HAPPY...EVERYTHING!

The blog is going to be quiet for the next week or so (I'll be busy eating lots of pie), so I'll see you all in the New Year.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

NIGHTBUILDING

Kurt works into the night, while I hum one of my favorite REM tunes.

STUDIO UPDATE

It rained most of the day today, so Kurt hasn't been able to do much to the studio. Still, there's been major progress! Walls and windows are framed in, the loft is up, and the porch boards are down. The forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow. And maybe a roof?

ROOM WITH A VIEW

The studio has walls! And windows! Granted, there are only frames for walls and windows but goodness, there has been progress! And there has been even more progress since I took this photograph yesterday morning. Last night, Kurt managed to get up all of the framing for all of the walls, and he added the platform for the loft area. Yep, there's going to be a little reading/sleeping/storage loft in the back of the studio. Exciting, I know.

Today, Kurt is working on--ahem, creating--the roof. At this rate, I'll be sanding boards and mixing paint (and nesting!) early in the New Year. Wow.

Thanks, my love! xoxoxo

OYSTERS, OYSTERS EVERYWHWERE

A few months ago, some folks in Maine (who happen to be the proud owners of this painting) contacted me about a commission. It was to be a surprise gift, so I've had to keep my lips sealed, until now. Behold "Give Thanks," a painting done for a Georgia girl, whose family has an oyster roast in her home state every Thanksgiving. Enjoy your oysters, Sonja!

Yesterday, Kurt and I received a wonderful Christmas card and letter from my friends A.L. and Gloria Quick, who live in Eastpoint, Florida, and make their living off of the Apalachicola Bay. A. L. harvests oysters, and Gloria shucks his catch. Their letter mentioned, though, that since there's been all of this hubbub over the state of the bay and the health of the oysters, the processing house that they work for shipped in hundreds of pounds of oysters to supplement what everyone thought was going to be a bad harvesting season. According to A. L., though, the bay's oysters are looking--and tasting--good. Even so, they had to switch to another house to process and sell their catch, since the other place was having a hard time moving the shipped-in oysters.

Also yesterday, the governors of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida finally met to discuss the future of the Apalachicola River system. Evidently, all they could agree upon was setting up another meeting.

Our Florida road trip can't happen soon enough.

BAKING BONANZA!

Our kitchen was a cookie wonderland this weekend. My friend Val came over, and we spent the better part of an afternoon sifting and mixing and baking--and yes, tasting. There were four different doughs and six different kinds of cookies: classic chocolate chip (but with dark chocolate and hazelnuts), soft ginger cookies, kourambiedes (a Greek cookie that's similar to a Mexican wedding cookie), almond cookies with pistachios and lemon curd, almond cookies with dark chocolate, and almond cookies with dark chocolate and pistachios. Sweet.

MORE FLORIDA

Recently, a friend of mine mailed me this book The Other Florida by Gloria Jahoda, which was written in 1967. (Thanks, Joyce!) I haven't yet devoured its pages, but I can already tell that Jahoda's Florida is the Florida that captivated me so, when I spent time documenting the seafood industry in and around Apalachicola.

From the book jacket:

[Jahoda's] explorations took her --mainly on unpaved back roads--to such places as Bristol, site of the Garden of Eden (they can prove it); the "teppentime" country where pines are tapped for turpentine by isolated workers; Solano Grove, the home in exile of the English composer Frederick Delius; Natural Bridge, scene of the last Confederate victory. Local characters, past and present, people her pages: the naturalists John Muir and Alvan Chapman; Dr. Gorrie, whose "wonderful ice machine" (1849) was the first air-conditioner; Yancey Register the Gulf Coast hermit; Ocey Rucker the trailer camp evangelist, whose revival meetings include a realistic spectacle of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (with sound effects); Turner Gentry whose livelihood comes from catching rattlesnakes.

Turner Gentry sounds like the 1967 version of Jimmy Joe Saunders, a worm grunter I met in Eastpoint. Florida is chock full of interesting characters. I can't wait to meet Jahoda's.

I think this is the perfect book to pack for next week's long drive to Michigan. Reading about Florida just might make those cold and snowy nights just a little bit warmer. And it will definitely inspire another road trip.

HELP PROTECT THE GULF

Atlanta has no water. Oysters in the Apalachicola Bay are dying. What can we do? We can send a letter to the governors of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida before they meet to decide the fate of this incredible region, asking them to consider the ecosystems--and the people--of the Gulf South. Go here to send a quick e-letter to voice your concern and support.

I'm concerned about the future of this are from an ecological standpoint, but I'm also concerned from a personal one. I conducted quite a lot of fieldwork in Apalachicola last year and fell in love with the place and its people--the people whose livelihoods depend on the water--and, of course, the oysters. You haven't lived until you've had an oyster pulled straight from the Apalachicola Bay, still dripping with that perfectly brackish water.

I think about that part of the country quite often. So much so that I did a painting that was partly inspired by my time spent in Apalachicola:

















A Love Note For My Bay Beauty Down Apalachicola Way, acrylic on wood, 9 in. x 11.75 in.

It's a truly incredible place.

A TOAST TO GOOD FRIENDS

This photograph was taken on one of our nights in Houston, when we were out with friends, celebrating a birthday. It was a wonderful night, filled with laughter and stories and memories of days gone by. Thanks for the good times Lisa, Dianarama, Chris, and Johnny!

Last night was another celebration with friends: the annual Southern Studies Christmas Party/white elephant gift exchange. There were good friends, good food, and some big laughs at little gifts. I came home with some brass light switch plates. Sounds like a bummer gift but actually, it turns out they were a wedding gift for our friends' 1977 wedding. They never put them to use, but they did manage to hang on to them all of these years. Love that. And now I think they'll grace the walls of my new studio. As soon as my new studio has walls. And, of course, light switches.

And now there's another celebration on the horizon. My good old Oxford/Southern Studies/SFA friend, Mary Beth, is moving, and we're all going to toast her goodbye this Friday. She's only moving a few hours to the south, but she'll be missed. I'd write an "Ode to Mary Beth," but Roy Blount Jr. I ain't. Still, cheers, Mary Beth, and here's to--gulp--seven great years of friendship in O-town!

ROAD TRIP REWIND: 19TH STREET

A lot of our time in Houston was spent in the Houston Heights. Koelsch Gallery is in this part of town, as is my dear friend Claire's incredible restaurant, Shade, where we had lunch one day. We went back another day to visit Claire again and participate in the retail extravaganza that was happening all along 19th: Mistletoe Madness. I found some wonderful plastic papel picado at Casa Ramirez Folk Art (a fabulous store!), but that was our only contribution to the local Heights economy that day.

I managed to get away with a few visual notations, though. Each of these images was taken on the corner of 19th and Rutland--a fabulous little corner.

ROAD TRIP REWIND: HALLOWED HALLS

Some surprise guests showed up at Koelsch Gallery for my opening: my high school teachers (and later, colleagues) at HSPVA David Sheard and Eileen Montgomery. The wonderful Gail Siptak (another former colleague) made an appearance, too. It was wonderful to see them and catch up. The next day, Kurt and I headed to my old stomping ground to pay them a visit.

HSPVA looks exactly the same as it did when I graduated in 1989. The place also looks remarkably similar to the time when I taught there from about 1996 to 2001. In fact, artwork by many of my former students still graces the hallways.

HSPVA is such an awesomely creative and supportive place. It almost makes me want to go back to high school.








Graffiti in the storage closet of the art gallery.









An exhibition of work by freshman art students.






A sticker announcing a senior show by some of my former students circa 2004. See new work by one of them right here.

ROAD TRIP REWIND: GALLERY OPENING

After the fabulous supper of shrimp in Monroe, we pressed on to Shreveport, where we spent the night. Only highlight there was Jackson's first ride in an elevator. Exciting stuff.

We hit the road early the next morning and made it to Houston in a handful of hours. Our first stop was Koelsch Gallery, where I dropped off my last two paintings for the show at the very last minute. I was met with good news as soon as I walked in the door: four paintings already been snapped up!

This was my first visit to the new Koelsch Gallery location and space, which is pictured above. It's a lovely building in an awesome neighborhood: the Houston Heights. A very good move.

From the gallery, we headed straight for a Vietnamese feast at Van Loc, where we met up with my mom. Goodness, what a spread.

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping with my mom (for treasures at Surroundings--heaven--and a new frock for the opening at Pattywhacks), while Kurt rested up at the house. Before we knew it, it was show time.

The opening did not disappoint. The work was well-received, I saw friends I hadn't seen in ages (thanks, all, for coming!), Cisco gave me a goblet (you can see me clutching it in the photo below. Thanks, Cisco!), and more work sold. By evening's end, there were red dots next to seven paintings.

Thanks for a great opening, Franny. And, again, thanks to everyone who came. Most of all, thanks--and congratulations--to the many folks who are now proud owners of some Amy Art.

I'd better get back in the studio.

ROAD TRIP REWIND: HOUSTON BOUND

When we hit the road for Houston last week, we had to take a a different approach. I-10 was closed from Baton Rouge to Lafayette (something about a natural gas leak), so we carved a route that took us over the river in Vicksburg and towards Shreveport, LA. We hit Monroe (that's MON-row) at supper time and decided to do our very best to eat locally. It took a us few wrong turns off of I-20, but our third try was definitely a charm. After passing many a car lot and liquor store, we happened upon Riverside Coney Island. Three words: shrimp, po-boy, and Elvis. We definitely hit the jackpot. This was seriously good food. And the atmosphere? No words.

Unfortunately, we didn't save room for a deep-fried Snickers.

PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE A LA MURKETING

My friends Rob and Ellen are coming through town tonight, so the Houston recap will have to wait one more day.

For those of you in New Orleans, take some time to stop by the exhibition of Ellen's beautifully compelling Soldier Portraits at the New Orleans Photo Alliance. They'll be on view through February 7, 2008.

To make sense of the murketing reference, go here.

SO MANY FAJITAS, SO LITTLE TIME

I know y'all are eager for a Houston recap, but I just don't know where to begin. We did so much! We saw so much! We ate so much!

A culinary highlight was--among many--a meal at the original Ninfa's on Navigation. I grew up eating at Ninfa's. In fact, I ate at Ninfa's with my dad every Wednesday night for about ten years. We always had chicken fajitas, and he always got a Ninfarita up, with salt. This time, I had the chicken fajitas, and Kurt had the Ninfarita.

Cheers, Pops!

I'll make a stab at a real recap tomorrow. Promise.

HOME, SWEET HOME

Houston was a whirlwind: awesome opening, tons of great food, and even more great friends. It will take a while to let it all settle in--and get it on the blog. Bear with me.

And to my favorite people who came by the opening at Koelsch Gallery, thanks! It was great to see and visit with you all. Now come to Mississippi!