6 weeks to go

i'm so exhausted. i like what i'm making though--this might be a first.

meetings with advisers--very helpful and critical. it seems i'm getting my message through. we'll see how much though.

alisia suggested mark bordoni [spelling?], renee van der stelt [pinpricked maps]

chris asked me, 'what is this story about?' [hard question] it seems my 'artist statement' is emerging from this garden-like space that is becoming denser and denser.

gum printing is a bit troubling--i have a few images i like. had a small breakthrough last night. i realized: the point is not make nice gum prints. the point is to make prints--with whatever means necessary--are are to my aesthetic. i was reminded of alisia's saying : "only non-artists believe in cheating". yeah, i realized, i am obviously and definitely not a purist. i have a deadline and i have to make these prints by then, and i'm NOT printing them with digital or silver gelatin means [too clean etc]. hopefully someday in the future i can take my time with gum printing and really work out all the insanely finicky details. [it was suggested to me to do van dyke--and i couldn't answer this person back as to why i didnt want to do it. but after spending a few hours look at them online...what i like about gum and the transfers is the immediacy. in van dyke or even cyanotype there often is this aura or sense of something being surreal. that is not what i'm looking for in my prints....i'm sure those things could be manipulated] however, it is the cross-breding of the materials i use--gum and pigment--which is the same for some xerox transfers i do. i like that. i also like the range of colors and the idea of using pigment...there is something about that.

i'm meeting with kris next week...that'll be good i'm sure.