audrey

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Long day today.

The rundown: home, appointment at 10, home.
Then off to the college to work at the gallery from 12:30 til I've done what I need to do. Then wait there until my daughter is done with class at 9:30. I'll probably work on my paper while I'm waiting. I found out that the class ends one week earlier than we (the class) thought. SOooo that means that the paper is due earlier. I'll work on it during Thanksgiving break in between studio work and housework. Hmmmm-homeWORK, houseWORK, studioWORK. I should call it studioPLAY.
Also this is the first weekend of Artist's Open Studios http://www.aosct.org/ . I have thought about doing this for years, but with a big sniffing dog and a husband who worries about what other people think all the time (the house should be spotless), it's not doable right now. Anyway, that's the plan for break-at least right now.

I'm off to class this morning. I just have to finish up one apron and I'm done. Then I have to figure out what to with the rest of the class days. I don't want to start a new piece. Maybe I should make some small accessories-oven mitts, sheilds, scepters, whatever.

Another day of putting things together but not sure I have anything. I do have more-and better than yesterday. Instead of worrying about it I just put things together as I felt they should be and took the tings apart that didn't work for me. Hopefully in the next couple of days, I'll finish at least one piece.

I can't seem to make anything. I spent a few hours in my studio today and I put things together but the voices in my head (now that sounds funny) kept saying that what I was doing isn't good enough, doesn't have any meaning or just won't work. I have ideas but I can't seem to get them any further than my head.

I had my Professional Practices class this morning and I had to choose a topic for my final paper. I chose Fluxus. I'll tell you more about it after I write my paper. It seems that the more I read about it the more confused I am. I had never heard of it until Cecil Touchon had commented that one of my pieces was fluxus or something like that. So by the time the semester is over I should know what it is and how to explain it. I could only find 5 books at the university library when I put it in the keyword search, so I'm going to rely on the internet quite a bit.
I'm hoping to get into my studio this weekend. I've been down there quite a bit this week-mostly picking up and organizing. I find things I forgot about when I do that. I have bitsand pieces out on a table that I'm trying to figure out, too. There's a doll head and a shoe stretcher, 2 barbie-sized dress mannequin things, a Bundt pan (red), an atomizer, a root, and a few other things. Right now, the pan is upside down and has the doll head in the middle with the root stuck in the top like hair. It could be done. I don't know.

Still a little sick-mostly feeling it in the morning. I'll feel better as the day goes on.
I went to class yesterday and finished the third metal apron. I had woven the metal pieces then pounded every other one with two different textures. It looks okay. I know-I need to take pictures.The instructor sounded disappointed with my work yesterday. She said that I kept going off in different directions. What I did was have ideas for different kinds of aprons but she always wanted to change my ideas so the process was faster. In the end her ideas didn't match mine--at all. So I ended up with three metal aprons for the class. I need to put the finishing touches on the first one I made. Then all three will be absolutely done. At the beginning of class I started by making fabric aprons. Because they were all about protection, I found some nonballistic kevlar and some teflon, and I made three different aprons. Because they were fabric they weren't deemed as sculpture. That's when I went to the metal. I may beef up the fabric ones before my presentation at the end of the semester. I'm thinking about adding an old iron stand to the teflon one. It says American Beauty on it. And then maybe adding a weapons holster to the kevlar ones-the weapons being utensils. We'll see how much time I feel like taking for this. I also have to write a paper for my other class. We get the particulars tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll write about fluxus-if no one else wants to. We were given a pretty long list of choices, and with only nine people in the class, there's only a small chance that someone else will want it.

Feeling better today. I have sculpture class this morning. I'll be working on my woven metal apron. I'm glad I stayed home yesterday. Even though I wasn't feeling well I got a lot done and the house looks better. I had piles of things in the living room so I went through and threw out a bunch of stuff and put a bunch of stuff away. I took my time and even took a nap. Then I cooked dinner-which I never do because I'm usually at the college where I work at dinner time Monday through Thursday. It all changes next semester.
I found out that the commission on the arts here in CT is finally looking for submissions for artists' grants. I started filling out the paperwork but I need to work on my images and my statement. It's due Jan. 15 so I have time. I have to think about what I would use the money for because I wouldn't take time off from my job and I don't think I can use it to pay for school. I'll figure it out.

Didn't sleep very well last night-stupid cold. I felt like I coughed all night. I took a 24 hour cold pill at 3 pm yesterday and it cleared up my nose but that was about it. I won't do that today. A friend also gave me some fizzy vitamin C drink. I went out and bought more. It certainly can't hurt to have a little extra on hand.
I worked on my metal apron in class yesterday. I wove the strips together to make one piece. So far it looks okay. I have to pound the folds in tomorrow and then add some rivets to hold the ends-like hemming. I don't know if I'll have the time to put the bodice on tomorrow. It's sheet metal cut int a heart shape at the top, then darts were pounded in at the bottom. I added another piece of discolored metal that was a little heavier for the waistband. I curved it and attached it to the bodice with rivets. The rivets are actually upholstry tacks that I was given years ago. I have copper, silver and brass. I used silver on this apron because I wanted it all one tone-for now. I'm thinking about either polishing the whole thing up OR heating it up with a torch to see what I get. Either way, I think it will look okay. I may still have to attach shoulder straps but I won't know until I get it all put together.
I have to take my daughter to an appointment and go to the vet to pick up flea stuff, then take my daughter to school. I'm not sure I'll go to work today.

Up and having my Earl Grey. I feel like I could be pretty productive today. I have to leave for class at 8:00 but I could do a few things before I leave. I found a roll of sheet metal in my studio yesterday. It's about 2 inches wide. I'm going to take it to school, cut it and weave it together to make the skirt for the apron I'm making now. I also remembered that I have a big old jar of upholstry tacks that I can use for rivets. They're big so I'm not sure if they'll work but I'm going to try.

I spent some time in the studio today but I didn't finish anything. I did some picking up. I put some things together. Then I took them apart. I did laundry, grocery shopping, and cut my husband's hair. I had to pick up artwork at 4:00 from the group show I was in so I decided to leave a little early and have a coffee and a chocolate chip raspberry scone at the coffee shop near the gallery.
I finished a book last night-Standing at the Water's Edge by Anne Paris. It's about creativity. I recommend it to anyone who gets in those creative slumps. The author is a psychologist and she explains why and what we can do about it. I'm reading Beautiful Necessity now. It's about the altars that women make and the history behind them. It's pretty interesting so far.


Wow-I posted two days in a row.

I have been so busy all week I haven't been able to catch up on my reading here. And posting...well, let's just say that I am neglectful of my posting duties.
School is going great. Only 4 more weeks. I signed up for next semester-metal construction and an independent study in sculpture. Somewhere I want to add a third class so I can be done sooner. It could be one of those intersession classes or one in the summer. The student loan I took out has enough in it to cover almost 5 classes a year and if I calculated right, I only needed 10 classes over 300 level to get my degree. So maybe, by spring 2011, if I work it right, I'll have my BA. I wish it was a BFA, but I can't have everything. It would cost three times as much and there's no way I can afford that.
In my sculpture 2 class we had to come up with a proposal for the semester. The instructor asked me what I would make if I knew I wouild die in a year. After thinking about it a long time I ended up with the idea of what is handed down from generation to generation. Some of the things Are physical but some of the things are emotional. Anyway, aprons came to mind because myhusband's grandmother had a bunch of them when she died. Some were clean but some had had been stained from use. Aprons are used to protect your clothes. Protection. Do you pass down protection? Soooo, I decided to make a series of aprons. I started by making fabric ones. Apparently these weren't sculptures-even the one made out of kevlar-so I pulled together metal pieces and leather I had in my studio and put together 2 aprons. Battle aprons. For battling housework. Made especially for the housewarrior. I'm working on the third one and when they are finished, I will post pictures. They are very Zena, but that's okay. It's fun hammering and putting in rivets and bolts and all that. I may continue this idea next semester-or not. How many metal aprons does one need?

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