MCC, Lovers Leap

On Wednesday July 28 I drove to Waco from Henderson to meet Mr. Glenn Downing at McLennan Community College. I met him in the morning and we spoke about the upcoming art appreciation classes I will be teaching this fall. He gave me a tour of the art building and later in his car showing me the beautiful and scenic Cameron park. We went to a lookout point called Lovers Leap based on a legend. That afternoon it rained as I was driving in Waco finding the apartments I researched the day before. I reached a decision on an apartment later in the afternoon that was top on my list.
MCC is a growing college with 8-10,000 students. I will be teaching three art appreciation courses with 50 students in each. I am looking forward to this exciting chance to teach this fall after graduating with an MFA degree in the spring. The college is near Cameron park, which is a very clean and peaceful setting along the Brazos River. A large Suspension bridge where only people can walk across is a historic mark. There are mountain bike trails amongst bamboo forests that will be challenging climbing uphill. In the early evening I went back to Lovers Leap to take some pictures before I headed home. I forsee making a lot of trips back there. On the way home, I saw a rainbow on my right hand side. On the left were dark rain clouds. I thought to myself seeing the rainbow about God's covenant to protect his people. I believe Waco is the place for me to begin a new chapter in my life.

Evening Bicycle Ride

I love bicycle rides-my favorite time of day is in the evening when the sun is setting. It's always exciting to ride down new county roads and see different scenery while coming across animals and wildlife. I researched a new bike route on Sunday I wanted to go down, which I thought would take me to Cooper lake where I could see part of it. I brought along the camera for the first time so I could begin documenting some of the roads and interesting things I may see--I'm glad I did! I went down some dirt roads that were not typically where you would want to drive your car. When I was riding along the edge of a paved road, I happened to see a snake at the last second right there in the grass on the side of the road. I'm glad I did not run over it, and it caught my attention because its head was off the ground. I quickly turned around so I could see it and then took pics of it. I watched it as it moved in the grass until it was out of sight. During the entire ride I saw: cows, horses, donkeys, rabbits, dogs, sheep, squirrels, a live snake and dead snakes. When I came to Dog Town road I went to the very end, but it was a dead end. I was probably close to Cooper lake, but there was no way to see it at that spot. I ended up about 8 miles or so out of Commerce. On the way back I headed down Hwy 24 that goes to Cooper. Altogether the ride was probably bewteen 15-20 miles. I arrived back home at dusk.

MFA Exhibition: Resurrected

It has been a long and hard journey pursuing an MFA degree. After three and a half years at Texas A&M Commerce, I was able to see the fruition of my body of work in the University Gallery for the MFA show. The opening was Tuesday April 27 at 5:00pm. One of the sculpture installations set up was a piece that I made the first semester in Commerce in 2007 titled Shipwreck Domino's. During the opening, everyone watched and listened intently as the slices of domino's from ship hull forms fell over. A total of 15 pieces were included in the show titled Resurrected. It was a wonderful experience to see the work together and enjoy visiting with those who attended. I took my 3D Design class later for them to see it in person. It feels tremendous to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am very happy with the work and how I have matured and grown in the past few years. It is been an experience I will never forget. I am applying for two opportunities for the future: a teaching position at TJC and a residency at VCU. Less than two weeks to graduation! Meanwhile, I am finishing up with the 3D Design class on their last project and finalizing the thesis paper.

Forsyth Center Galleries in Bryan, TX

Last December I entered into the 2nd Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition at the Forsyth Center Galleries in Bryan, TX. Two of my pieces were selected: Margin Lines and Toothbrush Bristles. Yesterday (March 31) I traveled down to Bryan to install these two pieces. The drive down was very scenic and beautiful-fields of yellow flowers, ponds, lakes, green pastures, and seeing the trees begin to bloom into color. When I arrived in Bryan around 4pm, I found the gallery, which is located on N. Main St. The show had not yet been hung. I finished installing the two pedestal pieces and took some pics of the gallery and looked at some of the work from other artists. Bryan is a bustling town and a very nice place and location to visit and live.
Because the drive was long- 230 miles one way, I could not spend a whole lot of time looking around. I plan to spend more time when I go back to pick up the pieces in June. I had to make my way back to Commerce and left around 6:30pm. I arrived in Commerce after 11pm-over eight hours of total driving and over 460 miles driving.

"Transforming the Ordinary" at Tyler Junior College

During Spring Break (March 15-19) Patty and I drove to and installed at Tyler Junior College for my first solo show called: Transforming the Ordinary. We installed for two days on Monday and Tuesday. The gallery space is small, but very nice. While installing, students who passed by were very interested to learn what the material was and the form they were going to take shape in. Particularly the first piece I set up was the Staple Stalactite, which awed students who saw it. This is a suspended piece from the ceiling held together by over a million clicked out staples that naturally interlocked together. There is a total of four sculpture pieces in the show. The show began March 18 and runs until April 23. On Thursday March 18 I gave an artist talk to the students about my work in a PowerPoint Presentation. I showed them images of other works I have made while in graduate school and some artists who have influenced my work. It was a good turnout of students- probably around 30-40. Also three students in my 3D Design class came for bonus points! The opening went well although I ended up putting the toothbrush bristle piece on the mirror in place of the ballpoints because the tetrahedron fell apart. Overall, it was a wonderful experience setting up, speaking to students/teachers, and documenting the gallery space. (Patty is my expert photographer who took the pics along with the image of the show card). It was a fantastic experience I will cherish, and I hope it will have a lasting impression on the students and anybody who has the chance to see it.

Here is an image of the Snowman, not the best craftsmanship. Tomorrow I may round it out more and put a nose on!

Today it has snowed all day long! I was surprised to wake up and see outside the accumulation on the ground, cars, and trees. School was not canceled until 3:00pm this afternoon, which was late to be calling school off. The 3D Design class carried on today at 11:00am. and more than half the students came- 8 out of 13. We looked at more images (Tara Donovan) and they continued working on their modules project. People built snowman's on campus, and it was really exciting to see everything covered in white. This afternoon and evening I needed to slow down and take a break because of all that's been going on. I took the opportunity to build a snowman in my front yard, which stands a little under 5 ft. tall. What a memorable day in Texas in the month of February to see all this snow. Instead of a white Christmas, it may be a white Valentine's. I will never forget it!!!