Posts Tagged ‘studio’
Dyeing wrap up
Just some images of my yarn as I dye it and arrange it to see how my color balance for iteration #10 of Identity Tapestry for the Identity show at Vögele Cultural Center is going.
I’m nearly there! I just need some more blues in the medium darkness range of all hues. Here you can see on the white plastic sheeting some of the yarn I am dyeing over to create all the richness and depth of color in the yarn for the piece.
I am contemplating using a different size of plaque for the statements because of the nature of German (more text needs more space). This would bring the format closer to “hello my name is” labels, which I like, but I need to be sure I can find the right sized stickers for the look I want. I could physically do the text without stickers, but the label/name tag/address reference label stickers give is important to me for this piece. I may end up ordering metric ones.
Identity Tapestry to show in Switzerland
From the first iterations of Identity Tapestry I’ve been wanting to create it both in a museum space and in another language. I’m pleased to announce that this May I’ll be doing both! Identity Tapestry will be up as part of the upcoming show “Identity” for four months starting this May at the Vögele Cultural Center in Pfäffikon (just outside Zurich).
I will be flying out for the install and I’m incredibly excited. Any iteration demands a look at which statements to include or leave or if new ones ought to be added, especially in a new area or situation. In this case the language use should be especially interesting because there are essentially two languages at work there: High German and Swiss German. One is the official language which is used for nearly all text, the other is the language of intimate conversations and the inside of one’s own head. Apparently it is only recently that the Swiss-German language has appeared in text, and then mostly in text messages, and only to very intimate friends. How I approach these languages and navigate translations will add new levels of complexity to the piece. Thankfully the curatorial staff is wonderful and I have a local Zurich-raised person who is willing to consult with me on language as well.
The Crucible of Deadlines and Constraints
My problem as an artist has never been lack of ideas or even crafting skills. The real skill is deciding what is most important and when, what not to do, what to sacrifice, what to put the most time and effort into. Drawing itself is an act of selection- what line to place, what line to ignore, what line to emphasize, tweak, or ghost.
So right now I have a good problem for an artist- two shows at the same time. One I committed to months ago, but without a specific piece. Since I knew I could have more space for that show I prepared to spread out and create a larger installed environment. Then I was invited to be in a show in a museum just outside Zurich, Switzerland. They wanted a specific piece, and it is one I have to be there to put together. And they open two days apart.
Now that the Switzerland one is confirmed I’m turning back to the first one. Suddenly I have more constraints. Something that can run itself. Something smaller and easy to install. Still something interactive. In the case of this show, something both contemporary and Dada. I was intimately familiar with Dada before I left high school and I loved it then, but two more advanced art degrees have actually put me at more of a distance. So I dove back to the source. I re-read the manifestos, looked back at the beginnings and what motivated them. Suddenly an entire new interactive, small, easy to set up artwork burst out of my head. And it will work. And it comes right out of the unconscious pool of all the ideas I am constantly exploring. Better still, because the process of Dada involves some randomness, it will be fun and surprising to make. I’m excited.
When I have enough time and resources to do whatever I want without a burning idea starting in my mind and a place to put the result I do very little that gets finished. Give me a place, a time, and a single constraint or direction and suddenly my mind is on fire and my hands itching to create.
Coldworking Day One
So far so good. I’ve used a dremel on silver and brass before, but never glass. Working around the constant flow of water is a new experience. I can understand why people don’t tend to do detail work in this medium. Seeing detail in a clear substance while water is running over it is a little tricky.
More casting flaws are visible now that I’m working the glass, but I think they are still ones I can work around. I’ll know better once I do a light sandblast.
In the meantime the fabric mold for the body is ready for the foam pour on Thursday.
Face sculpted
Well, aside from the inevitable thousand tiny touch-ups, the face is done. I’m going to make a mold of her before I start trying out the mask options or put her in the kiln. I could easily destroy her with a mask that I decide doesn’t work, and accidents happen in the kiln.
It’s nice to sculpt again. I just realized it’s been at least 8 years! I’ve been doing more painting, drawing and other mediums for installation.
I think sometimes one gets better at things in the time between the actual doing of it. My eye has gotten better and I haven’t forgotten how to use my hands.
On another note I loved working at the Crucible. It’s a wonderful space, and so nice to know I have access to all sorts of great equipment for working with metal, glass, wood, and clay. In other good news, Techshop is opening a branch in SF, so I won’t have far to drive to have access to laser cutters, milling machines, 3D printers and other more high-tech tools when I need them.
A face
I’ve been sculpting the face in wax for the figure. I’m looking at photos and paintings of women who were considered beauties in the 1880s (the period of the clothing) as my models. The idea is an ideal and austere form- like a Greek statue, but offset with the intense imagery being projected through the mask.
So I’ve gotten the face roughed-out in wax. It still needs ears as well as detail work, but so far so good. Then I add the mask. I’ve got some flat sheets of wax somewhere and can’t seem to find them yet. Those will be ideal for getting a nice perfectly-smooth surface on the mask. All I have to do is cut out the shape and sort out the attachment.
As much as I’m not looking forward to ears not including them would be too much of a cheat. The hairstyles of the day clearly showed the ears, so I cannot fairly cover them, and while I will transition to a different material for the rest of the head, the seam is better hidden under clothes and in the hair where possible, so the ears must also be in glass.
I will have access to the glass casting facilities starting this Wednesday. I don’t know if she’ll be ready by then, but I can have a test piece ready. Anyway- I should make a mold of her before casting in case the cast comes out badly.
It feels good to be sculpting again. It’s been donkeys.
From the Studio 