Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Lilac Muscles / Smoke Stars

Purple
Purple
Lilac Muscles / Smoke Stars
various fabrics, puffy stars, beads, fiber fill, piping, ribbon
9' x 4'

______Last week, I took a week and a half off to take a beading workshop in a tiny town in North Carolina. I lived Thoreau-style in a cabin in the woods that possessed absolutely no Internet or cell service, and it was quiet, quiet as could be. The only thing I heard at night was the occasional hoot of an owl and the rushing stream just yards from the cabin. And also this cracking noise the heat made whenever it cranked on that sounded like someone was trying to break in through the glass front doors. But that's just a detail.

______Though there wasn't much around the cabin itself, there was a Walmart some 20 miles off, fully furnished with all a human needs to survive. Even better, there was a creepy man loitering around the drink isles. Upon seeing me place a six-pack of diet root beer in my cart, he floated over to me like a bee to a flower, his yellow mustache wiggling as he spoke. He proceeded to tell me about how he makes the best alcoholic root beer floats ("not your daddy's root beer float" as he said... thanks for that, bro). I kept trying to slowly pull away but he kept following and managing to make eye contact. Strange men, y u gotta be like that?

     PurplePurple

______Upon signing up for these classes, I was afraid it was going to be super hokey, but it was the most relaxing, fun, and immersive experience I had. I don't care how cheesy that sounds. Immersive! Relaxing! Fun! I sound like an advertisement.

______At night, the school always had some kind of event going on in the common area, whether that be story telling from students, local legends with their banjo music plucking up a musical storm, or square-dancing for the more socially-inclined. I'd usually just sit with my laptop in a cozy rocking chair at night in front of the coffee machine, greedily sucking up their wifi and their decaf. Because that's the kind of terrible person I am.

PurplePurple

______Anywho, here is my most recent project that I'm sure most of you all have seen on Facebook, Instagram, or some other social media that we're acquainted on. Normal blogging shall resume!

Purple

Friday, September 25, 2015

"Containment" Opening

Temp. Piece Details

______This past weekend I had my first solo show in a gallery owned by an instructor at a local college. The gallery itself is actually an old church which received a facelift a while back: the floors were refinished, the walls were heightened, and lights were added to the ceiling, but the exterior still retains its weathered white paneling and gothic peaked windows. In conclusion, it's a rad-tacular space, dudes and dudettes.

______There was quite a crowd at the opening, as the gallery owner knows quite a bit of artsy inclined folks over on that side of the state, and a few of my dedicated friends who lived one or two hours away came by, too, which meant the world to me. I encouraged everyone to touch whatever they wanted at the beginning--because everything is made from super tactile fabrics, are sparkly and definitely meant to be inviting.

______And but of course, the world's most supportive parents were there! That's right--Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were at my opening.

______I kid, I kid.


Monday, March 9, 2015

Genesis

Genesis
Genesis, January 2015
polyester, muslin, paracord, panty hose, piping, plastic wrap
9'x8'x12.5'

______My final drawing class was presented with a most excellent opportunity this semester where we were able to work with composer Anthony Braxton by responding to his works and having it shown next to his illustrative music compositions in a gallery off campus. The composition I received was an hour long symphony of an exciting women making the most fantastically wacky sounds with her voice and some crazy saxophones. Braxton's approach to making music is pretty abstract with a grounding in tradition, so I tried to respond accordingly.

______We ended up in a magazine, too, so that's snazzy.

Genesis1Genesis2Genesis5

______I'm not going to explain anything but I will neither confirm nor deny the reference to eggs in this piece. You take that as what you want. My apologies in advance for the short post (you will be compensated with a fortune cookie with an ambiguous fortune this week, but only if you purchase the fortune cookie yourself), but I've gotta run around in a crazy-looking kimono I constructed that's connected to another kimono by a rope that measures somewhere around two-hundred and sixty feet. In public. And hopefully not trip people with my rope.

______Godspeed, my stylish comrades.

Genesis7Genesis11Braxton1UABraxtonAUABraxtonPerformance2

Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Rise and Fall of Ionicus

Ionicus

______Many years ago, before the time of dinosaurs and instant oatmeal and the familiar word "hashtag," a being named Ionicus roamed this vast land. Ionicus was a strange crustacean-like creature that scuttled over and through the lava of ancient volcanos. It was blessed with hearty appendages that shot from its rocky body that was curled like two lovers entwined, two burritos gently eloping, two bendy straws bent to the max. Ionicus was seemingly indestructable, for nobody dared enter the lava realm in which it dwelled. The lava glowed a fierce red like the demonic eyes of a rogue chili pepper, and was hot as hot sauce at a strip club full of bearded men wearing kilts.

______Whew. Anyway, Ionicus could handle that heat. Ionicus had it going on.

______One day, the Overseer decreed that all the creatures within the land must meet yearly to discuss the annual budget, tax laws, and most importantly, the quality of styrofoam cups. Deperately wanting to discuss the matter of styrofoam cups (since they melted oh so quickly in the lava springs, and something more durable like stone or a metal encased in rubber would be more conducive to meal-time), all but two of the Ioinici left the mighty volcano to attend this meeting. Those two Ionici were fast asleep and dreaming heavily, and one knew better than to disturb a sleeping Ionicus.

Ionicus
Ionicus

______The Overseer seemed to be a pretty chill guy, becususe he wore slick leather pants and guy liner, and so the brave leader of the Ionici approached him with no fear that his cup-related request would be rejected. 

______"My dear Overseer," King Ionicus declared after clearing his throat, "It would greatly assist our future endeavors if thine outstanding creator could provide us with different cups, opposed to the styrofoam ones we currently utilize." The Overseer rotated his head, which was fairly difficult since the Overseer was actually a banana tree, and ruffled his banana leaves in response. King Ionius immediately bowed his allegiance. 

______"Are your styrofoam cups not appreciated by the Ionicus Clan?" The Overseer questioned in a voice that could frighten small children, or cause plants to stop growing and shrivel into the ground. 
______"O great and mighty Overseer, I am merely suggesting a change. It is not that--"
______"Silence," the guy liner-wearing banana tree bellowed. "I see what we have here. We have a little bitch here. Is that what we have here? A little bitch?"
______The Overseer waited impatiently. A banana fell from his tree. King Ionicus regarded the curved yellow object nervously, knowing that the only weakness to the Ionici was indeed such a fruit. It was a silly looking fruit, though, and perhaps he should not fear it, King Ionicus thought. Tempted as he was to make a dick joke, he kept his professional demeanor. 
______"I would like to propse-" the King began, but he was quickly cut off.
______"Silence, little B." The Overseer's voice was more shrill than Prince's when he made that sound when doves cry. "I have heard enough of this. What do you think this is? A democracy? Wrong. I am a banana tree, and the only one left in this land, which makes me like five hundred times cooler than you. That's like, ice cold, and means I rule you and stuff. Goodbye, Ionicus clan."

IonicusIonicusIonicus

______The Overseer began to sing "Hips Don't Lie" as he shook his leafy body. With his booty poppin' game strong and his vocal game even stronger, all the bananas from his branches loosened and fell atop the Ionicus clan just the way a dump truck would dump rubbish. The Ionici screeched as the bananas made contact with their rocky bodies and disintegrated before the demented Overseer like those crumbly Nature Valley bars.  The area suddenly went quieter than a Calculus II classroom during a final exam, and the other creatures of the land quavered and immediately bowed to the Overseer, unquestionably submitting to his most mighty banana fruit power. 

______Meanwhile, back at the volcano, the two remaining Ionicus finally woke from their deep slumber. Many days passed, and they soon realized they were the only two left of their kind. Their culture lacked proper sex education, and too young to understand the art of reproduction on their own, the two stayed wonderful friends until their bearded, wisdom-filled rocking chair days. Eventually, the two Ioinici passed away, perfectly preserved as delicate little fossils in the volcano in which their clan once thrived.

______And thus is the tragic tale of the Ionicus Clan. 

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Enter: Calidus Fons Crustum

The Mutation of Calidus Fons CrustumAli18

_____I have realized for two plus weeks that I haven't blogged in two plus weeks. Every day, I woke up, and provocatively thought, "Ali! You puny fart! Go forth and blog. Make thyself a big, noticeable fart if you're gonna be a fart in the first place," yet every day I haven't been able to find a minute in my schedule to perform THE BLOGGING. In all caps. Because it's important.

_____I've been sacrificing sleep and whatever inconsequential amount of a social life I once had to the mighty art gods (their names are Tim and Tim-Tim, and they are animate representations of spaghetti and meatballs) but I have reaped rewards, so the sacrifices were necessary. I can stay sane as long as I eat healthy noms, get my daily bike ride in the morning, and hear positive words from professors on current projects. I've been more ambitious in what I'm doing and have been making my projects soar above and beyond what they used to, both conceptually and visually. I have willingly been researching my concepts in order to solidify them and it's been helping me immensely.

Ali17The Mutation of Calidus Fons CrustumThe Mutation of Calidus Fons CrustumThe Mutation of Calidus Fons CrustumThe Mutation of Calidus Fons Crustum

_____This installation is based on actual events: this summer, picture-taking drones dropped into hot springs and lakes in Yellowstone National Park, and thus officials have banned them from all national parks. I conceived a fictional narrative where the eventual pollution of one of these hot springs, specifically the Grand Prismatic, would cause a change in its temperature and acid concentration, thus causing the prokaryotic organisms that thrive within to adapt over time.

_____The previous organism, which currently does exist in the Grand Prismatic, would develop into these fictional donut-shaped microorganisms, which I have so properly named Calidus Fons Crustum. They have a thicker cell wall and produce more offspring that have the potential to live than they would've pre-evolution. Hypothetically.

_____Calidus Fons Crustum translates from Latin to "hot spring pastry." I still try to have fun, you nerds.

The Mutation of Calidus Fons CrustumThe Mutation of Calidus Fons CrustumThe Mutation of Calidus Fons Crustum

_____So my network here comprises of three elements: a satin fabric abstraction of the Grand Prismatic which dominates the central space, donuts borne from bubble wrap and panty hoes that swim out of said fabric and onto the walls, and diagrams that I rendered to resemble prints and field notes. Somehow I managed this in four weeks, but I must say I'm quite satisfied with this new language of fabrics and overall plumpness that I'm beginning to create for myself.

_____Hope you guys have a wonderful rest of your week! Thanks for sticking around like flys in a sticky trap even though my posts have been absolutely haphazard. I can't honestly say they'll get any better but donut worry too much about me. Ha. Hahaha. Hahhahh. Sigh.

The Mutation of Calidus Fons Crustum

Monday, April 21, 2014

BFA Juried Exhibition 2014

Microchroma
Microchroma, Fall 2013
Chalk pastel on paper

______As a Bachlor of Fine Arts major, I have the opportunity to enter my work into a juried competition among other BFAs for being displayed in an off-campus gallery for a few weeks. I was pleased as a pokey pineapple to discover that two of my pieces ended up being selected! Both are installation floor pieces that were done last semester for a Drawing Concepts class. I had to set them up one early morning alongside faculty and other BFA majors as we all figured out the proper placements for the works; I believe a true gallery environment with hardwood floors and controlled lighting really makes the work pop compared to a classroom setting, so I was sure to snap a ton of pictures, which is why you all haven't seen these before!

______The first piece I'll show you is a floor piece comprised of a multitude of pieces that I hand cut from thick Bristol paper. I then made drawings that were cellular or body-like in nature using chalk pastel on those pieces. As you move from the outer pieces to the center, the image "zooms in" on the one above it, thus rendering it more abstract. It was very time-consuming, but working with a buttload of smaller pieces instead of one large entity made it more adventurous and bearable. I feel this piece opened a whole new world for me; I'm hoping to push similar ideas further in my coming years.

MicrochromaMicrochromaMicrochromaMicrochroma

______My next piece was lucky enough to claim the famed "glass floor" on the second floor of the gallery. I was delighted it fit so perfectly there--I was afraid I would have to leave some strips out or have an uneven placement of them, but everything fit snug as a tiny cactus in a tiny cactus holder. For this one, I snipped a (clean!) white bed sheet into squares, stacked the squares in groupings of ten, inked minimalistic drawings on the top square, and used alcohol to bleed its memory through the layers.

______It was entertaining observing people get so close to both of my works to point and try to figure out what was going on. As I was taking pictures, one guy asked, "Is this yours?" and I nodded yes and he said, "It took me a while to realize what was happening. And then I grasped it and had an 'aha!' moment." He told me it was neat how even very similar marks ended up producing different results, and he and many others told me which their favorite "row" was, which was delightful to me!

Wash Out, Quiet SquaresWash Out, Quiet SquaresWash Out, Quiet SquaresWash Out, Quiet SquaresBFA Juried Exhibition 2014
Wash Out, Quiet Squares, Fall 2013
Ink, alcohol, fabric, glass

______The event itself couldn't have gone smoother--I was sure to make myself as frilly as possible, donning a confectionary, twirl-worthy dress and my geek-chic Triforce earrings. There was a full gallery of people: fellow art students, faculty, and family members made up a hearty chunk of the attendees, but there were many others beside that. I also spoke to a few polite strangers about my own art on display and I really think it helped my own confidence--it's flooring (ha) to see that people are interested in what you're making and how you're thinking!

______(sighs deeply) Yep, I'm gonna miss all my senior art friends who are graduating in just two weeks. Two weeks! What even happened to the semester?


BFA Juried Exhibition 2014BFA Juried Exhibition 2014BFA Juried Exhibition 2014BFA Juried Exhibition 2014BFA Juried Exhibition 2014BFA Juried Exhibition 2014
(first group photo above taken by Greg Randall)