Conceptual Sketches for CLR, Take 2...

...they want a more "neighborhood"/community kind of feel.

I hope one of these works out:

Works In Progress: Living Space/Working Space

Both living space and work space is very important for me to be able to rest and create. I have the right to be nit picky about the space I will be producing art work in, coming up with ideas, and where I escape to have some solitude.

Not finished yet. But I've come a long way in almost three months, from this:






[click link for more BEFORE pictures]


to this...



Surrounded by my favorite books and comics to keep me inspired or for reference. In the closet I have my coats and shoes and camera bags, electronics stuff, recordings stuff, etc. All packed away nice and neat.





I'm currently borrowing my father's laptop. Eventually this desk will be thrown away. This desk annoys me actually and the bottom shelf of it always hits my legs. I need it for now so I can work on a project that should be finished before the end of this week. My own computer will eventually be hooked up to the Internet. Which will be good so I can work on website stuff. Also, my friend Emily is sending me a bamboo mat and pen! I will have so much working with this on my computer!




Eventually I am going to panel this blank wall with a large bamboo blind/curtain. My friend Jen has this all over her apartment and it looks wonderful and so natural. The boxes of stuff in front of the filing cabinet will eventually be filed and it will be nice to have that part of the room cleared off and free of clutter. Also, I need to organized the office supplies and such in this area.



Yummy art supplies and yummy Internet.



The blue canvas bin in the middle holds at least 5 years worth of in progress art projects, notes, and ideas... to be sorted out and worked on in 2009. The plant clippings you see in the vase was given to me from my friend Jen. She has them growing all over her apartment. There is a ceiling hook in front of my window in this room. When the roots grow out enough I am going to plant it in soil and hang the plant. I would like to think that this plant symbolizes the friendships I made in Chicago and how I would like for then to keep growing. I am so bad lately with keeping in touch. But I'm currently reading Van Gogh's letters and that is very inspiring.


When I get rid of this desk, I'm moving the t.v. over and placing my art/drafting table where the t.v. is. On the wall I plan to put a cork board where I can thumbtack notes, clippings, and images for inspiration, etc. I prefer not to tape these things to the wall.

I am also taking away this ugly, white, lacy curtain and replacing it with bamboo window blinds.

BEDROOM:




Against this wall I plan to buy this from etsy.com:

A reminder of all things Henri, who used to sleep at the foot of my bed. Appropriately title "Come Back, Welsh Corgi."



Free of clutter, more space, less distraction. Where I plan to only read my books and SLEEP. How appropriate, and Van Gogh piece to look at every time I wake up in the morning.

I have artwork I bought from local artists in San Francisco and in New Orleans. I want to keep this tradition going every time I visit a new city.

I need to get a bed skirt for my bed and a little night stand for that corner near the window at the edge of the bed. My room holds the cable modems/wireless connections and such. So I need to somehow hide all those ugly wires and also have a place to put my tissue box and lotion and such.

Eventually, I will have to get rid of those pink walls.

To Buy List:

• new laundry basket


• bed skirt


• picture hangers/nails


• light shade of bamboo blinds (measure windows)


• darker shade of bamboo blinds (measure west wall)


• art/drafting table desk


• plant hanger/plant pot


• new trash can


• night stand


• welsh corgi art print


• cork board

Some Conceptual Sketches...

...that I'm playing around with for a project:

A Must Have

I'm looking to buy one of these or find a used one.

I like the middle one the best. The one with the steel, curvy legs.

All are just a little under $200.

I am still broke.

studio space

I found this post from Penelope Dullaghan to be enouraging. [I want to write "inspiring" right now, but for some reason at this moment, I'm not digging that word. Sounds almost hoke-y.]

• Been working on a room in the house to do my artwork in over the last 2 weeks. There is still much to be done. (Pictures later.)
• I currently have "The artist within : portraits of cartoonists, comic book artists, animators, and others by Greg Preston" on hold at the library. I'm excited to get my hands on it. I LOVE looking at other artists working space!

All of this and the winter is making feel a little bit more relaxed. Nice to finally claim space in the place that you will be living in for a while. Especially to do, what you do best.

Starry Night

The famous painting of Vincent Van Gogh. It is speaking more to me these days...

Galaxie 500's "Another Day"

I was your light
To the ...
Why do you cry today
Just because the sky is grey?
Cause it's okay if everyday
Is not the same way
It's just another way
That everyday is not the same
How can you see the sky
When you close your eyes?
How can you run away
Just because the sky is grey?
Cause it's okay if everyday
Is not the same way
It's just another way
That everyday is not the same
Cause it's okay if everyday
Is not the same way
It's just another way
That everyday is not the same

Take Care To Fall

Take care to fall, everyone.

Project to Tackle Before Spring 2009

• art studio/art space (ASAP)
• artwork for CLR (before Dec. 2nd)
• artwork for ASC (before spring event)
• website for NDCAAI (?)

Brainstorming Notes: CLR Project (Part 1, 21/22 OCT 08)

Brainstorming Notes: Keep Working, Girlfriend (Part 1, 25 SEPT 08)

I am going to make it through this year if it kills me.

receiving constant inspiration from adam snow

our memories will be open while under construction

Tim O a short film by Ben Shearn

About 2 years ago I met Ben Shearn at a stand-up comedy open mic in Wicker Park. He and I ended up hanging out a couple of times before he moved to L.A. I googled him and found his mother's blog that she updates daily. I subscribed to it and was inspired that she was always producing artwork and/or talking about art.

A couple of months ago I found a short film he made on Tim O'Malley in regards to Tim's sobriety (you see, Ben is a recovering drug addict as well). One thing that I found curious about Ben, (via internet stalking, I had a huge crush on him you see, and I won't deny it, but he knows that; We're facebook friends now) is that he seemed to always be probing for answers to deep questions. Like any good creative, artist...

He is wonderfully multi-talented and am happy to know that he is out there being productive in L.A. (These words seems to me, too light, but I have much to say, and I don't know how to type my words right now without going on and on and on...)










Some of of Ben's genius can be found here: http://www.bitterjester.com/tct/picsvids/vids.aspx

Angel Hearts Mandy

Mandy covering Alicia Keys for Evan and Pamela during their wedding reception at Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant.

(Angel loves Mandy and she wishes she was taking another Simon Anderson Fluxus class with her and Alyce.)

He Let Go a Laugh

Simone Weil

Simone Weil is one of my favorite authors ever. There are times in my life, like right now, where everything I read from her hits home for me.

Mkl.

from http://www.glasvochtrecords.com/sub-ported/blue_sanct/blue_sanct.htm:

Je hebt opnames gemaakt met artiesten als Rivulets en Angelica Busque. Wie is die Angelica Busque precies? Er is heel weinig informatie over haar te vinden.
Michael: I know. Angelica is een soort van geluidskunstenares uit Chicago. Ze maakt ook tekeningen. Onlangs heeft ze trouwens een award gewonnen voor haar tekeningen. Angelica lijdt aan een spierziekte en die vormt het thema van de tekeningen waar ze die prijs voor heeft gewonnen.
Angelica is eigenlijk een ex-vriendin van mij. Destijds hebben we opnamesessies gedaan voor De Avonden op de VPRO. Tijdens het optreden van vanavond heb ik nog een paar soundsculpturen afgespeeld die zij gemaakt heeft.
Wat de samenwerkingen met Rivulets betreft: Nathan (aka Rivulets, nvdr.) en ik zijn een nieuw project begonnen dat Infinite Life Limited heet. Ik denk dat het een logische combinatie wordt van Rivulets en Drekka.

artbabe

I am currently figuring out my lesson plan for the high schoolers to create DIY mini-comics/comic. You got to hand it to Jessica Abel and her website. She is amazing for putting this out there:
http://www.artbabe.com/comicsandart/diy/diy_make.html

Randomness Within Reason

- Randomness within reason:
_______________________

This just isn't random. It was supposed to happen. I was working the night shift at one of the side gates at Midsommarfest last weekend. i was working at a gate where hardly anyone passed through. It was the last 30 minutes of my shift. This boy passed by me and started talking about the bands being so loud. And I told him that I usually carry around earplugs. And he asked me what I do to be carrying those around. I told him my ears get sensitive, I studied in the sound department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It turns out that in the 80's he was a student at SAIC. And he is an experimental sound artist as well. YOU DON'T JUST RANDOMLY BUMP INTO ANOTHER EXPERIMENTAL SOUND ARTIST THE WAY I JUST DID LAST WEEK. We talked on and on about my favorite instructor Nic Collins and started getting into depth about living as an artist, for my need to read "The Long Emergency" and about getting into our own rituals to start the day in creating. We talked back and forth recommending things to read, to listen to, to check out. We talked about the pros and cons of being an artist in both the a small city and big city. His ex-boyfriend passed by and he was really funny about it and was happy that he was a like a chameleon and could not be seen.

The two things I took away in my 30 minutes of talking to this stranger that I needed so badly:

1. Damien, the boy I met, told me that Detroit has always and will always have one of the most powerful artist communities he has ever seen. There is a sense of healing in Detroit and rebuilding in Detroit that most cities have never experienced because they haven't been through the struggles that Detroit has been through. Detroit is a very, very important and powerful place.

2. "If you are an artist you have the responsibility to live out your visions."
As artists you have a voice, the ability to heal and reconstruct.

And then we introduced ourselves and departed. I know that I won't ever see this guy again, but he is exactly what I needed when I came back from Detroit just 48 hours before I met him and he is exactly what I needed to be strong, knowing what I need to do when I go back to Michigan and I didn't lose a thing about myself by moving back.

As most people have been telling me these last two weeks, "You know who you are and you will do really well in life because of this, no matter where you are."

It seems lately I have been accepting and letting go a lot of stuff in my life and receiving much mentally back. I keep getting giddy and happy about it.

Followed up talking to Damien, with sitting next to Emily at a bar. (She has majorly influenced me so many ways as an artist and has supported me greatly since I have known her.) She told me it will be good for me to rest. To not worry about bills and such that I have to maintain to keep my daily life here in Chicago. It will be good to be able to sit down and concentrate on my health and my artwork. I agree.

I am currently setting up my goodbye show. Contacting people that have been in my Chicago life in the last ten years. I feel loved, supported, and happy.