this week
I've returned solidly to the studio. this entire week I've been cleaning up the studio and doing varioius chores that I've been saving up for summer. Helping me are my two lovely assistants, Hannah and Kash, both kids that got A's in my class. these guys have agreed to help me out for free, for the time being, in exchange for potting time and knowledge. basically we've been having a blast and also working our butts off. some of the things we've done:
>recycled appx. 500lbs of clay. we do not have a pug mill. only a potter will know that this means we worked our asses off to get this task done. laypeople, imagine the scene in holy grail where the peasants are slopping around in shit. we didn't have any run-ins with the king and instead of shit we had clay, but basically that was it for the first day.
>scraped and re-washed appx. 25 kiln shelves.
>moved the kiln to a more desirable location in the kiln room.
>removed a defunct and unneeded test kiln from the kiln room.
>trashed two ware cart-loads of unclaimed student work.
>hauled two trash cart-loads of trash.
>organized glazes and underglazes.
>organized tools.
>glazed a kiln-load of crap for testing the new glazes, which are currently being fired.
>disassembled the kiln room ware cart, removed a massive and unneeded exhaust vent, then reassembled the ware cart in a new place.
We have a few more nitsy bitsy things to take of tomorrow, like cleaning the entire studio, and then come monday we will begin producing pottery. oh yeah, pottery studio... that's what you do there, you make things. I thought we just cleaned and rearranged stuff. my assistants are both a real hoot and I think irene will give them a stipend for their work. the stipend will most likely be less than half of minimum wage, but at least it will take pressure off of their parents telling them to get a job.
in other alma news I have accepted a nice contract for next year as a visiting artists. this means that I will be an independent contractor, have to do my own taxes, and bill the school for my hours. it sounds very adult-like and there will be somewhat of a learning curve for me, who's never done taxes at all or had to think about that stuff. but I'm very excited by the potential and by the professional growth and opportunity that this presents. also, I will be making more than twice as much as an americorps stipend. also, I can expense a laptop.
in related news, molly will be working for the mesilla valley youth foundation--the fiscal entity that feeds alma. her job will revolve around a new afterschool program in gadsden junior high. she will be managing the americorps art program there, which is about 20 miles south of las cruces on the border of texas and mexico (pronouned tay-has and meh-hico down there). this job sounds very tough--99% latino, very poor, not a large infrastructure for the arts--but on the other hand this is right up molly's alley and there is a definite need for this service in that community. hopefully she will achieve great things. professionally she couldn't have asked for a better fit, which is strange because the job came out of nowhere (see last blog).
things coming up: going to manhattan next week for the weekend, howard's party. very exciting indeed. most likely going to the twin cities and lakeshore during the week of the 4th. also very exciting. howard's wedding is coming up and so is cousin bob's. school starts july 30th, not far away at all.
worth checking out: today hamas attacked fatah strongholds in gaza city. palestinian president and fatah leader abbas has dissolved the government. this is palestinians attacking palestinians in the FORMERLY israeli-controlled gaza strip. unimaginable hatred! ny times dot com has two slide shows of today's action. particularly gripping were photos of masked hamas gunmen inside fatah offices (office furniture and all) and also fatah men on the street shooting up into a hamas office building. there is enough cultural ammunition in those two slide shows to feed 5 artistic careers for life.
watching: the descent B+. pirates 3 C-. listening: little feat, santo & johnny, the unicorns, and handsome furs. reading: pale fire and the paper.
***
scientifically speaking: two issues I would like to see discussed in your blog: this week's US open and also "people who like to watch basketball", what's up with them?
>recycled appx. 500lbs of clay. we do not have a pug mill. only a potter will know that this means we worked our asses off to get this task done. laypeople, imagine the scene in holy grail where the peasants are slopping around in shit. we didn't have any run-ins with the king and instead of shit we had clay, but basically that was it for the first day.
>scraped and re-washed appx. 25 kiln shelves.
>moved the kiln to a more desirable location in the kiln room.
>removed a defunct and unneeded test kiln from the kiln room.
>trashed two ware cart-loads of unclaimed student work.
>hauled two trash cart-loads of trash.
>organized glazes and underglazes.
>organized tools.
>glazed a kiln-load of crap for testing the new glazes, which are currently being fired.
>disassembled the kiln room ware cart, removed a massive and unneeded exhaust vent, then reassembled the ware cart in a new place.
We have a few more nitsy bitsy things to take of tomorrow, like cleaning the entire studio, and then come monday we will begin producing pottery. oh yeah, pottery studio... that's what you do there, you make things. I thought we just cleaned and rearranged stuff. my assistants are both a real hoot and I think irene will give them a stipend for their work. the stipend will most likely be less than half of minimum wage, but at least it will take pressure off of their parents telling them to get a job.
in other alma news I have accepted a nice contract for next year as a visiting artists. this means that I will be an independent contractor, have to do my own taxes, and bill the school for my hours. it sounds very adult-like and there will be somewhat of a learning curve for me, who's never done taxes at all or had to think about that stuff. but I'm very excited by the potential and by the professional growth and opportunity that this presents. also, I will be making more than twice as much as an americorps stipend. also, I can expense a laptop.
in related news, molly will be working for the mesilla valley youth foundation--the fiscal entity that feeds alma. her job will revolve around a new afterschool program in gadsden junior high. she will be managing the americorps art program there, which is about 20 miles south of las cruces on the border of texas and mexico (pronouned tay-has and meh-hico down there). this job sounds very tough--99% latino, very poor, not a large infrastructure for the arts--but on the other hand this is right up molly's alley and there is a definite need for this service in that community. hopefully she will achieve great things. professionally she couldn't have asked for a better fit, which is strange because the job came out of nowhere (see last blog).
things coming up: going to manhattan next week for the weekend, howard's party. very exciting indeed. most likely going to the twin cities and lakeshore during the week of the 4th. also very exciting. howard's wedding is coming up and so is cousin bob's. school starts july 30th, not far away at all.
worth checking out: today hamas attacked fatah strongholds in gaza city. palestinian president and fatah leader abbas has dissolved the government. this is palestinians attacking palestinians in the FORMERLY israeli-controlled gaza strip. unimaginable hatred! ny times dot com has two slide shows of today's action. particularly gripping were photos of masked hamas gunmen inside fatah offices (office furniture and all) and also fatah men on the street shooting up into a hamas office building. there is enough cultural ammunition in those two slide shows to feed 5 artistic careers for life.
watching: the descent B+. pirates 3 C-. listening: little feat, santo & johnny, the unicorns, and handsome furs. reading: pale fire and the paper.
***
scientifically speaking: two issues I would like to see discussed in your blog: this week's US open and also "people who like to watch basketball", what's up with them?
posted by j0eb0t-xj9 at 5:13 PM
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