12/5/2013

preparing the gems

Concrete breakdown 

Rinsing 

Scrubbing

Color reveal!

NOLA countdown

Antenna Gallery install prep

10/7/2013

Back to work...

Hartnett prep

1 inch to 1 foot scale model of gallery

The show will include a site specific installation, drawings, and floor sculptures.

wooden armatures

2 1/2 weeks until gallery install begins...

Packed and ready

All the babies got their backings and are ready to hang. Beautifully and securely packaged as a carry on (thanks to e.fox)

En route to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Checked baggage weighed in at 70lbs with all of my materials. 12 rolls of wallpaper, brad nail gun, hot glue gun, 8-10 yards of fabric and cheese cloth, four 8x10 framed works, clothes, etc. Woman at checkin was so nice since they were backed up and my flight is delayed so she didn't charge me the 100bucks for my checked luggage being over 50lbs. Huge score!

(Reppin' STL Contemporary Museum bright and shiny)

The Pink House

process:

collect unwanted paper > break into small pieces > blend into a pulp > pour pulp into screens > allow to dry > mould dried sheets of handmade paper to chandeliers > remove dried mold shells > attach shells to create large installation

I have not properly introduced this project here but it is now a few months in and feels like the time has passed to delve deep into how it started and the beginning steps. With that said, I still want to share about the exciting steps that are now taking shape and moving forward.

If you are interested in how the project became you can read a back story about it here http://rebuild-foundation.org/blog/?p=777&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=setting-a-tone-on-salerno-drive

Work Space @ The Pink House

I returned from my residency to find this beautiful arrangement of paper sheets that we had made together over the last few months. It was the kids idea to hang them and it has created a new energy in the room, making it feel more like an experimental studio space.

Lots of experimentation with blending different types of paper also happened while I was away. We are only using paper that is donated from the neighborhood to recycle into this project, with the outcome being mostly varying shades of grey after blending the collected paper together.  I am still unsure about how the kids were able to achieve such incredibly vivid colors, but from what I've heard some fruit snack boxes were involved and made the paper scented! Loving these oranges ^

 

 The working "plan" for the final installation involves molding ^these donated mid century chandeliers  with the neighborhood-recycled-handmade paper. My initial draw was for the installation to live in the main narrow hallway of the house, lit from within, with a color spectrum of white to grey gradations to transition from the walls. (now with the surprise of color thinking of how to incorporate into mix)

 

I am very excited about how the chandelier molds are coming out. The next few weeks will be spent creating multiples. All ranging in size, shape, and detail. Here are a few examples of the dried shells that will be attached together to create one large cell. They are picking up the chandelier details beautifully while still maintaining a paper feel. Dusty, eerie and ghost-like.

VSC

 

 "Located in the northern Vermont mill village of Johnson, (pop. 3,450), the Vermont Studio Center resides in the heart of the Green Mountains, a beautiful and pastoral region in the northeastern United States."

very very excited to have received an acceptance letter to attend the VSC Residency Program for 2012!!!  I have heard nothing but great things from previous residents and am really looking forward to it. Thankfully I will be going mid May- a non winter month. I would have been very fearful of the weather conditions. Have I mentioned this is the furthest North Ive been in the States?

some extra info about the program:
-24 painters, 12 sculptors/mixed-media, 2 printmakers, 2 photographers, & 12 writers accepted for each installment
- individual studios
-private living space, (food included-3 meals/day!)
-sculpture studio, print studio, darkroom facilities 
-visiting artist lectures and studio visits
-open studio evenings, slide presentations, and readings 
-galleries, library, and meditation bldg

cant wait cant wait!

sneak peek

keeping busy installing for Convergence at the St. Louis Artists' Guild

 

      50 yards of muslin...so far

six days to go....

upcoming

i heart sloup

  "Sloup is a monthly soup dinner in St. Louis that supports projects, primarily artistic or communicative, that need a little funding and belief"




Last month's Sloup was hosted by Flowers to the People, a gorgeous flower boutique on Cherokee, with a delicious black bean soup and yummy rum from the Stable. After proposals were submitted and read, bellies full, votes cast, the winning proposal was announced and... I WON!! yay yayaay. Below you can read my proposal for the upcoming project/event...

thank you soso much sloup voters for your love and support! And to the always wonderful and lovely Amelia and Maggie- sloup founders/creative mind extraordinaires!