Holidays

I'm excited to be going home to Texas for the holidays tomorrow. But, for today:

Nollaig shona duit and bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Few and Far Between

(Things my eyes have been experiencing lately.)

Dublin vs. Texas

Dublin is, no doubt, changing my perspectives of things. I'm working on a smaller scale, for one, and, for two, it will be interesting to see how my change in city effects what I create.

But... my art is still living in Texas! The Amarillo Museum of Art is having a 12x12 fundraiser coming up soon which I will be participating in. Check it out, if you can.

Change

I'm finally here! I'm in Dublin (ready to get started with school) and today I discovered yogurt covered banana chips. I found an apartment today, so now my spare time may be used to explore. Hello museums and galleries!

Updated

I've added new drawings, mixed media, and paintings!

Museums

Today I visited the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art. The DMA has a temporary exhibition that I absolutely loved:

	A Painting in the Palm of Your Hand: 18th-Century Painted Fans from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection

Fans are more than practical; they are a communication tool. From Grand Tour souvenirs to statements about women in society, the variations that a paper fan can undertake have certainly caught my fascination.

Denton Art Show

Brian Gore and I are having an art show on Friday, July 13th (7 pm - 3 am) at Natalie's Cafe and Hookah Lounge in Denton. There will be live music by some of our amazing friends. I guarantee it will be a good time!

Snippet

The newest update for me is that I will be attending UCD in Dublin, Ireland beginning this September. I will be pursuing a Masters degree in Cultural Policy and Arts Management. I can't wait to see what new changes will come!

Discoveries

Inside:
I have been discovering things that are therapeutic to me and have been observing effects of the good and the bad, within and without.

Outside:
Side discoveries I enjoyed today were finding little "to go hummus" packages and finally purchasing regular size scissors.

Trees

The 500X show comes down on Sunday so I figured it was time for a new post.

I have several works in progress that I'm planning to have finished soon, complete with photos on the website. Be keeping an eye out for them in the next few weeks.

I feel a greater connection with trees lately. I feel the need for growth.

Junior/Senior Prom

There is an art opening this Saturday (May 12) at 500x gallery in Dallas. Pats on the Back will be there, along with an anticipated variety of art of all mediums. (6-10 p.m., directions on the 500x website.) Be sure to tell your friends. The show will be up until June 2.

Excess: Then and Now.

I've developed a fascination of the Eighteenth Century, of what was fashionable at the time and what that means then and now. I recently finished a short paper in which comparisons between the Eighteenth Century and today are argued with evidence from text and Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette film. The reviews on the film are undeniably mixed, though I believe there is a sort of genius in her merging of the past and present. The means through which Marie Antoinette deals with commodity through objects and fashion, I think, confuses the natural and unnatural in such a way that poses questions to an audience living in a similar world of blurred lines. How clear are needs and desires when one's environment is a teaching tool?

Earth Day

Earth Day is coming up in a couple of days. In honor of this, many morning shows have been showcasing various "green" products (my favorite being packaging that breaks down after you bury it, producing a plant) all week. On Tuesday, I caught Regis and Kelly's "Clean Green" day:

5 Things You Need to Clean Green

• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Club Soda
• Borax is a natural mineral you can find at the grocery store (Be sure to keep out of reach of children & pets)

It's a bit strange to me that we must be reminded of these simple solutions. And, yes, viewers were reminded that they can put starch and water in a spray bottle to use when ironing clothing. When did we stray so far from the simplicity of these items? The distance makes me nervous.

Tender

A kiss is tender.
A heart can be tender.

Meat is tender.
Hot pockets have tender, flaky crust.

Maybe the way to the heart really is through the stomach?

Paper

Have you ever noticed the way, or different ways, that paper keeps in ink? Sometimes the ink warmly soaks in like an embrace and sometimes it stays more on the surface and feels colder. I prefer a natural or soft feel with page turns. There is a delicacy and a strength embodied in few things. The kind of paper that has these two qualities, I think, seem to whisper deep and sweet in ears willing to listen.

Paper is strong.
Paper is fragile.
Paper is potential.

Tofu

I think that food is an unusually powerful tool in revealing things about an individual.

So (now to the title), where did this sort of taboo for tofu all start? "It" can be lumped together with other edibles, such as spinach and anchovies, in the category in which one often states a dislike for, though the flavor of (fill in food here) may have never actually touched taste buds. Associations with tofu are even more fascinating when considering the attachment to lifestyle that it carries. I think the overall tofu attitude is morphing, but some still don't know what to do with it, causing the taboo to continue on. In conclusion, if you haven't tried tofu, go for it. (It sounds scarier than it really is.)

Fleur-de-lis

Lilies are one of my favorite types of flowers. Perhaps that is why I'm drawn to the fleur-de-lis.

This morning I finished a little fun project that I would actually consider a bit more on the crafty side. I like the look of stitching on canvas (my thumb doesn't like me so much for it.)

I sometimes feel myself drawn to patterns. There is something familiar and safe about them but they are still able to fit into new ideas.

The Risk and the Gamble

In the newest issue of Art Papers, Glenn Kaino's conversation with Lauri Firstenberg answers the question "Do you see the potential for radicality in contemporary art practice?" The middle paragraph to Glenn's answer reads:"Some people try to adopt radical political positions without having anything at stake. They market themselves by using the romantic veneer of revolutionary acts of the past. This is not that interesting to me. I believe in risk and in the gamble. For me, process is rewarding and dynamic. Winning and losing are static proportions."

I'm currently sitting in the Daniel Bozhkov exhibition in the UNT gallery and I'm thinking about what this particular artist (Daniel) learned with each piece "produced." Today, curiosity for the world is what I see. I'm beginning to become more and more fascinated the process or, rather, processes that an artist goes through in creating his or her work. Can I see it? Do I have to dig through the surface to get to it? How much does time matter in regards to process?

Three Sundays

For the past three mornings I've woken up thinking that the day was Sunday. This morning I finally got it right.

I remember parts of my dream from last night, the part when I went to the store to buy canvas. The store did not have the size I had in mind, though I saw an old friend there and said hello. Normally, whenever I dream of old friends or those that I've met I wake up feeling a bit nostalgic. Not so today, though. How do you feel when you dream about old friends or acquaintances?