Back in May (Of 2009) I decided I wanted to make this trip happen. I decided that I wanted to travel for the Fulbright as well as see some of the world. So I asked myself what steps I would need to take to make this happen.
First I figured out how much the whole trip would cost me (approx.):
Plane ticket: $900
College Loans: $1000
Food: $900
Hostel: $100
Place to stay: $1500
Travel around: $300
Total: $4700
I used the airfare at the time, I pay $300 a month in college loans, I figured I could make due with $300 a month on food pretty easily if I cook most of my meals. As for the place to stay, I booked a hostel for the first week and just estimated that a small to decent apartment would run me about $500 a month, but it's just a guess. And $300 for any extra travel, although more could be nice. And anything on top of this would be for souvenirs and other fun stuff.
From that list I knew a rough amount of money I would need to save and I started cutting my spending: I bought in bulk and bought cheaper products when possible (I still went for the softer toilet paper at an extra $.12 a roll). I've tried to eat out less, but it's one of my favorite things to do, so I just eat out at cheaper places. If you're ever in Philadelphia check out Nanzhou hand-drawn noodles on race st. between 9th and 10th. Big noodle bowls for $4.50. OR Paesano's on Girard ave. just west of Front st. Delicious subs from $6 - $8.
But still, how would I make enough money? The truth is, it's not easy. And as I write this I'm still about $1,000 short with six weeks to go. But I'm not too worried. I started to find as much paying work as possible, while keeping my studio (4 hours of work a week) and apartment (10 hours of work a week). That left me with three to four days a week (not including weekends) where I could make some money.
In May, June, July and August I did a lot of work for Steve Ford - One of three owners of a city - block of warehouses converted into studios - and I made some pots to sell online at my etsy site. The online sales are slow, even if you keep up with the updating. I also found two galleries (Or they found me) to sell my work through on consignment. This has also been slow, I think I've made about $30 over three months.
September until now have been a bit better on the financial side. Rob (My landlord) has had a few people ask him for work and he needed some help so I got to work on some big projects and save money off of that. I also started doing a few computer consulting jobs which is great pay, even if the work isn't very exciting. Once I get back from Brazil I'll probably avoid the consulting stuff if I can, I don't want to get sucked into i for the money.
For any artists fresh out of school or anyone wanting to travel but not financially capable yet, I would say try to have some computer skills, they can be really helpful in a pinch. Also, don't lose hope and buy a plane ticket as soon as you can. I bought mine in the beginning of August for $600 (woohoo! The recession helped me!), and now I'm locked into it. Whether I save up enough money or not I'm still going. And I have learned to be ok with that. If I need to I'll meet people in Brazil who will need some kind of help doing something, or maybe I can teach English a few times a week. Regardless of what happens, I'll still be in Brazil.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
When it began...
I decided to get this show on the road around June, 2009. I had been out of school about one year and I decided it was time to get on with my life.
Living in the real world has been pretty fantastic, I started doing construction for the potter Rob Sutherland. In exchange for 20 hours a week of work he gave me a studio to work in and a room to live in. But perhaps I should give some back story first as to how I got connected to Rob.
In the Summer of 2003 I attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School of Information Technology(PGSIT) in Philadelphia. Because of it I learned a little bit about computer graphics and decided to pursue that through college. With this arts background I applied to work at PGSIT for something to do over the summer and to support such a fantastic program. Since 2005 I have been working there every summer and beginning to learn more and more about Philadelphia. Just before the summer of 2006 (During my second year in school) I asked my ceramic professors if they knew anyone living in Philadephia who might be willing to show me their studios and talk about their work. My one professor, Julia Galloway, suggested that I look into Neil Patterson and Sandi Peirantozzi and Rob Sutherland. At that time Neil and Sandi were out of town and I couldn't catch up with them. However, Rob was around, so that summer I went over to his studio one day and just talked to him for about an hour. I saw him working in his studio and I learned what he was up to with life. I also learned that he recently bought three properties and he was in the middle of fixing them up.
The following year I knew I would be back in Philadelphia and I knew I would have some free time during the days (I only needed to be available for PGSIT from 4PM - Midnight). I called up Rob and asked if he would be willing to do a work trade situation for some studio time. Since July is a down time for him, he said we could try it out and see how it goes. I would work one day and have studio time the next this arrangement worked out pretty well: I began learning construction and had time to make pots while his properties improved, albeit slowly.
In January or February of 2008 Rob called me up and said one of his tenants was moving out. He asked if I might be interested in doing work trade for my apartment and since I wasn't sure of what else to do, I took him up on the offer.
Taking a year off after college is probably one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I now know that I can make it on my own, it let me relax after an intense senior year at school and it gave me the opportunity to meet many great people. The time let me decide where I really want to go in life and I have just recently become truly excited about making work again.
And now, knowing what I want to do, I have begun putting all the pieces in order to make this trip happen.
Living in the real world has been pretty fantastic, I started doing construction for the potter Rob Sutherland. In exchange for 20 hours a week of work he gave me a studio to work in and a room to live in. But perhaps I should give some back story first as to how I got connected to Rob.
In the Summer of 2003 I attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School of Information Technology(PGSIT) in Philadelphia. Because of it I learned a little bit about computer graphics and decided to pursue that through college. With this arts background I applied to work at PGSIT for something to do over the summer and to support such a fantastic program. Since 2005 I have been working there every summer and beginning to learn more and more about Philadelphia. Just before the summer of 2006 (During my second year in school) I asked my ceramic professors if they knew anyone living in Philadephia who might be willing to show me their studios and talk about their work. My one professor, Julia Galloway, suggested that I look into Neil Patterson and Sandi Peirantozzi and Rob Sutherland. At that time Neil and Sandi were out of town and I couldn't catch up with them. However, Rob was around, so that summer I went over to his studio one day and just talked to him for about an hour. I saw him working in his studio and I learned what he was up to with life. I also learned that he recently bought three properties and he was in the middle of fixing them up.
The following year I knew I would be back in Philadelphia and I knew I would have some free time during the days (I only needed to be available for PGSIT from 4PM - Midnight). I called up Rob and asked if he would be willing to do a work trade situation for some studio time. Since July is a down time for him, he said we could try it out and see how it goes. I would work one day and have studio time the next this arrangement worked out pretty well: I began learning construction and had time to make pots while his properties improved, albeit slowly.
In January or February of 2008 Rob called me up and said one of his tenants was moving out. He asked if I might be interested in doing work trade for my apartment and since I wasn't sure of what else to do, I took him up on the offer.
Taking a year off after college is probably one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I now know that I can make it on my own, it let me relax after an intense senior year at school and it gave me the opportunity to meet many great people. The time let me decide where I really want to go in life and I have just recently become truly excited about making work again.
And now, knowing what I want to do, I have begun putting all the pieces in order to make this trip happen.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Why Brazil?
I'm starting this blog to document the steps I took to make this trip possible. I hope that in the future this will be of use to someone, or a least remind me that doing what you want isn't always easy, but is always worth it.
So, why Brazil? That is probably the question I get asked most and seems like a good place to start.
About five years ago I was at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), just entering my second year at the university and my first year in the ceramics program. I needed a gym elective and I decided to try something new: Capoeira.
Capoeira is Brazilian martial arts. People stand in a circle called a "roda" and cheer on two players in the middle. The game is beautiful. There is a nearly constant circular motion between the players with constant give and take: action and reaction. But it is also much more, it's about the energy of the group and the tempo of the music. It's about a conversation between the two players and a conversation between the players and the rest of the group.
I really began to enjoy Capoeira and the culture around it. I took the class six or seven times while I was at RIT and eventually started taking classes at Capoeira Mandinga under Contra Maestre Carcará. In these classes I began playing the instruments and learning the music. I started to love the music and love interacting with everyone who was so passionate about the art.
Because of Capoeira - because I wanted to learn the music - I started taking a Portuguese language course my senior year of college. I instantly fell in love with the language and my ideas of the culture. My professor, Dani Morschbacher is a fantastic woman who truly loves Brazil. More often than not she would speak of Brazil in a very romantic way. I do believe she loves Brazil. And so it seems in my life that if there is a teacher passionate about a subject I feed off that passion and begin to love it.
That is where the idea to travel began. Those events planted the seed for this adventure and it has finally begun to grow and take shape.
The second reason I am going, besides curiosity, is to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship. A Fulbright Scholarship is one of two things: First, it is a grant given to a US citizen to do a research project in a different country. Second, it is a grant given to a US citizen to teach English in a foreign country.
I'm going for the first. This trip is for a few purposes.
1. Learn Portuguese
2. Research ideas
3. Get contacts at Universities
To apply for the scholarship I need to be fluent in spoken and written Portuguese. I felt immersion would be the best way to learn, although I have also been using Rosetta Stone to try and get a leg up before heading down. I also tried Pimsleur, but that is less interactive and it didn't really hold my attention.
I also need a research project. As of now, my ideas concern Ceramics (The field I have a degree in), but I'm open to changing that.
My first idea is to incorporate the movement and music of Capoeira into my pottery. Pretty basic and probably not enough to develop into a research project.
Next I was thinking of incorporating the colors and designs of the costumes at carnival general culture into my work.
Or maybe I can research the divide between the favelas (shanty-towns outside of the major cities) and the city proper. And contrast the wealth, technology, quality of life, safety, cultures, colors, etc. And begin to bring that into my work. I feel like this idea might be pretty common place, but it seems like the most in depth idea that I have for now.
A final idea I just recently began tossing around was working with a group of students at a university to construct and fire a wood kiln. Or perhaps move to a more rural area and build a wood kiln that could be used to purify water.
Just ideas.
So, why Brazil? That is probably the question I get asked most and seems like a good place to start.
About five years ago I was at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), just entering my second year at the university and my first year in the ceramics program. I needed a gym elective and I decided to try something new: Capoeira.
Capoeira is Brazilian martial arts. People stand in a circle called a "roda" and cheer on two players in the middle. The game is beautiful. There is a nearly constant circular motion between the players with constant give and take: action and reaction. But it is also much more, it's about the energy of the group and the tempo of the music. It's about a conversation between the two players and a conversation between the players and the rest of the group.
I really began to enjoy Capoeira and the culture around it. I took the class six or seven times while I was at RIT and eventually started taking classes at Capoeira Mandinga under Contra Maestre Carcará. In these classes I began playing the instruments and learning the music. I started to love the music and love interacting with everyone who was so passionate about the art.
Because of Capoeira - because I wanted to learn the music - I started taking a Portuguese language course my senior year of college. I instantly fell in love with the language and my ideas of the culture. My professor, Dani Morschbacher is a fantastic woman who truly loves Brazil. More often than not she would speak of Brazil in a very romantic way. I do believe she loves Brazil. And so it seems in my life that if there is a teacher passionate about a subject I feed off that passion and begin to love it.
That is where the idea to travel began. Those events planted the seed for this adventure and it has finally begun to grow and take shape.
The second reason I am going, besides curiosity, is to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship. A Fulbright Scholarship is one of two things: First, it is a grant given to a US citizen to do a research project in a different country. Second, it is a grant given to a US citizen to teach English in a foreign country.
I'm going for the first. This trip is for a few purposes.
1. Learn Portuguese
2. Research ideas
3. Get contacts at Universities
To apply for the scholarship I need to be fluent in spoken and written Portuguese. I felt immersion would be the best way to learn, although I have also been using Rosetta Stone to try and get a leg up before heading down. I also tried Pimsleur, but that is less interactive and it didn't really hold my attention.
I also need a research project. As of now, my ideas concern Ceramics (The field I have a degree in), but I'm open to changing that.
My first idea is to incorporate the movement and music of Capoeira into my pottery. Pretty basic and probably not enough to develop into a research project.
Next I was thinking of incorporating the colors and designs of the costumes at carnival general culture into my work.
Or maybe I can research the divide between the favelas (shanty-towns outside of the major cities) and the city proper. And contrast the wealth, technology, quality of life, safety, cultures, colors, etc. And begin to bring that into my work. I feel like this idea might be pretty common place, but it seems like the most in depth idea that I have for now.
A final idea I just recently began tossing around was working with a group of students at a university to construct and fire a wood kiln. Or perhaps move to a more rural area and build a wood kiln that could be used to purify water.
Just ideas.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
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