looking into blair
November 21, 2008
a rare chance
I don't really sell my jewelry that much anymore, except for a rare occasion. So for a few hours on Saturday, December 6th you can find me along with several other fine artists at Mayorga Cafe in Silver Spring. All proceeds will go to funding the dream of Exnihilo Artist Retreat.
Posted by blairanderson at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)
don't get stuck in the left lane; go right brain
I am reading a great book by Daniel Pink called A Whole New Mind; Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future .
If you have ever been discouraged about why the world seemed to cater to more structured, linear, fact oriented people...
or struggled with those horrid multiple choice questions when the answer was neither a,b,c, or d...
or wondered why those damned government offices couldn't at least paint their walls a pretty color...
or have ever had a promotion or job opportunity go to someone else because you appeared to be too artsy and therefore supposedly less organized...
or wondered why a number two pencil was superior to a purple crayon...
...if even one of these thing apply to you, take heart!
According to Pink the world is changing. At least the North American part. We no longer are seeking excess, but are now craving meaning. Information no longer has the value it once had because thanks to the internet, everyone can get any fact they want with two clicks in Google. What was the valuable information age is now cheap, and those high paying info jobs are now shipped overseas.
So what is the new currency?
Art.
Ok, I am simplifying a bit, but I can't help it. Truly, the new valued commodity is big picture thinking, design oriented problem solving, and touch(story). All things generated from the right side of the brain. Even those horrible SAT's are out moded.
It is like some sort of cosmic payback for all those folk that couldn't understand that creating beauty in the world had any value. Now that people are seeking meaning instead of wealth, the tables have turned, and the new highly coveted job skill is...
graphic design.
Yea, I was kind of surprised too, but it makes sense when you think of how much of our world is now demanding great design (except for those gov't offices).
Anyway, if you are curious, crack open Pink's book. It takes a good look at what this next age will be, and how the need for meaning has replaced the need for things.
Posted by blairanderson at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2008
each piece of the puzzle
As we forge ahead with the day to day, assembling the exnihilo puzzle piece by piece, I feel like things are being revealed. As with any big dream all the details don't present themselves in the beginning, and if they did there would be fewer dreams attempted, because frankly one cannot endure an entire picture. So as if we have finished the outer edge of the puzzle, the frame that will be filled by all the other pieces, Bryan and I are embarking on different projects that will ultimately fill in the center of the picture that is yet unseen.
We don't even have a box lid to compare too.
But that is ok. Because even in my attempt to push things in the direction that I think is right (that usually just means fast) the universe has other plans. And I am glad. Things are aligning in a way that will compel us to take on new skills (or dust off old ones) that will be necessary for the adventure ahead. Like some creative bootcamp that will equip us, the next few years will be like going back to school.
For me this year has been a big one regarding this. Although I am an artist with multiple disciplines under my belt, there have been a few art forms that I haven't tried, and in order to create a "haven for personal creative endeavor" I felt like I needed to delve into some more mediums for the purpose of both networking as well as learning about equipment for a variety of disciplines. And also adding some learned consultants to our team. So this has been the year of the class.
In october I got a taste of glass fusion and shaping glass with a torch. Last week I started a ceramics class and used the wheel for the first time since college (20+ years) and actually remembered how it worked. On the very same day, Bryan, adding to his own stack of puzzle pieces, gave a seminar on recording and sound for videographers in hopes to continue to advance Exnihilo-Music which will have its final home in the Bahamas.
And this last weekend was the absolute dream class... something I have always wanted to learn. Having been a silversmith and honing the skills of small sculpture in my silver creations I always wondered what it would be like to go bigger.
And this weekend I got just that.
To sculpt in steel. Big sheets of steel.
Ok, I didn't actually get to make a complete sculpture in one day, but what this particular class taught was all the different forms of welding and cutting. TIG, ARC, and the old fashioned Oxy/Acetylene. I even got to use a PLASMA cutter.
OMG.
Needless to say this little girl is hooked. And a single six hour session showed me what I need to know for launching a program on our island that will recycle old junk and turn it into art. Another piece just got added to the puzzle. This was a major missing piece.
So as we find the missing pieces and they find us and fall together to create the finished picture, I will continue to try to pay attention to what seems to be divine leading in this regard. And maybe even enjoy the process.
Which is really the spirit of Exnihilo.
All things in time.
my re-entry into ceramics. two very humble pots fresh off the wheel.
Bryan teaching at the Baltimore Videographer's Association.
Posted by blairanderson at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2008
floating on a sea of leaves
Fall has definitely fallen here in the mid-atlantic. It is truly pretty except when you ponder how much raking there is to do. I am settling into the idea that winter is coming and trying not to throw my seasonal tantrum against mother nature.
Ask me how that's going.;-)
Here is our Element seemingly floating on a sea of leaves.
The view of our deck.
Posted by blairanderson at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2008
making the impossible happen
It may not be saving the world, curing cancer, or other uber-noble causes, but it is something that I am extremely passionate about...building a place where artists can come and get inspired and learn how to lead a balanced life, creatively, spiritually, and physically.
But there is so much to do to get there...
Our final quote came in on the cost of the first bungalow for the Artist Retreat, Exnihilo.
Hold your breath...
$57,600.00 (12,000. of that is just shipping to the Bahamas!)
Ok it may be a figure that prompts one to faint, but truthfully it is exactly as expected, so all is good. It is also only the cost of the shell, the insides and finishing goodies will be a little more for those materials, but we are doing all the work ourselves. What we didn't expect in our whole big dreamy plan to make this thing fly was that the economy would go south, taking a chunk of my existing income and our retirement funds with it.
bummer.
So, in the spirit of seeking help from others with the hopes of ultimately building this place to help others...
drum roll pleeeeze...
I give you the Exnihilo Bungalow building fund. (sidebar)
We have set the building fund at a rounded down 50,000 which is a ton to swallow, I know. But we will be updating it with proceeds from the sales of my work not just the donations of others. It is a monumental task to say the least...
MONDO BEYONDO.
So anyone who would love to help us build the first artist bungalow we would be thrilled to take any extra coin lying around. And I am not kidding, check under those sofa cushions and in that ashtray in your car, anything will do and will get us that much closer to making this thing real.
Oh, and anyone who donates $5 or more we will put your name in a draw for a free, one-week stay. Of course that won't happen until all is built... hopefully by our target date of April 2011.
Every little bit counts, and I will be making this annoying plea to anyone who will listen, and probably repeatedly.
Can you help with our MONDO BEYONDO?
That has been the nature of this whole big dream... unrealistic, and yet hopefully inspiring. From the first itch at the back of my brain, to scouting the land, to the very big step of actually BUYING the land, the process has had so many roadblocks to overcome. The highs and lows have been at the very ends of the spectrum from oodles of paperwork and arrogant civil servants that left me in tears, to the joy of planting our first coconut with Gen 1:1 written on it with a sharpy. Who knew where this journey would lead.
The original plan was to be selling our house at this juncture, but a couple of things slowed that down. The housing market hasn't done anyone any favors of late, and we even hit the reset button on Daniel's college education. A lot of discouraging factors that left me sleepless on some nights and mildly depressed on a lot of recent days. In the darkest moments the idea of shelving the whole thing even seemed like the more "realistic" thing to do.
Except for one thing...
The response to the dream has been overwhelming. Every person we tell lights up at the thought of an inspiring place to go to create. People don't need convincing. We have even had a number of fabulous friends (you know who you are!) express an interest in lending a hand in a good old fashioned barn raising on the island- yes helping us build.
And so we press forward.
What will the building of the first artist bungalow do for the whole big dream?
• It will provide a home base for the development of the rest of the site, a place for us to stay when we are there working on the other buildings to follow, as well as storage. The complexities of freight to the Bahamas makes one prudent about storage.
• It will provide us with a trial run of building these buildings using the first smaller one as a test before moving to the big building (Gathering House) hopefully curtailing potential problems. (yea, I am an INTJ).
• It will allow us a finished model (of the rest of the bungalows) for photographing and creating the rest of the promotion material for the retreat as we move into the marketing phase. This will also help us with developing partnerships with other organizations and schools.
• It will provide a little income as a vacation rental in the one season before the building of the big building ( which will go toward that building).
Our target was March to build, but now we set the date back to May or more probably December. June through November present possible weather challenges in the region (tropical storms, hurricanes).
Our Building fundraiser is set for ending in March. With your help we could meet our goal and be able to move forward.
Posted by blairanderson at 05:18 PM | Comments (1)
November 09, 2008
mock up
Post election we are back to the business of art, home, and mondo beyondo dreams. Although with a much more hopeful outlook of things to come.
yea.
Final design of artist bungalow mocked up on the land. Albeit it is faced the wrong way... the windows will of course, face the water. This first structure once it is built, will be our home base while we build the rest of this very big dream. The larger Gathering House will be next and then following that, two more artist bungalows connected at the roofline.
Posted by blairanderson at 02:08 PM | Comments (0)