mmmmMMMIX disc!

A couple of weekends ago (March 27th, to be exact) I went to the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, held in Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum. There was an amazing showcase of artists, writers, poets, musicians and publishers. I enjoyed chatting with individuals about their work and lives. There were many precious hand made items. I was truly encouraged to see the vast amount of people working in the arts in the Western NY area. Needless to say, I came home incredibly inspired to MAKE things! 


One of my favorite pastimes is making "mix tapes" for people. I absolutely LOVE sharing music with people that I find wonderful and moving! When the melodies give me goose bumps or the beats make me DANCE. It's good. :)


My good friend Lizzie made a lovely CD case out of Bristol board for a mutual friend of ours and it has always been in the back of my mind to do something similar. Here are some pictures of some of the personalized mix disc cases I have been making!

I've been using tracing paper, ink, and thread. The transparencies of the tracing paper create an interesting effect while layering ink drawn imagery. I've mostly been just doodling on the paper and laying the pieces on top of each other - It has been great! I hope to start working with some different materials and possibly coming up with some more unified and specific imagery. Crafts!

      
  

Welcome Home, Son [Daughter?]

What I have been working on lately. With the help of my carpenter/father. An independent studio project - experimental video. Video installations are becoming a large area of interest for me. This piece is still in the intermediate stages. Outlining the process of a house structure being built. This miniature structure is primitive, but is still able to communicate the imagery of a dwelling place. 


Ideas I am exploring - residing in buildings/houses that were not built by our own hands, our attempts to adapt to these spaces and make them comfortable and cozy - and the memories that we bring with us from previous homes to these new spaces that will always be present. Attached. 

I'm really excited about this project, because I think that the end result will have a lot of visual interest. However, at the same time I am worried that these themes have been explored too often and I question whether my means are communicating anything unique. 


Do most artists feel this way about their work? Or is it just my ever-so-common lack of confidence?  


With this piece I am incorporating many elements from my personal life. Will it be compelling enough to catch a viewers interest? Or might they simply walk by without giving it a second glance? 


I want people to connect with my work. I need to learn to articulate my ideas both verbally and visually. 


I am still excited about this project. With the end of the semester drawing near, time is of the essence! May I get my act together and may my final projects as an undergrad be works that I am proud to call my own!   


Also, the song Welcome Home, Son by Radical Face has been a reoccurring melody in my life these past two semesters. The imagery! The harmonies! The rhythm! The build up! Oh Glory! And the themes it (and other songs on the album Ghost) explore, tend to deal with the notions of "home" that I find so engaging.  

the FIRST and the LAST

This semester. My last semester as an undergrad - is technically the perfect semester of wonder and glory! Fracturing my foot was a setback, I got off to a bit of a frustrated and rocky start, but life is finally starting to smooth out. I am off the crutches...thus am able to carry things, walk up stairs (slowly), and move around in general without relying on my arms for support. 

The foot isn't healed completely, but it is on its way. 

I am taking a relief printing course this semester with Tim Frerichs. Our second assignment required us to appropriate imagery from an historical black and white, wood carved print. I gathered inspiration from the work of Albrecht Durer - more specifically his work St. John Beholding the Seven Candelabra. This piece is an illustration of the passage in Revelation describing John's vision.    

Here are some images of the beginning stages of my piece. (My first wood carving!)

 I carved into an 8 x 10 block of poplar using Speed Ball lino cutting tools. 
AND made a big splintery mess! Woops!

 











Above is a proof of the final carving. I entitled it The First and the Last, because in the Biblical passage that is being referenced Jesus tells John not to be afraid because He is "the first and the last." It is an important reassurance of the unmoving presence of God.

Gifting

Came across this great blog today. - Design For Mankind.

It is outlining some artTASTIC gift ideas. Alas, my Christmas budget is currently non existent. I like to imagine my life ten years down the road...

I'm a professional. Co-owning/operating a design/production company with friends from undergrad. It will most likely be called Lumberjack Design. (Garrett and I have already brainstormed this name). We will have a broad range of clientele and a prospering online store. I will be making money instead of having to spend every cent that I earn on food, housing and that ever-so-persistent credit card bill from this past summer when I decided to tramp around the UK.

When this day comes I will be able to purchase fantastic gifts for all of my dearest friends and relatives. Here are a few unique items that I found on various sites introduced to me via Design For Mankind.



$10 - Nifty pixel colored pencils found at fredflare.com. They are flat and will not roll away from your artsy workspace! I know that I wouldn't be able to put these bad boys down.





$32 - These umbrellas look like people! Fashionable people. With the amount of rain we got this past summer in Northern NY a cute little umbrella is probably a fantastic gift idea. Also found at fredflare.com.












$28 - Thomas Paul cell phone holder! If this isn't retro hipster I don't know what is. I want one...but I also have a few friends that I know would appreciate it also. :)



$10 - and nothing says Merry Christmas like some self adhesive MUSTACHES! This is truly "the gift that keeps on giving"!








These are some of the gifts that I would give to people if my financial status were less flimsy. However, not having money has encouraged creative gift giving. Handmade items are surely just as special if not more so than things purchased. As a striving artist I am using this time to create precious items for my dearly loved ones. I'll post some pics if I get a chance!

I just wanna DANCE!

It is that time of year again - FINALS. People are getting stressed and the work load is heavy with exams, final projects, presentations, etc. I tend to not get stressed out as a general rule, but I often put myself in the position where my anxiety is heightened due to the simple fact that I am physically unable to do work until moments before it is due. I know I am not alone in my shameful actions, because my friends most definitely enable and encourage them.

One of the many ways that I like to take my mind off of the mountains of work that are piling up is by DANCING.

This semester Liz (my amazing apartmentMATE) and I have been fortunate enough to have my old boom box in our living room. We have also been blessed with an abundance of blank CD's that are ideal for burning hot funky mixes!

I am going to use this space to highlight some of the songs that have been making their way out the speakers and into my life. These tunes get my feet tappin' and heading boppin'!

"I Feel It All" - Feist
"Your Cover's Blown" - Belle & Sebastian
"Fascination" - Alphabeat
"Kids" - MGMT
"I Don't Feel Like Dancing" - Scissor Sisters
"Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
"Just Dance" - Lady Gaga (What can I say?..guilty pleasure)
"Intergalactic" - Beastie Boys
"No Diggity" - Blackstreet
"Daylight" - Matt & Kim
"Bonkers" - Dizzee Rascal
"Mercy" - Duffy
"Chelsea Dagger" - The Fratellis
"Silly Boy" - The Blue Van










I recommend that if you are feeling a little tense as the semester draws to an end - follow the above links, search for the beats, find a friend (or NOT) and bust a move. Dance your cares away!

Let's start again.

I need to start writing again. I need to share my thoughts and inspirations and questions.
I'm currently trying to decide where my life as an artist is headed. I'm praying for direction.

Here are some pictures from a beautiful day walking by the river over Thanksgiving break.

dump?

This is a picture that I took a couple of summers ago. I had been driving past this artifact on the side of the road every day for about a week, when I finally pulled over and snapped a picture of it. It is not the greatest picture, but I think it represents so much of what our society has become and what so many people are currently working to redeem. 

"Buy. Take. Break. Throw it away." FIF - American Kryptonite