Playing Judge

I'm back again, this time with some thoughts on an article in the New York Times. The American Craft Museum in New York just relocated and subsequently changed its name to the Museum of Art and Design and the Times is giving its opening exhibition and attempt to revamp its image of craft mixed reviews.


I have to agree.

The new name alone gives me mixed thoughts. Maybe it's simply the fact that it's so similar to the name of the art school I graduated from "U of M School of Art and Design" that frustrates me, but I think it might be something a bit deeper. This is supposed to be a museum, a well established foundation; a place filled with thought provoking and inspirational art work, and the title is a bit...bland. I'm not inspired. Heck, I'm not even really interested. If you're going to go through the trouble of changing your name to catch some new attention, you should be a bit more creative. Sure, you've got a cute acronym now: MAD, but I don't think that's enough these days. There are so many museums and galleries out there that already have a similar title. If you're going to change it, you'd better have something creative to change it to, otherwise, don't bother.

Name aside, I also agree with the Times' thoughts on the contents of the show. Granted I haven't been, and I'm basing my thoughts on a few images and descriptions, but I'm feeling rather hot and cold. Looking at the museum's website, the past exhibitions show some stuff that I don't find worthy of distinction. You could come back by saying "Who are you to judge", but as far as I'm concerned, everyone is, and should be, an art critic to a certain extent. Why else would you create work and display it in such a prominent location if you didn't want others to see it and respond?

Now I feel guilty. I've been ranting and criticizing when I was rather inspired by one of the exhibitions they had: "Second Lives." It resonates with a lot of my tendencies toward using found objects.

Again, the Times brought up some good criticism about some of the pieces: "Are you really giving the objects you’re using a second life, or just enabling them to last longer and take up more space?" Good question. Maybe some of the intentions were to get viewers to think about just that. And maybe that's enough of a reason to keep them from falling into the category of "just taking up space." The question even got me thinking about my own work (a sign of a good critique), and I'm really glad it did.
Food for thought I suppose.

All criticisms aside, I found some of the pieces really beautiful. Here are some photos. I'll let you judge for yourself.




Michael, this one with the transformed LPs taking flight as butterflies made me think of your flying bread installation - which I don't think was just taking up space :)

Feelings of Fall

This morning I had a particularly difficult time getting into work mode and found myself dozing off at my desk. I decided to sneak out of the office for a walk down the street to get some coffee. Everything about this morning reminds me of the fall that is all to familiar, but often times elusive.

The smell of smoke and fire as restaurants start up their grills for the day. Mind you this smell is normally attributed to campfires on a cool morning at the campground, but if I close my eyes, I can almost pretend I just crawled out of the steamy tent to see the beginnings of a fire that will soon cook breakfast. Oh wait...my family didn't do that. We had a portable grill so I could have my bacon :) But the fire was still there, and thus, the smell.

The smell and feel of the cool air mixed with damp earth. I actually noticed for the first time a significant number of leaves gather on the sidewalk, although most of the trees are still fighting to keep their green color.

The familiar feel of a warm drink in my cold hands as I walk briskly down the sidewalk, wrapped up tightly in my fleece. This used to be me rushing to catch a bus to north campus with a mug of coffee or tea. I miss those days, but I'm enjoying the feeling of meandering and not worrying about catching the 7:28 bus in order to make my 8:00 class. Now I can lazily stroll to get some coffee and lazily stroll back to the office. My job may not satisfy my needs as an artist, but it does allow me a schedule that I rather enjoy.

Joe and I are going to try to spend the evening tonight down at our clamming spot, playing around in the water for one last time before winter. We're also going to try to squeeze in a biking trip on Saturday to catch a glimpse of some of the foliage in the park. I'm hoping we can get pumpkins in the next couple of weeks as well since I'll soon be heading off to Colombia and won't return with enough time to get one before Halloween hits.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to put up in the next couple of days. I've been a bit detached from my camera lately.

Leaves and Fog

It's officially fall. The trees are changing, and I've been to the orchard. My fridge is full of apple crisp, applesauce, and of course just plain apples. I've also got apples softening in the crock pot as we speak which will soon become apple butter...Tasty.











This morning Joe and I drove off the island to pick my car up from the shop and we got a glimpse of some of the truly beautiful trees that line Rte 1. There's still a lot of green around, but the more anxious leaves are starting to show their colors. The peak of colors should come in the next two or three weeks, and I can't imagine what they'll look like then if they already look this gorgeous now. The grey skies and drizzly fog just add to the beauty of the ambiance.

Joe informed me this morning that we're under a hurricane watch. Apparently Kyle has made his way up the coast and is supposed to give us a bit of a storm this weekend. It's nothing worrisome, and I'm actually okay with a bit of a rain storm.

Cough

I've been sick. For the past week. Basically, since I posted last. I think the universe is trying to tell me something. Maybe that I shouldn't post anything about how my body isn't being enough of a germ warrior. I don't really know. But I do know that I've felt miserable for the past week, and am only now starting to feel a bit better. Of course this has been fantastic timing since I can't take off work on Mondays and Tuesdays and also since I'm supposed to be working on the "possible big thing" project that I'm still extremely nervous about jinxing myself over (especially after the whole sickness after posting thing).

So I've been a puddle of Jell-o for a few days now, letting Joe spoon feed me applecrisp. Well not really, but I think you can appreciate the idea.

I did feel better last Saturday and managed to get to the apple orchard with Joe and then back apple crisp and make some applesauce. So that's positive. I also made it through my much needed and much anticipated shopping trip! yay! (I know you were all worried I didn't make it) I got myself some things to keep me warm, and thank goodness I did! It's been rather chilly at night ane my sniveling and sneezing self needs a bit more than a t-shirt to keep me warm.

I have some pictures from the orchard, but seeing as how I'm at work - surprise surprise - and they're at home, they'll have to wait for another time. For now, this is all you get.

My Body Says "Rawr Rawr!"

The evil headache monster reared its ugly head again on Tuesday, leaving me in a pathetic state for the majority of the day. Boo.

Wednesday passed without any ailments, but then yesterday I started getting the sore throat that everyone else seems to have. Gross. It would appear that my body needs to fight a bit harder against the evil-doer germs and such that are trying to bring me down. Well "Rawr!" I say to them!


I'm making it through the week by thinking about my shopping trip tomorrow! Yay! And as a special present to myself, I ordered some shoes from DSW.



Aren't they just ridiculous and adorable at the same time? Well I thought so at least. (and even if you don't agree, they were less than $10, so hush) I need shoes that aren't flip flops to wear to work, and from the sounds of things around here, I won't make it very far on the icy winter sidewalks in a pair of my heals. So I'm looking for new shoes.

I'm currently working on some sketches for what could be an exciting project. I'm not going to say much to avoid jinxing myself, and I'm not going to post any pictures because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to. Basically, if you hear about it again in the next week or so, you'll get all the details. If you hear nothing...don't ask. I'll probably still be sensitive about the disappointment. Just kidding. Or maybe I'm not.

Ouch!

Today I had an extremely debilitating headache. I'm talking awful. Not quite migraine status, but pretty close. I stayed in bed for an extra two hours and drove into work for the first time in months. I was honestly a little worried that I might not make it to work if I had to walk. Monday's aren't days I can call in sick. Tuesday's aren't either. There's no one else to do my job in the office, and without a head's up, there's no way to get all the ad orders down to someone else who can do my job.

Thankfully, with the help of some advil, and then some more advil, my headache subsided enough to make it through the day and even leave me with the energy and drive to cook something for dinner. All morning I thought of nothing but crawling home and into bed with a big bowl of french onion soup, but half way through the day I started looking at recipes online and couldn't help myself. I settled on a ricotta and bacon pasta, to which I decided to add some chicken. I cheated a bit and got one of those rotisserie chickens from the store, but I figured I was allowed some cheating since I'd felt terrible all day, plus I find them pretty tasty. So I made some tasty dinner...and I feel content.

I actually wanted to cook some sort of dessert, but there are still a couple of white-chocolate raspberry bars hiding in the fridge form my last cooking endeavor, so I decided to hold off. Although I think I might dig into something either tomorrow or Wednesday.

I'm also looking forward to a trip to the mall this weekend. I missed the whole "back to school shopping" and I'm just dying for some new fall clothes. Plus I could use some cute flats and whatever else I might find! Come on...I've been so good about shopping. Mostly because there's no where to really shop around here, but still. I think I deserve to indulge myself just a little bit.

Now I think it's time for some goat's milk gelato - my latest purchase from this weeks farmer's market. I wanted something still summery and light, and lemon zest gelato sounded perfect!

Change in the Winds

As if you couldn't tell, I gave my blog a bit of a make-over. I needed some space; some fresh air. We'll see if I stick with it, but for now, I'm feeling good about it.

As of right now, I'm going to choose to not mention the horrific football game that is currently being played by my alma mater and simply continue on with better things that are happening in my life.

Well, actually, I'm not so sure I have anything overly interesting to discuss. It's starting to get a little cool here, feeling more and more like fall. I'm getting excited to visit an apple orchard and maybe try my hand at a caramel apple pie. I've also started investigating pumpkin patches and am excited for baked pumpkin seeds. But then I remember that snow shall soon follow, and I get a bit upset. Hopefully fall will extend itself over a longer string of months this year. Everything is still very green, and I'm rather excited to see the landscape change through shades of orange and red. Hopefully the brown phase will hold off a bit for my sake.

I'll leave you with some images from a recent hike. The Precipice Trail is supposed to be hardest here at Acadia, and I must admit, it was a bit taxing. Nothing unmanageable, but the many ladders and high steps don't make it an easy trek to the top. Despite my slight fear of heights, I made it to the top in one piece.

Is This A Fake?

It's official.

I'm a Maine-r.

Joe and I got our new Maine drivers licenses in the mail the other day. I now have the lobster license plates and the incredibly fake looking Maine ID. Has anyone seen one of these licenses before? They're rather ridiculous. It looks extremely fake. And I'm not kidding here. I'm genuinely surprised that there isn't a big market out there for making fake, Maine IDs. I've seen fake IDs that look more convincing than this. The back is almost blank save for some bar coding, and the front has an over-exposed photo of me and a pink and orange sunset banner across the top that says "Where America's Day Begins". Kind of cute I suppose. There's one strip of a hologram across the middle, but apart from that, unless there's something I'm missing, this is pretty simple. I can't wait to go back to Michigan and have someone card me and insist that this is fake. It's bound to happen.


Anywho...that's all for the moment I suppose. I'm currently making a list of "Things I Must Do Before Next Year". Maybe I'll share that with you later...

For now I'll simply say that I love Wednesdays. The only two shows I actually follow on TV are on tonight--Project Runway, and America's Next Top Model. Yay for indulgent television night!

Read The Locals

I work at a newspaper...yes yes, you know.

Well there's a bound set of newspapers from December 1983 to 1984 that sits on the stairs around the corner from my desk. I noticed it a few weeks ago and have been tempted to sift through it ever since. Well today I did. I opened up to the first issue of 1984: January 5th. There's some really interesting stuff in there. I'm running out of time for the day, so I can't post much, but for now, I'll leave you with this cute little ad I found.



How great is this?

Red Handed

OK OK you caught me. I confess.

I've been a bit of a slut for blogs this past week.
And not my own...everyone else's.
I've been snooping around in the blogging world.
A Lot.

Nosing around in other people's blogs has become my new way of passing the time, and I must admit that I'm rather inspired and thoroughly entertained. There's some really great stuff out there and I'm enjoying snooping around to find it.

Take for instance this artist:

Jennifer Khoshbin







These are absolutely stunning. I've started a few projects along the way that involve using books as sculptural materials, but never really gotten anywhere with it. I've been dying to pick them back up, and this work is just the kind of inspirational push I needed. It's important when starting something new to look into who's working on the same sort of thing. Who's already done it, who's doing it now, and who else is thinking about doing it in the future. It's good to place yourself among your peers with every project you take up. After looking at Jennifer's work, I'm feeling so much more at home with my own ideas. I love the meticulous and obsessive cutting and layering and gluing. I've glued layers and layers of books together in the past and as I'm sure you could guess, loved every minute of it. It's a bit sick, I know. Who enjoys gluing over 600 individual pages together? Well....I do. Surprise! Just like I loved carving up over 600 pencils.

Yay for obsessive and freakishly meticulous artists!

Oooo Success!

I switched computers, and was able to load ghostpatrol's website! yay me! He has some really great pieces! I'm fascinated! He not only does the pencil drawings, but he also does graffiti and sculptures. He's in Melbourne, Australia and get this: he calls his studio the "Mitten Fortress"!?!?! How fun! I wonder what the story is behind that. Anyway, here are a couple more of his pencil pieces...and in case you forgot what my thesis looked like, take a peek back and see if you think we're two peas in a pencil pod.





I'm feeling rather inspired. I only wish I wasn't working at the gallery all night...grrrr. Who needs money? I mean really....

Great Minds...

Holy Goodness!

I was snooping around blogs today and stumbled upon this image...



Can anyone say...my IP?!?!?!
OK, so it's not quite the same, but it's definitely something I considered! Pencils as a surface for drawing? Very cool, ghostpatrol, very cool. Unfortunately I can't get his website to open, so I 'm limited to the images I've found on this person's blog If you can get his page open...tell me how. I want to see!!!

Here's some of his other pieces...

Mexico...Que?

Last night I was working in the gallery when I came the realization that I'm working in someones Mexico. Now before you get completely confused and tell me that I'm not only in the United States, but also in one of the furthest points from Mexico in said United States, let me explain.

I work in a gallery that sells rather expensive things mixed in with some extremely expensive things. Things I can't afford and could never justify purchasing at such a price. And yet every day, we sell these expensive things to women who leave their husbands outside or down the street while they do their "souvenir shopping." These people are on vacation. And not just that, a good portion of them are on a cruise. They come wandering down the streets in their white slacks with their Hawaiian shirts with their sweaters draped over their shoulders, purchasing a few ridiculously expensive pieces of jewelry and art, eating some lobster, and then returning to their ship to finish their boating journey. This is their Mexico. This is the grown-up, upper-class version of Mexico. Think about Cancun, Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Croix, etc, and you'll get it. We have the same trinkity touristy stuff as all of those tourist stops, it just costs more, and involves lobsters. True, there is some really great art around here, but you have to sift through the shot glasses and T-shirts to get to it. I'm just thankful that I work in one of the least "trinkity" places in town--we're actually probably one of the few places in town that sells quality things. They just happen to be things that cost more than I can afford...oh well.

Now maybe all of this was brought on by the fact that we had a Peruvian band playing in the courtyard outside the gallery yesterday. The tropical music bringing in large crowds to gather around the fountain and then slowly wander through the gallery might have influenced my thoughts, but let's face it: It's true. I'm living in Mexico.

My Missing Family Member

After having a visit from my parents, my mom sent me a picture of one of the family members that couldn't make the trip...





I miss my Sadie!--that was her birthday cake--a crab shaped cookie! Inspired by yours truly.
I've been trying to convince Joe to let me get us a furry friend, but this time he's the one being practical. So I'm left to mope.

Fondue...or Fon Don't?

Bad joke. I know.

I got a fondue pot from my brother for my birthday...Yay! I've always been fascinated with the idea of dipping bite-size pieces of meat and bread into a pot of boiling oil or bubbling cheese. I do love cheese.

Joe and I tried it out immediately and I have to say it was everything I had hoped for. We had an array of tasty sauces for the meat and a pesto, brie dip for bread and veggies. Fantastic! And surprisingly enough, Joe loves it too--maybe more than I do. I guess it's something about the pile of raw meat you start out with that appeals to his male instincts, but either way, he enjoyed it.



I have yet to try the melted chocolate portion-shocked? me too- but I thought the cheese and meat were a bit more practical. And of course...I try to be practical.

Food really has seemed to take over my life these days. Cooking occupies my free time and keeping a variety of foods and meals keeps my life entertaining. Is that weird? When my weekly meals repeat themselves too frequently, I get antsy. I need variety in my life, and when I can't get it in my job or schooling (or lack ther of at this point), I get it from the food I eat. Go figure.