Category Archives: community

words to live by…

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chicken

i received john cage’s list “some rules and hints for students and teachers or anybody else” when i was an undergrad.  i think my teacher gregg moore said something along the lines of rule “check out rule 4″ (rule 4: consider everything as an experiment”) because that rule has a box around it and the class he was teaching was about surface experimentation but but i think he knew that the other rules would stick with is as well and they did… even when i was overseas for 3 years and that piece of paper was in the u.s..  those especially sticky rules were

rule 1: find a place you trust and then, try trusting it for a while

rule 7: the only rule is work.  if you work it will lead to something.  it is the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.  you can fool the fans but not the players.

and

helpful hint: always be around.

it’s funny to put them in a list together because over the years they have applied to life in different ways depending on the context, time and country i was in but those are the ones that have been bouncing around my head the most all these years.

i still have the same piece of paper that was handed out that day.  not so surprising since (among other things) i still have a box of freshman biology 1 AND 2 notes but i do think it’s funny how you come to rely on things that come to you through positive experiences.  i just googled “john cage some rules and hints” and the list came up first thing.   hard to believe i ‘ve never googled it before.  i just pull out the folder i keep with various readings i’ve picked up over the years and pull out this old peice of paper when i need a reminder of all the other great rules that are on this list.  lately i’ve come across this list in other people’s collections.  “hey, you should look at this…” they say and i’m pleased to see what it is.
the list in it’s entirety is below (you can also click the title).

SOME RULES AND HINTS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.
OR ANYBODY ELSE.
By John Cage
Rule 1: Find a place you trust and then, try trusting it for a while.
Rule 2: General duties of a student:
Pull everything out of your teacher.
Pull everything out of your fellow students.
Rule 3: General duties of a teacher:
Pull everything out of your students.
Rule 4: Consider everything as an experiment.
Rule 5: BE SELF-DISCIPLINED. This means finding someone wise or smart and
choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To
be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
Rule 6: FOLLOW THE LEADER. Nothing is a mistake. There is no win and no
fail. There is only make.
Rule 7: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It is the
people who do all the work all the time who eventually catch on to things.
You can fool the fans – but not the players.
Rule 8: Do not try to create and analyze at the same time. They are different
processes.
Rule 9: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It is lighter than
you think.
Rule 10: We are breaking all the rules, even our own rules, and how do we do that?
By leaving plenty of room for X qualities.
Helpful Hints:
Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read
everything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully and often. Save
everything. It may come in handy later.

gearing up…

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haven’t posted in awhile because i’ve been meaning to take some pictures but keep leaving my camera at work!  november is going to be a crazy month, lots of great stuff going on.  first of all, us a.i.r.s will load and fire the wood train kiln monday.  it will be my first time firing this kiln.  i missed out on a fun filled, peanut butter cup s’mores laden firing last month when i was out of town so i’m really looking forward to this.

wood train

last month's wood train. with autio platter. yay! pic by red.

next up i’ll be rocking a soda kiln.  i think j’s going to join me in firing, very exciting.  i’ve been “cranking’ out work, but for me that never means too much, too slow and trudgy.  especially since my show opened, it’s been hard to get back to the grindstone.  this week so far i’ve almost finished 10 small wall peices.  i’m working on tiny versions of my flora peices, in hopes of trying them in a few different kilns and also, getting them out to people for a more affordable price.

three sales coming up, eclectic and then some in gulfport, fl (will post info next wed.), atomic holiday bazaar (check out vendors now and start planning) and SPCC’s annual holiday sale.

spcc will also host 3 artists this month.  matt long, john ballisteri and don reitz will spend a week and a little with us making work in preparation for the anagama firing in january.  i’ll take the whole time off work to be around and help.  john and don were here firing the anagama on my way in to the residency so it’s very fitting to have them here on my way out as well.

i’ve got a few shows lining up but more on those later.

more in november and then….december.  proper pics and posts coming soon.

 

literally in the sky.

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updating this blog from the cramped seat of a delta plane on my way back from new york.  before getting on the plane i was passed a promotional free trial of the in flight wireless service.  i would never pay for this service but getting to try it for free is pretty sweet.

on my way home to florida, which i miss.  strangely.  i missed out on a bunch of fun it seems while out of town.  mass amounts of kiln firing took place.  very exciting.  at least i’ll get to be present for the opening of the kilns.  christmas or halloween?

my trip was pretty relaxed but i still felt the burn of city life.  florida living has made me weak, i think.  my shoulders are all sore from toting everything around on my back instead of throwing it in the back of the minivan.  i didn’t do much, but here’s what i did do.

the graduate portfolio review at parson’s:  a crowd of young aspiring painters (it seemed) and me….but talking to R.I.T. and Tyler reps did net me some positive feedback.  thanks much to a and m for taking photos of my show to share.

new york art book fair: tons of art books and book arts at ps1 in long island city.  got to hang with my girl a. and our old friend k..

toured tyler school of art: and met with their new clay professor chad curtis.  i was blown away by their brand new CLEAN and high tech facility and inspired by their clay, glass and fibers department.  i’ll apply there for the fall, but that’s another post…

last but not least i visited a former professor/mentor gregg moore who i’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with again in the spring.

while in philly i got to visit and stay with s. a friend from back in the day in florida.  we got to have some dinner and some breakfast together and she shared her growing collection of pop up art.  hopefully i’ll be back in philly in time for her first exhibition.  beautiful work girl!

ok, i’m getting cookies from the flight attendant.  this is so wild!

the hump.

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changes are hard to take and sometimes the hump is the hardest part.  getting up the incline and over to where it’s down hill the rest of the way.  but i think i’m getting there.  i’ve gone down to part time at my job again.  it’s funny that monday (yesterday) was my first “day off” according to the new schedule, but it has made a world of difference.  i got a crap load accomplished and had some serious work time saturday, sunday, monday AND today.  i should be able to get in some significant time tomorrow too.  yeah!

right now i feel like i’m stock piling things for the installation but the truth is that i won’t be able to stop working after that.  i have a few events coming up that i still need work for.  one is the folk fest, which is put on by creative clay and that’s a week after my opening.  i’m also doing the atomic holiday bazaar in december and today i was invited to participate in a small craft show in gulf port.  i haven’t attended it before but from what i understand it’s a very high quality show of quirky, eccentric work.  i’m feeling a little myopic right now, can’t see past tomorrow, but i think i will definitely participate.  one of the curators is a local doll artist who’s work i respect immensely  so i am honored to be considered.

ok, it’s almost 2 am and i just got back from the studio a little bit ago.  have to go pass out but first some pics of work in the studio.  more to come.

new wall pieces.

new wall pieces.

connections: jessica wilson

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it’s a very exciting time at st. pete clay.  graduation time.  from the residency that is.  next up is an amazing mixed media show by jessica wilson.  getting to see this work come together from across the studio has been really interesting.  so many concepts and materials alongside her stellar ceramic work.  i can’t wait to see the show up and in it’s entirety.

jess card 96dpi

cha cha cha changes…

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i guess there always comes a time when you have to decide whether you are going to write about how great everything is or how things really are.  the thing is that things are not usually great with out some hiccups or horrible with out some bright spots.  the last month has been quite a lot of both.  it’s been awesome seeing friends prepare to exhibit, to see them succeed and move onto the next step in their careers.  it definitely makes me very excited for the next move i’ll make and for my upcoming show but it’s hard as well to see folks moving on.  it occured to me while wondering the streets of bowling green, ohio with j and s that this last year has definitely been a hey day.  these are the times you remember.  i’ve always felt confident that if you go after what you want the universe (or whatever) will sweep in and provide support, whether that means money,friends or public transportation.  and it certainly has.  what a great year with a great studio, great friends and roommates, great jobs, the list could go on and on.  great and comfortable.  then enter the last week.  studio is full of new people, everything at work is different and of course two of my favorite folks are gone.  thank goodness for j and n.p. and m and v.    it’s funny though because everyone is going through these changes alongside me but for some reason i’m balking.  i just don’t want to move right along to the next step.  i feel grumpy about music in the studio and and nervous about sharing the bathroom with some one new and possible less tolerant than s and i feel like i want to escape.  why the heck am i so full of all these super useful and rational feelings?

oh yeah!  i hate change.  i crave it but when it’s happening i hate it.  for awhile.  and then i get over it.  at least i think i do.  and i better get over it soon because i have about 700 things to do in the next month.  so check back in a month.  let’s see if the brattiness gets the best of me.

disparate worlds

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some installation pics of jamie bardsley and sarah tancred’s incredible show “disparate worlds”.  jamie is now settled in bowling green, ohio  and sarah is off to gainesville, florida tomorrow.  you go girls.  so honored to have experienced all this together.

installation1

installation2

roadtrip day 3

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jamie: we made it to ohio.

nicole:  yeah, we got to see some good art today, made it through three states and met up with missy mccormick.

jamie: (she’s staring at the ceiling, about to fall asleep?) who would have thought that 70 degrees would be freezing?  driving through the tennessee mountains was beautiful, until you wanted to put a bag over your ears.

nicole:  yeah, who would have thought i was such a sensitive, fragile flower?  but i didn’t actually puke, so that was good.  the views today were great.

jamie: it was like a roller coaster ride.  big bone lick state park!  who would have thunk?

nicole:  ok, so the blue spiral was sweet.  especially the book arts guy.

jamie:  um hm.  shame the clayspace coop was still closed.  but that’s ok, i didn’t need to buy anything considering the car is filled to the gills.

nicole:  totally.  oh man, i loved that guy at the service station.  i love southern accents.

jamie: did we talk about the music in asheville?  i’m ready to move just to listen to the fiddles and banjos all day.

nicole:  it was super nice, especially the one woman’s singing and the banjo guy.

jamie:  what about the fiddles?  3 fiddles, 2 banjos and a guitar.

today was a fun, packed day.  we went to the blue spiral gallery in downtown asheville.  there was a whole bunch of sweet art there, like virginia scotchie, shoko teruyama and alice ballard.  i was especially delighted to see ballard’s work in person.  i am such a huge fan of her forms, especially the pods and rattles.  did a quick stop by the river arts district, got on the road and powered through until cincinnati, ohio.  once there we checked out a clay studio called funke fired arts at the recommendation of recent cincinnati local missy mccormick, who i know from her time at fau.  there was a great gallery space up front, a retail store and a huge work space which was shockingly tidy.  i had to snap some shots of the highly organized space.  this is the kind of think i dream about.  seriously.

wheel not in use.

wheel not in use.

mops at every work station

mops at every work station

after that we went over to missy’s studio and she showed us her work.  i loved the little wall pillows she was working on in denmark and the patterns she’s working with now.  it was great to catch up and hear about someone so fully living the clay life.

finally, at the hotel.  time to crash.

post from the road.

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we left yesterday and stopped in atlanta around 8pm.  kelly of kspots.com put us up for the night.  after looking at new work of kelly’s (and making a sweet little trade–wall piece for wall button, and me purchasing a couple of bowls) we ventured out to little 5 points to get burgers at the vortex. after that we headed to cabbagetown to meet up with blackie and patty, checked out their sweet space, rooftop view and kudzu graffiti among other things.  so great to see old friends.

today we leisurely made our way to asheville getting in just before everything closed.  all talked out we decided to type our conversation for a glimpse into all this fun.

jamie:  was it yesterday that we left?

nicole: um hm.  here we are in asheville.  what do you think so far?

jamie: i wish something was open!!  good food though.

nicole:  yeah, my portabella and goat cheese sandwich ruled.  but you’re still burping up onions aren’t you?

jamie:funny…it hurts!!

nicole:  good thing i can’t smell.  in that little car.  no but seriously.  we met some of the residents at oddyssy.  that was cool.  loved the drawings and the phobia cups.

jamie: they were both very cool…have to stop back tomorrow for a tumbler and maybe a phobia cup for you…

nicole:  yeah, but i have to decide which phobia.  cats, puppets, sitting??  might have to go with sitting.  i am kind of uninterested in sitting generally.

jamie:  no seriously, i noticed throughout the drive..

nicole:  i get so antsy.  i hate sitting still.  when you guys aren’t in the studio i am constantly constructing with dance moves.  to gravy train.  anyway, i also dug their salt kiln.  it’s a nice size to fire alone.

jamie: i think we all do that…singing, dancing…its always a good time chillin in the studio alone.  their spaces really were amazing.. huge too!

nicole:  yeah, and also more enclosed.  they could rock out in their spaces anytime.  haha.  anyway, think we can get a tour of highwater’s factory tomorrow?

jamie: maybe we can try… how about the fact we werent dripping sweat the second we walked into the spaces??  that was pretty sweet too no need for ac

nicole:  that was nice.  you really do type with one hand!

jamie: ok we are freaks lets go check out the town

ok folks, it’s almost 7:30 pm.  we’re going out.  heading to lexington or cincinatti tomorrow.