PAFA MFA 2 Fall Week 12: T-Minus 3 And Counting

 There is less than a month left of school now and we just received our schedules for our final crits on Friday that gives us a room and time and lists the faculty in attendance. The new head of the MFA Clint Jakkala is implementing a new way to do the crits based on a lot of suggestions from the MFA students. No longer will we have the entire faculty in attendance an more than one crit will be going on at one time in more than one room. I go on the last day, the 13th, and then its a good time to catch some sleep ahead of the holiday.

 I started a larger painting this week based on a sketch I did. I wasn't sure I wanted to pursue it to be honest, since its a bit political, but my critics encouraged me to go for it. Its on matboard and in acrylic and I'm just going to go at it as time allows me. Not that my thesis draft is in and over the Thanksgiving holiday I hope to get some painting time in.

 here is a shot of my storyboarding classat uarts. The crew is all hard at work on their junior animatic at this point---the final review when they have to have a final animatic complete with sound is coming up.

In my seminar with Mike Gallagher we started our final presentations this week.

 there was also a gallery show for Studios 8 and 9 ( the 8th and 9th floors) as well as an Open Studio. I skipped the Open Studio as I started feeling like I was coming down with a cold--and have. But I did stop by and briefly hob-knob with friends at the gallery shows.  here are a bunch of pics from various artists in the MFA program, a mix of MFA 1 and MFA 2. The theme of the gallery 8 show was collaboration.

                            MFA Students  eating and drinking--two of our favorite activities!

I submitted my painting I collaborated with my friend Alexandra Thomas that we both painted on over the summer, entitled, Cezanne's Underpants.  A lot of people came up and asked me a lot of questions about this painting and how we worked on it. Its actually no that common that two painters can work on the same piece it seems. Maybe its too much ego?

With the closing of the semester i am very aware that soon I will no longer see this view almost everyday as I will be off to new environs. Will I have a new home studio or will I go and get another studio outside of my home? I don't relish the idea of being home alone all the time, and like the social interaction of having a studio with friends, but there are a lot of questions and issues with both. Philly as a city sucks for business and having studios. The parking authority and business privilege taxes to be just two of the bigger headaches. But I still have time to figure that out.