American Soma: North Carolina, New Women in Water, and New Linocuts

So! After an extended hiatus on the blog here, I will explain why I've been away so long. Michael and I went to Asheville, North Carolina for our anniversary, and we had a fantastic time. We spent two days visiting Biltmore (had an amazing dinner in their dining room, a picture of us on the veranda just before we went downstairs for our amazing four-hour dinner is just below); visited the amazing Battery Park Book Exchange (and champagne bar), got to take a train trip on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad; went gem mining at Rose Creek Mine in Franklin, NC (and had the best banana pudding and cream of broccoli soup ever at the wonderful Sunset Diner nearby); went to the Ruby City Gem Museum; and spent some time at Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley, NC, and were lucky enough to be in town for First Friday, when all the galleries and shops were open late...among a ton of other things. It was a wonderful trip, making the 9-hour drive totally worthwhile. Asheville is a beautiful town (I was there for an undergraduate research conference back in 1996--eek! That's nearly 20 years ago.) There are so many young people and so much great energy. I can't rave about it enough! Also, a shout out to the great Julie Armbruster, whose amazingly cool work I got to see outside her (sadly, closed--we stopped in on a day when she wasn't working there) studio in The Wedge Co-op, above the Wedge Brewing Company in the River Arts District.

In more local news, I am really excited to announce that an installation of my Radium Girls art will appear in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District in January 2014. Hooray! I'm working on the pieces that will be part of the exhibition now. More on this to come...exciting details on the where will follow soon, I promise!

Also, (so much good news!) some of my Women in Water works will appear in an upcoming issue of Boxcar Poetry Review. I am so honored to be part of this wonderful online literary journal!

And finally, I've started making linocuts, and I've applied to join the Pittsburgh Print Group, so I can join other printmakers. It's been years since I've made prints, and although I've used some etchings and aquatints as the basisfor some of the work that now hangs at GalleriE CHIZ, I haven't actually made any new prints until last week, when we got home from vacation. It's a new-ish and exciting medium for me and the possibilities seem endless.

Now, some pictures....