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.

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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.

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.

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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.

In Process

Without a doubt, one of the best things about having a studio at the Box is getting to see other artists’ gravity-defying ideas take form. Giant traffic popsicle (certainly, not his description) by Daniel Bertalot.

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It’s also always inspiring to see artists bringing big ideas to form, particularly when I’m on a phase of a project that is small and needling. Case in point: I’ll have dipped a few thousand landscape staples in plasti dip before Safety Yellow is ready to install in the Houston Heights.

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