This past week I took a little trip to Seattle in order to re-fuel myself. I missed my friends. I missed Elliott Bay and I missed the Olympics. I wanted rain in January. I wanted forty degrees. Seattle always makes me feel like an artist. I don’t understand the town one bit. Perhaps it is the street art, though really I think there is probably better street art found in NYC, or maybe it is the people but I can find anti-social people just about anywhere. What is it? I don’t know, but I’m ready for some things now.
I spent the trip filling out another set of drawings in my sketchbook for Transient. I have almost all of that work scanned in. Now it is just a matter of choosing what format I want to put that work into. I am not sure what would do it the most justice or if that really even matters. Maybe I just need to get it out there and what will be will be.
After getting back, I’ve been immensely tired. I didn’t catch my creative stride until I bought a pound of coffee today at about six. I made coffee. I felt better. I worked for eight hours, even if it is not an acceptable shift by factory hours.
I have been struggling with the idea for my thesis project. I thought that it might be heading into that area of too formal for me to enjoy. While on break tonight I started flipping through Jeff Soto’s Potato Stamp Dreams and realized that I was avoiding painting still. Everything has been a drawing, which is awesome. That allows me to finish more work in a program focused around finishing a lot of work, but I want to paint too. I love paint. I love brushes.
That is where I am at now. I worked for the next four hours making sketches. They are quite elaborate, a combination of both the original thesis idea and my favorite two pieces from my first year in the MFA program. Best of all, I think that perhaps this kind of work could get me a show in all of the galleries that I though would never touch me with a ten foot pole. That would be cool.
Here is a teaser. I’m tired and didn’t have the energy to scan in all of the sketches. Tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be time. It will be awesome. I hope it is awesome for you too. I know it will be awesome for you too.
I’ll explain all of this in further depth tomorrow. Until then, get some sleep.
Peace
-Mike