Hey.
I started to write this blog post earlier, but at some point I thought, ‘I want some beer”, or “I could use some beer”. So I went to the bar and and shut it down. I’m a bit tired. I thought at some point today to write about one-hundred things I dislike about Ringling. Now I think these instead can be categorized as either art school problems, or societal-norm problems. There's little escaping these within an/any art school. I want to go to a different school not because this one is (particularly) broken, rather because I want to learn new things- different things. I am not seeking a degree, rather knowledge. One difference I anticipate in leaving Ringling will be more independence, and a new system to adapt to. One problem I would like to address at Ringling is light pollution. There's no reason to keep so many lights on here. The night hours on campus are characteristically bright due to the 'saftey' lights all around.
Otherwise, my goings are as follows:
I spent the spring break by taking out a rental on a car. Angie and I left directly after her final class (before the break) at about just after sunset. We went straight to Crystal River- to go to my family’s ‘quadruple birthday’ party- a celebration of life put on by my mom- to bring in the big years of my grandparents- while they’re still living. My Eula turned 85, Donna 75, Hugo, 80, and Grammy, 90. They all are alive and well, though all showing signs of their age mentally (what have they got to lose? ).
I was very honored to have Angie in tow. She’s got a boy-f, which is whatever. I hope to someday have a forever-relationship with either Angie or a cosmic equivalent.
At some point, a friend of mine said, she’s ‘almost perfect for you’ , and that was funny. Somehow, Angie is this, where she escapes the radar of eligibility, or something. She was a great road-companion though. We went to Crystal River, where we checked into our hotel (paid for by my mom/dad), and then went to a bar. We looked a while for a bar that would be likely to serve an underage asian person, and found one, where we ended up running Angie’s card to pay for our beers, because mine was so fucked up (from spreading clear gesso across surfaces to paint on). We slept well (I think) and then went to the big quad-party, where Angie and I spent much time going through much of my old files of paintings. I wonder how much of my life has been so self-focused. I found my karaoke song- it’s “what kind of Fool am I”, which my local karaoke spot does not have on file- whatever.
We went to the party and had a grand time. I met a couple New-Yorkers in my distant cousins (in law) Jessica and her husband. They run a sheep farm out in CT, and it’s appealing enough to illicit a visit.
Angie and I, after the party, drove to Orlando- that I could visit my friend’s show- the show of Jackie Jurasiti, a former lover of my roommate and a person, whom I helped change a tire on her car in 2012, and an MFA grad of FSU, and an art therapy grad, etc.
I saw her preparing this show on IG and I though that I should go to the opening (it worked with my spring break dates) and buy a painting. I dod buy a painting (they were under-priced, and 90% of the show was sold by the time I was ready to buy). I bought a flat work on paper for one hundred dollars, as opposed to what she was asking- sixty. She agreed to ship it me (my parents address) out of the frame. The venue was cool- and old coffee bar- and we bought a couple books apiece and got a couple beers bought for us by this guy john, whom I asked whether he played music (my new trick). From there, Angie and I wen tout to get Tako-China, another trick, and then went to a bar where a metal show had taken place, but ended. Angie wished she’d seen the show. At some point, half-way through that beer, I tapped out, and was ready to drive- somewhere. We got in the car and went south, and south further, until we stopped somewhere south of Coco Beach. We got a hotel room, and slept on a smallish bed. Neither of us thought twice about it because we were tired. In the morning we took a walk to Waffle House, then back to the hotel to check out (there was a line at W>H> and we needed to hedge our bets). I made the decision that WH was in fact our best bet, and we had a great brunch on that Sunday morning. We drove south further still and got to Miami at about four pee em, whereupon I brought Angie to her friends place at FIU, and we smoked a ciggy, and I peaced out.
I drove for a little while- wondering if a friend would come-through with a couch- but nothing came, and I rented this hotel room at a spot that I was familiar with from a few moths back during winter break (Art Basel Miami '16). I got the room for 89$ a night, and booked it for three nights. The next day maybe, I went out to the Oyster- an old house turned state park, then to the Fairchild Botanical Gardens. I got a frosty at Wendy’s and wondered ‘what have I become’?, as per usual. The next day I don’t know what I did, but I ended up going to the PAMM, where I saw Jeffery Whatever from Ringling, and some cool-ish art pieces. From there, I went back to the hotel, then out to a wine-bar with an old friend, Heather (a name which I have an affinity for). I met Heather’s friend too- A—something- a dancer, and we exchanged info. They left at some point around midnight, and I had it in my mind to get drunk, or to stay, or whichever. I did both, and befriended the bar-staff. Turns out, and old friend of mine from Tally maintains the gardens there- at the Lagniappe, and so I went back the next night to say hi. Eventually, after a model-turned-lover time in the hotel room (not Angie), Angie and I returned to Ringling, where I find myself now, and gearing up for another go at a big semester.
I drove for a little while- wondering if a friend would come-through with a couch- but nothing came, and I rented this hotel room at a spot that I was familiar with from a few moths back during winter break (Art Basel Miami '16). I got the room for 89$ a night, and booked it for three nights. The next day maybe, I went out to the Oyster- an old house turned state park, then to the Fairchild Botanical Gardens. I got a frosty at Wendy’s and wondered ‘what have I become’?, as per usual. The next day I don’t know what I did, but I ended up going to the PAMM, where I saw Jeffery Whatever from Ringling, and some cool-ish art pieces. From there, I went back to the hotel, then out to a wine-bar with an old friend, Heather (a name which I have an affinity for). I met Heather’s friend too- A—something- a dancer, and we exchanged info. They left at some point around midnight, and I had it in my mind to get drunk, or to stay, or whichever. I did both, and befriended the bar-staff. Turns out, and old friend of mine from Tally maintains the gardens there- at the Lagniappe, and so I went back the next night to say hi. Eventually, after a model-turned-lover time in the hotel room (not Angie), Angie and I returned to Ringling, where I find myself now, and gearing up for another go at a big semester.
I have a pending submission to PAFA, which has little to do with the work-to-do in the long run, but in the short term, is something close-by, that’s fun to talk about with ‘Ringlingers’. It also splits my mind in two, and every for every step I take here at Ringling, there is a sensation of mutiny, and a great unknown.
I hope at PAFA to learn how to make a painting that is built to last. How to develop a painting from start to finish is not in our curriculum at RCAD (transfering a sketch, glazing procedures, etc.) whereas visual development courses are nearly standard- it's just different), and instead it's a trial by fire environment here. (which, as an engaged young adult, I tend to thrive in). I want to ensure that my paintings do not fall off of their supports as a result of my lack of understanding of materials and techniques. These things do happen, and misinformation abounds. The knowledge is guarded and thus it is important to be within a lineage.
There's a good example in an (relatively) outsider (self-taught) artist, Odd Nerdrum. Classic case- he was mid-career, and using his own formulas, and he's approached by a collector at a trade show, "come over to my house and take a look at the painting that you sold me". So Nerdrum goes to look at the painting in the collector's home, and to his horror, it's falling off the support! Yikes! So Nerdrum, in an effort to preserve his name, offers to paint them a replacement, no charge. Well, he gets caught with the painted replacement, and the government of his country accuses him of selling without paying taxes- tax evasion, and throws him in jail for a few years, without the ability to paint therein. They made an example of him. Anyway, I want my paintings to last, and to know about what Im' working with, beyond the ol' fashioned trail n' error art-school approach.
I hope at PAFA to learn how to make a painting that is built to last. How to develop a painting from start to finish is not in our curriculum at RCAD (transfering a sketch, glazing procedures, etc.) whereas visual development courses are nearly standard- it's just different), and instead it's a trial by fire environment here. (which, as an engaged young adult, I tend to thrive in). I want to ensure that my paintings do not fall off of their supports as a result of my lack of understanding of materials and techniques. These things do happen, and misinformation abounds. The knowledge is guarded and thus it is important to be within a lineage.
There's a good example in an (relatively) outsider (self-taught) artist, Odd Nerdrum. Classic case- he was mid-career, and using his own formulas, and he's approached by a collector at a trade show, "come over to my house and take a look at the painting that you sold me". So Nerdrum goes to look at the painting in the collector's home, and to his horror, it's falling off the support! Yikes! So Nerdrum, in an effort to preserve his name, offers to paint them a replacement, no charge. Well, he gets caught with the painted replacement, and the government of his country accuses him of selling without paying taxes- tax evasion, and throws him in jail for a few years, without the ability to paint therein. They made an example of him. Anyway, I want my paintings to last, and to know about what Im' working with, beyond the ol' fashioned trail n' error art-school approach.
