This Memorial Day is a time for reflection and I have always thought that this project was an interesting one[though I have never had the opportunity to see one of the boards in person] so I thought I would share it. As another person who struggles to maintain perspective and balance in life I have thought long and hard about what I would write to complete the sentence: ‘Before I die I want to…’ And I would have a difficult time limiting myself to filling out only one line because I have many lofty ideas floating around in my head with things I would like to accomplish/do in my life. Be it career related goals, sappy emotionally driven wishes, travel aspirations, or something off of my mile long bucket list.
The artist responsible for the project is Candy Chang and she has embarked on many other interactive projects. I also got a kick out of the career path project that was done in Turku, Finland in 2011. The installation had boxes in multiple languages that read: ‘When I was little I wanted to be _____. Today I want to be _____.’ I can actually say with confidence that my response would be the same for both blank spaces…an artist! :)
I am a big fan of TEDtalks and Candy did a short one in July of last year so take 6 minutes or so and find out more about how the ‘Before I die I want to…’ project came to fruition:
Everyone’s favorite piece is SOLD! I posted one shot of this piece back in March on my Facebook page and it went VIRAL. It was shared 98x, received 64 likes, and was viewed by nearly 13,000 people. Those are numbers I can’t even wrap my head around. And I have a big head. No, seriously. That whole one-size-fits-all business? Not happening. I blame my giant brain that happens to be overflowing with a wealth of information[sometimes useless i.e. song lyrics because I listen to so much music while I work] and ideas. Anywhoooo…two weeks ago a wonderful couple bought this beauty from me in Princeton, NJ at the Morven in May show. Here are the rest of the shots of the piece from every angle imaginable.
About a month ago I did a Skype interview with Amber Kane of Fabricatedends as a part of her artist interview series. What was probably supposed to last about 30 minutes turned into 2.5 hours of discussion. And only 2 hours and 20 minutes of that time was me pontificating awkwardly. I probably should have warned her beforehand that I have a tendency to speak in rambling parentheticals and often never make it back to answering the original question. My lack of ability to summarize anything certainly was not helping. Although I think that attribute makes me a really great story-teller. Giving a lot of sensory driven details to make you feel like you were right there with me when it happened. Like the time my car was stolen less than a week after my parents agreed to let me keep it on campus at college. We are in the middle of farm country. What’s the worst that could happen? The perspiration gathered on my neck as I rounded the corner and really picked up speed on the final stretch of my sprint towards the freshman parking lot. My friends trailing behind me at a more casual pace. I passed under the last streetlamp and darted across the road, through the entrance. And I stood, legs trembling like jello, sucking wind looking straight into the first row of cars at an empty space that my car once occupied. My fear was confirmed and some choice profanities came spewing out of my mouth like a battle cry. I know what you were thinking: ‘Whoa. For a minute there I forgot I was just sitting here on this nice, comfy chair surfing the internet. I cannot believe that your dormitory neighbor stole your car.’ Yes, that actually happened. It is no reflection of my school though because she was a straight-up kleptomaniac who needed to feel that rush of adrenaline or possibly support a drug habit and use my car as her getaway vehicle. Some lessons to be learned from this experience: 1)Do not leave your purse and car keys unattended when a sketchy dorm neighbor is mere feet away. Even if friends are present. Thieves do not care about witnesses and they are ballsy. 2)Public safety on campus will not take you seriously when you approach them to report that your car has been stolen. I guess something about my demeanor gave them the impression that I am flighty and prone to “misplacing” my car or “forgetting” where I parked. I assure you I am none of those things and I was pretty pissed at the implication. And 3)Pay one of your friends to fill out the incident report with the local police. Because there is nothing quite like the muscle cramping in your hand caused by writing a 5 page description[front and back] of the events leading up to and including the actual theft. I have to practice a healthy amount of restraint whilst writing these blog posts to stay on topic and be a little less verbose. Using pretty pictures really helps. You’re welcome.
Wait, what was I writing about again? Oh yeah, interview videos.
Maybe somewhat against my better judgement I am now sharing these videos with you, manly voice[Am I the only one really weirded out by hearing myself speak on a recording of any kind? Holy crap! Is that what I sound like to everyone else?!] and all, so you can hear a little about my education, process, and how I got my start with craft shows. They are neatly divided up into three videos in case you don’t have a 40 minute stretch of free time to watch all at once. Considering the amount of footage she was working with I’m pretty amazed she was able to keep it to just 40 minutes.:
If you have attended or exhibited at a professional craft show you may have seen a dapper gentleman with a harmonica in hand, and several in cases around his neck, waltzing around the show floor. It took me two years of seeing him at nearly every show I was participating in until I agreed to construct a beaded vessel version of a case to add to his extensive hand-made collection. Artists from all over the world refer to him fondly as “Hoff the Harmonica Case Man”. And his one-of-a-kind harmonica case collection is no joke–he has already had exhibitions of the set and will be having a book published in the future. Be on the lookout the next time you’re at a show because you may even be lucky enough to hear him play a little tune:
Here are some informal studio shots of my harmonica case! I’m pretty proud of this creation and I am sort of wondering why I put off making it for so long…
And in this corner…weighing in at an impressive 4.8 lbs.[I swear it feels MUCH heavier] with a record of 5 wins by knockout via needle nose pliers gouging my hands and a near miss to my face…wearing all the glorious colors of the rainbow…from the York, PA studio of moi…I give you BALL BOWL 2.0! [two point ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The nature of the process of attaching each of the spheres to one another in order to create the final product seems to me like it would be strikingly similar to operating the da Vinci surgical robot. I think I may have missed my calling and possibly a really clutch nickname…”smooth operator”.
Oh my gosh you guysssss! Stop, stop this is just too much! A round of applause might be over the top. Wait, who am I kidding…I just fist pumped the air five seconds ago. Bring on the gratuitous applause! The base layer is complete!
Since I sold the first ball bowl I made last March:
people have been interested in seeing me make another. The process of making the individual sphere parts has been ongoing for quite some time now[see eye candy], but the construction of the larger whole is underway. To say this is tedious would be the understatement of the century.