Showtime!

Some friends from college are having a show at Montserrat's 301 Gallery right now. I went to the opening and was so impressed and had a smashing time. I hadn't seen these friends in such a long while and had to overcome the psychological hurdle of appearing back at my old school. For some reason I always work myself up into thinking that people will be mad that I haven't stayed in contact enough. Of course, I really shouldn't fret so much because time after time I've found that seeing dear friends after a long break rarely ends in resentment and often is a happy reunion filled with hugs!

The show looked great and I was really pleased to see new work from my pals.

After the opening, Justin and I headed out to see the movie, "Rape of Europa" at the Cabot Cinema which is a really old fashioned building with murals, balconies and loads and loads of velvet and gold. I love seeing films there even though the seats are krinkly like diapers. "Rape of Europa" was amazing and so sad. It was about the theft of art by the Nazis and the people who tried to protect the artworks from being destroyed. Justin wrote a review over here. For me, the story was very interesting because it focused a lot on how the artworks from certain communities shaped the identity of the people in that place and the way morale was lost when their art was pillaged.

When I feel self deprecating, I often worry that art isn't important at all. I was glad to go to see the shows because they were a good reminder that it is. Bigtime.

"DOMUS"

"Diamond Snakes" handstitched rug in wool

"Mumbling Slugs" machine stitched rug in wool

"Eat Upon Antlers" vintage dishes with painted antlers

"UVULA" handstitched rug in wool

"His & Hers" appliqued and embroidered hand towels


These are a few of the pieces that I made for the DOMUS show that Katy Irving curated. When she asked me to participate, I was overwhelmed because I hadn't been making anything at all. She thought I could pull it together and the domestic theme was pretty inspiring so I made this collection of housewares for the show. It ended up being a very positive experience and I'm thankful that it forced me to make things when I had been slacking.

It was the first time that I let the imagery I'd been using for my Lazer Beanz clothing designs spill onto different surfaces.

"Come High Water"

"Bob Squad" hairdo shaped refridgerator magnets

"Wishlist" giant mound of furniture cut from paper

"Egg Screen" screen made of a zillion eggs woven together and projected on with a video of the eggs being blown.

"25 feet wound around inside me" crocheted intestine spells the word accompanied by a photo of the yarn on my stomach.

"Tchotchke Terrain" hundreds of blue painted figurines from the dollar store.


I thought I'd give a little bit of background before I start posting about my new makings.

These images are from my senior thesis show when I was a student at Montserrat College of Art. This is the art that I created in my last year at school and it is a good bridge into my work now. Each piece uses a technique that is normally classified as craft rather than fine art. The differences between fine art and craft is a question I was looking into at the time. While at school, my persuasion was definitely very fine arts and the description of art as "crafty" was generally meant to be a little condescending.

My senior work was made with the humblest of craft skills that most children could grasp such as:paper mache, ceramic magnets, egg blowing, crochet and paper cutouts. The techniques were simple but I tried to make them monumental through sheer magnitude and repetition.

I am no longer as interested in the question of art vs craft because the more I thought about it, the less the labels made sense. The work in my show that year made me remember materials and techniques that I hadn't used since childhood and also helped me lighten up a little about art.

Back then, I called myself an artist and for a little while I called myself a crafter. For now, I feel most comfortable as a maker and that gives me the freedom to create anything and not obsess about labels and frivolity vs seriousness. Whew!