mayflower

I bought my cap and gown last week!!!! Yes, after a total of 5 1/2 years (finishing in 4 years is way overrated) I'll finally be graduating December 16th with a BFA in Studio Art! Yippee!

I've also been working out details for my BFA Senior show...show-mates, date, venue, time, beverages (keg of Shiner...mmm, good Texas beer) are all falling into place. It'll be Friday, December 1st...less than 2 months away! I'll be showing with two studio buddies, both of whom are Metals majors. Even though we all work in metal, our work (both in concept and technique) are SO very diverse. It should be an AWESOME show! There is TONS to do, so I expect very little knitting to be going on...

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but more than half of my living room is a painting studio! I think the cinder block walls and corrugated steel ceilings work perfectly for a studio environment ;) I've been reworking paintings from the past year, and hope to hang a good number of them in the show.

details, closeups, etc. will come later...

Of course the majority of my art-time is spent in the metals studio....much more on this later!

mmm, anyone else love Arizona green tea with ginseng and honey? My favorite green tea beverage has got to be Tazo's iced green tea (it has lemongrass and spearmint)...yum

And what comes after graduation?.....(good question).... The very fluid "plan" is to take a year or two off, and take a job with benefits doing whatever I can find. Then I hope to go to grad school either in Studio Art, Art History of Museum Studies (perhaps I can find a program that combines all 3?) . But a lot can happen in a year or two, so all this could change! It seems like many people in their 30s, 40s and 50s with established careers are in a field that has nothing to do with their undergraduate degree! For example, my parents undergrad degrees were in Biology/ Math and Agriculture....In their 40s they both completed Doctoral studies in Marriage and Family Therapy and are both Professors now. I feel like art is a big part of who I am, so I really do hope to keep it in my life....but I am open to whatever and wherever my journey takes me! Any experiences/ advice to share?

Oh, and knitting? The great thing about having knitting/ project ADD is that eventually I have a ton of projects laying around from a year or two ago that are sooo close to being finished! I've dug this merino beauty out, and I'm about an hour or so away from finishing it! There are about 2 or 3 other sweaters that are at this point. So even though I really don't have a lot of knitting time, I'll still have a few FOs to show soon! :D

More knitting next time! (hopefully I won't wait another 3 weeks to post it!)

It's SPRING BREAK!! ....more like Spring-work-my-butt-off-break :( Remember I had mentioned knitting the snowflake sweater to wear on my fabulous Spring Break skiing getaway? I had to choose between 1. spending lotsa money or 2. staying and working (on the job and DOG-SITTING!) and of course being the poor college-kid that I am, I chose the latter. It would have been so nice to take a vacation, but who am I kidding? I have sooo much work to do in the studio and besides, I really need to save up for CHICAGO! Wahoo! A group of studio buddies and I are headed that way for a week in May for an art conference :D Anyway...

So you know I can get a smidge overzealous when it comes to starting projects right? Well, it was getting to the point of craziness, so I reached into my bin of UFOs and pulled out a couple projects that I had completely forgotten about. The great thing is that the majority of them are 85%-99%  completed! A little knitting time, and voila, a brand new FO! Instant gratification!

pretty curves...what could it be?

Here's one i started while I was home in San Diego over Christmas. I actually finished 75% of it while I was there, but  never got around to blogging about it! It's knitted with a beautiful and dreamy wool-cotton-nylon(i think) yarn from Joann's new Bellezza collection.

mmm, so soft, especially after working w/ Paton's classic wool (which is soft-ish, but has nothing on this stuff!) Any guesses as to what this mystery project could be? ;)

The Rebbecca eyelet sweater was temporarily abandoned in my fair-isle frenzy...but now this baby is finally getting some sleeves!

mmm, yummy merino!

I'm DONE DONE DONE with the snowflake sweater!! I'm waiting on posting because I've yet to block it (and oh my, does it need a blocking!) But this hasn't stopped me from wearing it everywhere! I ABSOLUTELY love it! It is by far my favorite thing I've ever knit, and frankly I'm pretty darn proud of myself ;) Be sure to swing by soon to check it out!

I'm a premature seamer! If I end up knitting the front and back first, I can never quite contain my excitement, and always end up seaming! :D The sleeves are in the process of being knit.

I decided to change the front to have a notched neckline. The original sweater is a turtleneck of some sort. This cable/eyelet fabric on 10s makes a pretty bulky fabric, so I'm attempting to make it less  bulky and sack-like by changing the neckline, reducing the stitch count (it's like ribbing and stretches!) and adding waist shaping. Saggy, ill-fitting knits are definitely not an option! :D

Here's a detail of the fabric when it's slightly stretched out. mmm, beautiful creamy merino! As a refresher, I'm using KP's merino sock yarn doubled.

My new studio space aka the corner of the living room! My roommate moved out (crazy story..) and so I took full advantage of the situation. I bought lights (with Reveal light bulbs) and a couple plastic drop cloths and I had a makeshift studio! Stools serve as easels, and a cooler as a top to put my palette.

Superbowl Sunday painting fun :D

I've had some really interesting correspondences with my painting professor. He is an amazing artist and teacher, and his insight through the years have helped and inspired me so much. Plus he knows painting...he sells his paintings for THOUSANDS of dollars (we're talking 30-40 thousand!) These last two e-mails have been very interesting to me, so I thought I'd share! Our thoughts apply not only to the visual arts but to other artistic fields such as music/poetry/theater/etc. It's a lot to read, and I won't be hurt if you skip over it! :D I do think some of you might find it very interesting!

Hi Michael! It made my day when i found out that you bought a pair of my  earrings!!! thank you thank you thank you! :D When would you like to meet next week? Let me know, and I'll make arrangements with my boss to see if I can leave early from work. I've been having some interesting conversations with fellow seniors...a lot of us seem to be in a funk of some sort. We're so close to graduation, but have all of a sudden begun questioning our art, and art in general. You came up in our conversations, and I'd love to get your thoughts! Like you've said before, art and being an artist is a long journey, and you are much farther ahead than we are! I am positive you have a lot of insight that can help us along. During the last two semesters, I felt so inspired by art, and felt so certain that this was not only what I wanted to do with my life, but in a way, it was my life. I felt like art was inseparable from me and from my core identity. This semester, I  have all of a sudden started wondering why I am doing art. In a way I've started to doubt why my art (and art in general) matters in the grand scheme of things. My recent work (in painting and metals)  have dealt with deeply personal issues....so is my work just a form of self-therapy? Am I selfish to be so involved with the things that are going on in my life? We've all heard "art changes the  world" and "art saves lives", but am I really doing any of these  things with my art? Like I've mentioned, sometimes I feel like I'm being selfish by doing art...I've felt like perhaps I should do something that would help people directly. Stacy and I started wondering is perhaps we were being too "noble" by pressuring ourselves to somehow change the world. I'm not even sure why I do art...all i can come up with is that it's a 'soul-thing'. I feel driven to create. Am I being selfish by satisfying this desire? Hmm, I'm not sure if I made much sense! :) Do you any thoughts for me? i feel silly(after 5 years of art school!) struggling to answer why art is important and why it matters. beyond these questions lie even more questions of "why painting?" and "why metals?" and whole   gamut of other questions...i think this transitional phase from college to the rest of our lives is scaring many of us! :D thanks for reading this! any advice or insight you have to offer would be SO greatly appreciated in this 'time of funk'! may

Hello May: Your ear rings made a hug hit with my wife gayle for an early Valentines Day gift.  I wanted to do something special for her as I have been away teaching and painting in Lubbock for the past three  years.  She loved them so you see your work has given someone a special lift. An artist life is one which shares all aspects of ones existence.  All aspects of life can an often effect the artists production.  Over time the soul is readily accessed through an artists creative activities.  I have, since my mid twenties made paintings which listened to my soul.   As a result they were driven not by stylistic concerns or even purely aesthetic sensibilities rather a driving urge to relate the tragedies and glories, which I have observed in the human condition.  I will include a short artist statement, one I have written recently so I hope it give you some idea of specifically what I find necessary to my creative process. Your particular funk indicates to me that you are a thinking feeling artist, which is in touch with deep fears and uncertainties.  if controlled these may bring new plateaus of discovery. There are so many readings on my reading list for painters, which might provide clarity to you and those other seniors who are realizing the brutality of the artists way.  It is not enough to merely act as an artist, we must instead realize that our own Funk's are related to our need to destroy and rebuild our creative platforms.  Most real artists who I know, if they are in it for real, question what they have done especially after a large exhibition or an extended period of focused thinking. Remind you of what you are feeling just now?  I believe that quiet solitude will address your current funk and after you graduate a time off to just assimilate all that you have had crammed into your exquisite mind  is  now in order.  You and Stacy have so much to offer and I feel that it is this very questioning which will never allow you or her to be terminally "satisfied" by any future body of work. I must tell you that I often battle such feelings and I rely on my drive to explore combined with a love of paint to take care of these sinking feelings.  Just paint!  This always works for me.  destroying a work and rebuilding always allows a certain "getting into trouble" to refocus your creative energy away from worry and dread to the excitement of a battle which often leads to discovery. Read Letters to a Young Poet, by Rilke.  This work will inspire you and the other down seniors.  Remember what I have told you now for years.  LOVE, GESTATION and PERSEVERANCE will show you the way and provide time, reflective energy and focused growth for your creative activities.  Art takes a life time and not a second less to locate and maintain your paths.  It is relatively easy to identify your center- the tough part is protecting the truth once it is found.  We will visit much more next week.  I look forward to seeing those fine paintings in person!  Keep questioning, however know that your frustration is shared by any artist who is is thinking and willing in their creative journeys. I will share this with a few of my colleagues as your letter has touched me and I feel that these colleagues will be interested in your thoughts and our conversation.  They may wish to also contribute to our dialogue as I know Tina and Andrew to be of a similar faith towards the path of art making. Thanks again for the delicate ear rings as they have made Gayle very pleased!  I look forward to your response! Warmest regards, Michael

I'm still working on the art photo-albums- it takes awhile to digitize slides, then import them into typepad. Lots of goodies coming soon, including fair-ilse fun, EX-GIRLFRIEND KNITS (uhoh! justin is in trouble! ;) hehehe ) and silk-spinning !

Good luck to all you knitting Olympians! Oh, one more thing...what the heck is the deal with "C is for..." posts that are all over knitting-blogland? I'm not one that follows K-B trends, so I'm clueless!