Printmaking Workshops!!!
Remember the JD Art Center I mentioned two posts back? Well, while we were at the festival, I asked if they offer printmaking courses. They said they'd like to, but never have anyone to teach them.

Me: O RLY!!1!?/?

So, I asked what their requirements for teachers were. They said a thorough knowledge of the material, and a heartbeat.

Me: R U SRS!1/1??!!
Them: LOL YA!!!!1!one!!!

So, I wasn't sure I was totally qualified, but I decided to step up, and volunteered! This spring, I'm going to be teaching 2, full day printmaking workshops at the JD Art Center in Auburn! How fucking cool is that!? What a great way to keep myself involved in printmaking, meet some fellow artists and to keep the fires lit!?

The workshops will go from about 9:30am till about 4:30pm with a break for lunch. In the first one, I'm going to teach do an intro to relief printing, working with linoleum and wood. If it's possible, I'd like for everyone to make one print of their block for everyone in the class, so we can do an exchange, but we'll see how many people sign up, and how much time there is once everyone gets started printing.

In the second workshop, we're going to get a bit more advanced--I want to cover multi-block colour printing, colour reductions, and some basic collagraph techniques. :)

So how fucking cool is that! I'm stoked! The first workshop isn't until late march or early april, so I've got time to get everything good and planned out. I'm going to call the Fickster one of these days and see if I can get some ideas for fun activities, so it's not just work work work during the whole thing.


Full Court PRESS
In related news, I may have a way to gain access to the Auburn art department's printing presses. My part-time coworker Lindsey graduated from Auburn a few years ago. After she graduated, she TAed for the printmaking instructor, meaning that she came in a few hours a week, cleaned the studio, and in return got access to the presses. So, I'm gonna see if I can do that this spring. I've already contacted the professor, and am waiting to hear back.


Etc -- Etsy
At work, we've started making one of a kind items, like t-shirts, bags, and notebooks. What we do is we Scott and Mike print several random images, in different colour combinations over each other to create a neat kind of one-of-a-kind print-collage. Scott had been trying to come up with an efficient way to list and sell them online. He'd heart about Etsy.com, and asked me to check it out, so I did. I created an account, and listed two old etchings from school, figuring they'd never sell, but it'd introduce me to the workings of the site. Then, much to my surprise, I got an email saying I'd made a sale on Etsy! And not just one, but BOTH the prints I listed had been sold!! To a random stranger in California no less! I had seen printedfaces be very successful on Etsy, but never figured my own work would sell. This was really encouraging, so I'm going to list more and hopefully sell all these excess prints I've got lying around from school :)

Here are the two that sold:


Phew, I've been blogging all evening, and I desperately need a break. It's been really cathartic to start getting all this stuff out, but I'm only about half done. I've got at least 3 more BIG posts to write, and they're the ones that contain the heavier emotional stuff.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear comments on any or all of what I've posted about tonight.

For now, be well. You are loved,
-P.

My next few entries will be long, and thus cut. They'll be stories from the travelling I've done the past few weeks, and the weeks to come. I want to preface these entries by saying I used to have no interest in travelling. In fact, I chose not to study abroad while I was in school because I "didn't want to leave my life." After a few weeks of travelling and adventures, I realize how retarded that was. Everything we do is part of our adventure. Wherever you go, there you are. It's a shame it took me 24 years to realize that.

The first week of June, I took a roadtrip to YeeHaw Industries in Knoxville, TN. I wanted to apply for their internship position, and what better way to do it than to take a trip there, see the shop, and do it in person. So I did.

( Knoxville, TN )

Knoxville was amazing, and I'd love to go back.

-P.

Winston
Tonight I went to the opening of a buddy's show in Winston Salem. It was awesome collages and shadowboxes. It's at Urban Artware in Winston if anybody wants to go check it out. While I was there, I finally met Clark Whittington of Art-O-Mat fame. Really cool, energetic fellow. I gotta whip up some designs to print and send in.

Weekend
This weekend I am going home to Raleigh for a visit. It will be good to see the folks, recharge the batteries, get some grounded advice on what the hell I'm about to do with my life, and to print up a full run of Bray Hard shirts. If you want one, go ahead and place your order now!

A single sentence, and an action
My graduation present--Adobe Creative Suite CS3--arrived today. *DROOOOOOOOLZZZ!!!!!!*

Fluff
My roommate Angie is giving up her cat, Nemo, pictured here. This makes me sad. He is very sweet. And fluffy. Now, a little context for that picture; I was getting set up to screenprint some shirts--hence my homemade hingeclamp board. The picture was also taken just a few days after my graduation party--hence the keg and 12 of newcastle.

YEEEEEEE HAWWWW!!!
This week I am driving to Knoxville, TN to visit a letterpress print shop there called YeeHaw Industries. They do amazing work and I'm going there to apply for their internship position in person. WISH ME LUCK!!!

I have to get up early. I'm going to bed now.
Nighty,
-P.

The most awesome keyboard ever conceived? Well, it's here, and available for preorder.

Sadly, it's $1500. The thing is, if I could afford it, I'd buy it. That is an amazing piece of hardware. One day......

In other news, I might go see 300 again today. Dunno, just been in the mood for it lately.

-P.

( +8 more )

Oh, and here are three pictures from the graduation party.... yeah... Um... I sort of only remembered to take three before I put down my camera and forgot about it. Oops.

Party!!!!!	The Keg! She has been tapped!	Yeah... this was the last picture I took before I sort of forgot about my camera. Oops.

Printing pictures to come soon!
-P.

I dream--in every sense of the word--about living in a house like one of these.

-P.

PS - Does anyone have mp3s of the following songs?
Eames Era - Got your note
That Dog - Minneapolis
Histrioniks - Underneath it all
Wonderful Smith - Hard alcohol
The Sounds - Much too long
Dressy Bessy - You stand here
Stars - Elevator Love Letter

I have a soft spot for indie girly pop. It is my secret shame.

Miedo
So I've had this feeling now for just over two weeks and I finally put a name to it last weekend.... I am fucking HOLYSHIT-TERRIFIED of graduating. It hardly seems real; May is approaching--FAST--and after May, my life will change drastically. I will no longer have easy access to a fully stocked print studio. I will no longer have access to this wonderful little community of awesome creative people. I'll be on my own. It's going to be sink or swim. I'll have big college loans to pay off. Part of what's making me anxious is I don't have anything lined up yet; it's all a big void. The Unknown if you will. Now, I can do something about that. I'm just having a hard time making myself really investigate the options. I've worked hard and have good training in printmaking, not to mention I think I can get a good recommendation from Bill Fick. If I apply to a few places, I can probably get a job working in a shop. I hope--it's what I'd really like to do.

Along Those Lines
Like last semester (and, well, every semester prior to that), I feel like I have a lot of big goals I want to accomplish this semester. But... they're not terribly organized in my head, and I don't feel like I'm making any progress on them. My mom and my friend Loren separately made the same suggestion to me, which I think is very good: organize your projects and set daily/weekly goals of things you can do to actively move toward them. So, that's my game plan. Hope it works.

Codigo
One of my commitments this semester is to engaging my mind in things outside of art. To that end (and partly because my art is inspiring it) I'm picking up an old hobby of mine again. Are you ready for this? I can barely believe how big of a geek I am. I'm picking web programming back up. LOL. I've gotten started already, refreshing my knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Once I'm feeling back up to snuff I'll throw PHP into the mix. Back in the day when I was coding regularly, I could never get AJAX to work. Now, I'm setting it as a goal; I want to get that shit down.

That's enough for now. I gotta get to bed. Buena' noche'!
-P.

w00t!!!! Spring semester starts today! I'm stoked!!!! I get to be in the print studio today, YAAAAAAY!

Happy First Day of Class!!!!

( To do list. For me. Ignore. )

Now to make use of my iTunes gift certificate I got for xmas so I've got some new tunes to rock me in the studio :)

Night!
-P.

You're never gonna fucking believe this.


I was talking to Bill Fick today and he mentioned there was a canadian artist I might like. Before he could pull up his site I interjected, "don't tell me it's Sean Caulfield."

It was.

Bill Fick knows Sean Caulfield's work, and corresponds with him.






It gets better.

Sean Caulfield is coming to Chapel Hill in February for a few days to give a lecture and a demo of his work.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA----*dies*


FUCK!!!!! Jegahskdjkfddkl!! Dude! I never even thought I'd get to see one of this dude's prints in person, but I'm going to be able to see him talk about his work and produce a print in person!!! Bill said that he would try to work something out so I could meet him and talk to him about my work.

SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

<-dork.

-P.

I'M GOING TO PUERTO RICO FOR FALL BREAK!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!!!

:-D

-P.

Woohoo!!!!! The new semester has begun!!!

Let me tell you about our new space.

The new Art Building is BEAUTIFUL! If you walk in the 'front' door on Haywood St, you walk into a super high ceilinged lobby, facing a gallery with a glass front wall so you can see into it. There is a balcony above the gallery which is the second floor. On the left half of the first floor is the art office, the printmaking studio, some design classrooms and offices, and in the middle is the computer labs and darkroom. The IARC department has offices and classrooms on the right side.

The printmaking studio isn't much bigger than it was in the old building, but it looks and feel enormous. We have a ton of room to work, lots of ventilation, really nice work areas, a big new drying rack, etc. More about that in a bit.

The darkroom is HUGEOMG. In the old darkroom, you had to awkwardly walk through a little curved 'hall' into the cramped darkroom, where you'd probably rub butts with someone working at the sink if you were at an enlarger. Now, we have an automated air-lock type door controlled by pressure sensor. In the darkroom itself, you can easily work undisturbed. There are dividers between the enlargers, so you don't have to worry about the pendejo next to you accidentally exposing your paper to light.

The computer lab is now divided into three. One is for beginning classes like design II, one is for advanced design courses, and the middle one is a print and scanner lab. I might be a lab assistant this year, which would be the hotness.

The second, third and fourth floors are mostly classrooms. On the second floor we have a lounge, with a bunch of lockers and vending machines, and tables for students to sit and work, or mingle with other students. It's a wonderful thing to have. Hehe, it can also be a huge distraction, though. On the very top floor is an IARC critique room. Let me tell ya, they're some lucky sonsabitches. That room is beautiful. You step into it and you think you've entered heaven. It's a walled off room with an open ceiling, above which is the exposed wooden beam ceiling of the building, and a MASSIVE milky white skylight, bathing the room in muted, natural light.


Now I want to talk a little about my specific classes, and why they're awesome.

French101
Eh, this'll be cool. It'll be another language I can understand a few words in, maybe get around with. I'm mainly taking it to round my schedule out to 5 classes. It's not actually filling any requirements. Amyvashchick is in there with me, which is sweet.

Etching II
This is very likely going to be my favourite class this year. Bob Gerhart has retired unfortunately, but we have renowned printmaker Bill Fick teaching etching now. I had Bill Fick as my relief printmaking teacher Spring 2005 while he was the UNCG Visitng Artist. I loved Bob as a teacher, and I'm glad that he's still around, but having someone who does printmaking as their primary medium is very awesome. I got to go in early and help Bill and John Maggio get the print studio set up some, hang out with them, and then do some work before classes started. It make a good impression (no pun intended, lol). Anyway, Bill is definitely going to be encouraging me and pushing me to experiment and work printerly. I've already got my first plate prepped and ready to etch.

Photo II
This class is going to be great. In addition to the great new facility, I've got Sarah Martin as my photo teacher again. I had her last semester for Photo I. She's really young and energetic; she makes photography really fun and helps you work out your ideas and techniques. I'm going to be trying some alternative processing work this semester, including large format hopefully. I'm stoked :)

3D Design
OMGurd Imma love this class. I've been interested in 3d rendering for ages. I've had a copy of Bryce 4 for years that I've played around with, but now I get to really learn the medium with contemporary software. The class is with Chris Cassidy who not only knows his stuff, but is also very encouraging. I stayed the full time yesterday and started playing with the software, getting a feel for it. It's more complicated than Bryce, but once you learn what some of the things are, it's less intimidating. Hehe, I rendered out a gear ;)

Colour Theory
Again, eh, it's a class. I'm gonna learn a bunch about colour, which I really do need to learn, but I tend to work with such a limited palette in my printmaking that I'm not that worried about it. It'll be cool, though, I've got some good friends in there.


My description of the new building really is inadequate, if you're in town, you should take a trip through it, it's amazing :)

This is going to be a wonderful semester :-D It's now 9:18am. Gonna finish my tea and go to french, after which I get to go to etching and work on my first plate!!!

-Phil

Oh, and two more things. 1) Thanks Linz for the icon, lol.
And 2) Thanks Chris for This.

So, I've got today through thursday off work, and I'm going to be devoting most of that time to finding a new place.

A few questions for you all:

1) Would any of you like to replace me in my current house? If not, do you know anyone who's looking for a place right now? It's a nice old house that's a five minute walk from UNCG campus. If it weren't for the trees, I could see El Carreton and Tate St from my window, which are 30 second walks away. I really need help finding someone to take over my spot for me, so please help me out here.

2) Do any of you know of good places to live that are for rent right now? Ideally (see cut below), a 5-15 minute walk from the Spring Garden/Tate St side of campus.

3) Can you all tell me some things to be aware of when looking for a new place?


And here's a list of things I'm looking for a in a house/apartment. Cut, because it's more for me than you.

( La lista )

May the hunt begin!!!

-P.

I feel like things I need to think about are backing up in my head due to lack of time to process them, which is in turn stressing me out. I'm sitting with a cup of tea right now. I don't generally drink tea. I can't say I'm enjoying the taste, but the aroma and warmth are comforting.

This is a melange post.

Summerschool
I wrapped up summerschool last week. My Japanese final went fine, as I expected. My art history final, however, not so much; I've never been so certain before that I failed an exam. But, I still managed to pull a B+ in the class and an A in Japanese :) Go me :)


Harry Potter
In the last few months, I have become completely devoured by the Harry Potter series. O. M. F. G. These books are so fucking good. I actually feel a little bad for making so much fun of Vanessa and Brittany for their fandom. Granted, they took it a bit far, but I understand their enthusiasm now. And Brit? I don't think Snape's going to turn out to be a good guy. I think it's pretty clear that he's fully, truly evil. He's a wretch, and a coward. There is no light inside him.

I'm reading the very last pages of the 6th book right now. Oh god these last two chapters are making me cry like a baby. I knew what was coming, but it still didn't prepare me. *chokes up*

Speaking of fiction, I'm going to need something else to read whilst I await the 7th book, and I'd like to continue exploring the Fantasy genre. Thus far I've really enjoyed the Tolkien trilogy, The Belgariad and Mallorean series by David and Leigh Eddings, and Harry Potter. Please recommend other fantasy series for me to read!!! Thanks :)


Girlfriend
I can't believe I haven't mentioned this, but guess what? I've got a girlfriend. She's really great. She's brilliant, and we have a ton of fun together. And, her name is Elizabeth Williams. Yes, that is one and the same as the infamous Liz I dated a long time ago. I'm sure many of you will have... opinons about this. I would hope, however, that it will be enough for most of you that I am happy, and that you would trust my judgment in this matter. I came to this slowly, and on my own terms. It is not so much an old relationship being resumed, as it is the beginning of a new one.


Moving Out
I've decided I want to move out of the house on Springdale in august. I want a smaller place, preferably with only one, possibly two roommates. I've talked to my old roommate Daryn about getting a place and he's definitely interested. Does anyone know of any places NEAR THE SPRING GARDEN/TATE ST SIDE OF UNCG CAMPUS that are for rent? I'm paying $300 in rent right now--which I realize is fantastic--and I'm willing to go up to as much as $400, but I'd prefer not to go above that. 2 or 3 bedroom, house or apartment. I just want something close to campus with a calm environment that allows pets. Anyone know of anything available? Anyone looking for a roommate for the fall?



That's enough for this post. There is more to say, it will wait for later tonight or tomorrow.

-P.

So, I just had a job interview and it went GREAT! The interview was for a summercamp run by UNCG that teaches arts and sciences to kids. I've applied and have now been hired to teach "cartooning" (basically just character design/drawing) and graffiti art to kids.

The former I can teach easily enough. The latter will be a bit harder, though. I don't know much about it, and have been prejudiced against it. I want to break out of that, though, so this will be a good opportunity to learn about it.

The problem is that there are only two, one-week openings for the position, so I only have work for two weeks out of the summer. I need to find more. Anyone else know of art camp or art instruction positions open?

Peace!
-P.

This great band called Eisley is playing at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro March 25th. I bought two tickets for the show, but then found out that Rachel has previously made plans, and can't go, so I have an extra ticket. Would anyone else like to go with me? If not, would anyone else care to buy this extra ticket? I don't mind going alone; I'll have a great time dancing and singing along myself :) The ticket is only $10.

Their music is really great. It's mostly upbeat, somewhat whimsical/fanstical. The lyrics sound like a little kid's daydream. For you couples out there, it'll be a great date concert. My roommates Carly and Stephen, who introduced me to their music are making it a date :)

Let me know,
-P.

I got back from DC last night. When I came in the house, no one was home. It was quiet; exactly what I needed after four days of constant social activity. The house had a strange feel to it. There was a certain ambient smell to it that was present when I first moved in, but haven't smelled since. Hehe, in fact, since I was carrying some heavy shit and had a cat alternately trying to get out the door and attacking my feet, it felt exactly like the day I first moved in. It was like entering the house for the first time.

It feels good to be home, although the house is already bustling with activity. Amanda is here this weekend, though, which means good times shall abound. House of Pain best be representin'.

The trip to DC was a fucking blast. I had so much fun and can't wait to tell you all about it. That'll come later tonight or tomorrow, though.

Pizza
I have a cooking project this week I'm really excited about. If it goes well, it may be the best damned thing I've made yet. I'm going to cook up a white pizza with pesto, a light layer of mozarella, roasted chicken, tomato, fresh basil leaves and feta. I'm already lightly salivating thinking about this.

Thing is, I haven't really worked with chicken, so that'll be a bit of an experiment. I'm thinking I'll cook it up in a skillet with either lemon juice, garlic and cheyenne pepper, or garlic, soy sauce and maybe chili powder. Hm, just not sure yet. Suggestions are appreciated.

Felices,
-P.

The show last night went great! I talked to a bunch more people, met a few artists in the area my age, got a potential lead for a summercamp job (yeah, you just read that right). I'm not sure how well I'd do with kids, but they have a printmaking curriculum.... I could teach printmaking....... That'd be fucking hot! Anyway, gonna look into it.

I finally worked up the balls to go talk to two people who were looking at my artwork. They seemed to really enjoy the pieces. They had a lot of fun trying to figure out what one of them was.

Also, I sold a piece!!!

I was talking to this woman about art/artists and she asked if I had any pieces in the show so I took her over to my works and she was enthralled. She took a marker out of her bag and wrote "SOLD" on the info tag of the woodcut I had in the show. She really liked it and wanted it.

Now, I'm not quite jumping up and down about it yet, because she didn't have the money on her, and she was drunk. I'm going to call her soon (today) to arrange a time to exchange the money for the piece. Still, fucking score! People are liking what I'm doing, and that's [hopefully] $75 in my pocket. That covers the cost of that piece of wood, the paper, ink, and show entry fee with about $50 left over for me! w00t!!!

Jaime Coggins and a bunch of the MFAs were cheering for me and giving me advice on dealing with customers/clients, encouraging me to be aggressive when it comes to talking up my art and selling it. It was encouraging.

I capped the night off having drinks with the House of Pain and Sarah Coates next door at the Lager Haus. Twas a great night. I came home, talked on IM for a while, at some cheese and crackers and slept like a rock. Today will be a day of planning and drawing, and tomorrow I go to the zoo! whee!!

-P.

It's 4am EST. I need to be up and starting my day in two hours or less--woah, LJ is autosaving entries now, cool! Now if only they'll let you select your tags on the same page you write your entries on...--so I need to make this quick.

Tomorrow is the jurying for the Senior Juried Show. I have to deliver two pieces to the McIver gallery between 7 and 9 am. I thought I had more to say about that, but I guess I don't. I just hope I get in.

Tomorrow at 8am is my second (of three) group critiques for my independent study. I have almost nothing new to show. I'm doing a 2x3' woodcut. I set a goal for myself at the start of this week, which was to have the finished image drawn and inked onto the block by friday morning. I have failed to meet that goal, but not for lack of trying. I spent about twelve hours drawing today, trying to work out a scene for the two interacting characters I had drawn up for the print. I have filled around ten 14x17" sketchbook pages with experiments, modifications, completely new scenes and none of them worked. I got about a 30 minute critique from a handful of grad students, in which I realized that the overall image wasn't strong, and that might be because the idea behind the piece isn't that strong. The idea I wanted to express is hazy, and the pieces of the work didn't coalesce into a unified whole, visually or conceptually.

And I reacknowledged that's a problem with virtually ever piece of art I've made thus far with the possible exception of my christmas card.

I feel disappointed with myself, and, a little scared. I'm a month into this independent study. I wanted to be on my second piece by now and I may be back to square one with my first. Art is so hard. It is so, unbelievably, hard.


I hope that my critique tomorrow is helpful.

-P.

A few minutes ago I spoke with Jaime Coggins of Gate City Art (an organization for promoting local artists and art events). She is opening the space at 340 Tate St as a full time gallery. Rock on!

She says the plan is to continue doing weekly shows. That's not really a lot of time for an exhibition, but with a $10 entry fee per artist, it's a good way to make sure the bills get paid.

Anyway, I just took my two pieces for the show in (*crosses another pressing thing off his list*), so now it's time to remind you all:

Barred from the Temple: a collaborative exhibition of local artists in various media OPENS THIS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17th with a reception at 8pm! Be there or be square! Or some abstract form, whatever you choose. The show will be open until the following Tuesday.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There's still room for more work in this week's exhibition! The entry fee is $10 for two pieces, guaranteed one will be shown. You can bring the pieces by 340 Tate St Thursday afternoon. The show will be hung around 5pm. For more information about this show and others, check out the Gate City Art website.

BWAHAHAHA!!! An art gallery within walking distance of my house! I'm a showing artist! Who'd've thunk it.


Ok, now to draw and choose which pieces to submit for the Senior Juried Show.

-P.

PS - COME SEE THE SHOW! I've submitted a photograph and a new wood-cut to it!

I'm feeling really run down tonight. I feel tired, and... not quite emotionally sore, but I really feel the physical and mental affects of all the stress I've been under tonight. I... need more hugs. I need them in general, but especially now. They're like fuel. They'd help me keep going. I think the last one I got was probably when Amanda was here, if not then, then the last time I was home.

Anyway, to counteract this mopeyness, here are two very positive things :)

1) My hair is getting really long. It's now been a year and a month since I've had it cut. I've let it grow as it pleased without trying to interfere or shape it. For the last two weeks I've been wearing it up almost every day in a kind of half-bun (hey Carly, is there a name for that?). The front bits usually fall out after about 15 minutes and either hang by the side of my face, or I tuck them behind my ear. I'm happy with how it looks and feels. It makes me smile.

2) I've seldom if ever done anything big for spring break. I usually just end up farting around at home, which I'm fine with, but I've always dreamt of doing more. Well, this past weekend, one of the kids in my etching class invited me to go with him and a group of other art majors to Washington DC over spring break to spend a few days checking out the museums and having a good time. The trip isn't set in stone yet, but the fact that I was invited made me grin from ear to ear. I felt like a million bucks.

And with those thoughts happily in mind, I'm going to read some Harry Potter, and go to sleep.

Good night,
-P.

Oh, PS, I'm about 100 or so posts behind on reading my friends page. It's a never-ending battle. I just don't have as much time to read and comment as I'd like. So if you've posted something that's really important to you, or time sensitive, just drop me a line to let me know.