Weekend

I had a great weekend. On saturday caught a ride to downtown on the city bus, returned library cds, tried to hitchhike to Tallahassee to no avail. I caught a ride with Mike, a local guy headed to Riverside Arts Market. At the market, we sat and talked. I drew a jazz guitarist who was preforming in front of Mike and I. I offered to sell the drawing for $10 to Mike. He was real cool about it, agreeing to pay me $10 to give it to the guitarist. I agreed and made a new friend.

I'm almost finished with a wedding invitation commission which I'm real stoked about. Jamie a few studios over, helped me format and print them on her 1962 Heidelberg Letterpress. I brought the vellum to NesPrint northeast of downtown for gold die-cut applied foiling. The design is elegant. Left on the list of things to do for it are to print maps on, cut and assemble envelopes out of card stock. And to cut the letterpress elements to size.

Watercolors made an appearance in the studio in the past week. Getting ready for the Summer Splash Art show in 13 Days is a blast.

Riley Dennis visited me from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Dan, whom I know from Tallahassee art school came by Saturday afternoon as well. We drew and talked for hours.

More friends have taken an interest to coming through JAX and visiting. I am so blessed!

Fever

I would say that I'm full time at CoRK now. The Studio at Blue Buddha serves for storage and supplies mainly.
I have built a beautiful table which measures 10X4 ft. I am now finishing the top with shellac.
I have also published a zine from the 17 paintings on beer coasters during my time in Amsterdam. They are an edition of 100. I am now more comfortable in Adobe Indesign after making this book, (my second with the software). I like the print shop nearby, they can print on a lot of different surfaces and are hard working.

I have been commissioned by my wonderful friends Cory and Grace to create 40 invitations for their forthcoming wedding. The deadline is fast approaching. I have some ideas, and am reading a Stephen Sagmeister design book in preparation.

I am now illustrating a spoke card for my friends at the local bike shop down the street. I am learning about Adobe Illustrator with this project. I think this is very good practice for a postcard (which is basically all that it is, except it also advertises owner, Garfield,'s business and is laminated for waterproofing).

I will be a part of a show on July 12th with my friends Morrison (whom I met during Art Basel Miami) and Mike (an artist who is fresh from living in Boston for some time), both great artists. I have several different drawings and paintings which I am working on in preparation.

Today I went to see Laurel at her job at the Museum Cafe. We had lunch together.
In the evening, I met with Dan, a friend of mine from Tallahassee. We went to a bar where I got a soda, and talked about graffiti, design, sculpture, furniture, quality, functionality, and purpose before overhearing an anti-gay remarks from a group of the bar patrons concerning their views on marriage. Together we unceremoniously stood from our chairs and left. We walked around the neighborhood in a different, more industrial area than I had ever been. It is obvious that this town had a boom, and that white flight left a scar. We made passing regards to locals, two asked us for money.

I am ill with a low fever I believe. This is day two, it's going around. It hit me hard. And I am certainly at a time where I feel motivated to work. I wonder if there is correlation between my work habits and temporarily hosting a virus. I am eating well and I began taking bee pollen tonight as advised by Mike.

CoRK Studio

I am now moving into Shaun's studio space in CoRK. It was mentioned several times that it would be a favorable arrangement for both of us that I take over his lease. I am now building a table to go in the middle of the room. This table will mean a bit more of the same working style, flat, which for aqueous mediums works best for me. My friend Mark McCombs donated a 10 foot by 4 foot sheet of 3/4inch MDF for the table top. This studio will have heavy artillery.

Europe to Jacksonville

I traveled to Copanhagen to visit Laurel and be romantic.

I bought the ticket one day before. I loaned my car to Shaun so he could move some things. 

In Copenhagen, I met with Laurel and her family. We ate well and walked thoughout the city. In the evenings Laurel and I watched sunsets and in the mornings we visited parks and gardens. One day we rode bicycles to the edge of town and jumped into the ocean (which was crystal clear, even in the city- where Copenhageners jump in from the seawalls). Another day we took a train about 40 minutes out and saw the Louisiana Museum.

After Laurel left, I stayed in Copenhagen for few days. I went to the Arken Museum, where I saw an exhibit on Hundertwasser and monuments by Damien Hirst. The town seemed less fun without Laurel ( though likely not the case, I just missed her momentarily). When she was still in Copenhagen, I remember we had a conversation with a couple at a bar, they recommended I see Prague. 

I flew to Prague. On the plane, I sat next to a drunken Swede. He and his freinds were traveling to Prague to party, as is customary for graduating high school students in his country he told me. He was loud throughout the flight. 

I met Benjamin in the airport on the basis hat we were the only two Americans and were introduced by the Swedes. Ben was from Boston. He asked if I had a place to stay. No. He offered me the name of his hostel. We shared cab fare to the center of town then began looking for his hostel, Sir Toby's. We asked around and were helped by a group of Greeks, by way of going inside for a few drinks and using the internet to look up an address. 

Prague was incredible. The skyline was like nothing else, spires of cathedrals and castles in the dozens. 

I went to Vienna next. I thought I might meet an artist that I admire there in his studio, but I learned via email that he was not there. I still visited his gallery, which showed the work of Cone The Weird. Very cool stuff, and I liked Vienna's vibes. I went in the huge aqueduct channel which runs throughout the city. It was early in the morning. My Ethiopian bunk-mates woke me at 4:30 when they got up to catch a flight. I stayed awake and explored giant tunnels. 

 I was running low on time and had to take a flight back to Copenhagen. I had a ten hour layover in Brussels. There were about eighty people who slept on the floors of the airport that night. The harsh flourescents stayed on full bright through the night. I tried to seek relief in a Muslim temple, where I removed my shoes, layed down, and was approched by a man who was also reclining and asked to leave, if I was not a Muslim. I kept my philosophies to myself; when he asked me if I was a Christian, I said yes. Then he said there is a Christian chapel next door, and that this room was for Muslims only. Aagin I kept my philosophies to myself. The Christian chapel had bright fluorescents, wooden pews, and white tile floors, much unlike the Muslim dark room with a large persian rug. I slept under a bench, covered in newspapers like a Christian.

My final day in Copenhagen was wonderful. I went to Christiania and smoked hash and skunk in the soft grass with a graffiti artist friend that I'd just met. We collaborated on a few drawings. 

I am now back in Jacksonville. It is good to be back. I am now moving into my second studio, in CoRK ( a collection of artist studios just a block from my first studio). I now have air conditioning, a refridgerator, a shower, and a communal bathroom with the other artists in the community.