the hermitage deer pod mostly ignore me

since neither am i scary nor a threat, they merely tilt their heads and flick an ear at my presence and then simply continue at their task. when they gather in extended groups, just one can lead them all in sudden flight, asses held high, tails taunt, at my mere head turn. they are much like people I've known. my extended deer pod flees the visible, but we, we flee the invisible. it is not the person I see people flee but instead the anger that stirs our own distorted sense of justice, fear that dwells in lost memories dancing at the hidden corners of our being, futures unvisioned--undreamed, pasts unresolved pushing into our tomorrows, and incomplete knowledge, non-understanding guiding blindly our unseeing binary tunneled paths. I see people flee closing up, withholding, their compassion, friendship and mercy. we flee the invisible. zealot or not, fleeing each in our own habitual way.

identity essentials

Following lecture on feminist essentialism in the visual arts, I assign a responsive project requiring students to use their bodies as a vehicle for an idea. There are 7 categories they may choose from: the body as container, the body as landscape, the body as site of conflict (debate or legal issue), the body as the essence of gender, the body as spirit, role of age/history/time using the body, the body as a site of loss or remembrance.

A few rules I have--don't show me your genital (or as they say, don't show me their "junk"); be metaphorical/symbolic. Make it personal--"the personal is political." It should be a cohesive series without be redundant. Oh yes, and I tell them they don't know who they'll be partnered with in 10 years. If the image would trash their partners possibility of public office, DON'T SHOOT IT! They don't understand if i say don't do this for themselves but they understand how it could bite a partner in the butt.

Here is a series finished two weeks early (cause they are actually excited about this project)--Artist: Ashton, Photographer: Chelsey.



 

 



 

identity essentials: body as a site of conflict by Jeremy C

stroll my hood

after a day of laughter. today was the beginning of mark making were I guide my students in breaking their writing habit. after 18 to 29 years of training the hand to hold a pencil, it is difficult to explore other mark making options because choking up on our pencils is so engrained. so I have them explore using their bodies for mark making with exercises that bust up the writing habit. we ended the day with students' arms wrapped around their large sketch pads waist and their other stroking it's back with a pencil, ending finally playing their pad like a musical instrument. needless to say I had 43 souls literal waltzing around the studio with silly grins of joy on their faces. got to love my job.

today was my first day to stroll my hood for any decent length of time cause grading and more grading has kept me into the night.

late afternoon I was trimming back the secret pathways along that invisible line between mine and theirs, a supposed property line on file at the courthouse. hidden away in the woods, flushed out a huge owl from one of my ancient hollowed out oaks. I didn't however see piglet or rue. earlier today i discovered some baby hawklings through their chatter and the sudden winged glide of the parental unit.

the sounds of rushing rumbling water no longer absent

the slow weighty visual sound of its still settling and holding no longer absent

thick. lens doesn't do it justice

like a dream

late night drive after assisting students on install.
like entering a dream without sleep.
thick fog forward, crystal clear starry night above.
beautiful. why wake up from this state.

from traditional foundation design project to...

students started with some typical gestalt/perception compositions, stripped down to the basics and THEN...

under the influence of contour and magnetic mapping they translated their piece into three dimensional space (materials of their own choosing)...

more images >>

clearing a spot in the woods for material storage

that won't be visible from bulk of property or country lane. will have to translocate tubes already in site to this freshly cleared spot. hmmm. exercise.

couple thousand pounds of tubes

load haul unload return for more another day. my poor little 4 cylinder Tacoma with 200,000+ miles on it.

oh my sweet medium to be stored

and soon to be stitched. oh but how do I store you without being such a site sore! fold, size sort and layer. hmm. but still I only want to look at you at the time to stitch. contemplating a bit of fencing. it had been my original plan but well a tree kind of landed through the local of intent. so this weekend my dad and I shall put a dent in the might dead oak. then it will be time for some post hole digging. who's game?

omg. I do live in the country

on this crisp, gray morning, clouds hung low, I slowed from my speed blurred moment for an old man in a dinghy darkened plaid jacket, hat snuggled down over his ears, heel worn boots shuffling across the farm road. slung over his aged stooped shoulder, an ancient shotgun, suspended on the barrel's end, balanced and dangling, a well used trap.

I've stored this time slowed moment within my steel sieved memory banks believing it is the pace of the realized when one is full awakened and present

oh velvety lawn how I enjoy you.

next year I'll throw down the winter rye a bit earlier and a bit thicker. I just kind of hand spread it as a test run tightly around the hermitage this year. I find the stark contrast between the leafless dormant gray rooted ancestors and the short lived plush green incredibly soothing.

installing at texas state for collaborative exhibition of BOX 13ers

opens at texas state university's art gallery
thursday, feb 9, 2012
5 to 7 pm

Collaborative with Kia Neil, myself and Whitney Riley











Collaborative with Michael Henderson



Collaborative with Mark Ponder



Collaborative with Michael Henderson

barren plains of back turned could have beens (monsters in the attic)

this season's faculty exhibition

yay perfect weather for a 4 cylinder Tacoma and 16 trailer

usually only stopping is a problem; wakeful alert driving required today and tomorrow. fortunately lighter load than usual.

stage one...moving from stripped down basics toward the exertion of personal voice

90 x 4 feet. hmmm. needed ~360 feet of linear wall space. putting up and squeezing in they are (the first 45). i had i(de)lusions that i could get both sections up at the same time on the walls. ends up that is not possible. ha! contemplating putting second group above first group. though stacking tables upon tables to give 45 of them access to the upper levels gave me visions of sudden unemployment.

so this is the first phase--conceptually the project is about perception, practically, perhaps more importantly, it's about them discovering:

• their habits or patterns to visual problem solving
• that intent and viewer perception don't always line up 
• how to work to increase intent and perception aligning
• methods to critique and receive criticism
  (while there is very little to no personal content to the work)

projects aren't about being projects, they're about

• being art
• learning process
• discovering materials
• exploring methods
• finding voice

more going up

and more

and more


i remind them that this is only 1/2 and no complaining about workload as i will be grading all these...hmmm. this they actually get when they see it all setup.

me personally am looking forward to the derivative artworks that will be created based on these...studies.

misty morning noisy with voice