Earlier, this year I saw Heather Green’s, “Vermillion Remains” at the museum of  Contemporary Arts, in Mesa, Az. Her exhibit was beautiful and educational and about the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. She used washed up sea glass, designed simple, but elegant containers to hold the history of what the ocean sent back to shore. She painted, printed and gave away at this show.

She is a favorite artist of mine, so I invited her to make a map for Maps Only/2012.  “Yes”, she said she would love to show her work in San Francisco. Her work will require wall and pedestal. She’s private about what she will be working on and may or may not read what others are working on, so as not to be influenced. I assured her every artists map would be radically different from one another, even if she participated in our group system of communication.

If you are following Maps Only: Radical Cartography in Contemporary Art, then you know I am interested in the process. This is it, the process is happening! Heather sent a list of titles she thought might be appropriate for this show and with the addition of only one word, the word, ‘Only’, I chose one of her title choices. I credit her with the name of this show. It is marvelous! You can see more of Heather Green’s work at cartagrafia.com.

Maxine Kraemer, my long time neighbor and friend is now assistant curator for Maps Only.  We will not choose the art for this show, the artist invited will do that.  We though, will follow the process together.

Look for Maxine in the details of the ‘Maps Only’ show.  She will help organize the placement of art on the walls, on the floor, on shelves.  She will interface with all of the food and photo people, she’ll know the name of every Map and Artist. If the pirate fountain breaks, look for Maxine trying to make if work and “it will work.”

She studied art in Spain, returned to the U.S. to study speech therapy.  Her office was a work of art,  handmade games, color coded boxes.  It was a room designed with thought and an eye for color. She has taught me many things and in particular, this information has been invaluable to me, “like items go together, even if you use them in every room, they still go together in the same place.”  I use this tenet and pass it on when appropriate. I look forward to working with her and learning from her.

Tonight, at Mary Brown’s house we met to talk about her map.  We climbed the stairs to the roof and sat admiring the view of the City. What an amazing, 360′ view from her roof top! After today’s unusually hot, global warming day, the evening air was refreshing. She served lovely and tasty, Two Dog Farm, dry farmed, organic tomatoes and white wine in two sweet glasses painted with birds, gold along the lip, vintage. Her map she said,”will have a botanical element, will definitely hang on the wall and won’t be small.”

The conversation was random and focused, about maps, plants, bikes, food and their opposites.  I learned that paper maps are on there way out, like the car, a sad map fact. I am urged on by this sad fact, to work harder on my Ansel Adams Wilderness mosaic topographical map.

When she talked about her map it seemed to me textural, possibly of some local San Francisco spot.  I was excited as she talked about her ideas, random she said, though they did not seem random nor unconnected to me. Maybe it will be a take away piece of art, as she is not at all interested in the money aspect of art. She said the pirate map was a ‘genius idea’ and it is Oliver Lowe.  She’d love to be in discussion with the other artists over the web, be involved in the process.

The idea of not taking money for art is funny to me. One of the many reasons I curate art shows is to highlight the fact that artists must make money, or make a trade that in some, clear way, meets their particular needs. I encourage the guests to support the arts, to think of buying art as supporting an artist, a person.

We/they/me eat too and need greenbacks, pesos, to do so. Art is Fun, but it is our work.

Today, I made a list of the artists participating in the Maps Only with some that having agreed to join and I have met with, and others that I haven’t yet met. I don’t know what map, half of the artists are making.  This is exciting and a bit stressful.  There are 12 of us, with 2 other possibilities.  There will be much art in this show that does not hang on a wall. There will be sound, ‘Lordrifa and True North’ will make a music map, with just the right amount of sound. There will be interactive maps; maps you can touch.  There will be food by Emery, always a treat. Oliver Lowe has just agreed to join us with his installation of a Pirate Map, so opening night might include a rum grog.

I will be sending out invitations for this event on line as well as by snail mail, still a favorite of mine.  Initially I thought the cover art would be an image of my Ansel Adams topographical mosaic map, but Oliver Lowe’s, Pirate Map Installation has just edged it out as the image to be used.  The postcard is one of my favorite parts of curating a show. If you are interested in getting this postcard send an email with your preferred address or your snail mail address and you will get an invitation when it goes out.

Maxine Kraemer has just agreed to help me organize and make Maps Only: Radical Cartography in Contemporary Art,  a pretty show.

See you May/2012 at Maps Only, in San Fransisco’s Mission District neighborhood.

This morning I am up early to write about the jazz band called the “Kai Eckhardt Group. ” I heard them with my European friends last night at Savanna Jazz, a club on Mission St., near Cesar Chavez.

I did not stay late enough to hear Rolf, my European friend, play with this groovy jazz band, he’d been invited, but because ‘my time is not my own’ I had to leave early, to be up early.

The bass player Kai, the bands leader, originally from Germany, now living in Berkeley, shares a common friend with Rolf.  I loved the mood he set and he clearly set it. The guitar guy, hugely talented and unassuming, clearly loved playing with the keyboard player. The drummer with the high hat, hidden in the back, fabulous, maybe an American, the other drummer from Africa was great. Both of the drummers, I hate lumping them together, but they do play the drums, so I’m lumping them together, were fabulous. The keyboard player was from Egypt and he was my favorite.

Let’s first say that the band as a whole and separately were fantastic and that I am usually a drum or a bass person.  I love drums, drummers and the bass; and I would “never” say the keyboard is my favorite instrument, but last night it was my favorite. The keyboard player was… he was present, in touch with other instruments and they with him, he did not play too little nor did he overpower. He was just perfect.

Straight ahead jazz this was not, this was their own jazz; each player had moments to lead, each member was able to lead and all of the members were able to follow the lead.

Go see them they are at  Savanna Jazz, the next 3 Thursdays of September.

I spoke with a young local artist, invited to show a map for the Maps Only, SF 2012. I was surprised and pleased,  to hear how well thought out his idea was.

He wondered if he would be able to convey what was in his minds eye. Isn’t this the eternal question for artists?  Can I convey my message and what is my message? I offered him some suggestions, discussed his idea with him and encouraged him to begin Now and worry later.

His idea is interesting. Cyrus is interesting.

Magical, memorable, moments seem to  happen to people in the City that don’t seem to happen everywhere you visit on holiday.

My European friend who is visiting us; her boyfriend, Rolf just joined her.  Rolf plays the bass in a band, The Busters, a popular German ska band. They opened in Germany for The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, just days before Rolf arrived in the U.S.

This is the magical, memorable, moment they had together. She and he make plans to go out to hear music. They are seated with two women both named Karen for the musical performance. They visit with the 2 Karens, and are invited and do go, ‘just down the street’, to listen to salsa music. They meet the salsa band members, the 2 Karens happen to know the band members. One of them happens to be German, or something like that and it turns out Rolf and he share friends back in Mein, I believe and Rolf is in! He’s invited to play with the band in the Filmore that evening and the next Thursday also!

Every musician must dream of being invited to do what they love doing most on one of the most musically famous streets in the City.

Our friends will return early from their road trip, so that Rolf can sit in and play again in the Filmore, in the City.

Today, I worked on the show I am curating, “Maps Only” 2012 in San Francisco.

I began talking with 3 of the 11 artists about their Maps; what medium, how big, their idea?  I’m interested in the process and especially interested in the group process.

One of the artists, an artist I know very well, almost quit before beginning.  Artists can be this way; I’ve been this way.  I tried to be clear and matter-of-fact.  I really want her to create a map, she’s quirky, intelligent and a talented user of bright colors. She would be patient with me. I will be patient with her. She agreed to let me include her in a group e-mail, but said, “I probably won’t talk with any of the other artists over the web.”  I hope she will, but of course, this is her process and she’s still part of the group.

Another of the artists has been working on a map for 10 years.  When I invited him, I had no idea. This map will not be ready to show he informed me, so he’s a bit more relaxed and is looking forward to making a map, possibly a fantasy map.  I wonder what this will look like, what fantasy map he will imagine?

The last of the three artists I spoke with is going on vacation. In one sentence he said, I won’t work on it while I am gone, but I might work on it, you never know, he said, I’ll just see what happens.  He was happy as he pondered his map.  I was happy pondering his map.

I even worked on my Ansel Adams Wilderness Topographical Map.  I can see it coming together.  It’s the process.

I was raised to be timely. There was always enough change in the glove compartment of the car to call before I was late.  Calling was a drag, so I was mostly on time. I don’t have a car now, so I can’t be anywhere quickly, even so I am usually on time or I call.  It must be the training.

Now that my time is not my own and I have to be places, to meet others, about others, the timeliness training has taught me something.  It has  not taught be to be on time for these meetings, far from it, but things seem to have worked out anyway.

Some of my friends have cars, so I can borrow one if I really need. I mostly don’t borrow them, I mostly don’t need them.  I have been borrowing a car often, lately or asking for a ride from someone going where I am going or taking the more than >1 bus, to my far but still in the City destination.

The bus is the least hectic and my favorite.  I walk to the stop, get on, there is almost always some kind of visual feast, I meander in my mind and then I am there. The bus is great when you have the time.

Borrowing a car is a little more complicated, I must remember the garage code,  feel a little bit of Self  Imposed beholden-ness, fill the tank up, drive and park.

Getting a ride is the most challenging and yet for me has been the most freeing. I must ask for the ride, folks are feeling sorry for me right now,  so getting the ride is easy, but then I must wait.

Yesterday, my very nice, lovely young woman ride was late and she was still a 1/2 hour away when she called.  I thought about her lateness for a minute, trying to not let my timeliness training get in the way of Thinking and I realized that “my time was not my own!” and that this was just another way to realize it.  I was free!  I could not go to the appointment, because I could not ditch my next appointment. I had just re-scheduled and it was much too late to cancel, I still need to eat, so I didn’t go to the appointment scheduled for me, not by me. “My time is not my own”.

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was in 7th grade, and then much later, a mosaic artist.  I went through many artful  incarnations, but always I’ve liked making or ‘riggging’ things, now they call it re-purposing . I like the physical part of my art, the labor. This nagging question of ‘is writing doing nothing’ is related to not being physical.

I’ve been wondering if now that life is happening to me and my time is not my own, and I don’t feel up to actually building my Ansel Adams Wilderness, all colors of white, topographical, mosaic map; I’m wondering if  writing about my Ansel Adams Wilderness, all colors of white, topographical , mosaic map, art? Or, is writing doing nothing?