Vote for RAINN!

One of my favorite non-profits, RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), is in the running to receive $250,000 from Pepsi's Refresh Project. The money will help to widen the support they give to those in need of their services:

"RAINN operates the award-winning National Sexual Assault Hotlines and leads national efforts to educate the public and prevent sexual violence. Since 1994, RAINN has helped more than 1.4 million victims take the first step towards recovery, providing free support 24/7."

Vote now, vote often! You can vote everyday through September 30th, so make it a part of your morning routine. Good luck, RAINN!

Love Your Fellow Artists

Chryssa and I were having a discussion last night about how important it is, as art students, to stay involved in the local art community and to form good relationships with your fellow artists and colleagues. Many of us who make art were raised on the myth of the "genius artist," a man whose greatness was born into him, a natural talent, who works alone, whose work is so profound that it speaks for itself, insisting that this man be "discovered" and immediately promoted to elite status in his society. In reality, 99 percent of the time, this just ain't the way things work. In order for most artists to find success and carve out a comfortable spot in the vast art world that surrounds them, they need to work together; community is of the essence.

Too many times at school, especially in my studio classes, I witness classmates being too shy or closed off to ask an opinion of someone working next to them. I see them defensively arguing over their pieces during critiques, or cutting down the work of others, in terribly nonconstructive ways. They skip most of the gallery shows in town, only gracing the ones that are presented by their friends. All this behavior makes me wonder one thing - why are they art students? I mean, a major or minor in Studio Art doesn't seem like a choice one would "default" to.

I'm not saying that I've got this all under control, but I know where I strive to be within my community, and I know that I expect my success as an artist and art historian to come with support from others. I know that I want to go to as many local gallery openings as possible this year, and that I'd like to widen my circle of artist friends. I enjoy discussing my work and the work of others as much as possible, and find the opinions of my friends and classmates to be invaluable; I always leave artistically focused conversations feeling like I've learned something new.

And next Friday, I plan to buy a membership to the MCA in Chicago. I would like to plan monthly/bi-monthy trips there, and I'd love it if others would join me. Chryssa and I are going together next week, to buy the memberships, and after that I plan on making event announcements to see if others would like to join. We can take the train, or carpool, check out the museum, then, afterward, talk about the work we've just seen. Doesn't that sound great? If not, that's okay, just don't rain on my parade.

 

The exhibit I'm most excited about seeing is called "Works on Paper" from the MCA Collection (running until October 3, 2010). It features work by several artists, including some by a most interesting character - Henry Darger. My last roommate introduced me to Darger's work, and I have since fallen in love with it, as well as with the story of his life. There is a wonderful documentary about him, called In the Realms of the Unreal, which I highly recommend.

Art on, brothers and sisters.

Oh, the horror!

Over the last week, the temperature in my part of Illinois has dropped from 90° to 60°... basically, Illinois warp sped from summer to fall, seemingly overnight. Every year, as the weather starts to get chilly, I get a hankerin' for some good ol' fashioned horror movies. I began the cinematic descent into blood, demonic possessions, deep psychoses, and deranged villains last night, by re-watching The Shining for the umpteenth time. I'm not a big Kubrick fan, but I adore The Shining. I saw it for the first time when I was 13 or 14, and at 28, it still manages to give me the chills.

Here's the beautiful and terrifying original trailer:

And, just for fun, a romantic-comedy re-cut someone did with scenes from The Shining. Hilarious!

The next movies I plan on re-watching are Rosemary's Baby and The Omen, two more of my favorite horror classics. Did you know that The Omen includes one of Hollywood's first, and, arguably, BEST, decapitation scenes? I have long been toying with the idea of making a VHS "Decap Comp" of all my favorite movie decapitation scenes, and this one from the original Omen would definitely open up the tape:

I have a list of some of my other favorites, and if there are any that you'd recommend, please leave them in a comment below. I'd also like to know what your favorite horror movies are, so I can add some more must-sees to my watch list. Some of mine, in addition to the few already mentioned, include: Dead Snow, Cabin Fever, 28 Days Later (I love you, Danny Boyle!), House of 1000 Corpses, The Good Son, Jaws, The Exorcist, Carrie, and Teeth (don't trust the shitty trailer - trust me). And the next horror release I'm really looking forward to is Hobo with a Shotgun (see the teaser trailer at the bottom of this entry). I found the link to this through a blog I just discovered this morning - Greatest Movie Deaths of All Time. Total Google score!

Happy horror-ing, guys and gals. I finally have a working internet connection again so I should be blogging more frequently. Subscribe. Stay in touch.

First! Episode 2

More firsts of 2010! Some recently recalled, some recently happened...

• first time at the Atlantic Ocean, and Myrtle Beach (March 2010)
• first show with Wienerslav (April 8, 2010)
• first time intentionally eating seafood (Friday, the 13th of August, 2010)

UPDATE! (...which is not as cool as an "UPGRADE!")

I have officially moved into my new house in DeKalb, with my new awesome roommate, Sarah B. I'm still not completely unpacked; it's a huge task, considering the ridiculous amount of trinkets that I own. 472+ VHS tapes, 300+ owls, and who-knows-how-many books later, and the unloading is coming along slowly but surely. Tomorrow is my 28th birthday, I start school on Monday, and I'm going to be in an arts and crafts show next weekend in downtown Aurora. Did I also mention that I started a new job about a month ago? I'm busy, busy, busy, as usual.

As if all this wasn't enough to fill my time and brain, yesterday my electric went out and will not be turned on for one to three days. Thank you, oh so much, previous tenants who did not pay your bill. My fridge is filled with soon-to-be-wasted food, I can't listen to my stereo, I can't charge my computer or phone, and I did my make-up by flashlight last night. Oh, yes, and I had to cancel the birthday house party I had planned for Saturday night.

So here I sit, at The House Cafe, checking my email, blogging, and swigging coffee... I'm just going with the flow and trying not to worry about things that are out of my control, counting to 10 over and over. Chryssa is going to lighten my roots this afternoon, and I think I might buy a new dress to lighten my mood.

P.S. I'm reading a fascinating memoir right now (thank you, Sarah!) called I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, by Pamela Des Barres. I'm devouring all its juicy details of rockstar trysts and sordid tales from a life I could only imagine. As a girl who's always been in the band, and not with the band, I'm absolutely engrossed in Pamela's life story. And come on, who hasn't wondered what it would be like to make-out with Jim Morrison??? It's a must read.