Edinburgh

ok. so, here i am folks. in edinburgh, scotland. it seemed fitting to do this today, as it's my birthday and also the day i finalized my registration at the school of law at the university of edinburgh. wow. what a day, and week, it has been. i arrived here on tuesday, the 5th of september, one week ago tomorrow. i stayed in a hostel for a total of four days/nights, found a flat (apartment) and flatmates in no time at all and moved into my very conveniently located flat, right next door to the national library of scotland, the national museum of scotland, and less than one block from the law school. my flatmates are lovely, but more about them later. i've been cleaning, unpacking, and generally rushing around almost non-stop since i got here and today the wind caught up.

one thing to know about edinburgh is that it is always windy. some times are just more windy than others. today was one of those times. the day dawned bright and clear, but by noon the edge of hurricane katia was moving through, with winds ranging from 10 to 50 miles per hour. and silly me, i decided that this was the afternoon to venture out to princes street for a camera battery. but i did it, and now i have a lovely photo of my birthday dinner party:

left to right the others are ami (a new friend going to the u of e for digital design), caroline (my flatmate, from northern ireland and an undergrad at the u of e), fanny (teaching french at hariot-watt university, from france, and also a flatmate), and jasmine (flatmate number 3, going to u of e college of art for illustration, and from taiwan and australia).

soon i will take and post photos of the city (and me in it) and of my school and all the lovely things you all want to see. so far things are good here. the city is beautiful, foggy brick and morning sunshine. i've explored a little and this is without a doubt a city meant for foot traffic, with multiple layers to the city (literally) and interesting and mysterious (and generally safe) little stairs and alleys connecting everything. it is a lovely and friendly place and i can't wait to explore the country.

and just for good measure, here's a look out my window at the street below:

"memory" cyanotype, march 2010

this is the end of a long day. today marked six months since a dear friend passed away and it has been a day of remembering...and also of trying to look forward. i am now living on the land she spent decades farming and tending, the land which she poured love into on a daily basis. her passing is still difficult to believe, and when all her friends gathered this evening in the glow of the setting sun, united by her spirit, Jane was so present that it seemed to me for a time that if I would only get up and look around the Nanking cherries to the garden side, she would be standing there, listening to us all and smiling that gorgeous loving smile she was known for. i feel her presence often here, but tonight she was almost tangible. this spring i made this print of bird wings, and at the time it seemed very happen-stance, a photo that i took mostly spur of the moment, without an articulable motivation or intent, keeping it and developing it, turning it from silver to cyanotype, because it was "pretty." but now it occurs to me that this is Jane in my thoughts, taking flight and not, all at once. and so, i dedicate this print to her, my loving, beautiful friend, gone far far too soon. here are your wings.

-lifespan-

-contemplation-

-reflection-

here are three more of my Lith prints, though for a different project. the main thought behind these was a reflection of ideas of mortality(in a positive light), life direction, and potential in tandem with each other. the Lith quality can lead viewers to read these in a bit of a dark light, and that's fine, if that's the direction your mind leads you in. when i made them i was thinking more along the lines of potential and possibility than anything else and the dark quality was something that i thought complemented my subject matter, though hopefully doesn't overpower it.

ok. so it's been almost forever since i posted on here last and, of course, a lot has happened. but i'm not going to get into all of that, at least not now. suffice it to say that i've decided to make a go of this whole blogging thing, get some of my art up gradually, and send some of my rambling thoughts out into the great wild blue.

at least initially, this is not going to be very chronological, art-wise. there's some catching up to do, and i don't particularly feel like being very organized about it, nor do i see a need for chronological organization. there is a time and a place for that, but generally i think that artwork should only adhere to such things when there is a persuasive rational for doing so, and otherwise should follow whatever more hidden, internal order there may be.

and so, to begin this new phase of my vade mecum, i give you my bones. this is a series of Lith prints i made of specimens that i found in the zoological museum where i've worked for the last year and a half or so. they also comprise my first show, and are on display on the first floor of the Health Sciences building at the University of Montana.

-FrameWork-

the inspiration for this series came in a mix of forms, the primary one being an obsession with bones and structure initiated by the discovery last fall of a bone tumor in my femur. that has since been taken care of, the tumor was removed, and i am continuing the longer and infinitely life affirming process of relearning how my legs work and retraining my leg to walk. life IS good, and bones are beautiful and mysterious, hidden and essential.