Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Dr. Seuss told me to do it


It might be difficult to understand how I got to where I am now. It might be as far from ceramics as you can get without stepping out of the realm of art. Its my fist experience as an artist commissioned to do a piece, but this piece was something I had done on a smaller scale. I’m talking about the theater. It all started my junior year of high school. I was waiting for classes to start when a friend of mina approached me with a proposal. His theater group needed a mural done and fast, there would be compensation. Of course the thought of money intrigued me so I accepted the offer without thinking about what I had to do. He came up to me the day after with instructions on how to get to his theater. When I got there the troupe was rehearsing their lines on the stage and the band members were going over their music. The director approached me and said “you’re the artist right?” to which I gladly responded “yes”. So he led me into the scenic shop where all the equipment was, and in the back of this warehouse-like place there was a giant 12 foot tall book made of foam with 3 pages in it also made of foam. The director began to explain what had to be done. As he told me the details I began to regret agreeing to this deal but I had already committed so I guess I had to do it. I had to paint 4 murals one for each page spread of the giant book. The play was Seussical the Musical and I had to recreate 4 different scenes from the Dr. Seuss stories and only 2 weeks to do it. Thankfully I had a crew to help me but they were as skilled in art as a blind man running a gauntlet. The book still had wet paint when the play opened for the first night of performances. Soon after my high school drama teacher (who was married to my ceramics teacher) drafted me into her drama program where I built many sets, it’s because of her and her husband that I am here. They taught me how to speak to college reps and fill out paperwork, and it’s because of them that I stuck to art as a focus in my life.

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