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!!!

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!

Yale Summer Session Exhibition

Last night I went to the opening of the show Summer Session Exhibition. It was a good show with sculpture, photographs, drawings, and paintings. I put two of my pieces in the show. Today was the final day of class. We met in the Gallery to have critiques. After the critiques Michael showed us his video work on a screen. That went to about 5:30pm and so only an hour was left. Towards the end of class he gave us some paper and black paint to draw something on. I poured some paint onto the paper and started to let the drips run onto the paper in different directions. I was really pleased with the result, which only took about 30 seconds (see below). The experiences of going to NY and taking this sculpture class at Yale have been so incredible that I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. It has been the best time of my life seeing sights and meeting people from all over the globe. It's sad it has to come to an end in only five weeks. Tomorrow my flight back to DFW leaves at 6:15pm, and I land in Ft. Worth at 9:03pm. I will not be in Commerce very long as I will then be leaving Saturday morning to go to Glorietta, New Mexico as well as Santa Fe for a family trip for one week. I have traveled a lot this summer including Marfa, TX and seeing Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

Healing

Today I went to the Yale Art Gallery and took some pictures of the two pieces that I installed yesterday. The staple piece (below) is in a cylindrical form packed solid with all the staples and pieces of metal removed from one utility pole. I think the title Healing is a very appropriate name to call it. The act of removing staples is in a way like "plucking staples out of our lives" that have hindered and nagged us for long periods of time. The staples removed were old, rusted, crooked, sharp, and darkened symbolic to bitter thoughts we won't let go or actions that are hurtful. During the process of pulling out the staples, I couldn't help but think about the cross, rugged and splintered just like the utility pole was. After the staples had been pulled out, tiny holes remained in the wood like little scars. Those staples served the purpose of only to attach thousands of flyers to that utility pole. And after the flyers were ripped away, the staples were considered dismissable and rejected forever embedded in the wood. Now in a gallery room setting in a sculptural form the thousands of staples can be "realized" and valued to a higher degree. After the removal of staples the process of healing begins.

Installation of sculptures

Today in class we primarily set up in the Yale Art Gallery for a show tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. Each of us set up some of the pieces we've made. I installed the Staple piece titled Staples from One Utility Pole. It sits on a pedestal, and I packed the staples into a cylinder shape. I'll take pictures of it tomorrow. I also installed the three clay forms onto a wall. At the beginning of class I recorded an audio of popping bubble wrap-this is part of the Lawrence Weiner assignment. One more class day-its gone by so fast!

NY Mets Basball Game

Saturday afternoon a group from the dorms including myself met at 5:00pm to ride on a charter bus to a NY Mets baseball game. I am so glad the weather was perfect because Friday it rained and so far today (Sunday) it has been raining. The game started at 7:10pm against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our seats were in the grand stand between left and center field. Our view of the field and action was really good though. The ballpark is called Citi Field, and it is a gorgeous new stadium. The game was really good and close. The game was tied in the eighth inning 5-5 when the Mets hit a grand slam homerun to lead 9-5. The final score was 9-6. Everyone left home happy! The game lasted over three hours. We got back about 12:30am to New Haven. This trip to the game in NY capped off a terrific experience of all I've seen and done in NY in seven visits. Now I have two more class days this week to concentrate on and finish strong before I leave on Thursday.

NY-Chelsea Hotel/ Sta. of Liberty

Yesterday I took the 9:30am train to Grand Central. It was an overcast day and began raining when I walked to Union Station. It didn't look like it was going to be a very pleasant day to be walking a lot outside. However, I needed to go to NY and boarded up on the train. When I got off the train, it was not raining so that was a relief. I walked toward 23rd St between 7th and 8th Avenues for the Chelsea Hotel. I wanted to see this hotel and go inside because it is very historical and houses artwork. Unfortunately a man would not let me go beyond the lobby area. I did see some artwork on the walls and took a couple of pictures. My intention was to see some art galleries in the Chelsea neighborhood, which my teacher mentioned being in that area. I did not realize how hard it was going to be to find them. I walked pretty much all day, and finally decided to head to lower Manhattan. I walked on SoHo St. and all the way down to the tip of Lower Manhattan! I walked at least five miles from Grand Central to Chelsea to Battery Park. The weather held up in the afternoon. When I bought some more postcards, the lady there said a storm was coming about 5pm. I wanted to do something good before I left so I went to one of the piers on the harbor and saw the tall ship Peking. I then went down to see if the ferry for Liberty Island was still open. I bought a ferry ticket to see the Statue of Liberty. Because it was later in the day, the museum was closed and the inside of the statue. I took good pictures from the outside. Then it started raining a lot harder. There wasn't much else to do so I took the ferry back to Manhattan. I then found the subway station and went to Grand Central. One of the last highlights of the trip will be going with a group from the dorm to a NY Mets baseball game. We leave this afternoon at 5:00pm.

Performance

Today I continued working on removing staples from the ultility pole I selected yesterday. This particular pole was covered in staples that probably have been accumulated from years gone by. The process of plucking them out was slow, but this one was different...instead of privately working in my studio, this was a performance with people walking down the sidewalk and cars passing by me. I did get several responses today while I was working. One guy commented if I was getting paid by the staple, while another said something like "one million two hundred fifty one, one million two hundred fifty two..." Another man said "that's a day's work"! Total amount of time it took to complete the main section of the pole was four hours. It was grueling, because the staples are a thick gage that were embedded into the wood. I used two tools: pliers and a flat head screwdriver. Some of the wood actually came off with some of the staples. I collected the staples and will make a sculptural form with those. I documented the pole before and after. I haven't come up with a title yet, but my idea is to write a title on a sheet of paper-like a flyer-and post it on the pole. It would be interesting to see if people would comment on it and by so doing, put staples back into the pole. Of course, the pole will eventually be covered with staples again, but for now it is rather unique I would like to think!

Kurt Schwitters' Merz picture with Rainbow

Today at class we met and walked to the Yale Art Gallery to give a 5 minute presentation on an artist and piece we chose. I presented on Kurt Schwitters' Merz picture with Rainbow. After our talks we went back to the sculpture room. I worked a little on taking the gold stitch thread out of a pair of blue jeans for my third piece. I then worked on my final project......when me and Michael and Rachel were walking back from a store we passed by a telephone pole that had hundreds if not thousands of staples from flyers that were posted. I mentioned taking the staples out jokingly, but at the same time seriously. (I showed Michael my previous staple sculpture). He thought it was a brilliant idea. I found a pole on a sidewalk and street that didn't have any flyers posted to it, but was covered in thousands of staples. I started plucking away with some needlenose-like pliers and made good progress. I worked for about an hour and a half. What is unique about this piece is that it goes along with my past processes, but this time it is an actual perfomance out in public instead of privately in my studio. Most people casually just walked by and didn't say anything (probably thinking I had lost my mind). I did get about three responses though. One older man asked what I had done to deserve doing that. That was funny. Another guy asked "every single one"? I'm going to go back and finish the rest of the pole. I'm over halfway. I'm keeping the staples to make a sculpture out of them, and I am taking pictures before and after of the pole.

The Encounter

Ok, this morning I had an encounter with a woman from the post office who caught me off guard by the way she acted (and by the way I acted) . I bought two postcard stamps and she handed them to me, one of which was peeled ready for me to apply to the postcard. I however did not think much about it and put the 60 cents on the counter area, which is where I made the mistake. She got very upset and said to me "Did you see how I handed you the stamps and you put the change down"? I was shocked at how quickly her mood changed and didn't really know what to say. She went slow giving me change back and put the change on the counter as I did. I think she wanted me to say something, but I couldn't get over how mad she was, and didn't feel like saying anything that would upset her more. Of course, I did not mean to be rude by putting the change down-it happened fast. I'm pretty sure she wasn't holding her hand out waiting for me. And I did want to apologize to her, but I was kind of frozen in speech. I learned my lesson to not place money on the counter, but rather hand it to the person. It's something so small, but makes a big difference in the eyes of some people.

Puddle of Water

Today in class we finished our second project and at the end of class we had short critiques. Along with our piece, a video accompanied it. We were to document an action by video and then create a container to house the remnants of the action. I videotaped myself cutting out lakes from state maps and rolling them into tiny balls. I decided that my container would be to place the rolled up balls onto a stone. Actual puddles of water are left on rocks and roads after a rain. My idea was that these lakes could serve as a tiny "puddle of water" on a stone where water would get trapped. Had really good critiques. There are only three more class days!