new drawings (by: Teagan)

Filed under: art+photography, artsy., family, life, personal., pics, sketch

spring to action

Our weekend disappeared in a wink. One suggestion lead to a multitude of actions that involved the re-arranging an re-thinking of at least three rooms in our house. It all started with a simple idea to move some book shelves out of our studio in order to make some more room. But then, where do the shelves go? After a full Saturday of lifting and moving all is calm again in the house and it feels even more like home. In the studio we gained floor space and a new work wall, Teagan’s room feels like its larger and our guest room looks pulled together for the first time, instead of like a feeling like an orphanage for unwanted and forgotten furniture. We have been in this house for over a year, and while a lot has been done it feels like we are just now putting on those touches and making those tweaks that make a house feel like a home. The added bonus is that we are slimming down with each series of edits and tweaks that we make around the house. We keep ditching and donating any unused or unneeded things, even Teagan has stepped up and filled three, rather large, boxes with her un-played-with toys since we’ve been in Portland.

on a side note:
for the first time in our lives, our weekly recycle pile is larger than our trash pile.

Filed under: family, life, maine, personal., pics, portland., random

a vacuum that doesn’t suck

I am finding myself reading NOTCOT a lot lately and this morning when I saw this I couldn’t help but wonder— If I had a vacuum like this, would I enjoy vacuuming more?

Filed under: life, pics, random, thoughts

wow.

Teagan isn’t feeling well today and is watching the movie Cars for the gazillionth time. So I fired up Virgil, my trusty ibook, and began cruising for new-to-me art sites. In the process of searching I found a lot of great sites (see the del.icio.us links) but I also came across a name that sounded familiar: Tara Donovan. This is some one who graduated CCA+D two years before us and went on to do grad-school at VCU with one of our former professors: Kendall Buster, who’s work is incredible and incidentally she now has a book out on critique. Back to Donovan’s work— it has grown and changed so much from her under-grad thesis exhibition that I saw as a sophmore, and now she is getting amazing solo shows and producing works that are sublime. Finding her work is just another in what is beginning to feel like a string of inspiring moments.

Filed under: art+photography, artsy., backstory, life, personal., pics, portland.

sopranos— getting old

Admittedly I have already decided that I am over the Sopranos. Last year I strategically planned the beginning of our Directv subscription so that our free premium channel upgrade period would last through the Sopranos season. Like any dutiful fan I watched all last season waiting for something to happen. This year I didn’t even think about subscribing to HBO, I thought “if I hear that its good again, I’ll find it on one of those sites” so far I haven’t had to go looking.

Last night I had the opportunity to catch the new episode, and watched all but the first 5 minutes. I don’t feel like I am missing much. The entire episode was depressing—
dealing with the emasculation and humiliation the accompanies the aging process. Tony seemingly contemplating taking out Paulie and me contemplating changing the channel, neither of us able to actually pull the trigger. Karen made a noble effort to stay awake, but failed with 15 minutes to go. She slept through some of the biggest action moments, watching uncle Junior get the shit beat out of him after pissing himself in the previous scene. The only thing that ultimately kept me from changing the channel (or falling asleep) was the fact that Entourage was on next. Watching the aging and incontinent Junior on the screen for nearly an hour made me realize just how emasculating and humiliating it is to watch something that used to be both strong and powerful piss, itself and talk about ‘remember when’.

Filed under: entertainment., thoughts, tv

memory vessel studies

initial sketches for memory vessels

6 book page vessels (test for larger installation)
detail of book page vessels

Filed under: 2007, installation, kevin townsend, works on paper

first 4 memory vessels

first 4 memory vessels
shellacked vellum on wall

Filed under: 2007, installation, kevin townsend

fleeting thought

fleeting thought
48” x 70”
synthetic polymer, graphite, ball point pen, charcoal and shellac on paper

Filed under: 2005, kevin townsend, works on paper

sense memory

detail: sense memory
in progress

Filed under: 2007, kevin townsend, works on panel

suspension of emotions

suspension of emotions
12” x 24”
synthetic polymer, graphite, ink and shellac on panel

Filed under: 2007, kevin + karen townsend, works on panel