ok, ok.

some real stuff. i can't leave you hanging after a whole month of nothing.

mandala/god's eye

hand-dyed raw silk, alpaca wool yarn, woven and sewn glass beads, thread

6x6 inches

homage to a false god

objects, wire, glass beads, chain, fabric, glitter, fibers

approx. 16''w, 24''h, 10''d
awesome loom in super messy studio!!!

what is going on?

a lot. i am very busy working on many projects. i will post photos when i can. right now my studio space at home is out of control. i have fallen in love with weaving and got a loom off of craigslist. it is wonderful and hopefully in a few weeks i will have it up and running. current projects are: a woven summer kimono made with a traditional japanese technique called weft ikat, a quilted overstuffed coat with screen printed triangles all over, a video performance involving plastic tubing and a hose, and a series of woven and sewn bead mandalas. there are still some loose ends from earlier in the semester that i hope to tie up as well. i am very excited about all of this new work, and am working on it pretty much nonstop. though times of production are very rewarding, it is difficult not to get overwhelmed and i know winter break couldn't come soon enough.

below are some images related to current projects.

weft ikat from cambodia circa 1900

quilted coat, viktor &rolf

fountain dress

tibetan mandala, 14th century

harvest

a few images taken from the shoot of a video i'm working on editing right now.

garment: hand dyed, screen printed velvet, devore, synthetic, beans, fiber fill

overdyed

i am sick and it's really, really annoying. but, here is the piece that i showed earlier, overdyed using disperse dyes because one of the yarns is acrylic. my friend put this on and pulled some of her hair through the holes and i really like the way it looks on her.

and here is a sneak preview of two garments that will be part of a video piece that i will hopefully be making as soon as i recover from the plague.

something practical?

event dress for my friend

beginnings

as i mentioned before, i am working on a series of reliquaries/shrines. i just finished the first in this series and definitely need to live with it for awhile. do i want to make reliquaries or go with the idea of miniatures? i will be working on two series simultaneously; one dealing with the golden calf icon, the other with objects left beyond by the deceased. more to come.

golden calf no. 1, found objects, fibers, glitter, wire, glass beads

approximately 14'' high, 7'' wide
hand dyed velvet to be screen-printed with polychromatic printing technique and used for ritualistic garment
the beginning of the same project, originally designed as an accompanying garment to the velvet one, but am beginning to think it could become all one supergarment
material sample to see if i would like to hand paint some of the fabric's wood grain pattern with metallic paint. the two stripes that are a slightly different color are in bronze, the others gold.

new studies

i know it's been quite some time since my last post, but i have been very busy with the end of summer and the start of a new semester. i have already begun to expand on wearables/body installations, and am developing a series of reliquaries/shrines. after more research and material samples, i will share some of that work too.

here are two studies from the past few weeks

when art is too high of an expectation...

...make scarves and hats.  

these are some recent things i have made while feeling unproductive.  there is no mistaking the fact that i will be warm, likely overheating, for the duration of the winter months.  

accidental mobius strip scarf v.01

what is a mobius strip?  good question.  see below.

accidental mobius strip scarf v.02 (wider so it doubles over)

accidental ugly hat v.ihopeitdoesn'thappenagain
intentional hat v.finally

recent in-house sightings

$3 ice skates

ancient quilt my mom discovered in the closet
maxi
her button collection

unicorn mobile

the savior
again, with madre
ridiculous feline behavior
seriously?

ireland

view from the bus stop, northern ireland

giant's causeway, northern ireland
giant's causeway

again

swarm, giant's causeway
this rock had a name; i forget it.... near giant's causeway
near causeway
queen anne's  lace

beach near causeway.  it was freezing.

killybegs, republic of ireland
church grounds, killybegs
again
river corrib, galway

kind of cute, kind of gross... inishmore, aran islands

again
rooster, inishmore
our guide from doolin up to the cliffs of moher.  we named her susan; she was wonderful.
the beginning of the trek

susan taking it all in

view on the way up
bad sign #1
bad sign #2: we are what the cows are running towards.
bad sign #3

rock formations we enjoyed after susan fought off the cows

cliffs of moher
one of many electric/barbed/rusty fences that needed climbing over
the cliffs
monument, dublin