pictures and thoughts and things

…are you trying to steal my unicorn?

 

Okay, I was just watching Bitchin’ Kitchen, so that’s what’s with the stealing the unicorn.  *whistles*

 

I’m still feeling under the weather, so I’m just going to say that IQ’s Fall Art Reception was a load of fun and Mother Nature plotted against us with unseasonably warm weather–which, when you like in a place that has as much winter as we do, no one stays inside when it’s unseasonably warm.

 

Unless, you’re a crazy artist under a deadline.

 

*beat*

 

Anyway, it was fantastic, and I hope that Miss Heather invites me to play again.  Here are the pictures I took.

 

Heather Peterman’s Art: Fantastically bright, almost stained glass-like. A unique aesthetic that has a touch of psychedelic, black light posters in it.

 

Y’all know that you want a piece of her work–whether it’s fiber-based, a print, or an original painting–do yourselves a favor and get yourselves some Heather art. <–And excuse me and my fever-addled cracktasticness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shelly Fuchs: A little dark, a little sexy, a whole lot of awesome. And! She has a giant giraffe as part of her display.

 

 

 

 

Sara DeRuyter of Eleven Moon Art: Colorful, geometric, and fun. This was Sara first time out too. We were nervous together.

 

 

 

 

Jacy Petersen (here’s her photography page): Organic, touchable, and visually rich. We totally had an art trade!

 

 

 

 

 

And, me! <–Katrina (‘Trie) Blasingame:

 

 

 

 

There were also a couple of guys that I didn’t get pictures of their stuff. Next time.

 

So, I haven’t forgotten the Branding conversation; I just haven’t been well enough to be completely thinky about it. It has, however, returned to one of my least favorite rants: artists’ pricing of their time and work–or, really, their under-pricing.

 

I haven’t forgotten, I swear.

 

So, here’s the currently updated calendar:

Story Beads: Beading to Heal–September 30th $30.00

The ARTgarage has a class cooperative with St. Vinny’s, and this class is being offered through that program. This class is also totally based upon one that I took with Lisa Kay a couple of years ago. She’s totally as awesome as you’d think she’d be winning a Fulbright. Share the love!

 

So, I had one person signed up for this class, but we had such a good time, I think! Definitely going to see about doing this again in the Spring–maybe as more of a series of “come and learn; come back to hang out and work together!”

 

“Visualizing Your Hopes and Dreams”: An Art Night for Freedom House–October 3rd, 6-8 pm

It’s basically an art class being taught for the families that Freedom House helps out.

 

Kelly and I had about 10 people (though 2 were too small to do more than run around) plus Freedom House’s coordinator-lady Robyn (who is totally awesome). We all had a good time, one student tried drawing for the first time in her life, and I made a new friend.

 

Studio Tour–October 7th, 12-6 at the ARTgarage

It’s really Chris Style’s studio tour, but all the ARTgarage studio artists were invited to join the fun. This tour happens the 8th and 9th also, but I’m only going to be there the 7th and the 9th.

 

Bay Area Watercolor Artists Opening–October 7th, 5-8 at the ARTgarage

Not necessarily my art scene, but ya know, I’m still gonna be supportive!

 

 

IQ’s Fall Art Reception–October 8th

3-8 pm at IQ’s Bar 2105 University Ave., Green Bay

 

Studio Tour–October 9th, 12-5 at the ARTgarage

Same sitch, different day.

 

4th Quarter Artists Opening Reception AND the first Artists’ Demo-ing Night (hip name yet to be chosen)–October 13th

5-8 pm at the ARTgarage. The Artists’ Demo-ing Night is something new that we’re trying, so if you’re an artist in the Green Bay area, come to Demo Night! We all aren’t ARTgarage artists either, and we’re willing to share our windfall awesomeness!

 

Japanese Stab Binding: Books to Heal–October 14th $30.00

Also, a St. Vinny’s class. <–This is looking like it's going to be cancelled. *SAD*

 

Artist Books: A Bookmaking Workshop–November 11th-12th $150.00

Bookmaking techniques and artist books! \o/

 

Artists’ Demo-ing Night–November 17th

Same sitch (yes, I did use “sitch”) as the other one.

 

Artist Dolls–November 18th-19th $150.00

Really, this is ‘Lain’s gig; I’m just co-teaching.

 

Black Friday Mixed Media for Kids Class–November 25th

Co-taught with the fabulous Miss Carrie. Bring your kids to be babysat to learn about and make mixed media art while you get some peace and quiet some Yule/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/Saturnalia/insert-your-holy-day-here shopping done.

 

Artists’ Demo-ing Night (I really hope we come up with a better title soon.)–Decemeber 15th, 5-8 pm

This Demo Night happens during the ARTgarage’s annual Holiday Sale/Show, so it’s a double header.

 

Miss ‘Lain is also teaching a couple of other classes that I’m kinda helping out with (Mostly so that I can take the class without paying for it! Don’t tell!).

Circuit Bending 101–October 28th $60.00

Puppetry–December 2nd and 9th $150

 

…really, how much do y’all think a class should be?

 

I’m out.

 

Courage.

 

Marathon for Literature at the ARTgarage

So, today’s gonna kinda be a drive-by advert for the Marathon for Literature being held at the ARTgarage this upcoming Friday and Saturday (9/16 @ 6 pm-9/17 @6 pm).

 

I might throw in a little Kurt Halsey if y’all are good.

 

Here’s the advert:

 

15 minutes. A book. You.

 

That’s all it takes for you to help support the ARTgarage and Literacy Green Bay.

 

Your support (and the support of anyone that is willing to sponsor you) will go to fund Arts programing at the ARTgarage and fund Literacy Green Bay as well as to help purchase new books for several area shelters.

 

September 16th and 17th already full up? Support the Marathon for Literature by sponsoring a reader (or many readers!).

 

You can even donate food for all those starving readers (and their hungry audience–can’t have them eating the readers, ya know)!  Honestly, I think I’ve managed to hunt down enough food to kill a water buffalo.

 

If you’re interested in reading or donating, call the ARTgarage at 920.448.6800; otherwise, we’ll see y’all at the Marathon!

 

Come to read; stay to listen!

 

We are still short several readers, so–come on!–come and play with us.  Books, reading, coffee–all late into the night and into the next day.  It’ll be fantastic!

 

If you’re an artist and you wanna do one of those “create art to the music reading” things, that can totally be arranged.  Just call the ARTgarage or email me.

 

We’ll hook.  You.  UP!  <–I’m a little excited about all of this if y’all couldn’t tell.

 

Come to the Marathon.  We have cookies.

 

Okay, since you were all so good–Except for you, ‘Lain.  I see what you’re doing over there.–Kurt Halsey.

 

He’s kinda a quintessential hipster artist, but in a non-sucky, non-pretentious  way.

 

I really like him, and I learned about him from my friend Genna (of deconstructing pierrot fame).  For some reason, Halsey and Bright Eyes are inextricably linked in my head because of her.

 

I enjoy the almost cartoon-ish whimsey of his images as well as the stories-within-stories that he creates and the way that post-it note kinda conversations happen sometimes.  <–I think part of that is because I have a tendency to sketch my unnamed friends on post-it notes before they become large-scale drawings or sculptures. *should totally start scanning those images also*

 

I also enjoy that his people/creatures are gestural and (almost) ephemeral–like they are nascent beings or they are coming into being.

 

He also totally has a fandom.  How many artists can say that?

 

…

 

…I kinda want my own fandom.  *looooooooooooooooooooooooongs for it like a bungalow*

 

 

 

drive-by awesomeness

I’m heading out of town today, so this post is going to be short, to the point with minimal bellybutton contemplating.

 

Wren Britton. Of Pure Vile. (Is that a play on puerile? If it is, I applaud the wordplay!)

 

 

He’s awesome and gothic and Dresden Dolls-esque and assemblage-oriented and generally just hits every happy-button I have for wearable art.

 

I want him to be my friend. I want to live in his head. I love him, and I love his (metaphoric) shoes. /West Wing reference.

 

I’ll be teaching 1st-3rd graders at SAW at the ARTgarage next week. If y’all never hear from me again, it’s because they all went Lord of the Flies on us and sacrificed us to their cruel, cruel god.

 

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program already in progress.

 

Courage.

playing catch-up. always.

I’m still playing catch-up from last week, and this week is bordering on the craptastic as well.  Oh, as they say, well.

 

Part of that catch-up was telling y’all about what it seems like I’m going to be teaching at the Art Garage in the Fall and a couple of thinky-thought questions I’ve been contemplating about how artists achieve success.  <–This one is totally due to the epic search for my certified birth certificate and car title so that I could get my Wisconsin driver’s license and plates for ‘Renn (my car).  *cues epic quest music*

 

I found them and have spend an inordinate amount of The Husband’s money making sure that I am a properly Wisconsin-licensed squid.

 

I have a collar and everything.  I’ve had my shots too.  /facetious

 

Now, I haven’t signed any teaching contracts yet for the Art Garage, but I have been given some tentative dates (which I’m not disclosing until I’ve signed the contracts), but it looks like I’m going to be teaching a story bead class like the one I took with Lisa Kay at Bliss Beads in DeKalb for St. Vincents as well as a book-making workshop in which we’re going to learn Japanese stab-stitch binding with each student contributing a page for the book so that everyone will have part of everyone else.  <–The Art Garage has a art therapy co-operative with St. Vincents.

 

Since these classes are in coordination with St. Vinny’s, they’re going to be more intentionally autobiographical in intent with an expectation that many of the students with be performing trauma writing.

 

I’m also supposed to be teaching a two day book-making workshop that I’m hoping to get people to think about artists books as well as making their own blank books.  The idea is to teaching them a variety of book-forms on the first day in conjunction with an introduction into artist books and non-traditional book-forms and then, on the second day, get the students to start creating artist books.  Or even artist journals since they are inextricably linked.

 

This should be interesting since I’m a very non-traditional-book-form book artist on occasion.  For example, this is a wearable book that I made.

 

 

Pardon the craptastic image.  I just recently found it again, and I haven’t had a chance to re-photograph it.

 

So, *insert segue here* as for a few questions about how artists achieve success.  I ran across an old Chicago Artists’ News (2009, XXXVI.7) that, I think, Lisa Kay gave me.  <–Again, thanks to the epic quest.  The cover story is “Is Art School Worth the Cost?”.  Now, the artists that were interviewed seem to come out to a “it depends” since some think it was amazingly important and others were very meh.  What caught my eye about this article was this quote:

It’s (art school) has been disillusioning.  A brutal wake-up call.  I’ve realized how many jerks are in the art world and how often success is based on connections instead of talent. (p. 1 & 11)

I know a lot of professionally trained artists and a lot of self-taught artists and a few who are both (I know that seems impossible, but mix a discovery-learner with art school and both can happen).  I’m technically one of those discovery-learner-art-school hybrids as is my friend and sometimes collaborator Elain.

 

Art school was important to me more in terms of space, facilities, and other people–not so much connections (though some of that happened), but more people to talk to about what was in my head trying to come out in my work.  This often didn’t go well because of my theory training which dictated a certain respect and negotiation of concept when it comes to audiences (reader-response theory) and that we are each going to approach a work depending on our cultural upbringing and the cultures with which we identify ourselves (autobiographical theory).
 

Ask ‘Lain.  I annoyed people a lot with that.

 

So, the question for y’all is this:  do you think that artist success is a matter of talent, connections, pandering to an audience, something else, or a mix?

 

I always lean towards “mix,” but I hate the idea that connections can over shadow talent and feeding an audience art that is safe and stayed and boring will get an artist further than hard work and skill.  Therefore, I think I’m coming out undecided at the moment.

 

What do y’all think?

I am remiss. Pass. Pass. And! Art for sale!

I have been remiss in posting here.

And making art.

And thinking about art.

And comic-ing.

Basically, doing anything that wasn’t school work. *SAD*

But! No more! I shall be better.

Until I’m not.

So, aside from the self-flagellation, I popped on to let the universe know that Flatmate is off to the Ren Faire circuit tomorrow (er, today) for three weeks and is selling a bunch of my stuff. If you’re in Ohio at Starwood or New York at Sirius Rising, look for the Feywood booth to see/buy their really awesome work and my somewhat awesome my stuff.

I’m sending a bunch of necklaces, the plushie vices, enameled and patinated pieces, buttons, and much more!

You could have your very own piece of art from tentacle-made!  *Kermit-flail*

Making up for the spamming…

It seems like everything I’ve been posting of last has been promotional spam.

I apologize.  That isn’t fair to y’all who wander through here looking for weird squid-made art to look at.  ’Cause, really, why would y’all want to read the stuff I write for Handmade News; it’s more than a little dull, I think.

*POINTS*  See!  See what I did there?  It’s insidious and nefarious.  That promotion–stuff–is infiltrating every aspect of my life, and it has got to stop.

The real point of this post, aside from profuse apologies, was to show y’all what deconstructing pierott looked like in action.  It was accepted to an online magazine, which I’ll pass along when it’s going to be published!, and they wanted a short video for it! \o/  So, here it is–

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

The piece itself if over in my wearable art section along with several of my other pieces, but in case y’all don’t remember what it looks like in its non-worn form, here are the images.

My lovely model in the video is my friend Genna.  The model in the photographs is my lovely model and flatmate Ian.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

deconstructing pierott

2008
3’6”x1’6”, dimensions vary
chicken wire, feather trim, tulle, ribbon, paper, jingle bells

deconstructing pierott is a wearable art piece that deconstructs the idea of the pierrot from commedia dell’arte while simultaneously referencing late 19th and early 20th century women acrobats and gesturing at the movie Prophecy. In its deconstruction, this piece also addresses the issue of being female, its restrictions, and the way in which women, even today, are displayed. The piece also jingles when it is worn to replicate the sound of the zany and the capering of the pierott.

Tulle: The Bane of My Existence

In other words, Opal and Vanya’s tutus are finished and shipped! *Kermit-flail of GLEE*

 

For those of you playing the home game, these are tutus that are being word as Opal is married and Vanya is her bridesmaid. <——–This is quite possible too cute for my to adequately express, so let’s leave it at AWWWWWWWWWWW!

 

PICTURES!

 

Opal’s (The Bride without the Kill Bill Vol. 1 conotations) tutu:

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

 

 

Vanya’s (OMG!  Is this the cooliest name ever?  Y/Y?) tutu:

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

 

The concept for the tutus were a peacock and her child with a (very) little bit of steampunk, lolita, and Victorian circus to it.  Whether they succeed in this is another matter, but these were the places I was taking inspiration from.

 

So, in addition to work and Script Frenzy, these are what have consumed the last month of my life.  Isn’t it grand?

…ArtWear update

I posted a new …quixotic or not.  We’re back to the Memento Mori, or an Alphabetic Squid ’cause I had time to fight with the knot-work on the “B” today.

 

*is annoyed at B*

 

But, there has been other excitement.  After two weeks (which really, if the time spent at work was removed, would have equalled one week) of intense, non-stop arting, the pieces for the ArtWear show are done and shipped and, with any luck, they won’t be returning to me, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

So, here is what was sent.  Some are old; most are new; all will be on display at the show and for sale.

 

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

 

Ensembles:

 

  

 

wedding present, or incidentally gender politics

 

  

 

 

deconstructing pierrot

 

 

untitled, or under constraint

 

Accessories:  

 

    

penelope

 

 

moebius

 

 

parvati

 

 

clarabelle

 

 

scrump on the go

 

  

 

elizabeth

 

As always, my lovely housemate.  *applauds*

 

That’s what I sent.  13.5 pounds of wearable art.  Insured and eeeeeeeverything.

 

*collapses exhausted*

 

Now!  I write my Comp I syllabus.  I did mention that I got the teaching job at Kish, yeah?

 

*tra lala lala la la*

 

*STRESSED*

…rejected by a toaster, the high point of my day

I finally heard from Acci and they rejected me, but it was a very nice rejection, very “you don’t suck, we just didn’t have space” which is entirely possibly since they had over 1000 submission and only accepted 55.

 

*considers*

 

I can live with that.

 

I do wish that I’d hear from McColl and HardTwist, but what can I do?  I’d add ArtWear, but it just got there and everything.

 

ION, Craft Alliance in St. Lous is hiring faculty (which I’m probably not qualified for) and a registrar (which means I’d never had time to art), but they’re real jobs.  The applications are going out tomorrow.

 

But, since Gail has her very own artist working in the Writing Center (me!), she’s been having me install pieces.  So, in a way, I have my own little solo exhibition! \o/  The dress I submitted to ArtWear is down there, but also the collective scrump is too.

 

Here is the scrump all installed.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

 

See scrump.  

 

See scrump pile.

 

Pile, scrump, pile!

 

In addition, I’m also working very hard on my entry for the Smithsonian National Gallery’s Portraiture competition.

 

It’s getting there.  Really.

 

‘Kay.  Ciao, kiddos.  Stay outta the shadows.

…update on ArtWear dress

Lookie!  Better pictures!

 

…okay, the dress pictures are better.  The hat and collar pictures still suck, but meh.  I’ll get it fixed.

 

Maybe.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

 

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

 

 

I like it.  I think it’s shiny.  Now, if it gets into the show, it’d be nice.

 

 

Ciao, kiddos.  Be good.