I 'heart' publicity

Here is the article from the Hopkinton Crier about my talk to the Women's Cultural Art Forum, written by Helen Prunty Krispien. I must confess, it is always fun for me to read about how people interpret my work!!! thank you Helen!! peace

new york diner dress (2006)

Hopkinton Crier ~ May 14, 2010

Drowning ladybugs lead to fascinating art project

Helen Prunty Krispien; Crier Correspondent

Virginia Fitzgerald has an artist's soul. She finds creative expression and inspiration through everyday life experiences that can be seen in her current endeavor, "The Dress Project."

Fitzgerald, who lives in Natick, gave a lively, self-narrated slide presentation with over 300 of her dresses at the Women's Cultural Art Forum at the Cultural Arts Alliance on May 6. With such a dynamic embrace for creativity, Fitzgerald's quaint stories that accompanied each colorful slide made the two hour presentation fly by.

The simple, sleeveless dress form that is a signature of all her dress creations had its initial inspiration, although she was not quite aware of its implication, on an outing with her then 4-year-old daughter who wanted to learn how to blow bubbles with chewing gum. Fitzgerald was taken aback at her daughter's disgust at her mother putting gum on a stick and just playing around with it.

The "Dress Project" challenges a lot of preconceived rules, says Fitzgerald, as she passed around a 2 by 3 inch white tile that had a hardened, chewed stick of gum with a tiny dress form on it. 

Another design, "Dress of Etiquette" is created from pages torn from the book "Emily Post's Etiquette" and pasted on a mannequin. This dress will be part of the Cambridge Art Association's Northeast Prize Show juried by Cheryl Brutvan, curator of Contemporary Art at the Norton Museum of Art. The show runs from May 14-June 23.

But the actual "dress project" began on a family summer vacation in Wells, Maine. "We had rented a little house on the beach. On the first day, my girls and I were beach combing and came upon wave upon wave of drowning ladybugs. Of course, we had to save the ladybugs," she said.

"In the process of taking the ladybugs out of the ocean and up to the warm sand, we noticed that some were dead and my girls asked what would we do with the dead ladybugs? My immediate response was to make art out of them. The idea blasted open my brain. That night I sat up filling my sketch book with the different materials I could make a dress out of.

"The next morning, after a night of sleepless inspiration, I headed out to the beach. While walking, I wondered what would this dress look like? So, I grabbed a stick and drew this life sized outline of a simple, sleeveless dress. Once, I saw the outline, I knew I would fill it with the beautiful beach rocks that surrounded me and voila. the dress project began."

A self-proclaimed peacenik, one of Fitzgerald's dresses currently on display at the CAA, entitled "In Memory Of" serves as a protest against the U. S. involvement in Iraq. The top of the child's dress is made of a plaster cast that is abstractly painted with a map of the Middle East. The bottom consists of strands of dog tags from fallen soldiers that were reprinted from the New York Times which publishes the names and photos of deceased soldiers every time the death toll hits 1,000. "It was at 4,000, and that was like 3 1/2 ago," she said.

"The bottom is a mess; such a quagmire," she said.

"I bought miniature dog tags, cut and attached the picture and put polyurethane on which gave it gave an antique look. And that's part of the dress project - the learning process. I start with one idea, and one direction, and it unfolds."

Another dress on display is the "Flower Power Dress" that has the 60s flower motif printed on the top and strands of colorful beads as the skirt. This is an interactive display in that it encourages people to make a string of beads for the skirt.

For Fitzgerald, who admits she loves being an artist, the best part about it is being in the moment of creating. "It is like a drug," she says. "To get an idea or see an inspirational sight, figure out how I can recreate that idea or emotion or vision, then dive into the materials and process and just being there," she said. "It is meditative and exhilarating. It is a creative problem, and I love a puzzle. And this carries over to sharing the piece with others - seeing how my recreation is interpreted by those who witness it. And I especially enjoy inspiring others."

illustration friday ~ early

the theme of illustration friday is 'early' and this illustration popped into my mind ~ 'the early bird gets the worm'. Of course i wish this illustration had a worm but at alas....
hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!! peace

Fun and fashion in SOWA

What a glorious spring day it was today and a great day for the opening of the The SoWa Open Market!!

The streets of Harrison and Thayer were bursting with art, creativity and people!!!!

An added bonus for me was to see my Poetry Dress modeled in the Practical, Impractical & Artrageous: 2nd annual wearable art fashion show. The fashion show is part of the 'gallery' show going on at Bead & Fiber (April 30th 2010 thru June 26th). 'On behalf of Bead+Fiber (http://www.beadandfiber.net/), and Artists for Humanity (www.afhboston.com), Barbara Poole - (www.bfelt.com) and Rachel Worrall (www.rachelworrall.com)organised this charity fashion show for today and tomorrow in aid of Artists for Humanity in Thayer Street, Boston 02118. The pedestrianised street was the runway. It started @ 2pm And as you can see there was some amazing fashions!!

It was great to see my dress out & about with these wild fashions.

Also it was great to see it flowing in the wind!!

So if you are free tomorrow & live around Boston I would highly recommend you should go check out the SOWA opening weekend!!! Besides the Practical, Impractical & Artrageous: 2nd annual wearable art fashion show (which will start tomorrow @2) there is a plethora of wonderful artisans and artists. I got myself I crazy awesome dress from Grace Napolean which i am planning to wear to the opening of the Northeast Prize Show (May 14 - June 23, 2010) Opening reception: Thursday May 20, 6-8pm.

So lots o'fun to be had around Boston this weekend and this week ~ hope to see you out there!! peace

over 300 slides....

Last week the Women's Art Forum of Hopkinton invited me to speak to their group about the Dress Project, and it was a terrific experience! ~ the group was so generous and appreciative. Of course, getting prepped for the talk was a bit challenging ~ I found myself an LCD projector (thanks Tom) and put together a slide show of the Dress Project. After a few hours of combing thru files of photos I realized that I had over 300 slides and I had not even included all of the dresses that i have made. I was a bit awe~struck!! A few friends baulked at the quantity thinking there was no way for me to cover that much work in 2 hours ...well I got thru all of the slides in an hour and a half :). I was amazed how easy it was to speak about the Dress Project with the slides ~ I had my girls with me!!! As the dresses appeared across the screen the stories and inspirations just poured out of me.

At the talk there was a reporter from the local paper ~ the Hopkinton Crier, who sent me some follow questions. As I was answering them for her I thought the answers maybe interesting for my blog readers....so in their rough form, here are my answers, a little background of the Dress Project.

1. I understand, you started out as a sculptor. How did you segue into this contemporary art form?

'Started out' is a hard to answer since i have been doing something creative since i can remember. At Kenyon College I studied Studio Art with a concentration in Printmaking. I don't know if you were there when Cheryl and I were talking about my beginnings.... I was saying how I was intimidated by sculpture in college but if you step back and look at my work before the Dress Project there are many sculptural aspects to it. In Printmaking I was drawn to relief printmaking - woodcuts, where i was carving the wood plates. After college I supported myself with different creative business ~ i sold my hand painted furniture and for 7 years I ran a business based on bottle cap jewelry that i made. All these buz. had sculptural elements. But, do i think i started out as a sculptor - not exactly.... I thought of myself as a painter and when the Dress Project started I was just coming off a successful painting gallery show. But I was craving something more in my work. I am drawn to much contemporary art ~ i study it and go see it, I try to get to NY as much as possible. So I feel that I 'segued' into this contemporary art form because I had the exposure of current contemporary work, the openness to receive it and the hunger to keep pushing myself.


2. What's the best part about being an artist for you?

Another toughie ~ because I love so much of being an artist!!! But if I had to narrow it down, I believe the best part is being in the moment of creating!! it is like a drug. To get an idea or see an inspirational sight, figure out how i could recreate that idea or emotion or vision, then dive into the materials and process and just being there. It is meditative and exhilarating!!! It is creative problem solving and I love a puzzle!! And this carries over to sharing the piece with others ~ seeing how my recreation is interrupted by those who witness it. And I especially enjoy inspiring others.

3. How many dresses are in the Dress Project?

I wish I had an exact number!!! The slide show had over 300 slides ~ and even though many of the slides were different views of the same dress I realize that there were many dresses that didn't make the slide show!!! Also there are the ephemeral dresses, the mini dresses, the dresses that were supposedly finished then I cut them, or started to rework them and they're not finished ( like my large dog tag dress). I counted up the large, still intact sculptures and came up with 20 over the part 3 1/2 yrs. I can't even guess on how many ephemeral dresses there have been - sometimes they are not even documented, i just needed to make a dress then and there. There are about 10 or more mini 3d dress sculpture then a good number of high relief dresses on canvas or board (like the strata series). Sorry i can't be more exact at this point.

4. How was the Dress Project idea started?

It started on a family vacation in Wells Beach, ME. We had rented a little house on the beach. On the first day my girls and i were beach combing and came upon wave upon wave of drowning ladybugs ...so , of course, we had to save the ladybugs. In the process of taking the ladybugs out of the ocean and up to the warm sand we noticed that some were dead & my girls ask me what would we do with the dead ladybugs - my immediate answer was to make art out of them. As I said this i thought wouldn't it be interesting to make a dress out of dead ladybugs - the symbolism alone was intriguing. Well, I do have the ladybugs, but I never made that dress, however the idea blasted open my brain. That night I sat up filling my sketch book with the different materials I could make a dress out of. The next morning, after a night of sleepless inspiration I headed out to the beach. While walking, I wondered what would this dress would look like - so I grabbed a stick and drew this life sized outline of a simple, sleeveless dress. Once I saw the outline I knew I would fill it with the beautiful beach rocks that surrounded me and voila - the Dress Project began. This was right after having a successful painting show of still life's and I had been wanted to get more personal in my work. The dress form spoke to that need - I was dealing with the female body, the idea of appearance & dress, the feminine psyche. The first day when i was collecting beach rocks i had an innate knowledge of what rock would go where and why. It was liberating and addicting. For the rest of the vacation I went to the beach to make a dress with whatever materials were offered to me that day.

5. Where can people catch a glimpse of your work?

At the present I have three dress on exhibit at Bead & Fiber ~ 460 Harrison Avenue Boston MA (617) 426-2323 ~ in their The Practical, Impractical & Artrageous: 2nd annual wearable art show. running April 30th 2010 thru June 26th - with a charity fashion show on May 15th & 16th 2010 in aid of Artists for Humanity in Thayer Street, Boston 02118. The pedestrianised street will be our runway. Inclement weather will result in cancellation of the show. The start time each day will be 2pm and the show will end each day around 4pm. Come and see some amazing art in motion from some truly amazing designers!
http://www.beadandfiber.net/gallery.html

Also my Dress of Etiquette will be part of the Cambridge Art Assoc.'s Northeast Prize Show juried by Cheryl Brutvan, Curator of Contemporary Art, Norton Museum of Art . The show runs from May 14 - June 23, 2010. Reception: Thursday, May 20, 6-8pm in both galleries.

http://www.cambridgeart.org/

Also the two dresses that I brought for my talk are still at the CAA for viewing. Cheryl and the women there felt it would be nice to have them for awhile, and with the Flower Power dress, everyone and anyone can make a bead strand to add to the skirt.

I am working on redesigning my website ~ http://www.virginiafitzgerald.com/, but there are many dresses shown there. Also I post up coming news and events on my blog ~ http://www.virginiafitzgerald.blogspot.com/ & facebook fan page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Fitzgerald/127363913633?ref=ts#!/pages/Virginia-Fitzgerald/127363913633?ref=ts

peace

illustration friday ~ fearless

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is Fearless ~

“The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave.” ~ unknown.

It made me think of this illustration i did awhile ago ~ two mice taking on the slopes in a teacup!!! weeeeee!!!

Last week I missed Illustration Friday because I was thrashing around trying to get my submissions ready for jurying at the Danforth Museum ~ which I successfully delivered with 2 hours to spare before the deadline!!! For all who are curious, I submitted Treacherous and Frida (one of the shadow boxes from my installation 'table of content'). Now it is the sit and wait time to see if I get in.... tick,tick....

While i was thrashing around I did make a piece that i call ' Mirror Gown'. When i was cleaning the mirror pieces that sit under Treacherous I couldn't resist putting together this gown - on the scoreboard page of the Sports section no less!!!

This week I did get some good news, my dress, the Dress of Etiquette (Emily) was accepted into the Cambridge Art Association's Northeast Prize Show . The show runs from May 14 to June 23, 2010 with the opening reception is Thursday May 20, 6-8pm ~ Yeah!!!
peace

Procrastination......

“Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is amazing to me the many life lessons out there if you just pay attention!! I am once again struggling to meet a deadline ~ the Danforth Museum member show. 'Submissions End ~ Saturday, May 1' ~ less than 24 hours and I am banging around trying to figure out what to submit and what i need to do to the pieces that i am going to submit. It reminds me of the time I had to pack up Black Widow to send to Chicago, the big difference is I was accepted to that show.... and with this one the wrong piece can equal rejection. So when I came across this quote in a friend's email I thought how timely & I wanted to share. Rejection is a large part of this artist's world. However I was told recently, if you are not getting rejected then you are not getting yourself out there enough!! So I am going to get myself out there ~ just need to figure out with WHAT!!!

I am truly excited about the jurors (as well as intimidated by) ~ Jen Mergel, Beal Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Helen Molesworth, Chief Curator at the Institute. Both have curated shows that I have enjoyed and studied!! So this seems to have raised the stakes a bit.
I am leaning toward Treacherous (detail shown above). It has only been shown once and I am tweaking it a bit and putting it on a black stand. I love many aspects about this dress and it seems to represent many of my emotions at this time in my life :). When exhibited this piece is over a mosaic of broken pieces of mirrors ~ however I am tempted to make it a pile of broken glass and mirrors - making the climb very treacherous!! Need to follow my gut. It will all be worked out when i dive in - I am just painfully aware on how I am not diving in. The word procrastination comes to mind.....helping remodel a kitchen, making the girls snacks, Illustration Friday, posting a blog, hmmmmm......

OK ~ back to sanding the black stand :)!!! peace

a creative lesson from a dress

my mermaid's gown

Last week was school vacation and since my husband decided to demolish and remodel the kitchen himself (go team), meaning we had NO kitchen ~ I took my girls to a friend's place on cape cod ~ a truly inspirational place for me!! We were only there for 5 days, however I proceeded to make at least 5 dresses ~ many on the beach!! So the next few posts will be cape inspired work.

This dress, my mermaid gown, came to me our first evening. It is a upshot of a silly mind game that haunts me. It is funny how much I catch myself talking myself out of my desire to make dresses. In fact as I was helping to take down the plaster in my kitchen I wanted to chisel out a dress form in the horse hair plaster ~ but i didn't :(. Now this beach dress is a good example of this because my creative desires won out over my unyielding critical voice.

It was our first night on the cape and i dragged the girls off to the beach (because I LOVE the beach). When we got there I thought 'oh, I want to make a dress! but (here comes the mind game) then that 'critic' voice chimes in saying, 'not another one', 'how cliché another beach dress', 'shouldn't you focus on your family and not be making dresses all the time'..... it is amazing how much this critic has to say!!!! So I gave into that voice, ignoring all this luscious dress 'material' staring me down (it was hard). But then Harriet showed me this snail with this delicate growth on it's shell and my creative urges overwhelmed my critic and I plunged in!!!

It wasn't a big dress ~ a petite little thing on the edge of the surf. Harriet's snail would be over the heart. The rest of the dress was made of this beautiful seaweed ~ making it by the water allowed the seaweed to stay wet & vibrant. When I started to really look around I found this curled up piece of seaweed that i felt was perfect for the belly area. And the tide helped me with the shape of the skirt ~ flowing outward to the ocean. And my girls didn't mind - Harriet helped, she even got into the water and talked to the water gods to help keep the dress wet!!! And who cares about making more beach dresses - the beach is so inspiring to me!!! (I have more to say about that, but that will be another post).

So my lesson from this dress is to NOT listen to that voice!!! or not let it edit me. Since my surgery I have been practicing meditation and i am hoping that practice will help me navigate that mind field of my creative mind :).

So more beach and other dresses to come!!! peace!!!

illustration friday ~ detective

this week's topic for illustration friday is detective.

This illustration is done in scratch board.

Hope all have a good weekend ~ peace

from the mouth of babes.....

I needed to write a quick bio of myself as an artist and my 6th grade daughter, Maya, was hoovering around because she wanted to play. I needed to get the write up done so to 'distract' her I asked her to edit my writing (she is a very good writer). She read what i wrote, said grammatically it was ok but it was dry ~ didn't really represent me as an artist.... interesting comments & not too surprising since my strengths are more in the visual world. But i had a deadline and so i continued my dry commentary. Maya quietly disappeared, i figured she felt that i was a lost cause. But soon she reappeared, with her write-up of the artist Virginia Fitzgerald. I was blown away - not only that she went and wrote this, but she REALLY got me and my work. It was such a gift ~ as an artist and her mother. I was so touched that she sees & understands the work that i am doing. And I think she really expressed it well, so from the mouth of a tween (totally unedited by me).....

Virginia Fitzgerald is inspired by the world around her, current events, mother nature and the activities she does with her family. Each sculpture makes the viewer feel a different emotion. Each dress has a different meaning woven through the unexpected materials she uses to make these works of art. They go from toothpicks to dog tags to poems to anything in reach. Virginia Fitzgerald is a great artist.

~ Maya

(& a very proud mom!!!)

when i don't get enough time in my studio....

this was done on a cocktail napkin with the crayons that the restaurant gave my girls.

peace

illustration friday ~ linked

I have discovered this wonderful web site ~ Illustration Friday. It is 'a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit for illustrators and artists of all skill levels. It was designed to challenge participants creatively.' So I, of course, couldn't pass it up. So I am not sure how many time I will be able to post but when i read the topic for this week I thought of this instration that i did awhile back and thought i'd post it. So voila! This painting is a watercolor.

Fun with Eggs!!!

Wishing everyone a Happy Spring, Easter, Passover or whatever you celebrate when this season of rebirth and renewal approaches. At my house we could not pass up the tradition of dying eggs so we invited over some friends and made a mess!! the girls experimented with all combinations of color mixing. I was able to convince them to let me decorate one egg and got my white crayon and preformed a bit of magic ~ did my scribbling, showed them the 'blank' egg then popped it is the blue dye to watch a dress appear. there were some oo's and ah's!! We also had the straight food coloring so I tried to accentuate the inside of the dress by dropping some color right on the egg. i am not sure if it really made a difference in the end ~ but it looked cool in the bowl!

Once the dress dried I had some fun photographing it ~ this egg found itself in many a place!! My favorite was with the porcelain lady!!! It balanced quite well. Now my youngest wants to save all the shells from the colored eggs and do something with them ~ wonder where she would get such an idea?!? :)

Also I wanted to thank everyone who has been sending me good wishes and thoughts during my hand surgery and recovery. Just a quick update ~ things are healing well!!! I am finally off my IV antibiotics :) and out of a 'cast'. Now i am working on getting the hand back to its old strength and flexibility!!! The best thing is that I seem to have finally gotten my old energy back!!!! I feel like my old self - and she was MIA for many of the past months. I am sure the newly arrived beautiful weather has helped, however since the initial incident i have just not had my 'umph' and i missed it SO!!! I know I still need to watch my qi (as my acupuncturist tells me ~ 'watch out for super woman' ~ one of my life lessons) But it feels so good to feel like me again!!!
This hand image is one of my favorites ~ tea on watercolor paper. With all the medical doings and my low energy there have been times when my internal critics/my monkeys had been getting quite vocal. A favorite topic of theirs is the legitimacy of me being an artist. I love this hand because it is physical proof to my critic that I am an artist and in fact live and breathe art. why this hand u may ask.... well I was just having a cup of tea when i looked at the tea bag and thought I want to make a hand with tea!!! It just helps me to calm the critics when I realize I must do art or I will die. In fact one of my idols, Kiki Smith, was written up in the NYT last Sunday and I had to smile when she was molding clay during the interview and said "If I don't do something, I'll faint,".
I LOVE KIKI SMITH!!!
peace!!!

spring inspiration

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

I am part of a photography group where we try to post a photo a day. It is a wonderful exercise - it has gotten me to continually look at the world around me with a more inquisitive and critical eye. I posted this photo of daffodils a few days ago and one of the other photographers commented how this image reminded him of this poem by Wordsworth. I loved the poem, the imagery ~ dancing daffodils, a jocund company, and wanted to share this poem with more people ~ so voila!!! It is so inspiring to be involved with creative people!!
peace & happy spring!!!

once upon a chair.... in Groton

Here is the chair that i painted for a fund raiser for the Groton Public Library. 10 artists participated, we each got an old library chairs and asked us to do something that related to children's literature. I was honored to be asked and excited to be thinking about children book ~ it is a passion of mine. I have a dream to illustrate a children's book some day ~ (I tried the free lance illustrator stint with a portfolio full of illustrations but i never seem to get my book on the right art director's desk at the right time ~ alas). So I enjoyed being back in that mind set again and I was also happy to be painting again.

The minute i heard the theme for the project I knew that i would be doing the frog prince.... this frog is a bit of a muse for me. He has appeared on my bottle cap jewelry, hand painted clothing and other hand painted furniture. To read more about this muse and the chair project you can go to the Groton Library site.

Also the project got written up in the Boston Globe today!!! click here to see the article ~ I am mentioned (always nice).

Here are the details of the event . I am planning to go to the artist's reception ~ should be fun!

“Once Upon a Chair’’ runs through April 10 at the Groton Public Library, 99 Main St., with bids accepted at the library through April 8, when an artists reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. The chairs can be seen on the library’s website, www.gpl.org. 978-448-1167.
'ribbit'

opening reception for 'table of content'

Today, from 4-6pm is the opening reception for Multiple Totalities@ the Student Union Art Gallery, UMass Amherst. The show runs from March 22 - April 2, 2010; Gallery Hours: M-Th 10-5, F 10-3, also open Saturday 3/27 1-5pm and Thursday 4/1 until 9pm.

if you are in the neighborhood - stop by!!! Peace

'table of content'

Naming my pieces is always hard for me .... I want the viewer to be able to have their own experience without me dictating it for them. But i also don't like 'untitled' which is the title that i had to use when I sent this installation off to Amherst. But two nights ago I finally got the title - 'table of content'.

installed!!

Yesterday I successfully installed my most recent installation at the Student Union Art Gallery, UMass Amherst for their show, Multiple Totalities. The install went very well and everyone at the gallery, as well as myself, is very happy with the result. This experience was a little taunting as this piece did not involve a dress & I have realized that I have feel safe with my dresses. But i am excited to be branching out, pushing myself ~ while making this piece I kept thinking that i want to be more fearless in my work!!

This completed installation (untitled as of yet) turned out differently than what i had in my head. For one thing the space was not as I has imagined. That is an exciting aspect of site specific art ~ the ability to adapt to different spaces. I was hoping to have the table line up with the wall with the boxes but the gallery space didn't allow it. I was also hoping to have 5 shadowboxes, however because of time constraints

~

I have 2.

And I am super happy with those 2!!!!

I love the concept of the shadowbox and really enjoyed creating them!!! I really hope to make some more ~ especially the other 3 that I had planned for this installation. I say 'hope' because I realize how I ping-pong around to so many ideas and that a due date or show date can really motivate me to finish a certain project. It has something to do with that family/art 'gray' line that i bump up against over and over. How I feel like I never have enough time to do anything as fully as I want!!! Also in the face of so many ideas and projects I get to be a Whirling Dervish at times - not knowing where to settle. Now I am not complaining ~ I know having some many ideas and desires is a blessing ~ I just wish I either didn't have to sleep or that there were 36 hours in a day :)!!

This installation does feature my pink foam pieces which are shown in all their glory. Even during the install they were attracting attention and curiosity!! I am happy that this piece has an enigmatic quality (that is why it is still untitled) My aim to have people wonder ~ what is going on here??

It was great to be back ~ working!!!! The gallery people were so helpful and made sure I wasn't overextending myself. the space is welcoming & bright. It should be an exciting show - most of the other installations were set-up. Below is the press release and the dates ~ peace

PRESS RELEASE
March 8, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Student Union Art Gallery
326 Student Union
UMass Amherst
www.umass.edu/rso/suag

Contact: Kerry O’Grady, Gallery Director
studentunionag@gmail.com
(413) 545-0792

Multiple Totalities

3/22/10 – 4/2/10
Reception: Tuesday, 3/23, 4-6pm
Gallery Hours: M-Th 10-5, F 10-3.
Also open Saturday 3/27 1-5pm and Thursday 4/1 until 9pm.

(Amherst, MA) - The Student Union Art Gallery proudly presents a juried exhibition of installation works by nine artists from across Massachusetts.

Curated by gallery director Kerry O’Grady, Multiple Totalities incorporates eight installations into one cohesive show. Building from the all-encompassing possibilities of installation as a medium, the show presents each installation as an autonomous whole while simultaneously combining all eight to present the transitions and peripheral relationships analogous to our daily lives.

Artists:
UMass Amherst student Kim Carlino, recent Skidmore College alum Lea Chiara, recent UMass Amherst alum Michael Childress, Hampshire College student Christopher Cole, Boston-area artists Denise Driscoll and Tom Driscoll, Boston-based artist Virginia Fitzgerald, Northampton-based artist Chris Millette, and Charlotte Sullivan, currently based in Northampton.

The Student Union Art Gallery is located in the Student Union Building in the center of the UMass Amherst campus. It is accessible via the Campus Center Garage. All events are free and open to the public.

This exhibit is made possible by the UMass Arts Council, the Student Government Association, and the Graduate Student Senate, and by an ECSA (Engage, Connect, Serve, Achieve) grant, which is funded the Center for Student Development and the Division of Student Affairs & Campus Life.

the anything is possible phase!!!

Yesterday I received the exciting news that I was going to be part of the Juried Installation Show at the Student Union Art Gallery at UMass Amherst. (the show runs from March 22 -April 2, 2010). I am so thrilled to be creating another installation. The challenging thing about this news is that the installation needs to be 'delivered' next week ~ nothing like a deadline!!! I should note that this installation is going to be on a much smaller scale than my first installation, 'this comes from within'. It is also going to be one of a collection of installations. An intriguing aspect is that this installation does not involve a dress!!!! (yes, you read right). This installation is going to revolve around a table covered with these pieces of pink foam that I have been sewing together FOREVER!!! I began sewing them together to make a big pink foam dress - but for whatever reason they have not gone in that direction. They have a wonderful presence of their own - organic, visceral and mysterious ~ so I am excited to showcase them ( I LOVE my pink foam pieces).

So I have been getting my head back in the game & I must confess it has been awesome to be back, immersed in art!! I mean I always have art on the brain but a show or deadline gives me some sense of purpose; or definitely some sense of boundaries when it comes to my work and my role as a mother & wife ~ "Mom needs to go to her studio now because this is DUE!" one concern is that my energy level is still not at its 'normal' state which will add to the challenge but I have faith~ a little at a

time.

But this time of a project is my favorite time - the brainstorming, the conceptualizing, the anything is possible phase!!! And a main part of this phase for me is a trip to the library!!! So with a child in tow I headed out to 'research' ~ I LOVE to research, always have!!! My daughter was so shocked by all the books that i had collected to review she took a picture. I had books on some of my favorite muses ~ Gertrude Stein, Ann Hamilton, Mary Oliver & Nikki Giovanni, to name a few. There were some books on symbols, myths and insects ~ as i mentioned before this is the time that anything is possible!!!! I am in heaven leafing thru these books absorbing everything!!
Also today I worked on Thesaurus.com perusing different words to help me work on a title and help create the sense of emotion that i want the piece to have. As I hop~scotched from one word to the next I was struck by my attraction to words, their many different meanings and also their physical appearance!!! (In fact to keep myself sane during my month of recovery I have been playing many word games ~ many games of scrabble were played in the hospital.) Words have found their way into much of my work ~ particularly the Strata series which I hope to continue. Here is a picture of Strata II with a detail. They are a stream of consciousness in the form of a dress. For the first three that i have executed I have printed the words with rubber stamps directly on wood, then built up the surrounding area with lace, wax, seeds, rope and other organic materials. For me this series represent the emotional & spiritual depth of women especially, and all of humankind in general. It reminds me of a quote from Plato that i keep with me always ~

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Plato

peace

Everything is a learning experience....

Well i finally got to see pictures from the show, "From the Center : NOW!" that is in Chicago, IL. The show is running for a few more days (January 22 - February 25, 2009) at the Woman Made Gallery. If you follow the gallery's link it will take you to the images of the show taken by Cara Boldarini. It looks like a beautiful show - I am so sorry that i could not see it in person however even if it was closer i don't know if i could have made it!!! This 'recovery' thing is harder than i ever thought!!!

I was happy to see Black Widow made the trip safely and that she looks good, I am only sad that they hung her from the rod that i used to secure her during her shipping. I had asked her to be hung and they did do that ~ there was just some miscommunication about how to hang her.... just a lesson for the future. This was the first time that i sent a piece out on her own and I now know that i need to be really specific with my instructions when I am not installing the piece myself. This is all a learning experience!!! And possibly the people seeing it for the first time are not bothered by the rod (although I think there is a price sticker on one end ~ alas.....)

But I am honored to have been included in this beautiful show. And it has given me some solace that one of my dress is out there doing her thing as I convalesce in bed!!! I am not a good patient!!! and I have gotten a cold to BOOT!!!! anyway as i lay in bed .... I am working on a giant white crocheted creature - or as i see it a giant white blood cell - which is going to conquer all these germs & get them out of my system!!! And crocheting is good therapy for my hand so things are good!!!

If you are in the Chicago area - try & stop by I would love to know what the show is like in person!!! take care & peace to all!!!

hands, hands, ...glorious hands

You might have noticed that my blog has been quiet for awhile. That is because last week i had surgery on my left hand and I have been a bit out of commission! The surgery was part of the repercussions of breaking up a dog fight. I have now learned my lesson that you don't use your hands (especially if you are an artist) to break up a dog fight. I will never do it again, I SWEAR!!!! (u can't imagine how many times people have questioned my actions... but i digress) So suffice to say I have learned my lesson and also have had an intimate education on bone infections (which is why they had to operate). But I am recovering well and my left hand now has a removable brace so I can type, so hence i can blog!!! And I felt an appropriate topic would be hands!!!

Back in October, before the ‘dog’ incident I drew this hand dress on the door of a friend’s studio. I drew it during a melancholy and lonely afternoon. I wasn’t sure what I was going to draw on this empty canvas of a door, but when I started I found myself just drawing these hands holding the dress or ‘me’ together. As I drew the dress the hands changed from being flat to curving around the figure. For me touch and cuddle is so important and I loved the idea of this dress embracing me, holding me. It made me feel better of that afternoon.

Now this is an outside door so in the elements of Boston winters the dress went its way, as all my ephemeral dresses do. And I was fine with that, until the day before my hand surgery. It was Sunday and of course I had a million different places to be and things to do before going into the hospital. I didn’t think I was too anxious about the procedure – I had done my homework and I was glad it was not going to be both hands and I had all these things to think about…. But as I was racing around I passed by my friend’s empty studio door and I found myself pining for the hand dress. Even though I was already late I turned around, found my chalk and recreated my hand dress. There had been an ever so light suggestion of the first dress and so I patiently retraced this dress that had given me such solace during a time of sadness. Now it was giving me a moment of quiet during an anxious time. When I finished the dress & got back in my car I had a new calm about having surgery and an acceptance of not being able to work for awhile. I drove away in awe of the power of the creative drive and how it can be so healing.

Now while I was convalescing I ruminated about hands. I could not use my hands much but I was ACUTELY aware of how much I usually do with my hands, and what amazing instruments they are. Soon after the ‘dog incident’ I had started a series of hands ~ mostly drawings; and as I lying in bed I envisioned how I would continue the series. But as I thought about working with hands I realized that hands have been present in much of my work for decades ~ in my hand painted clothing, in my illustration as well as in the Dress Project. In fact the walls of my installation ‘this comes from within’ was full of hands ~ coming out of pots, off of vines, out of the bathtub, and in my favorite corner there were seven hands reaching up out of this ‘nest’ of life. I have always been a fan of hands - visually they are beautiful and they represent so much. And especially for me ~ they represent the importance of touch ~ that physical connection with another being. Peace