(no subject)
Woopie! Here's to a great weekend and finishing up of my sculpture classes! I still have some papers to write and stuff, but I busted my butt on an interesting interactive piece (I'll have to post pics, gah) for adv. sculpture and then the more minimal piece for intermediate sculpture. All went well.
And then, Friday was the awards ceremony and opening for the Student Art Exhibit as CSUC. I have my name called along with the other three prize winners and the Dean's choice is read off, and then the curator, Jason Tannen reads off, "And first place goes to...
...John Miller."
And I have no idea what to do, there's like a few hundred people in front of me, but I conjure a smile and take the certificate and prize money ($150), shake hands, say thank you, and wait politely for everything to finish and then practically run away to hang out with the friends that were able to show up for the opening.
I was pretty shocked, but I must say the highlight wasn't winning, wasn't the money, or even the certificate or anything like that at all. It was when I walked outside and went up to a table that was being set up with t-shirts to sell for the art dept., and David Barta was standing there along with Sheri Simons and they asked me how it went and I looked at David and I told him the piece had won first place.
You see, David's the shop tech at Chico State in the Art Dept. He busts his butt to help the students finish their projects, he keeps things running when they break because students don't listen or ask how to use certain things, he breaks locks at the end of the semester on old lockers and cleans them out, he does his best to maintain a budget and supply the students in the sculpture lab with much needed supplies. He's a great source of information, has run his own shop, has been an artist's assistant, assisted with quite a few works of public art and created the "Comet Bench", a public work of art that's downtown. He listens to alot of early ska music, went to school in Long Beach, I've heard many things about his brother and his love of surfing. I practically see the guy as a brother, he loves to tell a good story and hates it when the work areas get way too cluttered and wasting resources. He has helped me plan out, helped make countless cuts with me on the table saw, discussed projects in detail, and helped me dive into areas of the shop that I might have been too ignorant to know where to start and I have come out with successfully finished projects, including the sculpture that won this prize.
So when I tell him it won first prize, he got the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face and he said, "Congratulations."
And he shook my hand with a firm grip.
Now that's one to remember.
His pride and happiness for my success meant more than anything that night.