dream sequence

The Art Department presented | 3 DREAMS featuring the art of Nina Bednarski, Craig Grabhorn and Rebecca Peebles. Thanks to everyone who came to see our work. Thank you to Just Coffee for donating the coffee for our screen-printing and show today (Saturday). Amazing coffee may have been the only thing keeping me rolling after Friday night's reception and big turnout.
Too engaged on show night to really photograph the action, but here are photos of slower moments. Notice at the end... the mess on the floor and the 2 exhausted blokes on the couch. More photos to come, here and at www.theartdeptsite.com

see a video by clicking these words

a bird haiku

bird song. listening.
wake hearing song and flight. I
lay still as nothing.

easter basket

offering you wishes for the fresh joy that comes with truth.

limelight

aqui: la pajarita nueva con la inspiriacion.

spring into action

action: cycling
spring: now
into: things, such as:

- finishing another felt bird for 3 DREAMS art show in 8 days
- selling art on the fly at Lazy Jane's (last year's Spring Speak)
- putting purses from Etsy online store into a real life store: moco market
- cycling
- crocuses coming up in my front garden

Anyone for spring cleaning?

for the birds

I'm not exactly sure what I want to say with this post. I think I can explain and frankly, think through what I've been calling these felted birds: Alter(super)ego.
Each one is then numbered for the sake of recognizing the series. Pictured: Alter(super)ego I, III, and IV. I think most of us understand that the alter ego is "a person's secondary or alternative personality." So, I'm inserting (super) as I recognize the alter superego in myself. Superego is defined as the part of one's mind that acts as a self-critical conscience defined by society, teachers, parents, etc. I think my superego debilitates my artistic drive sometimes. I think I've put off, quit, thought better of, and scoffed my own creative ideas at times - simply because they weren't "logical, productive, fiscally responsible, efficient, or useful." In quotation you read the voice of my own self-critical conscience.

I was required to read "Art and Fear" my freshman year of college as an art student. I can't remember who wrote it nor most of its points beside this (in keeping with the Nike swoosh): Just do it. The self-critical conscience might be a hefty phrase for fear. My vocation as an artist asks me to stand up to my fear.

I see that I am standing up, however peaceful in my stance, to my fear. My processes and themes of art making are progressively more aligned with what I intuit as right for me to use creatively. I am producing art at a pace with which I resonate. Further, I don't really feel like I have to "stand up for myself" anymore. More accurately, I think I need to keep working.

These felt birds represent the "alter" of the superego in that they are not about saving time nor money and they are not conventionally useful. The time spent in slowly felting the fiber using a single barbed needle is more in line with meditation. Meditation, daily meditation, daily hours of meditation... allowance for this method and others like it (in my other works) is not a part of our culture's work ethic. Certainly there is a sub-culture of "slow food, slow movement, slow (whatever, just relax and notice this world), but it's only just begun. It looks like I've jumped on that train of reaction against GO GO GO. I still work from the time I get up until the time I go to sleep, but it's certainly with a healthy dose of "I don't have to if I don't want to."

My self-critical conscience is telling me that I sound like a rebellious youth. I think I'll go sleep on it.

+

dos mas.

m mo mo momentum um um m

Making art using repetitious processes is what I do, or so I define my work this way more over these past few years. Here, a needle felted bird (2x2x5"), one of many I intend to make over the next 2 weeks, made by repeated sticks into wool (or other animal hair) using a barbed needle that tangles the fibers slowly. Sculpting an object in this style requires patience and offers slow realization of an object or shape. I appreciate the simple color and texture of the wool fiber, so I made the decision to keep this simply focused on these while forming the familiar and comforting (for me) shape of the bird.

schwaklakk

I imagine you'll see photos on the Schwaklakk home page in a few days... of Craig and Me tickling some serious ivory! Soap! Ivory soap that is. Schwaklakk, a made up term (despite my thinking it was some European language's term for "soap carving.") by the creators of the event 16 years ago, is an event dedicated to carving ivory soap into whatever you want while drinking and eating with friends. Damn, good party.
In honor of foul language, I made this:
Other good news: It was nice enough (by our acclimated standards) to cycle around town to run errands and hang more posters for the show.
I've been in high gear lately collecting work to do and organizing time and expenses in order to get it done. I admit, I feel undirected or unfocused. It's been a weird season of bumbling around from project to project. Projects range from completely mine to contracted graphic design, to drawings for Memory Globe designs, to teaching adults, teaching kids, cooking unusual/time consuming foods... Everything I'm doing is creative and must lead me to somewhere... I'm just not sure where that is. One thing is for certain, this show at the end of the month with Craig and Nina is going to be a solid show of talent. I hope, if you live near, that you come.
Details of when and where in the March 1 post here on holsum(ation).

walk where we want to

I returned yesterday from a trip to Colorado to hit the slopes with my sweetheart on our tricked out boards. I'm thankful for the opportunity to spend 4 days only caring about snowboarding and feeling good so I can snowboard. More photos to come of the powdery white slip and slide party! There were 4 of us, and we didn't take a group photo... amazing. But, a picture on day one on the way to breakfast - Nick, Aris, and Christian. Also, a picture on day last at the new Museum of Contemporary Art Denver designed by David Adjaye.


Our last blitz in Denver before heading to the airport was to see the Denver Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in the city... a great time! I felt totally turned on by Adjaye's building. From the moment we approached it from a muddy parking lot to standing on the top looking out on lower downtown Denver, I was full of sensory delight! I hope all of you go see it!

AD

This will whip you out of your winter funk. The Art Department, namely Craig Grabhorn, Nina Bednarski and myself, Rebecca Peebles invite you to our show 3 Dreams. Come on out for the opening reception Friday night, and get down with us as we'll have libations for your enjoyment and art to rock your socks off. Or, come Saturday afternoon as we do a print "workshop" and you can print something up for yourself. Bring a Tshirt, or paper, or whatever. We'll also have stuff you can buy to print on. Never screen printed? ...this is easy and fun and unique. Come Come! Details details: