I have a couple art bundles hanging in my magnolia now. Here’s the second one after it’s had a little time to weather. I have seeds planted inside. Also inside are the remains of a planter lining and some fabric. I’m not sure what will happen, but I’m hoping for growth–even if it’s just the growth of mold.
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.
Jane and my art opening went very well and now our show is up at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper, Indiana through the end of April.
While we were in Jasper, we took the opportunity to check out the Geode Grotto–a fantastic folk art environment constructed by a priest using Indiana geodes and cement. I’d read about it before seeing it, but it’s really something to experience in person. It’s quite large.
Jane suggested we should use it for inspiration for taking our garden art to the next level.
Check it out if you’re ever in Jasper! I was in awe.
Jane and I collect lots of really interesting things–well, things that we think are really interesting. Corn cobs, seed pods, a piece of paper from the street, fake flowers from the cemetery trash, cat hair, Barbie doll accessories found in the street, twist ties, twisted metal from the street, game pieces, pantyhose, unusual branches, bent eyeglasses, tire tread.
Some makes it into our art. Some waits to become art. Some is perfect just the way it is.
For our current show, Jane and I had fun bringing our collections together to fill 90 display boxes of intriguing and interesting items. It left us excited and dreaming about future projects and shows.
As I said in my previous post, my friend Jane Case Vickers and I have a show coming up April 3-28 in the Krempp Gallery at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper, Indiana.
Our show will be made up of lots of found object sculptures, plus we’ll display some of our odd collections of trash and weird objects. As part of all this, we’re experimenting with the concept of bundles of found objects and assorted materials that are left outside for the elements to weather. The items included in the bundles may have special meaning and that meaning may be enhanced by the weathering process.
Pictured above is Jane’s version of this idea. As expected, it’s a little different than mine, but very cool. That’s part of what I like about making art with Jane. Similar ideas and materials interest us, but we have different approaches to them. Jane envisioned the bundle as more of a stack. Hers has an old chair seat arranged like book covers with a flat stack of papers in between. On the front cover are some bark and turkey feathers that she picked up last week on our journey to check out the gallery. I like the way it blends into the tree she tied it to.
Did you know that Boar’s Head brand turkey lunch meat originates with birds raised around Ferdinand, Indiana? We didn’t until we went looking for the reason why there were so many turkey feathers blowing around town.
Jane Case Vickers and I have a show coming up April 3-28 in the Krempp Gallery at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper, Indiana.
Our show will be made up of lots of found object sculptures, plus we’re thinking we’ll display some of our odd collections of trash and weird objects. As part of all this, we’re experimenting with the concept of bundles of found objects and assorted materials that are left outside for the elements to weather. The items included in the bundles may have special meaning and that meaning can be enhanced by the weathering process.
Pictured above is my experiment with the idea. I found a fragment of brick in my garden and wrapped it in fabric scraps and paper, some with a brief reflection about the brick written on them. The brick is a reminder of structures that were part of my backyard when the house was built more than 100 years ago. I tied the bundle to the magnolia tree in my yard.
Amy Rich 