painting

september, seriously?

in

Things have been nuts.  There has been no time.  My classes started, my son's school hasn't.  I made a trip to my mom's in California with my son and mules were ridden.  I installed my piece "Ligatures" at Artistry in Bloomington, and a week later I attended the reception.  The exhibition is titled "It's Personal" and I am showing with Paula Barkmeier.  The city of Bloomington's communication specialist produced this short video on the exhibition if you would like to take a look: "It's Personal."

"Corded 2" by Paula Barkmeier

"Corded 2" by Paula Barkmeier

so many more....

in

I have about 60 of these 4x4 inch squares now.  I think that is only about a third of the amount I will need.  Each square has hooks on two sides and eyelets on the other two, so that they can attach to those next to it.  Some will remain plain, some will have masses of eyelets and others will have the eyelets and hair like masses.  I can make the hair like masses in a different way than I had originally planned, which will go much faster.  I am really liking how it is quilt like...but I want it to be BIG...like five by six feet.  And I need to find a more permanent way for it to stay fixed together to go on the wall the first time, as I will be out of town when it is installed.  I need to make the installation fool proof.  Not quite sure how that will happen just yet.  

I love the weird little overlapping eyelets.  I could sew those all day. 

Keren Kroul....

in

Congratulations on the Minnesota State Arts Board Initiative Grant!  It is well deserved.

 I can't wait to see the work that gets made by Keren this year.  She paints these lovely, large multi panel watercolors that are map like depictions of memory.  Her use of color is really quite lovely.  But I think one of my favorite parts are the negative space shapes.  Please visit her website to see more work, and venues at which you can see it in person.  She is booked out nearly three years!

"Unquiet Mind"

"Unquiet Mind"

"Gray Matter"

"Gray Matter"

"Gray Matter" detail

"Gray Matter" detail

"Abstractions/Constructions"

"Abstractions/Constructions"

halfway...

in

I have not posted...or exercised...or read the New Yorker...or vacuumed...and I only cleaned the bathroom when it was too gross not to.  This is what I have been doing:

It is a horrible iPhone photo, in a dark house and there is no where for me to lay the whole thing.  But it is 12 feet long.  And painted.  And nearly stitched.  I still have one last thread mass to sew on at the top right.  But I can see the end.  

Another terrible image, but still.  Each of the thread masses are between 8 and 13 inches.  I think there are twelve masses.  Now I am on to this:

I have four different hand gestures and five of each hand.  They are plaster and painted with an acrylic wash and then I add the pattern paper on top.  I won't be painting the paper...but I will be covering portions of the fingers and hands with masses of hooks and eyes.  You can see a couple at the finger and thumb ends.  When the hands are finally installed, there will be thread masses stitched between the hands.  There is still so much to do in two weeks, but I am beginning to feel like I can pull it off.  

stitch and rend

in

So it has been a funny week.  I went out to Bel Air, MD for the closing of my show "Stitch and Rend" and all the related activities.  I texted my friend my flight info and arrival time and promptly shut off my phone.  When I arrived he was there waiting for me....confused...as the closing was actually scheduled two weeks from then.  I managed to plan an entire trip around the wrong dates, even after I had mailed out all the invites!  But I got a much needed rest....laying around on his couch watching Netflix while he was at school.  So the exhibition is still hanging, but these are images of the new flat pieces I am excited about.