Christmas Strong

Tomorrow morning the Cartwrights and Heffron-Cartwright head out to Washington DC to a)complete the family...the missing piece is surprisingly not Caitlin but Brendan and b)when all of the Cartwrights and Heffron-Cartwright are together we will celebrate Christmas. I'm anticipating a wonderful time. I love the historical flavor of DC, that's one of the things I'm most excited about. That, and president Obama will probably invite us over to the white house for Christmas dinner. I'm also looking forward to museums and a fabulous gecko exhibit that I've been hearing a lot of buzz about. Looking forward to all sorts of funventures.

December Thus Far

So, I'm finished with my volunteer/intern/resident artist position at Pocosin. It was a great two or so months. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Next up, the actual incubator (now referred to in the office as bootcamp) program. The studio is all set up and is looking pretty great. Maia and I have taken the liberty of picking out or work benches. I'm really looking forward to going back in January.

I also celebrated my 25th birthday. I guess it's one of those milestone birthdays like 18, 21, 50, 100...anyways, it was a nice time. I went to the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke. It was a Sunday in December so the crowds were down to a minimum. We did not need to use the overflow parking that was available. I saw sharks! turtles! river otters! and other things!!!!! Then in the evening we had a nice dinner and chocolate beer and instead of cake, two kinds of pies. YES!!!

Rivertown Christmas

This past week I have spent my volunteer duties helping to decorate Pocosin Arts for Christmas. Maia and I did a pretty swell job. This was the first time Maia had ever decorated for Christmas as she is Jewish so we decorated during the day and on Wednesday night we celebrated the first night of Chanukah with sweet potato latkes. Also, during this weekend starting yesterday the town of Columbia has all sorts of fun and festive activities to participate in. Last night was La Posada where the Hispanic community goes from door to door (at the local businesses) to ask for room at the inn and of course they have to be turned away until we get to the high school. Then everyone is welcome to eat a feast of Mexican food and oreos and spaghetti. Today Santa comes to town..by boat!! There will be a parade of lighted boats on the Scuppernong river.

Thanksgiving Happened

Our theme this year was "Room For One More". Because we had a wide variety of people from all over we thought it appropriate that there be another place set just in case someone else decided to show up. Pretty biblical stuff. Our dinner activity was to go around and say who we would invite. No family members allowed! There were a wide range of folks from Jesus to Squanto.

Brendan carves the Turkey with a knife and a wooden spoon

Colin watches his 9 hrs of football

Mom talks to Caitlin on the phone

Dad makes his Thanksgiving wishes come true

Oh Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg is a special place. Tourists have once again taken over now that the colors are changing. However, tucked away is Arrowmont full of all kinds of gems. Artistic genius is taking place and no one on the main strip is aware of it. Recently there was a symposium for figurative ceramic sculpture. The gallery was full of amazing work and I was fortunate enough to see it. Here are my favorites.

Thaddeus Erdahl
Beth Cavener Stichter
Robert BradyLisa Clague

Why is My Life So Difficult?

This is what I have to look at everyday...
...and this is what I do on the weekends, carve birds out of wood and strategically place them on book shelves. Maia's bird is on the right mine is on the left.

OBX v IBX

So, having now been to the Outer Banks twice now, and at the Inner Banks for a week, I can pretty much say I'm a major authority on the area. Well, the Outer Banks are alright especially if you're into the ocean, seaside house rentals, and fried seafoods. Oh, and also all sorts of "first in flight" fanfare. Coming from Dayton I'm not that impressed. You can't swing a cat without hitting something named after the Wrights or some sculpture dedicated to them. I would probably give the OBX about a B. Now, the Inner Banks that's where the excitement is. You still get your seafood (fried of course), the terrain is pretty sweet...swampy but in a really pretty way, and there are quaint little towns like Columbia and Edenton to explore. Nag's Head is not what you would call quaint. I give the IBX an -A to an A. Check it out for your next travel destination.

Cabin Fever

One of the best things about Pocosin is that it has some amazing collections. Among those collections are a rack of handmade dresses and some flashy hats. Sometimes when everyone goes home for the day and the work is done and there's not much else to do the spirit moves you and pushes you to your creative limits. I think Maia and I have only just scratched the surface of those limits.

It feels like spring here but you can tell it's fall because of the desserts

Nekkid People

So, from what I gather if you are not originally from Columbia you stick out like a sore thumb and people notice and that is not always a good thing. Even if you are from another part of the state you are still considered a bit of an outsider. It is a small town and apparently everyone knows everyone and their business. People have their set ways and aren't always receptive to new things. The ladies who run Pocosin Arts Center were talking today how some people in town are a little put off by the place stating that "That's where the nekkid people are". It's true, folk artists do prefer to work in the nude...potters, blacksmiths, weavers...all naked.
Although, everyone I've met in town has been very nice and Pocosin does do a lot for the community especially with the school...who doesn't love community building?

Day 2

Today was our second day off so Maia and I decided to explore some of the surrounding locations. We first went to a nature preserve that was way out in the countryside. Driving to it was kind of like driving in Namibia. Lots of gravel roads that turned into dirt roads with pot holes. Not so fun. The park was ok. It was right on the Albamarle and seemed more like a place to launch boats and kayaks than hike. Also there were a lot of mosquitoes...not fun at all. So we left and went to the OBX...that's the Outer Banks. We went to the ocean and hung out there watching some guys try to surf. It was a really warm day and we probably could have gone swimming...well I wouldn't, but one could. So we checked out Nag's Head a little bit and then decided it was too touristy, not as touristy as Gatlinburg, but I really appreciate the low key, relaxed feel of Columbia.
Also, I have had the...experience...of trying Scuppernong wine.

Columbia! Columbia!

Here are some pictures of Columbia, North Carolina for you to enjoy. You can hold a salt shaker in front of your nose when you look at them so you get the full experience, 'cause that's what it smells like here.

Here is the room I am staying in. Where I am standing is where the big bed is. You may notice the cot on the floor...that is also a sleeping option.

This is what most of Main St. looks like. This is not directly across the street from Pocosin, but pretty close. Everything is pretty much walkable.

Here is a really nice festive window decoration in one of the stores.This is on the board walk on the Scuppernong River. Lots of wetlands around here. In fact Pocosin is the Algonquin word for "Swamp on the Hill".

The Next Big Thing

So, I have left the mountains of Tennessee for the swamp lands of North Carolina. I am currently in the the town of Columbia, NC at the Pocosin Arts Center where I will be helping to set up a metals studio that I will later be using. It's actually very beautiful here. It's not totally swamp, but there is a place not too far from me called Dismal Swamp. There are still black bears here though, so watch out. There is lots of sea food and scuppernong wine. Two of my favorites. But really, everything is very historic looking and the room I am staying in is all brick walls and wood floors and probably haunted by some swamp bear. I am really looking forward to my time here.

Weekend Update

So I was in Knoxville this last Sunday...mostly just for the experience of not being in Gatlinburg. It was nice. I'd never been to Knoxville except driving through it on my way to Georgia. It's a pretty neat city. It has some parts that remind me of Cincinnati and some that remind me of Atlanta. I mostly hung out in the hipster section known as Market Square. Lots of restaurants and miniature galleries selling local wares. Well, we went to this one coffee and chocolate place that sold coffee and chocolate. I ordered what is pretty much my new favorite beverage. It's called a Mexican Mocha. It's basically a mocha with cayenne pepper and cinnamon. F-ing good. I tried to recreate this morning. The first go round was way too spicy and I could not handle it, but the second try was much calmer and way more delicious. Pretty much it's half coffee, half hot chocolate, soy milk, and a dash of cayenne and cinnamon. I highly recommend it.

Good Old Rocky Top

Headed back down to the land of the pine...or the volunteer state actually. I just learned why Tennessee is called the volunteer state and now it makes sense why the UT mascot is a "Vol". Anyways, I'm going back to Arrowmont for round two. This time to take classes in ceramic cup making and sculptural baskets...evening classes in how to rock the karaoke stage!!!

I had a lovely visit at home, although I really didn't spend much of it at home. Still it was nice to see mom and dad and the dogs and Phineas of course. It was a nice to days at the Holiday at Home festival. Thanks to all who came to my booth especially the folks I know. It is always so nice to see a familiar face at events like this. I hope everyone had a great weekend...ok this is starting to sound like I'm writing in someone's high school year book. Seacrest Out.

Mount Leconte

View from the side of the mountain, about half way up

These are the skeletons of the hemlock tree. There are a lot of them like this on the mountains because an infestation of bugs is killing them off. (You may remember me talking about this when I was at John C. Campbell)

My feets after the hike. I would like to say that they are dark from the sun, but sadly my Chaco tan is due to dirt and grime that I acquired on my hike.

For my September resolution I have decided to do more hiking. As I have decided to stay in Gatlinburg for another month it will be easy for me to follow through with this plan. Last week I went on a hike with some buddies of mine. We climbed Mount Leconte which is about 11 miles total...5.5 up 5.5 down. It was gorgeous and the trail wound around the side of the mountain providing beautiful vistas and shear dropoffs. The view from the top was F-ing awesome and the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we made were like the best thing I had ever eaten. There are several more hikes I want to do...Contende Mecum Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Community Building

Here at Arrowmont we are all about community building. This applies to all of the folks on campus work study, kitchen staff, office staff, housekeeper, and students of course. This week we have our lowest amount of students for the session weighing in at 27...but this means we have our highest percentage of community building potential. To facilitate this we took all of the individual tables in the dining hall and turned them into one large table. How fun!
On a slightly different topic here are a list of things I miss from the real world:
Good Food
Movies
TV
Real Simple
Alone Time
Any Sort of Free Time at All
A real town...Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge do not count as real
Phineas

Hello Out There

Hey, sorry I have been a total slacker. Here are some drawings that I have been working on since I have been here at Arrowmont. I'm done with classes for the original session I was signed up for. One more week of class and then I'm headed back to Dayton for a craft show. Three days in the mother city and then back down to Gatlinburg for another month of work study. Two work weeks and a class in clay and a class in sculptural baskets. Ok, it's Friday night, I'm gonna go be social now

My Day Off

So, last me and a buddy of mine went to this restaurant/bar called the Brewery...this is were I go for all of my world cup viewing, karaoke, and general good times...well on Monday night they have live trivia. Of course I had to go, but not a whole lot of people were interested so it was just me and my friend. First mistake. You always need 3-5 people for trivia, that's my belief anyways, it also never hurts to have a doctor on your team. It turned out to be a lot of fun, but that extra person would definitely have helped. Oh well lesson learned. I was surprised at the variety of questions. There was an Africa question I got right. Answer: Liberia. Also, there was a question about a fragrance/perfume that a country singer wears, and we had to name that country singer. We did not get that right.

Moving on...

Today was my day off so I decided to take in some of the natural beauty as opposed to the unnatural beauty of Gatlinburg. I went in to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and decided I would hike the Chimney Tops. This is a pretty popular trail, but one I had not climbed before. It was only 2 miles long, 4 round trip, but they failed to mention that it's 2 miles straight up and 2 miles straight down. Dang, I did not realize how out of shape I was. It's all that fried southern food. Mmmmmm. Anyways, it was quite a work out and also very beautiful. When I got to the top I was greeted by a group of Tennessee locals and also a group of Hasidic Jews. True story, here are some photos from my fun-venture!

Also, I went to the Cherokee reservation and took in the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. It was pretty nice.

Good Eats

One of the best parts about working in the kitchen are the people you work with. I'm talking about both the work study students as well as the permanent kitchen staff. The Ladies that work in the kitchen are all very sweet, southern...in a Tennessee hills kind of way, and some of the most interesting people I've met. Shout out to them!!! and if you get on their good side, it's not hard to do they make you lots of good southern food. The other day I walked in to the kitchen for lunch and waiting there for the work studies was a feast of fried green tomatoes, fried corn bread, corn of some delicious variety, and I think some other stuff. And just this last Friday the Ladies were making and canning their own jelly...no reason, just because they felt like it. This is way better than the food network.

My Work

And here are some images of my work!!

Calvin admiring my work...these are the masks I did in my first class.

These are some "investigations" I did using cold connections and bone. I got a whole bag of rattlesnake bones from my friend and I've been having a lot of fun playing with them. On the far left is a piece that incorporates a South African coin. I sawed out the image of the kudu. I did these in my second class.Another photo of my masks.I'm really excited about this piece. It's an altoids tin and snapple top that I burned and manipulated into this little hand held shrine. Note the cold connected bone and also a bronze cast mask that I made here last summer. Full circle. On the front is a Namibian coin that I sawed out and riveted on.

PS

Please save your altoids boxes, I will use them

Work-Study/Studio Assistant Art Show

Here are some images of the work study/studio assistant art show that we put together last Thursday. It was pretty awesome full of great art work and was very professional.

Some of the students at Arrowmont admiring the artwork. We had a great turnout and a wide variety of work on display from ceramic sculpture to pastel drawings.This is what you first see when you walk in the painting studio turned gallery.

This is a picture of me and Becky. Becky works in the kitchen and also happens to be the sister of my preschool teacher!At the end of the night everyone had gone. This is my friend Jenni who's idea it was to have a work-study/studio assistant show in the first place celebrating the night's success.

Update from A-mont

First of all, happy Fourth of July!!! I hope everybody had a good Independence Day full of hot dogs, parades, fireworks, coordinated outfits, and FREEDOM!!! I know I did.
Second-of-ly, this is week two of my metals class. I've been working a lot with snake bones that I recently got as gift. The class is geared towards incorporating found objects into your metal pieces. My found objects are obviously the bones and some other random things here and there. Mostly I've been experimenting but I did make a pair of pretty sweet earrings and I also started working on a project that I'm pretty excited about today. More on that later. Also, my activity today was to document the color orange!! There's a lot of orange going on in the metals studio. Examples of that later too...internet connection is being super slow and I have things to do.

For a fun activity for you all out there you can google Bob Ebendorf...he's the metals instructor and his stuff is pretty sweet. Enjoy

Back in Business

So, I couldn't really get the internets working for a while but now I have it again. Hurray!!! Lots has happened. Work..Art..Work..Art..Gatlinburgneonfriedfood..World Cup..Work..but more on that later. Stay tuned for updates.

Arrowmont!

One week down, eleven to go. My first week here was also my first class. I was in a metals class, of course, called "Metal Enshrine" and it was all about making shrines. I made masks instead. We pretty much worked exclusively in tin which was new for me, and I have to say I really like it. It will be showing up in my work in the future I'm almost certain of it. Here are some photos...you can play "Find the Namibian Influence"