Happy holidays! My latest published work can be found in the current Moonshine Ink, where I profiled Striker Forge and some gift ideas… click here and scroll down to the Kings Beach section.
Jesse Bushey and Bernie LaForest are super talented guys, and Daphne Hougard’s photos of them and their forge are stunning. How bout those hands — that doesn’t wash off easily.
My art column, DiStill Life, will be back in the January issue — gonna be a random but fun topic: zines!
My mailbox has been full of fun this month! Exhibit A was a surprise pregnancy announcement from my great friend in North Carolina, and Exhibit B is above: an amazing stack of French Paper samples. Can’t wait to pick out my colors and weights and get printing for the holidays! Not only are the samples ridiculously good-looking, but they came packaged with a dinosaur figurine. As you can see, the little guy in a ribbon scarf fits right in at my house.
I owe many thanks to Michelle Murdock of Quail Lane Press for clueing me in to French Paper’s amazing-ness. Check out my profile of Michelle and her little press in Moonshine Ink‘s November edition on stands in Truckee/North Tahoe now, or online (link to come soon — they must be slacking this month). I am loving her work… in fact, I took home “Carabiners” from our interview, and have some 5 other QLP prints on my wish list.
Wow am I excited about this month’s Moonshine Ink! Not only did I get to write a story about my friend Carl who’s building a wooden stand-up paddleboard in my DiStill Life art column, Fern got to speak her mind in the Do Tell section (this month’s question asked what celebrity you would punch). She’s one tough pup!
September marked my last month as an associate editor for Moonshine, so hopefully this will free up some more time for freelancing and, of course, this here blog. I sure will miss working with all the great columnists of the Wellness & Learning section I oversaw, but am looking forward to new adventures!
If you haven’t checked out the new Moonshine Ink that’s on stands around Tahoe/Truckee, do it! My latest DiStill Life column is on the new grant-funded Arts For the Schools programming, and it is quite exciting stuff. Project Bandaloop is the first performer on the playbill, and I can’t wait for the show next weekend… they’re dancing in the air, off the side of the Resort at Squaw Creek building. yowza!
I’ve been neglecting _____smith blogging as of late since change is in the air. I’ve been super busy working on some freelance projects, plus juggling my associate editing work with Moonshine Ink and taking on a quasi full-time job with Tahoe Mountain Sports in Kings Beach.
I’m handling all their web copywriting (penning compelling product descriptions, like Elaine from Seinfeld did for J. Petterman) and social media, which means I’m now blogging, and on Twitter and Facebook, as the voice of Tahoe Mountain Sports. I’ll still keep _____smith updated with my crafting and latest published work, but don’t hold your breath for super-fresh content. If you miss me too much, follow me through Tahoe Mountain Sports!
The new Tahoe Quarterly is out! Here’s what to look for inside, penned by me:
-An artist profile on Tahoe City plein air painter Michele de Braganςa, p. 38. Winner of the 2008 Seasons of Martis (now North Tahoe Plein Air), de Braganςa was selected again for the 2010 event on September 8–12. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with this year!
-The TQ Market shopping guide on what to put in your pack this summer, p. 34 (wine made by Clif, plus a collapsible container to pack and preserve it sans glass, the lightest dog treats on the market, and more).
-The issue’s feature on Tahoe Family Traditions, p. 61. What a fun one to research… I chatted with kids, grandfathers, dads, moms and more to dig up these treasured annual rites around the lake.
For my DiStill Life art column in this month’s Moonshine Ink, I delve into the many ways to create and enjoy art outside. Topping my personal list was spray-painting these planters last spring. Check out my column on page 64 for more ideas!
Also this month, don’t miss Jackie Varriano’s adventures in cheese-making on page 50, Flip Speckleman’s most spiteful—and hilarious—column of the year on page 41, and news of Tahoe’s hottest ride, the new Red Truck mobile cafe, on page 56. I am so loving the paint job. I’m a sucker for gap-toothed yetis!
photo via Red Truck on Facebook
Pick up the latest Moonshine Ink on stands now! I am loving this month’s cover… neon sign logo, woop woop!
For my DiStill Life column, I cover Sierra College’s recent student art show. Don’t miss it, along with Jackie and Olivia’s fantabulous coverage of summer festivals and much more goodness inside.
I am in love with the work of Natalia Williams, the featured artist in my current DiStill Life column in April’s Moonshine Ink. Using dried flowers, sand and other elements of nature alongside traditional collaging material (newspaper, magazines), Natalia creates such textural works of art. Check out my story on stands now, page 53. Here’s some more of her work since it couldn’t all make the print version:
Also don’t miss my picks in this edition:
-Beth Ingalls’ column defending our right to line-dry
–Not Your Average Dog Walk by Eric Wallis… a look into the sport of skijoring
-The feature on Kings Beach homebrewer Kevin Drake
-Seth Lightcap’s recap of the G.N.A.R. game—I was wondering what happened there
-And Tim Hauserman’s Growing Up in Tahoe column
Oh happy day… rarely do I work a project as long as I do with Tahoe Quarterly‘s annual Mountain Home issue. It started last May, when we TQ editors were rounding up applications for the magazine’s annual awards. We then toured finalists through the end of summer and wrote, edited and fact checked content to finally bring you what’s hitting newsstands right now.
I am particularly amped for this edition since it marks the first time our Outstanding award has gone to a full-time residence, a 2,000 square foot one at that (see photo below). I wrote the feature story, so be sure to check it out.
Also written by me in the issue are: an arts profile on Truckee’s Mountain Forge; a home design story on the most whimsical home in Tahoe, the Hardy residence in Incline Village; the TQ Market section on ways to lighten up your decor; and Home Award profiles on a Martis Peak barn, a stunning Olympic Heights remodel and an Incline Village cottage.
_____smith 