Sounding the Space II


Sounding the Space II
Originally uploaded by justmakingstuff

The Sideshow

Jen Swearington gave us a "Sideshow" yesterday. Happy Spring! (finally, do you know it SNOWED at JMS World Headquarters Tues??? and we're in the south for the love of god and all things pagan...)

Part 2 makes the scene next Wed. Of course, there is the possibility I may post again before that...we "sound the space" again on Monday.

Busy days=happy days.

Today was spent at home plotting and planning and fencing and planting...the revolution garden is started.


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Jen Swearington installation
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Spring: new projects sprout



Working title: "Sounding the Space"

(details to follow...)

White

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Red

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Sliced & Diced


Sliced & Diced
Originally uploaded by justmakingstuff

the Next Big Thing

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The Spring

Figuratively, cause it was sunny and warmish today, finally. Rains again tomorrow but I think the worst of the cold is done with.

Literally because this is the runoff from our spring, which is our water source. Always nice to see it overflowing.

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Natural Patina


I work around a lot of talented folks that spend a lot of time and energy on fits and finishes. A lot of people search for the perfect patina for an object, and work for hours to get it just right. I appreciate it, enjoy the result, but am not so interested in doing it myself. I am beginning to understand and make peace with the fact that I'm not so much a craftsperson. But I do mightily enjoy making stuff.

So i was working on the ditches today and I noticed the handle on this potato rake has a perfect patina: rich, warm, deep and smooth. As I was sitting the shade (yes, this implies that we had SUN today) I was admiring it, and it occurred to me that this particular patina was old school applied: untold hours of hand labor in tobacco fields under the hot sun, and later in life, tending the huge garden i grew up with. I can assure you this handle never saw anything but use- not a drop of oil, finish, or varnish. So this is a patina gained from 50+ years of near daily use on the farm. My dad was the primary "artist" that applied it, I remember my turns at it, and I'm pretty sure my mom had a hand (so to speak) in it too.

I got this from them last fall, and apparently I'll maintain the patina for a few more years. Right now I'm thinking this would look mighty fine hanging on the wall. Maybe I'll retire it one day.

It was a dark and snowy night, part 2...

But inside it could hardly be any better...here's more clips of the evening which has lit a creative fire under me...

(please excuse the video quality, it was DARK...)

The first clip is Kelli Rudick checking sound while playing her Nail Violin. I don't have the vocabulary to describe it or her musical ability and presentation. You'll have to check her website and come up with your own adjectives.

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Next is Liz Isenberg, who has a bell clear voice and an excellent guitar style. great tunes.

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Finally, there's two clips featuring Ominvore (Glenna Van Nostrand). I'm still dazzled by the use of the circuit-bent telephones, her voice, and the old radio. It is as if she glimpsed the dark closets inside my head and brought the stuff out to play with. I KNEW it could be done, I had just never seen it. And now that I have, there is nothing to do but hurtle forward and try to do similar things myself.

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These three ladies (and our very own Mark Warren) are seriously legit artists making incredible work. Beyond all that one of the best things is that all of them came to us from far away places (urban, some would say sophisticated places) to share their stuff and are most unassuming and unpretentious folks with that level of talent that I've ever met. (they could give nice lessons to a lot of people we deal with every day!). With no compensation except pass the hat. AND, in the case of Liz and Glenna, traveling 10 hours on a dark and snowy night, only to get rear ended 20 mins away from us, smashing up their car a good bit and giving them a good scare (imagine how the dark and unfamiliar mountain roads seemed to two women used to lights and traffic and all that stuff...). But they showed up, unloaded, and played for us. So on top of everything else, I have enormous respect for them all. Makers and doers- and they share!. Art at it's best and how it should be.

Check their sites out, buy their music. Cheap Art isn't Free. And supporting intelligent, articulate, individualistic and innovative work is a good thing to do.

Yes, I am aware of the irony and apparent contradiction...










































of my appreciation for things plugged-y in'd and #2 pencils drawing and writing on torn scraps of found paper and stuff, but that's how it goes...

because everything is more than one thing and it all fits together nicely inside my head...

more on seemingly random and disconnected stuff to come shortly, stayed tuned (if you're inclined...)

It was a dark and snowy night...

Last night, in a small dingy room up in the hills far away from anywhere, video and musical magic happened. Whoulda thunk it? For a brief moment in time we were the center of the alternative multimedia/music universe...it was awesome. Here's a taste, more to come.

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Pork Warren performance clip
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Amy Goodman speaks (updated)


Amy Goodman speaks

Ok, so not the best photo but I was enthusiastic about the moment.  I went to town (not a small thing, it being an hour and a half away) with a couple of friends to see/listen to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! speak.  It was TOTALLY worth the 3 hours in the car.  I left there enthused, challenged and inspired.  She is a wonderful speaker, calm and thoughtful and provides substance and historical context with every observation and suggestion.  I love her position on the responsibility of the media to inform without bias and it's overall failure to do so, deliberately and repeatedly, and the need for us (regular people) to challenge the information providers and spin producers to do better.  In addition, the absolute necessity of personal action as an agent for positive change.  Finally, while clearly being a supporter of the current president, she makes the case for expecting and demanding accountability and for speaking out and challenging authority and the status quo.  Music to my ears.   

And from that comes the realization that I can and should do more. 

In other news, I went to one of the most interesting and creatively charging events I have been to in years (second only to my Bread and Puppet residency) last night.  Yes, it was an action packed day.  I have photos, and I think probably decent video and sound, which I'll try to work up and post this evening.   Stay tuned.  Good stuff to share.