Tag Archives: encrusted

Shamoo Was a Good Cat

March 7, 2018 Amy Rich 4 Comments

My second piece for the Art Noir show at the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana was inspired by my cat Shamoo who died in December 2017. It is titled “Shamoo Was a Good Cat”.

For the piece, I wove some of his whiskers together to make an interesting shape. I had collected these whiskers as they fell out naturally and he left them around the house. My piece partly references the Victorian practice of braiding locks of a loved one’s hair after they died and then turning them into jewelry to use to remember that person.

The whiskers are suspended by a thread and hang in front of a whirling frame of black odds and ends. The collection includes vintage buttons, strings of beads, fake flowers, and cicada shells that I painted black.

The entire piece is enclosed behind glass in a shadowbox.

The piece is all in black and white, taking inspiration from the theme of the show. To me, it seemed fitting for a mourning piece. It is also perfect that Shamoo was a black and white cat.

One of the best compliments I have received about my art is that my style is “quirky conceptualism”. This is a good example of that.

This piece won third place in the 2D category. At first I was surprised that it was included with the 2D art, but now I think it’s pretty neat.

Works in Progress

Little Unnamed Birds

February 23, 2016 Amy Rich 9 Comments

I’ve been working on this series of little birds made out of parts of toys, broken jewelry, an old fur coat, and a few other scraps of things.

I’m working on a display for them next, and a name will come later as well, but they are fun little guys, so I tool photos of them individually before combining them into something bigger. They’re a work in progress.

Click on any of the images below to get a closer look.

Here’s the line up:

Bird A:

Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 4″ 2016.x 4″.

Bird B:

Unnamed Bird. 3″ x 3″ x 5″. 2016.

Bird C:

Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 4″ x 4″. 2016.

Bird D:

Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 5″ x 5″. 2016

Bird E:

Unnamed Bird. 4″ x 2″ x 6″. 2016.

Shots in the snow at a less-complete stage:

And at the beginning stages when you could see what they’re made of:

They move in a sweet and wonderful way that, unfortunately, can’t really be part of the final display. While I was photographing them, I noticed the way the wind would catch them and make them bob. Here’s a sample with chirping birds in the background:

Residencies

Patchwork Central Residency

July 25, 2015 Amy Rich 1 Comment

the making of a character

In June when we needed a last minute guest artist to lead sculpture week at Patchwork Central (where I normally work as Co-Director), I was happy to jump in. I enjoyed interacting with the Arts & Smarts participants in a way that was different than I usually do. They were wonderful students.

We created fabric people. For our materials we pulled clothing out of Patchwork’s small clothing bank and used them in addition to the regular art supplies that have been donated to the Arts & Smarts program. I’ve done this project with many groups now, but each time I lead it, things go in new and interesting directions. This time around, each sculpture became a fleshed out character and its creator wrote its backstory.

On the last day of the class, we went around the room and everyone shared the story behind their character. It became a wonderful storytelling circle in which everyone was encouraged and celebrated. It was wonderful.

Below is a slideshow of the art that was created. If you click on an image, you’ll be able to read the story that accompanied it.

“Gucci” by Becki. Gucci loves her bling bling. She loves to shop and travel. She wants to be an actress someday and live in California.

“One Handed Bob” by Eli. Bob was born with one hand. Bob is crazily insane. He likes carrots and pie. Bob had an adventure at the grocery. There were no apples and he was sad. He works at an apple factory. He works all day. He lives a normal live. He only wears pajamas.

Love Monster by Jane

“Dr. Do You Love Me (Dr. DYLM)” by Daniel. Dr. DYLM reminds me of a disturbing doctor on a motorcycle. He also reminds me of a tall human because of his long legs. He wants to be loved.

“Kevin” by Gavin. This is Kevin. Kevin likes milk. Milk comes from cows. Cows make burgers. Burgers have condiments on them. Ketchup is a condiment. Ketchup is made from tomatoes. Kevin does not like tomatoes. Kevin does not like zebras. That is the story of Kevin.

“Wonder Eyes” by Mariam. Wonder Eyes is a superhero born with stubbed arms. Many people made fun of her, not recognizing how truly beautiful she was. However, Wonder Eyes discovered self-love as she grew older and soon conquered her enemies. Self-love was her greatest strength as a superhero, that and her laser eyes. She led an amazing life, saving many people from the evils in her galaxy. Her laser eyes became well known to everyone making villains fear her.

Esperanza by Elisa

“The Paint Brush Man” by John. One day some sun shine and rain were half and half and a rainbow came, and the Paint Brush Man was painting the rainbow and painting different crafts. He loves to paint. He paints all different crafts. The people heard about the Paint Brush Man, so the people wanted to see him, but it was too far away. So the people draw to see what he looks like. The Paint Brush Man goes to sleep when the sun and the rain are not half and half.

“The Prince Princess (A.K.A. The Money Pope)” by Renee. The Prince Princess (Formerly the Money Pope) got fired from the Pope job when he started spitting everywhere. Then, in a horrible accident, a penguin stabbed his eyes out. He also has a heart made of amber.

“Queen Fleek” by Jazmin. She is planning a secret attack on Queen Fifi. She lost all of her limbs in a war. She only wears purple. Sometimes she adds in different colors.

“Strawberry Shortcake vs. Lemon Blossom” by Ashlynn. Strawberry Shortcake had a fight with Lemon Blossom because Lemon Blossom snatched Strawberry Shortcake’s favorite lip gloss. Strawberry Shortcake went to an evil witch’s kingdom and begged for revenge. She offered the worst spell of all. When the witch cast the spell she purposely merged both Lemon Blossom and Strawberry Shortcake’s bodies together because she hates their sweet village. Then Strawberry Shortcake and Lemon Blossom turned into Strawberry Lemon Blossom. From now on they will never fight again.

Aurora by Marian

“Officer Boo” by Owen. Hi, I’m Officer Boo. I’m a scary officer. I scare off thiefs. It’s kind of bad in some ways because they get away. It’s good in other ways because they drop what they got that they were stealing. Another thing is I like donuts. Every officer likes donuts. I get thiefs. Some officers get people speeding. Others keep people safe. I like being a police officer.

Doge Man by Eme

“Daisy” by Allie. Daisy is a free spirit and loves to travel. She loves to be outside and summertime. Daisy also loves to sing and be at the beach.

“The Ninja” by JJ. He is silent and fast. No one knows his/her past. Though The Ninja has been known to save the day. The Ninja wants to be known, but he is shy, so he is known by being a ninja.

by Jane

“Aqua” by Shammah. She is very peaceful and loves animals and nature. Her favorite color is blue. She is a mermaid princess.

“Queen Felisha” by Jerriah. Queen FiFi grew up in a different neighborhood. She represents that beauty is not hair, clothes, or faces. She is nice to all people.

by Jane

Finished pieces

In the Middle of the Air

May 31, 2015 Amy Rich Leave a comment

I’ve reworked this piece. I shared a photo of it last year when I’d prepared it for a show and then realized that there was a problem.

In the end it was a good thing. Having time to rework it meant that I added quite a few more layers of glitter, thread, and paint. It’s better for them.

I still envision it as a kind of mystical creature surrounding the little boy and girl and suspending them in the air–a mystical creature made of discarded materials, comical googly eyes, and a mass of glue.

It continues to be an exploration of the things that we collect, the way that we relate to them, and the way that we project ourselves onto them.

I kept the original title of the piece. Someone remarked that the glittery circle is reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision of a wheel covered in eyes, which I liked. The inspiration for the piece hadn’t been the Bible verse, but I decided to make a reference to the folk song “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” by titling the piece “Way Up in the Middle of the Air”.

The piece measures 9″ square and is about 3″ deep.

Finished pieces

Little Critter

December 24, 2014 Amy Rich 4 Comments

The local arts council is having a show that challenges artists to make art that is no more than 2″ in any dimension. Here’s what I created. The little whirligig on the top spins when you blow on it.

The base is made of the official 2″ square canvas I was given by the arts council and part of a suction cup. The sculpture itself is made of corrugated cardboard, beads, a pin, a security envelope, googly eyes, gold paint, and microbead glitter.

Works in Progress

The Piece that Isn’t

July 3, 2014 Amy Rich 1 Comment

This piece of art doesn’t exist, even though it’s the most recent piece I’ve been working on. With it, I learned that when you’re making art out of found objects, you’d best do your research.

The centerpiece is a beautiful little nest that I found on the ground last fall. I created a mass of glitter and googly eyes to surround it. Someone remarked that the glittery circle was reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision of a wheel covered in eyes, which I liked. The inspiration for the piece hadn’t been the Bible verse, but I decided to make a reference to the folk song “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” by titling the piece “Way Up in the Middle of the Air”.

I was about to deliver the piece to a local exhibit when it occurred to me that perhaps birds’ nests are included in the same regulations that forbid anyone from possessing feathers or other parts of wild birds. I looked it up, and they do.

I should have done more research first. I disassembled the piece for now, but you may see it reinvented later–minus the nest.