Cabin!

Still waiting for a title. Photograph is the finished product!

Working with wax

More process photos...

Shotgun House

Shotgun shells again! This piece (in process) is for my next group show with the Open Book Art Collective. The finished product will be a large printed photograph of the finished cabin in a natural, abandoned environment. I still have a lot of work before I finish it. More details later.  

When things don't work out

Most days I feel like I have a pretty good flow in the studio. I experiment and take risks in my art and it usually works (don't ask me how). I seem to have a good intuition when it comes to making instinctual artistic decisions. 

Today I tanked.

For the past two weeks I was painting liquid latex onto found objects so I could make glove molds for beeswax candle sculptures. It should be easy, right? Youtube lied.

List of wrongs:
-I almost started a fire melting wax in a fake pyrex dish in the microwave. The glass broke and I lost a good amount of wax because of the glass shards (beeswax is expensive!)
-I peeled the rubber mold off my objects too early. I should have painted at least two or three more layers
-I tore holes in the mold
-When I finally poured the hot wax in, it melted the rubber!!!

So no candles yet. Instead I made a very strange, mysterious sculpture out of the reject latex. I might show you pictures one day.

Homage to G.G.

My Norwegian Great Grandmother (G.G.) passed away when I was in my second year of university. I knew her well because I saw her every day for eight years of my life. The perks of living next door to your relatives. A lot of my artworks are inspired by memories of my childhood, and she was a huge part of that. G.G.'s faith was important to her. The only time I ever heard her speak Norwegian was when she prayed. As a third generation American, I know very little about my families history in the old country. This piece speaks of her fading voice and a language that I wish I had the time to unlock.  

Var Far (Our Father), hand-embroidery on handkerchief, 20''x 20'', 2014

From the archives

Heirloom Inventory,  acrylic paint, graphite, ink and tape on paper, 2012

Flower Face

Flower Face (detail), paper, pressed flower and paint on panel, 10'' x 10'', 2014 

Riverside Real Estate

Riverside Real Estate, xerox collage on paper, 11'' x 17'', 2014 

This flood narrative is getting a little out of hand, but I'm pleased with the direction its going. I like how lo-fi the piece turned out. The grainy/choppy/garage band aesthetic has something going for it.

'Van Dyke Brown' and Portland

I just got back from an art trip to Portland! As per usual, I gave myself a limited amount of supplies to create with. I find that working within boundaries teaches me to use materials I normally wouldn't touch. I picked up a handful of crayons, a black marker and a used notebook at a scavenger store. 

Portland feels brown to me. Not a 'blah' brown but an earthy, warm, inviting brown. Freight trains, brick and campfires. 

No, I didn't see Pussy Riot, it was a figurine in my favorite art show...

Side project

I'm taking a printmaking course right now. New love? I think so! 

Little Bird, lino-cut print on paper, 2014