DAY 10: "Its not easy being green" - Kermit THE frog.

Small decisions have huge consequences.

We are so fortunate to live in a part of the world where we can exercise our choices. The students are making all these decisions with their sculptures -- there wouldn't be options like these in many parts of the world. We take this freedom for granted a lot in the United States. I suspect some of the students are really beginning to grasp the power they have and are enjoying wielding it --with care. 
Savoring decisions - giving each decision time & ample consideration so that you don't let your autopilot take control.  Once you fully arrive at a conscious decision it is much easier to proceed with caution, determination & care. How you handle your material, how you schedule your time, how you present your work (there is a reason it is called "presenting"), how you interact with your classmates, with me, how you share the studio, what information you chose to share with others, how you handle pressure, to what degree you chose to be flexible and so on. I am asking in this course, that students are conscious of the power that they have, both as consumers and producers. That they make conscious decisions in the execution of their sculptures with regard to each and every component. The delirium inducing number of choices we all make on a daily basis can be dizzying. In this context, recognizing the consequences of such choices can cause paralysis, or be incredibly liberating. Let it be liberating. Up to each one of us...This choice. How do you choose to respond? If at all?

One student chose not to come in today as she was "suffering from a migraine" and didn't want to exacerbate it with the buzzing of the ballast that desperately needs replacing. I can certainly empathize, but at this point, I am very worried about how she will finish her piece in time...

Here is how today looked in the studio: 

I came in this morning to find a reminder of my college days!

This student has diligently been working on a small but intricate object. Soon she will add her Lewis Creek debris...

What will soon transform into a Darling Clementine...

Lungs forming...

Nice utilization of old DVD boxes...

The fish is earning its scales...

All students were reminded that Bag It is screening tonight at Francis Auditorium at 7pm. (1 paragraph comment expected before class tomorrow. Perhaps I neglected to mention that during class - but really it should be a pattern most of us recognize by now no? If not, I am willing to extend til end of day tomorrow).

I really hope you all enjoy the film and that you choose to enjoy your process of creation + transformation. Others will be able to tell if you don't... myself included, but really, chose to enjoy it for your own sake! You are in charge.

DAY 9: Only 3 days of sculpting left!

YIKES! The pressure is on, but whenever I feel stressed (as most of the students do at this point) I think about how diamonds form. Try impersonating a diamond. Let the pressure make things clear as opposed to blurry. Let your points be made and make them sharp and true. Remember, a deadline is a gift. Pretty much all artists need deadlines in order to complete work. This is a crucial part of any artistic practice, sharing what you've completed with the public. The public helps determine the cultural value of your work - if any.  To have the gift of people from the public paying attention to what you are doing is something to be appreciated - but you must prepare for it. It is time to start preparing your work for some serious scrutiny - every decision you make that affects your piece is crucial. However, you must practice making decisions in order to get good at making them. It is a little scary, but this course is an exercise designed to help you on a number of levels. One of which is to determine if a career in fine art is for you. I am also here to help you start developing the skills you will need so you can be taken seriously as an artist - if you so chose. The water is fine, really, but there are all sorts of creatures in it, with varying degrees of intelligence and sensitivity... So there is that. 

Fortunately, some transformation is making itself visible! I am delighted to see evidence of the ideology I am sharing with the students manifesting itself in the objects that these young people are creating. Beautiful reflections of their inspiration, refined and carefully (care being the operative word) executed - this is when and how poetry starts resonating from an object made of debris.

It is clear to me that some students spent time working over the weekend in the studio, though not the majority. (Which surprises me as they have so little time!) Organizing your time and scheduling yourself is crucial. If you think you might want to be a professional artist, you need to be professional about it. You will need to be your own boss and not let yourself be a lazy negligent worker. Honor your vision, your time, your practice -- then others will follow suit.

Here is what today looked like in the studio:

Lotus flowers from aluminum cans... with such a dreamy quality!

Celtic Tree of Life in colorful packaging, on a tree shelter

PVC pipe phonograph? Is it possible?

Suspended works finding hang points...

Play ground part + 2 liter PET bottles = fish

High density polyethylene bird coming to life

Aluminum + Polyethylene Terephthalate Bird Forming

Pink foam from Lewis Creek = Earth

Mixing colors to apply w/airbrush. Ratio = 2 parts Polycrylic:1 part H20

And a bag of lovingly created urchins + anemones from a mix of HDPE + PET plastics...

TOMORROW: Bag it screening at 7pm at Francis Auditorium. Open to the public! This film is incredibly informative, uplifting and empowering - especially compared to a lot of the other films we've watched that have been more sobering. Invite people you care about, the more you know the more you can protect yourself and the planet! Spread the knowledge you've gained and see what can be accomplished.

DAY 8 Progress

Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot

We started the day with donuts from Rolling Pin (5 star home made local donuts delectable!) for all and a brief discussion of the reading from The World Without Us which I could tell most of them hadn't read. A few did and they had lights on in their eyes and made it quite evident to me. But, I am not going to hold a grudge against them - they have a lot to do at this point. In fact, in lieu of the crunch time at hand for the students, I've opted to eliminate 2 of the readings I had planned to assign. I am replacing one with a 20 minute video that you can watch via The Story of Stuff website (Bravo Annie Leonard!). I have asked all students to watch it and please post a comment to our class blog with their perspective on it before class on Monday.

I want to stress to students to try to take turns looking at the big picture and the details, as much as possible from this point forth. I know is really hard with the lighting problem in the studio but this is the critical phase of their creations. Also, I'm asking students to stop to consider the foundation for their sculptures - whether it be a practical solution for how to wall mount their relief, a stable foundation for a standing piece or establishing a hang point for a suspended piece, this aspect should be addressed before too much more fabrication takes place - if any. It is easy to get lost in art making and forget these important issues and end up in a quandry later on.

That said, I am glad to see more effort being put in by most of the students. Effort makes itself apparent. Effort has a value. Art reveals everything the artist is thinking and doing. It is a window into the soul of the artist. There should be no automatic decisions. Kill your autopilot, love what you love to the fullest, make that your focus, and then you will make unique work that will resonate. Easy as pie. But you must think it all the way through, for yourself. Straight from the Aurora advisory board. Ha.

Good news: Thanks to Professor Sconyers (who has work in an exhibit called Printmaking Perspectives opening tonight at The Beverly Street Studio School in Staunton from 5:30-7:30) we managed to get our paws on a mini-airbrush that he loaned us for the duration of the class. It is so much more efficient and good for the work we are doing then using Prevals - which are simple and quite useful, but also very fussy & require an extremely light touch to get a consistent paint application. They really require some getting used to.

Okay, signing off for the weekend! I expect the students to be here diligently working in order to achieve their respective goals... If you are reading this send them some love and feel free to comment and cheer them on!

Note the reusable BPA free water bottle...

Don't forget to breathe & be conscious of your breath!

Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot Kill Your Autopilot

DAY 7 Progress

Tree shelters and cigarette boxes...

Slowly the studio is transforming into a refinery of sorts. The students are starting to consider each step they take a bit more. It is a way of looking at "things" and our relationship to things that leads to a more conscientious life - practicing being considerate. It opens up a whole new sense of appreciation. I am interested in helping people develop their senses - all of them, whenever I can. The more sensitive and appreciative you are the more you can enjoy your life. If you master this, you will start to find joy in smaller things, you will find you need less. You will start to see waste or debris for what it really is: Abundance. You will become less of a burden on the environment as a result and find you want to only share things of true value (work, craft, care, conceptual richness, etc...) as opposed to merely rearranging and recontextualizing debris.

Turns out the big blue Lewis Creek object is from the "little tikes" company circa 1984. The student working with it discovered that when she cleaned the sides. Part of a vintage playground indeed...

A metal heart is forming & the Tin Man is salivating.

Precision,  intention & care being applied to tin cans.

Poor man's silver leaf experiment.

Focusing! How beautiful the world is -- especially when you see it clearly.

FOR TOMORROW: Please remember to read Chapter 9 of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman for discussion at the beginning of class.

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! 

DAY 5 Progress

Food packaging finding friends by color...

Immaculate Lewis Creek debris + evidence of planning

Students are beginning to find ways to work with this material. It is incredibly challenging for most of them - but if it were easy would it be worth doing or teaching?
What is the point of anything easy? Does it expand our knowledge or understanding of anything?

This process usually become increasingly enjoyable after the cleaning is done.  I suspect that will be the case from this point forward for most of the students. Once you land on an achievable goal, it is just a matter of doing the work. Typically it becomes a pleasant meditation at around this juncture.

One of the hardest things I've noticed for many is the idea of "transformation". It is essential. In creating art from debris -- we want to avoid making "sculptures"  that are really just garbage put together in the shape of a tree or the shape of a moon or a bird or something else. To really transform the material is the key - taking time with each component to make it worthy of inclusion in an exhibit - to have light shine on it and draw attention to it. A piece of art is a series of decisions you make - open to scrutiny. Every choice you make is a reflection of you as an artist.  Making the garbage aspects recede and the art aspects come to the forefront are highly advisable. A rough, torn, tattered background with a refined and lovingly rendered foreground is one solution... that is an interesting option if you have an ambitious project in mind without enough time to refine every component. 

A practice paper peony!

I am excited to see what they do.

I am doing my best to provide them with the appropriate tools, conceptual guidance and technical advice. Here is some of what is going on:

The satisfaction of using a Dremel to soften rough edges...

Exceptionally organized work area + deconstruction.

A question for all of us to ponder. Why are we here?

May the transformation begin!

An inspired work table.

Tonight we have a class picnic at Professor Ryan's house. Very nice as there is a lot of pressure in the studio with such little time. An extra week would solve a lot of problems - students really only have 8 days to get their pieces together and there are still many learning curves to traverse. Fortunately, the majority of them don't have any other courses they are taking at the moment and anticipated needing to put a lot of time in the studio. For those projects that are on the overly ambitious side, I am stressing QUALITY over QUANTITY.

Now that a jigsaw and dremel are set up, I hope to see some serious progress in the next couple of days. Save a few who are still working out their basic concepts, I think we are off to a great start.

May the transformations begin!