Leaving Dakota Exhibit Comes to My Office at UW

This week, I was honored to host photographer Kyle Cassidy's moveable feast of an exhibit, "Leaving Dakota" in my office at UW. More than 30 folks made their way to my office throughout the day to see the show and marvel at Cassidy's evocative and cinematic images.

Trying the 365 Thing Again

2/365 2011,
originally uploaded by LA Smith.

I'm going to try this one more time: 365 self-portraits. This is Day #2, me freezing in my office at UW.
Tomorrow's offering will most likely be taken on a plane or a tropical beach in Kauai.

2011 Art Journal #1 Cover

2011 Art Journal #1 Cover,
originally uploaded by LA Smith.

Got the New Year started off by breaking out an art journal I'd been working on and actually wrote in it! This year, I'm not really making any resolutions, but I'm dedicating myself to being more creative and making time for my creative activities. This journal cover says it all.

Happy New Year!

Published!

My small art journal "Book of Night" was included in the "Mini-Book Challenge" feature in the January/February 2011 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, the premier magazine of collage and mixed media arts.
What an excellent Christmas present!

A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy's Day - My Annual Ritual

A long time ago in a place I used to call my home, I spent most of my time with other wonkish English major/writer types. We liked drinking beer, arguing about movies, listening to 80s New Wave music and reading or reciting poetry to the delight or horror of our assembled company.

I remember well the time my friend Alan Natali recited this one. It was December 13, a cold and dark day at the end of a particularly long semester. He gave it to me as a Christmas gift, a present to carry with me as I made my way away from that place and those people whom I still hold so dear.

Over the years, I've shared it with new friends. Tortured them with it, I should say, reading it aloud to anyone who would listen on December 13, the feast of Saint Lucy.

Now, through the wonders of the InterTubez, I can share it with you.

Please, forgive the occasional trip of the tongue; I wasn't nearly drunk enough when I recorded the voiceover. The images are mostly mine, but some I've stolen heartlessly from the Web. And you should know, if you don't already, that Lucy's name, ironically enough, means "light" and she is one of the so-called "plate saints" who met with a particularly grisly martyrdom. Enjoy!

The cure for December

The darkness at this time of year oppresses me. In Seattle, we lose more than a minute of daylight every day as we approach the Winter solstice. I needed something to help me through it, something to hope for. We booked a trip back to Kauai in January. I am relieved.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amusing Coincidence

I use Gmail for nearly all my email needs, so I don't really have much of a spam problem. I check the spam folder from time to time to make sure nothing good got caught in Gmail's mighty filters, and delete all with a single stroke. Some days, spam and email subscriptions collide to amuse me, as they did this morning when I found this in my spam folder:

And this in the folder that contains my newsletters from the Daily OM:

 I won't even bother apologizing for giggling like a twelve-year-old.