Friday, June 28, 2013

Finish Line









Final day before opening of THE NOBILITY OF THINGS at Fruitlands tomorrow. It's been an extremely detailed installation with very long days for over a week but I'm loving every minute of it. I feel like I'm in a huge sandbox playing with all my fantastical things.

When we open tomorrow visitors will be able to look at the art up on the wall and on the pedestals. What they won't see are all the hands, hard work and attention to detail that went into making this possible. I'm indebted to the interns, docents, installers, facilities managers, curator, marketing director, copywriter and the museum director Wyona. It's been a mammoth effort of planning, painting, arranging, building, hanging, advertising, writing and just plain hard work to pull this together.

Lastly, I thank my friends and family who have tolerated my absence for the past six months - and a big hug to my best friend and CFO, Wayne, for his indomitable support.

I am giddy with anticipation for tomorrow's reception. My son Devon will be providing music on his cello, there will be brief curator talk and light refreshments.

Next on the agenda, you ask? We are planning a few outdoor installations that will go up on the Fruitlands campus during the upcoming summer and fall.

The Nobility of Things
Fruitlands Museum Art Gallery
June 29-August 18, 2013
Reception: June 29  1-3 pm

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Sneak Peek


A detail of one of the sculptures that will be making its premier appearance at Fruitlands Museum in my solo exhibition The Nobility of Things.

Look familiar? The items of a previous outdoor installation STASH are memorialized in bronze to honor the good faith donations of the individuals who relinquished their possessions for the sake of the project. Giving permanence to the reverance and dedication of so many of us who compulsively collect.

Here's a hint...

From the catalog: 
"...The works are grab bags—full of miscellaneous treasures hidden from sight. Colella bronzed two of the bundles to memorialize the concealed items. The sculptures are heavily textured with strong patterns that show the shape and outlines of objects of everyday life—a chain, a heart-shaped candy box, bottle caps, a stuffed toy. Cast in bronze, these random items stand for distinctive place and time."

Over the next month I'll be adding sneak previews of two shows. Please stay tuned!

The Nobility of Things
Fruitlands Museum Art Gallery
Harvard MA
June 29 - August 18, 2013
Reception June 29 1-3 pm

Morphology
with Kay Hartung
Fountain Street Fine Arts
Framingham MA
May 23 - June 23, 2013
Felted Orbs Demo: Wed. June 19, 3:30-5 pm

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Cornered

 It's been an eventful week:

Wonderful article in Artscope's online zine CORNERED. Thanks to Brian Goslow and the Artscope staff for their interest! Check it out here.

A lively HIVE gathering at Fruitlands last Wednesday. We introduced six new people to the joys of working collaboratively. Hope to see them again this Thursday from 4-6 pm.


Saturday was the reception for MORPHOLOGY with Kay Hartung at Fountain Street Fine Art. We had a lively bunch and it was fun to meet so many new people. Artist talk this Friday, June 14 at 7:30 pm and a free Needlefelting demo on Wednesday June 19 from 3:30-5pm. Please join us!



Sunday I taught part I of a two-part workshop on Needlefelted Orbs at the Eliot School. A very talented group with interesting stories and approaches. Can't wait to see what they do next Sunday.


Back to work on the final details of my upcoming show THE NOBILITY OF THINGS opening at Fruitlands Museum on June 29. Reception June 29 from 1-3pm. Hope to see you. We're expecting a good time and my son Devon will be providing music!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Prized Possessions

Chiwa – Mchinji, Malawi

A very interesting link that my daughter brought to my attention in light of my show THE NOBILITY OF THINGS that will be exhibiting at Fruitlands Museum from June 29 to August 18.

Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti spent over a year compiling photos of children from around the world with their prized possession. I suggest you visit the site but here are some highlights of the article:

"...Galimberti explores the universality of being a kid amidst the diversity of the countless corners of the world; saying, “at their age, they are pretty all much the same; they just want to play.”

 "...Across borders, the toys were reflective of the world each child was born into—economic status and daily life affecting the types of toys children found interest in. Toy Stories doesn’t just appeal in its cheerful demeanor, but it really becomes quite the anthropological study."

  Stella – Montecchio, Italy

 
Pavel – Kiev, Ukraine


A New Frontier


I just returned from the Seventh Annual Encaustic Conference that was held in Provincetown from May 31-June 2. I also was fortunate to attend the Casting, Building, Sculpting workshop that was taught by the talented Kelly McGrath on June 3-4 at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill. Both these events opened my eyes to new possibilities for my sculptures and exposed me to the work of some very talented encaustic artists' work too.

 
The location of the lower Cape was such a great escape with many diversions to help clear one's head. The Wellfleet Flea Market, walks in the dunes of Truro and the vibrant gallery scene in Provincetown all provided respite from my hectic schedule. 

I'd like to share some images of a new direction that I plan to experiment with this summer while working on outdoor sculptures at Fruitlands Museum.


I decided to use one of my favorite motifs, a ball of wound fiber, to make a mold out of silicone. I needed to coat my fiber ball with a few coats of matte medium to seal it and then fill in any undercut spaces with plasticene clay.


The next steps include identifying a pour hole (see clay pedestal holding up ball) and assembling within box frame to contain the silicone.


From the mold I created two wax casts of the original ball. The one to the left is solid wax medium. The one to the right is hollow. The hollow casting is my favorite - the thinness of the wall allows the natural light to show through.

I'm very excited about applying this to my current work with multiples and can't wait to experiment with my installations this summer at Fruitlands.