The SCAD Chronicles, Episode 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander Hall, the Painting Dept. and Studios at SCAD

Week 2 of my residency at Savannah College of Art & Design and I am still alive.  I am carrying 2 studio courses this first quarter and though a quarter is 10 weeks, I am doing a compressed one in 5. The M.A. in Painting program that I am doing is through the school’s e-learning program so it is a limited residency program and I am here for 5 weeks to complete this first quarter’s work on campus.

I am enrolled in Graduate Drawing and Formal Aspects of Painting.  I am doing alot of work both physcial and mental in the efforts required and its a big load but also extremely fulfilling.  We had our first crit in Drawing yesterday and I survived all right.  I am coming up with really surprising concepts in terms of what constitutes a “drawing” and it leads to the use of some really varied and unexpected media and technical problems to be solved.

In painting I am trying to work in oils instead of the pastels that I have specialized in for the past 7 years.  I am learning alot of extremely in-depth color theory and employing it in my landscape paintings in an attempt to bring light into them in a new way.  My professor  actually has a background in science which combines in an extremely interesting way with his sensitive painting style and the searching, spiritual meanings in his own work.  So far in painting class I have been in the wood shop and learned to use a mitre saw and other power tools to construct my own cradled panels to paint on (one is 3 foot square) and watched a demonstration in his life painting class that included the disection of a cow’s eyeball to more fully illustrate the structure of the human eye and how light actually falls across it . Then he decided I should dissect one for my painting class so I could teach them!  Yes, I did it.  Except for an aversion to bugs, I don’t get squeamish about such things and always love the natural sciences myself.

I’ll report more as soon as I can and show a bit of the city and my beautiful house in the historic district on Greene Square.  Meanwhile, the July Artscape in Hyannis is tomorrow night, 7/3 from 5-8 and Inner Pearl Studio is having another fabulous Open Studio, hosted by Deb while I am away

    My studio, D-3 at Alexander Hall

The SCAD Chronicles: Episode 1

I really tried to be good about posting on a regular basis and was doing one a week usually on Saturdays.  But 2 weeks flew by with so much to do on so many fronts and here I am already in Savannah about to start classes in the morning.  I felt like the circus performer who spins all the plates on the sticks and has to keep rushing from one to another to keep them all aloft.  So I managed to pack up all my supplies from the studio, stock it with some items to be sold (as well as package extra inventory to leave at home), finish up my teaching responsibilities (except for not being there the last half day, with super’s permission) and packed up everything I could think of for painting, drawing, clothes, bike,etc. into my van and hit the road with my husband at 1:30PM last Wed.  We got as far as Newark, Delaware that night, driving through rain and thunderstorms on the Garden State Prkwy through NJ traffic.  Arrived at the HoJo’s in Delaware to discover Richard didn’t have his license.  He was flying home today (Sun. 6/22) and driving the rest of the way to Savannah too.  So we called his office to have them get his extra one–lucky he has a duplicate– and express it to the Westin Hotel in Savannah where we were staying the first night.

Got there Thurs. about 6:15PM and a tornado had just touched down that day ahead of our arrival.  But the city didn’t look too worse for the wear in the main downtown and we have just had a terrific few days exploring, eating great low country food and settling me into my lovely house in the historic district and my studio at Alexander Hall on campus.  The campus is really spread out all over the historic district and my studio and classes are in an old factory on the far northwest corner right under the Tallmadge Bridge which spans the Savannah River .  I am going to be the troll who paints under the bridge, right beside all the freighters and tankers and the railroad yards!So I brought Richard to the airport today after walking to 10 AM Mass at the Cathedral and brunch at a great place across from it called J Christopher’s.  Now the work begins:  Formal Aspects of Painting begins at 8AM, followed by Graduate Drawing at 11AM.  I am also taking Contemporary Art History on line and my lap top won’t work and the wifi signal at my house -”The Norris Cook House”, thank you very much-   is weak even with Richard’s laptop which he had to leave behind for me.  Fortunately the library is right around the corner and up a couple blocks so I will be spending alot of time there.

I will try to get back to a regular schedule of posting on Sat. for however many of you there may be out there following this.  I have alot of work ahead and am pretty nervous anticipating it.  But I’m sure it will be better once I begin and it’s a fantastic opportunity that I will try to keep sharing as I go along.  Goodnight, y’all from Savannah!

“Grand”Open Studio

Artscape in downtown Hyannis was flourishing at  June’s “first Thursday” evening along Pearl and South Street.  The Guyer Barn had work on exhibit and newly printed brochures for the upcoming summer classes and workshops.  Sarah Holl’s Art Space was open, showcasing the work of the Shirley Blair Flynn Center “artist in residence”.  And at 50 Pearl Street all four studios were open for the evening with Inner Pearl Studio hosting a large influx of “hairleggers” from Harwich.  We had a great time introducing all our friends and colleagues to the new artist colony in Hyannis.Friends and family gather at Inner Pearl Studio Thursday night

We had lots of people through the house to tour the studio and meet our fellow artists from parents, children and spouses to co-workers, friends and neighbors.  I will be deep in my studies for my Masters in Painting in Savannah by the next Artscape on July 3rd but Deb will be there.  She’ll be working at the studio frequently and whenever you happen by and see the OPEN flag out, stop by and come in.  If the flag is out somebody’s in and receiving visitors, whether it’s the “Girls of Inner Pearl” or one of our housemates: Ken and Robert, Jenny or Melanie.

I’ll be back and “in residence” at the end of July, meantime check out the new page “SCAD Chronicles” and follow my 5 weeks of adventures in Savannah.