OxBow: Day 3, 4, 5, 6

Day 3: Favorite moments: This morning Jill and I went canoeing. I of course had this sweet and romantic view of canoeing softly along the river as we row gently to the lily pads. But, this idea was diverted because of the wind. As be began the river looked smooth but, as we got more toward the lily pads we realized it was very windy. We were blown into the lily pads. And after making many attempts to try and make it back to camp we ended up walking the canoe back slowly making our way along the outside of the river. I thought about how this related to life and our expectations of events. It was still enjoyable. I thought about trials and how sometimes it is just too hard to row and you have to get out and walk. Then for class we did movement exercises led by Ginger Krebs. I can’t believe that I found this place of performance art with these incredible people who are like me and believe in performance work. Each person had 20 minutes to create a performance with an object we had repaired the previous day. Everyone’s pieces were very strong and I was proud of the work I came up with. I ran…to what they call the crows nest. The experience was surreal…I thought of all of the different places the soles of my shoes had I thought of the trees as living sculptures standing as I passed. It was a glorious experience. We contemporary danced in the woods and Jill drew gesture drawings of us. So awesome. Ideas of ritual, love, pure focus. Day 4: Forced collaboration is hard, it’s just plain and simple. It was not just our group but almost everyone was having a hard time pulling it all together. To try and mend our spirits a bit, our professors had us walk the distance of the field together and then enter the clam river walking shoulder to shoulder into the river. It was a beautiful moment. Later Moki and I chilled in our nice cool room since the weather was stormy our room was cool instead of blasting hot. I felt grateful that I had the opportunity to learn more about problem solving and communication. Day 5: The food is incredible here! They serve extremely healthy meals that taste amazing. Today was a day of performing. We finished our four minute and one minute performances and then performed them for our class. The other groups pieces were very thought provoking and fun. Each of them were so different. I was impressed with the quality of image making and intellect that each group produced. I might try and post some images of the pieces. I was so happy with how my group’s pieces ended up working. For our one-minute piece we were supposed to create a sculpture from repaired junk and then perform with it. The objects that we ended up choosing were a tall 1940’s golden lamp and a 8 foot old log. We decided to create a type of circuit that was created going through our bodies and object then emitting through the act of taking a photograph. It was a formally and conceptually beautiful piece that occurred on the river’s dock. My favorite moments were: When Moki was yelling Wilson and accidentally fell off the dock. When April was digging a hole…”Is this ok?” When Christina grabbed the tree yelled, “I can do it!” and then let go of the tree to have it spontaneously shed its dewdrops as if it was crying. Performing in the woods alive with all the other living objects Three breath’s as one circuit Jill and Autumn’s dock dance I’ve also had the opportunity to read a couple different books here, Illusions and Small Acts of Repair, both in which are expanding my thinking. This place is so romantic, not in the sense of love but more in the sense of idealism. I read by the side of the lagoon and just watch the sunset into the forest. What a life. Day 6: Today we went on a hike where we were experimenting with the different ways to use our bodies within the landscape. We walked up a staircase of around 300 stairs frontwards and backwards. Then we’re on all fours and walked backwards through sand dunes looking through our legs as our direction. Then we did our usual native American ritual. We made our way to the lake and stood still in the sand and closed our eyes to feel the tide move us slowly. It is a special treat to be here with like-minded people and to do crazy performance activities that everyone is involved and serious in. The conversations have been my favorite part; such brilliant minds that have been helping to stretch, encourage, and promote a deeper way of thinking. I got to see beer being brewed in the forest…the process and materials were quite beautiful. There was this huge round glass vat covered in condensation because of the brewed light beer and it was a I then got to show Bryan, my teacher, some of my work and we chatted about art, life, and making over dinner. He lives in a communal house with two other couples and was explaining how it has worked for him and his family. He is an incredibly sweet man with a tender heart that is full of giving. He listens…really well and does not project what he thinks over what the artists think, rather he tries to hear out what someone is saying thinks and then seeing how this thought can join in conjuncture with the other persons thought process. Then there was earth, wind, fire, tears, and lightening. This was the theme of the dance party. So naturally, some friends and me dressed up as rock stars, of a sort, and danced the night away. The event took place under a big white tent that was lit with Christmas lights, party globes, and black light. The woodshop instructor, Jon, was the DJ and had a full mixing board with records. It was cool how the music progressed from the 40’s the present as the night went on. My performance professors are incredible! Never. Never that I can remember have I ever been out danced by a professor…until now. Bryan, who is probably in his 60s, was wild-the life of the party. He had more energy then me! How did he do it? And Ginger was awesome! Both of them together I could barely dance I was so entertained by them! I think I have found my people. I also, got to witness the biggest bonfire I have ever seen in my life! It was glorious, so much so that we danced around the flying flames, well I mean as much as we could, seeing that it the fumes were pretty much melting us. As the lit ashes quietly floated upward to the sky my vision was shifted to the enormous amount of stars. They shimmered there in the distance and seemed to blanket the whole sky. I again realized my small size in the large scheme of everything.