McColl Center for Visual Art

I went  to the McColl Center for Visual Art yesterday to visit with three people I know who have residencies there right now.  I work with a girl named Andrea who is there and I used to work with a guy named Nick who is there and one of my customers, Lisa, is also there.  I have been wanting to visit with them for several weeks now but just got around to it yesterday.  A residency is a time for an artist at a particular place usually, a time to make new work.  At the McColl Center the artists are given studio space and there are several labs they can work in as well.  Andrea and Lisa were there for photography and Nick is a painter.  They are all three very, very talented.  Seeing each of them there inspires me to be making current work so I too could possibly work there someday.  To apply you have to submit work completed in the last three years so I really need to get busy making some new work.  I did a lot of work while I was at Duke but I have sort of been resting on my laurels since then, feeling like I should be proud of that work.  It really is time for me to be thinking about new work.  But, I got to talk to each of them and that was nice.  I picked a good time to go since they all three had work up in the hallways.  It was just a nice time talking to each of them.  I'm not sure if I will get on the ball enough to apply for such a situation but I definitely would like to.  They have been an inspiration to me in this regard.  I am glad I went.  

Never used to drink

I never used to drink.  No no this isn't going to be some sob story about how I need to quit drinking.  Actually now that I think about it I don't know what it's going to be.  I don't like to drink a lot.  I can't say I think that would really be good for my health.  But yet too much worrying about what's good for my health and what's not, that worrying is probably just as bad as a beer or two every once in a while.  Right now this very moment I am winding down my day with a beer.  I may even drink another in a short while.  I remember one night coming home from work when I was in college (I worked at a pizza restaurant) and I happened to notice that my roommate had drank exactly two beers that evening.  The bottles were sitting out on the counter by the kitchen sink.  I thought to myself, wow, what a perfect amount of beer.  I think since then I have heard that you shouldn't drink more than two drinks a day to safeguard against things like high blood pressure and such.  So I try to keep it under control.  Every once in a while I will have three or four or even five.  But most of the time I keep it to two, sometimes even just one.  I think they say one drink a day can be good for your heart.  But it's just nice to wind down the day with a cold beer.  Today I read a random magazine article that said red wine is really good for you.  Maybe I will switch to red wine.  That would be swanky.  But I never used to drink.  I am liking it though.  It's a nice way to sometimes end my day.

Visit with Cliff

I made a new friend several weeks ago at an event at The Light Factory.  He also is into photography like me and so we share that common interest.  I asked him if he wanted to get a cup of coffee sometime.  He agreed to.  When we finally got around to doing it I took some of my work and shared it with him.  I think he liked it.  And he said he would have me over to his house sometime to see his work, as soon as he got the new shelf built in his living room.  His house was really, really nice.  It was designed by an architect and you could really tell.  He showed me around and showed me some of his pictures and we just talked.  I am liking a lot having friends like this.  I went through several years in my life where I didn't have rewarding relationships like this.  But it is nice that I now can find value in friendship.  Cliff really knows about photography.  He had a Brett Weston print and an Imogen Cunningham print.  We really do share that common interest.  I stayed about two hours.  But I have an early morning in the morning so I cut it short.  We could have kept on talking a good while longer.  He gave me a root beer to drink on the way home and helped me back out of his driveway.  The root beer was delicious.  I had a message from my Dad when I checked my phone.  I think I'll wait to talk to him tomorrow.  It's a little late.