Oh, I can smell summer in the air. I can smell it. And it smells like fresh cut grass, and basil, and cherry blossoms. Oh, man. I am so ready for it.
Kira and I spent last weekend in Concord, New Hampshire for art pick-up – my show at Teatotaller is wrapping up, and we were given a seven day window for pick-up, so we chose Saturday to take advantage of the nice weather and get some time alone to go to lunch and do some shopping.
We stopped for the second time at 603 Barbeque, which is honestly quite easily the best barbeque I’ve ever had. Their barbacoa is to die for, the mac and cheese is phenomenal, and literally everything else was just – ugh, chef’s kiss. We got the sampler platter, and let me tell you, for $42, it is worth every damn cent:
After that, we made a stop at the DIY Craft & Thrift which continues to be overwhelming in the best possible way – there is just so much stuff, so much ephemera and detritus, perfect if you are looking for vintage sewing patterns or scores of crochet hooks, or broken glass and porcelain for mosaic. I really need to go in there some time with particular projects in mind and just fill up a bag, but in lieu of that, I shopped their local art consignment booths and got a few really cute things.
First off, these mix-and-match pieces of pride jewelry. I got a non-binary earring that I’m intending to pair with my “THEM” pronoun stud (I love asymmetrical looks), and a genderqueer pendant, both by Wyrding Studio:
I also got this adorable 3×3 embroidery by Hilary Garofalo:
And this absolutely amazing 5×7” print called “Hand, Foot, and Mouth,” by Christina Jeck:
I love shopping small artists, and I always feel so overwhelmed by how talented so many of our locals are.
On that note, I just found out the Gggrimes is doing a show in Provincetown…!? Ahh!!! I don’t know if they are local or if they are traveling for this show – I also don’t know how feasible it is for me to make it there, but I would absolutely love to go. I’m still planning on buying at least two of their prints in the foreseeable future (likely in the next couple of weeks, if I’m being honest). But it’d be lovely to actually meet them in person and be present at the premiere of a brand new piece.
…relatedly, I follow so many amazing and beautiful non-binary and transmasc folk…??? I think I need to do a blog post specifically gushing about them at some point in the near furure.
In my own creative news:
I’ve submitted just two pieces to Unfiltered Femininity. The third piece I started absolutely has potential, but there is no way I, as a novice cross-stitcher concurrently working on several other projects, was going to finish my 10’’ embroidery in, like, three days. I am not abandoning said piece, but I am going to give myself grace to finish it competently and keep it on hand for submission to another show in the future. Honestly, I am making a lot of progress with regards to my cross-stitching, but I’m still having issues on how to finish them off (i.e, cover the back). Might want to figure that out before I submit one to a show.
Essex Art Salon acceptances have come in, and “#NoFilterII” will be part of the gallery salon and art sale this July!! I think I’m in agreement with the jury that this was the better piece for this particular show, but I’m kind of hoping to go and tweak “Six of Swords” for another gallery show in the future.
I will be up for consideration once again for the Uplifting Visions campaign supporting the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention.
For what might be my first zine application for 2025, I will be applying to the 20,000 Leagues zine, dedicated to the wonder and diversity of undersea life.
And between a work colleague’s “thank you” gift card, and a stipend for a conference I participated in, I have $125 dollars that I’m considering put in part toward craft acrylics in order to paint a 12’ x 12’ mural on my studio wall (and in part towards hunting down and buying the goddamn “Psych” Funko! set that seems to be out of stock everywhere:)
Anyway. Lot’s of exciting things on the horizon, including personal projects and things I’m hoping to spearhead before the end of the year (nd some before the end of the summer). Hope all is well in your corner of the world.
Take care of yourselves, and each other.
All Your Crooked Heart 