Encaustic Conference at Montserrat

It is now July 15. Hard to believe that I returned from the conference a full month ago, and have written nothing about it. My husband is after me to say something. He thinks I need to write about sexism. Well. Hmm. Hmm. I guess he's thinking about the critique day I attended, and the juried show which did not represent the conferees well. What I think about, laughing in a way, was the funny comment made to me from the only man in the critique session (besides J.C.) - he called me an "alpha female" because I spoke up when he tried to take my turn from me. (we had called out numbers, so to speak). AN ALPHA FEMALE! Well! I was flattered, wish I were more alpha in general.
So, the conference. The conference was a blast. The keynote speaker spoke on Jasper Johns, kept us all wide awake and inspired, and was just - perfect! Set a great tone. The panel the next morning included Eileen Goldenberg, who has to be the funniest gutsiest artist I've ever met. Everyone was generous with sharing how they'd made careers as encaustic artists. Oops. Not "encaustic artists." Artists who work with encaustic.
Joseph Carroll thinks that the word itself has a bad ring to it, in the eyes/ears of gallerists. I don't know. Sounds odd to me. He suggests a breakdown into "pigment, damar, and beeswax."
????? I wish people who read blogs actually commented.
Carl has a blog reader who really thinks and listens to everything he writes and attaches, and then writes back to him.
I want that!
So, without lots of descriptions, which anyone can find if they search for the conference blog of Joanne Mattera - I'll just say that it was a HUGE event, full of positive energy. One woman fell in love with my work - "Zen Cow." She came running up to me with open arms to hug me. Woah.
She couldn't quite afford to purchase it, even at the artist big discount. Sad. I'm still working on my feelings about this issue. Just sad.
I watched Rodney Thompson transfer drawings and demonstrate torches, heard Cynthia Winika (her voice is the thing!) describe and demonstrate - I can't even remember what. She was so masterful. I watched demos of ironing as a fusing tool, image transfer - what else? I hung out with great artists, photographed all 250 art works that were hung in the corridor gallery, and bought a bunch of new tools and paints.
Cannot wait til the next one.
AND I intend to hire Joanne Mattera for a 90 minute phone consultation this summer.

Karen Finley

Unbelievable, but the day we arrived, last Saturday, Karen Finley was performing a piece about Jackie Kennedy, right across town at 42nd and 9th. We were second in line (yes, I really wanted to be there!). I'd seen her perform at Dance Place in the 80's, striding back and forth across the stage in a raincoat, ranting, eventually baring her chocolate or spaghetti or both (I can't remember) covered body. Womens' bodies. Our bodies. Sexism is too weak a word to ues. It was the most unforgettable performance I've ever seen.
The Jackie performance was brilliant, (got a bit too long for me in parts,) and eventually got to the meat of the issues of female objectification and oppression. There was a long string of epithets (word?) telling us females to be quieter, more assertive, more this, more that, not ever this, always that, etc. She got louder and louder. It was all too true. And we are pretty much all the time still under it.