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the-y-generation · 5 years

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Not My Type (Chapter 2)

Summary: “Do you know how you stop a craving? You give in to it.”

When she signed on to be a road manager, she had no idea it was going to be for one of the biggest bands in the world, much less how they were going to turn her life upside down, nor how she was about to flip theirs too. Especially one irritating frequently-late vocalist who knew exactly how charming he could be.

Pairing: Idol!Jimin / Manager!Original Character (I personally haven’t written in “y/n” format, so I just gave the reader a name, but barely even mention it)

Genre/Themes: fluff, angst, friends with benefits, friends to lovers

Status: Ongoing (Masterlist)

She is three minutes away from killing Jimin.

Over the last few months, thanks to a remarkable change in outlook and a great deal of shameless courage, she managed to make significant headway in her relationship with the band.

It was only a matter of time before she managed to prove herself, and they immediately warmed to her. They soon saw that she was good at her job – smart, efficient, and didn’t take shit from anyone. Despite the daunting responsibility of shepherding the biggest music act in the world, she managed to glare down snobby venue partners and wave off prissy media. She heralded the boy everywhere quickly, made sure that they came prepared with their answers to interview questions, and straightened every collar and tie.

With her, BTS ran like a well-oiled machine, and Namjoon couldn’t be happier to share the load of babysitting.

But the boys came to find out that, just as ruthless as she was when it came to her work, she definitely knew how to play too.

Each key city they weaved through held a special place in her heart. Not because of the sights or the glamorous treatment, but because they each held a milestone.

In New York, Jin bought her a hotdog because he wanted the experience of eating a New York hotdog at a New York hotdog stand.

In London, she and Namjoon planned for the band to sneak out to a speakeasy.

In Paris, she cracked a joke that made Yoongi laugh until he had tears in his eyes.

In Tokyo, she convinced Taehyung to stop walking in the middle of Shibuya crossing, just to piss people off.

In Hong Kong, Hoseok beat her at Dance Dance Revolution.

In Bangkok, she and Jungkook stayed up watching anime on their day off.

She knew them better, just as they knew her now too.

So why in the hell does goddamn Park Jimin insist on testing her patience?!

He’s always late. Always. Even when he claims that he tried so hard not to be, even if she gave him a call time that’s half an hour earlier than everyone else's. He still managed to run late, and subsequently, make everyone late.

Whenever he is asked what took him so long to get ready, he can't give an answer. He doesn’t know why; no one does.

But to make matters worse, Jimin wouldn’t only come late but also unprepared. While the other boys would already prepare their answers, run them by Namjoon or Anna, and rehearse them to perfection, Jimin would shrug and say he prepared his state of mind.

His. State. Of. Mind.

Fucking hell.

He’d chuckle at her frustration, then approach Namjoon later on for a one-on-one tutorial. She hated him for it. Hated that he relied so much on his charm, his devilish grin, and his well-practiced “I love you”.

She swore that he'd answer everything with “I love you” if he could. Just 10 minutes of eye-fucking the camera answering that goddamn “I love you” if they'd let him.

Most days, she would give him a piece of her mind, maybe growl at him for half the day, and Namjoon would mediate so that she wouldn’t tear Jimin’s head off.

To his credit, the boy at least had the decency to feel remorse for his habit. He’d beat Anna to the punch line, rushing in bowing and apologizing profusely before a single curse word could exit her lips. She’d glare at the back of his head, maybe flick him on the forehead a few times before the band’s leader pulls her off in fear that the flicking would turn into a real punch.

But today was the last straw.

They were attending a big awards show, and Jimin was late. Again. As usual.

She already gave him a call time that’s an hour - a full 60 minutes! - earlier than the rest of the band's. Yet he was still running 20 minutes later than everyone else.

The other 6 boys were already in Namjoon and Hoseok’s shared hotel room, all dressed, made up, and rehearsing their lines to kill time. Well, except for Yoongi who just sat there and muttered complaints about the weather.

“Where the hell is he?” She hissed under her breath for the millionth time.

“I’ll go get him.” Jungkook offered, cautiously eyeing the wound-up girl, already retrieving his room key from his pocket. He and Jimin were sharing a room this time.

She paced the room furiously, glaring at her watch as she huffed and puffed, calling the tardy boy's phone. Rage rolled off her in waves, injecting a tense atmosphere over the room. The boys kept quietly to themselves, muttering their lines as quietly as they could, afraid to tick her off even further.

“No, let me.” Namjoon offered, rising from his seat by the window.

“No, no.” She growled under her breath and waved them off. “I’ll get him.”

Immediately, all 6 boys were on their feet, blocking her path to the door. They all knew that it would spell the death of Jimin if she were the one to retrieve him.

“I’m sure he’s almost done.” Jin reassured.

“He was supposed to be done 20 minutes ago.” She firmly replied, pushing past him. “Heck, he should have been done an hour ago, if he followed the call time I gave him.”

“We'll get him.” Taehyung said, tugging Jungkook by the wrist. “We’ll carry him over here for you.”

“Don’t bother.” Anna gritted her teeth and pushed them out of her way. “I’ll drag him here by the neck if I have to.”

Seeing that there was no way of stopping her, the 6 boys trailed after the fuming girl, resigned to witnessing their friend's inevitable death.

Reaching his hotel room, Anna knocked harshly on the hardwood door thrice.

“Park Jimin, you better open this fucking door right now!” She yelled.

There was a crash from inside, followed by a muffled “Wait a minute!”.

“Goddamn it.” She muttered under her breath, then turned her fiery glare on Jungkook. “Card.”

The scared boy handed over his key card. In one fluid movement, she opened the hotel room door and barged her way inside.

She was greeted by the sight of a half-naked Jimin, standing frozen by his bed in only his boxers. With his chest exposed, eyes wide with panic, and hair only half-dried from his shower, he was the epitome of deer in the headlights. Anna's eyes raked over him angrily, taking him in before he managed to grab a pillow to cover himself.

“What the fuck?!” He cried out, attempting some form of modesty in front of his road manager. He turned his panicked gaze on Namjoon, silently asking for backup, but the older boy shrugged and smiled apologetically.

Jimin was on his own with this.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Anna hissed at him. “We’ve all been waiting for you for 20 minutes now. Twenty. Minutes. And you’re not even dressed?!”

“I was about to.” He insisted. “I swear, this will just be quick. The sooner you leave, the sooner I can finish up.”

“No.”

“What?” Jimin asked, eyes wide with confusion.

“I said no.” She repeated herself as calmly as she could, proud that her voice sounded calm despite the crudeness of her words.

“I’ve had enough of your shit, Jimin. So I am staying right here to make sure you’re dressed within the next 5 minutes.”

Jimin scoffed incredulously. “So, what? You’re just going to stand there and watch me get dressed?”

“Yes,” She glared at him, crossing her arms for maximum effect. “I’d shove your legs through those pants myself if I have to, if that’s what it will take to get you dressed already.”

Jaw dropped in disbelief, the distressed boy looked to his band mates for some help. But none of them seemed willing to pull him out of the grave he dug himself into and risk getting on the furious girl’s bad side.

“I can’t believe this!” Jimin exclaimed. “You can’t do this.”

“Well, you aren’t supposed to be late either, and make everyone else late with you. But you do that anyway. So if you think that you’re in a position to say what can’t or can be done,” She flipped him the finger. “Fuck you.”

There was a time when she thought that Jimin’s eyes could burn an entire continent. And, no doubt, a part of her still believed that perhaps they could.

But at that moment, under his incensed glare, she thanked her lucky stars for the immunity she had developed over the last few months. If looks could kill, then everyone in the hotel would certainly already be dead under the weight of their wordless stand-off.

Time ticked by. No one moved. A whole century could have passed and they wouldn’t have known.

“Get dressed, Jimin.” Yoongi broke the silence, already irate and itching to get the damn thing over with.

Jimin tore his eyes away from the glaring girl to throw a petulant retort at his bandmate, but they cut him off.

“Just do as she says, okay?” Namjoon said gently. “We’ll talk later. But for now, we have to go.”

The boy huffed but refused to move. He still stood there, clutching the pillow to his exposed torso.

“Put the pillow down and your clothes on,” Anna said quietly, voice dangerously low. Calm, but simmering just under the surface. “I don’t even know why you’re trying to be modest. Everyone knows what you look like shirtless.”

She paused as he let his guard down. He rolled his eyes at her as he threw the pillow back on the bed.

“And plus,” Just out of spite, she couldn’t stop herself from adding, “I’ve seen better.”

Jimin narrowed his eyes at her, and the corner of his jaw popped out in his effort to keep his mouth clamped shut. As he proceeded to take his black trousers from the closet, she turned to the other boys.

“You guys can go back to the other room.” She said. “We’ll join you once he’s done.”

The boys filed out slowly, but not without flashing Jimin shy, apologetic smiles. He ignored them.

Soon enough, the door closed with a click, leaving the two alone together. The silence was deafening, making every tiny movement boom and echo through the room.

She sat on the chair by the vanity, watching Jimin shuffle around the room and dress in haste. He fastidiously kept his gaze away from her, muttering profanities under his breath. She let them slide, caring only that he gets dressed already.

“Three minutes.” She called out after a quick glance at her watch. Jimin already had his pants and socks on.

“I know.” He replied through gritted teeth as he wrestled with the buttons of his dress shirt.

Eventually, when he got the buttons done, he bent over to put his shoes on. He still had a long way to go though - his tie, his coat, his earrings. But five minutes were five minutes, and she wasn’t willing to spare him any more than that.

With a sigh, she grabbed his tie and his earrings from the vanity table and crossed the distance between them. He rose back to his full height, finished with his shoes.

“Here,” She said, answering the silent question in his eyes as to why she was suddenly up in his face. She lifted his hand and dropped his earrings in his open palm. “You do your earrings, I’ll do your tie. We can’t waste more time.”

With a nod, he did as he was told. Then he stood still and allowed her to work on his tie. She began to make quick work of it, having done it for them several times already at this point.

Anna kept her breathing measured, hyper-aware of his breath brushing against her cheeks, and his ever-steady gaze on her face. It was suddenly a million degrees in the room, and she prayed he wouldn't hear her racing pulse.

Neither said a word, but the silence was lighter now. Softer, but electric with words unsaid.

With a final tug, she finished the four-in-hand knot of his tie.

“What?” She broke the silence, reaching for his coat, still refusing to meet his eyes. “You’re staring.”

“I stare a lot.” Jimin retorted.

“But it’s your i-have-something-to-say stare.” She motioned for him to turn around. “So spit it out.”

Jimin chuckled and complied, turning his back to her so she could put the coat on him.

“Are you a mind reader?” He joked, shrugging the coat so it fell it on his frame correctly.

Once it was on, he felt her hands on him, brushing lightly against his back and waist. Instead of turning him back around, she slowly walked back in front of him, giving him a careful once over to ensure that everything was in order.

“No, you’re just predictable.” She whispered absent-mindedly, brushing off his shoulders. “Spit it out already.”

Jimin laughed, the puffs of his breath tickling the fringe of her hair.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He said. She scoffed, but there was no real acid behind it.

"You're always sorry."

"But I always mean it." He gently insisted.

Anna sighed, unable to deny the sincerity in his tone. With a sad frown, she fixed his collar. "Does it even matter if you mean it when you keep repeating the same mistakes?"

"But I'm trying." Jimin replied.

"Try harder."

Realizing her tone, she softened and returned her gaze to his face. Jimin gave her a small smile, his puppy dog eyes shining with an apology. It was nearly impossible to stay mad at him.

"I mean it, Jimin." She tried again, staying firm but gentle this time, in a voice just above a whisper "Please. I hate being angry with you."

"Then don't be angry with me."

"Then don't make me angry!" She huffed.

Jimin chuckled again, the kind that ended with a squeak at the back of his throat.

"Okay, okay." He caved. "I'll try harder. I promise."

"You better." She waved an accusing finger in his face jokingly. "Or else I'll drag you to the venue naked next time."

Jimin quirked a suggestive eyebrow and transfixed a smolder on her. "If you wanted to see me naked-"

"Don't." She rolled her eyes and cut him off. "That doesn't work on me. You know that."

He flashed her his signature heartbreaker smile, made a thousand times deadlier by his contacts. It was unfair, really, and possibly illegal to look like Apollo incarnate, or perhaps Aphrodite.

But she'd never let Jimin know that.

Instead, she rolled her eyes at him, feigning indifference as she gave him one last look.

"You good?" She asked.

"I'm good." He replied, giving her a thumbs up then doing a dumb sassy turn. Back to being his usual silly self, Jimin was really feeling himself in the suit.

"Damn right." She laughed, already starting to push him out the door. "Now let's go! I needed you guys out of here like 30 minutes ago."

#jimin #jimin fic #jimin fanfiction #park jimin #park jimin fic #park jimin fanfiction #park jimin fanfic #bts fic #bts fanfic #park jimin smut #jimin smut #jimin fwb #park jimin fwb #idol!jimin #not my type

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hell-and-pepsi · 7 years

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what is a tagged can you eat it

I guess I was tagged by @ilwinsgarden ? That was a surprise, people don’t tag me in stuff too often, thank you very much!

Rules: Answer all the questions, then add one of your own, and tag as many people as there are questions

1) Coke or Pepsi? I never drank coke in my life. I tried Pepsi once so I guess Pepsi.

2) Disney or Dreamworks? I’d say Dreamworks, especially since my brother is a huge fan of How to Train your Dragon

3) Coffee or Tea? Tea, in all forms and quantities - from a cheap-arse tea bag put in a bucket of hot water to exquisite brands prepared by the rules of the Chinese traditional tea ceremonies

4) Books or movies? First read the book, then watch the movie based on it. Never vice versa (except if the book is really crappy compared to the movie)

5) Windows or mac? Windows! Also doors. Illuminators. Ceiling lights. Ventilation vents. If you can punch a hole through a wall, that’s nice too.

6) D.C. or Marvel? Not a fan of either.

7) Xbox or PlayStation? Never had neither of them.

8) Dragon age or mass effect? I never played neither of them and I don’t even have friends that played any of these :(

9) Night owl or early riser? Early riser. If you can manage to, which doesn’t happen to often to me unfortunately.

10) Cards or chess? I can barely play any card games, I don’t even know the names of the card suits in Russian (but I know them perfectly in English because Homestuck.) So chess, even though I haven’t played chess either in a very long time.

11) Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate any time.

12) Vans or converse? I don’t care much for fashion so either is fine

13) Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? Low Sorbian? Volapük? Or are those not weird language names?

14) Fluff or angst? Both. Both is good.

15) Beach or forest? Um. Have you looked at my username. Well, I guess you should just look at it again

16) Dogs or cats? Cats! Especially my cat, Sebastian. Though dogs are cool as well.

17) Clear skies or rain? Clear sky! I am basically a reverse vampire, I can’t live without a blue sky and a bright sun up above. Also, stars at night *_*

18) Cooking or eating out? I’m broke, so cooking.

19) Spicy or mild food? I like spicy. But honestly, it all depends on the ability of the cook. Mild food can be very tasty too if done right.

20) Halloween/Samhain or solstice/yule/Christmas? @ilwinsgarden while answering this question said that they don’t celebrate Hallowe’en in Czech Republic and I relate - we don’t celebrate it in Russia as well save for the occasional shop sell.

But here we go even more extreme - we don’t celebrate Christmas either! In the Soviet times the main winter celebration shifted to New Year’s Eve, and that’s what we celebrate mainly up to this day. Christmas is a religious holiday solely, and moreover, because Russia is mainly an Orthodox Christian country and not a Prothestantic/Catholic/Anglican one, we celebrate Christmas two weeks later than Catholics (January the 7th).

Actually, even putting cultural differences aside, I don’t like the themes of both holidays. The modern media has generalized and cheapened them so that Hallowe’en is merely pumpkin spice and costumes instead of being a spiritual day, and Christmas is merely presents and trees instead of an important Christian milestone. I guess I enjoy Christmas a little bit more.

21) Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? Uhhh, that’s a tough one! But I am actually often a little too cold (including today), so if I choose a little too hot perhaps it can cancel it out? :D

22) If you could have a superpower what would it be? There are so many choices! Super intellengence would be helpful. Teleportation would allow me to travel anywhere in the world for free. If I could create plant life or accelerate its speed of growth, I could end famine.

23) Animation or live action? Both have their perks. Currently I’m more invested in animation, but I would really like to explore live action movies and even create ones myself.

24) Paragon or renegade? Okay, so I learnt a new English word today! Paragon, huh. And as much as I love the sound of that word I choose renegade. I’m a rebel by nature.

25) Bath or shower? Showers are cooler and more eco-friendly, but when you’re tired all you want is a nice hot bath. So both once again, depending on your state.

26) Team Cap or team Ironman? Like I said above, I’m not a fan of Marvel.

27) Fantasy or sci-fi? Don’t make me choose like this! But when I was younger I definitely enjoyed sci-fi more, and I know there’s still a lot of classic authors for me to explore.

28) Do you have 3 or 4 favorite quotes if so what are they? Oh boy, you came for a treat. “Fears are caused by a lack of understanding. And in the world we live in, you have unlimited information out there. There’s no reason you should be afraid of anything” - Ethoslab, my most favourite Youtuber and Minecrafter ever. I don’t remember the exact episode, but I believe it was in his Let’s Play series around 390-410 ish, when he was building Sandy City.

“I mean, I know you want it to stay pleasant around here, but — there are so many things … that are so much better. Like silly, or sexy, or dangerous … or brave. And every one of those things is in you all the time, if you just have the guts to look for them.” - Bud Parker, from the movie Pleasantville. Go watch it. It’s a true piece of art. I watched it in my English class in detail and it was absolutely delightful and amazing and so, so true.

“I never let school interfere with my education.” - (incorrect, I think) Mark Twain. Sums my feeling about school perfectly.

“Every moment is the moment, and everything you lose, you lose forever.” - my teacher. He told us once to remember this saying very carefully, even if we don’t understand it fully, because there may come a time where it will be very, very true for us. It is one of those quotes that you do not memorize, but which memorizes you instead.

29) YouTube or Netflix? I don’t have a Netflix account and I don’t even know whether the site is available in my country. But I spend endless hours on Youtube.

30) Harry Potter or Percy Jackson? Look at my nickname and my avatar yet again... plus I never quite got into Percy Jackson. I think I only read one book. Its fans make cool fanart though, with many different ships.

31) When do you feel accomplished? When I do something that’s supposed to be “in my field” and I do excellent on it. Also, contrariwise, when I have to go through something I’m scared or unexperienced to do and perform well.

32) Star Wars or Star Trek? Okay, please don’t kill me for this, but I never watched a Star Wars movie in my life. I also didn’t watch Star Trek, but I relate to it a little bit more because I’m a fan of Doctor Who which is a show from the same time. Plus Star Trek is responsible for a lot of modern sci-fi tropes, its fans started the modern fanfiction culture (including the concept of shipping), and it’s a historical and innovative piece in general.

33) Paperback books or hardcover books? I don’t have a strong opinion of this, and I read books online mostly nowadays. In my experience, different kinds of books are more prone to being in a hardcover or in paperback. Both of those types can be very enjoyable.

34) Fantastic beasts or Cursed child? Seen/read neither. (I feel so ignorant while answering those... haven’t seen that, haven’t read that...) But from what I saw and heard, especially from my little brother, Cursed Child is a hectic fanfiction piece somehow gone canon (and Rowling had barely to do with it anyway) and Fantastic Beasts is, well, a fantastic piece of work. Also Americans got their own Potter movie. (like A Very Potter musical wasn’t enough)

35) Rock or pop music? My music taste is dictated by artist, not style. That being said, nowadays I have more favourites in pop than rock.

36) What is the most important thing in your life? Keeping close to my principles/morals. Expressing those principles and morals in one way or another, because I find it something important to show to other people. Trying to help the people I call my friends. Trying to make sense in this big mess of things we call the world.

37) Mountains or sea/ocean? Tough question again! But I guess I’ve been to the sea like, thrice in my life, and never been to the mountains, so sea/ocean.

38) How do you express yourself? Mostly in words and sometimes in action. But my ultimate goal is to create content through which I could successfully express my view of the world.

39) What’s the first book/film that really counted to you? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When I was little I never cried at books at movies. But there was something in chapter 34 (where Harry has learn the truth about himself and goes to the Forbidden Forest to be killed by Voldemort) that made me shed my very first tear. The name of the chapter was The Forest Again, so, well, you can see how big of an impact it was for me.

40) What’s your element (air, water, etc.)? I want to be the Avatar! :D But seriously, I can’t really choose. By my star sign, Leo, it’s fire.

41) If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Is “everywhere” an option?

42) If you had any job in the world, what would it be? A teacher in a school that is actually a good school. Not that those exist. Or a cartoon/anime/movie director/screenwriter.

43) If you were granted three wishes, what would they be? I guess all unlimited wishes hacks are banned, so:

1) World piece 2) Unlimited food to end world famine 3) Unlimited eco-friendly power source to end (most of) the world’s ecological problems.

44) If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pizza! Because you can put anything on a pizza.

45) What’s currently the most pressing issue on your mind, and what’s stopping you from fixing it? Is “everything” an option” [2]? But seriously, it’s probably my unpreparement for the uncoming exams and the search for my future career. The first one is caused by just lazyness and the boringness/objective unimportance of the exams, and the second time always takes time, naturally. So they are pressing, but at the same time I don’t worry too much at “failing” them.

46) What is your dream companion animal? A cat! Or a cool bird, like a jay or an oreole.

47) Raptors or songbirds? Raptor songbirds. Just imagine.

48) Do you think there is life on other planets in universe? “Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. “ Arthur C. Clarke sums my opinion on this pretty welI

Woah, that’s a lot of questions! It also took me a lot of time to answer them, it’s super late for me now. Here’s my question:

49: If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, what would be some of the things that you do?

And I can’t possibly tag 49 people, so here’s just some: @polyglotplatypus, @kuufox, @artisticprotector, @cultureklub, @crap-iccioso, @glannniglaepur, @stefan-stefansson, @moonpaw17, @klavierr, @antialiasis, @johannesviii and basically anyone else who wants to do this. And if you don’t want to do it, of course you’re not obliged in any way. @ilwinsgarden thank you so much for tagging me once again!

#this was much fun!#tagged #tag meme #ask meme #personal

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houstonlocalus-blog · 7 years

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Visual Vernacular: Roberta Harris

Roberta Harris. “Flight Time” (detail)

Amongst the many artistically talented and conceptually strong artists in our city, one particular artist is about to show forth her lasting and lyrical work through a special exhibition downtown through Arts Brookfield, Wing It! Effervescent and elegant, thoughtful in both application and meaning, Roberta Harris will showcase a variety of work dating from 1995 to the present. She has created work in the times of dramatic artistic changes during the 1970s, when famous artists walk amongst her studio and other creatives such as Phillip Glass invited Harris and other artists to his rehearsals. Over the years, Harris has cultivated a visual voice all her own, ethereal and joyful in nature while paying close attention to magical details. The work on display at Two Allen Center, curated by Sally Reynolds, lends itself to winged creatures in a kaleidoscope of colors. Harris was kind enough to answer a few questions for Free Press Houston to reflect on her career and her recent show.

Free Press Houston: Within the workings of your aesthetic, when did you begin to become attracted to such subjects as vines, birds, particular colors, etc?

Roberta Harris: When I was a young girl, I lived next to a forest. This was the first place where I journeyed alone. There, in that wilderness, I discovered great mystery: above me, below me, to my right and to my left — a 360-degree cacophony of life.

Before a banquet set for senses, amid…

the sounds of insects and birds the smells of bark, leaves, moss and wildflowers

the sensation of wind, rain, and humidity, the visions of color, texture, light through dense trees, and life

teeming in swampy puddles, I became sensuous.

Although I have thought of that experience often, I am just now paying attention to how this “nest” shaped my soul and my work.

Roberta Harris, “Welcome to the Neighborhood”

FPH: What were some of the moments that made you ponder and turn towards art?

Harris: As a young child, I remember having a blackboard on an easel. I mostly drew ballerina’s standing on point. Those ballerina’s managed to find their way into many of the collages and paintings I did in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

In regards to a connection to the “arts,” the only art we had in our home was a pair of framed prints of standing females. They were probably copies of 19th Century American Portraiture & Genre Painting. Placed over our upright piano, I looked at them all the time as I practiced my piano lessons.

In elementary school we took a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts. I remember being most impressed with a very detailed portrait of a queen which we were told was painted with only a few hairs of a paintbrush! Her garment was truly lavish and bejeweled. Only now as I write this, am I realizing that was probably the first moment I related the idea of “time” to making art.

When I was 8 years old, we took a trip to my uncle’s home in New Jersey. He was a landscape muralist. His living room depicted a beautiful floor to ceiling landscape that covered two long walls. In his kitchen he had hand-painted apples everywhere….walls, cabinets, doors and ceiling. I was astonished to totally surrounded by hand-painted apples! At that time I told him that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. His words to me were to be a commercial artist because then I could make a living.

My father was a master craftsman who worked with glass. For many years he worked for one of the major glass companies that installed windows, mirrors and intricate installations in private and commercial spaces. He and his team installed the huge windows of the control tower at the Hobby Airport in the ’50s. As a young adult, I would go out to his studio (our one-car garage) and help him with some projects. From this experience with him, I learned one of my greatest art and life lessons: “Necessity is the mother of invention”.

My mother taught herself to be an architect and designed a number of homes, which she and my father built. She also loved ceramics and mosaics. So, between the two of them, geometric forms and the idea of construction was very much implanted in my being.

When I was in the 8th grade, I won a scholarship to the MFA. Other than my wonderful 7th grade art teacher, this was really my first experience with art and being in the museum on a regular basis.

Another huge artful influence in my teen years, was my infatuation with the Neiman Marcus ads in the Houston Post and Chronicle. Every Sunday there would be a full page of an avant garde drawing of a figure, showing the fashions of the moment. I was enthralled with the line quality and freedom of expression in creating an image. I decided that I wanted to go to New York to study and learn how to do that! It’s a long story, but eventually I did go to New York after a year of studying in Texas, and was accepted at Parsons School of Design and Hunter College.

I majored in Fashion Illustration and Fine Art. This was in the mid ’60s when the art world in New York was on fire and American art history was being made. I was so privileged to see the beginning of Pop Art (Andy Warhol and the soup cans), the art of the action painters such as DeKooning (who all my classmates emulated in life painting class) as well as new art of Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns, Lee Bontecou, Louise Nevelson, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Lewis, Marisol, James Rosenquist, and Phillip Pearlstein. This was an education up close.

Returning to Houston, I got a job at Dillard’s when they opened the new store in the Galleria. My job, a full page in both papers, was to create an avant garde figure showing the fashions of the moment (After a couple of years, the management decided they wanted to show more salable, recognizable imagery and my job there was over). After my daughter was born, I returned to the University of Houston and majored in Fine Art.

Roberta Harris, “Sky Chair”

FPH: Over the course of your career, what were some of the breakthroughs and/or milestones that still run through your current work today?

Harris: Being accepted into the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972 was a very important milestone in my life.

Again, this was a time of history-making art in America. My equipment at that time was a compressor, an air gun, glass, natural pigments, Rhoplex, chalk and canvas. My assigned studio was on the edge of Chinatown, in a large room plus the vault, in the basement of a bank, which was now being used as an off-track betting company (I was told to not fool around with the enormous vault door because no one knew where the key was). After making a heroic size painting that was about 16 feet wide, I decided to stop everything I was doing and just absorb, learn and grow as an artist while I was there. Just few of the artists who came to the studio were Lucas Samaras, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Smithson, and Chuck Close. One of the comments that stands out from Lucas Samaras was “Making art is like making a salad. It’s not enough to have the ingredients….everything depends on what you do with them.” Another great memory is being in Chuck Close’s studio and seeing him work, with all his accoutrement neatly around him at the end wall of a large loft. Phillip Glass, the musician, was another memorable person who talked with our group. We got invited to his private practice sessions with his ensemble. They met on an empty floor of a gutted out loft building. Beautiful rugs were spread out in the middle of the room and we sat on the floor and listened to these extraordinary musicians, making sounds we had never heard before.

I think that the thread that runs through my work is about an experiential experience. This goes back to the forest where I grew up and the sensation of experiencing everything around me all at once. I have, for most of my life, believed that just as everything exists in the world simultaneously, so can it all exist in what I do. It’s my salad. The vocabulary I’ve used has included numerous iconic forms such as birds, sticks, hearts, figures, plants as well as geometric forms. I am mostly interested in the experience of seeing and feeling and being left with an uplifted spirit.

Roberta Harris, “Process”

FPH: Tell me about how you came up with the title of your recent show and how it reflects in your work?

Harris: Sally Reynolds curated this show and decided to use some of my available bird images…or works that relate to birds and nests and other winged forms. As I understand, choosing the name of the exhibition was a spontaneous idea that occurred to Sally and the Brookfield Arts group when they knew birds were the theme. I thought it was a perfect title. I love what Sally said in the essay she wrote for the show. Just a few lines:

“What do we do when we wing it? Well, sometimes we trust ourselves to fate, we let go, probably unprepared, and we do the best we can. We improvise as if we were an understudy in the the wings of the theatre who didn’t quite learn all the lines, we push on. We try to fly! We join our feathered friends and at times get a new perspective an elevated look at a broader landscape. And the birds, sitting, hovering, flying, beckon each of us to courageously take wing as they do.”

FPH: What has it been like to work with Sally Reynolds and Arts Brookfield?

Harris: Working with Sally Reynolds and Brookfield Arts has been totally pure pleasure. Sally is a magnificent person and a real art professional who has a brilliant eye, a big heart and a beautiful soul.

FPH: What are some thoughts or concepts you hope appear in between the lines of the exhibition?

Harris: Throughout my career, through a variety of media, my mission as an artist has been to inspire hope and its corollaries – dialogue, joy, encouragement, strategy, peace, kindness and imagination. The feeling of “UP” is what I hope to convey. Given the challenges that we face, hope demands courage, commitment, endurance and renewal. If I can contribute to that, then I’m doing the job I was sent here to do.

Roberta Harris’ exhibition “Wing It!,” curated by Sally Reynolds and presented by Arts Brookfield, runs through September 7, 2017 at Two Allen Center located at 1200 Smith Street, 2nd Floor.

Visual Vernacular: Roberta Harris this is a repost

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