First off the bat - happiest of birthdays to my stellar little sister - Jude - you are the best!  Here we are in May, the kickoff to the non-winter season in Maine!  Actually April kinda is but it sometimes snows like it did this year.  So that's why I'm beginning in May.  

This May will be different in that we will be organizing for a move in mid-June to Rockport, a coastal village about 90 minutes north of where we are now.  It mostly boils down to not enjoying the condo life here at Applegate, which attracts little old ladies who should be in independent living situations and who don't have anything (apparently) to occupy their minds other than bitching about Stupid shit to their neighbors.  Plus the fact that many there refuse to let owners put solar on their roofs, even if they sign a document that says they (not the association) are fiscally responsible for said roof.... Of course this is the same bunch of people who have a hard time distinguishing between what to recycle and what to compost... sigh.  Didn't realize people are still so stupid about that.

We literally could not find a suitable place in our price range in the Portland area.  Too many people are moving up here and really driving RE costs sky high.  Word has gotten out that this is a great place to live especially if you can work from home.

And while I'm trying to organize for another big move, I'm also co-curating a show for UMVA on the blog with Christine Sullivan - click here

The Photo above is me in my "costume" for a TV commercial that my fabu agents at Dirigo Talent got me.  They wanted the actors to show up in a work costume, so since I'm primarily an artist, I sent this photo in and they liked it!  The spot should be good and it's to encourage people to get vaccines which is badly needed, so I didn't mind being a "featured extra" in it and not being paid much.  It's an important message!

During a break, I shot this selfie over my shoulder.  We were all masked throughout.

We were shooting out at Wolf's Neck State Park up in Freeport.  And boy was it cold with the wind coming in off the little bay there.  I forgot to bring a coat, (can I blame the pandemic?) but this great guy dressed in a clerical collar went to his car to get me the blue fleece that I'm wearing in this shot over my apron and the wool sweater I did remember to bring.

And if that wasn't enough excitement, the Kneeling Art Photo Project has a new partner with LumenArrt!, another project from the folks at UMVA.  You can read about it by clicking this link here.

Or you can copy and paste the link below:

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/05/03/mainers-take-a-knee-for-photo-project-aimed-against-racism/

I will only be in town for the first exhibit opening at a space at 525 Danforth St., in Portland's West End.  If you're in town, please stop by between 5 and 8 pm for music, performance by a dance group and possibly a food truck!  All this in addition to 80 photographs of folks taking a knee for racial and social justice!  Another good cause that we so need to face in this country.

I started this post on May 4th and now finishing it on May 22nd, which shows how insane this month has been.  I won't be posting at all in June b/c I realize that I have to pack up studio before we really start packing up the house, b/c the house moves first and then a week later, the studio.... WHEEEEEEE

I've been a fan of AfroFuturism since I first saw Pharoah Sanders back in the early 70s in Boston.  This continued when I discovered Parliment Funkadelic in the mid 70s... and then I discovered Octavia Butler's books a few years back.

So when I saw this article in Hyperallergeic, I wished I could go to southern California to see this show!  Maybe one day Alia Ali will have a show in Boston or New York!