S uper!

Trying to upload photos on here requires patience... Especially with this splotchy internet connection.... If i can't upload them tonight, I will tomorrow at the coffee shop. 

The coffee shop here is so cute, and it's like a real coffee shop. Today I ordered a double and was on a caffeine-jittery high. I think I'll just stick to singles from now on.

Today, I made a huge leap forward in execution! I started sandblasting glass last night, and today I started to draw on the 

glass. Really when i say, "draw" I mean mainly tracing really cool patterns. It really looks good (if I say so myself...  see photo on left). All day long was work work work and I'm really pleased with the progress I made. I have no clue how it's gonna come together. But it will. 

I slept in this morning... I was tired. Sometimes I just have to sleep more. Plus we're working constantly, and it seems like there is never enough time to get everything done. I know that I haven't talked about my classmates or people I've met here... I wasn't going to talk about people... I just have mixed feelings about if that is cool or not... So, if I decide to use names, I'll refer to them by the first letter, or something... I'll figure it out when the time comes. :)  But for now, I don't feel bad for posting a pic! (After trying to post that pic 10x:  never mind, I guess I wasn't supposed to post it.)

Tonight was a costume party (Super Hero theme)... and I didn't have a costume (and you KNOW how much I love costume parties.. there just aren't enough anymore...)... and no time to make a decent one... so, I took sparkle-y foam and cut the "S uper" and put it over my Airline shirt... Yes, still representin' Dallas music in NC! I was very under-costumed.

At first, two classmates and I were going to wear capes... one of the girls is from Chile, so she wrote "diablitas" or "little devils" on all 3 capes.... but then one of the women in our class needed a costume, so we gave her my cape. We didn't stay at the party long, and then went back to the studio. There were some interesting (?) and creative (??) costumes at the party... but considering that it was right next to the glass studio, and was kinda boring, I decided that me, my super-self and I was going to try to do more drawing/sandblasting.

There were bugs everywhere tonight. One of my fears has been of a Cicada flying up my jeans when I try to step over them... Well, tonight a moth flew up my jeans... and they flap a lot. Having a bug flapping in your pants is gross,  and it tickles... so I killed it. Grosser is when there is a dead bug stuck to my thigh in my jeans... BLUGH!!! I inhaled and ate several bugs too. The studio looked like it had been transformed into a 3rd world country sweatshop with bugs flying all around the florescent lights and swarming us and our faces while we tried to work.

The only bugs I like here are lightning bugs... (and I like them from far away... not crawling on me). 

The first few nights I was at Penland, I thought people were out walking in the field at night with flashlights... but it turned out to be lightning bugs... and there are a ton of them. They are so pretty at night.

Here's another photo of darker glass that I sandblasted and drew on... I need to fire the drawing, and then re-sandblast it. I really haven't done anything big yet. One reason is I'd have no way to get it home. I figured out that's most likely why there is at least one big glass piece at the Beech Mtn house (right, Kel?).

My fingers are still crispy... well, actually just blistered... and blistered deep... I'm surprised I have skin there. I will not try to pick up hot glass again! 

I think my goal for the next two days is to come up with ideas of things to actually paint. I have a hard time painting straight out of my head... I need photos or images... or the actual thing that I'm trying to draw or paint, in front of me. 

I also need to work on this droplet project... and everything else... oh, and that mask project is due Monday... Very busy. 

I really like it here. I think I'm going to try to get a work study or scholarship to stay longer. Also, one of my housemates has a guest house in the Outerbanks, and has invited me to stay there... I've never been before. 

I'm just waiting to see where God leads me... that is why I'm here... that's why I sold my stuff, have no lease or mortgage, and got a storage unit. Who knows where I'll end up....

Musings and amusing

My blown glass bubble with a white feather in it... the pics didn't turn out that great... I'll take some good ones tomorrow.

Wow, Friday already?! I'm sad.... I don't want next Friday to be my last class day. This class is so much information, that I really wish it was much longer. There's so much to learn and do... I feel like I've learned a whole bunch, but haven't had time for execution yet.

I'm starting to "get" the art thing (I think). When I mean "art" thing... I mean the creative process that I usually overlook. This class is like Art School in two weeks. 

I met with my instructors today, they want me to paint a lot more... and to start executing. I have a bit of a problem with painting or drawing on command... Actually a big problem, I freeze and don't know what to paint or draw. I told them that... I also don't think in pictures... I think in words... T gave me a huge sketchbook and wants me to fill it up... most of the pages just have words on them. I told them that and Sheryl said she thinks in words too, and showed me another book she keeps... it only has words  in it. A HA! I can do that! Actually I kinda already do it... 

Unclogging the Creative Blockage

I was starting to doubt me being an "artist" and started to think that I should have gone to a writer's workshop instead. So, I'm so glad she thinks in words too! They gave me a bunch of ideas on how to get rid of the creative constipation I've had... I started to work with them and I think it's working.

I did almost fall asleep today when our class talked about different kinds of glues for an hour today. Actually, watching paint dry (which is what happened) is more interesting than a lengthy glue conversation. There are so many different glues... okay. I'll stop.

Glowing Molten Glass is hot...

Yep, I checked... It's freakin' HOT! I didn't check on purpose, but I'm working on a project where I make a bunch of droplet shapes out of glass. It was pretty messy... there were strings of glass everywhere, because I was trying to make the glass drop and not hit the ground. It turned out, it was easier to let it hit the ground and then pick it up (with oversized tweezers) and trim off the glass strings. So, i was doing that. I said the other day that it's easy to forget how hot the glass is... well, I forgot and tried to pick up the droplet with my fingers. Holy Moly! That HUUURT! It's not like a regular burn either. The glass is around 1700 degrees (someone told me that... not sure how correct it is) so it burns deep and keeps burning. owwww. i blistered... but I'm okay. I'm surprised I'm able to type, but it doesn't hurt as bad any more. 

I finally learned how to make those droplets.... they look cool, I don't know exactly what I'll use them for yet. i started sandblasting panes of glass to paint on tonight. today, i seriously felt something click in my head, when what my instructors were saying to me, actually made sense.

Also, I no longer have to worry about the "anti-beauty" stuff.

Our next project is to design a mask... maybe I'll glue leaves all over my face..... hmmm..... not a bad idea.... 

Quantity or Quality?

Sooo... today's been an interesting one... 

You have NO idea how frustrated I am that I don't have today on videotape... I swear, this could... no, this SHOULD be a reality show! (without the typical reality show drunkenness and backstabbing). 

Where do I even start?!?  hmmm.... with za garbaaaaage (say it like you're freeeench), and Le critique of it? or the laugh yoga? or the plague of locusts??? Okay... so the "sc" word is actually "cicadas" ... don't show off because you remembered that from high school Latin....

Touched by a Cicada: 

There are quiet hours at Penland. No one is allowed to use any machinery from 11p-7a, but yet, it sounds like the Metals studio is constantly working saws and stuff.... NOPE! ... those are cicadas... they are LOUD and they are EVERYWHERE! Like a good bug-ologist I learned today that they do this every 18 years... they leave their shells (shells?? what's the proper name?) everywhere... It's like the bug version of "Left Behind."  Some leave their shells while climbing trees or the wood on the patio, outside my room... but there is no bug; Just a shell (or outer-covering???) of the bug that was. The rapture is happening at Penland... BEWARE all ye cicadas! But really... cicadas (a fun word to type...) are the sloths of the bugs... they are hit by more cars (and SUVS) in one summer, than June Bugs are in 10 years*!.... (things marked with an * may or may not be true... I made it up and it sounded reasonable).... but really, it's hard to walk without squishing one... dead or alive... (i swear if I would pick them up and glue them to glass .... I would be soooo post-modern... therefore: soooo cool... but I will not... so, i'm not cool- i know-- surprise, surprise...). I won't touch a Cicada... but when one dive-bombs me, I scream.

Eat Your Heart Out, Bob Ross!

The atmosphere here is so cute that I just want to pinch its metaphorical cheeks and say "goochie goochie goo!" It sounds ridiculous, I know... but if you saw it, you'd know exactly what I mean. In the cute little field, with the cute little hill, right in front of cute lil' Penland, there lies the cute lil' home of the two cute little llamas, who I've named Luigi and Loogey Llama... I say hello to them everyday, with a safe distance from Loogey. I went to the cute lil' store today... and there was another cute little hill, in front of the store,  but instead of llamas, there were sheep. i expected the Riccola jingle to start playing.... Tonight when I was walking home, the mountains looked so ridiculously beautiful, that it looked cheesier than a cheesy postcard...  (half of the mountain was lit by the pinkish glow of the sunset).  Cheesy, like a Bob Ross late-night how-to-paint infomercial... (I'm not knocking Bob, the man is a late-night marketing genius... plus he must have seen beautiful sunsets like these... because, before tonight, i didn't know they really existed.).

Critique c'est chic:

Today we had our group narrative projects critiqued... first we learned about critique, and critiquing... now I KNOW they are crap! "they" meaning critiques, not projects... our project was fan-tast-ic! We had a floating de-constructed bird cage with glass bubbles holding white feathers floating... I even added a black cloth under the project for drama... The next group found glass on the give away shelf and put glass on the place on the ground where a classmate was sick on Monday... The instructors said a lot about form and the piece's historical and philosophical narratives (which was BS and even the group members said so), and T even said, "you should have buried it." Next time, instead of actually working on a project, I may just say that I buried my project (SOO post-modern!). I wish I could remember what was said during the critiques... it was so funny, that I kept telling myself, "remember this, no one will believe this, you'd better remember this..." but I was giggling too hard (on the inside) to remember verbatim... 

It was something like, "I love how the cigarette butt on the ground is perfectly placed next to the trash, and is next to the stick,  by the tree, outside by the garbage can.. Wait. What?! That's not your project?! Oh?! Oh, that's just trash? Hmmm... So, where is your project?" 

If you think I'm kidding, I am... but I'm not exaggerating. If only I had it on tape!!!

Giggle Guru:

I'm done typing (I'll post photos tomorrow), but Google "laugh yoga" if you get a chance... I went to Laugh Yoga today... you have to make yourself laugh, and everyone ends up really laughing... hard! I haven't laughed until I cried and my stomach hurt in a long time... what's funny (ha ha) is that that I started laughing at how ridiculous the concept was, and how ridiculous I felt doing it.. and ended up laughing for real. I'd go again. :)

the old man is snoring (done)

It's raining it's pouring.

It's been raining all day. I didn't bring my raincoat to class, so I'm soaking wet. It's lunchtime, so I'm back at my room about to nap... 

This is part one of my blog... I'm gonna see if it's easier to do half now and half later.

This morning we got one of the bubbles we blew yesterday and put a feather in it... it looks AWESOME. our critique for our group project got pushed back until tomorrow. We are waiting for the other bubbles to be ready, and then will assemble the cage and hang our project.

I must eat way more than I think I do... I've been starving (not really- just REALLY hungry), even after 3 meals a day. I usually eat late, so after eating dinner at 6, I'm ready to eat again at 10 or 11pm (we are usually still in the hot shop). I ate breakfast (waffles) this morning, then went straight to the coffee shop to get more food. It's lunch... I should be eating, but I'm gonna nap instead. 

I learned how to sandblast glass earlier... then the sandblaster started shooting out water (that's a no-no for a sandblast machine). Thurman wants me to paint on the sandblasted glass. So, after lunch I'll pai

nt, and then we are going to

 do some glass casting... I wish I'd brought more stuff to cast in glass. All I have now is a little ceramic skull. 

Before we left for lunch, T and Co. (aka Thurman & boys) blew a 

huge bubble... it was too big to fit in the kilns so it was set outside, where it cracked and broke. Of course, then, they (the boys) took a bunch of hot glass and set cardboard on fire, in the studio and on purpose, again. (pic on left of huge bubble... pic below of fire set in studio)

I think I'll paint something girlie after lunch... :)

Okay... Now it's late...  quick update before I drift off to sleep:

We did sand casting. I casted my hands and a little glass skull in them (I happened to have the skull in my purse... Don't ask... 'cause I have no clue why). We made a huge mess.

There was hot glass being slung like it was nuthin' all over the studio. It's pretty insane about how easy it is to forget it's HOT glass... not just hot, but ridiculously hot.... and it gets slung around everywhere... no one's gotten hurt.... so I guess it's okay. 

It's been raining all day and it's really cold... I think I saw flurries.. really it was just rain drizzle, I'm just tired and when I'm tired I'm prone to exaggerate (but not about the glass everywhere... that is 

the truth fo' sho'!)

i painted on glass a bit. I tried to make an "anti-beauty" painting... yeah, it's still pretty. How do I stop painting pretty?!? It's kinda frustrating. I just painted lines and shapes with dark blue and orange-y brown... and it's still pretty. I think I may have to ask for clarification on "anti-beauty." Maybe I should start picking up those big dead bugs (what are they called? they start with an S, maybe Sc- like locusts?), and glue them to a canvas, and say... "you wouldn't call that pretty would you?!"

Quote of the day: "Have they poured [the mold] yet?"  "No, they're eating watermelon..."

What?!? It turned out to be true... it was so random that it was funny...

It's strange... I feel like I've been away from Dallas for a long time... and it's just been a little over a week. It's so far removed from Dallas, in so many ways. I'm totally focusing on Penland, and what I can get out of it, and I try so hard to keep my head in a good place, and I'm able to... I wasn't going to write about this, but C's been on my mind a lot. I really want to make some art, (not to sell) to combine my memories and past with future... so I don't have to lock them away or try to forget them, but so I can remember the good, with out getting stuck in the past. I don't know... maybe that doesn't make much sense outside of my head. ... on my mind a lot. 

Get me a gaggle of gaffers STAT!

I just think this is a really cool photo of Sheryl's work ... they were about to make molds out of these wax heads...
 

Today I woke up late... too much late night computer.

I'm going to try to make tonight's short and sweet with as much humor and as many details as possible. I don't even know how to blog so much info... 16 hrs worth...

So, I woke up late... that was okay, because all I missed was more sculpting with wax... I don't know what the wax is for yet, so I wasn't really into it. All I know is we are going to make them into molds to make into glass... but not for a specific project yet.

                                                                                                                                                                  We got our first group assignment today. It is to use techniques we've learned to make a narrative that affects a 10x10 space. Me and my partner decided to make a glass bird cage and glass bubbles with feathers inside them (i have a pic of our sketch- i'll wait to post)... that meant that we had to blow our own glass bubbles.... and you know what?! I blew a darn good glass bubble with NO help!  I'm getting more comfortable with hot glass. Like I said yesterday, I don't have a huge desire to learn how to blow glass, but I'm glad it's something I'll have general knowledge of, and won't be afraid of it.

                                                                                                                                                                       To make the cage we had to "pull cane"  which is pulling glass so it's a glass wire. This photo is of Thurman demonstrating how to pull cane.

I'm still figuring out how to post pics here on blogger. So bear with me.... speaking of bears.... I have not clapped to keep them away and only thought of them once, briefly on my way to my room tonight... probably because I have a super-duper flashlight now... It is SO bright, that I think I could blind a bear with it if he came for me... or my food.

Our group narrative is going to come together tomorrow.... we are gonna have to hang the bubbles and cage... and it's probably not going to look anything like the sketch... but that's okay. This is art school... remember the eggs and motor oil? (I had forgot to mention that the girl said the bottles started to leak- how gross is that?!)

Oh, and did I mention that, I blew glass bubbles... ALL by myself!!! and they look like bubbles! I'm very pleased with myself. I was even told I had good technique. brag brag brag. I only burned myself once!

I had a sit-down with Thurman tonight. He wants me painting bigger and better and not to get stuck in a box of what I paint and what I paint on. So his project for me is to draw everyday, and draw 3-D and multiple objects that I would like made (out of glass) to paint on. I also have to do "anti-beauty" paintings... an example was cover a surface in gravel. Very different... but I think I understand what he wants me to do. I need to just abandon any ideas I have... not conform my art, and Penland is the place to do it. 

A lot of famous artists have "gaffers" (I could be spelling that wrong)... but that means they design what they want and their gaffers do it... sometimes the artists never even see the finished project... gaffers are basically the artist's b*tches... not really, well, yeah kinda. So, he wants me to use the assistants as gaffers to make these projects... but then I'll paint on what they make. 

I'm excited because it gives me purpose! i like assignments.

Okay... I typed more than I planned to... There's more I want to say...

Like: what's scarier than a big spider staring at me on the ceiling? The same spider, same place, still staring at me after I gave it a big ol' OFF gassing.... It didn't even move! yikes!

Here are some photos from today:

Who says you can't look cute after working in the hot shop for 12 hours?!? 

              

My cardboard burning drawing thingy from yesterday

My glass butt-turned-try-to-be-snowman-but-now-doesn't-look-like-either piece

 

 

blowing it.

I forgot to bring my camera today... :(   I'll remember tomorrow.

It was hard for me to sleep last night... I thought there were spiders crawling on me. That, along with being really dirty (no shampoo or conditioner) led to my morning emotions to be on high. I'm not as scared of bears, and only had two encounters with bees today. 

When I got to class this morning, I learned that we ARE blowing glass in this class. So, I learned how to blow glass. I'm not good (at all), but I'm learning. 

I'm really a 2-D person... I don't think or make stuff in 3-D, and it's hard for me to think that way. Our instructors put us with partners today. They based the partnering off of our photos of our work... They put me with a girl whose work I really liked, and she liked mine too... actually, we had both been talking about how the other people's work was so different from ours and what we like. 

I like layering patterns, images and symbols... I don't want to make a 4-story glass cube. First they gave us each HUGE 3ftx8ft paper to draw on... I kinda freaked. I don't like drawing out what I want to do. I can draw something, if I want to... and then I'll work on that until I get it how I want it, but I don't sketch out ideas... especially 3-D ideas. So I froze. I still haven't done any more drawing on it. My instructor Sheryl, showed me how she collages ideas and patterns in her sketch book... I think that is much more my thing than drawing.  I brought back images and glue to my room to work on collages.

So, glass blowing.... ahhh.... it's HOT. really hot! My hand stings a little from being too close to the glory hole... (yes, glass blowing is full of clean-yet-dirty slang... and for people who aren't used to it, it's easy to feel like a 15-year old cracking up every time someone talks "glass blowing"). The first thing I made was a ball... then I made it into two... and it looked like a butt, so I tried to make it into a snowman. It doesn't look like a snowman, or anything, but tomorrow we are taking it into the cold shop where I'll learn how to cut it and etch on it. 

The second thing I made (when I say "I," I mean me and a LOT of help from the assistant), was a glass bubble with a quarter-sized hole in the top. I'm really not that big on blowing glass. I don't want to make vases or cups... the only thing I wouldn't mind learning how to make would be bubbles to put the feathers I've collected in.

Next we drew on cardboard with hot glass. Now this was so cool. Our instructor Thurman is really great. He basically will blow glass, while we watch and then say, "your turn." And then we have to do it... not as much instruction as actually trying it ourselves. I like that... I learn that way.  He took hot glass and dripped it on the cardboard. At first he set the cardboard on fire, and almost abandoned the project, but then we wet the cardboard and did it. The glass burns and drips in really neat patterns and shapes. (I kept mine).

After dinner, I found a CVS! So now I can be clean! I'm pretty tired... almost fell asleep during yoga (afternoon, not morning... I slept as late as possible - 8:30).

I went up to the studio at night and some people in our class are sick... really sick (stomach virus) I hope I stay well. Sheryl was teaching us how to sculpt with wax. And then.... well, this is the difference between boys and girls:

Us (girls/women): All sitting in the studio making little sculptures and molds out of wax.

Them (boys/men): In the hot shop and outside, trying to figure out ridiculous things to blow a glass bubble into... Like digging a hole in the ground and blowing a bubble in the dirt... a dirt-mold.

We had to go to watch them blow glass in the dirt (which turned out pretty cool), and then they tried a metal cage (didn't work) and then a cardboard tube (phallic jokes were made). Ahhh, art school.... 

1st day revelations

A view from my room at Penland. More photos to come...

when I arrived, a card with this quote was on my pillow:

"As  human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have - something inside of us that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and provide ways of developing its expression."-Fred Rogers

Today I drove from Beech Mountain, NC to Penland.  It's the craft school where I'll be for the next two weeks. 

 (for anyone who doesn't know- I'm taking a glass class for the first two weeks, then I have a 2 week break, then I come back to Penland to take a nature journaling class... dorkily named "art for nature freaks".... I'm a nerd. I really wanted to take it.)

Now, I'm taking a glass class called "Portraits, Narratives, and Myths." It's called a "glass" class here but it's a multimedia class. The description is so broad.... that I really have NO clue what it's going to be like, or what we'll be doing. And after our first class tonight, I realized our instructors don't either. And I'm totally cool with that... actually I'm glad.

The school is beautiful. Tucked away in the mountains. I drove in and was nervous... Not knowing where to go, or what to do, or what to expect. I've got my OWN room (yay!) and my own bathroom (yay! yay!) in a house called "bill's house." My housemates are women in there 50's-60's who are here for pottery and basket weaving. Yes... all of the wild parties will be in this house!  

But really, they are all great and nice. Everyone I've met here has been nice. It's funny when I try to explain the class I'm taking... People will ask, "what class are you in?"  I say, "glass" (it's true, and quick one word answers are always best). But if they say, "blowing?" I have to say "no... it's hot and cold glass" and then they look confused... and I answer by looking confused and shrugging. 

Dinner was delicious. When I sat at the table, a woman who has been here the last 17 years was talking about how she first came to Penland after experiencing loss and tragedy and how healing this place is. I didn't say anything, but in my head I thought "good... that's why I'm here."

Things I learned today:

1. I have an irrational fear of bees. Today, I walked by a tree that started to buzz and I jumped and ran... People who saw me thought it was funny.... I did not. I swear... I hear buzzing constantly. I do NOT do bugs. The ants here look like they shoot steroids, and the bees are the size of my fist. There's a spider on my patio... I swear it's staring me down. 

2. My Target shoes ain't gonna fly. Nope. I wore them to walk to the studio and back.. and now, I'll never be able to walk in them again. OUCH.

3. Bears are scary. I haven't seen any. No one's said anything about them... but still, I'm terrified.

4. The GPS is not always right. I tried to go to Walmart to buy things I forgot: shampoo, conditioner, bug spray, and a flashlight. The GPS looked like it knew where to go... it had the address and everything... I followed it for 20 mins, and when it said "arriving at destination" I was on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere near logging mills and hay fields- NOT Wal-mart. I never did find a Walmart... so I came back empty handed.

5. Eggs and Motor oil in a glass bottle is art. Yes, just hang it on the wall. Tonight we all had to show examples of our work. There are only 2 of us in the class who have not worked with glass. I'm probably the only one who hasn't been to art school. Some people in my class have done these huge and insane installation projects. One girl had a wall of glass bottles of stuff in them on a wall.... weird stuff like pulverized bacon (not like the one with eggs and motor oil isn't weird)... I can't remember what she said it represented... something like a line out of the movie "Art School Confidential".... about not recognizing familiarity... .   Actually,  all of the my new classmates had really neat sculpture, and collages. One of my instructors uses fabric in her work... I really like her work.

I'm really excited about tomorrow. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had no idea what our class would be like... the instructors don't either. They are both really cool.. I really like them both and their work. I'm slightly intimidated... but I'm just going to take each day as something new. 

I just got back to my room... it's 11:30. I wanted to go to Yoga at 7am.... but now that seems a little early. I think I'll go to the 5pm class instead.

Updates from NC

Hey Everyone-

I'm here, in North Carolina. It's been a really nice trip so far. 

Let's see... I left Dallas on Tuesday and drove to Nashville. I met up with Ward and my friend Jim there... we had the best cheeseburger ever at a Sushi place. Cheeseburger at a sushi restaurant?!? I know... but Ward promised it was the best... and he was NOT even kidding. I'm actually looking forward to my drive back, stopping there, and having another!

I spent Tuesday and Weds in Nashville, then headed to NC on Thursday.

I got to Beech Mountain after dark on Thurs... I'm staying at my family's house... by myself, which is actually really nice. On Friday I was L-A-Z-Y (lot's of sleep and food and cable TV). I haven't watched TV in forever... so I had some catching up to do... HA! 

Today has been full of trying to find internet and coffee... and returning emails. The Daily Candy article on me came out on Wednesday... so I had PLENTY of emails to return today. :)

I go to Penland and start class tomorrow. I'm really excited... and a little nervous. One of the teachers emailed me (and the rest of the class) and said bring pictures of our work that we've used in our seminars.... excuse me? seminars?? yikes! 

I'm not sure how the internet access situation is going to be yet... but I will try to keep posting... to keep you updated. And hopefully I'll figure out how to upload photos on here!