Music Sketch #25
October 28th, 2008

With new guy Ryan on drums, Dave Madson on bass, Aaron McCabe on trumpet, and Jim O'Neill on the keyboard. We reached a synchronicity we've been striving for.

Being in Europe

To generalize. The experience of Europe is a little maddening in a good way. It wakes up sleeping parts of my mind and then suddenly I must do something with them. Now there is more to deal with. A sleeping dragon poked opens an eye.

A couple new music sketches

Anticipation is building for Music Sketch #27 - the next public performance of Music Sketch on November 21st at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis. Well, my anticipation is building anyways. Jim and I have been practicing quite a bit, and it seems like we are beginning to figure it out somewhat. Sometimes I would try to lead and have the music follow the paint and sometimes jim would lead and I would let the musical imagery guide my work, but it always turns into something else. Our dynamic is back and forth. Here are some pictures of the last few...



#19




#21

Choreographer's Evening at Walker Art Center

A still from the film, Found You by Emily Tyra and Caroline Fermine. Shot by me. It will be part of Choreographers Evening at the Walker Art Center.

“[An] annual smorgasbord of classic, offbeat, up-and-coming, or just plain zany talent.” —The Rake

Choreographers’ Evening 2008 features: Battlecats, Maggie Bergeron & Company, Tim Cameron, Jaime Carrera, Mary Easter, Judith Howard, Nicolas Lincoln, SuperGroup, Tamin Totzke and Dustin Haug, Galen Treuer, Emily Tyra and Caroline Fermin, Pramila Vasudevan, and Chris Yon.

For more than 30 years, Choreographers’ Evening has served as the major gathering for the Twin Cities’ vital independent dance community. Witness and celebrate the remarkably diverse range of Minnesota dance—from established choreographers playing with new ideas to some of the freshest
talent on the scene. This evening of short works has ranged from ballet to clogging, classical Indian dance to Spanish flamenco, dramatic dance-theater to comic vignettes. Curated by Sally Rousse, vaunted dancer/choreographer and cofounder of James Sewell Ballet.

A Natural...

Stephanie wanted to shoot some painted nudes, and these are my shots from the evening. Thanks to our graceful and patient model.

Music Sketch 15 & 17

Tonight I finished a painting that I had started four months ago. The initial painting was created as a live music sketch with an audience and we finished the painting without one. Finally there is resolution to the story of this painting whose beginning was tainted by very bad news delivered by a dear love interest only hours before I began it in April. The eve of this painting's creation was marked by jealousy and a bruised ego, and the eve of its completion is of resolution and completeness.


the final painting "A Grey Day in London"

Here is an image of the painting as it was left on April 3rd, 2008 after Music Sketch session #15...


the initial painting

I call it "A Grey Day in London" based on the imagery that Jim's music created in my mind. While the final painting above barely shows the grey that existed in the previous painting beneath - it still peeks through - a reminder of the shame of the past and the completion of the present.

Body Painting

As a canvas a body presents a unique opportunity to work with an existing narrative. There is no way around the fact that it has its own story and its own way of expressing - one cannot do anything but work upon it rather than create a completely new thing.