31 October 2009

Time to carve the pumpkins!


I was invited up to my neighbors house to carve pumpkins last night! So much fun!

I carved an owl head wearing a crown into a classic, medium-sized white pumpkin. Roni carved two orange pumpkins. And, Nate roasted the pumpkin seeds--yum!


More pictures can be found
here.




28 October 2009

The Great Halloween Lantern Parade!


On Sunday, I took part in Baltimore's
Great Halloween Lantern Parade. I attended a free, advanced lantern-making workshop at the Creative Alliance with my graduate school friends, Katti and Ashby. Artist Molly Ross facilitated our lantern-making, as junk-bands and costumers practiced and swirled around us. It was a beautiful and awe-inspiring experience . . .


I finished the lantern at home--adding pink, yellow, orange, blue, and white tissue paper--using a glue and water mixture. I attached two push lights to the interior with velcro, accessible where the lantern sits on my head. I tied a bright teal ribbon on as my chin strap.


It was hilariously awkward . . .


Look at these bird costumes!

Edgar Allan Poe was this year's theme. You know he died in Baltimore and comes out to haunt each October . . .


Such great fun! I felt like a 5 year old! Next year, I'm adding stilts!

25 October 2009

Doug's visit . . .

Last Wednesday, Doug came to visit me from Austin!

We had a great time! It was so nice to see him!




On Wednesday night, we went to the Ottobar. We saw two bands and had several Natty Bohs . . .


On Thursday, we went to see Where the Wild Things Are. It was a beautiful movie. And, it affected me in a way that I never thought it would. I cried for a very long time after the movie . . . Powerful.


On Friday, we went to Harper's Ferry, West Virgina. It was rainy, but pretty. The leaves were gorgeous--these pictures don't do any justice . . .


On Saturday, we spent the afternoon at the Baltimore Museum of Art--a free museum. Doug really enjoyed the Hank Willis Thomas exhibit. And, the building is quite striking--it's located on the edge of Johns Hopkins University Campus and walking distance from my house. That evening, we ate dinner at Cafe Zen in Belvedere Square. Fabulous Chinese food!


On Sunday morning, Doug left at 6am. Can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving in Austin!

18 October 2009

My studio space for Baltimore's Studio Tour 2009.





Wide Angle's Opening Night!


Wide Angle Youth Media just moved into a fabulous new green building on North Howard in Remington.

On Wednesday night we had a grand opening party!!


Originally planned to be outside in the courtyard with Bocce ball and the outdoor fireplace, we had to move everything indoors due to the first Nor'Easter of the season . . . No worries, we still had some killer cider and a great turn-out!

The students screened two of their productions for the attendees, who had great feedback and discussion.

It was a wonderful night!





The Birds . . .

In one of our much-too-short classes with Professor Sam Holmes, we watched the Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds. A classic, yes, but silly and ridiculous, too. This movie is interesting for several reasons, but primarily because the movie is not about the birds. The birds are secondary to the real focus, the relationships between the human characters.

Our assignment was to create a response piece to this movie. So, I teamed up with Ashby and Robert to do a performance piece. More images can be found here. What a fabulously good time . . .





Mom always said, "Don't jump rope in the school."





More Cookies!


My graduate program isn't particularly difficult, but it is taxing in a variety of ways. So, in an effort to keep my sanity, I have turned to baking once a week. I have purchased more butter in the past month than I have in the past five years.


The recipes I gravitate towards are not unusual or built for master chefs. They are, in part, traditional stand-bys, comforts of childhood. It's quite calming to focus on stirring, beating, cracking, or measuring.
Really, I am just giving myself reason to cook through my favorite cookbook: I Like You.

What's funny is I don't even eat these creations, I just freeze them for a later date . . . What gives?!!

Today's feature is a generic standard in most households, but I hadn't made these yummies in a very long time. So, I present to you: Chocolate Chip Cookies, as written by Amy Sedaris.



2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tesaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup chopped pecans (I used almonds.)

18 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1.5 bags)


Beat butter and sugars together.

Add eggs and vanilla.

Gradually add flour, salt, soda.

Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.


Chill.


Roll into small balls and flatten in palm of hand "so it looks like a flattened crab cake or medicated face pad".
Place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake for about 9 - 11 minutes at 375 degrees.

11 October 2009

Oh, one of the greatest weekends!

Worked all night on Friday to get things done for school . . . Worked in the ceramics lab all day on Saturday . . . Rewarded Saturday night with a party-invite by my landlord . . . Lantern-making on Sunday!

Isn't Fall the greatest time of the year??!!



10 October 2009

YMF Orientation . . .


This week we had student orientation at Wide Angle Youth Media, my internship site for my graduate program. I am the Festival Instructor. I teach with Siobhan Marie and David Sloan. On Wednesday night, I held a book deconstruction/reconstruction workshop for the students. On Thursday,
we had a party! The instructors cooked breakfast-for-dinner for the students: we had chocolate chip pancakes--complete with syrup and whipped cream, bacon, and fruit salad. David and Siobhan led the students in storyboarding and shooting a new intro for BeMore TV. And, I taught the students how to transform space with a simple technique: finger weaving. We all had such a great time! I am looking forward to working with all of my students at Wide Angle Youth Media.

2010's Youth Media Festival is going to rock the house!




Tim takes on the Pecan Street Festival!


Because I am attending MICA in Baltimore and plan to stay here for the foreseeable future, I was not able to participate in this Fall's Pecan Street Festival in Austin. Usually I organize and create the Capital One Kids' Art Tent, a free art-making experience for festival-going youth. So, I asked my friend, Tim Creswick, if he would be interested in doing it and he jumped at the chance! Tim and I were in the same Learning Tuscany program during the summer of 2008. And, I knew that he was
very outgoing and good at organizing events.

Below are a few images he shared with me about his experience running the Capital One Kids' Art Tent.






04 October 2009

Evaluation, anyone?

Our newest edition to the MACA reading list . . . Interested? Purchase your copy here.

Baltimore's TOXIC Tour.

On Saturday, I had fantastic luck. I was privileged to meet and spend the day with Glenn Ross.


Mr. Ross is a community activist working for citywide betterment, breaking down the disconnect step-by-step.

Mr. Ross took Ashby and I on a tour throughout East Baltimore, showing us how contamination is still threatening neighborhoods and how community-built green spaces have pulled neighbors together, raising the spirits of everyone.


Just one of the many garden spaces now in East Baltimore. You can view more pictures here.