Swimming to Sicily....

I was recently invited to take part in 'art challenge' from the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center. I have no idea how they found me, but I received an e-mail from them inviting me to participate. The 'challenge' was to make a piece of art out of re-claimed and re-used materials, which included a map of New Jersey, fabric scraps, some beer bottle caps, a magazine, part of a Danielle Steele book, puzzle pieces, a Christmas card, a toy car, a wine glass, and some bubble wrap. Not exactly materials I use every day, but I gave it a shot and was miraculously able to transform all that junk into a somewhat auto-biographical piece called "Swimming to Sicily".

Sunday in Park Slope...

Anyone who lives anywhere near the Brooklyn Museum would be well advised to see the Kiki Smith installation, "Sojourn". As with everything Kiki does, this show does not disappoint. I just love this woman! I spent a few hours at the show with a friend after spending a productive day in the studio yesterday. Great way to round out a sunny, brisk Park Slope weekend.
The show gave me just the boost of energy I needed to get back into the studio and finish up some pieces I started yesterday. I've started incorporating some of my own photography with vintage family photos and my grandfathers writings. I'm quite happy with the results so far. I'm simplifying the compositions and using fewer elements. These are a few pieces that are still in progress.....

Branching out for spring......

Well the sun is finally shining, the cold weather seems to have left for good, so I thought I'd try some new things on for size in the studio in recognition of the new season. Although I don't think I've quite exhausted the subject of my family history just yet, I decided to experiment with some of my own photography for new subject matter and see where that leads. These pieces utilize some great shots I took of reflections on the Venice Grand Canal at night, and then altered using the iPhone app "CameraBag" (which I am totally addicted too). I'm calling these the "Venice at Night" series. Finally making use of the thousands of pics I took in October while I was in Italy. These are tiny pieces, almost vignettes or sketches for an idea still to be fleshed out. The small pieces are a joy to make because I can really just 'play' without fear and without thinking too much about the outcome.

"Venice @ Night"(2" X 2" each panel)
I've also veered off and used a few images of a good friend who makes a great subject. I've been shooting him a lot lately... again, on my iPhone and making use of CameraBag with every shot I take. (It's almost too easy to make great photos with this app! It can make even the most mediocre photo look great.) He appears in these new pieces even though he was no where near the Grand Canal when I shot these pics of him. I love the yummy raspberry color of the bottom piece....

"Perfect School Companion"
"Venice: Nile at Night"