what it has come to

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/wan/1581281300.html

the best times are maritimes!

today i went to the oregon maritime museum, which floats in the willamette river between the morrison and burnside bridges. it is a steam powered tug boat built in 1947. this visit was prompted by the 'museum museum' class i am taking this term and next, being guided via satellite/speaker phone/postcard by mark dion. mark is an artist i have admired for years, so this is all very exciting of course.

anyway.

i am glad for acts like this one, prompted by being in this graduate program. it falls in the category of something-i-could-do-any-old-time-on-my-own, but if not for being in this program right now, probably-would-not. it's a very ambiguous category, as you may have gleaned. but one very dear to me.

i chose this museum, of many, for a few reasons. my main reason being my most gut reaction: i love the sea. i grew up on the ocean, and i FULLY romanticize it in every possible way. just hearing the word "maritime" hooked me (get it? hooked..?).

i also chose it because i have less experience in museums like these...those that focus on a very particular subject matter that is not art. i had a feeling that it would be a fruitful experience, personally, and i was right. for instance, i have never spent 3 hours enjoying conversation with a volunteer docent at MOMA, that is for damn sure. [charlie haughey is a swell guy. and very insightful.]

i took many photos, and when my memory card filled up, i took some with my cell phone, and even one with a disposable camera (that one got me some looks). i will probably write an illustrated entry about my visit, more in depth, when i upload them all.

for now, here is sam. the most inquisitive small child i have ever encountered. he is pictured here employing the sonic powers of one of the ships many variations of whistles.

a "sketch book" post

 

 

Ursus arctos horribilis and Timothy Treadwell

 graphite on paper

altered postcards

my most recent postcard to mark dion. altered with acrylic paint.
[i wonder how much of it will chip off in transit?]

this one might be better for that experiment, considering i covered MOST of the map with the paint, leaving just the borders and the oregon trail itself.

after these, i'm moving on from the geographically themed postcards. what a world there is out there.

this is sadly all i have time to write right now. expect a much better blog entry soon.

closer to higher power when flying on airplane?

Just recently, I was discussing with someone the death of the "wrong number" phenomenon. Our various electronic devices are programmed to pretty much eliminate the chance of dialing or receiving a wrong number, except for the rarest of situations. In a way, it makes me sad. Wrong numbers never annoyed me, and it was a nice reminder that people outside of my own personal sphere still existed. I'd often let my imagination wander in my interpretation of who the caller might be.

So by some bizarre chance, about a week after said conversation, I received a "wrong number" email. What a rare bird! The title of this post was taken from the subject line of said email. I think this might actually be my first, and at first glance I thought it was spam that snuck through my filter. But it seemed so personal, and there was no poisonous attachments, or links, or religious suggestions. I wrote back to confirm whether it was a real person or not. I received a response.

"hmmm, odd.  maybe my friend's address is the same as yours but at yahoo or hotmail or something."

Yes!

So obviously, my goal is now to start a dialogue with this person. She shared some pretty personal things in her accidental first email, so I feel like this might be fertile ground. The doors have been opened!

Not sure where I am going with this. But so far, I'm pretty interested in the possible outcomes. Perhaps I am bored because school is over for the term. But perhaps more will come of it than I think. At least in the form of my own musings. That is almost guaranteed.

getting back to nature

this is one of the drawings i completed during fall term. it might be a one-liner...i'm not sure yet. i'll think on it.

pretend you don't see the clips on the corners. i have to do some more serious photographing of new work.