Weekend Workspace || 9-15-13

Things are coming together on the Saprobia project.  I was able to get some finalized photos of a couple of phases today, which I will share with you in the next week or so.  Things have been a little silent around here simply because of the amount of time and energy going into this work.  Less than a month to go...

 

Weekend Workspace || 8-18-13

Pine needles.  That's pretty much the extent of my weekend-- lots and lots of pine needles.  Tweaking my methods of working with this material has taken a lot of trial and error, but I've gotten it down to a pretty comfortable (and effective) rhythm.  It's interesting to see how different the pieces look when they're just finished and still damp, as opposed to after a day or so once they've dried.  I'm looking forward to observing the change continue as the needles completely dry out and turn brown.
The piece you see above will form the cap of a mushroom constructed from materials harvested from loblolly pine trees.  This tree species will make up the first segment of Saprobia, an installation for Momentum Tulsa this October.

 

Weekend Workspace || 8-11-13

In additional to loblolly pine, I've also started working with materials from honeylocust trees.  The forms created from honeylocust are reminiscent of the pieces I knitted for my Decomposition: Colony installations.  Since smaller scale forms have a greater impact in large numbers, this particular "species" will likely encompass one of the largest groupings of the installation.
Acquiring these lovely thorns and branches required a hike in the forest, which I haven't experienced enough of lately in my disdain of summertime heat.  I, of course, took a million photos of fungi and stopped to look at every rotting log.  The rain this summer has resulted in an impressive amount of mycological activity, so I've resolved that a "just for fun" hike is in order in the very near future.  I hope you got to enjoy the outdoors this weekend too.

Weekend Workspace || 7-28-13

One of the projects I've been hard at work at (instead of posting on the blog) is this giant Mario Brothers toadstool.  I just dropped it off this afternoon at Istvan Gallery in Oklahoma City for a show called "Art of Bits/Bits of Art", celebrating classic video games.  If you're in the area, the show sounds like it will be a lot of fun.  It's an all day event starting at noon on Saturday, August 10th with live music and video game demos.
I will post some photos of the piece in the gallery later on, but here's a little peek at it.  Strange going from tiny mushrooms to huge ones, but it was a nice change.  I'm finishing up a couple of other pieces as well for another showing at Coffee Slingers in Oklahoma City for the month of August.  More on those later...

 

Weekend Workspace || 7-21-13

As you will know if you've been following my blog for a little while, I've been working on a couple of knitwear designs and am preparing to make the patterns available.  This morning my lovely friend Jenna was nice enough to model the samples for me to get some photographs for the patterns!  I will show more in detail as I'm closer to releasing them, but here is a glimpse.  The top photo is for a headband called "Urbanite Garland", and the second one is my "Exoskeleton Shawl".

 

The rest of today will be spent on a huge piece that I'm working on for a group show this coming month.  More to come on that...

Weekend Workspace || 7-6-13

I'm working on many different things at once today, aided by my jitters-inducing, home-brewed ice coffee, which makes one ten times more productive than usual (or at least puts one in a better mood while they are doing it).  These are exciting times because I am starting to work on and plan out a really huge project for a show this fall!  I need to formally introduce it, but not today.  Just know that it's a concept I've been honing in my head for months now and thanks to the wonderful people at OVAC, it's going to happen.  More on this soon...
The logwood purple dye jar looked pretty effective about a week after I started it, but I just this afternoon opened it and rinsed the fiber.  The yarn is a deep purple jewel tone, with some patches of lighter hues where it was twisted for the skein.  I've got it drying on the porch now, and am fairly certain that it will make a beautiful shawl later in the year.
These little polypores above are for a new piece I'm working on to show next month.  It's another new execution for me, and so far I'm happy with the progress.
Well, back to it!  I hope you're having a relaxing and/or highly productive Saturday as well.

Weekend Workspace || 6-30-13

Today the "weekend workspace" phrase is more fitting than it's ever been, because I've been building a home workspace!  Up until now I've had a bookshelf and have worked at our dining table or the couch... but last weekend we pretty much rearranged the entire house so half of the front room could be a dedicated space for me to work in.  My bookshelf has pretty much remained the same, but I have added another cabinet for yarn storage, and a desk (!!) where my yarn swift can remain set up at all times and I can sit and work on project/pattern development.  I also have the small beginnings of an inspiration wall.  Now, off to put it to use!

Weekend Workspace || 6-22-13

Since the bulk of what I do related to artwork and this blog occurs on the weekend, I thought it might be nice to share some snippets of what I'm working on since sometimes I don't get to show the finished product for a while afterward.  Here are some of the scenes I've surrounded myself with so far today.