July Happenings in the Studio

Since graduating from art school in December 2008, I started writing this monthly post called H.I.T.S. (Happenings In The Studio). On the first of each month I share the progress on my sculptures, art installations and my other artistic endeavors.

Besides working on several art projects I also clocked 1000 miles on my bicycle as of 12/1/10. Until moving to the San Francisco Bay Area I didn't enjoy getting around via a bicycle, and now it feels so slow walking. I LOVE my bike!

For three nights I stayed at a Zen Monastery to mainly focus my posture. I came away from there with a better awareness of when I was tensing up and slouching. More about my time there in a future post. It was the most relaxed I have ever been.



Bouncy Ball Curtain - Second Restring


One of the challenges of making interactive art, like this bouncy ball curtain that is at a friend's loft, is maintaining it. Originally I used 50 pound monofilament line to string the bouncy balls and crazy straws together. Over time the fishing line has stretched.

After consulting with some super smart people, one of which is a civil engineer, I have a new plan of attack. In a couple of weekends we are going to have a Bouncy Ball Bee and restring.

This process reminds me of the quote to seek advice before making plans. If I had picked an engineer's mind before constructing this curtain, I would of saved a lot of time. Hopefully I will remember this lesson.



Henna Ceiling Mural



The art of temporary dying floral and tribal designs on the body is called henna or mehndi, depending where in the world you are at.



I created a henna ceiling mural using a 7 foot diameter piece of paper and acrylic paint.



The blue tarp peaking under the mural shows where the ceiling light will line up.



Henna is painted to mark events in a persons life, like marriage. Last month I quit my full time picture framing job to pursue making art and freelancing as an office assistant to artists and entrepreneurs. It also marked the end of my 6 month art making sabbatical. (Check out this post to read more about the craziness that happened last month.)




I enjoy taking traditional art forms and giving them a contemporary spin, while messing with the scale and colors. In the past, I painted a henna design similar to this one around my belly button.

This is one of the few art projects that where I enjoyed all of the steps in the art making process. It helped immensely painting on the ground, versus straining my neck to paint on the ceiling. I intentionally free handed the design, because even though I can recreate hyper detail, I find it tedious and uncreative. I also like that when I do move out I can take my mural with me.



Cactus Lights for a Music Room


This is an example of a past Cactus Light I designed, knit, and wired with LEDs. This is a one foot section of a 12 foot light, which is apart of a grouping of three hanging Cactus Lights.




Tests for the current Cactus Light project, where I am looking for the best way to color glass.



I am in the design and research phase for making a version of my Cactus Lights for my sensei's music room. There will probably be two strings of these sculptural lights hanging from the 11 foot ceiling.

In the past I've made the light shades using found plastic containers, like sippy cups and vases. For this project I'm having a hard time finding larger plastic containers that are interesting shapes and vivid colors. I decided to switch over to glass vessels. This seemed like a natural transition since how the plastic lampshades are often mistaken for blown glass.

I love the research phase, running tests and playing around with "what if" questions. Working with glass brings on new design challenges, like how to drill holes into glass so I can wire the light. And which paint is vivid, opaque and yet lets enough light through, doesn't scratch, that is ideally nontoxic, not labor intensive or expensive. So far spray paint and decoupage paint over fabric are the best solutions for coloring the glass containers.

Finger Labyrinth

Photo courtesy of OpEdNews. Click to read about World Labyrinth Day.

Thanks to a meditation book that I am reading, I've fallen in love with the labyrinth all over again. I used it in my art before, like making a 5 foot in diameter wall labyrinth out of real leaves. After watching a youtube video on how to make a finger labyrinth, I busted out my play do, sculpy and paper mache.

I played around with different mold making techniques for making my own finger labyrinth. I think the fastest and most durable form would be to make one out of ceramic.

I discovered that elmer's glue poured into a relief made from unbaked sculpy makes a sturdy "rubber mold." It just takes two days for the glue to dry. From there I can then pour plaster into the elmer's glue mold to make an indented finger labyrinth.

Check out this post about a labyrinth that I walked in Berkeley, CA.

See you September 1st, for the next Happenings in the Studio. Thanks for reading.

Table of Contents for H.I.T.S. (Happenings In The Studio)

Grace North Church Labyrinth

Photo courtesy of Grace Cathedral.

While reading Meditation: the complete guide, by Monaghan and Diereck, the chapter on labyrinth walking reminded me of a goal I made in college. When living in the dorms I experienced my first labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. It was then that I made a goal of seeking out more. Casually, I’ve come across some in my area and while on vacation, but now I am actively (but not with urgency) discovering labyrinths.

Using the Labyrinth Locator, I checked out the San Francisco Bay Area for meditative paths. Most are based off of the 11 circuit labyrinth from Chartes Cathedral in France. From there the materials, location, and scale vary greatly. Many of the labyrinths are painted on canvas being less expensive and portable, one is permanently painted on the black top at a school and another was crafted from the bricks from a burnt down church. In particular three rock labyrinths caught my interest because they are outside, which is where I love being the most.

It is interesting that I have gravitated towards labyrinths, since how I would miss pronounce it every time I’d talk about them. Along with the word Ambulance, my college boyfriend would randomly quiz me on pronunciation. It seriously took months to get them both right.

photo courtesy of North Grace Church

The Labyrinth Locator introduced me to the North Grace Church Labyrinth in Berkeley. According to the labyrinth directory, public walks are available twice a month. I marked the times on my calendar and checked it out. I was surprised to find the sanctuary doors locked, figuring that’s where the path was located. After circling the building I saw someone and he pointed me in the right direction and he said I was welcome to walk until they closed down for the night. I strolled into the building adjacent to sanctuary, feeling a little uncomfortable not knowing exactly where to go or if I was allowed to be there. After passing several classrooms I found a gym with a maroon 7 circuit labyrinth painted on the floor. It wasn’t a particularly awe inspiring room, like being surrounded by stained glass windows and huge stone pillars. But the simple arts and crafts style of the 1913 church made for a simple canvas to focus on why I was there.

At first it was a tad distracting to walk the labyrinth, since how one side of me was a class that was ending and on the other side there were people in the kitchen. No one seemed to think it odd that I was there. I figure that’s because besides being respectful of the space, I acted like I belonged. Going into random churches feels normal since how that’s what I did growing up. At the age of learning to ride a bicycle, I lived in the British countryside. My parents made the most of it by taking frequent trips to castles and cathedrals. I remember begging my father to not drag my brother and me to another cathedral. Even though I loved exploring the vast buildings and pretending to be from a different era, I had seen so many that I wanted to do something else. But here I am, back to seeking out churches. Guess I didn’t get my fill.

At Grace North Church, after about 10 minutes of walking people cleared out of the classrooms and it became quite. That’s when I got creative. That was the first time I had the opportunity to walk with no one watching me. It’s like dancing at home. I hadn’t realized how self-conscious I was until left alone. Winding back and forth, I walked to the center and out again, playing around with my body in that space; searching for the rhythm that induced a relaxed state of mind. I played around with walking different speeds, even as slow as kinhin, Zen walking, where you make one step for every two breaths. Being in socks of course I had to try sliding my feet without picking them up. I twirled around the bends like a modern dancer. I moved my arms around in various martial arts positions and stretches. After about half an hour, I left happy and more relaxed.

In making art and in labyrinth walking, repetitive tasks are soothing and replenishing. I also enjoy their aesthetic being site specific art installations. I am cooking up a plan to organize a community project to build a labyrinth. This involves talking with city planners, grant writing and public speaking, none of which I have much or any experience. I am good at researching, designing, keeping details organized and follow through. Interacting with people of the community and the decision makers is something I want to be comfortable with doing. Making public labyrinths is the direction I want my art to take since how it’s collaborative, on a grandeur scale so that it impacts more people, and more complex project so to push me out of my comfort zone.

Labyrinth Locator

I am a total dork and love to walk labyrinths. Even when I'm traveling I seek them out. By doing something repetitive and simple, it relaxes my mind.

Find a labyrinth near you by using searching by your city.

Art Making Frenzy

After a six month art making sabbatical I am once again creating sculptures from recycled materials, artsy lights with LEDs, painting murals and whatever else looks fun to make. This is the first Happenings in the Studio post I've written this year. Here I talk about that I have done creatively over the past thirty days.

Project #1- Quail Egg Floral Arrangement

Over a year ago I made the above floral arrangement from dying duck and quail eggs. I've wanted to explore this idea some more and see how far I can push it. Guess what? Now's the time! Yesterday I prepped for this project by blowing 50 quail eggs. Talk about delicate work. Next step is to figure out a color scheme and dye them accordingly so they match the crazy straws.

Project #2- leaf labyrinth

Earlier this week I made the above labyrinth out of leaves and flowers from a tree in my yard. The wall hanging is about a 1 foot in diameter. I wanted to complete a project in a day and focus on the joy of creating, instead of worrying about perfection and a well crafted concept.

Back in college I was introduced to the labyrinth and since then they have appeared in my art and I seek them out when I travel. Like making repetitive art, walking in a maze with no dead ends is very meditative. Past labyrinths that I've made have been larger, like the below images. The diameter was 5'. It's made from donated leaves in the name of art from bushes near my old studio.

Project #3- Henna Ceiling Mural

The above googled image of the lady with the henna tattoo is the idea for the ceiling mural that is going onto this giant piece of paper. Many times I've painted henna and doodled designed in my sketchbooks, finding them meditative and playful. Instead of the traditional brown color, I'm seeing this mural as HOT PINK!

Project #4: LED Lantern

I'm waiting on the bedroom to be remodeled, then I'm going to make a giant LED lantern, like the above lights that I made for a different commission.

Project #5 and possible #6: Cactus Lights

Variants on my LED Cactus Lights are being brainstormed. One idea is to make the hanging lights wider and another is to wire then for the outdoors.

Stay tooned for progress photos.
See you August 1, 2011 for the next Happenings in the Studio.




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When I'm in Colorado next...

Something I like to do when I travel is walk the local labyrinths. Going back to my European roots and love for patterns and order, I enjoy the meditative relaxing path.




















Next time I'm in Denver, Colorado this is where I'll be.

DAY 24

(You just can't beat camping in a teepee on an island. You just cant.)

Up at 7, in the cool, crisp air!! I love this! I spent a couple of hours hanging out in the cabin where the kitchen is at. I was talking with adult sisters, Rudi and Pauli and another staffer, Hannah. Rudi invited me down to Texas whenever I want to go! Her sister is a Montessori teacher in Portland (of course! I love Portland!). I know a little about Montessori, but she explained some more. It's an alternative schooling where kids are taught to take care of themselves and teach themselves. A lot of the instructions from the teacher is by example or demo with out words. Like for yoga, the 3-4 year-olds would each have a mat and copy the teacher. Then in the classroom, there would be mats set aside and flashcards of the poses. Pauli said that the kids would choose to do yoga on their own! This type of schooling sounds great! I want to research it some more, because I could see putting my future kids in this system.















(Hannah, Rudi and her sister, Pauli. We are inside of the cabin at the Vashon hostel.)

Hannah cleans at the hostel and is self proclaimed the "welcoming committee". She did a great job of that. She's a fellow young'n that's done a lot of traveling, like a pilgrimage in Spain with her mom when she was 14. She also spent a year in France during high school. She's a go-getter and a life learner. It was a delight talking with her and listening to her great stories.

While hanging out in the cabin, I copied down a bunch of recipes from "Vegan with a vengeance" cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Although I am not vegan, it's much easier to adapt the recipes to gluten free and add meat to the dish. I have a bunch of great meals I want to try. I'm thinking I'll test them out on Deb and Mary Anne. I actually miss cooking. I've been eating out and raw for most of my trip. I look forward to cooking again.

I rented a bike from the hostel for $1 and traversed the island. It's about 11 miles north - south and 3 miles east-west. I had a map, food and water, and went exploring. I found the biggest hills! They rivaled ones I've been up in San Francisco. The island is like a mini Santa Cruz, with lots of trees and hills. I saw a sandwich board in front of an Episcopal church that said labyrinth is open. I had to check it out!! My first labyrinth was in San Francisco on top of Nob Hill at Grace Cathedral. There is an outside labyrinth made of marble and inside there's a carpet one. This one on Vashon was out side and couldn't be improved. It was surrounded by overgrown, flowering plants and tall pines. The path was a shallow ditch with grass. There were purple clovers and buttercups all over the grass. In the middle was grey flag stone. It felt more like a time for refection, where as the one in SF is like a place for tourists to gawk and whisper to each other, "what is she doing?" It this labyrinth, there was a list of sights that mark all the labyrinths in the US.



















(A labyrinth like the one in Charters Cathedral in France.)














(The outdoor labyrinth in Vashon Island.)














(The labyrinth was made up of dirt paths and grass filled with purple clovers.)


I biked along the water front and found the funniest installation. It was of 8 exercise bikes lined up, facing the bay. I had to take pictures and ride the bikes. It is so pretty here! It's been nice and warm all day. Surprisingly, most of the locals drive. They are missing out.














(The humorous are installation that I found while biking.)














(Nothing like making fun of the Vashon locals for working out inside even though they live on an island in the Northwest.)














(I had to try it myself! I would actually use one of these if it was outside.)














(The view while I exercised.)















(sunset that I saw while biking around.)

After 5 hours of biking, and almost not making back because I was so tired, I had a huge meal of fruit, nuts and hummus. I met another fellow hosteler, who use to live here on Vashon. I wanted to talk with him more later, but he wasn't around.

I moved to a covered wagon (that has a mattress) because the mildew in the tee pee hurt my lungs. All day my throat hurt and lungs felt heavy. I regret sleeping in the tee pee. Now I know to look at them before checking in. It was then shower then nap time. I pulled the mattress outside and slept there.














(My wagon that I refused to sleep in because of the mildew. I pulled out the mattress and slept under the stars. It was perfect.)


After an hour of deep sleep I woke up and snacked some more (I was hungry from all that biking). I ran into Jenny, who's a professional clown. She lent me her clubs, so I could give them a try. I had about 20 minutes left of light, so I played until dark in the field. It was interesting dodging the clubs when I threw them funny. For a while I practiced throwing just one club at at time, trying to get the toss, flip and catch some what consistent. Then I introduced club #2. It was dark before moving onto the 3rd. Now I want clubs!!! Jenny said the best place to get them is from Renegade.com.

I slept again outside. It was nice and cool. The sky was perfectly clear! There where so many stars I was having a hard time finding constellations. I found the north star, the big dipper and Cassiopeia. I was out by 10, and slept great all night!!!