Unintended Hiatus and The Kindness of Strangers

Hello. Yes. I am still here. I didn't intend to stay away for so long. But sometimes, as you dear reader well know, life can overtake a bit.

I've been so busy wrapping up a job that I have been really excited about. I have been designing a series of skateboard decks for Habitat. I'll post more about that when they are released. Even though I never was a skater, my husband is and we're both big fans of the company. We have a deck hanging in our house from a great series that they did some years ago with Charlie Harper.

On another note, I have to post about this book that showed up in the mail some weeks ago. In my previous post, I wrote a little about my love of Joseph Cornell and how his work has been an inspiration, especially for these small, stamp collage paintings I have been making recently.

Someone that reads Tiny Aviary and bought one of the stamp collages, sent this book to me out of the blue. With it was a letter that relayed a story about the effect Cornell's work had on him. He spoke about going to see a small show of Cornell boxes and collages in NYC gallery years ago. The gallery owner took one of the boxes off of the wall to demonstrate its inner workings. Cornell's boxes were made to be touched, and often had moving parts, as with this particular piece; a piece that had been made by Joseph for his brother. That experience of seeing the Cornell box up close, left an indelible memory.

I love, love, LOVE it when people are generous enough to share their stories with me. It's all the more moving, because it is from people I have never met in person, and just know me through my work and this blog. Although I am not always able to respond directly, I read each and every comment left here, and I am always so interested in what you have to share.

Oh! And the book? How perfect is that? I can't wait to read it! I haven't had time to volunteer at the Field Museum for well over a month, and so this will help me get my natural history museum fix. Has anyone read this yet?

Anyway, I am planning on getting some new work up on Tiny Aviary, and to get back to a (semi) regular posting schedule.

My sincerest thanks to John. You are truly generous.