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May 6, 2006

house adoption party

by gl. at 10:47 pm

we had a marvellous house adoption party monday to celebrate "adopting" the house and studio after living here for years and finally buying them (may 01 is our official date!).

we had savory snacks and waited for everyone to arrive, at which point we toasted the house with a game and a poem. then we all walked next door and toasted the studio, partaking of sweet snacks and sharing outrageous fictional futures (and later, exploring the handmade books and andy goldsworthy library).

since dan couldn't attend, he sent us a sweet little poem:

Check your attic
for a gnarly gnome
before you dare
to call it home

this became the basis for the "gnarly gnome hunt" to let people explore the house. we photocopied this gnome onto card stock and hid him:

(much fun was had, but it must be mentioned that this is the only gnome-related activity we will tolerate. *stern look*)

we also read a great poem dayna contributed from afar: "house-keeping" by marge piercy.

in addition to poetry & games, we had an "enforced creativity" exercise: as each person arrived, sven asked them to write a fantastical fictional future for us in the house. this was met with some dubiousness, but when we shared them in the studio later (we each read someone else's future), they were all daring and imaginative and funny. in the next 10 years sven & i will apparently encounter intergalactic visitors, willie nelson, the spirit of mothra, the russian mafiyah, an unruly llama and another gnome. in addition, our home will host a shanty town for hp lovecraft devotees, a mysterious alien robot and angels in 3-piece suits who will rid the world of nigerian spam. the shirts from our closet will go dancing on powell butte and our foil-lined house will be featured in modern art magazine. we will travel with an intergalactic musical theatre troupe, begin to sell organic ant products and run for president, ushering in a new golden age of american creativity. see? we'll always have something to look forward to! even better, we now have a rich supply of unexpected imagery and poetry to work with in the future.

and though we did not ask for physical gifts, we got some wonderful ones, anyway. for instance, we received an amazing hand-made alphabet block print from alex:

and a hand-painted card from his wife, amelia.

jalex brought us a cutting of a plant that's been with her for as long as sven's known her, and it even used to live in the studio when it was jalex's home. we also received experimental fondue cheeses from laura; kristen & todd brought marscapone to share; colleen brought homemade chocolate cupcakes; and michaelmas brought two of everything saint cupcake had left except for the banana chocolate-chip cupcakes (because c'mon! who likes those?).

thanks to all, near & far, who contributed to our house adoption party! you are the heart of the studio!

posted by gl. | May 6, 2006 10:47 PM | categories: studio space