Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Evan Holloway

I have been investigating Holloway ... I admit that I like "twiggy" art, and wires and negative space, and totem poles. 'Pretty deep of me to base my admiration of an artist on my elementary tastes, huh? I don't care because what appeals appeals, and this work appeals to me :)

From Initial Access:

Born La Mirada, California, 1967
Lives and works in Los Angeles

Evan Holloway makes playful use of materials to arrive at sculpture in which formal and political interests intertwine and establish a balance between a critique of modernist conventions and a carefully calibrated satirical social commentary. Evan Holloway's sculptures combine the abstract and linear with the figurative. Inspired by music and colour theory, economics and mathematics, Evan Holloway creates distinctive, often elegant and sometimes strange forms that constantly make reference to the history of 20th century sculpture. His sculptures are often suspended from the ceiling, hovering like large mobiles above the gallery floor and, as in Untitled 2003, incorporate an assemblage of elongated faces modeled in hobby plaster and intricately painted in a variety of doleful expressions, a characteristic of his work. These figurative elements are attached to the formal, abstract, structures that make up the other portion of the sculpture. In Capital 2005, nude male figures replace the faces in Untitled 2003 as the figurative elements placed in juxtaposition with the linear structure. Compared to the faces, the figures featured in Capital are less individualized; they are submissively and comically posed on their backs and fronts and attached to each other by a network of bent metal rods. Each of the little figures is connected to the rods at its mouth and anus, and their gridded home is roughly coated with brown paint resembling fecal matter. Evan Holloway’s sculpture poses formal questions about scale, colour, line, shape and symmetry while at the same time making references to popular culture, historical narratives and social ideologies.


Additional Links:






Thursday, May 17, 2012

Family "Art"

Last summer at a family party we made a little "sculpture" from found objects. It all began with a black sneaker that had washed up on shore, and it then it grew into a most spectacular piece of art ...








Wednesday, May 16, 2012

My Brain

Projects: I am always thinking up new things that keep me busy and broke, but also happy. I have come to the realization that I am the most content when I am working out projects in my head and in my sketchbook, and planning new creative endeavors.

I am determined to finish my book. First and foremost. A nice perk would be the possibility of a little extra cash for all my other plans.

Building our house is a HUGE creative process, and I am constantly thinking about decor, design, color, texture, space, light ... and I am spending many hours on Pinterest and various design sites seeking inspiration. However, the architect has not presented our plans yet, so I can't move forward much with specifics until I have those plans in my anxious little hands.

Designing a new koi pond is another "little" project in my head, on my computer and in my sketchbook. My current pond is a nice size, but my mom's giant koi will be joining my little school when we move so we will need to go bigger, and I'd also like to go deeper. Again, I am waiting on the official house plans so I can incorporate the pond in with the rest of the landscaping, including a bbq pavilion for Jim and a future pool. Landscaping will also be part of this overall process ... I can't wait to plant trees and shrubs and perennials. Did I mention the woods and stream that will be our back "yard"? Yup - more fun landscaping, trails, boardwalks, bridges ...

Then there is a barn. Oh boy. I would like to eventually raise a kid or two which would require adding another Nigerian doe, and also I would like to add an alpaca or two to my herd. My future needs have to be looked at so I don't realize we built too small. Jim will need a "side" of the barn for his equipment and vehicles, and eventually add on an office for his business. He currently rents space in Rochester and Lockport, but with technology the physical address is becoming less and less important, so why not work from home as much as possible, right?

As if all of this weren't enough, I have decided that I also want chickens. Yup. So much research has ensued, and I'm pretty sure that a Buff Orpington is my breed of choice based on friendliness, hardiness, and overall cuteness. I am thinking four hens and a "tractor" to move around the yard so that we will have free range eggs but also safe chickens.

Here are a few chicken related links that I am finding helpful in these early stages of my chicken journey:

The Tangled Nest ~ a blog that "celebrates the 'new home economics' -- an essential twining of home, garden, food, craft, and co-existence with the wild, natural world."

Using a chicken tractor in the winter

Cute photos from a Buff Orpington fan

A beautiful tractor plan (see image below - snazzy!)

Another tractor design with some good ideas

A good place to begin your chicken breed research

Detailed FREE tractor plan

 ~ perfect! now I need to find a carpenter ...

~ what a pretty girl, right?? ~
~ cheep cheep! ~
~ of course I need a Gator, too :) ~