Happy Halloween...

I found these great ribbons n' tissue paper....thanks Martha!!

Venice in less than a week!!

Nightstand reading. . .

K....I told you it was dangerous!!

The neighborhood...

Our house is behind the trees in the top two photos. . .soon we'll be able to see the house. . she's naked in the winter!

Sunday's change....

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of my favorite museums...I love the Palazzo and the garden. I find the land entrance enchanting...and so close to Ca'Dario... it's mysterious!!
Here is a link to the Museum

I found this wonderful piece engraved on a bench in the garden..it's written by Jenny Holzer.

I walk in
I see you
I watch you
I scan you
I wait for you
I tickle you
I tease you
I search you
I breathe you
I talk

I smile
I touch your hair
You are the one
you are the one
I feel you
I ask you
I don't ask

I don't wait
I won't ask you
I lie
I am crying hard
there was blood
no one told me
no one knew
my mother knows
I forgot your name

I don't think
I bury my head
I bury you
my fever
my skin
I cannot breathe
I cannot eat
I cannot walk
I am losing time

I am losing ground
I cannot stand it
I cry
I cry out
I bite
I bite your lip
I breathe your breath
I pulse
I pray
I pray aloud

I smell you on my skin
I say the word
I say your name
I cover you
I shelter you
I run from you
I sleep beside you
I smell you
on my clothes
I keep your clothes

Business card. . .

Lunch with Barbara. . .

Latest business card...

Paul's gift to me. . .

Turkeys....

Today we spotted a dozen turkeys and a 2-point buck.....my shot of the buck is too blurry...sorry....but here are a few of the turks.....real beauties!!

Oct 24th...the B walk

Everyone please be patient....I've always wanted to catch the changing of the leaves....day by day. Soon the leave will be all gone!!
Oh, today a couple of bear cubs were spotted....not by us...we're too noisy!!

Not a phantom. . .

10/23...Paul's birthday

Today we celebrated Paul's birthday...he hates his birthday...but he loves to eat...so the best celebration is good food and wine. We had a Mas de Daumas Gassac 2005, from the Languedoc region of France....only rated a 15/15+. Tart green apple with an oily texture.
Pierre's link

Rocks in my studio

I've been collecting these oblong rocks for years....one at a time...I love how they feel. Smooth and they warm to touch ...quickly....

Ca'Goldoni

This is one of my favorite images of Venice.....Ca'Goldoni. It is just around the corner from our apartment...maybe this time we will go inside........
Here is the link
for Ca'Goldoni.

Oct 20th Birchwood

I always wanted to document the changing of the leaves....blogging makes it so easy...tra la la......

Bugs N' Butterflies

I find bugs and butterflies fascinating....there are stores around the world that sell bugs. I've even found a 'bug dealer' on the streets of SoHo...near Balthazar.
My two favorite stores are Forma di Montoro Anna just behind Frari in Venezia. The second one is in Paris...it is an amazing store.....Deyrolle. It's a gardening, taxidermy and bug store. It is such a trip and worth the trip!!!!
The 'Bug Girl' is a Paris flea market find.....a great place to find old postcards.
I tried to post the web links for Deyrolle...just wouldn't work....but here is a link with some great photos of Deyrolle. Al's link
If you Google Deyrolle....you'll find a link....it's worth checking out..........

Shadow

a perfect reflection
en mass
opaque
casting upon the stones
of
of
my footprints
upon this place
this time
moment


PROOF

Studio Ladies. . .

I came across 'Visitation' by Jacopo da Pontormo.
View
I found the colors...the expressions...the bulk so interesting....I made a copy for my studio.
The original is in Italy...in Carmignagno, a village 20 km west of Florence. It's propped up on an easel in a side altar of San Michele e Francesco. (61" x 80")
I may have to make a side trip on our way to Tuscany.

The Floating Book

""Outside lightning scratched feebly at the sky, trying to release the moisture. Darkness inserted itself surreptitiously, as if ashamed over itself. It ambushed the sky by degrees, only clapping its black hand over the light at the last moment, when the palazzi, like bone-white sponges dipped in ink, crumbled their colors away"".

The Floating Book by Michelle Lovric...it's been fun getting lost is her words...wandering around Venice in the late 1400's. Here is Michelle's web site...
Michelle's site

When I read this quote I thought of the photo I had taken on Murano...the lightning limbs.

What a difference a day makes. . .

Oct 17, Birchwood walk. . .

Caught my eye. . .

My favorite rock - Picasso marble
Ribbons from Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen...Paris flea market.
Punch Studio Tablets...
Paris Flea Market
Punch Studio

Dean at the beach

"Today was the first time Dean saw the ocean....He was so peaceful, so grand...It was amazing to see, it seemed as if he was visiting an old friend...my life would not have been complete without that experience."
Heather

Cinque Terre Tragedy . . .

The walk from village to village in Cinque Terre is one of my favorite memories. A beautiful place full of light and promise. To leave your soul in the garden of this delight....the gods have such an odd sense of humor.

Toklas Letters for my Birthday. . .

I've always been intrigued by the early 20th century. I remember photos taken when my grandmother was a child...the black and whites...women with large bird-hats...cinched waists. A few decades later the sack dresses and bobbed hair. Always a bright smear of lips.
The crowd that gathered at Gertrude and Alice's salon....Picasso...Hemingway...the puffed egos that flocked to Paris. I image the talk...I'm sure much of it would have me running. I think it is the visual aspect of the time that I find so interesting...not the reality......

A few years ago Paul found a series of letters ...written by Alice B Toklas. She wrote them late in life...after Gertrude had died. Alice was fading...her eyesight diminished...she wrote a few very sad letters. Gertrude's relatives had come to Alice's flat and removed many of the paintings..."to lend them to a museum"...it was a sad realization that much of what she had cared for in her lifetime was drifting away.
It is a wonderful gift....to hold and reflect....feel the life pass through my hands.....
Once again....Paul found just the right way to my heart!

Recently there has been a book published about the lives of Gertrude Stein and her devoted mate Alice B Toklas...it is based on many letters and documents, it's a shame I didn't know that the book was being written, I would have been happy to share the letters with the author.

I've included the NY Times review of the book...Two Lives. (see below)

Alice B Toklas letters. . .

Morning walk...Oct 12, 2007. . .

Every morning we take a walk around Birchwood Lake....

leaves. . .

New business cards & labels

Travel shadows. . .

Made my mark...
fleeting as it is. . .

Whimsey & Wisdom. . .Barbara Neibart

Barbara is one talented soul...full of humor and wisdom! Here are a few of her images....Vermeer's Cat...White Meadow Lake....Rhinoceros. I can't wait to see her works published into a book...a wonderful journal of her thoughts!

Silence rides Shotgun . . WOW!

Written by Heather...thank God I didn't read this while she was on the job!

Finding Shaun Tan for Dean. . .

Shaun Tan. . . .Went to Barnes & Noble...searching for just the right book for Dean...his first Halloween. The fact that he's only eight months old and only uses books for teething, didn't stop me!!
I came across Shaun Tan's books...oh my gawd....Wonderful!!! (Shaun's site)

I just had to buy 'The Arrival' for myself.....and 3 other books to add to The Colonel's collection. Now...he just has to learn to read!
I did buy a chew-book for him....something about the Mouse's First Halloween.......

Thanks Kimberly

My niece Kimberly.....the little blonde in the center of photo...in the snazzy yellow shorts...has come to my rescue!!
She has become my 'official friend for life'.....she taught me how to add links directly into my text. No more having to scroll to the bottom to find the links!!
Yes!!!!
Here's a link to her blog...with a more current photo.
Kimberly'sCup

By the way....any family member that wants to hang me for posting this lovely image....please note...I'll be outta the country!

Preparing for trip to Italy. . .

I'm suppose to be preparing for my trip to Italy...so what do I do?
I start a blog.
I came across Feltbug's blog... http://feltbug.blogspot.com/ and I couldn't stop reading. (NOTE, if anyone can tell me how to turn a site address into a direct link....I'll be your friend forever!! Til then, just scroll to bottom of page, link is located there) She has some terrific links and wonderful images. So I decided that it would be a great distraction to start my own.
I love distractions!
Ten years ago I married a writer. He had always kept a wine-diary. Somewhere along the line, his wine-diary turned into a travel-diary. I didn't want to be left in the dust. So I started to take notes during my travels...notes, receipts, drawings, business cards....feathers? I knew that I'd never keep it up if I had to produce 'poetry' on a daily basis. I found that if I took a roll of tape and started taping stuff to pages...then I'd have a chance at sticking to some sort of posting rhythm.
Let's see how this blog comes along. . . . .

ITALY
Going back for the 8th time? I'll sit down later and figure out the # of times.
I am totally captivated by Venezia! Everytime I head to Italy I have to spend some time on her waters.
This is my fourth trip with Gail...my sister. We're leaving on November 3rd...returning on the 20th.
We have such a wonderful time together....sometimes in total silence. We wander from calle to calle....find a quiet campo and take a break...listen to the glorious bells. PHOTOGRAPH.....EAT!!
Oh, the glories of Italian food.
EliZabetta just called...and the 6pm bells were going crazy...we had to stop talking. We're arranging all the details of our visit...meeting with Davide re: an exhibition...side trip to Tuscany. It was so great catching up. One of my favorite parts of going to Venice is seeing all of our Venetian friends...friends that we have made on our numerous trips.
EliZabetta is special!! She's creative and full of energy and curiousity....and patience. I baby-speak Italian...3-4 words of italian interspersed with english...english spoken with an italian accent. Right, that's gonna help!

I have started my 'lists':
*things to wear
*things to read
*camera equipment/telephone equipment/adapters
((wow, just spotted a red-headed woodpecker))
*books...italian dictionary/Michelin map book/ Chow! Venice/ Calli, Campielli e Canali
*business cards/portfolio
I'm bored...blah blah blah
I'll continue my listing in private.
The one list that I'm having fun with?
*New shops/restaurants
*Biennale sites to visit...some Palazzo's that are open to the public - Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel - Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina -Palazzo Palumbo Fossati
I also want to check out the gardens at Hotel San Sebastiano and Ca'Zenobio
There is never an end to exploring Venice...one thing always leads to another!!

This year Gail & I are staying at Palazzo Tiepolo (link below). We are renting 'Apartment Tiepolo', a studio apartment on the Grand Canal. It's located next to the San Toma vaporetto stop in San Polo. We usually stay at Hotel Wildner on Rive degli Schiavona. It's a great little pensione where Henry James had stayed. The crowds around San Marco have gotten so thick, that we thought a different location would be great! Many of the shops and restaurants that we love are in the San Polo and Dorsoduro sestiere...so this is more convenient......not as far to carry the bags! Whew....with the exchange rate as bad as it is, it's a good thing that I've gotten so many treasures in the past....I won't be carrying as many bags this year!
This year we are also taking a few days to explore Tuscany....we're going to stay at Montorio (link below)...it's located just outside Montepulciano...the southern area of Tuscany. We're renting an apartment, Antonio da Sangalla. Fingers-crossed that Elisabetta will be able to join us.
It's been almost 10 years since I was there with Paul (husband)....Gail has never been....so we are excited. I'm so used to being the navigator...not the driver....this should be a kick..the autostrada. I'll let you know!

Venetian Night Notes. . .

Venetian Diary Pages. . .

There is so much stimulation in Venice...I am compelled to document my days...hours...minutes.

Diary pages. . .

Venetian Treasures....

What treasures are hidden down each calle....glasses, papers, journals, beads, jewelry, scarves, paintings, fossils. Unique shops full of seductions, I'm a goner!!

Autumn thoughts. . .

Venetian Mood

Venice....The place where imagination was born...