I wanted to share some of my inspiration looking back... and next post will lay out the work for the year ahead.
It's a double whammy for me because I'm a New Years baby. I love resolutions and the feeling of a fresh start-- a clean slate. I just got back to abq after 3 weeks in the East with my family and friends. I've been slowly making my lists, and thinking about the year to come. I have decided to work on monthly and quarterly goals this year. It feels more doable, easier to recalibrate. This article is so inspiring. I hope you enjoy it too. And remember, it can be really simple.
http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/01/05/resolutions/
I took some much needed time off from the intensity of the Fall. The semester was challenging on many levels. It has led to some new research topics though, so I'm excited to head back into school, setting up reading lists... Here's a little break down of my year--because I rarely look at my accomplishments. But this year was pretty epic now that I think about it.
Spring Semester- I started my second semester in Landscape Architecture and one of the highlights was an independent study with Bill Gilbert, he started
Land Arts of the American West with Chris Taylor, and the Art and Ecology program at UNM. Every week or so we met at my studio to look at drawings and talk about work and research. This program was a huge part of why I chose UNM to study. The main question that emerged is how or if I integrate my art practice with Landscape Architecture. I can't imagine that I will ever give up a studio practice. I'm okay with a parallel practice, I'm okay with a non- traditional landscape practice. There is time to sort it out.
My research assistantship was with
Story of Place Institute in support of a plaza design for the International District in Albuquerque. Every week I would meet Christy Snyder, a cultural Anthropologist, and we would walk the district, meeting people and getting to know the neighborhood.
In March a great friend came out to New Mexico to show art work in Albuquerque and go skiing in Taos.
Willi Singleton is an amazing potter. He has work at the
Weyrich Gallery and an annual show there. His friends in Taos are tea Masters. (Urasenke trained) We went up to Taos together and I hung out at the house with Cathy, and watched a tea lesson, and shared the matcha from one of Willi's bowls.
My drawings were selected for an emerging artist exhibition in Albuquerque.
Surface at the
Harwood Art Center. This included a workshop that ran on Saturday after the opening. We got to meet writers, curators and gallery owners from Albuquerque. It was an excellent introduction into the art scene here. There are young artists and curators that are choosing to live and work here. There is great energy.
Central Features and
West Bund West are two of my favorites.
Summer Session: I stayed to participate in a class that focused on a design charrette for a festival in the International District. Buster Simpson came in for a week to work with us. It was a great opportunity to work with Alf Simon, Katya Crawford and Michaele Pride, as well as my peers from architecture and L.A.
July and August: I went home to Lancaster County and started clearing out a ceramics studio that I had at my parents place. It was the first medium for me. So many hours of practice and learning were spent there. It was amazing to be back there, taking it down. I was able to give 2 of my students a kiln and about a ton of clay to take to their new studio in Philadelphia. I have been incredibly fortunate in my life as an artist, this field is so generous. It felt significant to pass it on.
I have not stopped working with clay, but it is no longer my central practice. I do have an iron clay body that I love, a Rob Barnard recipe. It is finicky and fine grained-- you cannot get away with anything, I mean, if you just look away for a second it cracks. But it does amazing things in a long wood firing. I got to make some cups out of it this summer that rival the best that I have ever pulled out of a kiln. The balance in the cups and the color in the clay was incredible. Every summer for the past 10 years I have spent at least 2 weeks in August firing with Joy Brown up at
Still Mountain Center. This firing was shoehorned in. I also got to spend a day with Christine Owen in New Haven, looking at artwork, visiting Yale's campus. The Maya Linn sculpture was a highlight. As was the day with Chris, talking about our own work, and struggle for balance with teaching and making good work. Christine is part of a fabulous performance team called the
Bridge Club. She also makes ceramic sculpture and pottery. Like me, she has many things in play. It's rare and not rare, but so great to talk to a fellow practitioner.
Fall Semester: This semester focuses on systems and a more regional look at design. Because we worked on two Urban projects simultaneously, I'm not sure that I got to pull out as far as I had hoped. Construction drawings studio was great, we did detail drawings for documents. I have a lot of ideas about how I would like to use them in the future. CAD was interesting and challenging-- barely scratching the surface of this program.
My drawings were selected for a solo exhibition at the
Bechechi Open Space, Bernallilo County. It is a beautiful building designed by a local architect. The exhibition opened in October.
Design Marfa held a competition that I entered with Jackie Bryan, a duel architect/la masters candidate at UNM. We will find out the results in February. It was my first LA competition. It was great to collaborate on this design. Our faculty were so supportive with feed back. I'm so curious to see how we did.
Finally, I revamped my website, and have my drawings and current studio work up. I will be posting my public work from Philadelphia as well as the L A studio work semester by semester. I had considered archiving this page and using the blog on square space, but I like this space. Here's to another great year.
