Short video about my work and process...

Recently, I was selected for an 8 week entrepreneurship program for artists called ArtistINC. (It was great! More on ArtistINC to come later.) Our final project was a short presentation about our work - you can see mine below.

This presentation is in modified "Pecha Kucha" format - in a nutshell, a pecha kucha is a short presentation that autoplays at 20 seconds per slide. It was invented by architects in Japan a few years back. At first I was skeptical - was it possible to make such a short artist's presentation? However, I found the process of boiling down all that I wanted to say to just five minutes to be very rewarding in itself. And it was awesome to watch a couple hours of artists giving their own pecha kuchas on the final night of ArtistINC. I learned so much in such a short time and everyone had a chance to speak (there was no "Sorry, we are out of time. We'll have to finish the rest of these next week.")  I think that the next time I teach a class, I will have my students give this presentation format a try.

I guess I've taken a year off...

It's funny...I just decided to log in here and I realize it has been nearly thirteen months since my last post! What in the world?! How did this happen? An entire year has just slipped away?!!

Well, I guess "just slipped away" is not the most appropriate phrase. It was a great year...and a very full year...a full to the brim and pouring over kind of year. I guess this blog was one of the things that sloshed out of my life...accompanied by regular exercise, thorough dusting, a good nights sleep, most of my studio time, and conversations with my husband that consist of more than two short sentences. What caused this overflow, you ask? Well, that is easy....two things mainly....er, two people:

1) Henry, 3

2) George, 9 months

These are my sons and they are awesome. I love spending time with them....just being their mom, watching them grow and laugh and discover the world. It is very exciting and a lot of fun....and it is also truly exhausting. These days, by the time bed time rolls around and I have them both tucked in for the night, I feel more inclined to settle into a heap on my couch than to scamper off to my studio or whip out my laptop. 

For the most part, I am fine with this....I am not trying to complain. I just had to write "Henry, 3" as in three years old. My first baby is wearing undies and talking about school. Before I know it, I'll be walking him to a bus stop. Deep down, I know that I need to savor this non-stop, all hands on deck, exhausting season of life. No beating myself up about unfinished artworks, missed opportunities, irregular blog posts, dusty nick-knacks and flabby arms....I'll have time to work on all of that later. I wouldn't trade my full to over-flowing life for anything.

Kaarina Kaikkonen

Spending a little time on Pinterest here and just stumbled across the amazing work of Kaarina Kaikkonen, a Finnish sculptor and installation artist. So inspiring.

All of these images are from Kaikkonen's website, http://kaarinakaikkonen.com/. Check it out! You won't be disappointed.

Time is moving fast and slow...

Happy New Year! Is is too late to say that already? Probably. 

I recently told a friend that being a mom somehow makes life move super fast and super slow simultaneously.

It seems like days, weeks, and even months slip away before I know it. I find myself with less time to "get things done"...by this, I mean many of the professional and personal things I used to do....making  art, applying for shows and other opportunities, going to openings, networking, blogging, reading, etc. I am swept up in the continual rhythm of nap time, bath time, cleaning, making dinner, laundry, going to work, and so on. Hours spent intently focusing on applications and artwork are becoming a distant memory.

While I lose track of days and weeks, something else - totally unexpected - is also happening. Individual moments seem to have slowed down; they become almost tangible, like something I can gather up and store in a jar. Now that I am responsible for guiding a little person through the world, I am doing all sorts of things that I haven't made time for in years. When was the last time I intently jumped in a frozen puddle to watch and hear the ice crack? Why did I ever stop looking for the moon each night or searching to see airplanes when I hear them flying overhead? Now that I am excited about sharing experiences with my son, everything is new again. I can't tell you where December and January have gone...but I can tell you what it is like to catch a snowflake on my mitten for a close up inspection. How strange.

All in all, I am very happy with new pace of my life. However, I have resolved to be more intentional with my "free time" this year. (You know, eliminate a half hour of FaceTime and Pinterest here and there and next thing you know you are starting a new body of work. ) One of the things top on my list was to make a new website. I did it already, I am happy to report - and it is still January! (However, if I am honest with myself, I am pretty sure that a new website was on my 2013 list too. Ha!)

Anyway, take a look when you have a chance. I'll be photographing some new pieces to add very soon.

Full body weaving...

I saw this image on Pinterest and I can't get it out of my mind.

It's taken from a workshop on "Recycled Sweater Potholder Rugs" by Crispina Ffrench in Pitsfield, MA. Maybe this is the seed for a new big project....hmmm.

It's been months...

Life goes on with all of its unexpected twists and turns. We never know what is right around the corner, do we? The way I see it, this is the ultimate (and usually unappreciated) gift.

I started this piece some time ago. It was inspired by my son and his "play gym". As I stuck my head under it and  along side him one afternoon, I was struck by the way it was a world within a world. At that time, he was just a few months old. If I took the gym with us, we could do anything. Need to paint in your studio for a couple hours? No problem, take the little world along and the babe will be happy content.

All of this got me thinking about my little world within the larger world. What do I distract or entertain myself with? What do I fixate on? Do these things really matter? What is going on outside that I overlook or miss entirely? It's a simple idea, really, but I think it is important to be aware and keep perspective.

This adult-size play gym is constructed from tent poles, foam tubes, and hand stamped and stained cotton. The quilt squares are around 20" x  20" each. (Overall dimensions coming soon.) This is my first attempt at stamping my own cloth. I used acrylic paint with textile medium in lieu of dyes (It was easier to start and stop over weeks and weeks...and safe to use in a living room next to a baby.)

 

 

Complete with distorting mirror to capture your gaze.



I also used Cleanline Inko Resist for the first time when stamping this cloth. It is awesome! It is a air-dry, water-soluble resist that is easy to use and gives great results for non-immersion dyeing/stamping/painting processes. More on that soon...

Time Pieces

Something new I have been working on...

 

 

 

 

Thinking about time passing and what remains...

 

These are made with vintage pocket watch cases from CockroachShop on Etsy and human hair(...and glue and patience!) The curly one is from my last dramatic haircut; the others are hair extensions I purchased.