tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38465557867355750582024-02-07T00:01:11.760-08:00Wander Fulla record of small and large journeys Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-52408300822443494042017-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:002017-03-31T09:20:06.547-07:00East Coast Road Trip to Brown<b>Thursday March 9th</b>- After two frantic days of packing, Cam and I left after my middle school classes to begin our trip. We detoured to the Mac store where my computer was being repaired, again. Finally on the road, we arrived at 11:30 at our grad school friend, Brian Priest's apartment. He was living in a very cool artist building. He said that soon it would be converted and that many artists were not living in the space any longer.<br />
Two of his long time artist friends came over, we got to hear about their lives as artists. One was a photographer and his wife was making it big as a surrealist artist. The other friend was a prolific painter, his day job was working at a printing business. He brought us to his studio where we were able to view many of his works. He was working with ways to use mass printing techniques in combination with hand painted elements. He was painting highly detailed images of animals made from fractured triangular shapes, they reminded me of MC Escher and tiles I'd seen in Morrocco and Spain. He had not had a show in several years, despite having an enormous body of work. We talked about how he would have one and surprise everyone. He was a dedicated artist and making was more important to him than exhibiting. Brian shared many of his adventures traveling and exhibiting before we went to bed. He had recentlty been to Germany, and felt he had found this place in the world.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian and I outside of his rehab project. </td></tr>
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<b>Friday March 10th</b>- We woke up and ate brunch with Brian. After eating, we went to see Brian's house he iwas fixing up. There was a bike path recently added throughout downtown Indianapolis and near the art district. Brian's house was here and it multiplied the value of his rehab. All around him other homes were being flipped and in many cases modernized, at times with strange "Beetlegeuse" elements. (If you've seen the movie and remember their modern house). Brian's house was very cool, an old Italianite, he had gutted it and was slowly rebuilding the structure. We got to hear his vision for the house and walk around the framing. I was energized to see how Brian's sculptural skills were being utilized to create a building, it was very similar to Cam's experience with our building. While our visit with Brian was less than 24 hours, we were reminded how it is easy to catch up with good friends and the nature of the artist network- the way in which we can support each other by offering places for people to stay during travel or provide first hand accounts on the lives of places.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old and New Stairwell Brian's house</td></tr>
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We drove on towards Pittsburg. Mid drive, we stopped at a massive antique mall, so large we did not get to see it all in an hour. We didn't buy anything because we were trying to save money for our trip, but it did give me good insight into the history of places we were driving through. I often think antique stores are like a vernacular history museum.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raggedy Ann Collection</td></tr>
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Arriving in Pittsburg late, we checked into our Air B and B and then went out to eat pizza. At the restaurant, Cam and I got into an argument at the counter about who was ordering. In retrospect it was funny, in the moment I felt irritated from hunger and the pressure of the line. The pizza was delicious good crust, with lots of cheese, we were used to sharing a thin STL style pizza medium which we could eat together, this larger medium became our lunch and snack the next day in the car.<br />
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<b>Saturday March 11th</b>- We woke up and drove to the Mattress Factory, a sculpture and installation space I had been hearing about for quite some time. We started in a newer space that was occupying an old house down the street, it was filled with a collaborative ongoing installation made from objects original to the house and collected items. It had a mix of video and sculptural elements utilizing things such as dollhouse miniatures, old furniture parts, magazines, and other ephemera. I loved this space and thought we could easily have something like this in St. Louis. We headed over to the larger building and walked through permanent and temporary exhibits. Overall, there was a nice mix of sculpture and installation. This was a great way to spend the morning.<br />
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Next we headed onto New Hope, PA. We would be meeting our friends Alex and Tina at an Air B & B space in this hippie town. We arrived before dinner time and spent some time catching up and meeting their adorable son Louis. Tina had thankfully arranged some meals for cooking so we had a great home cooked meal. We stayed up late talking over wine laughing about what had been happening in our lives, as only old friends can do.<br />
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<b>Sunday March 12th- </b>Alex and Tina made a delicious breakfast. We hung out and talked about the world as we were entertained by the ever energetic, Louis. I sang some songs with him and we had fun watching him as he really got into playing with a broom and doing a comedic fall with the broom. We drove into New Hope town and walked around. I ate a delicious cookie from a small bakery and we went into a cute toy store. It was getting late, so we left town and headed into New York City.<br />
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Alex and Tina lived in Jackson Heights, they had offered us the ability to stay at their place that night. We wanted to spend more time with them so we said, Yes! Meanwhile, the news was starting report a pending blizzard that would arrive on Monday night. We ordered Indian Food, it was delicious. That afternoon we hung out, listened to records, and Louis became my buddy. He was in a super fun stage of life because he loved to do stuff and there was lots of discovery in everything. We played playdoh, read books, he jumped on his trampoline, and he discovered he loved my water bottle. That night Cam and I walked to the grocery store and bought snacks, we came back and we all hung out eating cheese, veggies, and drinking wine. Alex had an amazing record collection so we enjoyed hearing all the music he had to share. Cam has known Tina for a very long time, they went to school together, there was a way she could hear his life and reflect to him, that is very grounding for him, and nurturing, like a sister. She also helped me, by letting me show some of my work that was going up at Brown and talking through what I was thinking. (I had an artist talk to prepare). This visit reminded me of that sometimes what the soul needs is not to be out doing a million things, but rather to just have quality conversations with old friends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam and I with Louis.</td></tr>
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<b>Monday March 13th- </b>Cam and I headed into the city with our backpacks. Tina and Alex offered that we could come back and stay with them the following night, if we could not leave town, due to the blizzard. We left our car and suitcases at their house. We took the subway into the city and then headed to the New School to look at a show on Immigration. On the way, we stopped by Strand books and I picked up a book to read for fun. The New School show was great, one powerful piece was a wall of things that had been left along the border, these items were mostly backpacks, it was shocking to the see the scale of this installation, that itself replicated a wall, and also to imagine what had happened to the people that owned these items. Another memorable series was the photo documentation of items found on unidentified bodies. Leaving the space, Cam and I decided to just walk. We went to a bookstore that specializes in Japanese papers and writing supplies. Cam bought pens and I bought a book for Louis by my favorite kids author Taro Gomi. Next, we went to our hotel in the upper west side. After checking in, we ate Peruvian food at Pio, Pio. We had pollo a la brasa and Chifa rice (chinese fried rice Peruvian style). Back at the hotel, I worked on my artist talk. It was weighing on my mentally to the point that I felt like I was avoiding it so I sat in the bed and wrote. As a treat, we went out before bed to try the cookies at Momo Fuku. I had a compost cookie that was delicious. Cam tried their cereal milk, which tasted like Cap'n Crunch milk, not my thing, but apparently people love this stuff. As we walked back we looked for Cam's Uncle's apartment he had lived in during this thirties. Cam visited him there as a 10 year old. I liked to imagine young Cam walking around the city.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Installation of backpacks at exhibit "State of Exception"</td></tr>
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<b>Tuesday March 14th</b>- The blizzard came, and it was not quite a blizzard, but nonetheless, everything was shut down and I once again found myself in New York with the wrong shoes. (No snow shoes) On my phone, I looked up all the art spaces I'd planned to visit, closed, closed, closed. The hotel recommended a diner nearby, so we ate there. Outside I watched people walk by all bundled up, the streets were quieter than usual, and I saw kids stop to play in the snow. The only thing open was the movie theater at Lincoln center and so Cam and I headed there to see the James Baldwin Film, "I am Not your Negro". We walked towards Central Park, trying to avoid the massive snow drifts formed by the plows. The park was a beautiful site, people of all ages were sledding. A man brought bird food for the pigeons and I watched them fly around. A group started an impromptu snow ball fight. I enjoyed seeing so many people having fun on this day off. When we entered the movie theater, I was surprised to see no one there. After a few moments a few people arrived, but it felt like a private screening. The film was fantastic and I have been thinking about it since the screening. I especially liked how contemporary footage and movie icon were woven throughout the film to illustrate false American mythologies. I am still thinking about Baldwin's ending question: Why did white people invent or need the idea of "negro"? The content helped me write my talk and will no doubt contribute to future work.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sledding at Central Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birds in Flight</td></tr>
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We went back to Jackson Heights and stopped at an empanada store for a snack. Yum, just like our favorite snack in Chile! Back at Alex and Tina's house, we settled into hanging out with them for the night. I played with Louis, now my BFF. Their home was a welcome refuge from the cold snow storm and it was so comforting to spend time with them, it made use feel like we were on vacation.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing yellow at the Empanada restaurant.</td></tr>
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<b>Wednesday March 15th- </b>We needed to get to Providence. First Cam and I spent an hour digging out the van. We only had minor fights, so I considered that a success. After saying goodbye, to Tina and Louis, we drove towards Providence. The roads weren't that bad. We stopped at an amazing sandwich shop in Connecticut. Then we decided to drive along the coast between CT and RI. We passed through some cute beach towns with names like, Mystic and Narrangansett. Cam and I got out in Narragansett and stretched our legs while we drank coffee. We walked towards the water, I was surprised to see surfers on that chilly day. Around 6pm, we arrived in Providence. Liz Wolfson met us at the Gallery space at John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities. We were staying in the carriage space in the apartment above. Liz took us to a great restaurant where I ate a brussel sprouts salad. We talked over dinner about her program, the schedule of events, our lives. After dinner we had beer at local bar that reminded me of Cheers. The bartender said "here's you sushi" and gave us a bowl of goldfish. It was a nice touch. Back at the apartment, I worked on my artist talk and then went to bed.<br />
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<b>Thursday March 16th- </b>We woke up and then headed down the street to a coffee shop that served bagel sandwiches (Cam's fav. east coast tradition). After breakfast, we found the copy store so I could print out my talk. Back at the building/museum I tested out my computer with the equipment in the lovely grand room where I would be speaking. I was nervous but ready to get the talk over. Nervous to talk to so many scholars, and to try to keep it concise and under a 1/2 hr, this was certainly a challenge for me. The professors and staff arrived and they began to set up food for the talk. Their tradition was to serve food that people could enjoy during the talk. I presented. I think it went pretty well and I spoke with people afterwards. One professor relayed that her students had a hard time thinking of their own white racial identity and they got into a heated discussion over my work because of this problem. Another friend Annie, from Kirkwood, was there and that was special to connect with her across the county in part because she was so familiar with the world I grew up in. After the talk, we went with Liz to buy things for the opening. She told us about Brown and gave us a small tour. It was nearing opening time, so we went back to the Gallery. I had a great time meeting with people and talking about the work. I learned something new and the powerful conversations I had about race, identity, and whiteness, are moving into future works. I met a woman that was researching how minstrel shows traveled to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. I spoke with another woman extensively about the representations of food in my artwork. I ended the opening talking with Annie and her friend about our experiences of researching family histories. Annie relayed some of the problematic aspects of DNA tests. After the opening, we went to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant and enjoyed talking with Liz. We got to hear her history as a political organizer and grassroots radio DJ. That night, the school put us up at the Hilton we had an enormous King size bed. Fun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presentation room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFwlXz_f51r2Dfl_fu-o3_CNcd95T_tAT5u_YyqIm2fVbnPsmBz28qTkjLskl4ujz-MngbXekgWFu8pDeVI3FhsaFJuWUSRB7aRn9eDs7XfP4Bp-urYRS-jU_WcGHyQzf4NSoKhwd5R9N/s1600/IMG_1148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFwlXz_f51r2Dfl_fu-o3_CNcd95T_tAT5u_YyqIm2fVbnPsmBz28qTkjLskl4ujz-MngbXekgWFu8pDeVI3FhsaFJuWUSRB7aRn9eDs7XfP4Bp-urYRS-jU_WcGHyQzf4NSoKhwd5R9N/s320/IMG_1148.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Installation Shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG3aidvLCa7AmZNAUY-ZtqwpHQmye3DlrtHjkqgfbXg2kM6ZAnV_UQR43AGyCkfAdrYhj0Wshj6wxTg-xEn6uNrtoWeBJvfavkm_SIioOy09l43hW6exiLjvxEMohxVfwgWbIfoKMG1Mu/s1600/IMG_1156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG3aidvLCa7AmZNAUY-ZtqwpHQmye3DlrtHjkqgfbXg2kM6ZAnV_UQR43AGyCkfAdrYhj0Wshj6wxTg-xEn6uNrtoWeBJvfavkm_SIioOy09l43hW6exiLjvxEMohxVfwgWbIfoKMG1Mu/s320/IMG_1156.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre Opening</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojOJg183imKFT6n1wpvvu4fhuZJFjYkdKGVv3b-xJuxyBGxVO_uN26QtTduEzhqH2wNJCwWGmS5mAMHdIF03yqCn_eJI19xmv3RbDpuCNFc4ED2IFczRR4s161qfjtGUnWBNFY707aUV7/s1600/IMG_1158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjojOJg183imKFT6n1wpvvu4fhuZJFjYkdKGVv3b-xJuxyBGxVO_uN26QtTduEzhqH2wNJCwWGmS5mAMHdIF03yqCn_eJI19xmv3RbDpuCNFc4ED2IFczRR4s161qfjtGUnWBNFY707aUV7/s320/IMG_1158.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self Portrait in Mirror</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Friday March 17th</b>- Cam and I got coffee and then headed to the gallery to take down the show. It went amazingly fast and without any fights. After finishing, we texted Liz and then went to a cute downtown area where we visited an antique store and a record shop. I bought old photos to use as a painting references and a Van Morrison record I'd been wanting. We met Liz for lunch before heading out of town. It was sad to say goodbye to her, and I felt so thankful for all the work she had done to coordinate the show. She knew how to take care of an artist and make them feel valued. She has some upcoming projects and news for STL and I can't wait to see what happens....<br />
We drove onto Philadelphia. While the distance was not far, we did not anticipate how crazy the traffic would be. Everywhere we went there was traffic and accidents. We made it into Philly late.<br />
We were staying with our friend Morgan and his girlfriend Sharon. They helped us park and settle in and then we went to a bar that had delicious food. I ate pozole and had an amazing carrot glazed with a Moroccan sauce. The craziest thing was, we ran into Mike Stasny, a friend from St. Louis in the bar! After dinner, we headed towards another neighborhood to go to a brewery located above an Ethiopian restaurant. On our way we saw a younger kid get his mini stuck in the ice. We all worked to help him push his car out. We ended our night at another bar, where I drank a delicious sour beer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfy9aTwTYvdFKOyGqCO8jV9C-GLZpnhVHDzwJAdsqyLibxRJNO265n6wlL_hj3OYdsofd4U0SgqaowoCP8DMf8KBwNKoiWSTIe69WKNtX-Px12jI3h1beabUlqMqE_bHa9kjzBS5QkawJG/s1600/IMG_1160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfy9aTwTYvdFKOyGqCO8jV9C-GLZpnhVHDzwJAdsqyLibxRJNO265n6wlL_hj3OYdsofd4U0SgqaowoCP8DMf8KBwNKoiWSTIe69WKNtX-Px12jI3h1beabUlqMqE_bHa9kjzBS5QkawJG/s320/IMG_1160.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painter's palette and studio view.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkq6Jt-HYypuudgEv1FQmKHOeWwj8Bwq1AeSp2npAyU8tp8vOAjNZF76y4Oo2nBDBI3Wx6WbWBppp0dKhyyUqBa1MhZNscCYFi4-MDavme3tvyZXu5tl7tesEYPVo9u8B5v6kE8h9Ljif/s1600/IMG_1183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkq6Jt-HYypuudgEv1FQmKHOeWwj8Bwq1AeSp2npAyU8tp8vOAjNZF76y4Oo2nBDBI3Wx6WbWBppp0dKhyyUqBa1MhZNscCYFi4-MDavme3tvyZXu5tl7tesEYPVo9u8B5v6kE8h9Ljif/s320/IMG_1183.JPG" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan as Schiele painting.</td></tr>
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<b>Saturday March 18th</b>- Sharon made us french toast for breakfast! After breakfast we went out with Morgan to see some shows. We saw a show on African American Art Collectives in Chicago at Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, we saw a show about the mixing of Photography and Sound art at Penn, and then we saw a show about Environmentalism at Haverford College called Resistance after Nature. Of note was the Feminist collective that made a net to trap plastics in the ocean and then displayed these small plastics. After the shows, we went to a brewery for a drink and I ate cauliflower tacos. (Did I mention Morgan loves breweries). We picked up Sharon and went to heaven - or an enormous building with boxes of vintage clothes you can dig through and buy called Sazz Vintage Clothing. I found several dresses. Next we went to eat at a Korean restaurant. We could not stop laughing about Sharon's soup, it was so hot it had steam coming off through the end of our meal. Finally we went to a bar where their favorite bartender works. He wasn't there, but they were playing Bikini Kill, so I was happy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSLL4EKgdEsmx8EiPdvY1LQvstWwU1KmGjmKoXHeku4dhbe_dyjSWX_h9EdFZvQmyDceZG4PIGVShR5nULd7Yi4iqqBRwiVIg9UBQAo6gFkTASPf65wYyknF5k4rI8CyqKnZwihUVYjZd/s1600/IMG_1163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSLL4EKgdEsmx8EiPdvY1LQvstWwU1KmGjmKoXHeku4dhbe_dyjSWX_h9EdFZvQmyDceZG4PIGVShR5nULd7Yi4iqqBRwiVIg9UBQAo6gFkTASPf65wYyknF5k4rI8CyqKnZwihUVYjZd/s320/IMG_1163.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flags installed at ICA-Philadelphia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzlWVsrzWVPpHt-cWJf9MRfFqI1JdPxnKfhiq2Tfzd5vTFJ-GsmHRt2fLQFVl7O7gIJFrQ0n4fTeEnAldpdifHqo2JYCrwuaCFKcxvj5R3ygIXM-IXZnvCbsVaaZlESznCC54NkE8DsJv/s1600/IMG_1167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzlWVsrzWVPpHt-cWJf9MRfFqI1JdPxnKfhiq2Tfzd5vTFJ-GsmHRt2fLQFVl7O7gIJFrQ0n4fTeEnAldpdifHqo2JYCrwuaCFKcxvj5R3ygIXM-IXZnvCbsVaaZlESznCC54NkE8DsJv/s320/IMG_1167.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presentation of plastics polluting the ocean.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7no1YvCbiQC8voZ288E7Ti95AEMJdkNVS-iDqUC2W2NrVN-rVgkeMu6jen7T3maqC79wE4UIWA_8CthMjJwimwTEHA2-AguK17HfyMo9tGlQjYGA8SNiisIi5vQwb6NDioa6noGG_dnkJ/s1600/IMG_1170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7no1YvCbiQC8voZ288E7Ti95AEMJdkNVS-iDqUC2W2NrVN-rVgkeMu6jen7T3maqC79wE4UIWA_8CthMjJwimwTEHA2-AguK17HfyMo9tGlQjYGA8SNiisIi5vQwb6NDioa6noGG_dnkJ/s200/IMG_1170.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sazz Vintage Clothing Inside</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJh0sF7t-bekif8pX7RbgXrkb4cv2RABB6YMqxmvt93j2kQyrwvlTMk6PVBrshE8FSY50ZdaPgyZukdnv55CxlBL3230HVv8hEY6IGWAxHIkaXXXM3C-HPrbQd1G7zzwFUGtj0Z2DRFb-T/s1600/IMG_1171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJh0sF7t-bekif8pX7RbgXrkb4cv2RABB6YMqxmvt93j2kQyrwvlTMk6PVBrshE8FSY50ZdaPgyZukdnv55CxlBL3230HVv8hEY6IGWAxHIkaXXXM3C-HPrbQd1G7zzwFUGtj0Z2DRFb-T/s200/IMG_1171.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sazz Vintage Clothing Outside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCryHjYsX7wUEii9mfl1NAXCNf9CcCX_sAKf2TLstDVIXQexBN8Kkz8tvQwlYNxFH9jhzhKMj0VMJ2haU7KIH4FZ1hMqouMDyvwRMhUXZba7zuXVMyg07zh9QcJPxC1LU7E8d5qeAdfUY/s1600/IMG_1179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCryHjYsX7wUEii9mfl1NAXCNf9CcCX_sAKf2TLstDVIXQexBN8Kkz8tvQwlYNxFH9jhzhKMj0VMJ2haU7KIH4FZ1hMqouMDyvwRMhUXZba7zuXVMyg07zh9QcJPxC1LU7E8d5qeAdfUY/s320/IMG_1179.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remains of our Korean Feast</td></tr>
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<b>Sunday March 19th</b>-Big Drive day. Morgan took us to a brunch spot. After eating, Cam and I got on the road for the long drive back. Believe it or not we had fun. We talked about our trip. I read some books. We listened to all our music. We played games like "What 10 albums would you bring to the a dessert island?" or "What are the top 10 bands of all?". We had the sort of conversations that come out only during a road trip at night when it is you, music, and car lights.<br />
<br />
This was a great trip.<br />
Artwise- I took on the challenge of crating an entire show. I worked with a curator friend remotely. I gave a talk. I was inspired by new work. I had conversations that moved me further in my own thinking.<br />
Friendwise- We got to catch up with many friends. We realized the similarities of our lives and struggles. We got to see them in their day to day life. We relaxed, ate good food, and thought about the world. <br />
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<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-62852784878787528772016-07-20T13:52:00.000-07:002016-07-22T05:01:26.508-07:00Collaborating with Elisa Sugar.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGIExnv1HR2Zj6rgEvHCAQmGxj561EISuYTgQGzBZ9psYxKPiz23qgWtc96xI69Y9Zb2WszirFev1LkqIIx_uEy7KVP1BmRPxFNFBxEFiCiLeU6-GE_o0qOMsw5A06Y_ZxTU4h5iIMS7k/s1600/IMG_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGIExnv1HR2Zj6rgEvHCAQmGxj561EISuYTgQGzBZ9psYxKPiz23qgWtc96xI69Y9Zb2WszirFev1LkqIIx_uEy7KVP1BmRPxFNFBxEFiCiLeU6-GE_o0qOMsw5A06Y_ZxTU4h5iIMS7k/s320/IMG_0101.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elisa with collaborator Lohr.</td></tr>
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I committed at the beginning of the year to spend some time recognizing the talents of my friends in my art community and to do it here on my blog as well as in my day to day life. <br />
<br />
Once you've met Elisa Sugar, you will know that you want her on your team- your art team, your it's the end of the world zombies are coming, who will help me survive? team. Elisa is hardworking, reliable, and an unbelievable problem solver. Her ego doesn't get in the way of her work or sense of purpose, so much so that she sent me almost no pictures of her work, I am hoping she will let the ones I supply fly. She is my protest buddy, a person that I know has my back if I need help. She is my "I have a crazy idea, can I bounce it off you?" friend. We've worked the past couple years on several People's Joy Parade projects, and many other projects. She is regular art contributor to Artica and has worked behind the scenes with the Artivists. You have most likely seen or experienced her work, without knowing it, because she's not in it for credit or recognition. I go to Elisa for advice on activism, living as an artist, collaboration, and just keeping whole. I hope you enjoy this energetic interview with her. <br />
<br />
<b>Collaboration</b><br />
Sarah Paulsen: I know you are someone committed to working in
collaboration with others, what do you like about collaborations and
what brought you to this realization that this was your preferred
working style? <br />
<br />
<i>Elisa Sugar: I see collaboration as a hybrid – a cross
combining the people involved, where we all <b>are</b> in our lives and
interests/obsessions. Collaboration is social and an opportunity
get to deepen relationships by making things and sharing our ideas and
dreams; I’m a worker and also a social animal so forming connections on a
project is a natural. Collaboration is surprising and fresh and
there’s is a permissiveness to it that I cannot grant myself; the
experience of working together, the dialogue and hands-on time is
equally valuable to me as the outcome. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Why do I work
collaboratively? Working with others seems the realest and most honest
expression of who I am. I prefer this working style as it balances the
solitude of the studio practice. </i><br />
<br />
SP: What advice do you have for individuals wanting to work with others in collaboration?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: Go
for it! Be patient, check your ego and your expectations, look for
magic of the moment(s) and be open to experimenting in areas outside
your comfort zone. </i><br />
<i>Also, bring snacks and be on time, or let folks know you are running late.</i><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtV5j35LbPqpSEWVegSvhR52nTrqlTxkzmqhF40WH_AvQMmcJhziYKo7nr9SSYa6BlwmyqUGABBiV9HUtB7b-p3jf5vKjw3PZYFWxUKQb8gXoa04VWOAB_8CZYGt5h1MVfSNfztyyQnkQj/s1600/IMG_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtV5j35LbPqpSEWVegSvhR52nTrqlTxkzmqhF40WH_AvQMmcJhziYKo7nr9SSYa6BlwmyqUGABBiV9HUtB7b-p3jf5vKjw3PZYFWxUKQb8gXoa04VWOAB_8CZYGt5h1MVfSNfztyyQnkQj/s320/IMG_0282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the background Elisa helps a student during a People's Joy workshop.</td></tr>
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<b>Her art history</b> <br />
SP: What is your art background?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: Art
started as a kid with coloring and sewing and more coloring and graph
paper and onto silkscreening t-shirts and posters in high school.
Academically, I hold a BFA and an MFA in printmaking.</i><br />
<br />
SP: Would you be willing to share some of the story of how, in your words, “you dropped out of the art world”?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: Why
am i a self-proclaimed “artwork drop out”? I'll try to explain…… Years
ago I stopped making art for a while. I attribute it to being alone too
much, both in my $$$ work and in my studio practice. To “get through
it”, I began overworking and became way too self-critical. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I was
on a ridiculous treadmill: “make art, promote/show art, attempt to sell
art and then piling up art in your studio and make more”. It was
driving me mad and I had to stop; It was an identity crisis and a scary, depressive time for me. </i><br />
<i>There
was more to it though, the art world didn’t make sense to me. It’s a
machine and a business for the most part and that’s fine, but art as
commodity doesn’t sit right with me and I continue to wonder if
commodification kills creativity. Plus I’ve never been a good self
promoter and that seems necessary to “succeed”; I see now that i was
trying to “make it” in a world i didn’t respect and that contradiction
was untenable. The antidote has been collaboration, community work/art
and work that is experiential and exists only briefly and then
disappears or is recycled. Oh and also not caring as much about what
people think - It's a journey!</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<b>Projects </b><br />
SP: What are some current or ongoing projects that you participate in?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: I’m
writing this in the summer so things are a little quiet……more thinking
than working…… I have some design work touring with a theatrical
ensemble called “Children of the Wild” (<a href="http://childrenofthewild.org/">childrenofthewild.org</a>).
Currently in STL I’m collaborating with a couple of friends on a short
video/animation and the beloved People’s Joy Parade. Also getting ready
to do some murals and a stage backdrop at Burning Man. I’d love to get
involved in some political theater and other art involved happenings in
the future. I guess I'm always looking for collaborators! </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSvCDzCdCbVqlyTY_sGGsl0ECUkcbByghEGvPk43U-KcIE8bLVVLnJQsue5AqZ794e5vy1nWlrA25_Njby27e2w3UYYhyHGZiVdtdZ61sKuXj0LnQCH72Ni56rNyYilQjDra8WAhidu3N/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSvCDzCdCbVqlyTY_sGGsl0ECUkcbByghEGvPk43U-KcIE8bLVVLnJQsue5AqZ794e5vy1nWlrA25_Njby27e2w3UYYhyHGZiVdtdZ61sKuXj0LnQCH72Ni56rNyYilQjDra8WAhidu3N/s320/IMG_0210.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head of a Piasa bird made out of recycled plastics by Elisa for PJP.</td></tr>
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<br />
SP: How did you get involved with making Burning Man artwork and what have you learned through this ongoing experience?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: I’ve
been going to Burning Man since 2002, when I was invited to work in a
staff kitchen run out of cook trailers. It was a wild time and I soon
found a set up crew that had paint (I''m a better painter than line
cook!), made friends and started painting. That crew took me in and ever
since I have volunteered for Center Camp Cafe which is a 24 hour
performance space and coffee shop. I am part of the art team and also
coordinate a mural project for a 8’ tall fence that is over 250’ long.
Last year we had over 50 artists invited and countless walk-ins who are
super talented and open to the experience of creation.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottwilliamsb_w/sets/72157666745756891" target="_blank">Photos of Center Camp Cafe mural project by Scott Williams. </a><br />
<br />
<i>What I
have learned from Burning Man (and constantly have to remind myself) is
that making art is an act of love - a gift really - and lives it’s
brightest in the making, the “experience” of it. </i><br />
<i>Here is<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNLMolzoJZM" target="_blank"> a sweet little doc.</a> done about our crew a couple of years ago called the love project </i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudUgzKkKm4XUPSFpN7upNnjGvBXe0dJO0HGnnPUcVxsvUe4GlCQcY177f_mab6k-L9dxpH69S7k9HkyEYfCKIr0lp_VsFr7EknRFvsOttSPM-rVPSOoKEjh7C4EWTy6Ydt-8RhRf9zko3/s1600/10522677_10152043654886653_4430493535773398043_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudUgzKkKm4XUPSFpN7upNnjGvBXe0dJO0HGnnPUcVxsvUe4GlCQcY177f_mab6k-L9dxpH69S7k9HkyEYfCKIr0lp_VsFr7EknRFvsOttSPM-rVPSOoKEjh7C4EWTy6Ydt-8RhRf9zko3/s320/10522677_10152043654886653_4430493535773398043_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elisa assembled this Pride Parade float.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Hustle & Health </b> <br />
SP: We talk a lot
about the art hustle, how so many artists are working many jobs, still
trying to work, and hopefully be good people. What does your art hustle
look like?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: My art hustle is more of a balancing act, mostly of
my own design fortunately. I’m always open to work and art
possibilities. I’m not trying “to get anywhere” since I am a
self-proclaimed “art world drop out” - HA - so I feel pretty free. </i><br />
<i>By nature I’m a really hard worker so a lot of my hustle is all the things I want as a communal being. </i><br />
<i>being a good person and being involved is good for my health also keeping positive and finding joy and challenge in everything I do.</i><br />
<i>everything
in balance and staying happy and involved. also, not pressuring myself
to be or do things that don’t seem important. </i><br />
<br />
SP: How have you maintained your integrity and sense of self through the years?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: By being independent and of use, trusting myself, remembering to keep my heart open and most importantly listen to my loved ones and friends.</i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH6sy6Qn7TJ9oEPw20ZzE-Mh0gM5mc7ge_sUw5bk96Y8lXnjw8Ot8ceq_qpmazoxNWMnpvfvcXU9NSXMYWjqvRAtJ-uRUNniGIvQ20bNqv1JVHYHQtShAa6aWN7MpTg9zLj8b3U9EMfpF/s1600/IMG_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH6sy6Qn7TJ9oEPw20ZzE-Mh0gM5mc7ge_sUw5bk96Y8lXnjw8Ot8ceq_qpmazoxNWMnpvfvcXU9NSXMYWjqvRAtJ-uRUNniGIvQ20bNqv1JVHYHQtShAa6aWN7MpTg9zLj8b3U9EMfpF/s320/IMG_0220.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elisa with scrabble friend Steve pictured at CAMP.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
SP: What things are an inspiring you right now? (music, art, explorations, etc.) <br />
<br />
<i>ES: top of my head list: </i><br />
<i>- being of use </i><br />
<i>- the non-human world </i><br />
<i>- my hands in the dirt </i><br />
<i>- travel </i><br />
<i>-
travel with art involved -
music with beats
- cooking
- working and
playing with friends </i><br />
<br />
<br />
SP: What does self care look like for you in your day to day practice?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: Being
outdoors and being physical - remembering that we are animals in the
world - being with people i care about, eating well, helping. </i><br />
<br />
<b>Studio</b><br />
SP: I know you share a studio
with several artists and that you bought the building several years ago,
what does your studio represent for you and how do you use this space?<br />
<br />
<i>ES: I
use my studio space for art and my picture framing business. Right
after I finished college I was extremely lucky to buy part of a building
in STL with four other artists. (buildings in STL city were cheap at
the time!) Consequently, my entire adult life has had a stable work
place. Let me state again that I am extremely lucky. my studio is a
home. a work home; it’s central to my existence and it’s a great
stabilizer. </i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64gcczMp33i5h4NbyXRqbLIjs7keO456r7ocIE78vaYNHxiQGy7a478RnMi2AgbQoHuapJJlXx-45iL1FFEsxFCvgIxhKa_6mGmjs-uI3pJj_X6NjxP6xB-GazVuBc_kyOSosgWcyUxbT/s1600/IMG_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64gcczMp33i5h4NbyXRqbLIjs7keO456r7ocIE78vaYNHxiQGy7a478RnMi2AgbQoHuapJJlXx-45iL1FFEsxFCvgIxhKa_6mGmjs-uI3pJj_X6NjxP6xB-GazVuBc_kyOSosgWcyUxbT/s320/IMG_0097.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elisa pictured in her studio under a sculptural form.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>St. Louis and beyond.</b><br />
SP: What first brought you to St. Louis? <br />
<br />
<i>ES: I came to STL to go to college. </i><br />
<br />
SP: How have you seen St. Louis change since you’ve lived here? <br />
<br />
<i>ES: There's
soo much more going on here on all levels........ I came to STL to go
to college and have see the city change a lot. “Revitalize “in ways and
also continue to struggle and fall part in many others. Currently I am
amazed by how many people are coming to STL and loving it for it's easy
vibe and affordability (relative to both coasts). </i><br />
<br />
SP:What do you hope to see in St. Louis or what would you like to see change? <br />
<br />
<i>ES: STL
needs to address racism and inequality and that means improving the
resources and opportunities for ALL people. I would love to see a
progressive local government that represents ALL the people not just the
“old boy network”</i><br />
<br />
SP: How did the Mike Brown shooting impact you and your involvement in St. Louis? <br />
<br />
<i>ES: The
murder of Mike Brown wakened the activist in me again. The call came to
go to Ferguson and stand with our sisters and brothers of color and
fight for justice so I did and continue to do so. My STL community is
much richer, much more meaningful and my heart has cracked open to the
strength of each human being. The Movement has re-affirmed my belief
that the action, community and creating is essential to elevating the
human spirit and making change. </i><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKHXVgo3UiNLPiBG6Bl-O4bSxjQ0Y8oe-FVPg3wHdPhQ4O3gX3W8LJ_z84r2wa3r5WoheRMRI49PYjbsERroGA8_81MAwTXMLmQryeBbCkuZzUdliCeNT70uvOD_j8bSo8W46whoJsI09/s1600/IMG_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKHXVgo3UiNLPiBG6Bl-O4bSxjQ0Y8oe-FVPg3wHdPhQ4O3gX3W8LJ_z84r2wa3r5WoheRMRI49PYjbsERroGA8_81MAwTXMLmQryeBbCkuZzUdliCeNT70uvOD_j8bSo8W46whoJsI09/s320/IMG_0028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
SP: You somehow manage to
have a life both living in St. Louis and traveling for your various
collaborations. How are you able to travel so often? and How do these
travels shift your experience of St. Louis? <br />
<br />
<i>ES: I'm lucky, make my
own schedule and am untethered for the most part. I have chosen family
all over the country and value these connections so I make time for
them. Travel keeps my eyes and mind open and sharp. Traveling is always
an education. </i>Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-58984949399017219752016-06-21T10:03:00.003-07:002016-06-21T10:03:27.670-07:00Family RitualsGreetings,<br />
I am writing from Greenville, South Carolina. I've come here to support my little sister as she has just given birth to her first daughter. When I was little, I remember that whenever my mom had a baby (I'm the oldest of four), there was an exciting visit by grandparents and aunts and uncles, during which they would help out around our house and hang out with me, as my mom recovered. When I found out my sister was due right at the end of my school year, I was excited to be able to offer her the same support. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gg2kBbUcRt5QsdRkOQKmX30d3YUpopoOoUbPw2S5L7KFcHU6aX7MuS8P7IIwG1p1ZRhFFF-w7solqOBjci9S6zC6rAX9CPRmP56eQ4NOzFIG4c5lUg84nPLfWsQ-9ds_k7X_xJSYVbnn/s1600/IMG_0391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gg2kBbUcRt5QsdRkOQKmX30d3YUpopoOoUbPw2S5L7KFcHU6aX7MuS8P7IIwG1p1ZRhFFF-w7solqOBjci9S6zC6rAX9CPRmP56eQ4NOzFIG4c5lUg84nPLfWsQ-9ds_k7X_xJSYVbnn/s320/IMG_0391.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
To backtrack, May was crazy. From the People's Joy Parade, to a SLAM school artist residency, to the wrapping up of my college and then middle school classes, it was a time of community rituals and transitions. Rituals and traditions have been on my mind these past few weeks, particularly in my studio.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7kM6rcDi1x9EoJsJivlGwl04zlnj9oTKH6w0Q5NuM8UfotbebIRgqYrUbmWPqt_gljsVZ3R2bksdBzqEO3kvTI-HbJEI1Vu8JRgYxjOGEN4CgJY7iaEMTZaB2eX_uXFo6u5WC0h_GuGD/s1600/IMG_0327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7kM6rcDi1x9EoJsJivlGwl04zlnj9oTKH6w0Q5NuM8UfotbebIRgqYrUbmWPqt_gljsVZ3R2bksdBzqEO3kvTI-HbJEI1Vu8JRgYxjOGEN4CgJY7iaEMTZaB2eX_uXFo6u5WC0h_GuGD/s200/IMG_0327.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End of School year play</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There are a series of thoughts or questions I explored that led me to this point. <br />
<br />
With <b>Witnessing Whiteness,</b> we talked about how an aspect of whiteness is not having to think about it. So I began to think about whiteness. I started with questions- what are underlying white norms that are invisible to me? I created lists based on books I'd been reading or things I heard in conversation. This led to a series of artworks. Such as:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahulMrLQveKW6TnWPCHj7HT8PwciKWnxbedCiGUudLFVNoW-glum_bn-OUh29LPBvafmmFL4FhR0zc_abZTqWmW1r0BuC6CoNiSKfWQziOdjPauihvkTdEQOaGc1PDSz1-ckoi9GyQOSn/s1600/Individualism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahulMrLQveKW6TnWPCHj7HT8PwciKWnxbedCiGUudLFVNoW-glum_bn-OUh29LPBvafmmFL4FhR0zc_abZTqWmW1r0BuC6CoNiSKfWQziOdjPauihvkTdEQOaGc1PDSz1-ckoi9GyQOSn/s320/Individualism.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Individualism, Self Reliance, and Exploration.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dUY7k7yW3i4maAipYyS25ewrdGDuf1Fe35av9BjXbYmDmt0xa_JchBx1XxqsgPJYDPjZsPs6E55PuAr4WZziyuNMJ-wXm7EjVexOd3UCZRc7FD3IEDcO5FWZL2juSaVc7vzEhcJlBCY9/s1600/innocence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dUY7k7yW3i4maAipYyS25ewrdGDuf1Fe35av9BjXbYmDmt0xa_JchBx1XxqsgPJYDPjZsPs6E55PuAr4WZziyuNMJ-wXm7EjVexOd3UCZRc7FD3IEDcO5FWZL2juSaVc7vzEhcJlBCY9/s320/innocence.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Desire to be Innocent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On a personal level, I asked myself questions about my family:<br />
What is my ethnic and cultural identity? Who were my ancestors? What were their traditions and beliefs? What remains of these ideas?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_f2ExMO1uMwN6yZ8ozmwQPqY6bw8iH6Y32vNVT5iULW4sLvQP7eXC5nlztFMoBxgp3MjW4ZgwyYCXCPYb2waNAEgi2gzyc_yb7sYW2pgweR7FtI8aFLNCWKR5XoYjW7blrcN0qzuUtSn/s1600/What+was+Czech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_f2ExMO1uMwN6yZ8ozmwQPqY6bw8iH6Y32vNVT5iULW4sLvQP7eXC5nlztFMoBxgp3MjW4ZgwyYCXCPYb2waNAEgi2gzyc_yb7sYW2pgweR7FtI8aFLNCWKR5XoYjW7blrcN0qzuUtSn/s320/What+was+Czech.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was Czech?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQ0kE9xS1Sldn7PDjjrxzyLIs_8wSvYj5p4rEE6FyTakCMiy_I_l-ZSrj3VfFYE6ulxlAzq2eBrUIMvO5Fd6kAJwSmYJ2S6zxDur8YR7aGsn7tBCY46scWmrd-p3AhkL2vN3To1NJs09b/s1600/grandpa%2527s+cornucopia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQ0kE9xS1Sldn7PDjjrxzyLIs_8wSvYj5p4rEE6FyTakCMiy_I_l-ZSrj3VfFYE6ulxlAzq2eBrUIMvO5Fd6kAJwSmYJ2S6zxDur8YR7aGsn7tBCY46scWmrd-p3AhkL2vN3To1NJs09b/s320/grandpa%2527s+cornucopia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandpa's Cornucopia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div>
<br /></div>
As I began to sit with the feeling that little remained of my ancestor's cultural traditions in my day to day life, I felt a huge sense of loss and emptiness. No language, no food, no clothes, no crafts, no stories. I was sharing this sense of loss as I had a studio visit with a few people from Ireland. One person said to me something to the nature of, "and yet there is so much culture, tradition, and ritual, here." And this made me check myself. I started to ask myself the question- what traditions, rituals, and values are present or have been created? What does my family and community continue or carry on? The funny thing to me is that this blog was started based on looking at rituals, art, and traditions, so it is wild to me, that I have come back to that question, but with eyes more open.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
About a month ago, I spent an afternoon looking through family photographs and pulling out repeated traditions, images, places, moments, and these are serving as a basis for a series of small paintings I am making. This piece of present traditions, seemed to be what was missing from the overall research. I plan to continue making these paintings. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIfVePUbAmj6SHZ0DVm97UUVckpgiORtb-FR-jxoE8vNGWN7bLii_ztppaTCQBt4KlCbjmFRCE88VEvE3YpxbamMm6SeeWEepmFwD3Axz44hvH7_Esr7dhTokrr-9mfuU7U5taES3OTmX/s1600/IMG_0340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIfVePUbAmj6SHZ0DVm97UUVckpgiORtb-FR-jxoE8vNGWN7bLii_ztppaTCQBt4KlCbjmFRCE88VEvE3YpxbamMm6SeeWEepmFwD3Axz44hvH7_Esr7dhTokrr-9mfuU7U5taES3OTmX/s200/IMG_0340.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horseback ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4tRiqvbjeL2Ku_g0t2pK1bvuMLLeNzLCexDihGSVbNFWEi4YCKNR-9eCBJWus95CkZh8eZSAiplaY_vx2JJ_2I4z-kTbPhXS-3AaArtec67ji3Q3QI7dMKTDlTlDqv41cHgSoTcPLtuO/s1600/IMG_0341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4tRiqvbjeL2Ku_g0t2pK1bvuMLLeNzLCexDihGSVbNFWEi4YCKNR-9eCBJWus95CkZh8eZSAiplaY_vx2JJ_2I4z-kTbPhXS-3AaArtec67ji3Q3QI7dMKTDlTlDqv41cHgSoTcPLtuO/s200/IMG_0341.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Lights</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrlHCuXVyv_DjaeB7w108vGU-n3A-Oy18ZVUJUfNyf117I7syaJ1JRTksceYB3CePmkIFX_w8BqaVzbYM2jkSNSmrXK0riGE5UWqApwFVGb7ceaDwZP0FtPfgncLWpQ9saIk3VoVi1vn1/s1600/IMG_0366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrlHCuXVyv_DjaeB7w108vGU-n3A-Oy18ZVUJUfNyf117I7syaJ1JRTksceYB3CePmkIFX_w8BqaVzbYM2jkSNSmrXK0riGE5UWqApwFVGb7ceaDwZP0FtPfgncLWpQ9saIk3VoVi1vn1/s200/IMG_0366.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Card Players</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On another note, I'm reading this book called <b>Working Towards Whiteness: How America's Immigrants Became White</b>. It is filling in the blanks for me about why my immigrant ancestors where quick to assimilate and the nature of cultural loss, suburban development, and popular cultural norms, to name a few. I am interested to see what I'll be making once I've completed the book and have synthesized the information. </div>
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In the meantime I'm here supporting my sister, participating in one of my family's post-birth rituals, being a helper. I'm slowing down. Cooking meals. Painting pictures. It's kind of like a residency vacation with a good sprinkling of soulful baby time. I'm singing songs to my niece the baby, whispering hopes for her future and connecting with my sister about what is it like for her as a new mom.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and My Niece.</td></tr>
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Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-21994574795568893302016-04-14T09:11:00.002-07:002016-04-14T09:12:08.039-07:00Returning to Paint.Returning to Paint<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JyXRRB_elmBFWNpp9k_aimT7EwfF90xsvDqBUWsw36qqU2XhwgvYgeyr4IpkCFj53LsAkOGlNPmI6oqsjFX9bdz7uC4OvEfroAz9NwILrzqRVYicVligYo24x2m4ZPlv1iv5uh0E9k9r/s1600/IMG_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JyXRRB_elmBFWNpp9k_aimT7EwfF90xsvDqBUWsw36qqU2XhwgvYgeyr4IpkCFj53LsAkOGlNPmI6oqsjFX9bdz7uC4OvEfroAz9NwILrzqRVYicVligYo24x2m4ZPlv1iv5uh0E9k9r/s320/IMG_0159.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My palette. Paint mixing with lots or warm tones. </td></tr>
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After the Elegy project, I was tired of animating. One thing I'd always loved about animation was the sense of discovery, adventure, and magic, that came from finding a new way to bring a drawing or painting to life. So you can imagine that when I no longer felt like animating, I was a bit puzzled on what to do next. I wasn't afraid though, I'd learned over time, that if I tended to go where my energy was, just as I had left painting before, I would eventually return to animation. Anyways, I had a series of canvases in my studio, ones that Cam had built for me. I also had a box of old paints. A box that seemed to keep accumulating with new paint as another person who stopped painting, passed their old paints onto me. Now I don't know when the desire to paint returned to me, but it did with an urgency. Suddenly I wanted to prime canvases, watch the layers of surface build up. I wanted to mix colors and mix them with no plan, no base drawing. I wanted to place them onto canvas and then respond in an act of improvisation, learning on the surface of the fabric or wood. At one point, I even dreamed of painting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtm7URHXTxc1CQcnlKFnTstqfHq67RUGp1FM6DsS7tQWlaw9CQildkzsrSI33gJyEETp6EePyMTFpTD-sxKuTy2n9lyJg8A4ci2FS1LvijIphHKhJ9_ndPpghKhqQBGh135MrwP5tU_xJ/s1600/IMG_0732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtm7URHXTxc1CQcnlKFnTstqfHq67RUGp1FM6DsS7tQWlaw9CQildkzsrSI33gJyEETp6EePyMTFpTD-sxKuTy2n9lyJg8A4ci2FS1LvijIphHKhJ9_ndPpghKhqQBGh135MrwP5tU_xJ/s200/IMG_0732.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was Danish? Underpainting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe9xoBCpXjcPko8OB4sKf7uhBRdSvdNc-UNWq2EzOK00jsdtaXl775WHlfDf0QroXBr4luS3nrVB5BORw199WAhUMrVl_eJVKgpDIytEWzVkSAxEzkL1hQtatkuX3q6iXZau053gUZQwL/s1600/What+was+Danish.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe9xoBCpXjcPko8OB4sKf7uhBRdSvdNc-UNWq2EzOK00jsdtaXl775WHlfDf0QroXBr4luS3nrVB5BORw199WAhUMrVl_eJVKgpDIytEWzVkSAxEzkL1hQtatkuX3q6iXZau053gUZQwL/s200/What+was+Danish.jpg" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was Danish. Finished work.</td></tr>
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During the height of animation production, my studio felt like a
series of check lists. My attention was spent more on building things
for an overall story, then laboring away on a solitary object until I
could solve it no more. I missed laboring on a object, the slowness of
paint, the back and forth as things dried and then get repainted-how that
waiting period became as much about waiting for the next idea for the
piece, as it is waiting for the surface to be ready. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgV91W4RLLFllnox_eEHd5EtgllOUKVyXEPHw_GNhjzn0bdjlnYQ71XntOZeVtSXCz6jfARrNbP3t-pOTk0yCcgydLlw-rbgXW3jvs_kW57KRejodRHtnjudQWwL-Hi2FXni24I8GIhlNk/s1600/IMG_0091.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgV91W4RLLFllnox_eEHd5EtgllOUKVyXEPHw_GNhjzn0bdjlnYQ71XntOZeVtSXCz6jfARrNbP3t-pOTk0yCcgydLlw-rbgXW3jvs_kW57KRejodRHtnjudQWwL-Hi2FXni24I8GIhlNk/s200/IMG_0091.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was Czech? Under painting.</td></tr>
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When I am lost in painting, time flies. I love to match colors, to analyze them, to mix them up like a luscious inedible frosting. I love to discover a new way to make a surface. Add a little walnut oil. Mash up some old paint. Make drips with lots of Gamsol. I relish the process of holding onto a choice section or painting over an area I don't like, that discovery of a chance accident, or a series of painterly color shifts are prize moments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1zXmxh_XL69hm-JtmQUlALJIWsOXXXG2zF-0wrrjueZZa6Bd6bULKdt_RqYpihn7YexJT8mZaXTy-zjxZcFPkImodBwjK8gAqV4NpfbtDt5MqcuPWBiOi0PLx2sjQJ4lx4ZumFRkxI9R/s1600/IMG_0057.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1zXmxh_XL69hm-JtmQUlALJIWsOXXXG2zF-0wrrjueZZa6Bd6bULKdt_RqYpihn7YexJT8mZaXTy-zjxZcFPkImodBwjK8gAqV4NpfbtDt5MqcuPWBiOi0PLx2sjQJ4lx4ZumFRkxI9R/s200/IMG_0057.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoitP0eS6wU1loXpQSVinF0kJgZ_I_W5lrIYKxHF0G3qkBGTL6x2VYsbQBZ1RtzPBvJ66FYLFDI81Ppxe-Yem_Gd5fdgnG9E3RUVerVXDJuis6k3QiDBDkEDK9gWJ4MvXYH-FyqckGCNu/s1600/DSC_0801.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoitP0eS6wU1loXpQSVinF0kJgZ_I_W5lrIYKxHF0G3qkBGTL6x2VYsbQBZ1RtzPBvJ66FYLFDI81Ppxe-Yem_Gd5fdgnG9E3RUVerVXDJuis6k3QiDBDkEDK9gWJ4MvXYH-FyqckGCNu/s200/DSC_0801.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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I tend to be an intuitive artist, I get a gut feeling about a project, and if the signs look right, I follow it through with absolute focus. It is a strange thing to be making paintings in a time when art happens fast and painting seems old fashioned or precious, but I wouldn't give that time back for anything.That is what I've been realizing lately. Time is my greatest asset. I put time in my studio today. I can't say that I necessarily feel accomplished, but I did move things along.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2Q2fASmn7yrTrkZYEFMJh56xabfOZQGBdG6wC8YrxRjNkWa-S7d1wehSuBYhIgXPzY8bTlbakG1xFN-ydXnZsw-M52T3VeCTEVfCZcu0WnkrRbAwlwdytl37NGud-qCtyxmw4foG_NaM/s1600/IMG_0158.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2Q2fASmn7yrTrkZYEFMJh56xabfOZQGBdG6wC8YrxRjNkWa-S7d1wehSuBYhIgXPzY8bTlbakG1xFN-ydXnZsw-M52T3VeCTEVfCZcu0WnkrRbAwlwdytl37NGud-qCtyxmw4foG_NaM/s200/IMG_0158.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRMguvPUJ-DPkMSPgm4b2uyrprGRYzM1f0k0ykOzQHHzOvjP-EkP7CYdttgrSxNCvhn1RqQwN4cfFXIdUcvSdNJLbo7_w0YXy8-qjGCrqKzvdC0vvaAGr_Mwpggz0t9Go79_eb4Ct9Wi_/s1600/IMG_0161.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqRMguvPUJ-DPkMSPgm4b2uyrprGRYzM1f0k0ykOzQHHzOvjP-EkP7CYdttgrSxNCvhn1RqQwN4cfFXIdUcvSdNJLbo7_w0YXy8-qjGCrqKzvdC0vvaAGr_Mwpggz0t9Go79_eb4Ct9Wi_/s200/IMG_0161.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wUSoTmrVhkufV3Eqag4oRhf1bho8X6RwU_rKxg8y_68ClAg7ltECB-Kbk_cRMPgppOYOOTqnGp8FaNH3N6PASyumv5qyj9LkgO_D7ZPXZtGk_HJuq3XThps02rvHdk-XZgXawyhI746K/s1600/IMG_0163.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wUSoTmrVhkufV3Eqag4oRhf1bho8X6RwU_rKxg8y_68ClAg7ltECB-Kbk_cRMPgppOYOOTqnGp8FaNH3N6PASyumv5qyj9LkgO_D7ZPXZtGk_HJuq3XThps02rvHdk-XZgXawyhI746K/s200/IMG_0163.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
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Above: Red Neck Girl Series of Passes on painting. </div>
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As I was walking today, I thought of Paula Modersohn Becker, I thought about how she led such a short life, but still managed to make so many paintings, and I thought maybe she knew she didn't have that long, and that was why she chose to spend her time doing what she loved best, painting the world around her.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifImW9rp6TUsXc9nI1WC43kIkf8E7ZYuCMNIwEygVukjc1CggmxL2zF17PccBqZw9z_QeCk1brk2ncWRSiBxyJ1Evqx0B6RXu4-lWnX1qJFOzgmrdWgn9eLnbSPaSWnJMDzWL_4bk1zRz7/s1600/Paula_Modersohn-Becker_018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifImW9rp6TUsXc9nI1WC43kIkf8E7ZYuCMNIwEygVukjc1CggmxL2zF17PccBqZw9z_QeCk1brk2ncWRSiBxyJ1Evqx0B6RXu4-lWnX1qJFOzgmrdWgn9eLnbSPaSWnJMDzWL_4bk1zRz7/s320/Paula_Modersohn-Becker_018.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paula Modersohn Becker, Self-Portrait,</td></tr>
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My paintings these days seem to be about me making sense of the the world. They are a way I more deeply contemplate an idea I am trying to understand, they illustrate my understandings, they make ties between things that I view as important. <br />
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And so for the past year, and some, I've been painting. I say it like a strange confessional. One where I feel guilt to return to a place I enjoy, that is comforting and for me, beautiful. Painters have so many opinions on each others work, my self critic says I'm a hack because I move around image making so much between animation-video-community arts-painting, but that is what keeps me going, entertained, out of ruts, and with that sense of discovery.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UeU0jum-t2tjzcY1Qs9cRvoh2HQQhOzURa7ecMOEc_KNByMqHUkBzZgcydWct8Ku4x4jEJsNXhcCUDrM5LarG3ds6VIiDgWxB3d2HXxSKOGHRlaas0GfpMenxmCRaS8WLacJtp-YwIfp/s1600/IMG_0823.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UeU0jum-t2tjzcY1Qs9cRvoh2HQQhOzURa7ecMOEc_KNByMqHUkBzZgcydWct8Ku4x4jEJsNXhcCUDrM5LarG3ds6VIiDgWxB3d2HXxSKOGHRlaas0GfpMenxmCRaS8WLacJtp-YwIfp/s320/IMG_0823.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pieta for Mike Brown. Underpainting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9lCHJ20JFqOEMR_8lsx3Oa4hR9Q57cvcuENnI3WI37N_dHhU_mGMaey5d7ico7dpbtw5UfUHzktlPuEk1L5WhZcd7VFc1FKwnr7mFOgjOLGE8hyphenhyphenwVxdU3W5a9qIJ4YIAJRPTAq9fIct8/s1600/Paulsen_Sarah_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9lCHJ20JFqOEMR_8lsx3Oa4hR9Q57cvcuENnI3WI37N_dHhU_mGMaey5d7ico7dpbtw5UfUHzktlPuEk1L5WhZcd7VFc1FKwnr7mFOgjOLGE8hyphenhyphenwVxdU3W5a9qIJ4YIAJRPTAq9fIct8/s320/Paulsen_Sarah_1.jpg" width="191" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pieta for Mike Brown. Finished Painting.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Being an artist is jumping of a cliff. I have to trust that things will work out, trust my gut about what I need to make and the voice I have, or at the very least, I have to make sure that being in the studio is still joyful for me and is where I want to be.<br />
And wouldn't you know it, I'm preparing for another animation. <br />
<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-85736631744947705862016-02-21T10:08:00.000-08:002016-02-21T10:13:08.156-08:00Art and ExchangeHow do you think about the relationship between your art practice and making money?<br />
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I recently read the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Magic-Creative-Living-Beyond/dp/1594634718" target="_blank">Big Magic</a> by Elizabeth Gilbert. This book is largely about maintaining a creative practice and one of the takeaways for me was this notion of protecting your creative space and keeping it sacred. So instead of saying to myself, "I expect that this art project will generate x amount of income", I would say to myself, "I will always make sure that I have the time and space for my creative practice to exist and I will work so that it can be whatever it needs to be, with no expectation of money". I really love this notion and it solves one of my fundamental struggles with art, which is the work I want to make is often not a money making venture. I feel devoted to following the work where it needs to go, and I work my other jobs to keep that creative space.<br />
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Gilbert talks about how when there are monetary expectations on an artwork, it can actually stifle the creative practice for the artist. I've heard stories of this-a friend told me about a painter they knew who at one point started to make "Dot" paintings. These dot paintings began to sell like crazy. At some point, the artist was done with the dot paintings, but their gallery wanted them to keep making them. The work suddenly went from an artistic exploration to one of repetitive, factory like, production. I often ask myself with regards to my life and art- what kind of work do I want to be doing? How do I want to spend my time?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTonAkeTJZvb1y4pEKM41LWtqCd1iB_rCjdrdpFSvjRGrRQdDQwEPFwRdW9FvHx6INF4b_qWX6DtPXvrhR9_r-ArNPUIubaVjVplL7oxXWe61uRcc6JmxdHOz6qmXJTboCfclte26gCQD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-02-21+at+12.05.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTonAkeTJZvb1y4pEKM41LWtqCd1iB_rCjdrdpFSvjRGrRQdDQwEPFwRdW9FvHx6INF4b_qWX6DtPXvrhR9_r-ArNPUIubaVjVplL7oxXWe61uRcc6JmxdHOz6qmXJTboCfclte26gCQD/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-02-21+at+12.05.14+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen Shot Etsy</td></tr>
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In contrast, over the past couple of months, I've been jump starting my Etsy account. Since starting my account a few years, I've randomly sold paintings, mostly to strangers, through this site. It feels so good to sell an artwork this way. It also feels good to have a window into my studio and my artwork, where I can sell things, instead of having them hidden away in an animation binder. I like the sense of community that can form by encountering other artists in this site and following their work. In promoting my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/ladypainter1" target="_blank">Etsy</a>, I am also facing that I have discomfort around self-promotion and sharing old works and these are humps that I am curious about facing. The discomfort of self-promotion is both not wanting to annoy people with promotional ads, and not wanting to spend so much time on this act, so that I am no longer making new work. My fear of sharing of old works is connected to a sense of reinvention that I observe as being important to art-making. The funny thing is I am always making new things, and not everyone has seen my old things. <br />
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With these tactics in mind, I am trying to embrace both worlds- that of total freedom for creative exploration in studio and that chance that there may be a person interested in purchasing one of my works. That person may appreciate the artwork or wish to support my practice and vision. I think living with both sides ultimately means embodying non-judgement and non-attachment to outcome, while all the while committing myself to enjoy my time in studio.<br />
<br />
<b>"In Kind" Work</b><br />
To make a living, I've worked as a teacher, an editor, a freelance artist. I've received grants. I've sold artwork. In the world of grants there is a term "In Kind" which denotes work and deeds that are done on behalf of a program that are not monetary compensations but still directly impact the success of the work. This might include a voluntary service, space, or donation. <br />
<br />
I'm wanting to learn more about different theories around creative practice and compensation. I've been thinking about all the in-kind benefits of art-making. For instance,<br />
<ul>
<li>I have artist friends who work at museums and I've been let into exhibits for free.</li>
<li>Going to openings we often get free wine and food. </li>
<li>Other art friends are avid dumpster divers and I have benefited from their finds by receiving free food and hair products. </li>
<li>Among artists, there is often an informal trading of artwork or services. </li>
<li>I've learned entirely new skills by working in collaboration with other artists on projects. </li>
<li>With past projects, I've made supply purchases that carry on into other projects. </li>
<li>I have the flexibility of a schedule, where I can take an hour walk each morning with my dog, the physical health and mental clarity it provides me will have long term health benefits for me.</li>
</ul>
<b>Success?</b><br />
So much of a our culture seems to define success based on a monetary assessment. How can we redefine our definitions of success when it comes to creativity and commerce? Right now I'm defining success as: the ability to get to my studio 15-20 hrs/week. Maintaining sound mind and body by having a healthy lifestyle that includes cooking meals, walking, swimming, yoga, and lifting weights. Locating and maintaining work that is meaningful and manageable with my skill set. Continuing to have a sense of opportunity by applying to shows, having studio visits, and broadening my internet presence. Participating in community by supporting other people's projects and expressing gratitude to those who have supported me in the past.<br />
<br />
<b>Artists I see...</b><br />
Back to the commerce aspect, if I think about other people around me in St. Louis, I see ways that they are answering this question.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stlmag.com/Time-Is-Money-Chinyere-Oteh-on-Time-Banking/" target="_blank">Chinyere Oteh</a> helped put together <a href="http://thecowrycollective.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><b>The Cowry Collective,</b></a> a bartering network that encourages people to trade skills and build up hours that they can exchange for services they need, all the while building community.<br />
<br />
In her series<a href="http://jamiekreher.com/equivalents.html" target="_blank"> Equivalents </a>and <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/46951805@N02/sets/72157641778151384/" target="_blank">American Mythologies</a>, <a href="http://jamiekreher.com/current.html" target="_blank">Jamie Kreher</a> has been exploring the idea of a souvenir by making photographs that are printed in a range of formats based on her concept. Some are small and easily sell-able in the style of a postcard or Polaroid, others are printed on objects such as plates and mugs. I think for her the aspect of selling is less important, then the concept and the act of making artwork that is affordable.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN42PJk03a3Jr-YlzmCEuqJdh-ciy7Uas_585DH3x8bUVsaKUf0i8G23AiHM50Hwkq3qrQ4edmjyXmHTZYEREareqaO_rJ-OSBLu6SizhrkAC0gCMrXMv4SGXD68REn2qb4PwKI4jHvosV/s1600/tables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN42PJk03a3Jr-YlzmCEuqJdh-ciy7Uas_585DH3x8bUVsaKUf0i8G23AiHM50Hwkq3qrQ4edmjyXmHTZYEREareqaO_rJ-OSBLu6SizhrkAC0gCMrXMv4SGXD68REn2qb4PwKI4jHvosV/s320/tables.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of Tables at "Equivalents" by <a href="http://jamiekreher.com/tables.html" target="_blank">Jamie Kreher. </a>Good Citizen Gallery, 2012. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This seasons <a href="http://alltheartstl.com/2016/01/" target="_blank">All the Art</a> had several different takes on Art & Economy in St. Louis. <br />
<br />
How are you thinking about Art and Commerce in your own creative practice? What are you reading? What other in-kind assets do you see with having an art practice? How else are you rethinking success or making money with your art?Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-15662667503509505032016-02-02T18:09:00.002-08:002016-02-04T21:07:34.004-08:00Interview with Artist Rory Scott<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-b209e7de-a002-4df7-c05a-8f4674a05114" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">As
artists we are so often impacted by the community of people around us.
In my own struggle to make a living and make art, I don't think I spend
enough time giving gratitude and recognition to the artists around me
who have impacted my work and who I am as a person. I am going to attempt each month
of this year to recognize one of these people<span style="color: #0000ee;">.</span> I hope that you will discover them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rory
Scott embodies the characteristics of a great friend- she is loyal, a
good listener, supportive, encouraging, and she knows how to make you
laugh when you need it most. We first became friends in college, and she
was one of a crew of girlfriends that encouraged me to make art and
participated and attended my early shows, during a time when art felt
like a baby bird in my hand. She is the type of friend that will agree
to have a college radio show with you on a Saturday at 8am, where you basically talk
about your Friday night between songs, half asleep, because she knows it
will be a good adventure. She is the type of friend that will give you
a couch to crash on at her house, and then go on an all night escapade
with you through Chicago where you end up dancing at a bar with your cab
driver. She is the type of friend that when you go thrift shopping
together, you want to follow her everywhere because she has incredible
taste and she will find things for you to wear that will look good, and
you didn't even know would be your style. She is the type of friend
with whom, you will stay up talking 'til three am and not have
even realized how late it was. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This woman has been encouraging me and
my art, with generosity, since day one. I think everyone needs to
experience a friend as good as Rory Scott. And it is with these great
accolades that I share her art with you. She has been laboring away in
her apartment in Chicago, working as a designer, mother, and artist.
She has a stunning body of work to share with you, I hope you will read my interview with her below. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Creative Journey</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-b209e7de-a002-4df7-c05a-8f4674a05114" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sarah Paulsen: We met when you were in journalism school at University of Missouri, Columbia, you later went on to the Art Institute of Chicago to study Visual Communications, and then went to work as a designer for many years. How do you think your work trajectory has impacted the art you make?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMwm8u3pyN6ehL6rXkuTK9Qg20TxEcHGLX4UGUk0sD0djl-L7qxXSouXG8O-Y-_9fSJZ3jTfam7CURyiAQo596wRi0BvYRc7kBu0dF2P_TOoOh3sBT0knnUHAMTbcgmaaiDMpS9VgQbsM/s1600/GetInline-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMwm8u3pyN6ehL6rXkuTK9Qg20TxEcHGLX4UGUk0sD0djl-L7qxXSouXG8O-Y-_9fSJZ3jTfam7CURyiAQo596wRi0BvYRc7kBu0dF2P_TOoOh3sBT0knnUHAMTbcgmaaiDMpS9VgQbsM/s320/GetInline-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rory Scott: Having been a designer for many years inspired me to work as hard for myself, as I worked for others. We often make more of a commitment to our employers than we do to ourselves. I decided to apply the same level of commitment that I give to an employer, to myself. I also decided that I would create work that I like. As a designer you create work but rarely get the final word in how your ideas turn out. And I am really excited about having full creative control, from start to finish with this body of work.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> SP: What do you collect? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/c0ZbGLf2_VeJ05VCRZIvPuReOlcU7I-miDLmbsrV9jsnyYIMFX1efA-sgNJtTMuOAUS7Rpopwu3pVa2GVI-fTLTFHQ7DDRn1GoMhleZrueOHT2X7atlQQsPLsJ3oWOFQLoOYPn8q" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="phonograph.jpg" border="0" height="238" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/c0ZbGLf2_VeJ05VCRZIvPuReOlcU7I-miDLmbsrV9jsnyYIMFX1efA-sgNJtTMuOAUS7Rpopwu3pVa2GVI-fTLTFHQ7DDRn1GoMhleZrueOHT2X7atlQQsPLsJ3oWOFQLoOYPn8q" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cd-824b-fcdd-0b1189f1f001" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: So, collect is a word that has connotations of definite intent behind it. I am not a collector in that sense, but I pick up things that I like. I enjoy finding Victrola records, old technology, slides, vintage clothes, anything that is older, interesting and that grabs my attention. But I am a haphazard collector, my family gives me things and I go to thrift stores and if I see something interesting, I pick it up. But I don’t generally set out with intent to find something specific. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cd-824b-fcdd-0b1189f1f001" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although, I did do so with the vintage viewers and projectors that I use to display my work.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/go5R0XrJ_RO-RX1rVcw3c4jCHdthZ-nr5ah-9BGwkYWOYYXIQ_KTZV594VxfkZ2Z0VibKo5gg4-RA85mbEqO6Q2fdjgaa6Oc55NTD8M8qxVRZYn6bn7ptiWQOSwGY0WqAKpYzxcB" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img alt="RecordP.jpg" border="0" height="239" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/go5R0XrJ_RO-RX1rVcw3c4jCHdthZ-nr5ah-9BGwkYWOYYXIQ_KTZV594VxfkZ2Z0VibKo5gg4-RA85mbEqO6Q2fdjgaa6Oc55NTD8M8qxVRZYn6bn7ptiWQOSwGY0WqAKpYzxcB" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4ce-19dc-2a0a-10b2b524dea9" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cf-4425-1a94-f9f6b2afc51f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Current Art Work</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: What are your inspirations right now?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: I am inspired by so many things, it’s really difficult to narrow it down to just a few. An overarching inspiration is the magical experience of childhood. Everything is so vivid, bright and whimsical, and there is this slight distortion to the world, that is really beautiful too. It’s kind of like when you have a few beers on a sunny afternoon, and everything starts to pop and the colors are more vivid and saturated. I wanted to capture that feeling as well as the distortion and haziness, that time adds itself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When I recall magical moments of childhood I think of PBS—the wonderfully animated station and production company identities, dioramas, Star Trek, old sci-fi films, fantasy book covers, glitter, View-Masters, negatives, colorful glass and lights. And of course projection, I loved projection. I had a Show’N Tell machine and that was just something that really stuck in my memory, the feeling of viewing something and having the light color the room. It was was like you were stepping into a scene. </span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/9kW-U1qhn59swjtEQNlTzHFXlsUhMAAwBP7i98Ogjkh0JY71g7eYjy_TkoY4Vqr8K7dE40BAGGaTYsxIV1j4rLK2Br1wej_W6CFZzPq_JuBda1HCv6zOBwlHUfZEf6Hj67QxZwqE" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="60sLamp.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/9kW-U1qhn59swjtEQNlTzHFXlsUhMAAwBP7i98Ogjkh0JY71g7eYjy_TkoY4Vqr8K7dE40BAGGaTYsxIV1j4rLK2Br1wej_W6CFZzPq_JuBda1HCv6zOBwlHUfZEf6Hj67QxZwqE" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="150" /><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4d8-7792-f489-70a9cf0f245d" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the flip side, the present and the future have a strong impact on my
work, as well. I have a vested interest, in the what it will mean to
be human in the near future, the impact that technology will have upon
humans and our relationships. My interest in artificial intelligence,
transhumanism, the singularity, robotics and quantum physics, play a key
role in my work as well. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4d0-3009-4cc5-98c3e5ddda59" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: What are some of the processes you are exploring to make your art? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: I’ve been exploring various methods that deal with light, dimensionality and movement. I love using mediums that involve light because light has this energy to it—it’s something that we as humans and as constant device holders, are all very much tapped into. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most recently, I have been animating and that’s been the most exciting part of the journey so far. I’ve enjoyed the evolution of creating static work and experimenting with how to recreate the experience within an animated 3D space.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Outside of animation, I use vintage projectors, slide viewers, view-masters, which all rely on film to present much of the work. It’s the juxtaposition between the old and the new that emphasizes the element of time travel. The constant movement between the past, present and future. Through the incorporation and use of vintage toys & crude screen technology of the past it all comes full circle with something like Google Cardboard, which is just really amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: I had so much fun looking around on your website and seeing all the different formats you made to experience your artwork. When I look at the images and watch your animations, I am reminded of so many things: galaxies, art nouveau line work, sci fi., minimalistic forms meet baroque materials (glitter). I leave with the thought that you are hoping to create little magical moments, akin to a planetarium show, using these nostalgic forms of experiencing art. What do you hope the viewer experiences? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: Yes, all of those things. And I love that you picked up on art nouveau and baroque as being a part of the mix. I love ornateness, patterns and delicate line work. My love of 1960’s psychedelic posters, that reinterpret art nouveau along with OpArt are also something people may pick up on. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I hope that when people view my work, they are able to get lost in it. I hope people feel as though they are taking a journey into my mind as well as into the Universe. I want my thoughts and memories to be nearly indistinguishable in that moment, from their own. Impermanence is a universal experience, and something we can all relate to. I hope there is something about my work and journey that resonates with others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cb-21ba-c149-d862ca1055fb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cb-9ca9-281a-e40992e586b7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4d0-b2b5-3fe1-7fc24b4ec15a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="RoryScott_3.jpg" height="624" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/I1ccz6j9urtl6lj5j6wrMoUJHEAJCLHtApJ55ktTiUOWzRafVYMrIL1oLYdrqu2ZFxFp2KyrsHI1M5qR2WQRYj_4Yh8aQzNh3V9U_zIycw7VvA2Rk-KCpHqgjiskCgWtDnqCp-gK" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: I also notice you talk a lot about using a hand made process to generate aspects of your final form, forms that you generate finally through photoshop. I relate a lot to this idea with my animations, it is super important to me to first make things with paint and collage and animate them by hand before I bring in technology. How do you find the balance between the hand made process and the technological intervention or manipulation of these forms?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: This question just made me realize that I haven’t really said what the project is. It’s about many things, but the major themes are reconciling the passage of time, space, memories, the Universe and letting go. The final project will be presented as, 60 animated short films which revolve around personal diary entries made between 2010-2012. The short films involve animating dioramas, constructed from photographs I've taken, and from elements that I’ve designed. I wanted to physically create surreal “sets” and place them within cosmic environments—to illustrate thoughts rooted in my physical reality, and render them as mini worlds within the universe of my mind. I love what can be done with computer graphics but I have such an appreciation for good set design. There is something truly inspiring about creating imaginative scenes in real life and I wanted to recreate that. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So I spent years preparing, collecting, creating and photographing, elements that will be used in the final stage of my project. It has been a complete act of faith to spend so much time creating elements for long-term future use. But that’s how I work; I do one task at a time and move on to the next phase.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cb-21ba-c149-d862ca1055fb" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4cb-9ca9-281a-e40992e586b7" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4d0-8088-56cc-e747468d9ee3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="RoryScott_2.jpg" height="624" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3v-WtegKbwsyQZA0REV2QM5uSYByN1sYKOXrGuTMx6qKPKCQ3xnH0uph-yGlXreLt-jhsWLkSPZUCHRojSq0GvDtbBUR_KudAXYP2LQM5mXfYERKfW06mmUPWdB9yoA9T0IbP1Yf" style="border: medium none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: What do you like about glitter?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: What’s not to like about glitter?! Aside from the mess… I love it, it’s so beautiful and alluring the way it sparkles and captures light. It’s like stars on earth and at the same time it can be so tacky. I remember the exact moment I fell for glitter. I was 5 and I received this handmade Christmas card from a classmate. It was a light blue construction paper card, with a silver angel pasted to it, adorned with generous amounts of silver glitter. Pure magic. I kept it for years, it still may be in my parents basement. A moment like that and your life is destined to change.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> SP: One thing I noticed about your film </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Impermanence</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was the use of time lapse, documentation, and city forms, similar to one of my favorite films “Man with a Movie Camera”, but used almost in contrast to your intimate internal dialogue- how do you think living in Chicago has influenced your work? What interests you about the intersection between cityscapes/time lapse and the spoken word?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEM4kUH6jSallSc_1IXz7P48MovrQyiuaaVwCOJeuxIfpbeMfCGX7BXVNzUOLod8YKWCJtRlYEOpOB7OB8GkzRuddW1-A5U3ZyK6Dm8MvuGctovaEPMFkMubNJ8ye7ILUAROLbGUI5Xo9P/s1600/GetInline-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEM4kUH6jSallSc_1IXz7P48MovrQyiuaaVwCOJeuxIfpbeMfCGX7BXVNzUOLod8YKWCJtRlYEOpOB7OB8GkzRuddW1-A5U3ZyK6Dm8MvuGctovaEPMFkMubNJ8ye7ILUAROLbGUI5Xo9P/s320/GetInline-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still from Impermanence</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Impermanence | <a href="https://vimeo.com/146349939">https://vimeo.com/146349939</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: I have not seen that film but I am definitely going to have to check it out. So, I have been in Chicago for nearly 15 years and my relationship with the city has changed over time. It has changed over time because of where I live, my interest and what I do, because of how much I know about the city's layout. It’s really hard to get lost now and I like getting lost. During the last 6 years of my life I have lived downtown and I have taken up running, I bike and I am out walking all the time. And while I am out, I do a lot of thinking and meditating. So there are these places that I have come across on my journeys and that in some ways have inspired me or that I have been drawn to and represent something special to me in my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The time-lapse represents how I feel after living here for so long. At certain locations it’s almost like I can watch a time-lapse movie play out in my mind of how that location has changed over the years. Another reason I used time-lapse is to capture the immediate passage of time—all the things that go on and change while you stand still, physically and metaphorically. In the scenes that I am in, it’s about all these things but more so, it represents me taking a stand and being immovable in the face of fear. I sat and stood motionless while people walked around me. That made me confront my fears on so many levels. Literally standing and confronting the passage of time, confronting my fear of taking risks, to accomplish goals, confronting my social anxiety, confronting my fears of being a woman and having to be on constant guard, so many things. In addition to this, time-lapse film is so mesmerizing to watch and is oddly meditative. I felt like it was the perfect way to pair abstract thought with visuals, you can space out and let the imagery carry you like a current through time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: I know that you and I both share a degree of social anxiety, and this is something I try to be open about on my blog, what internal struggles did you have to overcome to make the work you are making now?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: I am not the same person who started this project. And not just because so much time has passed but each step towards completing this project has made me confront my fears. This project has been an exercise in overcoming fear and acting on faith.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> want to be frank with readership about my own failures. I remember when we met in college, one of the first things I asked you was if you liked The Jackson Five. In my recent self work around white privilege, this memory made me feel as if I had projected a stereotype onto you, of what I thought an African American Woman may like. I later felt so thankful that we became close friends and you didn’t reject me for the stereotype. I’m also glad you let me recently apologize to you, that gave me a moment to heal. As I’ve thought about our friendship recently, I realize how your were the first “best friendship” I’d had with a woman of color. When I think about that time, I didn’t think a lot about your racial identity, beyond I just loved you as a friend and was proud to have you in my life, in recent retrospect, I hoped that I’d let you be your full self, with me. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-a4d2-098b-4197-7fd929e0f07b" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So my question is, to what extent do you think your identity has played into the art you are making? To what extent do you think your identity plays into your current worldview? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: I want to start off by saying, you are one of my dearest friends and you have been for a long-time. I truly felt bad when you apologized. We were kids and you were just trying to connect. Growing up I was pretty much always the only minority in my classes. And I experienced a number of situations where stereotypes were used to set boundaries and define our perceived differences rather than how we may connect. I think we all make assumptions based on what we can see when we are looking for ways to connect with others. I think I was more surprised when you grabbed my ice cream cone and just licked it. As an only child I wasn’t used to sharing treats—in that moment, I was truly shocked! :D</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My work is about my human identity rather than me belonging to any one specific group. Of course my demographics play a role in my interactions and worldview but that is not what’s at the heart of this project. What’s at the heart, is being human and seeing your life pass by and trying to figure out what to do with it. Accepting my inevitable demise and also the impending demise of mankind as we know it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: Ha Ha. We did do a lot of sharing at my house. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve recently been seeing a lot of a movement of work called, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrofuturism" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">“Afro-Futurism”,</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> would you situate yourself in this movement? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I wouldn’t say that I am intentionally aligned with that movement but there are definite parallels. My father’s Parliament and Funkadelic records definitely factor into my visual influences from childhood. The costumes, the wild illustrations the Mothership are things that I draw inspiration from. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IN6Y5ANfk4pbmtCff2wPQC3UmPGzUbzBvwDggoVxdEpgcweeOTfktUHU3PyX50jvyy-0sEexc8NSH0dVecRP1zEL-sS0MIng_i9IG1NcoSYTmCrrBu8_e4QPOf_k5jDkFVDHi1Tndqj_/s1600/parliament-funkadelic-album-covers-parliamentmothership-cd-cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IN6Y5ANfk4pbmtCff2wPQC3UmPGzUbzBvwDggoVxdEpgcweeOTfktUHU3PyX50jvyy-0sEexc8NSH0dVecRP1zEL-sS0MIng_i9IG1NcoSYTmCrrBu8_e4QPOf_k5jDkFVDHi1Tndqj_/s1600/parliament-funkadelic-album-covers-parliamentmothership-cd-cover.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Motherhood</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: In your piece “Impermanence” you reference almost losing your mother when you were a child, and how that served as an awakening for you about the brevity of time. I’m curious now that you are a parent, how has that shifted your sense of time? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And my follow up question is, Cam and I are thinking about having kids- For my own information, how have you balanced being a mother and working artist?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: Being a mother has reinforced how fast time can pass. It’s has also allowed me to witness how much a person can grow, change and learn in a short amount of time. It’s really a mind bending experience.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve balanced motherhood, work and art by making lists. I can’t live or be productive without them. List clear your mind and make you accountable for your time and actions. I schedule everything I want to accomplish and anything that doesn’t get done, gets tacked on to the next day. I finish all my list.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I also learned that there may not be, abundant carved out chunks of studio time. You have to utilize every free moment to work towards what you need to get done. That’s why having a list is so helpful, because you can knock out short tasks with 15 minutes here and there.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-772e6ef4-af66-ea8f-bf3a-e1dec5e1f718" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now that my son is older and loves art, we have also instituted family art time, where we all spend an hour or two working independently on a creative task during the weekend. It’s a great way to spend family time together and to get work done. It’s also a great way to teach my son how to set aside time for what he enjoys.</span> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>Drawing by Sebastian</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Future</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: Where can people view your art?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: Currently people can see my work on display, in Chicago at CallisonRTKL. The work will be on display through the mid April. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SP: What is coming up for you next?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">RS: I will be wrapping up the animation of my short films this year and plan to release them in 2017. And began work on my follow-up project which deals with the other side of impermanence, confronting and accepting the future. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Website | <a href="http://rksxo.com/">rksxo.com</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://instagram.com/rks_xo"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">instagram.com/rks_xo</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://instagram.com/dailywear.xo"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">instagram.com/dailywear.xo</span></a></div>
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Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-64014568186056150352016-01-26T08:35:00.000-08:002016-01-26T18:28:17.570-08:00Ambiverts Balance<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HFqbPg9-aooQmguEgzoKS7r0yEs7r2PDNRN63Tr19XUL79vEWUmtBM4pEtV-L0-QpJ-z43bmYMHXzfYygh26OxSukBQr_PBDlfu5WpLM3qsWkkUX6OoClS4pl9yu4E_TnebTeA3V0pdG/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HFqbPg9-aooQmguEgzoKS7r0yEs7r2PDNRN63Tr19XUL79vEWUmtBM4pEtV-L0-QpJ-z43bmYMHXzfYygh26OxSukBQr_PBDlfu5WpLM3qsWkkUX6OoClS4pl9yu4E_TnebTeA3V0pdG/s320/IMG_0460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountains in Fog, Machu Pichu, 2007.</td></tr>
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For the past few months, I've committed most of my writing to my journals. To be frank, I struggled after the completion and sharing of my film "Elegy to Connie" with my own introversion.<br />
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From Feb. 2014, starting with my screening at Gondo, on through the summer and rest of the year, in a series of screenings locally and out of state, I did a ton of public speaking. Sharing the film was rewarding, I had moments of connection, where I was so moved by the conversation that the hairs on my arm stood up. I had moments of conversation, that I never believed possible with people. I saw friends and family support me in unimaginable ways. For these things I am thankful.<br />
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All the while, being so extroverted, sharing my thoughts in front of audiences, on T.V., and radio, I drained my self. Yes, I have gratitude. I am so thankful for the recognition, the sense of legitimacy, and voice, that the screenings and press provided me. I can say that I did my best sharing the film. <br />
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However, I also want to voice the difficulty of being a maker and being your own publicist, director, and secretary. Making in my studio is generative, I become curious about new ideas. I enter flow states and get lost, I imagine it is like for some people the equivalent of meditation or an athletic high. Being alone in my studio creates energy for me. Public speaking drains energy from me. After a screening, I relive the experience, it is as if I absorb all the energy in the room and have to release it before I can sleep.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Submerged, Collage, 2004.</td></tr>
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To make the work I want to make, sharing the pieces, is a part of the process that I accept. I am realizing ways in which I don't nurture the introverted part of myself, ways that I value or push the extrovert more. This is hard because as an artist, I sometimes feel only as good as the last project I worked on, or to restate, I feel best when I have a new idea I am exploring in my studio. Spending time externally sharing the film, almost makes it harder to get in the studio and make new things, to be alone with myself, when that is probably what I need most. <br />
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I recently discovered the word <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/not-an-introvert-not-an-extrovert-you-may-be-an-ambivert-1438013534" target="_blank">ambivert-</a> a person whose personality has a balance of extroverted and introverted features. This idea sits with me. On one hand, I love to be with friends, to attend openings, and to teach in front of people. I generally am okay with public speaking. I gravitate towards attending communal events like concerts and parades. On the other hand, I can get worn out by large crowds, and after I've taught all day, I don't want to be around people. I dislike small talk and find it brings out my own social anxiety. But... If I've spent my entire day at the studio, I want to be social. My husband is a total introvert, he can spend all day alone in his studio, and he will still be happy alone. I think for him, his needs are a little clearer around socialization. For me, sometimes I honestly don't know, and I don't recognize every time when I've crossed my introverted boundary.<br />
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There are ways I value the extroverted parts of myself more than my introverted. On a typical Friday night, I like the part of me that goes out with friends and attends events. I don't like the part of me that sits on the couch and watches Netflixs, that just makes me feel a little sad.<br />
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I've been a little ashamed that the past year, I've felt so introverted. I have not wanted to be in a public role, beyond teaching. The thought of sharing my film publicly has felt painful and routine. I haven't wanted to go out to openings as much, and when I do I want to look at the art, connect with a few friends and then leave. I've missed openings, events, and parties, I feel a little disconnected. <br />
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In contrast <br />
My studio has felt amazing. Well sure, there are still all the studio "ghosts" saying things like, "will this amount to anything?", "shouldn't you be making an animation", "painting is dead", or "why make anything", but once I get beyond those fear voices, I'm having fun. I'm learning new things. I play with collage. I draw with colored pencils. I try combining strange images. I follow through on paintings that feel like terrible starts and I laugh at them. I'm thinking about myself in context with the world, my ancestors, and the U.S. history of race. I'm reading books, like how I used to read in 5th grade, when I would become so in tune with the writing and story that I had to complete it in one setting. I am happy making things and exploring new ideas. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Venus of the Cave</td></tr>
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With the New Year, my extrovert has slowly shown up again, I'm feeling a little more comfortable sharing myself and my ideas outwardly. Learning is energizing for me and I am engaging with new communities. All that time in my studio I think has helped.<br />
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So I plan in the next few months to write here, more publicly, about my studio practice, myself, and the community I care about, with transparency and vulnerability. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studio in Process: Man tames Nature- Extinction Kingdom</td></tr>
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<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-18803236926701573372015-09-07T18:14:00.000-07:002015-09-07T18:14:11.522-07:00Rehabber's Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Photos of our current camping like situation at the new building.</div>
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<span style="color: black;">We've tried to plan meals using our Local Harvest Food Share.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbjNoNfYXQOYStMXNO6FVtJv8crCSUz7WDaadpuqCBNqJfLFeMxEyUSR-YzhuN-Al6nFz_xKZkVwO-OqTsVAK3l_d2ZA97-GrC9e29a8bkT8JGxtvS3tzNyddBRbi6nRi0vPIiqfwpZRc/s1600/IMG_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbjNoNfYXQOYStMXNO6FVtJv8crCSUz7WDaadpuqCBNqJfLFeMxEyUSR-YzhuN-Al6nFz_xKZkVwO-OqTsVAK3l_d2ZA97-GrC9e29a8bkT8JGxtvS3tzNyddBRbi6nRi0vPIiqfwpZRc/s320/IMG_0023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It gets a little complicated. Initially we had a mini fridge. We couldn't hold too much food. Then we got a cheap $100 used fridge. Unfortunately it has stopped working. We prepare most of our food on a work bench.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making Tortilla Espanol on a single burner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNhdOZ0JiNs2FbT-fZCXS3mNzrkMWHr88uBQAv8otMiSOM1hzewjqMowNeOrvCkWIQgCJChtmCFCO6cptwr_ODQviM1hyphenhyphenBmo1VLWXzF6r7wSqMk1FmcOBwN010mixmRPqVxVuUkYijQZC/s1600/IMG_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNhdOZ0JiNs2FbT-fZCXS3mNzrkMWHr88uBQAv8otMiSOM1hzewjqMowNeOrvCkWIQgCJChtmCFCO6cptwr_ODQviM1hyphenhyphenBmo1VLWXzF6r7wSqMk1FmcOBwN010mixmRPqVxVuUkYijQZC/s320/IMG_0051.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stir Fry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The first room we finished with the bathroom. We did all the tiling ourselves, and I am super proud of how we used this Mexican tile we found at Gringo Jones. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLub0X9krYMFd9Q3kUt0xrCNosySJvTANZCXVLPEGDhc4dADPsda5gb9QCWHQMqC6bExPzEAa-OVGzRc6MzJkXrS_caYhoJYtnkGPhMYTQrKXIL5TfoAPmYvzkryCQRbJ8vGWolDtB9Xl/s1600/IMG_0057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLub0X9krYMFd9Q3kUt0xrCNosySJvTANZCXVLPEGDhc4dADPsda5gb9QCWHQMqC6bExPzEAa-OVGzRc6MzJkXrS_caYhoJYtnkGPhMYTQrKXIL5TfoAPmYvzkryCQRbJ8vGWolDtB9Xl/s320/IMG_0057.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtS8nyBhfH3Lfdthli0JdeJIFxPoKJHzJN7t4ApTqkbHEOpGeQPEwEseSMrqOewyEzjFVxFxXZPvLtnfmyas9Red56RI083pSQrf72ZCstR_PXvfllViq4-eh5KQMi8kr2zcspmJlBvEVZ/s1600/IMG_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtS8nyBhfH3Lfdthli0JdeJIFxPoKJHzJN7t4ApTqkbHEOpGeQPEwEseSMrqOewyEzjFVxFxXZPvLtnfmyas9Red56RI083pSQrf72ZCstR_PXvfllViq4-eh5KQMi8kr2zcspmJlBvEVZ/s320/IMG_0056.JPG" width="320" /> </a><br />
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Finishing the bathroom first was necessary because it was also where we initially had to wash our dishes.</div>
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmEoCGB4WQIkyzv6mkGse6SsmsU05NGTtOS3tgdb0camOsQTVarpFEHcnabf_83pOMBu0Zrl907I4CCNs7RiohNPJvEyX24Bqq2VLYbhy9qtJHpVVhw-MjaOVEQvw9rsPJM31nLmWPyV0/s320/IMG_0058.JPG" width="320" /> </div>
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Now we are working on the living room and kitchen. </div>
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Recently we put down the hard wood floor and painted the rooms. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GSOXgYnJ1NGhMp3eLQ6XM6mG6LFDD-fmUgoP2Av98zNlWLiTAV2Ztl69BmjA0YK6I_dpKrO5nm89CH4SyGoNuCQ712DEmxGJ3M49BKCbnidEtyLdiQ9fLGYQUFzC0lnvUTydu4ZG8hhU/s1600/IMG_0052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GSOXgYnJ1NGhMp3eLQ6XM6mG6LFDD-fmUgoP2Av98zNlWLiTAV2Ztl69BmjA0YK6I_dpKrO5nm89CH4SyGoNuCQ712DEmxGJ3M49BKCbnidEtyLdiQ9fLGYQUFzC0lnvUTydu4ZG8hhU/s320/IMG_0052.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hardwood Floor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuunVHHxGTYZkEfc7MAImGRThHWP8y0NQMM3Da6sSHrDd7UXJKiIM5zrewgOW6oKCqWgcpoamkjpg699FQngl_2s-UukjC1FMpzegwo5QuoqgPEHIylNNdQnPHXepqnHlKWRkOiUph-hU/s1600/IMG_0065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuunVHHxGTYZkEfc7MAImGRThHWP8y0NQMM3Da6sSHrDd7UXJKiIM5zrewgOW6oKCqWgcpoamkjpg699FQngl_2s-UukjC1FMpzegwo5QuoqgPEHIylNNdQnPHXepqnHlKWRkOiUph-hU/s320/IMG_0065.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painted Rooms</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-U8ssN4Sy5o3pDE6drMc3EWml8yy3qV7tmQGlPepI6hOSaXsXjd4ry2n6uhlzJSSnTVteBj-9V7-lMzQXJtfNBCPjBV1vZxBAAZtFBmEvEzFXsbjc4tNTP-NkfO0e9r7kRnIAoTsgKQ4/s1600/IMG_0062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-U8ssN4Sy5o3pDE6drMc3EWml8yy3qV7tmQGlPepI6hOSaXsXjd4ry2n6uhlzJSSnTVteBj-9V7-lMzQXJtfNBCPjBV1vZxBAAZtFBmEvEzFXsbjc4tNTP-NkfO0e9r7kRnIAoTsgKQ4/s320/IMG_0062.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxes!</td></tr>
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Most of our possessions are still in boxes. This makes me feel a little crazy. Not having a desk work space is also making me a little nutty. So we set up this makeshift desk on the first floor. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TBuUffb5cq6FvWlem2YxzDzLeUbfbkGLJqtkSJoj0dgxGGm6KZof4wkEzUEUH_LzKasKo6Rkv0UrQiszXiXTjNLP93xps6dKlHIOw48TGLqhSMq74N23803ypEKGzH-ArjfIHb-2A6zA/s1600/IMG_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TBuUffb5cq6FvWlem2YxzDzLeUbfbkGLJqtkSJoj0dgxGGm6KZof4wkEzUEUH_LzKasKo6Rkv0UrQiszXiXTjNLP93xps6dKlHIOw48TGLqhSMq74N23803ypEKGzH-ArjfIHb-2A6zA/s320/IMG_0060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some days it is exhilarating to work on the building. Some days I feel like it is taking forever. But I'm satisfied when we get to share it with people and reflect on the year+ process.<br />
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<span id="goog_873411690"></span><span id="goog_873411691"></span><br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-5294297124239871552015-08-06T16:00:00.001-07:002015-08-06T16:00:30.015-07:00Our Building<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNp0W8GQa5Hz1L5EBXogp9jTfLfzi_xdBlQM1gW0qIaLc8bUKsghWK-GBf4nz485a41hYBWY-J7OwIYylgAQBLX8DcIBdHlUzbM_QewbIROHI_vIdupnv5Y47E6GEsVard5LdLY28xNv_/s1600/IMG_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNp0W8GQa5Hz1L5EBXogp9jTfLfzi_xdBlQM1gW0qIaLc8bUKsghWK-GBf4nz485a41hYBWY-J7OwIYylgAQBLX8DcIBdHlUzbM_QewbIROHI_vIdupnv5Y47E6GEsVard5LdLY28xNv_/s320/IMG_0419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4600 Louisiana</td></tr>
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Over a year ago Cam and I purchased a building with the help of my parents. <br />
This was a dream long in the making. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttTd4zfHzQchvvHou7L0T0JWzz5Lds3smcD7k54rRaBfuqVIIcFYJlGGyDeqevxCTNlggo5HMe_uGJHc2V62ibucp-3257d58TL1F9wjZveEK79wIZJRwlM1kqHrOTu9Wa2i3b-A12eVs/s1600/IMG_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttTd4zfHzQchvvHou7L0T0JWzz5Lds3smcD7k54rRaBfuqVIIcFYJlGGyDeqevxCTNlggo5HMe_uGJHc2V62ibucp-3257d58TL1F9wjZveEK79wIZJRwlM1kqHrOTu9Wa2i3b-A12eVs/s200/IMG_0316.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demo of Top Floor</td></tr>
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Since my twenties, I'd been driving around St. Louis admiring all the old buildings, the red brick, the green tile, the range of styles and sizes and imagining myself working on restoring one of these buildings. When I lived in St. Louis from 2001-2003, I remember my friend Shannon was rehabbing her own apartment and I was impressed that a newly graduated college student could do that work. That seemed so distant from my own range of abilities, and yet I kept meeting and hearing about many people that were rehabbing a building our house. I realized one of the dreams of St. Louis was fixing up a building. Years later when I returned, this idea remained alive in me and I remember driving around with grad school friends, from other cities, admiring the buildings. The most daunting aspect was the amount of work that would need to be done, my not having previous experience, and not wanting working on a house to take away from my own studio practice. My partner Cam was an excellent builder and he had worked on other people's houses so I began to feel less afraid of this project and we started to dream about this together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrYBdMKVgz4RtgwE15zTQfKPvZNg6DhaX2yYoEh7HUVKjLLtl3lGFPLtpjeQIQnIal98-CgmNInoywqGgac0_jw8WWnbDRrWxR7oK325FgGmtEeg6Sopy4VpxpfHFH60nWY7wPPGyxV_k/s1600/IMG_0312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrYBdMKVgz4RtgwE15zTQfKPvZNg6DhaX2yYoEh7HUVKjLLtl3lGFPLtpjeQIQnIal98-CgmNInoywqGgac0_jw8WWnbDRrWxR7oK325FgGmtEeg6Sopy4VpxpfHFH60nWY7wPPGyxV_k/s320/IMG_0312.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Tile Fireplace we found, was covered up with fake fireplace.</td></tr>
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As Cam and I aged together and became more deeply committed to being with each other, we also re-examined how we valued our time and self worth. At some point we decided we were just tired of renting and we wanted to have agency over our own space. No more bad neighbors below us. No more waiting for landlord to fix things that never got fixed. No more random showings of our apartment. One of the double edged swords of being an artist was that renters and developers usually liked to have us in their neighborhoods for the care and community building we represented. Unfortunately without owning our own property we were at the renters whim to raise rent, sell the house or eventually send us packing if the opportunity looked right. One of my values was community building and investing in a community as a renter was a bit more risky. I began to feel jealous of other friends that had purchased property or owned multiple properties.<br />
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For several years we just spent time looking. We really loved the idea of finding a store front so we could have are studio space on the first floor and live above. This did limit our search slightly. One of the scary things we experienced as we started to look for buildings, was that we could not afford to buy a house in the neighborhood we had been living in, Tower Grove, and other neighborhoods we were looking at, like Cherokee Street, were being bought up by outside developers or current property owners were sitting on their vacant buildings waiting for things to increase in value. <br />
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I should say that we were lucky, my parents were willing to help us initially buy the building and pay for the rehabbing supplies with the agreement that when the rehab was complete, we would get a mortgage and pay them back. I don't know how or if we could have done this without them. As artists, with erratic income, we probably would have had a hard time getting a loan without their support. There didn't seem to be resources for artists wanting home loans. So often the arts community wanted to help build artists lofts, why didn't they consider that artists might want a home? I didn't want to live downtown, I wanted to live in a neighborhood where we could have a garden and neighbors next to us. I didn't want to be surrounded by other artists, I wanted to be in a diverse neighborhood with people that didn't look of think like me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikthudi09ElwZ3X0Kc8ZALq74O5NYwI3iNkLGrw_LYNDFviSaYCy-TXqVgtsuoPIDwJvjoVPwMI5_T4Hhm4MQKeg7kJ3OrituRYho3kMeYtOc5-wYcSAyIfxuhUHP66n2irowQTOuQ08iN/s1600/IMG_0401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikthudi09ElwZ3X0Kc8ZALq74O5NYwI3iNkLGrw_LYNDFviSaYCy-TXqVgtsuoPIDwJvjoVPwMI5_T4Hhm4MQKeg7kJ3OrituRYho3kMeYtOc5-wYcSAyIfxuhUHP66n2irowQTOuQ08iN/s200/IMG_0401.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dutchtown Green Lawn</td></tr>
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After several years of looking at buildings, we found one in Dutchtown. The owner had taken great care of protecting the structure of the building, but it would still be a gut rehab. We loved the skeleton of the building and we could imagine our selves living there. We were slow to move and then suddenly we bought the house. In my typical impatient way, I imagined we'd be in the house in a year. <br />
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One year later<br />
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Which I guess technically we are- in that we have the bedroom and bathroom finished and we are now living in the building, although we still have a ton of work.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNGHVcbfJff8HIE3yo0o9GIx7pXKB7Erg8aA9cl2KeBYmiRH8w7pfgFrGSn1i-hhtVMrbN7nlr1_G70BQxhWzTX9ou7vBqzRwkxhagyLUSYaoq_opou8fBRmKNtZ-ibv0ZeGnp5dF6TiC/s1600/IMG_0318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNGHVcbfJff8HIE3yo0o9GIx7pXKB7Erg8aA9cl2KeBYmiRH8w7pfgFrGSn1i-hhtVMrbN7nlr1_G70BQxhWzTX9ou7vBqzRwkxhagyLUSYaoq_opou8fBRmKNtZ-ibv0ZeGnp5dF6TiC/s320/IMG_0318.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in window during first weeks of Demo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUgJJUzni2YQ-Bd49FyK_1GqLp7rKqYJg17ynjUkJv4QLcVvbbLMW2p2A4ByDmnbBRMyVF8GupnUjL5uvyRSTJHUBsqNpR-csSPocqqEMZ7cSrHPWONAkqHW3Fkhr-sIqu2ar_xKpJ_JD/s1600/IMG_0340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUgJJUzni2YQ-Bd49FyK_1GqLp7rKqYJg17ynjUkJv4QLcVvbbLMW2p2A4ByDmnbBRMyVF8GupnUjL5uvyRSTJHUBsqNpR-csSPocqqEMZ7cSrHPWONAkqHW3Fkhr-sIqu2ar_xKpJ_JD/s320/IMG_0340.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite diamond wall paper we found.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekyqb3OOowCCfKf1rv-eTh4EBefDb3mFt0Zbw2LYUFuCi_R4tgkvWdPPExZfB4HqO9RFqivjuF9TJE9L_xdogy-P86qZoZpWly4vFu2DPFaoN2H2Ft000CwrM9rfE8b8dsL_4zqIshhEZ/s1600/IMG_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekyqb3OOowCCfKf1rv-eTh4EBefDb3mFt0Zbw2LYUFuCi_R4tgkvWdPPExZfB4HqO9RFqivjuF9TJE9L_xdogy-P86qZoZpWly4vFu2DPFaoN2H2Ft000CwrM9rfE8b8dsL_4zqIshhEZ/s200/IMG_0338.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy patriotic wall paper found in kitchen.</td></tr>
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The building has meant lots of weekends for me, weekdays and nights for Cam, our art making has slowed down, or at the very least partially transferred onto the building. <br />
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I find so many parts of fixing up the space to be healing and beautiful. When we pulled off the paneled walls and scraped away the layers of wall paper, we saw the layers of time. When I knocked off the crumbling plaster and then later cleaned and filled the holes with spackle, I felt like I was doing surgery on the building. When my family came over and helped us put a support under a slightly sagging floor, it had the community feel of a barn raising. I've learned about the fine art of "hiding your work" through mudding, a process where the goal is to make the work invisible. The same would go for filling nail holes and then sanding away their "evidence" bump. Priming the walls and trim reminds me of how I prepare a canvas, each layer shifting the surface a little whiter, a little smoother. I guess what I am trying to say is that despite the time I've lost making, I think skill wise I've gained something for my making. <br />
Nonetheless, I had to still clearly create time for studio practice. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBx3Dz7_DASimeN9wbKdb0rO_iHYM24lXJQ4p01eKPBvsLMTxPAGiazyij31yAhFQ35IULyT3TXwuj3yTLf-Msj3MX7sO2kLAxcxXWzoMjs3wms4-9xhKA3B_JrtikNyFhWHiwAKikrELu/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBx3Dz7_DASimeN9wbKdb0rO_iHYM24lXJQ4p01eKPBvsLMTxPAGiazyij31yAhFQ35IULyT3TXwuj3yTLf-Msj3MX7sO2kLAxcxXWzoMjs3wms4-9xhKA3B_JrtikNyFhWHiwAKikrELu/s320/IMG_0375.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the old materials we pulled out of the house.</td></tr>
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My readiness to be in the building was an anxious hunger. After our honeymoon, Cam and I had to spend a month living at my parents as we finished the final aspects of the bedroom and bathroom. We'd moved out of our apartment to save money. I am so thankful for my parent's graciousness in hosting us, but I was also so ready to return to city living and lose the commute and backpack living. Backpacking was fun when we were traveling in other places, but when we were back home, it started to feel desperate and un-grounding. Plus living at my parent's home, made my inner teenage angst return. I wanted to unpack, to organize, and <br />
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to visualize spaces. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40FC1VYTgdXkZBOcou9KhuMq2uJFE-AB7D-92375pqjfg4r1wEq3km68wocJMIUruoCMSxRAX2TCS5FA0fBbVaAKwDZe8q6UZrFFtEauPZROM8Rg2IZM4o6a8SdvW7vM-SLfwmMMmWwBi/s1600/IMG_0416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40FC1VYTgdXkZBOcou9KhuMq2uJFE-AB7D-92375pqjfg4r1wEq3km68wocJMIUruoCMSxRAX2TCS5FA0fBbVaAKwDZe8q6UZrFFtEauPZROM8Rg2IZM4o6a8SdvW7vM-SLfwmMMmWwBi/s320/IMG_0416.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Floor Early days. Future Studio</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiMQJYG0I0IvAwZTVxRUHTdH5KM1e6fD8Hm62G5-hP4zWGWnL-WSg1YNoU_YaMt_3ThvY48qxvmek_GmRqbHVntS1OqIWhqy999Bj5c52zLXhgkd-9Mb-kK0PYvfiw9wmjAI3wKxcXrzn/s1600/IMG_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiMQJYG0I0IvAwZTVxRUHTdH5KM1e6fD8Hm62G5-hP4zWGWnL-WSg1YNoU_YaMt_3ThvY48qxvmek_GmRqbHVntS1OqIWhqy999Bj5c52zLXhgkd-9Mb-kK0PYvfiw9wmjAI3wKxcXrzn/s320/IMG_0689.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top Floor with framing.</td></tr>
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Working on the building we've missed things. We've been unsocial and introverted and non-committal. I am hoping that in the end it so we can be a little more plugged in to community and finally call a space our own home. I'm imaging: an Eames like working studio, art classes with neighbors, and dinner parties with friends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedroom before pic.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After pic: Bedroom painted with wood floor.</td></tr>
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Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-2307749500650057952015-07-26T14:26:00.000-07:002015-07-26T14:26:00.366-07:00The Bike RideWe had gone to visit our friend Reinhardt in Freiburg, Germany. He was an artist we had met during a residency in Paris. I should start by saying that he was very health conscious and wanted to maintain a strong physical and mental outlook. He said things like, "if the mind is free, than the body is healthy" or in reference to chocolate and sweets "I must stay away from these things." The food he ate most regularly was Quark, which in my understanding was a mix between curds and yogurt. He ate this everyday for breakfast along with fruit. Rather than have fixed mealtimes throughout the day, he preferred to eat fruit or a piece of bread as he was hungry. Sometimes he would eat dinner very late at night, if he had not yet felt hungry. He occupied a small apartment along the river, one where you could hear the sounds of the water as you fell asleep at night. The room was painted white, like a gallery, and was sparse save his files for artwork and his collection of African Sculptures that he had bought in Paris. In some ways he lived a Monk like existence, quite, contemplative, and it was fitting that his minimalistic artwork reflected these same qualities.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reinhardt's collection of African Sculptures </td></tr>
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He was an avid bicyclist. Days before our journey as we spoke on the phone about our visit he told us how he enjoyed "biking through the mountains" every few days. I remarked that Cam and I had a wonderful time biking throughout Florence and we would like to take a bike ride with him and so it was agreed that we would go on a ride.<br />
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We had a late night arrival in Freiburg so we took the Metro to his house and then walked the rest of the way based on directions he had given us. As we walked, college students whizzed past us on bikes. The neighborhood appeared to be small apartment buildings and single family homes with rich gardens of plants and trees. The streets were lined with bike lines. We saw a weasel crawl around under a car and asked a woman for directions. She pointed us towards the sound of the river, whose size remained a mystery to us. Arriving at Reinhardt's apartment, Cam used his tablet to provide light for the buzzer numbers. Within minutes we were whisked up to Reinhardt's apartment, happy to share a beer and fresh salad he has made for us. Then we slept.<br />
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Eager to catch up, since we hadn't seen each other for three years, we spent the next morning and afternoon talking with him in his apartment. We shared with him what we had been doing since we last saw him. <br />
That night we went on a walk along the river. The river was shallow I was impressed with how the river was a social space. There were people cooking, playing music, swimming, reading, playing with pets. After walking for awhile we sat on some rocks to share a few beers and admire the dusk turning into night. At some point Reinhardt asked Cam if he thought we would be ready for the mountain. Not knowing the difficulty or distance of the ride, which he claimed took three hours and he did with ease, we said we were interested. We planned to take the ride the following day. The rest of the night he took us on an informal tour of the city stopping at breweries, a famous cathedral, and a funny town sculpture for tolerance- that did not tolerate the teens that liked to hang out around the sculpture at night and play music. I noticed the abundance of bike paths throughout the town and felt jealous that we did not have the same network back in St. Louis. There were so many bike paths that it rendered driving a futility and in this town, people actually stopped for bikers at cross walks!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Rhine River</td></tr>
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Reinhardt located a bike shop "Radikal" that rented mountain bikes. The next morning Cam and I walked to the bike shop and then rode our mountain bikes back to his place to meet him. The day was already getting hot, we didn't know the temperature, but having come from Prague and Vienna, where the weather was in the 60's and 70's, we could feel that the heat was a shock to our body. Reinhardt once again asked us if we thought we could handle the ride to the mountain. Not knowing, we agreed to start off on the journey and then take stock after a few hours. <br />
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Leaving his house, he started off on a fast pace. For the first part of the journey we retraced our path from the previous night walk. We passed numerous bridges, rock formations, aspiring Goldsworthy like rock piles, and people hanging out all along the river. The path was wide and paved, sometimes shared with walkers and roller bladers. We pedaled under bridges and overpasses, through tunnels, and past the path of the river until we were in the open country. Beyond us the Black Forest and it’s mountains towered overhead, dappled by little houses and swaths of green trees. The grass waved in the fields next to us as we whizzed past. Cam and I were hot and thirsty we stopped and shared water under some cherry trees. Reinhardt picked off some fruit to share with us. While it was beautiful vistas, I can’t say this ride was easy for me, between the heat, and the slow gradual uphill, I was tired. Reinhardt whizzed around us and laughed, calling us "old folks". My mind was playing tricks on me, like when I used to run cross country, and it would encourage me to give up. I knew that if I kept going I would hit my positive zone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reinhardt our bike "trainer"</td></tr>
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Cam was feeling heat sick so we stopped at an inn and restaurant for a beer. He drank an apple juice as Reinhardt and I had beers. Reinhardt tried to get us to eat cherry cake, a specialty, but we were both so hot, we though it would make us feel sick and throw up. As we sat at the restaurant, we contemplated the rest of the journey up hill. We had traveled about 12km, the next part was roughly 6km uphill. Cam and I shuddered to think about doing that ride in the heat. Another option was to turn around and go through the town to a lake. Feeling more inspired at the thought of ending our ride with a cool lake swim, then mountain vistas, Cam and I agreed to go to the lake. <br />
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Heading back to town, the ride was a slow downhill. We moved fast along the paths, now familiar. As we rode I hit my mental zone. Physical exhaustion, air in my lungs, rhythmic pedaling, flying down the roads, curving with them, like I was in my own Tour de France, I met my inner critic. I just started to let it go. My film, fuck it. The success of my film. Fuck it. It existed. I did my best. I presented my heart as always. My art career. Fuck it. Someone I let down. Fuck it. A friend who hurt my feelings. Fuck it. Unfinished projects in St. Louis. Other peoples expectations. Knowing what I was doing next. Fuck it. Suddenly it was just me riding on my bike through space totally present. <br />
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We rode across town, past sites we’d walked slowly around the night before. We reached a bridge and Reinhardt encouraged us to carry our bikes down a set of stairs. Suddenly we were on a similar path alongside a river, only this path was surrounded by open fields not forest. I pedaled hard. Past other bikers, past little kids who cooled us with water guns, past a day care and a bar. There were loons wading in the water. The landscape changed again and suddenly we were once again in the country. The paths continued until we reached a road with traffic. Turning onto the road we paused to drink water, I accidentally rolled over into the wheat plants. I popped back up unharmed. Cam did not look so good but he seemed like he was committed to keep riding.<br />
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“We’ve got to get through here fast,” Reinhardt said- he wanted to avoid the traffic that was lining up for a concert. Lines of bikers joined us and we weaved around the cars and past the parking lot as a group. We kept going through the concert venue, past its poster of events, its men waving in drivers, the people setting up sound and lights. Bikers dropped off to park for the concert. We turned right onto another country road and once again we were surrounded by mountains and wheat fields. There were large wooden signs indicating a camp and we entered back into the forest. We crossed a wooden bridge and kept going. The path became congested as bikers tried to slowly ride up a now rocky path, which forced some riders to walk. I began to see glimpses of the lake through the trees. I saw silhouettes of people swimming, sunbathing. We entered a clearing and a larger path formed as the lake loomed large. I noticed there were people clothed and naked. <br />
Reinhardt slowed down at a shaded area and considered stopping so that we could lie in the shade. Cam looked at the spot longingly. <br />
“Nope”, Reinhardt said, “there are ticks there”.<br />
We rode further finally arriving at a large hill facing the sun. Tons of people- naked old bodies lay out in full glory and absolute comfort. There were a few younger people dressed or perhaps topless sunbathing as well.<br />
“I’m sorry, this is a bit of a naked place.” Reinhardt told us as he took of his clothes and ran into the water. <br />
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Cam and I lay back on the ground exhausted from the long ride. Cam was near heat sick. He lay on his side. I asked him if he was ok. He told me he wanted me to leave him alone. He needed to concentrate so that he would not get sick. I took off his shoes and socks for him. I poured water on my extra shirt and gave it to him so he could wrap it around his neck. This seemed help him a little bit.<br />
I was tired and my butt hurt, but moreover I wanted to swim. I had to contemplate the nudity. Did I want to swim naked? Where would I put on my swimsuit, if I wanted to wear a suit? Previously Cam and I had spent a day discussing our body issues and how hard it was being in Europe where everyone is very fit from the walking lifestyle- a reminder of my own problems with weight. I wasn’t comfortable being naked for the entire afternoon. But I decided I could just change into my swimsuit on the beach. (I preferred swimming laps with a suit on anyways). So I just put on my bathing suit there. Cam said he would be fine if I went swimming. I walked to the water and then did a small surface dive submerging my head. The water was the perfect temperature, the antidote to the heat. I turned to watch Cam, just to make sure he appeared to be alive. As I swam out, I had to laugh to myself, there was Cam, surrounded by a field of naked people, fully clothed, fanning himself occasionally with his shirt. <br />
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Eventually I got out of the water and rejoined Cam. I convinced him to go in the water and it made him feel immensely better as well. Reinhardt returned shortly giving Cam and I the chance to swim together. We later laughed about our predicament, two body insecure people taking a long bike ride and then forced to to reckon with their body issues at a nude beach. It probably did us both good to see the people, much older than us, comfortable with their flab, fallen bodies, genitals. I think it both made us feel a little gentler towards our own bodies. <br />
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We biked back home as the sun began to set. The ride was hard but we knew we could make it. Once back we realized that we had ridden nearly 40km in 100 degree weather. Not too shabby for two out of shape Americans.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam alongside the River</td></tr>
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<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-64715492748467115822015-07-14T18:53:00.001-07:002015-07-14T18:53:57.295-07:00SurfacingI haven't been writing publicly here for a while. For the past year I've been working on sharing my film Elegy to Connie. During that time I blogged a few times on the film website. I haven't been writing much, in part, because I became tired of my own voice and I felt anxious about having a public persona, one that existed outside of my one-on-one interactions with a person. This past year there have been so many things going on in St. Louis, that I quite frankly have not felt like I had the voice or strength to write publicly. Sure I've continued to write in my journal on a regular basis but this is as much therapy for myself as it is writing for pleasure or to reflect on the world.<br />
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An embarrassing secret about me, is that I don't like to hear my voice on radio or watch interviews I've done. It probably stems from several psychological things- my parents saying they would record me and embarrass me later when I was a kid having tantrums, to my teenage eating disorder self always disliking what I saw in the mirror. Today I've faced a big fear by watching one of my interviews. And I am happy with the interview.<br />
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I think I might write here for a while again. Enough has happened in my life that I think I need this space to share my thoughts. My throat feels stuck. Strangely yesterday I changed my profile pic on facebook to an image of myself breathing out a rainbow. Seems symbolic.<br />
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A quick in a nutshell update would be- I finished my film and began to share the film, these events coincided with my participation in Witnessing Whiteness and coming to terms with my lack of knowledge about my own white privilege. This understanding came in advance of the Mike Brown shooting and the Ferguson Movement which led to several months of protests and conversations in addition to the work around my own film. I had the honor of helping lead a CAT group on Cherokee Street. We had another year with the People's Joy Parade. My husband and I bought a house, got married, and moved out of our apartment. Then we took a five week backpacking trip to Europe. <br />
I now find myself smack dab in my parents house, living here temporarily while we try to finish the bathroom and bedroom in our new house. <br />
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My emotional forecast today. <br />
Today I felt angry about all of the shootings happening in St. Louis. Teenagers being shot on playgrounds by cops. Cops being shot at by kids in Central West End. People being shot near Ted Drewes. In Europe, I rarely felt unsafe. In fact, I felt much lighter knowing that very few people had guns. I am sick of the gun culture of this country. I wish there would be a National program to dis-arm people. When I was traveling I thought about quality of living and human rights. I don't think we have a good quality of life in the U.S. and the sense of violence is like a fog hanging over us, from random violence to mass shootings to gang shootings, a person living here has to worry about his safety on a regular basis. Even more disturbing is it is not an outright violence like a war, it is a hidden violence, one that for whatever reason people in this country seem content to live with. I see there being people that live with it because they are hopeless or live with it because they have not yet had gun violence touch their immediate lives. This detracts from our quality of life. I am depressed about this and I don't know what I can do. I've always been a St. Louis advocate but today was the first day I wished I could live abroad.<br />
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Future<br />
The name of my blog initially was mostly meant to encompass the
adventures I had traveling or in St. Louis. It feels old to me, mostly
because I would also like to write about the things I have learning this
past year and "Wander Full" has a bit too much of a Polyanna sound.
I'd also like to not have the burden of being timely or travel
specific. Rather I'd like to write about things as they come to me,
regardless if they are childhood memories or happened yesterday. With that in
mind, I might post a few old drafts that I failed to share for one
reason or another. I might write about my rehabbing experience. I might write about an art exhibit. So I am looking for a name that could suggest jumps
forward or backward in time, travel, memory, self understanding, art. Telescope?
To start I hope over the next few weeks to share stories from my trip
and thoughts on what is happening in St. Louis in relation to the world. From there, we will see. Here I go.<br />
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Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-37925711355900779322013-11-04T09:04:00.001-08:002013-11-04T09:04:08.763-08:00Animating with Harriet and Day Light Savings ResetFriday I met with Harriet Patton at her house to work on an animation for <i>Elegy to Connie</i>. After catching up at her dining room table, we brainstormed ideas for spelling out her name. She pulled out her first aid kit, that she used when she was a school nurse, and we began to animate her name using the tools inside the kit. We had a lot of fun and when we finished her name, her mind was already rolling to the next scene. She had collected several nursing doll figurines over time, mostly they had been gifted to her. She created a scene where the nurse dolls were serving and helping other figurines. We animated these characters in a record amount of time. It had taken a long time for our schedules to meet, but once we were together it was so easy.<br />
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Friday night I met up with a friend to go listen to Michelle Alexander's talk at the MO history museum. She spoke about her book <i>The New Jim Crow</i> and went over her thesis on how the prison systems are a new form of Jim Crow laws in the U.S. as prisons have multiplied 4x's since the 70's, and are incarcerating predominantly men of color with minor drug incidences that brand them for life and deny them opportunities like social services, voting rights, and access to education, when they leave the prison system thusly creating a vicious cycle these men can't escape. The prison industrial complex at its worst- a for profit industry with hidden racist roots. I look forward to reading the book.<br />
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Meanwhile, my brother, who is working as my animation assistant, and I continue to work in the studio and I am happy to say that we are nearly to the 10 minute point with this last scene of the movie. Which means we are within the schedule of actually completing the animation by the end of the year!<br />
Reaching this goal on Saturday, meant I was able to take off work on Sunday, and give myself a much needed break. I wrote, cleaned, and did laundry. Then I met up with my family to take a beautiful drive down to St. Mary's, MO to look at the fall leaves and visit the antique mall. If I was painting right now, I'd be in landscape heaven as it was as close to a rainbow palette as I'd ever seen. Blue sky- red, orange, yellow, green leaves, and purple shadows. When we rolled out of the antique mall it was pitch black. <br />
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Daylight savings time starts to send our winter minds into reflection as we are forced inside due to the early darkness and approaching colder weather.<br />
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I'm using this as a chance to reset myself as well, wake up earlier, spend more time in reflection. I am thinking about this- What is the narrative I tell myself about my life and in what way is it working and what needs to change? I am feeling better than last week but want to use that frustration as a source of understanding. Among these deadlines I've got to find a way to take care of myself and keep balanced with exercise, food, and relaxation time.<br />
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I caught the end of an NPR program about defining success. As we drove along the Hwy 61s, I thought -what is not working with my definition of success and what is working? With my own art work- I am not fully interested in validation of my artwork by selling it for expensive prices, I would like to however get by. After I finish this film, I am considering what would it look like to put less emphasis on succeeding through the pre-existing routes of the art world- say gallery representation/ major shows, college teaching job and instead place a greater emphasis on locating a job that gives me a quality of life and time to make things. I'm also going to trust my instincts and not be set on using these chains as the way to share my film. Anyways, this is a question I am going to dig deeper into this month.Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-51907781035815646432013-10-25T21:18:00.001-07:002013-10-25T21:18:34.064-07:00Art and Fear. Art and Uncertainty.Making Art and trying to live as a Maker, be it of art, music, or writing, is to put oneself in a world of questioning and uncertainty. <br />
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Tonight I went to an opening and saw many old friends, including a friend newly returned to St. Louis. Walking around I felt conscious of my being both an insider, from my perspective, and a visitor, through my friends eyes. My mind was aware of awkward social cues, people that did or did not acknowledge me. Through my friends eyes, I was reminded how in the larger scope of the world, a single person's opinion of me didn't really matter. <br />
As I hugged an old friend, he asked me how my project was going, this three year pursuit. I said well, but hard. I'm in the home stretch. He hugged me, I imagined he was thinking, "She is all washed up". He never said this, and I know it wasn't true, but in moments like gallery social settings there is a strange inner critic that works its magic. <br />
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You see, I've never worked on a single project for so long. I'm much more comfortable with short project stints that culminate in a series of shows throughout the year. My inner fear is that by taking on this giant, I've suddenly rendered myself inconsequential. Actually the list continues: I am afraid I've wasted my time, I'm afraid the people I've made this film with won't like it, I'm afraid of mis-representing people as I work on the film, I'm afraid of being ostracized from my hometown after I share it. I'm afraid of being an amateur or lacking skills. I'm afraid of people laughing at my simple techniques. And this is also the reason why this film might actually be worth something; because in spite of all these mounting fears, I've continued to work on it. The reason I think I need to make this piece is in part because I am so scared to make this piece. <br />
I've heard people say in passing to me, "Oh, you are an artist? That must be so much fun!" As if I just sat around popping out masterpieces, blissed out in my studio. <br />
The reality is that being an artist is hard and I don't mean in the Van Gogh, poor tortured soul stereotype way.<br />
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For the past year being an artist has meant the following to me:<br />
Working a regular job and then going to my studio multiple nights a week. Spending my weekends in the studio instead of relaxing or doing things in the community. Not seeing friends for weeks and months because I don't have money to go out and I don't have money to travel. Forgoing vacations because they represent time and money lost from the studio. Putting on weight because I suddenly don't have as much time to work out, if I want to still spend time with the people. Going through sporadic periods of having no money as I wait for the next grant installment to process. Forgoing haircuts and new tennis shoes for a shopping spree at Value Village. Wow, I'm really bitching right now. And I realize that I have made these decisions. Here is another side.<br />
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It is incredibly hard to work multiple jobs and carve out a consistent studio practice, even living in inexpensive St. Louis. I felt as when I was given this window of time, via grants, that I had to do the very best I could do and not waste the opportunity. Sure in the future, I'll be a little smarter about the size of a task I take on, relative to the amount of money, and I think I wise up about this ratio a little more each time. I am making an hour long animation. It takes me 20hours to make approximately 1 minute. This totals, and I am doing the math right now....1200hours just in animation production. Crazy.<br />
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In the end, I don't make art to make money. I make art because there is a voice inside of me that says I need to, because this is what I have to contribute to this place and to make meaning of my time here. Each artwork I make is a little different, but with <i>Elegy to Connie </i>I thought, "Sarah, if you don't make this piece, your connection and history with this story, will be washed away and it will happen again and again. Make this piece to mend the wounds of time, to peal back the walls of our collective history." And I have to tell you, whenever there is another new mass shooting, it haunts me, and I think, I can't work fast enough. Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-23114608610259037882013-10-20T19:12:00.001-07:002013-10-20T19:12:58.633-07:00Busy bee FallThis Fall has been incredibly busy.<br />
I started back at Marian Middle School, two days a week, teaching art and video classes.<br />
My Video Art class made enrollment at Forest Park Community College and I meet with students there on Monday and Wednesday. The remaining time I've been trying to continue to get in 20hrs of art studio each week so that I can continue to progress and meet my goal of finishing <i>Elegy to Connie</i> by the end of the year. Subsequently my free times appears to fluctuate between periods of extreme socializing at events, wedding, and openings, and being a hermit so I can still be with Cam, my dog, and have a peaceful life. Unfortunately, my blog here has suffered greatly. I've wanted to write several things and yet haven't been able to get enough time to write out a long thoughtful piece. As result I think for the next few months I will experiment with writing shorter pieces.<br />
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My tops this fall have been:<br />
1. The discussions and understanding from the Witnessing Whiteness Class I am in with a group of adults in Kirkwood, Missouri. This discussion group aimed at unpacking white privilege has opened my eyes and mind to inequality in our society in a manner I never anticipated.<br />
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2. Animation meetings with the women I've interviewed at my mom's house. Every few weeks I gather together with the different women to animate parts of their story, its been fun to share animation and connect with them in a creating sense.<br />
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3. Fall walks with my dog in Tower Grove Park, the weather is beautiful and the leaves are just changing colors.<br />
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4. Editing old recordings. While teaching video, I've been reviewing old footage I captured (many while traveling)and am turning them into videos. I'll begin to share those here.<br />
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5.<a href="http://www.marthacolburn.com/" target="_blank"> Martha Colburn </a>film screening at Webster Film Series. She is one of my hero animators, it was wonderful to see a range of her shorts for a full hour.<br />
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6. <a href="http://www.dragcity.com/artists/bill-callahan/videos/78" target="_blank">Bill Callahan</a> at the the Old Rock House. He's just such a great singer and songwriter.<br />
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7. Visiting with old friends. My close friend Emily Parsons was in town and we had a blast adventuring and making postcards from old Romance novels. Last night I had dinner with Lisa Payne and her husband Nourheddine who have just moved here from Morocco!<br />
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8. Biking adventures. Night rides, testing new bike lanes, riding to school.<br />
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9. Studio time. I've hired my brother as an assistant and we have spent countless hours in my studio at CAMP trying out new ideas and methods to animate.<br />
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10. Despite all my hermit hours in the studio, I have managed to attend a range of events where I connected with friends from fundraisers for the Critical Mass at Jason Deem's Factory, to a bonfire at Wesley Fordyce's, to a shower for my dear friend Amy Thompson's wedding, I am happy to feel apart of this community even when I can't get to everything going on here. <br />
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Cheers,<br />
Sarah<br />
<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-51351573822153653742013-07-04T13:00:00.001-07:002013-07-04T13:10:46.003-07:00GrantitudeIt's hard to believe that last year this time I was in Paris. Or that I've been working on my current project <i>Elegy to Connie</i> for almost four. It's been an exciting past couple of weeks in that I found out I received two grants to continue working on this project. One is through the <i>Mid-American Arts Alliance</i> and it will help fund my work this summer, hiring an assistant, and traveling to screen this film next spring. The other is an <i>Artists Count Grant</i> through<b> RAC</b> and this will help fund supplies and studio space, namely updating my computer/software. On this fourth of July I am feeling very thankful, that I have the support to continue making this film, and that I have had and continue to have opportunities to travel and create art.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvGOnJRBn5cq9M4pBvvwe0jKZW5vSqzYPeI50I1VcwI-geworsgxnBOWs-ufHY92L2BUIqXECNXKlSa3AGONnF9ZgBtINHtV-cM4_CkdOpGWNfKJXo-i0oDXOodDG53Gwmp-PUbSVXHt2/s1600/17Anytown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvGOnJRBn5cq9M4pBvvwe0jKZW5vSqzYPeI50I1VcwI-geworsgxnBOWs-ufHY92L2BUIqXECNXKlSa3AGONnF9ZgBtINHtV-cM4_CkdOpGWNfKJXo-i0oDXOodDG53Gwmp-PUbSVXHt2/s320/17Anytown.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Elegy to Connie</i> short at RAC.</td></tr>
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<b>Break it Down.</b><br />
This film has been built in an incremental manner and the support I've had to create it has been widespread. Everything from my regular teaching jobs at Marian Middle School, Forest Park Community College, Continuing Education, SLAM, and the Contemporary (Thanks Christy, Jamie, Heather, Chinyere, Renee, and Tuan) which has kept me paying my rents and buying food to the series of little opportunities that I've used to build the framework of this film. A <i>Critical Mass Grant </i>that allowed me to start the interviews and create a 5 minute short. The <i>CALOP grant</i> which allowed me to really dive in and create the bulk of the film plus hire support staff. The <i>CITE Residency,</i> where I drew out the 40+ page storyboard. As I am saying this list, I also will say that there are many grants and opportunities I wrote for that I did not get, numerous GRB's, a creative capital grant, other residencies, other local grants.<br />
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<b>Edit, Edit, and Edit Again. </b><br />
One thing I've learned from this experience (as repeated from my grad school writing teacher Jane DeLynn) is the value of editing. I began to see my writing about this project, not just as text I fill in for a grants required info, but as a writing work that was constantly redrafted for clarity. Each application I wrote was a chance for me to become better at how I described the project and to continue to visualize its outcome. Along the way I've opened up my writing and creative process for other people's feedback and their insights have been significant. Although it was intimidating initially (my own fears of rejection/failure), sharing these pieces brought to my attention new ideas and succinct writing suggestions that left me wondering, why hadn't I always been doing this? Through my conversations with other people about this project I grew. I am quite possibly most excited that my friend Lyndsey, who reviewed my project, suggested I join a group called <a href="http://www.witnessingwhiteness.com/Witnessing_Main/Witnessing_Whiteness_Home.html" target="_blank">Witnessing Whiteness</a> that examines white privilege. I look forward to reading this book and discussing my experiences of white privilege so that I can understand and thus be a better ally for people of color- my friends, students, and colleagues. I will try to write about this experience and hope you will forgive me if I seem clumsy in my understandings.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOPFkymKEiro0d8fRmCac2xzYsuHcOFF93KnsoGkn6K7cxw6QKaVW-pKwr_7nrTKvYVS6-ng3lRKLOURII4dDkamrA0rtHc9c6Nd1VLygMWtus-wzJ1AlyWKpQ74Xt5VUCPnacVKw-1aB/s1280/witness++Book+cover+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOPFkymKEiro0d8fRmCac2xzYsuHcOFF93KnsoGkn6K7cxw6QKaVW-pKwr_7nrTKvYVS6-ng3lRKLOURII4dDkamrA0rtHc9c6Nd1VLygMWtus-wzJ1AlyWKpQ74Xt5VUCPnacVKw-1aB/s320/witness++Book+cover+2.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of book I'm reading with discussion group.</td></tr>
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<b>Starting to unpack my Privilege</b><br />
Already from our first meeting's discussions, I realized how as a white person I received many opportunities purely based on the color of my skin- the freedom to travel, to be in almost any space, (while I'd argue that being female is another matter because I most certainly have not felt safe in certain places), to not have experienced persecution or exclusion because of my skin ( I do have remember experiences of exclusion because I was considered a weirdo growing up). As a white American I have also had the privilege to be able to travel to many countries of the world without having to apply for permission or go through excessive red tape.<br />
I've received a great education, my parents/family have supported my decision to be an artist, they have always had work, and I've always found work. I have not been without my own suffering- eating disorder, depression, and sexual assault, but I am seeing how these things brought me deeper in my own art practice and quite possibly made me more compassionate for other people's experiences. If I am the sum of my experiences, I see how my own whiteness has contributed to what I have been able to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wq3km87L4czkp9HqJ4OJqrSRrxnsb2ZpH8iBsMqauxVd-k5TmF-szuf6pqpj_2Rx0UrRRPPdyePTwSC7YsZ9LyuXnLwpSO5WXOMuv4jWae8NrRd484T5ODweoQe0Er-PMlnSsK6QVLgj/s1600/untitled+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wq3km87L4czkp9HqJ4OJqrSRrxnsb2ZpH8iBsMqauxVd-k5TmF-szuf6pqpj_2Rx0UrRRPPdyePTwSC7YsZ9LyuXnLwpSO5WXOMuv4jWae8NrRd484T5ODweoQe0Er-PMlnSsK6QVLgj/s320/untitled+2.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled 2. Collage that seems to relate to what I am saying somehow.</td></tr>
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<b>No one's life is awesome 100% of the time.</b><br />
I receive these grants with a humbleness and a notion that a positive is often counterbalanced with a negative- I lose an old friend to liver failure, another friend's mom struggles with mental illness. The privilege I am beginning to look at is intertwined with my success.<br />
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At the same time, I recognize the hard work, sacrifice, and continued focus I have had working on Elegy to Connie. I also realize the significance of receiving these grants, how they allow me focus on the project, to avoid credit debt, to not be in a constant state of worrying about money, and ultimately to give me time. <br />
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<b>Message to you and past self: Don't Give Up! </b><br />
For anyone out their who has received a rejection, I urge you to keep going, stay focused, and invite your own community into you work to help make your art or proposals better. I've been on the other side of losing, hating on someone that won. And the reality is that we all deserve to feel hope and support. <br />
I've got a couple tricks to keep myself going. One is I have a file folder of all my rejections/applications and I will periodically measure it, if it is growing then I consider it a success that I'm still putting myself out there. Another is I make lists. I have an art list called<i> 50 chances, </i>each time that I do something in service of getting my art into the world, I write it down i.e. contact a person, make a business card, or apply to a show/grant.<br />
I even have a <i>happiness list </i>where I try to brainstorm and then check off things that make me feel good to do, like taking a walk, cooking a meal, or setting up a date with an old friend. These mini successes keep me going.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv0f93ygAU_HROzPUTrAeN1bzPUaL9BEHzW-NPFse40FiLz8mUVooGAzO_OO08C_RrFCbCeLYU0dHcWZTr3UUI8WFPjNv0ZZI_Y1zj9lflRtS44eZ1kbevLU0bjkEcldOADitK5nEUZAH/s720/floating.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzv0f93ygAU_HROzPUTrAeN1bzPUaL9BEHzW-NPFse40FiLz8mUVooGAzO_OO08C_RrFCbCeLYU0dHcWZTr3UUI8WFPjNv0ZZI_Y1zj9lflRtS44eZ1kbevLU0bjkEcldOADitK5nEUZAH/s320/floating.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying in my dreams is hopeful.</td></tr>
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<i>Happy 4th of July!</i> Gratitude to you for reading, being you, and here's to staying hopeful. <i> </i>Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-7710727597393246792013-05-05T19:45:00.001-07:002013-05-08T12:07:43.380-07:005 Years of People's Joy Parade and working with CAMP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday we celebrated the 5th year of the People's Joy Parade, and as I reflect on my experiences of the day, I notice that I am still learning so much from this event and particularly its duration. My role has shifted over time from coordinator, to teacher, to only participant, to workshop host. <br />
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If I could briefly recap the overall experiences of each year I would describe it as follows:<br />
Year 1- oh my god that was amazing I can't believe we pulled it off!<br />
Year 2- This continues to feel incredible, look at the contagious enthusiasm and way in which our crowd and participants have grown.<br />
Year 3- I am so glad to be a part of this parade and it is super fun to perform as the spider woman.<br />
Year 4- How fun to be with friends as our girl doo wop group and watch the way everyone brings it.<br />
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Each year has had its own bit of specialness, people, parts that have made it unique. But this year in particular I learned a lot about giving a project over to the group. The first few years Lyndsey Scott and I worked hard together to get the word out, fundraise, and include community. Jenny Shriner had taken over as Parade coordinator three years ago and I continued to assist her in varying capacities.<br />
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Jenny and I began with a meeting where we sat down and hashed out what sort of work needed to happen for the parade and what sort of work we wanted to take on. Sitting down with myself and getting really honest with my time and efforts, allowed me to clearly identify that I wanted to work with kids and the neighborhood and I wanted to work with artists in a workshop setting. Finally, I could identify that I really enjoyed helping coordinate the day at the lot but not all the email and phone calls in advance of the parade. By focusing my energy on aspects of the parade that were energy building, I created a situation in which now, after the parade, I was not burned out but rather ready and excited for next year.<br />
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*Lesson 1- Focus Energy on What feels Good. <br />
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Furthermore during this meeting Jenny and I brainstormed several
components that were important to this year's success including hosting a
volunteer meeting, having a non-kickstarter fundraiser, and re-vamping
the workshops. This volunteer meeting turned out to be a pivotal moment. At the meeting over 25 people showed up, we shared what we loved about the parade, did some general brainstorming and then broke off into smaller topic groups- workshops, lot coordination, fundraising, and outreach. Hearing the ideas that each group brought to the table and feeling the support of the room really alleviated the stress I had with the idea of pulling off the parade. In past years, we had put in so much time on both the aspects of coordinating the parade and fundraising to ensure that we could financially cover ourselves, the event, and the time it took to put on such an event. In the small group settings, we came up with a more concise series of ideas that we were able to take forward. For instance my lot group decided to have "day of" art projects on site, tents for sign up, and refreshments. My art workshop leaders, Elisa Sugar and Cam Fuller, very clearly stated their desire with the adult workshop was to hold space for art making and lend advice, but not to specifically teach a class. Their decision led to a really sweet creative space at CAMP the month leading up to the parade. Finally knowing that a fundraising committee existed and had taken on the responsibility of coordinating Joyrita, meant that we could skip the Kickstarter campaign and its associated deadline stress and reward aftermath, and focus on our individual tasks at hand.<br />
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*Lesson 2/3/4- The more brains and bodies involved the better the end result. Event momentum/history yields support. You never know what sort of volunteer support you might have unless you ask.<br />
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<b>Workshops!</b><br />
Our artist workshops started at the beginning of April. That first day I sat at the CAMP table with a couple of friends and we began to brainstorm. I came in with the loose idea of a Mermaid Float after a prior conversation with my friend Is'Mima.<br />
Is'Mima is a fellow mermaid fan and she has created a folklore/mythology based around the idea of mermaids that occupy the Mississippi River. I asked for her permission to use this theme "Mermaids by the Mississippi" as a part of the parade. Initially I wanted to build a float featuring her as the Queen Mermaid. As she was too busy caregiving for an elderly parent, she gave me blessings to continue on with the theme.<br />
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Anyways at that table with Jenny Hansen, Sallie Durbin, Jeff Miller, and others, we schemed a bunch of ideas for this float. Sallie had a clear vision for the mermaid and seemed committed to helping me make it. Jeff was willing to put together a Tom Sawyer on a raft component. Jenny Hansen felt pretty confident that if we put the word out we could locate other mermaid/men to walk with us. Jenny Shriner popped in that she would love to make mermaid costumes for her and her mom. Meanwhile Elisa and Cam began brainstorming building a bug.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEyGoKx7rsVQla3xFoZXiqR31V_Nvrcd_v-z_e9Gk-DfAVZGVXNbl93SQvKOxfkMdoxWzMg1frLNMPw1YnMXOY_OdhDj2bUbkQDkt3r-4aaHY7RVinG0ne3ZqSAjRnUn-4NTZbnR9xjXf/s1600/DSC_0826.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEyGoKx7rsVQla3xFoZXiqR31V_Nvrcd_v-z_e9Gk-DfAVZGVXNbl93SQvKOxfkMdoxWzMg1frLNMPw1YnMXOY_OdhDj2bUbkQDkt3r-4aaHY7RVinG0ne3ZqSAjRnUn-4NTZbnR9xjXf/s320/DSC_0826.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam and Elisa work on the bug armature.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAw4MXfGnvH211MdF1t9sjZR6u0JdSxFXsdk2o2bOdKfNbygRUiFN8yk80nDq-nTsdSYFyEVERbdPYUJ6XylntqGE0VWc1wjcIAafs7UkSAFMW1FmCgTsk-HkcJwaBZMGyHbq3wl7iJUKI/s1600/DSC_0819.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAw4MXfGnvH211MdF1t9sjZR6u0JdSxFXsdk2o2bOdKfNbygRUiFN8yk80nDq-nTsdSYFyEVERbdPYUJ6XylntqGE0VWc1wjcIAafs7UkSAFMW1FmCgTsk-HkcJwaBZMGyHbq3wl7iJUKI/s320/DSC_0819.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coco naps and Niki R. builds.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Other friends popped their heads in and checked to see what we were doing. This sort of fluid community art space became the standard for the workshop. At the next session we began to build, soon we were joined by Gigante pro, Wesley Fordyce who brought an earth, hourglass, and a set of peace/love staffs. Niki R. worked on a collaborative processional piece for Poetry Scores.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3SUh2yj-Ulx-a-7yU8mi24zkC8NIHLR-xgCOr0rf6HsXmXzpvYOR4fGoVP9RK6DHUdL5Sv0xyGxagh7HQ48z2qc9pXLFCvu7F-RG6Th6e5DqGmfObxfUI81jIPiPW_KH6XRRt_836MmP/s1600/DSC_0824.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3SUh2yj-Ulx-a-7yU8mi24zkC8NIHLR-xgCOr0rf6HsXmXzpvYOR4fGoVP9RK6DHUdL5Sv0xyGxagh7HQ48z2qc9pXLFCvu7F-RG6Th6e5DqGmfObxfUI81jIPiPW_KH6XRRt_836MmP/s200/DSC_0824.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wesley's Peace and Love</td></tr>
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Peter C. and Alex Pennington started to create a Fish. I fondly remember that at one point Celia arrived and started playing her guitar on
the yellow couch in the back of CAMP. As we built the bamboo bases for
our Gigantes, we got to sing along to "This Land is Your Land" and "Cielito Lindo".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQruC5YURQUo8x4vw66s3r6q6-tlx2favK4Z717w_AneQvaVabQ1AmSajvJHNUsMNZIOIDY2RyiSzqOKSTtptQAqbjH1YCqTNOgpBqg3rE3Pd78u9BZk3CwYOZlKyfHIcEdflKnHazouV3/s1600/DSC_0821.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQruC5YURQUo8x4vw66s3r6q6-tlx2favK4Z717w_AneQvaVabQ1AmSajvJHNUsMNZIOIDY2RyiSzqOKSTtptQAqbjH1YCqTNOgpBqg3rE3Pd78u9BZk3CwYOZlKyfHIcEdflKnHazouV3/s320/DSC_0821.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter C., Wesley, and Alex work on Fish Gigante.</td></tr>
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A group of neighborhood girls- Camilla, KK, and Tamara, came in from the side gate, perhaps hearing the music and they marveled at our burgeoning creations. Celia let KK make up an impromptu song as she backed her on the guitar. Sallie and I wondered around the backyard and CAMP grounds discovering materials perfect for our mermaid, tomato cages and chicken wire for her tail, as if by magic. We continued on to Sallie's workplace to collect ribbons and fabrics that would become the mermaids body and hair.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uv6nSgX212AsMcLrYtInl_Abr7eBEucfcGT_BNEaNOjDROs0AhTFmQop7CCmfkvNdGuDj4rXzhTuEWfH8ccSVOcgfKiIHtD8vfHyKnfWHfqtELWRM1EOvytyhyUYNKHQXn2lgbBqJvw3/s1600/DSC_0822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uv6nSgX212AsMcLrYtInl_Abr7eBEucfcGT_BNEaNOjDROs0AhTFmQop7CCmfkvNdGuDj4rXzhTuEWfH8ccSVOcgfKiIHtD8vfHyKnfWHfqtELWRM1EOvytyhyUYNKHQXn2lgbBqJvw3/s320/DSC_0822.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sallie searches for materials.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66KvdUl3PSzx8aosiUTSfd_gEe1ekcXgf3LWq14mpGpHNKJYS8geXD2J4NsQfaoPnQD9RQhpnfDhKJlnmvDT3a8WWQPVVBkJAilEBsqbvp8wMBWUIlzhhi9CHWkmKKybYHXquA59j-Qr-/s1600/DSC_0825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66KvdUl3PSzx8aosiUTSfd_gEe1ekcXgf3LWq14mpGpHNKJYS8geXD2J4NsQfaoPnQD9RQhpnfDhKJlnmvDT3a8WWQPVVBkJAilEBsqbvp8wMBWUIlzhhi9CHWkmKKybYHXquA59j-Qr-/s320/DSC_0825.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wesley stores Gigantes on the garage!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtT8-l6Wea2-rS4D2pjGYNBWPHJoJ10SilVMgI4nJfPybGfFtFGigJkpd-PkE6zqRuB9sIlD1RISy5pjVfzIBms28p6BAxSvm6r08IJ4quKwwOo-yP698zfGY8exz9ZNEBu5AWDmBxIRY/s1600/DSC_0827.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtT8-l6Wea2-rS4D2pjGYNBWPHJoJ10SilVMgI4nJfPybGfFtFGigJkpd-PkE6zqRuB9sIlD1RISy5pjVfzIBms28p6BAxSvm6r08IJ4quKwwOo-yP698zfGY8exz9ZNEBu5AWDmBxIRY/s320/DSC_0827.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bug takes form!</td></tr>
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As the weeks continued on the CAMP space was filled with other artists working on their costumes; Holly, Jenny, Susanna, Je. Is'Mima came by gave mermaid advice and delivered supplies. Others stopped in briefly to get ideas for projects they were working on at home. Watching things grow in process, we bounced ideas off of each other and shared materials. Digger occasionally popped his head in to give some of his professional puppet making advice. My view of CAMP expanded in a way as I realized how wonderful it was that we were able to use the building as a temporary project space. In these moments when we were all running around the building constructing our costumes, floats, and Gigantes, I felt community. I felt the stir of energy I felt in grad school when one artist project inspired another.<br />
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*Lesson 5 The Value of a flexible, shared, community space to building art community. <br />
<br />
<b>A brief digression on my history with CAMP.</b><br />
I've been a CAMP regular since the parade started, brought into a partnership through my friendship with Lyndsey Scott, I've enjoyed seeing all the ways CAMP works in the community. Initially CAMP for me was a place for parade workshops and fiscal sponsorship. Sure I'd been to many events there but I had not been deeply involved. Ben West, the CAMP treasurer at the time became an important asset for practical aspects of the parade; funding, legality, logistics, and thus to the longevity of the parade. As I spent more time at the CAMP space through the Parade and my friendships with the residents, it seemed natural that I would move my studio to the building. Since then I've enjoyed seeing all the ways CAMP tries to serve the community. Through the collective CAMP is a cost effective living space for people wishing to follow pursuits that don't always yield large amounts of money. CAMP is a project space and over time I've seen it host- guitar lessons, yoga, Capoiera, drum circles, kids art classes, kids food classes, acro-yoga, belly dancing. CAMP is a meeting space for projects like "May these Changes Make Us Light", Gateway Greens, The Confluence paper, or the Parade. CAMP is an event space for art shows, Kwanza Celebrations, and Wellness Groups. For myself and a few others CAMP is a studio space that is safe, heated, and alive. CAMP is a safe recovery space, as the walls of its building have served as a body to store projects of the past. When I think of CAMP, one of the things I am enchanted with is that it serves the underdog. You don't have to have money or a lot of resources to belong or lend a hand. I love that there are a community of people that I've met through this building and that even with the work it has done, it still has more work it can and will do. If you have initiative, CAMP is a great place to start a program. CAMP is for me wabi-sabi, it may not be for everyone, as things are in a way always shifting, there is always something to clean or a new project to consider but it the right sort of perfectly imperfect. Things aren't always easy at CAMP, the leaders are mostly volunteer except for moments of grants received or fundraisers that cover costs, because of this it is a labor of love where one has to find a healthy boundary pertaining to participation at CAMP vs. meeting personal needs. Due to the openness of the space, things disappear (so sorry for Elisa's bike). I understand as well that a singular bad experience in the past may have tainted a person's view of CAMP- But that said, it is always shifting depending on who is involved, and so I'd advise those who've had a previous negative experience to be open to the continuing shifting leadership, from what I understand CAMP is celebrating its 10th birthday, things are work enough, people keep pushing enough, for it to survive. <br />
<br />
<b>Where I'm Going with the Previous Paragraph</b><br />
I'm saying all of this because its been in the last week that I felt moved by a combination of the body that is CAMP and the parade. It started a week ago when Emily Hemeyer, Jenny Shriner, and I worked together to set up the kids costume workshop on Saturday, as we worked, we dreamed and schemed summer programs. Being in a space like that, lets you imagine the possibilities.<br />
On Saturday, as we made examples for our art projects, we were serenaded by the Footbeat led by Celia, with a special group of instruments- guitar, banjo, and ukelele. That afternoon the room became full with kids, there seemed to be the perfect amount of adults, and I felt the kids excitement grow as they made their projects and got to see the in-process artworks around them. Adults worked hand in hand with kids to create sewn outfits, Mermen, Mermaids, and princess skirts. Kids painted cat masks. Tissue paper Mexican flowers filled the room. I stayed late that night to repair my mermaid's head that had been damaged in the rain. As I worked late and made a huge mess, I was relieved that I had the space and permission to do so at CAMP if even temporarily.<br />
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The next day, I arrived early, ready to get to work, to my surprise kids from the day before showed up again ready to silk screen a t-shirt! This time they brought friends. The kids message was viral. Soon our room was filled with artists working on costumes surrounded my kids watching them and lending a hand. The kids began to paint their shirts and I led a few, that had missed the workshop, through making cat masks. Granny Shelly showed up and said she wanted to have her car in the parade and she set upon making painted signs with her grandson Tion. The space was multicultural and multi-generational. I noticed how energized the kids were to see the artists at work and how their enthusiasm from the previous day had carried over. While I had not intended for it to be a kid's work day I also wanted to go with their desire to participate. I left the building marveling at their chalk messages written on the wall, "We love to come to CAMP".<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblxAaH4eMl1xrdgm9JxYlDPXmyPxYDHvglBM0WX2piS-lHE2okiczW8F5EaukmMia_qyS7yxsN_fmCJOe4myCMggOHjAyiAOlgLzw6z9EDTy8ACb1hPdywpASudp-yGLxO-Zp4eTcithJ/s1600/DSC_0829.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblxAaH4eMl1xrdgm9JxYlDPXmyPxYDHvglBM0WX2piS-lHE2okiczW8F5EaukmMia_qyS7yxsN_fmCJOe4myCMggOHjAyiAOlgLzw6z9EDTy8ACb1hPdywpASudp-yGLxO-Zp4eTcithJ/s320/DSC_0829.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mermaid Head</td></tr>
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As the week progressed people were working at CAMP around the clock. Neighborhood kids excitedly knocked on the door to find out what was going on. On Wednesday, Sallie and I were fortunate to be there as a May Day event occurred. An organization set up a Free Sale outside, BBQ'd free food, and talked with people on the street. Meanwhile Sallie and I finally brought the mermaid to life.<br />
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By the time we reached Friday, the group of regular artists, worked around each other lending in a collaborative hand to complete their projects. Elisa, Cam, and Queen Bee Melissa Breed, rescued me by helping finish the Mermaid throne as I began to lose steam. There was encouragement and support. We didn't let the ongoing rain discourage us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcb2NVp_gEOW7VgONcGFMBiJqU1Rt4thsubYRkJ_wBOmKqa-m85IfCUkxwQztetjjSg4ej_4yO-9CDSRBvqm8lKzI7F668dGaxuZZNN0gr6FbS42RFT_GGDhPwusGjWa1wTmvVUV9CPjqF/s1600/DSC_0830.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcb2NVp_gEOW7VgONcGFMBiJqU1Rt4thsubYRkJ_wBOmKqa-m85IfCUkxwQztetjjSg4ej_4yO-9CDSRBvqm8lKzI7F668dGaxuZZNN0gr6FbS42RFT_GGDhPwusGjWa1wTmvVUV9CPjqF/s200/DSC_0830.JPG" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mermaid throne with extra help from QB, Cam, and Elisa.</td></tr>
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<b>Parade Day</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4W_GJc5qklJwweoZrS4QIdnhqMa9Vo6icpyrS3SOlQfjP0VdOdRgESXbcLzIKmI3NfD4A5-7vUqLOdR6VTAooFSIFvH0nM6rPtcAagnJrzfzWLJPPSq7OLpMwDMdOF6kurHl_yzQOeOz/s1600/DSC_0849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtZ_2bjcog9Ge6oUr9iE9MYXOECHXPrMkljCIa9MDd8mjitVXchM3e6qLG5UgyaA16BxSGe940QSgV7UQg9Of5QHepD8Roy0nk5AvRjg7mjjEeH80j15jubsA-XROGnw2LRsmoA5ZrorL/s1600/DSC_0831.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtZ_2bjcog9Ge6oUr9iE9MYXOECHXPrMkljCIa9MDd8mjitVXchM3e6qLG5UgyaA16BxSGe940QSgV7UQg9Of5QHepD8Roy0nk5AvRjg7mjjEeH80j15jubsA-XROGnw2LRsmoA5ZrorL/s320/DSC_0831.JPG" width="212" /></a>Saturday morning, like a miracle, the rain ceased. We began our tasks at hand- setting up the floats, finishing the bug, greeting Turner Center for the Arts, Face painting, putting on costumes, lugging things to the lot, setting up tents. Kids arrived, Volunteers arrived. At the lot we set up an art making station where kids could pick up costumes, make masks, or Tissue paper roses, as soon as we set up, the stand was packed. So packed, that I later noticed they had to bring out another table. Over at the sign-in people began to arrive. We had a few no-shows due to rain and a few walk ups- just by virtue of seeing us gather. The Footbeat began to practice. A golf cart of hot cocoa, coffee, and water pulled up causing everyone to respond with glee, warm drinks in the cold weather. Go time approached and as 1:11 struck we began to march down the street. It was peaceful, graceful, and lovely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hJy4ZCB0bNpnL7YO8vI-NVsE_RydWVVeZQILKbBhFTxv6aL0311y5UwCuL4J-vS21W0gsY1uqWMhSb-DauezN82iZpDeAPXMtE4vz5xYyu6GxGQCz_tzQ1uldRB1SpNymjRQy43Wz718/s1600/DSC_0837.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hJy4ZCB0bNpnL7YO8vI-NVsE_RydWVVeZQILKbBhFTxv6aL0311y5UwCuL4J-vS21W0gsY1uqWMhSb-DauezN82iZpDeAPXMtE4vz5xYyu6GxGQCz_tzQ1uldRB1SpNymjRQy43Wz718/s200/DSC_0837.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the Bug Eye</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4W_GJc5qklJwweoZrS4QIdnhqMa9Vo6icpyrS3SOlQfjP0VdOdRgESXbcLzIKmI3NfD4A5-7vUqLOdR6VTAooFSIFvH0nM6rPtcAagnJrzfzWLJPPSq7OLpMwDMdOF6kurHl_yzQOeOz/s1600/DSC_0849.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4W_GJc5qklJwweoZrS4QIdnhqMa9Vo6icpyrS3SOlQfjP0VdOdRgESXbcLzIKmI3NfD4A5-7vUqLOdR6VTAooFSIFvH0nM6rPtcAagnJrzfzWLJPPSq7OLpMwDMdOF6kurHl_yzQOeOz/s400/DSC_0849.JPG" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bug mechanics</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYVV_m1MyCZj3zF1tUEKTMaYbJbTwyso9WuyMFAtcMSKqlNwu0bTSYBdVs7yBH-KO8VdibxcvKrImLEF2j6gLgbbvSpk_mKSWhgoy_qm4836hu8Q7bm4DXZXbCHPTvWBr1NCMz51yKcr4/s1600/DSC_0835.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYVV_m1MyCZj3zF1tUEKTMaYbJbTwyso9WuyMFAtcMSKqlNwu0bTSYBdVs7yBH-KO8VdibxcvKrImLEF2j6gLgbbvSpk_mKSWhgoy_qm4836hu8Q7bm4DXZXbCHPTvWBr1NCMz51yKcr4/s400/DSC_0835.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bug's hot dog</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEAHu9e_BApue5QQu-lSMrLyXofXfXi-d2qs8KSCXUeoWL0z4NvAcoaQZveR95cabUNUxx96r8I9GbH4KKbuIYhmXoNNu9xzGqI0ctwnM1LZ9Buy2uQcpEcssYNX3IakgtYP-Iu3kcMmL/s1600/DSC_0848.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEAHu9e_BApue5QQu-lSMrLyXofXfXi-d2qs8KSCXUeoWL0z4NvAcoaQZveR95cabUNUxx96r8I9GbH4KKbuIYhmXoNNu9xzGqI0ctwnM1LZ9Buy2uQcpEcssYNX3IakgtYP-Iu3kcMmL/s400/DSC_0848.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elisa and Cam ready to walk.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4W_GJc5qklJwweoZrS4QIdnhqMa9Vo6icpyrS3SOlQfjP0VdOdRgESXbcLzIKmI3NfD4A5-7vUqLOdR6VTAooFSIFvH0nM6rPtcAagnJrzfzWLJPPSq7OLpMwDMdOF6kurHl_yzQOeOz/s1600/DSC_0849.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYVV_m1MyCZj3zF1tUEKTMaYbJbTwyso9WuyMFAtcMSKqlNwu0bTSYBdVs7yBH-KO8VdibxcvKrImLEF2j6gLgbbvSpk_mKSWhgoy_qm4836hu8Q7bm4DXZXbCHPTvWBr1NCMz51yKcr4/s1600/DSC_0835.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
*Lesson #6 The CAT mantra, whoever shows up is exactly who is supposed to show up.<br />
<br />
I was reminded that as Lyndsey Scott had taught me, sometimes it's all in the small relationship. A joyful hug from Grandma Shelly telling me to let her know about other CAMP events. Seeing the lovely 5 year participants (from 8-13) Marlaisha and Jaylah painting faces and with painted faces. Enjoying the parade regulars, Fort Gondo, Cinco de Volvo, and SLISS. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51214630@N02/8707612267/in/set-72157633403921551" target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/51214630@N02/8707612267/in/set-72157633403921551</a><br />
<br />
In those short few hours at the lot and during the parade there is a magic that exists. I love hearing other people's moments- kids so excited they couldn't sleep the night before, the little boy that waived his arms from the sunroof of his grandma's car. The sheer wow factor of people's costumes, floats, or puppets.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turner Center for Arts Group Shot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mermaids in Profile</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mermaid tail and throne</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnDAm9_kFVGlSzXVrkIbMjnHvLi7MFHLdxee5XO0xhX6AJATW8Syub_4nZ1byeq8IS7jVN1Q0ziP45wFbBaY4rSaYHYRpbsYbWndR6B7yAM24C7EaMz7lsNafvS7n8BuQdwOx4QhqC0tL/s1600/DSC_0839.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
At one point I had struggled with the role of the parade in the community, as Cherokee developed, I questioned was the parade just a one day band-aid. Something that made us feel better about all the days we lived separated by power, class, race, background, gender, or sexuality. I think what I realized this year is that the parade, as a process, is community building, relationship building, the parade is a connector that brings neighbors together, the parade is reason for us to temporarily let our guards down and enjoy the celebration of being alive together in this city. The parade is a culmination of a series of relationships, of events, of planning, of collective enthusiasm pointed at the idea that for one brief moment we might walk together with all our crazy, artistic, multicultural, generational selves and say I am present here.<br />
<br />
Jessica Baran took several great photos during the parade, if you want to see more people go <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51214630@N02/sets/72157633403921551/with/8707612267/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />
Thanks for reading.<br />
********************************************************************************* <br />
<br />
Finally Role Call! Thank you to all these Parade Makers as you make it so good!<br />
Everyone at that first Volunteer Meeting!<br />
Jenny Shriner- Parade Coordinator and Rain Putter Outter<br />
Elisa Sugar and Cameron Fuller- Lead Artists at the Workshop<br />
Sallie Durbin- Mermaid Co-conspirator<br />
Mermaid Crew- Jef Miller, Shriner Family, Janie Ibur, Jennifer W., and others.<br />
Wesley Fordyce and Digger - Gigante Experts Extraordinaire<br />
Emily Hemeyer- Best Art Costume Shop Co-Teacher<br />
Sophia Dalpiaz Brown and Kara Clark- Expert Graphic Design and Logo Making<br />
Holly Lammert, Je DeSuza, Susanna Modesto, Alex Pennington, Peter C., Gary, all CAMP roomies,- Fellow Float and Costume Merrymakers.<br />
Celia Shacklett- Pied Piper of All Footbeats. Anyone singing in Footbeat- you make my heart soar.<br />
Sarah and Emily- Continued Super Volunteer Love<br />
Jenny and Mike Hansen and Emily- Lot Coordinators exceptionale.<br />
All member of Fundraising Committee- cause you do the work I don't want to think about- Minerva Lopez, Kristen from Curio Shoppe, and others...<br />
Lot Face Painters and Kids project makers- Allison, Candace, and Sarah. Sophia and Friend.<br />
All the fine Ladies that showed up to help kids make costumes. <br />
Kid Enthusiasm- KK, Tamara, Camilla, Gabby, Tion, Da Prese, Lil Super Hero, Aryhana, Felix, Mina, Jaylah, Marlaisha, Jermaine, Tony.<br />
Grandma Support from Shelly. <br />
Stitch aka Cherokee King just being yourself.<br />
Mark Bohnert- photographer and parade enthusiast, for kindness among our project mess making.<br />
My Tribe of Parade regulars- Galen G. Fort Gondo, Jessica B., Kevin, Wonder, Rebecca B., Michael A., Mike P, David B., Mike and Maggie, Willy Z., QB, Katie Mac, Celestial Theater., Stephen J. moped, bikers, scooters of St. Louis. Cinco de Volvo. Chris S.<br />
Newbies- Poetry Scores crew, Bank, Latin Dancers. <br />
Jason Deem- working yer magic on the red tape that might hold us back.<br />
Anne of CSBA- Your great ideas and data base coordination. <br />
Water/Coffee/Cocoa carriers- that was so generous.<br />
C.A.T. crew, cause we keep getting smarter.<br />
My Family because they volunteer every year. <br />
Dick Blick for super generous and thoughtful supply donations.<br />
If I forgot you write me a note. <br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-85880181551314671532013-02-27T20:39:00.000-08:002013-02-27T20:39:35.836-08:00Getting over being Sick.For the past two weeks I was sick. This sickness had a little bit of everything. Low grade fever, achy joints, hacking cough, sinus headache, runny nose, upset stomach. I kept working through the illness as it never got terrible and subsequently it took forever to get well. These were my top recovery strategies in no particular order.<br />
<br />
1. Netty pot. Mark Pagano suggested I try this to get rid of my painful sinus headache and it worked like magic! The sensation was like accidentally sucking a bunch of water up my nose while swimming but the end result was a clearer head and drained sinuses. I'm a convert.<br />
2. The snow storm. I was forced to stay inside and rest when my work was canceled last week due to the snow.<br />
3. Fresh juice. In the morning I made what I called my power juice which consisted of a few leaves kale, a broccoli stem, a few leaves romaine, 1/3 cucumber, ginger, carrots, lemon, and an apple. I juiced all of this together and drank it throughout the day.<br />
4. Tea. First I boil a bunch of sliced ginger. Then I drink the water in a tea. I like to mix it with an actual tea like Gypsy cold care, Rasberry Zinger, Throat Coat, or Bengal Spice.<br />
5. My soup exchange with Lyndsey Scott. This fall Lyndsey and I started to make extra soup, whenever we cooked soup, and then we would surprise each other with containers of the soup. This was helpful on those days I was sick enough that I didn't want to cook. Also it was exciting to try new recipes!<br />
6. Netflix and HBOgo. Watching movies was the best way to distract myself from my physical pain.<br />
7. Bug juice. When I was sick when I was little my mom served me 7up with orange juice. This was my psychological sickness go to.<br />
8. Finally I went light on wheat and dairy which I heard were mucus producers. This was hard because I love cheese! <br />
<br />
I am feeling much better now, save the evening cough.<br />
What are your sickness cures or mental mojo boosts?Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-20646874061785305182013-02-22T15:32:00.000-08:002013-02-22T15:32:22.970-08:00Getting to the StudioSince I received the CALOP grant for my animation project <i>Elegy to Connie,</i> I've been trying to keep really regular studio hours. I estimated that I can animate between 1-2mins/week if I log around 20hrs. I am almost at twenty minutes animated, so in less than 10months I should have all animation complete. It is not always easy getting into my studio. In the past I tended to prioritize paying gigs over my studio hours, until I noticed that they slowly had crumbled away. Now I try to log studio hours like I'd log a time sheet. This helps for a few reasons. Looking back on my weekly "Art" time sheet, I am reminded when to put in more hours and when to take a break. Even the smallest bit of time grabbed during an evening at home counts. Plus I can't get hung up on a particular project or part of the animation, I just try to keep plugging away. This week has been hard because I have been sick for about eight days. When I would sit in my studio my head felt cloudy and confused. I did make it to my studio though and even if I fall a little short of time, I'm sure I'll make it up elsewhere. This is the process that I am putting my trust in; if I show up and work hard something unique will come out of it all. Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-12889613768048171672013-02-12T09:37:00.001-08:002013-02-12T09:37:24.067-08:00On PerfectionI've been struggling as a teacher with the mental perfectionism hang ups of my students. A room full of "this is ugly" or "I don't like this" drives me crazy, particularly when it is voiced during the first hour of a project. I think nothing kills a good lesson or project like a bunch of negativity projected onto that artwork. Don't get me wrong, I am all for improvement of skill and technique as needed by the artist, but I feel like negativity is the opposite of a learning attitude.<br />
<br />
Yesterday my class experience led me to contemplate some of my own moments of regret, self doubt, and perfectionism. I thought about when I'd bared my heart to someone that did not return my feelings or when I exposed raw sides of myself publicly in a poetry reading. I thought about clumsy moments when I walked into a stop sign. All the instances when I spoke up without thinking properly about my words, I'm sure I've even done that here. <br />
<br />
In the end I thought what if these moments were actually the instances when I was most beautiful, most human? What if they were a mark of my bravery and not my imperfection. <br />
<br />
I am holding this thought this month as I push through with current projects. I hope to blog a bit more and will use this writing space as a container for reflections on the ups and downs of this process.Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-77190792611483367382012-08-29T21:08:00.001-07:002012-08-29T21:08:41.885-07:00to Berlin<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mzOmtNmFpOnUJH4G93XHxfj8VA9x40V0hUszmvNjnaePt8dp6b2WMkhwP-vl2xx2Ysc2lR8JUihB_k85sMEL6fD6_blza-yfBQdocgawhhY4HEI6YOWF3tz5n6mh045TI9XXXZUSlTDR/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mzOmtNmFpOnUJH4G93XHxfj8VA9x40V0hUszmvNjnaePt8dp6b2WMkhwP-vl2xx2Ysc2lR8JUihB_k85sMEL6fD6_blza-yfBQdocgawhhY4HEI6YOWF3tz5n6mh045TI9XXXZUSlTDR/s320/DSC_0341.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bike chained to park fence in Berlin</td></tr>
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We waited in our hot train car to leave Paris for Berlin. Our car seated six people. There was a small arm rest and open windows. We were accompanied by several other young people; a punk looking guy with bleached blonde hair and a bottle of beer. A couple with giant luggage. The woman had curly brown hair that she wore in a pony on top of her head, like broccoli, and the man was slightly chubby and he wore a political shirt. They argued in an Eastern European language that I could not identify.<br />
<br />
I had just recovered from a few days of depression where I drowned in self criticism. I was glad to no longer feel blue and welcomed the chance to leave Paris for a few days.<br />
<br />
The man's shirt was a picture of "the dude" from the Big Lebowski. I immediately felt a sense of connection to him by seeing this shirt.- <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntjtwl6WRV18kVUoJj4fYrfmV1qoq4KhIQ6K_GplcZT9c7J06q0PxIRzuANIvomP7Mk4YaLJCPFLb65S4T_q0jP8rJUI9BEUeJQ6S2GbM64fmoDhamSCHs7hbPGe11Gadfr44UkacqGOs/s1600/Edward-aux-mains-d-argent-film-de-tim-burton-expo-cinematheque-francaise-paris-blog-hotel-du-jeu-de-paume-ile-saint-louis1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntjtwl6WRV18kVUoJj4fYrfmV1qoq4KhIQ6K_GplcZT9c7J06q0PxIRzuANIvomP7Mk4YaLJCPFLb65S4T_q0jP8rJUI9BEUeJQ6S2GbM64fmoDhamSCHs7hbPGe11Gadfr44UkacqGOs/s200/Edward-aux-mains-d-argent-film-de-tim-burton-expo-cinematheque-francaise-paris-blog-hotel-du-jeu-de-paume-ile-saint-louis1.jpg" width="126" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch for Edward Scissorhands</td></tr>
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I reflected on the day. Finally, Cam and I had gone to Cinematheque Francaise. We waited an hour in the heat after two prior failed attempts, but it was worth the wait. The Tim Burton exhibit was comprehensive and convincing, although perhaps a bit self indulgent. (Did we really need to see his middle school and high school drawing projects?). Nonetheless there was a ton of drawings, some good, some bad. I left with the impression that he had a total vision that he continued to follow and that drawing was at the root of how he conceived of all his artwork. I appreciated that he said something to the nature of {he decided when he was young to not care about if he drew well, but rather to focus on just drawing}, and in the process I could see that he had found his own style.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl0Ch2NSomYunTPdsFtJB0C_hyphenhyphenQtvCpVWdjZqropHTjisWoWCdoqiTnF0GDa_9qsWHj7rmX7bhWX2w1EDEjkrM-uTjhb76LpFyR_-SPWUaPO0aa37jdVPsyu3-5VAuMq-ZSPEiaM1-hqj/s1600/cinematheque_francaise_01_hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl0Ch2NSomYunTPdsFtJB0C_hyphenhyphenQtvCpVWdjZqropHTjisWoWCdoqiTnF0GDa_9qsWHj7rmX7bhWX2w1EDEjkrM-uTjhb76LpFyR_-SPWUaPO0aa37jdVPsyu3-5VAuMq-ZSPEiaM1-hqj/s200/cinematheque_francaise_01_hr.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melies' Studio Model</td></tr>
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-Our train had started the cool air entered the window.- <br />
<br />
Other highlights of Cinematheque Francaise included seeing all the early film devices like. zoetropes, magic pictures, and many of them were useable and interactive. What a joy! Sets of Melies, a model of his studio, the original robot costume from Metropolis. I wanted to keep a picture of it in my mind forever.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOUZ6hBYYU6KPKy0PBYsIH0Z_Ojw_uGO1e3EMbA1NeK_1wxEZ-o7utnyJULe3HRk8HXQ1cjHwm6EVNpXb5nQnRAa571O3eQyuASTi6zO4Ca3dCOcoQ57v3jSblZUCb68LFsAAF1BzTE1h/s1600/DSC_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqOUZ6hBYYU6KPKy0PBYsIH0Z_Ojw_uGO1e3EMbA1NeK_1wxEZ-o7utnyJULe3HRk8HXQ1cjHwm6EVNpXb5nQnRAa571O3eQyuASTi6zO4Ca3dCOcoQ57v3jSblZUCb68LFsAAF1BzTE1h/s200/DSC_0342.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kreutzberg Street</td></tr>
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We spent 24hr in Berlin and had a great time. Granted, on the way there I did not sleep a bit and was exhausted at random moments through out the day but we did manage to walk around Kreutzberg and check out a great thrift shop where I found a crazy cool wool jacket that reminded me of Bauhaus weaving. We looked at a market called Hermmanplatz in the center where there were all sorts of restaurant stalls. Then we walked to downtown Kreuzberg in a rather artsy area and had lunch at a Turkish kebab place that claimed to be the inventor of Donner Kebab. From there we walked a mile and 1/2+ to checkpoint Charlie. We took breaks along the way to get out of the sun and even ducked through a few parks.<br />
<br />
<br />
I noticed in Berlin: Everyone was outside. Tons of bike riders and park enthusiasts. Nice wide streets, second hand stores, and inexpensive food. Spaces seemed youthful and unpretentious with lots of re-purposed furniture.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0bHWwtv3ucn1FkeCcq8bwa4a9mOH77SgsFbo20vKHVoHpHgMllS299Hhyphenhyphen2MDuydUgfgtUhE15cUFtBKTFkWiyxG1neZCS_1P2oqgn0rek08ALFhRl0RB-bObshE3DxuXTCLtpIKHeNgV/s1600/DSC_0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0bHWwtv3ucn1FkeCcq8bwa4a9mOH77SgsFbo20vKHVoHpHgMllS299Hhyphenhyphen2MDuydUgfgtUhE15cUFtBKTFkWiyxG1neZCS_1P2oqgn0rek08ALFhRl0RB-bObshE3DxuXTCLtpIKHeNgV/s200/DSC_0366.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pension Berlin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNe8QtXw7Sbb2Mr0mme35bzVEHek-9EwhuLrJTrzNwN98vHf-nbo0UsEMu3aunQNHpK_vHdyzYC1WJtJzRpXdYcBUxg1NdQ53qlnZjW9SZaJXVq4XuFJ-_h0UyKGeMgNVXV2p5n3ERfI_/s1600/DSC_0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNe8QtXw7Sbb2Mr0mme35bzVEHek-9EwhuLrJTrzNwN98vHf-nbo0UsEMu3aunQNHpK_vHdyzYC1WJtJzRpXdYcBUxg1NdQ53qlnZjW9SZaJXVq4XuFJ-_h0UyKGeMgNVXV2p5n3ERfI_/s320/DSC_0361.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Room</td></tr>
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Such as our Air B and B spot. Cam had found an excellent place to stay-it was an old convenience store that had been transformed into a studio and pension by our host Frank and his girlfriend. He had added all sorts of interesting touches like a coin floor, collaged walls, and floor lamps turned into hanging lamps. I loved his ingenuity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePyDHjmWzVbBpMSthJ1Fff-7sZT2kdG40DBLcsXKy0OXif7bUhbfT8aI_yJ4Qbb95s8tBHpUq2ZxYXEGsKH4nd8tJ1fOT-TbmrIz1ThUqqVfTB2swvSjKyW4_DAO7W1Hq2RTmkEAkmuue/s1600/DSC_0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePyDHjmWzVbBpMSthJ1Fff-7sZT2kdG40DBLcsXKy0OXif7bUhbfT8aI_yJ4Qbb95s8tBHpUq2ZxYXEGsKH4nd8tJ1fOT-TbmrIz1ThUqqVfTB2swvSjKyW4_DAO7W1Hq2RTmkEAkmuue/s320/DSC_0363.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coin floor of Common Room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlKqdc9Lw7qp1tB_5UQAPlZOeL_xbNqwamtUZR4Xsi15KFKuvVh3BXVAnA4uNPNxYZKjqKslnqccray8MhLWOfKxsnAoPJj-qt3HT6TX9VDu2P5ga0J8xj8u3w6shqefVRLp3hQNF2VOY/s1600/DSC_0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlKqdc9Lw7qp1tB_5UQAPlZOeL_xbNqwamtUZR4Xsi15KFKuvVh3BXVAnA4uNPNxYZKjqKslnqccray8MhLWOfKxsnAoPJj-qt3HT6TX9VDu2P5ga0J8xj8u3w6shqefVRLp3hQNF2VOY/s200/DSC_0343.JPG" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexanderplatz Collage in Bedroom</td></tr>
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From Checkpoint Charlie we walked to the Brandenburg Gates and then past the Reichstag, and finally into another park. We wondered into a shopping area with lots of movie theaters. Then we took the Metro home. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-sz67MIYQ9K6s4e2MBQElq2leT54dthHS1A9YrI9C1jXjfMqPt9dAlwvealmI2b-UZK6YTvJj0UuR7xf0kzSEPcwZlxvZXUI3nkn8un0I4WMLRBe6OKzF2CUxQrYZhixB7ucq8xl0_zA/s1600/DSC_0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc-sz67MIYQ9K6s4e2MBQElq2leT54dthHS1A9YrI9C1jXjfMqPt9dAlwvealmI2b-UZK6YTvJj0UuR7xf0kzSEPcwZlxvZXUI3nkn8un0I4WMLRBe6OKzF2CUxQrYZhixB7ucq8xl0_zA/s200/DSC_0345.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checkpoint Charlie Sign</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiIPDeo1C_fe5-di8HGBL35H835a16R3COHQ1nQ1_VDWonbw6cbiIjiHla2-e3zNWusfeQdNAy74JHIVbbMlcXk6njuIZb18QLzZWbOaBtXrqrWIhyphenhyphenj-4VycFFje9x1w2VhCRbF-VxKvo/s1600/DSC_0347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiIPDeo1C_fe5-di8HGBL35H835a16R3COHQ1nQ1_VDWonbw6cbiIjiHla2-e3zNWusfeQdNAy74JHIVbbMlcXk6njuIZb18QLzZWbOaBtXrqrWIhyphenhyphenj-4VycFFje9x1w2VhCRbF-VxKvo/s200/DSC_0347.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McDonald's next to Checkpoint Charlie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nx8jKn-wLuXZn-9nBo2-9lzanlngat13Fh20nrOHZZDwdRcAM_PlFpTFOdjTiZee4qnZ6BndmbgakkSVDHHQ36MvRubX45crpArgn-I0jlhc2HD90ILrUIUX2c_ZwIvXoXzb9RNxgm7l/s1600/DSC_0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nx8jKn-wLuXZn-9nBo2-9lzanlngat13Fh20nrOHZZDwdRcAM_PlFpTFOdjTiZee4qnZ6BndmbgakkSVDHHQ36MvRubX45crpArgn-I0jlhc2HD90ILrUIUX2c_ZwIvXoXzb9RNxgm7l/s320/DSC_0349.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandenburg Gates</td></tr>
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Back at our hostel we took a nap as the evening gave way to rain. When we woke we walked to the bank and then to a crazy convenience store for batteries. Crazy mainly because I noticed at least two people in full loud conversation with themselves. We stood in line behind one of the crazy men, a tatooed guy, and a group of friendly young punks. We wondered around further in the misty summer night as lanterns and christmas bulb strings turned on at restaurants in old houses with setback yards where people dined. The night had a warm glow. The cool air of the rain brought people to eat outside in covered areas. <br />
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We found a Currywurst stand by following Cam's instincts and sat for dinner as group of young Turkish men kindly give up the single table in front of the stand. Currywurst is a bratwurst covered with a curry ketchup and accompanied by fries. It was delicious but not something I could eat every week. After the cheap dinner we walked towards the direction of our B and B. All around young adults our age were out for the night, enjoying dinners, sitting on porch stoops having a beer, holding each other from sadness. I saw a woman in a window playing an accordion. I saw a couple doing standup at a club. We decided to have a beer at the Pony Salon, mostly because I liked the name and its outdoor seating. The ceiling of the bar was covered in record posters. The furniture was a mish mash of vintage couches. The waitress was friendly and gave us large beers with a side of pretzels.<br />
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Cam and I entered into deep discussions about our residency, Berlin, St. Louis, our frustrations with being an artist. I was so drawn to our discussions that I didn't even want to play pool. Two beers later as the bar was shutting down the old man sitting next to us began to chat with a traveler about to enter his car. <br />
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"Look at how great Berlin is, Wow!", said the traveler.<br />
"It's inspiring, 60 years ago it was destroyed and now it is so creative, so much freedom, " he continued.<br />
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The man replied, "Yes, it is like the dawn after a dark night."<br />
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I thought about how St. Louis had the possibility to feel like Berlin. To be slow, creative, let it all hang out, exist together, be weird, not be all about money but rather ideas, support the arts. To heal from our racist roots, our separated city with its invisible walls.<br />
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I thought about my future- I wanted to be able to travel. I wanted to have a home. I wanted to meet travelers. I wanted to pay my debts. I wanted to be involved in art community. How do I get there? How do we get there?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7M9YO6fyRoDDZAzFmOjw7Lj_P3jdr-8yWJOmK-7FQaoNZAoKJz1DxzQHElpuCDojsOJNpa1yEcvmk2etQK3lQfvK0USVQn508Waf85NlY_1ARXNWJI7_ZIEJFN3DZNrkyzrUiF88F_xb/s1600/DSC_0364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7M9YO6fyRoDDZAzFmOjw7Lj_P3jdr-8yWJOmK-7FQaoNZAoKJz1DxzQHElpuCDojsOJNpa1yEcvmk2etQK3lQfvK0USVQn508Waf85NlY_1ARXNWJI7_ZIEJFN3DZNrkyzrUiF88F_xb/s320/DSC_0364.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pension Berlin Flag</td></tr>
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Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-72086563608840743912012-08-21T21:33:00.000-07:002012-08-21T21:35:33.599-07:00Eating tapas in Spain<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYXOrNlM7F6TLOmi9pfq0qUH7CYWuaq3QezcW2OkHZnC-5zSKi6KN_TCh9W7uYQW8nCfMO4FmBBuXbkMkXxJgEJq328PgYc2Q6WHh1fj3VIu8dS_MMwXcPDMjveLWJE3blXdFEdEYhm6O/s1600/DSC_0925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYXOrNlM7F6TLOmi9pfq0qUH7CYWuaq3QezcW2OkHZnC-5zSKi6KN_TCh9W7uYQW8nCfMO4FmBBuXbkMkXxJgEJq328PgYc2Q6WHh1fj3VIu8dS_MMwXcPDMjveLWJE3blXdFEdEYhm6O/s320/DSC_0925.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocio at a great mussels bar El Rocio. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I've decided to share a few customs I've noticed about eating tapas in Spain. Tapas or small plates are servings of food eaten as a meal or as a snack with drinks. The word "tapas" means "lid" which links to the origin of the custom- when restaurants would cover drinks with a plate of food to prevent the person from becoming too inebriated. Also it's hospitable.<br />
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1. Share and Split. When eating Tapas, generally everyone shares and thus the check is split among the total amount of people.<br />
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2. Drink with the group. The hope is that everyone will also be drinking about the same amount of alcohol, so it is wise to keep up so that you are getting your money's worth. <br />
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3. Dare to try new food. I believe that you should try each tapas at least once in your life. (unless you have a dietary or moral reason).<br />
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4. Generally each person orders a tapas to share.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-pbbkYBrmdUlNc_DY5d2d_pBoO8CTGHE9wGiyUPn6UihhikFz6BK8cEmspIm3CRWZnhDlhio7RUcyco5U091KQerCXEcT2OboCTvHvdTrDvhJFnsr21sHJ5CHyZ6JHnpNEJb2hV_unbL/s1600/DSC_0930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-pbbkYBrmdUlNc_DY5d2d_pBoO8CTGHE9wGiyUPn6UihhikFz6BK8cEmspIm3CRWZnhDlhio7RUcyco5U091KQerCXEcT2OboCTvHvdTrDvhJFnsr21sHJ5CHyZ6JHnpNEJb2hV_unbL/s320/DSC_0930.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inma laughs while eating a tapas.</td></tr>
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5. If you are on a budget, no worries, in Spain you can eat really good tapas for a low price. It's even better if you are in a tapeo zone in Granada. Here you can select a free house tapas with every drink you order.<br />
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6. Dig In. Table manners we are accustomed to in the U.S. are different in Spain, it's okay to dig your fork into the communal plate and even use your hands when necessary, (like eating a pig ear or kabob).<br />
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7. Order a Variety. I believe in the balance of tapas, I like to have a range of hot and cold items, meat and vegetable, cheese and fruit. Tapas vary by region so eat local.<br />
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8. Tapas do not come out at the same time, but rather in the order that they are finished, so it is constant surprise.<br />
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9. After the majority of the tapas have been consumed, it is customary to check and see if anyone needs more tapas.<br />
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Standard tapas might include:<br />
Tortilla espanol, olives, pan tumaca, manchego cheese and quince paste, patatas bravas, patatas alioli, calimari (fried or grilled), octopus (fried or grilled), cuttle fish (grilled), mixed fish fried, mushrooms in sherry, white asparagus, stuffed mushrooms, sardines, chicken wings, pincho morunos (pork kebabs), migas (a stuffing), sausage platter, albondigas (meatballs), eggplant, empanadas, croquetas, steamed mussels, oysters, russian salad, shrimp, blood sausage, ceviche, stuffed peppers, deviled eggs, lima beans, jamon serrano . There are many more but perhaps this at least has got your mental food palette dreaming. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHrPKwk7Pju85R5V8KekCF2XJU567l01m9yTJVbUay_1fqwCgqcHRaFuB624rb6KLN0kxxgLyRIeQWbpmQ4CCciprj0AW_Xrd7bawuLuiRw64qO6FtkrAXcYlnm990oE2aHLZoAyV15s6/s1600/DSC_0922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHrPKwk7Pju85R5V8KekCF2XJU567l01m9yTJVbUay_1fqwCgqcHRaFuB624rb6KLN0kxxgLyRIeQWbpmQ4CCciprj0AW_Xrd7bawuLuiRw64qO6FtkrAXcYlnm990oE2aHLZoAyV15s6/s320/DSC_0922.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam and I satisfied from our meal.</td></tr>
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Tapas are a way of eating, that emphasizes not only shared food, but shared conversation. The thing I love about tapas, is when I leave the table I am totally satisfied, not hungry, but also not stuffed.<br />
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The Magic Continues...<br />
After eating tapas, a recent summer night in Spain, we headed to a Cuban bar. Following mojitos, I was surprised and delighted to see Cam, who never dances despite all my pleading, agree to dance with me. He twirled, dipped, and led me around the room, my friends jaws dropped. They applauded his moves and later told me "he was a better dancer than you!" I give credit to the tapas. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9RD-l2iMV95kaIoDLakT6OVVAIYhBiz7L7Smhd9tFLwpgxepym2jmkoqzTQuk8h3lSIS7hIuc2gxSMb5XiLvfJKayJS6QE6oJmlSqJ9iWE3OU7iHvIeqbK-TauWYxH3CuXd6UlpppcOU/s1600/DSC_0949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9RD-l2iMV95kaIoDLakT6OVVAIYhBiz7L7Smhd9tFLwpgxepym2jmkoqzTQuk8h3lSIS7hIuc2gxSMb5XiLvfJKayJS6QE6oJmlSqJ9iWE3OU7iHvIeqbK-TauWYxH3CuXd6UlpppcOU/s200/DSC_0949.JPG" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar twirls Laura.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading for Home.</td></tr>
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<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-75271960656259614562012-07-31T13:38:00.002-07:002012-07-31T13:38:28.969-07:00Paris Day to Day<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglY7QIHC0tqkxh_JFvYW6b-wAIUKby31JLnZIK34H-LjGc8TDJjCarvi7gi9kRhCvbu9JzI9d1_ybIPwLLypKUVFoN7hXKD8j_yAxy3kgK9UZQ11_MkiE9WE9fxwXy7k97Du0i4IYxEwM/s1600/DSC_0174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglY7QIHC0tqkxh_JFvYW6b-wAIUKby31JLnZIK34H-LjGc8TDJjCarvi7gi9kRhCvbu9JzI9d1_ybIPwLLypKUVFoN7hXKD8j_yAxy3kgK9UZQ11_MkiE9WE9fxwXy7k97Du0i4IYxEwM/s320/DSC_0174.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Window of Apartment</td></tr>
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We've now been in Paris for more than three weeks. Our lives have settled into regular habits mixed with tourist activities. We've made friendships with residents and watched residents leave.<br />
<span id="goog_1796854083"></span><span id="goog_1796854084"></span><br />
<b>Each Day</b><br />
Our day to day schedule goes something like this- we wake up and make coffee in a french press. Cam eats the remains of yesterday's baguette with jam and yogurt. I have cereal, yogurt, and fruit. <br />
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On Tuesdays and Thursdays we go to language class. These are taught by the ever entertaining and high energy, Bethsabee. The classes are supposed to last about two hours but in order to hear from everyone, she lets the classes run 3 hours plus. No other languages can be spoken besides French. The first few days it was a headache but I am getting used to it and am happy when I can follow the conversation. Going to these classes has been a great way to hear about other residents at the Cite. On the days we don't have class, most often we work on our artwork, read, or write.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrWKlaxyfXUBA9lVK8QQVB-rHHj-Br7ImDmDfTLxLWwqFg_PO7JCxQy6DSqsnQN2YFzGrCVJnM4b-NZCW56pb09iTNQXT4J-RUTn3FObeFG6VKJiK0KHmzp0hbk718gwo0y1v-HXLqPCC/s1600/DSC_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrWKlaxyfXUBA9lVK8QQVB-rHHj-Br7ImDmDfTLxLWwqFg_PO7JCxQy6DSqsnQN2YFzGrCVJnM4b-NZCW56pb09iTNQXT4J-RUTn3FObeFG6VKJiK0KHmzp0hbk718gwo0y1v-HXLqPCC/s320/DSC_0337.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studio View</td></tr>
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We eat leftovers for lunch and then during the afternoons we go sightseeing or walking. At some point we pick up food for dinner at a combination of markets, breadshops, butchers, and grocery stores. When we return home from our afternoon adventures we return to our studio work. We eat late, and then return to our studio work. On days we are too tired from walking our heat, we watch a movie or grab a coffee at a cafe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTx_XouomGBGK5IGPf9k_xXguKd71AFkStFlU48TdcG9Cjo9R1arKlatnnPM8ep-aBF4RZV7ndLNWsmzuRj8OE4R-2Xvr8QurSF1xGaMkDh1GrP8VW2RamJgI5CctHNt4LcH-IjCrmfOC/s1600/DSC_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTx_XouomGBGK5IGPf9k_xXguKd71AFkStFlU48TdcG9Cjo9R1arKlatnnPM8ep-aBF4RZV7ndLNWsmzuRj8OE4R-2Xvr8QurSF1xGaMkDh1GrP8VW2RamJgI5CctHNt4LcH-IjCrmfOC/s200/DSC_0340.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen</td></tr>
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<br />
Since it is expensive to eat out here around $18 euro/person, except for say Kabobs, Felafel, and Chinese, and we want to pretend we are also enjoying the French cuisine, we buy fresh ingredients at the market and do a lot of cooking in our apartment. This is sort of hilarious because we only have two burners so we have had to stretch our imaginations, but in some ways we eat better here since we have time to prepare food. Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto. Pork Chops and Garlic Green Beans. Steak with Mushrooms. Pork Loin and Arugala. Tomato salads. Plus whatever we make, becomes the next day's lunch so hopefully we will like our creations. Since we can't cook anything in an oven, we get those foods at the bakery or market- i.e. roasted chicken and quiches.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlpqD8A1ciNdO8vu9g_mOzNWSo4uEZYuZFpMU4jl5Apt8b6L3dJHdEtcBZr4LpOThV_mOfxDDvqnIsqbXTNSC8m_swPNOpwEkk2ghDRudM06KTIxjcZx0PAkFWmC0UNYB_Gg-cn9QH_Gs/s1600/DSC_0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlpqD8A1ciNdO8vu9g_mOzNWSo4uEZYuZFpMU4jl5Apt8b6L3dJHdEtcBZr4LpOThV_mOfxDDvqnIsqbXTNSC8m_swPNOpwEkk2ghDRudM06KTIxjcZx0PAkFWmC0UNYB_Gg-cn9QH_Gs/s320/DSC_0179.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam with delicious fresh morning melon.</td></tr>
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<b>Our Neighborhood</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFd90U3O6HzdOYFcnOUtirao7JzTApaKarHiW0Ivw4RAXWWFToe6j2JL0tIW_3gTaxDaIqhHxNraSW2fWPLru409dkP0H2efpY3ILiSRiTcU82gQu8z06VnmOaoEEIO2zSXsO5dWzWLfLC/s1600/DSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFd90U3O6HzdOYFcnOUtirao7JzTApaKarHiW0Ivw4RAXWWFToe6j2JL0tIW_3gTaxDaIqhHxNraSW2fWPLru409dkP0H2efpY3ILiSRiTcU82gQu8z06VnmOaoEEIO2zSXsO5dWzWLfLC/s320/DSC_0211.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy display at a concept boutique.</td></tr>
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We have walked and/or biked across much of Paris. The first few days we mostly walked around our neighborhood in the Marais. We located a market we liked called, Marche des Enfants Rouges, where we have become friends with both a produce man, who thoughtfully picks our fruit, and the Italian family that sells Cam buttery green olives. We are also located close to the islands where there are great ice cream shops! St. Paul street is another favorite of mine because of the vintage and junk shop. There are many galleries and boutiques in our neighborhood and over time we've stopped to see shows and look at clothes. Too my disappointment the galleries have closed for August, and most of the clothes are out of my price range despite everything being on sale. But a girl can dream of lovely blue leather shoes with red finish and a wooden heal.<br />
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<b>Dear Fashionistas</b><br />
Truthfully I walked around feeling sort of fashionably inept the first week or so. I gawked at all the fashionistas and felt embarrassed about my own limited wardrobe I'd carried with me in my backpack. Functional Shoes and limited shirt selections. <br />
I wanted to yell- "Dear people or Paris- I am not this boring of a dresser, if only you could see the creativity with which I dress in St. Louis!" (save of course my favorite Curtain Factory Clothes) <br />
Secretly I am a clothes horse and this is probably how I would spend my money if I had extra. It also did not help that the first week all it did was rain and I had a mainly Spanish summer wardrobe. Since then, I've been to a few sales at the larger department stores with items in my price range, including my favorite Spanish store, "Zara".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqFDJerjBbM7ybiCBfPu3R-CvMsuFkc5UD5rY8fof1iNK0O5-gr0ZMwJQimQ4R7nM6sC-jdNYjeAAVNotU_6h-v1rQdt6OlMxLCWc5OUI8QivYoRxQjoNEpIn2CeX8kOnk_FAK4v8BtUg/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqFDJerjBbM7ybiCBfPu3R-CvMsuFkc5UD5rY8fof1iNK0O5-gr0ZMwJQimQ4R7nM6sC-jdNYjeAAVNotU_6h-v1rQdt6OlMxLCWc5OUI8QivYoRxQjoNEpIn2CeX8kOnk_FAK4v8BtUg/s200/IMG_0136.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you turn your head you can see this is a Camera Tie.</td></tr>
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Our neighborhood also has several museums, we've enjoyed going to the Carnavalet (a museum about the history of Paris), the Museum of Magic and Automatons, the Centre Pompidou (a great collection of Contemporary Art), Arts and Metiers (museum of inventions-check out photo to right) and the Museum of the Shoah, a cathartic space about the Holocaust and Paris' negligence to its Jewish residents during that time period. Very Sad.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0nPhKXD-sqDP_V3EV6H2UcB5JVjBqyUy7o3LF6DAtezFOh_isBt1tJsTkVWyvU736QLVxI0ldbMrD29HI9ae3_g0OM-sX0yigzr6Vx4R9O7MBYhp0tzSudB7aKyUUP_t70pCAVtuDiol/s1600/DSC_0186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0nPhKXD-sqDP_V3EV6H2UcB5JVjBqyUy7o3LF6DAtezFOh_isBt1tJsTkVWyvU736QLVxI0ldbMrD29HI9ae3_g0OM-sX0yigzr6Vx4R9O7MBYhp0tzSudB7aKyUUP_t70pCAVtuDiol/s320/DSC_0186.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Doig painting at Centre Pompidou</td></tr>
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<b>Highlights</b>:<br />
*Walking several miles to watch the Fireworks on Bastille Day, only to realize as they began that our view was eclipsed by a tree. Then walking home with giant blisters!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1RcYpAviqKtqzTEG3JFtRdAiu6skOzetAyvyWkzfGfw6Qu7zWzZiTutx-pCKsZHfFxK-Jl4BAFOQqRiKwUvO-H4BDuDogfVHu1AzaxggAZZGAdbOt2PPqRCzrKW8WztZ9hLnGJpdtSBK/s1600/DSC_0222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1RcYpAviqKtqzTEG3JFtRdAiu6skOzetAyvyWkzfGfw6Qu7zWzZiTutx-pCKsZHfFxK-Jl4BAFOQqRiKwUvO-H4BDuDogfVHu1AzaxggAZZGAdbOt2PPqRCzrKW8WztZ9hLnGJpdtSBK/s320/DSC_0222.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foundation LeCorbusier</td></tr>
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*A day architecture bike tour adventure with German friends Christiana and JoHan which included seeing a LeCorbusier building, his teacher's buildings, and early art nouveau apartments in the burning heat.<br />
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*Sunset at a park overlooking Paris drinking wine from a nearby shop. Then two inspiring Sub-Saharian African music concerts, with our German friend Reinhardt in the Belleville neighborhood. This was followed by beers and late night bike rides home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-O87G7zzABUwxE0cCdjPbQa2LIIUmd4MVA2Xwybi-ldIVGXmwz3MmV0h8-RkIqe6tZOmQeG2strkp1HmQ5r3sPdnNQ2jj4sTh2I7oWOoCto_HqZfY4_QqrcL9cdrkRK1iE6R4P5eivhX/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-O87G7zzABUwxE0cCdjPbQa2LIIUmd4MVA2Xwybi-ldIVGXmwz3MmV0h8-RkIqe6tZOmQeG2strkp1HmQ5r3sPdnNQ2jj4sTh2I7oWOoCto_HqZfY4_QqrcL9cdrkRK1iE6R4P5eivhX/s200/DSC_0276.JPG" width="200" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><i>Le Labyrinthe</i><br />
by Michelangelo Pistoletto</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX3x1WDXWAnEcPApCJ3r4SZDTp3s9nB0ElemWj3kcWkl8nCfM_hxbXFj0K5OYKtmk-McAGX6BC0NTq2N0CKPwtDYf9zDntGct2KPTGnPeXzoWdopCO5JcGNyJeIoMd5NsA8cjUDd5kPpC/s1600/DSC_0285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX3x1WDXWAnEcPApCJ3r4SZDTp3s9nB0ElemWj3kcWkl8nCfM_hxbXFj0K5OYKtmk-McAGX6BC0NTq2N0CKPwtDYf9zDntGct2KPTGnPeXzoWdopCO5JcGNyJeIoMd5NsA8cjUDd5kPpC/s320/DSC_0285.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The building you see is a Mirror. <br />
An Interactive Art Piece <i>Batiment</i><br />
by Leandro Erlich.</td></tr>
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<br />
*A Saturday visit to <b>104,</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm18-PvbpIsY6qe-LMVL71B2qj1YmFde-ATK53NK-jneKgmzmJtXj1dBl921Lr79lDKr-U-jlmC93b-tH2qq9nD7Uh0vM1vLL1Eh8oknH0DzzM-MwqKMcp2aqJZJT1nB4soUbmZveGWBEf/s1600/DSC_0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm18-PvbpIsY6qe-LMVL71B2qj1YmFde-ATK53NK-jneKgmzmJtXj1dBl921Lr79lDKr-U-jlmC93b-tH2qq9nD7Uh0vM1vLL1Eh8oknH0DzzM-MwqKMcp2aqJZJT1nB4soUbmZveGWBEf/s200/DSC_0282.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Me in the cardboard maze.</td></tr>
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an art space in the Canal du Nord area, with Tamim, an artist from Bangladesh. This was a space for dance, performance, and art. Here we were surprised by the variety of ambitious and interactive artworks. <br />
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We left that space and walked to the Parque Villette where Tamim loved the giant red sculptures called Folies. We ended the night with Coffee and a dessert platter. <br />
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*Which leads to my next favorite: Regular dessert and/or coffee tastings followed by conversations and contemplations at cafes and boulangerie's.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbTuOESuoEDkCk2IEPZrCKuONwPdyVgc2sODxtA4tlBarUWsVjD2ot8lxiNA0937jcYvfuHGk7W3CcvG-cM24puFA8Gqj0dglDpru6g1w3KSe4v-CdQKr9aluYCZ5FF5qEge59Jd52dR_/s1600/DSC_0332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbTuOESuoEDkCk2IEPZrCKuONwPdyVgc2sODxtA4tlBarUWsVjD2ot8lxiNA0937jcYvfuHGk7W3CcvG-cM24puFA8Gqj0dglDpru6g1w3KSe4v-CdQKr9aluYCZ5FF5qEge59Jd52dR_/s200/DSC_0332.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam in front of Beat Hotel.</td></tr>
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*Self guided walking tour of Passages or Arcades, covered shopping walkways, that Walter Benjamin wrote about. Odd to see how shopping industry has built up around the spaces, while the passages remain nostalgic filled with bookstores, restaurants, antique, and junk shops, or at times vacant.<br />
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*An evening self-guided walking tour of the Latin Quarter seeking out spots where famous writers and artists lived- like Picasso's studio, Kerouac's hotel, and Hemingway's apartment.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOBsDPoCMPOFchDMxlFlXFuTSMJb4rewo_Mj-BEdLMmm57XjvzbNxaxJAlsOpFxiPOtn3agYEQb5ZbAmgwPmGxYE0rcWWXpHXrsVjehIn4G-GEdunWX_5lgU-2vs2YworFDxyxTxPv8D7/s1600/DSC_0252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOBsDPoCMPOFchDMxlFlXFuTSMJb4rewo_Mj-BEdLMmm57XjvzbNxaxJAlsOpFxiPOtn3agYEQb5ZbAmgwPmGxYE0rcWWXpHXrsVjehIn4G-GEdunWX_5lgU-2vs2YworFDxyxTxPv8D7/s320/DSC_0252.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristiana, JoHan, and Cam, in front of Balzac's house.</td></tr>
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*BIKES-nothing is quite as good as the Velib system here, where for the equivalent of about $32 you can have a year long membership that gives you 1/2 hour access to a bike anywhere in Paris. We've joyfully ridden all over Paris on these bikes and have loved all the official bike lines. We didn't even have to use the metro, save three times, during the first three weeks.<br />
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*Free Concerts at the Cite, Haitian folk songs, Piano performances, classical guitar duets...<br />
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*Olympics on the big screen for free and outdoor public puffy chairs!<br />
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*Free self cleaning public restrooms, when you can locate one.<br />
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*Subways buskers. I heard a full Eastern "polka esque" Band yesterday.<br />
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<b>not so favorite things</b><br />
-Crowds at the Musee d'Orsay that made it near impossible to view paintings.<br />
-Additionally people standing in front of paintings at Pinotheque Modigliani/Soutine show as they read text, also making viewing paintings, impossible.<br />
-General crowds of tourists making streets impassable.<br />
-People that bump into me with their giant shopping bags.<br />
-Expensive- restaurants, clothes, flea markets.<br />
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<b>The Double Edged Sword of a Residency in Paris</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkULudlz0pnyOlCyO0m7h96fyJvSRXMyr0nY-yH_KOLDrpIxfMBsPhjAPUp0vjTgwa5YdTIhzPLACFpM0JXtRcxOj73O3BKX-Vr4RZdyiy069xnWNneSHUg8dfbjSBnbxhMzQNvJ1AKwho/s1600/DSC_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkULudlz0pnyOlCyO0m7h96fyJvSRXMyr0nY-yH_KOLDrpIxfMBsPhjAPUp0vjTgwa5YdTIhzPLACFpM0JXtRcxOj73O3BKX-Vr4RZdyiy069xnWNneSHUg8dfbjSBnbxhMzQNvJ1AKwho/s200/DSC_0178.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cam working in Studio</td></tr>
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This residency combines two of my favorite things: art and travel. This is also the difficulty because to make art, I've got to stop going on adventures and allow myself to just be in the studio. On the other hand I am only here once and so I want to see and enjoy as much as possible, I hope to really experience and be influenced by Paris in some way. But there are more things here than I can see in a month or two months. How do I make the most of this experience and opportunity? <br />
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<br />
<b>To Rome (or Paris or New York or St. Louis) with Love</b><br />
In the end, I hope to leave with a different understanding of myself or the world. In the recent Woody Allen movie, "To Rome with Love" Cam described the underline theme of the movie as the following, (which I've added onto)...Each character comes to the city searching- thinking they want to be something else, to achieve a dream they have not yet, or they want to return to someone they were, in the end they all realize that what they had was quite enough and in some cases just right. I'm curious if this is how I will return home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Installation by Farhad Moshiri</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of words made from key chains</td></tr>
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<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-44948681136087895202012-07-27T02:37:00.001-07:002012-07-27T02:37:34.046-07:00Henna Bonding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The night before we were set to leave Morocco, Aziza surprised me by offering to create Henna drawings on my hand. Henna is a drying process made from plant leaves that is often done to women as part of a social or holiday celebration. Henna is considered a "blessing" and is applied for luck, joy, and beauty. I was very excited as I had never experienced this process and I had seen the beautiful designs that Lisa had on her hands for her engagement. Lisa was surprised that I had never had Henna done as she had it done multiple times in Morocco. Anyways it was a fun and community building process. The first step was to prepare the henna. Henna is an earthy brown substance that looks and smells a bit like dirt and chocolate. The younger daughters helped heat up and stir the Henna. Next they prepared the syringe, often Henna is drawn using a syringe, minus the needle, so that a thin line can be achieved. This was particularly fun to watch as the syringe they had was not working and so one of the older daughters spent a long time trying to scientifically construct a squirting device (kind of like a pastry frosting bag) using plastic rolled into cones. I appreciated her determination. </div>
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Here Aziza is working on the first hand. </div>
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The Henna came out very thick, like a paste, and it sat on top of the hand. I loved the photo below because it showed how much of a group process this was. As Aziza was drawing on my hand, the younger women practiced drawing on their own hands and feet. I loved how the youngest girl kept cracking up about here errors as she used the faulty/ rejected pastry bags. When everyone was working together it really felt like a quilting bee or a pampering girls slumber party. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwEch6TpXhVkeN33kfO8x5XGjZ-xTTRV94l8FaMAYFUM6phFriQ5riQwKqZGYGLrFBv4WYgZqNN32e_nP1C7w2P9pBZHF3v_z5RPqmNAV2yy4gxh4peb8y5wc0N3ditfuYTvdwTTo1ggF/s1600/DSC_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwEch6TpXhVkeN33kfO8x5XGjZ-xTTRV94l8FaMAYFUM6phFriQ5riQwKqZGYGLrFBv4WYgZqNN32e_nP1C7w2P9pBZHF3v_z5RPqmNAV2yy4gxh4peb8y5wc0N3ditfuYTvdwTTo1ggF/s320/DSC_0663.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are my hands right when they've been finished. It took about two hours between the drawing and drying process, which passed quickly because we were watching Superman on T.V. but it was late! Almost 2 am.</div>
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Here you can see both sides of my hands with the drying henna. I sadly did not get a picture, but in order to protect my hands while I slept, Aziza wrapped my hands in gauze and then but plastic bags on them, I felt like a crazy mummy. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxuZyj5FUUm-0MVMswOTWd3OAHhmMXPoYMOQL90_PQuaS0MtUX6S-nxHl7xV_FuUAWbrmJ6lbjvzBw1F4FIg1ZfvihvyfR-QtX3vEfAlUlkuF8g8g8gxH1ZSpaHyLUhdZudq1KiwfUlKk/s1600/IMGP6254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxuZyj5FUUm-0MVMswOTWd3OAHhmMXPoYMOQL90_PQuaS0MtUX6S-nxHl7xV_FuUAWbrmJ6lbjvzBw1F4FIg1ZfvihvyfR-QtX3vEfAlUlkuF8g8g8gxH1ZSpaHyLUhdZudq1KiwfUlKk/s200/IMGP6254.jpg" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCT5o5MreEvcfOTtv-MAPvsd1so1q5w-DpvdrAhtNCqj5y4-MofCud0nP9_Q3Vf_mdAVs-wiGNg8HVpzc2xXG4Qp0uh39EWkuwOKmaq3vhM8HHXvl9cInG3GKwfm7qbfIMMMCyugZ9j1G/s1600/IMGP6255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCT5o5MreEvcfOTtv-MAPvsd1so1q5w-DpvdrAhtNCqj5y4-MofCud0nP9_Q3Vf_mdAVs-wiGNg8HVpzc2xXG4Qp0uh39EWkuwOKmaq3vhM8HHXvl9cInG3GKwfm7qbfIMMMCyugZ9j1G/s200/IMGP6255.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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The next morning when I woke up, I unwrapped my hands. I showed Momma Ha and she took my hands and rubbed off the dried Henna. Sort of like a hand massage. Voila! I had these lovely designs on my skin beneath the dried Henna. I felt very beautiful to have such elegantly drawing designs on my hands. It was almost like I had a new haircut that I wanted to keep looking at in the mirror. </div>
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That morning we all posed for a group picture to celebrate the end of our visit. </div>
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The Henna stayed on my hands for the next two weeks, it was a sweet reminder of our trip to Morocco and actually led to many conversations with Moroccans living in Spain and France!</div>
<br />Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-78766576200503806912012-07-24T12:15:00.001-07:002012-07-24T12:15:47.185-07:00Where I'd Shoot a Music Video About Fallen Civilizations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5UEQgOaQTcc7XQmz81HlTA4OASrvG-XDl8IRhohzmS8tfp0pofWpLhLkKyJ5milbD5dSOp64O7crvIAtsXmh0Nr3OtwBCT-stL0_yC64SLnqZGW0uCCj5OnaR0mLpIiAXhsCgp7VDZ1M/s1600/IMGP6214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5UEQgOaQTcc7XQmz81HlTA4OASrvG-XDl8IRhohzmS8tfp0pofWpLhLkKyJ5milbD5dSOp64O7crvIAtsXmh0Nr3OtwBCT-stL0_yC64SLnqZGW0uCCj5OnaR0mLpIiAXhsCgp7VDZ1M/s320/IMGP6214.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cam studied Volubilis in college. In Morocco its called Walili. Located outside of Meknes and near Moulay Idriss. It is the best Roman ruins in northern Africa. It was built around 32BC and lasted until 270 BC.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The landscape along the road to Volubilis</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilars lineup with the horizon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking around I imagined us in an 80's rock video. </td></tr>
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Can't you imagine us animated pixelation style right here?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1HLAqN15mEU6sfxCm9tZZKWlDvNQVxz6EXCtloBHgjHREkADaZRX8h4AMne49MDos76jD6x0jluvQJyCJU4po1ilRUKoXc8ZI1k5nEAaGiHKxoY9D-4zbUAljvx5WxGwuJjF1vNdU-Jc/s1600/DSC_0529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1HLAqN15mEU6sfxCm9tZZKWlDvNQVxz6EXCtloBHgjHREkADaZRX8h4AMne49MDos76jD6x0jluvQJyCJU4po1ilRUKoXc8ZI1k5nEAaGiHKxoY9D-4zbUAljvx5WxGwuJjF1vNdU-Jc/s320/DSC_0529.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are contemplating the ruins of a world long gone.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVr0fhqdvZjATy2YL60l5K8N0fQD4Xi5h1DCzuEL35bEIrNea6X-cq-XotBSILoOqFeCFcPqsIMOxCj3oZ3OAEMK_J171TWwLYYEs63H-HftIAQYW0GhZEmxinDVz-ZA0AU7Dhjkcpp6Y/s1600/DSC_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVr0fhqdvZjATy2YL60l5K8N0fQD4Xi5h1DCzuEL35bEIrNea6X-cq-XotBSILoOqFeCFcPqsIMOxCj3oZ3OAEMK_J171TWwLYYEs63H-HftIAQYW0GhZEmxinDVz-ZA0AU7Dhjkcpp6Y/s320/DSC_0544.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa demonstrates the purpose of the vomitarium. A space for Romans to throw up so they can eat multiple meals.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig12PpTQSw7lloBRvm56BCvpWxUSmfigKAb8rm5LO-wbXmdZV7Zh7LiIExtRkTbLQlKy7blrYbUQa4Jn42mD8r7imyYpVPZ3craIxyAGMlA4iIA0ai58h1ECeez-6zXnNQTh-hGgWBudZ/s1600/DSC_0564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig12PpTQSw7lloBRvm56BCvpWxUSmfigKAb8rm5LO-wbXmdZV7Zh7LiIExtRkTbLQlKy7blrYbUQa4Jn42mD8r7imyYpVPZ3craIxyAGMlA4iIA0ai58h1ECeez-6zXnNQTh-hGgWBudZ/s320/DSC_0564.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh the Solitude!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIILpzk3DUxUkU0B3LdyKlxsj5NIZdeN6hi15yTJG6cK_7ufIB3h-XYov2uHynuY1JPPvDgc-TCjbRyvsQBIPY6iQ0INQcBri1Up9YZY_28D-BoxpqC1KiqeyD9nULVamdN-V0NU6Oxm_/s1600/DSC_0588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIILpzk3DUxUkU0B3LdyKlxsj5NIZdeN6hi15yTJG6cK_7ufIB3h-XYov2uHynuY1JPPvDgc-TCjbRyvsQBIPY6iQ0INQcBri1Up9YZY_28D-BoxpqC1KiqeyD9nULVamdN-V0NU6Oxm_/s320/DSC_0588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Battle time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVvyvxRmUULkl81O_smM-s-yV5wcuStaDcd5T2gP0fv4MKXNL8IMZ7tsn4VPgzG-dFcf4ZzOEjVgY1TC9fIEwqWLnrLsAgrj2h1LyVPvECY120zbV2grwsg62CPtP0ADieLkc0m_gNxyh/s1600/DSC_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRVvyvxRmUULkl81O_smM-s-yV5wcuStaDcd5T2gP0fv4MKXNL8IMZ7tsn4VPgzG-dFcf4ZzOEjVgY1TC9fIEwqWLnrLsAgrj2h1LyVPvECY120zbV2grwsg62CPtP0ADieLkc0m_gNxyh/s320/DSC_0591.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Face Off!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVnhhSWqVKfENtKFrRJI-mCFVHu0s8WFPtNounYeZ9tUio9ZsuOotoWegt2wlnRuGKj9VajuFllUtKI6WfOC29pB2f-2EcMPbGyXCA5xhJXN-tKrnmiItccM3SSIaSHwCm0ZgtnT_VI_d/s1600/DSC_0595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVnhhSWqVKfENtKFrRJI-mCFVHu0s8WFPtNounYeZ9tUio9ZsuOotoWegt2wlnRuGKj9VajuFllUtKI6WfOC29pB2f-2EcMPbGyXCA5xhJXN-tKrnmiItccM3SSIaSHwCm0ZgtnT_VI_d/s320/DSC_0595.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing our strength.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpO7hD-vTdk6rIMO0sdOWJAVyHiC1lhEfYyh3V6brjP2rb5UA79ShVS1zmwi2rhM6Lhn0ZygJ4fGvt9hW6rL5ahTaypphBAQ9lM181gHVQQWKp74JTcsd3q2gLfJSvduPzU9WHQhsMN9L/s1600/DSC_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpO7hD-vTdk6rIMO0sdOWJAVyHiC1lhEfYyh3V6brjP2rb5UA79ShVS1zmwi2rhM6Lhn0ZygJ4fGvt9hW6rL5ahTaypphBAQ9lM181gHVQQWKp74JTcsd3q2gLfJSvduPzU9WHQhsMN9L/s320/DSC_0596.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who can push the tower further?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6x9Ge_EasEznNqCrRg6ENSZbYG0RJ0XmzH377MB_z9YjWi5RKkCVLZxBCkz7B5UU2G22_vfHeFa5jfy39Ucrgt2S946vfpc4EhAONaQe8EtEv_a10MLO2s8lZ2sciSsBV3qA88AoUuHm1/s1600/DSC_0597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6x9Ge_EasEznNqCrRg6ENSZbYG0RJ0XmzH377MB_z9YjWi5RKkCVLZxBCkz7B5UU2G22_vfHeFa5jfy39Ucrgt2S946vfpc4EhAONaQe8EtEv_a10MLO2s8lZ2sciSsBV3qA88AoUuHm1/s320/DSC_0597.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I agree. Lisa is the victor.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwPFOHmhDSKVlC7VQ-8jChVcfw9oo6a4AxqCqGtN_ZPe5SpF1hRnjRFBrP2xjIXkzKz9WnC3wysUyLJ-3H_aNqiJ6IIZy7ocoPs9essLvmnYjibzwHvt9xN6NWh5NKW_un01u19s8aVf4/s1600/IMGP6240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwPFOHmhDSKVlC7VQ-8jChVcfw9oo6a4AxqCqGtN_ZPe5SpF1hRnjRFBrP2xjIXkzKz9WnC3wysUyLJ-3H_aNqiJ6IIZy7ocoPs9essLvmnYjibzwHvt9xN6NWh5NKW_un01u19s8aVf4/s320/IMGP6240.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collaborative column pushing.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqJkGSgyMnro87F4tCZU3MJPkfPdv83IP0Z-C6tt7Lt-kFsVjitK5tp_cyjskunHSqkQxUPL6DTWL5Lxu9V8vh2yqYZtqq_PKbhPJUz5VVDaBrLjI8RkWUrWmjXsy0a8ZN7ADxQTqrl5s/s1600/DSC_0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqJkGSgyMnro87F4tCZU3MJPkfPdv83IP0Z-C6tt7Lt-kFsVjitK5tp_cyjskunHSqkQxUPL6DTWL5Lxu9V8vh2yqYZtqq_PKbhPJUz5VVDaBrLjI8RkWUrWmjXsy0a8ZN7ADxQTqrl5s/s320/DSC_0598.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round 3 Gladiator Fight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBYh_M-tC9JkPLGaKIO4cRj2dueQP-VBO5inaxSQwMR4hYI4Y8D-soVCgKcqFSo94YSpcCr_I3w9ZSOoSClwCFr7V4v6kxsF5FauwEIyPTD_ylb8dFY5L4L3MkhaLykw-GBzQbX6AEbG1/s1600/DSC_0599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBYh_M-tC9JkPLGaKIO4cRj2dueQP-VBO5inaxSQwMR4hYI4Y8D-soVCgKcqFSo94YSpcCr_I3w9ZSOoSClwCFr7V4v6kxsF5FauwEIyPTD_ylb8dFY5L4L3MkhaLykw-GBzQbX6AEbG1/s320/DSC_0599.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sign of peace.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Part 2. Lisa took this shot of Cam and I after we hiked up through the streets of Moulay Idriss. This town was built in 789 around its namesake, Moulay Idriss, whom brought Islam to Morocco. This is a site of pilgrimage for Muslims in Morocco. Our guide told us that non-Muslims did not stay in Moulay Idris until the last ten years. It was a beautiful view. The buildings with the green roofs are part of the Mosque Complex.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvCSlg_PdYacQDQUEMUoNLMfbSkoTSzP-DmWRK4BRnHb7uNGDaGUYr56fe5KGQs05LzoZigjBaBOTt4lzrINYA5jkhPBAtaOL8KehhwLspxROEXwm6EJ2qlg0h7ZK5EEHcd_CJL9xIaYn/s1600/DSC_0610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvCSlg_PdYacQDQUEMUoNLMfbSkoTSzP-DmWRK4BRnHb7uNGDaGUYr56fe5KGQs05LzoZigjBaBOTt4lzrINYA5jkhPBAtaOL8KehhwLspxROEXwm6EJ2qlg0h7ZK5EEHcd_CJL9xIaYn/s400/DSC_0610.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbDgXS89J2on0-EZkCHoJ19YZhE3Gvm5abeRJfgy3Z0SkHpcTNTv-1hgvaz4gKLiX_I29ZfA1sJst-0NJMsYhAyOEqEDrlvC5Kc_MQFFL_s0SIbWDQmC-mnxb-bES2iLILOaHDZXs9huj/s1600/DSC_0635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbDgXS89J2on0-EZkCHoJ19YZhE3Gvm5abeRJfgy3Z0SkHpcTNTv-1hgvaz4gKLiX_I29ZfA1sJst-0NJMsYhAyOEqEDrlvC5Kc_MQFFL_s0SIbWDQmC-mnxb-bES2iLILOaHDZXs9huj/s320/DSC_0635.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Moulay Idris from the Road.</td></tr>
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Finally........<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2XcDrvwE6yMr9Lpx4aTKgEoChXiQtmjmC86G_HansBoVvD0p8aSAL5yhSk187Ju4WLSR-b1Qpa2qFr-lfTBsdugqDIZImV7qtsnEJpl-AzCMVbmwSeNxg9PwpuChK7mqDNwCLu_xUpIb/s1600/curtain+factory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2XcDrvwE6yMr9Lpx4aTKgEoChXiQtmjmC86G_HansBoVvD0p8aSAL5yhSk187Ju4WLSR-b1Qpa2qFr-lfTBsdugqDIZImV7qtsnEJpl-AzCMVbmwSeNxg9PwpuChK7mqDNwCLu_xUpIb/s640/curtain+factory.jpg" width="348" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtain Factory triumphs at Volubilis!</td></tr>
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<div>
Thanks to Lisa Payne for a few pictures and being of course the excellent guieee! and Travis and Brooke Russell a.k.a <a href="http://thecurtainfactory.org/aboutus.htm"><i>The</i> <i>Curtain Factory</i></a>, for the yellow t-shirt, that I promised long ago to wear in travel pictures!<br /><br /></div>
</div>Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3846555786735575058.post-45114738053707097172012-07-22T03:32:00.002-07:002012-07-22T03:32:31.648-07:00The Gifts of the Late Train to MekhnesLisa told us that in Morocco, when you did anything, you had to be prepared for 2hrs of nonsense, silliness, or wasted time. Our train for Mekhnes, leaving from Fez, was officially an hour late. So late, that there were now <b>two times</b> the amount of passengers. On Moroccan trains, seats weren't sold, the train would just keep being filled. Mobs of people lined the station platform and every time the hint of a train approached, i.e. an engine-like sound, the crowd moved, as a whole, closer to the edge. By the time the train finally arrived, everyone was piled near the doors, each person pushing to enter and obtain a seat. There was no "women, elderly, and children first" going on here. When I entered the train, I realized that there was no way that Cam, Lisa, and I, could sit in the same area, at best we could hope to sit close to each other. <br />
<br />
I'm sure when I peeked my head into this particular train car, my look was one of fear and anxiety. I was relieved when the women closest to the door, motioned for me to sit down. I sat with my things gathered on my lap and surveyed the car passengers. I noticed that all of the women in the car, except the woman next to me and two young girls, were wearing head scarves. The woman next to me was elegant, open, and funny and she kept the conversation going among the women in the car. There were two students sitting across from me, a friendly classic looking girl that had an Audrey Hepburn sort of face and a book worm-ish girl that was lost in her reading. Seated to my other side was an older woman that spent much of her time entertaining her two young daughters. Across from her was another elegant older woman that seemed to be close friends with the woman who had invited me in, or at least I assumed so because she lent her lotion. <br />
<br />
Suddenly I saw a woman with a baby wrapped around her back, standing outside of our car, I tried to say something in Arabic but what came out was, "This woman needs a seat!" and I stod up. The other women scooted over and they motioned for me to sit back down. The young mother sat with her baby in her lap and her son sat on the ground at her feet. Our car was now officially full and it was known that I spoke English. For a while we went back into our interior worlds. <br />
<br />
The train had been moving a while, when a man entered our car. He handed each of us a "free" toothbrush and then began to pass us other items. I asked the girl that looked like Audrey Hepburn across from me "Why?". <br />
<br />
"It's a gift."she said.<br />
We waited a minute and the man continued to pile things into our hands. We were all laughing as our hands became encumbered with deodorant, razor, soap, and lotion.<br />
Then he said to us, "You can have all of this as a gift if you buy this toothpaste." (as translated to me by the girl across from me.)<br />
<br />
Myself and a few other women returned our gifts, a few took the deal, but we all had a good chuckle about the supposed "gift", when he left the room. <br />
<br />
When I thought the ride was nearly over, I said to the girl who spoke English,<br />
"Can you thank everyone for letting me sit here?"<br />
<br />
She said it to the group. The woman sitting next to me, the one who'd originally invited me to sit down told her something.<br />
"She says she thought you were beautiful." <br />
<br />
I smiled and gestured across the car with my arm to all the women in the room, of different ages, backgrounds, and stages in life, you are "benin", the word I'd learned to say beautiful. <br />
Everyone smiled and there was a generally a positive feeling of mutual respect and a celebration of the female spirit in the car. <br />
<br />
As I left the car to get off at Mekhnes, I thanked everyone in Arabic. Walking in the aisle to the door, I had a chill go up my arm. I thought about my earlier prejudice/ fear/ judgement arriving in Morocco when I though that women might judge me for not being covered and here the reverse had happened, I was told I was beautiful as I was. In all the late crowded craziness of the train, I'd had a learning moment.<br />
<br />
I chuckled later when I realized that I'd actually told the women they were "delicious" as I'd confused "benin" with "zween" which actually meant beautiful. I think they still knew what I meant.Wander Fullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728166445459189858noreply@blogger.com0