Exhibitions Thus Far

Over the past few months I’ve been fortunate enough to show my work in a few different galleries and other venues.  At the beginning of September I was also able to have a show at Niehoff Urban Studio, conveniently located on Vine St. in Cincinnati.  The works shown consisted of my woobie sculptures along with photographs created by Garry Glenn Photography.  The turn-out was fairly decent considering the competition of galleries that were also showing that evening.  Although no pieces were sold, the entirety of my business cards were taken!

After some time to make new work, my fellow sculptors and I held a show in our local gallery, The 840 Gallery.  Each of us put in our newest work(s) to show our progress over the past nine weeks of the semester.  I chose to include the newest woobie, Activation Experimentation, and my other fiber sculpture, Internal Traditions.  I’d say the show was a success and the turn out was much more than I expected.  I was also able to discuss the meanings of my works even further with some of my fellow artists that have been following my progress.

Lastly, I am showing again as of tomorrow evening.  For those of you in/near Cincinnati, please do your best to stop by!  The 3D studios in DAAP are showing our latest works at the American Sign Museum located on Monmouth in Cincinnati.  The showing is from 6-9pm, and the museum will also be open and free to the public for the evening.  The works created were inspired by the signs that are installed in the museum, and some of the works actually utilize the signs that were in storage.  The piece I plan to show (which was installed yesterday) is one of my largest works to date, measuring around 35ft in length, perhaps longer.  It also has a nice, unexpected flare that enhances my work!  I’ve very much enjoyed the preparation for this show, as it has inspired me to challenge my concepts and aesthetic.

 

Thank you to those who have continued to follow my progress! I hope that for those of you who are able to attend tomorrow evening, that you’re nothing but thrilled with what you see.  ART ON.

Experimental Works

As a practicing artist, it is rather pertinent to be constantly experimenting with materials and challenging yourself.  To push your aesthetic further and test different ways of expression will sometimes deliver the most progress.  Over the past month, I have been challenging myself to use a variety of different materials in order to create works that deviate from anything I’ve done up to this point.  While I do not feel it necessary to deviate at this time, I do feel as an artist that I must keep my practice going and try to find inspiration in these experiments to influence my current work.

I’ve challenged myself to experiment with the following:

Material

Heaviness of Hand in the Work

Concept

Presentation

Collaboration

These are the findings of my experimentation based on the type of experimentation being done:

Against the Grain, 2013. Vintage Pattern Paper, Thread.

Model 793, #2291, 2013. Found Object, Pins, Shadow Box.

These works challenge my material choice by stepping away from the woobie materials.  I did my best to challenge my thoughts on fiber and also how it can be treated.  Rather than having a heavy hand in the work, I chose to only add minimal additions; a line here or there could easily do the job.

Making the Unmade, 2013. Yarn.

I also challenged my ideas of presentation and medium.  Above is a final photo from the short video I created, Making the Unmade, 2013.  Video art is not necessarily my forte, but I feel it is important to tackle the mediums you aren’t of which you’re not certain.

2013 Autumn Research Statement

From the United States to Bangladesh, we all have a story that yearns to be told.  Family secrets, traditional nursery rhymes, and personal tales are expressed by those far and wide, and also through means of expression.  As artists, our interpretation of these narratives varies. Art is our initial response to the realization that we are slowly, but surely, fleeting from the planet.  We begin to recycle ourselves, piece by piece, in hopes of finding a way to surpass our physical mortality through aesthetic and a strong conceptual thought.  Our exertion serves as our personal, physical attempt to tell our stories; our encounters with life and our chosen ways with which we chose to respond.

Through the use of sculpture and fiber as my medium, I have adopted the task that each of us are given upon the day we enter this Earth.  My works will speak through aesthetic and the use of different types of fiber, but also through varying styles.  Although I plan to continue my individual way of interpretation, I also plan to study the traditions of those around the world.  This can already be seen in my latest work, Internal Traditions, fabricated using recycled tee-shirts and the tradition of rug making taken on by women who occupy the Middle East.

Some have suggested up to this point that my work has an element of survival that rings through in my work.  At this point in my investigations, I can see this to be a valid assumption, simply because the narratives and ways in which we tell them struggle to survive through each generation.  Through this research I hope to aid in the survival of my life story, along with give the everyday, mundane materials used in my work a fresh, contemporary aesthetic.

Recent Works

Just recently, I finished a work that challenges my aesthetic, my concept, and my thoughts on Sculpture and Fiber Art as a whole.  Derived from recycled materials, the work was constructed over the course of three weeks through a rigorous work process.

Internal Traditions, 2013, discusses my story through the use of another traditional fiber treatment: weaving.  Inspirations were drawn from the Middle Eastern Women who start the process of making a rug at a very young age, and continue until the day of their death.  These rugs are never finished, and are left behind to the family as a memento of their life.

Internal Traditions, 2013. Recycled Fiber, Recycled Spindles, Thread.

Just as stated in my post entitled, Autumn Research 2013, I attempt to capture my personal narrative through the works I fabricate.  My experimentation is not only limited to the material choices, but also the processes in which the fibers are manipulated.  I strive to discover alternative ways of fiber manipulation that will create a strong aesthetic and further pushes my concept.

A weaving approach found in a vintage lace book was the method I chose to create my own Middle Eastern inspired weaving.  A combination of vintage and recycled materials embodies my person and creates the self portrait that would be comparable to the rugs created by the women of the Middle East.  Color was also introduced to this work, which is a rather large leap away from my previous body of work.  Although uncertain of future projects containing this much color, I find that the color is successful in this work.  Attempts to bleach the piece were made, but the fibers were unaccepting of the change.  I also developed a fear that the work would turn “muddy”, rather than bleach because of the copious variations of color.  Spindles were used in aiding the process of weaving the 12, 20ft. (6, 40ft) tubes of fiber, and were left in the final display to focus on the process.  I find that my work could possibly be considered Process Art, quite similar to Jackie Winsor’s fiber works created during the mid 60’s-late 70’s.

This work has been through multiple critiques at this point, and has received very controversial feedback.  While  I was bothered by this at first, I have decided that as long as the work is creating a riveting conversation, I should be pleased.  If nothing else, it inspires me to create more.  As Andy Warhol states, “while others are deciding how they feel about your work, make more work.”