new series

still working on the title...

a conundrum

have you ever received something so beautiful you're not quite sure what to do with it?

my wedding dressmaker (who designed and sewed me the most amazing wedding dress i could imagine) made ben and i small leather journals personalized with our initials as a thank you for choosing her.

and i absolutely love mine.

the only problem is...it has a finite number of pages and i can't decide what is special enough to write in it.

my journal is already digital (and totally password protected).

i thought about recording ideas for shows and titles in it, but it seems too lovely for brainstorming.

what do you think? how would you use it?

just wondering

this is my paint bucket.

i really like the inside of it.

is that wierd?

quotables

"i was born in 1928. same year as mickey mouse, but he made out better - straight to hollywood, straight to the cosmetic department. i did not approve of his buying into all that crap and letting his soul get despoiled."

"it's hard to be happy. some people have the gift of pulling themselves up and out and saying there is more to life than just tragedy. and then there are those who can't, and i'm one of them. do you believe it when people say they're happy?"

~maurice sendak in an interview with mariana cook in 2009.

true confessions

i know as an artist i'm supposed to be enthralled with birds, with their symbolism of spirituality and freedom and all that jazz, but i really REALLY do not like them. at. all.

the little reveal

because the big reveal isn't ready yet. behold my 2x6' studio in our storage/laundry/art room. turns out i'm really loving working from home...and i really can't beat the 30 second commute.

speaking of work, here's my latest woodblock print - my first in 2 years. what. i had to read hunger games about six thousand times before i could get anything done. i'm not sure if i like where this print is going, but i'm excited to be printing again!

it's difficult to achieve my style without an etching press, so i'm wingin it here. it will probably look very different once i proof it.

it's tonight!

alright, technically it's tomorrow morning. but who thinks of midnight as morning?

i'm trying to temper my excitement. because i love the books so much, i want to love the movies, too. but i read this review, which is not particularly glowing so i'm trying to lower my expectations: "For some fans of the trilogy, the screen version will inevitably be disappointing, especially for those keeping inventory of the details, characters, grim thoughts and cynicism that have gone missing."

i am probably one of these fans.

i swear my life has not be as consumed with hunger games as this blog might suggest. although i DID re-read them all this week, i've also been busy busy organizing my home studio (and my home, too). it's almost in workable condition now! perhaps one of these days i will show you.

now i have a reason to watch the superbowl

a new hunger games trailer!!

looks like they're departing from the book a bit - no madge. and what's katniss doing giving the mockingjay pin to prim? and then getting it back from cinna as a secret? whaa? oh well, i'm predisposed to like it no matter what they do.

surprise!

we're in the huffington post!

AND

i'm going to be a guest artist at the workhouse!

we building 4 artists have been working hard on the "have a heart" project, creating interactive and food-centric artworks in a variety of media.

and you can help! just bring non-perishable or canned goods to fill our kitchen on or before the

second saturday reception.

(feb 11, 6-9pm, workhouse building 4)

all items will be donated to the local food pantry, food for others.

l-r: joan yi, mary gallagher stout, lynn goldstein, john gascot, and annie gedicks working on a collaborative project for have a heart.

can't make it to the reception? donate here. all proceeds will be used to purchase items for food for others.

thank you!

thanks to all who came to my last featured artist show at the workhouse! you are the best.

stay tuned for details on a home studio open house...

in a month or so...

the last one...

please join me for second saturday at the workhouse arts center!

after 3 and a half years, this will be my last show with the workhouse. please come help me say goodbye, and enjoy some great art and light hors d'oeuvres, while you're at it.

saturday, january 14 from 6-9pm

studio 406

workhouse arts center

9601 ox rd

lorton, virginia

i've done something

introducing...

the benannie republic!

related to all things annie and ben. sure to be updated approximately as much as this blog.

what? i have to go read hunger games again. (and again and again and again...)

i had a dream...

...that i was a tribute in the hunger games. it was scary.

perhaps my obsession is becoming less healthy.

please excuse me while i watch the trailer another 9 billion times.

is it march, yet?

i already know i'm gonna love it.

if the embed feature isn't working, go here.

so...

i think people should post on their blogs more. don't you?

at long last

i've returned to the blogosphere! sort of. however did you get along without me?

since i didn't take any of my own pictures at the wedding and i don't have access to the photographer's pictures to post online and i can't rip images off facebook anymore...behold the trailer for the wedding video. yes. a trailer. awesome, no?





video by jared sattler. he rocks.

the tale of two engagements

it was the best of times. it was the worst of times. it was really just stressful times involving some art show preparation, some substitute planning, a road trip, a lecture, a demonstration, a van ride, some really gorgeous picassos and one really great boyfriend who drove, carted my stuff around for me and generally kept yours truly cool and collected, if not completely calm. (how's that for a sentence that never ends?)

okay okay, i'll get to the good part. monday morning after most of said activity had gone swimmingly, thank you very much, i was frantically trying to finish up some last-minute framing for a show opening later that night. things were not going well. i texted ben and voila, he turned up at my studio with a rose. thinking he had decided to be late for work in order to cheer me up, i gave him a big hug and blathered on about my woes. i have a question for you, he said rather seriously. what, i said, not very kindly, steeling myself for the worst. next thing i knew, he was on one knee with a ring - this ring - in his hand.

he cut right to the chase, "will you marry me?" a much better question than anticipated. i said yes immediately. we hugged. we kissed. we kissed some more. when he finally got it through my thick skull that he wasn't going to work, we finished framing my works and delivered them to the gallery. *perfect* proposal.

(after seeing this picture, i decided to give up my lifelong dream of hand modeling)

over our celebratory lunch at mcdonald's (he wanted to get sushi at our spot near my studio, but there wasn't time) he mentioned that he hoped i wouldn't be let down when i discovered his original plan. there was a powerpoint. and tshirts. the strike force might be disappointed, he said.

(he's too sexy for that shirt)

wait. wait wait wait. tshirts? powerpoint? STRIKE FORCE?! i had to know. he wouldn't tell me everything, but we agreed to go through with the original plan the following evening. we managed to keep it a secret from the entire force except for two, who gamely haven't told us exactly what dorks we really are.

so after work, we took a walk down to "our spot" on the tidal basin, near the roosevelt memorial. it was a beautiful day, a bit blustery, but the cherry blossoms were still out and i got to wear my raincoat and hat. he borrowed back the ring. as we approached one of the benches, there was some red velvet draped over it. hmmm, what is that? ben wondered aloud. why don't you see what's underneath it? i picked up the fabric to reveal a rose (the same one from the day before, which i'd left at his house).

then he was on his knee again and this time there was a speech. a good one. and i said yes again. more hugging and kissing. and staring at the tidal basin. then we walked out as the strike force converged. sadly, we hadn't been able to find any water guns with which to attack them, so we settled for giving them the truth (that we'd been engaged for more than 24 hours) instead of a surprise soaking. i mean, they did do a rather good job keeping the park ranger and other people away from our spot. except for that one jogger. they took it like professionals.

(he can by my chicken tikka masala any day. mmm-m!)

ben then took me to the restaurant of my choosing for a celebratory dinner. so with the sky as my limit, of course i chose the hole-in-the-wall indian buffet and loved me some chicken tikka masala. mmm-m.

*special thanks to strike force alpha

peanuts

no, not the comic strip. me again. here.

oh yeah...

more peanuts for you to read. posted last friday (oops). clickety here and enjoy!

on sweet nectar and dreams

i've just discovered that drinking caffeinated beverages after 4pm gives me really strange dreams. i probably have really strange dreams all the time, but when i drink diet coke, i actually remember them, probably because i don't sleep as well. who knew?