I’m going to be on SSV Corwith Cramer next month, in temperate waters (Maimi, Florida to Woods Hole, Massachusetts), and then in the fall, I’ll be on this ship:

out of Svalbard in October.

I could not be more excited! I am using waaay more than my fair share of exclamation points!! I’m going to Take To the Sea!

The reception last night was a mad success! Thank you so much to friends who showed up, especially friends who came in from a distance. Thank you also to strangers who came in as a part of Northampton’s Arts Night Out and left lovely comments and asked fascinating questions.

My favorite question of the night was “what if you make a mistake?” and I am ashamed to say I just laughed. When the querent and I walked over to one of the bigger abstract river pieces, we looked for something that might be a mistake. What I was trying to tell them is that when there is no detailed plan, there is a lot of room for things to happen, and very few of those things are mistakes in the usual sense of the word, that is, an imperfection that forces the maker to undo or reject the piece. There is so much thread, and so much motion in most of my work, that even in places where I see my own hesitations, they are not readily visible in the work as a whole. Which means the hesitations, snarling thread and weird edges are not things that render the whole piece somehow incorrect – they are the things that make the piece individual and handmade, and ultimately make it art.

It is a completely legitimate question, and I think a common one asked of artists, and makers in general, but I think it misses the point of art, and of making things.

Yesterday Cathy and I installed the exhibit at Northampton Center for the Arts which was both easier and harder than expected. I absolutely could not have done it without help (Cathy, I owe you much, much chocolate) – the combination of blank walls and high ceilings meant I needed help ,measuring and reaching. But also, I had chosen to bring a handful of smaller works along, and hanging those guys was very, um, time-consuming. BUT! It worked, and it looks amazing, and here, have a poster:

And if you’re local, come to the reception. If you’re not local, come for a visit and lunch, and I can give you a personal tour. This offer good only through the month of March, because after that, I take to the sea!

Today I spoke with Sea Education Association about scheduling my trip with them as Resident Artist this spring. I’m going onna BOAT!! I am SO PLEASED! I’ll be sailing on SSV Corwith Cramer, a ship named after one of the founders of SEA, and someone my parents were friends with.

And to round out the things that are happening, the living room is getting painted before the (reupholstered) couch returns home next week.

I mean, that last is strictly personal info, but everything all together feels like a lot, you know?