MASS MoCA – Day Nine

The sun is working on trying to come out after a night of heavy rainfall, deep booming thunder and spectacular lighting bolts, which produced a heavy mist rising up from the mountains this morning. Yesterday brought tons of people to the Museum for a wedding and an outdoor concert, but just as the band was about to start the heavens opened up as they say and drove everyone for cover.  I heard that they finally started up again at 10pm. By then I was beat and needed a rejuvenating hot bath after a long day at the studio.

This morning the river outside my studio window is raging past and glad to finally write to you all again after a productive first week here. Woke up super early to roast fresh beets from the Farmer’s Market, warmed up with a home session of yoga, even swept the floor of the kitchen, then took off to the studio to air out the sprouts, make my morning tea with an apple cider vinegar tonic I bought up here (super spicy.) Been working on a lot of little projects, trying out an idea of making a mobile with handmade paper depicting the #2 train, made paper from cut grass I collected from the Botanic Garden for a new series I want to do as an Archive of Detritus, planted some new paper pieces, started working on a new row house book based on a block in Mott Haven and trying to clean up and finish the Tea Tent I started this past winter.

With so many ranging projects to do I ended up renting a truck to drive everything up here, which means I have a LOT of stuff.  So much so that everyone has been coming to me for things to borrow like an upholstery needle, hot plate and push pins.  The only thing I did not have was a bike pump. Darn it!  Been feeling a bit like a studio tech, teaching everyone about how to make paper.

I have also been keeping up my new practice of making a drawing a day from the Museum exhibitions.  You can see them on my Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/mbrody16/?hl=en