New Sketches

Yesterday was the first time in a long while that when I sat down to do some sketching, it came easily.  Usually when I walk into my studio (knowing how important sketching is to a studio practice) I block out thirty minutes to an hour to do some sketching.  Honestly, it is always the post painful thing for me to do- silly things happen and I never feel it truly pay off.  However, yesterday was a great day.    An hour turned into six hours too quickly. It was fun.  It was easy. AND I really like the outcome.  All the new sketches are over on my website for you guys to see as well as uploaded sketchbook pages.

For now, I am off to try again. 

Cory Imig

I recently came across Cory Imig's work after a professor told me that I should look her up during one of my recent critiques.  The last few weeks I have found myself coming back to her website over and over again because I think that it is just genius what she has done with documenting people's stories and how she deals with time-based ideas.

For her documentation of time, she has installed all of these minimalist-esque prop situations up in a small space.  Trapping balloons under various material weights, she tracks the process of the balloon's increasing compression.

All to say, I really like you Cory.  You can check out her website here.

For her documentation of people's stories she sent letters out to other Imigs who live in the United States and asked them to send a letter back to her telling a little bit about themselves.  I am always amazed when you reach out to people, how much they will gladly and sincerely share.  At the end, she honored these stories and people and had a whole installation/exhibition and invited all of the Imigs!

Untitled (Structure that Eats)

Lately, I have been very interested in variations on change and how to subtly depict those changes.  A friend pointed me out to this sculptural piece that is being exhibited through April 21 as part of Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New at the MoMA.  In Giovanni Anselmo’s Untitled (Structure that Eats) from 1968, a head of lettuce is pinned between two blocks of granite and held together by a copper wire. As the lettuce wilts, one of the blocks begins to fall. 

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[Giovanni Anselmo. Untitled (Structure that Eats). 1968. Granite, copper wire, lettuce, and sawdust. The Sonnabend Collection. Photographs by Talia Kwartler.]

The Transformative Home

These are my newest works that I have been working on the past week or so.  

           “I imagine each planted life as a surrogate for a human form.  I am interested in the intimacy and fragility that the anthropomorphic pile of seed and dirt create.  Placing it in the visual landscape is a way for me to engage in a conversation about the life and the temporary environments we create, occupy, and share with other living things.

           I imagine each discarded blanket as a specific memory of a part of life that was lived through these objects.  It is my opinion that entropy explains the state of the present human life.  It is while we are engaged in living that we are fighting that state of decay and attempting to control our own conditions.  I want to highlight the significance and extent of the time, protection, and attention that must be spent in order for things to grow despite the aspect of chance and chaos. These fundamental inconsistencies in the transformation of a home fascinate me and continue to fuel my curiosity to seek the patience involved to find potential beauty in the decay and growth of the future.”

                                                            -Frances Russell

Lesley Dill: MIAMI 2013

This is the blackbird dress that I worked on all summer with Lesley Dill and other interns.  

A Zachary Allen and Frances Russell exchange

In order to practice the skills that we had been learning, Zach and I decided to have an exchange after the process was over.  In exchange for him making me an art cabinet out of nogal, walnut, and metal (complete with hand carved handles),  I created a handwoven (size full) merino and raw silk blanket.

Lesley Dill

Lesley Dill's work explores the relationship between the body and language.  She uses all different materials such as hair, fiber, bronze, wood, and paper to explore the idea of sculpture.  She is constantly redefining her work by pushing new methods of working such as performance art. Her studio is located in Brooklyn and ladies and gentlemen I am going to be working there too this summer. Couldn't be more exciting.  To see more of her work, visit her website, lesleydill.com.

Patterns

I decided to make this into a repeat pattern.

A Process and Study of Madder

installation by Susie Ashkenas, Claire Barnhardt, and Frances Russell

spinning yarn with drop spindles and brainstorming vernissage ideas

received more roving in the mail (14 kilos)

the bag was bigger than our bodies...

the first batch of yarn spun, mordanted, and hung up to dry!

the dye bath preparation- madder root dye

our homemade teabags filled with madder to get the various hues of reds and oranges

after the yarn was dyed, the rinsing and washing period began

from there, the yarn must be "stretched"- we got creative

more creative ways to stretch yarn

the view and our yarn

what to do with two body bags full of spun and dyed yarn?

measuring out the lengths for the installation...or playing jump rope

preparing to install and balling up the yarn

reinstalling after the rain came

vernissage day!