Burning Man

Burn, baby, BURN!

Finally back from Burning Man and am almost mostly decompressed. For those of you who don't know, Burning Man is a week long festival in Nevada in an area where nothing grows, no animals, plants, not even insects. There is literally nothing there except dust and distant mountains and the sun and wind. Then 60,000 people descend upon the barren spot and build a city for a week. At the end of the week, large parts of the city are burned down and everything is packed out. The city is a gift culture, which means that the only things you can buy while you're there are ice and coffee. The gift culture is fantastic because everyone gives each other what they need to survive and have a lovely time, community is how everything works so well. Art, music, and self expression are big things out there, a lot of the art is in the form of huge interactive sculptures that are burned at the end to symbolize the ephemerality of existence and there is music everywhere. Burning Man is an incredible experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is open minded, good at sharing, and looking to have a wonderful time, but is willing to battle the elements to survive. There is a certain Mad Max, Tank Girl, Fallout, hippy aesthetic to the whole event and crazy costumes are encouraged.

Pile at front is collapsed Hexayurt
Structure at back is a set up Hexayurt
None of these people are me, I don't even know them

Getting everything ready to live out in a harsh environment and make sure that you look amazing every day is quite a bit of work. This year I built a Hexayurt. What the hell is a Hexayurt, you might ask, well it is a hexagonal (there are other shapes, too) living space created from ridged insulation foam (or another building material, like cardboard or plywood) and tape that is designed to collapse down quite small (mine was 8'x4'x1.5' collapsed and 166sqft when assembled) to be easily transportable then reasonable sized when assembled. The concept has been tested successfully out on The Playa for a few years and is a great way to ensure homes for disaster relief because these homes are designed to keep you cool during the day and warm at night, easy to construct, easy to transport, easy to set up, not too expensive, and minimal waste during the construction process. Suffice to say, Hexayurts are awesome and I'm glad that I built one, but that was just one more thing that I had to do to prepare for the festival.

Back to cleaning up after the amazing, dusty, whimsical experience.

Working on a box

Yesterday I worked in the studio for a bit decorating a box. The box smells like it is cedar wood, but it's kinda boring and blank, so it needs to be altered and added to. Thus far, I've decoupaged on a cool picture of an electric shovel turning into a bone and used Liquid Nails to glue on parts from a broken bracelet in a kinda future/ sci-fi/ post-apoclyptic way. Now that the glue has dried, I'm going to add a bit of medical tubing and teddybear eyes to look like the contents of the box are feeding a pile of amphibian eggs; or at least, that's what I'm hoping to obtain. After that, I'm going to add some copper nails and a patina, but we'll see about the patina, I might not be feeling it. Might add a toy or two if I'm feeling like it and some fabric or wire or feathers, haven't quite figured out that part yet. Just going to play it by ear.

Scarf

Knit a scarf, long with stripes running the length in gray and purples. Have to finish the ends, thinking about using lace and feathers and leather and ribbon, but not sure yet. Though it only took a couple of hours to knit, I'm quite pleased with how the body of the scarf turned out.

Sometimes I forget how much I love yarn. There is something soothing about the feel of the materials in your hand and creating a three dimensional object out of a string and the math behind the knitting and reading the yarn; I love it all. Knitting is relaxing and calming and beautiful. Sometimes I feel like I'm meditating while knitting. Crochet is lovely as well, but there is too much conscious thought in reading the fabric (that's where you look at the fabric and figure out where to put the hook next and what part of the pattern happens next, while in knitting it's not as necessary unless making lace or something else quite complex) to allow for that meditative feeling.

Deconstruction

Today I disassembled a shirt. I love deconstructing things, teehee, it makes me so happy. Maybe I should find someone who can make things from what I take apart so I can keep doing my favorite part of deconstruction fashion (that would be the cutting). My process thus car has involved cutting the collar and cuffs off of a men's dress shirt that I found at the Goodwill down the street from my home (after washing it first), then I cut apart the garment at the seams, discarding the seams themselves. It only took about 20-30 minutes to break down the garment into its constituent parts.

Now, I just have to find a non-stretchy skirt that I want to use as a pattern so I can reassemble the parts into something new and crazy. Do I derive too much pleasure from taking something that was intended for an office atmosphere and turning it into something alternative and creative and wild? I don't think so, but perhaps it is just my deep-seated loathing of the corporate world with its business casual dress code that has helped me justify my joy in tearing down the cubicle walls through fashion and other creative endeavors. Either that, or I'm crazy. I will keep you apprised of the progress of the shirt to skirt deconstruction project.

Fascination With Feathers

The tale of The Feather Pillow starts with my inspiration. This is the Nicole Miller Feathers pillow that I had been eyeing for a while. My main problems with this pillow are that 1. it is too small (only 14") 2. the background fabric is cheap and an unpleasant color, and 3. the idea of spending $39.99 + tax on a tiny pillow that was made in a factory in China physically hurts me. It seems silly to spend so much on a pillow in the first place, but the idea that the person who physically constructed it would see so little of that irks me when I'm paying for something that I want to be made with love and quality materials. The background fabric is a cotton polyester blend and feels like it is 100% shitty. It seems silly to have these amazing feathers on such a terrible canvas.

Close up of fabric

The finished Feather Pillow

While the idea had been mulling a bit in the back of my mind I saw a great pillow that was covered in silver beads that were scratchy and yarn that was brown and slightly sparkly. Ok, the decorations on the pillow were ridiculous, but the fabric of the pillow was raw silk and in my favorite shade of teal and it was down filled, which I have a total weakness for. It was the perfect starting point for my version of the feather pillow.

The Feather Pillow

Why not make your own pillow base? The cost of the small amount of fabric and a zipper if I made the pillow myself would be more than I paid for the pre-made pillow and I would still have to find something to fill it with and put the time into making it myself. Also, I'm fairly sure that if I made the pillow base that I would have done a much sloppier job of it than the hard working factory technician that constructed the teal pillow for me. Hypocritical much? Not really, there are some things that I recognize are best made in factories, such as plain basics and things that are recognized as "cheap", but this particular pillow had been reduced in price so much that the person who constructed it might have seen a quarter of the price I paid for it, where as for the Nicole Miller pillow, they might have seen 1/32th of the price of the pillow, if that. The percentage of profit on some items just makes me gag, but that's probably why I have a secret love of the dollar store. Shhh, don't tell anyone, this can be just between us.

Close up of pearl bead detail

Close up of Feather Pillow

Anyway, I removed the scratchy beads and the ugly yarn, to reveal a lovely teal pillow, ready for my own embellishments. I went down to the discount fabric store and invested in 1.5 yards of feather trim (green lady amherst pheasant feathers, for those who are curious) as well as a circular pad of the same feathers. I started work on the feathers by doing a running stitch through the ribbon and cinching it so that I could get the ribbon to form a spiral. Next I pinned the curved feather tape down as I sewed it to the pillow by hand along the ribbon edge. Yes, I feel silly for sewing it by hand, especially since it seems that most everything I made I end up sewing by hand because it is easier that way, but this time I had to because of the glue holding the feathers to the ribbon. My pins got all sticky and the needle I had to pull through with a pair of pliers. Chose brown thread to sew the feathers because it disappeared better than green due to blending in with the lower part of the feathers. To top it all off, I attached a large pearl bead in the middle of the feather filled circle. I don't know if I want to keep it for myself or sell it, but I love the way it turned out so much that I might end up making another for sale and keeping this one for me.

Feather and pearl detail

It seems to be a recurring problem for me, the fact that I don't want to let go of the pieces I make that I love. Maybe I just need to find a price that I would be willing to let it go for. Maybe I just need to keep making things that I don't need in the hopes that I will let them find new homes. Maybe. We'll see.

The Feather Pillow

Anyway, this project took two days of distracted construction to complete and cost me $23 in raw materials.

The Bathroom

Wow, I feel so proud of me for all of my work on the bathroom. As mentioned in my last post, my female house mates and I decided that the theme for our main bathroom is to be jungle, to make it more fun and funky and awesome, like the rest of our house. The men have not complained.

Yesterday I took down the crappy old medicine cabinet that was too small and that our shortest house mate can't even see herself in. After taking the old one down, I realized that the new one was designed to be recessed in the wall, which was deceptive because the display model was not recessed and the sides are even finished. I said fuck that and attached two layers of 1/8th inch plywood to the back and screwed it to the plasterboard walls with washers for added stability. The new medicine cabinet is so sleek and sexy, with dark wood and a medium size mirror. I'm very pleased with the way it looks, but unfortunately everything in the bathroom is crooked, so it looks crooked. Oh well, that's what happens when the back portion of the house is sinking.

After the cabinet went up, there was the issue of light. Mainly the issue is that there isn't any in the shower stall so I have to shave my legs in the dark. Though it took a year to finally address the situation, I think that the rope light solution has turned out pretty well. An 18ft white rope light snakes along the overhang to the bathtub and enters the shower stall, going all along the wall where it meets the low ceiling. The challenge came in finding a way to install the illuminary strand within the fully tiled shower stall. The solution: sticky hooks that are semi-permenant yet require no drilling. We'll see how well they do with the moisture.

Next, 4 plants were hung around the small room and now I need to find a solution for watering them, since all of the pots have drainage holes without plates under. Can't have the plants dripping all over the floor every time they are watered. Until a solution is made, they are bring taken down and put into the bathtub to drain when they're watered. I think that I can have a regular pot with drainage holds and place a dish under the pot, then have a cradle, maybe a macramé net of some sort or something, holding the dish and the pot so that the drainage water can be disposed of and everything will be lovely. Also, the current pots are beige, which is super boring and drab.

For a future plan, I have a whole bunch of fake plants that I want to put along the walls, but cleaning seems to be a problem. Is it worth dusting fake plants in the bathroom? My housemates might not agree. Other option for the walls is to cover them in bamboo reeds or to do a mural or a mosaic. I think that we'll have to figure out our storage options before moving on to the next step of wall decorations. We'll see what happens and since this is a communal project it is highly subject to change. Will post photos as soon as I take them.

Girls day out

Mother Octopus by Erin J. King

Today I went shopping with my two lovely female housemates for supplies. Goodwill is an excellent source of items that are fantastic for deconstructing and altering to make amazing things. Lowe's leaves me feeling like a kid in a candy store because of all the things I want. Went down the aisles pointing at things that I want, but don't really need, and things that I can't really afford, jumping up and down.

*Sigh* Can't I be independently wealthy and just pick out everything I want and take it home? That would be nice. Instead I spent more than I meant to, but have some fun projects that I plan to work on and leaves me feeling motivated and excited, though a bit lighter in the wallet.

Projects:
- a men's striped button down shirt that I'm going to turn into a skirt
- a pillow that I'm going to rework with feathers
- a large number of items to improve the atmosphere of the bathroom to sport a jungle theme
- frames so I can finally mount some artwork I purchased from artist Erin J. King and Matt D.
- a bunch of brass & copper nails due to my inspiration from my favorite book Altered Curiosities to embellish other projects to make them even more awesome
- a wooden candle holder to cut and screw between two plastic plates to create tiered platters for display storage on my vanity

I feel so inspired, yet exhausted and think that I will have to wait until tomorrow to get started on all of my projects.

President Abraham Lincoln Riding A Dinosaur by Matt D.

Ok, so I got a bit more motivated and framed one print (the Mother Octopus one, shown above) and have to make a mat-board for the other print (the Abraham Lincoln Riding A Dinosaur one, shown at right), due to fact that the second frame came with the wrong size mat-board for the piece I have. Guess that Lincoln with have to wait in my closet until I can remember where I put my Exacto knife and right angle ruler. Here is a good video on how to make your own mat-board to frame prints in random frames you find at second hand stores, just like your good pal Jessie Night.

Tomorrow I plan to head over to the fabric store and buy feather tape so I can have a mass of feathers on the pillow I'm reworking. Saw a very pretty pillow at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, that I thought was cool, but far too small and not exactly what I wanted, so now I'm doing it how I want. And isn't doing things your way what Art is all about? Maybe I'll do another post about the difference between Art and art some time, we'll see if I feel like tackling that rant any time soon.

Working in the studio

So, today I had some fun cutting out images for collages and cleaning up my studio space a bit. It was lovely having some time to do these things because I feel like I have been neglecting my creative side too much over the last few years and any moment spent in the studio is precious. The feel of scissors through paper is so soothing that I have this slight fear I might be a psychopath. At least I've been feeling more inspired by the images that I've been cutting out, despite it taking forever to do well and the worry that cutting feels good in a deep-seated way. I've been thinking a lot about animals in victorian dresses and fun hats. Too trite?

Also, there was a potluck at my house earlier tonight where I got to talk to a lovely gentleman who told me that he is finally starting to make it as an artist! The idea that someone can get tot he point where they are able to support themselves with their creativity is so uplifting. Now, this gentleman has not agreed to let me use his name, but he used to work for Lucas Arts and is now working hard to make and sell his pieces. I had hoped to pump him for more information, but he slipped away before I was able to get to that spot. Alternately, the whole conversation ended up with me calling myself "more of a craft artist" which I'm not sure is 100% accurate yet. I think that I imagine myself as a mixed media artist, but in the end, where is the line between craft and mixed media? I don't know yet, but I think it is time for more exploration and play in the studio.

Decorations

This last weekend was the culmination of months of planning with the decorations committee for the Vampire: the Masquerade game that I was involved in during three of the nights of KublaCon. Each night had a theme and required that we make the very large space appear different for each night because the game was set in three different locations, though in reality we were using the same physical location all three nights.

The first night was themed "Rebirth" and was supposed to evoke the idea of a phoenix rising from the ashes. The second night was without a theme, as it had been decided that we would use the existing space  as is to give a clean/uncluttered feeling as a juxtaposition to the other nights. The last night was "Masquerade" which was my favorite and, by far, got the lions share of my attention and imagination and resources.

Nights one and two were fine, but I want to share night three, since that is the decorations that not only looked the best, but brought about comments that they were the most amazing decorations the convention had seen (considering that the same was said for the decorations I did for one of the nights last year, I'm extremely proud of continuing the upward climb). The space was a large tent with ten round 6ft tables, chairs arranged around the tables, chairs in a few rows, a small dance floor, a small platform that was dubbed a stage, and a few tables that we could move around the outside of the very large tent. Everything was white or drab, as befits a stereotypical hotel pavilion, but we made it rich and vibrant.

Through the use of fabric in reds and golds, masks, fake beaded fruit, jewels, fake candles, vases, fake flowers, real flowers, ribbon, fur, and hard work, the team and I made the space amazing. There was a plethora of art by my friend Jenny J. (who I will link as soon as I have her permission), who was of great assistance with the decorating committee as well as being an amazing illustrator and painter and costume designer, and I feel that her art pieces really made the space what much more imaginative and festive and beautiful. Thank you Jenny for adding the depth to the space.

Pictures will be posted as soon as I can get ahold of them.

Balloonacy

At noon there was already a short line at Millions of Fishes, an art collective that a few acquaintances are and have been a part of, for an amazing experience. While waiting for Balloonacy there were a few of the extra sturdy balloons in the waiting area that everyone was playing with. These balloons were large and sturdy and a couple were huge. It was finally time to go in and there were a string of warnings: if you are claustrophobic, don't go in; if you have a fear of latex or latex smell, don't go in; if you get disoriented and need help getting out, there are lifeguards that will help you find your way.

The warnings were well deserved. I waded into a solid wall of white balloons held in check by the confines of the room and two layers of curtains to keep out light. Once inside, it was super surreal, there were balloons everywhere that glowed when jostled and as other people moved the balloons got pushed into me and I pushed other balloons into other people. At one point I noticed that the ceiling in one area was very tall and that there was some extra space up there, so I threw a whole bunch of the balloons in the air, scooping them and tossing them, watching them glow as they gently descended.

After wading through the chaos, one of the artist, George, offered to take me upstairs for a look down. Wow, it was so cool. There's a second floor to the room with a strange balcony/catwalk that extended over the pond of balloons. All I could see down there were glowing orbs moving around and giggles. Fantastic is putting it lightly.

Inspiration

Today I read a fabulous book called Altered Curiosities by a fantastic artist named Jane Ann Wynn. There are whimsical stories behind her art works and she has good technique in her construction. I adore the fact that she ages everything and gives objects a creepy twist and yet the pieces remain light-hearted and fun. I feel so inspired that it makes me really sad that I have to go in to work today. Why can't I be home making amazing things? Oh, yeah, bills. Grrrr.

Supporting the Arts

Just received a fantastic duvet cover that I ordered from Deny Designs. The one I chose is by a fabulous artist by the name of Valentina Ramos, who specializes in illustration. I love her use of visual texture and heavy detail work to make each piece special. I feel so inspired by her art and the fact that she is working hard and selling her creations and doing her own thing just makes me want to do all that much more. Is it silly that I want to be her when I grow up?

snip snip

Today I worked a bit on cutting out images for collages. While National Geographic is great, I think that catalogues will be giving me some interesting images, due, in particular, to the nature of the images that are in catalogues as being a presentation of the item rather than a piece of art unto itself, like most of the photos in Nat. Geo.

Also, made a trip to Lowes and purchased a lovely clear coat to protect my collages, 2 gallons of Elmers glue for sticking everything together and doing papier-mâché, and a bright light for my makeshift art studio in the storage area/chickenlandia/basement. I'm ok with sharing the space with 25 chicks, so long as I get to make what I want. 


Lastly, hung up 3 found paintings in my studio. Had to clear away cobwebs, since the spiders move in pretty quickly, but now that they are up, I want to add more art to the walls. Will post pics of these random paintings as soon as I can find a camera.

What to say about a shop

Reworded my shop statement, but I'm not sure that the new one is any better than the old one. The whole artist statement thing was never my strong suit, making was always easier than selling for me. Need to get Photoshop up and running again to make a new banner, so that will have to wait a few days. Now to go create something.

Keeping up with chores

Finally reposted all of my long standing items on Etsy in particular my hair accessories. Looking at my shop reminds me that I really really need to redo my banner, since it was done before I had anything to even put in my shop. Perhaps it would be best to just feature one of two items with a white background or something like that. Must contemplate the best visual presentation that represents my art and myself. Oh, and it can only be 760px by 100px, so no challenges there. No wonder I have left it as the old banner for so long. I fully admit that I'm not the biggest fan of e-housekeeping, so I'm dreading making further posts of my items.

It would be nice if I had wealthy patrons who just threw money at me whenever they saw a thing I had made, but this is reality and those people require a bit of wooing, or so I would imagine. *sigh* Must keep up with making things and allowing others to see them.

A little bit

Today I went to SCRAP (my favorite place on earth) and bought some lovely items for the LARP event I'm helping to decorate as well as a small paper guillotine for myself. Also found a whole bunch of National Geographic magazines there for free and spent about an hour cutting out great pictures for collages. Now that I think about it, I'm probably best categorized as an assemblage artist, but I still like mixed media most, because it covers so many aspects of my creative endeavors.

Sheepishly Returning

Sooooo, I've been lax in my dedication to my dreams, but no more will I shoot myself in the foot. I am going to do better and will return to posting about what I've done creatively, even if what I have to show are the Dreaded Works In Progress (which hurt me a bit to show to others). It is my hope that by doing at least a little something more often, instead of letting everything slide and going a little crazy, that it will be easier to remain creative. Furthermore, I hope that by doing something productive each day that I will not fall into the wallows of despair and existential crisis that I have allowed myself to mire in for far to long.

New leaves are difficult to turn over, but if I take it a baby-step at a time, the miles will fly by before I know it.