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Again with the words…

Well I finished my video game. There may have been tears – but you have no proof, so move along! There was a huge twist, a couple shocking and painful betrayals, and then an amazing ending that leaves you chomping at the bit for the next installment of the game! A quick google search assured me that it is in the works, although I didn’t watch the recently released trailer because there is only so much a girl can handle in one afternoon!

Of course I’ve since started the game over with a new character who will now make all the opposite big decisions to see what happens. It is strange how even the most off-handed comments from the companions takes on new meaning now…

But you didn’t come here for talk of video games -or did you? More geek less art? What about when worlds collide??


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::sigh::

Fine. Art. ha!

I have a solo show in June at the Sacramento Poetry Center. Ta-da! ::hides paper bag I’ve been breathing into behind back::

I keep waking up with my brain running around in circles trying to decide on a show title. oh my god. my brain is so annoying! So I invited Bethanie (who’s fault this is, feel free to join me in shooting her dirty looks) over the other night to discuss details and what not. I had planned on showing all my recent drawing (and now the watercolors), but the Sac Poetry Center is a pretty big space and she suggested I hang some paintings too. I’m not sure that helped my head. So, now it’s not just the drawings but all the things! I woke up this morning thinking all the thoughts!! The madness continues. So, I’ve got some work to do. And most of it revolves around not stressing myself the fuck out for shits and giggles. Cause that’s kinda what I do. Crap! What if she wants an artist statement??!!


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Practical to-do list: purchase a lot of mats and frames. Stain sides of newest paintings. Buy more paper bags.

June 8th will be the 2nd Saturday reception. I’ll get more details up soon, but mark your calendars and come out and see the work in person – always so much better than the photos on little screens. You can see me too. We’ll talk nerdy things and it won’t be awkward at all. ::thud::

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Changes

::insert some David Bowie here – play ridiculously loud::

So. It looks like color is slowly coming back to my creative mix. After what feels like a year of working in primarily black and white and avoiding paint brushes, here I am painting – with watercolors no less! Strange days indeed.

I am definitely in the midst of a shift. The video game I have been immersed in is about to end. A final battle to be won and then it is over. I could have finished it yesterday, but busied myself with old side quests instead. I don’t want it to end. The story has been so good and I was so in need of the escape, but that is at an end too.

If you know me, my love of playing video games is no surprise. And as with my art, I move in and out of playing as the mood strikes. But every now and then I go deep and play a lot. It’s usually when I have a bunch of things on my mind and I see it as a way to process. It is often accompanied by a creative dry period. Again processing. But playing a lot can also be an avoidance mechanism, a way to distract my brain from unpleasant things I don’t want to thing about. And that has been what this latest game has been – a beautiful distraction from the far too real reality of impending surgeries!

I started the game at the beginning of January knowing that my husband had a benign tumor on his jaw that would be removed Jan 25th and I had periodontal surgery scheduled for Feb 14th. That is a shit-ton of stressful worrying to deal with! So a fun and engaging game was perfectly timed. Chris’s surgery went well and he is doing great – only a little lingering numbness at the incision site. All good. And the beard he has grown is damn sexy.

Me? Well, I’m still kind of in the weeds. Sunday morning, the week before my scheduled mouth surgery, I broke a tooth. That obviously sucked, but there was no pain. Went to the dentist on Monday I got a temporary crown. Not fun, but still no pain. Wednesday I had a root canal. So. Not. Fun. Thursday, a week before my surgery, and I’m all OHMYGODTHEPAIN!!

But I got through that. I got through the surgery. And then this…


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Right??!!

And today? The roof of my mouth is still tender, but I’ve stopped mainlining Motrin and am slowly healing. I go back to doctor in a couple weeks to see what’s next with the graft. There will be a Part 2 surgery in the summer to look forward to, but I’m not going to stress that just yet. Plenty of time to find another game.

In the meantime, I have an upcoming solo show in June to fret about! Oh yes, that is some big news to have just set aside, but I obviously had bigger fish to fry. (oh man, I would kill for some fish and chips right now – this soft food restriction is killing me!) However, the last couple mornings I have woken up thinking about it so I guess it’s time to start giving it some serious attention. Right after I kill this boss.

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Weekend round-up. Wednesday edition.

We are finally back home after our extended and consequently extra wonderful weekend in Santa Cruz. I spent 5 days in a no-news-is-good-news, clean-fit-for-breathing ocean air, more brownies than I care to think about, bubble of happiness. And then the reality of the Sacramento valley had to go and burst that bubble. Still with the fires? And a heatwave too? Gah.

Oh well, what can you do but close the blinds (there is nothing to see out there and it will help keep the place cool) and close your eyes and think back on the long holiday weekend…

So, what did I do with all that time at the coast? Besides fill a couple memory cards with pictures?
Homework.
Is that wrong?! I got through the next chapter in 2 afternoons while the baby slept and the boys were at the beach. Sure, I could have gone to the beach with them; sat in the sand with the sun beating down on my head. Or I could sit alone in a nice quiet house without any interruptions and Chris’s laptop. If that’s wrong – I don’t want to be right!
And I still managed to see plenty of the beaches while I was there – and in my favorite ways; driving around and stopping for photo ops (or scouting out kelp beds and beach access – depending on who’s telling the story) and walking with Kyle or Erin (and the camera – always the camera).

And let’s not forget the time spent playing the Wii. Oh yeah baby, we have got to get one of those!! I logged 30+ minutes in my Wii Fit piggy bank Monday morning. And I’m feeling it today. Kyle and I have taken the yoga to a nice competitive level. And he’s giving me a run for my money. What the boy lacks in flexibility, he more than makes up for in balance! Which the Wii Fit board has a much easier time of gauging. So not fair. And I bowled a personal best Sunday night – 213! I had 2 turkeys in that game. Nice. And Kyle and I spent at least an hour making Mii’s for the whole family. And they look good. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a photo. Sorry. I’ll get the family portrait next time.

And there were brownies. Lots of brownies.

Now I have to do the assignment for Chapter 5 and edit all those pictures. (Hey Rachel – I put the 50mm on twice!) And laundry. Always laundry.

Also, I finished shooting the roll of color film in the Holga and need to drop it off for developing. So, the question of the day is: will my desire to see my photos beat out the fact that if I run an extra errand, my throat will close up, my eyes will again burn, and I increase the likelihood of a headache?

Tune in tomorrow to – As the World Burns.