A couple pictures from the recording session to the CMU School of Drama's spring play, The London Cuckolds. It was very early in the morning, hence the picture where everyone's asleep. We had to tip the harpsichord on its side to get into the recording studio (thanks to about five extra sets of hands) but we managed to wrangle it in, record in record time, and the music should be edited and ready in about a week!
, a new opera by Ricky Ian Gordon that played in Pittsburgh for the last two weeks. I really enjoyed it; it was my first professional opera experience and I'm glad it was 1. accessible, 2. theatrical, and 3. in English. There was also a great harmonica part in the orchestra. I had met the composer last year, and it was great to hear his personal perspective on writing the work and its drawn-out revision process. There was one ridiculously over-choreographed scene, but the rest of the 3 hours went by quickly (thank you to whoever included a men's shower scene with a real working shower). I also teared up twice, as well is to be expected in Grapes– like the book, the opera don't end so hot. The orchestration also thins out to nothing by the end of the opera, with a silent curtain call, and it is very effective.
Chopped up vegetables in a curry I once made:
Lately there have been so many things I think about posting, and then the concept slips my mind...mostly because I'm at work. But now that I have a weekend cold, and am stuck sniffling at home while the world frolics in the autumn sun without me, here are some lists.
Last night I had the pleasure of hearing the Madison, Wisconson-based band Pale Young Gentlemen. The cellist in the band, Beth, is a friend of mine from undergrad, and I'm so glad she joined a hip band and isn't stuck playing 'Pachelbel's Canon' at weddings. Instead, she gets to see the country, be signed to a record label, play great music with cool people, and visit friends along the way. It was really inspiring to see a group of people my own age so relaxed about playing music and grateful for the opportunity to play for whomever shows up. All they wanted to do after the concert was enjoy some hot cocoa and apple cider! So, basically I am in love with all of them. To save them a little cash, Amy and I hosted them overnight and they all received an A+ in houseguest manners. What? No coke-snorting, furniture-in-the-swimming-pool, celebrity temper tantrums? Thankfully not present. Though we did talk about freebase spoons, and how they should be used more appropriately. Like for when you want some ice cream.
I made a necklace for a friend's birthday, and it was pretty simple but effective, with some twisted wire, red glass beads, and silver chain. And seeing how she is a contemporary art historian, I thought something modern would do the trick. Turns out it matched the birthday outfit for the evening quite well! And Birthday Girl doesn't have pierced ears, so I'm glad I didn't make her earrings. Again. I made that mistake last year!
I made a new collage! It's untitled, but the inspiration began with the hazy background squares in the upper left. In a way, the work is also a response to a CD that I've been loving, by the artist M83. I just got the CD for my birthday (thanks, Cassandra!) and I love the autumnal-looking nostalgic photography. The new album is called, appropriately, Saturdays=Youth. This collage reminds me of the cooler, hazier parts of summer, and coincidentally, also of my childhood. As a kid, I would play outside in the woods, finding interesting plants and twigs and making houses under the branches of low trees. We have a creek at home and to this day I find old pieces of bottles and mugs half-buried in the creek bed and I save them. Perhaps that's why the cut-out of the ceramic sieve found its way in there. Or perhaps I just needed something white to balance out that hot pink thing.
My work hours are the same as business hours, which is good because I can still have weekends and evenings to do my art and music stuff
A colleague in the music office liked my collage Cartoony Pants so much that she commissioned me for Cartoony Pants Part Deux! Nothing quite compares to the original, because how can you ever use the same pieces of paper over again when they're all found from magazines and clippings and old books? But I attempted a similar feel, this time with a frame with a depth of about 1.5". I also ran the images over the sides, including a lobster, whose claw you can only see poking out from the left-hand side, and a wierd Hungarian folksong that went something like "if you don't know how fat a mosquito is you are dumb as a horse, dumb as a horse, oh". Snappy tune. I think it turned out pretty great. I love that the pants are leaping over paper clips, and out of its backside comes a giant speech bubble.
But after hoping that I'd have a few days of pseudo-vacation while I look for work, I was psyched up for some relaxing, and I wish I was inside this collage right now! Perhaps I'd be enjoying cucumber sandwiches on a boat in the Bahamas, surrounded by a coral reef of precious stones. While butterflies waft by. That's one good way to enjoy unemployment. I made the collage for Kate, for whom it is totally suited.
Saturday night I unveiled the latest Midnight Shoveler concert, featuring some of my favorite musicians, Mark, Sally, Rich, and Liz. My parents also surprised me with a visit! The turnout was awesome- thank you to everyone who came and showed their support. I think my personal highlights were a jazz recomposition of "Papa Don't Preach" with drums and bass; using a megaphone for Sally's voicing of "Let It Be", and the encore, an accordion version of an art song I wrote called "How Can We Hear". The accordion belonged to my grandfather and it's on loan from my uncle, to whom it's willed. I think gramps would have been proud that it's getting some use. I don't think he'd appreciate my song about a one-night stand, though. Sorry, gramps.
