Back from Dustworld...it's "Buchla Girl!"

I am returned from the world of dust and clutter now being broken up and distributed or discarded. This is a picture of me from my 1970 high school yearbook photo shoot (photos by my father, silver "Lost in Space" suit sewn by my mother). Behind me is the Buchla modular electronic music synthesizer at Brandeis University where I improvised avant-garde modern music with my dad playing the piano. I am now continuing my work of transcribing all these old tapes to digital files. 

Here is an account of my latest three weeks, taken from my Facebook postings for those of you not on the Gossipmachine:

I have returned safely from my service duties in Natick, Mass. During my three weeks at the parents' old house I: Returned my mother's ashes to the earth in an appropriate place, gave my mother's art to friends, relatives, and collectors, placed the rest of my mother's art in storage with friends, worked through the chaotic jumble of family records and correspondence, disposed of piles of old tasteless videos, gave away music CD's and scores to a representative of a local performing arts school, went through stacks of hundreds of my mother's sketch books finding ones that collectors would want, sold furniture and other items through a "mid-century modern" antique shop in downtown Natick, had book hoards covered with mildew and dust removed with the better-kept ones donated to a library fundraiser, added more to the Brandeis University archives, and filled my car with hundreds of sound heritage tapes for transcription to digital.

In this enterprise I will mention real names, and some of these people are right here on FB: I thank...Cara and Tony Spalla of "Culinary Delights" for the incredible networking ability plus the delicious meatballs, beef, and Chicago Hot Dogs, Gina Fiore of Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts, Mark Kagan of the Brandeis Music Department, Rodney Lister patron of arts as well as composer, my cousin Mitchell for his patience in reviewing hundreds of my mother's life drawings, Scott and Patrice of "Re-New" gallery and antique store, John Fede of "Audio Video Recovery Systems," and last but in no way least, Bob and Tina Andrews for their astounding efforts doing the physical work clearing rooms of dusty and mildewed stuff. I didn't do any of the harder work. I just talked to people and there are some that I have forgotten right now.

It has been quite the effort and there is much more to be done especially with the papers and archives. I will be going up there again for one more blast, and then I will be out of there.

I'm not 17 any more but I so wish that I could have a synthesizer to play and another silver spacesuit wouldn't be so bad either.

Blogging on "Art By-Products" resumes now.