Customizing the foam banana
Banana Boobs
This one was fun to photograph at different angles. Epoxy clay on store-bought foam fruit.
Russet Potatoes 🥔 🥔
Sewing seaweed 🧵🥬
The fabric gets attached to a flexible wire for structure.
Granny Smith
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted art, but I’m going to make it a regular practice again. I’ve found it difficult to be creative since the pandemic started and felt less connected with the work I’ve been making. It’s important to keep creating, though, especially when feeling uninspired. I’m not sure what direction I’ll grow in, but this is the art I was working on before the future felt so uncertain.
The project is sculpting breasts onto store-bought decorative foam fruit and veggies. Technically, it’s a great color/ texture matching challenge. I enjoy matching the flawed finishes, putting a perfect handmade detail on something clearly fake and mass produced. Conceptually, I’m interested in how women’s bodies are often compared to fruit, in playing with the juxtaposition of still lifes and naked women in art.I’m still deciding on a series title. So far, I’ve got Feminine Fruit or Breastables. What do you think? This Granny Smith has already sold, but there’s more fruit in the works. Would folks be interested in prints in the future?
Sculpting a texture stamp
What does it look like to you?
Hairy Tongue, just for fun 🤪
Before and after paint. The hairs are painted monofilament.
Lady Pin
See this lovely lady-pin in person and do some bowling this Thursday at Comet! A bunch of talented artists have customized bowling pins for their silent auction which will benefit local nonprofits. The Comet Pub & Lanes and Creature Comforts will host the Get Comforta-Bowl tournament on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The tournament will benefit local nonprofits, including Friends of Refugees, Our House and College AIM. Check out their page for details @thecometpubandlanes
At the Aquarium
I’ve been hard at work on new things that aren’t quite ready to share, so in the meantime, here are some photos I took at the GA Aquarium. Research for a new project! I’ll be posting more sneak peaks here soon. 🦈🦑
The World is a Dangerous Place
I’m hard at work on stuff I can’t show you yet, so here’s another nugget from art school. It’s from one of my favorite classes, Special Projects, taught by the crazy talented @jenniferannschmidt. It was a printmaking class, but one that explored how the utility of printmaking can be subverted conceptually for artmaking.
For one of my projects, I designed fliers that I xeroxed and left in public spaces around Boston. It was really interesting to hear how people interpreted the fliers without knowing where they came from. It’s still one of my favorite projects. Here’s the project statement I wrote in 2007:
The World is a Dangerous Place (so be careful).Growing up, children hear all kinds of stories about the dangerous things that surround them. Some are about monsters, witches, and other fantastic creatures, but the ones that seem most true are about the ordinary things that can go wrong. They stay with people longer because the worst kind of uneasiness is the type associated with everyday objects and activities. As people get older, the stories change, but that sense of imminent danger never really leaves. With public service announcement fliers as a format, I use these childhood stories as a way to investigate ideas of authority, trust, and fear. The fliers have been posted on bulletin boards around Boston and left with other informational pamphlets for people to take.
Back to weekly figure drawing again
I think of it as the artist equivalent of going to the gym. The poses start at 2 minutes, getting longer as the session goes on, ending with a 20 minute pose. Swipe to see the poses get shorter.
From my first year of art school 🖌
Before I had (almost) any tattoos, I did a couple of photo series where I drew on my body with sharpies and ballpoint pens. I’ve drawn on myself ever since I can remember. In middle school I would sit barefoot, cross-legged at my desk and draw on my legs during class. At home, I collaged layers of pictures directly onto my bedroom walls, painted on the door and drew all over my clothes. I’m lucky to have had parents that recognized this as a creative, not destructive impulse. Thanks, Dad 🤣
Both colorways of Gumheads have sold out!
Thanks so much to everyone who brought one home. 🖤 I hope they bring you good luck and the best kind of mischief. This is the last of these colors, but I’ll be doing more variants in the future. Glow-in-the-Dark, maybe?! Keep an eye out here.
Gumheads are elemental spirits. They begin as forgotten wads of gum, stuck under tables and chairs. Most bubblegum is ordinary, but every once in a while, through a twist of fate (and a little saliva), old gumwads awaken as mischievous sprites.Sticky and malleable, they love to steal and hoard tiny objects. They’ve got your DNA in them, but gumheads aren’t always friendly. They have a penchant for chaos when left unattended, but are easily won over with gifts and attention. Under the right circumstances, gumheads are fun companions and can bring good luck and adventure.
There’s still time to check out the show
Some of the remaining art from Journey to Terra Flora will be in the second room at Galeria Regina through October 26th. A new show, “The Mind’s Eye,” opens tonight, 5-9pm, featuring artists Kate Silvis, Sam Wethern, and Cameron Wethern. I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve made. Hope to see you there!
Lunar Dreamer
The Lunar Dreamer is currently up at @sidechickdecatur aka @sidegallerydecatur along with new work by @ryshu @hendersonartworks @emilysdream @thevoyagerpeacock @danielcurranart @fisbn @paper_bones_atl and others. Support an awesome little restaurant and pick up some local art while you’re there! 🖼 🥪
High school art
My best friend and I met in high school, but we only lived in the same state for one semester. We wrote long letters, talked for hours on the phone, flew on planes to visit each other, and through years of shared experiences, became family. At one point we photocopied all the letters and gave each other books of our own writing. This is the cover I made for Maya’s book when we were 16, back when I only drew in black and white. 🖤🖤
Tonight is the Dark Crystal Ball!
Last year I made two and a half life-size crystals with my talented friends at the Center for Puppetry Arts. I’m so lucky! Swipe for more photos and process.
I started with a 2D design by technical director Jeremy Villines. I converted it into a 3D pattern using cardboard. We used the template to make an acrylic mold and slush cast the tinted resin in layers. The acrylic molds for the full crystals were built from 82 individual pieces!
Thanks to @talithagabrielle for helping me cast these beasts. Beautiful foam carving and background painting by @brianna.bass.scenic.artist and @nubourne. Lighting by @gabbity.rabbit.The Dark Crystal exhibit is up through January. It’s a beautiful and unique experience. Check it out!
Throwback to last year when I made 200 crystal shards for the Dark Crystal Ball at the Center for Puppetry Arts
I sculpted the original out of epoxy clay and made a silicone mold to cast in translucent resin. Swipe to see process shots. We’re so lucky to have the CPA in Atlanta. The largest organization dedicated to puppetry in the US, it’s a unique place that has been building community since 1978. If you missed the party last year, you can get tickets to the Gathering of Gelflings happening August 29th at Puppet.org.
The Dark Crystal exhibit will be on view till January 2020. Featuring restored puppets that haven’t been seen since the film, it’s a beautiful and rare exhibit, totally worth your time.
Lunar Dreamer 🌖
Before and after holographic powder. Holographic powder is translucent, so the first step is always creating an underpainting that deepens the natural shadows and boosts the highlights.