A cut: 'the'
Twenty-four 'thes' covered the front display wall at RiskPress during the month of October. Six additional black textural 'thes' were displayed elsewhere in the gallery. I loved watching people walk through, look at the work and discover the 'the'. Many comments and discussions followed about this ubiquitous word in the English language. And there were many who asked "Why the 'the'?" Rather than answer the question I preferred to talk about the word. 1) 'The' can be pronounced with a long or short 'e' sound depending on its usage.
2) 'The' is the most commonly used word in the English language.
3) As an adjective or adverb, it is a part of speech; it is also needed to mark a noun.
4) As an article, it is a determiner that makes the indefinite definite. So 'the' matters a lot!
5) In the English language, it matters a lot. However, many Asian languages* do not have articles.
*And other languages of the world, not mentioned here.
A Eureka Fellowship Nominee and Applicant
Lots happening this fall:
Recently I received a letter from the Fleishhacker Foundation inviting me to apply for the 2014-2016 Eureka Fellowship for the Visual Arts. I was one of 118 Bay Area artists nominated from which twelve will be awarded the fellowship, a $25,000 unrestricted grant. The twelve will be selected in the fall by a panel of noted visual arts experts from outside the Bay Area and awards will be announced in December. I am honored to have been nominated!
By the time you read this, the exhibit 'Cuttings' will have closed. As with most of my shows, I love the interesting discussions and interactions I have with those who come and look. I'm often left with more to ponder. Thanks to all who attended! Look for more postings on sections of this exhibit. And I will be looking for other venues to exhibit this work. If any of you have any suggestions or leads, please let me know.
And now that the exhibit has closed, I can start work on a project/ collaboration with musician, Jesse Olsen Bay. In August I met with him about his project, "Makings"; he set music to his grandmother's, Tillie Olsen's journals that she called the 'blueys'. He has commissioned me to make artwork for the CD cover.
'Cuttings' Opens
I was touched by all of you who came to celebrate the opening of Cuttings. A festive evening and many thank yous are in order. Special thanks to Lin Max for her support, many hours of help with the installation and opening festivities. Also thank yous to Eric for his assistance with lighting, Hope, Deborah, Sean, Sally, Laurie, Steph, Satri and Rich for their help with and at the reception. And finally to Charlie and Kevin, proprietors of RiskPress, for offering an alternative gallery space to artists in this county. We are fortunate for their patronage and generosity.
The work is up. Some have sold and still many days left for viewing, walks and talk. Here are a few glimpses of what you will see.
You can learn more about this exhibit on Satri Pencak's blog at www.satripecak.com/
And finally come to the first walk this Sunday, Oct 13th at 1:00. Note the prompt for this walk: walking like reading like constructing If you can't come to this walk, there will be others on Sundays, Oct 20th and 27th.
RiskPress Gallery is located on 7345 Healdsburg Avenue Sebastopol, CA 95472. Gallery Hours: Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun. 11-6 & by appointment 707 494-8534
'Cutting' as Process, Form & Making
'Cutting' is on my mind as I prepare for the 'Cuttings' exhibition. In an earlier post, I wrote that I have been letterpress printing at Iota Press--printing the matrix for a book that I am calling "Cuts Make You". As a way to brainstorm for it, I have been printing synonyms for 'cut'. The list is getting longer; here is a selection: clip, incise, sever, saw, select, dissect, section, fragment, bisect, survey, amputate, behead, miter, dice, chop, hurt, edit, wound, part, blinks, focus, prune slice, die, edged, snippet, excise, shun, snip, trim, crop, divide, piece, mutilate, lop, mince, frame, cleft, segment, slit, split, blaze, truncate, curtail, rift, curt, decapitate, shear, partition, trim. Post if you should come up with more words!
Iceland Travels:
Back to Iceland, a land of elemental forces in shape of volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, rivers, waterfalls, ice and wind. It's a land that is continually making and unmaking itself.
Rebecca Solnit in her latest book, The Faraway Nearby, wrote that "These are the forces that will flourish no matter what goes extinct, where the poisons migrate, and how the weather changes. The sun will rise, the winds will blow, the waves will lick the shore, the earth will tilt on its axis so that there is more light in summer, less in winter, rains and snows will fall, if not as they used to, and the waters will turn to solid ice and melt again. This is the world that existed before life and will exist after us."
Back to the studio:
As I explore 'cutting' as process and form, I am interested in how I might apply this process to a material and arrive at a form that refers back to its making. This is a focus at the moment and I was inspired by the basalt formations in Iceland. More to come.....
"500 Handmade Books" Released
500 Handmade Books, volume 2 by Julie Chen has been released and can be found in bookstores and on amazon. Look for my work, Tangled Dreams (a collaborative piece with Elizabeth Sher) on page 386.
- Tangled Dreams, 2012 Artist Book with wrap. 8.25 x 8.13 x .33 inches
'Cuttings' @ RiskPress Gallery
'CUTTINGS', a solo exhibition of mixed media constructions, artist books and drawings will be on display at RiskPress Gallery in October, running from the 4th through the 27th. The artwork explores "cutting" as process and form and is informed by the changing role of the book as the world moves to primarily digital delivery systems. Discarded book remnants are the dominant material of the work.
An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, October 5th from 5-8. Also featured during the exhibition will be a:
Gallery Talk: Saturday, October 19, 4-6
Walks: Sundays, October 13, 20, & 27, 1-3
Closing Reception: October 26, 5-7
RiskPress Gallery 7345 Healdsburg Avenue Sebastopol, CA 95472
Gallery Hours: Weds, Fris, Sats & Suns, 11-6 and by appt: (707) 494-8534
Cuts Make You
I have returned yet my thoughts are still traveling as if I was there. They are blowing around in a way that Icelanders might refer to as blasdur. Blowing and windy. Nothing like a deadline to determine a tack for a way through my mind.
RiskPress Gallery:
Cuttings October 4th - 27th
- Winds are here! And more to come.
During the duration of the exhibit, we (I and those who come to view the exhibit) will make a book. I am currently working on its design and matrix using letterpress at Iota and digital in my studio. I enjoy this back and forth way of working which seem to be feeding on each other.
Letterpress (at Iota Press):
Digital (at Holve studio):
A Noticeable Void
A noticeable void in blog posts recently; yet a few things brewing in absentia: IOTA PRESS
Since my last contact I have become a coop member at Iota Press, a letterpress studio in Sebastopol whose proprietor is Eric Johnson. An artist residency ( of sorts) in that I hope to experiment with the medium and make discoveries along the way. I am drawn to this old printing technology and particularly the "dents" that the presses make. More to come as work progresses.
A RETURN TO ICELAND
I return to Iceland on the 13th, only a jaunt for two weeks. This time I will circumnavigate the island by car, taking in new sites as well a visiting some favorites from last year's adventure. More to come on the blog as I will post images from the trip as well as work inspired from this unique landscape.
ART EXHIBIT AT RISK PRESS GALLERY
And finally I ask you to mark your calendar for Cuttings, an exhibit of mixed media constructions, artist books, and recent work inspired by my travels to Iceland. I will be installing the show in October at Risk Press Gallery in Sebastopol.
Dates: October 4 - 27 Opening: Saturday, October 5th 5 - 8 Closing: Saturday, October 26th 5 - 6:30
Revisiting Iceland with Elizabeth Sher
Last summer I spent a month at the Gullkistan artist residency in Iceland. I shared the experience with artist and filmmaker, Elizabeth Sher. She currently is showing work from that experience in her exhibit, Evolutionary Processes, at the Sebastopol Center For the Arts from April 4th through May 10th. On April 27th, 4:30 - 6, we will talk about our shared experiences, her work and stories that inspired it. Come hear more! Sebastopol Center for the Arts
282 S. High Street Sebastopol, CA
Hours: Tu - Fri 10 - 4, Sat 1 -4
707- 829-4797
