Today was the last day in the box, and as spastic as the weather was between the hours of 11am and 7 pm, the morale was at an all time high and stayed constant throughout my last day for this residency. I had some great conversations with the people walking on the sidewalk. They liked the bench as well as the paintings. A common thread I find while looking back on the conversations that took place this week while in the box, is that everyone has a brother or sister that is an artist. I heard many life stories over the last couple days, and conversation really picked up once they saw me there for a few days in a row. I learned a lot about the city of Pittsburgh, and learned even more about the people that inhabit the Friendship/Garfield neighborhoods. The conversation I originally had in mind for this week was going to concern the process of making art. This process is usually very private and secluded, performed in a space that is your own, surrounded by the things that inspire you. While trying to create art in this box, my process was unveiled yet the conversation usually ended up with me and a member of the community talking about their history and how they came to live in the neighborhood. These conversations were all unique, interesting and well appreciated.
Today I painted a picture of an octopus holding an umbrella in one hand (scratch that-- Tentical) and seeded dandelion in the other while still trying to make some progress on the bench for the FDC. People enjoyed the image, thought the project was a great idea as a whole, and some even joined in on the painting and created their own masterpiece.
This is the end of my piece of the project. See you all in september for the show!
Jessica Amarnek
