progress report

Ladies and Gentleman,
you are cordially invited to Progress Report: a visual accumulation of the byproduct of creative process in the architecture studio environment.

The waste/recyclable paper from the students and faculty at Taliesin: the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture is the media for this on-site installation in Hillside studio at Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This image reveals a bit of the structure. Ripped or cut strips of the paper (fragmenting imagery and text) are tapestry woven on a vertically stretched warp on the wall of the studio. The combined imagery and text from the students and faculty represent the collaborative, invisible energy of creative effort as though that energy, with myself as catalyst, attaches to the wall as visible residue. Through twisting, folding, and otherwise manipulating the paper, I hope for it to seem as though it is a growing form, similar to mold or lichen, expanding from day to day of work weaving through the wire warp. This is truly a reflection upon my own experiences working in large studios with other artists and my time spent in the Hillside studio amongst architects and architecture students at work. The energy of production and creativity, the collaboration and influence of ideas, and the product itself are only together for a brief time in the studio environment. This project seeks to capture a product of these elements together.

new york new

We took a bite from the big apple - Christian and I. Happy Birthday Christian!


We did some research, and we decided that yes, in New York City there is a lot of art in one place. Great shows of note: Olafur Eliasson at MOMA, PS1 and next week, new waterfall installations around the city; Jewish Museum's large collection of Modern American Artists includes some of our favorites: Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, Frank Stella, etc; dinner at Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar (East Village); Karrie Hovey's group show: we arrived soaking wet from running in the rain to get there; New Museum of Art (best from the outside - Hell Yes!); and really, my mind isn't sharp enough to keep listing what there was to enjoy. My list doesn't include the architecture of great note that we hiked around to see while there.

We went to many Museums (Googy restoration):


We looked at art (Christian Rothkophile Butler):


We ate delicious food (our spread at the Chelsea market):


We drank some Colombe Cafe serious espresso:


I could write more, but seriously, I think we can all understand the immensity of that idea. I'm somewhat overworked right now, but all self imposed: Project #1: Onsite Installation at Taliesin July 13 - 19 entitled Progress Report. Project #2: Performance Art - walk through Madison August 16, 11a - 3p entitled Flags. More information to come soon here and at holsumation.com.

on the shelf

As of today
this coffee
blend is on
your coolest
grocery store's
shelves. Props
to Just Coffee
for making
sure the blend
of coffees was
perfect for the
summer. I did
this label
design last
month. Get your
collector's
edition today!!

kick start

This morning I returned to Madison from Spring Green, WI (where my partner Christian is currently living and working on his architecture degree) by bicycle. Different from the normal car trip on Rt. 14 (see approximate route at google pedometer map here), this method of travel took me on winding side routes and through quiet pastoral landscape. I was moving at about 15 - 20 mph most of the way and not inside a vehicle, so my perception of my surroundings was more tactile and sustainable. The views of old farms, especially the beautiful barns of this countryside and my correlating pace with flying, bounding American Goldfinches along the roadside were some of the many enjoyments of my ride. This could be just to save on gas money, but certainly it is more in depth and aesthetic an experience than that. I am grateful to have this summer ahead of more commutes from Christian's home to mine.

quiet intention

Many people wearing the 5 colors and traditional imagery of a chain of prayer flags might have the same non-verbal, visual message as the prayer flags themselves. Walkers may be conversational and publicly interactive, but with no intention to proselytize, prove a point, or push an idea. The simple answer to “What are you doing? Who are you people?” is “We are a mobile strand of flags, symbolizing and offering joy, care and goodwill to the places we walk and the people there.”

para todo mal, mezcal. para todo bien, tambien.

...moment in my garden today and now a drink on the front porch before heading to bed.

then came may

This month started without me as I was too busy at play with the new weather and warmth. Meanwhile, my garden has been started, the newest Just Coffee blend label is finished, I went to Seattle, and my marathon was run.

Not that each detail of the trip to Seattle isn't duly noteworthy (Sarah Geddis, my host, the loveliest, deserves applause), I'll stick to my blog's format and talk about art.

First, the espresso. lovely. I was relieved to confidently order an espresso in different cafes each day and know that the Seattle standard guaranteed satisfaction. Usually, in my snobbish way, I fear ordering coffee and espresso in places I don't know and wish only to make coffee for myself (or have none at all). I was delighted on my first morning to enjoy espresso from the famous Stumptown Coffee (based in Portland) at Verite Coffee and Cupcake Royal in Ballard.

Chocolatier - Theo. In Fremont district. Go there. www.theochocolate.com

I went to the Henry Art Museum near/part of the University of Washington. There I saw the work of Kader Attia. Two of his 5 pieces there were especially attractive to me for their repetitious qualities. Each repeated a form many times while embracing nuance and change from form to form. I wish you could see it. Oh, you can: here. These works of repeated process and repeated object touched close to my own adoration for my work. Both of these works, Ghosts and Rochers Carres, are human scale, thus providing a powerful environment and reciprocity with the viewer. As if it could get better, the Henry Art Gallery also includes James Turrell's Skyspace: Light Reign. Upon entering the space, it is breathtaking and then absorbing as you can sit and experience the space indefinitely. I was lucky to find a quiet moment there. I sketched for a while and made sure to call and share my delight with my partner in art-love, Christian. The oval room is like an egg in which to rest and be held while the open-air oval skylight window offers clean, fresh air through all seasons. The time of day and time of year affect the sunlight's path and projection into the space and onto it's walls. My visit offered a glowing soft-edged bean shape on the wall that held my comfortable gaze. I would probably visit this space as often as I could if I were living in Seattle.

Sarah and I also went to the lovely Islandwood, a Nature Education Center where Sarah studied for her Masters and worked last year. A Gorgeous place... I finally understand the Pacific Northwest Forest. How beautiful to share a bit in an old friend's precious place and experience. Thanks be to Sarah.

I ran a marathon on Saturday May 10th in Tacoma (just south of Seattle). See my picture just before the race (at right: the "picture of the month"), and the race results you can see by clicking on the picture. Three words: long steep hills.

My last full day in town, Sarah and I went downtown and visited Pike's Place Market where I purchased (and later ate with giddy, joyful surprise) the most delicious oysters I've ever eaten (from local Hood Bay). We then went to the Seattle Art Museum where Cai Guo-Qiang's installation Inopportune of hanging "exploding" Ford Tauruses hang in the museum's foyer. I was ecstatic to see it as this work was just in New York and thought I'd missed the opportunity to see it (going to NYC in June). It's a very special piece to me mostly because it represents an artist who's work (other than the Taurus explosions) using gunpowder as a drawing medium has inspired me. Cai Guo-Qiang's website here shows the Taurus exhibit as it was in the Guggenheim in NYC a while back. The museum also houses a lovely collection of Modern and Contemporary art. I find there are many artists through whom I sense my own identity. Going to museums and good galleries fills me with inspiration that is simultaneously momentous and freezing. I hover somewhere between all and nothing. I'm nonetheless aware of my mind's prolific buzz of ideas in the wake of seeing what I think is beautiful or great. As I dozed on the plane and the bus home to Madison last night, ideas and solutions and plans for my own art work surfaced like bubbles in water.