Swarm

10/05/2026

Mom.

03/05/2026

28/04/2026

Blooms in the shop. Link in profile.

18/04/2026

Oodles of new rosettes in the shop. Link in profile.

11/04/2026

Lounging.

05/04/2026

To continue the series of interesting people or things…

I picked up this little booklet at my favorite artist made bookstore in Amsterdam many years ago. I am always attracted to what I affectionately call “crazy people work” - works that are a mass of one item and intense in labor. A fixation of sorts. Picked this up as it was cigarette butts made into art. Odd. But cool in a way. After a bit of research it turns out that the artist Al Hansen (Fluxus art movement) is the grandfather of Beck - one of my all time favorite musicians. Growing up - Beck would help his grandfather collect odd debris of cigarette butts, match sticks and Hersey wrappers for his grandfather to make his art. How that must have influenced him as a child - reuse and musical collages. There is also a book Beck authored called Beck and Al Hansen: Playing with Matches. Speaks to the art of rummaging.

03/04/2026

Have not felt like making much new as of late. Think I am not the only one feeling this way who has a small maker business - it’s been very slow these trying days. Lots of good stuff in my shop - so have a look if you feel so inclined. If not - read on...

Thought I would just post some interesting people and stuff that I have run across over the years…

Viktor IV

An American living in Amsterdam starting in the 60’s till his death in the 80’s. Such a great character. He lived on a barge on the Amstel river. Would swim around gathering all sorts of debris to make his art and adding to his barge. I was lucky enough to find a book about him and it is up there in the prized possessions category. There is an interesting documentary about him on Youtube called “Viktor IV - Who Needs the Pacific Ocean”. I would have loved to been around Amsterdam in the 80’s to see this in person. Any of my Dutch followers luck enough?

29/03/2026

Dobby.

29/03/2026

This spring is my 20 year anniversary living in the Netherlands. I up and left my job in Philadelphia with no real plan - other than I was going to take some time off and figure it out on the fly. Got myself a lovely little apartment in Amsterdam. I am a nester at heart so first up was to get myself comfortable. Back then google translate and smart phones were just coming into the picture. Joined a language class and discovered very quickly that this was not going to be easy. My teacher was heavy into grammar and I literally thought my head was going to explode. Don’t think she appreciated me asking if we there was a Dutch version of the alphabet song. I was useless. Still am. Horrible. Lots of excuses not to be proficient at this point - but they are just that - excuses. But when I was huddled in front of my washing machine with my translation book trying to figure out how to wash my clothes and nothing was translating - I had a breakdown. Turns out it was a German machine.
There were not many breakdowns - the plusses outweighed. Got myself settled and THEN got McDuff! A dog was top of the list - grew up with dogs, but never had one of my own. So we wandered our new city and explored every nook and cranny together. It was sheer bliss. I look back on that time now and realize - best decision ever. Shook things up for me - I am a planner and I had no plan. Gave me the headspace to see what I was good at and what I really wanted.
I suppose I call Amsterdam home now. I love it here. I love the Dutch - they are shoot-from-the-hip kind of people and I like that. But I also suppose home is where I was born also. You can have more than one home - right? I am not a fan of stewing on regrets. But one that lingers is not being in the US when my parents passed. My choice moving here meant the chances were pretty high that I would not be there. I came to terms with that - but it still pops up on occasion. My other home is where my parents lived - the place I would go twice a year for a month or so to stay with my parents. Quality time. I miss them and that home.
So 20 years on and I am still here and still loving it - have built a life that suits me well.

27/03/2026

Brothers from another mother. STuK and Dobby.

22/03/2026

My beautiful brown-eyed boy. STuK.