urinals.

i've still been plugging away on the VaC's boys bathroom. a few more nights to finish, i've gaged the amount of work pretty well. The VaC opens Friday night and i look forward to my work finally getting its audience. the girl's bathroom won't be finished in time for the opening, but it's really coming together as well. The artist working on it is among my favorites, and i anticipate its finish; it will be the bathroom walls i have to look at more often.
i've done some work in the stalls (death stalls) as well, and i want to credit my pal zach for providing me with help on the research and details. my original intention was to have the five stalls in the girl's bathroom, each with a famous historical odd death. after finding out i had the boys bathroom instead, i was limited to two stalls. damn urinals. i selected my favorite two odd deaths and put them up anyway. here's a taste:

Rasputin: He was reportedly poisoned, beaten, and shot before he finally drowned. classic. the idea behind the DeathStalls is to make you slightly uncomfortable while using the facilities. that, and you should learn something too. multi-tasking while on the pot, emerging that much smarter from the bathroom. you can wow the ladies with your new-found knowledge.

hope to see you at the opening.

mural progress.

the Visual Arts Collective finally set their open date for April 4th. which means i'm working pretty diligently to finish my mural work in the bathroom. this is the most recent progress. i'm pretty pleased with the work so far, and a bit surprised i've made the transition from almost exclusively small works to giant wall work (needing ladders and step stools) this easily..

you didn't make it.

adios, my chubby little rat face. you will be missed.

life and times.

the last few weeks have been.. emotional. end of february came and i saw the passing of my friend and coworker amy jones from cancer. she was a phenomenal lady and a great artist. and not in the way you say "she's an artist" and people look at you skeptically because they're picturing scrapbooks and cuts of quilt fabric like i first did when i met her.
(the term "artist" can carry such negative connotations i often refrain from using it to describe myself. it's just something that i've been doing since i knew how to pick up a pencil. it's wrapped up in my personality and my being and giving it a name seems to take away from the entire picture. plus, people judge you for it.)
amy was first class. a dry sense of humor that matched my own, despite the difference between us in years. when we'd dance at work to some cheesy 80's tune or Young MC's "bust a move," she would laugh and look at us like we were crazy. we never got her to dance, though. but i will remember fondly that summer with my three coworkers, dance moves and music on the radio as a golden time (not to sound overly "Outsiders" and PonyBoy).
She left me her kiln, of which i have absolutely no idea how to use.. but i feel i could do great things with it once i find out, and each piece will remind me of her.
watching her struggle with the same cancer that took my grandmother ten years ago surfaced emotions for me i haven't felt since then. before amy had even been diagnosed, she reminded me of grams. and watching her go in the same way was hard. i felt the same hopelessness. i wanted to feel like just once someone got cancer and beat it. that there was hope.
my pet rat has also fallen ill after her surgery for tumor removal. i'm watching her like a hawk and babying her. people will scoff at you for dropping money on something like a rat. but it's a living creature completely dependent on you for its care and well-being and if i have the means, why would i not want to make her short life as great as possible?
in art news, i'm still working on the bathroom mural at the Visual Arts Collective's new space on my free days. it's a lot of work, but it's looking pretty good. i'm getting to realize a childhood dream of coloring all over the walls, basically. Another local artist, PasteEater, is working on the girls bathroom and i have to tell you, it's looking pretty sweet. I'll post photos of my progress as it comes along.

goodbye polaroids..

Polaroid has announced it will no longer be making its fantastic instant film. This truly saddens me, though i have seen the signs for some time. i can't manage to find a pack of spectra film for my faithful polaroid se, whereas last year it was a different story. it'll be interesting to see how the photography world changes from this development. i hope some company has the sense to purchase the polarecipe..

east/west.

i've always been fascinated with street art. i get into many an argument with the older folks about whether street art is indeed "art" or just vandalism. (i've almost convinced my mother that street art is just as valid-- if not more so-- as the thomas kinkade print on her wall.)
i adore the idea of art being accessible to all people. adam neate, another street artist, creates stacks of paintings and leaves them strewn about on the streets alongside trash for anyone to pick up. he's the i ching of the street art example. it's all about making a statement, commenting on pop culture, or making someone's day. and best of all, it's free.
the above video is pretty sweet to watch, if you can get past the semi-annoying music chosen to accompany it. see shepard fairey, of the obey giant fame, and wk interact, a french street artist living in NY, face off for the east/west propaganda project. you can find out more about that project here.
once again, i love to see the process of artists-in-work. it dispels some of the mystery, especially if you've ever been perplexed as to how graffiti actually makes it to the wall. it's different than other arts since its still mostly taboo and illegal. there's the whole speed factor; it's difficult to replicate the immediacy in any other arena. and. graffiti has a whole set of unspoken rules to go along with it.
after watching the video, it might be harder for those to argue that street art is just vandalism.

jeremy geddes and process.

in yet another post other artist-related, jeremy geddes has some nice photos up on his blog of recent works featuring a series of scenes with cosmonauts in urban or dilapidated grain silo-like settings. it's dark and haunting, eerie in the most beautiful way. i have a fascination with the juxtaposition of two things that shouldn't ever come together being represented with incredible attention paid to and with painstaking detail applied.
jeremy's blog has also taught me a few things as far as oil painting goes, of which i was never fortunate to take an actual class. most of what i've learned is through personal research and mistake. the typical trial and error, but it's nice to have some tips from artists who know. still, the best advice i ever got regarding painting came from another painter friend and professor, michael brown, who told me just to "paint like you draw."
best advice ever.
i'm going to attempt jeremy's process of creating smaller mock-ups of paintings before setting out to do ones of grander scale. i have an idea i'm currently working on involving the ocean and particular hues. i've collected most of the research the past few weeks and now i feel like i can finally start. it's amazing sometimes, the amount of work that goes into a single piece..

jim houser.

Visit ArtintheAge.com for more info
it may sound silly, but i feel this kinship with Jim Houser for various reasons since i read an interview of his in (i think) Juxtapoz.

"I kind of live in pajamas and slippers. I am a bit of a recluse. I
guess it started when my wife Becky was still alive. We met and got
serious kind of young. I immediately domesticated. That's just stayed
with me. When all my friends and peers were going out to parties and
meeting girls, I always felt like I didn't need to go out. I had
already found what people my age were out looking for. It makes me
much happier to do something productive than to sit drunk in a loud
bar."

and it's not just because on the days when i'm encapsulated in my work/studio i'm also wearing pajamas and slippers, but because of his hermitage and distaste for the bar scene. well. maybe more of the former. i do enjoy lounging in the pjs. anyway.
i really love seeing how other artists work, and those fancy time-elapsed vids are a good way to give you an idea of how they live and create. i like his cat, fascinated by outside city life, that makes an appearance a few times in the process. also go read that interview with him if you're intrigued and want to know more.. that guy interviews well for a so-called "social hermit."