Student Art!

Student Art!

I walked into a new classroom on a Monday morning, accompanied by a member of the school’s administration, who informed me that I was walking into a bit of a shit storm. Those are my words, not his. The class that I would be inheriting had lost their teacher to a sudden resignation in mid-October. If a teacher resigns during the school year, their file number is removed from the Department of Education’s system, and they will never be allowed to teach in New York City again. Whoever it was, he apparently found the class of 16 so difficult, he effectively ended his career just to escape it. I was informally offered the job prior to the start of the school day, which definitely came off as a little desperate. Minutes before class began I found this on a desk. Although I can’t be certain who made this, or the person depicted in the drawing (their previous teacher, perhaps?) it really set the tone for the coming weeks.

Sacred Heart

“Making music and art is about expressing something that’s universally human, maybe even beyond human, at best. To make it about the artist and to dwell upon biographical information can only make it singular, and I am really, really disgusted by that. Bringing the individual into it only distracts from the universal and makes it trivial. And then it’s easy to wash your hands of it because you might not be from their background, or you might disagree with their personal perspective. So you discount it and go back into your corner instead of coming out and engaging with everything.

All these biopics and biographies and people gossiping about so-and-so’s drug abuse or who’s sleeping with who, it’s just a bunch of nonsense. I’ve always been interested in an idea of boundless love– an impersonal, big love.”

Cass McCombs

Casey Roberts’ Wilderness Overload

This guy’s stuff is so dreamlike and awesome. I think (if there were dinos present) that this is exactly how I wanted to paint as a kid. He makes the awesome colors using a really old-timey process called cyanotype. Even though he describes it as “not as nerdy as it sounds,” with all the chemicals, bleach, baking soda, and other household items used for different colors and effects, I don’t get it. But I really like it. Tons more at wildernessoverload.com

we had what we thought was a "dark side of the moon" reference 1 (2009)

we had what we thought was a "dark side of the moon" reference 1 (2009)

the hiding ghost (2007)

the hiding ghost (2007)

bloodbath (2006)

hidden lake bathers 2 (2009)

hidden lake bathers 2 (2009)

hope for the best (2007)

hope for the best (2007)

Today’s Challenge

Sullivan Street Bakery‘s no-knead bread.

Is it weird that I sometimes think of the food I’m making as an opponent? It doesn’t happen with something easy, like frying an egg, where I know what’ll happen. But sometimes, when I’m not feeling 100% confident about the outcome, I start to think in terms of kicking its ass. Or maybe more like conquering it in a climbing-a-mountain sense. If I really wanted to beat up the food I could just over-salt it then burn it. Perfect execution seems like winning against the dish, but typing that even looks insane. I wonder, do great chefs experience any sort of animosity toward their food? Well, we’re both in New York, I’ll just ask Anthony Bourdain when I inevitably run into him.