Hermit in Grad School

One day until graduation! Today was my one-on-one crit with Michael Minelli, and he said some highly complimentary things. He gave me some really good ideas for how I might install this thing in the future, if I ever show it somewhere else. But after all the advice he said, "But the bottom line is, I walk in this room and I know immediately, this person knows what they're doing." He also said my project was brave since I took on the whole room and it was so elegant and minimal in a lot of ways. In the afternoon, we had our cake party with the faculty where they "officially" announced, or confirmed, or whatever, that we are all going to graduate. Big shock there. Next there was the graduation rehearsal, where stand-ins pretended to be the faculty who read our blurb and pretended to be our family members handing us our diplomas. It was pretty funny. There's a lot of drama going on in our group, but it's just too long and complicated to go into deta...

I'm done, people! Today was the big day. The day to end all days. The day that will last in infamy. It started off like any regular day. We walked into town and looked in little shops. I saw a few things I liked but they were too expensive. We ate at the famous three-penny taproom, it was good. Then I had to prepare for the big meeting. My grad review. The one where I publicly defend my work for 30 minutes against two faculty members, and there's also an observer from the new incoming class. It was so amazing and I did great. They tried to trap me with their questions. I ran into my student observer later in the dorm and she said that the faculty were so impressed with me, she heard them talking afterward. I'm too tired to elaborate right now. Then I gave the last presentation I will ever give. I gave my slideshow presentation to the entire student body. We had a Q&A segment afterward and it was fun. Then there was a bond fire and people roasted marshmallows. ...

Yesterday I had led my own critique with some people newer than me in the program. I ended up using Curtis' advice about if you tell the person what you are about to show them, but then they react "Oh!" then you've done your job. if they just say, "Yep that's what it is," then we didn't even need the photo/painting, etc. Because some of her work did that, but most of it didn't, so I helped her figure out why some of it was more successful than others. She said it was very helpful. Then I had two more critiques of my own. One was with a guest critter and my friends, and the other was with a faculty member and some other students I don't know as well. The first crit went well and everyone read the poetry thoroughly before entering the room. The main piece of "advice" was to think about how to hang the messy pieces differently, instead of in the corners, why not all out in the room, why not more horizontally suspended? Why were they ...

—4 days until graduation— Today has been a slow day, mainly because I played hookie and didn't go to a lecture. I was in the library making the postcards for our graduation program/gift. There were several of us that felt the same way and just didn't want to go to the lecture. We are all so tired and burnt out. It was lunch time when we were in the library but we didn't want to stop and lose our momentum so I was the lunch runner. I went across campus and got a bunch of to-go boxes and brought back lunch for the group. It was curry and it was pretty tasty. I also spent some time in the morning photographing my work. And because I'm the only one with a "real" camera, I am getting asked to photograph several other student's work for them. I'm happy to do it, gives me an excuse to not attend lectures. But I don't have a tripod, so I found a blanket in a storage room downstairs and brought it. Michael Minelli gave me a funny look when he saw me w...

This morning was a whirlwind of finishing touches, applying the poems to the wall, cleaning up fishing line tails sticking out of my work, and adjusting the dang lights! The room, dare I say it, was just too dark. But I didn't foresee that in order to get the room dark enough to appreciate the framing projector, you can't even see your way around the room. So how do you light the room without lighting the room? Anastaci had her car, so she drove me to Walmart about 10 minutes away. I looked at their night lights and I bought a few kinds. I used one of the automated checkout things at Walmart and I stuck a $100 in the machine to pay for it. Anastaci said, "What if it gives you change in coins? You'll be like a pirate with a huge sack" I said, "Don't even joke about that..."— My heart dropped— coins started coming out of the machine—I said, "Oh no!" Then the machine stopped and spit out some paper money and Anastaci and I burst into lau...

It's 6 days until graduation and one day until the graduate show opening. Friday is the day of the opening and there was so much work to be done. It's the second day in a row for me of 9 hours of manual labor. Yesterday painting, today hanging the knitting from the ceiling which required about a million trips to the ceiling on a twelve-foot ladder, and reaching full extension above my head with the electric drill to put the hooks in. Drilling the pilot hole, then drilling the hook in, climb down, get the fishing line, climb up tie it, climb down tie to the knitting at the desired height, cut it, move the ladder, repeat. Except it doesn't always end up in the right place once the hooks are installed because of the unpredictability of the sag, so then new holes, new hooks, moving the string...etc. God forbid if you want to change your mind. Is that still not high enough? Not to mention adjusting the little shims on my light required climbing on the 12-foot ladder as well. I...

Yes that's right people. It's 7 days until graduation and two days until the opening. I installed my fancy light and it made all the other lights on the track, including mine, flicker. The consensus among the people installing it for me was that my light was messing things up and it wasn't going to work. I believed them since I bought this thing from China and who really knows what kind of quality it is. But a few minutes later I decided to call them back. I asked them to remove the other lights on the track and see if it worked, and Voila! It worked! However, the only spot it works from is across the room, and it is very dim indeed, I'm concerned that the room just isn't dark enough to see the projection at all, but, it's too early to tell. The room has a strange base board that goes about two and a half feet up and the exhibition director lady strongly recommended that I not paint it, which I was leaning toward as well since it's intricate and painted wi...

Restricted affect and avoidance of eye contact are symptoms of many disorders, according to the DSM five, except when you are on public transportation, where they become signs of normalcy required for everyone's comfort. To show how sane you are, sit as still as possible, avert all gaze, don't speak, and sit with a hunched posture as you stare at a book or phone. See? Only safe, normal people here. Which is why the man who maintains his regularly normal behaviors creates a tense atmosphere by such obvious transgressions as moderately pacing around with an overly large backpack. I believe that he has tried to look his best, but his collared shirt is in desperate need of an iron, and the color and weave of his suit coat almost matches that of his slacks. So close. And I couldn't help but notice how he chose to stand even when seats were available— another no no— chose to stand in brown leather shoes so worn that his socks showed through large h...