Flute

June 6th, 2008

Flute Shrink NecklaceFlute Shrink NecklaceFlute Shrink Necklace

Necklace formed with memory wire and threaded with beads and shrink plastic. I drew the mouthpiece, connecting headjoint part, and all the keys on my Emerson flute. It took longer than I anticipated and turned out differently than what I had in mind, but I like it. I really want to get better at working with wire. Most of the detours from my original plan were due to not getting the wire to do what I wanted it to do. I do like the individual parts emphsasized, abstracted to represent the body of the flute without it actually being shown.

Lucky Cat Enjoys Take-out with Fortune

April 22nd, 2008

Lucky Cat Fortune Shrink NecklaceLucky Cat Fortune Shrink NecklaceLucky Cat Fortune Shrink NecklaceLucky Cat Fortune Shrink Necklace

More shrink plastic cause it’s so much fun and small and manageable. I made the cookie a long time ago, but I thought it would be more interesting to connect it with these other objects. I ate in a Chinese restaurant last week. I walked up to the counter to place the order where sat the lucky cat. I received my meal in a red and white box. I cracked the cookie at the end as is procedure and pondered the manufactured wisdom. Wouldn’t quite be the American Chinese take-out experience without the cookie tradition.

Rabbitback Linocut

April 22nd, 2008

RabbitbackRabbitback with watercolor (regular)Rabbitback with watercolor (psychadelic)

This is an 18″x 24″ linocut self portrait that I created for a project. The bottom two prints were colored by hand after printing with watercolor paint. The source material for the rabbit was an old postcard with a cowboy saddling up a giant rabbit on a ranch.

The piece was a learning experience. The size felt fairly daunting to take on for my first relief print. The way the cuts work made a lot more sense after I printed the picture. In the future, I hope to better assess what size lines to utilize and take that into account the next time I print. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the class. I didn’t think I’d do well with printmaking, but I’ve really enjoyed it. That seems to be par for the course with school. Things I thought I’d love, I’ve been lukewarm towards. Things I thought wouldn’t suit me, I’ve really dug. Go figure.

Glassfish Drawing

April 20th, 2008

Glassfish

A small quick drawing in Prismacolor pencil of my glassfish.  I had him for I think six years.  He finally passed away this past weekend.  He had the whole tank to himself and had outlived his brethren by five years.   I never named him, but the household dubbed him both Michael and Gilbert.

Paper Leaves Site Specific Installation Step One

April 6th, 2008

Leaves

Leaves and newspaper leaves

Real leaves and waxed newspaper leaves

Uncoated newspaper leaves and waxed newspaper leaves

This is the beginning of a collaborative environmental installation on which I am working with another artist for my installation art class. The site is in the woods outside of the UNCC area. We decided to cut newspapers into the approximate shape of real leaves at the site. The newspaper leaves were dipped in hot wax which added to the durability and stability of the paper. The use of the wax makes them look a little like trash as well.

Dandelion to Seed

April 6th, 2008

Dandelion to Seed Hoop Earrings

Dandelion to Seed Hoop Earrings

Dandelion to Seed Hoop Earrings

These are shrinky dink earrings I drew and baked. I am interested in the cycle of the blooming weed that transforms to a wispy, puffy seed, scatters through the wind, and begins anew.

Shadow Box - Stage Two

March 30th, 2008

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

This is the state in progress after working this evening. I thought I would have enough whoopie cushions to cover the inside (14 so far), but I only got through a little over half the interior covered. I’ll have to order more before I can continue with the box. I need to finish the whoopie cushion flap stage before I can decide on a permanent place for the fabric and yarn. I planned on sculpting the hershey’s kisses on the top shelf into little teeth for a vagina dentata effect. I’ll be buying a new bag for that part of the process. Temptation has whittled down the supply. I also have no clue yet how to preserve the chocolate for installation of this piece.

Shadow Box - Stage One

March 30th, 2008

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

Vagina Shadow Box

Stage one for shadow box installation of a vagina. The cat is not part of the piece, though intrigued by the yarn. Materials include cut up whoopie cushions, yarn, two types of fabric, butcher paper, acrylic paints, wax, and wood.

Ode to the Polaroid

March 30th, 2008

Polaroid Shrinky Dink and Photo

Polaroid Shrinky Dink

Polaroid Shrinky Dink Necklace

Polaroid Shrinky Dink Necklace

I created this shrinky dink from a polaroid I took of two peaches with Time Zero film. The film has been discontinued. I’ve heard that Polaroid plans to discontinue all of its film soon. A rather sad development. I’m interested in process, transformation, and the relationship between objects in these little shrink plastic creations I’ve been doing as of late. The camera I drew from is an SX-70 Land Camera. I titled the polaroid, “Ripe Peaches.”

Uterus and Chocolate

March 30th, 2008

Uterus and Chocolate Shrinky Dink Necklace

Uterus and Chocolate Shrinky Dink Necklace

Uterus and Chocolate Shrinky Dink Necklace

Uterus and Chocolate Shrinky Dink Necklace

Prismacolor pencils on shrink plastic. Working yet again with the whole hormones and chocolate theme, this time on a smaller scale.