wheels keep on turning...

So Sunday we headed south (sorry everyone that I wasn't able to visit)... Cleveland to Birmingham on Sunday... then to Tuscaloosa where Chuck and Carey loaded a Uhaul to take back to Cleveland... Christopher met us to help load and carry... and then I went on to Jackson to stay with mother while Kathy and her family went skiing. Chuck and Carey are currently enroute to Cleveland. (Hope they're careful!)

That's Ms. Traina-Gams with the dogs. Mr. Gams with their tree. Carey and Chris at the Waffle House. I haven't had eggs that good (unless we cooked them at home) since I don't know when.

The BMW is my niece's :-)... Oh I'm so envious!!! I thought it made a funny comparison to my sweet and sassy '99 Saturn.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

snow and lucy...

For all my bama babes... Snow in the great white north...

I'm thinking of you all and missing you.

meatloaf last night...

Over the years I've had the great joy of having some amazing people as students. They are wonderful and this year's crop is no different. I won't lie to you... from time to time you have the student that you know isn't ready to "be here," but for the most part -- I've been granted a great gift... an incredible gift... my students truly are a joy...

Last night my second years had a closing reception for their show "meatloaf." It was incredible... Their invitations were beautiful, the food was well thoughtout and delicious, they had a documentary video interviewing each of them concerning their work, and speaking of work... it was pretty damn good. They curated themselves and installed it. The publicity was obviously successful... the turnout was huge.

I sound like ... a dolt... but I mean it... I'm so impressed with them. I can't wait to see their futures...

Congratulations guys on a great show!

i took tons of pictures... here are just a few.

show info:

meatloaf. works by fourteen area artists
nov 27 to dec 2
Cleveland Institute of Art Coffeehouse Gallery

Featured Artists:
alicia oblander
patrick mooney
carolyn shank
michael meier
jon sommer
martin eisert
peter tabor
angelo nicoletti
rebekah wilhelm
barbara polster
melinda laszcynski
rachel allen
christa drew
andrew kuhar

still shouting and other holiday thoughts...

a house of the present... a house of the past...

---

... so yeah... double thanks to Laura and Andy again... especially after they brought down leftovers for dinner tonight...

love to...

Emily and Todd...
Anna and Mike...
Everyone in Florence, including Kritter...

---
now for the other thoughts...

nostalgia - a longing for a perceived past

holidays invoke the reconstructed past...

I'm working on a project that might be good...

we'll see...

Thanksgiving shout out...

I'm Thankful for the people who love me...

My family... (mother of course)... Chuck, Carey, Ms. Traina and Mr. Gams, Joy...

the folks upstairs (Laura and Andy) -- thanks for the delicious Thanksgiving... I'll never wear pants again that fit...

Kristen, Amanda...Ben... Hey Yianni too... Adam (I'm thinking of you!)... Alicia... Duane... David... Charisse...

My cousins... Chris S. especially...

Liberal Arts Folks...

Thanks Rita for all the support...

Whoever hired me!!!

Oh hey, that includes Phillip... thanks Phillip for everything you've done for me.

and fur people too...

so loved...

William, Sam, and Lucy...
Abby and Stella...
All the Traina/Gams monsters...

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

the fall...

The year has begun again in earnest... A whole new group of students... new faces, new names and how quickly I fall in love with them.

For all of them I want success -- I envision happiness for their futures and allow myself to imagine I might have played a part. The other night at the faculty opening I stood on a balconey overlooking the crowd and (after I wrestled down the desire to sing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina...") I was washed over with... gasp... love for all these people. Sick and romantic isn't it?

In other news I'm sewing... hey I think I would like to start a church of craft... and I'm cycling (at least sometimes)... It is very calming. It's a solitary exercise of sorts and I can actually do it. (Thanks Andy for putting the bike back together.)

goodbye Roscoe...

Roscoe was our next door neighbor's cat. He was scrapy, a fighter. Our cat William and Roscoe tangled more than once. I think it was actually fun for the two of them and they never did horrible damage to one another. (Although William did claw Roscoe's owner once...)

Roscoe was part of our lives. We looked forward to seeing him in the evenings sitting on his stoop. His family kept a little "Wanted" poster of him on their door. His owner... the family's teenage son adored him.

Roscoe died of wounds from a dog attack. The dog wasn't on a lesh and was roaming free. Some would say I have a double standard about such things... cats... allowed to roam free... dogs... no.

Reasoning: Cats don't usually attack people (children for instance) and when they do it's rarely fatal. Even when they fight with other cats, that too, while more frequently fatal is usually not.

I prefer to keep my own cats in but two of them are rescues and were already trained to go in and out.


Anyway... Roscoe's death makes me very sad. I feel sorry for his family and I'm going to miss him.

absolutely potty...

Those who know me know that I am one of the geeks... the sad horrible geeks who love the escapism of the Harry Potter books. They sooo satisfy my inner child. So indulge me while I indulge myself and if you happen to be a Potter fan forgive me and you may not want to read the following no matter who you are...

(book 6 spoiler warning...)

Theories on Harry Potter, Book 7

Dumbledore is dead. He knew he was going to die and arranged it with Snape.
Snape is a good guy. He is trying to protect Draco who he feels some compassion/connection with. Dumbledore, as well, was interested in protecting Draco in that Draco is a naïf, in over his head.

Harry is a horcrux. Part of Voldemort’s soul was unwittingly bound to him. Harry’s mother cast a protective spell that required a human sacrifice. She was the sacrifice and when Voldemort killed her it completed the charm. The magic was so strong that Voldemort couldn’t kill Harry and the killing charm he cast backfired and also made Harry the horcrux for the splinter of Voldemort’s soul that his mother’s murder created.

Harry is “the chosen one” in that Voldemort literally, and again unwittingly, chose him. It is why they share powers and are telepathically connected.

Aunt Petunia actually loves Harry. Uncle Vernon hates him but Petunia put up with his treatment of Harry because she knew their home was part of a protective spell for Harry. She was afraid Vernon would throw Harry out. She is also terrified of magic.

In the end, the final battle, Neville will be forced to kill Harry. Harry will ask Neville to do it. They will both realize it is the only way. It is the reason they share the same birthday.

Neville himself may not make it through… but then again he might and his parents may actually regain their faculties once Voldemort has been killed.

Ron and Hermione will face the future together after watching their friend die.

Some emotional relief for the readers? A glimpse perhaps of Harry’s afterlife? Will he be greeted by Sirius and his parents?

sleep...

A dreamless night in my own bed after time spent in the heat and in conversation... a visit with my mother who is stronger than I ever imagined then to see Ms. T and the monsters... a chance to laugh out loud... my mind washed clean by a southern sun... The summer is finally here for me...

I love you all...

a great sadness overtakes me...

to use and be used...

the momentary sensation replaces the human connection...

those who love you are an imposition...

is this the way you would live your life?


do you love more the pleasure you give yourself or the kindness you share with others? do you care what toll that pleasure takes on those around you?

what will be the meaning of your life?

who are you?

I thought I knew you but I don't. you're capable of things I never would have believed.

Sans compassion pour ton famille... Tu est cruel a les gens qui t'adorer... pour quoi? mais tu embrasse les gens du moment...

sans reason...

in answer to your question...

"will it stand...?" You bet. Here's the finished piece outside CIA's Future Center in the "courtyard"... When it stood, (not weakly, but very securely...) a case of beer was lost...

There are some much more stunning pictures of the piece... (the piece isn't crooked... the camera isn't level... my photography) however they keep loading sideways... I'm not as tech savy as I should be so I don't know how to fix it. I think eventually they'll be posted on CIA's website (www.cia.edu)

Assistants on the project included:

Benjamin Rodriguez, jr (benrodjr.com)
Katie Loesel
Derek Gelvin
Jeremy Felice

Search them on the web. I know that Katie, Ben and Slate have websites. (I hope I spelled Katie's last name right. Sometimes it helps to add "art" to the search.)

Again it was tremendous fun working with the young people. (I intentionally didn't include photos with them simply because this is a private blog.) They were so committed...!

what we did for summer vaction...

this past week Chuck, Kevin and I worked on the Cleveland Institute of Art's Precollege program. The theme this year was Art + Earth... We worked with a group of 24 really cool young people... who, to a great extent... really threw themselves into the project that the program was based on and also spent time on drawing, etc. The youngest was a very mature fourteen year-old and the oldest was a nineteen year-old deeply devoted to drawing...

While other things not so fun were going on in our private life,...

Working with the young people in this program was very satisfying... It was great to see their committment and accom-plishments.

The project was a cast/rammed earth project that the students designed and built with help from great folks like Derek, Slate, and Jeremy... They worked their butts off... Katie (who you see in some of the pictures) helped me with the drawing part of the program.

Posted photos are of in progress work...More photos of the actual finished piece are to come...

attachment and the end of the term...

I hate the end of term... I have post-partum or something... I always think about what else I should have taught them... and then there's the grading... It is always a delicate balance.. and then when one sometimes has to write down the "bad" grade... I hate it...

I hope my students find joy in the lives and pursuits they've chosen. I get so attached to them. Yes this is the cause of all suffering, isn't it, attachment... but then what joy when they graduate and they succeed...

Go forth and conquer... live with joy and wild abandon...

(That's right... I'm a complete geek.)

Happy Mother's Day to Carey's Mom...Karen...

Pictures of Carey wishing his mom a happy mother's day and saying hello to everyone.

drive by...

Dear beloved all,

I have “discovered” Drive By Truckers (for those out of the loop – music). I remember, Anna, sitting in a one room apartment that was crammed so full of recording equipment that there was only a shelf for its resident to sleep on…

Being here has given me a different perspective… It has been a long time coming. I remember sitting in “joe”… and I remember a group of people coming in and I said something scathing to my companions concerning how “they” were dressed and even uttered the word “red neck.” Mr. Giles gave me a cold eye and said, “Lane, how can you say something like that? How can you be so cruel?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lane, those are your people. They are from the same place you are. Who are you to be a snob to them?”

Ouch. – but thanks again Mr. Giles.

You cannot be inside from the outside. You cannot reject what made you without rejecting some part of yourself. You cannot hold your own in contempt without self-loathing.

… and so thanks Mr. Hood, et. al. for “Outfit”, “Decoration Day” – and your ability to be authentic without pretension – You guys rock!

Ciao babies…

spring...

I can't get used to the Spring here... five years and it's still blowing my mind. Everyone keeps talking about how beautiful the weather is... and during the day it is... at night though... April 30 (yes I remember what day this is) and last night I froze my butt off.

But the flowers are beautiful. So much color. I bought a reel driven (old fashioned -- no gas) mower... and I'm actually doing yard work. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts but I'm channeling my grandmother...

As always, send good thoughts and I will send them to you all as well.

tut, tut, tut!

Arrrrggggghhhh!!!!

Hey, where's my Tutenstein?

Please send positive energy... sometimes forces conspire to create a trap of negative karmic energy...

pie anyone?

Carey had an assignment back in the fall to make a "chemical" pie using Ritz crackers. It wasn't too bad... (apples would have been better ... but hey, he needed the credit.)

Guest blog by Carey!

Happy birthday Mom!

you say it's your birthday...

Hey it's my birthday... I'm watching Tutenstein, hanging out with one of the furry ones and playing with my computer.

I love Tutenstein because Tut reminds me of one of my favorite people... Like her, he's kinda of gross (into creepy, rotting things that really should be relegated to the underworld). He's/she's bossy, sometimes blunt, deeply tender and kind hearted -- they love to a fault ... oh yeah, and they both make me smile...

Happy Birthday Ms. CTG.

For the folks in T-town -- kisses -- and here are some more pics of Carey... He's working on his sugar palace with his project partner. He was talking to Chris on the phone while they worked.

Happy Birthday to KST as well...

a picture made by me...

If you who haven't seen my work lately this is what it looks like... (I'm also doing video)...

Yes this blog is really sloppy and not very focused... but for those of you who haven't guessed, it's an empty white room for me to fill up with my randomness...

Carey...

Here are some bad pictures of Carey... forgive the red eyes... I will upload some better pics later...

the freedom of space waiting to be filled...

Sometimes I just need the joy of filling up the blank space... It is for me an absolute freedom... it is my space to fill as I see fit... it is infinite with possibilities... that practice keeps me sane... so I hope that the fates will allow me this luxury from time to time and understand that it is what keeps me...

art theory...

I have a friend who doesn't believe that there can be something called "art theory..." ah, but it is like any discipline... we have our terms... our jargon. In art it just means an idea of what art can or should be... Everyone has an art theory... an idea of what art can or should be... It is usually that which we call "good" or "bad" or even that which we say is NOT... The problem with "good" is that it carries this moral implication...

It is an interesting exercise to consider what you require for something to be good...

what becomes a legend most...

Ok CT... the best cat...

in love with fur...

selfesteem...

we all secretly believe we are superior...

It is easier sometimes not to test this.

dreaming...

Dreams are the human mind absent the matrix of civilization. The mind operates through association and metaphor – the womb of art – this is the reason we, as a species have so rarely been without it – the image, the ritual, the act - art - a world of magic and spontaneous transmissions is our natural state.


An animal sees the human and associates sensory experience with that image. I stream together a series of images and words because my mind wants to dwell upon the sensory significance of those images and words. Our waking selves filter and order, and repress these associations as dictated by the systems of interpretation and response that our culture and more intimately, our families have embedded within us.