An unsolved conditional statement in the form of a question.
IF hypothesis, THEN conclusion.
IF
Craft refers to skill
THEN
what does Art refer to?
Archive for the ‘observation’ Category
Performance Art vs. Performance Craft
Posted in artist practice, observation, performance, tagged art vs craft, performance, rhetorical on 29 August 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When a Partnership turns Sour…
Posted in artist practice, it could be worse, observation, teaching artist, tagged artist practice, everybody loses, partnership, sour, teaching artist, what is lost on 27 February 2009 | Leave a Comment »
What happens? Whether or not the partnership limps along on its dysfunctional path, barely making any progress or partners start pulling out of the program fed up with the perceived impossibility of their colleagues, everybody loses.
The following is a worst-case scenario: The afterschool arts program ceases to exist at a particular school in a particular [...]
Teaching Art [has what effect on] Making Art?
Posted in artist practice, observation, teaching artist, tagged TARP, teaching artist, teaching artist survey on 12 February 2009 | 1 Comment »
What effect do you feel work as a teaching artist has had on your art making?
I don’t know the answer to this question.
I took a Teaching Artist Survey (TARP) on Monday from the University of Chicago’s Survey Lab and I was surprised to note how it opened my eyes to looking at my teaching artistry [...]
Teachers: Gripes and Thanks.
Posted in it could be worse, observation, teaching artist, tagged gripes, teachers, thanks on 10 February 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Every so often, I am in partnership with a classroom teacher with whom, for whatever reason, collaboration is difficult, if not excruciating. Silly things like ego, territorialism, and lack of flexibility tend to make a promising collaboration something just short of a nightmare because not only must I manage a classroom full of kids, but [...]
On the banks of the river.
Posted in artist practice, observation, teaching artist, tagged architecture, high skool, interview, oral histories, vocalo.org on 26 January 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today, I began a project on creating audio-based oral histories with a group of lively seniors at a high school in my neighborhood. I knew I would be seeing a few kids who I’d taught previously in an afterschool arts program I created at a youth service agency a few years back. I knew I’d [...]
Adventure No.1: Frozen Waterfalls
Posted in artist practice, necessary adventures, observation, tagged adventure, art, desolate, frozen waterfalls, ice, Matthiessen state park, onomatopoetic, sound recording on 3 January 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yes! Only 3 days into the new year and already I have accomplished one adventure! Very important for me to keep up with, since my “free time” is not as dependable as I’d like.
Today, my Beloved and my SuperPuppy went to Matthiessen State Park in Utica, IL to see about some frozen waterfalls. We didn’t [...]
Je ne sais quoi, but I like it.
Posted in artist practice, observation, performance, teaching artist, tagged adventures, artist practice, ghost towns, gratefulness, hope, love, teaching artist on 1 January 2009 | 2 Comments »
As I stand where I am this brisk and monochrome morning, grinding my coffee as I always do in my grandmother’s wooden box grinder, I consider how I want to begin this new year. 2008 has certainly been a wild ride: very huge highs and very deep lows and, to my surprise and awe, somewhere [...]
Be the Change.
Posted in observation, teaching artist, tagged accountability, cooperation, hope, Obama, possibility, Si se puede, yes we can on 6 November 2008 | 3 Comments »
I spent 5 hours at Grant Park in Chicago last night at the Obama election night rally, waiting and watching and cheering with a quarter million others. My voice is hoarse from the jubilee, my heart is remarkably light and, with my eye on my many communities, I can see clearly the work I have [...]
Burnination.
Posted in artist practice, it could be worse, observation, performance, tagged application, burned out, hopeful, last stretch, proposal, sanguine on 7 September 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Wow. I never thought I’d be at the point in my practice when I could say that I am very tired of writing grant proposals. I have been so active in finding and applying for opportunities that it is difficult for me to see my own work well enough to write about it objectively anymore. [...]
The Gravity of Loss and What to Do with It.
Posted in artist practice, observation, tagged art, artful exorcism, artist's responsibility, loss, mourning, movement, resolution on 22 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »
After mourning the loss of a truly inspired, visually beautiful and, by my own hand, fatally doomed project for the past two days, I finally quit my moping and incorporated that part of the process into the final piece. These are pictures of the statement and original manifesto about the piece, as taken from [...]
Death of a Project.
Posted in artist practice, it could be worse, observation, tagged why can't there be three of me? on 21 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I am mourning the loss of a great project today.
My apologies to the seeds and their people.
More, Bigger and Outside.
Posted in artist practice, observation, teaching artist, tagged artist practice, bigger, kids, making learning visible, more, outside, sculpture, teaching artist, undergrad on 19 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Not that I am trying to non un-write my fellowship application which is naturally due tomorrow, but I had a day full of meetings and it just got my wheels a-spinning, you know?
Questions…
So after I do all the good work with the kids, how do we make their learning more visible, more public, more inclusive? [...]
Howdy, Stranger!
Posted in artist practice, observation, teaching artist, tagged balance, busy, energy, focus, teaching artist on 11 June 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Meaning myself, of course. Wow. I have been busy with teaching and its subsequent responsibilities, like tons of meetings, PDs and putting together endless documentation of what the kids did during my many residencies at many different schools.
The thing that makes it so difficult to keep up with myself is not the lack of time [...]
Now is the Winter of My Discontent… again.
Posted in artist practice, it could be worse, observation, teaching artist, tagged American employee, art, begone winter!, discontent, getting paid, hairdo, horrible, money, on time, rent, teaching artist, The Recession on 21 March 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Holy crap. It is snowing again. Winter storm watch. Up to 8″ of wet, heavy snow. Proceed with caution when shoveling.
Yesterday was so lovely, a brisk, mid-40° day which I spent raking up dank fall leaves and errant dog turds in the garden, discovering that, yes! there is some green left [...]
Peanut!
Posted in observation, tagged bewilderment, peanut, sprout, valencia on 9 March 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I don’t get it, but it is beautiful.*
*Peanut Update!
One day after this picture was taken, the lengthy stalk was growing spikes and looked like a character from a Dr. Seuss book.
Two days after, those spikes multiplied like werewolf bristles growing longer and longer and began to resemble roots.
Three days after, which is today, I gently [...]
Birth.
Posted in artist practice, observation, performance, tagged art, ∴, cats, collaboration, cotton, kittens, live, performance, video on 4 March 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Cotton. Cats. Ideas.
Rejoice! My first green cotton plant has sprouted! I started the seedlings a little behind schedule, but one has already emerged, yawning and stretching, and that is a good sign. I also planted, for the second time, Valencia peanuts- I used lighter soil this year so the peanuts wouldn’t turn [...]
Whose Art is it anyway?
Posted in artist practice, it could be worse, observation, teaching artist, tagged art, catch-22, paycheck, sustainability, teaching artist on 27 February 2008 | Leave a Comment »
On the long drive home from an inexplicably weighty day of teaching, I thought these things:
I teach the children to make the art to make the money to make the work to be an artist.
I must actively be making the art to earn the title of “teaching artist.”
When I am teaching so much that I [...]
Peepshow crows.
Posted in artist practice, observation, performance, teaching artist, tagged blue jay, burlesque, carcass, crow, great-tailed grackle, mourning dove, peepers, peepshow, performance on 19 February 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Before I dive into Everything today, I must say out loud that I have been thinking of incorporating more than just the sound of crows into my performances, I want to start using their imagery as well. I have used the angry, tattered din of blue jays and the lonely, resigned coos of mourning [...]
Everybody get stoopid!
Posted in artist practice, observation, performance, tagged episodic, irony, little bug, memory, performance, semantic, super8, therefore on 16 February 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In trying to remember what I learned today of note, then barely being able to remember the basics of what I even did all day, what I did remember was this interview I heard on Fresh Air yesterday (?) with a woman who wrote a book about the normal memory loss which accompanies growing older. [...]
Sunshine.
Posted in observation, tagged health insurance, nankeen cotton, sunshine on 13 February 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I can’t remember when I last saw the sky. The sun is coming down so big I am pretty certain I can hear it ringing. The snow is great and all, tons of fun kamikaze sledding at the park sans health insurance, but nothing else is going to make my cotton grow this [...]
