More Bookplates!

The madness continues.  I had screenprinted almost 200 bookplates featuring Clovis in Laurels and the ironwork from the Second Bank of the United States in Philadelphia--and I already ran out!  So I went back to the print shop to make some more.

I made plenty of Clovis in Laurels.

But I also made a new design featuring Clovis on an ancient Roman coin.  I used the Hadrian denarius from the early second century as a model.

What do you think?

I have kept a large number in a rectangular shape for signing, etc.  But I've also been cutting them out in coin shapes.  I love them.  I feel like stickering them up all over everything!

This is one of the funniest pics I've taken of Clovis.  That face!

Clovis in Art

When I was in New York, I got this wonderful portrait of Clovis done by a close friend's daughter.  I think the resemblance is really stunning.  The picture captures the essence of Clovis.  That eye cautiously turned to the viewer.  That's Clovis.  Thank you, Talia!!  And he's wearing his favorite green sweater!

Paperback!

I just got some copies of the beautiful paperback edition of The Rebel Wife!  I am so thrilled!  It will be in stores in September--and there is a Reading Group Guide inside in addition to O Magazine's wonderful quote on the front cover.  

Summer Catch-all

The past month has been a busy one.  The garden keeps growing.

The butter beans are forming pods...

These are Biltmore tomatoes...

And these are Paul Robesons.

I got to spend some time in Brooklyn, which was wonderful.  I taught a short story workshop at The Ali Forney Center to three amazing students.  Roque, Paris and Jesus.  They were smart, insightful and ambitious and I can't wait to see where they take their writing.  The Ali Forney Center provides support and services to homeless LGBTQ young people.  This is an important and deserving cause.  I had an absolutely awesome week there.

And I got to visit nearby Green-Wood Cemetery.  This is one of the grandest 19th century cemeteries in the country.  Filled with loads of famous dead people and an incredible array of sculpture and monuments.

The entrance gates.

A chapel.

A lovely earn.

A temple to John Anderson.

An Egyptian Revival crypt.

DeWitt Clinton.

Even monuments to loyal pets....

Back in Providence, I had a great time on a walking tour of the Armory neighborhood given by the wonderful Providence Preservation Society.   They do a fantastic amount of programming and are worth checking out.  The structure that dominates the neighborhood is the 1907 Armory building.  We got a rare treat--a visit inside.

The 1907 Cranston Street Armory. This is one half of it.

The cavernous Armory space--for military drills and reviews.

They would hold track meets and sporting events here, too.  Today, sadly, it is largely unused.

Balconies with elaborate anchor-themed balustrades.

The anchor is a prominent part of the state seal of Rhode Island. 

And I got to make a trip to Provincetown.  It was a wonderful week, kicked off by a reading at the Fine Arts Work Center.  Another truly worthy organization.  I was thrilled to read from The Rebel Wife alongside a group of authors who contributed to a new anthology, The Letter Q.  The editors asked gay and lesbian authors to write letters of advice to their fourteen-year-old selves.  The readers, including Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom and Melanie Braverman, spoke beautifully and from the heart.  This is definitely a book worth picking up!

And my friend's Jon and Tony had a reception for me after the reading.  So wonderful!

Tony and Jon with sunflowers.

Stephen and Peter with Clovis bookplates!

And Clovis got to visit with some friends.

With Chui.

Clovis doing his best Greta Garbo.

Another Year of Clovis

Clovis is six years old today.  How time flies.  I remember when he first arrived and was this tiny.

Now, he's six.  I have been planning to make Clovis t-shirts for a while now, but it seems fitting that the plan was finally realized on the eve of his birthday.  Here is a little bit about the process of screen printing the t-shirts.  I was led into the world of printmaking by a great teacher and friend, Caitlin.  We worked at AS220's print shop, the organization that was featured in a travel article about Providence in today's New York Times!

First, I started with the design.  This was an iterative process over many weeks.  Once the design was complete, I printed it onto acetate sheets.  At the print shop, the acetate templates were photo-exposed onto an emulsion that had been spread across a screen and dried.

The light-exposed emulsion hardens and the areas where the black template prevents light exposure remains soft and gets washed away, creating a sort of stencil.

Each shirt is placed on the table according to guide marks, the screen is folded down and the ink is hand-pressed through the screen using a squeegee.  Each impression is unique.  Learning the right pressure and angle for ink delivery is all a part of the art.

The shirts are then dried on racks.

Prior to printing the shirts, we did a number of test prints on various colored paper.  I love these, too!

And here is the final product, some beautiful Clovis prints and t-shirts, just in time for his birthday!

Growing in the Garden

One of the great things about Providence and my Armory Park neighborhood is the sense of community.  One way this manifests is in a series of community gardens.  I am so lucky to have a plot and make things grow.

Here's a long shot of the garden from earlier this spring.

A garden plot neighbor graciously allowed me to plant butter beans in an unused corner of their plot.  There are also thyme and sunflowers.

The garlic earlier in June and a box planted with herbs: basil, marjoram, thyme and wormwood.  What can I do with wormwood?  You can see a little tomato plant beside the box.

This is how the tomatoes and the ripe garlic looked a few days ago.

Long shot with stop sign.

Ripe garlic with the riot of the herb bed behind it.

The tomatoes are surrounded by marigolds and borage.

I also just harvested the garlic I planted last fall!

These Siberian irises are a part of my patch.  They had a lovely bloom this June.

And these are some pictures of flowers from around the neighborhood.

And here's Clovis taking a nice stretch after reading Absalom, Absalom! all morning.