Oct 19th through Oct 25th

Charmaine and I had an easy drive to Boulder, picked up our daughter Eva and then went on to the airport, we landed in New York and went to dinner with friends. I think New York is measured from dinner to dinner. On the morning of the 20th we all took the train down to Grounds for Sculpture to look at their indoor space. I will show 6 major sculptures there in the spring. The show will have an opening on May 1, 2011. The indoor space is big and open and very nice. There is a Debra Butterfield show up now.

The Grounds are very beautiful and a pleasure to walk through, but like most sculpture parks, there is to much work. "To many notes", the question is "which ones do you take out". Now that is not for me to say. I just walk and look, I did enjoy it.

The next day Charmaine and I and Linda Clarke met with some New York City Parks people, and visited Museums and Galleries. But the best thing is that we went to the International Sculpture Center Gala on Friday night, it was like going to a family reunion. Lots of the people who were there that I have known for 30 or 40 years. It was nice to see them for a fact. When I saw Albert Paley from across the room, I went over to congratulate him on getting a major commission down at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. (One which I tried very hard to get and did not, Albert got it.) I can tell you for a fact  there is a lot of work that goes into these things, so I was very surprised when Albert told me that after a 20 person art committee chose him and he went to work on it, the Provost of Texas Tech killed the project. Go figure. It certainly renders the decision of a group of people who had worked long and hard, kind of meaningless.  Just another walk down the road to nothing. Welcome to the world of "fair and equal give every one a shot" art world.

We got home Sunday afternoon late, back to the mountains and cold and rain, by Monday morning it was snowing some serious white. I really love it because my studio is warm year round. I just eat chicken soup and work. I love being home and I love making sculpture. But as life would have it, in the morning I fly to Houston. Houston is my friend on an absolute level.

This trip to Houston will cover some territory, giving a lecture at Rice, working with students, and seeing what Jim Harithus is up to at the Station. (The Station is one of the best show places in the world, not because it is a great space,  which it is, but because of the shows Jim puts together) The Station is a private museum, no board, no committees, Jim does not go to who is "hot" young and beautiful, nor who is in fashion, there is no trying to show what the in crowd shows,  and there is no bull shit, just great shows. I also will be taking the work down from the Rice University Exhibition and bringing the last four home to the "here and now". It will be nice to see them out the kitchen window.

But maybe the best thing about going to Houston is that I will spend some time with Susie Kalil, Susie is one of the best art writers in the world (and there very few), spending time talking with her is like digging in a Diamond Mine, she is a psychological digging machine. She can go to the bottom of the well and keep going. She is as intense as it gets. But that is what makes her a great writer.

I will let you know how all this goes when I get home on Saturday night.