Show & Tell

Show:
Hey folks, if you happen to be near Raleigh, please stop by Cameron Village Library, where my work is on display this month. I adore this library: it has provided me with acres of free reading material, not to mention the recorded books that keep my brain alive while I work on tedious bits. Without the library, I would surely be both broke & insane. Or maybe I should say broker & insaner.

I brought in lots of stuff for the show including several paintings you've seen here, some curiollages, plus a new (12x24"--big for me!) painting created for the show, a bookworm called "Voracious." The bad news is that my scanner has decided to stop working, so I can't include an image yet. The good news: Patti, the library art curator, promises that if I get it going again (please, please, please?) I can borrow the piece back & scan it so you can see it here.

Tell:
I was tagged twice last week, but due to show-prep-frenzy, Thanksgiving family stuff, & a wicked chest cold, I've been slow to get into the game. Apologies to Cynthia DiBlasi & Isabelle Gauthier for being such a sluggish player. No wonder nobody wanted me on their team in elementary school.

Here are the rules (from Isabelle):1. Link to your tagger and post the rules2. Post 7 random facts about yourself3. Tag 7 friends at the end of your post and link to them4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

The rules (from Cindy):
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention these rules.
3. Tell six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
5. Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Seven random habits of highly ineffective Leah:

1. I wear lots of hats. I mean that literally. My favorites are vintage cloches from the 20's & 30's, but I wear new ones too. In fact I hardly ever leave the house without a hat. I started wearing them because I have fair skin that doesn't appreciate sun, but I came to like the vintage look, & also the way I can hide behind them if I have a sudden attack of shyness.

2. I write nearly everything with a dip pen (Hunt's 108) . Letters, checks, invoices, my journal, even grocery lists. So far I don't carry it everywhere in my purse, but I fear I may cross that dangerous, inky line at any time.

3. I love dreaming that I can fly. Also I occasionally have lucid dreams. Either one can make me ridiculously happy for days afterwards. Now that I think of it, I should sleep a lot more.

4. I am hopelessly addicted to cryptic crosswords. I can stay away from them for a time, but I always fall off the wagon eventually.

5. I hate driving & bananas.

6. I love walking & all other fruits.

7. I'm a member of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, because I'm fixated on Alice. I was imprinted at the age of six when my folks bought an unabridged recording to amuse me when I was sick & had to spend hours a day on my back with my eyes covered. I was drifting in & out of fevers as I listened to it over & over. I have no doubt that the experience permanently warped my mind, & for that I'll always be grateful.


Since I was tagged twice, surely I should get to post extra links! Even so I've left out many favorites... someday I'll do another chapter.

1. Allison Sommers, an erstwhile history major in Virginia, whose painted (& recently, sculpted) alternate universe is peopled by curious, often disturbing longneck creatures, dressed in quaint fashion, rendered in gouache with amazing precision & rich with historical, anthropological & anatomical wonders

2. Ellis Nadler of London, a madly prolific artist, master of many styles & media, whose work is unpredictable, imaginative, erudite, often delightfully nonsensical, sometimes profoundly moving

3. Steve of go flying turtle, by day a mild-mannered art teacher in Virginia, whose superpowers enable him to fill countless moleskines with closely-observed nature studies, imaginary characters, & experiments with various styles & media, not to mention creating paintings, comics, & countless other projects in his spare time

4. Koldo Barroso, a Madrid native now living in Bellingham,Washington, whose imaginative & mysterious tales & illustrations always suggest hidden depths

5.Neil Ornstein of Snorkblog, a Canadian whose richly layered, atmospheric art (sparked by seemingly random phrases plucked from google) is always interesting & often moving

6. Dani Torrent of Barcelona, whose paintings feature wonderful swirling composition, rich color, & great imagination & feeling

7. Emily, of art of the masses, a Swedish writer-illustrator, whose pen-&-ink world features amazing architectural & natural settings, occupied by bunnies, hedgehogs, birds & turtles, & nearly always accompanied by a delightful story

8. Lisa Evans, a British artist whose dreamlike illustrations possess a delicious lightness

9. Tanaudel, aka Kathleen of Errantry, an Australian writer/illustator, whose blog includes book reviews, travel sketches, & all manner of intriguing stuff in addition to her drawings, often in scratchboard or pen & ink

10. Rima, of the Hermitage, an enchanting cross between 21st & 12th centuries, living her fairytale life in Scotland, making lovely & imaginative clocks, drawings & oil paintings, traveling in a hand-crafted gypsy caravan & documenting it all online (including the rough spots) with great wit & tenderness

11. Q Cassetti of the Rongovian Academy of Fine Arts, who creates strong, yet intricate artwork, & generously shares her experience & inspiration as she learns from illustration masters

12. Charley Parker of lines and colors, who tirelessly seeks out, researches & writes insightful articles on artists and illustrators of all eras, styles & media-- an amazing resource for both artists & art-lovers

13. BibliOdyssey, that miracle of inspiration brought to the world by Peacay, providing enough antiquarian gorgeousness to set any rare-book-lover's head spinning with every post