Art is my Joie de Vivre.
I made reunion patches for my Patreon subscribers. If you want one, you can join me on Patreon, or, visit my shop! These are approximately 4″ x 2.5″ and cost $5.
This image is from the pocket watch diorama from AVAM’s Great Mystery Show.
Thanks for looking!
I had an artist reception at the Hamilton Gallery today for my solo show Found and Chosen. I received a creativity grant from the Maryland State Arts Council to produce a recording which coincides with this exhibit.
This show features animation, a record release, a webpage, a Plasticland installation, and about 16 framed works.
As a coping mechanism for the collective anxiety we felt during the pandemic, I took long walks through my neighborhood in Baltimore City, and later, other cities. It was a form of meditation. This developed into a practice of mindfulness. I was able to quiet my thoughts and generally slow down. I noticed and found delight in objects and sounds that I previously might have overlooked. Found and Chosen is a collection of materials gathered during this time.
Some of the interesting objects that I found, I bought home. Most were just photographed with my phone. I made this 6′ x 3′ banner showing some of my favorites.
Each image has the location where I found them under the photo.
The Minotaur is an icon adopted by the Surrealists, and monsters figured prominently in their works between the world wars as they stood against fascists and Hitler. I found it interested that one of the January 6th attackers resembled a very skinny minotaur.
This painting is the product of my new animation, which has a working title of The Art of War.
The images below are also from this animation, only I worked with discarded prints from the government repository.
I’m not sure when the full animation will be complete, but all these pieces seemed to fit squarely within the context of this exhibit, and I wanted to get part of this out into the world.
One day, while walking Goose, we found one of these yellow cravistans in the grass. The following day, we found another. Same with the day after that. I brought them home and mounted them like the trophies they are.
I’ve included some letters, which you can read about elsewhere, and other treasures, some of which are used in The Lunatics animation.
While supplies last, people can visit the gallery and take a CD/Cassette. I’ve talked about this elsewhere, and in great detail on the Found and Chosen page I’ve linked from the liner notes.
Happy New Year! To bring in the new year, we took a nice 6 mile hike. I then got the rest of the materials together for the year’s first exhibit. Opening next week at the Hamilton Gallery, Plasticland will be on display in Found and Chosen. These fellas are part of the show.
Plus we had black-eyed peas for good luck!
I made this for Beverly’s mother – she adores Elvis!
The bottom half is floating over velvet, which is a first for me. The dog is a the late Sadie.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they arrive at a fork in their road. They are faced with a choice. For some of us, we decided long ago what our answer would be. Some of us have no choice. For some of us, the fork is still in the drawer, hanging out with the spoons.
The choice I’m speaking of, obviously, is to make shoes, or not. I took a break from my regularly scheduled deadline production and I made some. They aren’t practical in the conventional sense, but, they can be useful.
I’ve been thinking about this project for a long time, and I have stored up materials to make other kinds of shoes. This month’s Punk Frocker’s challenge prompt is #pfSewNotClothes, so I thought I’d dip my toes in and finally start this project. I’ll write more about it when I refine this process and develop the other prototypes.
I think it’s pretty cool.
