The final work vacation before vacation's end

I am trying to get all caught up so I can feel good about getting back to work at home tomorrow. In case you thought I flew all the way back home and then stayed home, HA HA HA. I got home the night of the first day of July, and could barely unpack before leaving the next morning for Ann Arbor. I went to pick up artwork from a show that had closed so I can open a new one in a couple weeks, to get more of my books from my publisher, and to meet a very important papermaker. Above (and the next two pictures): an exhibit of Japanese miniatures at the Toledo Museum of Art.

Fortunately, my dear one was the driver for this trip, so I didn't have to worry about being behind the wheel of my car in my jet lagged state. His alma mater is in Ann Arbor, so he was delighted to plan this trip, because his old college friend was the one who made the VIP meeting possible: his late mother was friends with Laurence Barker! I was very excited to meet him, after having read his articles and seen his art and known his name in the paper world. Laurence, who taught printmaking for a long time at nearby Cranbrook (and set up papermaking there, the first such studio in the country in an academic setting) was wonderful and shared lots of great stories and details from his long career and fascinating life in the art and paper worlds.

It's also always a pleasure to see my publisher and catch up with her latest research, which is remarkable. I can't wait for her to publish it though I know there's lots more to do before we get a book in hand. She and I had returned to the U.S. from overseas work journeys on the same day.

On the way home, we stopped at the Toledo Museum of Art and of course visited the glass pavilion (that was kind of the whole point). This award-winning piece was hand cut but actually broke the first time and they had to re-make the whole thing in time for the 1904 World's Fair.

There's the picture of a man polishing the punch bowl. This show even had dresses and a parasol made from spun glass, which are apparently too heavy to wear anymore or display upright. The glass cuts the thread that has woven it together so it's quite delicate.

What I liked best were the ancient pieces of glass, which may have been the medium in which marbling began. I've been slow to get back to a full work schedule but have also been reminded that it's okay not to do that! Even though I only have two weeks before the next trip. I'm hoping to get back to the important work ASAP: making new art.