Laughter's included in the meal

This afternoon, I had the great fortune of meeting up with Seattle artist and blogger extraordinaire, Carolyn Zick. She is a member of Shift Studio, where I sit once a month, and good friends with Pierre Gour and Garth Amundson (who are friends with Nick Tobier and Rebekah Modrak, professors at U of M. Got that?). That's just how the art world works. I love it.

Over fish tacos and limonades along Portage Bay, I chatted for two hours with the enthusiastic and easy-to-laugh Carolyn. One of the things I miss about school is just talking about art ALL THE TIME and it was so refreshing to go into deep conversation with someone else about art education theory or local artists/exhibitions or the everday obstacles that seem to get in the way of art making (like money). Mostly, I loved just seeing what life would be like after graduating with a BFA. She really allowed me to pick her brain about grad schools/residencies/museum jobs/places to visit/people to know.

No one really my age knows what we're going to do with an art degree, so that's one of the greatest gifts an older artist can provide (hm. not older, more experienced we'll say). In return, I think I took her on a mini-adventure vacation while sharing my crazy summer's exploits and fall study abroad plans. She was incredibly encouraging of what I've done and hope to do and it feels good to be headed in the right direction. (THANKS CAROLYN!)

Check out her blog at: dangerouschunky.com/notebook/index.php
If you want to know what's happening in Seattle and who's who, that's the place to start.