i was reminded of this today

Shel Silverstine's story; The Giving Tree.

Giving and loving and all of that stuff. I guess because i've been reflecting on the recent seperation of Dylan and i, Mike leaving and not really needing me anymore, faith stealing gifts intended for me and disrespecting my things, and the play; which i'll just leave at that.  It is good to give and to make things happen and it does make me happy, to a point. But these are all learning things, and there's nothing wrong with a little bit of reflection on sadness every now and then. I've got more projects lined up and at some point the scales will balance. 

ants

http://en.www.lensart.ru/album-uid-210a-aid-456b-sh-1.htm?ps=18

andre pavlov and ant photography.. he and catherine chalmers should be friends.
Thanks Ariel. xx

Gun

My friend Loren Boyer... former band mate (of legendary fame Dirty Rainbow and even more amazing, Dreamhouse- yes the band that plays art noise under a 40ft tarp) , bff, life collaborator is putting out another movie titled "Carl"
He's a pretty amazing person. I credit him with getting me into Brian Eno's solo works. He used to read me stories to sleep... and when i broke my foot he bribed me into climbing a massive hill in the arboretum with dark chocolate and some weed. His drawings are awesome, and he's always up for adventure. I only have glorious things to say about him.

Check out his stuff here: LOREN BOYER

because i am excited to find it... Gun... the movie they made i had a small barely visible but wickedly fun role in. Got my name spelled wrong in the credits - i blame harvey!... (Keith Waters, who's the star was also in Dreamhouse & Dirty Rainbow... artist and MassArt SIM alum)

it was really really fun. We went out to Scummerville, and used a ladder, had me climb up on Saint Anthony's Church roof (they have this huge sign of letters) anyway... my objective was to rip the "S" off the sign so it would read "Aint Anthony's Church"

we had a cop to come and scare me away... but i didn't succeed in getting the S off... it was really really in there.... then came the fun scary part. We had to do it all in one go- we had no permits... so i had to leap off the roof onto a flag pole and use that to slide down fireman pole style till i reached the chain link fence top, leap onto that, jump down the other side and tear away through a lot of trucks.

Let me tell you, i was not sure it was going to work... and there was no practice and i can still remember the adrenalin... i remember feeling so graceful in my derelict ways being able to seamlessly pull that off.
Its a shame the exposure is so low, but honestly the experience was so fun it doesn't really matter.

anyway... here's GUN:   http://www.vilehaus.org/gun.html

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oh and that got me thinking about other movies i've helped out with...  i was an audio helper- wee...
for Lonestar Productions... my pal and BFFforever Matt Duckett had a small villainous role and i was more than happy to tag along. The movie was well made a little over the top in hammy-ness but the underlying message about  Corporate Giants moving into small town america and squashing some of the heart of a place rings true....

  having grown up in Amish Country PA, which is not dissimilar from Ellington CT... i know what it's like to have your innocent town change and expand while farmland disappears, communities break apart and a little bit of the Soul of America dies again and again.



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maybe i'll also find the trailer for the SciFi 48 hr film hunt i did sets and props and a bit of costume for with Peter Cancilla and Vaudville Pictures.... ohhh neat!

oh. the story about Peter! He was friends with Benny, who worked at Little Stevies, my regular pizza joint, home away from home and "office" as some people referred to.... anyway... he was going to Northeaster and i was in high school... and i'd go there, and play pinball, and put on my regular juke box songs, top two being "Pictures of You" by the Cure, and "Just What I needed" by the Cars.. but when Pete would come in i would always put on Sinatra, cause he just looks soo... and he would sing and we would dance, and it was always such a nice thing. He really is a swell guy, and his animations and puppets are AWESOME.

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now i'm gonna have to get that weird video i helped Faith make, and put that up here... archiving projects, colabs and other helpful tidbits.

P Funk fun day

So here's some photos from my being a contracted photographer & instructor at Holyrood Parliament Scotland...

some prints

organic printing machines!

this boy made a good print, i asked him to lean
over it and act as though it was his friend.

me n some of the kids
on the parliament steps

someone didn't wear gloves, and confused peroxide with bleach.

backwards galic

2 sessions, 30 students, 9 hours and 97 prints
0 experience with digital cameras, photoshop, knowing what
analog photography is, and look what we did!
i taught them all that! Bam!

 

i gave a UK centric intro to the history of photography,
 focusing on Sir John Hershal, Fox Talbot, Anna Atkins, and Julia Margaret Cameron.
Tied in the 'blue print and showed one from MacIntyre's archetecture
then showed some slides of contemporary artists, focusing on local and Scots.

my contractor badge, and my wierd face.

after a long string of

good there must be a bunch of dissappointments.

Man am i in a mood today. Extreemly irritable and impatient.


i still haven't put up any of the pictures from Happy Photo Parliament fun day... i will do though..

here i'll link something good though... i finally got some stuff up on etsy.
my dad called it "arty" it really irks me when people use that word, it sounds so condescending.

like when someone calls someone named Michale Mikey instead of Mike, because they're a child, not a grown up... oh i know, it's not Art which deserves respect it's "arty."

anyway. i'll stick to that rant for the day.

here's my Etsy shop filled with whatever i've been focusing on (right now chainmaille) to keep myself sane and passified.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/etherwaves

Distance increases tension.

recentering

i think it's a good idea to be free and open with the internet.

I've take a semester off my grad program to re-centre myself.
I'm coming off one medication and onto another, and ... well. yes. I just want to take my time and do things right. Nothing worse than rushing through something just to get it done, when it could be done well. I've had a lot of support from my doctor, and dylan, and understanding from ECA, which has been such a relief. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and it's good to take it easy.

I'm reading this book, 'the poetics of space' by gaston bachelard. It has some wonderful things in it. Will likely comment more on this subject in later posts.

some good things are coming up or happening, which is really nice to focus on:

I'm teaching 2 workshops at Scottish Parliament on Friday. A very brief history of photography with focus on the British pioneers, and cyanotype. I'm then going to show them how to make digital negatives, and we're going to make our own. I'm nervous, but more excited. I really love teaching processes. I hope they enjoy it. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the images that come from it and will surely post more about it later.

I applied for an artist residency/fellowship, which is very special/specific to a dream being realised. I got notification on the 15th that i have been shortlisted, and will hear back next week if i've got it or not. I don't want to say too much. I really would love to get it. More on that, possibly.

2 friends from highschool and beyond have got themselves engaged and are getting married june 8th. I now have a very happy reason to return to the states for a visit. I am looking forward to that immensely.

Hailey Beavis is interested in 'hiring' me to do some publicity photos for her. This is very exciting. I have wanted to collaborate with her photographically for some time, and i think we could make some really cool stuff. Thinking back to the 'Calloo-cally' photo...  and a combo of Maleonne and Meatyeard... Of course it is also a mega plus if they become publicity shots for her. I'm happy to have some more 'commercial' work i can actually be proud of.

just a few 

i've also taken up chain maille again... it's like knitting but a little more hardcore- less hipster, just as therapeutic. I love slow methodical tedious attention to detail. My plan is to (was to get 20) 50 pieces and set up an etsy/ hang out near the royal mile and sell em... maybe also in the tollcross craft place/ teach some workshops. I was working on a chain in the Royal Oak a few nights ago and two girls from Singapore bought a bracelet each- and i wasn't even trying. So that's pretty encouraging.  I'm going to put 50% of sales into getting more metal working tools- i'm finally going to get myself a crucible i miss casting- there is nothing more fun and satisfying than melting metal and turning it into something. (i feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about it- no joke)

sold at Royal Oak £15

gold plate, sold at Royal oak £10

there's also a midsummer nights dream. I've always wanted to put on a production of the play... not to sound totally insane, but i often slot people i know into different roles and think of them in that way. Anyway, i brought it up casually at a dinner party over a month ago, and pretty much everyone had some theatre experience and a whole lot of interest. So, we've got it casted and working through physical and vocal training in addition to group scenes and character working. I'm playing Titania, cause damn it it's my play and no one wears more glitter than me... and not to be totally narcissistic but, i always see myself as her- i guess i'm just waiting to wake up...  and i get to hear one of my favorite lines ever-
lysander -> hermia 'how quickly bright things come to confustion'....
it makes my heart skip in context and i feel a small joy.  if only i could purge my gross Romanticism i might be able to function more 'normally'. C'est la vie.

then there is the not so happy news... there are of course silver linings.

It is likely unprofessional to put this online but... I was freelance working for a biodegradable plastics company- which was really cool- they had hired me to do some graphic design work for them and basic photo editing etc. Over xmas they asked me to design a new logo for their company transition. Short version is- they didn't pay me for the work i did, insulted me and were very backhanded, then took my work and now have it up on their website. Straight up thievery. Now i have to deal with small claims court. It's really not something i want to deal with at all. But what can i do? Hopefully it will be smooth and i'll get paid and call it a day. I really would rather not deal with drama. I guess the plus is that i may actually get paid...

The not so happy part two: happy part first: my most dear friend and so much more has been retained by Oxford University's library to head a project creating an archive and distro for broadside ballads (there's a lot more to it... it's all very technical) anyway. It couldn't be a more perfect job for him, combing two of his loves- it's as if the universe decided it loved him the most and invented it just for him. It is really wonderful, and i couldn't be happier for him.
Alas, it means he's moving to Oxford, and Edinburgh will be missing one of its finest musicians around in the folk/bluegrass sector. All i know is that sessions in Oxford are about to become a lot more sunny and fun and i'm going to miss the crap out of him. But then- i've never been to Oxford, and it's nice to have a reason to go visit.  ah dear. he was a bit of a muse for me. . . . one i really didn't get a chance to tap... . rats.

one plus one is less than three.