absentee

i haven't meant to be away from here so much. i feel a bit out of touch, though i am trying to keep up with all of you!
i will probably not be back until next week. matt is away working and well, i have given myself a full schedule while he is away.
part of it involves working on his website as much as i can. i've slacked off quite a bit on that and it's time to resume.
today i photographed a few pieces we didn't have pictures of and re-shot some that we weren't happy with.
i'm also trying to switch websites. i want it just so and it's not quite there. it may be a constant WIP, but i'd like to get it all up and running soon.



so pardon the absence, i am still here and will return shortly!

upcoming

his first lecture and he will be the only sculptor!

now back to our irregularly scheduled blogging . . .

so, really i left off with us leaving for our big road trip.
we've just now really settled back into our non-routine routine (though the icebox could use a good restocking!).
i'll start with a few highlights from our trip and a few pictures. you can bypass all of this if you just want to see the pictures by going here (that's really just a sampling - i couldn't bring myself to upload all of them to flickr).

we left on a saturday, of course later than we wanted to, but that was and always is expected. please keep this in mind if we are ever traveling your way. things started to go downhill not even 2 hours from home. bad traffic in chattanooga. bad bad traffic. as in it took over 2 hours to go 4 miles. yes. that bad. and bea was not a happy camper. once through that fine city all was good. the trick was to keep moving. and move we did. straight to saint louis.

saint louis was one of our favorite stops on the way to the rockies. our friend's tim and tara, whom we have only seen one other time (on another road trip) since our wedding 7 years ago, live there. we got there very, very late and stayed up even later once we got talking. the next morning we had a delicious breakfast, some frolicking/wrestling out on the lawn, and then headed over to the missouri botanical garden . we barely touched the surface there, mainly spending our time in the children's area, which was really fun and henry had a blast. it was the perfect pit stop sandwiched between two long days of driving. we can't wait to get back to saint louis!


the next morning we headed out towards the mountains. we stopped in kansas city (mo), for lunch and a visit with a friends family. they adopted our wild beast of a dog willie when they bought their 40 acres and we are forever grateful. he has found the perfect home and is fat and happy!
we all experienced kansas for the first time (and wind farms) and i have to say i thought it would be a dull drive. instead, i thought it was beautiful and peaceful. it was hillier than i anticipated and the greens were so vibrant against that blue sky. really beautiful.
we made it into colorado at night. we had no peek at the mountains until we were weaving through them just north of denver. holy moly. it was surreal. especially to be driving through them at night. crazy. we got to our friend's the murhpy's (scott, suzie (+1), and caleb) in the middle of the night. they had work the next day and we had just driven 14+ hours. we chatted for a little bit, and even though we hadn't seen them since our wedding, we were all tired. so, we hit the hay. then this is the view we woke up to

that's right. at the murphy residence you don't look up at the mountains, you look out at the mountains. i forget their elevation, but i believe it was over 9000 ft.
we also got to visit with postman and chuck (high school friends of matt's). we stayed at postman's (and his wife christine) house and chuck flew from minnesota to hang with us for the weekend too! these guys had henry climbing the walls (and matt too)!
while all the fun stuff was going on, there was work to be done. thursday through sunday much of our time was spent at the show. it was beyond our expectations! such a large show and an array of talent. it was fun, but exhausting, especially for matt. by sunday he was ready to shut it down as were all the 250+ sculptors that were there. that show was broken down in record speed i bet. sadly, matt did not sell anything. at least we can say that the only thing that would have made this trip better was if there had been a profit made. instead, we made great contacts and matt got his name out there and met some great artists that we hope to see at future shows. we still hope to make it an annual or at least biannual trip. how can we not, when it offers us the chance to reconnect with so many friends and family?

we even got to see another friend we haven't seen since our wedding. weiner and his girlfriend, natalie. they're a pair i tell you. i cannot even explain it. there's no one like weiner and it just makes since that his girl hoops with fire. she's a professional hooper. and she gave us a show. and hoop to bring home. i had no idea how hard it is to hoop. they like to say "hooping makes you happy". i think if you did it enough it would give you great abs.

good times : )
we got to experience a lot in colorado though our main goal was to visit and reconnect. there must be something about that place, we know a few who have made their home there. so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to visit them! but after a week+ it was time to start the trek back home.
but first, a few more stops along the way . . .
we left the rockies and headed towards iowa. stopped in for a brief rest at my family's house there then headed to central illinois. bea got to meet grandma bea (matt's grandma).
(they look alike don't they?)
henry had an early birthday party with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins there.
he went tubing and loved it.

he went fishing with grandma. slept outside in a tent with uncle george and aunt jess.
and had a good relaxing time with family before really heading home.


this was such an experience it has taken us (okay, me) weeks to recover. but in a good way. we all experienced so many firsts on this almost cross country trek. first views, first foods, first introductions, etc. andi can truly say that my kids are travelers. it amazes me how well they do. i knew it about henry, but bea! she had to ride backwards the whole way! she had her moments definitely (chattanooga was rough), but i've learned that if you are willing to take your time and stop often enough it goes so much smoother than being in a rush and being tense. kudos to my little troopers! i'm hoping that by traveling distances with them while they are young will have pay offs when they're a bit older : )
and they did great at the show too. some people thought matt was crazy for "dragging" us with him, but i wouldn't have had it any other way. it really was a family affair. we went to set up with him, spent a lot of time at the show over the weekend and we were there for the breakdown. we kept matt company, manned the booth, and drove him a little crazy too.

we really did take the circus on the road.
and it was worth every moment of it.



***and congratulations to the murphy family on the arrival of isaac dylan!!***

sculpture show: the first

so that last post? the one about going coastal and heading to charleston, sc. that one where i said check back to hear about how the actual purpose of that visit went. well, this is that post. finally.


matt took part in his first sculpture show in summerville, sc. it is an annual show called sculpture in the south that i am sure we will continue to attend each year. my saying regarding the show (because i am a huge dork) is that it wasn't a total bust.
matt had no sales, which was the case for most of the artists. he did however make some great contacts, got his name out there, had lots of interest in his work, and got to meet a lot of talented artists who share his passion for sculpture. it was a good test run for the big show out in loveland, co. this summer, and we got to meet a few artists that will also be attending that show too.



of course, it rained most of the weekend so matt had to set up and take down his booth while getting soaked and muddy. i was there for the set up part, but i had the little ones with me so i really only got wet when henry was having to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes. other than that we sat in the van watching a movie for the majority of it. it was a long afternoon and we all had stinky sandals by the end of the day.


as soon as the set up was done we raced back to the hotel to get ready for the black tie optional event. my mom had come up that day from georgia (yes. really!) because she was going to watch the little ones while we went to this affair. she stayed for the weekend and i would not have made it through the weekend without her. mom, thank you thank you thank you!
and off we went to the part-ay. it was swanky and it was intended for patrons to meet the artists, but we ended up talking only to other artists. i spilled wine on my dress. a given. and i still have not taken it to the cleaners. another given.


the next day was the first day of the show and it was steamy and overcast. matt had a lot of interest shown in his work and some people kept coming back to his booth repeatedly throughout the day. but no one bought : (
the second day was much of the same. he did get to meet one of the founding patrons of the show and was introduced to some gallery buyers, so fingers crossed - his name at least gets around.

all in all, it was a successful weekend even though no dollars were made. matt met artists from oregon all the way to maryland, he got the invaluable experience of talking to interested buyers and getting a feel for what people thought of his work, and he had a good time. so did i, but i may have to take my mom up on her offer to watch the kids here and let matt and i go alone next year!

it also made me get a website going for matt since i had a website printed on his business cards even though no site yet existed. well, now one does, though it is still in progress. i just had to get something up before the show. take a peek.

stamps & sculpture

i have had so much i've wanted to say here lately, but i am finding it difficult to find the time to sit and focus on this place right now (hence the short random posts). for now i am keeping those unsaid things in the forefront of my mind to share at another time (if they remain relevant).

today, was a busy but relaxed day.
my mom came over for a short visit and let me run to the post office alone. that is a chore i avoid at all costs. especially with two little ones. it is not worth all the bundling, buckling, and bribing to drive 5 miles (on a road under heavy construction) to stand in line for who knows how long (2 seconds to 30 minutes) to hand over a box. no. i will hold onto said box for as long as it takes for me to get to go it alone, thank you. (so thanks mom!)
but while i was there i picked up this:



i will be going back for more. i don't know why i bought just one. i love fun stamps. it makes sending and receiving mail more fun. and more personal. maybe i should take up stamp collecting. hmmmmm. . .

also, while the little ones napped i spent my afternoon taking some shots of some newer sculpture by matt. this task is much more difficult than i prefer it to be. if i could find a class that specializes in photographing sculpture, specifically bronze, i would sooooo take it. in the meantime, i will just take around 300+ pictures and hope for the best. here are a few of my favorite shots. to see more you can check them out here.

the talented mr. matt

this is matt's newest creation. she's beautiful. she's one of my favorites (i think i say this after every new sculpture though). but she is. there is so much about her that i like. she actually has a partner too, but he is not finished yet.




my problem is trying to be the photographer of his sculptures. if i could master this it would be so beneficial (i.e., economical/convenient). i've been working on his website for ages now, and along with some other issues (ahem, matt), i'm finding that the pictures are just not up to par. for me. the background is so important, as well as the lighting. we need a permanent or semi-permanent set up for doing this. unfortunately, our garage is the only space available and well, i'll just say there won't be any pictures of the dungeon on this blog. so for now, we make feeble attempts outdoors. i can easily burn through 200+ photos and come out with only a handful i find worthy, and even then they don't seem quite right.



thank goodness his talent speaks for itself and shines through on its own.