nesbit

be jealous

2012-02-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

I got to have breakfast with Sydney! A rare occasion since she decided that Germany was better than the US...

totally diggin'...

2012-01-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

I'm feasting tonight on these prints of Paula Rego's...thank you Casa Das Historias.

Knit Stool. I Drool.

2011-11-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

These are insane. And lovely. And probably not that hard to recreate... hmmm, yes :)

Also, two things. One, I appreciate the responses that you have made for our sharing date. Yay. It's been rewarding to read everyone's thoughts and ideas these days. I will respond as well, eventually.

Two, John (my brother-in-law) just got a job working at OCAC (Oregon College of Art and Craft) and I went to tour the school and see his work. I fell in love. If I had an extra fifty grand laying around, I would totally go in a heartbeat! Check it out!

My turn, yay!

2011-10-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

Friends,

Hello! I'm so glad that we are doing this. I am excited to hear from you all. I always look forward to updates!

So first, I want to show and tell about work. As you know, I am working full-time in floral now. And I can't say enough how much it pleases me toe doing what I'm doing. I think something I've had to process and deal with over the last couple of years is coming to terms with the work I'm doing. I have had to deal with the ordinariness of it. The unimportance. The lowliness. That somehow with the degree I have, and with the expectations set out for me from family and friends and culture, that I need to be doing more. Or making more money. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. It sucks. So anyway. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to be ok with the fact that I love my job. And that I am not a career person. And that I may not ever make more than $20,000 a year. But. I'm happy. I love my work. I get to make pretty things. I get to be outside. I get to make other people happy. I get to use my hands. I am learning new things every day. And that is enough.

Here is what my day looks like:

And here are some pretty things I've made:

With the kind of work I do, I have more brain space and freedom to do other fun stuff I want to. And although I haven't been productive in the fine-art sense, I'm finding that there are so many other things I love. I love food and cooking. I love clothes and shopping and making things fit me perfectly. I love a good bargain. I LOVE making my home a home. Here are some things that make me happy in my home:

My craft space.

Once I put my thread up, it was like I could breathe. I love things color coordinated. (See next photo… duh.) I love my old book collection. And my white vases. (This picture was a while back, and both collections have grown… heheh).

This is my livingroom from the kitchen. I should have updated the photo, because since I took this, I've put more artwork up, including a cupcake photo by Syd, yay, and a baby-on-sheet-music piece by Jamie, yay. On this particular photo day, I was enjoying the bounty of a green, albeit flower-less, garden.

And this is my bed. This was in my old apartment, but the bed's the same now. I love this bed. Syd, you have the same one, from Ikea. I first fell in love with it at your place when we were there for New Years. But I wanted a black one, and they didn't come in black. So I went all DIY and painted it. It was a hellish experience, but so worth it. I LOVE this bed.

Here's some random stuff I've made recently. Like this pumpkin that I entered in a contest at work. It didn't win, but it was pretty damn cute anyway :)

And this is a rock I nabbed from the beach when we were all (mostly) together in San Diego a while back. I brought it home and always wanted to paint it, but didn't get around to it until a couple weeks ago. It's so happy!

And this is a purse a friend commissioned me to make. I think my favorite part about it isn't the bag's shape or style, but the quality. I am most proud of my workmanship. My momma taught me well.

The same friend has commissioned me to make her wedding dress, huzzah! And I'm super excited. These are some preliminary drawings I did after we tried on some dresses and decided what she wants. I know it's not that fancy looking in sharpie on pink paper, but hey, it's a first draft:

Ok, now for my adorable niece. This weekend we are celebrating her 4th birthday. Yowza! I'm so in love with her. I am giving her a giant box of dinosaur figurines and the Land Before Time DVD. Yay!

This was at the Oregon Gardens during our family reunion in August. I love this picture. This is pretty much how I feel about her, and how she usually responds to my affection:

This is why you should visit me in Portland. Because occasionally we have SPECTACULARLY gorgeous days. And this is what they look like.

Finally, something I can't get enough of: Music. I am constantly obsessing over discovering new tunes. I love matching up songs and albums with my current state… creating a soundtrack. I become extremely sentimental about music and the memories that a song can recall. A good playlist might sound nice to someone else, but to me it will tell a story of a certain time. Here are some albums that are making up my story these days:

The Wombats / This Modern Glitch -- Found out about them from the (free, booyah!) satellite radio I listen to in my car, Altnation. I love Altnation. But yeah, The Wombats are a lot of fun.

Foster the People / Torches -- I guess they are a favorite among teens these days, but I don't care. They make me want to dance. And the show that Lauren and I saw last week was amazing! So much fun.

The Kooks / Junk of the Heart -- I started listening to them when I was with Steve. And I haven't stopped. This album is lighthearted and fun. Good stuff.

Dawes / North Hills and Nothing in Wrong -- I heard about them from the cute boy I told you about from my church. We are going to see them next month. Date? I don't know about that, but we'll see ;)

Feist / Metals -- Ughhhh, Feist. How I love thee. Can't go wrong here.

The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow -- Just found out about them. Remember Joy Williams? (Sweet girl-pop Christian music?) Well now she's making country-folk happiness with some dude. And it's good.

City and Colour / Little Hell -- First heard about them from Greg, and oddly enough started listening to this latest album because of Steve. Eh, full circle.

Cults / Cults -- These folks are touring with Foster the People. Listen to Go Outside, and then go outside. Yay.

Josh Garrels / Love & War & The Sea In Between -- A free album on his website, this guy has a great voice and some really lovely and thoughtful songs.

Brooke Frasier / Flags -- She was one of my on-repeat breakup albums. I love this album, and she has some great songs.

Sara Bareilles / Kaleidoscope Heart -- The song Bluebird makes me die. This has been my five-months-post-break-up album for sure.

The Weepies / Be My Thrill -- I finally saw them in concert this summer. So good. This album is not as great as their others, but still happy.

Gavin Degraw / Sweeter -- Oh man, he reminds me of my sophomore year of college for sure. Such good memories. This album sounds pretty much the same, but has some great new songs. Several of them have lines that have gotten me a bit verklempt.

Ok, there you have it. If you want more music recommendations, I'm so game. Happy listening :)

Love love love to you all. I'll be checking back to really read each person's update. Yay!

SHOW...TELL...Part Eleanor.

2011-10-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

It is coming down to the end of the day here in California you international folk. My studio wall (as I don't have a picture for you like JAMIE does) is rather bare as I have stripped it to share it and tell it!

So, I moved back from Madrid to San Diego- two places that have nearly nothing in common. But I have got these images that I started working on in Madrid and the shapes continue to bounce around in my head...the floating/flying girl who keeps relocating herself and turning up in different places, the seed pods, the cathedral ceiling shapes. There are no hidden messages here, I too am just swinging around with color and meaningful shapes until something catches my eye.

So this is a strange colored paper, it's not quite gray and not quite cement colored, and I have limited myself to watercolors, pencil, ink and paper.

This is a strange painting I've started and that remains silent. I don't know what to do with it but I like it and it is currently the only thing hanging from my wall, dead center.

Here I used two colors of acrylic...the other limitations apply and now, the paper is white. Dead sunflowers whizzing around and things dripping from a bird's feet. I do not know why I keep coming back to using sparrows, although they have played a large role in my young and present life, but I see their bodies as carries, they hold things in their claws and in their beaks and I like how they cry out...

This is a series of drawings that I am working on and they are simply based on photos taken of placed observed by myself over the past few years. I suppose you could call these the two veins of work I am currently following.

I find I am not too interested in reading these days, strangely, but have been doing a lot of looking. It is too early for me to jump back into large scale pieces, I am reschooling myself in some of the basics. But I am in love with the sunlight here and I am interested in natural shapes such as the leaves and seed pods I am collecting on my table. Like this one:

I am reading: Things I Didn't Know and I don't know if I like it. Hughes allows his personal opinions and biases influence his memoir writing SO much that the book kind of reads like his history writing.

LET's DO SOME SHOWING AND SOME TELLING!

2011-10-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Good Evening Interwebs!

Newest video:

It's Work from J.R. Uretsky on Vimeo.

Title: It's work

I should probably talk about how I got to this point...you know, the point where I frequently put sort-of-naked videos of myself on the interwebs. I have always been interested in how sculpture affects one's physical space while also having the ability to do something to a viewer's mental and emotional space as well. I am very interested in the emotional aspect of all that. While in grad school I came to grips with the fact that I am a bit of a creep, in that I like to watch / read people ... constantly ... and that I am deeply affected by people's body language, gestures, mannerisms, etc.

Extend Exchange series: For Eleanor, 2011

I would make sculptures such as my sculpture titled For Eleanor that were inspired by my interactions with others. However, when asked what my work was about I would never have an answer. I never considered these sculptures portraits, they were closer to prayers.

From my thesis:

I make abstract sculptures about my relationship to specific people. Each sculpture is a window into how I experience an individual. I am never really sure for whom the window is made, the person the sculpture is about or me. This sort of self-satisfying engagement with others reminds me of prayer. I used to pray from my friends and family. Prayer was a comforting verbal expression, to God, of my gratitude for the people around me. My exchange with God ceased, but the exercise of gratitude never did. Perhaps that is why these tiny constructions come so naturally to me. Sculpture is my language and the installation Extend/ Exchange is still a set of prayers; I have just exchanged one language for another.

This has been a part of my practice for a long time (see: Eleanor 2008, I Put Her on the Shelf 2006, Abba Abba 2010 .. and so on and so on). After making It's Work I FINALLY understood that even though there was an extremely emotional attitude to my sculptures, over all they are just kind of wonderfully formal and funny. It was a difficult conclusion to come to, considering I had poured my heart into works like Size 6, a piece "about" the time I was so depressed I dropped from a 14 to a size 6 in a summer or Shut Up, Speak Up that, for me, illustrated quite clearly why my engagement to a wonderful man ended. The bottom line was that I wanted (still want) my work to be rich with dichotomy. The work should elicit both humor/joy and profound sadness. Why? Because, that is what I am feeling when I make the shit and I want people to relate to me goddaminit!

Anyhoo, this video It's Work, is getting closer ... ?? It started with a difficult conversation with someone, went through a few edits, then I took my pants off and crawled inside of this sculpture that I made. BAM ART! When I think about this piece now, it seems far removed from the original conversation; however, I still like to think some of the feelings transfered over from conversation to weird ass video.

Ugh, yeah. Swinging the art bat in the dark until I hit something.

I am getting really interested in:
setting up structures/tasks for myself where I fail and video taping it
"queering" a body - whatever the fuck that means
the monstrous body - objects attached to the body that make them different, strange, freakish (queering?)
giving gifts / art as gift
celebrating people via abstract sculpture
doing more private performances where the audience is small, specific and sometimes nonexistent

I am reading this book:
Queer the Art of Failure

And am liking at these artists:
John Wood and Paul Harrison

Let's get our critique on!

2011-10-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Guten tag!

I am kicking off the posting early as I will be on vacation this upcoming week. My mom's best friend and her daughter are visiting Paris so we are meeting them on Monday and I am looking forward to some quality museum time. I have also been reading a lot of Hemingway and stories centered around the Lost Generation in Paris during the 1920s so I am excited to see if I visualize what I have been reading. It will also be lovely to simply look around and relax!

Lately, I have been watching a lot of web design tutorials and have been improving my skill set in that area (mainly with working on this site, though that is a long, funny story for another post). Suffice it to say, I had never been completely satisfied with my website/portfolio/branding so I wanted to really think about my branding's look and feel, as well as update my html with my new found knowledge. A coworker/friend/future roommate is a photographer so I bartered with her for a portrait shoot. I found a dress at a flea market downtown and decided that the dress and photo shoot would drive my branding identity. I vectorized the rose pattern from my dress and developed a color palette from it as well. I have included screenshots from my improved site but I would also hope that you all would go to my site, click around, and let me know how intuitive and user-friendly it is.

In addition to the website, I am designing calling cards--mainly because I still have yet to memorize my cell phone number over here!

Well, I think that just about sums it up--I look forward to everyone else's posts as well as the conversations to follow!

Dankeschön!
Sydney

“Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. Believe in kissing.” - Eve Ensler

P.S. This game is super nerdy. And awesome.

Proposal

2011-09-18T15:19:00.001-07:00

I have some images rolling around in my head that need to find their way into finalized work...is anyone interested in setting up a crit (for WHATEVER you make be working on at this point in your life...design, writing, sculpture, floral arrangements, installations, photography, basket weaving...)?

PROPOSAL:: To post work exactly one month from now, Tuesday, October 18th. This is not to push you to make the kind of work you were making a few years back when we had out last crit but to rather give you the space to show what you are making now (we are makers of things after all) and to receive some feeback.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Tape Animation

2011-09-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

Crazy wonderful:

Tape Generations from johan rijpma on Vimeo.

a few days in NY. love, Jamie and Elly.

2011-09-06T10:02:00.001-07:00

Elly got married!

2011-07-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

... woh, we're all growing up.

Shows in Chelsea ...

2011-07-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

Elly and I saw some awesome work in Chelsea a few weeks (has it been that long?) ago. Check it!

Gillian Wearing: “People” at Tanya Bonakdar

Richard Tuttle: What's the Wind at Pace

Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works at Cheim & Read

2011-06-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. I love this!

Tattoo, anyone?

2011-06-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Because these are F-ing incredible:

Amanda Wachob

for Sydney

2011-05-16T23:26:00.001-07:00

from Madrid :)

Paper Magic

2011-04-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

I love paper. And so does this guy: Simon Schubert

2011-04-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a whirlwind tour of Rome, Radofzell, Konstanz (Germany) and Basel (Switzerland). It was an inspirational trip and I wanted to share a bit of what I will be chewing on in the studio for the next 6 1/2 weeks until I leave Spain to move back to good ol' sunny CA!

Divvy: for anyone with OCD, who uses a computer

2011-03-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me, but this application looks sooo amazing. I mean right off the bat, I can see lots of practical uses that any of us might find for it (as graphic designers or artists). But realistically, it will make scanning iTunes for new artists while simultaneously looking up illegal downloads of said artists much easier. I mean... what? Check it out:

Divvy

Women Without Men

2011-03-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

Shirin Neshat. She is an amazing women and her movie, Women Without Men, is wonderful.

Claire Watson

2011-03-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Kid Gloves. No, not kid like kiddo. Kid like skin-of-a-wee-goat...
By Claire Watson

I have a feeling Jamie will like these :)

Mara Carrarone

2011-03-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Mara Caffarone

I kind of wish I could move in to her balcony full of plants and watch her work. Creepy? Maybe, but you know what, we're artists, so it's cool.

Oh, and you can buy prints for $35!

freaking Kayo

2011-03-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

"Seeing such haunting imagery was unexpected; as a professor, Nakamura is always cheerful..."

check it

One night only

2011-02-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

Sydney I want a picture of you standing next to my video!

On selling all of your possessions and moving!

2011-02-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

I have just started to read this blog 'Finding Me in France' and I think you all should check it out. I believe this woman had a sort of "mid-life crisis," quite her job, sold everything and moved with her husband to France. She is an excellent and witty writer and provides interesting insights....good stuff!

Love from Germany.

2011-02-18T03:53:00.001-08:00

"Ich möchte Dir sagen, daβ ich Dich nie verlassen werde. Und dann, wenn Du traurig bist, könnte ich Dir immer ein biβchen Likör geben, um dein Herz zu aufwärmen."

Basically this means that I'll be there for you always. And I'll get you drunk when you're sad.

Via Etsy.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

When's the last time that you saw one of these guys?

We've been getting back in touch...and I like it! Much love from Madrid on this Valentines.

Incredible Street Photographer

2011-01-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

This woman's work (decades of photos) wasn't discovered until after she had passed away. Check out the video, it's amazing!

Go here

NESBIT NYC?

2011-01-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

week of 05/24/2011?

Shalom!

2010-12-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Nesbit,

Love to all this season. I am leaving for Israel for two weeks on Dec 26th. Really excited about it. I have so so much to update you all on. You have been in my thoughts so much this week, and cannot wait to catch up soon.

xoxo,

Lauren

wow.

2010-12-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

These are stunning.

2010-12-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

WOW WOW WOW.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

2010-12-03T04:37:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading/absorbed in a great book titled Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. It is the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor and theologian who was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler during WWII. It has been really eye opening to get a bit more of German history involving the church and theology throughout the 1900s via Bonhoeffer's life and ministry. If you need a good read, I highly recommend this book.

I also thought of you all while reading a passage where Bonhoeffer speaks of his travels in Rome while he was 18. He enjoyed the arts and knew a fair amount of art history (I don't know where people back then found the time to do all this reading, letter writing and traveling....no facebook, cell phones, or internet???). I really like what he has to say about viewing and interpreting art work:

“However, it might be better for a layperson to be completely silent and to leave everything to the artists, because the current art historians really are the worst guides. Even the better ones are awful…There is no criterion for their interpretation and its correctness. Interpreting is generally one of the most difficult problems. Yet, our whole thinking process is regulated by it. We have to interpret and give meaning to things so that we can live and think. All of this is very difficult. When one doesn’t have to interpret, one should just leave it alone. One’s doesn’t need to know whether it is ‘Gothic’ pr ‘primitive,’ etc., persons who express themselves in their art. A work of art viewed with clear intellect and comprehension has its own effect on the unconscious. More interpretation won’t lead to a better understanding of the art. One either intuitively sees the right thing or one doesn’t. This is what I call an understanding of art. One should work diligently to try to understand the work while looking at it. After that one gets the absolutely certain feeling, ‘I have grasped the essence of this work.’ Intuitive certainty arises on the basis of some unknown procedure. To attempt to put this conclusion into words and thereby interpret the work is meaningless for anyone else. “

....and so what if I do?

2010-11-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have an addiction to someecards.com.

Poop on housing

2010-11-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

One of my least favorite things is finding a place to live. I hate it. Moving isn't so bad, once you find a place. But finding the place... kill me now.

The family upstairs finally sold the house. And the new buyer doesn't want me. I'm totally bummed. Anyway, if you feel like thinking a nice thought for me, that would be awesome. Or pray, or whatever. Because I can't afford much and this place has been a godsend. You all know how it is.

blogs are taking the brunt of my fb withdraw...

2010-10-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

This morning, coming off the back wind of a depression, I found each of you in my studio.

Thank you for being with me. As Anne Hamilton once wrote...in my textbook that Elly stole and had signed... presence in absence.

It Gets Better Project

2010-10-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

The It Gets Better Project is this pretty amazing youtube-based-grass-roots support group started by Dan Savage and his partner. The It Gets Better Project is promoting the Trevor Project, another support system for gay youth that offers a 24 hour hotline for people struggling with the pressures brought on by bullies, homophobia and growing up gay in a vastly heterosexual world. I really dig the attitude behind the IGBP because you can flip through what seems like infinite videos of people (gay and straight) encouraging others by way of personal testimony, sincerity, and often humor. The stars of these youtube-confessional-type videos are everyday looking people, some celebrities, some not... something really excites me about that aspect of the project...The website layout presents several different clips from different videos with one enlarged video in the middle. This grouping of multiple faces places the viewer face-to-face with a bunch of people all at once. And how do all these people look? They just look like a bunch of normal people. For me, this visual aspect of the project brings homophobic tendencies of seeing gay as "different", "abnormal", ultimately as "other" into high relief, possibly debunking those thoughts all together. In other words, (eh hem, Sydney and Lauren) good design can change things...for the better.

This so far is my favorite video from the project, for obvious reasons:

Check it out and let me know what you guys think...
www.itgetsbetterproject.com
www.thetrevorproject.org

another favorite:

My first class...

2010-10-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

they are so damn cute...and they made pretty interesting sculptures too.

I get it now...

2010-10-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

... food via the seasons = awesome.

FUN.

2010-10-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

I'm totally digging this song/video. Let's have a dance party, ok?

In-flight GAGA/Perry routine. OMG.

2010-10-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to think about this...

2010-09-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Okay so in the past I have spent a lot of time scrutinizing videos like this one. Generally, 7-year-old girls in a hyper sexualized environment is something I would deem bad. The thing about this video is that the girls, aside from the skank outfits and unwarranted "O-faces", are super talented dancers. Further, I like Beyonce's song and I REALLY do enjoy watching babies, men, and amateurs on the internet dance to it (possibly my favorite pass-time).

“ Single Ladies Single Man Beyonce Mashup ” video at DanceJam.com

I, of course, take issue with the first video because it is perpetuating a cultural myth that young girls should be sexy but not sexual (see Jessica Valenti's The Purity Myth). However good dance (says I, and my SYTYCD fan girl authority) is good dance. And hell, if I were one of those girl's parents I would be pretty damn proud of them. However, I would probably have a good long conversation with their wardrobe designer.

When is it okay for a young girl to start expressing her sexuality? Note "her"... the issue with this video is that the 7 - year -olds are embodying Beyonce's sexuality... but for whatever reason, for me, when I see a baby do it- its cute. A guy - it's awesome. An amateur - well that's just relatable.

What do you ladies think?

...like you give milk...

2010-09-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

thinking of you all

2010-09-21T15:28:00.001-07:00

For Jamie and Kris

2010-09-17T16:45:00.001-07:00

Louis Coulon and his beard of eleven feet, with cat (1904)

way to go jamie.

2010-09-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Jamie Uretsky.

and, I would assume, Sydney.

JOB FOR SYDNEY!

2010-08-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

Check it out! This would be awesome!

West Coast Copy Editor for Design*Sponge

Karen Gelardi

2010-08-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Love the variety of mediums she is using. I think she becomes relevant to each of us in our own ways. Check her out:

Launch!

2010-08-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Comrades,

I have officially launched my new and improved branding identity and website this morning!

I would really appreciate it if you all would navigate around my site and let me know if you find anything particularly annoying/crappy/unprofessional. Just let me know your thoughts!

Thanks a million!

Sydney Van Orden Design

Police! Freeze!

2010-08-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is just crazy talk. Scary and wonderful:

Freeze!

trying to sculpt...

2010-08-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

"Plain speaking about complex matters is not anti-intellectual, it is the achieved result of sustained intellectual labor. Moreover, poetic expression in the service of critical speculation is not the "soft" alternative to "hard" thinking. Rigor is demanded in both, but if you examine the shelves in most studios these days you will find shockingly few books of poetry or fiction."
- Robert Storr

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.
-WB

Awkward moment of the day

2010-08-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Today, I walked into a tiny local fitness club because I wanted to see their rates and class schedule. I grabbed a brochure and sat down. An attractive guy on the other side of the room stopped his sit-ups to ask if I needed help. I looked up and said, "No, I'm just checking you out" and went back to my brochure. I immediately looked back at him and mumbled something like "well, not checking you out, just this place... also, I'm really awkward." He just looked at me for a second, then went back to his sit-ups. Shortly after that exchange, I took the brochure and left. I'll save my questions for another day.

So what are we doing for national dance day?

2010-07-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

July 31st...

I'd date that guy.

Magic Things I Cannot See

2010-07-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

I am standing by a box and I'm blind-folded. In the box there are objects of varying size, shape, texture, color, maybe even scent. Or at least that's what I've been told. I think maybe I can hear the objects clinking against each other when somebody walks by and leans against the box. My hands are grasping the edge of the box, and I know it's there, and I feel like maybe I can see out my fingertips and into the depths. But I can't just reach in, because what if I do something wrong and get hurt? No, I'm blind-folded, so I'll have to take your word for it; take your word for it that these things are truly there, and that they mean something.

But they must be real, because why else would there be a box? Only why am I blind-folded? Did I put the blind-fold on myself, or did someone else do it a long time ago? And what the hell is keeping me from taking it off so I can see into the damn box and reach for those magic things?!

This is how I feel about being a Christian these days.

Leaving

2010-06-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Greg is getting into his car Tuesday morning and driving away from me and Portland and all that has been glorious for the last 7 months. I will really miss him. I haven't cried yet, but I have a feeling it will happen when I least expect it.

In other busy-ass week news: I made a wedding dress, arranged flowers for the same wedding yesterday and my mom flies into Portland tomorrow afternoon. I'm going a little crazy.

I need my friends.

Eleanor : An Update

2010-06-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Right! Updates! I am lying on the tile floor in an attempt to “beat the heat” and the pollen that litters Madrid has blown in the window and tickles my legs. I have no allergies but it finds a way to annoy each and every person. So, to follow Sydney’s style:

Reading: I have just finished "El coronel no tiene nadie quien le escriba" by Marquez which was lovely and am now reading "The Railway Children" by Nesbit which is a short and sweet read! Her writing is delightful and I find myself caught up in the adult-like minds of the children.

Work:

The school year is coming to a close and I am grading grading and grading. I have learned so much about myself and about developing patience, creativity and improvisation working with these 13 and 16 year olds. I have decided to stay here another year, same apartment and same school but working with different teachers and continuing to pay off them student loans! I like what I am doing but after one more year I will be ready for a change and am starting now to look at small drawing studios at least to be taking classes if not teaching them.

The Other Kind of "Work": My studio table is littered with sketches and unfinished drawings. I know that my entire life will be a struggle against myself, a fight to finish things and to find the motivation in the middle of the so called “long-haul”. Spain, at least Madrid, might not be the right place for me as getting things done simply is not their strong suit. So the "unfinished" and I are having a duel and I will come out of it a more decided person. The question is,"How do I want and need art to fit into my life? And what kind of person do I want to be in that regard?"

Listening: To crap...Spanish and American contemporary pop. I need suggestions, help
and to be home for the summer to download Popcasts.

Family: They are doing great I believe. My father will be in Costa Rica for a month, my mom is coming here for 10 days, L is graduating high school and staring at PLNU, O is going to start a medical program up at SDSU and S will start her junior year in high school. I miss them but recognize that I am beginning to form something outside that probably began when I moved out for college.

Me: I am doing well, processing a lot of things and really looking deeply at my character. There are a lot of things about me that need concentration and remodeling but that's nothing new! I have had an incredible year, a good deal of traveling and I thought of you the whole time...here's the proof.

love, Eleanor

PS: I DO have dating news and we'll just have to get together to find that out :)

Sydney: A Summary

2010-05-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on in my mind lately and these ideas/dreams/goals are trying to manifest themselves in various ways throughout my life…though, as we all know, these things take time and patience. This is how I will break it down for you all, my friends:

Reading:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
An excellent and masterfully crafted story; full of universal truths and just damn good writing. Steinbeck’s thought on time provides me with some perspective on waiting: “Time interval is a strange and contradictory matter in the mind. It would be reasonable to suppose that a routine time or an eventless time would seem interminable. It should be so, but it is not. It is the dull eventless times that have no duration whatever. A time splashed with interest, wounded with tragedy, crevassed with joy—that’s the time that seems long in the memory. And this is right when you think about it. Eventlessness has no posts to drape duration on. From nothing to nothing is no time at all.

Work:

The new job at Anthropologie is a welcome change, but there is still some nervousness in it as I learn the ropes and make the transition. It was a lateral move for me and I cannot see myself loving it but hopefully it will propel me into my graphic design more heartily. (I want this dress soooo badly).

Listening:

I cannot get enough of She & Him Volume Two at the moment. It is optimistic yet reflective and ever so slightly sarcastic. These songs are helping me deal with the ever-present loneliness that seems to be a theme for those in their twenties.

School:

I am learning Flash and Dreamweaver in my classes right now and my brain hurts from all of the information—I can’t believe I only have four weeks left in the quarter and them only one more to go! The end goal is to land a job as a Jr. level designer somewhere, anywhere that is not San Diego—and when all else fails—moving to Germany!

Family:

My grandparents are doing well and though it can be strange at times living with them, I am glad to be here and am happy to bring them comfort.

I went out to Butternut this past weekend and spent a lot of time with my siblings, as well as their friends. That is what high school should be—late night bonfires, swimming in lakes, driving through fields of mud in a Jeep, kayaking down rivers for hours, sledding hills of high grass, sitting on top of the barn—it was fantastic. I also learned how to milk goats! But by far the best part: we bought a camper/trailer from the 1950s! Found it at an Estate Sale for only $350! Take a look and start planning Nesbit road trip 2012!

P.S. Sorry Jamie, but I am fresh out of crazy dating stories….taking a break for the time being…but don’t you worry, they’ll be back!

art update.

2010-05-22T00:24:00.001-07:00

well...still collecting!

thanks Sydney.

Did you know?

2010-05-19T03:29:00.000-07:00

Some study showed that kids laugh an average of 430 times a day. Adults? 15.

Here, have a laugh:

I am not sure why this made me miss all of you...

2010-05-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

...but it did.

Click for awesome.

still life

2010-05-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

M.I.A's new video Born Free is an excellent example of how art can be a powerful tool for social commentary. ALSO, does anyone in this video look familiar, maybe look through some of your old figure drawings...

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

reading Lamott despite myself.

2010-04-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

"I viscerally got that God was everywhere; poor old God, just waiting for you to notice, and enter your life like a track coach for slow people."

I don't know if I believe this but it still made me cry.

Miss you guys.

this summer...

2010-04-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

NESBIT Pacific North West?

new book...bought because of readers like you!

2010-04-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

Published in 1905, the first chapter is called "The Beginning of Things".

I will read this AFTER Spanish exams...

Lady IGOR

2010-03-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Can't decide if I love or hate this:

i almost can't deal with this anymore.....

2010-02-16T18:00:00.001-08:00

I am way behind with my assignments because I can't seem to make decisions on my logo! Driving me crazy.....anyway, can I have a vote? I, personally, am most enjoying the second one.

happy V's!

2010-02-14T04:59:00.000-08:00

love love love.

I am bringing back the crown!

2010-02-12T13:07:00.001-08:00

Hi Kids,

Thank you so so so much for your feedback--you don't even know how helpful it is!

I think this is getting closer.....what do you think? I think 'whim' looks like a little crown :)

All my love,
Syd

b. collins strikes again!

2010-02-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812975618/ref=pe_5050_14261950_snp_dp#reader_0812975618

and it looks lovely.

Another one....

2010-02-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks Jamie, for your input on the last one (that I then deleted). Here is the newest version that I think I just have to go with....I have a complete manual due tomorrow so at this point just need to make a go of it.....what do you all think?

thinking of my loved ones

2010-02-07T05:59:00.000-08:00

click me for happy.

New Color Scheme?

2010-02-06T16:30:00.001-08:00

I cannot decide if I just want to embrace the candy shop color palette or go in a different direction....what are your thoughts on these colors?

Check this artist out

2010-02-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

...made me think of Sydney's paintings.

Rolf Lorentzen

Thinking of each of you...

2010-02-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

...with help from the Royal Art Lodge.

Lauren:

Libby:

Sydney:

Elly (Home = NYC):

Bread & Puppet

2010-02-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

This weekend I saw a puppet show done by the same folks who did these puppets...it was magic.

Bread & Puppet

New favorite song.

2010-01-30T19:48:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg1E66px0zU

Personal Branding Identity

2010-01-30T19:44:00.001-08:00

Hello all--A recent class project has been to create a personal branding identity for myself/if I were to have my own business. I was hoping to get your thoughts on my colors etc.....perhaps you remember the name :)

get some glasses and a beer

2010-01-20T18:09:00.001-08:00

fun quiz

The Moth

2010-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

I have been listening to a lot of stories lately. This one made me think of us.

Beauty

2010-01-07T19:49:00.001-08:00

I am left speechless.

http://vimeo.com/7809605

Salty Sculpture

2009-12-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

Incredible!

Hi Hi.

2009-12-03T07:42:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone,

I am sorry I have been slightly MIA as of late....Cupcake spilled water on my computer and I didn't get a new one for a couple of weeks. Luckily, I had it before the Thanksgiving weekend, so I worked feverishly while in Butternut and was able to catch up on all my school work. The farm was wonderful-it was great to have my dad there. I was able to bake a ridiculous amount of pies, we surprised my mom with a kitten, Abby came down with mono, my brothers and dad went deer hunting everyday, it snowed, and our neighbor's pygmy goat has baby 'kids.' Very eventful and nice to be away from San Diego....though it did make me miss Jay even more, as the last time I was there we had a terrific time together. But now I am back into my routine and have one more week of this quarter-then I start to prepare for Elly and Riccardo's visit and then Libby, Kris and Jamie (so excited!) I fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow for a cousin's wedding-never been and am looking forward to a hotel room all to myself!

Elly: very exciting about the Biola Art Abroad event--can't wait to hear more.
Libby: wow, bummer about the tree incident-no fun! Hope all is coming together. And I am calling you after my class today because I want to talk about things!
Jamie: how are you making it through your first semester? When are you done?
Lauren: Hi. What are you up to?

Miss you all, talk soon.

P.S. This is am image I created for an assignment to make a personal montage of five things that are "important to us." I think it is fun.

December

2009-11-21T13:18:00.001-08:00

I've begun compiling fascinating links, resources and points of interest pertaining to our upcoming "month of awareness." Excited. Get ready.

Our first baby...

2009-11-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Kris did the installation and I contributed the sound:

Songs of Our Daughter
Kris Cowen & J.R. Uretsky
Mixed media sound installation

The concept of cross-pollination makes us think of sharing, exchanging, borrowing, or appropriating an element from one thing and then applying it to something else. The idea of cross-pollination is inherently collaborative, and speaks to the type of art we are both interested in making; for us, sculpture is communal.

We wanted to create a personal art experience for a viewer in a public space. By combining private narratives (in relation to another sort of cross-pollinating) with an abstract environment, we provide the viewer with a space equipped for listening and contemplation. Songs of Our Daughter is a voyeuristic installation, a sort of eavesdropping experience, where the viewer is let in to the artist's personal lives the same way a friend would be- by listening. This project is a multi-sensory art experience that invites the viewer to "be in the know" in regards to the personal life of the artist; in doing so, we have creating an authentic feeling of acceptance in an artificial, constructed environment.

future Mr. Jamie Uretsky.

Fernando Zòbel, Diario 8

2009-11-13T05:16:00.000-08:00

"Constant travel to see friends, it can kill you. The distances are too great, no wonder Americans complain of loneliness. The pleasures of friendship have to be planned weeks in advance and involve endless hours at ticket windows, packing and unpacking, train schedules, etc. ..Almost makes me feel like going home. Except that it´s so good to see one´s friends again."

Nobody

2009-11-06T21:44:00.001-08:00

I'm always interested in films that portray the woes of Art School, and this one could be something:

Nobody

What do you think?

Jon and Kurt

2009-11-04T00:04:00.000-08:00

I got to hang out with Kurt and Jon today at their show opening at George Fox and then afterward for dinner. I'm reminded just how great it is that we have each other, that we are here, that we are friends, and that we are artists.

Jon and Kurt are just as they have always been: sweet, smiling, gracious, engaging, adorable. Also, Kurt is still wearing that same hat, huzzah!

balls

2009-11-02T19:27:00.001-08:00

just reminded...

2009-10-30T06:52:00.001-07:00

Some strange Peruvian/Italian has been trying to make me read Plato´s Republic in Spanish...

"It is easier to ask than to respond."

And in response I pull out Rilke...

"try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers...the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

20 Mins a Day

2009-10-27T16:15:00.001-07:00

To my Dear Friends who are spread far and wide,

I jet set this weekend to sunny California to visit a good friend who is attending Master's college for one year. My heart speaks of home when I return to my native roots, and the warm air felt like an embrace.

My friend is learning a lot and there were many stimulating conversations. It caused me to think about beliefs and my need to further explore the intersection btw my artmaking and beliefs.
What are you girls thinking/reading/believing?

This friend also stated that if one reads for 20 mins a day, you will end up reading the equivalent of 18 books a year. I believe it was schoolhouse rock that wisely stated, knowledge is power (and if it wasn't them it would still fit with the many wise things they promoted). I recently spent
8 hours organizing all of my articles, essays, readings that i have from college. I arranged them by type (such as aesthetics, art history, surveys, etc) into two, 3 ring binders complete with tabs. Yes it was a neurotic undertaking, but I have recently decided to dive head first into continuing my education. For right now this will mean self directed study, but hopefully soon I will decide if grad school awaits.

So this post was written to check up on you all. We are busy little bees and I am curious as to what you are working towards.

love, lauren

make new friends...

2009-10-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

...but keep the o-ld. One is silver and the other's gold.

NESBIT is gold.

How is everyone?

Some stuff

2009-09-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is interesting. Maybe we could do something like this for Jamie, sans the whole texting thing. I don't know.

Also, I am contemplating all the out-of-character things I will try once my sister moves away. It almost feels like I'm moving out of my parents' house. Like, maybe I'm going to go get drunk with that kid John and his crazy roommates. Maybe I'm going to make-out with my friend Josh, who is equally single and lonely. Maybe I'm going to get high with Amy and eat some bacon. Maybe I'm going to live it up and let loose.

Or maybe not. We'll see.

Tonight my sister is hosting a passion party. Think "Mary Kay" meets "A Touch of Romance." It should be interesting.

Here is my new address:

2325 NE 39th Ave Portland, OR 97212 Yay!

...

2009-09-22T07:26:00.001-07:00

I miss you 4.

free audio books

2009-09-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

seriously awesome.

give up now...

2009-09-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

or later

go check this out....

2009-08-31T11:49:00.001-07:00

...NOW!

Going about my day....

2009-08-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am lounging on my bed, listening to Cat Power and am surprised that my venti iced coffee has not worked its magic yet....also, am thinking of you all. I just emailed Eleanor, ending with a note asking if she ever had days where she feels more grown up than others. I am having one of those...though I cannot quite ascertain why.

I just wanted to say that I enjoy thinking of you all and where our lives are leading (Jamie with her gigantic studio space and new finger adornment, Elly with her new job and internship, Lauren with her new creative position and Libby with her possibilities-which, we need to hear about by the way). My hands are currently covered in paint as I am working on an apartment sewing new curtains, painting furniture and generally re-arranging and purging.

I also wanted to give each of you an online present....

For Libby:
http://www.woollypocket.com/

For Lauren:
http://masking-tape.jp/

For Elly:
http://swipple.com/exhibit.php?id=201

For Jamie:
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/crosswords/setpuzzle.html

Love to you all, my dears.

Annabel's voice

2009-08-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

That's my BFF!

big ass cupcake

2009-08-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Libby, Sydney- get on it.

for those who are interested...

2009-08-16T21:28:00.001-07:00

...he made it.

and she's off!!!!

2009-08-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

Jamie is off to MFA boot camp in the eastern winds of Connecticut. xoxo