shout out

to design sponge. thanks for the wonderful review and, i had no idea,...what a following!

so MUCH good, amazing, wonderful, life-changing connections and things going on here in nyc. i cannot wait to tell the tales.

Da...da...da....daaaaaaaaaa

And Baker was a Wonder Dog.
He made me think of the upcoming circus i'm going to be taking part in this coming sunday in nyc: stationary show! And, no, i don't mean circus in that way.....oh, wait a sec... well, we can come back to that... but, i mean that meeting Baker the Wonder Dog got me thinking about, and getting excited for, the booth theme us sisters are going for. Kaari wanted to design the concept and there I ran, hand in hand, with her. My mom got in on it and my brother (which i'm sure, somewhere in there, means my pop, too); they both painted the big ole barker's sign that will hang at the edge of the booth clamoring, "8mm ideas presents Molly, the grand finale showing her works of wonder!" Slightly strange, it makes you wonder, it draws you in....non? And then you're in the booth and it's covered in fabulous old hemp panels with pockets filled with cards, and buttons, and fabric...you're in the tent, ladies and gentlemen!
Anyhooo, this is what we're going for. a circus, carny feel. and, i, for one, am lovin it!
We're giving out little souvenirs: an old brass number 8. for 8mmideas.
As you can see, i'm excited for the show.
Mind you, we might sit around and stare at only each other for the four days,
but we're aiming for a heck of a lot higher.

Ahhhh, BAKER!


*this seems like a good time to also mention that, while i'm away, i might not get to blogging. i usually take advantage of the 24 "extra" hours a day that nyc seems to give away.

Good Things Come in Threes

I have lots more photos and stories from Open Studios, but I'm working on putting up a flickr account and will put the photos up there and the stories here. But I really wanted to share about three other great things that happened last week.

1. RK and I went to this extremely cool show. The group that put it on, Scrap and Salvage, are actually the people behind the very first photo I used on this blog. Total coincidence. They did not disappoint. I can't tell you anything about the show (just like no one should have ever told you what happens in The Crying Game or the show De La Guarda) but if you're in san francisco, you should go. Oh wait, I can tell you this: they only do "site-specific" performances. The members of the group were walking by a neighborhood joint, Blue Space, popped their heads in and started to think. They thinked and they thunk and then they thinked some more and they came up with a true experience for the senses, based on the space provided. It was exciting and strange and wonderful. I was moved. Go with a friend. And sit on the opposite side of the table from each other... okay, I'll say no more!!

2. The night before we sat down to the Scrap and Salvage table, we sat down at Weird Fish's table. I like a good number of restaurants in this city...but, this particular one, well, it makes me feel like I'm in New York again...and, sometimes, that's just a fantastic feeling. It's tiny, tiny, tiny... the whole theme is mariner: sea blue-green walls, dark old wood, tables that look like they were rescued from the titanic (covered under glass, they're really large pieces of old tin ceiling), and just plain warm. The staff has always been friendly and funny. And the food is a whole lot o yumminess. I've eaten brunch, lunch and dinner here...and I made a statement that I could eat there every day. I've only felt that way about one other restaurant and that was in....wait for it...you guessed it, NYC.

3. And, finally, the third great thing that came about was our third anniversary of K-boom! No, I don't listen to the radio station and I've never actually been to the K-boom! celebration, but since RK and I moved to SF we've never missed a K-boom! It's become a sort of ritual for us. I'd never heard of it until my friend, Shauna, asked me if I wanted to go to the K-boom! fireworks show at the piers when we first moved here three years ago. They play a bunch of great tunes, you might not otherwise be listening to on an average day, and set off fireworks to the beats of the songs. It sounds crazy, but it works perfectly! I'm not a big one for crowds, so I never did go...but I never forgot the K-boom! and, as it turned out, RK and I can see the fireworks perfectly from our fire-escape. We crank up the radio, singing along to "shiny, happy people" and "love shack" while we watch fireworks in the shapes of happy faces and hearts light up the sky. It's actually incredibly romantic! I never thought I'd say that about K-boom! (i've been told, it's actually pronounced KA-boom, like the sound of an explosion...but i'm gonna stick with k-boom, it's how i remember it best....)

Happy Mothers Day!

A big humongous shout out of love and appreciation to all the moms world 'round, all my mom friends, and especially to mom, kaari, lisa, mara, monique, nina, juliet, nana, lois, and to megan's mom and suzanne's mom, two fantabulous women who are no longer on this earth, but still watch over us daily, i just know it.

OH.MY.GOSH.

I had no idea what a fantastic experience this weekend would turn out to be. I still have another day to go, but so far, what a ride. I've met SO many interesting people and creative people and people who love to talk about wild and crazy things...
and then i've met wild and crazy people who want to talk about interesing and creative things. Phew! What a trip!

Opening night was awesome. Quite the party. I didn't know what to expect and I think I got more than I would have expected, had I expected anything in particular. Again, big thanks going out to RK and T who manned house, passing out my bizness cards and talking up pieces when I was too consumed to turn around...lots of people, lots of convos. Christina took photos and caught some of the funnier (in my mind) moments of the evening...but, because it's all about personality on this round, you can just enjoy the photos for the visual. More to come.....

Let's get ready to.....OPEN!

We have Open Studios this weekend in the Mission and so RK and I have just been reving up for it. It's our first one. We're excited, but also facing the idea of a whole night and then two full days sitting in the studio waiting for validation, um, could be a little nightmarish. We shall see!

RK put up a whole bunch of his photographs and I'm putting up everything I've ever done practically. I didn't realize how little I had ready (ooch!), but I think the space looks really good. One of the best bits is this little metal swinging bench we got from Thrift Town on our way up to the studio (a thrift store stop before you "get to work" is ALWAYS a good idea). In the background, you can kinda see my other two latest thrift store purchases: that wood frame with the pink inside and the juicy brass bird cage. LOVE EM! That's chip, kicking it on the couch, but mostly he was working hard, helping hang photos and drinkin the brewskis he (very thoughtfully) brought to the "artists."

I'll post more photos and stories during as the weekend moves along...

Family Matters

I've been a little busy. It's a good thing, I've loved every minute of it, but, nonetheless, it's left me without much time to sit and write. So, I've got just a squeeze of time this morning to catch up and without coffee in my system, I will write.

My sister, Kaari, came to town this past weekend and it rocked the full show. Not that we did anything crazy or wild or met anyone famous or swung from the rafters.
But, she was here for four fabulous days. And for two tantamount days, so was my brother, Mike.
Siblings.
I LOOOOOVE my siblings.

If you've read this blog at all, you know I'm downright crazy for my whole dang family. To some, it's strange. I have a lot of friends who don't need to do more than a day or two with their family members. Us? all seven of us, we're the exact opposite. In fact, the word might start to spread about this family of mine... Kaari recently gave an interview to someone that asked her what the next big thing is for her shop, French General:
Kaari: "well, this is just a dream...but a large piece of land where my whole family lives and people can come and learn different crafts or talents. we would each teach what we know best. you can take photo classes or beading or wood working..."
Interviewer: "would people come and live there?"
Kaari: "no, no. WE live there, people just come for a long weekend or week retreat, and then they leave."
The interviewer has called and emailed her a few times since then to dig deeper into this dream and kaari finally had to respond, "you know, i wouldn't make too much of it, it'll probably never happen."
I, for one, wish on a star for it allllllll the time.

So, Kaari came and we worked on Stationary Show stuff and shopped and ate and played and talked and talked and talked. And then Mike came down from Auburn and we sat around and worked on Stationary Show stuff and shopped and ate and played and talked and talked and talked.

It made the whole world brighter.
In fact, the weather we just had in SF was THE best weather I've ever experienced here. It was really hot, really warm wind, and sunny, sunny, sunny. The windows were wide open, we were in tshirts all night and it made everyone seem happier (that might have just been me? hmmm).
On Friday night, RK, Kaari and I went to a really fun party at Dylan's house. I think everyone else was sitting inside watching "the fight" (no, i don't know who was fighting) while Kaari and I sat out on his back deck talking to Regina from Wisconsin. She sat rapt with attention while Kar and I pretty much entertained ourselves (and, apparently, Regina) with stories.
Kaari told one of a classic misunderstanding: At my niece's school, there was a big auction and my sister brought "a dinner of tamales" (in LA you get some of the yummiest & freshest tamalaes and kaari knows where to find the best) to auction off. Apparently, one of the mom's at the auction thought she was auctioning off "a dinner with molly" and so she bid like crazy. She won the "item" and ran over to my sister and said, "oh, im so excited! when is molly coming to town? when can we do the dinner together??" and kaari had to break it to her, "barbara, it's a dinner of tamales, not a dinner with molly." oh, how we laughed! When I was a little kid and my whole family was vacationing in mexico, in a tent, on the beach, I heard a woman calling "HOT tamales! HOT tamales!" and I was about 4 yrs old and didn't quite understand (okay, the truth here is that i was sitting in the tent on my little port-a-potty and didn't actually see her carrying her big box of fresh, hot tamales) and so i leaned my little head out and yelled, "HI to you TOO!" That's right, I thought she was yelling, "HI to molly".
I thought those two stories went together nicely.

Thank you RK, Kaari and Mikey for what a beautiful time we had.

The Latest from the studio

Here's something I've been working on for a show submission, "Childish Things". Each piece is about 18"x 13" called "Learning Curve". Still to be framed...
I'm really into this old school paper and carbon. I've ended up expanding to the line of cards like this, as well. I just love how they're turning out. Very different than most of the stuff I've done in the past, yet I feel like the vibe is similar: is it sweet? is it sinister? who knows? I love that tightrope...

When it rains, it pours

Why is it that you can struggle for years and have nothing really going for you and it seems despondent and not one thing you'd hoped for comes thru and you don't know which way to turn...and then, seemingly overnight, it all changes. And you've got more than you can handle and it all comes at you at the same time and everyone wants something from you and you don't know which way to turn. Sometimes, I wonder, which is really better? Everyone says it's the latter one. But, currently experiencing the latter, I question that.

I guess what I can't believe is that my life goes like this in waves. It's always all or nothing. I could do with a nice, even keeled, little bit of both.

My friend D. suggested I meditate. Not a bad idea. I should do something that isn't related to one of these constant things in my life. I should slow down, maybe even stop.

When I was a kid, I was sure I wanted to be an actress (well, that's not counting that kindergarten survey I filled out where I wrote in "teacher" for what to be when I grow up). I tried my hand at it for years. Every school play, every community play, if there was a roll to be filled, I was there trying out for it. My parents loved it, with the idea that I wasn't really serious about it, and when it came time to go to college I wouldn't run off and join a travelling actors troupe. I stomped my feet and told them when I make it big, and get onto the Merv Griffin show I would make it very clear to him that I got where I was on my own! That my parents didn't support me! They always came back with the same answer, "we just don't think you can handle the rejection." They were probably right. I hated rejection, never was able to brush it off. I always wanted to be wanted for everything, whether I seemed "right for it" or not. When I did have my one big chance, a meeting with a hollywood manager , he told me first things first: change your last name! You gotta have pretty supportive (of hollywood, mind you) parents for them to let you change your name at 15 years old. So, we toyed with the idea for a bit... my dad even offered to take my head shots (sitting on a rock, out in the backyard) --i'm sure those are somewhere, hidden deep. But, I moved on, went to college and became an English Lit major. Why? Because I liked to read. That's it. The whole motivation behind my major was the idea that I would get to read books night and day. I was the kid who got caught reading my novel behind my math book in class, it seemed like a perfect fit for me. Acting be damned, I shall read my way into adulthood!

Then, college, a bit of a wash--it seemed like not much going on, no where to turn, what was I going to do with it all?? Until I spent the year abroad in the UK. It changed my life. Suddenly, just like that, seemingly overnight I had everything. I loved Wales, I loved everyone I met, I was offered a job to stay the following year....and then, just as quickly, decisions were made and things changed again.

On and on life goes like this. You've got it all, it's all going in great directions, everyone wants something from you one year, and then next, you're not quite sure what you're doing...

After a couple of years here, with my fingers in many, many pies, I've got a lot of great things going on in my life, but all these balls can't stay in the air forever. Decisions have to be made and some things have to go, while other things will be changed by the mere passing of time. I've always felt like, if I just had one solid goal, one major purpose, one thing that I could completely, wholly go after with all my being...I want THIS, or I know I don't want that, but I know want THIS... things would be so much easier.