dog posting!

Headline: Breaking: AFL-CIO Endorses REI Boycott. Subhead: The country's largest federation of unions added REI to their national boycott list last week in solidarity with our union. image: hands holding pro-union signs in front of an REI store.

IT'S OFFICIAL: @aflcio.org has endorsed the
@REI Anniversary Sale boycott! Huge thank you to the House of Labor for having our backs.

Pledge to Boycott REI Learn why co-op members are boycotting REI after years of broken promises and anti-worker, anti-democratic behavior.

Just don’t buy from REI in May during the boycott the workers’ union is calling for: www.ourrei.com/boycott

One of them scraped info from an actual small business that had an inactive account on Instagram (the business closed, though it wasn’t immediately obvious this was so). I’ve got enough to worry about without this fucking nonsense.

I haven’t fallen for it (thanks to common sense)—but the scam inquiries look more and more plausible. I just respond with boilerplate text that says I require they sign a service contract and only accept payment via my chosen invoicing service. Then whoosh, they disappear.

I’ve been getting so many predatory/scam inquiries for freelance graphic design. It’s so evil to use LLMs to scam workers already getting fucked over by generative “AI”.

(And screw Dan Ryan specifically, who has clearly made it a goal to dismantle public funding for the arts, despite their importance to the history and core values of Portland—actions speak louder than words.)

This was made possible largely thanks to organized efforts by Portland Arts and Culture for Equity (PACE) and Portland arts leaders working together with community support. Local advocacy works! Learn more, and/or join PACE: www.portlandartsandculture.org

On April 15th, the City of Portland passed an adjustment to the budget that releases $1.6 million from the Art Tax reserves to arts and culture organizations to be distributed equally amongst the General Operating Support arts and culture orgs ($20K to each of 80 groups). This adjustment was made by Council President Jamie Dunphy, in large part thanks to the work of Portland Arts and Culture for Equity and Portland Arts Leaders working together with support from our communities.

We are grateful to the full City Council, to Council President Jamie Dunphy and his team, especially Eben Joondeph Hoffer, who we know are working towards greater equity in funding and more funding for all arts and culture moving forward. In particular, they are working to create criteria of funding tiers that include access to the arts for historically underserved Portlanders, to reduce barriers to nonprofits seeking city funding, and to open funding to organizations who have been sidelined despite years of meeting GOS qualifications.

"Music and the arts will be the key to the rebirth of our downtown and the health and safety of our streets, our kids, and our culture as a city." Jamie Dunphy, City Council President April 8th 2026

Small slice of good news: Portland passed a budget adjustment to release $1.6 million from the Art Tax reserves to arts and culture organizations to be distributed equally amongst the General Operating Support arts and culture orgs ($20K to each of 80 groups). (Smith, Zimmerman, & Ryan opposed OFC.)

There was a maybe 4" space between balcony floor and railing, and I remember my horror as I watched my idiot (and beloved) cat roll right through it. Emma was pretty skittish on the balcony after that, so I'm surprised she's so enthusiastic here—which is probably why I filmed it.

Stumbled across this video (from April '14) of my much-missed cat, Emma, rolling around the floor of the balcony at our old place. She's on a leash because she once rolled off the balcony and fell on the 1st floor's potted rose bushes. (I was the only party injured as I plucked thorns from fur.)

pencil drawing of a person with long light hair swept back and their face is in high contrast shadows decribed with mostly vertical lines. the person's mouth is open looking like they are possibly whistling or just saying a word with a strong "o" sound

grabbed a sketchbook i only use off & on and found this nice little lighting study a forgot about

As a kid, I really loved the blue eggs that one of my grandma’s chickens would lay. I drove her nuts with insisting on saving as many of the shells as possible (which involved the tedious process of poking holes and blowing out the egg instead of cracking it). I made lots of ornaments!

exactly 🫠

In my database, I separated the info into 2 columns—so one for the imprint number, one for the edition size. Easy for filling in, pain for exporting to forms or copy/pasting. In an earlier iteration, I wrote it out “5 of 7”. But it takes up a lot more space. There is no “right” answer, alas.

Printmaker’s inventory dilemma? I’ve run into that one before

RIP The Art Gym! They left us with so many excellent catalogs, at least. I only have a few of them, but this is one

This week, we delivered our first round of Co-op member boycott pledges to REI’s corporate headquarters outside Seattle. Turns out - 20,000 pledge cards are really heavy!

Make sure you sign the pledge at BoycottREI.com by next Wednesday to have your name included in the next batch!

A drawing, by Ursula K. Le Guin, of a loafed-up black cat as seen from behind. The cat's tail curls around the podcast title IN YOUR SPARE TIME. Ursula K. Le Guin's name is at the top of the image, which has a teal background.

Introducing In Your Spare Time: A Podcast of the Blog of Ursula K. Le Guin!

inyoursparetime.libsyn.com

Charcoal resists water a bit, so one can get some fun tusche-like effects on YUPO. The initial smooshing together of water and charcoal is tricky, though: slips all over the place. It’s easier in a well than on a flat palette. Adding a couple drops of gum arabic helps mixing and improves adhesion.

Pile of black charcoal powder looking like a small explosion across a significant proportion of a stay-wet palette paper surface. A couple puddles of (ruined) pink paint at the left margin. A bunch of little bottles in a caddy at right.

Ah yes, the day I learned that attempting to moisten powdered charcoal with a spray bottle was a terrible idea—completely obvious, in hindsight. But at least it made me laugh?

So absurd all around. Its shape, height, and the bees all.

Gorgeously blooming trillium with fresh white petals, in dappled light, tucked in with other PNW forest plants

Every spring I have to refresh my botanical memory as all the greenery, buds, and blossoms start to pop out along the trails in Forest Park. I never forget the iconic trillium, at least.

TAKE ACTION: Pledge to support our boycott at REI

Last week, REI Union workers voted overwhelmingly to approve a boycott of this year’s anniversary sale. Here’s why, and how you can support us: 👇

Heidi Schwegler at the very left edge of the photo, extending her left arm to hold a flesh-colored wax cast of a lamb head with a freakishly long neck next to the original, cherubic lamb tchotchke from which it was cast, near where the final re-cast head was later attached. It's a busy workspace with kiln, shelves, pedestal, sundry boxes and table strewn with bric-a-brac.

Heather Lee Birdsong, in all black and shades, and Heidi Schwegler, in worn brown overalls and a lined work jacket, with arms around each other's shoulders. We're standing on dirt next to a narrow ditch, with a shining aluminum quonset behind us, and a peek of cloudy desert sky overhead.

Bonus: a photo I took during a studio visit with Heidi Schwegler in at the Yucca Valley Material Lab while that sculpture was in process, and a photo @wcwilliams.bsky.social took of us in front of the then-newly-installed YVML quonset. I think the ditch was for running power to the kilns?

Pard, a tuxedo cat, lounges on the back of the sofa. The podcast logo is overlaid on the photo, showing a drawing of a cat and the title IN YOUR SPARE TIME.

A cherubic, smiling found ceramic lamb tchotchke with an extra head, obviously brighter and newer, grafted onto the lamb’s left shoulder, sitting on a white floating shelf against a white wall. An example of Schwegler’s mastery of mouldmaking, humor, and making kitsch feel creepy.

Happy Easter

Heidi Schwegler, Soft Miracle, 2019; porcelain, epoxy, paint; 9 x 8 x 8 inches. Photo by Mario Gallucci.

a photo of a late 40's-early 50's man in sunglasses stanginy against a tree with "tom prochaska" gales creek or, july 1996" captioned under it

went to a gathering to celebrate the life of tom prochaska and got to see some old friends/classmates/teachers i hadn't seen in ages. it was a lovely get together to remember a fantastic human. someone printed out this excellent glamour shot of him looking like a boss in the 90's

That is very useful to know, so thank you!

Thank you!