research, research and more research

I am now involved in educating myself on the process of writing grant proposals and researching artist in residency programs. Sounds fun, but the problem is that there are entirely too many options and I am having trouble disciplining myself to narrow my scope. I simply want to do it all. Thanks to anyone I have reached out to for advice on this...keep it coming!

Wanting to jump the bridge from emerging artist to established artist, I simply must hone the above skills and continue to manage and market my business of sculpturing [I think I made that word up]. Self-marketing is a skill that is uneasy and nervous, but necessary.

sorry i don't update my blog all the time

Day 5

| Day Five |

I had a sense of calm when I woke this morning to my alarm…it was a different feeling than the other mornings. I was much more at ease with where the day was headed knowing I just had to tidy up and paint. I actually slept until 7:00am and then joined Tom in the hot tub for about an hour or so relaxing our weary muscles. We had steak and eggs and got to work.

I went to the Bration site and started by touching up the primed

surfaces and then painted the base pole black. It was great being up on the ladder and actually in the piece. That bird's eye view of what the piece is like inside and above the rings was a really cool perspective. I am probably the only person to have that vantage point. I met a bunch of onlookers interested in what I was doing. I was cool to answer their questions and good to know their feedback.

During lunch, I was able to catch up on some emails. I was in the student lounge and it seemed liked just last week I was in my own student lounge cramming for the test in my last class before the weekend. I had a similar feeling knowing I had a little more to finish before the dinner that night. I needed to get back to work.

I gathered leaves and sticks for center pieces for the reception Saturday. Liz had no budget for them and I offered to help out. When I finished spray painting them, I went back to Bration for pictures and then off to Cutoff to paint it. After I finished painting Cutoff, I stood back to take in the color. It is purple. I have never made a purple sculpture. I left the edges raw to rust. That bright and fresh orange that will happen after a good rain with provide a really nice outline to the purple form. The color works well with the piece's surroundings. I have learned a lesson in working with color and placement of work. I am lucky these pieces are in such a well maintained campus with beautiful landscaping. I can't wait to see it in the spring!

After letting the marketing office know I was finished so they could photograph the piece for the slide show, I was FINISHED! I cleaned up went back to chez Tom and cleaned myself up for dinner out, relieved and thankful for a week that will always be cherished in my memory on my path as a sculptor.

Day 4

| Day Four |

Today I was up at 5. We had a nice little breakfast. At PNC I got to work on the welds on the top ring pieces. Welding was nasty to the powder coating, but could've be worse. I will just have to touch it up with my paint. Luckily it is 15' up, so it shouldn't be too noticeable. I managed to welded it all in place and a couple places on the base just in time for the crane to show up.

I quickly had to drill the holes and thread the cable through and then the crane took it. It was crazy seeing it all strapped up and being dangled by a string (well, a really strong string) and placed it around 10:00am. We had it leveled by 10:45am. It is so awesome and inspiring to be assisted by Terry a true pro!

Back to work drilling the holes in the rings. Loaded them to put up with assistance from Steve. I took a quick lunch. During this time, Liz bought a Purdue shirt for me. That day I happened to be sporting a Truman t-shirt...she thought a Purdue t-shirt would be better. She came in the afternoon to shoot some photos of the rings being installed with me in my new PNC shirt for the marketing materials.

I did have to buy different cable fasteners at Lowes to attach the cables to the bottom rings. Threading the cable through the thimble was not working. The cable kept fraying. The next time I work with cable I will have to purchase a really good cutter specific for the size cable I am using to allow for a nice clean cut. The fasteners are larger than I would like, but the piece is so large they don't stand out. I would bet most people wouldn't notice them.

After I hung all the rings, I went to paint primer on Cutoff. It went fairly quick since I didn't need to use a ladder. Then cleaned up and went home. Tom made leftovers and we had a nice time talking, I took a hot bath and hit the hay!

Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit

A few weeks ago, I spent some time in my studio creating a maquette for the Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit [http://www.chicagolse.org/] here in Chicago. It felt great to be in the studio playing with metal and using my hands for something other than typing or clicking. The entry was due at 6pm on 2.20.09 and I hand delivered it at 5:57pm.

I found out today (3.16.2009) that the maquette was accepted and that I will be a part of the Lakefront Sculpture Exhibit! So, now I get to translate the maquette to large scale sculpture! I will install in early May and it will be up for a year. I don't know what site it will be at, but I am thrilled to be in the exhibition. I'm sure more details will follow...