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In the past week I have been watching something grow larger in the windows of our Institute of Contemporary Art. It is as if it has a mind of its own, or like it has a living pulse, slowly expanding and spreading color everywhere… almost as if it is trying to take over the space. That thing is…

…A “Collage Party”, a creation of Paul Butler who is a visiting artist for the MFA program. Paul Butler, the “curator” of many interesting projects like “The Other Gallery” and “The Upper Trading Post“, has brought one of his spontaneous “Collage Parties” to the current show in the ICA at MECA. This mass of confusion and color, seen at first walking towards the building covering the windows and walls, cannot help but draw you in and make you question what exactly could be going on.

To get a better idea of what exactly was happening, I had the fortunate opportunity to hear Paul Butler at an artist talk a few days later after seeing this start up, and I was happy that I did. Paul’s goals with a party like this are to create an interesting social experiment for artists by making “social structures”, which basically means “what can we do as artists to get together and think up awesome stuff.” This, along with many other projects that Paul invests his time in, gives artists the opportunity to pick each others brains and create something unique that could only come from working together with a large amalgamation of minds.

It makes me happy that this social destination was open to the public, because at one point I got to sit down for a half an hour or so and make my own little contribution to the living, growing, flashy mass that the front room of the ICA was becoming. It was fun even spending a little time there, it feels as if the energy in the room was bouncing off the walls. If this is a prelude to the incredible artists that will be coming through the MFA program as visiting artists, then I look forward to hearing them talk at future lectures (that thankfully, are all open to the public!).

Hey everyone, I’m happy to be back and writing about my summer experience here at MECA. Even though the BFA program is on their break right now, like last year I have opted to stay on campus in the summer housing and enjoy summer in Portland. Like the last year I did this, I know I will have an incredible time seeing the streets teeming with people and things to do. Summer seems to bring lots of things out of the woodwork that hide away during the cold weather. The farmer’s market starts coming by and I can pick up fresh flowers to brighten up my room, or I can go to some of the MFA artist lectures at the school.

One thing that I had been looking forward to that happened this past weekend was the Portland Pride celebration in downtown Portland. This atmosphere is so friendly and welcoming that whether you are LGBTQ or even straight, it is a fun day of celebrating diversity. There are thousands of people that gather to enjoy delicious food and get the word out about any causes that feel important to them, its quite a spectacle to behold.

Alongside this event there is another related art show going on in MECA. The photo show “The Future of the Past: Reviving the Queer Archive” is on the first floor of the Porteous building, and holds some very powerful photos of the people of Portland throughout the years making their voice heard on issues confronting the “queer community”. The photos can hold a powerful seriousness about them that can let you lift the veil of mystery and see into the world of an activist, and are definitely worth seeing while they are here (the show goes till July 3rd).

With this and many more things to do in Portland, this is just a prelude to the many exciting events that will happen this year. As I type this I am getting ready to go to an artist’s lecture, so I hope to be writing my next blog with new inspirations and neat projects to talk about. Until next time!

There is no better time than summer to sit and reflect on the things that keep you going. This weekend was fantastic for just sitting around with friends having some barbecue with not a care in our minds. The weather outside is perfect, we all have some time before we start up our summer work, and there are beautiful things all around us (in weather and artwork alike).

The best thing about this time of year at MECA is that it is the final hurrah for all the seniors as they all put up their Thesis work. Out of the three large student shows here at MECA, the Thesis show lets us all see what everyone’s work has been gravitating towards. I cannot help but admire everyone’s work and think about what it will be like when I will have my work up on the walls around this time. Eventually I’ll be thinking about what drives me in my studio practice, and creating a body of work around it. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time, the workload seems immeasurable from what I’ve heard other peers talk about with their own experiences. Whatever the case, the works on the walls now are an encouraging mental shove in the right direction. There is work that I will always remember and be inspired by, and as I stare and marvel at everything I hope that I will be as successful. I know if I put my heart into what I’m doing, I’ll have a similar outcome.

(Here’s some of the things that caught my attention from the show. Enjoy!)

What a fantastic feeling it is to say this phrase: “everything is done”. I have been able to kick back and relax for a few days, an experience which feels all too rare when the hustle and bustle of projects and other things are weighing down heavily on us all at MECA. The end of the year always brings a sigh of relief from most of the school’s population, as well as a slew of great things to look forward to.

One thing that was a nice finish to the year of trying out the new Resident Programmer position was a favorite event of mine: Silkscreening chocolate onto pancakes!

This ended up being a big sticky mess, but the outcome was quite a spectacle. We had footprints, tapirs, stars, and tons of other tasty designs on our batch of chocolate chip pancakes… A full box and a half of pancake mix was gone before the night came to a close. This was too much fun, and was a perfect last event of the year.

One of the other things I am looking forward to is the fact that I will have my own studio space next year. Monday was our “Introduction to the Major” meeting with the heads of our department, and I have to say I have a lot to look forward to after hearing about what will be going on there.

After getting a bit of info about what we will be doing during the next two years, we all got to go around and introduce ourselves and talk about why we picked Graphic Design or had an interest in it as our major. A big part of coming into design with me was that I wanted to take my interest in objects and printmaking into my Graphic Design practice, and when it came to hearing everyone else’s stories I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there were a lot of other people who wanted to do the same thing! We also got to see some of everyone’s work, which let me show off the finished “Bread Prints” as one of my favorite pieces that I had done this year. I know that I’ll have a ton of fun in the Graphic Design Major, and I have a feeling I will be in a great learning environment with my colleagues.

In the next week or so, everyone will be cleaning out and heading home for the summer, and seniors will be setting up for the Thesis show around the school, so it will become a very quiet place here during the summer in a few days. I’m looking forward to another summer of relaxing and working, seeing friends, and waiting for that day when I can start up class again. Next time I walk into MECA’s doors for a class, it will be as a Junior. That day couldn’t come soon enough…

The final week of school is daunting. I haven’t been able to sit down without thinking about some project I have to do for later in the week. Even though it was a tough week, there is a feeling of accomplishment after doing all of these projects.

The school encourages us to take breaks and the week has been filled with concerts, barbeques and Earth day events. We just had a band come play in our student center to accompany the final assignments for our Super 8 film classes. It was a great way to spend the last day of classes. Coming up, I am looking forward to the next event: silkscreening on pancakes with chocolate! I’ve been having a lot of fun with silkscreening on food in my other projects.

I’m glad the school is giving us things to help us relax. I intend to spend the week relaxing, preparing for a good summer, and checking out the work of the seniors in the Thesis show.

recently | first friday openings, merit, workshops, critiques, and studio visits.

Sometimes it’s too cold and too early to go home, but the sunrise is always nice. Mornings are so pleasant in the print studio. People are always in the building. Always. I think it’s one of the most comforting elements at MECA. The 24 hour access allows us to work whenever we want. It’s nice to know that there is always someone in the studio coming in, headed home, needing food + coffee or just a quick breath of fresh air. As the semester’s pace quickens, it feels like we almost never leave the studio.

The GRASS project has allowed me in the past couple of days to pack ‘making kits’ and take my work elsewhere. Equipped with my adhesive and blade of paper grass, I’ve been multitasking all weekend building my patches of green and purples. The change of pace has been nice, to be able to make and visit with friends.

So things keep sneaking into my agenda this week that have to do with food. It’s been everything from events that go on in the resident halls to my own artwork (yes, food is part of one of my next pieces). There are even more things to look forward to with food in the coming weeks… Silkscreened pancakes with chocolate, campfire food and movie night… No one will have an excuse to go hungry on a friday night!

One of the events that happened this weekend was a little something in the spirit of Easter- I sat in the Shepley St. Resident hall common room and prepared about 6 cartons of eggs for our Egg Dying night. Suprisingly, all but 6 of the eggs were used up! I couldn’t believe that we actually went through all the eggs, but people had a ton of fun making some pretty funny stuff.

Besides this event and the upcoming ones, I have an exciting new studio project that I started recently.

I plan to make the text on this piece of bread mold. Hopefully I can make it stick to just the letters...

I have been very interested in what materials I have been printing on in my Silkscreening class. For my last project I am taking a little bit of a step away from the usual comfort zone of paper and trying bread as my medium. It’s a work in progress, but I figure there’s a lot of things you can say by using bread as your canvas. We’ll have to see how things turn out. I have a few ideas brewing already, we’ll have to see what comes of it.

So, here’s to food! I know I’m looking forward to everything going on in the next few weeks. Hope you take some time to sit down and enjoy some food with friends sometime soon too!

A little section of the current show on the second floor of the Porteous Building. What gorgeous prints!

Yet again another fantastic First Friday Art Walk has passed us by, the hustle and bustle of the Portland streets filling up suddenly not even slowed by the damp weather. A little rain doesn’t stop most people who want to see the magnificent works of our budding artists around the city and at MECA. One thing I am really getting into and finding out a bit more about with First Friday is the option for any of us MECA students to set up a table and sell some of our artwork in the Porteous Building.

picture taken by local Designer/Printmaker Kris Johnsen, click the image to see his blog.

This has been a fun little thing to do, I’ve joined a group of people who typically set up tables every First Friday for the second one in a row, and I am having a lot of fun doing it. Not only is it nice to see someone want and buy your work, you get to socialize with people and practice talking about your work a bit. By far though, my all-time favorite part about this whole thing is that I get to do some trading with the artists who set up their tables with me. At the end of the night, there is typically an absence of people, so after sitting staring at every one’s art around you, there’s bound to be something that you’ve had your eye on for a bit. I have a slowly growing collection of art on my walls now because of this, and this eccentric little gathering of prints and drawings and paintings is becoming my own little self-curated gallery at home that’s always evolving.

Just a little section of my wall.

So as time goes on, I hope to keep doing this fun little ritual of going and selling a bit of my work with this group of people. It’s such a great way to get to know your fellow artist, get your art out in the open, and get some neat things for yourself. I can’t wait till the next time we have a First Friday, I already have plans for what I want to make/bring…

MECA’s First Friday in April was amazing. We had a great turnout despite the rain. Now showing at MECA: the BFA Index Show in the ICA, the Merit show on the 3rd- 5th floors, Undoing Racism show in the Joanne  Waxman Library & 2nd floor, and the Art History works on the second floor as well.

I am proud to say that I took part in two out of the five show. My ‘Studio’ installation is up on the fourth floor and my print work is on the second floor in the Undoing Racism show. Elizabeth Jabar and the printmaking majors took part in a workshop called Picturing Us, with students from an ELL classroom at King Middle School. In this workshop, students generated prints used stencil and silk screening techniques based on their ideas about their ‘home’ culture and American culture. The printmaking juniors and seniors then created prints in reaction to the artwork generated during this workshop. This workshop is highlighted in the Porteous front window in a slideshow in addition to a few quotes from the ‘Dialogues in Diversity’ (another component in the Undoing Racism project).

The exhibit also features art work from local artists and MECA print elective students.

Read the Portland Press Herald article here.

Merit Exhibition |  Space 4.5 B

Print Studios |  Space E.C

Studio one and studio two.

What is a studio practice? Is it a ritual? Is it going to work? Is it easy? Can it give you nightmares? These questions have been part of semester long search, exploration and practice of the studio.

Everyday we students at MECA roll out of bed to walk to Porteous and go to work. Yes, we do go to school, but in my eyes it’s becoming more than that. It is a ritual (hanging the coat and putting on my apron and crocs), a pursuit of happiness (a good printing day), and a developing way of thinking.

It’s interesting to think about our daily interaction with the studio. I spent between 8-15 hours a day there. My teachers are mentors, my studio mates family, and my studio is my home. My studio practice is integral space in my life. As a printer I make to make, I enjoy the construction of under layers, the plate making, the collecting and editing that takes place before a ‘product’ is yielded.

My process lives and breathes in my space.

It is storage for my ideas, for materials, collections, people, and places.