Clowning Around

So it is spring beak and what better way to celebrate than going to the Circus. Initially we had planned on going to Texas to see Christina's folks, relax, have some Mexican food, watch Nicholas Cage save us from doom, but alas the flights did not look so good, thus with Cirque du Soleil being in town with Kooza, we thought...why not. For those who have not been to the Cirque shows, they are quite entertaining, there are wonderful costumes, amazing feats of strength and balance, music, and of course clowns. The first show we saw was La Nouba, it is a permanent show located in the Happiest Place on Earth, we saw another show when it visited Baltimore about 3 years ago and kooza makes my 3rd. Christina on the other hand I think has seen just about everyone they have, but she also has gone in conjunction with work, etc etc.

In addition to seeing Kooza this weekend, I hope to go and finish having framed a David Shrigley print that we have. We bought it about a year ago, we got got a frame made for it but we balked when it came to buying the glass. I am not sure why it has taken this long to go head and finish getting the thing done but I guess it is one of those things. Christina has mentioned wanting to take some time aside this weekend and finish/start some projects and taking care of The Human Body is one of the former. Well I guess that is about it for now, I plan on posting another drawing or two from Lineweight so check back soon, and I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to Spring!

"The Human Body" Limited Edition Screenprint by David Shrigley

Anonymous Letters...

So here are two more drawings
from Lineweight,
one of them has the thought that was being sent, which happens to be Letters of Resignation, the other drawing however, does not have the thought listed for it's title. Now typically I might be a bit hesitant to post a drawing without a thought attached, but I really liked this drawing so I have decided to do so anyway. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.


"Anonymous Thought" and "Letters of Resignation" Telepathy Drawings made by visitors of Lineweight at Truman State University.

Kelly Green

So while I was at Montgomery College today one of my colleagues mentioned to me that there was to be an opening tonight, which I sadly could not attend, for a print making show, highlighting many works found in the counties print collection. Among the various works, one could find pieces by Dine, Christainberry, but what struck my fancy was a Ellsworth Kelly lithograph of one his leaf drawings. It is relatively large, 28x36 in. (aprx) and truly striking. I have been a fan of these images for quite some time, ever since I saw the book of drawings comparing/contrasting Kelly's plant drawings with those of Matisse. Anywho it was really a treat to finally get to see one in person, and I must say it was quite extraordinary.

So in honor of that, and in relation to a NPR segment talking about deforestation in Africa, and the resulting rise in green house gasses, I thought I would go with a plant photograph this time. This image was taken in the Animal Kingdom, and was in the "Cambodia-ish" area, if I remember correctly. I snapped it right before we hitched a safari ride and saved a baby elephant from poachers, but that is a story for another time.

Great Wall of Japan

So as some of you may or may not know Christina and her brother Stevie were both born in Japan, so every time we go to EPCOT we must show the proper amount of respect to her birth land by spending an appropriate amount of time shopping in the Mitsukoshi Department Store. There you can buy everything from Sake and Bonsai Trees, to trying your luck finding a pearl in an oyster, ps I think that is rigged, everyone seems to be a winner.

Anyhow, it is one of our favorite stops when we go, we ussually check out the drums, and while Christina is looking at the dishes (she loves the dishes) I like to swing by the tin toy exhibit. Last time we were there, I got to show that to my Dad, and he got a real kick out of them.

Anyhow this is a shot going over the moat into the back of the store, I will add some more pictures eventually.

Staples from the Show

So here is another image from the Lineweight Show. The thought was Blue Stapler Stapling Paper.

I will post some more images soon. There were such a number of wonderful drawings that were made in Missouri, I wish I could post them all, but that would probably be a bit much.

Christina and I have had a lot of fun looking at all the work that was made during the show, and I really am digging this one, partly because it looks like an old style satellite, and of course being a David Bowie fan, satellites and changes, well what's not to like.

"Blue Stapler Stapling Paper" Telepathy Drawing made by visitors of Lineweight at Truman State University.

Oh Canada-A Short Look

So as I mentioned we spent some time recently in WDW and while we were there we toured EPCOT and its World Pavilion. We had a grand time going through the different countries, and one Nation we stopped in for a visit was Canada. While we were there we small a small 360 film about Canada, which of course makes you want to move there, it looks wonderful, and it doesn't hurt that Martin Short narrates/hosts the movie, I am not sure if it helps either, but who dislikes Martin Short, he gave us Ed Grimley.

In addition to the movie, and Martin Short there is also a song sang by Eva Avila, which she performs twice (in essence) once in English and again in French, that is to unofficially satisfy the dual language rules of Canada. By the way I didn't know it but Canada has it's own Idol show and Eva was one of its winners. FYI

Anyhow here are a couple of images from Canada, I hope you enjoy!

A Theme takes Shape

So in keeping with the idea of WDW the next image posted from the Telepathy Drawings is titled Cinderella. It was contributed by visitors of the TSU Gallery in Kirksville Mo.

Now to briefly describe the process of making a Telepathy Drawing.

First you and a partner need to decide to sit down and participate. The process, when Christina and I have a session, lasts for 7 minutes. I would not recommend much shorter of a duration of time due to the fact that it may take a few moments to actually be able to send a thought across. The next step is to figure out who will send the message, and who will receive and record the message. When Christina and I have a session, I transmit the idea, and Christina receives and transcribes the message. Once you have designated who will perform which duty, it is time to sit down and get to work.

With our telepathy station one will find a timer, writing utensils, paper, and a notebook full of random suggestions that one may be interested in attempting to send telepathically. Once the pair sits down it is a good idea to relax and try to clear one's mind of distractions. The person designated to transmit a thought should prepare themselves to pick a singular thought, in this instance it was Cinderella, and when both parties are ready, they should begin.

Once you begin, both participants should sit quietly, and for the next 7 minutes the transmitter needs to solely focus on the one thought, in this case Cinderella, and the receiver needs to clear their mind and wait for the message to come through. Once the receiver begins to "hear" something they should begin recording that which they are receiving. It is important that both participants remain silent and focused on the task at hand. Once the time it is up, you should discuss what you "heard" and "felt", and the process from your side of the divide, and of course, discuss the results of your telepathic exchange.

Christina and I have had a lot of fun with the process, and in addition we have engaged in many an interesting discourse, not only about our results, but what it means as both an artistic practice and as a collaboration. We hope that you too will find the project similarly engaging and fun.

Thanks and enjoy!

"Cinderella" Telepathy Drawing made by visitors of Lineweight at Truman State University.

WDW update

So a couple of reminders, Christina and I went to the Happiest Place on Earth a couple of weeks ago, and had a grand time. We met up with my folks and had a whirl wind tour of Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, MGM (which has been renamed Hollywood Studios) and the Animal Kingdom. We all had a lot of fun and I of course took the opportunity to shoot some film.

So in addition to the updates to the Telepathy Drawing Experience I am going to be posting some images from our past trip to the H.P.O.E. I haven't actually made any prints yet from these negatives but I wanted to put my new scanner through its paces. It is an Epson Perfection V500 Photo, and so far I am fairly pleased with the results, especially when you consider it was under 200 dollars. For those of you who may be interested in what I was shooting with, it was a Mamiya 7ii, and I was putting Kodak tmax 400 through it rated at 200.

This was a shot in Morocco hope you enjoy...

Wait There's More To Come

So Lineweight closed a little over a week ago and the work was delivered home today safe and sound. I am happy to say that in the box of goodies we received were about 50 drawings that were created during the course of the show. As most of you know, Christina and I have been making Telepathy Drawings the last couple of years, the first of which were put into a small artist book that was made for Jordan Bernier's Valentine's Day Hullabaloo Show. FYI Jordan gave a huge assist in putting together the little book as well, so he deserves a double round of thanks. Anyhow, since then Christina and I have been asking gallery goers to take their own opportunity to be apart of the fun. So far we have drawings from Baltimore Md., New Haven Ct., Athens Ga., and now new additions from Kirksville Mo.

Over the next couple of days I will be posting some of the drawings that were made during the show at Truman State University. Ultimately the goal we have is to compile the drawings made at the different venues with our own, and publish a book chronicling the experiment. Christina and I would like to thank all of the people who took time to visit the show and added their voices to the dialogue. In addition, we would like to say thank you to Aaron Fine for putting together a wonderful exhibit about drawing and including us in it.

We hope you enjoy the drawings over the next couple of days.

"War of 1812" Telepathy Drawing made by visitors of Lineweight at Truman State University.