Wire for a Good Cause

Tonight I'm giving a demonstration of the wire working as part of Art in Action, a fundraiser sponsored by Henrico CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) at Crossroads Art Center. 

Getting ready for this demo has forced me to think more about what I do and why I do it, and to finally put some things down on paper.

Yes, this is the same image from yesterday but I wanted you all to look at it again.  As you can see, I use a variety of wires--some purchase, but most salvaged.   Trimmings of picture hanging wire, violin strings, phone cables, spiral notebook bindings--whatever I can find.

As you can see, this piece has a much more thickly worked surface.

Full view of the previous closeup.  This piece is from a series I did called Universe in Perspective.  I used found wire to illustrate the connectedness of all life, from the cellular to planetary to the galactic.

I work with spheres (rather than creating more representational works) for two main reasons.  First, because I feel that the sphere is a very elemental shape and I feel very connected with the earth (a great big sphere) when I make these balls.  Second, and on a more practical level, I feel like I have not finished exploring the possibilities of this shape.  Its simplicity allows me to experiment with structure and surface in a way I couldn't if I were concerned with making a specific image.

I have a feeling I will be having more to say on this subject.  I'm looking forward to getting some interesting feedback from the visitors to my demo tonight!

Holiday Galleria Part 3

I don't know if it is obvious yet that all of these items I made for the show have a common theme (beyond Christmas ornaments).  All are made from reused or salvaged items.   The fabric for the hearts was created out of scraps from other quilting/sewing projects, and the candy wrapper globes -- well, I can't say I ate all of the candy, but I know who did.

The last series of work is spheres made from salvaged wire.  (I admit, I did buy some wire to get these finished in time.)  This type of wire work is something I've been doing for several years and is the work I am currently showing in my regular space at Crossroads.  It seemed like a good idea to make some smaller, less expensive pieces to sell in the Galleria as well.

Holiday Galleria Part 2

Another series I did for the Holiday Galleria was glass balls collaged with tissue paper, origami paper, and candy wrappers from my extensive collection.  This was a mixed success  -- I feel like they are not quite done, and there are a few technical issues to work out, but I like them. 

Here are some photos of work in progress:

And finshed pieces at the show.

Holiday Galleria Part 1

Early in December I participated in the Holiday Galleria at Crossroads Art Center.  Although somewhat disappointing in terms of sales, it was a great opportunity to spend time with other artists -- and also get some work done.  I had been procrastinating badly for a while but with the show coming up I had to make myself get these pieces done.

The first thing I did was a series of quilted hearts.  I made the quilted fabric by cutting strips of several different widths from red, pink, and gold fabrics, mixing up the different colors, then stitching the strips together end to end.  This resulted in a few very, very long strips.  Then I stitched the strips to batting, alternating widths and colors.  Once that was done I machine quilted the entire piece heavily, using many colors and fibers.

Here's a shot of the back of the piece--I love the way the stitching looks.

Once the quilted fabric was finished, the rest was easy!  Next step -- cutting out hearts.

I didn't plan this, but love how the red shoes go with the hearts!

Finally, the finished stitched and stuffed hearts on my table at the show.

Procrastinating

I'm supposed to be sewing and/or gluing and/or weaving right now, finishing up my items for the Holiday Galleria.  Instead I am playing around with the software that came with Photo Gallery.  These are from the week before Thanksgiving, taken at the rest stop on 64 East.  Not the greatest photo or photo manipulation, but I love these colors and shapes.  Very much like the sewing I am supposed to be doing right now, so I will take this as a sign to get back to work.

Candy Confetti

Bits of candy wrappers for collaged Christmas tree ornaments, part of what I'm making for the Crossroads Holiday Galleria.  I've spent most of the last few days cutting what is really a very small part of my huge stash of candy wrappers into tiny squares, strips, and points.  At this point many of my loved ones will shake their heads and talk under their breath about "real jobs."  But both the task of cutting and the bowlful of finished pieces are things of beauty to me.

Halloween

I wish I were a better photographer.   These leaves glowed with the light behind them.

We spend October making things for Halloween.  My husband wants to be known as the Halloween Guy of Richmond, in the manner of his friend Ralph (one of the stars of the Tacky Lights Tour).  I'm not quite so into it, but it's fun to work on this project together and think of new things to make each year and figure out how to make them.  Art can build anything but is especially a wizard with PVC--skeletons, ghouls, cemetery gates.  I've been playing around with some of the photos I took to try to make them look spookier.