Let me come undone.: Philly + NYC

I am officially overwhelmed in thee BEST possible way.

As some of you know I am in the first half of my thesis. I was contemplating on not going to the annual printmaking conference because I was planning on studying abroad for a month in Italy. I ended up choosing to not go to Italy because of the cost and chose to go to the printmaking conference instead. I think it was one of the better choices I’ve made this year so far.

SGC, Southern Graphics Conference, is an annual conference they hold every year in a different city than the last. This year it took place in Philadelphia. It was such an inexpensive trip since PNCA pretty much gave me $600 to use towards anything regarding the conference. That amount is covering my plane ticket, registration fees, hotel stay, and spending money. Ridiculous, I know! I am incredibly grateful for the printmaking department and student council for shelling out all of this money to each and every student who attended.

Anywho, I left Portland for Philly early on Monday. I had a delayed layover in Denver because of rain in Philly. Silly to me since I usually only hear about delays from snow or technical problems. I ended up getting to Philly 2 hours later than usual. Met up with my friend at 30^th street station and crashed at his humble abode for the night. The next morning I caught the Bolt Bus to NYC and met up with Diana and Leah, from school, and Pemi cause I was staying at her cute apartment.

Day 1 of gallivanting in NYC consisted of seeing the city. Day 2 of gallivanting in NYC consisted of seeing ART! Day 2 also consisted of Cherish slowly killing her feet by walking about 5 miles in a short amount of time. Leah, Diana, and I hung out at the MET and then went to the Chelsea district to look at the art galleries. Leah and I went to a show curated by Shaquille O’Neil. It was my first exhibit that I have EVER gotten excited over. It was an exhibit that dealt with size. The artists there had sculptures of all large things, small things, and stretched things. A few of my favvie artists were there, but I can’t recall their names off the top of my head. All I can say is that if you are in NYC GO TO THAT SHOW WHILE YOU CAN!!! It was seriously amazing.

After day 2 of NYC Leah, Diana, and I caught a bus back to Philly and checked into our hotel. I ended up at three print demos that were very useful and knowledgeable. The first demo I attended was on papermaking and incorporating it into your prints. Very easy to do and helpful! The second demo was about large format woodcut printing (spooning) and it made me want to change my thesis all over again. The instructor was great and I loved that his tools were very innovative and his wood block was just plain ol’ pine! Sooo cheap and plenny. The third demo was on drum leaf bookbinding. I will most likely use this technique for my takeaways for my thesis. Chee!