Creative process, part II (BoyBubbles)
July 20, 2008
WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG (AND SELF-INDULGENT) POST
(yeah, she’s doing it again)
If you’re not interested in pate de verre (or rambling philosophical art talk), skip this post
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the how of creation, not the why or the technical whats and wherefores. And I’m figuring that I could improve my own creative processes if I actually understood them a bit better (as opposed to thinking I just head into the studio, mess around for awhile, and–hey, looky–out pops art). I have no idea if that’s actually true, but I sat down and documented my thinking behind a recent pate de verre piece, Boy, Bubbles: [Read more]
Never let ‘em see you geek…
July 19, 2008
So FiOS and I have NOT been getting along lately. For the last three or four months my Internet connection has had a tendency to drop down to dial-up speeds just when I need it most, a kind of electronic waterboarding that’s been driving me totally nuts.
Worse, though, was trying to get Verizon to do something about it. Couldn’t get anyone out to the house, got dozens of helpful firstline techs who patiently asked if I’d tried hooking directly to the wall, not the router, if I’d run speedtests, if I’d stood on one leg, hopping, while reciting the Declaration of Independence, all sorts of things.
Shooting wheat (er, oats)
July 16, 2008
“I hope,” I said with an apologetic smile, “that I’m not hurting anything? It’s a beautiful field and I just couldn’t resist.”
I’d been driving past this wheatfield since early spring, on my way to work. I’d watched pale green sprouts shoot into sturdy green stalks, frowned as weeds invaded the waving tangles of grain and settled into a kind of contentment as, from the stalks up, the green began to fade into pale gold.
Every weekday I’d seen this field, vowed to photograph it, and never had. Even with that nifty new macro lens—just MADE for shooting grain—I’d left the camera at home.
It begged to be shot at sunrise, in Oregon’s glittery, golden morning light, but I’m about as far from a morning person as you can possibly get. And between GAS, nagging visions of new sculpture, and all sorts of ancillary glass outings, I was getting to bed at 2 or 3 AM. That left very little room for early morning photography.
On Monday, however, I’d noticed that my field’s slowly fading green had completely disappeared into gold. Harvest was coming soon, and if I didn’t get my shots I’d miss them entirely. So that night I determinedly set my alarm clock for the wee hours, groaned my way through shower and dressing next morning and arrived at my field in plenty of time. Sure enough, the light was glorious.
SWK seeking contract killer?
July 14, 2008
So now some poor soul in Hillsboro thinks I’m trying to off somebody.
Headed over to the Cornelius Roadhouse tonight to meet Steve-the-kilngod and kick off the Intelligent Kiln Project (more about that later). Arriving, I realized that (a) I had no idea what Steve-the-kilngod looked like and (b) Cornelius Roadhouse is a big place full of guys waiting for the rest of their party.
My search algorithm consisted of walking up to solitary dudes who seemed to be waiting and saying, “Hi, are you Steve-who-does-kilns?” The first 11 said no, clearly relieved NOT to be the blind date I was apparently seeking. (Humpfh)
The 12th was about as far from the Roadhouse’s usual Intel pocket-protector crowd as you can get: White guy with Rastafarian hair, long beard, grubby fingernails, torn jeans, worn-out biker boots and a bright yellow T-shirt with the “Have a nice day” smiley face on front. Of course, this smiley face had a bullet wound between the eyes with blood gushing out…
Creative process, part I
July 14, 2008
Spent hours at GAS (the Glass Art Society conference) last month asking glass artists how they create–not the technical part so much as the inspiration and content part–and was kind of surprised at what came out of my very unscientific survey.
Most appeared rather surprised by the question, clearly hadn’t considered WHY they do what they do, and had a lot of trouble separating creative process from technical production details. A few had absolutely pat answers that sounded like well-rehearsed artist statements.
What I most liked, though, was talking with people who hadn’t thought about it before. It was fun to listen as they verbally ran through the creation of their work, looking for patterns. I got a lot of “Hmmmmmm….how DO I create?” murmurs, which tells me this may not be something the average artist thinks about. [Read more]
Fishwife
July 12, 2008
- Restaurant website
- Location: North Portland (Portsmouth) almost to St. Johns
- Price to fill up two people: $40-$50
If you’re a glassist or ceramicist in Portland, you’ve probably been to Harbor Freight and Georgie’s, right? If you just keep heading down that road (Lombard), almost to St. Johns, you’ll drive by (and probably miss) the Fishwife. That’s a shame, because they run a real fish house.
Never laugh first
July 11, 2008
As I mentioned, I successfully fired an overabused mold that, by rights, should have come apart in the kiln. Lots of complex stuff going on in the model that made it a challenging firing to begin with. Then it was fired to near-crumbling when my kiln broke, I jostled it all over a bumpy road getting to the loaner kiln, etc., etc…
PokPok (Thai)
July 11, 2008
- Restaurant website
- Location: Hawthorne District
- Price to fill up two people: About $45
Kat’s e-mail suggested we try PokPok out in the Hawthorne District, which had me secretly making Superchicken noises for awhile. (You know–BWWWAAAAK bwok bwok bwok)
It was, as she promised, fun and tasty, definitely worth a second or third look.
PokPok lives in an old house right on Division, next to the junkers and greasy windows of BlueSky Garage. We sat outside, where there was a lovely breeze and a tin roof overhead, next to the takeout window, with enough quiet to let us chat in peace.
Kat’s been there before; for me the menu was intriguing. No pad thai, or not exactly, but plenty of appetizing salads and specialty dishes. I noted the presence of sticky rice with mango–one of my all-time favorite desserts–but recognized little else.
Kat ordered a squab salad with long beans and a bowl of chili’d peanuts. I ordered boar collar in lime with mustard greens, alongside a tall frosty glass of…vinegar.
Yup. PokPok carries Asian “drinking” vinegars, fizzy fruit drinks with a distinct tang of vinegar. I tried the plum, which was a bit sweet for my tastes but still very drinkable.
Service was friendly if not incredibly speedy. Our waitress, though, had the good sense to just get out of the way and let us eat, which we did. The boar’s collar closely resembled my favorite “Beef with Grapes” at Typhoon but was possibly tastier. It was also very hot, which we minimized by chomping on the mustard-greens-on-ice that came with the dish. Cat’s squab salad was absolutely delicious.
In the end, we forgot about the sticky rice with mango, good as it looked. I figure I can head back there for some excuse of a shopping trip or other…
Tip: Forget parking in the obvious spots–like the parking lot across the street–and head down into the residential side sidestreets. The walk will do you good.
All hail fiberglass! (Boybubbles)
July 10, 2008
This week I have two great big thank yous: One to Bob Heath, who kindly loaned me the use of his kiln when mine croaked, and one to the guy that invented fiberglass.
THANK YOU
Demo de verre
July 5, 2008
Wow. THAT was fun.
Spent the afternoon demonstrating pate de verre techniques at Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft, and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Part of the museum’s month of glass, it’s sponsored by the Oregon Glass Guild. Supercompetent Bob Heath (president of the Portland chapter), played assistant the whole time which made a LOT less work for me (thanks, Bob).