Love. It's a wave I ride that won't ever reach the shore... Overwhelmed by the tide and wanting nothing more tonight, than to take this time and make it all mine.
It's coming around again...
Every now and again sometimes I get lost on the wind of a dream. The air gets clean and the seas get wide and I can do anything. The pain won't even cross my mind, there is wonder in everything. The rope gets loose and the chains unbind and I can do anything.
Hope. It's the light that strikes that burns inside of me. It's a binding light but somehow I can see again when I've lost my way. It's becoming very clear.
It's coming around again...
Every now and again sometimes I get lost on the wind of a dream. The air gets clean and the seas get wide and I can do anything. The pain won't even cross my mind, there is wonder in everything. The rope gets loose and the chains unbind and I can do anything.
Somewhere between the darkness and the light my spirit takes flight. The colors fill the sky and I am free.
Every now and again sometimes I get lost on the wind of a dream. The air gets clean and the seas get wide and I can do anything. The pain won't even cross my mind, there is wonder in everything. The rope gets loose and the chains unbind and I can do anything.
-- Mae, from The Everglow CD
As tempting as it is, I cannot be overwhelmed by all the atrocities in the world or in this country, or even in this City of Brotherly Love. I dare to ask why and for what reasons these things happen, but buried in the pit of my belly, I know why. It's more than just pent up frustrations or twisted psychology or revenge. It's a darkness that dares to claim people as its own, a spiritual beast that devours with each step in alleys the of America and China, the desert of Sudan and Iraq, and all over the world. It's a beast that says that the life of every living thing - human or otherwise - is totally expendable and at the mercy of those who pretend to be God.
I want it to stop, and I pray and I long for the day of the Lord -- when there shall be no more tears or bloodshed or death. But I realize that I am an agent of Light, and I cannot be overcome by evil. I can't curl up in a little ball, brought to a spit of helplessness in the face of the work of satan... With tears and confidence I must come before the Lord for those who are in that darkness, who are overcome by evil, who act in evil and are affected by evil. The One who is in me is the One who can overcome evil with Goodness, Holiness, and Truth. I pray that I can be used as God's tool to bring this to people so they can see beyond the darkness.
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
"...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
Monday, April 30, 2007
Atrocity in the name of "art"
Apparently, a Hungarian filmmaker won an award at a film festival recently for his "edgey" or innovated piece. I don't know the reasons why he won the award, but what I do know is that he should not have been awarded anything. There is a scene in the film that lasts more than 2 minutes in which a kitten is held underwater until it dies. The entire drowning process is shown in the film. For this reason, I am not including a link to where you can see the film. The jury says that they had thought that the scene was a special effect, but the filmmaker himself admits that it is not. He claims that the cat was ill anyway, and this was a "mercy killing."
I think that's B.S.
I had once heard a story on Animal Planet about a group of men that were arrested for cutting up a horse with a chainsaw, while it was still alive. And taking photographs. I don't know their reasons, and quite frankly I don't care.
These are more than just an "animal rights" complaints for me. I do love animals, as they are a part of God's creation, although I do not put them on the same level as human beings. They are to be taken care of. To actively torture, injure, mistreat, or effectively kill an animal with no real reason (which drowning would be) speaks volumes towards the inner psychology and inner spiritual darkness of a person. They have a twisted regard for that which is living, whether it is animal or human. Who is to say that an act of violence towards an animal would not lead towards violence in the realm of humanity? It is indeed a deep darkness for someone to take the life of something else into their own hands in torturous ways. More than that, to revel in it and celebrate the "artistic freedom" of it after having won an award for it.
Makes you think about movies that revel in the "entertainment" of horror. Yeah we know it's not real in THOSE movies, but you know there are twisted individuals out there that want to make it real, and are highly entertained by the idea of torturing others. Some who do make it real. ... Not as being influenced by media per se, but influenced by the darkness already within them, mastered by none other than the father of lies.
I wish I didn't watch the video. I'm scarred for the rest of the day... prayerfully the image will be burned out of my mind somehow.
Good things have happened since the last post that I made, and hopefully my next post will include those joys. This was just too startling to not say anything about.
I think that's B.S.
I had once heard a story on Animal Planet about a group of men that were arrested for cutting up a horse with a chainsaw, while it was still alive. And taking photographs. I don't know their reasons, and quite frankly I don't care.
These are more than just an "animal rights" complaints for me. I do love animals, as they are a part of God's creation, although I do not put them on the same level as human beings. They are to be taken care of. To actively torture, injure, mistreat, or effectively kill an animal with no real reason (which drowning would be) speaks volumes towards the inner psychology and inner spiritual darkness of a person. They have a twisted regard for that which is living, whether it is animal or human. Who is to say that an act of violence towards an animal would not lead towards violence in the realm of humanity? It is indeed a deep darkness for someone to take the life of something else into their own hands in torturous ways. More than that, to revel in it and celebrate the "artistic freedom" of it after having won an award for it.
Makes you think about movies that revel in the "entertainment" of horror. Yeah we know it's not real in THOSE movies, but you know there are twisted individuals out there that want to make it real, and are highly entertained by the idea of torturing others. Some who do make it real. ... Not as being influenced by media per se, but influenced by the darkness already within them, mastered by none other than the father of lies.
I wish I didn't watch the video. I'm scarred for the rest of the day... prayerfully the image will be burned out of my mind somehow.
Good things have happened since the last post that I made, and hopefully my next post will include those joys. This was just too startling to not say anything about.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Jesus is Gone
LA Times article about churches in Europe:
The Bell Tolls for Germany's Churches
Thought it was interesting, especially because I have an artist's studio in an old church. The difference is, though, that the church is still active-- not like it had been in it's former days, but people do still attend. I suppose another big difference is that it's in the middle of a city, and not the countryside villages.
The Bell Tolls for Germany's Churches
Thought it was interesting, especially because I have an artist's studio in an old church. The difference is, though, that the church is still active-- not like it had been in it's former days, but people do still attend. I suppose another big difference is that it's in the middle of a city, and not the countryside villages.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
This week: Emotions run rampant
I feel like I'm having the most emotional-rollercoaster week than I have had in a very long time.
Monday: Virginia Tech
Tuesday: Can't stop thinking about VT
Wednesday: Still thinking about VT, and then I get wind from some crazy stuff going down at my alma mater, Kuztown University. Last night I had to wrestle with God about financial stickiness as well.
This morning: Still wrestling with that stickiness from last night, and VT, and I find out more information about what went down at KU.
In the midst of being sorrowful and trying to climb out of it, now I'm a little pissed off and I'm trying really hard not to be (that is, to not sin in my anger).
So there's this Philly based group of people called "Repent America" and "Life and Liberty Ministries" and they decided to show their faces at Kutztown University campus yesterday -- the Day of Silence, of all days, and only two days after the Virginia Tech shooting. These are your fire-and-brimstone types, REPENT OR PERISH kind of people. Bearing signs reading "Homosexuality is a sin," and talking about abortion (apparently putting up images near the childhood and development center), they came with bullhorns. I wasn't there, but I've seen some photos and WFMZ's coverage of it ... and regardless of how accurate or not WFMZ's coverage is, the fact that this happened at all makes me mad. It's these kinds of people that made me not want to be a Christian so many years ago, so I have a biased stance on the whole situation, because I believe this kind of attitude blasphemes the very nature of God.
The most striking thing about their actions is that it speaks more as John the Baptist than Jesus. While it was necessary for John the Baptist to speak about repentance, and repentance is necessary, aren't we supposed to be like Jesus in our actions and preaching? The people that Jesus spoke out against the most were not sinners but the religious leaders of the day (which happened to be the Judaic priests and Pharisees, etc). They were rebuked for their hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and being "white washed tombs." They were rebuked for making it difficult for people to enter the kingdom of heaven by placing on them the Law and its regulations. (Matthew 23) This has a familiar ring to my ears with groups like the ones that showed up at Kutztown. Looking at Repent America's website, they seem to be more focused on the Old Testament Law than anything else... which doesn't make any sense to me, because we are part of the New Covenant. If you try to cling to the Old Covenant, you're a slave to the Law... and if you're a slave to the Law, the grace of God through Jesus Christ is worthless to you. Paul talks about it plainly in Romans. In a sense, you're making an idol out of the Law, and doesn't God's word say that there shall be no idols before Him? I believe that the Ten Commandments stand true today, otherwise there would be a lot of issues going on in the world. But Jesus says that the Law is summarized by loving the Lord your God, and loving your neighbor as yourself. In braying about fire-and-brimstone the way they do, they're not exactly characterizing the Love of God in a way people will understand.
And here's the thing... I do believe that homosexuality is a sin, and I do believe that abortion is a sinful act and I am pro-life. However, I also believe that I should hate the sin and love the person who is made in the image of God. A common phrase is 'hate the sin, love the sinner.' I recently read in a book of mine that it's more accurate to say that you're loving the one who bears the image of God. Abortionists and homosexuals, regardless of their acts, are still made in the image of God just as much as I am. More than that, why is it that their sin is of greater import than my sin? Aren't we all in the process of sanctification -- that is, being moved and changed and grown by the Holy Spirit so that our sins are pushed out over time? We aren't going to reach holiness and perfection in this life, and anyone who thinks so is heretical. Yes, we are covered by the blood of Christ and covered by HIS righteousness... but, we still sin even as Christians.
As someone had mentioned on a Facebook group, I'm sure that these groups think what they're doing is right. I'm sure they would look at me and, for this and several other reasons, think that I'm just as whacked out of my gourd as I think they are. And that's where the worlds collide, grappling until Kingdom Come.
God is a wrathful God, God is a just God. He is also a God of love, compassion, patience, and peace. How all of this works together, I don't know, because I am not God.
So all I can say, in spite of all my frustration and anger, is that God will deal with them as He will deal with us all.
I'm so tired of having an emotional week....
Monday: Virginia Tech
Tuesday: Can't stop thinking about VT
Wednesday: Still thinking about VT, and then I get wind from some crazy stuff going down at my alma mater, Kuztown University. Last night I had to wrestle with God about financial stickiness as well.
This morning: Still wrestling with that stickiness from last night, and VT, and I find out more information about what went down at KU.
In the midst of being sorrowful and trying to climb out of it, now I'm a little pissed off and I'm trying really hard not to be (that is, to not sin in my anger).
So there's this Philly based group of people called "Repent America" and "Life and Liberty Ministries" and they decided to show their faces at Kutztown University campus yesterday -- the Day of Silence, of all days, and only two days after the Virginia Tech shooting. These are your fire-and-brimstone types, REPENT OR PERISH kind of people. Bearing signs reading "Homosexuality is a sin," and talking about abortion (apparently putting up images near the childhood and development center), they came with bullhorns. I wasn't there, but I've seen some photos and WFMZ's coverage of it ... and regardless of how accurate or not WFMZ's coverage is, the fact that this happened at all makes me mad. It's these kinds of people that made me not want to be a Christian so many years ago, so I have a biased stance on the whole situation, because I believe this kind of attitude blasphemes the very nature of God.
The most striking thing about their actions is that it speaks more as John the Baptist than Jesus. While it was necessary for John the Baptist to speak about repentance, and repentance is necessary, aren't we supposed to be like Jesus in our actions and preaching? The people that Jesus spoke out against the most were not sinners but the religious leaders of the day (which happened to be the Judaic priests and Pharisees, etc). They were rebuked for their hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and being "white washed tombs." They were rebuked for making it difficult for people to enter the kingdom of heaven by placing on them the Law and its regulations. (Matthew 23) This has a familiar ring to my ears with groups like the ones that showed up at Kutztown. Looking at Repent America's website, they seem to be more focused on the Old Testament Law than anything else... which doesn't make any sense to me, because we are part of the New Covenant. If you try to cling to the Old Covenant, you're a slave to the Law... and if you're a slave to the Law, the grace of God through Jesus Christ is worthless to you. Paul talks about it plainly in Romans. In a sense, you're making an idol out of the Law, and doesn't God's word say that there shall be no idols before Him? I believe that the Ten Commandments stand true today, otherwise there would be a lot of issues going on in the world. But Jesus says that the Law is summarized by loving the Lord your God, and loving your neighbor as yourself. In braying about fire-and-brimstone the way they do, they're not exactly characterizing the Love of God in a way people will understand.
And here's the thing... I do believe that homosexuality is a sin, and I do believe that abortion is a sinful act and I am pro-life. However, I also believe that I should hate the sin and love the person who is made in the image of God. A common phrase is 'hate the sin, love the sinner.' I recently read in a book of mine that it's more accurate to say that you're loving the one who bears the image of God. Abortionists and homosexuals, regardless of their acts, are still made in the image of God just as much as I am. More than that, why is it that their sin is of greater import than my sin? Aren't we all in the process of sanctification -- that is, being moved and changed and grown by the Holy Spirit so that our sins are pushed out over time? We aren't going to reach holiness and perfection in this life, and anyone who thinks so is heretical. Yes, we are covered by the blood of Christ and covered by HIS righteousness... but, we still sin even as Christians.
As someone had mentioned on a Facebook group, I'm sure that these groups think what they're doing is right. I'm sure they would look at me and, for this and several other reasons, think that I'm just as whacked out of my gourd as I think they are. And that's where the worlds collide, grappling until Kingdom Come.
God is a wrathful God, God is a just God. He is also a God of love, compassion, patience, and peace. How all of this works together, I don't know, because I am not God.
So all I can say, in spite of all my frustration and anger, is that God will deal with them as He will deal with us all.
I'm so tired of having an emotional week....
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
What these things produce: poetry
The Blood of Abel
Unsettled and uneasy with heavy shoulders,
and graying out my sense of color,
this weight lingers just above me.
I struggle to decipher what I see
and what I know.
The underbelly of a beast
feels the ground protesting its feast,
where Abel cries out, desperate to be heard;
the seed of his life stolen by cruel birds.
All men suffer and all men die,
but this? this grips me inside
like tendrils loose enough to give me room,
yet entrapping me with a sense of gloom.
Is what we reap really what we sow?
I smell blood and death
yet know of glory's bredth-
This paradox arrests my thoughts;
is frustration all but naught?
In quiet buildings and classroom halls,
colors hide in corners, afraid of the Fall.
The sounds break silence and cut through more:
life doesn't soak into tile floors,
nor retreat its flow.
How long, O Lord,
must they die by the sword?
How long must time repeat the terrible?
I cannot stand the story of Abel.
Blood pleads, thick and drawing near,
"Why weren't you here?"
Why are there children of Cain?
When will you restore the slain?
Yet you do know.
This did not all go on unseen,
they aren't left alone, in need.
Help us to wait, O Lord,
for our hearts to be restored.
YB 07 4 18
Unsettled and uneasy with heavy shoulders,
and graying out my sense of color,
this weight lingers just above me.
I struggle to decipher what I see
and what I know.
The underbelly of a beast
feels the ground protesting its feast,
where Abel cries out, desperate to be heard;
the seed of his life stolen by cruel birds.
All men suffer and all men die,
but this? this grips me inside
like tendrils loose enough to give me room,
yet entrapping me with a sense of gloom.
Is what we reap really what we sow?
I smell blood and death
yet know of glory's bredth-
This paradox arrests my thoughts;
is frustration all but naught?
In quiet buildings and classroom halls,
colors hide in corners, afraid of the Fall.
The sounds break silence and cut through more:
life doesn't soak into tile floors,
nor retreat its flow.
How long, O Lord,
must they die by the sword?
How long must time repeat the terrible?
I cannot stand the story of Abel.
Blood pleads, thick and drawing near,
"Why weren't you here?"
Why are there children of Cain?
When will you restore the slain?
Yet you do know.
This did not all go on unseen,
they aren't left alone, in need.
Help us to wait, O Lord,
for our hearts to be restored.
YB 07 4 18
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Their Names...
Maxine Turner
Henry Lee
Matt LaPorte
Lauren McCain
Prof. Jamie Bishop
Prof. G.V. Loganathan
Juan Ortiz
Jarrett Lane
Ryan Clark
Leslie Sherman
Caitlin Hammaren
Prof. Liviu Librescu
Prof. Kevin Granata
Reema Samaha
Emily Hilscher
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Daniel Perez Cueva
Ross Alameddine
Jeremy Herbstritt
Daniel O'Neil
Mary Read
Nicole White
Erin Peterson
Mike Pohle
Matt Gwaltney
Student blog entries found through WRAL.com.
As I read them, I cannot help but be gripped emotionally.
One
Two
Three
Henry Lee
Matt LaPorte
Lauren McCain
Prof. Jamie Bishop
Prof. G.V. Loganathan
Juan Ortiz
Jarrett Lane
Ryan Clark
Leslie Sherman
Caitlin Hammaren
Prof. Liviu Librescu
Prof. Kevin Granata
Reema Samaha
Emily Hilscher
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Daniel Perez Cueva
Ross Alameddine
Jeremy Herbstritt
Daniel O'Neil
Mary Read
Nicole White
Erin Peterson
Mike Pohle
Matt Gwaltney
Student blog entries found through WRAL.com.
As I read them, I cannot help but be gripped emotionally.
One
Two
Three
Monday, April 16, 2007
Virginia Tech
I found out about this morning's events around noon today, well after it had happened. I was drawing and listening to xpn.org, and NPR came through with the news. As soon as they said anything about VT my ears were attentive, because I have a friend that attends VT. Not just that, but the fact that it happened at all was shocking enough.
It was shortly thereafter that I called CJ up to see if he was okay and unfortunately I only got his voicemail. Thankfully, I got a call from him about two hours later, but my heart is still heavy for the campus.
33 college students gone in the blink of an eye.
It was this kind of thing that made me question life, death, and everything in between back on 9/11/2001, and snowballed my search for God. I can only pray that the same sort of thing would happen to others in this situation, as unfathomable that seems to me right now. I can only imagine the questions of, "How could God allow something like this to happen? Wasn't He watching?" abound.
Having just started working on a college campus -- a scant three months ago -- I have my own questions. What if something like that happened here? What if some kid snapped and decided they were going to take the lives of others into their his (or her) own hands? Would God enable me to receive those grieving, and gently bring light and hope in their lives despite current events? Would I even know how to serve them in the midst of my own grief? What would I do?
I don't know the answers to these questions, and honestly they are not questions that I should be asking at this point in time. Something might happen, as no one expects these things to happen. Blacksburg didn't. What is more fitting is to continue to pray for the school, the students, the families, and the friends. Holding off classes tomorrow will do little in allowing students time to cope on Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday. "Life will carry on and the pieces will be picked up over time, though." To be honest, I think that's the crapiest thing to say to anyone, despite the fact that it is true. Death comes in, and even when we are sick and frail, we do not expect for it to come the way that it does. It seems unfair. It is further unfair when life is snatched out from under one human being by another human being. Life will carry on, but not without a certain amount of weight.
The ironic thing about it is that, although people say that death is just a part of life no matter how it's taken out of the picture, we are all still moved in some way when someone close to us dies. As I learned from a dear friend who learned it from someone else, the fact of the matter is that we were not meant to die.
We were not designed to automatically know how to handle death. I would say that no matter how old we get or how many funerals we encounter, or how scientific we look at it, or how jaded we become, we simply learn how to cope with death. You do not learn it the way that you learn how to ride a bicycle and then simply know what to do after it has been learned. Some may nay-say, but you have to understand that I believe that people were created by a Creator who intended us to live forever... until somebody had to go and screw it up. And now that it's screwed up, we're still picking up the pieces and often dropping them at the same time. It's a terrible situation... but, this is why Jesus Christ is such an integral part of my life.
Despite the fact that death causes me to feel wounded as a human being, and although it causes me to be angry and then broken when I hear about one person killing another person, I know that things will be restored to order one day. Until then, we go through days of sorrow, and then better days.
There is a better day coming for those that lost someone today. It might be a week from now, or years. When it does come, it will be a great sigh of relief to have the burden lifted off of their shoulders. Until then it will be heavy... some days heavier than others. But looking towards that better day and having hope that things will get better will come, after the grief.
And thankfully, we are allowed to grieve.
It was shortly thereafter that I called CJ up to see if he was okay and unfortunately I only got his voicemail. Thankfully, I got a call from him about two hours later, but my heart is still heavy for the campus.
33 college students gone in the blink of an eye.
It was this kind of thing that made me question life, death, and everything in between back on 9/11/2001, and snowballed my search for God. I can only pray that the same sort of thing would happen to others in this situation, as unfathomable that seems to me right now. I can only imagine the questions of, "How could God allow something like this to happen? Wasn't He watching?" abound.
Having just started working on a college campus -- a scant three months ago -- I have my own questions. What if something like that happened here? What if some kid snapped and decided they were going to take the lives of others into their his (or her) own hands? Would God enable me to receive those grieving, and gently bring light and hope in their lives despite current events? Would I even know how to serve them in the midst of my own grief? What would I do?
I don't know the answers to these questions, and honestly they are not questions that I should be asking at this point in time. Something might happen, as no one expects these things to happen. Blacksburg didn't. What is more fitting is to continue to pray for the school, the students, the families, and the friends. Holding off classes tomorrow will do little in allowing students time to cope on Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday. "Life will carry on and the pieces will be picked up over time, though." To be honest, I think that's the crapiest thing to say to anyone, despite the fact that it is true. Death comes in, and even when we are sick and frail, we do not expect for it to come the way that it does. It seems unfair. It is further unfair when life is snatched out from under one human being by another human being. Life will carry on, but not without a certain amount of weight.
The ironic thing about it is that, although people say that death is just a part of life no matter how it's taken out of the picture, we are all still moved in some way when someone close to us dies. As I learned from a dear friend who learned it from someone else, the fact of the matter is that we were not meant to die.
We were not designed to automatically know how to handle death. I would say that no matter how old we get or how many funerals we encounter, or how scientific we look at it, or how jaded we become, we simply learn how to cope with death. You do not learn it the way that you learn how to ride a bicycle and then simply know what to do after it has been learned. Some may nay-say, but you have to understand that I believe that people were created by a Creator who intended us to live forever... until somebody had to go and screw it up. And now that it's screwed up, we're still picking up the pieces and often dropping them at the same time. It's a terrible situation... but, this is why Jesus Christ is such an integral part of my life.
Despite the fact that death causes me to feel wounded as a human being, and although it causes me to be angry and then broken when I hear about one person killing another person, I know that things will be restored to order one day. Until then, we go through days of sorrow, and then better days.
There is a better day coming for those that lost someone today. It might be a week from now, or years. When it does come, it will be a great sigh of relief to have the burden lifted off of their shoulders. Until then it will be heavy... some days heavier than others. But looking towards that better day and having hope that things will get better will come, after the grief.
And thankfully, we are allowed to grieve.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Art Auction: v.1.5
I promise, I'll stop posting about random things and actually tell you about the auction. ... At least, I could try. As I think I mentioned previously, I was stowed away in my studio for most of it, being the social bug that I am.
That doesn't make sense. Let me start from the beginning.
Scott (read: my faithful and handsome assistant) went down to the studios with me decked out in a trusty pair of jeans and t-shirt only to arrive at the Studios to realize that I hadn't gotten the memo for attire. So I scurried back to home, changed, and scurried back to the Studios in heeled, fancy boots, fancy skirt, and fancy shirt. I had to get all gussied up, which generally speaking wasn't such a bad thing except that my feet were ready to revolt by the end of the night.
But anyway.
So we got there and helped to set up the finishing touches. People started to filter through and quite honestly I feel like I left myself for a good half hour because I don't remember what all I had done. I know I caught sight of two supporters of mine (Heather and Vince) from Quakertown and left Duy and Scott in the dust. I chatted. I said hello to co-workers that filtered through, as well as some students... and then at some point I brought Heather and Vince up to the studio to discover the small herd of people therein. That's when I hustled with my faithful assistant to set things up that I didn't previously think about setting up. I talked and my insides felt like they were tied up in knots, and that's how most of my evening went. Any time I caught wind of my prints on auction being bid on, I scarcely could believe it.
I was shocked that anyone wanted to buy prints out of my studio, too.
So I was a stationary social bug, talking to people about my work and primarily explaining collagraph printing. I must have explained it ten times that evening, and at some point my faithful assistant brought me water because my throat was getting very, very dry and tired. Thank you, Scott. I'm glad I can count on you for being there for me. Thanks also to everyone who came into my studio, but most of those people have no idea that this blog exists... so my thanks is moot to them. Rats.
Overall the auction went well. There were tons of people there, and I'm grateful that we could do it and that I had the opportunity to participate. It's encouraged me to take the steps towards applying for a type of membership for the Washington Printmakers Gallery down in DC... which seems pretty far to be applying for, but long story short I was encouraged to do so by one of the folks on committee back in October at that show I participated in. We'll see how things go... I think that if I didn't participate in the Art Auction, I wouldn't have thought to apply right now. Funny how things work out. I hope that the night was as encouraging to my Studio-mates as it was for me, and that they had a great time meeting people.
I would share photos, but most of my photos are uninteresting; besides, I only have six total.
I'm sure I'll fish some up at some point from somewhere, but I'm not worried about it. The night was a total blur, and I was fully exhausted from it.
That's all I've got.
That doesn't make sense. Let me start from the beginning.
Scott (read: my faithful and handsome assistant) went down to the studios with me decked out in a trusty pair of jeans and t-shirt only to arrive at the Studios to realize that I hadn't gotten the memo for attire. So I scurried back to home, changed, and scurried back to the Studios in heeled, fancy boots, fancy skirt, and fancy shirt. I had to get all gussied up, which generally speaking wasn't such a bad thing except that my feet were ready to revolt by the end of the night.
But anyway.
So we got there and helped to set up the finishing touches. People started to filter through and quite honestly I feel like I left myself for a good half hour because I don't remember what all I had done. I know I caught sight of two supporters of mine (Heather and Vince) from Quakertown and left Duy and Scott in the dust. I chatted. I said hello to co-workers that filtered through, as well as some students... and then at some point I brought Heather and Vince up to the studio to discover the small herd of people therein. That's when I hustled with my faithful assistant to set things up that I didn't previously think about setting up. I talked and my insides felt like they were tied up in knots, and that's how most of my evening went. Any time I caught wind of my prints on auction being bid on, I scarcely could believe it.
I was shocked that anyone wanted to buy prints out of my studio, too.
So I was a stationary social bug, talking to people about my work and primarily explaining collagraph printing. I must have explained it ten times that evening, and at some point my faithful assistant brought me water because my throat was getting very, very dry and tired. Thank you, Scott. I'm glad I can count on you for being there for me. Thanks also to everyone who came into my studio, but most of those people have no idea that this blog exists... so my thanks is moot to them. Rats.
Overall the auction went well. There were tons of people there, and I'm grateful that we could do it and that I had the opportunity to participate. It's encouraged me to take the steps towards applying for a type of membership for the Washington Printmakers Gallery down in DC... which seems pretty far to be applying for, but long story short I was encouraged to do so by one of the folks on committee back in October at that show I participated in. We'll see how things go... I think that if I didn't participate in the Art Auction, I wouldn't have thought to apply right now. Funny how things work out. I hope that the night was as encouraging to my Studio-mates as it was for me, and that they had a great time meeting people.
I would share photos, but most of my photos are uninteresting; besides, I only have six total.
I'm sure I'll fish some up at some point from somewhere, but I'm not worried about it. The night was a total blur, and I was fully exhausted from it.
That's all I've got.
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