Oct 20, 2004

It's not just puffy. It also has lace.

So, I totally forgot to write about my bitchin' day on Sunday. My grandma, who also lives in DC, and my mom, who lives nearby in the suburbs, had gotten the three of us tickets to a play downtown. We do this a few times a year for some arguing, food, and culture. My mom came down to my apartment a couple of hours early so that we could go to that open artist studios thing I had been emailed about. (And Peter, don't worry - I found out that the woman who had sent me that email was someone who I was in a group show with a while ago. Not a stranger.)

I am so glad we went to it, because it was totally amazing. We drove to this weird section of town that is really not all that far away, but it's not near anything, so it's never occurred to me to explore. The event was held in this warehouse-y, industrial building where various artists had rental spaces. We saw woodworking and metals and we talked for a long time to this man who did paintings of horses with lots of nails sticking out of them to emphasize the outlines.

And we talked for an even longer time to this awesome chick with bleached hair who rented out the only space in the building that was actually a residence as well as a work studio. So one room was her sofa and coffee table and kitchen, all very avant garde, and the other room was where she did her sculptures. It was the most beautiful thing. My mom was in love with it as well. We saw all this really great work, and the people were so nice and chatty and encouraging to me. And now I have all these new ideas for stuff I want to work on.

Then we met up with my grandma and saw the play, which was Macbeth at the Shakespeare Theatre. I love Shakespeare but have somehow never gotten around to reading that one, and I was really looking forward to seeing it. However, by then my head was swimming with all these new painting ideas and I couldn't focus very well on the dialogue, and I am ashamed to admit that my biggest memories of the performance were of the staging and costumes. Oh yeah, but guess who played Lady Macbeth? Guess! It was Kelly McGillis. Yes, of Witness and Top Gun! I barely even recognized her, as she had brown hair. But she looked great, and she was extremely dramatic. There was a lot of voice projecting and beating at the breast and rendering of the clothing going on, which I think is the mark of a successful Shakespearean actor.

Also, every time I see my grandma she gives me some of her clothes. Now, she is a good four inches taller than me, as I am the runt of the family. This doesn't really matter when she gives me skirts, because you can easily get them shortened, but this time she gave me two white button-down shirts. I didn't bother to tell her that I really don't wear white button-down shirts, because she's not the type of woman who takes no for an answer. So I brought them home.

I just got around to trying them on, and they are BAD. First off, they're two sizes too big so they're like sails on a ship. But - oh god - one of them is a puffy shirt. A PUFFY SHIRT. I am like Jerry frickin Seinfeld over here. There is no way I will ever wear either of them. I am sending these shirts back!

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