"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!!!

This is a good opportunity to start getting back into posting on the blog. Since my semester away experience last summer, I have not posted anything so I'm going to make it a habit to at least jot down a few lines at least once a week. This is my last spring semester as a graduate student. I am hoping to finish strong, and do my very best in all that I put my hands and mind to. This semester is different where I am teaching a 3D Design class. We had our first critique this week on plaster linear forms. I really enjoy teaching and seeing their ideas being worked out. I am also auditing a seminar and video class while making work for my thesis exhibition later in the semester.

I have some really exciting news! I found out this week that I will be having a show at Tyler Junior College where I will set up some sculpture pieces. It's going to work out where I will have the spring break to install. I have entered into two other juried shows so hopefully those will work out as well.

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl! I can't wait to relax for the evening and see the game and the commercials. I love seeing the Super Bowl commercials!

Cadillac Ranch

On the way back from New Mexico, our family wanted to stop by and see the cars located out in a field right before Amarillo (Cadillac Ranch). We had seen them out there before, but had never actually stopped to see them up close. (This is a very popular site for passersby traveling down the road). There are a total of ten cars embedded halfway into the ground with the tails of the cars tilted at a diagonal angle. There are a lot of spray paint cans that people can use to write and color on the cars. Even though spray paint is a very thin layer, the buildup of paint on the cars was thick from all the coats. It was definitely worth going out to see the cars. It is totally unexpected coming across the cars while traveling hundreds of miles down the road because they are not advertised by billboard signs. If you ever go out that way past Amarillo, be on the lookout on the left side of the road!!

Santa Fe

Today we (family) went to Santa Fe. I went to the Center of Contemporary Arts, a couple of art galleries, and SITE Santa Fe-a contemporary art museum. At the CCA there were several interesting sculpture pieces used with non traditional materials. One was titled Hammered Heart where just the heads from hammers were used to make a heart shape. Another piece was made of rulers that were bent and formed into chain links. This was a neat piece. I was excited to go to SITE Santa Fe this time because I saw some very interesting work on their site. This was the third time I have been to this museum. Three artists exhibited their work--IT BLEW ME AWAY!! The museum floor is made of concrete and one artist, Ruben Ochoa, cut out blocks from the floor and constructed these incredible sculpture works with rebar all bent underneath holding up the concrete blocks. These towered above a person's height. I wish I could of taken pictures, but was not allowed to. You can see pictures on their website at: www.sitesantafe.org
Also, Brent Green had three video pieces and a huge installation work, which were terrific. The third artist was Klara Kristalova who showed stoneware works.
Santa Fe is a difficult city to drive in and locate buildings. The problem is that all the buildings and restaurants are made of adobe and they ALL look the same. They just have signs on the buildings and by the time you notice them, you have already passed them. The city is situated around mountains so it is nice scenery. Buildings are not tall at all in Santa Fe in contrast to New York-no comparison whatsoever!!

Flight back to DFW

Thursday August 6th I flew on American Airlines from Hartford, CT to DFW. The flight was at 6:15pm on eastern time, and I landed at DFW before 9:00pm central time. At the airport my girlfriend Patty picked me up. I was so happy to see her after being gone for a month and two days!! She drove me back to Commerce and had already fixed supper (delicious spaghetti). It was about 11:00pm when we got back to Commerce. I would like to mention the fact that Patty means so much to me-she cleaned my house spick and span and organized everything while I was away. Thank you very much Patty for all your time and efforts! Friday, I unpacked, washed clothes, and then repacked for our family vacation to Glorieta, New Mexico. We arrived today (Sunday) at Glorieta and just settled in. We are going to go to Santa Fe this week, and I am planning to go to Site Santa Fe (a contemporary art museum). Meanwhile, we are enjoying the mountain scenery and will soon be doing some of the fun activities offered in Glorieta. This is the perfect place for peace and quiet and for rejuvenation from the hot summer. More updates and pictures are soon to come!