Amanda

As I was walking around the semi-annual Arts Walk downtown this past friday evening, I had a conversation with someone who happens to volunteer at the Black Front Gallery about how it is shutting down. I mentioned how much I love it and appreciate it as the only venue of its kind in Olympia. The volunteer then shared with me the state at which the gallery is in. Sadly, the owners have decided to give it up due to large amounts of stress and not being able to keep it up financially. These facts may not be 100% accurate but as far as i know, its the general problem. I then asked, "well, what can we do?". The volunteer said that collectively, a group of the volunteers have decided to try and take it over themselves. The main issue that has now presented itself is that the volunteers, as much as they have tried, have not been able to make rent. Rent is $900 or so and there is no way, at this time, that the volunteers can come up with that kind of money.

The point of this story is that the Black Front Gallery is an extremely important venue for artists and art-lovers a like and its the only one of its kind in Olympia. If it goes down, whats going to take its place? Probably something considerably LESS significant.

If you are reading this and care the slightest, send your checks or money to:

106 4th Ave E
Olympia, WA 98501

and if you would like to speak to someone directly, here is the phone number:
(360) 786-6032

Im not one to push financial support on a regular basis but this is extremely important!
thank you for actually reading this.

Posted by Amanda at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My artwork is causing me a lot of stress lately. Its challenging for me because i always seem to gravitate towards creating pieces in a more non-conventional way than most. For example, ive been working with plastic bags as my main subject (i think ive mentioned this in previous entries) and a main goal i have set for myself is to recreate a plastic bag out of other materials that still give it the same effect. I have tried working with various kinds of clay, slip and plaster but none of them have come out exactly the way i want them to. The most effective thus far has been painting slip onto a cotton bag i sewed. Its getting fired in the kiln right now and its very unclear whether or not it will come out.

On a lighter note, Ruth from KAOS emailed me to let me know that i have a spot in the summer training course to work at the radio station. Im definitely excited. I just hope the class doesnt begin until July. Im going to Isreal for 10 days towards the end of June.

Another exciting thing is that my best friend Ariel's older brother from New York is coming to visit starting tonight. We're going to pick him up at the Amtrak station and show him a good time. He chose a great weekend to come considering tomorrow night is Arts Walk and the Luminary Procession not to mention the Procession of the Species on Saturday.

Off to pick up a prospective student and take them to class.

Posted by Amanda at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Olympia weather has been absolute madness lately. Last week it was beautiful and amazing, reaching a high of 79* or something and this morning i woke up to snow! If i remember correctly, last april was pretty strange as well. You know what they say: "April showers bring may flowers". Hopefully this rings true.

School has been so hectic! Art is so time consuming in the best way possible. Thinking about it, i am extremely priveledged considering my biggest obligation is to make beautiful things, create. Although, i dont mean to trivialize it, it definitely is strenuous. Im working on about 6 different pieces right now in various mediums. Fiber, plaster. ceramics, paintings, photography and some general sculpture work with found objects. Its pretty exhausting but i like it MUCH more than just working on one piece at a time. Its a lot more productive and if i get sick of working on something or have to wait for it to set i can just move on to the next. Once i start to wrap each piece up ill try and post some pictures. That will only happen if i like the final result though, which doesnt always happen.

In FOVA we are required to choose a theme at the begining of the year (or quarter if you get sick of the one you chose) and have all of our work revolve or relate to said theme. Fall quarter i chose pancakes, haha, ill go into detail later, and winter quarter i chose excess. This quarter i went for a more narrow aspect of excess: over-consumption and i have decided to use plastic bags as my main subject. This quarter is exceptionally exciting because our faculty changed our schedule. The revisions have given us 8 credits of studio work instead of 4 meaning two full days of open studio. It is so nice to have such freedom.

I spent 4 hours or so in the color darkroom today. I took some great photos in a studio shoot i did last monday and they turned out awesome. I need to get a hold of bigger paper though, which is posing some issues. I plan to work on my painting, the sculpture of found objects and a plaster scultpure tomorrow before i head up to seattle. The friend i mentioned in the last entry, Sarelle and I plan to head up north to see Rilo Kiley! Should be an exceptional night.

Posted by Amanda at 07:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A friend of mine by the name Sarelle and I drove up to Seattle last night to experience one of the most amazing female vocalists alive: Chan Marshall aka Cat Power. She played at the Showbox SoDo with Appalooza opening.

We started out the evening at a really great Etheopian restaurant on East Cherry Street. The food was great and the ambience was sweet. Continuing on to the Madison Market for a little grocery shopping.The Mad Market is like a Whole Foods version of the Olympia Co-op but for some reason it doesnt bother me at all, i actually really like it there. We made our purchases and made our way to the SoDo.

Appalooza was pretty charming, i must say. We walked in and she had already started. Her other half of the group wasnt there for some reason she mentioned but was incomprehendable due to her thick french accent. There was something about her that i couldnt get enough of; her voice, it was definitely her voice. It was reminiscent of Francoise Hardy, very entrancing.

After Appalooza's set and the usual 45 minutes to an hour wait, Chan took the stage with the Delta Blues Band. She started the set with a cover from her newest release Jukebox. She had some Michael Jackson-esque dance moves that were adorable and facial expressions that reminded me of Joe Cocker. She played for another hour and a half and it was the only time i have ever NOT wanted to sing along, i didnt need to. At the end of her set she walked around the stage and threw set lists and such into the crowd. I caught a set list and gave it to Sarelle as a "Congratulations, you've seen Cat Power 5 times" gift.

If you havent listened to her, you really really should. Even you parents out there, pick up her newest album Jukebox, im sure you'll love it.

Posted by Amanda at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Spring break was exactly what i needed. Nearing the end of last quarter, i was becoming so frustrated with my school and art work, not producing anything I liked and not getting very far with any of it. Excitement ensued when i realized it was time for my road trip to San Francisco and Santa Cruz with two great friends. One of which is from "the SCO" (as some call it) so her family welcomed us with open arms. Her house was right near San Francisco State so it was a really nice location.

We ran around like kids in a candy store, exploring all of the different neighborhoods the city has to offer. We ate great food, our favorite being Naan & Curry, cheep and delicious Indian food. They have about 6 locations, 3 of which we went to. We browsed the anarchist book fair which was being held in the Golden Gate Park, right near The Botanical Gardens. We bought a lot of music at the famous Amoeba Records, which has a location in San Francisco and Berkley (we went to both). We explored the UC Berkley campus, trying to digest its enormous size.

My favorite part of the whole trip was riding our bikes everywhere, especially Critical Mass. It started raining and so the 400 or so people riding just got drenched. I was dripping from head to toe and loved every second of it. In total, we rode about 20-30 miles. We did similar things in Santa Cruz: explore, eat, shop, relax.

Eventually, the lovely vacation had to come to an end, throwing us right back into school. I have started my third quarter in Foundations Of Visual arts (FOVA) which is a studio arts program. Taking this program has become one of the best decisions of my life, it is so wonderful. This quarter has made me exceptionally happy because we are covering 3-D. We are going to explore clay, plaster, wood and metal, along with any other material we wish to work with.

Our first major assignment is to use clay to portray a narrative and im not quite sure how I am going to execute it. I will keep you posted!

Posted by Amanda at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)