Play

More on Northern’s march show, From, Johnson

Artists included in From, Johnson:

Daniel Arlein, Brooklyn, NY
Avantika Bawa, Portland, Oregon
Jenny Buffington, Shorewood, IL
Ingrid Burrington, Baltimore, MD
Scott Marvel Cassidy, Los Angeles, CA
Ariel Churnin, Johnson, VT
Thomas Cummins, San Antonio, TX
Janet Hassinger, Houston, TX
Harrison Haynes, Durham, NC
James Horgan, Cambridge, MA
Laura Kaufman, Hudson Valley, NY
Ji Eun Kim, Cheyenne, WY
Jong Sun Lee, Rockville, MD
Caitlin MacBride, Brooklyn, NY
Sharon Madanes, Chicago, IL
Rose Nestler, Brooklyn, NY
Ruben Quesada, Lubbock, TX, in collaboration with Jonathan Bohr Heinen
Nathan Rayman, Kentfield, CA
Alexis Semtner, Brooklyn, NY

More photos of pieces below:

Thomas Cummins‘ beautiful photo of bustling Johnson, Vermont on a snowy night.

Caitlin MacBride

Ingrid Burrington

Janet Hassinger

Ariel Churnin

Scott Marvel Cassidy

Avantika Bawa

Rose Nestler

Jong Sun Lee

Sharon Madanes

Ji Eun Kim

Ruben Quesada in collaboration with Jonathan Bohr Heinen

Since December, I’ve been hard at work organizing and curating this month’s group show at Northern. I met all the artists during my stay at The Vermont Studio Center this past November and December. From the Press Release:

For the month of March, Northern is pleased to present, From, Johnson, a group show exhibiting the works of 19 artists from across the country.

Each of the 19 artists included in From, Johnson met for the first time this past November at The Vermont Studio Center, a residency for visual artists and writers located in Johnson, Vermont. A play on words between the name of the small town where the artists lived and worked for a month and the influential Pop-Artist and ‘Father of Mail Art,’ Ray Edward Johnson, From, Johnson is about making connections — connections between artists, connections through the act of sending art via the United States Postal Service, and connections between the disparate works themselves.

Images of the show:

Nathan Rayman

Laura Kaufman

Harrison Haynes

Jenny Buffington

Daniel Arlein (This photo only shows the landscape painting partially extended)

Alexis Semtner

James Horgan

Last Wednesday, the final Open Studios were held at the Vermont Studio Center. I met so many amazing and talented people. These are just some of the great work made behind studio doors:

Avantika Bawa

Jenny Buffington

Jose Carlos Casado

Ji Eun Kim

Mckinley Bryson

Avantika Bawa

Alexis Avlamis

The last week at the Vermont Studio Center involved a giant cement mixer decked out with over 80,000 lights, a trip to Burlington following a dead dear stuffed in the back of a sedan for miles on end, a very special John Waters Christmas, and a brand spanking new edition featuring a favorite quote by John Baldessari.

About a week and a half ago, open studios were held. Avantika curated a group show called “The Thing.” Of course, it turned into a dance party but not before several readings and a couple performance pieces. The day started with eerie cloud formations and brisk wind, an indication of the snow yet to come…

On Monday, a few intrepid explorers and myself ventured to Burlington. Vermont is beautiful with a dusting of freshly fallen snow.

This is what my experience at VSC has felt like thus far:

It’s been an extremely long week and a half filled with days that end too quickly. I’ve been working diligently yet I feel I have little to show for it. I’ve finally consolidated and edited four + years of student work. I’ve also been battling code (with the help of Forrest, Avi and some dude from Australia that posts on my hosting forum) and the skeleton of my gallery pages are working. If you want to take a peak, check out the  student work page. Hopefully sometime soon, I’ll have everything uploaded and properly running. I’ve also been applying for a few positions, which I didn’t really intend on doing.

The Vermont Studio Center is situated like a little village within a small town. There are several housing structures (old houses turned into dorm-like boarding rooms) and studio buildings with a few shared structures grounding the residency. There is a library/lounge/ meeting space located in the basement of the dining hall. A small river runs alongside the building which is itself an old converted mill, hence the name Red Mill Hall.  The studio spaces are fairly large, and several buildings house 40 + studios. I am located in the Barbara White Studios – the farthest building from the main campus cluster. The town of Johnson, Vermont is very small and holds little distraction. I’m going a bit stir crazy at the moment but there is a planned visit to the home of Bread & Puppet Theater on Friday.

Vermont Studio Center is one of the largest residencies for artists in the United States. Each 4 week session throughout the year houses 40 – 50 artists working in an array of mediums. Clearly, one of the big draws of this particular program is the amount of social interaction between artists from varied locations, their breath of experience and diversity in practice. However it’s just as easy to lock yourself away from everyone and concentrate on yourself and your work.

I have a lot of thoughts and musings concerning my experience thus far but I’ll save those for a late night ramble.

Photos below are of the Red Mill, my studio upon arrival, Thanksgiving dinner, new friends and the only piece of work I’ve made that I remotely like so far (guoache on paper, 22″ x 30″):

On Saturday, I leave for a four week residency at The Vermont Studio Center.  I’m scrambling to get everything together before I leave. Between work, teaching, house and Olympia All Ages obligations, I’m feeling stretched thin. I’ve been trying to formulate a plan of action for what I want to get accomplished by the end of my stay in Vermont but I don’t want to make unrealistic goals or obligate myself to specific ideas. However, I do have a set agenda concerning administrative duties I want to complete including:

1. finish this goddamn website
2. get together all my professional documents
3. wade through 4 years of student work
4. finish my self assigned reading list
5. work out and write down my five and 10 year professional goals

I will keep ya’ll updated on how my work is going and what I’m making. I’m excited to work through some painting and drawing ideas I’ve had festering for a while now, and experimenting with some new mediums. I will not have access to the printmaking facility. When I return, I have a new idea for a CMYK screen printing series that I’m excited about as well. Basically, as John Cage famously said, “the only rule is work.”

In closing, reminder to self:

John Cage: Some Rules for Students and Teachers

RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.

RULE TWO: General duties of a student – pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.

RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher – pull everything out of your students.

RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.

RULE FIVE: be self-disciplined – this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.

RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

RULE EIGHT: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.

RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

RULE TEN: “We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.” (John Cage)

HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything – it might come in handy later.

It’s spring in Olympia.

A few updates:

This past Friday, Montana and Alabama turned 9 and 7 years old, respectively. They celebrated their birthday by running around outside, napping and scarfing treats, repeatedly. I can’t believe my kitties are older than my housemate’s kids. They are better traveled than many of my friends. Montana alone has lived at 10 different mailing addresses in his life, not including jumps to different units in the same apartment complexes.

I was a finalist for a full fellowship at The Vermont Studio Center this summer. They offered to keep me on the wait list or cut me a deal at a later date. I took the deal. As it turns out, the dates work out way better anyway, and I won’t have to cancel any of my classes. I will be in Vermont November 22 – December 18 instead. My class in fall is condensed into 8 weeks and I’m not losing any pay. However, I will essentially be taking the month of December off from work. I couldn’t ask for a better way to end the year.

School wraps up in a couple of weeks. It’s been a long academic year – one full of personal growth, re-evaluated future plans and re-ignited passions.

Needless to say, I can’t wait for summer vacation.