Two Weeks of Anti-Vacation

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything here.  The gap is not for total lack of art related activities, but some lack of spare time.  It's the time of year when a new semester begins, and with it all kinds of changes to my schedule.  Now is the time to catch up a little bit.

A couple of weeks ago I was doing some grocery shopping when I received a call an my cell.  I didn't recognize the number, but it was a Jersey area code and I was waiting to hear from someone about something, so I took the call right there in the soda aisle.  It turned out to be Steve McKenzie, to whom I had sent a shipping box the previous week for return of my prints (of supermarkets by coincidence) from the Newark show.  He was calling to let me know that he had received the box and to sing my praises.  He said it took only two minutes to open the box and repack it for shipping (not typical of what gallery directors go through) and the threw around the term "Box Master", though I have to throw a little credit to Lee White.  He even suggested that I could teach a class in how to do this.  It's not that I couldn't teach it, but I doubt there is much demand.  I'll stick with woodcut.

This time of year, you tend to dread phone calls from your art department secretaries- it usually means they are about to take some classes away from you.  But this turned out to be a good call, an offer to have me cover the printmaking classes at the university temporarily while the professor was absent.  Relief printing mostly, so not much to do to get ready, and I'll be using her syllabus.  From my other school I got a call asking if I would consider another schedule besides my one remaining drawing class (my 2D had already been cancelled), since it might have to go to someone else, but I had conflicts with the other options, so I had to wait out a few tense days.  Later in the week I went in to drop off stuff for copying and finally got my schedule confirmed, but also news that the school was switching to a new computer system to be used in all classes.  And though it's not actually functioning yet, we have to start using it immediately.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting until after a special show devoted to artwork from people who took classes in Belmar to run my next class there, using good prints from my previous students to try to bring in new students.  Started looking at my schedule and the options available.

Then after the Labor Day holiday, school begins.  And it began with that print class.  Actually four print classes running simultaneously, because that's the way colleges do things in the 21st century.  Still a lot of things to be worked out, and since it's unofficial I needed help from the dean just to get my class rosters, but I came in early to deal with that and get all my copies made for the semester.  After going through all the syllabi and letting the know what to expect during the semester, I went into the one things that is enjoyed by all print students, from beginners to advanced grad students- looking at prints.  We looked at some slides of historical work (a bit shocking what some of them didn't know about), but the real fun came when I pulled out some of my exchange folios.  There are some seriously skilled print artists in the Outlaws and related people who did these, with ideas way outside what few prints make it to the art history books.  (some of these artists are in the NY Public Library's print collection, which they will see on a class trip later this semester)  My plan was to get everyone excited, and to get the grad students thinking about ideas for their independent project this semester.  Not to copy anything specific, but just to see what can be done.

On one of my non-teaching days I was back to school to get my computer training.  They had been asking us to do this on our own, but between not knowing for sure if I had a class until a few days earlier, and the fact that the system doesn't work with my computer, that hadn't happened.  Plus, I did much better learning the previous system with in person training.  Two hours later I had my class gradebook set up and knew enough to get through the next several weeks.  The students still won't be able to use this, but I have alternatives for them.  On the way home I stopped at in Manasquan to check out the just arrived prints from Newark.  Opened it up, and my box had been successful.

After consideration of the Boatworks schedule through the fall, I realized I had no alternative but the usual Tuesday nights so I went ahead and put my woodcut class on the schedule for four weeks in October and November.  Called it in Friday (just before my drawing class, which went as expected), then today stopped by to verify the new pricing (going up a few bucks per person to reflect the more expensive wood we switched to) and to gather information about the member pages we'll be having on the website.  By the end of the day I had e-mail in photos and text to put up there, but that was at the end of the day, so it won't go up until sometime next week.

So two very busy weeks, and none of it involving making any new art.  But we have a critique scheduled for next week, so I should try to at least get something down on paper in the next few days.