ready set go

today was one big long day.  and we aint done.  decided tomorrow to be 'open' in the afternoon so we dont miss the chance to nab some possible visitors who might be out roaming the 'airing of the quilt' show that will be going on right down the street from us.  we aren't done hanging everything and getting all the loose ends tied up, last minute completion of art in some cases, rearranging of furniture and of course the food getting prepared and set up, thankfully tod's mom flew in from MA yesterday and she is taking over the brunt of that so i can focus on the show stuff.  thunderstorms predicted.  hasn't rained much all spring and now we are getting 'mist'.  hot and greasy humid.  i love it.  bring it on we are having this show rain or shine!

i'm loving the most that its me and tod and jared.  my favorite people in huntsville. (cynthia you live out of town otherwise you would be in that list. you are my favorite person too).  i'm loving that tod has been making his little 'daddy dolls' for the last 2 years and finally they get to be seen.  and since moving here he's made small sculptures from found objects, barely fit in the palm of your hand they do, and they are cool.  and jared, who is graduating from SHSU has still managed to get 3 strong pieces going for this show not to mention (photos above) working his ass off getting signs made and doing a lot of the grunt work to the physical space. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES.  tonight after i left some teenagers were out and i hear they stopped by and immediately gravitated towards one of his pieces and were seriously digging him for how much it was.  how cool is that?????

and i'm happy to have my new puzzle sculptures there...mixed in with my older ones.  i'm thinking i might add 'eyes' now to the mystic after this show seeing as my new pieces have found objects for eyes and it makes a huge difference in their character.  and i have my new candle holders and all my studio furniture there.  the space while small suddenly looks LARGE and my furniture feels a bit diminutive without a chair next to each table.  might have to bring a few chairs in.

what a cool experience though, the whole thing.  working as a team. the three of us picking up where another leaves off and filling in the gaps if one person seems to have more finesse than the others.  i'm not sure i've ever had something go so smoothly and we got done what we needed to get done.  we pitched in and had kristie who is the rock star of promotions help out with distributing fliers and getting 2 press releases done not to mention sending out emails to a bundle of contacts who wouldn't otherwise be privy to this event.  she lent us some xmas lights, serving trays and plastic dishes too.  its all good.  its going to be a fun, relaxed show.  no one has gotten bent out of shape, no disasters...so far this feels like the easiest art show i've ever done. yeah i'm tired, a bit wired but mostly really looking forward to enjoying observing and interacting with new faces. thanks you guys for being interested and supportive, i will be wishing you all could be here!

puzzle table sculpture

well tomorrow is my art show with tod and jared here in huntsville tx.  when i stop and give it a thought, i'm thinking WOW! this is really happening!  when i lived in vermont tod and i always talked about trying to find a space to use to have our own private art show.  yeah a gallery is great to be in and it is the way to go but sometimes you just want to do it your way and make it more intimate.  for whatever reason the opportunity just never materialized and i wasn't very gun ho in vermont.  i never seemed to 'click' with others and getting out there felt like crawling through a sea of glue.  while i'm not in any established galleries in houston, i have been able to get a few pieces into 2 galleries with another on the way, all out of town.  i have to say i am pleasantly surprised by how enthuised and responsive people are about my work here.  lets hope i can keep riding this wave of momentum.  it calls for lots of moving forward on my part, plenty of obstacles but also plenty of opportunities if i just keep moving. 

and showing in saturdays group show, the debut of my Puzzle Heads.  i hesitate to show these pictures of my puzzle table sculptures...the lighting is OH SO BAD.  puzzle pieces tend to reflect and the colors just don't show right but here ya go... ladies and gentlemen i present to you 'the warrior' and 'the linguist'.  these are both tribal heads.  i picture the linguist as being a key figure in the puzzle-head tribe, fore it is the linguist who must bridge the gap between the other tribes.  the warrior fights to the death any who dare impede upon the puzzle heads.  the warrior is a redux, last year i began redoing him and was paralized by what to do.  since moving to texas i have had such good response to my puzzle pieces i got re-motivated and finally pushed through to the next level of puzzle scuplting.  the linguist was also started back in vermont 2 years (?) ago, and again, i was at a complete standstill.  i like the base of the linguist, i recently acquired that while walking the railroad tracks.  i cleaned it up, cut some metal flashing to fill the hole in the bottom, poured cement in it to anchor the pipe that the puzzle head is formed  upon and whala.  a zillion puzzle pieces recycled into ART!

going nuts

many of you already know about my candle holders that i finished last week.  for those of you in the dark about this, here they are!  they are on my website as well as on etsy.  i'm really happy with them as this time i went a little further in the design and refinement process, meaning i used the grinder and got the top layer of rust off of some(see below).  the two below with the rr screws sticking through them also have a rust converter painted onto them (thanks for telling me about this nellie!) i still prefer the rusty look for the majority of my work...the patina and subtle nuances aren't something i can replicate...even if i could why would i when its already there?  however, i'm getting it that some people might prefer a 'cleaner' look and feel.  all of my rusty pieces are cleaned on the bottom anyways, but the rust converter will cease further rusting, say if you live in a super humid area and leave them outdoors.  and i will admit, it does lend a more elegant look to the candle holders.  i have one more set not listed here on etsy as well.  go check them out!

 

friday new art finds: James Florschutz

Station XI - Clenched in the Ultimate
16 1/2" x 16" x 5 1/2"
Mixed Media, 2007 by James Florschutz

Station I- I Am
12 1/2" x 15" x 8 1/4"
Mixed Media
2007 by James Florschutz

just in the nick of time, another friday art find, found. and what a find! this is the type of sculpture that gets me really excited about materials. of course i wanna do this but think why bother when ....well....here it is already done and mastered.

amazing work in my opinion. there is a fine line between a mess and a masterpiece. these works are a marvel of both ingenuity and placement of objects. zip ties, paper, metal?, wood, brushes, plastic...you name it and its in there. excerpt from James's about page:

Sculpture has always been a way for me to overlay order on my environment and to make sense of a seemingly chaotic world around me. Often my work uses the grid that offers a matrix for me to express my thoughts and feelings.

In using discarded materials (by-products) of our society and culture I investigate the ubiquity of sites, excavations and mapping. These discarded materials have their own language and tell their own stories. I attempt to unite these diverse materials to reveal insight into our culture's sense of the environment.

James has exhibited extensively and won numerous awards and honors (see his about page). i'm very impressed by his work and i can't believe i didn't know about him when i lived in vermont (his home state)! my loss i never got to see his work in person.

The World In-Between
50 1/2"x99"x12"
Cedar, Surveyor Stakes, Rope, Tar, Graphite, Oil
by James Florschutz

Beehive
32"x40"x40"
Mixed Media Assemblage
2007 by James Florschutz

bizzzzzeeeee

today i started handing out the fliers and postcards that we made/printed to direct the masses to our group art show which is a week from saturday. for those of you who haven't seen the press release ~ i made my own of sorts to go on the website as well for the random human who actually visits my about/exhibit page.

the great thing is, i dont care who shows up. i'm not in a fantasy world about this being something other than just three people getting together who want to show their art. we've waited pert near to the last minute it seems to get the word out, but this is huntsville, word spreads via some strange osmosis. wafting through the thick humidity and enveloping all with the knowledge of who. what. where. when. i'm thinking there will be more curiosity seekers than anything and once they find out we didn't buy wine or get a musician (theres still hope but who knows) they will be forced to look at the art and interact. i look forward to it.

and in other paulawahla world news, i've been doing lots of behind the scenes work on the etsy team blog and other stuff i wont bore you with. while sales are dead on etsy right now, i'm having more fun than i would have ever believed just getting to know other team members. big lessons for this judgey bitchy thing. i have been happy lately and i have no idea why. i have less money than i've had in my entire adult life save for a time in my 20's when i had just $20 (of course if you take my debt into account i guess i am poorer now than then. shit). i live in a place that is totally uncomfortable and noisy. my future feels completely unknown and unimaginable and i just don't seem to care. i would have never imagined i could be this happy with so little in the way of creature comforts, financial stability and the near complete lack of environmental beauty. (its huntsville texas dont forget) i'm sure i'll topple down at some point, but hell, it's been three weeks, THREE WEEKS of feeling positive, powerful, hopeful, content and just being alright with life, i think my record is a month or two so this is like a big fat gift from the universe.

off i go, i'm the busiest non-working artist who doesn't even make that much art anymore person that i know. ps, for those of you planning to fly in for the art opening i think there is room for private jets to land at any one of the numerous prison units near the outer city limits. and if not there, pick a spot, there is nothing but land out here my friend.

friday new art finds: Elisa D'Arrigo

Budding ,2001
cloth, thread, acrylic paint
33 x 47 x 49 inches

Cross Section, 2004
cloth, acrylic paint, thread
34 x 30 x 7 inches

well shame on me for leaving Elisa in my queue for three weeks! i'm sure these works will keep though, look at them, all compact sewn together like some sort of art pasta. delicious! i got turned on to her work awhile ago when art propelled did a post showcasing works by various artists. i went to Elisa's website and got sucked into quite the visual journey. (thanks robyn!)

D'Arrigo uses cloth, hand made paper, wax, acrylic, and thread. i've even seen marble and dust listed as medium sources. its astonishing how worked these materials have got to be and yet they still remain so raw and organic.
Above: Elisa D'Arrigo Reconstructed ,2009, handmade paper, thread, acrylic paint, marble dust. 18 x 8 x 8 inches

Recollection...terracotta ,2008

cloth, acrylic paint, thread
20 x 19 x 4 inches

i didn't see the one on the right on her website, found it on a google image search. not sure what it is about this piece, but i'm quite taken with it. it feels like something found in a back alley in china town. its vehicular...a transporter, a body...a THING. what a cool assemblage. i love that it's slightly grotesque and yet so appealing to my senses. another art find that spurs me on.

Ellen did a friday new art finds of her own, check it out!

more none of the same

this dont look like texas huh? feels like a foreign land. today i met up with a woman i met last month at the art opening. she really dug my work, probably had more outward enthusiasm for it than the people who actually bought my art that night. it was unexpected and she was dying to show me some property she owns that she uses sometimes for parties/gatherings but eventually will fix up a bit more yet still keeping it industrial. i wont say too much about the place, i think its her baby and i dont want to exploit it.

suffice to say i LOVED the area and had a good time sitting here and chatting away with the sky above our heads and birds flying around while we talked. she is having a gathering next week and even offered to let me have some art up. not sure how to do that cuz i can't hang it up but maybe i will figure something out. if it isn't raining it might work. maybe i can put some candle holders on the tables...who knows. regardless it was cool to get out and meet someone and see something new.

and speaking of showing art...the countdown for tod, jared and myself to have our gallery opening is now at just over 2 weeks. may 1. got more walls painted, working on painting 3 doors so we can hang art in the main floor area, working on fliers and press release stuff (biting the bullet, the three of us are paying someone to help who has experience and has contacts all over town). oh and trying to finish up my two puzzle head sculptures. i'm pretty sure i'm going to exhibit mostly puzzle work in this show. i have NO idea who is really going to come and its a little hard to imagine selling a big ticket item but hey, i can dream right?

last week recap

i am boring right now. hence no blog posts. just in case someone is remotely interested in what i have been doing i thought i would give the blog a moments attention.

last week i posted on my face book fan page some pictures of a puzzle assemblage 'class' i did with the girl scouts in conroe, texas. that turned out to be easier than i expected and yet not so. i realized that having never 'taught' anything i should have gone with my initial instinct and told everyone we were going to make faces instead of giving them freedom to do whatever they wanted because as with many people too much freedom can sometimes paralyze you with choices. for the most part everyone got into it. i was instructing 7-12 year old girls after all, so imaginations were good but the project might have been too daunting in retrospect. i brought in two puzzle masks that i made on the fly to show as examples as well as four pre-existing puzzle assemblages to show them what is possible if you have enough time and puzzle pieces. i think i was surprised that only a few girls actually glued more than one layer of puzzle pieces together; for the most part everyone did single layers and ironically no one did 'faces' like i do. only one person made people; everything else was abstract/landscape/bug/reptile/or names. its good for me, shows me i dont know anything.

i had a great time albeit i was a little wired and exhausted by the time i left. i was there just about 2 hours total (set up and intro etc) and i found that having a smile plastered on my face and giving constant encouragement and feedback proved more work than i'm used to. having said that, i would consider doing this, or something similar again if the opportunity presented itself. i might even seek out where i can do summer workshops here and there as long as i dont have to acquire materials.

i also helped clean/organize an art studio for a friend. (yes i do have a friend out here even though she doesn't live in huntsville) she generously offered to pay me for my time and it was fun to spend a humid rainy day in a nice big studio getting it organized and back into shape. while i wouldn't want to do that full time for people, it is very rewarding to help someone purge and organize things as long as they are up for it. she was up for it so we had a good time.

friday jared (my neighbor) had some time to deal with the other big wall in that gallery space we are going to use for our art opening may 1st. our landlord let me pick through his paint supply and i found a few colors that i thought would look good with the blue/gray we bought earlier. there is still some cosmetic work to do but i think its going to look great and hats off to jared for being so gun ho.

and if you are still reading this i will bore you with another attempt at making a few bucks. literally. the landlord said i could try my hand at cleaning apartments he has when people move out. at $8 an hour (+ bringing my own cleaning supplies and working without hot water or electricity) i'm not keen on any future jobs. it's already hot here and i'm at the cranky age of getting hot flashes here and there. not fun when its humid and i'm cleaning layers of cigarette smoke, skin, animal and other filth. my right sinus cavity is still completely 'packed' feeling this morning. i'm slightly repulsed. plus another worker was there and he sang loudly to 70's music most of the time. i thought i was going to lose my mind.

so i still search for any quick job to do here and there. all so i can keep the majority of my time open for marketing/making art. working away slowly but surely on my puzzle sculptures. trying to spend as much time outside as i can before the summer hell descends. dumpster dived for donuts for the first time in my life. finally found a place to eat out that we like (thanks tod's mom for the $$ gift to enjoy a dinner out~we loved our sushi!) and what else...just living each day in the moment and trying to stay away from the fearful thoughts that shut me down.

huntsville

just walkin around on a balmy sunday night
see more on flickr

Houston we have contact

last month tod and i went to houston. i suppose i didn't paint a very good picture of our experience that day, for whatever reason we just weren't digging it. you'd think after living in huntsville for six months we would be frothing at the mouth for some culture and anything would suffice! perhaps we've both been spoiled by the beauty and culture that other cities we've lived in/visited have offered and houston seemed to pale that day. well, yesterday i went back. i went alone (tod wasn't even interested to bother). i almost turned around the last 15 miles of my 67 mi journey. started feeling a little panicky and thinking too much, but hell with it, i hadda give it one more try.

after making a quick stop at a local farmers market, i headed straight for the Menil Musuem in the cultural district. i'm really not big into going to musuems or galleries but it felt like the thing to do. as you can see below, the Musuem is large and hosts an impressive collection. all told, the Menil's had collected something like 16,000 pieces of art before they died. when i walked in the first thing i saw was a john chamberlain. it was completely unexpected and the only art in the foyer, i felt the impact immediately and actually got teared up as i felt invisible power wafting at me. after i recovered from that, i went through a walkway into the center of the museum. it's divided into east and west sides with 2-3 large exhibit rooms on each side.

the first exhibition consisted of african arts. yes we've all seen this before, but i was particularly struck by the sculptures from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. we are talking 19th and 20th century and the masks were made from wood, pigment, resin, feathers, glass, raffia cloth and stuffing. not sure i've seen anything quite like these. i really liked the works from: Yaka, Lega, and Mboyo. some had nails and earth all stuffed into the bodies of strange beings. i saw some unusual pieces that used metal and copper in ways i've not seen before. it was inspiring to say the least.

i wrote down some of the artists that i saw there: Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Bruce Newman, Robert Morris, Max Ernst, Wolfgang Paalen, Piet Mondrain, Joseph Cornell, Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely, Rothko, Barnett Newman, and Brice Marden. of these works i admit i wasn't too enthralled. you know i'm not big on painting and i dont get a chill looking at 'the masters'. i saw a picasso and thought so what. thats just me. what popped out at me most was an unexpected Rauschenberg, 'Niagara Summer Glut, 1987'. you can see it if you scroll down on this page. i loved the largeness and lightness of it. i studied it for quite awhile and loved how it was fashioned ~ a small hole at the top of the piece with a screw sticking out of the wall (you can also see some good interior shots of the menil musuem on that page, they dont allow you to bring a camera inside).

i also stopped by the koelsch gallery just north of downtown. my landlord told me about this gallery, suggested i stop in and submit my work to them. a little word of mouth. who knows. they seemed like a possible fit and i'll know in a month or so either way. its a step. a start. i'm fairly certain i can find a few places in houston to carry some of my work, be it wall art, tables or clocks. its a huge city with much diversity in art and people. i'm glad i went, feels like i'll be going back soon as i've barely made a dent in seeing all the art that is there.

and houston?.... i owe you and apology. you aint so bad after all.

tool art

someone gave this to tod. i couldn't believe my eyes when i saw it. that hairy stuff is part of the inside of a hammer; it's fiberglass. this is its own art piece ready to hang in my opinion. its beautiful!