Why is it that packing for a trip (and getting to the airport) is stressful, even when I’m not the one going? Dave is heading to Australia & Tasmania tonight, arriving in Sydney early Sunday morning to catch another flight to Hobart, Tasmania. After a couple of days he flies to Perth on the west coast of Australia, spends a few days there and flies back to Hobart. This is not a trip for fun, more like firefighting work issues. Thursday he received the official word about moving into the customer service team for WetLabs, a change he hopes will be good (especially since he’s been working & managing the production floor for many years). He and several other applicants went through interviews last week. A little nerve wracking for him and our household.
While Dave is gone, I will be occupying my time with art, mainly prepping for the upcoming residency in July. Paper pulp needs to be ordered, screens prepared for making paper, constructing a press, figuring out wire, lighting possibilities, and what the heck am I going to sell to off set all the expenses of the paper pulp. What’s so expensive about paper pulp? Well, first off it’s made from specific plant fibers that are beaten for a super long time. The pulp is shipped in a 5 gallon bucket from the east coast. It will probably run about $100 per bucket, and I’m not certain how many buckets the project will require. One at a time will be my motto. Pulp doesn’t last for long. Being a natural material floating in water, well, things start rotting. Keeping the water fresh & possibly adding a little bleach helps extend it’s life. Also keeping it in a cool location aids longevity… not a hard thing to do with our wet, cold weather.
The dogs have been a handful the past month. Moby & George continue to fight at least once a day, George always receiving the worst of it. I’ve also been more occupied with Fall Festival. May was a big month with the jury process and letting folks know the results. After jury selection, I did data entry for accepted and wait-list artists. Then we compiled & mailed the rejection/accepted notices. Man, that was a big pile to go through. Sure glad Cynthia helped with that one! Fine Arts Showcase notices were finally compiled and mailed yesterday. Whew! Another big thing off the list!
Next Thursday I have an artist friend coming over to play with printmaking. I’m really looking forward to her visit. She wants to learn a variety of printing techniques, all of which I’ve had some experience. We will be starting in relief block/lino prints. Maybe in a couple of months the Intaglio press might actually get some use! It’s been several years since I’ve had any type of workshop here at home. Looking forward to a little play amongst the pressures!
Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog 