Work Share

On Friday the 10th, the MFA students at VSW participated in an event called "Work Share" where as first year graduate students we were given the opportunity to have our work seen by the greater VSW community. We were set up in the student gallery like a science fair. The seven of us each had a table with our books and statements and some of us hung our prints on the wall. Our final videos were on a computer at the entrance to the gallery so people could watch them at their leisure. It was a very valuable afternoon. I got a ton of feedback on my work and am pretty excited about some of the conversations that took place. 

Jessica looking at my SHTUFF! Photo by Sarah Weedon.

Follow Up on the 5th of November {Everything Tomorrow}

First of all, chatting with Bea Nettles was really wonderful. I was nervous, but the conversation ended up being so helpful and essential for my research of her life. She walked me through all of the books that I am including in the exhibition and although a lot of the processes are still a bit over my head, her descriptions of the content were thorough and extremely useful. I'm so very glad that I chose her to research this semester. Her  career is remarkable and I feel connected to many themes that continually appear in her work.


The "Everything In Time" opening reception was a hit as well. The Siskind gallery was hoppin' with "First Friday"ers. The exhibition will be up until December 19th, so there is still time to stop in and feast your eyes on some maximalist artwork before the exhibition moves to The Center for Book Arts in NYC. Here are some pics from the opening.

Also, I DID end up watching V for Vendetta, but it didn't end up being until AFTER the 5th, technically. There were no fireworks either. Only in my mind. It's weird, I'm writing all of this and it has been well over one month ago. I'm constantly playing catch up. Whatevs, it will happen some day. :)

Book Binding & Josh Ritter

Now that the semester is over I can finally catch up on some blog posts. I wanted to include some info about this one weekend a while back. (I love the vagueness of that sentence). A weekend full of friends, music and learning. I attended a "four needle coptic with cloth covered boards" book binding workshop with VSW alum and current student at University of Iowa's Center for the Book, Heather Wetzel. The workshop was INCREDIBLE. I learned the coptic binding technique and created a wonderful, functional, notebook. The majority of my classmates attended the workshop as well and we all had a book to show for it in the end. Brian made a bright red dream journal. Ha ha ha. 

Heather instructing Alicia and Megan.

The spine of my book. 

The next day I went to Ithaca to see Josh Ritter with Katie Brennan and John Brennan! It was truly magical. What a show! I'm so thankful that I was there amongst good people. 

I've got a great life. 

EVERYTHING tomorrow

Tomorrow is going to be a pretty fantastic day for a few reasons...


1. Remember, remember, the 5th of November...I look forward to watching V for Vendetta at some point and making some eggs in a basket and shooting off some fireworks...the usual. 


2. Most likely I will be having a phone conversation with Bea Nettles. For those of you who don't know who she is, well, she's a pretty big deal. Photographer and book artist. I've been researching her work and life this semester as part of an online exhibition curated by my Contemporary Photo and Imaging Survey class. I plan on doing an entire entry about this exhibition and the process eventually, so...stay tuned! 


3. "Everything in Time" opens in the Siskind Gallery at the Visual Studies Workshop! The opening reception is from 6 - 9. As MFA students we helped during the installation process. I'm excited to be there when the exhibit opens to the public. 

Here are some photos of the gallery "in process".

If you find yourself in the Rochester area between tomorrow and December 19th, it will definitely be worth checking out!