my new baby

Meet the newest edition to my family- a GORGEOUS Mamiya RZ67. My first really professional type camera. I mean i have dozens of cameras. I have a Kiev 6C, a Nikon FM-10, a Pentax K1000, countless Dianas, Holgas and vintage box cameras... but this.. OMG.. this camera is the real deal.. Needless to say, Christmas came early this year.

i can't wait to take it out and run some film through it. I don't know where i want to go with it, but i am just itching to play. I keep taking it out of the box, looking through the view finder, just getting a feel for it. It's HUGE and heavy.. definitely not a hiking camera. (although i used to say that about the Kiev too.. and it's done great on the monopod on pretty much all our hiking trips)

Watch for image updates.. I guess i have to invest in a scanner now for sure. the Nikon image scanner i want is only 2 grand.. i know... i know.. i'll have to start out smaller.. and before anyone suggests it, i don't want to get a digital back, yet.. i know it's only a matter of time before andy will want to explore medium format digital.. :)

vacation recap

So.. i've returned from the land of wonderfulness, AKA vacation, and i am slowly settling back into normalcy. I've been home less than 8 hours, so i guess that's not too bad. Kitties missed us and were very missed, at least by me. (andy missed shadow, if none of the others)

The train ride to NOLA was great- we decided to upgrade to a sleeper when we got there and they had a room (not the roomette- aka closet). Breakfast was awesome- went and took a nap. Lunch was good. Went and took a nap. And then it was time for us to be there! I looked for gators as we went through the swamps leading into NOLA and was very disappointed that i saw none! Nor any turtles! but the water fowl were abundant and pretty. Arrived- Steven fetched us- jenny made dinner. (she introduced me to Napoleons- another delish pastry type thing that i now crave randomly) we played clue and Yahtzee. (*I* had fun) chatted until like 3 am.. then went to sleep.

I created a pocket dimension in Jenny's trunk for all our luggage, went to the port, carried our stuff in, andy's pocket knife got confiscated even though it was under the length limit.. sat for A LONG time.. but it was better that we got there early since that meant we got to board earlier. Ate lunch- and then we wandered down wait to go into our stateroom. Very boring.

The cruise was awesome. The food was great. I was only sick twice and thankfully both episodes were short lived. Our favorite part was going up on deck and watching the water from the back. I was amazed at how the water could look so different - different colors, different textures, different feel to it. We watched the sun set once, i think, and i was disappointed. Our lovely rainbow sunsets are pretty much caused by pollution.. and out on the open water, there's not so much of that.. which is good.. just not for pictures. :) Looking out and not seeing anything but waves 360 degrees around you really puts into perspective how big the world really is.

Progreso was cool- we went to see ruins. Climbed up one of the step pyramids. wandered around another temple. It was hot- like 85. It was really neat though. we took a TON of pics. I will have to space out getting the film developed. Over the entire trip i took 8 rolls, some of that 120.

Cozumel really captured me though. the water was SO gorgeous. I wanted to just dig my toes down into the sand and stay forever. I saw damsels in the water (made me wish we'd gone snorkeling), saw little blennies and other critters in tide pools, saw an iguana that from tip of nose to tip of tail was as long as the lane he was sunning himself on the road was wide..... finished the day with a great meal and some fishbowl pina coladas.

Getting off the ship in NOLA wasn't too hard- customs was super quick and totally painless. the condo was great- perfect location on Dauphine between Orleans and St. Ann. Went to Boutique du Vampire and got a copy of Father Todd's new book and stood there like a dorky little fan girl to have him sign it. (aubs took a pic)

Halloween was freaking fantastic. The crowd was awesome. Totally had a pre-Katrina vibe going. (although i only saw a few women flashing for beads- honestly i was too busy watching the costumes and posing for pictures to really watch for flashers)

November 1st- Andy and i got custom fangs made. it was quite comical. I might share the story, might not. Full moon was out- so of course, so were we! Decent crowd for a Sunday night.

November 2nd - ventured out to the Garden District. Stumbled upon Lafayette Cemetery. Wonderful photo op. Took pics. LOTS of pics.. :) shopped- mostly window shopping. Watched the first half of the Saints game at Oceana with Jenn, Steven and Kaylin. Had AMAZING crab cakes.. they were THE nom. Debated on going out... watched Paranormal State (which totally put me in a ghost hunting mood) Finally went out and the streets were packed with jubilant Saints fans and still loyal Falcons fans. (thankfully no fights that we saw) crashed out

November 3rd- the end of vacation... so sad. So tragic.. didn't want it to happen.. but i did get a new absinthe. Sidney's on Decatur has the largest selection of absinthes i have seen. there were at least 10 different ones. Went to go get the car to go home - and it had been towed for street cleaning.. oops. Had to get a cab to take aubs and me to get her car at the impound lot UNDER I-10.. there was a silver lining- found the cemetery i see on Google Maps that's split into three parts (by the projects). On the way out of town, passed Cypress Grove and another cemetery that was HUGE that i simply must take pictures of. (LOTS of statuary) Made good time getting back because Aubs wanted to go to Trivia. Started putting the house back together - it's amazing what 4 cats can do in 10 days home alone (although grandma did check on the kitties, they wanted to be sure that we were aware of their displeasure at us being gone so long)

now- almost 2 am... and i can't sleep. Insomnia seems to be tied to memphis as i didn't have a bit
of trouble sleeping while out of town (i don't count waking up at 6am because the upstairs neighbor walks hard in heels on a wood floor as being a sleeping problem of mine)

I just want to lock myself in the studio for a week or two. I have all sorts of ideas for all sorts of media. Silver, enamel, even clay and paint. And the pictures.. OMG.. i could print pictures for a month and not scratch the surface, i think. Most of my Mexico are color- i did a few 120 in B&W.. but most of my NOLA are B&W.. and i feel pretty confident that 80+ percent of them are print worthy. I'll have to see the negatives to be sure, but i'm feeling good about them.

So... yeah.. that's the recap. Vacation was great. Have some great stories to tell, some great pictures and some seriously sore feet. :)

What I've been up to...

So- tomorrow i turn 30.... and while i've been kind of stressing over it, there is a certain calm that has come over me on this milestone birthday eve. I'm ok with it.. i think :)

I got the hook up Friday and got to go see Sister Hazel and Train at the Botanical Gardens for their Live at the Garden concert series. we took chairs, blankets and a cooler and sat under a tree and watched the concert, the people and the stars. Quite awesome.

Saturday, Mar and i went out and had dinner at Spindini's down on Main, drinks at Mollie Fontaine's Lounge (AWESOME place), drinks at Bayou and wrapped up the evening at Side Street. It was a wonderfully decadent way to spend the last Saturday of my 20's.

Sunday i had lunch with the fam and went to Aubs to watch RocknRolla.. Today has been a down-time day to prepare for tomorrow... Lunch and then trivia at the Flying Saucer Cordova and then swimming after. i might not make it to work tomorrow. :)

On the art front- i finally have aquired Diana cameras! 4 to be exact. in their original packaging.. never used.. perfect.. they're so beautiful.
i've also finished up some silver pieces i was working on and put together all the bronze pieces i've been accumulating into actual jewelry. Take a peek.. :) tell me what you think..

Today...

So- last Friday, as in just a few days ago, was the 5th anniversary of my commitment to the wonderful man that is my husband... and i have to say, diamonds aren't everything, girls. :) Every year, he surprises me with his creativity, his innovation, and his sweetness. I awoke to roses and a poem that lead me to four other well thought out gifts- one for each year we've been married. He's a keeper, as if i didn't already know that. :)


I also am pretty excited about my classes that are coming up at the Memphis Botanical Gardens. I have one in June, another in July (i think) and then a copper enameling class in October! They're going to be so much fun and i can't wait to get other people as excited about this stuff as i am! Aside from my classes, the Gardens have so much to offer- their concert series is coming up and has Train, Moody Blues, and some other great artists and the Japanese Gardens are always beautiful, even in the middle of February (i got some amazing Koi photos). They have a new swan on the koi pond that was gifted to them and he's pretty social. He came close enough that i could have touched him.

the perfect job.. courtesy of Neil Gaiman

I was perusing my three blogs i have to hit every day in order to have a functional, pleasant day when i ran across a posting from 1am this morning on Neil Gaiman's blog. (it's nice to know that the inability to sleep seems to be a common trait amongst creative people- there is hope for me yet!)

He posted a blurb from an article about an aluminum smelting plant in Iceland and the troubles they had getting the plant built because they had to have someone come out and certify the land elf-free... that's right.. some one got paid to ensure that no elves homes were destroyed in the building of this facility. I could *SO* do that job too! (Neil says that the job besides writing that he could do) Given my affinity for the pointy eared creatures, i would *love* to do that. Oh my- what would i ever do if i happened to run across one!

Here's the link to his post so you can read his post and the article for yourself. The original article is all about the economic issues in Iceland and is from Vanity Fair. It's quite a long article and is rather depressing, but he has quoted the important part about elves on his blog. :)

BronzClay Botanical Bowl Class March 14th

March 14. BronzClay Botanical Bowl Workshop
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Artist Brandy Boyd will teach how to create a solid bronze footed dish from Metal Adventures new product BronzClay. Beginners or veterans welcome. Tools and materials provided, may bring own rubber stamps for texture. Due to firing time, finished items will be available for pickup the week following class. MBG members $60/non-members $75. Call 636-4128 to register by March 9.

So- that's my teaser in the pretty gold and bronze frame up top. The two bowls are the samples I sent with them to show off what we're going to be doing. (I kept my little bits with me- they were just for the photo) I actually used scrapbook paper I had in my stash and only bought markers and vellum.


Here's a close up of my leaf bowl. It's got a subdued rainbow patina that doesn't really show up too well in this picture.

In other news, I'll be on Live at 9 on Channel 3 next Tuesday (that is the 10th for the calendar impaired. :) ) talking about the PMC and BronzClay classes I teach at the Gardens. I'm going to do a firing demo of a pre-prepared leaf, I think. I'm crazy nervous about it and it doesn't help that it's *LIVE*... but it's a really great opportunity for me.

I haven't been getting into the studio much lately and the projects are really piling up in my head! Gotta remember to sketch them because it seems like the new ideas are shoving the old ones out and I'm losing stuff...

I have been playing with my microwave glass kiln at the house and I got Laura hooked on it this past weekend. Her first pieces came out absolutely perfect and that's always a hard thing to walk away from. It still boggles my mind that I can fuse glass in my microwave... seems wrong somehow. :)

Andy and I are looking forward to this month- we are going to Chatanooga to take the kids to the Aquarium for spring break. He's going to take a ton of pictures and I hope I'll be able to as well. Mine aren't instant gratification- I have 15 rolls of film that need to be developed.