Marjidoll

For a while I couldn’t stop making collages, so I started a card series. I could produce a few at a time and it was really fun, but then I got busy doing other things like making bags and pillows, then working in a museum…..so I kind of slacked off on the collages. Every once in a while I do one or two…These collages are from an animal series (I used our cat Eartha as a model – framed in all of her princess glory! There are a couple valentines and whatever else was inspiring me at the moment…

I love to knit and most of the time you’ll find one of many current unfinished projects in my bag. There were a few months not so long ago when I gave up knitting due to an infiltration of moths in my “stash.” Fortunately, I found help online and all was not lost. The freezer method worked great. I isolated the skeins that were partially damaged, sealed them in heavy duty plastic bags  and threw them in the freezer for a couple weeks. And now I’m knitting all of the time again…in the car, waiting in line…when I’m supposed to be getting ready for work….you know how it is…

I work in a museum. It’s an historic house located in Holyoke, MA – the “crown jewel” of town. The house was brought, yes, brought to Holyoke in 1874 after a devastating flood ruined William Skinner’s business. The house was dismantled and numbered and then taken to its current location on three acres in Holyoke, where it was put back together again….unlike Humpty Dumpty.

On a visit to Philly over Thanksgiving, I was happy to see the “behind the scenes” exhibition that showcased Marcel Duchamp: Étant donné

It’s amazing that Duchamp, that prankster, was able to keep a secret for 15 years, only letting Étant donné be viewed after his death.

Over Thanksgiving we had an outing to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I loved the Marcel Wanders: Daydreams exhibit although it was a bit like a Target ad. I stood under the chandelier (pictured) again and again to hear  the clinking crystals soundtrack playing inside the lamp.

Everything here is from our gardens, with bread the exception. That’s from our kitchen! This year we are trying raised beds for the vegetables and it has made a huge difference, yielding a much better harvest -  even with so much rain.

it's bark. You're just looking at it sideways. Cool pattern, huh?

fragrant hyacinths filled the air that february day. well, hyacinths have come and gone. now i have eons of brown-eyed susans, dripping purple hydrangeas that are dragging on the ground sopping wet, and giant squash flowers in the vegetable garden. they, of course, have nothing to do with spring flowers on an unusually sunny, warm day back in february.

Since I can’t get out to the garden, I’ll peruse the pics I took at the annual Smith College flower show in Northampton, MA (from February 2009)