Victory

I graduated with my masters in museum studies last Saturday. Joy. May I never know the misery of a thesis project ever again.

I've not been myself since I started writing this thing last fall...and to prove it, here is a list of things I've lost in the last 10 months:

1. 12 lbs.

2. the screw that used to hold on the rear fender of my car (and paint in three places)

3. $40K

4. a Some Crust Bakery travel mug

5. my patience

Of course, I've gained some things as well. I tried to list them, but it wasn't funny--so let me just say this: I feel very blessed. Very loved. Very supported, encouraged and believed in. Thanks to anyone who has listened to me talk about learning theory or community collaboration or exhibition design. Thanks to everyone who came to the Europa show. Thanks to anyone who touched a cockroach at the Science Center last summer. Thanks to anyone who admitted they'd never heard of the Oakland Museum even though they've lived in the East Bay all their life. Thanks to the La Brea tarpits and the Hall of Health and the subway car they displayed at LACMA when I was a kid. Thanks to farmers' markets. Thanks to whoever organized the public pillow fight on Valentine's Day.

And more personally...thanks to my parents and their social liberalism (which is surprisingly not at odds with their moral conservativism). Thanks to my blind grandmas and my work-weary grandpas. Thanks to my stylish sister, and thanks to my ADD brothers. Everything I've learned has its source in all of you.

I love my job.

Have a cookie

And here's a post about cookies--never let it be said that I don't keep a promise...

I made them special, just for you. And because I love you so much, I've posted the recipe below (show a blog reader a cookie, and they wish they were at your place; show them a recipe, and they'll still wish they were at your place because most people are too lazy to make their own G D cookies). It comes from one of the several super-old crusty cookbooks my mom keeps for just the one recipe inside that we actually use. Snickerdoodles 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup shortening 1 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 2 1/4 cups flour 2 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt plus... 2 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp cinnamon Cream butter, shortening, sugar and eggs together. Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, mix together cinnamon sugar. Roll dough into balls in the palm of your hand, then roll each one through the cinnamon sugar to completely coat. Bake cookies at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. In 8th grade I had to get all my teachers to sign a slip so I could be in the annual bike-a-thon because my midterm grades were prohibitively low (which was not uncommon for me, but was, as usual, a complete surprise to most of my teachers). US History teacher Mr. Bunte said he would sign the slip if I did some extra credit. This extra credit consisted of making snickerdoodles, which he told me were George Washington's favorite cookies, and he wanted me to try to make them on a barbeque so they'd be more authentic. When I came home and told my mom, she said, "Washington's favorite my ass--sounds like snickerdoodles are Mr. Bunte's favorite. Use the oven--your teacher's an idiot."

Welcome Welcome

I thought I'd begin this blog with a little trip to an art opening in the hopes of coming off as much more cultured than I deserve to have a reputation for. In reality, I watch far too much television to be considered truly cultured--and I hate ballet. This is an installation shot of my friend Casey's solo show "There Is No End To Matter" showing at Swarm in Jack London Square until June 17th.

Casey calls himself a Mormon artist (not "LDS") and I like this so much about him. The pieces have all these spiritual and cultural elements woven together that speak about how we don't compartmentalize this stuff (or at least I don't). Spirit and matter, art and life, religion and culture, purity and filth...it's all in this pot of mortality where every bit is touching every other bit. His artist's statement is rad:

1. The artist is tired of "Mormon Art" that is illustrative, didactic, manipulative, saccharine, and poorly executed; and 2. The artist is tired of "Contemporary Art", that is didactic, elitist, text-heavy, political, far-left-leaning, spiritually void, unattractive, pornographic, anti-religion, soul-less, and poorly executed.

Ya feeling that? I feel like he's created this aesthetic that I can relate to on a very contemporary and personal level. I was thrilled by what I saw--occassionally moved, and entirely stimulated. I like when audiences are encouraged to reject constructed dichotomy.

Aw crap. I blew it, didn't I? I said "dichotomy" in my first blog entry--now you'll never come back, right?! I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you, I swear! My next entry will be about puppies or kites or cookies, I promise. Anyway, this is me looking very happy to be so close to a collage of Book of Mormon illustrations (a la the primary felt storyboard).

I also want to mention the sad departure of Ali, who has gone off to teach art to the unschooled barbarian tribes of the mountain west. Bon voyage, and good luck. FYI--Ali actually touched one of the artworks--I saw it with my own eyes! It was appalling! Here she is keeping a respectful distance for appearance sake:

She is standing in front of a collection of Casey's church drawings, which I highly recommend you take a look at--they represent years of drawing in sacrament meeting and various assorted auxiliary meetings. They are fabulous: http://www.caseyjexsmith.com/drawings/drawings.htm

And here is Mackenzie, who also seemed to have it out for the art:

Being proud of ourselves for spending a very urban-chic evening out, we ended the evening at mine and Alisa's favorite ever Indian restaurant, Breads of India. I ordered chicken tikki masala. It's the only thing I ever order there; it's the only thing I will ever order there. It was a big table because, though urban-chic, we are still very mormon.

(Check out images from the show at http://www.swarmstudios.net/gallery/exhibitions/smith.htm)