Clay Play

A fun time at Gallery 263.... Plasticine workshop with kids this morning. How fun to experience their innovations with the clay. We fielded a lot of very thoughtful questions about the work too. Loved it!

Check out the gallery's schedule... tonight they're hosting an acoustic musical group and tomorrow an edible book event. What a great addition to this Cambridge community!

Install

Today we installed the show Gooey Gobby Gummy at Gallery 263 in Cambridge. This show, curated by Sarah Meyers Brent, includes the work of Sarah, myself and Bo Petran. The concept is about works that speak to the most primordial elements that we are familiar with in our bodies, and of growth and decay in the natural world around us.

It was interesting to have each of us show up, deposit our pieces in an array around the room and wait to see how they would work with each other. Like any new relationship, it did require a bit of time to become acquainted... but with some milling around and working of the room... it came together really nicely.

It was also fun to get to know Bo, the three of us had a lot of fun shifting and moving and trying things out. And thanks to Sarah for conceiving of this show and pulling it together like a wonder woman. Check in again to see photos of the final installation, the reception and the kids workshop this Saturday!

March 29 - April 15
Kids Plasticene Workshop this Saturday from 11 am - 1 pm
Reception on Thursday, April 5 from 6-9pm
please try to come by if you can... it's going to be a party!

Gallery 263
263 Pearl St.
Cambridge, MA

hours and directions 
contact@gallery263.com

 

H I V E

hive  (haɪv)   — n
1. a colony of social bees
2. a place showing signs of great industry 

I have a new project for which I'm thinking about the social connections made among 'makers' when they work together. Over the next couple of months, I'd like to organize some 'Bees' - events where interested individuals would work with me in the creation of an artwork entitled HIVE. If you are interested in participating in this group project, please read on...

As you know, I've been fortunate to be able to teach knitting and crochet at In Stitches in Weston for many years. During that time I've witnessed a camaraderie stronger than any other in my life's experiences, with more acts of kindness, support and sharing than can be documented. There's a freedom of the self conscious that happens when individuals come together to work with their hands... they transform into a whole... as if it's their own private society.

An approach I often take in my artwork is to begin with a material and then combine references of the biological world with a meditative work practice to mimic the accumulations that happen in nature. 'Hive' is designed after this model. Using aluminum screen, repetitive tubelike units are sewn with steel wire and then assembled into an organically growing matrix. As a group, we will be sewing the individual tubes and since this doesn't require any specific needlework skill, it is open to all levels of experience. The expectation is that we will fall into our comfortable zones together, investing in the collaboration and bonding as a whole.

ONE DAY was a similar collaborative project where many in my communities collected and helped process the plastic newspaper sleeves from delivered newspapers. I'm convinced that the resulting popularity, and all the accolades that is has received, is a direct result of the confluence of friends and family who came together to work on it. I would like to explore this rewarding experience with this work and others in the future.

If you're interested in participating in this project, please let me know. The materials are portable so we can meet anywhere: my studio, my home, your home, a public place, etc.

Looking forward to the places we will go as this project develops and grows.

work, work, work... play

Finishing up a very large felted piece for the show Gooey, Gobby, Gummy opening March 29 at Gallery 263 in Cambridge... Continuing with my fabrication of the floats for the Leonard Bernstein Creative Arts Weekend at Brandeis on April 26-29... organizing for Micromorphic in May at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild .... and moving along with works for my solo show Phyla at NK Gallery in June. Squeeze in a few residency apps and show proposals and that about sizes up my current state of affairs... chaos.

Life couldn't be better though. In a sick way I sort of thrive on it. Forces me to cut through it all and get to the point quickly. But not without the interest and help of my community (this means you N.M. and R.G.). The more I do this thing the more I value the connections I make while making.

Which brings me to a fun studio visit yesterday with Joetta Maue. Joetta just moved to Somerville from Brooklyn and is already shaking it up around here. She is a prolific artist, curator and critic. Check her blog here for her insightful musings. Also, she'll be presenting at the Somerville Arts Council Salon Series at Arts at the Armory on March 28 with another fiber artist Jessie Vogel. I look forward to following her ambitious career and to many more good discussions about the state of art and life.

Test Kitchen

I'm working out the design for the public art installation that will be happening at Brandeis for the Leonard Bernstein Creative Arts Weekend at the end of April. The project will have very large floating protozoan-like abstractions... created using the techniques of Irish crochet but with wire, foam pipe insulators and stripped fabric that is painted and sealed with acrylic. The plan is to create a gracefully kinetic composition in the pond between the three chapels that references the humanity of a world order in flux.

I will be meeting with the building and grounds department at Brandeis next week and have been testing small models for buoyancy in my tub with great success!

Blast

Here's a peek at a work in progress for the upcoming show Gooey, Gobby, Gummy at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, March 29-April 15, 2012. The show is curated by Sarah Meyers Brent and will include Sarah, myself and painter Bo Petran.

This needlefelted orb is the largest yet measuring approximately 3 feet around. I'm loving the layers of dyed wool over such an expansive surface creating the illusion of sinew or tissue. Can't wait to get back to the studio today to keep this going.

Gallery 263

263 Pearl Street

Cambridge

March 29-April 15

Reception: April 5, 6-9 pm

Full STEAM Ahead

I will be the Artist-In-Residence at the Linden School in Malden as part of their new Innovation initiative to include the arts in their curriculum. I will be the auxiliary consultant of an arts program where the students will be engaged in a project based approach to learning; working with the teachers and students regularly on a installation combining the arts and sciences curriculum.

On February 15 Governor Deval Patrick visited the Linden School in Malden where he announced a grant to help convert the school to an innovation model. Innovation schools were created by the state's 2010 education reform law, and allow existing districts more autonomy in redesigning a school curriculum while keeping the funding in the district. With the help of this grant the Linden School will become a STEAM Academy, which will add focus on the arts to the core science, technology, engineering, and mathermatics curricula known as STEM subjects.

Check out the press release and scroll down to see the mention of yours truly! I'm looking forward to working with the Linden School community of students and educators.