Party Animals.

Materials Study: Embroidery

Wish that instead of white, a more intermediary color had been used but alas, just wasn't thinking that far ahead.

  
          An introductory project to embroidery. I've never done embroidery before even though for literally years, I've been watching it with interest. The process is really fun, frustrating and in the end gratifying, but the sexist attitude toward sewing and craft is a bit disheartening. Totally too tired for a rant right now but no worries, I will post one in the near future haha. Anyway, before starting I was looking at Jillian Tamaki's embroideries and how she's been using them in her professional practice. Her work is really inspiring and it's dissappointing that I didn't become aware of her before I left New York because how she takes on drawing in her work seems very uncompramising which results in images that are so alive!

         From this experiment we're moving into finals, and for this class I'm definitely going to expand what I learned into a true reworking of a surface. Have been thinking about modifying a piece of clothing with almost journal like vignettes. Almost like a visual free-write that may explore childhood and race relation? Or a kid's relationship with the media? It would tie in with my glass final quite nicely...

Near Sandpoint

         Today got lost on the way to my destination and found this abandoned building that had been condemned because of abestos. It's owned by the University of Washington but is part of a larger collection of infrastructure that was once an old military base. It felt strange walking around and exploring (hah, probably because of the no trespassing signs) but there were just these really great details, like water decay, boarded up windows and the lines of very out of place looking windows that lined the top. But then when I went to peek inside I thought of all the people who may be hiding inside or worse, all the empty stairwells that lead up to those windows that were perfect for watching. Needless to say I got kinda spooked and went on my merry way. Then when I turned the corner there were all these men with metal detectors sweeping the lawn. How wierd is that!?

highway birds

Here is a small materials study assignment with applying heat binding pigment to fabric. After all the dyeing and slow building up of layered transparent color, it was nice to just draw and create a more graphic and deliberate mark. The pigment wasn't diluted and I just worked on the muslin with a brush to see how things went. I like to draw! No matter how open I am and intrigued I am with all the avenues that an artist can now take everything returns to drawing. It's definitely something I want to keep developing despite UWs insistance on heavy theory and clumsy hands.

Every once in awhile it feels like I have to put my boxing gloves on and get in the ring to defend my stance on background and the environment of my work. Though I'm very interested in an environment texturally and creating a space for my subject of choice to exist in, complete articulation of the world outside my focus just to create a context feels wrong. When I focus, I can't see anything outside of what I'm looking at, and if drawing is an act of focusing, well that just means that my drawings arn't handicapped at all, but just honest. They are able to serve the dual purpose of communicating ideas for a greater cultural need (Illustration, entertainment, public consumption, livelihood) as well as create a place where I can work out the more personal aspects (neurosis, fetish, innocent curiosity) that come with being an artist... Or at least that's the balance I'm working toward :)  

My cat, Mischa, didn't get to come live with me in Seattle, and I miss her a lot. Can you tell??

what do you want to draw? Idk. boobs.

laterne

Coloring with kids today.

Direct Dye