well... it has been quite some time since i last posted, hasn't it? the last few months have been very busy!

in october, i attended sophie drouin's and bill buckingham's listen to the stones: abstract stone mosaic workshop in chicago. my friend ruth and i flew in a few days early and had a great time hanging out and exploring chicago. the workshop was very good, although i found myself struggling and blocked... for various reasons... but still, a wonderful trip.

in november, i went to vienna, virginia... which is right outside of d.c..... for a portraiture workshop at maverick mosaics, taught by shug jones. this was a 5 day workshop... very, very challenging. shug is a great teacher and a lot of fun too, and bonnie fitzgerald's studio is wonderfully equipped and pleasant. but i found myself very challenged on several levels... despite this i feel like i learned a great deal. so far, this is the best workshop that i have ever taken. i have a lot of work to do still on my portrait, so i can't post it yet.

i submitted 3 entries for the MAI 2009 exhibition, and am very pleased that my 3-panel piece, pulse, was accepted. i also submitted a couple of entries for the sum of all parts 2 exhibition in dallas... and my newest piece, we, was accepted.

i am almost finished with my monthly series, rhythms... just one more month... december. i will be starting on that this week. it will be nice to get that entire series finished... i am happy that i had the discipline to finish it.

ruth and i are busy planning a trip to italy for next spring. we are lining up a couple of mosaic courses... including ravenna... and allowing for a few extra days for just hanging out and sight-seeing. 3 weeks in all....

and... christmas and new year's in hawaii this year. my son and i are looking forward to photographically exploring some new areas of hawaii and maui... the pics should be great.

i have been watching this little leaf on the red maple in front of our house. "what's the hurry?"... i ask?

ciel, pam goode's new gallery and studio, issued a call to artists for their first juried exhibition, contemporary mosaic art. you can preview the winning mosaics and all the accepted works here.

i am very pleased to have had two of my pieces accepted: old testament and pulse.

the opening of the exhibit is friday, september 5. the exhibit runs through september 26.

brit hammer-dijks' new book, mosaic: finding your own voice is now available at the blurb bookstore, where you can preview the first 15 pages. i am very honored to have some of my work presented in this new book, along with the wonderful work of many other leading mosaic artists representing a variety of styles and techniques.

to hear about the book from the author, check out brit's sneak peek video.

well... we've gone and done it! my son and i have published a couple of photography books on blurb. how cool is that!?! really! it is so amazing that anyone... with the time and inclination... can publish a book! truly a wonder!

my new addiction... i mean... hobby... of photography has lead me down a side road, it seems. alex and i, sharing my camera, got into some photographic exploration on a couple of recent trips. this exploration has lead to the publishing of these two books. you can check them out through these nifty little badges:

see more of alex's photography at his flickr photostream.