‘don’t slip …’ is now available in the @attleboroartsmuseum’s annual auction - follow the link to see all the glorious art & support this awesome museum!
Have a piece of ‘lilith …’ with this photograph from my ‘lilith contemplates …’ series in which I take my sculpture ‘lilith …’ and photograph her in a myriad of surroundings. Here ‘lilith …’ contemplates the oceans - their beauty & what we humans are doing to them
link to bid on 'lilith contemplates the oceans ...'
this is the last week to visit 'lilith's room ...'
& the last time to meet and greet some of these characters residing on the gallery walls.
So I am planning to be at the gallery Wednesday and Saturday, 12-3pm.
'lilith room ...' closes this Saturday, October 23.
Even though 'lilith's room ...' will be moving to Manhattanville College, this is the last opportunity to meet these wily beings that grace the walls of the Anderson Art Center and Gallery as once my exhibit closes the gallery walls will be repainted. I will miss these walls and these creatures , but I like this ephemeral element of my work - here now and then gone.
Earlier this year I was invited to have a solo exhibition at the Anderson Gallery at Bridgewater State University. When touring the gallery space I was told that I could paint on the walls which made my heart jump for joy.
One of my favorite exhibits had been my installation 'this comes from within ...' which was staged at Michael Dowling's Medicine Wheel, back in 2009. For this piece I covered the walls of the gallery with what I now refer to as my 'intuitive line painting'. So when I was presented with the option of painting on the gallery's walls I jump at it.
Instead of covering the entire gallery I decided to concentrate on one side of the gallery, creating a space centered around my sculpture, 'lilith in blue ...' For this installation I have covered a desk, a medicine cabinet, a rocking horse and a hanging panel of fabric, along with numerous knick-knacks, with my 'intuitive line painting' in blue and white, to create 'lilith's room ...'
I am very excited about this installation. I have been painting the components in my studio for the past few months and wish to share a few of the 'in process' photos and videos here.
lilith's rocking horse ...
flipping the hanging fabric panel to paint the other side ...
the second side of the fabric panel wit ladder
a quick look at how I create the particular line quality for my 'intuitive line painting'
a colleague suggested that my process creates a look similar to batik.
This is quite an undertaking so watch this space as there is more to come ...
I have been honored to participate in many of these workshop as a photographer and as a contributor, since David has used many of my sculptures as props/models. Here are some of my photographs from just a few of David's workshops!!!
'flirt ...' detail
The photographs that result from these workshops blow my mind!!! It is always a thrill and a treat to attend and for tomorrow David has put together an awesome line-up!!! hope you can join us!! XXXX
'lilith in blue ...', along with the beautiful and talented Melanie Moore and Kaya Alexandria Wadsworth Worthington, owner of CapeCodGypsea, were photographed in front of the Atlantic ocean. I thought that she looked so at home outside in the elements!!
During the lecture I spoke about 'lilith in blue ...' and the historical/biblical/mythical figure, Lilith.
talking during 'wake up and smell the poetry' 2015
Lilith's story can vary depending on the source. The one that I reference in the name of my sculpture is the Lilith that was Adam's first wife in the Garden of Eden. She was made like Adam, out of dirt, her own individual creation, not from any part of Adam. With this individuality came an independent spirit and a strong will which was not acceptable in Eden. So Lilith was banished from the garden and God made Eve, using a rib bone from Adam with the intention that Eve would be more obedient ... enter snake, stage right.
Upon relaying Lilith's story I recognized some similarities between my 'dressproject' and Lilith's strong will and eventual exile. 'lilith in blue ...' is a plaster dress sculpture on which I painted images which allude to life, nature, passion, pleasure, knowledge and femininity. As i spoke suddenly I saw this sculpture was an embodiment of my 'dressproject'.
After the lecture, I was planning to return 'lilith in blue ...' to my studio but in the driveway of my studio there was an old push grass cutter and I put 'lilith in blue ...' by the contraption. It felt like 'lilith' had a thought about this relic and suddenly I knew that 'lilith' had many thoughts and instead of going back into my studio, 'lilith' went back into my car to go out and contemplate the world.
She went many places last Spring and I witnessed a series develop -
be it in a book form, or in a gallery.
Sadly, I had to abandon lilith's adventures with the increasing pressures of 'real life', but I knew that her returned to the studio was temporary. If I can get funding for her travels we would be back on the road. in NO time flat. In fact when I envision this series I see lilith and I criss-crossing the country, contemplating the brooklyn bridge, the mississippi, a hay stack, an oil drill, the badlands!!!
the list can go on and on.
But until the lilith lottery ticket arrives,
here are a few of the photos from lilith's journeys so far.
'lilith contemplates evening ...' (2015)
'lilith contemplates single stream recycling ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates that freedom is not free ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates detours ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates the art of lisa barthelson ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates a change in careers ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates palettes ...' 2015
'lilith contemplates sanctuary ...' (2015)
'lilith contemplates the cost of parking ...' 2015
And as a way to celebrate this exciting news I am going to give the brief story of this dress' creation. I have been wanting to return to my #tbt blog posts, telling the back-stories of the many dresses in my dressproject. As I am review the scope of my 'dressproject' I am constantly amazed about how many the dresses have some kind of story, connection or interesting point of reflection. Some are very poignant, such as 'dear jeff... ' and some are just fun, like this one.
When looking at this photograph, many people are unsure about what makes up this dress, even knowing the title. So to clarify, this dress is made out of the paint pots from watercolor sets, the basic watercolor sets that we all used in school and possibly use now.
In 2013, I was substituting at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA. I was covering the maternity leave of the Middle School's art teacher, and loving it.
One of our class projects was based around one point perspective and I had the students create a city street in perspective then color it with watercolor paints. When we first pulled out the sets it was clear that they needed to be refreshed and replenished.
This is one of the cool parts of being the art teacher, access to the art closet, full of endless art supplies and in this case, boxes of replacement pots of paint so that schools do not need to throw out an entire paint set if only one color is used up!!
So during one free period I gathered all the paint sets and proceeded to pop out the pots that were nearly empty. Soon my desk was covered with the old and new paint pots, all different colors and shades depending on the state of the paint. As I worked, piling up more and more paint pots onto the desk, I knew that a dress needed to be made, and so I proceeded to cull together the blues and purples and made a dress.
Now here is the part of this dress' story that I most love ....
I hadn't been substituting for too long, maybe a month or so, and I felt as if my advisors and I were still getting comfortable with each other.
On the day I was cleaning the paint sets I had worked through lunch so when my advisors returned to the classroom after lunch for advisory, I was in the midst of my mess. As I scrambled to find the necessary papers and information for advisory, one of my advisors walked over to my desk and surveyed my mess and inquired what I was doing???
'Well,' I started to explain, 'I was cleaning up in the watercolor paint sets and needed to pop out the old paints so I could put in the fresh paint pot. But once I saw all the pots of color and noted all the beautiful variations laying across my desk I just needed to make a dress out of them.' And almost before I finished my explanation she looked at me with a smile and stated in a matter-of-fact manner,
'of course you did!'
Then all my advisors came up and admired my handiwork and it was at that point that I felt completely welcomed. They got me!
There is only one week left of this stimulating exhibit, Fashion and Fiberarts, at the Art Gallery at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA. I sadly missed the opening as I was west taking care of family. However I am going to make-up for lost time :) as I have been invited to create a collaborative dress with the entire student body which will be worn during the Dana Fashion Show in the Spring. This means I will be camping out at Dana during the show's last week, leading workshops and encouraging creative participation. More about that project later ~ for now I wanted to share some photos of the show.
'lilith in blue' with Merill's work
Whenever my fiber pieces, especially my creatures are exhibited I give the gallery complete freedom to display the pieces anyway they see fit. So when I entered the gallery I was thrilled to see how curator and beloved teacher, Michael Frassinelli, displayed the work!!! Many time the curators display the work in ways I never have thought of.
I especially liked how he placed 'raw' over a podium - letting it ooze and slither.
I am so honored to have been included in this exhibit - all the work is exciting. I have always enjoyed Merill Comeau's wondrous fiber collages, her uses of clothing with a past, giving them new life. Her pieces of deconstructed clothing made a wonderful juxtaposition to Sarah Campbell's and Tia Penney's beautiful coats and hats - ready to be worn.
Here are two examples of Michael's envisioning my creatures in a way I had not considered. I love the pairing of 'blue angel' and my crocheted shawl, and the way he hung 'pinkie' created a delightful shadow!!
finished some major sculptures, such as, 'dear jeff'.
The idea of summing all of 2012 in one blog post felt like a daunting and very lengthy task ~ this past year was full of many noteworthy events. Also in all my recent social media research - the word on the street is that NO ONE scrolls down, not even your mother!!! (Catherine Weber, Weber Media Partners)
So to make it more palatable for you the reader and me the author I am going to break it down into smaller bits as well as reference past posts.
So with no further delay - installation#1 of '2012, the review' ~
with this installation, a visual review. (you'll still need to scroll if you want)
The above image is a mosaic of some of my projects from 2012. An idea I saw on artist's Bridgette Guerzon Mill's blog, contemplating the moon. I am a visual person so this was right up my alley. However when I shared my mosaic with some piers, they mentioned that they wanted to see more - so the full images are images below, with a bit of a description. A good way to start the year in review.
Bird by Bird: 12 x12 panel for Fountain Street Fine Art
new work: mixed media on panel
new work: 'raw', organic crocheting, representing the first year of my separation.
detail from 'lilith in blue' : acrylic paint on plaster
new work: "lilith in blue' acrylic paint on plaster
'birds of poetry' detail
installation of over 100 'birds of poetry in the library's atrium
new work: kids gloves
new work: 'pocket full of pretty green' part of series of mixed media collages
new work: 'dear jeff' commissioned sculpture made for man who lost his fiance in 9/11
new work: 'time to take flight'
new work: 'le chat' ~ part of series created for FSFA's CSArt program
