Give out an answer or two…

I have a formspring account and I have to admit to being lax about using it. So I thought I would try to catch up on some of the questions that have cropped up over there, by answering them here. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I’ll get caught up and then will feel a bit less self conscious about asking people to ask me things.

Do you have a muse? (or many muses?)

Not in the traditional sense of a person who inspires my work. I don’t know many people today who do claim to have one. I do however usually conceive of a piece in relation to a specific circumstance and/or location. I think it’s hard to imagine a work without imagining in part where you want it to end up. So I always need to know how a space is configured if I’m going to put together a show for that space. There are also certain artists who I imagine my work to be in dialog with and whose work, when I encounter it, can make me excited about making something new.

What is your favorite thing about your favorite beverage?

The only addiction I’ve never been able to shake (besides self regard) is caffeine. I have drunk coffee since I was eleven (so much for it stunting one’s growth) and any attempt to stop has defeated me. What is my favorite thing about it? The sociability that seems to come with it, the roundness and depth of a good blend with the right amount of milk. Early on, I took it with half and half and many sugars, just like the rest of my family. Now, when I get a cup with sugar in it, I can’t finish it. Coffee is the constant that marks my days and evenings. If I wake without knowing where that first cup is coming from, I feel bereft.

what will you wear to meet the gnomes, who’ve been waiting a year for you??

Turns out it didn’t matter what I wore. The Gnomes and their legal system had little time for my outfit, being much more concerned with my behavior.

Tags: coffee, formspring, making art, questions