Monday, February 28, 2011

I Quit My Day Job To Make Work

Yeah I did, but it was a cheapo part-time thing, and thisahere show might be more important than that, so...you know...

I've been working on weekends for the past three weeks to come up with things.  "Things" are going well, but I am continually reminding myself not to get too confident, as I still believe some aspects of my work need tweaking.

Here are some previews of parts to the whole:

 And here is about 1/3 of the space to be reckoned with: yikes.


My goal is to not only make nice, fabric-y pieces, but to do so in such a way that they could be stand alone sculptures or spread out for an installation effect. Yeah, my work goes both ways.

I found out that the whole thing will be funded though the center, including travel and installation costs. This is a huge step up for me.  I feel like it is a precursor to the big time and even if it isn't, I think some amazing opportunities can arise from this experience.

My art is getting better every week.  I anticipate having strong body of work by the Aug. 22 deadline.

PS The info on the show is Sept. 2, 2011 - Jan. 7, 2012 at the McColl Center for Visual Art, 721 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC. 

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Hi, Remember Me?

I'm that crazy girl that can't sleep! As irony would have it,  I feel like I am where I was a year ago.  In Feb.'10, I would've had a few short weeks to finish up for my thesis and I can remember the insomnia and panic. In the long, lazy months that came after, I thought I'd never get around to making another piece again. Heh, I'm baaaaaaaaack! It is super cray-cray for me to have a solo show- not that I don't have decent work already, but I'm the type of person who wants a new cocktail dress for every occasion (hello, impracticality) hence I also want new fab work for said show. I must get started now at 4:07 in the AM! I only have 7 months!  Working only on the weekends, that time is going to fly right by!

Sometimes you need time off to regroup.  From April '10 to just a few weeks back in December, I was not in thinking mode at all. Felt a bit bad about that, but not enough to remedy the situation.  All I've done for the last 48 hours do is envision how to solve the visual problems that I feel are present in some existing pieces and how to create even better new stuff. I think it's going to be grand. Look for the continuance and return of my favorite materials, as well as some new additions- girly, girly stuff! Yeah, it might be pink.


Hi, we are inspiration!  I'm Cave Pearl and you've already met Honeycomb, up there.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

...When I Least Expected It.

 I was lying in bed last night after a day of making experiments from the usual suspects (fabric, plastic) and feeling agitated that my issues with proper presentation had not made any headway over the course of a mere six hours. Then I reminded myself that I was not in school anymore and time frames didn't matter.  I had all the time in the world to tinker around and figure things out. I felt very relieved.
So then today...
The most wonderful magic of magical things happened. The McColl Center, which will be hosting my residency in September, called up and made me an unprovoked offer that I couldn't refuse: a four-month long solo show in their biggest gallery space. (This was an upgrade from a previous offer of a month-long group show in another space.)  I don't know what I did to deserve such an honor. I've been keeping close tabs on other artists that have shown in the same space and they are not lightweights like Yours Truly.  I am nonplussed.
I have six months to pull out all the stops.  Last year I had a similar time line for preparing for my thesis show and god knows that I needed every minute. I have to do it again, this time with virtually no money and on a tremendous scale. Make or break time is here and I am beside myself. The responsibility and repercussions of both success and failure are MASSIVE. I might be shitting myself right now.  I hope I can deliver.

That which doesn't kill us, right?