saturday art group met, i took notes, still need to type up and share.
usoon showed some work (that's not her stuff on the wall, we met in a friend's friend's studio).
she also passed around a wallet she made with clear duct tape.
we discovered we have both had cars drive over pieces as a step in the process of creating them.
then i bought some brushes, a new palette, other art supplies, it's funny to have virginal brushes and palette, but i sold all my used ones, and any new brush always does make me excited to paint.
sunday did a brunch drawing.
saw a traffic cone across the street in a window behind a grate, echoed in the blinds.
then found its companion.
spent much of the afternoon at moma. there's a great design show up now, but the show design itself is a little frustrating - the layout herds you into little pockets with crammed entrance/exit (no flow through) and even though most of the work needs contextualizing, there are only tiny little word-panels next to the pieces as if they're paintings and all you want to see on there is the artist's name, maybe a date, maybe the materials. found myself wanting to know a lot more than that about much of the work, but not having the patience to bump through all the people squinting at the little description - which was a novel and uncomfortable feeling, usually i ignore most of the text at any show - but it's not "art" per se but "design" and just not as interesting to look at "for it's own sake" as when you know a bit about the problem somebody was trying to solve. anyway was good to see work by brad paley up; not often i know one of the artists in any show at moma - ok can't think of that ever happening yet - excellent first time. there's another show up about colors, which was way more enjoyable, in that there was plenty of room for the work to breathe. i'm glad to see nothing quite like my "color study" piece (work in progress) was included. not saying it hasn't been done a hundred times already but at least i don't know that yet.
last night matthew and i skyped for the first time in a while. i might be concentrating more on some sort of solo piece about the nakasendo, we have gone back and forth several times about what we're collaborating on or how the collaboration might happen, but he sounds more interested in other things. he's part of it anyway - we did the planning and the walk together (well, that's not really true, he did most of the planning) - and we've shared all our pictures - anyway, still sorting out the priorities, but maybe the color study or spring planting come before a nakasendo piece, just because i have a clearer idea of how to go about making something.
tonight had drawing class at the barnes & noble which is shutting down, the one on sixth avenue at twenty-first street.
we did the drawings inside, but then to look and share, lined them all up outside. teacher's decision. dark, windy, cold - we all have our own way of looking at things, that's for sure.
