barbara gilhooly‘s window installation at gallery 360
xerxes & 50th, minneapolis mn
november 16, 2012
fujifilm

rita’s garden.

it snowed on saturday! and there you have it, winter is here. silly me, i still need to figure out what to do with the leaves in my backyard… thought i had a few more weeks.

other weekend news:

• jenn and i went to ink link: a letterpress mixer at the u of m on friday night. we wandered mcneal hall, where we had our design classes 15 years ago, and wondered how it could possibly be that so much time had passed, because we still look 22 years old (yes, it’s true!). i saw the instructor that taught me how to bind my first books and i was able to tell her how much i loved that class and that i still make books.
• book arts fest on saturday was fun, and there were so many amazing artists there! but the snow seemed to keep people away. that was a bummer.
• saturday night i actually hit my limit of artichoke dip. i didn’t think that was possible, but i actually had to push it away.
• sunday afternoon i met friends at the ornamento! jewelry pop- up shop. i managed to not buy myself an early xmas gift, but i did add goodies to my list for santa. and i ran into a college friend, who recently created the best work of art: a son. it seems like only yesterday that we’d take smoke breaks outside of mcneal hall during our drawing 2 class (which was taught by the same instructor that taught book binding from the first bullet). time marches on.

it’s a short week! YAY! but i’m a little concerned about my growing to-do list… i’ve been putting things off, thinking that i’ll be able to easily tackle them in the upcoming 4 day weekend, but now i wonder if i’ve put too many things on the list…

i brought my instax mini to the fair on saturday, and took a few instant photos. i really love how fuji film captures color.

a local landmark closed on sunday: porky’s was a drive-in on university avenue in saint paul. business has been down in recent years, and now it’s difficult to get to due to light rail construction on university avenue. its location will soon become senior housing.

while i love that light rail will finally connect downtowns minneapolis to saint paul, businesses in my ‘hood will struggle as traffic becomes congested and parking? next to impossible. there’s a rail platform going up at the intersection where my favorite retro store resides… there won’t be many mid-century chair shots there this summer. sometimes progress tramples good things, and it’s hard not to be a little bitter. i hope the classic car parade continues to strut its stuff along the ave on weekend summer nights, despite the orange cones.

i made my way thru the construction and crowds to get a shot of the iconic porky’s sign on saturday afternoon. the soundtrack to this shot: the engine rev of a cherry-red chevy classic camero that could be heard for miles.

7:15am

7:45am

i love dawn this time of year. it’s frosty, bare, pink, light blue, orange, white… my walk with the dogs coincides with the rising sun and i get to watch the morning transform.

this ford is sitting in a snowy alley of an industrial area. the turquoise blue vibrant against the snow drew me in.

it’s finally friday! i hope to find my creative mo-jo. i’ve been searching high and low for it.

happy weekend!

i drove to my favorite vintage store on saturday, hoping to see a new chair or two… and i was rewarded with a bright yellow chair. yay! i had my new toy with me: the polaroid 300, which takes smaller polaroids. i’m a sucker… i just can’t get enough of instant film, and this newest acquisition was a way to hang onto what polaroid once was.

(psst: the polaroid 300 is the instax mini with a polaroid logo on it.)

pop?

soda?

coke?

i went to my usual vintage chair haunt last saturday.

last monday was a perfect summer night: there was a slow sunset, with pinks and oranges, and the temperature was just right at 80 degrees… it’s how i want all my summer nights to be.

after walking the dogs, i got out my instax. i sometimes i forget i have it, which is a shame because the color saturation in the film is fabulous.

here’s to more perfect summer nights… happy weekend!

a little pink for the first monday of spring. have a good day!