I just turned in my Wanderlust post-mortem to Moonshine Ink; the issue will hit stands August 13, so you can read all about my crazy weekend then. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from the Squaw Valley festival…
p.s. Don’t forget to send in photos for Moonshine Ink’s Summer Photo Annual (the Aug 13 issue). Deadline is August 3. Send submissions (300 dpi @ 4×6 inches) to info@moonshineink.com. Include image title, short photographer bio and contact info.
For my latest Western Art & Architecture article, I delved into the gilded world of period and reproduction framing, and its importance on the auction scene. Fun to research and write… and an interesting look into an oft-overlooked trade. Visit WAA’s website, and register to read the article for free.
I had the pleasure of interviewing local 90-year-old artist Madeline Bohanon for Moonshine Ink‘s July 16th edition, so be sure to pick up a copy or view it online. Her Sierra Artists Network (now North Tahoe Arts) is celebrating 20 years, and will be exhibiting her work this August.
Here are the pics you’ve (*cough* I’ve) been waiting anxiously for—of my stencil-born monkeys and leaves, which decorated the best baby shower ever.
my creations, pre-shower. in-action pics to come.
Just went to the best baby shower ever. Here’s why it’s so superlative in my mind:
1) Tasty libations. Not only was there a keg of beer and a DIY cocktail bar (with organic lemonade and limeade), there were creative concoctions like iced green tea and lemonade (my new favorite drink).
2) A thoughtful menu. Grilled pork sandwiches were complimented by melon salad and roasted potatoes, and homemade vegan veggie burgers were yummy leaf-eater options. The caramel-colored bbq sauce topped it all off with a big fat YUM; I guessed it’s secret ingredient to be mustard, yet it was ranch—is there anything that dressing can’t do? Dinner was served with beautifully shaped bottles of rosé.
3) Coed. Males and females gathered alike to toast the unborn. Party lasted late into the night as the father-to-be took the celebration to levels that no impregnated lady would do.
4) Bonfire. Fire pits are the best… especially on cool Tahoe nights.
5) Monkeys. (or any other fun theme to decorate with abandon) This was my favorite part because I had a hand in it, thus a little swell of pride to see my handicrafts in action. Using some old packing material (from my popsicle mold shipment) as a canvas, I stenciled monkeys galore, and a BABY = ♥ sign. Then I crafted a tree on an umbrella in their yard, stenciling the leaves and making bark and coconuts from the package’s padding. Monkeys were clothespin-clipped on a line already adorned by the host.
Yesterday, I got a phone call from a concerned friend: “What is up with your picture in Moonshine Ink?”
Yesterday also brought an email from another concerned friend: “I saw your article in Moonshine, it was good. You need a new photo though, it doesn’t look like you. Aren’t you a model???”
And they weren’t alone… just straws that broke the camel’s back. Thus, I promptly called up my friend and photographer extraordinaire Ryan Salm (look for his new blog soon) for a quick photo session. And voila, no more hideous self-portrait. I hope you enjoy its debut in my upcoming column, out July 16. And I hope this means no more complaints…
North Tahoe Arts’ upcoming ARTour is one of my favorite events in the local art world. Like a treasure hunt for art lovers, it’s filled with surprises, like Carole Sesko‘s historic art shed or Andy Skaff‘s backyard bears—real ones (see photographic evidence taken by Andy below).
Seeing artists in their natural working spaces is a secret (well, not anymore) pleasure of mine… the disorder, the decor, the little muses around the room, the unfinished works—I love it all. [note: I am excited to report I’ll be writing an “In the Studio” profile on a renowned taxidermist for Western Art & Architecture‘s winter issue. Can’t say I’ve ever imagined entering a studio of that caliber…]
So join me for the ARTour hunt July 10–12 and 17–19. Download the map, then follow your folly…
tree climbing practice, as viewed from Skaff's plein air working space
I don’t know about you, but I cannot stop my index finger from snapping thanks to the invention of the digital camera. Cute dog on the beach… I’ll take 10 photos. Trip to Yosemite… 100 more. And oftentimes, I get lucky, with light, composition and subject fusing for an extraordinary image.
Feel me on this? Then get your summery photos the ink they deserve in Moonshine Ink‘s Summer Photo Annual (publishing August 13). Email jpgs (200 dpi @ at least 4×6 inches) to info@moonshineink.com by August 3.
ahh… the Fourth of July. While droves of tourists are traveling miles to lounge by the lake, and throngs of lake locals are traveling miles to get outta town (many I know to the High Sierra Music Festival), I have decided to stick around. And there’s no better way to spend the weekend than with the wind—no plans, no need to go anywhere or do anything (except work on that never-ending timeline feature for TQ).
Today’s breeze blew me into the Allen family boat, all the way over to a cove on the East Shore. 7 friends and 2 chihuahuas (the non-yippy kind) = happy.
_____smith 