Day 3: Alfred

For some of you, this may be more disturbing than the porno images

Linda Sikora's studio

Linda describing her work process

Kilns

Typical tour bus

The headsets didn't come, so DB matched the OMCA name bands and THB's jacket

John Gill

Andrea Gill (and no direction correction)

Lunch catered from Nana's

Bento boxes

Taxo has a blissful marketing staff

John Gill's work

Alfred's research Museum

Akio

Very early Kaneko

David Regan in storage (he doesn't make many pieces)

Early Akio

Collection manager with Beth Lo

Kaneko from same series as DB and THB's piece?

Sophie Neslund

His bar of soap?

Her bar of soap?

Prepping at 3:45?

More prep at 3:50?

From a video piece

Mahlon (voted cutest artist in Alfred)

Mahlon's bench for performance center

Metro cars being refurbished

The Belfrey

THB and DB purchases: Ashley Lyon door

Ashley Lyon photos: legs left and right

Day 3: Alfred (while staying at Corning)

CAUTION: this post contains pictures of a sexual nature

Weather: Slightly overcast and humid, around 70

Pics: In and around Alfred

QOTD:  

I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens
But I know what I'm needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind

Half hour in the FC, cold French toast and bacon with strawberry yogurt for breakfast. THB heads to Poppleton’s to pick up the cookies for the intermezzos on the bus. How is this always THB’s job?

Hour bus ride to  the Alfred campus, the mecca of ceramics schools in the US. First stop: the house and studio of Linda Sikora, an Alfred faculty member. Not much work to see as Linda’s husband, Matthew Metz, is off with their current work for a show in Minnesota.

From Linda’s we visit the house and studio of two long-established ceramicists and teachers at Alfred: Andrea and John Gill. In the middle of the visit we have lunch on their deck. Bento boxes from Nana’s: chicken, fruit, rice, veggies, chopsticks. Cookies from Poppelton’s. Everybody we meet here talks about how dreadful the winter has been and how fortunate we are to be here as spring has finally arrived.. The Gills put out the patio furniture just two days ago.

On the Alfred campus, the collections manager of the “stacks” of the ceramics research museum, and there are some early work by Kaneko and Takimori (see pics). And, as part of our good timing, today is the show of the art department’s senior projects, approximately 70 in total. We get to tour the show before it opens, so we witness even with less than hour to go there are students in the midst of setting up (after 9 months of working). Fortunately for us, most of the students have carefully waited until the last minute to put out snacks (every booth is going to be providing food). While the work is uneven, it is very exciting to see a lot of diverse projects. THB’s favorite: the beasts of the dishwasher and his and hers soaps by Sophia Neslund.

Before dinner, we divert to a one of the ex-student’s (Mahlon Huston)) woodworking shop. He’s constructing two large benches for the Alfred performing art center (we tour the building tomorrow). Even more interesting, his “shop” is curtained off from a much larger facility dedicated to refurbishing rail cars. Since it is Saturday, it looks like the refurbishing has been on hold for many years. Apparently not, though the number of cars being refurbished per year is almost zero.

Dinner is a huge success! We are being hosted by Ashley Lyon (her partner, Ian McMahon, is in Seattle setting up a commission) in an old church. Ashley and Ian bought it several years ago (cheap!) and moved from Brooklyn. Their studio and kitchen are in the basement, the immense main floor is dedicated to installations and performances, and their small apartment is upstairs. The installation is the work of a graduate student at Alfred, Jennifer Degges, and looks terrific in the space. Eerie figures complete with burning candles, and a great use of the space.

Before dinner, THB and DB buy a couple of Ashley’s pieces: a curved door (it’s based on a slave quarters she toured) and two photographs of legs (destined for a bedroom at the beach).

Dinner is at one long table (see before dinner and during dinner pics), buffet of chicken, ratatouille (two days in a row?), rice, salad, and more cookies for dessert. Good local brewski, Saganac lager. Many of the faculty and artists we are seeing today and tomorrow have joined us for dinner.

An hour long bus ride back to Corning, and much to discuss among the tour members, the Belfry was one of the more memorable events among the many tours THB has been on.