Unlike most Fridays

Today was a doozy, in the best of ways. I had had a late but fun dinner last night, so I rose later than I'd like this morning and rushed myself out the door to drive to Columbus. That drive was long, but I was welcomed so warmly by Elena and her husband that it all melted away in a refreshing jumble of introductions and stories about language (mostly French) and names and cats who gravitate to those allergic to them.

[Cowboy, one of my housemates. He mostly leaves me alone, unlike most cats]

Elena showed me her studio briefly, full of amate dyed in cochineal and other natural dyes, before escorting me to lunch. She is recovering from elbow surgery, so I was lucky she was finally cleared to drive, and she told me about her extensive research on amate through books and field work during her travels in Mexico, her home country. Then we saw her exhibit of paintings at Otterbein University, all about color. She is a magnificent colorist and I was so happy to see her work in person after seeing the images on her website—no comparison! Then we headed home to see her video/photo documentation of amate makers. I was especially taken by the tools used to hammer the bark and coveted hers, rectangular and made of volcanic rock.

Plain amate to the left, patterns and designs to the center/right. !!!

She insisted I visit the Wexner, and it was funny to return after 14 or 15 years (the last time was on a field trip as an art undergrad) and see the things that had made such huge impressions on me: the outdoor acoustic arches disguised as curved benches and Maya Lin's glass mounds. As luck would have it, none of their shows were open and their preview interfered with my opening, so I rushed back to the parking lot (so relieved to be back in a vibrant city, college town notwithstanding, with walkable and bustling sidewalks and businesses) to see if I could catch the the Riffe Gallery exhibit.

So glad I did! Well curated, diverse, and with some strong showings of paper art. Above, by Danielle Rante.

The opening of the paper/fiber show went well once I found the building and it was great to meet the curators, arts commission folks, and artists. Some familiar faces, many new, and all welcoming. I managed to tear myself away to hit the road again, and avoided car accidents as dusk moved to dark to pouring rain. I missed almost all of the guests at Bill's Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) party, but was treated to the usual massive spread and comforting, friendly company.

Now I am all fired up to get back to the studio! Somehow, I'll figure out a way to get that work done alongside the writing and the admin and networking and visioning my life and maybe a little sleep.