dirt thrower

woodshedding

2011-11-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

- or, more appropriately wood piling - as autumn spins madly on, and every single day is a crap shoot weatherwise. the plan to not create this season might be one of my greatest challenges, but it's imperative that the golden glow between raindrops shine on this body somewhere where the ground underfoot gives a bit. the layers of life history currently underfoot are no less organic, but guilt-filled as i intend to and fail to return this 10x10 space from beeswax and branches, glass shards and sawdust, and holy salmon boneyard to tasteful gathering space. shifting things as things shift, making room for pieces not ready to be adopted, making room for the new macho... reciprocating goodness, cordlessness, possibility, I struggle to settle the dust. dream of bringing out the white sheets at night again and grandma's quilt, of reclaiming that melting & fusing place for baking bread, of finding a place for the nest Robin sent two months ago.

woodshedding is good, for i've learned there is still much to learn of the business of arting. once a trail's found me, a scale's next up in the queue. weighing audience and intention, how to reach who- when that's my job and when it is not. point blank he said 'triple your prices'. when accessibility's where i live this line throws me off balance. still, stretching one to experience what's for sale might broaden access at the end of the blustery day.

something's shifted

2011-06-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

before the legislature adjourned on wednesday, senate bill 5834 passed on the senate floor 33-8, and a bipartisan vote of 62-34 in the house makes it stick.
having joined the seven year battle late in the game, i'm so grateful, and so heartened by the power of advocacy work. cheryl, you are my hero.

first thursday I launched a new series of bicycle-inspired encaustic paintings, but art walk held so much more. bumped into keith "gahdhi jones" haubrich- still jet-lagged and victorious on his way home from a third international freestyle handlebar mustache win in norway. and...had to drag myself away from the pasture that is the greg kucera gallery this month. deborah butterfield took my breath away.

then friday, an eagle mid span, and an osprey on the east side gave me the sign that I can let go the guilt I feel in commuting to design this time... meant to be. could it be the sun that has a girl waking to the magic of being right here right now?

a bit like being in love

2011-04-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

moving earth on my knees, by hand, pondering what will become of each life as seasons come and go- the colors, the way the light will dance upon frost upon what's left behind. who will take turns at work and at rest? what gifts will be left to the senses? it's a mix of mysteries to be revealed from a foundation laid down with intention...
companions, sheltering arms and supports and shadows, unwavering rocks and space to grow. fingernails hurt from the indecisiveness. lips - windburned - and tight warm skin remind me how out of practice I am; how alive, how right that I looked up right as the eagle passed over. as if by design...

compensation is subsidy, not sustainability

2011-04-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

paul baier- vp of sustainability consulting at groom energy and senior contributor at greenbiz.com has me a little hot under the greenwashed collar with his article on whole foods: the greenest grocery store in the world.

granted: in a very transparent manner, wf buildings exemplify local & renewable-resource-rich materials choices, increased daylighting, and waste reduction. these long-term investments in energy efficiency, in the productivity & health of their workers, and in the local economy speak volumes; they provide a showcase of sustainable building to the many who support whole foods with their dollars.  

pity that whole foods isn't walking their talk. wf has an opportunity to follow-through on "green design" beyond self-congratulatory physical plant demonstrations. the MOST AUTHENTICALLY GREEN GROCERY STORE IN THE WORLD WOULD MAINTAIN THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE. in 2011, after twelve years of high global environmental and ethical standards and opposition to monsanto's genetically-engineered crops,"green" whole foods has abandoned the nation's organic farmlands. asking monsanto to pay "compensation" to organic farmers for "any losses related to the contamination of crops" is little more than a superficial attempt by whole foods to protect their own reputation. the livelihoods of farmers are the tip of the iceberg. an AUTHENTICALLY GREEN GROCERY STORE DOES NOT INVEST IN SUBSIDIES THAT SUPPORT PRACTICES THAT change the nutritional content of food (shorter growing cycles crops), that threaten the existence of beneficial insects, and that alter, fundamentally entire ecosystems. this demand for monetary compensation demonstrates a complete abandonment of the very ecological principles that define sustainability.

in march of this year, the UN finally acknowledged reports studying the important role of small farms and biodynamic, web-honoring principles to sustainable, safe food systems. The UN is acknowledging the systemic dangers of GMO practices. surely voicing support of the UN would be good for business, whole foods. 

walk your talk.

won't you be mine?

2011-02-14T19:01:00.000-08:00

o irrevocable river of things:
no one can say that i loved only fish, or the plants of the jungle and the field, that i loved only those things that leap and climb, desire, and survive. it’s not true: many things conspired to tell me the whole story. not only did they touch me, or my hand touched them: they were so close that they were a part of my being, they were so alive with me that they lived half my life and will die half my death.

-pablo neruda

it's valentine's day, and muses are many on this side of the rain-splattered glazing; new spiderwebs & seedlings have sprouted in the studio. out in the windy night, bows are drawn back... match makers, scattering rosepetals and paving my way as i strive to unpave paradise. a contract! my heart for a contract, cupid!

companion planting: lessons in the off-season

2011-02-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

how many indoor creepers need fear the frost in this neck of the woods? bad mother- left the window open, as I will, all the cold night long. and the long night was cold.
no one doubted your 49 inches of seasonal fortitude - turns out that mid twenties will bend even the most willful veggie.you've kept me company since seeding in summer; reaching for the sky, capturing the light. sun's warming the window this morning, little tomato. please forgive me.

state of the state ... olympia 2-2

2011-01-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

sowing the few seeds of strength I captured from the address last night... and the rare and glorious florid light of sunrise this morning, I challenge my neighbors to embrace the responsibility to be placemakers and the right to be stewards locally.

great city is working locally to support the arts that reflect and interpret the ecology, history and culture that feed and connect us -that will help us to ~~win~~ nurture our future. our great local model for public support of cultural programs, 4Culture, is in a tenuous position.

advocate4Culture has been keeping us abreast of ways to actively nurture the future of art and its place in community development in washington state. the 2011 legislative session is seventeen days old... we have the vocal support of leadership at state, county and city levels, and community turnout for a brown bag panel of arts and heritage advocates at gglo last week was hopeful.

the proposed state budget makes history of the state arts commission. and though the proposal could set a dangerous precedent, great city considers it a call to action. as artists and citizens of culture, we are empowered to act for culture.

on wednesday, individually, we have the opportunity to take ownership of a great community asset, and to own-up. on feb 2nd, seasoned and fledgling advocates for 4Culture here in the city are heading to olympia for arts and heritage day. rides and encouragement provided here.

be there.
yes you can.

state of the union

2011-01-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

dug in the dirt- the clay - late into the night last night - late enough to hear, hours ago, the early morning news of carol browner's departure.

van jones gone, carol browner gone, no climate policy- but jobs, jobs, jobs sure to be echoed with hope through my trusted leader tonight- he who i'd hoped would bring systemic thinking to the nation

my form is slumping this 'morning before'.

my clay needs an armature. otherwise, by nature, the weight of the limbs will be too much for the body.
balance.
nature conservancy and dow chemical suddenly partners the day before the state of the union address?
will we hear of the organic olive branch tonight, perhaps?

dow's mission is "to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress by providing sustainable solutions to our customers", and it's vision is "to be the most profitable and respected science-driven chemical company in the world".

napalm dow.
agent orange dow.
dow who took over union carbide, responsible for the deaths of 20,000 people in bhopal in 1984, moving forward to pollute south africa, dump dioxins and mercury in the great lakes, to take the lead in, yes, life-saving drugs, and yes, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and genetically modified plant seeds that resist said herbicides. closing the loop as any sustainable system should.

most profitable? doubtless. but today, downstream from the Midland plant, 52 miles of the saginaw river qualify as a superfund site. dow pressured michigan's former governor granholm to keep it off the epa priority list. a little digging shows that the new governor, planning to work with the epa and dow, is on the board of the nature conservancy.

grist for the grist for the grist for the clay.
will spray and cover my piece to keep it from drying and cracking prematurely. will listen in tonight.

januflection

2011-01-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

on the fifteenth, like some pagan turning time, the knee will rise from the ground, and begin to build strength.

bike rebuilt, hope restored, projects looming;
forward looking happens so much more authentically when we're present - with intention.

snow's been such a sweet accompaniment to hibernation,

but saturday the shorts return, the brushes come out, and
my muses and me: we begin to cook!
bam!

it's been a long december and there's reason to believe

2010-12-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

one glorious drawing jam saturday on the 4th and my hands learned to miss the clay again. time with mike mcgrath got a fire going in me to sculpt again... definitely need to seek out the naked in the new year.

in the near term, however, it's compost under the nails- not alpine white or groggy red. have a proposal pending for a LEED landscape, and a gorilla garden calling me to rescue it from construction debris and seasonal affective disorder.

were it not so blasted cold out, this would be wonderful dirt throwing weather. surrendering care and hair to the wind, and truly workin the muckboots, I hunt and gather for the january project. so inspired by mark thompson's work at the g.gibson on friday, i'm confident that experiencing winter at her most creative will pay dividends when it comes to summoning my own juices. it's all about reflection, no?

conceiving in august

2010-09-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

six months gestation proved just the right interval to experience a pretty full spectrum- the gift, the denial, growth and stretch marks, depression, surrender... and a sweet reception.

my process was counter-intuitive, to say the least; rather than establishing a theme from a grand collection of pieces, the show's title was required for press release in the beginning of february when pieces were but a .... a figment. fig*ment incubated for months before the collection began to take physical shape; not surprising given the time I've sat personally with the issues that I came to reframe with my art. I explored all new media with this, my first big show, which meant a lot of reading, creative sleeping positions, and a whole new wardrobe of wax-infused clothing.

august was a huge lesson in trust for me; to have fig*ment be met with so much support is more than gratifying. nothing breeds success like success, as they say, and I feel ready to breed. in a manner of speaking. the friendship, love and business that came my way this summer will motivate me to keep the light on in my studio as the days grow shorter.

designing a life

2010-03-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

school ending... time to think and wonder and wander and wait or to run like hell and grab at the road and dig in the dirt.

surrounding my quiet space with new layers to learn, and things I love- with air and light, with lists of books to read, fragments of chapters to write and seeds to sow -
set to step outside and might not come back till dark.

so ready to work.
want to go and do - far too wicked to rest.

view my resume :
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lisa-reynolds/5/867/377

in progress

2010-03-13T06:32:00.000-08:00

sunflowers like sea monsters emerge from the stew this morning! I seem not to be the only one awake all night long listening to the ceiling above me;
the earth in the rusted old tub that, for a couple more weeks will live alternatively in the kitchen sink and the studio sill is churning as saturday gets going. roused from slumber by spring fever, i have company in the kitchen again.

in the sw window: sown 3 march, now up and looking for the light, are sweet little heirloom cherry toms making me believe. eager-to-please broccoli seedlings in egg crates and eggshells greet me too. eggplant, peppers and basil remain unfazed by rabbits that live upstairs. they sleep on.

a working title

2010-01-30T10:49:00.001-08:00

for one who struggles so with conceptual design... wondering how to fill some space in august - need to shout about it in february. what's in a name?