DAY 6 Progress

Light is finding its way into the studio - despite the lack of actual lighting! Sparks are going to start flying. Yesterday was pretty dark to be honest. I was getting so very worried about the students... a few of them in particular were striking me as painfully misguided -- setting themselves up for failure. I didn't have a chance to speak with any of them at the picnic, as I was rather occupied by a small active human I know and love who seems to be quite attached to me these days. But alas! A new day! Light came to join its dark friend. To break up the darkness and start striking a balance... of sorts. To dance. You must have both. Always... It is and always remains -- like change, one of the few constants. Bravo to the interplay, the dance, the battle, the wrestling match that is art. (I like to envision Sumo wrestlers myself, but the more local Mexican variety will do just fine!)

Many of the students are starting to crystallize their visions and start actually creating.

The ones that had the most challenge at the outset are starting to shed old skins and become raw and vulnerable and open -- that is precisely when you find your truth. It is often so hard to accept that the real answer to this process comes from love -- always. Find what you love and follow it. Love it more. Love loving it. Consider why you love it. Explore your love - how broad a territory does your love span? How deep is it? How long can it last? Where does it lead you? Will it lead you to more love? Are you equipped to follow it? Do you need a hammer to go there? A Dremel? A jigsaw? Some scaffolding? Following and exploring your love is an interesting journey that will challenge you but reward you along the way. Like marriage. Like being a parent. Study this incredible thing you are capable of - love. Study it through debris! What a radical notion! This unloved object deserves to be the recipient of love. It has been without love for so long. Your love it yours to shed upon any object or activity you chose.  Your piece of debris has been waiting for someone patient, caring, and thoughtful to recognize its potential to practice being a loving human being with it and raise its lowly status. The students are beginning to understand the way this incredibly challenging but rewarding type of artistic practice works. But still, a great deal of work must be done and sufficient lighting would really, really, really help....

I started the day by asking the students to create a schedule for themselves to help them visualize how they need to structure their time in order to finish.  A day by day plan. This helped many of them recognize that they need to get cracking and that they might need to simplify their ideas. Some didn't realize exactly how little time they have for this. Simplicity is something I think we all appreciate in life and often the most beautiful sublime and conceptually complex pieces of art are quite simple.

Here is what today looked like:
 

I showed them the simple technique of using a Preval to spray whatever color of paint (non-toxic water based kind) onto their debris so that they can alter the colors. That process takes quite a bit of patience and an extremely light touch, but I think the concept of using color is exciting to many.

To add to the light today, an extremely generous member of the Staunton community - Paul Borzelleca, the owner of Modernboy Woodshop on Middlebrook Ave. has kindly loaned the class a bunch of tools! Without a pre-existing sculpture studio at MBC, I have been struggling to help the students achieve their ideas. 1 jigsaw simply hasn't been enough to go around. We now have a second Dremel, a cordless drill, some cube taps, clamps galore, and extra extension cord, an orbital palm sander, some rasps and more to use for this class. What a gift! Plus Professor Ryan, Professor Jim Sconyers and I got to visit the incredible shop that Paul Borzelleca built today. It is truly an inspiring place. Regardless, on the behalf of all the students enrolled, I think a big fat thank you to Paul Borzelleca is in order... Students feel free to thank him yourselves on his Tumblr page.... (link above).

And a quick reminder students, WASTE LAND is screening tonight at 7pm in 105 Deming. If you can't be there -- just watch it on Netflix tonight and be sure to post 1 paragraph with your thoughts on it before class tomorrow.

Onward & Upward!