September 2015

Sep 21 2015

Enough IS Enough!

By melissasasichambers My Artist Home

I can not remember a time when I went without. I can not remember a time when I did not have more than I needed. I have never gone hungry. I have never gone thirsty. I have never been too cold, or too hot, for too long. I have always felt safe, and confident of the goodness of the people in my world. And I have always had more than enough of everything I could possibly ever need.

Way more.

In fact one of the many gifts of my life has been the largesse of the material world. Maybe not in coin, but most definitely in goods. I have always been able to “turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.” I can find it second hand and make it into something Anthropologie would charge you beau coup bucks to own, and as a result I have accumulated way more than I will ever be able to use.

I know I am not alone in reaching this stage in our lives when we gasp “Whoa Nelly, enough is enough!”

How did this happen? Wasn’t it yesterday that everything we owned could fit into our backpack?. . . Car? . . . Studio apartment? Can’t we blame this on the kids? Didn’t we accumulate all of this stuff in order to make a home for them? And what about the fact that I am an artist? I need this stuff as raw material for art — don’t I?

I have moved house many times, and every time I’ve moved I have purged and donated, recycled and thrown away tons of stuff. I do it as I’m packing and I do it again as I’m unpacking. This latest move is the first time that we are actually “downsizing” however, and that means I have a much smaller house in which to try and make everything fit.

It’s not working.

Yes. This is my garage.

And this is the storage room I’ve renamed the butler’s pantry/monument to materialism…

but which is in fact an embarrassment of riches.

If there isn’t a Twelve Step program for this kind of problem, there should be. I admitt I’m powerless over my ability to accumulate more than I need. I’m willing to take inventory. And I’m ready to give it back.

Most of it.

Well, a lot of it anyway.

When we moved out of our last house we had a driveway sale, and as the day wore on we switched our signs from “REALLY” “CHEAP” “STUFF” to “FREE” “STUFF,” “REALLY!”

I’m thinking I need to do that again at our new place.

Soon!

Sep 07 2015

Boise International Market Burned Down

By melissasasichambers Tarpage

The Boise International Market has been destroyed by a kitchen fire.

I’ve been sitting here with my fingers resting on the keyboard trying to figure out how to say what I am finding it very hard to find words to express. I’m not even sure why I feel so personally bereft by the black hole which has replaced the colorful, vibrant, inspiring place that was the Boise International Market. I just know its existence had made me happy, and hopeful. It helped me believe that I live in a city which is opening its heart and way of life to other cultures — to an appreciation for different foods, styles of dress, music, visual art, and above all, the people themselves who share their spirits with us through all of those things.

The Boise International Market was the inspiration behind my design for the traffic box on the corner of Curtis and Edson. I created a 4′ x 10′ tarpestry covered with ethnic motifs inspired by the patterns I saw on clothing in Thara Rita’s shop, and upholstry in the seating area of The Goodness Land.

I enjoyed a lovely pot of tea drunk from a cup of my choosing at Joyful Tea, and had coffee several times from Kahve Coffee. But I didn’t take full advantage of all that the Market had to offer. My plan was to eat at all the restaurants eventually. Of course that was the plan. But I forgot that everything changes and it doesn’t always work out that what I want will be there when I’m ready for it. I had to be reminded yet again that “just doing it” is the only way to ensure I get it done.

There is a site called gofundme.com where you can donate to the International Market Family Fund to help raise money for the individual vendors. We need to do everything we can to assure that places like the Boise International Market and especially the people who make those places happen know they are valued. Because a community which does not express the happy, hopeful, inspiring diversity of life – like the Boise International Market, is not a place anyone would want to call home.

(Just doing it!)

I look forward to the rise of this phoenix from the ashes.

Sep 07 2015

International District Traffic Box “Walk, Don’t Walk”

By melissasasichambers Everything Else

This summer I was commissioned by the Department of Arts & History, and the Central Bench Neighborhood Association to produce art for the HAWK Pedestrian control box on the corner of Curtis and Edson.

I created a Tarpestry inspired by the patterns I saw at the International Market on the corner of Curtis and Franklin combined with the familiar icons of the Walking Man and the Stopping Hand.

Bob Pleasure at Riverworks on Fairview adapted my 4′ x 10′ Tarpestry to fit the template which will be used to produce the final vinyl wrap. (Thank goodness for Bob! On a good day my math skills would be strained by determining whether or not I got the bigger half of the sandwich.)

Here are some photos of the original Tarpestry in process…

Due to a dispute regarding fabrication of the vinyl wraps for the traffic boxes none of the art in this round have yet to be installed. I will update this post as soon as they are in place!

Update June, 2016…

The traffic box is installed! The wrapping was done by Trademark, and was completed while we were in New Orleans. It looks great!