Leaving & Arriving

Going up to cold rainy weather today is okay. I will spend time with my family, and then return to this wonderful climate.

visual notes: 1

Visual notes - test

acknowledge

It is time for me to acknowledge what is true. San Diego is not the culturally deprived city, myself, and others, often think it is.

Saturday night Dec 10 2011,  we went to the reception of Oilwhelmed, an installation by Terri Hughes-Oelrich, at Art Produce Gallery. Really well done. Whimsical and thought provoking, a combination I always enjoy.

This past Saturday during out urban hike we stopped at SDMA to see the exhibit Mexican Modern Painting. It's nice to pop into a museum and check out a collection of painting, most of which I'd never seen, in publication, or live.

Today I saw part of Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface at the La Jolla location of MCASD

What was most enjoyable, are the works which demand participation.

Bruce Nauman's Green Light Corridor

Robert Irwin's 1° 2° 3° 4°

Always a pleasure experience (although I wish they had a place to sit)

Then there was Eric Orr's Zero Mass, not sure how one would photograph that, but it was a great experience.

I also enjoyed seeing the objects in the show, Larry Bell and Douglas Wheeler among my favorites.

Douglas Wheeler's Untitled

I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the exhibit at the downtown location, and I really hope I can see and experience it all more than once.

If I compare San Diego to Vancouver, I can see we have much more going on. Instead of comparing it to LA, SF, or NYC, I can also see I need to just appreciate the wonderful opportunities for art that we do have.

how I refresh

I am very fortunate to have a little nature so close.

It refreshes my mind and body.

interesting or scary

When I came out of Pet Smart, 2 stores down from Walmart. I was parked beside this.

Is politics in the USA getting interesting or scary? 

holiday season

It's true, I don't like like the Christmas and Holiday Season.

On the top of this years pet peeves list are:

Toy drives. Do children in need really need a junky toy made and shipped over from China. Would it be more advantageous to them if they had health insurance, a college fund, food, clothing, and a roof over their head, every day. I know toy drives make those giving the toys feel good, and the kids getting the toys love it. Are we really just distracting kids from what they really need with cheap plastic toys?

Christmas trees, have been a pet peeve for many many years now, and I really don't understand why this practice continues. It's an environmental nightmare.

First the trees are grown on farms, using much water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Then these trees are trucked to be sold to the masses, who drive to pick up the trees, and haul the trees home, to be used for at most, a month. Then, at best, the trees are either picked up by city refuse trucks and hauled to be mulched, or the tree owner hauls the tree to where it can be mulched.

We give ourselves the indulgence of having a Christmas tree by taking away the environment.

Then there is all this craziness with shopping. One cannot even go and get groceries without people franticly running around, no parking, and Christmas music everywhere.

I am very happy to have opted out of Christmas and Hanukah years ago (even though I cannot totally escape it).  I do wonder why Thanksgiving and New Years is not enough for everyone?

christmas cactus

Last year I bought one, with blossoms. I was not sure it would bloom again, with it being inside.

It is very exciting to see the buds.

The circle device has a new photo op.

two places at once

On Sat May 14, 2011 I participated in two events, thousands of miles apart.

Only in todays world would this be possible.

2837 University Orientation @ agitprop

"The 2837 University is a network of creative thinkers, small businesses, community members and sites in North Park (San Diego, CA). It encourages knowledge exchange by facilitating courses and events which coordinate the interests and resources of the North Park community and environs. Open exchange, and the blending of theory and practice, is the central idea and activity of the university; blurring the student teacher dichotomy, and fostering projects and resources that are financially and locally accessible to all."

From 2-6 I’ll be working on Organic Boundaries. 

I am very excited about this entire project and hope the course I have proposed will happen this summer.

The other event is the Billboard Art Project, this time in Savannah GA.

I must give Michele Guieu a huge hug and thanks for getting me involved in this. I remember as a young kid driving from Toronto to NYC, to visit family, and seeing billboards. Over the years they have changed, and I remember thinking about working on billboards for years now.

Unfortunately I cannot go to see this live, but it will be documented, and the project will come to Southern California in the fall.

I hope I will have the opportunity to participate in this project many times. 

I find it a very motivating project to work on, it was hard for me to stop and send my images.

Billboard Art Project: timing

The concept of time is interesting. Do things work out for the best, or is it just that it all works out?

Thursday night we stood outside the hotel waiting for the Billboard Art Project to begin. We waited and waited, and, for someone who has now lived in SoCal for a long time, it was cold. We decided to get some sleep. The couple of time I woke up that night I peeked out our window to see if the project had started, it had not. Around 7:20am Michele could see from her bed, that the project was up and running. We got up, showered, had breakfast and went out to watch. David let us know that NPR, KPCC, would come over and do some interviewing.

While he was there Michele's work came up and she was interviewed. It was all very exciting.

We took a little break, my work was approximately 1.5 hours in the rotation after Michele's, and I needed more layers on. We went back down and as my work approached a crane showed up with to men to work on the billboard. Now, I got excited. My work popped up, and they were up there working on it. I could the urge to go up on the crane, and walk the plank around the billboard. Then they moved a ladder in front. I loved it. I really do enjoy the intervention of life.

Timing was prefect!

Billboard Art Project: Corona

This was the first time I was able to see the project live and it was well worth the effort to get up to Corona CA. I had been questioning if this would be a project I would continue.

There was so much to be inspired by, by being there, throughout the day and night. I've also gained a deeper appreciation for how difficult it is to document these.

But, I actually love the weird effects the LED lights have.

I had a lot of fun, learned much, and have been inspired.

Thank you David Morrison and Claire Accardo. Do both do so much and I am very grateful for the opportunity you have given me. and others to participate in this project.

Billboard Art Project

Documentation of my my project