:: Oh, Look, A Tumbleweed ::

:: Sunday, December 13, 2009 ::

So Intensive Arts is over. Thank God. That was miserable. Trying to avoid working on the coffee shop sucked.

On the plus side, DC was awesome. I do really love that city. This was my third time going, the last time being 2003. So much has happened to me since then, in terms of my interests changing and developing and whatnot. In particular, my artistic/design side has really flourished and this was the first time I felt like I really appreciated DC outside of some interesting tourist spots, though there were plenty of those, too.

I guess it's mostly because two of the times I've been in DC weren't as the typical tourist that I love the city. NYLC was great, and showed me a different side of the government aspects of the city. I mean, I got to go on the Senate floor. That was pretty cool. This time was more as an "artist" so to see the lesser known Smithsonian buildings and look at works of art by artists I've come to love in the past four years, or just art styles that I've come to love was really inspiring. I could have spent all day walking around the Hirschorn looking at Anne Truitt's sculptures, and the Library of Congress (How did it take me THREE times to go here?!) was awe-inspiring. I so badly wish I had taken a picture of the Reading Room, even though it wasn't allowed.

I guess I'm hashing all of this out because it's getting closer for me to settle on a city to live in. Or at least start a career in, before maybe moving on. So far I feel comfortable with four options: New York, DC, Wilmington, and Asheville. There's a metalsmith based out of Asheville who's work I've fallen in love with over the pas few months, and the city itself is really conducive to metalsmiths in general, what with all the gallery spaces there. Point being, I've thought about contacting him, gushing, and trying to get an internship/apprenticeship or SOMETHING with him.

In broader terms, I want to stay on the East Coast. I want to be able to get home to my family with relative ease, should something happen to one of them. I want to be in a city that will foster my interests. New York and Wilmington would be great for TV/Film, even if it's not what I eventually want to wind up doing. I could probably get contractual work on some shitty TV show for a year or two and get a steady paycheck. That could be put towards some small metalwork from time to time, until I establish myself enough to devote my time solely to that. And then I can move wherever I want. Lord knows I do not want to stay in Wilmington for the rest of my life.

However, with places like DC and Asheville, places that are more focused on the artistic, I could do plenty of metal work there. Film wouldn't be a huge market, but it's not what I really want to do anymore, so is it that big a deal? The difference is that I might have to work some shitty job to pay for my metal supplies, and that might be a worse option.

New York covers both bases, but it's so ridiculously expensive to live there, I'm not sure if it'd be worth it. Maybe one day. When I'm rich and famous.

I just need to figure out what to do, and fast. I still haven't completely ruled out applying to Disney's Imagineering branch. But that puts in me on the West Coast (Ew) and, even worse, puts me closer to LA (Fuck no). So I'm in a bit of a pickle about that one.

Anyways, a bit to think about. One of several things I'm going to work on over the break.

:: Nick Sunday, December 13, 2009 [+] ::