Movin' on up

I can't believe it's the last day of classes. In mere days I will be a college grad. I have to admit even as the day approached, I never really pictured it happening. When I first set foot on a college campus, I hadn't a clue as to what I was getting into. And I had no intention on graduating. (Don't tell my parents.) I was doing what I felt like was the next step, relying on the one talent I knew I could (gymnastics) to transition me into the next phase. I remember my mom and sister crying as they left me in my dingy half underground dorm room in Rhode Island, my feet hanging several feet off the floor from my dormatory bed stacked on cinder blocks, not knowing a soul. They would later remark on how little and lost I looked, my legs swinging aimlessly as I waited for my new life to unfold.

Now, ahem, seven (I know traditionally it's 4..) years later, things have drastically changed. I couldn't have predicted I'd be living the life I am today back when I was sitting on that bed in Suite B of Willard Hall. The move far away from home to be on my own helped me grow into the independent young woman I never knew I wanted to be. This weekend as I don my cap and gown and walk across the stage to receive my degree, I will cross an imaginary line that will bring me into the next chapter of my life.

To risk sounding like I am giving an acceptance speech, or just sickly nostalgic, I want to extend some special thanks to all the people who have helped me along the way.

First and foremost, my wonderful family: Dovey and Beard, my loving parents for their unwavering support, my beautiful and talented sisters Jane and Emma, my saving graces Violet, Otto, and Clementine, my laid back and always cool brother-in-law Scott who always rolls with the punches, and of course my sanity and strength, my best friend Shish.

....to my friends....my roommates, the W.O.W, for always knowing when to tell me what I want to hear and when to give it to me straight. and when to sit at the kitchen table until the wee hours of the morning discussing the manifestation of our dreams and desires. All of my friends who are too numerous to name, you have been my inspiration and strength and I love you more than I can say!

....to my professors....
I want to give a special thanks to my professor Nell. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my own path, stay true to myself and my passions, and for consoling my many anxieties as I prepare for real life. You have helped me more than you can imagine!
PJ, master craftsman, mentor, and friend, thanks for pushing me to the breaking point, I will continue to strive to aquire a library of skills like yours. Your humor has been a saving grace.
Kim, for taking me to France, becoming a friend, and starting me off on this voyage.

Thank you all, I love you!

The Midas Touch

I have to say I am a sucker for skills. Nun-chuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills....learning new skills is where it's at. Recently I learned how to gold plate, and though I've never been much for gold until a short time ago, this particular process made me feel like a magician. In a nutshell, this is how it works: you stick your silver or base metal piece in a chemical solution, turn on a machine hooked to chord holding an electric charge which is holding on to another metal thing which is also submerged in said chemical, turn on voltage, turn off after 30 seconds or so, rinse, submerge both in another chemical, turn on the voltage, hope you don't get electrocuted (to an outsider I'm sure this sounds less than safe) and BLAM! Your silver jewelry is now gold! (Ok, so its not that simple, and there is much science to chemical mixing and temperature and voltage and such, but I know y'all don't want me to bore you with those details.) To see something turn gold in front of your very eyes makes you feel like King Midas! Even for someone who isn't much for gold, there's just something about that power of transformation.

Just moments ago, this jewelry was silver!

(interested in purchasing? check out my shop!)

Wanderlust

I've been published! (kind of....it's not a hard copy but I'll take what I can get!) Check out Creo Magazine Summer 2010 Issue. Creo Magazine is a quarterly online magazine focusing on visual culture from the student perspective. This season's theme is Wanderlust and displays some great work from student artists. (I'm on pages 56 & 57.) Feel free to let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Las Cucarachas Diablo

R.I.P. Mr. Coffee

Over here on the west end of Waldburg, we're experiencing some major issues of the insect variety. No matter what we do these roaches just wont stay away. Now don't get me wrong, we keep a clean house, and we've accepted that a roach every once in a while is just a part of southern living, but this is a straight-up infestation. It's not even the big fatties that get us riled up. (In fact, I kind of like to collect them....you never know when you'll need a giant cockroach.) Its those little, slimy, creepy, crawly, silverfishy, nervy little buggers that travel in packs and overstay their welcome. We were fine with getting rid of the microwave they decided to live in. We dealt with moving all the silverware out in the open. We stopped using the dishwasher, where we are sure they have created a colony and are making babies at record speeds. But when they invaded my coffee maker, they made it personal.

Roach, a poem I wrote on my old school Rutgers typewriter.
(Pardon the typo, I don't have corrector tape)

and I do my little turn on the catwalk....

One of my pieces traveled down the runway at the fashion show this weekend! My chased and repousse'd cuff Under My Skin headed down the trail of fabulosity to be viewed by the masses! Among those in attendance were amazing designer Diane Von Furstenberg, former Vogue editor André Leon Talley, and runway coach extraordinaire, Miss Jay Alexander.

Look-y Here!

The fashion lookbook has been posted, and some fellow metalsmiths, including the always stellar Alexis Turner (who just happens to be my wonderful roommate,) Nicole Hendry, and myself got our work in the catalog. Please check it out!

Dangerous Fashion

Fashion week (more like month) is a big deal around here. The SCAD fashion show is this weekend, as is our departmental trunk show Bijoux In Bloom, and plenty of other show openings and such.

Please come and support your local artisans! There will be TONS of amazing handmade jewelry and accessories for sale.

Roots to Branches, a collection.

Here are some images of my recent work from my senior collection. Eventually I will get some professional photos taken, but for now my own amateur attempts will do. I have included my artist statement so you can get the gist of my concept and motivation. Please feel free to let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Roots to Branches, neckpiece I

Roots to Branches, neckpiece I detail

Roots to Branches, ring I

Roots to Branches, ring II (rotating ring)

Roots to Branches, neckpiece II

Roots to Branches, neckpiece II detail

Roots to Branches, bracelet I

Roots to Branches, bracelet I (on model)

Coming from a very tight knit family of farmers, I am literally rooted to the land I grew up on. Though this connection is strong, I also have a passion for travel and exploration that lures me places far from my home. This body of work illustrates the struggle for balance between these two intangible, and perhaps irreconcilable situations. Combining several mediums and techniques to characterize my curiosity, I create forms that symbolize unity, balance, and connections among chaos. Some components allude to the solidarity and security of home, while others embody the nomadic freedom of travel. In the same way one may bring a memento from home to carry with them on a journey, or display souvenirs from past travels, these elements contain each other; the notion of existing in one space while desiring another. The connections between components illustrate the attempt to marry the two situations, but ultimately describe the moment of experiencing one while simultaneously longing for the other.

Eclectic

On April 30th, my peers and I had an exhibition to display our senior collections. All of our work was distinctly different, and the show was a beautifully eclectic compilation. We took silly Polaroids for our promotional postcards and then displayed them with our work. There was a great turnout and fun was had by all!

Spec-tacular!

A few weeks ago, I attended the Night of Spectacles in Atlanta, GA to receive an award for second place in an optical and sunglass design competition. There was a sustainability fashion show, silent and live auctions, great food, free bar, and lots of artwork. I brought my two lovely friends Nicole and Ashley (Talls and Beasty Cat, respectively) and got to hang with some other award-winning and absolutely fabulous artists and my pal, mentor, and professor, The Great PJ Chen. The night was a huge success, tons of fun, and I got a giant cardboard check out of the deal, so I was one happy four-eyed camper, which you can tell from the lock-jawed cheesy grin I'm beaming in the Polaroid over yonder.

The Future is Bright

I knew from the beginning that I was going to be an artist. Not to say that it was my fantasy career from the get-go. In reality my dream job was to be a fabulous waitress, and I spent my early days before I could read or write, scrambling around my house scribbling nonsense on stacks of restaurant pads, taking imaginary orders ("what can I get 'cha?") while donning an apron and a loud shade of red lipstick. Sadly, to this day, I have never waited a table, but I must admit it is still a secret dream of mine....

Anyway, I suppose art didn't start out as my dream job because, well, I never knew it was one. A job, that is. Art was fun, relaxation, exploration, an excuse to follow my big sister around and beg her to give me lessons. Growing up on my family's farm in Connecticut, my first sculptural pieces were vegetable babies that I made with my other sister (eggplants and butternut squash were always the best for the body, green bean smile, corn silk hair..) I soon moved onto whittling boats from bars of soap (yes, my parents gave me my first jack-knife when I was six.) I am blessed to have grown up in a place where my imagination could run free and I could spend nearly all of my time outside, exploring, creating, and pretending. So much of my present inspiration comes from this and when I go back, I really am a child again, reexamining every inch of it, my playground.

Drawing was my thing in the beginning. I drew all the time. I drew portraits, animals, dancers, sports scenes, whatever I could think of. But one day I came up with (what I thought was) a particularly amazing composition of a smug sunshine wearing shades, casting a rainbow to a cloud, also sporting John Lennon-esque specs and a Joe Cool smile. Man, what a masterpiece! I would draw it all day, every day, particularly in large scale on a giant chalk board in my playroom. In third grade I entered my drawing in a greeting card contest at school, and to my surprise and great satisfaction, I was chosen along with a few other individuals to have my design printed and sold in local shops. I was published! This award assured me that this design was in fact, as brilliant as I had thought. Even if my mom snatched up every card in the tri-town area, I had never felt so accomplished.

So this was my first taste of artistic success, and boy, it was sweeter than a scoop of black raspberry ice cream coated in chocolate jimmies. I was hooked.

Going out on a limb....

So after close to seven years of on-again-off-again college life, I am about to graduate and be released into the wild. In professional preparation for the real world, I must create a blog, so here goes....

I have to say I am much more confused than I thought I'd be at this point in time. It seems the more I know, the less confident I am that I'm moving in the right direction. With the whole world in front of me and no geographical anchors for the first time ever, I am overwhelmed with all the possibilities that life has to offer me. Meaningful travel is top on my list of priorities right now (I've got India on the brain) , so as soon as I get the funds for that....and the yurt I want to build....and the studio I want to set up....

Actually, before all that I have to find a way to pay my rent this summer. Baby steps..