Paperist Interviewiary Inketty Scotchal Museumine Theatricality

Monday I went to work. Worked. Prepared for an interview. Didn't finish my paintings for color class. Wished I had, but they're not technically due till next Tuesday.

Tuesday morning at nine I had an evaluation on the draft of my final paper for my "today's working artist" class. My prof had questioned whether I could fit all of the history of poster art into five double-spaced pages, but he liked the paper and conceded that the only changes needed were of a grammatical nature. At ten I had an interview with the Marketing/Communications department at De Anza College. They put me at ease for the most part and most of the review went smoothly, except it felt pressed for time and the discussions about politics were a bit awkward. But then, political discussions usually are; thus the career shift into something I actually love doing! Marisa, the Director of Marketing, also graciously introduced me to a gentleman who needs graphic design work done for a CD cover, but I doubt he'll actually contact me about it. Note to self: get some business cards, pronto. Worked on my paintings for the rest of the afternoon and then in color class studio. Still wasn't done at 5:30 for class discussion; the legato piece was done but the staccato and crescendo were both still partially painted.

Wednesday I worked. More mediation prep. The printer wasn't working by the end of the day. Needed more ink, we didn't have any. Seems like it's always the photo cyan that goes first. I will say this. The HP Photosmart 3200 printer is worlds below the Canon Pixma iP6600D. There is no comparison, even as a backup printer. I just couldn't publish my work on the HP, period. Went home late from work because of the printing problems, having not even finished.

Yesterday I had no classes. By a freak coincidence, both classes happened to be out. I spent the morning remedying the printing problems at work, and then spent the afternoon in Mountain View. I was on my way to the Community School of Music and Arts, but stopped at BevMo to see if they have my illusive favorite scotch whiskey. Why? Because in January when I needed scotch I couldn't find any Sheep Dip. Turns out they have it at BevMo, regularly stocked. So I know where to find it next time. Google maps ran me into a dead end about two blocks from where I should have been, and I had a helluva time trying to find the right road to the CSMA. I finally got there, and I folded my hands behind my back as I perused their small museum, then asked for help from the front desk. One of their resident visual artists, Kyle, gave me a tour and explained the organization's functions and purpose. An amiable sort of chap, he led me around their small but impressive facility and showed me their art studios, classrooms and private lessons rooms, and concert hall. I learned a lot about their mission and should have more than enough for the "today's working artist" group project I need it for. It should also double nicely as an extra-credit museum paper for my color class.

Went home, studied a bit, cleaned a bit, looked at the wrong clock the whole time. I say the wrong clock because I only know in hindsight that it's the only clock in the house that hasn't yet been "sprung" forward an hour. As a result, I was 10 minutes late to the community theater's delightful, sold-out production of My Fair Lady, in which my old buddy Brett Carlson plays several minor characters. Since I was late, I had to watch the first half of the play standing, but it was still worth it. I assume the production was sold out because it is brilliantly performed, but also because it is the inaugural production to be shown in Foothill College's absolutely beautiful new Lohman Theater building. Brett and I hung out after, past midnight, chatting about girls and career past midnight over Denny's burgers.

Sleep Dep, Poster Paper & Nitrous Branding

Monday - So Sunday night I stayed up late working on a 5-page paper draft, on the topic of the overarching history of poster art, that I thought was due Thursday. Because I thought it was due Thursday, I also spent some of the evening being social, but in retrospect I would have been better off asleep by midnight instead of ridiculous lateness, because I still had to get up in the morning and go to work. Called Grandma on the way to work, to tell her about the job interview on Friday. Work was normal, and I was generally awake and functional, so no harm done. Went home, then realized the five pages were due Tuesday, not Thursday, and tried to work on my paper, really couldn't get a good momentum going until after midnight.

Tuesday - On no sleep, I managed to finish the five-page paper on poster art history. I tied 16th century Japanese Ukiyo-e polychromatic prints through to Jason Munn, so I feel pretty happy with the historical breadth of the five pages, but considering they had to be double spaced, the depth wasn't what I would want. By 7:00 a.m. I had finished the paper. So I moved on to my other homework, which included researching local art communities for a half hour, then writing a paper reflecting on my experiences creating the poster for Hannah that she couldn't ultimately use anyway. That paper read a little bit like it might have been written by a Dickensian drunkard instead of a Nos (and Red Bull and coffee and RockStar) infused, sleep deprived art student. The rest of the day went fine. I went to my chiropractor again for physical therapy on my neck and back. He used laser treatments for the first time. I had to wear safety goggles. He skirted billing questions, so, so I skirted MedPay questions.

Wednesday - I woke up to an "I'm bummed" text from a friend, couldn't think of anything to say really, realized I hadn't really been spending time in scripture lately. Did a little of that. Work day again, slow and a little sloppy. Can't have much more of that or it'll catch up with me. Heard back from the department where I interviewed, accepted an invitation for a second interview next Tuesday. It's tougher this time since I am to "bring anything I want to show," which probably means I need to have better reasons for the fewer pieces I select. Director of Marketing. Gotta impress! Midnight found me still working on homework, a handout for "Today's Working Artist" class, on the topics of the MFA degree as a pyramid scheme, by Karen Kitchel (excellent article), and another on democratic education by bell hooks (which wasn't so compelling, actually.)

A Good Week in the End

Sunday, February 24, 2008 - Went to church at 9 as usual, but a little more dressed up. Lectured and led discussion from 10-11, on the topic of temptation, like I mentioned before. See the last post for my notes. We couldn't find any chalk, so Ajay went and found a thick stub of blue sidewalk chalk, and I scrawled on the blackboard with that. The result was quite messy, but I think the lecture went over pretty well.

After the preaching service the same old crowd, along with Bethany's visiting friend Aundrea the ballet dancer, went to lunch at Eric's Deli Café and chatted it up for a couple hours. I then went home and tried to work on my solo project that would be due on the 26th. Not making much progress, I decided to go over to the office and work there. My idea for the concept was based on Hannah's new blog; I was thinking that of all my friends an Art Nouveau (which was the style I wanted to try) would best fit her style. She encouraged me to look through her pics on Facebook, of which there are thousands.

I didn't get far that night. Which was bad. It was a bad night in general and I stayed up late when I should have just gone to bed. I also had to work on a paper on the Chagoya exhibition, but I didn't do much on that either.

Monday, February 25, 2008 - I was all of a panic. I was on low sleep and would have to work all day then stay up all night finishing the solo project that I had NOT been able to design on the computer and didn't know how to paint. I mean, I literally don't know how to paint. But God's good: I went to the office all dressed in a tie and all for work, only to find that the boss was out and there was nothing to do. I puttered on a few details for an hour, then left for home and homework. I drew and painted all day and all night.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - I hadn't blown it. I had finished it beautifully, by taking my design from the computer, printing it out, tracing it over graphite paper onto foam board, then painting over the outlines. The painting was daunting but the colors were so shocking as to make the creative process a joy even at four in the morning. The following is a lousy phone picture of the final product.

The solo project was well-enough received by my classmates and prof to be considered a moderate success. I got my midterm grade, basically just a progress report from the professor to let us know how we're doing at this juncture. Mine was 100%. I went to Saltworks, a college outreach put out by our sister church, Hillview Bible Chapel. It was good, as we were talking about John 3-4. Talked with this middle-aged black musician named Eric who wants to try to connect with me about doing some kind of music project together. We'll see if anything comes of that. I went back home after study, to work on my painting for my afternoon class, because even though I had missed it last week while vomiting, I was told the project and accompanying one-page paper were due. So I missed the guest speaker who was on campus talking about political cartooning, and did homework until I was so late for class that I had to find my prof in his other class during the next time period just to get it in to him on time. He gave me a quizzical look and told me it wasn't due till Thursday. I went home and crashed.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - I worked all day, then worked on homework for a while, went to Katie's house and watched Eragon, which despite the presences of John Malkovitch, Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou and a cute chick was pretty much uber-lame. Went home and finished my one-page Chagoya critique paper.

Thursday, February 28, 2008 - Read something that made me really sick to my stomach. Bad emotional dayl. Morning class was fine. Got a handout from my professor that was due today but I had never gotten it because it was handed out the day I was sick. Told him I'd finish it and email it to him in the evening. Went to work for an hour and a half. Then went to Color & Design class and turned in the same assignment again. Got that and the previous assignments/papers back by the end of the class; both were A's. Went home, feeling down, pulled together a pile of artwork examples for my interview the next day. Went to Kinkos to get some things printed in color, but they didn't look that hot, so I wondered if it had been worth the time. Got a little road rage, knew it had nothing to do with the guy stealing my parking space. Prayed a lot, went home, crashed.

Friday, February 29, 2008 - Worked all morning, part of the afternoon. Needed to buy myself lunch and get some portfolio folders for my work, but realized I'd left my wallet at home. Drove home at 90 mph and back, still took forever on my lunch break. Boss was gone when I got back, so I printed out some more things to show in my interview, and put things in order. Met with Lori, the head of Graphic Design for the De Anza College Marketing Department, to show her my work and interview for a part-time job. Interview went well, was fun seemed very promising as a career step. Went to pick up Robert to take him to Bible study. Went home, fell asleep for a bit. Got an unexpected call from Ali, which was a good sort of call and left me in a much better mood than the one in which I had been. Went to Bible study, which was on the topic of patience and gentleness, among other things, as well as preserving the bond of unity among believers. All that was good. Got to play a banjo for a while, worked out a couple of Avett Brothers tunes, or at least the skeletons of them. Went home, talked to Brian in my car till 1:30 AM. Went to bed in a generally good mood, thanked God for a good week. Couldn't sleep for a while, so I just kept thanking Him.

Saturday, March 1, 2008 - Woke up mercifully late. Talked with my parents good-naturedly for a while about this and that, in my pajamas. Changed and mowed the lawns. Got green stuff all over my hands and my brown boot-cut cords. Went to get coffee and run some errands. Decided to do my devotions with my coffee at 'Bux. Buccino came in with Jake Galleau, and we talked about blazing and boy scouts while drinking Tony's concoctions of iced tea and Red Bull. Gave them a ride back to the Buccino residence and visited with their family a bit. Watched Tony sand some boards, then gave him my burned copy of this album:

...because I was pretty sure he'd dig it. Came home and researched building bookshelves and closet shelving, pretty much wasted the evening instead of doing homework.

Rainy Museum Trip & Prep for Temptation

Saturday, February 23, 2008

• Driving in the Rain - I was going to wake up at 9:30 and drive to Berkeley, maybe with Brian. Instead I couldn't sleep Friday night so I woke up at 11:30, got ready slowly, and headed out without Brian because it had become to late and he couldn't go. Still needed coffee, so I went by the most comfortable Starbucks, Snell & Santa Teresa, to get a bev. That was kindof a bummer because I was trying to call Tony Buccino to come with me to Berkeley, but he was working a shift at the bux. So I hung with him while I ate my lunch there instead of on the road. Then I went and bought black umbrella with a curved handle, and some Skittles (personal favorite) of all three flavors, to smuggle into the museum. I drove my Accord to Berkeley, taking 85 to 17/880 to 580 to University avenue. Julia was eating a sandwich and told me to call her later, and several other people did not answer their phones. Jed picked up and we talked about everything but what we'd been planning on talking about. He actually got on Google maps and navigated me through Berkeley to my destination, the Berkeley Art Museum.



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• The Museum - You can see what time I actually arrived (that is, the 3:11, not the 4:11).
  
  
  Upon entry, I found that they had special pricing. $8 general admission, free for Berkeley students, $50 for registered Republicans, and $5 if you're a total stud. You can see which one I was.
  
  


• The Exhibit - Even though the museum currently has a huge collection of Francisco de Goya's etchings downstairs from Los Caprichos, and I was most interested in that, the exhibition I needed to see was Enrique Chagoya's Borderlandia exhibit, which is primarily comprised of political and social parody pieces copied from other iconic works of historical painters. There had been a field trip with my college class, but I had to work, so I needed to make it up on my own time.
  
   
   
  
  His work is acclaimed for its use of familiar images of French art and particularly American pop art (such as Mickey Mouse and Superman) as symbols of an oppressive American or "white" culture that condescends to and injures Mexican cultural and economic interests. I found this to be a very effective form of art, and I consider him to be very talented. The emotional response was repulsive, however, because while he showed American cultural icons trampling Mexican or native central American cultural icons, his work also mocks the culture of my fond memories, essentially spitting on childhood favorites like Captain America and Superman. I found this to an ineffectual way to rally sympathy for his position, because I did not feel that my culture was trampling his, but rather felt that his high art was derisively trampling my childhood associations. This raises the question, whose culture should be allowed to trample someone else's culture? Should a white person be trampled upon simply because someone thinks white people ought to be?


• Driving in the Rain, Part Deux - Driving back home I had meant to call Jed, but I'd also said I'd call Julia back. She was done with her sandwich, so we talked about a lot of stuff, mostly God and how to witness to Muslims and Hindus. That actually lasted longer than I thought, and I was almost home by the time I called Jed, who didn't pick up.


• Lecture Preparation - I spent some time into the night working on my lecture for the following morning. My church's leadership recruited me to help teach through a Bible study written by the late great Jean Gibson called BCT, or Basic Christian Training, the second in a series after Survey in Basic Christianity (SBC). Mine was a topic based on chapter 7, "Overcoming Temptation." The following are my lecture notes. According to my thinking, the best ways to overcome temptation are to know the sources of that temptation then know what helps you make that decision (and keep making that decision) not to give in.