Picture perfect Tuesday greetings collectors. I am looking out the windows of JBP HQ at a blue sky populated with puffy clouds of the non-threatening variety, which is quite a change of pace from yesterday's stormy light show. I've lived most of my adult life in a ground floor apartment so the span of bright windows we have here is a real treat. It could be that not having to step outside to know which way the wind blows is what compels me to kick off most newsletters with a weather report. (In case you were wondering why I don't just cut to the chase.)

I am going to dispense with the most obvious of puns immediately (you know I can't resist a good pun) and say that today's edition, Secret Language 1, really speaks to me. (Groan. I know, I know.) Southwestern native Valerie Roybal's oeuvre touches upon many subjects and styles I find irresistible, so I was really pleased when she submitted work to 20x200.

Valerie's choice of materials for the Secret Language series speaks to my bookish tendencies, my penchant for wandering through thrift stores and flea markets, and my predilection for proper penmanship. (Alliteration alert!) Aside from the obvious visual allure of her layered constructions, their texture and presence ignites other senses and memories that I fondly associate with all these activities. The snippets of fine calligraphy remind me of lazy comfort of curling up with a well-worn copy of Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice. Her color palette wanders across the entire range of shades I find so appealing in the vintage items that always catch my eye, whether they're water-stained snapshots or fire-red Pyrex bowls, happily transporting me to the cluttered chaos of an upstate Salvation Army, with creaky floorboards, dusty air and undiscovered treasures.

Such nice memories to spend time with! Not to sound like a cheeseball, but that's one of the things I most enjoy about living with art. Everything that I have on my walls is the seed for some sort of story or memory, giving me ample opportunity to indulge in some escapism. My here and now is pretty great, but it's nice to be able to go elsewhere once in a while.

Speaking of elsewhere, I'm about to dash off to lunch with another bookish artist who has a 20x200 edition in the pipeline. Make of that bit of foreshadowing what you will, and check back in tomorrow for this week's photo edition.