I will be in Chicago. Tomorrow. (Hopefully) by lunch. Seriously. I can not wait!

father:

I hope you realize that I don't believe you when you say you'll make time to visit with me or with us. I hope you can hear it in my voice. I wish you would stand up for us and yourself. I wish she didn't control you like you let her. Stop just living with it, and do something about it. I just might blow up soon if you don't, and I don't want to do that to you.

"Falsely Represented Nightmare".

The background on this linoleum cut was a random project that I was doing on my own to use for card making and other things. Even though the background wasn't in the original plan I feel like it makes some sense because it adds chaos to the image in a way (which relates to my dream). The subject is from part of a nightmare that I had when I was a kid. It is "falsely represented" because the window was not part of my dream, and of course the background wasn't either. Also the snakes were coming up from holes in the floor which they aren't here, but you get the general idea. There are 12 prints in this edition.

The Credit Crisis Visualized

I watched this video over at OkayGreat which involves some nice graphics and of course some information on the credit crisis. If you already know all you want to know about the crisis you can still enjoy some great graphics along with the depressing information.


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Ayumi Horie.

While catching up on my daily readings I came across this mind blowing video of potter Ayumi Horie dry throwing a bowl. I haven't been in the ceramics world  (I guess you could say) for a long time, so I had never seen this technique done before. Below are a few of her pots. Enjoy!

Ayumi Horie

[via design*sponge]

Mark Bradford.

Mark Bradford's use of layering in his collages and other artworks is very intriguing. I bet each piece takes months to finish. I was first introduced to Bradford at the Modern in Fort Worth, and was drawn to it by its size (it covered the whole wall it was on). He doesn't have a website, but you can find out more about him through PBS' Art:21.

Mel Chin.

Conceptual artist, Mel Chin, agreed to become a visiting artist/professor at the university this semester for a five week course. I was very fortunate to get into the class (so many complications) and experience his genius. I cannot stress how thankful I am that he agreed to come here. He made us think about so many things, and the world around us. Mel is one scarily smart, funny guy whom I miss terribly. Unfortunately our class was canceled for a week due to an ice storm, but we were all productive through the mess. At the end of our class we had an exhibition at the Walton Arts Center. Mel wanted it to be an equal exhibition between all of us, and not focused solely on him. Since most of us had created work during the storm we decided that that was what we would exhibit, and aptly named the exhibit Shelter From the Storm. The above photo was our concept wall displaying all of our drawings and ideas cultivated throughout the class.

Extraction of Plenty from What Remains: 1823 -

Two columns which are exact replicas from the White House squeeze an empty cornucopia made of mud, banana, mahogany, coffee, and goats' blood. Mel relates back to the history of the cornucopia, and refers to the fractured ability of Latin American countries to prosper on their own because of America's foreign policy. The "cracks" at the top of the columns are the signatures that are on the foreign policy.

Revival Field

Safehouse

After hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Mel struggled with what he could do to help. He eventually decided that there was nothing he could do, and decided to look elsewhere. His research led him to discover that there was a harmful amount of lead in New Orleans' soil before the hurricane. Determined to save the city from the horrible health problems (ADHS along with violence) that the lead was creating he founded Operation Paydirt. Through Operation Paydirt children (and other citizens) draw on Fundred dollar bills that are going to be exchanged for the money and jobs needed to fix the soil. He created Safehouse to be reminiscent of a bank safe. It is the headquarters of Operation Paydirt and contains a display wall of some fundreds collected so far. Please visit the Fundred site to find out more, learn what you can do to help, and to find a pick up location in your area (pick up is scheduled for October of this year).