EVENING SONG MORNING LIGHT AT COTHREN CONTEMPORARY

November 21, 2021

I have a few New Moons on display at Cothren Contemporary, alongside Jill Bedgood, Lucinda Cobley, and Doerte Weber. The whole show is beautiful and it’s truly a thrill to work with someone as enthusiastic about art as Jana. While I’ve been staring at these moons for some months, I’m realizing that aside from pieces that have flown out to new homes, it’s actually the first time a small series is in the world outside my studio. Join us for a closing reception on December 18th, 11-2p! The artists will all be present.

A joy of the opening was that I got to catch a glimpse of Hyeseung, visiting from New York, before our plans the next day. It’s not the first time that I’ve made a friend at a residency and then had the good fortune to catch up with them across miles in short order. More of this, please!

DESIGN FOR PUBLIC SPACE

October 31, 2021

This summer I was invited to submit a proposal for a commission at Intercontinental Airport here in Houston. The idea wasn’t chosen, but I like it so much that I decided to memorialize it here. Perhaps I’ll create a series comprised of four pieces hanging vertically—though likely not in the 28’ dimension that this setting would have required. Until then, this is my bookmark:

My use of a moon theme was influenced by Houston’s reputation as ‘Space City,’ not to mention flight itself, the process by which we all get a little closer to celestial bodies. In addition, my design’s emphasis on simple geometry ensures timelessness, as for centuries, its use in art has symbolized the desire for an ordered universe.

The organic shapes of these pieces contrast with the rectilinear forms and rigid materials that tend to dominate institutional spaces. Instead, the waves and bubbles of these evoke textures of the natural world, from the surfaces of distant satellites to foliage and foam found right here at home.

My motivation for using felt in this work has a similarly dual nature, as it was a material known to ancient people and yet also has contemporary industrial use cases, such as in gaskets and seals for aviation. I find it so powerful that this material is one of our earliest inventions and remains integral to innovative technology in aerospace applications today. And while textiles may seem an unusual choice for an airport, Heathrow offers us a lovely precedent in the form of a permanent 20’ fabric mural in its facility by Vanessa Barragao.

SOFT TARGETS, PERSONALIZED

December 22, 2020

Fun to see how a friend will be displaying her blob cluster. Because it will be hanging on a neutral wall, she designed a close fitting backing and covered it with an emerald green paper. Display variations on these multiples are endless!

THE FELT STORE SPONSORSHIP

July 15, 2020

I’m happy to announce that The Felt Store has supplied a stash of remnant pieces of their wool blend craft felt for use in a new body of work. These pieces will further my work to date making abstract organic forms using stuffed and folded fabric elements, with the usual dose of surprises along the way, no doubt. With a working title of Every Last Drop, the project continues my commitment to utilizing scrap materials in my creative process and also refers to the many drips, bubbles, and ripples of this series.

It’s such a gift to be able to use this extended season of Covid to experiment with multiples at home on my own timeline. I’m reminded that last summer I strained to keep up with the prompts I had created for myself for participating in the 100 Day Project. Over the project timeline, a creator is supposed to brainstorm and iterate daily on a theme for over three months. This could be as simple as draw a cat or as complex or conceptual as one’s own imagination. While it is a powerful way to push through blocks and those nagging questions of whether something is ‘good’ and just keep going, it was difficult for me to share pieces on social media that I didn’t love, which is simply inevitable over that period of time.

That said, it was also during this period that Guide Stars rushed into being, a body of work that I’m quite proud of, so I’m convinced of the value of the effort while at the same time wish there was a way to hold one’s self accountable without having to publicly post so many duds. This summer I’ll enjoy going at my own pace and presenting images of my work when I’m satisfied with them. Without the other experience, however, it’s likely that I wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the beauty in this kind of slowing down. Despite the challenges brought on this year, I hold huge gratitude for the endless opportunities to reflect, create, and grow.

MAKING EMPTY HOUSES HOMES

July 1, 2020

A couple of weeks ago, Claire, in her alternate role as marketing director at the Houston Furniture Bank, asked me if I might donate work to the inaugural show and auction at their art gallery. I’d never been to the space and offered to drop the pieces off and get a tour. I’d be remiss in mentioning that a car trip outside of my neighborhood held a rare thrill given 2020’s unique terms.

In hindsight, I could have made more of the opportunity to pose with a heap of foam, but I suppose after months of solitude, any performative instincts will require some warm up.

I donated Spring Moon to the auction and Blue Drip to the gallery. While I was delighted to learn that the former sold to an eager bidder, I was more excited by how quickly I was notified that the other piece had also been claimed.

I do hope that other artists in town will consider contributing pieces to the effort (details here). The auction raised funds to provide new beds to children in need in Houston, while the gallery donation provided a family with an original work of art to take home. The experience really made plain to me the thrill of adding to the energy of a fresh start and I look forward to fueling this initiative into the future.

RED ALERT

June 28, 2020

After an especially gray week that essentially felt like one long rainy afternoon, the mere sight of sun, not to mention how it saturated the piece I was working on, seemed worthy of adding to my list of everyday magic. Less welcome and hardly a surprise, however, was the notification I’d received earlier in the day along with other Houston residents announcing that the virus threat had escalated to its most severe level, a most unfortunate coincidence.

BLUE BAYOU INSTALL

May 15, 2020

Shortly after our stay at home order expired I was notified that a large commission I’d finished in March would be ready for install. I’d anticipated feeling strange to be working in proximity to other people after some six weeks of relative isolation, but the thrill of getting to see a substantial project to completion was by far the tone for the entire afternoon.

A couple of days later, I got a troubling call, informing me that there’d been ample feedback since install that the bayou looked too much like a sperm. The irony, of course, is that I'd been thinking the design had a fertility motif since the beginning but figured if they were happy with that messaging then so was I. To abridge an epic tale, I was assisted in getting the offending portion of the bayou back home and was able to transform the ‘head’ into another whiplash curl.