Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Illumi-naughty!


Just came up with a gang sign for the masons.

maybe they've already thought of this one.. sweet tho.












So!
Totally unrelated-

A few notes on the art of Figure Modeling!

In Chicago, IL, the going base rate for a FM is $15-20/hr. Sometimes with tips, as people may take photographs in order to reference the pose and finish the painting/drawing later. Again, this rate varies. Lots of models out there are working to raise it, and to see to better working conditions.
Visually, artists seem to prefer few tattoos & piercings and if you can SIT STILL, that's a big plus. Believe it or not, people are getting into this gig w/o much discipline so far as holding a pose goes. As well as staying awake! In addition, flexibility is helpful, altho' most artists don't necessarily want to draw you going thru your yoga routine. A no-brainer perhaps, based on the above stated- but get enough rest and an average amount of stretching and exercise.
Further points:
Hydration- Take a water bottle. Most places provide a heater/fan, but clean water may be hard to procure. Esp. if you have to use the bathroom on that precious 5-min break instead of searching for a cup. Pre-hydration is key for almost anything physical one could be doing.
Light snack- Recommendations include: nuts and raisins, fruit (dried or whole) and other granola/trail mix concoctions like energy bars and other not-so-messy hand-held foods that require little reheating or clean up.
Other- Take a robe for comfort (it can get pretty cold in some of these classrooms) as well as modesty, and reading material.

Having trouble with feeling faint or tired even though you've taken care of these things?-
Ask for a break: If you need it, the rest is well deserved and the artists will be accommodating. The hardest time to re-assume the pose is the 1st time getting back into it. So while you're sitting, memorize how your body feels against itself, and against the furniture. Try to steady your gaze at something. And you don't want to stare down the artists while they're studying you.
If you're holding a longer pose, most artists will "tape" you (altho' potentially not very carefully) in order to help you get back into the pose. The hardest time to do this seems to be when you must resume the pose after the first 25-30 minutes. Here's a hint- your head will go where your eyes do, so you can also re-assume a head position, difficult or easy, by closing one eye, then the other while looking down at the end of your nose and remembering what it falls against.
Also: Always anticipate the next pose: Even if you're holding one for the entire "session" (a word which can be used interchangeably to describe all or a portion of a sitting). This keeps you engaged and you can help yourself do this by looking at art both modern and classic. By increasing your exposure to and vocabulary for poses you simultaneously increase your own creative capacities.
Enjoy!

F a n t a s y F e s t i v a l

In a perfect world, this bill is go-

Peter Gabriel & Tom Waits (and a 22 piece orchestra)
Sonic Youth
Huey Lewis & The News
Daft Punk (feat. Bjork)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Fulflej
Astor Piazzolla
Lee Hazlewood and the Raveonettes (all acoustic set)
Sunny Day Real Estate (playing Failure/Jeremy Enigk solo covers)
John Zorn (feat. Herbie Hancock)
Hot Chip & Boards of Canada present "The Official Seance For Frank Zappa"
Diamanda Galas and Fiona Apple (dualing pianos on fire!!)
Prince B (of P.M. Dawn) with TV on the Radio
Cornelius (maybe with Rob Halford)
Six Finger Satellite
PJ Harvey & M. Ward with Jonny Greenwood


Further suggestions?

And what would I call this damn thing?

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Goals (?)

For 2010 and beyond, in no particular order:

- travel
- save $/light more $ on fire
- don't get pregnant or get std
- write more letters/postcards
- finish a journal
- take a class
- get published
- read more
- make my 30th b-day memorable
- go hot-air ballooning
- make more friends

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Haikuxistential

I need to find
a bartender
who is willing
to trade beer
for poems.

-
Pulling
pulled like a magnet
to nowhere like home
so where am I?

-
Thinness promoted in women
becomes a symbolic surrender
of creative power
to men.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

HAPPINESS/WISH

At the artists colony there are some rainy days and many bright days. I see them often from the one long tall window in my quarters.

I wear black slip-on shoes with thin soles.
I take long walks in the shoes and wash them once during my two month stay.
By the end they are paint splattered, dirty and torn and I cut a piece of them to keep before putting them in the incinerator with the set of clothes I have worn all month long.

I stand naked under the late September stars watching the other fire we have built on the hill near the field. Into it also goes the detritus from my cleaned studio. Most of the work produced now hangs in a hall, or given away to accompanying artists.

I had loosely packed one suitcase. A large canvas carry trunk with things that I planned on using up completely or re-purpousing- either with an established method, or a new one.

My computer and classical music.
A small plant. Paper. Colors.

There are brief meetings and some stretch into long meetings with the flavor of our company. I learn new framing skills and watch live dance performances.

I memorize a few of my own poems and subsist on tea and light evening meals.
There is a library. Vast, and in its vastness I resist the urge to consume it all.
I complete my sketchbook and model a few times for the resident sculptress.

The hottest day comes and I exhaust myself with swimming. Staying up all hours with the typewriter and an oil lamp that night. Typing into the frozen dawn.

On other nights the wine is white and glitters in my stomach as it does in my glass against the single work lamp that burns a same quiet, consistent burn.

I have eliminated more writing from a stock of old poems and stories. Recycled some ideas and forgotten others. Ready again to return to the arms of the outside world.

From a new list of all the art projects I'm interested in, I've already accomplished 4 or 5 of them. Some repeatedly, and into a series.


I light a candle, and my body feels the light from the candle.

I am as light as the candle.