Grease in the Gears

For the past few weeks I've been sort of treading water as far as my thesis work goes, but now I'm ready to kick it back into high gear. I feel like I'm finally really on the ball :) Alot happened this week that has really motivated me.

I received a grant for $500 to build my sculptures. I'll get an exhibit at the Research Fair this Spring as well.  Now I can afford the right tools and materials I've been waiting for!

Sculptor David Knopp, who I met at the Tri-State Conference, was kind enough to let me raid his studio for scraps. I filled my car with as much as possible, and now I've got quite a bit of material to work with!

He even gave some beautiful laminated mahogany...

Check out David Knopp's work:

And last but not least, I landed an interview with City Arts Apartments, which is a brand new complex being built in Station North, Baltimore. It's government funded low-income housing that is designated for artists. The ground floor will be a gallery. There's even a bicycle parking garage!! This interview is the final stage of the application, and if accepted, I'll be moving in this May :)

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Last weekend I went on a road trip to upstate New York and Vermont to uninstall some artwork at Salem Art Works. Very cool place- it's a non profit art center that hosts resident artists. They grow their own food, and people can live there for free in exchange for farm work. There's facilities for sculpting metal, wood, and ceramics. Plus, its beautiful out there!

Much of my thesis concept is based on landscape and its effects on personal identity; it was great to be back in the mountains, remembering how they feel. 

I took a billion landscape shots I'll be using in my thesis.