As I mentioned in my monthly newsletter, I've been busy working on making a series of "Tag Books".  My obsession with making art with words and meaning is just getting stronger as I experiment with different mediums and different forms to engage the viewer with ideas.

This set I call an "alphabet" tag book and it is simply the letters of the English language stamped over a background of Bruscho watercolor pigments and sewn all around the edges with a zig zag stitch.  I left a lot of loose thread on each card to give it even more texture when put on a ring and hung on the wall.

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I was walking around my studio neighborhood this week and saw this throw-back from history -- a pay phone on the street.

It really shocked me since I thought that pay phones were a thing of the past since everyone had a cell phone.  I didn't have time to see if I could actually make a call from it (How much does it cost to make a phone call?  Do you still get 3 minutes for a dime?  Probably not.)

But the most striking thing I thought about is where this phone is located -- in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Denver -- Five Points.  But wait!  I just read an article that this neighborhood is the most expensive in Denver, per sq ft.  Gentrification is in the process of destroying this wonderful, cultural place where jazz and art thrived.  I'm sad.
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