On Saturday, I leave for a four week residency at The Vermont Studio Center. I’m scrambling to get everything together before I leave. Between work, teaching, house and Olympia All Ages obligations, I’m feeling stretched thin. I’ve been trying to formulate a plan of action for what I want to get accomplished by the end of my stay in Vermont but I don’t want to make unrealistic goals or obligate myself to specific ideas. However, I do have a set agenda concerning administrative duties I want to complete including:
- finish this goddamn website
- get together all my professional documents
- wade through 4 years of student work
- finish my self assigned reading list
- work out and write down my five and 10 year professional goals
I will keep ya’ll updated on how my work is going and what I’m making. I’m excited to work through some painting and drawing ideas I’ve had festering for a while now, and experimenting with some new mediums. I will not have access to the printmaking facility. When I return, I have a new idea for a CMYK screen printing series that I’m excited about as well. Basically, as John Cage famously said, “the only rule is work.”
In closing, reminder to self:
John Cage: Some Rules for Students and Teachers
RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.
RULE TWO: General duties of a student – pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.
RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher – pull everything out of your students.
RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.
RULE FIVE: be self-disciplined – this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.
RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.
RULE EIGHT: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.
RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.
RULE TEN: “We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.” (John Cage)
HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything – it might come in handy later.