Back to NYC - Glass show at The Hole

Excited to be included in shows at both locations of The Hole in NYC (follow link for show images) opening at the 312 Bowery on May 9th and 86 Walker St., Tribeca on May 15th. It’s a show of glass artists and including some heavy hitters (like Deborah Czeresko, the winner of Blown Away!), so I’m very humbled to be included.

Group exhibition with Abigail Ogilvy and Brodin Gallery in West Hollywood

HARD ‘N’ SOFT
This collaborative exhibition is co-curated by art_works and @abigailogilvygallery Abigail Ogilvy Gallery and hosted by Brodin Gallery at their Los Angeles space location in West Hollywood.

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 26th from 5:00 - 9:00 PM (coinciding with the Hollywood Design Walk)
Location: Brodin Gallery, 1128 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Hard ‘n’ Soft explores the contested boundary between rigidity and flexibility in contemporary art, bringing together artists who deliberately subvert the expected properties of their materials. Through bronze rendered weightless, stone veiled in delicacy, fiber assuming geometric precision, and paint dissolving solid form, these works challenge the material hierarchies that have long structured art historical discourse.

The exhibition centers on artists who refuse categorical certainty. Rather, the assumed behaviors of media become sites of transformation: rigid materials yield and soften, solid forms turn fluid, soft substances achieve architectural presence. By inverting our expectations of how materials should perform, these artists invite us to reconsider not only the nature of their chosen media but the perceptual frameworks through which we encounter contemporary art itself.
On view February 26 – April 9, 2026

Exhibiting Artists: Mishael Coggeshall-Burr, @mishael.art,Tallulah Dirnfeld, @tal1u1ah Yasmine Esfandiary, @yasmine_esfandiary Cassandra C. Jones, @jpegmountainWilhelm Neusser, @wilhelmneusser , Alison Croney Moses, @alisoncroneymoses , Katrina Sánchez, @fiberess , Elspeth Schulze, @elspethschulze , Leigh Suggs, @leighsuggs , Kelly Witmer, @kellywitmer Natalia Wróbel, @natalia_wrobel_art

Solo show at Satchel Projects in NYC, opens Nov 6th

Satchel Projects is delighted to present Morphologies, an exhibition of recent works by LA / Joshua Tree–based artist Kelly Witmer, on view from November 6 through December 11, 2025. This will be the artist’s debut solo show in New York. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, November 6 from 6–8 PM. 

Using an intuitive, process-based approach, Kelly Witmer explores material meaning and psychological form through the interplay of clay, glass, fur, and synthetic hair. The works in Morphologies feel both ancient and otherworldly — part relic, part dream fragment. Evocative of bodily forms and biological processes, these sculptures inhabit a space where function is mysterious and desire is tactile. 

Through slumped forms, oozing textures, and surprising material juxtapositions, Witmer coaxes a sense of personality — almost a “being” — out of elemental matter, blurring the line between object and entity. These are not passive sculptures; they seem to breathe, to want, to protect or repel, often taking on the sense of masks or shields — protective yet vulnerable, defensive yet strangely intimate.

Witmer describes her works as “hypothetical three-dimensional portraits,” hinting at the human while borrowing from the animal. Sometimes genderless, sometimes fluid, sometimes steadfastly male or female, they speak to what remains — what we leave behind to tell our story to our future selves. Her interest in relics that embody the core of human experience — birth, death, love, hunger, joy, and grief — infuses the work with a primal emotional charge. These wall sculptures conjure humanoid forms that occupy an uncanny space: familiar enough to suggest human presence, yet infused with strangeness, existing as speculative evolutionary paths or mythological beings. They invite contemplation of adaptability and transformation in an uncertain future.

Central to Witmer’s process is a collaboration with gravity itself. By slumping glass and ceramic forms in the kiln, she allows weight and heat to distort the materials, giving the work a softened, almost bodily sag. These drooping, organic curves hint at vulnerability, transformation, and decay — making each piece feel animated by internal forces. The surfaces further express this tension: some are mottled or pitted, suggesting skin, stone, or internal tissue, while others gleam with a glossy, slick finish. The tactility of these surfaces — whether rough and porous or smooth and reflective — heightens the viewer’s sensory engagement, inviting touch while also provoking discomfort.

The recurring use of hair and fur — materials loaded with associations of gender, mythology, status, and beauty — deepens this tension. Hair spilling from ceramic orifices oscillates between allure and the grotesque, its detached state evoking reliquaries or cherished mementos. The fur, salvaged from vintage coats, adds a haunting poignancy while recalling ritual masks that embody animal spirits. These materials complicate notions of adornment and decay, imbuing the sculptures with an eerie tenderness.

The stress of high temperatures in the kiln can cause unexpected splits, cracks, or fissures in the ceramic. These imperfections Witmer chooses not to discard but to repair by hand, using silver and gold leaf, in a process reminiscent of Japanese kintsugi. What may have been abandoned is elevated into a site of intimacy and resilience. Rather than conceal flaws, Witmer incorporates them into the work’s identity, embracing the fractures as part of the work’s evolution, a result of the forces that created them.

While Witmer’s work can be seen in relation to Surrealism — particularly the biomorphic abstraction of Hans Arp and the material subversions of Meret Oppenheim — her practice also draws deeply from a lineage of women artists who have investigated the body, psychology, and craft. Echoes of Kiki Smith’s corporeal storytelling, Louise Bourgeois’s emotional architectures, Lee Bontecou’s sci-fi femininity, Eva Hesse’s material vulnerability, and Christina Ramberg’s restrained yet fetishized forms all reverberate in Morphologies. Like these artists, Witmer challenges the viewer to confront ambiguity, embodiment, and the subconscious through form and texture.

“The pieces suggest a protective impulse,” says Witmer, “but one that’s complicated — soft, seductive, absurd.” In her hands, a vessel might sprout synthetic tendrils; a hard ceramic shell might erupt in plush tufts of fur. These contradictions are central to the work’s power, inviting viewers into an uneasy tenderness, where beauty flirts with the grotesque and the self is always in flux.

https://www.satchelprojects.com/kelly-witmer

Uncharted Elsewhere at San Diego Central Library Aug 2

Uncharted Elsewhere
August 2, 2025 - January 4, 2026

Judith Harris Art Gallery, San Diego Central Library

Uncharted Elsewhere is a mixed-media exhibition exploring the surreal complexities of contemporary life. Through sculpture, textile, painting and works on paper, artists reimagine landscape and form as sites of entanglement.

Featuring works by Gabrielle Berens, Kaori Fukuyama, Yena Kim, John Oliver Lewis, Leslie Shershow, Eva Struble, Delilah Strukel, Akiko Surai, and Kelly Witmer. Curated by Bonnie Domingos.

Game Time at Abigail Ogilvy Gallery

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery looks forward to presenting new works by 20 artists in our summer group exhibition, "Game Time." The exhibition brings together the gallery’s represented artists from nationwide and internationally, while introducing new artists to the program.

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 17th from 5-8PM

1923 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 

Artists Included:

Teddy Benfield (Boston, MA), Pelle Cass (Boston, MA), Mishael Coggeshall-Burr (Montague, MA), Luke Forsyth (Los Angeles, CA), Jen P. Harris (Cleveland, OH), Cassandra C. Jones (Ojai, CA), Katharine Konietzko (Los Angeles, CA), Andrew Leventis (Charlotte, NC), Ellie MacGarry (London), Wilhelm Neusser (Boston, MA), Christopher Noxon (Ojai, CA), Thomas Martinez Pilnik (Los Angeles, CA), Katrina Sánchez (Charlotte, NC), Elspeth Schulze (Tulsa, OK), Elizabeth King Stanton (New Bedford, MA), Brooke Stewart (Boston, MA), Leigh Suggs (Richmond, VA), Natalia Wróbel (Spain), Kelly Witmer (Los Angeles, CA), Haley Wood (Boston, MA)

https://abigailogilvy.com/exhibitions/83-game-time-summer-group-exhibition/

Western Mystique at Dorado 805 March 12

806 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA, march 12 - april 2, 2025

featuring: Amelie Laurice, Brittany Kiertzner (Arisawe), Chelsea Wrightson, Gina Teichert, Katie Dorame, Kelly Witmer, Meghan DeRoma, Yanin Ruibal

The Western Mystique reimagines the West beyond its mythic past. The frontier was never just cowboys and conquest; it was a place shaped by the resilience of women whose stories remain largely untold. From Indigenous leaders like Lozen, the Apache warrior and healer, to Biddy Mason, the formerly enslaved woman who built a legacy of landownership and community care in California; from 'Stagecoach Mary,' the first African American woman to work as a U.S. postal carrier in the West, to artists like Agnes Pelton, who sought spiritual transcendence through abstraction; and yes, even 'Calamity Jane'. These women have long transformed the West into a space of reinvention, survival, and quiet revolution.

https://www.dorado806.com/westernmystique

Diego Rivera murals in Mexico City

There's no shortage of Diego Rivera murals in CDMX, but the Secretariat of Public Education was my favorite. Covering all of the walls of these two courtyards are 235 panels of murals done between 1923 and 1928. This was Rivera’s first major large-scale mural project. The themes center around workers, and the glorification of all things Mexican, especially the Mexican Revolution. Rivera named the two courtyards “Labor Courtyard” and the other the “Fiesta Courtyard” based on the themes he painted in each.

Entrance is free, you just have to figure out where to go and get past some armed guards. I don't know the hours, but I went on a Monday afternoon, which was perfect since most all of the museums in Mexico City are closed on Mondays.

Murales de Diego Rivera en la Secretaria de Educacion Publica, Calle Republica de Argentina 28, Mexico City 06000, Mexico

Guess who? My last post was on the Frida Kahlo Casa Azul museum.

I snapped this quickly, because I didn't want anyone to see me taking photos of trash cans in the midst of all these beautiful paintings. But I really dug these cans. They're the same color as my car.

Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul

I've always wanted to visit Frida Kahlo's house, and it was even better than I expected. But the crowds were insane. Luckily my Airbnb host tipped me off that I should buy advance tickets online, and after searching I found that it's a separate website, where I was able to buy a ticket a few hours in advance to skip the line. And the line went all the way down the block.  boletosfridakahlo.org

There's a small gallery of her works, an interesting collection spanning her life. I was particularly moved by an early portrait she made in 1927, though I wasn't quite sure why. Something in the eyes. I looked up the subject, Agustin Olmedo, and only learned that he was a friend and a member of the group known as "Cachuchas".  I also found an interesting story behind the damaged part of the painting in the center of his jacket. The damage was inflicted by Kahlo herself when she learned that Agustin was badmouthing her by saying that "she isn't worth not even a cent". Classic.

I especially enjoyed seeing unfinished works, as a glimpse into her process.

There was also something so stirring about seeing her home, personal objects and work spaces. 

The house was amazing, especially the beautiful courtyard. It's a walled-off haven from the busy streets surrounding it, a private vibrant jungle inside the city. 

This still life was made for the dining room of the Mexican presidential residence,  but was later returned, perhaps because its fruits were too voluptuously graphic. The fruits are very sexually suggestive, as is the frame she had made for it. 

Much of her work and collections focused on her infertility, a subject I'm all too familiar with as well. Probably one of the many reasons I'm drawn to her work. I also paint self portraits (link here), have a blue house, questionable taste in men and unmanageable eyebrows. 

Diego Rivera summed up her universal appeal better than I can: "Frida is the sole example in art history of someone who has torn open her breast and her heart in order to tell the biological truth of what she feels inside them."

Despite her life-long health issues, Frida apparently got a lot of action. She began a 10 year affair with Nickolas Muray (the photographer who took the portrait above) just a year after her marriage to Diego Rivera. Supposedly she also had an affair with Georgia O'Keefe, as this letter she wrote to her in 1933 suggests. I thought it was a charming letter, full of genuine sincerity.

Georgia, 
Was wonderful to hear your voice again. Every day since I called you and many times before months ago I wanted to write you a letter. I wrote you many, but every one seemed more stupid and empty and I torn them up. I can't write in English all that I would like to tell, especially to you. I am sending this one because I promised it to you. I felt terrible when Sybil Brown told me that you were sick but I still don't know what is the matter with you. Please Georgia dear if you can't write, ask Stieglitz to do it for you and let me know how are you feeling will you ? I'll be in Detroit two more weeks. I would like to tell you every thing that happened to me since the last time we saw each other, but most of them are sad and you mustn't know sad things now. After all I shouldn't complain because I have been happy in many ways though. Diego is good to me, and you can't imagine how happy he has been working on the frescoes here. I have been painting a little too and that helped. I thought of you a lot and never forget your wonderful hands and the color of your eyes. I will see you soon. I am sure that in New York I will be much happier. If you still in the hospital when I come back I will bring you flowers, but it is so difficult to find the ones I would like for you. I would be so happy if you could write me even two words. I like you very much Georgia. 
Frieda

On the left is a pre-Columbian urn containing Frida's ashes. I read that Diego Rivera's last will and testament specified that his body was to be cremated and his ashes were to be mixed with those of Frida's and their ashes were to be kept in the Blue House in Coyoacán. However, Diego's two daughters and his wife at the time refused to respect his last wishes. 

I'm inspired by Frida's urn to make an urn for myself. That sounds creepy, but people buy their own grave plots, don't they? This photo is of an urn I made for my dog five years ago. RIP, Shaft.

Diego Rivera also stipulated in his will that sections of the Casa Azul remain closed off from the museum for 50 years past his death, and they were filled with their personal items. So about 10 years ago these items were finally uncovered. There's a temporary exhibit at the museum (though I think it's been up for years) of Frida's clothing, corsets, jewelry, shoes, photos, plus a selection of pieces by major fashion designers that were inspired by her style. One of her legs was shorter and thinner due to polio as a child, which is why she usually wore long skirts. It's speculated that it's also why she wore so much jewelry, colorful tops and elaborate hairstyles, to draw the eyes up and away from her legs. But I can't believe she was hiding these fabulous boots under long skirts! I'm really longing for a pair of boots like these.

Plaza Hildago

Coyoacan, where the Casa Azul is located, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Mexico City. South of the museum, it's an easy walk to the lovely Plaza Hildago, which has many restaurant options. I went to Los Danzantes, which I highly recommend. I made a poor ordering choice though, getting a dish featuring chaupilines (AKA grasshoppers). They were listed as the last ingredient, so I wishfully thought that it would be just a sprinkling of them, and I could just give them a try. But there were at least 100 little crickets piled up on this tostada, and I could only stomach a small amount. Years ago I somehow ended up rescuing a beaded dragon (long story), and had to regularly buy crickets to feed it. I just kept thinking of the horrible smell of that cricket container, and it wasn't appetizing. I wish I could go back to that restaurant and have a do-over! The artwork inside was amazing as well.

Carvings and mosaics upstairs in Los Dazantes. Embryos were the theme of the day.

Mexico City - in search of tacos. Airbnb experience tour

Contramar lunch of sopes and shrimp soup

The deco architecture is amazing! 

I'm in Mexico City right now on a whim of a trip I booked two weeks ago. The reason for the trip was simple (if a little sad) - some repeat airbnb guests who love my dog (and vice versa) were having an extended stay at my studio in Joshua Tree, and were willing to watch him in exchange for reduced rent.  I would travel a lot more if I wasn't so attached to that damn dog. So I opened up Google flights and started searching destinations and Mexico City popped out. I've been all over the Yucatán and Baja, but never in central Mexico. I had heard horror stories about traveling in Mexico City years ago (even from Mexicans!), but lately I've been hearing what a fabulous place it is.

My first evening, relaxing on Airbnb host Tom's roof.

It's hectic and loud,  but also beautiful with an energy that's hard to describe. Luckily my first airbnb host, Tom, was a super nice ex-pat from NY, and he immediately set me up with a map and suggestions of where to go. He really made me feel at home, and the next night we hung out with some wine and commiserated on the ups and downs of being a host.

The second day I decided to try one of Airbnb's relatively new "experiences", and did a taco bike ride tour around the city. It's a great thing for someone traveling alone, but also for anyone wanting to find "insider gems" in a new city. The host, Diego, was a charmer and his tour was very well organized. We covered a lot of ground in three hours, making five stops to experience a variety of tacos.

Diego talking tacos

First we went to a small Mayan taco joint, where we had conchinita pibil tacos, with about 10 different great salsas. Plus vibrant green agua Frescas made from a leafy green plant that I've forgotten the name of. I also didn't catch the name of the place, unfortunately... someone else on the tour told me it was called Habinitos, but I wasn't able to find it online. It was a tiny little place, and I went to use the bathroom and had to go through a little half-sized door that reminded me of Being John Malkovich.

2nd stop was seafood at Tres Galeones, at Calle Jalapa 117, Roma Norte. It was so good that I went back the next day and got the same thing - a soft shell crab taco and shrimp sopes - both amazing.

Tortillas being made at the market for our carnitas  

3rd stop we rolled our bikes into a busy market all the way to the back for pork confit tacos. They showed us the big vat of oil the pigs are cooked in, and the guy demonstrated how he could cut right through the bone, "like it was guacamole". at least I think that's what he said. My Spanish really sucks. 

Diego answered some of my silly questions - like what they were chanting out of megaphones from circling trucks? I thought it was some sort of political thing, but turns out they're just announcing that they buy used microwaves, mattresses, refrigerators, etc. He also told us to look for men going around at night with two metal sticks, explaining that people pay them for an electric shock. He showed us a photo of him doing it with friends a few nights prior. They hold hands in a circle, the current passes through everyone, and the first person who lets go has to pay the shock man. Another woman on the tour asked if the shock wasn't dangerous for his pregnant wife, and he just laughed and said "Nah!"

Me sporting my growing butt, about to eat more tacos.

The last stop was for Asian fusion duck tacos with a sauce reminiscent of Peking duck. El Autintico Pato Manila, Calle Culliacan 91, Condesa. I thought about going back there as well, but needed to make time for the amazing Contramar that every person that had Mexico City tips had recommended. With good reason - it was excellant

I also discovered a great Oaxacan place called Pasillo de Humo, Avenida Nuevo Leon 107, Hipodromo, Mexico City 06100. I think it's only open for lunch. There was a crowded scene on the first level, with several different counters, but I ate at the more quiet upstairs. Mainly because a hostess asked me a question and gestured upstairs, so I said "Si" and that's where I ended up.

Duck tacos at El Autintico Pato Manila, Calle Culliacan 91, Condesa

We wrapped up the tour with a shot of mezcal, with an orange and worm salt on the side. This was the first of lots of mezcal during my trip. Apparently we were lucky to have Diego lead the tour, because his employee was on a paid vacation. He's only been giving these experience tours since August, and has an employee on vacation!!

I was going to try and go to Oaxaca and then meet up with a friend in Puerto Vallarta, but ended up deciding Oaxaca could wait. Too much to see and do in Mexico City. I know, I know, I'm missing out, but hopefully it won't go anywhere and I'll see it next time.

Spiderweb metal work. And that PINK!

Venice Biennale 2017 Part 2, the art

Claudia Fontes, The Horse problem

So so so much art... too many favorites to even post, but I'll try.

bread books by Italian artist Maria Lai

Liliana Porter - amazing work, check out her website: http://lilianaporter.com

All of a Tremble (Encounter I), 2017, by Anri Sala 

Lee Wan, "Mr. K and the Collection of Korean History", Korean Pavillion.

Anne Imhof, Faust. "i'm .... too sexy for this shirt..."

Tang Nannan, "What's at sea?", China Pavillion. More of his work: http://www.tangnannan.net

Venice Biennale 2017 part 1 , where I stayed

For years I dreamed of visiting the Biennale in Venice some day. I was lucky enough to go to Italy this year, and I decided to spend a week in Venice. That was a hard choice to make, since there's so much to see in Italy and only so much time. But there was so much art to see, and I thought it would be amazing to really get to know Venice. Of course, I only scratched the surface, but it was still amazing. I saw so much art... and my feet paid dearly. Oh, so much walking in Venice. I would end up soaking my feet in the bidet each evening, trying to build up the strength to go out to dinner. I stayed in three Airbnb rentals, giving me the chance to get to know different parts of the city. Although it would take two days figure out the path to get back without getting lost, as it's such a labrinth. The apartments were so great, that I'm doing one post on them and another on the art.

Alberto's Airbnb in San Polo

My first host was Alberto, (find his listing here) and even though I felt sure I could find the place on my own, he insisted on meeting me at Piazalle Roma. Thank God - it would have taken me forever to find it, and going over those damn bridges of stairs with a rolling suitcase is no picnic. It was four winding steep steps up to the flat (I'll be Eurotrashy and call them flats), but the view was worth it. The sounds of wailing children and scolding mothers (both of which seem to be in endless supply in all of Italy) would waft up to the windows. I keep hearing an odd noise, which sounded like the cry of a human baby mixed with a cat. I pinpointed it to an odd creature on the rooftop across from my window, and realized it was a pair of baby seagulls. They look a bit like fuzzy aliens. I took to chucking bits of bread and cheese over to the roof, and the mom would snatch them and feed the kids. Here's a video on my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BUr9dtYFKnT/?taken-by=kellywitmer

photo by Brian Hazell snatched from a google search ( I was not so lucky with my iPhone camera)

Alberto was kind enough to invite me to dinner, can you believe that? His girlfriend made lasagna, while I helped Alberto and his twelve year old daughter practice their English. A retired French photographer and a young archeologist joined us as well, and we went through a lot of wine. I was exhausted, though, and jet-lagged, and was dozing off in a sitting position. When Alberto took me back to the rental, he did the double cheek kiss thing, and I was so tired my timing was off and I think I sort of pecked him on or near the lips. I was mortified and apologized profusely, explaining how tired I was. Hopefully he understood, but I still feel horribly embarrassed.   

Giardini - away from the hustle and bustle, yet near the Biennale.

I thought the bathroom in this place was cool, until I got to the next stop....

ANYway, on to the next Airbnb. I got a beautiful FLAT in Giardini, where it was an easy walk to the main Biennale exhibitions. This garden district is on the outskirts of Venice, and it was a quiet break from the hustle of the city center. There weren't a lot of options in that area, so I splurged on a place that was way too big for me. The top photo on this post shows the big main room, which would have been wonderful for a dinner party. But alas, it was only me. But I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the balcony with wine or coffee. Find this listing on Airbnb here.

over the roofs of Venice

Next stop, another splurge - I was on a roll. I got a place near the Rialto bridge and San Mark's square. Besides the location and killer terrace pictured above, the insane tile in the bathroom sold me. PLUS it was connected with Hotel Da Bruno (Bruno is my dog's name). It was easy to check in, I just went to the hotel and they had one of the nice guys working there take me to the apartment. You can find this listing here on Airbnb.

I didn't want to leave this bathroom. God, I love tile.

The kitchen tile was also great. I enjoyed some of The.Best.Cheese.InTheWorld. up on that roof deck. (I know, people who write Like.That. are worse than people who say "flat")

I'm really glad I rented these amazing places - I had a wonderful time and felt like I got to know Venice pretty well in just a week. Years ago I visited Italy and stayed in "pensiones", which are rooms rented out in private homes. Europeans were doing this long before Airbnb came around, but finding them was the difficult part. Some were listed in guidebooks, or often owners would loiter the train stations to offer housing to foreigners as they arrived. I was lured to several places that way, which was strange and scary but luckily worked out fine. Still, I'm certainly glad Airbnb has made the whole process easier for everyone.

Comedy break

I haven't posted much this year... I've been on kind of a sabbatical. I've still been making art, but my focus has been in a lot of directions.

The chain of events went kind of like this: I woke up one morning to find all three of my remaining chickens had been eaten/mauled by something (bobcat? fox? Something smaller than a coyote). I had lost many chickens over the past few years to illness or predators, so the mourning felt almost constant. I REALLY loved my chickens - they were pets, and I became very attached to them. I still had the goats, but frankly, they're a lot less affectionate. I felt broken with the chickens gone, and I faced a decision - should I start over and get more, or is it time for a change?

I was feeling more and more isolated living out in Joshua Tree by myself. I would go days without talking to any humans, and that was fine for a while - the animals were pretty good company. I had pretty much accepted the fact that I was on the fast track to becoming a crazy desert lady. But I started to wonder... is it a little too soon for that? After five years, I started to feel like I really needed a change. I needed to get out of my shell, and stop being a hermit. I had been renting out my place in LA on Airbnb regularly, just coming into town for a day or two here and there. But I started raising my rates or blocking off days, so that I could spend more time in the city. And going on Tinder dates. I started looking for a new home for the goats.

While this craving for change was in my head, I randomly came across something online about improv classes at UCB in LA. I had seen a show at their theater years back, but doing it myself had never occurred to me. I signed up for an intro class. I was so nervous when I took that first class that I had intense stomach cramps the entire time. But it was fun! Most of the other students were much younger than me, so I felt kind of out of place, but I still really enjoyed it. I was physically ill from nerves going onstage for our final performance, but it went well. I signed up for Improv 201 and increased my search for someone to take the goats. I found another crazy desert goat lady a few miles away with tons of goats and space. She was willing to take them, and said I could always take them back whenever I wanted. That was perfect, as it was so hard to let go after raising them from babies. 

I kept taking improv classes, and my classmates encouraged me to try stand up. That was a whole other world. I signed up for a stand up class and learned the strange art of writing jokes. I started going to open mics regularly, which were mostly soul-crushing but with occasional highs that kept me at it. Once I started, I really wanted to give it all I could - it’s kind of an all or nothing thing. I've been booking small spots in clubs, not really sure where I'm going with it. I just figure that I can't help but grow if I do what scares the shit out of me.

Here’s one of my first performances - it’s pretty painful. I can’t even talk into the mic.

My improv 201 teacher at UCB was the amazing Brian Finkelstein, who is a regular host of the Moth shows in LA. This got me interested in storytelling, and I've done a few Moth shows.

So has all this experience onstage with comedy and improv cured me of my shyness, awkwardness, etc? NO! I don't really feel like it has! But surely it's changed me, maybe in ways I don't see. Now I can get on stage with a microphone by myself and bare my soul, without even getting sick to my stomach. Well, just moderately queasy.

Margret

I regularly collect old images off of pinterest for painting subjects, and was kind of thrilled to discover a 2nd and then 3rd of the same woman, sporting a big red beehive and what looked to be a post-coital cigarette. She kept popping up from time to time, and finally one image linked to an article on a book all about her. The book documents all of the photographs, paraphernalia and notes found in an abandoned suitcase found in an apartment in Germany. The estate was obtained by Delmes and Zander Gallery in Cologne, ( who have an amazing roster of outsider artists) and was made into a book and a show: "Margret – Chronik diner Affäre", which then traveled to White Columns in NYC. 

The photographs, paraphernalia and notes in the suitcase documented a 1969-1970 affair between Gunter, a 39 year old businessman, and Margret, his 24 year old secretary. Despite both being married, he photographed their many trips together, and apparently kept obsessive notes on the details of their sexual encounters. He collected her hairs, empty birth control packets, even a scab and a bloody tissue. 

I also became obsessed with Margret, and wanted this out of print book. I found one online for $195, and discovered it happened to be in a local bookstore. Alias Books in Atwater, Los Angeles - very cool shop. I wrote and asked if they would consider less if I came in with cash, and I ended up buying it for $160. I felt a little weird as the guy was counting my money, so I tried to lighten the mood by saying "That's my mom there on the cover. We're trying to get all of these out of circulation."  Awkward pause.  "...OH." he says.  "Uh, just kidding." I say. He looked at me like I was nuts, and I scooted out.

I knew the book was in German, but I underestimated what a hard time I would have translating it. But maybe I'm better off just painting Margret, and wondering.

carrion flower cactus : I smell dead things...

  One of my finds - a pair of big heavy ashtrays hanging from a chain. Ah, the good old days.... I'm going to use them as planters instead. The macrame beast has yet to be hung - stay tuned...

I went thrifting with my friend Catherine the other day in Morongo Valley, and bought a whole mess of crap. The dumbest thing I bought was probably a massive floor-to-ceiling macrame hanging lamp - it's truly hideous, but it's my sarcastic tipping of the hat to the new macrame trend I've been seeing everywhere. I got it at a strange little store tucked behind a house, where there was also quite a collection of cacti for sale. And not for sale - all the cool ones had "sold" stickers on them, which I figured out was the proprietors way of keeping them. When we first walked in, he said to Catherine, "I'll give ya ten bucks if ya sit on oneof em!", gesturing to a huge coffee table full of prickly phallic plants. She's British, and only responded with a shocked "OOOOooooH!"

On our way out, I spotted a "sold" plant with an eye catching flower, and recognized it as a carrion flower, which I've only read about. This kind is actually a succulent, native to Africa, and it's flowers look and smell like the rotting corpse of an animal in order to attract flies for pollination (some carnivorous species attract them for food). I got all excited, because I thought these were really rare (I was thinking of a massive species at Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, which is news-worthy when it's 5 foot corpse flower blooms every few years). Like an idiot, I stuck my nose right up to it and took a big whiff.... dead animal smell, alright. I was sick to my stomach for over an hour. The guy said he would give me a cutting next time I visit (probably only if I buy more macrame fails).

On Aug. 23, 2014, a rare Amorphophallus titanum or Titan Arum (a.k.a. the "Corpse Flower") bloomed at The Huntington in Pasadena, CA. It's 5th blooming since 1999.

October is mating season! At least for tarantulas and goats in Joshua Tree.

I encountered an unsettlingly large tarantula marching across the patio a few days ago.... I pulled out my phone and filmed it (I couldn't handle getting too close), then set it to music on instagram: (click here to see the video)

Then today I saw another post on Instagram from Desert Sun magazine, announcing that October is mating season for these guys, and the time you will most often see them out and about in Joshua Tree. I found more info on the National Park Service site:

When a male tarantula reaches sexual maturity, between eight and ten years of age, he begins a journey that will both aid the survival of his species and cost him his life. Should you observe a desert tarantula in Joshua Tree National Park this autumn, it is likely to be a male in search of a mate. The male follows the scent of a female tarantula to the receptive female's burrow, which she has typically excavated in dry, sandy soil and lined with silk webbing. Tarantulas are solitary animals; there is only one spider in this burrow. (sounds familiar)               To alert the female of his presence, the male taps one of his legs against the ground until the female emerges. The male must then participate in a dangerous mating dance, wherein he fends off the female, who wishes to devour him, by using hooks on his front legs. His death will give the female a needed boost of nutrition, as she must now produce 500 to 1,000 eggs and a silk cocoon where the eggs will be protected. Even if the male escapes being eaten by the female, he will still die within a few months. Females, on the other hand, often produce eggs for 25 years or more.

They also say a bite is no more dangerous than a bee sting to humans. Good thing I passed on the idea of taking it down - I never imagined the little guy was eight years old! It's also goat mating season - and mine are being as loud and obnoxious as ever.