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!!!!
Filed under: Felting, printmaking | Tags: book, craft, felt, Fiber Arts, sewing, Shopping, Supplies, textile
So, I finished the lino prints last night. I added the third color. You can see it below:
I think that it turned out pretty well. I did manage to jab my thumb with the tool used to cut the linoleum. I know…cut AWAY from yourself. My thumb didn’t seem to be anywhere near where I was working, but my hand slipped. I need to get some of those oyster shucking gloves. Or, I just need to pay more attention.
I also worked on a fabric composition:
and a detail:
This is a bunch of different fabrics/yarns, etc merged into one fabric through needle felting. You basically use a barbed needle to poke through the layers, and fuse them together. It’s pretty interesting how different fabrics behave when felted like this. I have no idea what I’m doing with this thing, but I’m just going to keep adding to it.
I also made two tiny little books! Here they are:
Aren’t they so cute? There are only twelve pages in each book. I got this little kit from the local art store to make them. I’ve never made/bound a book before, but it was surprisingly fun! Somehow, it never seemed very interesting to me. Okay…a blank book…yawn. But, when you make it yourself, It’s so fascinating how it all comes together in such an intelligent manner. This wasn’t even any type of fancy binding, but they still turned out well. Hmm… I may make more of these. I have no idea why I would need a collection of tiny books with only twelve blank pages, but I’ll find some purpose. Grocery lists? Profound thoughts? (hmm…no, I want to USE these books) Maybe I’ll just keep them as mini sketchbooks, to draw tiny things in. Any other suggestions? 🙂
Filed under: textile forms | Tags: art, decordova, fabric, laura sapelly, sculpture, textile
Hello all! I’m just including some photos of my creations from my class, Textile Forms, at the Decordova. The teacher was Laura Sapelly. SUCH AN AMAZING CLASS! My classmates were an INCREDIBLE group of women…I hope that I can keep in touch with them somehow…they were all so inspiring.
I was the only one in the class that wasn’t an official “artist”. Everyone was so kind and supportive. SO different than architecture school…a place where they want to break you in, break you down, break your work. You can’t get too attached to your work in architecture school. Critics see no problem in scribbling on your drawings, ripping pieces off of models, and tearing your design to shreds, if they so desire. I kind of got used to that hyper-critical world. I found that in my first job, I sort of came on a bit too strong with my opinions. This is a result of being under attack for the past 7 years in school, and needing to constantly stand my ground. I know…it isn’t fair to compare architecture grad/undergrad to an art class. I’m sure that fine arts programs can be just as grueling. I just mean that it was SO wonderful to be in a supportive environment where experimentation was the goal…not perfection. It was amazing to just to let go and see where the material took me. No, I’m not necessarily thrilled with my work. However, I did learn a tremendous amount, just from the few classes that we had.
I’m kind of in recovery mode, from so many years as an architect. Every day was a battle of sorts…a struggle to make it all happen, make it all work, and make it all wonderful. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Don’t get me wrong…I still love architecture. I just have to take a break from it for awhile…breathe a little…relax…make something messy and spontaneous…and try not to immediately criticize/hate everything that I do.
Hmmm…time for some tea and something sugary! I have such a sweet tooth…
slightly wonky 