Artist Statement

I thought I would put my artist statement here:

I am an interdisciplinary artist examining the transcendent in the light of the connection between the ancient and the contemporary.

I work with materials of all kinds – fabrics, metals, found objects, photographs, dyes, inks, wood, clay, glass and paper – to create sculptures, tapestries, garment- and jewelry-inspired artwork. I paint with encaustic paints, on wood, on paper, on fabric or plaster sculptures. I constantly look to blur the line between art and craft; a line that I see as a historically arbitrary social construction. I believe in questioning the status quo.

Read more...
My projects are sometimes intricate without seeming so, often containing thousands of knots or stitches or hundreds of small incremental steps. I am intrigued by process – the steady stitching or knotting of the cords, the careful laying in of yarns in a tapestry, the gradual buildup of molten metal in welded sculptures, or layers of pigmented wax in an encaustic painting, the position of my hands and the repetitive movements they make – all of which tends to provide/create a contemplative and reflective practice that centers me as an artist and a person.

As an interdisciplinary artist I examine possibilities. I study the connections between art and life, context and concept, inspiration and artifact. I have come to understand that art is giving ideas shape; art is the conscious use of creative imagination, and is in no way limited to the traditional forms historically imposed, but encompasses and includes a great many things.

My exploration and research includes examining garment and identity (garment as metaphor for power/powerlessness, individuality/conformity, and secularity/spirituality/ religiosity), historical fiber and textile techniques with an emphasis on women’s traditional art forms. I use story as a method for communicating the ideas I explore, implementing both the written/spoken word in the integration of story and visual art.

As an interdisciplinary artist I weave together the various parts of my understandings, experiences and involvements as a fabric for my artwork. I spin the threads of my ever-changing awareness of history, sociology, archeology, anthropology, earth science, feminism, queer theory, transcendence, music, science fiction, politics, mass media, workplace milieu and domestic life into rich material for art.

*************************************************************************************

A productive day, I think...

It seems like today was a fairly productive day. I have been stressing over this upcoming art show and the fact that my summer schedule has not been what I thought it would be. I do not know why that surprises me, since when has my schedule been what I thought it would be...

Read more...
Today, though, went well. I managed to (not in this order):

1. Begin work on the triptych piece I have been wanting to do for the show, which involved:

a. going to Menards to get some boards and a new vice (picked up a sweet Dremel vice that is perfect for the small work I do)
b. digging through bins of fabric in my studio to find the pseudo-leather fabric
c. customizing the small brass hinges that I got yesterday (again at Menards) with the vice and a 6 oz. tack hammer
d. cutting and sanding the boards
e. gluing the boards to the fabric (in very precise places)
f. attaching the hinges to the boards (over the top of the pseudo-leather fabric)

2. Do some organizing in the studio, although it is still a huge mess, and will be until we get back from Indiana.
3. Lay down for a short nap (which is why I am still going, full of energy, at 9:45).
4. Make lunch (Abelisto made dinner)
5. Spend some time trying to convince my 18 year old son the importance of taking care of someone else's tools better than you would care for your own.
6. Read the last 5 or 6 short stories in Charles de Lint's Moonlight & Vines.
7. Brush Sheldon (Abelisto's cat) to remove some of the mats in his fur.
8. Pack the encaustic painting supplies and tools for the trip to Indiana.

There was more, but this was enough to list.

Looking back on it, listing all this here, it feels like a really productive day. Now if I only had a whole other month of days like this, I might feel like I was ready for the art show.

*************************************************************************************

Goddard College

My alma mater just redesigned their website. This is interesting to me for a number of reasons. Perhaps first and foremost because I am facing a redesign of the website at work. I am pretty certain that Goddard's was done for far less money and far less anxiety and pain than ours will be.

I love the simplicity and directness of the Goddard site. The site authors have provided just enough information for someone to decide if they are intrigued or put off by the Goddard pedagogy and its progressive educational model.

Our website contains far, far too much information (around 3,500 pages of it). It is a mishmash of information for students, employees, and others. I am pushing for creating two distinct sites - an internal, or portal site, which contains information for internal constituencies, and an external, marketing site containing information for the rest of the world. I think I am gaining converts...

*************************************************************************************

More on the I-35W bridge collapse

I have been listening to the NPR and MNPR news broadcasts about the bridge collapse. So far, no one from SMU has been involved, although one of my co-worker's sons crossed the bridge just minutes before the collapse.

The NY Times has posted some articles and images of the collapse that convey the sadness without being intrusive. I so despise television news coverage with their reporters sticking microphones and cameras in the face of traumatized, grieving and lost people. Even more distasteful is providing a public venue for reality-show wannabees who show up at tragic events in order to get involved in other people's grief.

Not the most eloquent way to say this, I know...

NY Times articles
At Bridge Site, Search of River Moves Slowly
Last Words of Missing Echo as Relatives Wait for News
Survivor Recounts Terrifying Plunge
Stunned Victim Turns Hero

*************************************************************************************

Boundaries

A fellow graduate from Goddard asked us (on our alumni email list) how we deal with boundaries with our partners - especially if we live together. How we provide the space and time we need in order to be creative.

My thoughts on this:

Being clear on things helps. Clear with myself in regards to what I actually need, and clear with my partner about it once I figure it all out.

It takes a bit of courage to do that kind of self monitoring and to be able to separate the wants from the needs. Not that we should not include a few wants in the mix, but I have found that my needs rarely intrude on the rights of others, whereas my wants often do...

And then, once I have it figured out it takes a bit more courage to communicate it to others in a thoughtful and discussion-provoking manner. However, it is well worth doing.

I will say that this is not a do-it-once-and-be-done-with-it task. It is something to be periodically reviewed on a life-long basis.

*************************************************************************************

Minneapolis bridge collapse

Some amazing photographs of a devastating event...

New York Times Photos

These photos are of the collapse of the highway 35 bridge that took place last night just after 6pm.

Scary.

We drive over this bridge almost every time we go to the twin cities.

*************************************************************************************

Ah, a new blog... oh, the possibilities!

Okay, here I go again, starting a blog once more.

There are a whole lot of things going on in my world right now. So why I want to start another blog at this time baffles me. It just feels like the right thing to do right now.

I am working on art for an upcoming show. We are gearing up for a major overhaul of the university's websites (oh, yeah, I am a web designer at a small, private, liberal arts university). I am teaching an arts appreciation course in three weeks (egads) - the first full-semester course I have ever taught. I am bidding for a prepress course in the spring (a topic that I am not the most well-versed in).

It is blazing hot for Minnesota, and particularly humid (and our old house does not have air conditioning).

And my father is dying. Or at least that is what all the doctors are saying.

So I have a lot of very intense thoughts right now.

*************************************************************************************