I haven’t posted anything in my art blog for over a year! That doesn’t mean I haven’t been making art, though most of what I’ve done has been photography for my job at Patchwork Central and for my garden blog. I’ve also been expanding my art garden environment, and I’ll share more on that in the future.
Recently, I’ve had a couple deadlines to inspire me to create some sculptures for exhibit. I’ve got inspiration tucked throughout my studio space. My inspiration makes an interesting photo, too.
I’m back from a two-week residency at residency at InsideOut Studio in Hamilton, Ohio. I had a great time working with adults, for a change. The studio staff were very supportive, and we all made some great art.
The residency was made possible with support from the Ohio Arts Council. Photos are courtesy of InsideOut Studio.
The concept behind the art that Jane and I created with the high schoolers in Jasper was that the bundles of art would go outside to weather in the elements and further develop the art. The art teachers decided that the art should be hung in a tree at the school and invited us to view it when we picked up our art at the end of the show.
Today we were in Jasper to collect our art, so I stopped by the high school. I wasn’t sure what I would find or if the group had actually hung their art out, but at the back of the building I discovered this bush. I thought it was pretty great that they decided to try letting their art weather.
As part of our show in Jasper, Jane and I led a workshop for a group of local high schoolers. We talked about our art some and they looked at the show. Then we went to the workspace downstairs and made some art.
We all constructed bundles of objects with the thought that they would be hung from a tree outside to weather. It was an idea that Jane and I had tried out earlier. I thought the kids came up with some great ideas and interesting construction techniques. In a way, we were manufacturing the kinds of objects that Jane and I collect from the street and other interesting places.
We provided a lot of odds and ends–fabric, paper, markers, thread, yarn, feathers, old toys, bolts, washers, pop cans, magazines, old Starbucks gift cards–even a Girl Scout cookie. They were asked to bring some object that they found around where they lived, and some did.
Above is one: a bundle of bundles. There was also one that made wings out of the Starbucks cards so it would spin. Several others got innovative with markers. Some even pulled the felt out of the inside of the markers and hid them at the center of their bundles with the thought that in the rain, the dye would seep out.
The teachers said they’d hang the art up outdoors at the school. I hope they did and that Jane and I can see it when we go back to take the show down.
My friend Jane Case Vickers and I have both been working on art for a local exhibit. The theme is the Prodigal story in the Gospel of Luke. We’ve been discussing her artist’s statement to accompany her art and she was curious what my artist’s statement said. Here it is:
I took as my inspiration the two brothers, their struggles, their interplay, and their shortcomings. In the parable, neither brother plays the role of the exemplary son. One leaves his father, squanders his inheritance, associates with prostitutes and then pigs. When he returns home, the other son angrily and bitterly refuses to join his father in the celebration that his brother has been found and his place in the family restored.
In my sculpture, the two brothers appear as two golden figures suspended in the mechanics of the piece. One hangs from the upper section. This section is actually the rotor of a whirligig, and you can activate it by blowing on it. When the whirligig spins, it carries this figure in endless, unproductive circles. Through a series of wires and strings, the second figure is also connected to the spinning whirligig. In this way, as one brother spins around and around the second brother is jerked back and forth, suspended just above the ground.
The piece is a metaphor for the very human and very familiar actions and reactions within this parable. It illustrates the ways that we, as human beings, fall short and the way that these shortcomings impact our relationships with each other and with God.
Separately, I enjoy making art that celebrates found objects in all their beauty, and I particularly enjoy the way the found materials in this piece resonate with the parable of the Prodigal/Two Brothers and its place among several parables illustrating God’s rejoicing that the lost is found.
Found objects in this piece include: rusty bed springs, a coat hanger, pop/beer cans, twist ties, shower curtain rings, Mardi Gras babies, old beads, old jewelry, gold leaf, cardboard, sewing machine bobbins, a beater I found in the street, half an ornament I found in the street, a ballerina cake decoration, an old needle case, odds and ends off some Christmas crackers, fabric leftover from another project, a star from a stuffed animal, a Barbie leg, and wire.
Here’s a post in honor of the Super Bowl…and my efforts to resolve the lower portion of this sculpture. I’ve got a couple deadlines coming up, so I’m committed to getting a good amount of art done today.
Amy Rich 