Same as it ever was.

During Penland's 26th Annual Benefit Auction, I had this quote from Ecclesiastes written out on taped-together manila envelopes and posted on the wall of the Pines Dining Hall:

"All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

This was my tenth auction, and the ninth time I volunteered to manage the dining hall during this elaborate event.

"Manage the dining hall" can be translated into "Try to keep things running as smoothly and Penlandy as possible as auction preparations throw everything into chaos."

&

"through enthusiasm, silliness, sarcasm, and music, somehow persuade 10+ people to join me (in enthusiasm, silliness, sarcasm, and music) in volunteering to wash dishes 'TIL IT HURTS."

And this was a good year. and man, did it hurt.

Washing "dishes" may be translated into "classy-looking-but-annoyingly-large-and-heavy square dinner plates, dessert plates, also dessert bowls (because the auction is all about excessive desserts), wine glasses, water glasses, highball glasses, silverware, coffee cups, saucers, creamers, laughter-inducing plates full of butter, kitchen-prep stuff (for both auction-events and volunteer meals), trays, carafes, serving pieces, catering pieces, and, and, and......."

We finished Friday night around 11:30, a lot later than previous years, (because of more patrons, bigger dishes, and an under-the-tent dessert) but it ended well that night because of the splendidly-timed surprise appearance of veterans Kathy Steinsberger and Wes Stitt.

Then Saturday we washed it all again, and it was glorious.

Please follow the link at top and read about what a record-breaking event this was. More funds funded, more attendees...yeah! I can also report that this bigger-than-ever event was put on with fewer volunteers than previous years. And here most of them are...



I had a great team this year, almost half of whom were stout-hearted veterans of "Team Awesome," "the Dream Team" and the "All-star Dishwashers of 2006". I also had three hard-core 5th session students who volunteered not only to work at the auction, but to keep doing close to what they had been doing for the 2 1/2 weeks prior to the event. Of course, on several occasions I had to clarify that "this isn't quite work study"....meaning we work a hell of a lot harder than a typical work-study shift, but I also say things like, "you guys take a break when you need to...."

It is confusing. I'm confusing.



One of my favorite times during auction weekend is when my crew is done washing all the rental stuff on Saturday. Other crews are counting and sorting things and packing art, but the Pines crew is almost done, and there is this golden time before the volunteers eat dinner, (because yes, we clean up after that too!) My camera having failed me, here are a couple of Heather Miller's pictures from this in-between time....out on the grass in front of the auction tent, which is one of my favorite places on campus...




...And a final picture borrowed from Devin McKim...This was thursday night volunteer-down-time under the tent. The tent is weird and wonderful. We love it and hate it. That's how I feel about the auction too.



"Next Year" are bad words during and immediately after the Auction.

Lastly, please check out the lovely little slide show by Robin Dreyer!

Post-Penland Blues, and Other Mysteries.

Here is Michelle C. Moode last week: tired and heart-broken, and unfortunately in Georgia.

Okay.

I am finally on my way home, and ready to conclude what has been an exhausting, wonderful summer. I start teaching again very soon, and I need to put aside my summer wonderment for a while.

Just to get you caught up: this summer I went from LA to Nashville to Murray, KY back to LA via Texas, (that was the “get-everything-I-own-in-one-state” phase.)

Then I was in LA for a while...then to Visalia and Bakersfield, CA.

Then to Seattle, with an unexpected detour to Las Vegas (THAT was an unfortunate day of air travel.)

Then to Asheville on a red-eye, via Atlanta, and then up a mountain to Penland for a very long three weeks.

After that the plan had been to be in Atlanta, Georgia to make books and have a show. That didn’t work out due to unfortunate miscommunications, so lets leave the topic like Maranda and I left Georgia: itchy, and in a hurry.

I spent a few days making books and laughing uncontrollably in Murray, Kentucky. I did not expect to be back so soon, but it all worked out for the best I s’pose.

Where am I now? Hell, I don’t know. Oh wait...I’m at my parents in Nacogdoches, Texas again. God, I am so ready to be at home. I hope I remember the way.

“Penland penland penland penland penland.” I could go on and on. I must get it out of my system.


Young’s Mountain Music, down the hill from the school. A few students played there one night, and it seemed about half of Penland was in attendance for the show.


This is Freya, whom I met in 2003 at Penland. I did not expect to see her again. She was my favorite friend to share secrets with in the past month, (besides Maranda; there was an almost seamless transition) and I miss her so much already.


This is Loring. Loring and I were studio mates in lower metals, and he taught me a game he called "I hit you with a brass rod." He also played "Its a hard knock life" (yep, from "ANNIE") in the dishwashing room one day. What few people know is that he also played it three times in the studio before that. I miss this guy a lot. Boy, did we laugh. I remember lying on my back in yoga, quietly laughing to myself at something he had said earlier that day, and also because I could hear him quietly snoring near me...


Part of my work/study job was to wipe up dear little crumbs like these in the Dining Hall, the Pines. I love them, and this picture.


So, my class was two and a half weeks long, and after that was Penland's Annual Benefit Auction. This was my EIGHTH (!?) year managing the Pines for this crazy-exhausting weekend. My crew, "Team Awesome," washed all this rental stuff...that's 400+ dinner plates, desert plates, water, wine, and highball glasses, silverware...and we washed it all twice. We also washed everything that the kitchen was getting dirty for the volunteer meals, and the caterer's serving pieces (out of the goodness of our hearts.) Of course, (as always!) I had good help...


My ol' travel pal Maranda (from Murray State) arrived just in time to help me out in a million ways...like helping 'clean' this bowl of chocolate.


My "god-parents," Megan and Jack. I think this was their third auction working on my team.


And the rest of "Team Awesome '09."


This is my good friend Kate Boyd, who actually organizes the Benefit Auction. I'm just "the help."


Lastly, here is my dear friend Wes Stitt, with his "Lady," the Pines Dining Hall. He manages the Pines, except for the few days when it gets all messed up by the Auction. (although all would be left in chaos without me around.) Of all the friends I've made in the past month, I spent the most time with Wes, and he is a kindred spirit.

I will continue posting pictures on my flickr site...but I am at my limit for this month I believe.

In another post, I shall share the Ballad of Maranda and Michelle, and what adventures we found after Penland.

Lastly, here's an early-auction-morning, before they turned the mountains on:

The Happy Ones.

So, I've been on spring break from CSUN this week, which has been a pretty successfully balanced time of rest and productivity. Okay, maybe a little more rest than productivity...

I've also had lots of good news this week.

The "calculations and waiting" in my last post refer directly to my apartment-hunt. I've lived in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles for almost two years (well, come august), and I've been in my current apartment for over a year. I like where I am, and after a brief investigation into moving more drastically out of my neighborhood, I decided I'd rather stay put for now. I know these streets, I like walking to places around here, I like driving up to the observatory as needed, and I like having a familiarity with the check-out folks at my market.

But dang it, I need more space! My little studio apartment has been good to me, but in recent months I have felt more and more crazy because of the stiflingly small space. And street-parking. So I've been looking at apartments for a while now, and it really helped me clarify what I want in a place to live.

Geeze, this is wordy.

To sum up, I am moving May first into a place that I am very, very excited about. Besides having room for a couch AND a bed, it also has a petite dining room, hard-wood floors, a GARAGE, a telephone niche, and all sorts of 1930's detail that makes Michelle a bit giddy. It's the one-bedroom apartment that feels like a home, and it's the same price as one I looked at that was in a dark building with EIGHTY units. Bizarre.

Okay, so that's the big news. Let me tell you about my summer plans.

In July I'm planning on making a short trip up to Seattle, (never been there) to stay with my friend (from WVU) Myra. I'll be teaching a two-day bookbinding workshop at the Kirkland Arts Center, where Myra is the educational director.

In late July/early August, I will be at Penland (as I mentioned last post) for Arthur Hash's metals workshop. So excited to play with metal again. It's been a while!

Afterwards, I'll be hanging around P-land for a few more days to do my thing at the fancy-pants auction, and I hope I can persuade these girls to join me:



After THAT, I'll be making my way to Atlanta, Georgia (not sure I've ever been there, either...) for a residency at the Art House. I'll be making things and having a show. I'm excited.

I'm planning on posting more work for sale in my shop today. Not all of it is brand new....as I begin organizing/packing for the move, I've been finding pieces that I've forgotten about, (most have been in shows and have been resting in frames in a closet) and I'd like to find good homes for them. I do not make art to hoard it all in boxes and closets.

So Long, Suckers.

I'm in the Burbank Airport, waiting oh so patiently for my oh so delayed flight to North Carolina.

Purchases made in my shop in the next week will be shipped a week from today. Hope that doesn't cause any difficulty or sadness or feelings of chagrin.

But if it does, remember that those feelings make you stronger and build character.

Or so I've been told.

Again?!

I've decided that for one week in August, I'm gonna wander over to North Carolina...you know, again. To breathe wholesome mountain air, see some old friends, and wash dishes.

This will be my SEVENTH year managing the dining hall at Penland for their Annual Benefit Auction. It may sound more glamorous than it is. My team and I will be washing dishes. A lot of dishes. And pots. And silverware. And bowls. And glasses. And then different shaped glasses. And maybe a third shape of glasses. And then some things that we're not-quite-sure what they are, but we gotta wash 'em.

And then we gotta wash everything again, the next day.

If you're a friend or a fan of my work, it should come as no surprise that this satisfies my conceptual interest in repetition.



I do find dish washing to be rather satisfying. No, really. I like washing my own dishes, (particularly with my lovely view from my kitchen window, and my vintage china and Lisa Miller ceramics....)

And at the auction we listen to a lot of good music and always end up having a good time. There's always a moment when I tell myself I'll never do it again.....it is hard work, but it's a good way to remind yourself that you're alive.

Today my friend Maranda wrote to me about how "we do this to ourselves over and over...it's like a way for us to remember we're alive. it's like pinchin' yourself when you've 'gone away' while driving on a long, long trip just to make sure you aren't in a dreamland and you haven't really run off the road." She wasn't talking about washing dishes, but it does seem relevant.

Anyway...