Trust me.

More related thoughts by other folks:

ritual in the art classroom
new forms of drawing, even if years old
no excuses for draw-ring with plain #2 pencils
more drawing education
hungry to go back to the Drawing Center

off to draw.

take care,
Rachael

What happened to the daily blogging me? oh well, I got bizz-izzy with painting, and writing essays, and taking walks while it's still not snow-riffic and I don't have to wear my boots. Only I reallly can't wait to wear my boots .

This has been a week of surprises. A few years aggo I found
Peregrine Honig pretty facsinating but now I'm not that excited and then she seems to be everywhere. In the latest Budget Living we have little inkling, even, that she's a painter, just a party gal.

Speaking of party gals, thanks to Carolyn's link to Susan Orlean's piece on Thomas Kinkade , I stumbled onto an old favorite fabulous piece, my life: a series of performance pieces.

Ain't we all. Were I closer to the bigger new york, I'd see the mini works show at Tattfoo Gallery in Staten Island and so if you are there, go. Ok? Just that easy. Looks good...

more
more
more
soon. I think. I suppose. Most likely.

take care,
Rachael

Granted, I haven't had a tv in years but I miss me some Eyedrum and bet there's a wider audience for this program. Should you be in the ATL on Thursday, go see:

Eyedrum's Word + Praxis series proudly hosts the return ED engagement of
internationally renowned Buffyologist

Rhonda Wilcox

Presenting a chapter from her forthcoming book, "The Art of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer" (I.B. Tauris, Spring 2005):

"'For Those of Us in Our Audience Who Are Me:' Xander, Laughter, and 'The
Zeppo.'"

Eyedrum/8 p.m./Tues. Dec. 7/$4 donation

"Laughter is a protest scream against death"--Mel Brooks
"I laugh in the face of danger--then I hide until it goes away"--Xander
Harris
"Dissecting humor...is an interesting operation in which the patient usually
dies"--A.A. Berger
"What we laugh at tells us who we are"--Rhonda Wilcox
"Now that 'Buffy' and 'Angel' have ended, a question remains: Will the
scholarship continue, or will it die out as new shows garner interest? Before,
scholars could only speculate about what would be the ultimate fate of the
characters, but now they have closed texts for both shows, and that means the
scholarship can now truly begin"--Nikki Stafford ("Once Bitten: an Unofficial
Guide to the World of "Angel")

As those who made it to Rhonda's previous appearance at Eyedrum know, words like
"lecture," "academic," and "scholarly," though technically
accurate, are
misleading descriptors for the entertainment value of her presentations on
"Buffy." Her inimitably lively presentation on one of the funniest "Buffy"
episodes will be followed by audience discussion of any and all things
in the Buffyverse.

Dr. Wilcox is a professor of English at Gordon College, coeditor of "Fighting
the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the coeditor of
"Slayage: The Online International Journal of Buffy Studies," and the
author of
The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

This program sponsored in part by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs.

Bye.
Rachael

Amazing stories on this week's This American Life. Hear about Nauru, (more scary descriptions here ), and Julie Snyder's miserable MCI experience (blogged about here. It's scary, powerful, smart radio. Here's the latest Amnesty International report on the refugees in Nauru.

So much happens under the radar, in the middle of nowhere...

scary.

Rachael

I walk to work and spend about 8 or more hours in a space where art classes are held. I interact with artists, teachers, parents, people so afraid to try to learn art that they ask, ask, and ask again but don't take a chance on a class, people very happy to change clay to solid forms and be changed in the process. It's my job to make sure everything runs smoothly. And it generally does.

A bunch of the people I work with have private studios in a big converted warehouse space in the neighborhood. Tonight was their open studio, holiday art sale thing. Lots of open doors and lots of work on view. While there were some good things on the walls, the cumulative feel of the place was of a warehouse. Not a warm space. Not a community. Just a bunch of people who come there to paint.

It's the freedom within and the community outside a studio that seems essential for creating consistently good work.

I'm still working at understanding this new place. It's getting colder and colder. Winter setting in and with it a fear of a rut if not an actual rut. We'll see.

goodnight,
Rachael