How long will she go on and on about that residency?

...Not much longer.

I realized that in my previous post about being nurtured, I forgot to emphasize that the obvious intersection of those conditions- (time, space, food) was the freedom to work (mostly) uninhibited on ideas without overthinking the outcome. Will other artists, a gallery, collectors, art writers, like it? Will it sell, show, last, hang at the correct height, dry, be affordable to transport, glitch? Will it mean anything after I've had time to think about it from every angle making certain my story is airtight? How long before I suck the life out of it asking all these questions? Bonus round: Is the work too light, too funny? Is levity in or out this year?

None of those questions entered my mind for three weeks or almost three weeks. I admit on the last day I thought about all the things as I loaded the car and screened the work for a captive audience one last time.

I went to bed watching the Big Dipper every night. The Twilight Zone effect was unintentional.

Next up: How to remove 2 bullfrogs and a turtle from your swimming pool.

Residency Flashback, Part II

One of the major benefits of  the residency at Hambidge was the feeling of being cared for and nurtured. In other words, I did not have to cook or clean or tend to yard work for three weeks.  I did sweep my cabin and and do laundry. I straightened up when things got a bit messy, and of course, I helped clean up after dinner, as was expected. We were invited to clear trails one weekend-voluntarily. Most of us politely declined. I remained healthy and only succumbed to the pollen count after being back in Nashville one week.

I have TWO studio visits this week. One is a studio visit in which I am the visitee, and the other in which I will be the visitor. I'm looking forward to both. I need to shoot the new paintings, "officially." I don't think the iPhone counts as an official shooting apparatus but maybe it does. Technology is so accessible now and does anyone really care anymore? I used to, and then one day life seemed so much simpler when I caved and became an apathetic conformist. I'm kidding. Some of you know I am kidding, and some of you may doubt that I am kidding. It's a tough call in today's world.

Meanwhile, enjoy a few unspecified and cryptic stills from the recent video work. And of note, I actually shot several of the videos with the iPhone, and thus I've contradicted my statement above where I seemingly make fun of the iPhone. It's all about skill.....or not.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, 

When first we practise to perceive!

More to follow.

Residency Life:

In no particular order, some images from Hambidge...

I screened some works after a week, and again the 3rd week. It's been awhile since I've had studio visits and it was good to share thoughts on the new work and hear the response. 

My levels are not blown out in real life.

The Democratic Debate. Only three of us located the secret portal in Mordor where there was rumored to be reliable wifi, and watched it. 

Perfection.

I focused on the videos, but I also painted. I finally channeled Martin Kippenberger on my last night ) and found my rhythm working in a wide range of styles, again. What a relief that was. The videos and the paintings relate and I'd like to show them together for my next solo- the one that's not booked, I don't like to play favorites with the work, but it happens. It's also hard to split focus. Right now it's not, but there will come a time when this laser focus energy burst winds down.

I never left the cabin. Ever. 

A nice luncheon on my last day with a couple of my fellow fellows. Eve shared her stash of arugula with us. 

The Short Films of Joseph Bernard

I've been back in town almost a week.

My transition back to civilization has been gentle. More like, lazy, but gentle sound better. In the, it's a small world category, a friend posted a while back about a compilation of some short films by Joseph Bernard that he had been involved in, and the subsequent screening of these films in Nashville at Third Man Record's Light and Sound Machine as part of the Belcourt's pop-up series. (I think I have that in the correct order.)

The short of it was that it was beautiful evening of experimental film. Jeffrey had flown out from LA and was in the audience. I had forgotten about the connection until he was credited with bringing the films to light so to speak. I had a chance to thank Mr. Bernard for the films and I'm still thinking about them and the experience of watching them in silence. The next day I pitched a review but I found myself getting sidetracked by making work in response rather than writing about it and my pitch fell by the wayside.

Which is not really getting sidetracked, is it? More like a reminder to keep making the work and stay focused on what's in front of me. I'm not questioning where the energy and ideas are coming from-just going with the flow.

The turtle and the 2 frogs are still in the pool. All is well in the Universe.

Residency.

I'll never be able to catch up on my writing. Never. This is what happens when you horde your experiences.

I kept a diary of my time at Hambidge. True to form, it reveals my obsession with Amish sea salt fudge, my consistent wake-up time, weather conditions, and various details of residency life in my cabin that could have been written by a spider.

I'm not sure where to go after that last sentence.

It was an incredibly productive three weeks. I'll parse it out in installments. Highlights included meeting a couple of film and video artists whose work I admired (Cecelia Condit, Eve Luckring) and meeting some artists previously unfamiliar to me whose work was also inspiring. I came home with a gluten-free mac and "cheese" recipe, 14 video works I'm arranging and rearranging as part of a larger piece, additional footage for a documentary work, some edits on a video art piece that has been slow going, several paintings, a new work uniform, and a white plastic pony that I've credited as a licensed therapist with significant powers. More on that later.

Name maintenance.

What is it about three names that makes people want to arbitrarily throw a hyphen in the mix?