Screenprinting

Nick and Sara recently graduated from the University of South Carolina with BFA (or MFA...I wasn't paying that much attention) degrees from the art department. They had enough guts to open their own business just out of college and have done some amazing work...including the Indie Grits Film Festival poster and two skateboards for the recent charity event at Gallery 80808 (which I sponsored). They print cool T-shirts too. The website site is: http://www.thehalfandhalf.com

It can't last for long, but currently they are teaching classes at a mere $100 per person for three sessions (6 - 9 PM over three weeks)...including the cost of all supplies and editions of about 10-20 prints per person. Classes consist of 2 - 4 people. Thus, I signed up Alex, Mathias, and I. We started this evening. We have homework and everything. It was great!


This evening we got an introduction to screen printing...which hardly phased Alex and me. Mathias caught on fairly quickly...he just doesn't have the constant exposure to the visual arts community that we do. Each step was demonstrated and then we were given opportunities for "hands-on" exposure.



We had to create a join "test" piece...some sort of image to use for the demonstrations. Quickly, I based the idea on my "In Box" series and, together, we had it done in a snap. Then, we each had to pull the ink across the screen with a squeezy.



We followed up the class with take-out pizza from Mellow Mushroom and enjoyed "So You Think You Can Dance" on television. One of the contestants is Danny Tidwell, one of Mathias' former schoolmates....okay, okay, Danny was graduating the year Mathias was twelve...but they did live on the same dormitory floor during that year!

A Wonderful Weekend

A wonderful weekend started late on Friday night. We went to Happy Booksellers with dozens of other anxious families to wait for the midnight distribution of pre-purchased Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books. We had three copies reserved.



Alex came wearing my black velvet wrap...sort of "in costume"...and wasn't too upset that the only other book we purchased was A Lesson Before Dying, his required summer reading material. He'll have to read it before tackling the nearly 800 pages of "Harry Potter"



The book shop had been "partying" since 9 PM. There were various prizes and games. We didn't participate but the boys did pose with the "best costume" winner....he really, really could have been a "stunt double" for Uncle Vernon!



Steve and Mathias started the book the next morning. I waited until that evening but am now chapters ahead of both. Yet, we didn't spend the entire weekend reading. Steve drove the boys out to Saluda Shoals Park for a kayak trip.



The weather couldn't have been more wonderful...clear skies and it wasn't over 90 degrees...a rare summer day in South Carolina.











While skipping stones Mathias found an arrowhead. We were all thrilled as none of us have ever found one before.



Since the weather was so perfect, we even cooked out and enjoyed the backyard over dinner. (Alex went on a date...so isn't in these pictures!)





Other than reading "Harry Potter", what did I do? Well, I finished stitching on the "Black God" series, cut mats for them, and went to my studio for a bit. Mathias showed up in the studio after working out at Stronghold Athletic Club. He tried out the "embellisher" and found it to be really FUN!

A Great Friday

Today was Mathias' first full day in Columbia. He went to ballet at the summer intensive at USC, of course. Finding out the details was almost serendipitous...John Whitehead invited Mathias to attend a party at the Strassburger's house last night. The Strassburger's daughter, Kyra, was a former soloist at Boston Ballet. They hosted the party honoring Bruce Marks, Orlando Ballet Artistic Director, who is in town teaching for the USC summer program. Thus, Mathias knew when and where class was to be held. He walked to Subway for lunch...to have Alex make a sandwich.

After Alex got off work, the two went for a bike ride....



and to buy a new soccer ball (or football...since English expressions are now part of Mathias' vocabulary.) They kicked it all over the lot across the street. Zeb, Alex's neighborhood friend, was happy to see Mathias again. They all went to Zeb's house to play "guitar hero"...



Later in the evening, I took them to the "About Face" group art show at the Columbia Museum of Art. This is a mostly amateur group that weekly meets for a weekly session of figurative sketching. Mathias is booked to pose on August 7.



There's a sculpture show currently at the museum called Material Terrain:
A Sculptural Exploration of Landscape and Place. It includes several very large pieces in the plaza outside the front entrance. The boys had a great time posing with the art.


Even later tonight, we are all headed to Happy Bookseller to stand in line for our three reserved copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'll likely have more photos tomorrow!