It takes a HIVE

Came across this quote the other day and it made me realize how those of us that work with our hands and with each other are part of life's best kept secret.

How belonging to something larger provides us with purpose, satisfaction, and more importantly connection. Creating a meditative space to quiet the mind and open up self consciousness. To break down the environmental noise and ease into yourself and your potential.

This is exactly the feedback I hear from participants of HIVE. Additionally, some have mentioned that they achieve a state of calm when working at a HIVE gathering that they don't have the ability to achieve with traditional meditation technique.

It takes a HIVE.... my new mantra.

Imagine if everyone could take the time to quiet down, think, listen and connect. I think I know what this author is getting at.

Our world is in a precarious state, and we desperately need each person alive to feel empowered, to have a real sense of his or her inner creativity. And when we witness what we have been able to make - something that never before existed - we are more inclined to see ourselves as creators, as people who can make a difference in the world.  —Maggie Oman Shannon

Please join our HIVE. We have a gathering scheduled for tomorrow at FRUITLANDS MUSEUM and several more between now and the end of October.

Thursdays, July 11 & 25, 3PM - 5PM
Thursday, August 8 5PM-7PM
Wednesday, September 11 2PM-4PM
Saturday, Sept 21 10AM-12PM
Thursday, October 10 1PM-3PM
Monday, October 14 1PM-3PM
Thursday, October 24, 2PM-4PM

Learn more about HIVE here, here and here.

2013 Artist-in-Residence Fruitlands Museum

I'm honored to officially announce that I will be the 2013 Artist-in-Residence at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA. Opening day for the Fruitlands campus is April 15 and we've been busy planning HIVE meetings, public collaborative installations, museum exhibitions and more.

This has already been a rewarding experience and I look forward to the next months spending time with the museum membership and making art on the spectacular grounds. There's incredible depth to what the museum has to offer so please make sure to visit - let me know and I'll look out for you.

We have a schedule for HIVE gatherings for the next few months below. It is installed in the Wayside Building with IMPRINT and that's where we'll be working together.

HIVE schedule:
April 16 and 18  -  1-3pm
May 16   -   2-4pm
June 5   -   1:30-3:30pm
June 13   -   4-6pm
July 11 and 25   -   3-5pm

In addition to the collaborative projects, outdoor installations and workshops, I will be exhibiting at the Art Museum. My show, The Nobility of Things, will be in the main gallery from June 29-August 18 with a reception on June 29 from 1-3pm.

This is only the beginning and we'll be adding more events as we get into the season... so check in often!

Photo: Sun setting last week after I finished installing Imprint. What a treat.

Open studios

A very nice weekend working on HIVE and sharing my work. The comments and feedback from people passing through are extremely valuable. Always great to experience so many reactions first hand. What's not to like about talking with enthusiasts about what you love doing?

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. And especially to everyone interested in participating in HIVE... I'll be in touch soon with this week's schedule.

Below are my two friends Bob and Mathieu trying their hand at HIVE... They've earned a footnote and I hope they join us again soon!

Shadows

I'm loving the traces of light and shadow created by the HIVE project. It suits what I'm thinking about when working on the pieces. About the impressions we make and what we leave in our wake as we move through our day: the relationships, the actions, the discussions and ultimately the connections. Like with UNDERCURRENT, light is cast on the physical but ends up illuminating the invisible. The dancing shadows just below the surface appear solid but in reality are very difficult to grasp.

This Friday we will be having another of our weekly meetups at NK Gallery. In only a few sessions, relationships have been bonding and we're already becoming a unit. Several have been able to attend, to drop in for a few minutes or stay for a few hours. The discussions have been lively and I'm already seeing the genesis of the dynamic that I experience with traditional handwork circles that I'm involved with.

With HIVE, the unorthodox materials of screen and wire are free of associations to traditional handwork like embroidery, quilting, knitting etc., and the technique is simple and requires no training. The repetitive actions busy the hands and free up the self conscious mind. The aim is to experience the essence of what happens between us when we work together without any historic prejudices that confine it within the 'women's work' view, and to leave a personal mark.

If you're interested in joining any of our meetups, please contact me to be added to the email list.

And if you're around this Friday, we'll be at
NK Gallery
450 Harrison Ave.
Boston
1pm

Please note this week's time is an hour later than usual...

Looking forward!