Oh Hi There!!

A peek at inspiration photos from a folder I started a while ago for the new painting series I'm working on (to be completed by the end of August). It's almost time to let the cat out of the bag on this one... because I want to get you excited, and keep myself motivated... but I'm going to hold off until I'm back from this week's jaunt to San Francisco to tell you about it.

In the meantime, I wanted to apologize for being quiet here in blogville. Excuses:
1) For the last week I've had the great annual opportunity to farm sit for a friend in Baltimore county & have been enjoying time with Phil & with Donkeys, Goats, Chickens, Dogs, Cat & Horse. Lying in the grass, smelling country air, drinking from a hose & taking outdoor showers.
2) Have been a little meloncollie over the moving away of multiple dear friends this week EIGHT dear friends are leaving Baltimore (or already left) this week, and it's hard to see good people go, from a purely selfish standpoint. On a positive note, we have totally upped our penpal collection...

Best of Baltimore poll is here!

One of my favorite times of year is when Baltimore City Paper puts out their reader's poll for the Best of Baltimore. You get to vote on the best of everything in the city from shoes to politicians & everything in between. Phil and I have voted every year for the 6 years we've been here, and it's been fun to see our knowledge of the city grow. The first year here, we could only come up with answers for about 10 categories. That number doubled by the next year, and again the next year. Now in our SIXTH year living here in the greatest city in america - there are finally more categories filled OUT for both of us than there are categories left blank.
At the urging of a friend, I am posting this link so that you can vote for all the best of baltimore too - and so that you might keep Red Prairie Press in mind when considering clothing design & art. The best part is, EVERYONE gets a say, so vote for WHOever you want, and WHATever you want, and leave whatever categories blank that you want too
... just promise to keep exploring this city until we can all fill out a whole ballot with no blank spaces.

VOTE NOW!
(I don't think you have to be a Baltimore city resident to have your vote count - you just need to fill out at least 25 categories)

Nikah

My best friend from NH childhood is getting married next year in a poofy white gown, frosted cake & dance party ceremony. I can't wait to be a part of it, see my bridesmaid dress, and celebrate wildly. I love weddings - of all sorts... which is why I'm sad to miss the first half of her wedding festivities this weekend! She is marrying into a muslim family from Pakistan, and today they will have a "Nikah" - a traditional muslim wedding ceremony which I know very little about, except that it involves being covered in henna, and later, sequins & garlands of flowers and announcing the Nikah to the public. I believe the "marriage" happens when they each repeat three times that they take each other as husband & wife...but I'll have to be filled in later.
I'm distraught to be missing out on being there, but the other brides-ladies and the lovely bride herself have been kind enough to send me photos of the whole process... I thought you might like to see the beautiful henna designs they have on their hands as of last night!
I'm so inspired by the patterns and think that Phil and I will just have to celebrate from afar tonight for our friends.
Kim & Tariq, we're thinking of you, and can't wait for wedding #2!

New Sundresses!

Just in time for your late summer vacation to the shores of ________ (enter picturesque body of water of your choice)... we proudly introduce to you our new Feather print sundresses in black & heather pink.
Sewn from sturdy cotton - slightly thicker than our other tees - these full skirted pieces cinch flatteringly with an elastic waistline just above the naval, and fall gracefully over your legs (without suctioning between them in the wind like some thinner cotton), and remain delightfully opaque in the brightest of sun.*
The lightweight straps cross in the back, adding some style, class and the potential for evening-wear to an otherwise comfy daytime summer dress. All in all, making you feel not unlike a classic ballerina.... even if your vacation is only to the shores of your home shower, and the fancy iced drink we both envisioned you holding just moments ago is just Baltimore tap water.

Midsummer heatwaves, we TRIPLE DOG DARE you to test our ability to look good while sweating!

*this claim tested & proven at Artscape Baltimore 2010

MUCHOS GRACIAS, BALTIMORE.

Screenprinted tote by Artscape vendor: More Collective
Holy cow, my little prairie dogs.... Artscape wore me out, and somehow Monday has escaped me.
My feet are aching, my skin is happy to feel the AC pumping in our house today, and (although possibly influenced by the large pile of cash & credit card receipts in front of me) I'm just elated to live in a city this great, and this supportive of the arts.
We had a fantastic, hilarious & totally exhausting three days at Artscape. I met some wonderful new folks, got to talk with some online customers and put faces to email addresses, and best of all - got to be a part of the huge crowd of talented artists pumping art into the hands of Baltimoreans all weekend!
My weekend purchases included: An annual taste of delicious fried dough (which, I KNOW... down here we call "funnel cake", because they pour the dough through a funnel or something... but to me, it's still called fried dough), a few sips of "margarita" that tasted more like $8 worth of a Ramada Inn swimming pool than the mixed drink by the same name (still... when ice is involved, your standards are significantly lower on a hot hot day..) and most exciting: a beautiful new ceramic mug that Phil picked out from our neighbor, Pink Kiss Pottery. We were in the DIY section, conveniently located near the Midway, art cars, a misting tent, and an alternative food court which lead to the purchases of 2 outstanding falafel sandwiches from a local Falafel-Monger, and a "Wheelie Good Smoothie" - (basil, orange & strawberry) blended entirely with bike power, from our pal Nattan.

Highlights of Artscape for me included the wave skateboard ramp built by Jordan Bernier & friends, the stilts parade, a man that walked by with dollar bills stapled to his belly offering the opportunity to anyone who had another dollar (I passed), the great costumes, the art exhibits on Thursday night (especially Kelley Bell's animations in the Sondheim semi-finalist show - still up at MICA), and all the shrieks of delight we got as people tried on our clothing & gave each piece a new home!

Google hearts Josef Frank!?

BEHOLD! My favorite search engine has a Josef Frank inspired logo today. OMG. If I'd known we had a shared love of Scandinavian inspired art, Google... I'd have paid you more attention!

Now. Back to that Artscape freakout I was having...

When it rains it pours...

image from Life Magazine via CanYouBeMoreSpecific blog
Thank you rain for cooling down our house while I prep frantically for Artscape.
There will be NO thank you's, however, for flooding my studio. That was overkill, in my opinion.
Luckily, all of our shirts are thoughtfully stored in covered plastic bins- To properly weather the weather. Even indoors.

Rachel-1 Mammy Nature-0