on the road again . . .

Last week I once again packed up my Red Alert Cocktail Dress to take her on the road.  This time she was going to the Boston Children's Museum for the In the Bag exhibit.  It is quite a production so I thought I'd share some of the journey.

first I take off all the bottles...

& refresh any that are cloudy...

then I pack everything up....

waiting in the hall to be loaded

all loaded on the pushcart

in the freight elevator

on the loading dock of my studio

unloading at the BCM in the gallery

& the rebuilding begins....

in all her glory at the opening reception!!!

The BCM did a great job displaying the Red Alert Cocktail Dress!! 

and the opening reception was quite a wonderful event ~ besides the inspiring & provocative exhibit put together by Liz Milwe and Peter Wormser, we dined on Island Creek Oysters from Duxbury, MA, so yum!!!  

Then the party walked over to Lot F Gallery in a glorious Fall evening, where we viewed the work of Todd Robertson, dined on delicious Thai food and danced, 

it was a wonderful evening!!

I am so honored that Red Alert Cocktail Dress was included in this significant show!!

Click here it read a press release talking about the importance of this exhibit.

thank you & peace

Opening tonight!! Red Alert's coming out!!

Red Alert Cocktail Dress is part of In the Bag

In the Bag

Opening Reception at Boston Children's Museum:

Friday, Sept 16, 2011 from 6 - 8 p.m.

The reception will be followed by dinner at:

Lot F Gallery, 145 Pearl Street #4Boston, MA

the art & politics of the reusable bag movement

Artists and communities working together to save the planet. September 16 - November 30, 2011 In the Gallery at Boston Children's Museum 308 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210    FEATURED ARTISTS      Miggs Burroughs     Virginia Fitzgerald     Virginia Fleck     Julian Gilbert  Karen Guancione Sarah Hollis Perry Dan Price Dan Steinhilber

an appeal for creative suggestions..

fortune dress on card

Here on the home front ~ i am doing a few more 'dress droppings'.  I love the whole concept of randomly scattering these dresses filled with good intentions, yet i have been wrestling with some aspects of this activity. Hoping that my cyber-community may have an idea or two!!  

First - i don't like calling them dress bombs, although 'bombing' is a graffiti term and scattering these dresses around has a 'graffiti' element.

to bomb :To bomb or hit is to paint many surfaces in an area. Bombers often choose throw-ups or tags over complex pieces, as they can be executed more quickly. From Wikipedia's graffiti terminology

I don't like using verbiage that refers to violent or military action.  I believe in the idea that all we do/say/think sends certain energies into our world ~ positive, negative, kind or aggressive energies; thoughts become reality.  This idea about violence in our language was very much in the press after Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot. Articles were written about how our language is full of combative and brutal imagery.  Here is a link to an NPR article speaking to this issue.  So I am trying to find a more positive name/label ~ dress droppings ?!?, dress-ups ?!?, dress tags (another graffiti reference) Any thoughts?? I'm open to all ideas and would love any suggestions!

Also I experimented with putting the dress on a card with additional information.  It is about the size of a business card, and I listed my blog address, so I might get a record of where these dresses end up.  Although part of this process is the randomness of just putting the dresses out there, it would be fun to see where some end up.   But not sure I like the dresses attached to anything. Again any thoughts???

on a card or just free flying out there in the big wide world?!?!?

Fortune dress w/out card in Home Depot

fortune dress on car at Jo-Anne's Fabrics

And lastly I am experimenting with putting these dresses on greeting cards ~ 

hope to have a bunch done for Natick Artists' Open Studios ~                                                                                             October 15 & 16, 2011 ~ noon - 5 pm

So thanks for any idea & peace to all!!

Red Alert Cocktail Dress comes to Beantown

Opening Reception ~ Friday, Sept. 16th, 2011 ~ 6-8pm ~ hope to see you there!!! peace

the art & politics of the reusable bag movement

Artists and communities working together to save the planet. September 16 - November 30, 2011 In the Gallery at Boston Children's Museum 308 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210    Opening Reception at Boston Children's Museum: Friday, Sept 16, 2011 from 6 - 8 p.m. RSVP by September 6th (617) 426-6500 x245 or Mayers@BostonChildrensMuseum.org The reception will be followed by dinner at: Lot F Gallery, 145 Pearl Street #4 Boston, MA FEATURED ARTISTS      Miggs Burroughs     Virginia Fitzgerald     Virginia Fleck     Julian Gilbert  Karen Guancione Sarah Hollis Perry Dan Price Dan Steinhilber

Copyright 2011 Boston Children's Museum

dresses 'hit' metrowest .... such fun!!

More dresses 'bomb's, this time in some Massachusetts towns ~ 

Wellesley, Needham & Natick....

This dress was left in a sugar bowl at the Treats Cupcakes Bar in Needham 

before dinner 

& was gone after dinner!!! 

what fun!!!!

& I had a different cohort this time :), thanks Harriet!!!

Not sure if I will be able to keep this up during regular work week hours ....  but it has been fun for the 3 day weekend!!!  I love the idea of spreading good intentions and maybe inspiring someone.  Though I have NO idea where these dresses are ending up ~ that is kind of fun too!!!

Peace

Dress 'bombing' in Portsmouth, NH

Today, daughter Maya and I took to the road to one of our favorite New England hamlets ~ Portsmouth, NH.  While there I got the idea of sprinkling the town with 'good fortune' dresses.  

 It started while waiting at Starbuck's.  Not being one to have idle hands - I made a dress out of an index card that i had in my pocket.  After I made it I thought it would be fun to put it in a corner with a bit of good fortune on it for the one who may find it. 

dress#1 ~ "may this dress bring u joy!

starbuck's, 1 Market Squ. 

 Maya and I liked the idea so much that we found some beautiful origami papers and made a few more, which we carefully placed around downtown Portsmouth.

 

dress#2 ~ "for you who finds this dress, may you have a yummy meal!

me & ollie's, 10 Pleasant St.

dress#3 ~ "may this dress bring the finder personal satisfaction"

a planter on Congress St.

dress #4 ~ "may this dress bring u a good night's sleep"

random car on Congress St.

dress #5 " may this dress bring you love"

Riverrun Bookstore, 20 Congress St.

dress #6 ~ "to the finder of this dress ~ find good fortune"

shoe store on Market St.

who knows if anyone may find one of these dresses, or for that matter pick it up! But it was fun to quietly dapple downtown Portsmouth with some good thoughts.  But now, watch out, because who knows where dress will pop up next??? 

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all!! Peace 

once again, with feeling

In the past few days I have revisited this most important quote and felt that it was to time again to share it. I feel that it is vital for everyone - artist or not!!!

" There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. The is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."

To me this quote speaks to the core insecurities that we all can battle with, artist or not. It speaks to the idea that we each have a special gift to give the world, or as one of my dresses says, 'we each have a spark of the divine'. And it is not our place to block or question this gift ~ and that is where the trouble begins.

As a mother of two girl, one who is a teenager (yikes), I have watched as they start hiding themselves to fit in, how they have become guarded in their personal expression and appearance, how they put on masks, they close their channel. In their worlds, especially their entertainment world - there is a sameness. In the world of pop singers I am amazed on the number of Barbie look-a-likes ~ skinny & blond (i honestly can't tell many of them apart, but I am not their target market).

Now I appreciate this is adolescences, what we have all gone through and they are discovering who they are..., yet it doesn't stop at adolescences, and it is not only in the celebrity world. I see it in my everyday world, the real world I have always wondered why does everyone want to look like everyone else??? Everyone following the latest fashion craze, no matter if it doesn't feel right on their particular body type. (In high school I wanted to be the Glamour Don't) Where did the idea of personal expression quietly get squashed?? Thank you advertising and media ~ the more insecure we feel about ourselves the more we will buy.

I am aware that I am talking in large generalizations, and now more then ever are is an embracing of differences. But I believe there could be so much more celebrating of our uniqueness - our gifts, our 'quickening's. And for those of us who struggle with this (I am constantly in a battle with self doubt and mourn the energy that I spend in this wrestling match), I desire that we find a way to believe more in our own voices, our own visions, our own expressions, and to squash the self doubt; to celebrate ourselves and each other; be at peace with that queer, divine dissatisfaction. ( I love Graham's choice of words ~ I know exactly how that feels ~ queer and divine)

So peace!!

and for those of us on the East Coast I hope we all ride out Irene safe and sound and dry!!

a question for my fellow artists

my question:

does anyone know how to fix sharpie marker that has been drawn on a coroplast panel??

For this year's Natick Artists Open Studios we are doing a p.r. event where 10 artists have created a b/w drawing on a roughly 2x4 ft piece of coroplast, that people will be able to color at the Natick farmer's market on September 17th ~ the NAOS Art on the Common.

I was honored to ask, and have been obsessed with creating this dress. But as I have been working on the outlines I have noticed that the Sharpie is not as permanent as I would like on this surface. When experimenting with coloring in a black and white drawing with colored sharpie everything is getting muddy - the colored sharpie is picking up the black!! None of the other artists are having this issue (typical ~ I have the issues!!) But as I have small areas to color in I would love to 'fix' the sharpie so this dress doesn't turn to mud.

I have tried workable fixative which melted the sharpie. I also tried covering the sharpie with matte medium, Golden's Fiber Paste (for a texture to receive the colored sharpie) and wallpaper paste and nothing is working ~

any suggestions???

Thank you! & peace~

p.s. ~ mark your calendars!!!

Natick Artists Open Studios

October 15 & 16, 2011

noon - 5 pm

be there or be square

ending with a bang!!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to some of the campers at the Attleboro Arts Museum all about my piece 'insatiable'!! It was a wonderful morning!! My girls and I also introduced the campers to the wonders of crocheting. For most, this was the first time, however there was one girl who

is a pro (she made an orange ball!) and I wanted to learn from her.

We got all the campers, ages 6 - 13 years old, crocheting with different green yarns, some were using hooks and some were finger crocheting. Soon I was showing some how to work with two or more strands and then we talked about adding the beads and charms ~ we all had a blast!! At the end of our time each camper had created a significant chain, and for those who wanted to, they gave me their handiwork which I then incorporated into 'insatiable'.

So 'insatiable' grew a bit more today, and grew a lot during the Green show, which sadly ends tomorrow! It has been such a wonderful experience to be involved in this terrific show, so if you can stop by tomorrow!! hours: 10- 4 pm.

But if you can't make it ~ here are two links to videos from the opening reception ~ you can see me with green hair tinsel performing 'insatiable'.

http://www.doubleacs.com/?q=node/2673

http://youtu.be/E8YHRVxYSoA

Enjoy & peace