#found color

That Lady Gave Me a Smiley Face

My last walk was on April 30th with Liz Collins. Liz is an amazing artist and designer, and teacher. She is also the creator of the great Knitting Nation, which has inspired so many people. I was beyond flattered that she wanted to come for a walk with me. We started out at her house nearby in Sunset park, and walked down to the gritty waterfront under the threat of rain. I carried real coffee, she carried chickory not-coffee.

We looked down the blocks to where the streets end and meet the water, looking for an outlet where we could get access. We talked about the potential of this communal walking project, how many places and incarnations it could take. City, country, beach, mountain. Rugs, wall hangings, quilts, garments, wallpapers, prints. We talked of Peru, and of Brooklyn, and of RISD, where we met. We talked about teaching, and summertime, and friends.  We discussed ways to push collaborations through to fruition, how to get real contact/fabrication info from people, how to make beautiful exhibitions, and how to keep the faith. We explored covered domes protecting heaps of sand, empty lots, graffiti love letters, and sweatshop loading docks.

Liz was easily my most enthusiastic collecting companion, she found all types of objects both high and low and - much like me- swings a wide net. We picked up all kinds of things with abandon. Our arms and backs and bags were laden with pieces of asphalt, a ribbon, green strapping, a hunk of marble, sea shells ,an air hose, wonderfully rusted metal shapes, and a plethora of things with smiley faces. 

In Admiration Part II

In Admiration