a real studio with real making work time

here are some pictures of the studio in its most recent completeness (and glory). its good to go in most every respect and i can say quite honestly that i have zero complaints--just hearts and exclamations here.
i'm particularly fond of the vent unit. and the shiny torch parts. and of course all of the other tools too...

and here are some (really and rough) in-progress images of a piece i am working on for an upcoming (opening february 2012) exhibition at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee, WI. the exhibition is called The Decorative Impulse and it "aims to look at the decorative impulse in contemporary artistic production: how and why artists employ, reference, and quote the decorative arts." 
the other participating artists are: Jamie Bennett, Gésine Hackenberg, Rory Hooper, Anya Kivarkis, and Jonathan Wahl.
i will be showing both sculpture and jewelry, one piece of which is a remake of something i had experimented with over the summer with plywood and chain. this time around i am using sheet steel and will powder coat the entire thing. flatter and all silhouette.

studio: 99.9% complete

the studio has been in working order for a little while now. it was a real dusty mess but andrea and i transformed it into quite the cozy little nest. just imagine the condition of the basement of a house from the the late 19th century that had been divided up into three apartments some 25 to 50 years ago and rented to tenants that have all probably been in their mid to late 20s. a big crumbly spider webby pit. 

but, a lot of vacuuming and a little paint, et voila... not so bad. 

it gets surprisingly good light during the day and stays really warm. we still have to finish installing the duct work for the torch and setting up some of the other tools but all in all i think we done real good.

drying out the paint

the pit that leads to the giant lake under the house

organized!

website updates

a website is a forever evolving and insatiable beast. i made a few changes (some, like the all new collaborative projects section, are still in the works), and finally added the drawings from my thesis show, which were recently photographed by the wonderful and talented (as well as the wonderfully talented) Jim Escalante, professor extraordinaire.
the images are below but i think i prefer the thumbnail versions that are on the site. there is something so satisfying about how closely cropped and zoomed in those are...

other news: i am participating a group sculpture show at chicago's milk factory gallery. the opening is friday, august 26th and the following night the gallery is hosting a mini film festival. it should definitely be a good time.

the big move/this is really happening

it's official. the end of grad school is actually really here.

today is the day i finish moving everything out of the studio at school. it's all a little sad but mostly it is exciting. i am ready for greener and well, damper and darker pastures--andrea and i are going to join forces and cobble together some kind of studio in my basement. i know we can keep each other sane and motivated and focused. it will be great.

coming soon: more pictures like these but in reverse

ashes to ashes, dust to dust

and amidst all the hubbub, the start of a new project. big lockets. steel. 

ship shape

i have started to studio again and it is lovely.
i have been getting really excited about the shape language that ive been using in my drawings and some of the pieces i made this past year. i want to continue exploring their symbol and object potential and to see if i can find that place between drawing and sculpture, flat space and real space.

 wood shapes with primer

 shapes on chain on wall: charms!

 rope, rope, rope, round and round and round

p is for pea

anthony and i attempted our first vegetable garden this summer. the rabbits set us back earlier in the spring and then the spinach went a little crazy but, the pea plants held their own and now there are a few little snap peas that have made their way into the world. i was beginning to feel like our garden was a lost cause which now feels only partially true. i suppose though that we will leave final judgements until the carrots and beets are ready.
menu tonight: something something with a side of two organic, freshly-picked, locally-grown, rabbit-kissed, free-range, bpa-free, and er, green, sugar snap peas

collab-fab

here are some (rather poor quality) photos of the show that chinn and i worked collaboratively on and at long last installed at the overture center on friday. we had lots of wonderful helpers and really, the whole experience has been the greatest way to follow up grad school and mfa show hoop-la.
it feels like the perfect synthesis of chinn and i.
the show is titled "direct object"and is up until the middle of september. it is one large piece consisting of multiple images of objects strung together to compose a sort of run-on sentence. some highlights are: chopped meat, a big lion door knocker, coral galore, and a cuckoo clock. oh, and gems!
i will get better photos up soon and then you will see.

pre-install

post-install (or, installed)

first things first

i am no longer putting off till tomorrow what i can do today. i have been talking about making a blog and so now i am doing it. i am going to post images of things arty and foody and pretty and funny. i mean what else is one to do after three years of graduate school? get, like, a job or something?

in keeping with todays theme,  i am going to make some kind of dish with the ridiculous amount of kohlrabi that has been haunting the refridgerator for a week. the great cook-down of 2011 as anthony says. and now, since, i have typed this out, it has to happen. words make things real and true.
so get ready kohlrabi...