Little Black Sketchbook

It is the best feeling getting to the end of a sketchbook.  More often than not I'll prematurely start working in another one because I want a new size paper or paper texture, or I just lost the last one I was working in.  This little black sketchbook has actually stuck around for a while (although it was originally abandoned for about a year with only a couple pages filled).  The majority of it has been filled with notes I took while working in the studio as well as interning at Fuller Craft Museum.  The past month or so I've been filling it with sketches.  It feels so much better to have art in there than notes but with the combo of the two this sketchbook is definitely going to be a keeper.

Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art

Had a great time at the MFA the other day but unfortunately we were not able to see the new wing at the Gardner.  They were closing in 20 minutes and would not let us in.  We could have seen at least the space in that amount of time, but they were right to not let us in because I'm sure it is amazing in there and we would have lingered and eventually have to be shooed out.

Going through my images from the MFA I found myself continuously coming back to this:

I liked these two pieces and remember reading something about them being contemporary comments on the 18th century Rococo movement.  But... there was so much to see and I rushed past only stopping to take a photograph and look more closely for probably 30 seconds.  I've searched a bit for the artist information for both the chair and the ceramic sculpture but have not found what I am looking for.  I believe that they are located within the Jeanne and Stokley Towles Gallery.

Here in an installation view of Kiki Smith's Lilith.  Kiki Smith is such an art goddess for me;  her work is beautifully morose coupled with a deeply feministic soul.

Detail view of Lilith
1994
Silicon Bronze and Glass

This piece by Smith refers to the Jewish folklore where Adam and Lilith were made by God of the same earth and were husband and wife.  Lilith did not stick around though because Adam would not view her as an equal; cue Eve being made out of Adam's rib.

Lilith was long viewed as a spirit dangerous to men and children but has been more recently reinterpreted as a symbol for female strength and independence for obvious reasons.  If you think this piece is a little creepy, then you haven't seen anything yet.  You really need to see this one in person, when you get up close, her eyes give you a real jump.  All that bronze, and then suddenly incredibly lively glass eyes.

After the MFA Jasmine and I headed over to Thaitation for some birthday lunch!  Yes we were out to see some great art, but on my end I was also keeping Jasmine away from home where a surprise birthday party was being set up for her! 

Me trying to get work done first thing in the AM = not happening according to Winston Churchill.

MFA

I'm pretty excited about seeing the new Contemporary Wing at the MFA tomorrow with a good friend of mine.  After the MFA, Jasmine and I will head next to see the new wing of the Isabella Stewart Gardner which has just recently opened. It is such an exciting time for contemporary art in Boston. Now we just need to get more places like YES.OUI.SI where artists are taking control over the exhibition space and organizing to show their work in new spaces.

Pieces I am excited to see at the MFA:

                                       

El Anatsui, Black River, 2009

Lynda Benglis, Wing, 1970

A sketch for the now completed Gardner expansion and preservation project by architect Renzo Piano:

A piece by my good friend Jasmine:

Memories

Mixed Media on Canvas

Jasmine K. Fanning

Peers

Here is a minute sampling of some of the work by artists who I am honored to consider my peers.  Please click their individual names to direct you to more of their work.

Alejandra Atares Abad

Alejandra Atares Abad and Irene Alvarez Blazquez

Adrian Alvarez 

 

Elizabeth Geanoulis

Tumblr.

I started a Tumblr account a while back but never had the time to use it.  I am now making the time and it seems like it will be a great tool for me to keep up with different things going on in different artistic venues.

Tumblr.

Business Cards

Deadlines always kick things into high gear.  That is something I definitely need to keep on top of myself with, creating real deadlines.  I'm newly working on keeping better to personal goals for myself which seems appropriate, it being January and all.  I've never been much of a competitive person even with myself so real deadlines just have that extra boost that allow me to ignore things like the dishes and cat litter.
The deadline that has been helping me ignore daily responsibilities most recently is the upcoming opening reception for the show I'll be exhibiting in at McGladrey Gallery in Charlestown on February 8th.  Earlier this week I got my website up and running and today I submitted an order for business cards.  I've had two sets of business cards before but these newbs will definitely be the best ones yet.  The first ones I had printed up included incorrect information, making them no good as of the second I got them, and I threw them immediately away.  I made the second batch of cards by hand using a brushstroke of paint from the palette I was using for an artsy detail.  I liked the second group because I like the idea of a card made by hand (handwriting, not using a printing press although hand printed cards rock) but I don't think I nailed it and therefore did not give them out as often as I should have. This new group of cards I am really proud of and will actually be giving these ones out.

Front

Back

Second attempt at having a decent card

Here is the site I used to make my new cards:

https://www.printsmadeeasy.com/

There are lots of weird animations on there but I got 100 cards for free (I payed $3.95 I think for the slowest shipping) and the company will not print any of their information on the product... good find.

Website

I've spent the past couple of days working on a website and wow, do I have a lot of unedited images!  Every picture is warped and needs to be squared off because I am nothing of a photographer.  I have to admit though that I love the excuse to play around in photoshop for hours at a time.  The only color editing I ever do is to correct a shadow or something like that in order to make the images as close to the actual pieces as possible.
Hopefully the site will be up and running in the next month or so once I get all of the kinks worked out.
Here are a couple images I've excavated from the Spring of 2010 when I was doing all of my sketching digitally.