Best In Show

My sculpture, "Free To A Good Home" won the Dean Alan Olson purchase award at the Rockford Midwestern Biennial. It is now part of the museum's permanent collection.

This happened two weeks ago but I was either too busy or not inclined to post. The museum curator, Carrie Johnson, chose my piece. When it was announced and I waved my hand in the crowd to identify myself, right next to me was a fellow artist who gave me the dirtiest, most incredulous look,

I could tell he was thinking "She chose that piece of shit over my beautiful art?"

Yeah, she did.

Another turn around the sun.

69 dude! *deeedle eedle deet*

Be excellent to each other.

And

Party On.

Station.

I cleaned up my cast bronze, ground off the gates, sanded the rough spots, sand blasted the crap out of it, welded the two pieces together, put a brown patina on, and documented it.

And I didn't feel tired afterward. Pretty goddamn good birthday.

Retirement Anxiety

I got my last big paycheck from the college today. An old dread crept into my belly. How am I going to scrape by? This is a familiar fear ever since I quit real jobs. Oh, I'm so not better off than my Jurassic Boomer cohort. I worked and quit many times and so didn't earn a lot over my lifetime (or rather, built and spent some fortunes). I'm so much better off than Gen X folks, with nothing saved, or actually in debt. The thought of a limited income does not sit well with me, nor does spending what I've saved.

The future, always stating from grim and working up to optimistic, may work to my advantage if the world ends before my money does. That's a piss poor attitude, and contrary to my workadaddy nature. Or now workagramps. I got all my metal cast this past weekend.

I can't not stop making things. Especially metal things.

I need money I don't have for that. I need someone to pay me to make my things.

It is not enough to make just one thing, because I always have a postpartum depression after getting done. It is the process. The cycle from imagination to reality. 

Busy Little Creature

Bronze casting this Saturday. I got my wax pieces rigged up and dipped.

We use ceramic shell investment, which is a silica slurry you dip the wax piece in, cover it with sand to build up a stucco around the wax. We burn the wax out leaving thew thin shell, thus lost wax casting. I also made some spin castings of miniatures.

Last Tuesday I dropped off the art piece at Forum 301 on Ohio Street. 20 minute walk from my place to the suburban train station, then another 20 minutes walk from the train station to the gallery. I found out that everyone in downtown Chicago walks faster than me, even the wheelchair folks. And also found out that my winter inactivity made me woefully out of shape. I hobbled around for two days after that excursion.

I did it all again this past Friday night for the show. Hobbled a little less on Saturday, Friday night was a school night for me as I taught artistic welding Saturday morning. Second to the last class and everyone is at their task, I hardly get any questions or requests for help. I just patrol the studio bays to make sure everyone is safe. 

I'm going through angst because today was my last day teaching welding. I've always used the Irish exitr to a party, so I ghosted. I'll see people next week when I do my grades. I've gotten used to this routine, perhaps it is time for a change. The past two weeks I was always busy, and that's how I want my retirement to be. Here's to the future!

Summer Off

I have been employed at Harper College for 20 years; first as a CE (continuing education) instructor, then studio tech and the last 10 years as a welding instructor. Back in March I received a letter indicating that under new educational requirements, I was not certified to teach welding. I did not have an associates in welding. The college suggested I get an AA before May 27 if I wanted to continue to teach.

I said how about I just retire one year early? I'm keeping my CE gig, Artistic Welding, keeping my badge and keys. I'm hustling to create CE classes to teach, because the certified welding instructor pay was chicken salad, and now I'm getting chicken shit. But I still have access to all the campus, so yay.

But time to think about the next thing. So, time to take my knowledge on the road? I know I can teach beginning anything, art and craft wise. I could teach out of the fire arts playbook. I've done it all: metal casting, ceramics, glass, mold making, wax working, how to build a furnace, how to build a lot of stuff. 

One CE class is 3D modeling and mold making. Combining ancient and contemporary materials from 3D prints to plaster to create objects that go on to be ceramic or glass or metal.

I think I could take on the road as a mold making class using clay, plaster, wax, and silicon rubber. The Four Sisters. A kiln would help, to take something home. I would demo with my one hit wonder, which I designed on a computer, 3D printed, made silicon rubber masters, cast plaster from those, slip cast clay into the plaster molds, and a voila. Or just a clay and plaster modl making class would also be fine.

Art Shows

I took a long time off from art shows. I have two pieces in two shows this summer.

One is at the Rockford Art Museum Midwestern Bienielle. Good old Rockford been very good to me. I was in a lot of shows last decade there. The piece is titled Free To A Good Home, which is baby monsters and their caretakers.

The other piece is Happy Family and that is going into the Not Normal show at Forum 301 art gallery

Happy Family I originally titled Mister Potato Chip and Friends.

I also submitted this throuple as Chasse.

I first took LSD around September 1974 and I don't think I've ever come down from it.

Existential Dread

I'm starting to feel existential angst about how long I have left. More directly how long active will I be? On the assumption I will become less active over time, it makes sense to get stuff done now while I can.

The question is what? Metal for sure. That's strenuous and tedious and eventually I will not be able to do the hard parts.

Here are the latest bronzes.

Bronze is getting expensive though. Everything is, and I guess that is because we have consumed the same amount of raw materials in the past 20 years than we did in the prior 100.

Sorry kids. Can't blame the Boomers for this one.

Anyway I want to try cast iron. And maybe cast glass again. 

While I still can.