MFA-ness

So……. One of the things I’ve been...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:50:58 -0400

So…….

One of the things I’ve been experimenting with is levels of transparencies, layering, obscuring and revealing. This has led me to lots of different materials such as: very thin fabrics, encaustic, gloss medium, cheese cloth, plexi, and resin (amongst others).

I’m really digging the resin, because you can layer and suspend objects and create limitless compositions while sort of making these “object paintings”

I’m still not sure where or how these will play into the bigger body of work, but they sure have been fun to make.

My time in the MFA program is divided in two. The first half of...

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:03:05 -0400

My time in the MFA program is divided in two. The first half of the program leads up to the Midway presentation. The Midway basically consists of all the work and research I have done since beginning the program. Once I pass my midway, the rest of my time will be spent working on my Thesis.

I am scheduled to hold my Midway presentation in one month. I’ll spend this month furthering a couple explorations and trying to distill down the high points of the past 14 months, and believe me there have been many.

I’m pretty amazed at all the growth I see thus far and am excited to see the direction my work takes from here.

Wish me well!

People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:24:34 -0400

People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering. —Augustine

There are several things happening in the studio right...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:48:42 -0400

There are several things happening in the studio right now…

Big all-over paintings, with lots of paint and string and “let’s see what happens when I do this” moments.

Layers and layers of resin with maps and string and paint and cheese cloth and text and more paint.

Tiny little mono-prints with text and maps and screen prints and canvas and fabric and paper all sewn together.

I know what you’re gonna say (whoever you are) and I...

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:17:37 -0400

I know what you’re gonna say (whoever you are) and I know…

The title of this book is almost laughable and really makes me question if I’m smart enough to read it, however it is THE one book I am committed to reading this semester.

It’s time to start blogging once again… Semester 4...

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:24:13 -0400

It’s time to start blogging once again…

Semester 4 (if you’re counting summer (and I am)) is in full swing. I’ve moved into a new studio space and am settling in for a great semester.

I’ll be enjoying the following as part of my coursework:

Abstract Expressionism, Painting and some New Media work.

The summer held lots of unexpected surprises, my work took a sharp right hand turn and I am really interested to see where it goes from here.

My self imposed mandate for the semester is EXPLORE and EXPERIMENT. I’m scheduled to hold my mid-way review in November and after that it will be full steam ahead into my Thesis work, so stay tuned!

Nina Katchadourian does so much fantastic work and I especially...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:02:08 -0400

Nina Katchadourian does so much fantastic work and I especially enjoy her work with maps.

Check it out here:

http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/maps/mapdissection.php

I have FEW theories about art-making, but here is one: I have a...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:27:45 -0400

I have FEW theories about art-making, but here is one:

I have a strong belief or trust in the studio process.

As an artist, sometimes (most times) you come to ideas intuitively. The ideas may be ambiguous, un clarified, at best mere hunches.

My belief is that in order to clarify and bring to life the nebulous-ness, you have to open the door to the studio, walk in and start working. Work on anything and let the work articulate the ideas. It’s as if as you create, you discover.

Let me be clear: I REALLY BELIEVE THIS. Maybe it’s just based on my own experience as one who has a large number of un-articulatible ideas. The longer you’re in the studio, the more the ideas emerge, clarify, and come to life.

I read something this morning that sums up my thoughts pretty well:

Reginald Gibbons says: “The articulation becomes the knowing; the knowing comes out of the process, and it refuels a further effort at articulation. A sense of ecstatic fruitfulness, of rich discoveries, of voyaging, comes to us in exhilarating moments of being-in-our-work-in-progress.”

I say all this to let you know that this summer I am really putting this belief to the test. At the end of the semester, I came to what felt like, an abrupt halt in my work and took a sharp left hand turn. In ways, I feel like I am starting from scratch with no real imagery or idea of what I am trying to get at. In the back of my head, I keep saying, “Just trust the process.”

Right now, that’s about all I have. Trust.

From Maps of the Imagination...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:43:51 -0400

Art examines not reality but existence. And existence is not what has occurred, existence is the realm of human possibilities, everything that can become, everything one is capable of. Artists draw up the map of existence by discovering human possibility.

My course work for the summer includes completing a painting...

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:45:00 -0400

My course work for the summer includes completing a painting every. single. day.

Just two weeks in, I am already feeling really challenged by it all. My goal was to force myself to work quickly, loosen up and work through multiple ideas quickly. The fact that I am finding it such a challenge is evidence enough that I am learning and growing.

I continue to be drawn to the use of metaphor as a primary vehicle for communicating my ideas. Much of my research draws comparisons between the brain and maps, geography, landscape, real-estate, etc… As I begin to explore my ideas of neuro-plasticity, I will be utilizing visual elements common in map-making. I am still very much in the intuitive stage with these ideas and have no idea where or how these paintings will evolve, but I trust the process enough to know that in a month, I’ll have much more to say.

My only constraints for my daily paintings are size, 8”X8” and some sort of map related imagery.

Stay tuned for images and research related discussion!

This blog would really be great, if I gave it a little more...

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:07:12 -0400

This blog would really be great, if I gave it a little more tender loving care… I have many post year 1 reflections, but time is racing by and there is so much beautiful newness to dive into…

As the year came to an end and I felt closure with my current body of work, it seemed a perfect time to begin some explorations related to a long time interest of mine. Those that know me will attest to my mild to moderate obsession with the brain, those that don’t will probably think it odd. None-the-less I have a deep respect and love for the brain, an ever-evolving fascination with specific aspects of its make-up and an insatiable desire to know more. I’ve done years of “un-official” research in regards to neuro-plasticity, fueled by nothing more than my own natural curiosity. And I am extremely excited to begin to bring all of these things into my art practice.

To begin my “official” research I took the opportunity to go to Toronto the first week of June. Subtle Technologies holds a festival every year that exists “where art and science meet” Check them out if you have the time: http://www.subtletechnologies.com/ Oh, my goodness, they are some neat people. The conference brings together an interesting mix of scientists and artists that collaborate and investigate and ask questions and get really great answers. It was an exhilarating experience to be in an environment with so many intelligent, creative and curious people. I met dozens of fantastic people and I loved every second of being there. It was a great way to begin this new direction within my work and I’m grateful to have some resources and people to help me along in my initial inquiries.

I’ll be posting some of the hi-lights and giving you a glimpse into what I’m working on this summer.

Artist Statement #427

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:06:32 -0400

This is the statement from my most recent body of work. I thought I would post it for you before I begin discussing what is on the horizon for me.

“I’m attracted to the idea that trickster narratives appear where mythic thought seeks to mediate opposites…there is a category of mythic narrative, a category of art, that occupies the field between polarities and by that articulates them, simultaneously marking and bridging their differences.” – Lewis Hyde, Trickster Makes This World

Think about it: the stories we collect shape the people that we are, and this series of paintings represents my coming to terms with that identity, with the threshold at which we make decisions—as artists, as creators, as individuals, as viewers, as people—and how we move from one point in-between to another.

As an artist, I am drawn to places where one phenomenon, principle or truth intersects with an opposing phenomenon, principle or truth. My work—my own life, to be honest— is incredibly vested in the relationship between the external and internal. These two things seem to be opposites, but there are places where they intersect, where they meet, where they rub against one another and create something worthy of consideration.

And so I ask: what happens in that intersection? How do these two opposites create something new? How do they relate in the place where they cross over? The goal of this series is to answer these questions, or at least to wrestle with them in some form at even the risk of finding no answer at all. Is our value at stake? Our identity? How do we define those things? How do those definitions change?

This series is not about birds, or merit badges, or The Boy Scouts of America, or some metanarrative where birds or merit badges are a metaphor for people and our daily strife toward a definable identity. This series, these layers, these multiple mediums are a challenge, an invitation to consider paradox, unanswered questions, accidents, truths, paradigms—mine and yours. This work is just as much about me as it is about the viewer, our shared social experience, our shared histories, our mythologies, where we intersected, where we will intersect, and the trickster that waits for us in the in-between.

Maybe the trickster is not obvious in this work—there is no Wyle E. Coyote, no Hermes—but he is there, if only covered by layers of paint, if only to show me the role of the artist. That, in part, it is my job to stand between two opposing things and mediate, to give people secrets they already have. Maybe this series is nothing more than to show me what Duchamp somehow knew, that as artists we must become the crossroads. From acrylic on canvas and oils to the smooth cuts of a scroll saw and actual merit badges procured through online auctions (and at least 327 gallons of coffee), Meritocracy presents the intersections of my external reality and my internal monologue; it represents me at the crossroads, me as the crossroads, and invites the viewer to stand with me, with the birds, with the merit badges in human form—and consider our world.

Grad school, year one is fini. What an amazingly fantastic...

Wed, 25 May 2011 21:19:10 -0400

Grad school, year one is fini.

What an amazingly fantastic experience it has been. I’ve loved the new people, new ideas, new work, new ways of living and being. I ended this semester more energized and excited than I started it and I think all that adds up to is just the simple fact that I’m doing what I need to be doing.

I have lots and lots of reflections to share, which I hope to share here before I dive into a totally new direction with my work.

I finished the semester showing work from the year and as a result encountered one question a dozen times, “Was the show successful?”

It’s easy for me to say how I measure my success at this stage in my art practice. Maybe these things change over time, but right now I can easily say that I know I’m successful if I am working. If I have work to show, I’ve been successful. That might sound naive or over-simplified, but it’s my most honest response. I’ve spent years (lots of them) feeling blocked, frustrated, finding excuses to keep me from the studio and it’s that experience that helps me believe that success is getting up and going to work, deferring self-judgement and just working. Not caring whether the work is good or bad or anything in-between, just working and producing.

With all of that in mind, I’m enjoying the satisfaction of a year of work behind me and lots of exciting new ideas awaiting me. Stay tuned for more first year reflections and the beginnings of new ideas and work.

It’s been almost a full month since I have posted...

Sun, 01 May 2011 22:24:24 -0400

It’s been almost a full month since I have posted here… Don’t let my lack of writing here mislead you. I’ve been finishing up all kinds of delightfulness in the studio. The above image being one such piece; an 8 foot tall badge-head!

I’ll be showing much of the work I have completed in my first year of MFA-ness on May 6th in the Paseo. I’m wrapping up these ideas and this body of work and heading in a totally new direction come May 7th. Stop by and say hi if you are in the area!

NEWLY ACQUIRED SKILL # 237: READ FAST The latest book on my...

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:27:24 -0400

NEWLY ACQUIRED SKILL # 237: READ FAST

The latest book on my reading list is Trickster Makes This World by Lewis Hyde.

A quote from the introduction: “I not only want to describe the imagination figured in the trickster myth, I want to argue a paradox that the myth asserts: that the origins, liveliness and durability of cultures require that there be space for figures whose function is to uncover and disrupt the very things that cultures are based on.”

That’s good stuff, my friends!

Grad School Part 328

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:41:11 -0400

In case any of you out there wonder what my grad school experience is really like:

An entire day of role-playing that (for me) culminates in a monologue about my life as the child of a professional wrestler. All the while, wearing billy bob teeth.

I have pictures, but in efforts to protect the guilty I won’t post them.

I’m not sure, but I think I might be too old for this.

Don’t put the turpentine mug next to the coffee mug!...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:51:20 -0400

Don’t put the turpentine mug next to the coffee mug! (Taken with instagram)

Semester Two: In Progress At some point towards the end of...

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:42:04 -0400

Semester Two: In Progress

At some point towards the end of Semester One, someone told me that it wouldn’t matter if I finished one piece this year. I guess I took that a little too much to heart and haven’t finished anything since.

I have about a dozen pieces that are in progress (example above), and my goal is to finish them all by the end of April.

Wish me well. Bring me coffee OR raw broccoli.

A word to the wise: DO NOT Feed the Birds This poor little thing...

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:03:00 -0400

A word to the wise: DO NOT Feed the Birds

This poor little thing choked on a merit badge and met an untimely death.

May he rest in peace.

What have I been up to?

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:54:00 -0500

Ok, in no particular order:

1) Reading

2) Cutting out larger than life people/birds with the jiggity saw

3) Collecting Bird Skeletons

4) Painting dead things

5) Creating artifacts

6) Brain storming

7) Narrating narratives that are narratatively innocuous.

8) Reading

9) A little screen printing

10) Scroll-sawing

11) Sanding

12) Reading

13) Forcing Birds to eat Merit Badges

14) Problem Solving

15) Painting