It is the end of another semester, another school year and I am no where near done. I have grading to do, emails to respond to, student to meet, reports to write, a studio to clean, student work to return and don't get me started on all the domestic stuff I haven't been able to attend to in at least 3 months! But even with all that, I can say that in general I think it was a good semester. As of next Tuesday I hope to be able to say that 10 students of mine have completed their VPA major and are off to continue this grand thing we call the life of a creative being. Well, that's what I call it anyway.
Sometime in the following couple of weeks I will have (hopefully) finished up all the other things that still need to be done to wrap up this semester and I can start on my summer projects. The first summer project is spending the grant money I received from ArtsWorcester and getting to work on the luminary sculptures that I will be creating with that grant, (that will be in an exhibition next year) I am so very much looking forward to that. I have a few other projects I hope to get to work on this summer. One being a community project involving donated domestic fabrics (clothes, bedding, curtains, etc) and weaving. I have already started this project with a few of my students and we have our work cut out for us over the summer. I am also looking forward to spending a little time on another project making large cement vessels using balloons. Like many folks these days I spend time now and again searching the net for interesting things and recently I found a video of this fella who makes vessel forms using colored plaster, balloons and a little bit of luck. It looks like so much fun that I have decided to give it a go myself but of course, I want to make them HUGE and out of cement because I can never do anything the easy/small way:)
But, before I really get to get into any of that, I have Commencement to go to, a Summer Institute to present at which I still have to prepare for, grades to submit and a senior studio to clear out of it's current residents and a gallery to staff for a reunion brunch and that same gallery to empty of all senior thesis work that very same day. I am also working this summer doing transfer student advising and I have a summer sculpture course to teach. Oh... and I have to clear out my office on campus so that they can do construction this summer. Damn.... my summer seems to be as busy as my semester was!
Sometime in the following couple of weeks I will have (hopefully) finished up all the other things that still need to be done to wrap up this semester and I can start on my summer projects. The first summer project is spending the grant money I received from ArtsWorcester and getting to work on the luminary sculptures that I will be creating with that grant, (that will be in an exhibition next year) I am so very much looking forward to that. I have a few other projects I hope to get to work on this summer. One being a community project involving donated domestic fabrics (clothes, bedding, curtains, etc) and weaving. I have already started this project with a few of my students and we have our work cut out for us over the summer. I am also looking forward to spending a little time on another project making large cement vessels using balloons. Like many folks these days I spend time now and again searching the net for interesting things and recently I found a video of this fella who makes vessel forms using colored plaster, balloons and a little bit of luck. It looks like so much fun that I have decided to give it a go myself but of course, I want to make them HUGE and out of cement because I can never do anything the easy/small way:)
But, before I really get to get into any of that, I have Commencement to go to, a Summer Institute to present at which I still have to prepare for, grades to submit and a senior studio to clear out of it's current residents and a gallery to staff for a reunion brunch and that same gallery to empty of all senior thesis work that very same day. I am also working this summer doing transfer student advising and I have a summer sculpture course to teach. Oh... and I have to clear out my office on campus so that they can do construction this summer. Damn.... my summer seems to be as busy as my semester was!
So with all that going on and to look "forward" to, one would think that I am busting my rear to get my "to do" list done so that I don't get jammed up with due dates and deadlines. But, as you can see from the images I am in fact NOT doing that at the moment. To deal with stress and the frantic energy of the end of the semester I decided that this was a perfect time to start another stone sculpture. I have spent a few days on it now and it has gone from a rock to what you see to the right. I still have a bit more carving to do before the sanding stages commence, but so far I am pretty pleased with it.
It has created a bit of an issue thought. Now when that little voice in my head (the one that tries to keep me on track with work and what not) tells me that I have to get to work, it starts an argument with another little voice in my head (the one that just wants to make art) and they start yelling at each other. Unfortunately for the work voice, the art voice seems to be winning out more often than not. It could be because I have had to ignore the art voice for so long but I still have work that needs to get done!
For example, here I sit taking a break from carving stone because my shoulder was starting to hurt and instead of going over some grading I am posting to my blog. Now that is the voice of procrastination. She is often the loudest voice in my head and 8 times out of ten will win the fight simply because she won't let anyone else get in a word edgewise. Normally I don't mind. Today I don't mind but tomorrow may be a different story.
So for now I will let the voices in my head battle it out and go back to carving stone and try to ignore all the millions of things that I have to do before I can get into the swing of summer and making art.
Everything is in progress.... even the arguments between the voices in my head.
Go forth and be BRILLIANT!
Stacey
It has created a bit of an issue thought. Now when that little voice in my head (the one that tries to keep me on track with work and what not) tells me that I have to get to work, it starts an argument with another little voice in my head (the one that just wants to make art) and they start yelling at each other. Unfortunately for the work voice, the art voice seems to be winning out more often than not. It could be because I have had to ignore the art voice for so long but I still have work that needs to get done!
For example, here I sit taking a break from carving stone because my shoulder was starting to hurt and instead of going over some grading I am posting to my blog. Now that is the voice of procrastination. She is often the loudest voice in my head and 8 times out of ten will win the fight simply because she won't let anyone else get in a word edgewise. Normally I don't mind. Today I don't mind but tomorrow may be a different story.
So for now I will let the voices in my head battle it out and go back to carving stone and try to ignore all the millions of things that I have to do before I can get into the swing of summer and making art.
Everything is in progress.... even the arguments between the voices in my head.
Go forth and be BRILLIANT!
Stacey
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