Finally managed to get my main site updated with new work from last semester. Despite the huge interruption that was moving, I still make a lot of stuff. I guess that can happen when you don’t stretch any canvases. I may still do more touching up of some images to make up for my less than stellar photography skills, but at least you can get an idea of what I was up to for the last half of 2008. Check it and let me know what you think.
Finally got around to taking and posting pictures of the loft. After a month or so, I think it’s pretty much unpacked as it’s going to get. Bike storage is a bit of a problem and there are (at least) six dogs that live above and below us who don’t have the best owners since there is lots of barking. Other than that the place is sweet. Here’s the tour:
This is what you see when you walk in the front door: Aaron’s light table and computer desk, assorted bikes and the dining room table.
Turning to your right you see my drawing table and computer desk. The door to the right of my drawing table leads to my bedroom.
This my room. It’s not very big, none of the bedrooms are. But I just sleep in here so it doesn’t really matter.
Here’s the view of the main room looking back from my drawing table. Ben’s drawing table and computer desk are in the left foreground with the “living room” in the back. That door on the right leads to a half bath, aka my office.
Here’s a view of the main room from the other end. Note the deer antlers hanging on the wall on the left side of the photo. It’s a sure sign this place is inhabited exclusively by dudes.
Last is the kitchen (I skipped the other bathroom because it’s not that exciting and the rest bedrooms because I don’t think my roommates would appreciate me posting pictures of them on the internet). The kitchen is huge but lacks a garbage disposal. Note the Reagan Era island in the middle. The door leads out to the fire escape.
Exposed brick, lots of space, all in all it’s a pretty excellent apartment. The only thing that would make it better is a kegerator and a urinal.
Rob and I arrived last week with the truck. After a morning spent on the phone while driving across Indiana, I managed to hire a couple of movers to unload it for us which turned out to be money well spent since they did in about 40 minutes what would’ve taken us about 4 hours.
We then headed off to Dusty Grooves where Rob spent a ridiculous amount of money on a bunch of funk and psych complilations while I picked up a Don “Sugarcane” Harris record with a sweet Rick Griffin Illustration on the back cover and “Hustlin’” by Stanley Turrentine. Then we met up with his friend Frank who treated us to a great dinner at a Korean BBQ joint someplace uptown.
The rest of the week was spent unpacking. I’m finally starting to feel settled into the new apartment. There’s still crap everywhere, but at least now it’s under control and the place is functional. A temp gig I was hoping for isn’t looking too promising. Maybe next week, before classes start, I’ll get out of the house for a bit if it stops raining.
After a week in Chicago apartment hunting, I found a place. It’s a 3 BR, 2600 sq ft loft in Humboldt Park. I’ll be sharing with two other artists I found on craigslist. They were looking for someone who wanted a live/work space and I fit the bill.
The neighborhood is definitely transitional, but the space should more than make up for that: hardwood floors, exposed brick, lots of windows and a huge kitchen. Plenty of room for work tables, bikes, etc.
The guys I’ll living with seem pretty cool. Ben does these excellent graphite drawings and works at a frame shop. Aaron is a photographer and works at a photo supply place. We ended up hanging out for about an hour and a half when I came over to see the place. They found the place through a realtor and signed a lease figuring they wouldn’ t have too much trouble finding a third.
Move in for me is set for the second week of August, which isn’t too far away. Yikes!
I’ll post more pictures once I move in.
In case you haven’t heard, I’m moving to Chicago at the beginning of August. The reason: graduate school. I’ll be doing a post-baccalaureate program in painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s basically a one year program for people like me who apparently have some talent but don’t quite have their act together enough to get into a good MFA program. The whole thing is geared towards getting a portfolio together for that purpose. Right now the plan is to do this year-long thing then reapply for MFA programs and see what happens.
