Brr. It’s cold. I’ve already started working on my winter layer of fat. Last night, I met with my “peer group” of artists to discuss our collective “art angst”. One person brought some holiday contraband…
TRADER JOE’S MINT JO JOE’S COOKIES!!!!
These are disgustingly good with crunchy bits of ground up candy cane in them.
NOM NOM. *wistful sigh*
I know. Why am I writing about cookies? This is not why you read my blog. You read it for my insightful art commentary. Hmm. That argument seems a bit weak. Actually, I don’t know why you’re here, but it’s nice to have you. Did you bring me cookies? No? Oh, okay…nevermind.
So, several weeks ago I went to the Art Complex in Duxbury. I’ll admit…it felt like it took an eternity to get there. It kind of stressed me out. ANYWAY, there was a fascinating show there called “Self/Fabricated“. This show was loosely “textile-centric” (kind of the way that I am loosely “cookie-centric”…but I digress…again), and about domestic life. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. I’ll post some images of some of the pieces that I liked (although there were others…but I’m tired, so this is it):
Leslie Schomp, Group of Miniatures, 2012/2011
Okay…I wish that I had taken this picture with my hand nearby so that you could see how absolutely TINY these are. Pay attention: these look like drawings, right? They’re not. The materials are….(wait for it….)
“Hair on cloth in dollhouse frames”
YES!!!! She has SEWN these TINY portraits!!! These were pretty astounding and I totally loved them. I know that it isn’t possible, but I really wanted to hold one in my hand, for whatever reason. So brilliant. Sewing with hair??? Also brilliant. The way that they are displayed makes perfect sense, but now I want to know who these people are. Are these self portraits? Hmm. I might be inspired by her tiny creations…
This is also by Leslie Schomp. I guess I really liked her work! This is made from “embroidery thread and pulled thread on found linens”. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but this piece is soooo delicate and amazing. Here is a close up:
Isn’t that amazing??? I love how wispy the background is. Her work was fascinating.
David Curcio, Happy House, 2008
This piece employs “woodcut, drypoint and stitching on Japanese paper”. I love the patterning, the mix of textures and mediums, and the lovely stitching. I especially like the “baby heads” (my quote) that are around the perimeter. Those are particularly delicate. Love it!
Candice Smith-Corby, Lost in My Chinoiserie Thoughts, 2012
Smith-Corby has many small, intimate gouache paintings on different surfaces in this exhibit. They are always vibrant, but often have an “isolated” feel to them. I loved this one especially because instead of painting on fabric, she painted on paper but detailed it as if it WAS fabric:
Isn’t that AMAZING??? She DREW that!!! So soo brilliant. I love that. She had quite a bit of work at this show, and it was all really interesting. Here is an installation that she made:
Candice Smith-Corby, Rearranged, 2009-2012
I loved how this domestic corner has slightly gone awry. Actually, my living room is not so different than this, except we have more junk and lego thrown around. (we’d no doubt get our money back if I bought a Roomba…we’re probably more in the market for something along these lines…)
I could tell that I was no longer in the Metro Boston area when I was leaving, as I saw THIS posted nearby:
HMMM! MEAT RAFFLE??? What, pray tell, could THIS be about? WHO RAFFLES OFF MEAT??? FASCINATING. I wonder what Girl Scouts sell in this area?
Speaking of meat…(hence the blog title)…my son drew this brilliant creation the other day:
Sigh. I have such love for this. In the upper right…we have a woolly mammoth. Standing on the right side of the excavation is a saber toothed tiger (note the sizable, saber-shaped teeth…nice!). The form on the left of the excavation is a huge digger/excavator working on the hole. Then, in the upper left, is another saber toothed tiger which is pouncing on said digger. BRILLIANT! I hope that he draws forever.
Speaking of…I better get back to my work. The sound of chainsaws and leaf blowers are sending me to the basement, much like daylight driving away Count Dracula…ARGGHHH! The NOISE!!!! The NOISE!!!!
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