Invision

The group show in the Linfield Gallery has been named by fellow artists and I: Invision.  The card we are using for advertising will have a photograph of a cake that we all decorate on the front.  The idea being that the show will be a visual treat.  There will be a larger version of that cake at the opening on May 13th as well as a chocolate fountain and desert wine!

If the Sky Falls

I have recently acquired a space in the Linfield Gallery to make a 15 foot by 10 foot by 15 foot installation.  I am going to install my carvings in a downward facing angle parallel to the back white wall.  In this way the lights from above the installation will be angled so that the carvings cast a shadow on the floor, this will make it appear as if something from the sky is falling.  I am excited about this installation as the lights on the beeswax carvings strung 15 feet in the air should look beautiful.

The Sky Is Falling: Artist Statement

There is an old saying, “the sky is falling.”  I am constantly in-between fearing that statement to be true: fearing the world, and being in awe of it.   I use another old saying to subdue my fear.  That saying is, “if you do something enough times you’ll no longer fear it.”  Repetition is the safest way I know to let go of my fear that the sky will fall.  This installation is the easiest, clearest way I know how to explain the state of crossroads that I live in.

Images of a Mobile

Each block is carved and then dipped in beeswax.  Each block is then hung individually from its own clear string so that each carving may sway in a different way depending on air currents from passerby.

A Mobile

An Artist Statement for a Mobile:

From the beginning we learn to self soothe.  We look up at the ceiling from our cribs and watch our mobile make shadows dance. Through the creation of an aromatic and tactile mobile my hope is to re-create the feeling we once had as kids when we first learned that we could survive being alone.

Suspended Figures: Artist Statement

From the beginning we learn to self soothe. 

As infants we cry ourselves to sleep, as toddlers we pick ourselves up when we fall.  Often through the touch and smell of a blanket we are taught to remain calm when alone.  We are coached until we have thicker skin in hopes that when we are alone it won’t feel as if the sky is about to fall.  Through the creation of an aromatic and tactile figure my hope is to re-create the feeling we once had as kids when we first learned that we could suspend the falling sky by squeezing our blanket tight.

Dipping Carvings

I originally wanted to test a wood stain on my carvings so that the carved grooves looked deeper when covered with the beeswax.  I have recently learned that staining the carvings with wood stain gives the carving a poor texture for the beeswax to adhere to.  The result is a sloppy looking mush block.  Stain also replaces the smell of the wood and beeswax with the chemical smell of wood stain.



However, if the blocks are simply dipped the result is that the carving appear darker, resulting in the viewer being able to see the tree rings of the wood better.  The smell in combination with the amber color is exciting to me!