Day Something in the Mass Quarantine

The empty chairs obviously symbolize the lack of social interaction that we're all currently experiencing. I took this picture a few (more innocent) days ago yet thought it appropriate to our present plight. But... hi everyone! We can still blog and talk on the phone and text and send Facebook greetings!
I wasn't kidding with the title: I wasn't sure if today was Friday or Saturday. Bob set me straight. But in all honesty, Bob and I frequently aren't sure what day it is. Bob works from home and I work a shifting schedule so I'm often saying to Bob, "Is this Monday? Am I supposed to be going to work?" Go with the flow! And because I'm now out of work, hopefully temporarily, that time driftiness becomes even more vague.
Other than that, we're doing well and our spirits are relatively high. Bob admits to liking the quiet (eerie in my book!) that has settled over our neighborhood. Much less traffic, fewer airplanes; you can hear the peepers and birds. Lots of spring birds!
And speaking of "high spirits", when Bob informed me that non-essential businesses were to close as of Monday, I changed my clothes and drove to our local big box package store to buy big boxes of wine. I mean, if the fucking zombie apocalypse is coming, I may want to have a glass of Pinot Noir under my belt. Hell, I have my priorities straight! But then, ironically, package stores are deemed essential services; I guess our governor has HIS priorities straight!
So here we are living but not certain what is coming next. Don't get me started with how the present administration has mismanaged a horrific situation that could possibly been better contained. There was a report in this morning's news of two utterly disturbing facts: 1.) That there was a study done last year of how entirely unprepared for a pandemic we as a nation are (ya think?!?!) and 2.) that The Orange Menace was warned by intelligence agencies back in December that this pandemic was looming because of what was being seen in China. Fake news! It's all a hoax! Until it isn't...
So I'll keep checking in on my family and friends. It's been good to communicate with several people I haven't talked to in a while, and really nice to laugh with (and scare the shit out of) friends with whom I interact with on a regular basis. Stiff upper lip!

Spring/Break Art Show Act 2

Ah yes! "Collusion", "Complicit" and "Fuck Your 2nd Amendment" are happily ensconced at Spring/Break (along with fine work by David Borawski and Margaret Roleke). I'm happy to report that our booth- in a relatively hospitable office space with heat and electricity and a near by water fountain!- is receiving excellent reviews. The paparazzi are popping and we're feeding on feedback and I couldn't be happier.
I think I've made some good connections (along with enough praise that my head is a bit inflated!) and I passed out more than a million dollars in business cards. (My business card is a sticker with all my vitals (name, phone number, email, web site, Instagram handle) on a piece of fake currency. Literally, all denominations. People loved my fake money/bribery card. I said, "Better than bitcoin!")
Wouldn't you know it though: two people I really wnated to see came by when I was here at home, resting and recuperating from talking to a half a zillion admirers. It's nice when someone you don't know comes into the space and says, "Gee I saw your work on so and so's Instagram feed!" I guess I'm hitting the right eyes.
Fortunately, the entire presentation of our space is coherent and well curated (thank you Margaret and Ellen) and has a unity of theme to it. There are more than a few pretty chaotic spaces full of demanding, noisy work...

Did I mention that the UN Plaza Building where the art fair is taking place in across the street from a Trump building? How ironic is that? The theme of this year's Spring/Break is "Fact or Fiction" and there are many interesting installations (including our room) that play with the weird dynamic of "fake news"and lies and misrepresentation. There's even a giant pill container, filled with fake "drug money" in a tiled pharmaceutically inspired room. That one's cool!
But I'm signing off as I'm tired and need to prepare for my next episode of life as an emerging art star. (Kidding!)   But I do have another million dollars worth of business cards to produce and I need a good night's sleep and orthopedic shoes. My feet got really tired from walking on hard pavement and standing for eight hours on cement floors. Life as an artist is hard!!!

Crazy Town!

A fair warning: for those of you who don't want to read an incoherent and obscure rant, just look at the pretty flowers and leave. (They are, by the way, all zinnias plucked from our cut flower area of the vegetable garden. Don't know why the colors got sort of dark; I think I was a bit late in photographing them and they are darkening with age. Then I manipulated the boring background.)
So nothing to report except... Fear! Unhinged! Fire and Fury! Lodestar! Collusion/No Collusion! Witch hunt! Lyin' New York Times! Lyin Ted Cruz! Lyin' Hillary! Hoax! Fake news!
Anonymous! I am the Resistance! WTF! Again: WTF! And I like that a new parlour game was invented: name the anonymous White House staff person responsible for the Op ED.
So, hi! I'm having an average week in an average year and lovin' it. I guess you have to go with it or lose your mind. I will leave it to others to determine whether I've lost my mind or not but welcome to Crazy Town! Are we supposed to feel relief that a few individuals in the administration see themselves as "adults" and voices of reason? That does little to reassure me. I do feel like we're being driven off a cliff and I didn't ask to go along on that ride.
I know, I know... this is the messy tirade that I threatened but I was on the verge of explosion and this blog posting was my safety valve to blow off steam before I went super nova. And I could go on and on and on. But I'll spare you and stop here. I will do better next time. I promise.*

* You want to know what would make me feel even better? Waking up and discovering this was all a really bad dream. Not gonna happen, is it?