You Call This Art?

She's on the move!

2010-09-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

In my quest to determine a life plan, I have signed up for an Adult Continuing Education class through my local school system in Furniture Building and Restoration. Oh dear. I'm going to be hanging out with 65 year old men I fear, but honestly, I'm wicked excited. I mean, really, freaking, super excited. It's a first step toward figuring things out, right?!

The first class is Sept 2oth. I'm responsible for providing an antique/distressed piece of furniture to restore so I'll be on the hunt at garage sales this weekend for the perfect broken down baby to nurse back to health.

I have dreams of some day being able to do this, but to get started, I think it's going to be a little more like this. Not to worry though, I'm a fast learner. And, (as the hubby will tell you) I'm stubborn, determined, and good with power tools. :)

Bringing back the awesome.

2010-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

It's time. Life has settled. The lows of brokenness have abated. The celebration of a wedding fully realized, and the biggest joy of a shared life awaits, mine to encounter. The future stands before me now, a blank slate, a slate I dream to fill with love of life and action, of people and art. Wait for it. I'm bringing it back. :)

A Diva, that's what they called me.

2008-02-16T09:29:00.001-08:00

By popular demand, I have decided to include a post about my life as a "rockstar". Some background;

I work for cool people, cool people who share a love of community, philanthropy, and guitar playing. So when our office was approached by some fellow members of the local business community, asking if we would like to participate in a fundraiser for "Feet First" an organization that puts shoes on disadvantaged kids, and play some rocking guitar tunes, it was no brainer. "We're in!"

Fast forward to about two weeks before the event; the office transformed from a design powerhouse, to a guitar wielding recording studio. We practiced four songs. As I am not a guitar player, I was recruited as lead singer. Haha. To any that know me, singing has never been my thing. I do it when I am alone in the car, and that is about it. The last time I got on stage and belted out a tune for an audience was probably 6th grade chorus where my little voice was drowned out by the 60 or so, other little voices. Not exactly high pressure performing. For this event however, I was going to be singing lead on three songs, with Sean and Derek singing harmony.

So we practiced, and practiced. Before long, we were sounding pretty decent. Almost like a real band, and because all great rock bands need an image, we hired a fabulous photographer/filmaker (aka Raeanne's husband John) to take a shot of the gang;

And before we knew it, it was time to perform. So without further ado, I give you "Trina and the Tramps" Enjoy!

Oh, you have to view it on the Trampoline Design blog, I didn't take the footage myself :)

Listen to the Music

You Were Meant for Me

Me and Julio

To curl or not to curl

2008-02-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

I am curing things these days. Rolling plastic into tubes (see below), and now curling q-tips. I am not sure where this one is going, or if it will go any where, but there is something interesting in the way the q-tips attach themselves to each other. I might investigate trying to hang them in clumps... but here they are on the floor in one big clump. Thoughts?

Never throw anything away

2008-02-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

Being a frugally minded person, (which could also be read as broke and trying to stretch my money as far as it will possibly go), I never throw any of my art supplies away. For example, if I use the seals from a plastic bag, I save the rest of the bag for a future use. Most of the time this simply means that I have to creatively store these materials until the blessed day I find a use for them. But every once in a while, an idea is immediately born out of a cast off material. This happened just the other day as I reworked a sculpture I am sending off to a show in Virginia next week.

Here are some images of the first few pieces;

Now this is by no means a complete sculpture. It is more the beginning of an idea. I will probably make a ton of these little things and turn them into a glorious floor installation. I have an idea in my mind's eye of how this will turn out, though that often changes along the way as I problem solve. So often materials are used and reused until I feel as though I have found a solution to match a material's specific properties. That is one of the things I love most about my work- it is constantly evolving. None of my pieces are ever "finished". They change with each installation as I find new ways to deal with composition, lighting, space, and all the quirks of plastic bags, toilet paper, or masking tape. It sounds bizarre but I love it.

Good News!

2008-02-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while since I last posted on this blog, but fear not, I have been hard at work on new pieces, as well as fixing some old ones.

Now for the good news! I had a work accepted into the Alumni Show at the University of Mary Washington! The show will be in held at the University and opens to the public on March 13th. The works are all created by former Mary Wash students, myself being one of them. I have been busy repairing the sculpture that was accepted (aka, redoing almost the whole thing) because of some discoloration that happened when the tape I used was exposed to the air. I suppose that's what I get for using materials like duct tape and Ziploc bags. All complaining and finger blisters aside however, I am now at the tail end of fixing, and will be sending off the new and improved piece this Monday. If you are going to be in the area around that date, stop by the show and let me know what you think!

This is the piece that was accepted. It is made out of the seals from Ziploc Bags and packaging tape. It is called, "Swatch"

The Migration

2007-10-11T07:26:00.001-07:00

3' x 5' x 4"
aluminum foil

Another sculpture I submitted to the alumni show at my university, this piece consists of braided aluminum foil. I am not convinced of the installation, perhaps it needs more braided segments to reinforce the migratory feel of the work.... any ideas/suggestions?

Swatch

2007-10-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

30" x 10" x 4"
resealable plastic bags, clear duct tape

This is a piece I recently submitted to a show at my alma mater, titled, "Swatch". There are still a few things I am unsure about, the inclusion of colored seals, for example, but as the submissions were due by October 12, this is what I came up with. Any thoughts??? Good or bad, I certainly appreciate the feedback.

"Flight"

2007-09-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

This sculpture is a reincarnation of a piece I did about a year and a half ago, though I was never quite satisfied with the original sculpture. I made a bunch of these:

and strung them on several pieces of fishing line which were then hung in the shape of a cylinder. As with many of my sculptures and their resemblance to objects and actions found in nature, the piece called to mind floating cords of seaweed. Absent however, were the bright greens, reds, and browns found in their natural counterparts.

That piece was part of my senior show, and given the deadline for hanging, I did not have time to rework its installation so I was happy with it. I have long had another idea for installation of the work and have finally given life to it.

"Rise" is installed in the Glens Falls office of Trampoline Design and is composed of hundreds of small pinwheels, hung with white thread. Reminiscent of both a cloud and a flock of birds taking flight, the work calls to mind a lightness of being, and the weightless nature of objects that seem to suspend without effort in the space above us.

This is my first (of many I hope) permanent installation and I would love to hear feedback, the good, the bad, and the helpful. :)

Small town America

2007-08-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

I love having grown up in a small town. Despite its relatively small size, both in population and square-footage, Glens Falls is sort of considered the "booming metropolis" of the area, an understandable title as 10 miles in any direction will bring you in close proximity to very large, but mostly friendly dairy cows. I graduated in a class of barely 150 where I knew everyone's name (and have now forgotten most of them), we have about two blocks of "downtown", and I could ride my bike after dark from one end of town to the other without my parents collapsing with fear for my life- which is pretty remarkable considering how accident prone I was as a child. At the moment, our city is experiencing a "rebirth", shaking off the dust of an economic depression that hit the region hard in the 70's and 80's. But now it seems we are moving forward with a new roundabout and refurbished buildings. Developers are building high-end condos and people walking the streets again to shop and dine in downtown. Last weekend we had a "centennial celebration" complete with hot dog stands, fireworks, and musicians. Here are some shots.

At the Wood...

2007-08-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

So last Friday night, I had a piece in the Upstart Art Auction to benefit the Homeless Youth Coalition. It was a piece created as part of my senior thesis art show, which I cannot believe was well over a year ago (college is slipping away faster than I want it to!) Here are some images of the work. It is made of woven plastic wrap. The Charles R. Wood Theater where the auction took place, was perfect for the scale of the piece and the wide open ceilings really got my installation brain cranking... stay tuned for sketches :)

Getting it Out There

2007-08-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start an art blog for three reasons, to encourage myself to keep working, to show people new things I am working on, and because I will take all the criticism I can get since I am no longer in school.

Here are a few photographs I have taken recently. Soon, I hope to have images of my sculpture and painting posted as well, but for now, this is a place to start. All comments, good and bad, are welcome!