Days 4 and 5: Hiking in the Rockies and museums in Denver CO

We are having a blast in Colorado and have fallen a little behind on the post. I'll be combining days 4 and 5 in this post. Late on our 3rd night we arrived in Colorado. One of my good friends (and former roommate) from Athens, Umar, and his girlfriend, Ashley, moved to Colorado and are letting us stay with them. There house is relatively close to both Denver and Boulder, allowing us to explore both cities. The day after we arrived (day 4) Umar and Ashley took us out to Estes State Park (in the Rocky National Park) for a hike in the mountains. Throughout the entire duration of our hike we were walking on and through 3-4 feet of snow (sometimes more). The views throughout our hike were breathtaking and at times the scenery seemed to be fake; below is one of our favorite sights at Dream Lake.

The hike in the mountains completely wore us out (and Jeni got a little sick) and we crashed early to save up our energy to explore Denver on the following day. On the 5th day of our trip we ventured into Denver. Our first stop was at the Denver Museum of Art. I spent the majority of time researching and observing the museum's displays, signs, and interactive versus non-interactive displays. For the most part the museum was not interactive and there were security guards in every room and lots of signs and lines for people to stand behind that were all restricting to the art viewing experience.

Below are some of our favorites  from the museum's collection; a miniature Yixing teapot and a Shoji Hamada incense burner, and tri-vase by Betty Woodman. 

To my surprise the museum did offer a large number of playful 'interactive stations' to help people better understand the artwork both technically and conceptually. Although the studio stations were mostly geared for kids I did enjoy them. Below was my favorite. Next to a large artwork by El Anatsui's there was a workstation that allowed people to clip and attach scrap metal to create a sculpture in a similar fashion.

Another studio workstation. I particularly loved the sign leading into the station. "The Studio is a different kind of place for adults..."

Another interactive component. One of the most controversial pieces in the museum allow gallery visitors to learn more about the piece through a series of questions and answers provided on cubes that can be pulled in and out of it's cubby. 

I found the piece below very interesting. On the outside of the room there is a sign that states the artwork is interactive. In a way the artwork was interactive because I could walk around and sit down within the room. But in reality the artwork was not what I consider to be interactive. This piece was definitely lacking in terms of participation and gallery visitors helping contribute to the final outcome of the art.

After the Denver Art Museum we finally made it to the History Colorado Center. I received a small scholarship from LSU to visit the museum after I wrote a proposal based around the interactive components of the museum. And sure enough just about every area had interactive components. I'll walk you through some of my favorite parts in terms of my research (museums and interactivity). 

As we first walked into the museum we were greeted with a large map of Colorado on the floor and a time machine. There were golden dots throughout the map and visitors were able to push or pull the Time Machine to various spots (the golden dots) and then the pilot could set the time machine to a certain date and pull a lever to start a video with interesting information on each date presented in story form. 

Our favorite part of the museum was the ski jump! It was a game that taught you the correct body movements and gave you the opportunity to jump. We both scored gold metals!

Below is another interactive station. We were inside of an old store and I could use a touch screen to select items that could actually be bought from the store. The program allowed me to search for clothing for men or female as well as various groceries, goods, and services. Included with each option was further information, including the prices.

We got to drive a Ford model T. The car moved with the video we were watching. In the video the car was driving through a prairie with a group full of kids talking. The car's engine, door opening off, and outdoor wind were all part of the experience.    

TAKE COVER! BLASTING IN PROGRESS! To help visitors further understand the importance of safety within the coal mine and blasting dynamite. There was a memory game with three different difficulty levels. On a screen, a blast pattern was presented and then I had to push the dynamite into the wall in the correct order. After all the dynamite was pushed in I pushed on the plunger to trigger the blast and the screen displayed two different videos depending on wether one wins or looses. I won on medium and lost on difficult.

I caught Jeni at one point milking a cow. The directions were, "correctly milk the cow to fill the bucket with light." And as you pull on the utters the bucket starts to light up.

 I added myself into a yearbook from th 1800's. 

They even had an interactive pottery learning station! To practice drawing on pottery visitors could dip their brush in water and brush onto a bisque ware pot. The brush strokes remained visible long enough to practice drawing and erased fast enough that multiple patterns could be tried.

Thats it for Denver! Look for our next post on Day 6: Boulder. 

Research Roar Trip Day 3: Lawrence to Denver

Research road trip, day 3: breakfast with Jo Kamm, K-State Ceramics, Amy Santoferraro and Lauren Karle.

After we left Kansas City and arrived in Lawrence I received an invite to meet and chat with Jo Kamm, a talented artist living and working in Kansas City. We met Jo for breakfast.

When I was at Arrowmont for the surface forum symposium/ residency in January I spent my time making a complex mold of a sock to allow people to juggle with. Dylan Beck, a good friend of Jo's, mentioned Jo's recent piece titled- dangerous games, a performance piece and collaboration with the Kansas City juggling club that features very skilled juggling using porcelain juggling props. Conscience of Jo's work I almost pulled my sock juggling game from my thesis but after a long talk with my committee chair we decided that both pieces where similar but also very different where my piece was more about participation and audience interaction in a playful way. 

A little background on my piece- as a high school student I had to juggle to pass gym class one year and fell in love with the playful activity. As an adult and as a way to make everyday activities more fun (a theme throughout my thesis work) I continue to juggle my clean, folded socks everytime I do laundry. 

I was a little nervous to meet Jo knowing that I had just completed this piece less than a month ago. As soon as I met Jo I realized I was worrying for no reason. Jo was one the nicest and intelligent guys I have ever met. He admitted he followed my work and complimented me right off the bat, that always feels good! I proceeded to tell Jo about my piece and his reaction was pure excitement and happiness that I enjoyed to juggle. The three of us continued to talk about just about everything: social practice, the internet, interactive art, mold making, traveling, Hungary, digital fabrication, rhino 3d, and much much more. It took us almost 30 minutes before we were even able to look at the menu. We both agreed we needed to collaborate on some future projects, an article, and or organize an artist-invite-artist residency together- I can't wait!

Towards the end Jo gifted us one of his handmade juggling balls (holder included) and in exchange I gifted a slip-cast sock. What an amazing gift/ trade!! 

After Lawrence we continued West on I70. Shortly after we were on the road, we saw a mileage sign for Manhattan Kansas and knowing that K-State was in Manhattan we decided to stop off to check out the art building and of course the ceramics area. When we arrived the building was quiet and relatively empty due to the semester recently ending. 

We walked around a little and noticed that Amy Santoferraro's office and studio light was on but the door was closed. Unsure if Amy was there, we decided to knock. Amy was there and was very happy to see us- She said she was following our trip online! Amy was very friendly, high energy, smart, and funny. We received a wonderful tour and I was even able to take home a skateboard (score!). Our visit was perfect and we highly recommend this program for post-bac and graduate studies! Jeni had the pleasure of meeting Lauren Karle fellow ceramicist and social engager they would have talked for hours if we hadn't needed to get back on the road. I think it was the beginning of a long friendship!

Above is student work from K-State.

Kyle Triplett exit show from K-State residency.

Research road trip. Day 2: Kansas City, MO and Lawrence, KS

Day two. We woke up in St. Louis, MO and drove west across the state to Kansas City, MO. What an incredible city it blew us both away and now I can understand why there is a ceramic meca in KC...we both could easily live there- Kansas City left a good inpression; clean city, amazing museums, farm-to-table restaurants, and much more. Our first stop in KC was at Red Star Studios and Gallery. Unfortunately since it was Sunday Red Star was closed :( we were both bummed and had been looking forward visitng Red Star in person. We peaked in the windows and named off all the artists and artwork we could see. 

After a failed adventure to Red Star we grabbed lunch at Cafe Gratitute and started to plan our next move. We were aware that the Kansas City Art Institute was in the city and that near by there was an art museum but the exact details and the extent of the museum was still unknown to us. I used my phone to acquire more information and discovered that the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was currently featuring a ceramic exhibition- once upon a time: stories in contemporary ceramics.

When we arrived at the museum it was instantly obvious the museum had much more to offer than the exhibition we were first excited about. Upon first arrival we could see surrounding the museum was a large grass area/park that feauted 3 large Claes Oldenburg pieces. 

In a review of my own artwork I was once compared to Oldenburg so it was special to see his work in person- and sure enough it was very playful!!! My phone died a gazillion time (only 6 but still!) so we weren't able to take as many photographs as we wanted but below are the photos we were able to take. For this post in including mostly pictures of our favorite pieces and interactive aspects of the museum (the main focus for my research on this trip). 

As far as interior aspects go below is one of my favorites. There was this incredible wooden bed that was built without nails or glue to make it easy to take apart and move. The museum of course did not want visitors to touch the bed but they did want people to understand the complexity to the joints and the craftsmanship in making the bed: so they set up this interactive station with sample joints that visitors were allowed to touch and play with. See Jeni at the station in the picture below. 

Another interactive station below. 

Here is my favorite piece from the Nelson-Atkins. I have seen Marilyn Levine's work in books and publications but photographs never do justice, it was incredible to see this piece in person. And enjoying a little Donald Judd.

Peter Voulkos, Plate, 1973

The work above is from the Kansas City Art Institute student exhibition. Unfortunately, the show was being deinstalled when we arrived but we saw it in part and did meet some friendly students! It's seems like a great place with some really good student work coming out.

We ended the day with a visit to Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, KS to visit resident artist and studio manager Kyla Strid. Kyla is a talented vessel maker who recently graduated with her MFA from Ohio University. I first met Kyla during an artist residency at Red Lodge Clay Center where I traded her for a few bowls that we still love and use daily!

Stay tuned for our next adventure: topics include breakfast with Jo Kamm, a visit to K-State ceramics in Manhattan, KS with faculty Amy Santoferraro and recent grad Lauren Karle.

City Museum!!

Research Road Trip first day: Left Ohio for St. Louis, MO to visit the City Museum. FYI...I just downloaded the blogger app and this is my first attempt at blogging from my phone. My apologies if something doesn't look right as this is a challenge in itself. Now on to the post. 

For those who don't know...I just finished the requirements for my MFA at LSU and as celebration; Jeni and I are road trippin through the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains (Colorado). Since we are always trying to better our careers, as artists we conduct a lot of research and since we both enjoy our research this trip is a mixture of pure pleasure (camping, hiking, and visiting friends) and research for pleasure (visiting museums, farms, and anything related to our artistic practice as well as contemporary ceramic art). Specifically I am visiting interactive museums and exhibitions as a way to further influence my interactive art. 

Yesterday we left Ohio late and drove straight to St. Louis to visit the City Museum at night. On my Facebook Simon Levin's comment sums up the place extremely well. "The best and hardest place to explain to people." In short it's a giant playground for kids and adults. It's a fully interactive museum and everything is built to play on. There are hidden caves and paths to craw through, a million (a couple dozen) giant slides (including a ten story slide...yes 10 stories high!) as well as giant ball pits old airplanes, fire trucks, buses, and steel structures to crawl through that are so high off the ground that they will make even grown men want to piss themselves (I almost did), and so much more. 

We visited two years ago during the day and had so much fun that we will visit the museum anytime we are near. On the weekends the City Museum is open at night until midnight. Within my own art, I am constantly exploring the carry over from child's play to adult play and am curious where does one line end and the other begin? I am specifically interestd in adults that continue to play throughtout their whole lives and therefore was very excited to visit the City Museum at night. And sure enough it was better than I expected. There were some kids and teenagers but compared to last time there were far more adults at night. It was  amazing to see adults stand in line to ride on a slide! It was hard to take pictures because it was so dark but I hope you enjoy the pictures we were able to take. If anyone is ever in St. Louis or near you have got to stop in to play and relive your childhood. 

    

After the museum we slept in our car at a hotel parking lot and woke up early enough to catch the sun rise over the Missouri River. Next stop Kansas City. Bye for now. 

Growing Power Urban Farm & NCECA

March 2014

This month was busy with a little more time away from my studio then I would like. But I did have a wonderful visit with my family pre-NCECA. My parents came over from Michigan and we visited my grandma and cousins, if felt like a family reunion! My parents were kind enough to bring me into Milwaukee for a whole day driving me around town to art shows, lunch at the Comet Cafe a triple D, and a visit to a well known urban farm Growing Power. I think my parents had enough NCECA to last for a while now but it was fun enjoying the art with them!

I was visiting Milwaukee for a ceramics conference but I knew I could not miss the opportunity to tour Growing Power urban farm. It is a nonprofit farm, started by Will Allen, focused on brining healthy sustainable food at affordable prices to the community. The organization is a complex system including large scale growing, composting, farmers markets, community gardens, and school projects. I was able to tour the original greenhouse complex- goats and all! They have sprouts, aquaponics systems, mushrooms, goats, chickens, you name it they probably have it. The tour included a very simple overview of the organization and unfortunately I did not get to meet the founder, Will Allen. It is evident that Growing Power has done an amazing things for the local community, located in a food dessert, outside of GP even today there is no sign of fresh food for miles. I was thankful for this experience and I hope to return someday soon to take one of the intensive workshops.

Below are photos from NCECA the national ceramics conference. Forrest had an interactive piece in the NCECA Student Juried Exhibition! Being married you would think I would play has games often but since we do not live together it is a rare occasion that I get to interact with one of his pieces. When I was ready I took the ball from the rack and I instantly panicked I felt like I could not do it. It was the weirdest feeling before picking it up I was confident that I would make it in the basket and take the ball home with me. Once I touched the ball I lost it - I was so scared to break it I almost talked myself out of playing. I did finally play and SMASH there went the beautiful orange ball. Then my mom played and that was the real entertainment. She went through a very similar feeling but with a little more emotion as she tried a few times and it did not break (because of the carpet) and then she got it in! I can assure you she was the most excited person in the gallery that evening, I guess I know where I get it from!

New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

Forrest and I were able to enjoy some time together this past week. I went down for a visit to help him prepare for his thesis exhibition and to escape to cold north! In between all the work we enjoyed spending time together, eating good food, cuddling with Beast (our kitty) and just loving life. The loving life part took us on a day trip down to New Orleans to visit the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum (for me!) and searching thrift stores for sinks (for him!) for his thesis exhibition.

The Pharmacy Museum was filled with antique gems from a time before I was even born. Living so fully in the present sometimes takes importance away from our rich history. My mind was a bit on overload during my visit because there was so much to see and learn. I walked around like a sponge soaking up everything about our past use of medicinal herbs from echinacea to poppies. It was interesting to read about what created the shift from this natural form of medicine to what we have today. People were not properly labeling their products and with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 came a strict enforcement on labeling. Today with proper labels I am not sure that actually makes all the medicine we fill our bodies with safe in anyway.

Possibly the most interesting and 'close to home' thing I saw was a tool used to remove the tonsils. It had a blade that would cut the tonsil off and a small basket behind it to catch the tonsil for fear that one might choke or spread infection. It just so happens that I have had tonsillitis twice in the past year and yesterday evening after returning from my trip I started feeling 'sick in the throat' as I call it. I am all too familiar with that tingling in my throat to know what was coming on. So I rushed to the store for an echinacea tincture, garlic, ginger, honey, and lemon. I made myself up my 'sick in the throat' drink and for the first time I think I actually stopped the onset of tonsillitis. The past few times I knew what was happening but I was to late in my attempt to stop it and ended up at the ENT with antibiotics, something I really do not like.

Downtown New Orleans this museum is a must see even if you are not head over heals in love with herbal medicine (like I am!) It is worth a stop in if just to see the live leaches they have swimming around in one of the jars.

<--Special bottles that were placed in the front of the pharmacy to alert costumers to know it was a pharmacy.