own summer retail outlet. In the late 1950's they extended the season to ten months. Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios died in 1969. The following year the group disbanded, ending a period of unique creativity and cooperation. Some Designers were with the group for only a season and others continued with the group for decades. In 1970 the sample books, display hangings and other artifacts from the Folly Cove Designer's Barn were given to the Cape Ann Historical Association in Gloucester, Massachusetts who are now the primary source for information about the Folly Cove Designers.

The work is wonderful. As fresh as the day it was first printed--and highly collectable. In it's heyday, they were the rage in New York--sold through the America House and Macy's. The prints were printed from hand carved linoleum blocks and printed on linen one at a time. It was suggested they automate to increase production and availability, and it was turned down as it wasn't right for the group. Take a look at the revival page (linked above) and see if you aren't taken with it.

More later. I need to process this more.

blink blink


No bifocals. Distance glasses and computer glasses. No full Roy Orbison...but a mommy version. Now the mommy version of Laurie Anderson hair...and it will be the new me...Now if I can pump up the time on the torture machine (elliptical)...I will be the full mommy... but that will take more time than a haircut and glasses. At least I can see (in a week). Loved the whole thing. Not as much as the colonoscopy but close.

It was fedex madness. Tons of approvals and returns today. Am getting a bit shaky about getting all the work done before Hartford. Particularly the bigger pubs I do. So, getting things off the desk is helpful. I wonder when we will get our bill for Hartford? It's getting a bit close...a month or so?

More later

I can't see


There's a big show at Versailles about Marie Antoinette right now. How relevant. I got this picture from the site. It was one of the pictures made to send to France to show them how beautiful she was and how she was the "one" for the Dauphin. She sure was!

Kitty's concert last night was a great success complete with music derived from video games that was monumental and stirring.We had dinner with the rest of the fam...after. Thank goodness for the cool weather. One such concert had kids literally falling off the risers with heat strokes and fainting. That was a painful and scarey show...but they never stopped which still puzzles me.

Sent a note to Betsy and Ted Lewin about my children's book--as I was sure I was (as usual) off track with a lovely response saying it was fine to go...so I am psyched. Need to get some reference going as I am pumped as it will be fun. The plans are to do a book on color that is chock full of things having to do with the color teaching about butterflies, bugs, animals, reptiles, birds, fruit, flowers, and anything else that works. It will be a little discovery book...that is still unclear about style...but hey...that is where the challenge is. Maybe handdrawn? Maybe vector mania.

Need to go. My new optometrist and bifocals await. Ah, Age!

this and that.


Back to semi reality. Got back early yesterday and got a bunch of this and thats accomplished. Then, had a very rewarding conversation with Lucia Tyler about the whole schedule and planning around the college viewing/application process. It makes me very nervous...but at least its all spelled out. Not a lot of mystery. Lots of scheduling. I can do that. It's the dragging the horse to water. Urg.

Meeting the bulk of today at Cornell about their Wildlife Conservation programs. Cornell has a Wildlife Hospital with outreach with the Gifford Zoo in Syracuse and the NY Zoos in Manhattan and the Bronx. Additionally, they do work in Africa related to preservation of species etc. I know at the end of the day I will be a bit more glib about all of this. They need a publication to spell out the story of what they do, and all the fingers that are changing this world. I love the vet who is the leader in this work...so it should be an engaging time.

Glee club and band concert tonight. The school year is collapsing. Time seems to fold. I am stunned that this is another school year completed.

Beautiful cool, clear, low humidity day. We are blessed by the rain we had.

makes your hair stand on end?


God Bless the New York Public Library's digital library. I was tooling around last night and found piles of engravings on hairdos, shoes, fashion, fans around or about 1783 (which I am using as Marie-Antoinette's midpoint date)--I found a bunch of these head pages which I find are hilarious in their sheer exaggeration (or is it?) of the whole hair/hat thing. The lady (top row, far right) with the cap daintily perched atop the mountain of hair sculpture is my absolute favorite! I am loving the fact the engravings and paintings of the people, their environment etc. is the reference (or at least some of the reference) for this minibody of work. It communicates far more than just how something looks, but the composition, color, orientation etc. from the hand of others is amusing and also thought provoking. Fun all around.

Got up at 5 and got on the road at 5:30 spending the better part of half of my trip back trying to figure out how to dehumidify the foggy windows so AC cold, AC cold with windows open and windshield wipers going, to finally AC warm working. Tons of fog in the valleys and on the hills as I drove up the hills and down into the agricultural vales. There are strawberries and raspberries for sale. And the hanging baskets are going for about $10 less there than here. So, I am back in the saddle until around 3 when I have another meeting to attend. More later

A bit on the Bourbon family.


The Imperial Nobility of France
The nobility (French: la noblesse) in France, in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, had specific legal and financial rights, and prerogatives. The first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under Louis XI of France after 1440 and includes:

* exemption from paying the taille (except for non-noble lands they might possess in some regions of France),

* the right to hunt,

* the right to wear a sword and have a coat of arms,

* the right (in principle) to possess a fief or seigneurie.

*Certain ecclesiastic, civic, and military positions were reserved for nobles. At the same time, certain activities were required of nobles.

These included:

* honneur et fidélité (honor and faithfulness) such as military service (the "impôt du sang" or "blood tax")

* concilium et auxilium (counsel and assistance to the king)

Other activities could cause dérogeance, or loss of one's nobility. So were most commercial and manual activities strictly prohibited, although nobles could profit from their lands through mines and forges. Other than in isolated cases, serfdom ceased to exist in France by the 15th century. In Early Modern France, nobles nevertheless maintained a great number of seigneurial privileges over the free peasants that worked lands under their control. These included:

* cens (tax): Vassals were required to pay an annual tax on lands they leased or held (the "cens" was often more symbolic than useful),

* champart (work): to work the noble's private domain, to give the lord a portion of their harvest,

* banalités (small charges): to use the lord's mills, ovens, or wine press at a cost.

Nobles also maintained certain judicial rights over their vassals, although with the rise of the modern state many of these privileges had passed to state control, leaving rural nobility only local police functions and judicial control over violation of their seigneurial rights.


More on the link. Kind of points out the world MA lived in...and the expectations that were seconds from going out of control while she was dancing, feeding her livestock and living her wholesome life.

Marie-Antoinette's quiet option

Beautiful Central Pennsylvania



Another glorious drive down to Danville, PA. Gorgeous with all sorts of hills, valleys, fields and farms. I saw this great sign coming down the last time and promised myself that the next time, I would capture it. I love the cow/type interface along with the pretty fearless text treatment with the overlap etc. There was some planning with this design, but I think the secondary copy grew in the development, thus the outlining in yellow as a way to give the letters some prominence against the big Bs.

It was great having a bit of think time in the car with this green landscape. Thought randomly about things to do, lists to make, ideas for pictures, and the near and dear. I got to Danville a bit early and stopped at the Weis market to use the bathroom and then do a little looksee at what was offered. Good Pennsylvania Dutch stuff? They did have the funny flat noodle, chicken pot pie in the deli. Selzer's lunch meats. No special bread but pink pickled eggs in the salad bar. No beer, of course, it's PA and they have beer distributors and state stores. Then, as I knew where I was going, I drove to a new part of the campus I was visiting and checked out which building, and where the parking might be. Then, I drove around the periphery of the campus finding myself downtown via the back routes, often with these very narrow lanes connecting the main roads. It was fun figuring it out. Had a good meeting. Hopefully this will work out. It all felt very right.

After the meeting, I took another drive downtown to see what the shopping district, I guess, the historic district was all about. There are blocks of high victorian buildings, some dressed stone, some perfect brick with high chroma detail and paint all about a block from the beautiful Susquehanna River. I discovered this amazing building/school called St. Cyrils which my new pal told me about as it is a school (St. Cyril Academy), retreat center and retirement home for the Sisters of St. Cyril>>. The amazing architecture that St. Cyril's has--with an enormous tall campanile, tower out of stone--very deco and impressive that can be a locator point in town. It rises above the landscape as a beacon for this small town.

I checked into the hotel and found there was a local, hand-drawn map on the desk. I asked about Bloomsburg which was apparently 10 minutes away. So, as I had a little time on my hands, I took a drive over on route 11 to see the college and it's small town which was charming and had a little town square with high Victorian architecture, a big fountain and a the requisite Civil War monument (complete with a tall obelisk and figures with flags). It was very Disneyland in it's americana and it's perfection. One thing I can say about these small towns is that there is such a neat and tidiness even in the working class neighborhood that bespeaks the honesty and work ethic that is so predominant here.

I came back and futzed with my computer to find out that the sticky track pad was being caused by the battery --which was bulging out of it's container. I was panicking (as of course, it was going to be ruined prior to Hartford...OMG OMG OMG)--noticed the battery, popped the battery out and restarted the computer. Just like new. Wow. It's so nice to be able to figure the obvious stuff out.

Going to work on my thumbnails later this p.m. and go to bed early to get up at 5 to return to the plateau by 9. Later>>

Hotter than the blazes


Did some research on shoes of Marie Antoinette's time. The french were celebrated for their fabric shoes...sometimes sumptious fabrics or even fur with these high heels that were called "french heels" or "louis heels". The Bata Museum in Toronto had some notes on it...and other historic clothing/fashion sites. So, the above is a th.mbnail of the thinking....for the Dream Project. Cinderella's glass slippers were a fabrication from the reality--she had fur (to be specific squirrel) shoes. But her heels had to be french heels--I like this pursuit as it allows me to touch on all sorts of fairy tale stuff like Cinderella or the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Girls with a thing for shoes.

Blistering here. A former client called to let me know that they were declaring a state of emergency and letting the kids out of school by noon. I wish they would do the same here. I am fearful for brownouts and the fritziness that the computers get in this environment...often in the beginning of August. The new water wand is going to get a workout today as are the box fans.

At the House of Health today. Tried the elliptical...and will continue to try it....along with the quick stroll uphill that the treadmill provides. Off to Pennsylvania tomorrow to talk with the same folks from two weeks ago to flesh out what is needed, where, when , how much. And back Wednesday a.m.

Lots to ready today.
more later (I hope)>>