u/nandor_tr

every year i promise i'll be ahead of the curve and have a relaxed week this week and every year i am not even close. good luck to us all.

we probably are all aware of the big channels like Blacktail, Foureyes, Wood Whisperer, etc... but there is a lot of other great stuff out there and i was curious who your faves are? (and maybe channels you think are not worth the watch despite how large they are?)

Just curious if anyone has checked this out and has any thoughts or reactions? i overall loved the vibe of having a small town devote a summer to free contemporary art show, and there were a few standout pieces, specifically work by Asad Raza and Selva Aparicio.

https://medinatriennial.org

really not sure how this would work. like it says in the title — i rent the house and i am not certain but pretty sure a huge black walnut tree will likely be getting removed due to some branches knocking out some power lines in a recent storm.

do tree removal companies usually have some kind of "we keep the trees we remove" as part of their service contracts? i assume anyone coming to remove the tree will be fully aware of how valuable it is and would want to sell it to a mill?

as i rent, this is the landlords tree so i am not looking to personally make any money off of this. i also do not have the ability nor the space to mill and store slabs. but it's a very large tree that i am sure would be appealing, but i am not sure if the people who remove trees also expect to sell the wood if its a valuable species.

just looking for some guidance if this is worth pursuing or i should just ignore it. i am part of the woodworking community here and i am sure someone must have a chainsaw mill and would be happy to come process it and keep the slabs.

have been hitting a wall over the past few months with my practice, and as such have been doing a lot of reading and reflecting about art making, etc. many, many books talk about how real artists who are doing this at a high, professional level have "habits" that help their time in studio be productive/useful. this helps alleviate time in the studio just staring at the walls getting frustrated and feeling blocked.

i know this is kind of a low-hanging-fruit sort of question, but can any of you please share any specific habits you have for your practice? just looking for some clarification on what sorts of habits the books are referring to. much thanks in advance.

having guests over for a dinner party later this week, and wanted to grab something from the bakery area (not a frozen thing). what is your favorite?

could really use some thoughts from those of you who work from home and who rent space elsewhere.

i am primarily working in sculpture and currently have about half of the basement of the house i rent as my studio space (about 400 sq ft). i have tables, handtools, bandsaw, tablesaw, powertools, etc. i have been in there for a few years now and i am very seriously thinking about getting actual studio space elsewhere for a few reasons:

1. more and more i see my residential basement as more of a "hobby" kind of space vs a serious artist space. i know this is mostly in my head but it just feels less legit. i am finding that having the normal residential house stuff (laundry, partner making dinner above my head, etc) happening in/near my studio to be more and more distracting. its also a basement: no natural light, low ceilings, somewhat musty, etc..
2. as i rent i cannot get any larger tools (which would need both 240 power that i dont have and a way to get them in without going down a narrow basement staircase), i cannot do anything really messy (both in terms of damage and in terms of being able to ventilate fumes), and when i make large work getting it out via the same narrow staircase has been been close to a problem a few times.

i fully understand and appreciate that many people have made excellent work in far crappier conditions, but i am just finding it harder and harder to take my practice and myself seriously in this space. my worry is that moving is just a distraction from what is a larger issue with my own practice stagnating over the past few months. i know i can be unproductive for free in my house, or i can unproductive and pay more rent to do so. but, i also wonder if both a physical change and the financial commitment will help me be a bit more serious.

in your experience, do you think that having real dedicated studio space that you pay rent for helps your practice? does not matter?

could really use some thoughts from those of you who work from home and who rent space elsewhere.

i am primarily working in sculpture and currently have about half of the basement of the house i rent as my studio space (about 400 sq ft). i have tables, handtools, bandsaw, tablesaw, powertools, etc. i have been in there for a few years now and i am very seriously thinking about getting actual studio space elsewhere for a few reasons:

1. more and more i see my residential basement as more of a "hobby" kind of space vs a serious artist space. i know this is mostly in my head but it just feels less legit. i am finding that having the normal residential house stuff (laundry, partner making dinner above my head, etc) happening in/near my studio to be more and more distracting. its also a basement: no natural light, low ceilings, somewhat musty, etc..
2. as i rent i cannot get any larger tools (which would need both 240 power that i dont have and a way to get them in without going down a narrow basement staircase), i cannot do anything really messy (both in terms of damage and in terms of being able to ventilate fumes), and when i make large work getting it out via the same narrow staircase has been close to a problem a few times.

i fully understand and appreciate that many people have made excellent work in far crappier conditions, but i am just finding it harder and harder to take my practice and myself seriously in this space. my worry is that moving is just a distraction from what is a larger issue with my own practice stagnating over the past few months. i know i can be unproductive for free in my house, or i can unproductive and pay more rent to do so. but, i also wonder if both a physical change and the financial commitment will help me be a bit more serious.

in your experience, do you think that having real dedicated studio space that you pay rent for helps your practice? does not matter?

it is official university policy that any accommodations students have via the disability services office will not be honored until they talk to me to discuss them face to face. i mention this in the syllabus in big bold letters. i say this to them very clearly in a slide during my day 1 intro. i mention it again the next class: they must come up and talk to me, in person, face to face so we can discuss their accommodations and agree on what that means for both of us.

for some reason this spring i had a design class with 16 students, 4 of whom had official accommodations, and none of whom bothered to have this face-to-face discussion with me, despite repeated mentions of the policy.

guess what happened?

absolutely nothing happened. it never came up, it was never an issue, students did the work, on time, and mostly did well.

to me this was clear proof that while some accommodations are absolutely legit, absolutely needed, and i am happy to help students who really need them, other accommodations (in my opinion, many of them) are just "i guess i will get accommodations even if i don't really need them because i can.'

just something to consider.

i have to assume this is specific to my store, but the Woodcraft in Rochester NY is consistently the worst retail experience i have in a given month. from now on the Rockler in Buffalo (even though its a 2.5 hour round trip) will need to be my go to — the people who work in the Woodcraft here are that unbearable.

does anyone else have similar or different experiences? did i just get geographically unlucky?

(edit: grammar)