SITE Gallery- Sculpture Month Houston - Installing the work - my pregame plan
With lots of time spent preparing to install my work, installing it went by quickly.
During the days prior to the installation, I imagined trying multiple compositions of the pre-assembled sections, spending lots of time looking at it, adjusting it, and tweaking it and then adding smaller elements to tie the work together... and repeating the same process over and over until I was satisfied it was finished. That was my pre-game mental plan.
Once the support structure was in place, secure, and painted, it was time to install the work. First, I hung the two pieces I knew would be part of this work. I then looked at the way the shadows were falling on the concave surface of the wall and hung the two end pieces. It was then late in the day, and I decided to call it a day and decide what the next step was with fresh eyes in the morning.
The next day I showed up early in the day ready to sit, look and make changes that would be best for the work on the concave wall of a silo. I was excited to see the curator, Volker Eisele, in the parking lot when I arrived. I invited him to come take a look at my progress.
Smiling he said, "You are done, it is finished." I was really happy that he was pleased, really happy. I was also surprised. Finishing this early was not my game plan. Yikes! It isn’t easy for me to mentally change my game plan. I think Volker could see this in my face, and as he walked away, he said, "You know my name is on this too, it is good." I completely understood and reminded myself how lucky I was that he liked it.
A good problem.🙂
ps. I now have the equivalent of another silo full of work in my studio………. bursting at the seems. Anyone need a keystone animal environmental installation?
SITE Gallery Houston
Behind and attached to the Silos at Sawyer Yards
The lobby of the SITE Gallery Houston with the mechanicals of the grain silo in place. Just the coolest
Green marks the spot
Bombus and the blueberry
This is a continuation of an earlier post that documented my intuitive process to embrace and abstract the bee that was listed on the endangered species list January 11, 2017.
The posting was titled Embracing Bombus Affinis. Here is one more experiment.
In the experimental piece below I focused on the transparency of the wings.Through the wings you can see the bees hairs on the back of his abdomen. You can also see the flora in the background and through his wings. FYI- a favorite of the Rusty Patch bumble bee is blueberries. Blueberries are one of my favorites too. There is always a box of blueberries in our refrigerator. I hate the thought of my blueberries being pollinated in a lab.
Bombus Affinis VI
30” X 44”
I am not sure if showing the transparency is necessary or if it bogs down the energy with too much information.
If you want to help insure our food remains pollinated as nature intended see below-
Limit the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers whenever possible or avoid them entirely. Pesticides cause lethal and sublethal effects to bees and other pollinators.
https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/factsheetrpbb.html
The ghost print
Hurricane Harvey Heroes- LIVEstock- “bringing home the bacon” The inspiration?
He is one big pig, the beloved family pet that had to be hoisted upstairs to save him from drowning in the flood waters of Harvey. The idea of saving a pig was inspired by a YouTube video posted by a young family in Conroe, Texas. I hope you see in the figure not only the strength it takes to lift up a frightened squirming pig but also the determination that the figure has not to let the family’s favorite pet parish. The pig twist and turns while straining his back legs straight out trying to reach the ground.
photo by Nash Baker
Bringing home the bacon
66” X 42” 60”
Steel, stainless steel lath, plaster, hydro stone, wire mesh, screen and cloth, and baling wire.
the next pig post - why a pig?
Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 8 “bringing home the bacon”
I started the upper torso.
I always make the shoulders too broad and then have to adjust them. I will do that tomorrow.
Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 6 “bringing home the bacon”
Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 5 “bringing home the bacon”
Today I spent a lot of time cutting off and rewelding. The upper leg/booty was too big. After four hours it now has a trimmer.
I am trying to decide if I need to reinforce the lower half of the body or move on. Once I reinforce the joints it is a lot more difficult to make changes. If I move on without reinforcing the welding joints, the piece could fall apart. That is my dilemma.
Hurricane Harvey - sculpture day 3 bringing home the bacon
This sculpture is about the movement and the energy of rescuing livestock (a pig) during Hurricane Harvey. Today I have to decide on where the figure's weight needs to be to best balance the sculpture and express the energy of hoisting the swine to safety. The photos I took of Griffin while he was walking helped me committe to the foot placement. For the weight, I need new reference photos taken from each side. I am fortunate that my husband is always agreeable to posing for me. We wrapped a stool in a towel to stand in for the pig. Below are the new photos.
View from the front
View of the left side
back view
Harvey Heroes- LIVEstock - “bringing home the bacon”
I stared a new section in my Hurricane Harvey series of Harvey Heroes. These will all be LIVEstock rescues.
I made the first one today,
“Bring home the bacon.”
44” X 30” watercolor monotype
This is my first large monotype.
I have always wanted to go larger, but the temporary location of the Glassell School of Art did not have a big press. The pieces in this part of the series will all be 44” X 30” The Glassell printmaking studio has fabulous light, is super clean, and I love working in it. Alexander Squier, the head of the department and instructor makes sure everyone keeps it spick and span. This is the fourth time I have taken the class, print making is addicting and you need a press to feed your addiction. Plus Alexander is great.
Here is the ghost print. Something happened to the ghost. I am not sure what caused the mark that runs through the middle. When it dries I will try to fix it.
Before fixing-
The ghost - “bringing home the bacon”
Fixed
My work space in the Glassell printmaking studio
Me fake working for a photo op.
Cranes- through the window
A year ago, I made two works on paper; “Cranes Through the Window I and II”. The inspiration came when I stopped at a red light. Peering through the fogged and rain drenched car window, drops trickled down into tiny rivers, carving new landscapes in the glass. Beyond the miniature rivulets, dark and dusky clouds loomed in the shadows while others stood out in rays of hope. Through the puffs of gray, rooftops were stacked, and construction cranes delicately cross stitched in saffron and goldenrod garnished their capstones.
cranes through the window I
30” X 22”
cranes through the window II
30” X 22”
When asked if I had any cranescapes that were not monumental in size, I realized I had not posted these two pieces.
Picasso Museum in Paris
Three of his and a few of mine.
Dove/pigeon - bronze
Doves/pigeon and a fish
Dove/pigeon
Two of my Herman Beak trumpeter pigeons with leg muffs in charcoal
Two frill back pigeon is one in Talc powder and one in charcoal.
“gust” building the shell
dip 3 - wet
Ready for dip 4
the top of the cup is cut off and the blind vents are cut open in order to allow the wax to expand and milt out of the shell.
In the furnace to burn out the wax and the felt
with the wax melted out I now blow out what is left of the felt.
burn out number 2
With an pneumatic air hose I blew out the charred debris from each hat.
A cure from above looking into the cup that the bronze will be poured into.
After blowing out the pieces for a second time I seal all the holes with sparset.
Last Thursday we did our best to pour these but............. plan B we will pour them this this Thursday.
New piece - Hurricane Harvey confronted with humanity #1
When you witness or experience a horrific event there are images that hold onto you; images that will forever be conjoined to the experience.
Weathering Houston’s hurricane Harvey, I was glued to the TV and Houston’s social media postings. My eyes soaked up videos of contaminated waters creeping in the homes of nearby neighborhoods. I witnessed daring rescues of families as they were evacuated. In amazement, I watched mothers and children pile into garbage trucks, elderly folks in wheel chairs airlifted by helicopters. Through social media calls for help, it became obvious our cities first responders could not get to every home in need. Proudly, I saw brave Texans convert their flat bottom fishing boats, and jacked up pickup trucks into liferafts and search for those who called for help. No Texan would be left behind.
When our street drained, turning off the news and putting my social media in my pocket, I packed up my dry survivor’s guilt and headed down to the George R. Brown convention center to volunteer and treat my pain and my conscience. The Red Cross had turned one-third of the GRB into a families with pets section. Entering the building with dilated pupils I wove my way through the walk ways created by the clusters of cots and kennels occupied by families and their pets. It struck me that even in the midst of a disaster we humans create neighborhoods and small communities, we are pack animals. I headed towards the pop up pet supply store well stocked from donations made by citizens and the volunteer veterinary clinic where I would be helping out. Careful not to disturb the sleeping citizens of the newly formed families with pets city, I was confronted by a single cot. It was freshly dressed in a crisp white sheet accessorized with a fluffy white pillow and tucked in by a cozy, white flannel blanket decorated with tiny Red Cross logos all over. It was isolated from the others waiting for the next victim of Harvey to tuck themselves in and comfort them with safety. With all the rescue images of people trudging through unsanitary water, homes floating in floodwater fresh in my memory bank that cot was shockingly - humanity. Thirty thousand GRB citizens would be relieved to make it their new homestead. It was heart breaking and beautiful all at the same time. I could imagine if I had been rescued that cot would have been a long-awaited relief. I would not have asked the sheet thread count or if the cotton was grown pesticide free. My heart hurt for all those who were grateful to have such a cot. That cot, that crystal clear image of stripped down humanity, is the Harvey image that holds onto me.
Within weeks, I made two watercolor monotype pieces of the cot. One as I saw it and one with a pet waiting for its owner. I was pleased with their crispness and the delicate watery shapes seen when closely inspected. It occurs to me that the cot was so symbolic to me because of the constant looped eyewitness news reporting and abundance of social media posts. I was seeing the same strong images over and over. From my dry den, I too experienced Harvey.
I have taken photos of my television screen and collected screen shots of these images and will use them as inspiration for additional works to go with the cot. It will be interesting to see if it is interesting to anyone but me.
This is a study for the project. I am experimenting with the type of images I want to use, the sizes of the images and how much they can be abstracted and still be recognizable.
I want to use only black ink on white paper. If I were to make the pieces color ink, I would need to address skin tones and ethnicity. And the truth is that during Harvey, skin color, political and religious affiliations (things that often divide us) were not an issue to the point that they were not even part of the commentary, and that was beautiful. It is a very shuttle way to make a strong statement. I hope it is heard.
score #30
March 28th - a day of adding notes-
“score” #29 a meditation
Photo of wires coming off the bow depicting the energy created by sound.
I have no idea whether what I am making is “good art” or “bad art,” but I do know that my brain loves painstakingly placing each and every tiny piece of delicate wire exactly where and how my imagination envisions it, and the sounds that come from the strings of the violin, as the horse hair bow, drawn in a focused and precise manner, moves across them. The energy that this sculpture is depicting is both physical and emotional. The work on this part, for me, is a meditation. I don’t really think about it; I just listen and imagine as I twist and attach the wires.
“score” - #25 marching on
I was able to get another full day of work in. I was primarily focused on integrating the large piece of welded wire that makes up the movement created by his right arm with the steel and plaster figure’s arm and head. I am integrating the two by adding small broken pieces of wire cloth within the welded wire.
Shoulder and neck attaching to the head
Shoulder view from the front
I also added some tiny delicate wires to the movement of the bows. The delicate sounds coming off the strings.
the top back of the head
One of my artist friends Vincent Blair stopped in and took a quick pic as I worked.
My wire stash is on the pedestal.
Kinder Morgan Gallery
"murmur of the water" was accepted into the Kinder Morgan "Line Line Line Exhibition". On view in Downtown Houston March 6th - June 2nd.
"murmur of the water"
79" X 50"
paint, ink, and pastels on stonehedge
"drifting"
drifting"
36" X 45" X 55"
found object wire cloth
This piece is made from upcycled wire cloth I found at Txrx labs. They pour aluminum and use these wire strips to reinforce their molds. They break out the castings and leave the wire mesh in the yard. I always pick it up when we pour bronze because it is sharp. I started playing with it while we waited for the bronze to heat. I fell in love with it's malability, rusted patina and chunks of plaster embedded between the wires.
I sculpted this when I was thinking about urban ecology and how successful birds and especially pigeons have evolved in urban environments. In contrast many of the people we see in these environments with pigeons appear to be struggling to stay present.
This figure leans in on his left side where he is clearly involved in the environment around him. His right side is patently struggling to stay present and his head/brain and right side upper body are not visible to the viewer. Evidence of their absence is depicted through the torn collar and shredded back right of shirt.
I can't to come up with the perfect base for him. Right now he is temporarily sitting in a box wrapped in paper.