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Once upon a time I graduated from college and I wanted to get out of town so I drove to Portland, Oregon with my dad. I wanted to go far, far away because I had had such a rough last semester at school. I just felt it was time to leave and go away.
We listened to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on the way over. That was really awesome because we are both really into fantasy. We went to Los Vegas. We both gave ourselves fifty dollars and I actually came out with seventy dollars and he came out with nothing. That was sweet and I love Los Vegas because I won.
We mainly just drove to Portland. I didn’t have an apartment until mid-way into the road trip. I called places when we were on the road and I found a really small one bedroom apartment. I lived on a futon. I only stayed there two months. The Vegan Tiki bar where I found a job just didn’t work out. I was like, “I eat meat.” I just didn’t find my crowd in Portland.
Then I went to Penland, North Carolina. I felt really lonely in Portland and I wanted a community. My mom had gone to Penland and she loved it. She had taken me there to visit. It wasn’t what I expected. It is great but I think I was still recovering from the hard time in college and in Portland. I was just moving really quickly to try and get over things. But I did make a big print and it is hanging on the wall here at the Visual Art Exchange.
I do prints sometimes. The print is something good that came out of all of this. I think I make my art mainly when I am not happy. I don’t make art when I am happy. I was talking to my dad about this, “I haven’t been making much art but I have been happy.” “That is understandable,” he said. And he told me something that his mom or grandmother had said about never wanting a son to be a poet because they are very sad.
“Yeah,” I said, “It is kind of a nice sacrifice. It is nice to have art to go back to when I do get upset.”
Now I am working in a pottery studio outside of Asheville. I am trying to live in Asheville. Since I have graduated I haven’t stopped moving. Hopefully, Asheville will be the last stop until grad school because I would love to have a home for a bit.
We listened to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on the way over. That was really awesome because we are both really into fantasy. We went to Los Vegas. We both gave ourselves fifty dollars and I actually came out with seventy dollars and he came out with nothing. That was sweet and I love Los Vegas because I won.
We mainly just drove to Portland. I didn’t have an apartment until mid-way into the road trip. I called places when we were on the road and I found a really small one bedroom apartment. I lived on a futon. I only stayed there two months. The Vegan Tiki bar where I found a job just didn’t work out. I was like, “I eat meat.” I just didn’t find my crowd in Portland.
Then I went to Penland, North Carolina. I felt really lonely in Portland and I wanted a community. My mom had gone to Penland and she loved it. She had taken me there to visit. It wasn’t what I expected. It is great but I think I was still recovering from the hard time in college and in Portland. I was just moving really quickly to try and get over things. But I did make a big print and it is hanging on the wall here at the Visual Art Exchange.
I do prints sometimes. The print is something good that came out of all of this. I think I make my art mainly when I am not happy. I don’t make art when I am happy. I was talking to my dad about this, “I haven’t been making much art but I have been happy.” “That is understandable,” he said. And he told me something that his mom or grandmother had said about never wanting a son to be a poet because they are very sad.
“Yeah,” I said, “It is kind of a nice sacrifice. It is nice to have art to go back to when I do get upset.”
Now I am working in a pottery studio outside of Asheville. I am trying to live in Asheville. Since I have graduated I haven’t stopped moving. Hopefully, Asheville will be the last stop until grad school because I would love to have a home for a bit.
