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Since it is so gray outside, it is a good time to start work on this year’s holiday cards. I am on year 8 of the 12 Days of Christmas cycle. My card screens were getting a little ragged, so they get new silk (polyester) this year. I was thinking about creating a tusche-resist stencil which involves painting the design on the screen, but will probably stick to a photo emulsion. Once I got past year four of the cycle, it got hard to repeat designs consistently by freehand painting.

Until the first snow flies, this part of the world turns gray. Heavy steel-gray skies hang over a colorless landscape. The few remaining autumn leaves look strangely out of place. The birds have stopped singing and don’t stray far from cover. A good snowfall will break the spell.

My informal fall tour of some of the art museums in the area concluded with a visit to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). MASS MoCA has the best atmosphere of any museum I have been to – very informal and relaxed. The exhibits are always thought-provoking and challenging with a definite leaning toward social consciousness. The big gallery was closed while Carsten Höller’s Amusement Park was being uninstalled, but A historic Occasion: Artists Making History (middle) and House of Oracles: A Huang Yong Ping Retrospective (bottom) were worth seeing.