I have an "everything" drawer at my desk and today while looking for some wayward tool, I found this single lens. It's from some old magnifying glass whose handle broke. I stripped it and kept the lens.

Of course.

I keep everything.

Hence the very existence of the "everything" drawer, right?
{Ok, I admit it.... it's two drawers worth}

Then I spent about half an hour taking the most random photos you can imagine. Almost all of them are out of focus and let's just say some things on one's face need not be magnified.

Nevertheless....I present to you these two.

8 hours later....
... . .. . .. . . and my civic duty served... in a waiting room.

this is the 30 inch beginning to my end-of-year-yarn snake no. 2...to be completed and for sale soon.

At the art sale I also bought a print of Yu-I's.... I've been following her blog for a while as well as her work. Despite us both living in Los Angeles, having mutal friends, and having attended the same architecture school, I had never officially met her until Saturday. Finally it all just came together.

Funny how that goes, eh?

This one is from her Princess Kavalan series from 2008. It's so beautiful. I'm waiting to take it to the framers and will hang it in the new studio.

{the lower image show two of my many favorite sections of the print, blown up}

... . ... . ... . ... . . . .. . . .

Tomorrow I start jury duty... so I might disappear from a while!

We'll see....

Yesterday I went to a little art sale where a few friends were selling their wares. I had to restrain myself from buying more, and I ended leaving with only two pieces. One of which is this ceramic rattle by Phi Lequoc.

I'll have to see if I can get some more images of her work... the installations she has at the space are so beautiful.

I will show you the other piece I bought later, perhaps tomorrow....?

... .. .. . . . .. ... . .. ... . .

In other news: this is the current state of the studio.

We need to build the wall next. R will have his metal shop on one side, I will have my little studio on the other.

And storage... that's a big problem. I really need to tackle that soon!

I love these hand drawn patterns by Holly Maguire.
These little images don't do them justice, you have to go her website to see the loveliness up close.

This is Rolf. He's my first beast pillow!
It's hard not to find a position he's comfortable in.

{I'll be putting him up for sale soon, along with loads of new beasts, cards and more.... so stay tuned for my shop's re-opening.}

It's been a very long day. I'm off to bed.
Where are my Ls and Ps when I need them?

Back at it again in the morning... see you.

I can't help but pick things up off the ground.

Apparently Darby and Beatrice are very comfortable in the new studio. I like how Darby has his leg hanging into my binder... like it was his binder! Possibly staking a claim?

And Beatrice, that is a frown to be reckoned with.

Les petites bêtes sauvages... seemingly cute, but territorial, amongst other things.

You have to watch them. And your stuff.

p.s. speaking of beasts.... I have a few coming into the world soon. Camping, road trips, and vacation does wonders for the knitting itch that gnaws at me.

I can't quite describe the things I'm thinking about these days.
These images get close.

boots :: dinner (lost this link) :: N :: cutlery :: book :: storage :: boots2

{inspired by mood}

Back in Los Angeles, and still working on the studio.... picking up a paintbrush after vacation seems like torture! Today R started the gorgeous blue chalkboard that will be his space. We still need to build "the wall" and deal with storage, but we're getting there!

It is difficult to take a fitting image of the Colorado River. It is so wide, so grand, so red and muddy. We went from Moab to the Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers which took us 4 days.

The geology is amazing, the scale humbling, and the quiet at night is surreal. And the stars!

I knew it was a muddy river, but I was surprised to never ever see the bottom, so thick it was with silt. An 8 foot+ deep river looked no different than one of 6 inches; my oar was the only measure.

The last day we waited for Tex's shuttle boat to pick us up. Our little tent is nothing in this landscape.

A few more days of camping as we make our way back to Los Angeles... see you soon!