Autumn is the best time of the year.

Dan and I went to Brewfest in Asheville this weekend and had such a lovely time. We stopped through Athens on our way and went to thrift stores in Tuscaloosa. We took tons of pictures, which you can see here: www.flickr.com/photos/jamiemurphey/

Fall is the best time to fall in love. Dan is amazing. We are a little retarded over each other. And it is just so fun. I'm all aglowy.

Today I cooked veggie burritos and broccoli for lunch and it was the perfect meal for a cold fall day. I felt high after we were done eating. I love being little Jamie homemaker and cooking and feeding people. I fought it for so long and it feels really good to just relax into it and let myself enjoy cooking and mending and those small and simple little domestic things that I find so profoundly satisfying. I can't explain it, and I sometimes think that I've lost my mind because of the negative connotations of those activities, but I do love that process of making a place that is nourishing and beautiful. Martha Stewart be damned!

Make It Home

I am apologizing again. I have not been as dedicated to sharing this thesis process as I had hoped to be. I tend to work in spurts and the dry spells are times of anguish and contemplation. I assure you it's lots of fun. I'm on a spurt right now, lots of new work. I appreciate everyone looking in on me!

This is my new thesis, simplified and narrowed in focus. I do feel that every turn is getting me closer to something true. I appreciate all of your feedback.

Make It Home:

Make It Home is a continuing effort to understand and appreciate the process of homemaking and the relatively new phenomena of homes. The title "Make It Home" speaks to the idea of arriving home as well as making a home. In my work I investigate the material and emotional elements of making a place to live that is full of comfort, meaning, and nourishment.

In my teens I started having bouts of sad longing that sometimes escallated into full-scale panic attacks. These episodes were always accompanied by the intense desire to go home. Sometimes I would be in the house where my family lived and all I could think was “I wish I could go home”. Occasionaly I am able to make an apartment or room in a house feel something like a home, but as soon as I think I’ve finally made the right place, I’ll find myself laying in bed at two in the morning, wishing I could just go home.

I am fascinated by and obsessed with process of homemaking. I am mystified by that murky intersection where the practical and the emotional combine to make a place that is really home. There are the material elements of homemaking: wallpaper, paint, curtains, pillows, sheets, furniture, pictures, kitchenware, books, and knick knacks. Then there is the mysterious emotional spark that creates a sense of belonging and acceptance that just wraps around you and truly sets you at ease. I doubt that I could ever quantify the combination of the material elements of comfort with the emotional phenomenon of love and acceptance, but I am making peace with that possibility.

Small Works Show

I know this is shitty, but I'm super tired and focused on the thesis stuff right now, so this post is a copy of an email I've already sent to most people. Whatever. I'll be cool some other time.

Many of you either went to the Small Works Benefit or have already spoken with me, but for those who have not heard, the show was a HUGE success. We raised almost $1200 for the Red Cross and donated all the proceeds to Hurricane Katrina elief. So many people donated artwork or time, and the show was a delight because of it. Well, it was a delight for 2 hours and pure hell for the weeks leading up to the opening. Fortunately, it was worth all of the horror.

If you are interested in seeing pictures of the show they are on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiemurphey/

Thanks to everyone who pitched in and contributed work and talked me off the ledge!