Christina Yocca

Seedmania

2010-05-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the desire to reproduce, the maple tree in my front boulevard has the Octomom beat by miles. She has been sending thousands of her perfect seeds out to my sidewalks, to my porch, to my newly tilled flower beds and to the lawn. Perfectly weighted, they land flag side up speckling the spring green lawn with a golden straw color. The heavy seed end burrows into thick layers of mulch covering my flower beds. Her efforts to reproduce are easily thwarted. I sweep or rake them off the pavement and porch. The sprouts will be mowed down if they take in the lawn. In flower beds, maple sprouts, like dandelions, are easily recognizable. I love to look at the delicate roots and clinging bits of seed head when I pull them from the ground.

The maple seed has long been my personal symbol for flying creativity. Full of potential and promise, the seed catches the energy of the universe to fly on toward fertile ground. When I am sweeping and raking, I have second thoughts.

Today I noticed that a similar old maple anchors the other end of my block of Fulton Street. Early residents of the area had the prescience to plant maples here when elms were all the rage for boulevards. A week after I bought my house, two of my elms on Oxford Street were cut down due to blight. The third elm has survived. In fact, enough of the old elms have survived in the two or 3 blocks of Oxford south of my house to continue to create a credible canopy over the street. This makes the approach to my house from Lake Street extremely pleasant at this time of the year. My maple punctuates the edge of this canopy.

I have two more reasons to be grateful to the early Eau Clairions who planted the maple tree at this corner. In addition to the late afternoon shade for my porch, she has provided some low hanging shoots of branches that have found their way into some of my sculptures.

Photos from EAC

2010-02-22T13:04:00.001-08:00

Bellow in front of wall of cones and pods. Other installation shots can be seen on my Flickr site.

Oil Paint and Cold Wax

2010-01-30T07:03:00.001-08:00

Shielded Pod

This small piece got a face lift. The face lift began as an experiment at one of Rebecca Crowell's Cold Wax Medium Workshops. I continued with more cold wax and oil paint then toned it down with cold wax and marble dust. First, I made a paste with marble dust and a bit of water. Then I mixed it with a good amount of cold wax. Rebecca tells me that you cannot mix wax and oil, but it seemed to work. It was very slow to dry, however. The inside has oxides mixed with clay plasters-no oil paints. It was satisfying to scrape the paint over the surface textures that I created with the clay plater. This pod seems to have just released it's seeds. It seems more alive than other pieces which speak more of fall or winter colors.

Work in EAC

2010-01-22T16:25:00.001-08:00

Slopes, clay, maple, wax, seeds, waxed linen.

Productive Day in the Studio

2010-01-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

Today I started five new pieces. I sketched, formed pieces from willow, tied knots, and stretched temporary skin over one piece. Four are small wall pieces as I try to make some small pieces to start a momentum of production. Then there is one long pod piece that will hang on the wall. It is a much more bulbous pod than the recent long, narrow pods, Like Prairie Wing.

In addition, I have also been refinishing an old piece. Somehow, I feel like a cheat. I used oil paint on the surface of this piece. I love color, but all of my sculptural pieces have been the color of the clay or of clay related pigments that I have applied to the surface in various clay plaster mixtures. It is so strange, because, of course it is only my own rules I am breaking. And what is oil paint anyway, but a mixture of pigment and oil. Does it matter that someone else mixed the pigment with oil instead of me mixing powder and wax or oil in my studio? All pigments come from the earth somehow, somewhere. So where do I draw the line? What pigments are eco-friendly? Natural dyes and pigments have the same chemical properties as their synthetic counterparts. So the natural colors can be as toxic or as safe for people as the synthetic ones. On the positive side, tubes of paint help me avoid any dust particles in my breathing space. Did I mention, I love color. True to my own process, I applied the paint to the surface in a plaster-like manner. When the final wax layer dries, I will take a picture and post it. Before the paparazzi find it first. Ha!! some big juicy confession here.

EAC Show Announcement

2010-01-21T19:33:00.001-08:00

Edwardsville Art Opening

2010-01-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

The Edwardsville Art Center is a beautiful space that is possible due to the hard work of the local art community. I am showing with Raymond Yeager. His beautiful paintings based on tree branches making marks against the sky complement the branches in my own work. Raymond's family fell ill before the opening, so I did not meet him. Maybe we can meet on my next visit to Edwardsville.

FLOATING SCULPTURE by AVA BLITZ

2009-06-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

I received this announcement from Philadelphia artist and friend, Ava Blitz.
I used to go on kayak rides down the Schuylkill river with the canoe club back in my post Tyler School of Art graduate school days.

Philadelphia area sculptor and public artist, Ava Blitz will be floating sculptures on the river in conjunction with the Philadelphia Canoe Club Open House! She will be showing a work in progress, a part of a monumental floating sculpture garden that will grow year to year. This may become an annual tradition. Don't miss it!

2pm-4pm

Supported by a grant from the Independence Foundation.

New Cob Oven

2009-06-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

Puff, the magic bread oven, has been reborn. We reconstituted the cob at a workshop during the Arts Festival in downtown Eau Claire. We had help stomping and re-building from several young people and a group of elementary kids. Puff has different eyes and more spikes. He may look meaner, but a little bird perched on his tail testifies to his gentleness. The creativity of the group was exhilarating. Thanks especially to Elizabeth, Tom, and Simeon.

Green

2009-01-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

I am participating in a group show titled "Green" at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Gallery, located on the main floor of the State Theatre in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Cyndee Kaiser organized the exhibit which interprets anything about the concept green - anything form ideas about the color to environmental awareness. I know a number of the artists and look forward to the opening reception on Thursday, January 15 from 6:00 - 7:30pm.

Wide World of Abstract Expressionism

2008-12-31T10:51:00.000-08:00

Roberta Smith reviews a show featuring small scale American Abstraction at the Robert Miller Gallery in Chelsea. The show introduces some unknown artists and some portentous work by well-known artists. It shows how popular Abstract Expressionism from the 1930's until the late 50's. Smith argues that work in the style canonized by Greenberg and Rosenberg often brought out the best in artists. Some works hint at the later mature style of artists such as Morris Louis and Alma Thomas. A dripped-paint work by Janet Sobol from 1946-48 is a reminder that the "all-over" style of painting did not start in the late 40's with Jackson Pollock.

Work from my exhibit at the SPACE

2008-10-07T14:04:00.001-07:00

Two views of Grinning Chasm.

Exhale

Envelope

Speaking

Mixing It Up

2008-09-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

Mixing It Up!

Art Exhibit at the SPACE - a centre for creativity

Featured Artist Reception
September 12
6-10 pm FREE
Join us as we celebrate the art of Samah Fahmy and Christina Yocca.
Gather your friends and
family for a night of art,
entertainment, relaxation and laughter.
Friday, September 12
6-10m l FREE
With Live Music by Greg Herriges beginning at 7pmChristina YoccaSamah Fahmy
The SPACE a centre for creativity
156 High Street | New Richmond
715.246.3180
www.thespaceforcreativity.com

The SPACE a centre for creativity
156 High Street l New Richmond, WI
715.246.3180
www.thespaceforcreativity.com
Directions: In New Richmond, follow Highway 65 to RR
station, turn west on High Street, go 1 block, turn left and
follow the signs to The SPACE.

This is from the post card for my exhibit in New Richmond. I can't figure out how to put the whole postcard on the blog. So please click on the link for images.

Samah and I set up today. Samah's images are etchings with abstracted imagery. Most are monochrome with interesting textures. The two sets of work combine very well with textural interest and limited palettes.

I decided to title my exhibit: Presence and Absence. While debating names, (boy, I am not good at coming up with names) I made lists of opposites. Most of my pieces in the exhibit are vessels with an inside and outside. I contrast the colors and textures of the two sides, so I wanted some paradoxical title. I also wanted to evoke the importance of the volume or air or void inside of each vessel. But nothing from the list I compiled struck me as right. I put the list aside and drove to the clinic to pick up a new pair of contact lenses. On the way, I listened to an interview with Wynton Marsalis on National Public Radio. A listener called and told his tale of being shot down by a famous musician when he tried to show off his guitar playing. He played many notes very fast in hopes of impressing. Wynton replied that art is both presence and absence. Absence helps to create emotional texture. I ran through the parking lot just as a downpour started and repeated the words over and over, knowing I had the title.

Musculature

2008-08-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

As I mix my mixtures of fiber and clay, I poke and fold, poke and fold to ensure that the fibers are totally surrounded by clay. Dry fiber clumps will not suffice. I continue to add fiber until the mixture feels muscular. I made a note to myself to blog about “musculature”. I am not sure what thoughts I had on the day that I put that word on a post it note and stuck it to the cupboard door near my studio sink. It is a thought that permeates me and will affect my work on some level. But how I thought it would shape my work on that particular day escapes me at the moment. Working with clay/fiber mixtures is similar to working in clay, but still very different. This musculature is one essential element of that difference. Rather than total plasticity of clay building, this musculature quality must be handled differently. I cannot treat the surface in the same manner. I can’t easily dig into it with tools to make clean incisions. The fibrous mixture attaches one part of the surface to other parts and to the interior. Incisions can be fuzzy. This quality changes the way I treat both the forms and the surface. While I remain sculpturally interested in structure and skin ways of building, the “skins” of my constructions become like muscles, tissue, and skin all at once. There is some satisfaction in this metaphor. For no living being is merely skeleton and skin, skin and bones. So, I continue to work somewhere in between organic structures composed of skeletons and architectural structures built of posts and beams. And my skins work somewhere in that middle ground as well.

The Illegality of Environmentally Friendly Lifestyles

2008-05-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Volume One, our local culture and entertainment magazine, has an interesting story about a cob home. In Sawyer County Wisconsin, Febe Simone Dancier and Machel Piper built a 175-square-foot cob home that they describe as a “sanctuary” for healing. Constructed over a six month period for less than $1,000, the environmentally friendly home features a composting toilet. The Sawyer County Zoning Administration, however, has been ready to bulldoze the home. It seems that they never applied for a land use permit and the home did not meet certain county codes. These codes include a minimum 500 square foot requirement and a code-compliant septic system. In the meantime, the owners of the Sun Spirit Log Homes offered to build them a log home. On the positive side, the zoning people had no problem with the cob construction.

Piper and Dancier are working on a children’s novel about their experience and plan to fight for legalizing smaller homes and composting toilets.

From the article, I cannot tell whether the cob structure will still be torn down. If it remains standing, I would love to see it before we build another cob oven. My husband claims that if they had been two good ol’ boys and said the structure was a hunting cabin, there would have been no problem. There are dozens of people living in hunting cabins up in the North Woods of Wisconsin. Their real problem was that they were up front about their intentions to use the cob building as a home.

For the record, I write this from my 3,000-square-foot home. This home includes two businesses – my husband’s office is in the attic and my studio is on the second floor. It is more space than we need for our family, but trying to maintain an old Victorian, rather than building new in the ‘burbs, has some ecological cachet.

Translations Opening Photos

2008-05-12T20:12:00.001-07:00

That's me! It was nice to see some of my pieces again. Some people thought this looked like a hide. I liked the circle I drew on it. That is something I have not done on any other piece.
Cassie Tondro and our work.
A little taste o the drumming circle outside of the gallery. And the door wide open on a marvelous, warm, May evening.

Opening Night and beyond

2008-05-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

I have much to write about the opening at Translations Gallery. I will post photos after I get home. The opening was great fun, great weather and greatly celebratory. A drumming circle played informally outside with the front of the gallery open to the outdoors. You will see later, the front is like a big garage door. The show looked wonderful with Cassie Tondro's work contrasting well with my subtle work.

Today I went to the Denver Art Museum and spent some hours looking at a new Gee's Bend quilt exhibition. The exhibit contained historical work from the amazing women of Gee's Bend Alabama and some newer work. The 2000 exhibit has inspired some of the women to pick up quilting again. There is so much spontanaity, improvisation, and spirit in this work. What a joy to see it together in two gallery rooms. The video may have been from the older exhibit, I am not sure. Much of the 70's work had avacado green material that came from work that women from the area did for Sears. They stitched pillow covers and much of the material made its way into quilts. The colors they chose to go with the green were unexpected and surprising.

Wish I had more time to get to know Denver better and especially more time to get to the mountains. They are calling on the western edge of town.

I'm Off for Denver

2008-05-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I catch a plane to attend my opening in Denver. The opening is Friday night. Judy Hagler, owner of Translations Gallery is offering refreshments and live music. I will meet Cassandra Tondro for some pictures before the opening. It has been years since I have visited Colorado, so this trip will be exciting for me. It is hard to imagine that I will be heading over the plains and to the mountains tomorrow afternoon. So much packing to do, so I have to head out of cyber space and deal with the washing machine and suitcase.

Booth shot at ACC

2008-04-23T19:03:00.001-07:00

Here is a shot of my booth from the American Craft Show St. Paul. My booth was more like a gallery booth at a SOFA show than a fine craft store booth. I think I was the only white booth in the entire show. The white walls came from Art in Motion in Vermont. I was able to hang my pieces and the shelves. Josh, Paul, and Amy made sure my booth was set up when I arrived. All I needed to do was to put up the shelves, arrange the art and put up the lights. What a relief for me. Paul Jeremias from Asheville, NC, the official ACC photographer, took the booth shot.

Translations Gallery Moves to a New Space

2008-04-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ordinary Alchemy, my show with Cassie Tondro, will be the first opening in a new space for Translations Gallery. The new space, up the street from the old space, is more industrial in appearance and a better gallery space. Art studios and a video production company also reside in the building. It is exciting to think of a gallery in building where art is made, not just exchanged.

The new space opening party coincides with the exhibition opening for Ordinary Alchemy on May 9th.

The new address will be effective May 1^st:

Translations Gallery
855 Inca St.
Denver, CO 80204

ACC Craft Fair This Weekend in St. Paul

2008-04-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

The American Craft Show in St. Paul will feature more than 240 craft artists. I will be booth 807. My work is featured in a new category called GREEN CRAFT. Artists who use eco-friendly materials or recycled materials are included in this new category. The show expects to draw a crowd of 10,000 visitors. I will be Booth #807 - pretty much in the center of the fair.

LOCATION
St. Paul RiverCentre
175 West Kellogg Blvd.

DATES AND SHOW HOURS
Friday, April 18 (10 am - 6 pm)
Saturday, April 19 (10 am - 6 pm)
Sunday, April 20 (10 am - 5 pm)

Preparing for my first major craft show with this line of work is a major undertaking. I think I am starting to feel ready, although there are many little details left and much packing to do. I have been given a "buddy" to help me prepare for the show. Mainly I have been able to ask questions about lighting. Other friends have lead me to resources for walls and carpets. A circle of friends is so important.

Vertebrae (above) will be featured in my booth along with a new large vessel. I will have many other new smaller and medium sized works.

Things I learned

2008-03-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

After buying more supplies at Continental Clay, I learned some things about the materials I have been using. There are differences in white clays. Some are softer than others. Kaolin is the whitest, but also the softest. So it may not be the best white clay for my sculptures. Ball clay has much more strength, but is very gray.

Mica has different colors and can be ground into different grades. The 40 mesh from Continental Clay is used in raku clay bodies. It does not have much shine for clay plasters or clay paints. It does, however, make clay plasters very workable. It can be substituted for sand or used in addition to sand in a clay plaster recipe.

So, I just mixed some 40 mesh black mica with a red clay slip and some fibers to make a plaster for one of my forked branch vessels. There is some shine. I like the subtle shine. When I mixed it with white clay, it was like adding graphite. It made it very dark.

Burnishing

2008-03-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning burnishing a piece of sculpture with a smooth stone. As I worked, I thought about the history of burnishing clay surfaces. Of course there is Maria Martinez and the Native American pottery of the Southwest. Maria Martinez used smooth stones handed down from her grandmother and possibly used by ancestors before. The stones became smoother and smoother with use. Listening to Martinez describing her burnishing in a film from the 70’s, it is evident that she is extremely proud of the effort that she put into burnishing her pottery. My pieces, however, will not be fired. They will not turn black and hard with high temperature and smoke. There is also a history of burnishing clay walls. When I read about the Moroccan tadelakt process, burnishing played a big role.

I wrote about tadeladt in February 07. Tadelakt is a Moroccan technique. After applying a special lime plaster, the craftsman polished the surface with with stones and olive oil soap (sabon beldi). This adds shine and water resistance that makes the treatment suitable for not only walls, but also floors and bathtubs.

Hazelnuts

2008-03-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

Last summer I tried to mud dye cloth. I was teaching an Eco-Art course for the local Summer Institute program and experimented with ways to paint red clay on cloth and make the dye permanent. I used these nut hulls to mordant the cloth; boiling the nut hulls and cloth together. I never got the great results of mud cloth in Mali, but the experiment was fun. Judy Dominic is quite the expert on Mali mud cloth and has tried many plants for the mordant. The plant used by dyers in Mali does not grow in North America. In addition, I certainly tried to make the process more speedy. Now, however, the hulls get a third life embedded into the clay of one of my sculptures.

Mexican Basket - Another Influence

2008-03-01T07:03:00.001-08:00

I bought this basket in the mid 80's at the Eye’s Gallery on South Street in Philadelphia owned by Isaiah and Julia Zagar.

Adela Akers, my graduate school advisor, introduced us to the Zagars and we visited their apartment above the store. The apartment had walls covered in mosaics that Isaiah made from tiles a, objects, and broken mirrors in an attempt to bring some of the sunshine of Mexico to Philadelphia. When I bought the basket, I was freshly out of my MFA program at Tyler School of Art and very low on cash. Still when I saw this basket, I needed to buy it. The simple structure of hooped ribs covered with a bark net spoke to me with infinite depth.

GO AirTran Airways Inflight Magazine

2008-02-22T06:14:00.000-08:00

Kate Merkel, Gallery Manager at Translations Gallery, just wrote to announce that an editor from GO, AirTran Airways' inflight magazine is writing an article on our May gallery show. Cassie Tondro initiated the idea that we do our own press release and make the most of the show. We worked together to come up with a name that fit both of our bodies of work. We finally settled on Ordinary Alchemy. It refers to the way we transform ordinary materials into extraordinary art. Cassie turns cast off paint into magical paintings and I change earth and plant material into vessels. Cassie did most of the work on the press release and developed a list of contacts which included airline magazines. Over Christmas break, I was able to meet Cassie in Santa Monica. It was wonderful to see her paintings and studio. I wish I had photos to share, but my family took the camera to Venice Beach while I met with Cassie.

Lanny Bergner

2008-02-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

Lanny Bergner, a friend from grad school days at Tyler School of Art has an installation at the Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, Washington called Industrial Nature and the Big Bang. It is very ephemeral. I cannot quite get my mind around how Lanny manipulated materials to make an illusion of light beams. I continue to be amazed at Lanny's productivity. He recently made an installation in Korea and one in Philadelphia.

Check the link. This myartspace.com seems like a very good online community.

Inspiration from Grandma

2008-02-18T11:55:00.001-08:00

My grandmother gave me this sewing basket when I was a young girl. I often think that her interest in sewing and crochet shaped my artistic decision to become a fiber artist. This basket, however, was an inspiration for my structures. A strong structure with looped reeds holds the basket up. The fabric walls hang from this structure. My fabric walls have become stiffer with my clay/fiber material, but nonetheless are dependent upon a structure.

Forked Branch Series

2008-02-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I finished one piece and redid the structure of a vessel that was not working. Both pieces use forked branches. Here is a quick picture of the finished piece taken in the light of a snow storm howling outside of the window.

I started the faulty vessel several months ago. I was trying to keep the lines of the structure simple. One curved branch formed the bottom edge. Of course it could not stand on this one branch. I planned to make it stand when I added the clay/fiber mixture. Generally, I adhere to the adage that the structure must be sound before starting the skin. This experience confirmed that the adage is dependable. I could not form the bottom with the clay and fiber without making a heavy, unsatisfactory form. Luckily, my materials can be reused. I added a second branch from pieces I found in my stash from a number of years ago. Now the structure stands and I am making a temporary skin in preparation for the clay/fiber mixture. Making the form balance was tricky because it is asymmetrical with a curved bottom. I have no quick and easy solutions for balancing my structures because the forms depend on the branches. I hope the form looks simple even though I labored to achieve it.

Studio Routines

2008-01-23T20:33:00.000-08:00

Lately I developed a routine of staying up late to work. I listen to a local Wisconsin Public Radio station and Chapter a Day airs at 11 p.m. I work while listening to the latest chapter, and then I clean up. If I am working well and not at a good stopping point, I stay up and listen to The World News with the BBC. The latest edition of Eric Maisel's Creativity Newsletter reminds me of one of Eric’s themes for a productive creative practice – getting up early and working on your creative practice while you are fresh, before work or other daily events tire you out. Eric’s article deals with the issue of helping aging parents while making time for your creative practice. He does address the night owls of the creative world. And he advises that if you are getting good creative work done late at night to not “change a thing”. This late night schedule worked for me last week. However, by Friday I needed a night of totally down “veggie” time and slept late Saturday morning.

2008 Exhibition Schedule:

2007-12-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

Writing the promotional material for the Ruth Chenven exhibit was an opportunity to make a list of all of my upcoming exhibits. I feel a bit daunted at the moment. But I have been working toward the goal of a gallery exhibit and other sales opportunities. Sometimes you must watch what you ask for.

2008 Exhibition Schedule:

April 18-20

The American Craft Show - ACC
St. Paul, Minnesota
http://www.craftcouncil.org

May 9-June 7

Translations Gallery
Two person exhibit with Cassandra Tondo
773 Santa Fe Drive, Denver CO, 80204, 303-629-0713
http://translationsgallery.com

July 25-August 23

Textile Center
Mentor Program Exhibit
3000 University Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, 612-436-0464
http://www.textilecentermn.org/mentor.asp

September 12-October 4

The Space, a centre for creativity
Solo Exhibit
156 High Street, New Richmond, Wisconsin 54017
http://www.thespaceforcreativity.com/index.html

Ruth Chenven Foundation

2007-12-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

The Ruth Chenven Foundation is having an exhibit to celebrate their 25th Anniversary. I received a grant from them in their third year of existence. It was a wonderful grant that gave me time and money to explore nonwoven fibers at the then Philadelphia College of Textiles. Now Philadelphia University, I think. I worked in a nonwoven textile laboratory, very much on my own. The professor had invented a textile that was used on space missions. It was a felted textile able to withstand high heats, so the astronauts used mittens padded with the textile when they went outside on space repair missions. The felted textiles I made were certainly a precursor to the work I do now. I coated some of them with clay. Now I mix fibers with clay.

I am not in the anniversary show. One name I do recognize is Betsy Damon. She founded No Limits for Women in the Arts. I was involved in this wonderful support system for women artists in the late 80's, early 90's. Betsy was working on her water missions then and has continued to develop wonderful environmental works in the United States and China.

I have been working on a promotional photo page for the exhibit. Each artist who has won a grant in the past is permitted to send some promotional materials.

Exhibit at Translations Gallery

2007-12-08T08:57:00.001-08:00

Kate Merkel and Judy Hagler of Translations Gallery in Denver offered me a show. The dates will be May 9-June7, 2008. I will be paired with gallery artist Cassandra Tondro who does paintings and compositions with earth pigments, natural dyes and stains from decomposed vegetables, on raw canvas. I wrote about Cassie early in the blog. It is exciting to be paired with her. Her latest paintings are poured latex and have a wonderful feeling taking a pure slice of earth to reveal stratas. The stratas are just a bit surreal with wonderful movement.

New Piece

2007-12-08T08:53:00.001-08:00

This is a new piece. I am trying to use a local photographer. I think it needs more shadows on the bottom to keep it from floating in vague space. The yellow clay is from our property in Chippewa County.

ACC Acceptance

2007-10-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

I have been accepted into the American Craft Show in St. Paul. The show is April 18-20, 2008. Last year there were over 250 artists in the show. It is the only ACC show in the Midwest.

IMG_3036

2007-08-13T10:41:00.001-07:00

IMG_3036
Originally uploaded by Judy D

One of Many photos of orbs on Judy Dominic's Flickr site.

Judy Dominic

2007-08-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Check out Judy Dominic's blog for a daily journal of her installation of Orbs at the Indianapolis Art Center! Judy Dominic has created an outdoor installation of 85 willow orbs on the grounds of the Art Center. The orbs range in size and color. The poetically balance between trees, in trees, and next to other sculptures. The globular and pod like forms of randomly interwoven willow evoke worlds, moons, eggs, seeds, cocoons. I hope for more images of the finished installation. There are more images of the process on her Flickr site.

Fellowships and Grants

2007-08-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

I was disappointed to learn that the Bush Grant no longer covers Western Wisconsin. This is a wonderful grant for Minnesota and now some Dakota artists. I know several people who benefited from the generous grant that provides a living wage to do your art.

The Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowships for visual artists will be awarded in 2008. The deadline is September 15, 2007. The staff is very willing to help with the application. Dale Johnson answers technical questions about the eGRANT and

Bituminous

2007-08-10T12:50:00.001-07:00

Bituminous
Originally uploaded by mud girl

I am just playing to learn how to use all my Flickr tools.
This is another vessel I made with some mica for the interior.

Takeshi Horisaki NOLA and NYC

2007-08-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Takeshi Horisaki cast a ravaged New Orleans house with latex paint before demolition. Listen to this radio broadcast from WNYC. He installed it in Socrates Sculpture Park in the Queens. It is interesting to see the house transformed into the latex replica that has a cloth like quality - swaying like a curtain.

Zapp

2007-08-03T11:40:00.001-07:00

Undercover. Clay, fibers, wax. 39"x9"x9"

Yesterday I decided to apply to one upscale craft show, the ACC St. Paul Show for April 18-20, 2008. The deadline was midnight. After teaching in the morning, I set out to conquer the Zapplication online application process. I was met with a huge hurdle. They require all images to be 1920 x 1920 pixels with the extra space black (at the top and bottom if horizontal or the sides if vertical). None of my image management programs could produce this black background. The local library did not have Photoshop on their computers. Finally, I found that I could download a 30 day trial of Photoshop. After much fussing with the download, I was off and running. I met the deadline by two hours Central Time. One hour to spare if they were counting Eastern DST. Many of the artists who exhibit at the Grand Hand had booths at this year’s St. Paul show. They all displayed colorful Grand Hand signs. I can have a good show together by April if accepted.

Flickr

2007-07-31T12:12:00.001-07:00

I created some sets in Flickr and added the link on my web page. This takes me out of the Flickr voyeur category and into an active Flickrite. I regularly look at the Flickr site of a young Italian man because he writes in both English and Italian. Slowly picking up ways to talk about images in Italian. Mainly I know when he goes on vacation and when he returns. "Sono tornato!" And most useful- "Che bella!!"

Puff the Cob Dragon

2007-07-22T12:41:00.001-07:00

Not satisfied with one bread oven, my husband decided we needed a traveling oven. He bought a trailer for the truck and we built Puff in a friend’s back yard. I supervised the cob mixing and building while some children and Steve made dragon models and drawings. We did the happy hippie method of mixing - barefoot stomping on a tarp. There are three layers of mud, each with a different recipe. The center layer has the most straw for insulation. The walls are not as thick as a permanent land based oven, conserving some weight. Aaron made some awesome pizza, and John made several loaves of bread. Puff may still get a layer of color and lime wash. We have yet to test out how well Puff withstands a trip.

Fun with digital colors

2007-07-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

If you want to match or find just the right color for your blog, web page, or digital graphics, try Kuler. Warning--It can become addictive.

Web Site

2007-07-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Although I hope to have my web professionally designed, I have been using a stock template to get going. I tried to learn HTML with some simple web lessons. Still I did not get a page that looked the way I imagined it. Then I found out about CSS, Cascading Style Sheets, I tried some online tutorials. I never figured out how to make it work together. So, back to the template. I have been tweaking and adding pages. I just need some more images on my gallery page and a few other tweaks.

Translations Gallery Ad

2007-06-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

Good news today from Kate Merkel at Translations Gallery. They are using my work for gallery promotional materials. Kate wanted some high resolution photos for another ad. So now I am sorely aware that I must be more savvy about digital imagery and what all the numbers mean- 300 dpi, 3888 x 2592 pixels, 300 pixels per inch, 3.5 mp, etc. It is important to be prepared for these sudden requests. This was a great boost for my ego and very timely. I am done with my first teaching session for the summer and ready to go into full time art making. I'm thrilled that my natural toned piece shows up well along with Jane Dunnewold's surface treatment and Anne Bossert's bright blue sculpture.

View from the Train Window

2007-06-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

So sorry I have no picture for this. On the way to Pittsburgh, the Amtrack train went through Milwaukee. Just as my son started fantasizing aloud about filming a zombie movie in this part of Milwaukee, I realized we were passing Marina Broere's studio building. We passed one more building and then saw an amazing site in the parking lot - a not thin man wearing sweatpants and a blue tutu pirouetting in the large empty parking lot. The train filled with sighs, giggles, and ahhs. Then the moment passed.

Millennium Park

2007-06-22T13:02:00.001-07:00

While returning from my Aunt’s 90^th birthday party, we waited 6 hours between Amtrack trains in Chicago. We rode the elevator to the top of the Sears Tower, drank Jamba Juice and walked under Cloud Gate by British artist Anish Kapoor. I was excited to convince my 14 year old son to go to Millenium Park as Kapoor was featured in the last issue of Sculpture magazine. Not only did we get to catch some reflections in the polished seamless stainless steel surface, we were able to cool off in the chamber beneath the large bean-like form.

Early June

2007-06-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry for so few entries lately. Right now I am preparing for my summer teaching schedule. This includes classes for the UW-Eau Claire Summer Institute and SmART Summer Art programs. In addition to a fun art course for primary grades, I have added a new course called Eco-art. I will do a version for upper elementary and one for high school kids. So I am busy preparing my supplies and fine tuning the activities. While I am excited about including some clay straw building along with rust and mud dyed cloth, the preparation is overwhelming at the moment. The immediacy is heightened because this weekend I travel to Pittsburgh for my Aunt Dora's 90th birthday celebration.

The weekend was consumed with a pizza party we offered for our church auction. We have a wonderful brick oven out at our "farm" that my husband built for me when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. I am fine now, by the way. It seems that building something that will outlast us was his way of coping with the news. This is a phenomenon I have witnessed in other couples. Now we get wood fired pizza and bread. How healthy! There is a wonderful mud and straw bird's nest full of new hatchlings inside the oven shed. I am anxious to see how big they grow this week.

THE BEST LIVE EARTH CONCERT OF THE DAY!!

2007-05-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our activist/sustainable living/artist friends from Anathoth Community Farm are hosting a huge party/concert on Saturday, July 7--7/7/07. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary on the same day as Live Earth--Al Gore and friend's day of concerts to call attention to the problem of global warming. World class concerts will be happening in Sydney, Shanghai, Tokyo, Johannesburg, London, Rio de Janerio, New York, and LUCK, Wisconsin!

The Saturday concert includes:

Buckwheat Zydeco -- Louisiana Creole music. He is coming to Anathoth because he likes what theydo and he is a great humanitarian and the best accordion player EVER!

Devon Evans--Long time percussionist with Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Natty Nation (reggae)

Savage Aural Hotbed (industrial percussion) the closest thing to human fireworks you will ever see.

Bedlam (Irish)

Nama Rupa (psychedelic swamp reggae)

Floydian Slip (jam/rock)

Command Zulu (political techno folk) also known as the farm band.

Come for the weekend which includes camping, hiking trails, biking, sand volleyball, food court, beer garden, tours of the eco village, and the most scenic bonfire hill in all of Wisconsin.

Early bird tickets cost: $25 adult, $15 13-17, 12 and under free

Day of the show (July 7) cost: $30 adult, $15 13-17, 12 and under free.

Evening special after 8 pm ( everyone is getting married on 7/7/07): $15\

Proceeds will fund a new education center to be built green on the farm.

BUY TICKETS ONLINE NOW

Sunday will be a day of networking and workshops for activists from all over the upper Midwest.

Learning through mentoring

2007-05-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

The great thing about being a mentor through the Textile Center is that I learn new things all the time. We had a meeting last week. Kelly Marshall talked about how your studio insurance can be written to cover your work while it is shipped. Then you do not need to insure individual pieces as you ship. “Bean”, Mary Bergs, gave a talk titled “Earning a Living When You Don’t Sell a Product.” She covered grants. Even if you do not win the grant, there can be perks. Here is a good point. If you are a finalist and someone makes a studio visit, keep that person informed of your career. Put this official "art world" representative on your mailing list. She emphasized always asking for feedback if not accepted. For any grant proposal, write yourself a daily stipend. She mentioned some local residencies. These are a good idea if you do not want to travel far.

CROQ

2007-05-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

I wrote an article for the Indie Craft Zine, CROQ. In another life, not long ago, I owned a fashion design business. The article is about dye safety. The article explains my obsession with colors from nature. On the other hand, I was working with natural materials and their unadulterated colors in my sculptures long before I started the business. You can see some work from my other business at my Calascio Designs blog.

Heather Mann from CROQ did a wonderful job editing and the layout of the article is fantastic. There is so much energy in the young Indie Craft movement with DIY roots. The movement combines the idealism of the 60’s and 70’s and the cynicism of the hip and savvy 2000’s.

New Vessel Piece

2007-05-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

I took some images on a nice pleasant spring day. Inspired by Katy Bryce and Adam Weismann's Building With Cob book, I finished the outside of this piece with a plaster recipe containing sand. It truly looks like a gypsum plaster. The inside shows flecks of straw. The second view shows how narrow I made this piece. It reminds me a bit of an Irish drum, but opening on one side instead of the back of the drum. I am still deciding on a name. While creating this piece, I felt all of my processes gelling.

Serra: Sculpture (and Nerves) of Steel

2007-05-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

While I could never be a macho, heavy metal sculptor, I enjoyed this article on Richard Serra’s retrospective by Randy Kennedy. I enjoyed the subtle comparisons of sculptors to painters, which started with a story about Jasper Johns. Both artists, however, are very interested in all aspects of the process of making art. A quote from Serra: “If you’re going to watch the process, watch it all the time, because it’s always bespeaking something that’s of interest,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s Duchampian. I think that’s more Eastern. That’s more Suzuki.” I think this is about paying attention to the process. Serra’s interest lies in the engineering of his works and in the process of their placement by a professional team of riggers, as well as, the formal placement of angled planes in space. I relate to Serra’s use of space and how he manipulates the journey through his pieces. The negative space and the cavernous passage are as important as his heavy, rusty metal material. Watch the multimedia audio show about placing the sculptures. Here, he speaks of why the process is so important to him.

Nature, soul, matter, and dematerialization

2007-05-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Since I started to read The Spell of the Sensuous, I have been analyzing many philosophies with a new twist. This especially occurred during two talks at my local Unitarian Universalist Congregation. One was about Transcendentalism and the other about quantum physics. Transcendentalism, like David Abram's book is a call to return to nature. The speaker, however, referred to the spirit as a dematerialized entity. Something above, beyond our physical being. Abrams, from what I understand, is asserting that the soul is deeply embedded in physical matter, in the very stuff of the earth, stones, soil, birds, sound, and trees. It is through our senses that we can regain a connection to nature and a larger whole. The edges between the perceiver and the perceived blur.

Quantum physics, according to Rick Magyar, contends that most of matter is air. 90% or so of every molecule is air. If so, then why can't we, if we are mostly air, walk through walls? The wall also is mostly air. Why can't the molecule move between each other? He also talked of the spirit as connected to the mind and his language was peppered with descriptions that divided mind and body.

Certainly, to me, working with earth materials is my way of understanding larger issues. Through the senses, I have experiential connections to a feeling of oneness. This may not happen every day, or even on a regular basis, but it is one factor in my choices of material.

Willow artist from France

2007-05-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

The gallery of Ateliers d'Art France site led me to French basket maker, Laurent Weiss. Some of the woven baskets appear to be covered with wattle. Perhaps it is just pigment or paint. Look for the pictures of his atelier. His portraits beam personality. He attended a landscape school and the National School of Wickerwork.

Gallery of Atelier d'Art de France

2007-05-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

Agnes His

Yesterday's mail included a brochure from a French gallery that I visited at SOFA Chicago in November. They announced their exhibit at SOFA New York in early June. I was very struck by the wood vessels of Marc Ricourt. Spiraling gouge marks created intriguing shell-like forms. His subtle surfaces were coated with matt applications of iron oxide. The new brochure tells me that he is a self-taught woodturner. He had a residency at the Woodturning Center in Philadelphia in 2001. The Center was established about the time I left Philadelphia. The ceramic work of Agnes His repeatedly pulled me back to this gallery. I was disappointed that her work is not on this new brochure. So I had to look her up. I liked textures made by the marks on her surfaces filled with white pigment. Although one artist used wood and the other clay, the works had a very similar sensibility.

Growing Willow

2007-05-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

My husband just planted basketry and furniture willow at our "farm" in Chippewa County. He ordered the willow cuttings from Bonnie Gale of English Basketry Willows in New York State. I met Bonnie Gale in the early 90's during a willow conference near Liverpool, England. The conference featured artists, biologists, craftsmen, urban planners, and business people. At Ness Gardens, we participated in making outdoor sculptures, learning about the great variety of willow types, the many ways of growing willow, and how willow can be used to create sound barrier fences in neighborhoods near busy motorways.

Bonnie has been growing willow since the early 80's and teaches traditional willow basketry skills. She founded the American Willow Growers Network to share information and exchange cuttings. Her page on living willow structures is interesting.

Some of my structures contain willow growing wild on our farm. I will be able to harvest a greater variety soon.

New Work for Grand Hand Gallery

2007-05-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

I will be delivering work to the Grand Hand Gallery in the Summit Hill area of Saint Paul. They are moving to a new space on the corner of Grand and Dale. They will re-open on Tuesday, May 8 with shows in both the old (a few doors east on Grand) and the new locations. They have a wonderful selection of craft objects in fiber, wood, clay, metal, and other materials. I am excited about beginning my relationship with Ann Pifer and the gallery.

I took some photos outside yesterday, enjoying our wonderful spring weather. The indirect light on my porch did not give many shadows. So these are not the best photos possible. But I think they give a good idea of the vessels I have been making with the Grand Hand in mind. The first one is a folded construction. In making this piece, I worked much like working with a clay slab. The second piece is from my "Forked Branch" series. I am making more pieces using forks of willow branches as the skeleton.

The Shipping News

2007-04-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Right now I am on a learning curve about dealing with packing professionals. The crate maker is finally starting to work on the crate for a large wall piece. Mike at PakMail, who won an award for his packaging, has made boxes for me in the past. But I have maintained control of transporting the work to shows in the Twin Cities area. Relinquishing control to a shipper is fraught with anxiety. I need top notch packing. First, I have had to learn when to bring work for packaging. I try to avoid Monday, the busiest day. Mike talks very fast when he is busy. I need to take in verbal descriptions about how the art will be packaged very slowly. Mike can do the mental math with laser speed and rattle on about dimensions and how much cardboard, bubble wrap, and air pockets it will take. Until I have shipped a few pieces, this is all mumble jumble to me. To add to the anxiety, I do not know how fragile this new material I work with really is. And no one can tell me. O.K., it is not glass. I have been taking one piece to be packaged at a time. I do not want to leave my works at PakMail for any longer than necessary. Now I know that if I get a big out of town show, I need to plan for shipping way ahead of time.

I have two strong motivations to get this packing and shipping done. One is to deal professionally with Translations Gallery. The second is to get the pieces and the boxes out of my studio. I need room to make more work and to think.

Gallery Announcement!!

2007-04-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Translations Gallery in Denver has agreed to represent me. I am excited to work with Judy Hagler, gallery owner, and Kate Merkel, Gallery Manager. Translations Gallery is dedicated to contemporary textile art. It is located in Denver’s ArtDistrict on Santa Fe Drive. There are over 30 galleries in this district. The gallery space looks great on the web site. Judy Hagler has done a fine job promoting fiber art on each page of the web site. The work is varied from wall pieces to ceiling, floor, and pedestal pieces. The techniques include quilting, weaving, basketry, and surface design. The concepts also range from sensuous to political. I feel quite honored to be accepted into their fold.

Another Opening

2007-04-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

The opening for Mary Bergs collaborative installation with Monica Reede is Thursday night in The Third Floor Gallery on the St. Paul Campus of the Metropolitan State University. Mary is a fellow mentor in the Textile Center Mentorship Program. Mary likes to explore visual language systems by juxtaposing found objects in new relationships. Chris Atkins described her work as sensuous with the absence of cliché and didactics. I like to hear Mary talk about her work. The Poetry of Everyday Life is a great title for a show of her work. I hope I get to the Cities soon to see what she created with Monica Reede who sounds as contemplative and attentive as Mary.

Rebecca Crowell’s Opening at Polderland Gallery

2007-04-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to my friend Rebecca Crowell’s opening in Milwaukee this Friday night, April 20. The event inspired a group of friends to venture to Southeastern Wisconsin. Rebecca will be exhibiting abstract paintings at the Polderland Gallery. Rebecca’s work is always deep and mature. Look carefully and you will be rewarded with a depth of texture, color overlays, and subtle markings. When viewing Rebecca’s work, you are not looking through a window to the world, you are immersed in the landscape, you are nature. They evoke an inward experience of natural phenomena and suggest a profound journey along a deep-rooted path. Polderland Gallery is at 133 West Pittsburgh Avenue in Milwaukee. It is the studio and gallery of Dutch artist Marina Broere. Marina’s paintings are also abstract and enigmatic.

American Craft Show - St. Paul

2007-04-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I met Holly, my partner in the Textile Center Mentorship program, at the St. Paul American Craft show. We visited the booth of Kelly Marshall, a fellow Mentor in the program. Kelly has woven some new tote bag designs with a clever closing that uses only one handle. Her woven rugs featured sophisticated colors, as usual. I especially liked runners with blue squares that sang next to background rectangles of neutral colors. Holly checked out booths for display ideas for her recycled mittens and hats. We both enjoyed the felted creations of Lesley Hansard of Hansard Welsh Design. She had unusual scarves with calla lillies or other flowers three dimensionally draped into the background color. Holly purchased a ring for a reasonable price. She is planning a felting workshop in Guatemala this summer. I was very impressed with the baskets of Elizabeth Smathers. She has been turning wood bowl forms for bases of her pine needle basketry. All of the wood is salvadged.

Direction

2007-04-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

It is so good to review. The process of photographing my work and applying for opportunities has forced me to look carefully at the work and think of the next direction. In addition to galleries, I applied to a sculpture exhibit and to the residency at the Kohler Art Center. The Kohler application caused the most intense inward review. At times, my thoughts about gallery work and thoughts about the residency seemed to pull in two different directions. I want to do big bold work for the residency. For galleries, I am thinking of discreet objects and vessels. I have a life purpose statement that reminds me to make my deepest work. Focusing will help produce that deepest work. I just realized that I can make almost anything with these clay/fiber techniques. I have the ability to make anything. That thought is very freeing and very frightening.

When substituting for a 5^th grade art class on Friday, I discussed Frank Gehry. It reminded me how I love his use of architectural structures with an undulating wall over the top. His fish sculpture at the Walker Sculpture Garden has always been one of my favorites. Then I remembered a drawing I did for my outdoor piece in the Quad Cities. I had a geometric structure to hold the piece up and a flowing branch wall over top. This building idea, along with thoughts on how to get more movement on the surfaces, are somehow clues to a direction. I’ll see what happens in the studio. Too much thinking and I will not engage in the process. I remember students in grad school who were totally frozen as they waited for the mother-lode idea.

Gallery Representation

2007-03-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with self-promotion lately. I am happy to report success! One gallery replied immediatly with interest in carrying some of my work. I will announce it when I have the paperwork complete. Somehow it is not real to me yet. This is a Twin City gallery that will be moving to a new location in May. They want the work and the papers after the move. Petronella Ytsma , of St. Paul, photographed my work in time to submit for this gallery's deadline. I waited for her to return from overseas. She is wonderful at seeing the best way to photograph textured work. The way my work reacts to space is sometimes difficult to shoot. She seems to get right to the heart of the dilemna with each piece.

Photopages

2007-03-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

I took some advice about applying to galleries from my friend, Rebecca Crowell. I used her directions for creating photo pages (February 7, 2007 entry on her blog) to send to galleries. However, I could not get them to print well. The first one I printed never dried. I tried other settings, but the colors were not satisfactory. Finally, I put them on a CD and printed some at Kinko's. A laser printer was the answer. Another friend converted it to a jpeg that I printed through snapfish. But I like the 8x11 pages better.

Feminism in the Press

2007-03-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Feminism and art is getting press lately. First the Brooklyn Museum gave Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party a permanent museum home.

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles opened “Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution”, a poorly named exhibit of early feminist work. Holland Carter of the New York Times concludes his review of the exhibit with this claim. “Feminist art…is the formative art of the last four decades. …Without it identity-based art, crafts-derived art, performance art and much political art would not exist in the form it does, if it existed at all. Much of what we call postmodern art has feminist art at its source.”

Ana Finel Honigman of the Guardian’s arts blog gives a good rundown of this recent interest in feminism. Follow the many links in her blog for some good information. The shocking revelations are the statistics compiled by the Guerilla Girls and others. When I saw Nancy Pelosi behind Bush during his State of the Union address, I cried. I remembered the thrill of a woman running for vice President in the late 70’s. Now, almost 30 years later, a woman was finally in a position of high power in our federal government. The Guerilla Girls have been pointing out inequities in the art world for decades as well. And yet, from 2000-2004, women artists accounted for only 11% of the solo exhibitions held at the Guggenheim Museum. Between 2000 and 2005, only 2% of the solo exhibitions held at Tate Britain were for women artists.

The Spell of the Sensuous

2007-03-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

I started to read The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abrams. The first chapter was poetically written as he describes his experiences in heightened sensitivity to his environment while in Nepal and Indonesia. His experiences with shamans in those oral traditions lead him to several conclusions. One is that we have lost the sensitivity to our nonhuman surroundings that is more potent in cultures that do not have writing. He concludes that shamans live on the edge of communities in order to have an even higher sensitivity to the web of life. They must sense any inbalance in the web in order to heal without upsetting the balance further.

The next chapter goes into the history and philosophy of phenomenologists Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. I want to understand this philosophy that blurs the distinctions between the perciever and the perceived. but the reading is slow going.

Art vs. Craft - an Old Debate?

2007-02-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Long ago, I thought I was tired of the old art vs. craft arguments. Then I read the Redefining Craft, a blog by Dennis Stevens. I think Stevens’ comments on appropriation struck me with new vigor because I am wrestling with this issue in my studio. I know an Afghan threshing utensil from a Santa Fe gallery inspired my current project. The thresher was a large wooden form hanging on a white gallery wall, separated from the context of it’s original use. Rows and rows of sharp stones embedded in the wood added mystery, until I knew their function was to separate grain from straw. It gave me the idea to put stones into a clay/fiber piece. After collecting stones, I lined them up in the studio. Living with this row of stones for months convinced me that they were like vertebrae. Now they are embedded into clay/straw that I pressed between a narrow ladder-like form of branches that arches slightly away from the wall. I sometimes marvel at the way different influences converge into a piece. While the natural materials and the raw branches give a certain primitive look, I hope that this piece does not look derivative, that it has some poetic ring.

Starting a Critique Group

2007-02-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Fiberarts has several articles on critique groups. These articles are available only on the web. Articles cover setting up and maintaining a critique group, stimulating discussion and additional resources for talking about art.

Cassandra Tondro

2007-02-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

Cassandra Tondro uses nature to decompose her images. She dances the fine artistic line between control and loss of control. Letting nature take its course she produces sublime textures on canvas. Of course, she exercises control of the final composition. These pieces are large and must feel otherworldly when you walk toward the real piece. See more of her “Decomposition “ series at her web site. Her blog shows some images of a new landscape series inspired by “An Inconvenient Truth”.

Environmental Art Week in Scotland

2007-02-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

This week long retreat in Scotland's Banffshire Coast looks wonderful and the cost is not at all prohibitive. Jonathon Claxton will lead participants in an opportunity to make artwork that embodies your immersion in nature. You can respond in any medium. Participants can also gain insight into Jonathon's working methods as he creates a piece during this week. There are two dates, a week in April and one in September.

A Common Thread

2007-02-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

A Common Thread part 2 opens at the Textile Center in Minneapolis on Friday, February 9, 2007. Prairie Wing is my entry for the exhibit. The first part of the exhibit ended last weekend. The member entries were of extremely high quality. It was wonderful to see the diversity of work produced by members of the Textile Center. The work showed a wide range of textile techniques.

Studio Shot: Inside Surface

2007-02-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

After view

In my obsession with earth plasters, I stumbled upon a site describing tadelakt, a Moroccan lime finish for walls. It is so waterproof, that it can be used to make sinks. The surfaces get their wonderful soft shine from olive oil. The olive oil, however, is saponified –turned into soap. So plasterers brush a liquid soap on the walls and burnish them with smooth stones. I received some beautiful olive green Olivella soap for Christmas– saponified olive oil. I brushed this on the inside surface and burnished with a river pebble.

Before view

Studio Shots: Outside Surface

2007-02-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

After removing the wire screen, I have this form. Lines from the wire screen forms show on the outside. Some colored slips are added to the surface. It is far from finished. I have looked at milkweed pods and have decided to copy the colors, but not the stubbly outside surface. When looking at the entire piece you can sense the thin membrane. I do not want to add considerable thickness to the surface.

Studio Shots

2007-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

I am struggling with surfaces. I like to make the surface as I make the form. When I use my version of the natural plaster method, I add to the surface afterwards. I could add linseed oil to the mix, but prefer to leave solvent fumes out of my studio for as long as possible. I am having fun exploring the surfaces, but when it feels too much like drawing or painting, it becomes a surface design exercise for me. I am trying to keep the surfaces true to the structural process. On this last piece, the building process shows on the outside. I am trying to decide how much of it to leave and how much to obliterate. I made the inside look quite organic and natural. It would be nice to contrast the outside with a different texture and concept. Manmade vs. Natural.

This shot shows the construction process. I hung the willow form between upright boards. Wire screen serves as a temporary form.

German Feltmakers

2006-12-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

Silkroad"220cm x 100cm x 40cm by Lizzy Mayrl
I was very impressed by the work of Lizzy Mayrl on this site of German feltmakers. Her work is very elemental and moving. I found a series of rock forms made of felt and installations both outdoors and in.

Twinrocker Handmade Paper

2006-12-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

I many of get my fibers from Twinrocker Handmade Papers. I use raw hemp, raw flax, straw, combed flax and ramie tops. Check out the Twinrocker site for books on papermaking, cool handmade papers, and other products.

Prairie Wing

2006-12-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

This is the first piece I created after the EcoNest Workshop. My way of building was greatly influenced by the workshop experience. For previous pieces, I made plaster molds that fit the branch forms. Then I pressed the fiber/clay mixture over the mold. For this pod shaped piece, I worked more directly. I lashed the willow into a simple outline of the outside shape. Then I formed a temporary skin with wire screen attached to the willow. I applied the fiber/clay mixture directly to the temporary form and the branches. When dry, I removed the screen. I was very excited by the directness of this method. The surface is enhanced with clay plaster containing small bits of chopped straw on the outside and long strands of ramie fibers on the inside. The chopped straw yields golden glints on the outside surface while the ramie creates a soft, smooth inner surface.

Installation shot at the Phipps

2006-11-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

From left to right:
Crawl
The Next Question
Undercover
Mundus

Entrance to Phipps Exhibit

2006-11-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

This piece is For Lillian Elliot. I created this piece after reading that Lillian Elliot had died. In a way, she was a mentor of mine, although we never met. I followed her work closely as she moved from card weaving to baskets. I was thrilled to see some of her work in exhibits at SOFA two weeks ago. I shared her love of making structures with skeletons and skins. She collaborated with Pat Hickman and used gut skin over her lashed reed structures. In this piece, I lashed branches to form the skeleton. For the skin, I dipped felted flax fibers into clay slip.

Winter LandsCape

2006-11-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Winter LandsCape, 50”W x 11”H x 9”D

This is a better photo than one previously published. Jutting out from the wall, I constructed this shelf-like piece in wattle and daub fashion. First I lashed willow twigs into a rough plane with the curve I was seeking. I was thinking about the shape of a heroine's cape billowing behind her as she flies through the air. Over this willow structure, I applied a white clay/fiber mixture. Next, I pressed on a thick layer of brown clay/fiber. At one point, the entire piece became very heavy. Although it would be lighter when dry, I still worried it would be too heavy to hang on the wall. So I started to pull fibers out of the center. The outside of the form had dried enough to retain it's shape. As I pulled out the goopy and gooey center fibers, I intuitively formed holes in the side. Unconsciously, I was thinking about sparrow holes in the sandstone cliff next the falls at Willow River State Park. One hot summer day, I had made a mental note to include those holes in a sculpture. The bottom layer of this piece is a recycled piece of ramie fibers dyed blue for a different sculpture. Ramie fibers are white, fine, and shiny.

Silent Suspect

2006-11-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

Silent Suspect, 42”W x 38”H x 4”D

This is the second piece in the LandsCape Series. Here I pounded the clay and fibers to a thinner layer than in Meridian. The black surface resulted from alternately applying and scraping off graphite.

Meridian, detail view.

2006-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Work from the Textile Center, Vision and Focus, Exhibit

2006-11-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

I finally had my images from this fall's exhibit digitized.

This is Meridian, 38”W x 39”H x 5”D. It is made from fibers, clay, and wax. The clay and fibers form a clay plaster. The plasters used in natural home building incorporate straw as the fiber. Builders apply the plaster over clay/straw, adobe, cob, or straw bale walls. For this piece, I mixed papermaking fibers with red clay slip. I formed a first layer over a plaster mold. Then I added a second layer of fibers mixed with white clay slip. The plaster is stiff and durable.

Packing the fibers around inserted candles created the spaces for holes. Pounding and paddling helped to interlock the fibers and create texture. As a final finish, I applied a wax medium. Fibers show through the wax and clay.

Next, I'll post a detail.

EcoNest Photos

2006-11-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here we are packing the clay straw mixture into wooden forms, creating the walls for the Ebersole's home. Stomping and tamping packs the mixture. There are more pictures on their site.

When this finished wall dries, coats of earthen plaster will provide a warm color and finish.

Tornato

2006-10-30T20:12:00.000-08:00

I am back. I have been to Santa Fe for a workshop with EcoNest. I became part of a house building team. During a four day workshop, we built light clay/straw walls, walls that breathe. It was an amazing adventure to mix clay and straw, pack temporary wall forms with the mixture, then stomp the mixture down. As we did our two step stomping dance, the walls climbed higher. When I arrived at the building site, three coyotes crossed my path. I am sure this was a good sign. All the team members were wonderful, the scenery was great and Robert Laporte was generous with information on this amazing and ecological way to build a house.

In the mid 90’s I read Robert’s small 1993 booklet, Mooseprints. After reading about clay plasters, I began mixing papermaking fibers (in lieu of straw) with clay slips and pressing this into molds to make my sculptures. Finally, I have experienced building large scale with this technique. I am sure it will change my sculpture in intangible ways. Mooseprints is no longer available, but see the new book, EcoNest, Creating Sustainable Sanctuaries of Clay, Straw, and Timber by Paula Baker-Laporte, architect specializing in healthy and ecological design, and Robert Laporte.

Family Day at Willow River State Park

2006-10-15T08:13:00.001-07:00

Today is the Family Day Activity from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Artists in the Into/Out of Nature Exhibit will lead nature walks and art making for families. Alis Olsen's group will use natural materials to make fairy houses. Doug Westendorp who stacks rocks in enigmatic and fragile towers will work with children and families to construct similar totems. My group will use natural materials to construct a labyrinth. park passes are necessary for entrance to the park. Reservations are requested.

Alis Olsen curated the exhibit and worked diligently with the Phipps and Willow River Rangers to make this project possible. Alis Olsen is also part of Project Art for Nature.

This was a rainy day!

2006-10-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

Taken September 23rd during the Artist Led Tour of environmental sculptures in Willow River State Park. Thank you, Vera, for sending the photo. There was a very loyal group who finished the walk despite the pouring rain. Little did we know, there was a tornado warning or watch for the area.

Stonehenge In The Environmental News

2006-10-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

What about this story? Click to see an unusual photographer's perspective on Stonehenge. Traffic has become an issue. Rather than change the roads, an expert has proposed that they encourage walking and biking.

Wild About Prairie Birds and Gallery Talk

2006-10-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight’s special event at the Phipps Center for the Arts was part of What We Need is Here, a year-long project encouraging sustainable communities. Before the Gallery Talk, Harvey Halvorsen of the DNR presented a talk about prairies and prairie birds. Prairie and oak savannah lands in the St. Croix county area have diminished over the years. This has lead to a corresponding decrease in prairie birds. Groups are working to maintain and expand prairie lands in the area. Funding is a challenge as the public tends to fund higher profile forest projects.

My project, Whispering Wall, lead me to a controversy that included prairies. I intended the sculpture to be a reminder to listen carefully to nature. Instead, I discovered that who you listen to matters. When planning the piece, I asked park personnel about any issues in the park. No one mentioned any. I proposed this piece and started to collect buckthorn branches and pile them near the site. On the second weekend in September, I returned to start construction and found stakes adorned with pink tape flags at my site. Spotting an engineer with metal stakes, I learned about the plan for a road and a new campground in this area of the park. After much debate and thought, I moved my piece off to the side, trying to keep it in the prairie-like area, but away from pink flags and future asphalt. As I constructed the wall, several residents walked through and told me about the special nature of the proposed campground area. They complained that the project would decimate an indigenous prairie and some wetlands. On October 5, the Hudson Star-Observer reported that the campground project was delayed. A new study could be completed by the end of November.

Jim Proctor, one of the other artists in the exhibit, and I talked with Harvey Halvorsen who was not aware of an indigenous prairie in the park. Shown the site on the map, he realized that he had never investigated this particular area. In the pictures of my piece, there was no evidence of prairie. The residents, however, pointed to an area beyond my piece. I am sure that Harvey will be checking out this area soon.

Here is a second view

2006-10-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Winter LandsCape

2006-10-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

I always envy sculptors who work with a photographer's eye. With my interest in space, reducing my work to two dimensions is always a challenge. This piece juts out 11 inches from the wall, like a shelf. It also floats away from the wall at the two ends. It is 50 inches long.

Installation at the Textile Center

2006-10-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is part of a group show, Vision and Focus, at the Textile Center in Minneapolis. The show highlights the work of protégées and mentors in the Mentorship program. These sculptures are made from a mixture of papermaking fibers and clay. My method is a cross between papermaking and clay straw construction.

Whispering Wall

2006-10-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Whispering Wall is part of Into/Out of Nature. It is in Willow River State Park near Hudson, Wisconsin. The companion exhibit of indoor work is at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson.

Working Small

2006-10-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today I started a quick small piece. I took a 12 inch square of wire screening and altered its shape with several darts. It is now covered with plaster and will be a cast for several new forms. I intend to continue my investigation of landscapes or LandsCapes. This small format will also allow me to extend my vocabulary of textures and other qualities of my clay plaster medium. Some will be delicate, others thick and rough.