Art Westport report

For my only show of the year, it was just like getting back on a bike...the only thing I forgot Friday night was chapstick.

I noticed this year I got far fewer obvious questions, like, "You make ALL THIS STUFF?"  More likely, I had conversations with visitors about the meaning behind my work, my process, my inspirations, how certain pieces connected to the viewer and new perspectives on my collection.  Many friends and long-time festival-goers stopped in and I was happy to share my good news about my spot in the Kemper right now, as well as the new direction I'm taking my work.

The anatomical hearts are always my best seller, not only because they are the least expensive pieces, but because of our general connection to this organ as both our literal center and poetic touchstone.  I heard stories of dads who are pace maker distributors, new med school grads, cardiac nurses, and open heart surgery survivors.  People feel comfortable showing me their scars and telling me tales of their near-death experiences and what steps brought them to my booth today, often because a friend happened to stop by when they were having a heart attack or someone they didn't know came to their rescue.

(Check out my post about the making of these hearts here.)

front view

night view from my desk...I don't like that blank spot in the bottom left, but
I didn't want to cram in anything else

outside wall

I was cross-promoting my Orzo series but had them tucked away
because, although they are clearly cousins to my other work,
they don't exactly mesh visually for this small space.

This was my third year at ArtWestport, and being able to know home is a mile and a half away is a great comfort, along with seeing many great local artist friends and making new ones from the area.  Check out these cool people:

Justin Marable

Bailey Marable--Dulces Jewelry

Charley Forsythe--SeeForce

Louise Carroll--Delicate Hammer Studios

Jen Unekis

Melanie Harvey

So now I'm going to spend some time organizing--OMG it's necessary--looking at opportunities to show my work, dabble in some ceramics, and write more...here!  

As always, follow me on Instagram to get up to date info on my art makings and the occasional cat or flower pics.

Spring Ceramics, Vase Edition

I have been thinking about using manhole and utility covers in my ceramics for a very long time, and I finally got around to taking impressions to use as stamps.  Then I used paper clay (clay that has paper mixed in for stability) to make the forms.  So many stamps...so many possibilities!

Throw on some olive oil, press in some clay, pull off, wait a while,
bake at 1000 degrees or something, wah lah.

I used a lot of mason stains to rub into the designs so they'd really pop.

Hand for scale!

Don't forget!  I'M ALL OVER THAT INSTAGRAM THING.

No Trespassing

No Trespassing

Find it in real life on South West Boulevard near Washington in KCMO.  It's not as fabulously pink, of course.  And I really wanted to trespass because the building has stuff in it although at least half of it is defunct.

Art print available here.

IN-STA-GRAM!

Mixed Media Quickie Number Eleven

Sandwich Head
found envelope, painted found newspaper, vinyl, magazine cutouts
approx.  9 x 12

This is the last of what I made the first weekend of April, but when I get back to making more (and I will!) I'll be sure to post them here.

All the collages are for sale and mounted on standard frame sized paper (8 x 10 or 11 x 14).  I'm happy to get them framed for you, too!  Contact me anytime, through Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, my website, or email signs444[at]hotmail.com. (I am so cool and retro for having a hotmail account! Take notes.)

Mixed Media Quickie Number Two

Sleep Walking
craft paper, book cutout, magazine cutouts, painted paper scrap,
catalog cutout, wall paper, vinyl
approx. 11 x 14 inches

You can see that the craft paper here was on the back of a framed piece because the framer smartly labeled it with their sticker and info.  I like to think this one is a collaboration with the person who placed that sticker there from the Colony Bistro Art Gallery and Frame Shop sometime in the '60s or '70s.

Dumpster Delights

It probably doesn't surprise anyone that if I see a Dumpster (or just a pile of stuff on a curb) I rubber-neck to a dangerous degree.  If I'm biking, I'll stand up on my pedals or just jump right in with my helmet still on.  Generally, if there's anything good in there, I huff it home, grab the truck, and bee-line it back to the honey hole...with gloves, if I remember.

This summer and fall proved quite fruitful for all things Dumpster and curbside.  My shed is already really packed, but that doesn't stop me!  I took some booty pics of my adventures, but not all of them.

After hitting two INCREDIBLE Dumpsters on Holmes.  One was full of clean pieces of
MDF, the other had lots of dirty pieces of wood from a bathroom tear-out and porch demo,
along with adorable picket fence posts and even a boardgame.

Look at this beautiful chippy porch ceiling!

Cut down pieces of the picket fence for small lady faces

From an alley near 31st and Cherry...more clean lumber and plywood!

From 33rd and Troost.  A brick building was getting demolished and there was lots
of loose, wrecked lumber everywhere.  These pieces had the best story with
nicks and paint, so home they came.

And tonight in Mission, Kansas, I took an early turn  on my way to my cousin's house
and found a Dumpster FULL OF PERFECTLY GOOD STERILITE BOXES.  WITH LIDS!!

They're a little grimey but I can deal with that.

I didn't get pictures of the great group of stuff I found in a Dumpster in Janssen Place (the super fancy sub division in the middle of my 'hood with $1M+ mansions), but it included 500 Kodak slides from the 1960s, interesting household things and planters, and some homemade drawers/boxes that I was able to break down and use in my art as backgrounds.  The neighbors walking by were happy I was recycling and thought someone was cleaning out a basement.  Fine by me!

I also got a truckload of lumber from a rehab near 36th and Cherry that included super long-ass boards and pieces of a burned garage.

Square One studio at 31st and Holmes occasionally puts out free wood and MDF panels under a big sign that says "FREE WOOD" and I hit the mother lode this summer.  I could barely get all the 4 x 8 foot pieces in the truck, especially since I now have the camper shell.  I only took what I could lift myself, but that was about 8 whole panels that I had to break down into four pieces each before I could fit them in my shed.  This is what my desk clocks are made of and I have enough material to last a lifetime now!

Oh!  Almost forgot the pile of wood and metal rods at Armour and Holmes that I walked back to my house on top of my head (don't do that, even a few blocks will mess you UP!) and the neighbor who gave me his entire 100+ year old staircase (with risers!).  

Right place, right time.  I do regret that I couldn't get back to an apartment building that my friend used to live in at McGee and 41st that was getting razed, but you have to triage your time, and I was on my way to Omaha.

A Sterilite box saved is a Sterilite box earned!

Like a Real Artist

At Art Westport, just down the road from my house, I finally sold some big capital-A Art!  It felt damn good and has motivated me to make more and push myself.  I have so many ideas and I really just need to be able to split myself into two workers (three would be better) so I can make art, make clocks, and sell both.  I had some wonderful conversations with people that helped me work through my ideas and concepts, as well as get feedback on what is really "speaking" to people.  It's surprising how many of the same pieces sparked something in a wide swath of viewers.  

Aside from SO MANY HEARTS that went out into the KC community, I said goodbye to some of my favorite creations...

Close Your Eyes 'Til You're Blue in the FaceBundled with the one below!
Salvaged flooring, paint, paper dots from 1960's Prevention  mag, vinyl.
Approx. 16 x 34 

The Pink BowSad I didn't get a proper product shot of this one.
Salvaged wood, tea bag papers, paint, vinyl, colored pencil.
Approx. 11 x 20

Forgot My Wallet
Sold to a teenage girl who had to call her mom to get permission to buy it.
Salvaged wood, 1970s STL Post Dispatch,  paint, vinyl.
6 x 16 inches

One and Two Girls/Two Girls Looking
Sold this to a woman who really wanted the large version with four faces but couldn't afford it (me neither, girlfriend!).
Salvaged wood, paint, paper dots (vintage and fabric paper), vinyl.
Approx 10 x 12 inches

Siren (Study)
This resides just a few blocks south of my home in a neighbor's dressing area now!  This piece, as well as the one above, has sparked so much in me--it was hard to say goodbye but I'm so happy she's in her "forever home."
Salvaged wood, paint, paper dots from 1970's workbook, vinyl.
6 x 16 inches

Weird is Good

Sometimes/all times when I'm using my digital cutter I nest images I want cut inside each other so as not to waste vinyl.  And sometimes what I have done out of necessity sparks a new idea for a piece or design.  Sometimes things are just weird.  

This morning what I was peeling away seemed weird, and I like it.  

That's a cow skeleton inside my grandma's face.

Then I kept peeling and now I'm wondering if I even need to do anything more!  Just frame this baby up!

Thanks, Roy, for ruining dots for everyone who knows a minimal amount of art history.

No, I have plans for at least some of this stuff.  Stay tuned.

I've joined all high schoolers circa 2012 and am finally on Instgram.  Since Facebook has made it almost impossible for a business my size to share stuff and actually be seen without paying to "boost" the post, my Instagram feed is perhaps a better way to see works in progress, source material...and my cats.  Sorry.

Next week!  ArtSarBen in Omaha!

Made It: More Experiments

I've been on a tear playing with new materials and throwing caution to the wind!

Let's start with the skeletons (all sizes are 5 x 7 inches unless otherwise noted):

matboard, tea-stained old book page, acrylic paint, vinyl

matboard, found sheet music, acrylic paint, vinyl

I painted over the vinyl and tried to scrape it off...works better on the thick black vinyl.

matboard, painted found sheet music, vinyl

squiggle time

matboard, painted found book page, vinyl

matboard, found seed catalog page, paint, vinyl

8 x 10--salvaged wood, acrylic paint, vinyl
I actually have a tentative title for this one:
"Fill My Hollow Bones"

9 x 11.5--salvaged wood, acrylic paint, fabric paper, vinyl, gel medium

Gotta finish those edges!

Hearts!

matboard, found book page, vinyl, acrylic paint

matboard, painted found book page, vinyl, acrylic paint

 I painted over the top of this and then scraped it off, sgraffito style

matboard, layers of found, painted, and/or made papers, vinyl, paint

 throwback:

matboard, found painted hymnal page, vinyl

matboard, found and painted collaged paper, vinyl, acrylic paint

domestic goddesses:
matboard, music pages, paint, vinyl

 I have so many ideas, and I'm just not going to settle for one image style.  I love the weird, macabre skeleton and heart images, because everyone brings something different to those, depending on their history and feelings about health, guts, death, life, color, whathaveyou.  And the retro images just make me happy.  More of a Pop Art feel comes from those, and having some levity in a line of work isn't a bad thing.

I have a one day show this weekend in Lee's Summit, MO, during a bike race--Tour of Kansas City-- so I'm pumping out lots of stickers and other fun cycling-related paraphernalia.  Plus, it's the first day of summer, and I love spending the solstice outside all day.

Here's to the makers out there.  Keep plugging away!

Made It: Experimentals & Flower Clocks

I've been tinkering around with many different materials the last couple weeks.  First, let's see some new desk clocks:

California Poppy

Field Daisy

Partridge-Peas

Thistle

Mayflower

I found a 1964 field guide to North America's wild flowers, and the images are just the perfect size to fit my mini table top clocks.  They're listed on Etsy.  I want to make a gazillion more, but I also want to make a different line of work that is categorized as "non-clock" and I'm really trying to actually plan this stuff out.  So I've been having fun playing around.

Here's some of the prototypes:

Large painted nails and string from the barn, leftover wood for the frame,
and salvaged painted wood as the backer.

8 x 10 matboard, early 1900s booklet pages, paint, vinyl.

5 x 7 matboard, painted hymnal page, vinyl.

5 x 7 matboard, 1970s seed catalog page, paint, vinyl.

I don't know quite where I'm going yet with the nail things, but I'm ruminating...I really like the TV and the skeletons, which will fit in with my small anatomical hearts...

But here's a biggie!
10 x 12 including frame; found wood, paint, "fabric paper," vinyl

I have many more painted papers to play with, so watch out!

I'm getting ready for a yard sale this weekend--my first ever!  There are two or three bins of old art I'm going to try to unload and maybe some clocks that just never sold but are fine otherwise.  If you're in KC, check out the Hyde Park Neighborhood Yard Sale on Saturday, June 14th (my half-birthday, BTW, in case you want to drop by some cupcakes or half of a whole cake).  Hopefully it won't be sweltering and/or raining...?