VOTE

Last week current Box 13 members pitched in to paint over the temporary murals behind the building that had been up for years. (An unintended, yet revealing ‘before’ shot is here.) While the plan is to commission new work in the very near future, in the interim, this bold-face call to action ahead of the mid-term elections was suggested.

Susannah-Mira_Box-13-Vote-Mural.jpeg

I’ll be honest—initially, I felt more than a little cynical about the project, thinking,this won’t get anyone that wouldn’t have otherwise voted to cast a ballot.’ Suffice it to say, I’m glad I kept my grumpy mouth shut and let others forge ahead with the plan.

First of all, soaring skyward on a forklift with a paint sprayer turns out to be the best ride I’ve ever been on. And what occurred to me during the process, which I may have intellectually known but not recently felt, is that the communal energy that grows around a collective effort really does matter. Sometimes, with four larger than life letters, you can say it all.

Upcycled plastic installation on view for the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series

A section of my much larger installation work, Loose Ends, is on view through Saturday, October 13th at the Houston Museum for African American Culture in the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series—which I never would have known about had The Jealous Curator (aka Danielle Krysa) not given it a shout out at some point last summer on her highly informative Instagram account, @thejealouscurator. It never ceases to amaze me how much comes into our lives through random internet browsing: from the impulse purchase; hometown exhibition opportunity; or new, real life friend.

Susannah-Mira-Loose-Ends-2018-19_web.jpg

While installing the work, the HMAAC exhibitions manager (and ultimate competition winner!) Dominic Clay asked me what this work was about. I told him that I always feel compelled to make the random pieces of material I collect connect, my way of making sense of all of the stray things I bring into the studio.

Someone else I talked to about the piece didn’t realize that, in fact, I’d made each and every one of the component shapes out of single plastic widgets, thousands of discarded plastic garment display hooks sourced from the Reuse Warehouse.

Susannah-Mira_plastic-display-hook.jpg

So allow me to elaborate here: this is what each of the some 3,000 pieces looked like when I found them!

Coordinates

I feel like one true sign of friendship is the recurring tendency to turn up places in matching attire. Rebecca and I may not share a studio anymore, but at least we still have an indistinguishable affinity for bold prints.

Susannah-Mira_Rebecca_Braziel_Craft-Center_2018.JPG

Yep, we also do plaids. This was at a Claire Drennan Knits pop-up shop craft night earlier this summer.

Susannah-Mira_Rebecca-Braziel-popup.JPG

The Empty Box

This year, the first Saturday in May was not only the Kentucky Derby, but also Cinco de Mayo, and the annual studio fundraiser, the Empty Box. I was so grateful that so many talented artists agreed to donate to the cause, including the friends I asked personally, whose work is displayed below.

Some of my pieces were also available for purchase, including work from a series made from salvaged, baltic birch plywood offcuts and a piece from another body of work made from discarded air filters.

Susannah-Mira_Full Course_salvaged-plywood.JPG
SusannahMira_Lighter-than-Air.jpg
Caught the night of the event in my studio among my favorite blobs and folds by Jessica Ramirez.

Caught the night of the event in my studio among my favorite blobs and folds by Jessica Ramirez.