I do, actually. It's nice, I'm working side-by-side with a friend and a handful of our professors, making work and having fun.
It's something I need to keep in mind when I enter (re-enter?) the professional art world. I feel like a communal studio space is ideal for me. Maybe it's because I have been in school so long, but I feel so much more productive when there are other people working around me that I can talk to, bounce ideas off of, laugh with. There are definitely times I like working alone, but I think I prefer to work around other people the majority of the time.
Besides the instant feedback, it's nice to see how other people work. I know I have my own routines and rituals when it comes to working and it's fascinating to see how other people work too. For example: I have one tote bag, easily slung on my shoulder, that houses all of my paints, mediums and brushes. I purposely keep it to this one bag, so that I can easily take everything with me. When I go to work, I dump out my bag and spread everything out so that I can see all my tubes and grab what I need easily. It's not just painting either; in general I like to spread out while I'm working. I don't take up a ton of space, but I like having room.
The friend who's also working at school over break is nearly the exact opposite. She has a good-sized suitcase of all her painting supplies; it weighs a good 50-60 lbs. When she sets up, she just lays open her suitcase and grabs things out as she needs them. Compared to me, she uses up little space around her.
Just observing and absorbing those little differences fascinates me for some reason. Probably in part because I feel like I'm constantly developing my own studio practices and habits. But I suspect all the good artists spend their lives developing and re-evaluating and tweaking the way they work.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Annnnnnd, that's a wrap!
So today officially ended my first semester at Cazenovia.
I really believe that almost all things happen for a reason and I can often see how drastically different my own life would be if things didn't happen the way they have. But damn it, I wish I hadn't had to waste the last few years before coming to Caz. I'm still loving this place. I feel like I've been thriving these last few months, artistically and personally. Yeah, if I'd gone 4 years ago, it'd be totally different...different students, different point in my life. One of the professors I've become close with wasn't even teaching at Caz then. But it's still frustrating to feel like I wasted those years.
Although I guess I didn't really. If I hadn't had a miserable year at Oswego, I wouldn't have gone back to OCC. I might not have become as heavy an activist, and I definitely wouldn't have met some people whose friendships I value very much. I wouldn't have been there when my baby mama went into labor, and thus I might have missed my goddaughter being born. Ahhh, see? Everything happens for a reason!
I'm going to enjoy my month off though. In no small part because I'll be spending a goodly chunk of it at school working with some of the same people, professors and fellow students, who made this semester so awesome. Use of studio facilities for working on projects with far fewer people than usual about and no deadlines? Yes, please!
And boy, do I have projects planned. A month probably isn't long enough to do everything I want to do. But I've got steady babysitting through break and nice arrangement with one of my professors, so I should be able to crank work out. It'll be doubly nice because I won't be away from home until late at night.
That was probably my only real issue this semester; trying to balance being a mama and being an artist and student. There's this documentary I keep hearing good things about called, "Who Does She Think She Is?" I really need to see it. It's about women balancing being artists and being mothers. I want to know how others do it. How do others parent and art at the same time??? This is a great mystery to me...I guess I'll figure it out eventually. I mean I kind of have to, right?
I really believe that almost all things happen for a reason and I can often see how drastically different my own life would be if things didn't happen the way they have. But damn it, I wish I hadn't had to waste the last few years before coming to Caz. I'm still loving this place. I feel like I've been thriving these last few months, artistically and personally. Yeah, if I'd gone 4 years ago, it'd be totally different...different students, different point in my life. One of the professors I've become close with wasn't even teaching at Caz then. But it's still frustrating to feel like I wasted those years.
Although I guess I didn't really. If I hadn't had a miserable year at Oswego, I wouldn't have gone back to OCC. I might not have become as heavy an activist, and I definitely wouldn't have met some people whose friendships I value very much. I wouldn't have been there when my baby mama went into labor, and thus I might have missed my goddaughter being born. Ahhh, see? Everything happens for a reason!
I'm going to enjoy my month off though. In no small part because I'll be spending a goodly chunk of it at school working with some of the same people, professors and fellow students, who made this semester so awesome. Use of studio facilities for working on projects with far fewer people than usual about and no deadlines? Yes, please!
And boy, do I have projects planned. A month probably isn't long enough to do everything I want to do. But I've got steady babysitting through break and nice arrangement with one of my professors, so I should be able to crank work out. It'll be doubly nice because I won't be away from home until late at night.
That was probably my only real issue this semester; trying to balance being a mama and being an artist and student. There's this documentary I keep hearing good things about called, "Who Does She Think She Is?" I really need to see it. It's about women balancing being artists and being mothers. I want to know how others do it. How do others parent and art at the same time??? This is a great mystery to me...I guess I'll figure it out eventually. I mean I kind of have to, right?
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