Dalai Lama

I thought I posted this already. Guess not.

About a month ago I went to see the Dalai Lama in Atlanta.  Honestly, I didn't know too much about him (him? his highness? I think they call him his holiness) but the word "enlightening" kept coming up so I was interested in feeling that.  

I feel I should preface this by realizing that as I write, I will probably sound pretty ignorant about the whole thing.  Keep that in mind as these are just my inconsequential and often irreverent thoughts.

Something like 8,000 people showed up.  Again, I had no idea what to expect.  We walked in late and didn't get to see him come out (the friend I was with said this was the best part because of the "energy" that he brought in to the room).  There he was dressed in red with this Styrofoam visor (kind of like one you might decorate with foam stickers at church camp).  At first he gave a speech and then a guy on stage asked him a few questions.  He was very hard to understand so his response was being typed on a screen (although I think the person writing had a hard time comprehending as well because the sentences were incoherent and he backspaced a lot).

Essentially, his message is love and compassion.  That is the gist of what he talked about.  He never fully answered the questions and more of less just said to be a good person.  Maybe I'm being cynical, but I kept thinking, "Duh.  Thousands of people paid $50 a ticket to hear that?"  

It kind of makes me question what humanity is hungry for.  Obviously seeing the Dalai Lama is a trendy thing to do.  I get that now.  But what is at the root of seeing someone deemed "holy"? We all are looking for something to fill whatever hole or gap we see missing in ourselves or maybe in the world.  I do not know whether or not people worship the Dalai Lama but it seems odd to me that all this hype for someone who is just a man.  A good man, yes, but an earthly man nonetheless.  On the peak side, I did appreciate his observation of this century's need for responsibility in bringing about change and peace.  He also mentioned the role of women as maternal figures.  Not to say that we should all have babies, but more so that the caring female role is so important and needs to be restored.  The feminist part of me started to tick a little when he got on this subject but he said it from such a kind place that I knew he wasn't meaning to step on toes.

I can say that I've seen the Dalai Lama.  I am sad to say that I did not feel enlightened after I left.  It was 11:30 and I felt hungry.   

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

A shot taken at the homestead

Cedar and a friend playing at the dog park. 

We have another baby girl in the family.  Baby Avery and big sister May.

 
Baby Mama.  Avery is who I would have been sharing a room with had I not found a place in Clemson.  Can you imagine?

Midterms already?

Midterms crept upon us art kids this past week.  The second year MFAs always talk about these things as if we should bring a paper bag with us when it's our turn.  They all get very stressed and panic striken.  Thankfully, the four of us in the incoming cohort are all laidback, probably to a fault, and don't get too worried about anything. 

 

The setup for midterm reviews goes:  Set up work in the small gallery by our studios, nothing has to be finished since it's work in progress.  Each person gets 30 minutes to present and get feedback from the graduate faculty.  Other grads can sit in and it's nice that they do because we take notes for each other.  The faculty says a lot so it's easy to forget it all.  I recorded mine.  It's weird to hear your own voice though so I haven't really listened to it.

 

I haven't been too nervous about these things because I'm new and if I don't do well, well, I'm new.  However, my review went very well.  Whew!  I got a lot of good feedback including statements that what I was doing was rich in content, continue to do what I'm doing and going with my gut, being open is working for me, and that recording what I'm doing and using it as performance is gold.

 

Here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on:

This is my old baby blanket.  What you see are pine needles woven in the worn out holes.  In my artist statement I talk about how my concept is revealing what's broken and seeking to mend it.  I'll reveal more later, once it's finished.

This is a clay mold of a future project in which I hope to use raw meat.  Apparently Clemson has a place where they do butchering, I assume for an undergrad program.  I'm going to make a time to go by and see what goes on there.  I've been researching slaughterhouses and meat production for this.  Needless to say, I'm off the beef right now.

 

Here are a few pictures of some of the other grad's midterm work.

Ayako's (my studiomate).

 

Laken's.

 

Alex's.

Mumford Music

Here are some clips I took on my phone at the Mumford and Sons concert a couple weeks ago.  I never know what to do with these little videos but putting them on the blog seemed appropriate. Enjoy :)

Something Positive