cherry pickin'

we went to brentwood to pick some cherries and pet some alpaca! what an adventure, we went to a you pick farm called Bacchini's Fruit Tree. we lucked out when we decided to do this because it was the first weekend of you pick cherries. we also snagged some huge apricots! it was so nice to hop up the ladder and find clusters of gorgeous deep red cherries.

then we headed off to an alpaca farm called Black Diamond Alpacas. These creatures are so amazingly distinct and silly looking, but oh so adorable! they had the males and females separated and it was amazing to see how differently they behaved. the females were much more excited than the males and the males were so cuddly and curious.

they had just been sheered so they had these crazy mop flop hair dos. they reminded us of new wave hipsters in a way. they also have these crazy teeth, in fact only on the bottom jaw. one of them, i believe his name was 'Max' nibbled on my hand a bit and gave me kisses.

afterwards we headed into town and had burritos at la costa. muy delicioso and only $4 for a huge portion! we were so amazed at how inexpensive things were out there. we even caught a movie, iron man 2, for a mere $4.50 each! i tell you what, it's worth the drive to get some great farm filled goodies and a date on the cheap. we will be back this summer for berries and peaches! yum yum. x

Give Global:: Alive Chiropractic Fundraiser for Haiti

I recently donated a bunch of handmade goodie bags to my chiropractor, Alive Chiropractic, run by the power duo Jennifer Wilhelm and Kara Waltz, for a fundraiser to send money for food and water to an orphanage in Haiti. Kara recently visited Haiti with a group of doctors and they held an event where she could share her story and give the community an opportunity to donate to the cause. It was amazing to see where donations were going. These children are true survivors and all the money goes toward feeding them. The first of two events was today and the second one is on Tuesday, March 25, 3-6pm. I highly encourage you to go if you are in the area. You can purchase raffle tickets for $10 and there are also chair massages offered for any donations given. The prizes for the raffle were all donated and include my goodie bags, yoga and pilates classes, jewelry, haircuts, therapy and ayruveda sessions, massage, acupuncture, wine and personal training sessions!! Need not be present to win! All very good things people.

x

congratulations natalia!!

my very talented friend natalia has finished her MFA at CCAC in SF...(that's alota abbv's--master of fine arts at a very very art college, for those of you not in the area). she is very brave and talented and inspiring and i am so happy for her! the show was like a circus, marching band, performance artists in bondage gear and stripper poles, food and people and art EVERYWHERE. outside there was some firefighters doing their job to keep the fire code in check as they removed bikes that were chained in doorways--i think they had quite a bit of fun with the chain saw!!

it was quite a scene which made it difficult to really see any one thing, but I did my best, had fun, and I was very happy to see Natalia's vision in person-here are a few shots of her installation:

I also got around to reading her accompanying thesis. i am not done, but so far i am amazed and cannot wait to see where it ends up. it's a very emotional tale about blurring the line of predator and victim from the perspective of horror film characters. woah. heavy stuff, let me tell you, but brilliant. i am half way into it and i had to put it aside and let it soak in. it's very hard to read, but in a good way, so I'll take it in 2 parts please. man my dreams were weird after that night. anywho, here's to all the MFA grads, especially my dearest Natalia! xo

writing letters, homemade everything, free art

i have a bit of fire under my seat over a few things...new art supplies, handwritten letters, and angry chicken's email order #11. she is such a brilliant human! after downloading, printing, and ordering what i need to make some things, i am antsy antsy antsy--which is good because it's fueling the other projects i have going on. (more on this later when i have the chance to make homemade deodorant and lip balm!)

"what other projects?" you ask? well...i. am. painting. again! wow.

after much time and sketching, until something felt right i, i found myself back at the easel. last night i sketched out my first panel and i am also quite antsy over that too because you need time to paint of course and time is scarce. ooohhh but it's exciting! it took a while to undo the undergrad mind boggle- almost 2 years, yikes!-but keeping the parts that matter and mean so much while leaving the rest behind takes time. making art takes time. everything takes time. so no rush here, i will find time in between it all and report back.

i have also been writing letters to all of my friends who live far. Phoenix, Detroit, London, all too far for a visit, phone calls are great, but hard to get to, and letter are just so enjoyable to write and receive. plus i get to use all of my adorable note cards!

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one last exciting thing:

FREE ART!!

MAY 29, 2-5 at Spritzer's in Alameda

Philip and I participated in the first half of this event over the weekend. It's put together by a former professor of mine, Dickson Schneider, many of his past/current students, as well as his friends and lovely wife. It is very much FREE and you have the chance to walk away with free art. It's simple--show up sometime between 2 and 4 to get a raffle ticket, walk around and mingle with friends and fellow artists and take a peek at the art on the wall. Later they will call tickets one by one and each winner gets to pull a piece of their choice off the wall to take home FREE. They will call ticket numbers one at a time until all of the available art has a home. We each took home a great piece last weekend and are looking forward to possibly more. (I myself am holding out for a Dickson Schneider. I like to collect art from those who have inspired me and he helped me navigate through my BFA, which means a lot to me!)

help me/help you

well...the spice rack is here, installed and functioning in all it's glory. Philip actually thanked me for the "improvement to our quality of life", which is a lovely thing for him to have pointed out. especially after me coming home, frustrated and crabby, desperate to clean/organize something in an effort to chase the grumpies away...as soon as i walked in i saw the box and went for it. et viola! new and improved spice storage was born and i came back down to earth...

i realize that sanity can only happen for me when i have a way to let the excess build up of life out. lately i have been channeling my extra energy (the crabby kind, the restless kind, and the happy kind) into hiking or cleaning. i have spring fever like you wouldn't believe and as a result...i am *sore* because this little bee was in hibernation for far too long until recently.

i have been hiking, on average, every other day since the 1st of the month. some are long and really push me, others are short and sweet which i fondly refer to as "pipers", and in the in between times i have taken the household chores to a new level. so, getting back to this whole "quality of life" thing, it makes sense for something that i find to be mentally therapeutic to also be seen as "improvement" on the physical or environmental level. i am sure that i am receiving multiple benefits from stress alleviation to cardiovascular health, but for someone else to receive the benefits of me taking better care of myself is so nice to see on such a simple level. i believe it's true that if we take better care for ourselves that others benefit from it too. i remember times when i was not so fun to be around and i know that took its toll on those near...and far...since those days and many big life changes, it's nice to realize that it comes all the way down to the little things as well. note to self: keep doing what i am doing, it can only benefit the whole.
x

and the kitchen project begins!

yes, i am afraid to say, that i am about to bore you with another household project, but seriously, i am super stoked and therefore must share! plus it's an interesting thing to consider: aesthetically speaking, does it matter what things look like as long as you can find them?

well...to that i say, as many others before me, that good design is always a combination of

function and form. so i am set to research and find that which provides both with a bit of beauty!

as i mentioned before my goal is to phase this thing out. since i am such a klutz i think tackling the spice cabinet (which i often break things due to sticking my hand in and knocking out several jars) is a wonderful place to start. so here is what i bought:

this expandable, 3 tier, bamboo spice rack was a little more that i would want to pay, but it's so much nicer to look at than plastic or steel with rubber. as a bonus it's more eco-friendly.

i will do some before and after photos this time so you can see the transformation.

stay tuned, or take a nap.

x

april brings may brings teaching!

i am in the early stages of excitement here, over teaching a class for the city of Emeryville!

jitters be damned! philip and i have been hoping to add workshops to our business since day one and with having a mobile studio we sought options in the community. we proposed 2 courses and although they were both accepted, the photo class could not happen due to facility limitations that could not support our vision. we plan to propose it again in the fall once we see more of the classroom offerings and make some adjustments. oh, but the good news is that my creative process/mixed media class did go through!! and it will prove to be a wonderful way to keep me and others inspired to MAKE! what could be nicer?

so here is the break down:

Each session is 4 classes and meets 3 hours per class. I have designed the course to explore the creative process by using mixed media techniques to open the imagination and also observe how it feels when working in a particular way. For example, working small vs large--how does your body actually feel in comparison? Is it frustrating or liberating? If I were to ask you to write a word of your choice over and over and over again how would it change? Would the word feel less meaningful or more? The limitations set upon the student during an exercise will allow the endless possibility of what something could be feel less overwhelming and more inspiring.

The best part about this class is that you do not need to have any experience just a desire to play with art materials and paper. It's geared toward those who have a creative block or simply do not know where to begin. It's also just plain fun for anyone. Philip and I are hoping that much of what takes place during this course is freedom of expression and the gaining of individualized knowledge of what the creative process is.

If you would like details on when, where, cost, etc, please visit our website!

ringlerstudios.com

Please also pass the word along to anyone you think may benefit from this class by referring them to this page or our website.

Coming soon: more details from the City of Emeryville at emeryville.org

(they are currently updating the web site)

It's very exciting!

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