Orange Spool Studio

the worst ever.

2009-01-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

Last year was a hard year.

Sucked.

But at the same time, it was amazing and wonderful and exciting... A GOOD YEAR!

but parts of it were the worst ever.

This painting is from that part.

W oo d!

2009-01-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Pardon my lack of creativity in the title.. My hands are cold!

At the beginning of the summer I found two pieces of wood on the beach. The one below used to be some sort of plank. I had this wild vision of the journey it took to get to the beach I was on... it screamed to be told pictorially. So... I bought a wood burner.

and....

waited.

and

waited.

Until finally I picked up the wood burner and started to burn. (burn baby burn).

There wasn't a lot of premeditation and I don't know if it's done or not. I'm pleased with the left side, but kind of lost it towards the middle. The octopus is weird.

Regardless... I like it.

And since it's cold, I'm not going to over analyze.

Full Image:

Detail !:

Detail @:

We'll see if I get inspired and decide to continue to work it...

The second piece of wood... is STILL waiting. But I think I need to go the beach again before I can finish it.

Clay...

2009-01-21T15:19:00.001-08:00

is not dirt. Although it can found in similar places. And the gardener in me (who is new to this world, so be gentle) insists that there is something fundamentally similar about working with both. So I shall acquiesce to this and hope that none of you are calling the hot line to report dissociative schizophrenia.

Regardless... let me introduce you to ... The Drunken Moon

He's a hand built vessel, roughly 18' tall at his highest point, terra cotta clay, with an iron oxide and wax. He's a happy, slumpy fellow, and the first of my face pots. He also happens to be one of my favorites.

Since then, several smaller face pots have been explored. I rather like this guy:

He's made of stoneware, a normal mug size, with white glaze on the interior and some spots of glaze on this face, but is otherwise unglazed on the exterior. He's also kind of a "special needs" guy.... in fact... let's get one thing straight... all of my little clay men are "special". It's just how I roll.... yo.

Buddy wants you to know that he's my helper and THIS is his FAVORITE piece. Mostly cause he digs lemons, but also cause he likes to swirl and twirl. He can swirl and twirl like a mofo. Lemme tell you.

And of course I've been doing lots of just utility pieces. Which I do because I know that's what my loved ones want. So I deliver.

Regardless... this part of my life is on hold for now. I may delve back into it eventually, but right now I feel like I need to focus on my strengths.... Which are you ask? Well we'll see.

Forays into Fiber Arts

2009-01-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

My senior year of college I took several life changing art classes. One of them was Fabric, Fiber, and Contemporary Art. This is one of my favorite pieces from that period to time.

The funny thing is the professor kept pushing me to name it. I thought she wanted something clever... and it just kept escaping me. (Just like I can't seem to stop with the dot. dot. dot.) Finally, in exasperation I said... "Spheres"

So I give you "Spheres". Which are really all about the shadow they cast... not their form. Just in case you don't get it from the lack of spectacular photographs.

They were constructed out of balloons*kitchen twine*Elmer's glue*H2O.

I'm interested in exploring that medium further. In fact.. I think I shall dedicate some time to it. And so it shall be.

whoa... whoa...whoa.. . WHAT HAPPENED!

2009-01-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you what happened.... I was derailed.

Holidays came about. Two part time jobs. Lots of work revolving around my full time job. I lost my momentum as predicted. But it's back.

Although I'm sitting at my second job at Danforth Pewter (which means I'm surrounded by loveliness, it's nice), I'm thinking about my creative side. I have lots of work to post actually. Most of it is experimental or a gift for someone, but regardless, it's all items made by moi.

I recently discovered the name of my favorite artist. How is it I did not know said artists name? Funny story really... I've only seen two pieces of his art in person.

The first one was the beginning in 2002. It was at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine... on the third floor. It filled an entire wall and must have been at least 15 feet tall. Dark. Moody. With burned books and ash falling to the ground intermittently. I was drawn in utterly and completely. The placard said that it was a reference to the holocaust and the number of books that were burned, as well as the extermination camps. I left.... enthralled... but somehow without the artist's name. I tried to do several random searches, but could never find the piece online or the artist. In fact, I still haven't been able to learn where that piece is or a picture of it online.

Fast forward 2008. I visit my friend Danielle in North Carolina and go to their amazing FREE museum. I was so impressed by the fact that the museum was free. That's so rare... And then there it was... Or there this was

This... is... massive. A whole wall. Three dimensional... amazing... and without doubt the same artist as the orginal. Mystery solved... my favorite artist is.... ANSELM KIEFER.

A German man who lived through World War II and was heavily influenced by the attrocities. Earth, Books, and melted materials are featured in his work.

LOOK! http://www.leninimports.com/anselm_kiefer_gallery.html#anselm_kiefer_gallery_12

LEARN!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselm_Kiefer

On other fronts.... Janet Van Fleet and Martha Hull remain my two favorite Vermont artists.

Janet Van Fleet was a discovery through a college 2-D art class. I was orginially drawn to her Red Dress series. Her work is always thought provoking and often fun. http://www.janetvanfleet.com/

Martha Hull is the best discovery ever! We became friends... and I learned she was/is (was at the time, and continues to be) an amazing artist. In my opinion, Martha has three very distinct genres she works in...

(please note... this my synopsis of her work..... )
a. Personified Food with attitude and irony.
b. People who are people, but not anyone that you or I would know, who are either searching for emotion or working through emotion.
c. Creepy Dolls

I love all of her work. However, I find the creepy dolls the most powerful..... cause they're creepy. The people who are people draws me in too. And the FOOD! well.. I mean you can see for yourself! http://www.marthahull.com/

Speaking of Vermont artists... I'm very impressed with the recent divergence from barn cats and cows that Warren Kimble has made. The Widows of War examines the ravages of the current war. It's currently on exhibit.... so go look at the slide show here. http://lubinhouse.syr.edu/gallery/kimble.html

Viewing art is one of my favorite activities... I could and have spent hours in museums and art galleries.

And now.. onto me. I've stopped going to pottery class, simply because it was cost prohibitive. I need to save money, and that's sadly where I'm going to save it. I am dropping off several rolls of black and white film though!

And... then I"m going back to the darkroom. I'm excited. I have interesting photographs waiting to be exposed.

And... I've been working out in my head a painting. Again... not a painter... but this begs to be painted. I'll upload some of the latest creations later... YAY.

fuck you.. everyday ordinary

2008-10-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

I may or may not have mentioned it yet... but I find lists comforting. Not that I ever follow them... or well not that I ever don't follow them... It's a bit hit or miss. I also appear to be rocking the ellipses (...) tonight.

And with that preamble in mind... I give me a list. I need to start getting motivated around this stuff and make my studio an actual studio, not just another half filled room.

TO do.. for the last week of October:

Spend a solid hour in the studio (take photos)
Start making Ava's Apron
Start pulling together black and white prints
Send film out.
Make grocery bags
Make two rice pillows... for the snow is a'coming!
Take photos of my clay pieces

And that's it. That's a lot really. I just.. I feel like I have a golden opportunity slipping away from me because I'm not doing it.

I'm drawn to making stuff and creating stuff... but I let the every day ordinary block that. I sometimes tell myself if I was really that drawn to it, the every day ordinary wouldn't mater. But it does...

and we revisit the past again....

2008-10-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Etchings are a pretty amazing art. Again it's one of those two dimensional arts that has a real three dimensional component to it... etching your image into the copper. It's very much like making a tile in clay, only less forgiving... plus! I got to use the dremel tool.

POWER TOOLS FOREVER!

Regardless... Here's some of the work I created. I'll probably never get back into the art form, so I'm grappling with possibly selling my copper plates for scrap metal (hey I'm poor!), but they're really cool unto themselves...

"Roland's Last Revelation"

For those of you familiar with Stephen King's Dark Tower series, this image should be familiar. It was a stretch for me artistically because I don't typicaly draw faces or humans, hence the decision to only put in his head. I became emotionally attached to Roland through reading the Dark Tower series and felt such... well I don't want to ruin the series for those of you who have not read it. It's an amazing series of literature and Stephen King deserves great recognition for creating it. Although, I don't think any one human can create such depth in literature. There's definitely something other worldly happening there. Regardless... this is the last etching I created. I like etchings because they make the paper three dimensional. The stones are raised... and there's lots of symbolism happening and references to events only someone who has read the series will understand. So read the series and understand "Roland's Last Revelation".

"Roland's Last Revelation: Blue Sienna"

This is just me playing with the ink a bit. I kind of like how this version turned out.

"Falling Fortune"

This etching was done by reclaiming a previously utilized copper sheet-- hence all of the scratches. I think I was trying to create an old window with the scratches and frame. The Ginkgo Leaf is so elegant. I love the shape. I also love the tree. It's prehistoric and survived ice ages! It grows in Vermont and sometimes you find a random one that someone has planted. There's a female tree and a male tree, and the female tree produces fruit that smells like rotting garbage.

All of these fun facts lead me to think that the ginkgo is pretty damn awesome.

There were other etchings... but these are the only two that I really feel any attachment to. Have I mentioned yet that I'm not a two dimensional artist?

Sometimes it's important to chronicle the past...

2008-10-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

so you can get to the future.

So here it is.

I'm not a painter. I say this over and over and over and over again. I'm simply not a painter. That doesn't mean I'm not drawn to canvas and paint, brushes and water... mixing colors. Okay. You got me there. I really do like to mix colors. It's so science project-y. And we all know I love science projects, or at least NOW we all know I love science projects.

That being said. In college I was required to take 2-D art. Guess what 2-D art sometimes requires? Painting! And pastels and other stuff. I rather liked that class to my surprise. Pastels really are awesome. Oil pastels.

So, here is one of the few things I was pleased with from that class. It's one part of a two part series, that the second part is now long gone. I rather like restrictive color palettes.

There's inspiration everywhere..

2008-10-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

The waterfall outside the pottery studio's window is perfect... There's nothing like the state of mind when I'm throwing. Time slips by.

Day 2

2008-09-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

I realize that day two is actually 26 days after day one. Also realize that after the intial excitment and gloriousness of the set up.. I faltered.

And continue to falter.

Life is so busy. Work comes home every night... work that actually pays the rent...

However, I continue to move on with my artistic endeavors. I've been making crazy clay items and just worked on this piece of drift wood I discovered.

Pictures to come next weekend!

But, I refuse to let this falter any further. Before the end of OCtober I shall have an etsy shop up! Dammit!

I shalL!

Day 1

2008-08-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Today marks the birth of the Orange Spool Studio and it's blog. I'm sure you're already aware of this, as you're reading the blog. Regardless, in case you've forgotten or are some how lost, sit, stay awhile.

I set up my studio. By studio I mean room. Across the hall of my apartment building. With a bright window and a closet.

As I was setting up said studio I found two things. An orange spool of thread and a squirrel tail. SO! I give you the Orange Spool Studio, home of Squirrel Tail Designs. It's kind of neat that I found both of these things in my studio.

Why you may ask....

well! Orange is my favorite color. Especially obnoxious, in yo' face bitch! orange. It doesn't back down. It does not hide behind a tree trunk. It's there and there's no denying it. I like things in life like that. The inherent honesty of having to be out in the open all the time.

and... Squirrels are funny. Finding a tail of squirrel in your window is a little weird and a bit gross. But squirrels are funny. For example... one day I was casually, trudging up the hill to get back to UVM (my undergrad home away from home), when I saw this squirrel. Granted, seeing gray squirrels is akin to seeing seagulls at McDonalds. However, this squirrel was special. This squirrel was wacked out of its little squirrel mind.

He was sitting on the limb of a tree just vibrating. VIBRATING more than normal I should say. Squirrels always make me think of a nervous person, well this squirrel was very nervous. It also had a dark discoloration all around its mouth and cheeks. And there.. there in the crook of the tree limb was the explanation. A cup of Coke Cola. This squirrel was all coked up!

As I approached, he got down, took a swig and took the "do you want a piece of me" position. I chose to not tempt fate that this squirrel was not only coked up but also rabid and skirted the tree.

This is a landmark occasion. Expect more rambles and some art! soon! soon! Soon!