a.mir

2008-01-30T21:43:00.000+01:00

Welcome back!

Since I wrote last, I visited Aaron, Adam, Anna, Anne, Arnold, Aurora, Ben, Carol, Chris, Celine, Daniel, Elisabeth, Esti, Eugene, Eva, Joseph, Julie, Kena, Kett, Kirstan, Klara, Kuba, Lida, Lucas, Marie, Martin, Mirek, Monique, Nikolka, Omen, Sarah, Seiji, Slavo, Sota, Stepan, Stepanka, Til, Tomek, Tomi, Vera, Vera, YoonYoung, Zdenek, Zuzka, among many others in Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Brno, Brussels, Chicago, Ghent, Glenview, Krakow, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Valasske Klobouky, and Warsaw.

I followed friends to foreign destinations, seeing how they make themselves in those other situations. I learned about people, place and proximity.

During another luxurious day in Bilbao, Spain, Esti took me to the Northern shore, to a church on top a small elevated island, a place known for it's view. After turning the wrong way and stopping for gas and chocolate, we arrived in the dark. As all the tourists were leaving, we made our way to the shore, over the bridge, and climbed 220 steps up the mountain island in the dark. From the top, Esti began telling me about the view we would have seen if we had arrived an hour before. But as she spoke, we felt the wind. The wind took us over and we danced. The view that would have been became the movement that was.

On a night in Paris, Kena stopped Aaron and I on a bridge over the Seine. "Wait for it…." she commanded. Aaron and I held our breath in anticipation. After a pregnant moment, long enough to doubt Kena's command, a search light flashed through the skies and disappeared. "That was the Eiffel Tower," she remarked and smiled.

In Ghent, Belgium, I visited some distant relatives. My grandmother's cousins Arnold and Monique welcomed me, fed me, and showed me around after my unannounced arrival. Arnold and Monique are great travelers and well documented tourists. They showed me album after album of their vacations in Prague, Florida, San Francisco, and Berlin. Because I was on my way to Berlin, they spent an extended time detailing the destinations and monuments. During the following days, as Aurora and I wandered to those destinations and monuments, I felt as though I was still looking at Arnold and Monique's photo album, sitting elsewhere, maybe at a dining room table drinking coffee.

I know that over the past months, years, I have been searching for place and home. And in that search I have not sat anywhere. Instead, I bounced around, trying on different hats, committing only a couple months to a place and community, until my feet itched and I had to move. In a piece I directed last spring (Prospect: Vital Functions) I asked the performers, audience, and myself to sit with it. To take the time to let the unknown develop and engagement occur. It was a lot to ask of for those involved, but now I am going to ask it of myself again. Now that I'm back in Chicago, I'd like to sit with it for a little while and see what happens. My feet may itch and I may go, but I have no plans for now.

Ahoj and Hello,
annie…

2007-12-08T11:38:00.000+01:00

I am now in Spain, soon moving to France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland, once again.

I don´t have time to post for real, so Sarah will do it for me. http://theseredshoes.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html

We spent last weekend in my favorite town in the Carpathian Mountains. She writes about it beautifully.
Thanks, Sarah.

2007-11-18T18:13:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Fave Bro, I've just consumed the classiest meal for one ever served on my purple yoga mat. Yes, Tasty Bite Bengal Lentils served with rice and lemon (as pictured on box) and tomato (not pictured on box, but pictured below). I lit a candle and put my ipod to shuffle. It accompanied me with Fiery Furnaces, Flaming Lips, and Bulah.

I've had a couple other note worthy meals while at the mill.

The first real exciting meal I made was carrot-ginger-pear soup with salad and riced-potatoes. The soup was made with carrots from our garden, pears from a relative's garden, and fresh goat milk from Dani. The most important part of this meal, though, was the riced-potatoes. Riced-potatoes is a delicacy known by few, probably just the Minnaert women. To make riced-potatoes, you press boiled potatoes through a strainer-like thing, like the play-dough barber kit or pretty much any of the play-dough accessories. The potatoes come out looking like rice. It's a perfect side dish for vegans!!!

For Halloween I attempted chili as per my family's tradition. I, of course, used only what I already had, so my chili consisted of lentils, white beans, barley, onions, tomato paste, and chili powder. I didn't have any crackers or bread or anything, so inspired by my recent trip to England I attempted Yorkshire pudding, sans recipe. I remembered Tracy telling me that it's just like pancake batter put in the oven. What I made did not taste like my memory of Yorkshire pudding, but it wasn't bad. Garnished with homemade salsa, the meal was a hit!

Due to the mice's continual infestation, I needed to use my bread, stat. How? Egg casserole, of course!!! So with 1/2 a loaf of bread, 12 eggs, blue cheese, onions, and red peppers, I made a mill version of mama's classic. I ate egg casserole for 3 days straight. I even learned how to heat it up on top of my wood burning heater. I think Wingo might have tried this casserole!

2007-11-06T16:28:00.000+01:00

Dear Dear,

On the morning of Tuesday, October 9th I left the mill. I returned in the evening of Sunday, October 28th. During that time I spent at least 96 hours in transit and probably 468 hours in transition. I went to Zagreb, Krakow, and Dartington, following friends, stories, art, and future art. I traveled alone, but I found companions along the way. My trajectory was geographically and financially nonsensical. My bags were over packed and my body overworked. It was a great trip. Miraculous, even.

In early August, during the Goat Island Summer School, Lin announced that Goat Island would premiere their final piece The Lastmaker in Zagreb, Croatia. At the end of the day I approached Lin and said, "Lin, I will see you in Zagreb." A couple months passed, and then I saw her in Zagreb. At the hostel, I shared a room with a Swiss man whose name means farmer. As I introduced myself, I told him about performance art and Goat Island. Farmer seemed genuinely interested, if not excited, so I went on. I showed him a publication by lone twin and read passages with him. Then I told him about tap dance and tap history, I even showed him a picture of Harold "Stumpy" Cromer. He asked how these forms fit together. I told him, "I'm not sure. But I feel the same uncontrollable exuberance when I watch a good tap dance as when I watch a great performance piece. During either, I find myself shifting in my seat and responding audibly in agreement." Farmer attempted to attend the Goat Island piece, but the show was more than sold out both nights. I, on the other hand, enjoyed both nights greatly. I even stayed to help pack their bags after the second night.

Sarah met me at the Krakow train station on the night of Saturday, October 13th. She welcomed me into her "Polish for Foreigners" dorm room with French fondue and Polish vodka. During that week we ate Polish pierogis, Hugarian lecco, and American peanut butter cookies. We descended to the bottom of an ancient ocean, mounted a mound monument, and laughed a lot. On Saturday, October 20th, I found a contemporary ocean in Krakow. As I entered Krakow's center square, the ocean sounds over took me. I stopped, listened, and observed. I noticed that I wasn't the only person quiet and still. At one moment I saw several people around me break from stillness and begin to sway like seaweed. Then other people approached the seaweed dancers, they exchanged their names, and the seaweed dancers pressed their hands against the other's shoulders, hands, legs and feet, releasing/giving energy to the other. They looked into each other's eyes, and the seaweed dancers left, leaving the newly energized others in their place. I watched this and caught on. Soon I became a seaweed dancer. Another approached me introducing herself and asking for my energetic touch. She said something to me in Polish and I said, "I don't understand." Later, after she gave energy to another and left the ocean, she found me and said, "Thanks for swimming with me."

I went to Dartington because of its history and because of the stories I've heard from several mentors. In a couple of years, the college will move off its historic estate, and this felt, to me, like the end of an era. I wanted to touch the place that touched so many artists who've touched me. I did. I also went to Plymouth and touched the steps that Sir Francis "Drakey-Drake" used to board the Mayflower, landing 66 days later at Plymouth Rock. Outstanding. A delayed bus gave me a 24-hour vacation in the London Stansted Airport. At hour 18, a scene among a drunk German, a police officer, and a stranded passenger acting as translator, created an ice breaker among the on lookers. Mario, a Croatian stone mason, began the conversation. After we introduced ourselves, I told him I was recently in Zagreb, where I saw a Chicago performance group perform. As I further explained Goat Island, my excitement became his excitement. "These things you tell me, they are incredible!" Mario exclaimed as he placed The Lastmaker's program into his luggage. When I finally left to check-in, we agreed that the two hours we spent talking were incredible. Miraculous, even.

Upon returning to the mill, Barbara asked, "How does it feel to be back?" I admitted, "It was good to be away." We decided that it's not working. I will travel for the month of December, checking off a majority of the places on my list dated Sunday, August 26th. At the beginning of January, I will return to Chicago to reconnect with friends, stories, art and future art.

I feel really good about this decision and I feel good about the time I spent at the mill.

I hope you're doing well and I hope to see you soon.
Cheers,
Annie…

2007-11-04T01:11:00.000+01:00

Since getting internet access, officially one week ago, I’ve had much more reason to be on my computer. This means, naturally, computer games. While in college I deleted my games in order to lessen my distractions, but due to a new hard drive this summer, and rebooting of my software, the games are back on. My two favorites are FreeCell and Spider Solitaire. At first Spider Solitaire was my very favorite. I liked making use of the [m] button to highlight possible moves and the [ctrl]+[z] duo to undo past moves. I remember when my family discovered Spider Solitaire. Andrew was the first to learn about the game. He went off to college, and he came back to tell us all about this new game of solitaire where you pile like colored cards on top of each other in the standard solitaire order and the “difficult” version, with all four suits, is nearly impossible. We all got to experience this when Mom received a laptop from Santa in 2001.

Now I find FreeCell a preferable game. I like the option to restart the game, it’s like playing sudoku with a pencil. FreeCell seems more challenging than Spider Solitaire “medium” level (“difficult” is nearly impossible). There are many more ways to solve each puzzle, and, unlike Spider Solitaire, a bad beginning doesn’t necessarily equate a losing finish. But, mostly I like FreeCell because I can make use out of the tap-click mouse censor on my laptop. I only need a functioning index finger to play a good round (or ten) of FreeCell. I really think the tap-click feature of pc laptops is a superb addition. In FreeCell I only have to click on one column and then click on where I want to move it. There is no dragging or thumb pressing, just tap tap tap!

Over the past week, I’ve spent more than my share using that tap feature to win FreeCell matches. Literally, I’ve tapped away hours, only getting away to read an email between matches. And I’ve gotten pretty good at FreeCell, here’s my stats.

Won: 290 79%
Lost: 79

If you look at that closely you will realize that I’ve played 369 games, most in the last week, and that is not to mention the Spider Solitaire or Minesweeper that I use to break up the FreeCell fix. It’s sick and unproductive, but kind of fun. kind of.

Some day I hope to be a proud, pretentious Mac owner, but when that day happens, I will be missing my tap-click feature.

- - - -

Also, since writing that last post, and, admittedly, even before writing the post, I read the inscriptions by Goat Island. Now, I’ve read them many times. Last night, before starting with page 182 “stillness” (as recommended by CJ), I looked again at the inscriptions, and I thought “How loving,” and “This is so special. I am so lucky.”

2007-11-01T19:21:00.001+01:00

The most incredible thing happened to me. Really.

I was out back pulling amaranth, to dry it and then use it for dye later. The ground had frosted over night, so my toes were cold and the amaranth was a little wet. It peeled a bit where I gripped it, but it was mostly fine. I heard the dogs barking, so I knew someone else was around. I didn’t bother to check.

As I was piling up the amaranth, I saw Barbara walking towards my apartment with two white parcels in her arms. I said, “Ahoj!” to let her know I was outside. She asked how I was feeling. I was a bit stuffed up, but better. She said, “Christmas came early.” She handed me the two packages and took the junk mail off the top.

One package was small, in a white bubble envelope. The customs slip read, “book by Goat Island.” As I stood, making small talk with Barbara, my fingers worked their way under the tape, attempting to release the “book by Goat Island” inside. The other package was long and awkward. In fact, at further examination, the box was actually two boxes taped together, pretty genius. This double box was from Fave Bro, who worked at for a box company one summer in high school. That might explain his box savvy.

As soon as the friendly conversation ceased, I ran inside, put the boxes on the stairs as I pulled off my knee-high rubber boots and slipped on my “house shoes.” I picked up the boxes and dashed upstairs (I think I even skipped over a few steps). As I ran upstairs, I noticed things rattling inside the double box, and I thought, “assembly required.” I threw the boxes on my yoga mat (clean enough for this investigation) and began.

Because I had already pulled off most of the tape, I started with the “book by Goat Island.” I pulled off the tape, which allowed the envelope to go back to its original size. Then I pulled the tab, first from the opposite end, then I found the “pull here” indicator. And, what I found inside was a “book by Goat Island.” While I was at Dartington, I stayed with some people I found on www.hospitalityclub.org. Ian and Tracey (the people I stayed with) happened to also know Goat Island. Ian was going to their book release and offered to get me a copy. In Ian’s note, he told me the book cost 20 pounds (I only gave him 15), but that’s okay, I don’t owe him anything. Score! Then I thumbed through, just feeling the pages, and, WHAT?! The inside title page was signed by all of Goat Island and the co-editor Stephen Bottoms. But, I was too excited for the double box, “assembly required,” that I put down the book without reading through the inscriptions.

I went to my bedside table and grabbed my pocket knife. I began at the center. Fave Bro really learned a lot from that summer job. He exposed the adhesive on these two easy-to-send, pre-made boxes, and stuck them to each other. One sticky flap stuck to the other’s non-sticky flap, and the other’s sticky flap stuck to the original’s non-sticky flap! I decided against trying the easy-to-open pull tab, as it was pretty taped down. Just a good ol’ knife under the tape and ripping cardboard from cardboard released the “assembly required” materials.

And what did I find? WHAT DID I FIND?!
-5 regular fruit leathers
-2 double-the-price, organic fruit leathers
-2 boxes of Tasty Bite (newly purchased, not the boxes I gave him 3 Christmases ago)
-1 bag of candy corn
-3 handmade wooden spoons with a hanging rack. Made by Joe the Usher. (Mom and Dad only got 2 spoons for Christmas last year, and I made a big fuss about how much I loved them, how beautiful they are, and how I would really appreciate them like they deserve to be appreciated.)
-a list detailing the contents of the box, written with red marker (it also listed a key to his apartment, as I requested in a recent email)
-a note explaining, you know, stuff, written with black pen (and said that the hardware store was closed, so no key)

I assembled the spoons on the rack, and picked up the note. I got through the second paragraph, and then started to cry. And then, because the tear ducts pass through the nasal cavity, I blew my nose for a record-breaking length of time. I am not so stuffed up anymore. I finished reading and ate a fruit leather (regular, mango, there were two). It was delicious. I sat back and looked at the pile amassed on my yoga mat, “Incredible,” I thought, “Just incredible!”

2007-10-30T06:17:00.000+01:00

Sometime in late April after the Cubs home opener and after this post by Fave Bro, I proposed to throw a Chicago Style Hot Dog with my friends at SLC. In my email invitation, I set these guidelines, “In honor of Chicago, Baseball, and [Fave Bro] (and all associations with those three nouns), I propose an evening of Chicago Style Hot Dogs (and tofu pups for me). We'll do it right, boiled, on a poppy seed bun, with kosher dills, relish, onions, tomatoes, mustard, celery salt, and sport peppers. and maybe some Old Style and Twizzlers on the side. We can listen to the best of [Fave Bro's] Baseball Broadcasts, and make up some of our own. and then I will blog about it... in lots of detail.” I forwarded this email to Fave Bro, the inspiration of the party after all, and he was so excited, he posted this, “Inspired by my last post, my sister proposed a hot dog night among her friends. Sadly, at last check, it hadn't happened. I'm hoping it's happened by now.” Unfortunately, all the end of the year hustle-bustle took over and we didn’t find the time.

Then my SLC friend (and fellow ice cream adventurer) planned to come down to Chicago from the 4th of July. Sarah tossed around the idea of visiting Fave Bro up at the ring fingernail, but it turned out to be way too complicated (due to companion) (even though Fave Bro’s hyperlinked email to Sarah was a hit). So instead, she suggested to throw the Chicago Style Hot Dog Party in Chicago!! Even if we couldn’t be with Fave Bro, we’d party in honor of Fave Bro!

On Tuesday, July 3, at Lame Bro’s apartment (because he is only person in Chicago I know that has a television and CABLE-- and because it is fun to throw a party at your bro’s apartment) Sarah, companion, and I arrived with organic hot dogs, tofu pups, whole wheat buns, relish, onions, tomato, salted in the shell peanuts, pickles, chips, limes, and avocados. (We shopped at Stanley’s, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s, so we did our best, but no poppy seed buns… but even Fave Bro made exceptions… turkey dogs.) Lame Bro got out the thrifted x-mas dishes I gave him for Christmas. While I made guacamole in a gravy boat, Sarah and companion went to a food and liquor and bought Rwizzlers, beer, and sport peppers. Lame Bro provided the mustard and celery salt.

Though John Kim failed to show, Nancy and Aurora were there. We ate as we watched Chic-A-Go-Go -- live and tivo-ed! We saw two episodes: one featured Aurora and me dancing and the other featured Sharkula. We spoke with Erin Wingo, then in the Washington state back woods. She concluded that Lame Bro is really doesn’t deserve the name (and I agree, though I will still refer to him as such). Nancy threw grapes into Lame Bro’s mouth, which impressed companion the most! We left 3 long, annoying messages on Fave Bro’s phone. Then we went to the lake front to watch the fireworks reflect off the buildings behind us and walked home in the rain.

*Note: Later in the summer Sarah saw the recipe for the perfect Chicago Style Hot Dog in Travel and Leisure Magazine. Good job us!

2007-10-21T17:59:00.000+02:00

In the ocean. Krakow, Poland. 20 October 2007.

2007-10-21T17:54:00.000+02:00

On the Mound

2007-10-19T14:32:00.000+02:00

Zagreb, Croatia. Oct 9-13, 2007

2007-10-18T17:34:00.000+02:00

Daily Routine

2007-10-18T11:48:00.001+02:00

mass email originally sent on 22 September 2007

Hello far and wide.
I am writing from my new home where I can feel the drone of the turbine in my bone marrow. I am at Cerveny Mlyn (Red Mill) in Southern Bohemia, in the middle of nowhere. No telephone lines come here. I walk twenty-five minutes in one direction to the closet-sized store and the other direction to the bus stop. At the end of this year, I hope to still sometimes romanticize the countryside. But right now, pulling weeds and working in isolation, it is a little difficult. There is always so much to do and an unexpected event always interrupts the day's plan. But, like this summer, I always make a list of the day's tasks.
Since I wrote last (about 3 months ago), I adjusted to post-graduation life in Chicago, tap danced every Sunday at the Maxwell Street Market, planted a garden, participated in the Goat Island Summer School, made new friends, boxed my belongings in my parent's house, and left with two bags and a one-way ticket back to the Czech Republic.
Now I am here, there, and adjusting to a whole new lifestyle. I work as the assistant to an artist-mother-farmer-teacher-curator-person of many other interests. My work touches all of these titles. We've created a schedule of diverse activities for me, though my actual schedule is driven more by the diverse deadlines (exhibitions, seasons, school programs, funding applications, etc.). Thus far I've focused on the looming winter by pulling weeds, harvesting potatoes, canning salsa, drying herbs, and cleaning out the gallery. It is a lot of tedious, physical work that is sometimes made more pleasant with the Chicago arts podcast, Bad at Sports. Now that I have left the city I have time to keep up with all its activities. So it goes…
I feel like I have a good group of active and interesting friends in this country, but it takes a lot of work and energy to get anywhere from the mill, and after a day of digging potatoes, walking to the bus stop is the last thing I want to do. But when I've made plans, I've kept to them, and I'm always happy to spend time with people my age.
I am making time to dance every day, morning and night. I need it everyday, morning and night. The other day I met a man who asked me how my work at the mill relates to what I studied in school and I responded that it all relates through the body. I was surprised by my own answer, but I guess that was the first time I put the feeling into words.
I am going to close for now. I thank you for all of your responses, please understand if it takes me weeks to return the gesture, as my internet connection is difficult at best. I hope this finds you well and warm and wearing bright colored socks.

Have the best time ever, often,
Annie…

2007-10-18T11:35:00.000+02:00

Some Images from life thus far at the mill...

2007-10-18T11:12:00.000+02:00

Harvesting Carp in Cerveny Rybnik. 5Oct2007

2007-05-30T06:59:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone!
I meant to write before the end of spring break, and then before graduation, but, alas, I am back in Chicago with a diploma placed "somewhere safe." I've just moved in with a friend from the Art Institute and I am attempting to deal with the post-graduation/pre-having-a-job abyss. I've found that if I don't have a long detailed task list, I will end up walking from one end of the apartment to the other, watering a potted plant, sitting down on one couch, moving to the more comfortable couch, checking to see if the plant grew, testing the weather outside, walking upstairs to my room to shift my random materials from one place to the other. I think the cat gets restless just watching me. Thankfully, I often notice this daze and then I find a pen and paper. (This email was on the list.)

I last wrote several months ago, so as you can imagine, lots has happened. I will attempt to share only the completely noteworthy events, and save the mundane stuff for personal correspondence.

First, SLChic-A-Go-Go!!! Most of you have heard me rave about the Chicago public access television show, Chic-A-Go-Go. It's American Bandstand for kids of all ages, more or less, an incredibly awkward dance party put on television. What could be better?! So in honor of my 22nd birthday, and everything else, the SLChic-A-Go-Go Committee created SLChic-A-Go-Go, the Sarah Lawrence College version of Chic-A-Go-Go. It was pretty brilliant, hosted by Miss Sarah and Nutso, with musical guests, our Metro-North Train Line, and a low-tech fantasy dance. There were about 10 people in the committee who came together to paint sets, create bad jokes, make the playlist, gut the puppet, and videotape it all. About 30 people came to dance on camera. You can watch our creation on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIm43S4_pHE (there are 5 parts to show the entire thing)
**If you are in Chicago, you can star on the real thing this Saturday, June 2, noon-3pm, Green and Van Buren.

Other great past events... the performances of "Prospect:Vital Functions" the durational system-based performance I created, Or "Annieland" as known by my performers. It was pretty brilliant to have five performers willing to dive into their own journeys as makers in a public space. I think we all learned a lot in the process, and the process is ongoing.
Experiencing Sara Rudner's four-hour piece Dancing-On-View (Preview/Hindsight), which featured 17 dancers, most of whom associated with Sarah Lawrence College. After the performance a woman approached me in tears of joy and asked how I felt. I told her that I felt like I was on top of a cloud or maybe standing in a big hand, that the history of Sarah Lawrence dance was tangible and it supports me now and ongoing.
Graduation was also great! I wore my tap shoes the entire day. I felt like I was eight and it was my first pair and my mom was about to scold me for ruining my shoes and scratching the floor. Harold "Stumpy" Cromer came, and I tapped up to the president to receive my diploma.

So now, what next? For the month of June I am free as a poor bird on a tight budget. I hope to find a "real job" and continue to street perform. In July I am participating in Goat Island Summer School, a three week long performance art intensive. I've been looking forward to this for over a year! Then, come mid-August, I am back home in the Czech lands, where I will be working for an artist named Barbara Benish. Stay tuned for more emails about oats and goats!!

I hope you are all doing well. Please write back and let me know.
best,
annie...

2007-04-28T03:40:00.000+02:00

I am in the midst of the end of the semester crunch, my last end of the semester crunch at Sarah Lawrence College, and it is intense, as usual. SLC's end of term is particular because the average student has 2-4 conference papers (20-25 page semester long thesis projects), dance concerts, art shows, and regular class assignments (usually including additional 5-10 page papers).

So last Monday (almost two weeks ago), my roommate had a conference with her professor who said something like, "Your thesis is crap. You haven't done enough work. I am not confident that your final project will be good enough." (Or so it was perceived.)

NOTE: This friend is a complete workaholic. She is an academic to the bone and forgoes work for nothing. Unfortunately, she hasn't found the work particularly rewarding this semester. She is doing work that she needs to get into grad school, but nothing she is particularly interested in. She also doesn't handle stress well.

So this conference was crushing, absolutely crushing. She felt like all her work and stress and discipline was for nothing. And, she has tons more to do, and not just for that class. So what else do you do when one of your friend is flipping out? Get ICE CREAM!!!

Sarah, Erin, and I hopped in my car; Sarah shotgun and Erin at the third door. Erin provided the Andrew "Less Dirty, but just as Smelly" mix for our listening pleasure. Sarah started to skip through the tracks (not appreciating Andrew's craftsmanship), so I was happy when she moved to the back with Erin. We went to Central Ave, the commerce center of Yonkers, and decided to stop at every ice cream shop we saw (minus Baskin Robbins, because they're lame).

First stop Carvel's! I don't think any of us had been there before. We entered the small shop, looked around, glanced at the ice cream cakes, then noticed the lack of labels on the ice cream bins (some had labels, but not all). Sarah slammed her wallet on the counter and took charge. "Sir, what's your favorite flavor?" "I like the soft ice cream." (not helpful) I tasted something I knew we wouldn't get, because I always love tasting one flavor and ordering another. We decided upon the Artic Almond Blast (or something, please correct me) because Erin likes Penguins. Really, that was our only reason, and that is was for a limited time only, we saw the label but not the corresponding tub. And the penguins pulled through, they always do!! It was a dark, fudgy, chocolate base with almonds and other delicious snacks mixed in. One regular scoop in a cup, with three spoons.

Next we went to the TCBY inside the Nathan's complex. We entered with our three plastic spoons and the end of our Carvel's ice cream. It looked like they had a great play room, but a pathetic frozen yogurt selection. We finished our Carvel's inside, threw away the cup, and left without a replacement frozen delight.

But that's okay, because last is Cold Stone Creamery. Overpriced, but always serving delightful delights. We decided to get two cups "love it" size. "Sir, what's your favorite flavor?" "Cake Batter." (not what we wanted to hear.) We went with Erin's staple, White Chocolate ice cream with Gummi Bears. Sarah tasted the Pumpkin ice cream, and decided it was a go. I chose to add Oreos. Pumpkin and Oreos, yum.

Sarah and Erin got in the back of the car, while I drove. At the stoplights I handed Sarah my spoon saying, "Fill 'er up!" and she returned the spoon filled with half White Chocolate mixture and half Pumpkin mixture. The white chocolate tasted a little mocha-ish, but still good. As we passed TCBY at Nathan's Erin said, "Shake your fist." Neither Sarah nor I understood to whom, so I shook Northeast, Sarah shook South and Erin shook due West towards the TCBY that let us down.

The adventure left me with a sugar high, a sugar low, and an evening-long stomachache. What more could one ask for?

*Since this adventure, we have had two more ice cream runs and two rhubarb cobbler nights.

2007-04-16T15:40:00.000+02:00

Dear all,
I would like to invite you to "Prospect: Vital Functions," an installation/performance at Sarah Lawrence College.

"Prospect: Vital Functions" suggests interactions of bodies, landscapes, and time, exploring systems and chance.

Tuesday, April 24, 1:45-3:15pm, in Stop'n'Shop at the Cross County Mall
Thursday, April 26, 3:30-6pm, in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center, Sarah Lawrence College
Saturday, April 28, 2-6pm, in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center, Sarah Lawrence College

"The sensing body is not a programmed machine but an active and open form, continually improvising its realtion to things and to the world. The body's actions and engagements are never wholly determinate, since they must ceaselessly adjust themselves to a world and a terrain that is itself continually shifting. If the body were truely a set of closed or predetermined mechanisms, it could never come into genuine contact with anything outside of itself, could never perceive anything really new, could never be genuinely startled or surprised."
-David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

If you have any questions or need directions, please email me.

I hope to see you there.
Thanks,
annie...

2007-04-03T06:44:00.000+02:00

It took me three days to write this:

I am a choreographer interested in sensations, proprioceptions, and perceptions. A month ago I discovered that I carry my right torso (shoulder to femeral joint) ahead of my left side. As a result my left side is more correctly aligned, works more efficiently, and senses gravity more accurately. This discovery brought me focus. I notice smaller imbalances and feel greater intricacies inside my body. Sensing more internal details gives way to perceiving more external nuances. I have come to believe that through these experiences we know ourselves and our surroundings.

And that is supposed to explain why I should be accepted into summer school.... well, performance art summer school....

2007-03-26T15:33:00.000+02:00

Friday afternoon I called my parents for a normal, mundane conversation. Surprisingly, my dad closed the conversation with, "Annie, live it up this weekend. Live it up." My dad is a man of habit; he always uses the same hackneyed jokes and phrases in the appropriate moment.
For example:

Me: I got a haircut.
Dad: Which one?

And he always ends our conversations with the three words "use good judgment." It is something I can count on. It is a phrase that I repeat to my friends because they know it is a Papa Rudnik motto. When our conversations close, I can often mouth those words as he is saying them. So on Friday, when he used these three different words, LIVE IT UP, I took it to heart, really.

Friday night Erin asked, "Want to go to the diner?" Well, I just bought groceries, and I have tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, but, what the hell, live it up! Bring on the French fries! Later, I am a little tired, I have work that needs to get done and an early morning, but The Office DVD is in my possession, so live it up!

Saturday I made plans using the art building, but that space was closed. Go home? No! I did it outside, and got my first sunburn of the season! Afterwards, stick around campus and get more work done? No. Live it up! I went into the city, walked from Grand Central to Washington Square Park, ate dinner with Alice, drank tea with Alice, ate snacks with Jay and Zara, met up with YoonYoung and ate chocolate cheesecake while drinking hot chocolate, both decorated with coco powder and powdered sugar... Live it up! Then head home? Sleep in my own bed? NO! I stayed at YY's place on the Upper West Side.

Sunday I woke up to a choir of Central Park birds. Ate a banana as I walked leisurely through the park. Go back to campus? Do what I ought to do? NO! Live it up. I went to the Met for the first time in my four years of living in the NYC area. I found a room full of fantastic furniture and pocket-sized portraits (I want wallet-sized watercolor portraits in my billfold!). Then I went to a fancy-shmancy Belgian breakfast restaurant, drank organic tea from a bowl and ate a croissant with praline spread. There was a long wait for seats, but I took my time and read my book until I finished the entire pot of tea. Live it up. I met my friend Corinne in Union Square and we walked and talked and snacked at a vegetarian restaurant. I returned to Bronxville and went to Haagen-Daaz (my first time there since freshman year). I tasted Baileys Irish Cream ice cream, but walked home licking Almond-Hazelnut Swirl. I arrived home at 7pm, put on a 100% cotton t-shirt and linen pants (sans underwear), crawled under my covers and finished the second season of The Office. Live It Up.

Thanks, Dad.

2006-12-12T02:59:00.000+01:00

I am sitting here about an hour after the completion of the first Near...Further Aurora and Annie performance (I don't know a title we are really going by). I am really happy with how it turned out. I had 6 audience member sitting in my cramped bedroom in the PowerHouse with an internet source, a video camera, an amp, a borrowed Mac, and a headset. We listened to Chicago and watched images appear on the computer screen as I responded with words and images. It was great to hear the audiences in Chicago and New York and they could hear each other. Laughter carried from one end to another. Sometimes laughter was provoked by unseen movements and sometimes ununderstood jokes.

Even though I could not see Aurora or the Chicago audience, it felt intimate. I imagined what the audience looked like, how they were sitting, and what motions they made when they were asked to do so. I wonder if they thought about the New York audience, and if they didn't, our sounds reminded them to. And even though I know Aurora the best, I could not imagine her or the movements she made. I can imagine how she moves naturally, but I do not know how she moves when she is moving with my moves. I wonder what she wore. When I told my mom about this performance, she said, "Aurora, the one with the tights?" I wonder if my mom also remembers Aurora's tattoo, it was hard to miss in that piece.

Tonight was really nice. I am really pleased with what went on, especially that which I did not see.

----

Today I finally put into words a habit I have. I realized that I usually understand in my body before my mind and sometimes I have difficulty trying to put into words that which is mostly in my body. I think when I am tired and/or stressed the body to mind process slows. Often when I try to put into words that which I feel, and don't yet understand in the mind, I cry. It is not that I am sad, it is that I feel pressure in my body and in my mind. I am not good at giving definitive answers in words.

2006-12-11T07:47:00.000+01:00

Sunday December 10, 2006

1. With socks on your feet, push from the fetal position to a sort-of-one-handed-sideways-downward-dog-like-position. Poisoned by time shipwreck. Is this racism?

2. Thorasic spine flexes, thorasic spine extends, thorasic spine flexes, thorasic spine extends. Push one hand to the floor, straighten that arm, circle it around the ball and socket joint. Roll on your back.

3. Fan your fingers. Make a fist. Throw dust into the sky. Switch arms. Spiral down, spiral up, spiral down, spiral all the way down. Don't forget about your face.

2006-12-11T07:42:00.000+01:00

Saturday December 9, 2006
Fun with Parents or Movement Telephone

1. Make a two-count arm phrase. Repeat twice. Look to your left and learn what the other person is doing while you are repeating your arm phrase.

2. When you have repeated your own, do the left person's phrase, while they are doing the phrase to the person at their left.

3. Repeat until all the arms in the room are bouncing and all the heads in the room are spinning. Laugh

2006-12-09T15:07:00.000+01:00

Friday December 8, 2006.... posted after close to a full night's rest.

1. Feel a strain among the esophogus and the intestines. Place your fingers on the eyelids and run them out to the temples and down the cheekbone.

2. Run to you left. Stop. Go. Run north. Slow to a power walk. Turn a corner. Skip into a run. Dash. Stop and look everywhere you've been, but not in the order you went. Give yourself whiplash.

3. Gaze into someone's eyes (it doesn't matter who, unless there is an Emily near you). Breathe and gaze. Grab her waist and press your lips together. Fall onto your knees. If someone approaches, repeat.

2006-12-08T13:41:00.000+01:00

Thursday December 7, 2006
posted the morning after

1. this involves a prop
I lift it three inches above my right shoulder. I flex my spine and femoral joints. I give words to the prop as I slightly shake it.

2. this is about a Life Magazine
I stand with straight legs (I could be hyperextended in my knees. I don't quite remember.) I am bent at the hips, about 50 degrees. 68% of my weight on feet, 32% on my hands. I shift from two hands down to only my left hand down, with several repetitions.

3. this relates to spaghetti
I kneel. I let my pelvis float towards my heels as need be. My shoulder pushes my right arm forward and down. My right hand pushes my elbow towards my ribcage. My right hand extends.

2006-12-06T05:26:00.000+01:00

Tuesday December 5, 2006
Actions or Positions?
Do I define by motion or station?

1. Press tongue to roof of mouth. Feel the line run down your spine.

2. I wait for others to join. I force others to come with me. One leaves, but I am not alone.

3. We cope with mountains. And we carry on.

2006-12-05T03:09:00.000+01:00

Monday December 4, 2006
How do we document the body?
A practice in representing.

1. Laying on back with arms and legs spread to the side, buzzing lips toward the sky. Sense self and only self. Eyes are open, but see nothing.

2. Walk backwards in circles. Eyes focus on one object. Keep the object in eyesight while circling

3. Sitting with left knee bent and left foot flat on ground. Right leg is stretched out, but it is not straight. Lean back and let the weight fall on the sacrum and lumbar spine. Relax abdominals.

2006-12-04T14:08:00.000+01:00

This week this blog will be dedicated to an ongoing performance project with a friend in Chicago. Everyday this week each of us will record three memorable movements our bodies have made; I will record mine here and she will record hers on her blog. We are using these forums to communicate over extended distances (New York to/from Chicago). These blogs give us the opportunity to express that which is the closest to each of us, our bodies. On Monday December 11, we will learn, feel, and represent each other's week-long experiences by embodying that which was recorded hundreds of miles away, simultaneously. Please follow along with this experiment.

2006-11-26T04:04:00.000+01:00

Thank-Gives at SLC 2006.

"...with a side of AWESOME on the house!"

costumes and placemats by suburban chicagoland first-graders

2006-11-11T20:01:00.000+01:00

My bro Drew is known as "My Favorite Brother" among my Sarah Lawrence friends. The title was not created by me, but by my friend Wingo. He gained this title when Wingo learned that most of my musical tastes and burned cds come from his collection. She began referring to him as "My Favorite Brother" about two and a half years ago, and now it is just easier for everyone I know to just keep that title, it practically rolls off my tongue.

But this title was not unprovoked. Drew guaranteed the "My Favorite Brother" title when, two winters ago, he made two mix tapes with abridged cds for me, and two different mix cds for Wingo. In addition, he promised to visit me at school during my senior year.

Well, once again, "My Favorite Brother" proved that he deserves the title, at least among my SLC friends. Last week Drew emailed me with a full detailed itinerary for his visit in February, which included the Bears playing in the Super Bowl (I forwarded it to Wingo). The email asked me for my address. I didn't know what he needed it for, it's not my birthday, he has no reason to send me anything.

So on Wednesday I received an email from the post office informing me that a package has arrived and it is in "tote," meaning that it is a smallish package (large ones are kept in "bin"). My mind went through the possible senders of the smallish package... there weren't any holidays for Aunt Jeannie to send holiday-themed socks, I thought maybe Mom sent a "just because" package, or a photo cd from the Boston performance art show. But the weather was awful and my rain coat only withstands rain for 5 minutes tops, so I decided not to walk down the hill to the post office during the deluge.

So Thursday, before my first class, I walked to the post office, where I was greeted by Eli, Katie, Rio, and Julien. Eli picked up a package including homemade cookies, so I got to taste cookies while the package was being retrieved. I opened it up immediately to find a note on a half sheet of yellow legal paper and two identical cds. The cds were entitled "E2 V2: In Tribute to a Dental Chair." The cover had the title written in lovely fushia ink and a great image of an old fashioned dental chair. And then I opened up the cds to look at the tracklist, and my eyes were shocked to find about 8 images of my bro's face in various situations. I think at that point, I looked up and exclaimed, "This is why my brother rocks!"

The note was pretty great and explained that this cd was his entry into a "cd of the month club" created by his college apartment mates. He included two cds, one for me and one for Wingo. Then, my favorite part of the note, "Usually I eat black beans and soft-boiled eggs for breakfast on Sundays, but today I'm having a Canadian bacon, onion, celery, and cheese omelette--- probably with a bit of tabasco. I'm cooking at halftime of the Bears game, but I'm hungry now and it just started. I bought clementines this morning. [and the clincher..] YAY!" I think it is quite common to talk about mundane crap in letters, I know that I always get updated on the rainfall from my grandmother, and I love it. I want to know more about your daily routine.

I showed the cds and note to upwards of 15 people that day. When I showed Sarah, she immediately noticed the image of "My Favorite Brother" eating pasta and inquired if artistic pasta eating runs in the family (she was referring to my current slow motion pasta eating obsession and the dance piece which includes it). Maybe it does?

And the music on the cd is (as always) great! It includes some stuff I knew and some stuff I didn't know (which is always a good mix... keeping me both interested and satisfied). Lupe Fiasco's "Kick, Push" is now one of my favorite because it gets me dancing and because it is about skateboarding (a pastime of my other favorite brother) and Lupe is from Chicago (my hometown).

Wingo was completely surprised and happy with the present. Drew has, once again, earned his title as "My Favorite Brother."

I haven't yet called to thank him, I probably should, but he will probably read this before I get to it...

2006-10-23T18:25:00.000+02:00

I recently took the time to clean up my room and display some documents from my latest performance "A 12-Hour Fieldwork Study, Intervaled." It was pretty great to take the time to go through these artifacts only a month old. The performance was in a durational performance festival in Boston through the performance group Mobius. The show lasted from noon on September 16 through 6pm on September 17. Performances ranged from 4-24 hours in length, and we all dealt with the issue of time (as it was both required and unavoidable). I went on from noon until midnight on September 16, documenting the events of the day at intervals between 3 and 12 minutes. The documents express how silly my entire performance was. It is nice to have them up and around. It is impossible to document any given moment, but I try anyways.

2006-10-16T14:12:00.000+02:00

Things are better. My muscular pathways have cleared and my mind has followed. As my friend Erin likes to describe it, "Mom, I'm a VEGETARIAN and I'm NOT an academic!" not that those two pieces of information go together, I think she just likes to string together a couple of my life defining moments. It's pretty funny.
This all translates to my newest realization, I am NOT an academic, nor do I want to be. I do not want to write a Thesis this year, nor anytime in my life (at least not in the next 7 or so years). I want to make art and tell stories. And that is what I am going to do. Now that I got that figured out, this will be a much happier year.

2006-10-11T14:56:00.000+02:00

This is an exciting moment in life. Right? Maybe. I am not sure if I am convinced. It is hard. Last year I had a completely new experience which opened me up to new passions. And so now that I am back, I am reintroducing myself to my past passions. Are they still my passions? If so, am I willing to dedicate extended time, effort, and energy to them? There are some big questions that have been plaguing my tear ducks.

I think I feel this stress because it is the first time in a while I have felt opposition of any kind. I am constantly working against the grain, but usually most people still cheer me on. Since returning I have had to fight more than ever to achieve the things I thought were going to be easy. I didn't think the struggle would begin so soon. But here I am.

-----

In other news, I worked with my dancers on Monday and I am pleasantly surprised with the dance that is being created. It is based off of chance and their internal relations. I gave each dancer a set of tasks, only sometimes giving them directions beyond the action of the task. For instance, if I wrote "walk," sometimes I wrote "walk 68%" or "walk towards Lily" or "walk 7 steps" or sometimes just "walk." I gave each dancer 12-14 tasks and about 28mins to figure out what the tasks mean to them. Then we put it all in the same space and played XTC's "I'd Like That" on top. I think the result is very nice and silly.
We will see what the critics think tonight...

-----

Fear not, Monday I began the "I am bored, let me look to see if anyone has updated"-search, and sure enough, my bro updated (about an hour after I last posted). And sure enough, I skipped over the sports and scanned over the music and, in turn, I read very little of the post.

2006-10-09T05:18:00.000+02:00

My bro blogs all the time (2-3 times per week) but last week he began a new job and probably hasn't yet hooked his home up to the world wide web, so he hasn't updated for a week.... and I am going through serious withdrawal. It is funny because I don't think I have ever read a post word for word, or at least I always scan past the all the sports and most of music related crap, and only sometimes completely read selected stories. But, I checked his blog at least once a day every day this week, only to be disappointed by the lack of new writing.

I guess this tells me that I should either spend less time searching my favorite websites when I should really be working on homework, or that I should find some more regularly updated blogs to browse (at least until my bro adjusts to the new lifestyle).

2006-10-04T02:45:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I had a conversation with my friend Lemons about my current work-in-progress. During the explanation of my intention for this piece, I told her that I am interested in creating an "extended moment." I want to create an experience for the audience and that experience is about one particular moment in time which might take many minutes and hours to recreate.

This seems to be a theme in my life right now. I am interested in these times that seem everlasting only because the sensory experience is so rich. These moments are usually created spontaneously and naturally. So how can I go about choreographing them? I don't know. How can one recreate the feeling of experiencing nature?

If I figure out how to do it on the stage or in a gallery for an audience, will I be able to do it in my daily life? I hope so. Or maybe I will just figure out how to engage my senses more fully. That is my true challenge, the challenge to feel more all the time and to live in awareness.

----

Speaking of senses, my improvisation teacher recently told me that proprioception has been considered the "6th sense" since the 19th Century. Proprioception is the sense of internal motion. It is the thing we feel when our organs are acting up or when our blood is pumping. Why didn't I know this before? I feel it every moment of everyday...

2006-09-25T06:21:00.000+02:00

I am back. For real. I think.
Today marks one month of being back in the United States and three full weeks of class at SLC. It feels weird, but it is happening and I need to break out the "fun is what you make of it" attitude. At least it is better than the "just graduate goddamnit" attitude. But I hold the freedom to drop in and out of either one as I please (or displease).

As for major achievements this month, I am still making performance art and have stuck to my creative guns. For instance, today I ate spaghetti at approximately 65% the speed and momentum of my natural tendency. I rehearsed slurping spaghetti in slow motion and then recorded myself doing it with XTC playing in the background. I think I am going to do this task live in gallery in the near future, but for now, the video does a good enough job at showing the sauce collecting on my lips and the neck muscles used to slurp noodles.
Another achievement, I am now following through with my whims more than ever, which makes significantly more weird than ever before. This is an achievement I do believe, although it is up for discussion.

I promise to write more often, but we will see what happens.

2006-07-26T22:56:00.000+02:00

Ahoj!
I am now in Southern Bohemia, the sumava region to be exact... like any of you know what I am talking about anyways. I have been living on a farm here for the past 4 weeks, teaching dance at the camp the first two weeks and doing everything else the second. I have learned the ins and outs of tending a farm with 1 goat, 13 chickens, 1 rooster, 2 ducks, 20 rabbits, 3 horses, 3 cats, 1 chick, and 1 dog, plus 5 separate gardens. It is pretty incredible, and constant work... not to mention 2 girls and 1 grandma and 1 grandpa. I am a bit tired, but I will return and do it all over again.

After learning about an art and activism retreat in Slovakia, called Ecotopia, I extended my stay 3 weeks in order to attend. I am very excited about this upcoming adventure. I haven't really camped before, and now I am on my way to do a 2 week camping retreat... I am hardcore. yeah.

because i should get some rest, and there is no way I can make up for my lack of writing, here is a list of highlights from the past 4 weeks...
-overnight bike trip, thought building was abandoned but it was very much occupied, tower of misquitoes overhead, extremely cold and dewey, the moonlight was brighter than I have ever seen it before, continuous laughter
-first week campers' fotbal (soccer) game, three little ones together made one goalie, on wet grass, always rooting for the underdog, no holding back
-skinny dipping under the full moon
-frolicing in front of unused temple on top of the hill
-dancing at Rabi Castle
-picking bugs off the potato plants for fun
-scything and teaching others to scythe
-piling the hay before the rain pours
-meditation among the horses
-our "houseboat", building the raft, using the raft
-discotek at the school, the czechs actually asked to dance to Blackalicious, they slow danced to the Decemberists, Tomas practiced his manly dances
-Kristina and Cleopatra
-making linoleum prints
-eating snap peas off the vine
-picking arugala
-picking herbs
-eating wild strawberries and blueberries and raspberries
-cooking on the fire
-watching the stars
-doing yoga on wet grass, Kuba called it yogurt... cute.
-the night Daniella, the goat, got out, I was all alone, had to secure gate with my clothing leaving me nude, but goat got out agian, i slept under the stars in front of the gate
-dying fabric
-swimming in the river
-Klenova Castle
-hearing the word "heavenly" to describe almost everything

And so, for now this is all. I am constantly in awe of my fortune. This has been an incredible experience and I still have 4 weeks left. It is simply heavenly.

2006-06-27T14:43:00.000+02:00

again, a mass email. I apologize. It is not that I dont love you... (and I apologize for the lack of apostrophes, they dont exist in the Czech language.)

Hello everyone,
Upon arrival to Valasske Klobouky (Kosenka), I was greeted with hugs and kisses, fresh apple cider and slivovice. It was a beautiful reunion.
For those of you who received my previous emails, you have an idea of what Kosenka and this little town mean to me. My time here in the winter was the most profound part of my entire excursion abroad. It is the place where I felt welcomed and empowered to participate and I gained the confidence to aim towards the larger picture, rather than the immediate concrete change. And so I am back to add another set of hands to assist their endeavors and to recharge from my time away.

I am writing to you sooner than I had anticipated because so much is happening and everything feels great. My first full day at Kosenka, Mirek took me on a hike to see some of the White Carpathian reserves. He showed me the diversity of the land as we hiked up and down and around the mountainside. He took me to a meadow where there lives about 160 different species of plants, about a third of them medicinal. He showed me the many different orchids and taught me that while orchids have the smallest seed and can travel easily, they need a very specific community in order to grow. This meadow even has bugs that can be found nowhere else. During our last hike up the mountain, he took me to a field filled with wild strawberries, and so we hiked crouched down low, to find, pick, and eat the sweet, small berries.

Yesterday I sewed and weaved on 100 year old equipment! It was great to feel my body so engaged in these activities. And afterwards, my feet felt like they were still rocking on pedals of the sewing machine.

I spend my free time hiking and meditating and reading and doing yoga and writing. I write a lot. Things seem much more peaceful this time, but maybe I am just more immediately relaxed and comforted by the familiar space.

Upon your suggestions, I am currently engrossed in Octavia E. Butlers Liliths Brood, and I just read the mowing section from Tolstoys Anna Karenina, and I am taking in daily doses of Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. I would highly recommend them all. I meant to send you all an email of a compiled list of the suggestions I received, I will try to get that out to you soon. With all of the reading recommendations that were in my local library, I copied a couple of chapters of each so that I can have a taste of them all while abroad. I plan on using this paper for art projects as I finish reading each selection. Anna Karenina is on its way to become a paper mache eye (Mireks eye, whose wrinkles resemble sun rays)

At the end of the week I will move on to Barbara Benishs farm and camp (www.bbenish.net/artmill), where I will teach dance, participate in taking care of the land, and learn about how they are working towards sustainability. I will be there for about a month.

vsechno je hezky.
tak, ahoj,
annie...

p.s. uz jsem doma.

-----
only for you. not in original email....
I spent this morning out in that meadow of 160+ plants, picking herbs for tea..... and I heard yodaling (it is so foreign to me, I dont even know how to spell it). I mean this wasnt like Jewel, or any other sexy pop star, this was actually someone calling for someone else on a different mountainside. Maybe they were calling for me? I didnt respond, I just looked towards the sound and smiled.

2006-06-21T17:06:00.000+02:00

Post #2 for today:
(I am at a cafe with free internet, and I don't know when that will happen again.)

I just walked past Old Town Square, which is decked out with a big screen broadcasting the World Cup. As I entered the festivities, Mexico scored a goal on Portugal (I think... although there were no fans from the opposing team, so I couldn't be sure). The entire crowd broke out into song and dance! There were probably about 40 people wearing green shirts and sumbraros with Mexican flags painted on their faces. Afterwards, they started shouting "Si, se puede!" (a phrase I associate only with Cesar Chavez). The Czech Republic is one of the most xenophobic places I have ever been, and so it was unbelievable to see such a large international crowd (and mostly Mexican crowd) invading the center of Prague. Pretty awesome.

Tomorrow begins my journey to nature. My former academic advisor, a cronic worst case senario day-dreamer, has warned me about ticks and Lyme Disease, and other dangers in nature. She wants me to get a vaccine, but I am going to resort to deet and daily tick removal. If those of you reared in nature have any suggestions, please let me know.

2006-06-21T13:17:00.000+02:00

I have returned home. Or at least it feels that way.

It is pretty amazing to go abroad and to feel completely comfortable, like you belong there. And so, it is the Czech Republic where I need to be right now, and it feels good.

I arrived yesterday afternoon and already I have spent hours on end at a cafe, given my tram seat up for 3 senior citizens, and ate a breakfast of jam and bread.
At each leg of this trip I will give up more amenities in order to learn more from nature.

I will keep you posted...

2006-06-11T18:15:00.000+02:00

Last night I skipped the World Naked Bike Ride for the Busycle. Yes, the Busycle. It is the invention by some artists from Boston. A fifteen person, pedal-powered vehicle. I got to try it out a couple times. Sitting on rummaged office chairs, with my feet on bike pedals, "Go!" shouts the driver and cyclists down the line, and we start peddling, and the bus starts going. The Busycle is a revamped van, with only the wheels, gears, and steering wheel in tact. The cooperation of 14 pairs of legs make the wheels turn. As we go we stop traffic (literally because we are a huge van, making wide turns, and going very slow). Sitting in the cyclist seat, I got to wave to the passersby, and make the spectacle even more exciting. In fact, Angie and I began choreographing upper body actions to match the rhythm of our legs.

The creators of the Busycle noticed that when they took it around Boston, no matter which neighborhood, a crowd would form of curious and excited people. When the Busycle stopped, the individuals met and talked and shared stories. The Busycle is a catalyst for conversation and community. And so during this U.S. tour, the Busycle rides end in storytelling. It is storytelling without any rules, just a blanket and a microphone. When a person felt like she had a story, she sat on the blanket and shared. Really simple. It was amazing to see people feel comfortable and share a piece of their history, themselves. (It was also interesting to hear the background information one must reveal in order to tell a clear story to a group of strangers.) Mostly the stories were funny, about awkward encounters with the police, nature, and foreign lands. I shared a story about the late master tap dancer Buster Brown, followed by my rendition of his soft shoe dance, a story of its own.

While we were on the Busycle we were interconnected, literally through chains and gears. The Busycle wouldn't move if we didn't work together. And the Busycle is a physical manifestation of our society at whole. Combining the Busycle with storytelling allowed us, as individuals, to make these connections and see the commonality among each other. The Busycle tour will expand these connections by sharing our stories with the next towns they visit and ultimately making a documentary of this whole experiment.

Check out their website for more information and tour dates. The Busycle may be coming to a neighborhood near you. yeah!

2006-06-05T06:59:00.000+02:00

A mass email, written an hour ago. Knock out 2 birds with 1 stone....

Hello Everyone!
I apologize for the hiatus, but school and the end of school and life have all attracted and held on to my attention. I have been doing well, really well. After some long hours, late nights, and dark chocolate, all my work has been turned in and summer is well on its way. Chicago is now my home more than ever. I remember feeling at home when I began running into non-classmates in Prague, and then feeling strange when that happened my first time in Chicago in 2006. And so now, not only do I run into familiar faces almost everywhere I go, but I have enough beds, couches, and floors to welcome my rest whenever needed (I have already taken advantage of this).
The end of school did not at all feel like the end, which is great. I have made so many friends at SAIC, and we continue to keep each other active. Through phone calls, emails, tea, and bike rides, we continue to talk about life and art as one. I am beginning to feel more confident in calling myself an artist, although this is still one of my many identities. I am learning how art and academics can intermingle. art as exploration, as study. experimentation as art, fieldwork. On the last day of class, Lin Hixson briefly mentioned how a performer must simultaneously be in the performance, making it happen, and be outside of the performance observing both herself and the audience. This duality struck a chord with me and how I approach academic fieldwork and artistic performance. An academic doing fieldwork is simultaneously inside the moment, learning though life and experience, while outside observing the greater situation, position, and history of the entire experience. I think there are more connections between performance and academics, and I would like to continue to explore these themes.

My SAIC friend YoonYoung recently successfully completed a project dealing with art, community, and research. She held a garage sale/art exhibit outside of a local coffee shop. The items for sale were tagged with stories, questions, and comments relating to their history and her relationship to the items. And so passersby and potential customers were not only provoked by the objects themselves, but the humanity and character put on the object through the knowledge of its history. Through these insights YY and I could engage the customers (community members) in conversation. YY finally met her neighbors, exchanged email addresses with other local artists, and took a snapshot of each customer with their new objects, about to engage in a new story. The artistic mind which framed this project created the space for concrete action and insights into the community. We have written about it and will continue to work on these ideas.

* * *
Now, the summer. I wrote to you about the profound effect of the Czech lands on my mind and soul. I wrote that I felt the longing to return to that nature, that there was so much more to learn and gain. And so, with fate on my side and with the faith and finances from Sarah Lawrence College, I am to return... in two weeks! I was awarded the Meredith F. Russell Fieldwork Fellowship in order to study the relationship between sustainability and art making in the Czech Republic. I will return to Valasske Klobouky for a couple of weeks to assist in their annual scything of the meadows and then travel to Southern Bohemia to teach dance on an organic farm and 500 year-old mill. It is incredibly exciting and I am incredibly lucky.

So, in preparation for the next two months abroad, I am making a book list to supplement my experiences. If you have any good reading suggestions, non-fiction or fiction, that have something to do with sustainability, art-making, or interconnection, I would love to hear them. I hope to fill my days with hard work and new experiences, and my nights with writing, reading, and self-reflection. Maybe you can help diversify those night hours.

* * *
Speaking of good books, I just finished a great one by Daniel Glick called "Monkey Dancing." It's a non-fiction narrative about Glick and his two children (ages 9 and 13) and their 5-month adventure around the world experiencing soon-to-be-extinct natural phenomena. It is really enlightening and informative and honest. I highly recommend it!

And so I am soon off for another adventure.
I hope to email again before I leave, but you can also check my blog at http://mirovy.blogspot.com for (possibly) more regular updates.

Thank you always for your interest and support, I really appreciate it.
Wear sunscreen,
annie...

2006-05-15T17:50:00.000+02:00

So this is it, the infamous backpack. It is to be shipped out today arriving to me possibly by the end of the week. I think I will silk screen a dove to the front pocket, maybe in white... or pink. Any suggestions?

I am in the process of cleaning all of my stuff out of the bowels of the SAIC performance space. This all includes 96 feet of lumber, 110 pounds of rice, 5 yards of clear vinyl, 1 huge paper mache funnel, 2 urban rolly grocery carts, 2 blue buckets (in which to hold some of the rice), and 4 paper mache vases..... this was all for one piece (recently titled "Now-Then in Rice"). All that is left is the lumber. I put an add on Craigslist offering free dirty rice. Tomorrow a sculptor is going to come and pick it up... rice is her main medium. yeah!

2006-05-12T15:39:00.000+02:00

So in response to my brother's last comment I will write a post...
In preparation for my future departure, I have been searching for a cheap hiking backpack on ebay. My last ebay purchase was two years ago when I bought a "micro-cube" (a miniature amp). This purchase was brilliantly successful as it has been used to accompany my tap dancing feet on the streets of Chicago and earn back much more than I paid for it. Before that I bought a M*A*S*H themed ski hat, which became my father's Xmas present...another success, he wears it on Thanksgiving, when we cut down our Xmas tree. My first ebay purchase ever was in high school... 3 MxPx vinyls. This was very silly for many obvious reasons, but even more so because I didn't even have a record player. I believe for my birthday, brother dave gave me permission to use his record player, so I could finally hear my pathetic winnings.

Now, I have been unusually nervous about this backpack purchase. I wanted to get something as cheap as possible...but something somewhat attractive. Brother andrew advised me to stay away from the "buy it now" items. So I switched my browser from "ending times" to "least expensive." The cheapest items all seemed to be camouflage colored (for obvious reasons... camouflage is hideous). But against my better judgment and because I wanted to get the best deal, I bid on one. I had nightmares that I won it. I kept thinking about methods I could use to make the camo more attractive... patches? silk screen? just sew all new fabric over the outside? I was really nervous that I might have to carry out a make-over on my new-to-me backpack.

Luckily, I didn't get it. And so I looked at the solid-colored backpacks I bid on. One in particular looked really nice. It was new, black, with bungee cords, 2 water bottle holders, and sleeping bag straps on the top and bottom. Slick... really slick. Two days ago I won it for $20! Sweet! I emailed my brothers and father to brag about my winning. Awesome!

Yesterday I received an email from the seller.... evidently he had plenty of black backpacks when he placed the item for sale, but now he only has camo back backpacks left. Would I still want a camo one? He is sorry for the complication... The relief I had felt after losing the camo backpack was false. Now I had won a camo, yet slick, backpack.... what to do?
I emailed him back asking for a picture and asking him if he is absolutely sure that he doesn't have any other solid-colored backpacks. I also bid on another backpack, but only up to $20... because my winning set a standard for me.
I will find out about this new backpack in two days.. if I don't win it, then I take the camo backpack from the liar. Maybe I can ask for free shipping or something.

**added at 2pm** I have just been notified that I have been out-bid on the solid colored backpack. A picture of the camo is being emailed to me. I don't think I can escape a camouflage backpack, it seems like it was meant to be.

2006-05-04T21:23:00.000+02:00

I recently received the Meredith F. Russell Fellowship which allows me to return to the Czech Republic this summer to study "the relationship between sustainability and art." While I proposed this topic and have an outlined the activities I will engage in, I feel like I am not really sure how to study it. I also feel a sense of mandate (the chosen one), which makes me both confident and intimidated. I mean.... What is sustainability? Does sustainability only refer to concrete "green technology"? Does sustainability differ from sustainable development? How does sustainability relate to a community? What about art in a community? How can art create community? How can art teach a community about sustainability? How can art appreciate the earth? What is art? Is art product or process? Is sustainability product or process?

If you have any answers, comments, or additional questions, please comment or email me... this summer is going to be intense.

2006-05-03T02:23:00.000+02:00

The prodigal son (daughter) returned home (SLC) this week and was warmly welcomed with tons of hugs, plenty of couches, and one brunch at Bates... it felt good.

My homecoming began the night before I left Chicago. Wednesday night a friend of a SLC-friend came to town and joined me at the Regina Spektor concert. -- Regina Spektor played at SLC during my first year of studies. My peers and I fell in love with the music, bought cds, burned copies. Soon after there wasn't an hour in which Ms. Spektor played somewhere in the house of 26 girls. -- The show was pretty great! She is one of the most talented musicians I have ever seen live. The way that she uses rhythm and manipulates her voice is awe-inspiring. Plus she is adorable, clever, and silly.

And then Thursday morning I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to complete several sudoku puzzles in the terminal. At one point a woman sat behind me and started talking on the phone. I wasn't paying attention until I heard her say, "I can't believe that I just met Angela Davis!" At that moment I turned around and looked at her with shock and awe. After she got off the phone I asked her what happened. Turns out, Angela Y. Davis was at O'Hare at that same moment, eating a salad, and this woman, Teresa (I think), happened to recognize the revolutionary and happened to have her book on her at the time. So Teresa got her book signed (I saw it, I can attest) and her card (I saw that, too) and was asked to send Ms. Davis some of the Spanish speaking political hip hop music she's been writing. Ms. Davis's seeds have been sown and are blooming into the immigrant rights movement happening now. I was happy to share Teresa's excitement.

Then in NYC I met up with my former roommate, Nicole, and we walked around the east village and ate falafel and cake. We discussed our lives and our experiences abroad and our potential futures and feminism. During this last topic, I turned to Nicole and said, "You are so smart!" And she laughed and thanked me and then acknowledged that I have been devoid of SLC-thought for a year now and so I am just not used to conversing with such a cosmopolitan, interdisciplinary thinker.... this is true. While I knew that I had been craving intellectual dialogue, I didn't really realize exactly what was lacking.

I didn't get on to campus until around 11pm. Silly as it may seem, my first stop was the library, where I was faced with the aftermath of a new SLC controversy. I was greeted by a security guard who asked me to sign in and deposit any food or beverage I had. It seems that after several loud and annoying mobile phone conversations, some litter, and a rowdy game of "strip study," Michelle punished with excessive security. This was the first day of the crackdown, and in proper SLC fashion, by the time I left the library, 45mins later, I was able to participate in a petition and letter writing campaign. You will be glad to know that our protests were not in vain, by Monday afternoon, the food and beverage bans had been lifted, allowing students to study 24 hours per day with the comfort of a granola bar and water bottle.

SLC is a campus which changes significantly annually because the student body. Most Juniors study abroad, first years are new, and seniors return from abroad. So stepping on campus, there were many, many unfamiliar faces, everything seemed a little bit strange. I guess this made it more exciting, warm, and surprising everytime I ran into a familiar face. I exchanged a lot of "You?!" "You!!"
I don't think I engaged in so much dialogue this weekend, but tons of hugs. After the initial period of looking at each other's face, and scanning the brain to place the familiar features into context, we would say each other's name, hug, look at each other, hug, talk about life, hug, kiss, hug. It is as if we needed to physically feel each other in order to believe that we were there. Our brains had filed this relationship away as recent history, but now that I returned to that space and we physically interacted, the relationship is reawakened.

I chose this weekend so that I could attend the Spring Dance Concert. And so I went Friday and Saturday nights. Everything was really great and well choreographed, but I have realized how much this semester of studying performance art has changed my perspective. I constantly thought about the audience's experience, my experience, and how I wanted to engage more with it. I wanted to feel the dance with the dancers, creating a mix of anxiety and excitement. One dance placed the audience on the floor, in a circle, surrounding the dance. While I am sure the choreographers thought about the symbolic representation and the multitude of perspectives, I was most attracted to the sensation given by the sprung floors. During that piece I could see, hear, and feel the dancers and their bodies. I am excited to return to this dance department and I feel more confident in my opinions, desires, and work. I am now an artist more than ever.

I also saw so much natural beauty this weekend. Chicago is really devoid of nature. Sure there are several parks and the entire lakefront, but everything is well furnished and within the sights and sounds of rushing cars. SLC has such a beautiful campus. Almost every building was built to preserve as much of the natural rock and tree arrangements as possible. I took midnight strolls and early morning walks, just to gaze upon the SLC treasures. I also joined a dear friend in Brooklyn where we ate a picnic in Prospect Park and then strolled through the cherry blossom festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The weather was absolutely perfect this weekend.

It was a great homecoming and a good time for reflection. Going back helps me see what I've gained and what I've missed while away. I think I will be able to return without getting too caught up in the bubble and be more thoughtful and wise when I fight for change.

Yesterday, May First, was International Worker's Day, and thus a time for protests and celebration. Many classes were canceled in solidarity of the immigrant workers strike and several professors spent their day marching. The Red Room is now running as a public space, meeting place, and infoshop. Progressive Produce organized a weekly farmers market on campus. Empty Bellies continues to run car-loads of leftover food to a food shelter in the Bronx daily. I am excited to return to such an energized, self-reflective, critical, and active state of being and environment. The prodigal son will return again.

2006-04-13T05:36:00.000+02:00

During my art history course Wednesday morning, I hit a writing frenzy. I grabbed my journal and let my pen take over. I tried to stop and listen to the conversation on the Japanese Fluxus movement, but I couldn't. My mind was rushing and I needed the release.
This is what I wrote...
This entire semester my shoulders have been rolling forward. I have made many attempts at rolling them back-- opening myself up-- but without success. I have been sheltering myself, "don't get too involved." The ephemerality of this experience has not made me cherish every moment, but instead distance myself from every moment. "This is not real." "This is not my home." "This doesn't matter." These ideas have framed my existence.
"I am not really here" is not a statement, but a state of mind, a state of being. This has been my existence this semester. I haven't felt entirely myself because I haven't been entirely here. I haven't been present, because I needed to be sheltered. My shoulders allowed me to be self-preserving, self-sufficient, and self-aware. I haven't been so open to others but I have been incredibly self-reflective.
My posture is a signifier, a metaphor, an omen, a teacher. It carries my history and shows me my future, while always present to real time.

On Wednesday night, for the first time, I found myself sad to be leaving...

2006-04-10T08:30:00.000+02:00

Dear you,
I specifically chose not to start a blog during my journey abroad because I thought they were too impersonal. Instead I chose to send mass emails addressed to "you guys" and "y'all" and "my friends and relatives." I thought that sending my thoughts and stories to a contact list of 100+ was somehow more personal and special than this open forum. Maybe it was also a little selfish. I wanted people to read my thoughts and I especially wanted hear repsonses. I figured that sending the notes directly to the email box greatened my chances for dialogue, though disconnected. It was also an easy way for me to keep in touch with aquaintances whom I thought were pretty cool, but we hadn't yet gotten to the point in our relationship to carry on decent online chatter.
But I guess this forum relieves the pressure of email. I have really enjoyed writing mass emails during the past 7 months, but I often wonder what will happen when I return to school, see the majority of my contact list on a daily basis, and my life returns to routine. I write emails when something really noteworthy happens; when an event that has shaken my life might in some way resognate with "y'all." This is howI keep connected and continue writing during a somewhat mundane life, or rather a life with less foreign language.

I will write to you, the singular. I will write about the exciting and mundane. I will try to share details that are too specific to share with "you guys." I will ponder, question, and ramble as I do with pen and paper daily. I will write to you, as you stare at your computer screen, because you chose to check my progress by your own free will.
Thank you for lending me your eyes and mind. I would love to hear back and maybe we can engage in a disconnected dialogue.
I hope you are doing well.
Get some rest and take care of yourself.
yours truly,
annie...