fuzzybunnystew

I’ve stalled with this particular oil painting since May. I finally threw some pthalo blue paint on it last night and feel better about the direction. The initial painting lacked a unity in the color and style used and I was at a loss on how to pull it together.

I decided last night to try a suggestion from Dan gleaned from watching a documentary on Leon Golub and Nancy Spero. Golub would paint a figure in his work, then cover the whole canvas with one color and scrape away particular areas. This sounded like a possible solution to the problems I’m facing with this particular piece. I plan on working the figure, rabbits, and text a little more, then laying down another layer of color and utilizing the same process of wiping the paint away.

I also plan on changing the figure somewhat. I used myself as the study and think my treatment isn’t exactly the feeling I intended to convey in this painting . I drew a couple of drawings last year when I conceived this idea. I looked at the whole idea as rather comical. A woman sitting around in her underwear, moody and crying, gorging herself on a room of chocolate bunnies. Right now, this woman looks very unhappy and overwhelmed. I think I was overwhelmed with the whole life/school balancing act when I was painting it initially as well as no longer thrilled at using my own body as a subject in my work. I think a little time away from it has been helpful in seeing these problems and gauging the direction I need to take this piece.

Trying to get into the swing of utilizing this blog for my art. I have a dozen projects in various stages of completion that I want to get finished before this fall to submit for my BFA. I thought summer classes would be a break, but I’m finding myself doubly busy. I hope that writing will help me focus, knock out the work that’s piling up.

Earlier this spring, I bought a role of butcher paper for an idea concerning the pictures above. I want to examine the relationship between humans, animals, and food. The animals drawn so far are life size in ink and marker on butcher paper. I need to tackle my largest animal, a cow, so I can get a better sense of scale and time needed. I wondered how one might respond to a somewhat realistic rendering of particular animals juxtaposed against the division of butcher cuts. It’s a different experience from seeing a small cartoon of a cow used to select meat. Much easier to see it as simply chuck or filet as opposed to a cow. I think there’s a high level of detachment from viewing a cow in pasture to the steps in between to the consumer picking up a steak in a sealed package.

I also need to refine my idea of what animals I intend to use. I need to focus on animals fairly common to the American palette. The tarantula, a regional Venezualan edible, will most likely get cut from the line-up. I like the drawing of the rat, but I’m unsure if it will stay. I’m interested in putting in a couple of animals that are certainly consumed, but unlikely canidates for the average meal. I realize that pretty much any animal or insect is sustenance for someone out there. I plan on carrying through with the butcher shop theme by adding mock packages of wrapped meat as well. I think a trip to a butcher shop is in order for some ideas.

I rendered these six drawings with a pen on blank watercolor postcards, utilizing prismacolor markers for the eye color. I used old photos of my cat Mao as a study. I think I’m fairly familiar with the nuances of his stripes at this point. Drawing’s an excellent tool to pick up details in life one tends to overlook.

I sent these postcards in conjunction with a postcard blitz on 04/28/07 for the pet food recall asking for attention to the matter. Those affected were prompted to send at least six cards to their two state senators, Senator Durbin, CNN, and the White House.

I’m pretty overwhelmed by all the information out there on this topic and by how many other people’s pets have been affected. It’s oddly heartbreaking and comforting that so many others are in this together. I really appreciate the feedback I’ve received from so many others affected by this. I’m sorry so many others are in the same boat though.

This piece is being made in conjunction with a project concerning site specific social art. I changed course on my original idea after I heard about the dog and cat food recall this past Saturday. Iams is one of the foods on the recall list. I fed my cat, Mao, Iams daily. Mao fell ill around the end of February. The vet diagnosed the situation as kidney failure. I decided to put Mao to sleep on February 28. I’m livid after hearing the pet food has been recalled because it caused kidney failure in some animals. Menu Foods, Iam’s parent company, should be held accountable in some way. This image will be distributed through more trafficked venues than this blog. I figure if I throw it at enough walls, it will stick. The image I photographed is the wooden box that holds Mao’s cremated remains.

The web as a site specific choice in terms of the parameters of this project is I think, justifiable. The web is a social construct, a place to display and exchange ideas. An ephemeral creation that serves as the new public bulletin board. Displaying information and images on public websites can be as powerful as painting a wall or placing an object in a public place.