the third floor

Wow. What a dirty day. Filled with black, dust filled boogers.

Today we (resident Brian and I mostly) tackled the last of the stuff in the way (i.e. everything that was obstructing the way to the second and first floors four years ago when the elsewhere project began and they had to start organizing/ clearing somewhere) on the third floor and moved it around so it was more compact and cleared a space. And then we went to this warehouse and picked up some old industrial shelving (think home depot orange), disassembled it, brought it here, brought it up three flights of stairs (with some help of some really great volunteers and haulers), busted holes in the ceiling because the shelves were too tall, and then reassembled them. Then, tonight after dinner, a crew of guilford college students showed up (george and yuri, another intern, kept calling it "the crew will roll in" "they'll roll from this bbq and then roll out to this person's party after and then the crew will all roll back here" everyone's rolling everywhere.) and we just hauled ass! We picked up all the wood that was put in this room on the second floor that for four years has been called "the wood room" and we brought it upstairs! Right now it's all over the floor, in piles. But tomorrow Brian and maybe me too will keep moving it around and organizing it and putting it on the shelves! So exciting! Then Brian can start his installation in the former wood room! It's going to involve this really old fabric (I guess they all are technically) which is shedding it's fibers, making this sticky-ish (it must be polyester or something) beautiful red dust. It's just amazing. I'm so excited to see what he does with the red dust.

Today during dinner (omg. such a great southern dinner. Collards, fried tomatoes and fried mushrooms, black-eyed peas and coleslaw. It was just so delicious) Brian gave his informal artist talk, where he introduced himself to us and showed us pictures/talked about his previous work. It was so great. I just loved seeing his work and it got me so excited to work with him and also to just start making work again. All day I kept bothering him with a million questions, asking about how he ended up where he is right now. And we talked about Harrell Fletcher and community art and artist residencies and how it took until grad school or an artist residency where someone was refering to you and looking at you as "the artist" and not just some person who might be doing art for him to rise to the occasion and become the artist and stop thinking that he's just messing around or doing whatever. So that was exciting. Exciting to think about my division III (like a senior thesis at Hampshire college) as my time to think of myself as "the artist" and just be that. I'm so excited.

My parents suggested another way I can use my last two weeks here. They suggested that I come up with a new division III idea every day and test it out with the people around me or talk to them about it or get feedback from this great artist community around me who's doing such cool stuff and has mostly been in this kind of boat before. So here's my suggestion for tonight: (oh man, i might not post them all because then I'd feel they have to be important and good. so don't judge my first one. I thought of this during Brian's artist talk)

I could make a ton of stuffed animals and then place them in mass quantities in places there aren't really usually lots of those animals. Or they could be made up animals, or weird versions, not dead, but maybe really small or really big. Also, maybe they could be hanging. or have a lot of parts inside. I like the idea of people holding the stuffed animals-things. or taking them around and taking them on adventures. or adding stories to things that have their own stories inherently.

I feel self conscious about posting that, because it doesn't seem involved in community enough or involved in a specific cause, but i think I just need to stop stressing out that i wont make a difference or that my project will be dumb. So I'll just keep brainstorming and generating ideas and hopefully they'll get better. Hopefully you my faithful reader won't have to hear all my stupid ideas before I get to some good ones.

This just in: I have some misinformation in one of my earlier posts. Danna just told me that she is not in fact certified to teach pilates anywhere. She's on her way to be certified in Raleigh, but not yet. So, if she teaches a class here (yes she will. before she leaves. next week. ahhhh. she's leaving next week) it won't be official, but she has a book. So it'll be amazing.

Another important update: I tried, yet again, to have a plain white shirt (got one at the big hospice sale last week) and what do you know, I end up dying things saffron, and now I have a saffron shirt and no white shirt. But I really like the saffron. It's just so pretty and vibrant. Not as good as onion skin dye, but whatever. I didn't want to do the creepy weird artist thing again where I go from grocery store to grocery store sweeping up the onion skins from the bottom of the onion display into a plastic bag and leaving.

Dental hygiene update! Yesterday I just felt the urge to floss. Yes. I did. So I flossed, and brushed my teeth, and then Eliza walked into the bathroom, and so I inspired her to do a face mask, and then she brushed her teeth, and we just had a great little mid-day hygiene break! better than a cigarette break! I just felt great afterwards. I love impromptu cleaning.

I feel so excited! I'm so excited for my last weeks here! And art making! I think that sitting here on the fire escape makes me feel like I'm flying. I'm not scared to be up here anymore. It just feels nice like flying. So I think my stuff hanging off of this thing will involve flying.

I think danna is making biscuits right now. That sounds so good.