fresh meat

Hey all, I’m the freshman here. Technically, I’ve got 3 years of community college under my belt and an Associate’s Degree to brag about, but here in art school I’m a freshman.

Lets see, I’ll tell you some seemingly important facts about myself before anything else happens here. My full name is Hannah Colleen Meacham. I’m 5’6″ on a good day, so let’s just say I’m 5’4″ with all this slouching going on. I come from Sebastopol, California– a tiny hippie town nestled in Wine Country. I grew up in a family of 5. I have 2 older sisters, a fabulous brother-in-law, a mother, a father, a niece, a new nephew, 2 dogs, and 2 cats (who we’d rather not talk about). I am a Libra, I like to think that means something somewhere. I sew a lot. Actually, I’ve titled it Abstract Sewing. It’s sewing without a pattern and without really having a goal in mind but something incredible always happens, even if you break a few needles along the way trying to stick cardboard through the machine. I’m into costume design. I like to make jokes and make everyone around me laugh, although sometimes it’s just me. GIFTS are my love language. I am a night owl. I like breakfast for dinner. I like food in general, and lots of it. I like to bake cakes from scratch, but I still love good ol’ Funfetti cake from a package. I like clearance bins, free stuff, and finding clothes on the side of the road. I like to make lists of baby names even though I have no intention of having a baby. I am a clothing/fabric hoarder, but at least if I ever end up on the TV show Hoarding: Buried Alive I’ve got one of the first steps covered– recognizing your issues. I love french: speaking it, hearing it, dreaming about it. I collect random trinkets from the streets. I dance, all the time. I listen to indie, hip-hop, funk, classic R&B, folk, a little bit of Mötley Crüe, a little bit of jazz, a little bit of radio pop, and a lot of Michael Jackson. I use Dove cucumber melon deodorant. My go-to meal is top ramen when there’s nothing else in the house. I have always had bangs.

Okay okay alright, I feel as though that might be enough for now. Let’s talk about Portland. Portland is wild. I’ve been here for exactly one month. One wild, sarcastic, random, thrilling month and I know I’ve just barely gotten started. People on the streets love talking to me, and I love talking to them. I came to this city with zero inhibitions and I feel that that is working out quite nicely for me. I still am a little lost here, although if I can find Burnside, I can find my way home. And I actually like feeling lost, it’s more fun that way. Coming from a town with terrible public transportation, riding the street car is like going to a fucking amusement park- I have so much fun I want some cotton candy.

Let’s talk about school. I attend Pacific Northwest College of Art and I love it so far. I visited when I was sixteen and thought it was… okay. I liked the warehouse style building, and the man who recommended this school to me had just gotten back from installing and taking down The Gates by Christo and Jeanne-Claude so I knew this school had to be SORT OF LEGITIMATE if this dude was backing it up. But.. there wasn’t very many students in the building when I toured so it seemed eery and unexciting. They should really think about getting some students to sit around laughing and doing art when they have freshman tours. ON that same day I saw Gus Van Sant at a cafe down the street and thought that was the coolest damn thing in the world. I think that my little celebrity siting actually sold PNCA to me… Because 5 years later, here I am. Thanks Gus, you’re the man.

So far PNCA has been throwing opportunities in my face left and right. Everywhere I look there’s something going on, something inspiring to see, someone to listen to, somewhere to go. The first week I got here they told us about Last Thursday… So my brand new friends and I packed into Courtney’s purple Honda and made our way to Alberta. It was a sensory overload, man. We got there early and had amazing burritos and people-watched and burped and nervously tried to pretend we weren’t new to town. After a while booths started appearing, bike cops strolled, little girls set up cupcake stands; this funky little street came to life. It was magic. So much to look at for what felt like 10 miles. It was so inspiring and eclectic. I love situations like this where it’s completely hands-on and the experience is whatever you want to make of it. We took pictures of everything, even the decaying brick walls of the buildings nearby were awesome to us! We walked up and down Alberta for the entire evening, talking to anyone who would talk back and soaking in all of the art, good and bad. We were like children dancing our way through the streets, loving every second of it with googley eyes. I gave my number to some dude playing music, bought a huge ring for my naked middle finger, purchased fingerless (so my new ring would show) cashmere gloves, and eventually the sun set and we went home. Tuckered out and overwhelmed, in the best way possible.

Other cool things I’ve experienced in my first month: First Thursday, Powells, TBA Festival, ACE hotel’s photobooth, SCRAP, Mississippi Pizza (I still say m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i out loud whenever I spell it), The Bins, Saturday Market… Hmmm, I think this list needs to grow.

HOME for me now, is a college housing apartment building located in Goose Hollow. Within this first month we’ve explored quite a bit of the surrounding area, but not enough. I need some natives to tell me the real down home places to check out. My friends and I like to say we’re still looking for our own “Central Perk” if you know what I mean.. If anyone reading this knows of some great funky places preferably in SW/NW or anywhere easily walkable, let me know.

Any advice on this town in general would be SO welcomed in my book.
IN fact, I’m turning 21 next Wednesday, September 29th. My sister, Elizabeth (who is 27 years-old and once lived in Portland herself…), will be visiting from Colorado. Although she knows of some spots, I’m interested in hearing what sort of places cannot go unnoticed as I’m crawling the streets next week Wednesday through Sunday.

More advice: I need to get a new tattoo. I’ve designed one that will hopefully incorporate the unfortunate tattoo I already have. I don’t know of any good shops here. I’ve done a little research and am interested in Dan Gilsdorf at Atlas Tattoo, BUT honestly I know nothing. Where can I get a good quality tattoo that won’t empty my college savings account?
TODAY
Listening to: Deerhunter
Reading: Ghostworld
Making: 25 second animation
Color my nails are painted: Grey
Days til my 21st birthday: 5
Anyways, homework time.
I’ll post some of my art soon so if any one is curious, you can check it out.

À tout à l’heure!